Cruise notes

Feb 15 Cruise ship notes:

We picked a great room this time. Ship’s not bad either. For anyone curious enough, you can look for cabin 8176 on Celebrity Infinity on their website. This is our fourth cruise, and we’ve had different kinds of rooms each time – so far I like this best. What we have is a Concierge Class room at the back of the ship. It’s a bit larger than a regular veranda room, and I appreciate the space. The veranda is really large, and I’d appreciate it more if I could get out there myself. But it really is the first time we’ve had a balcony that works at all for me. Usually they are too small. Not that I’ve had that much experience with balconies – this is our third. So many of the people on this ship have taken 30 – 40 cruises, that we feel like newbies.

But what’s really cool about the balcony is that it’s well protected – from wind and from light. At this moment it’s pretty breezy and cool up on decks 10 and 11 outside, but on our deck, not only is it quiet and not smelling of chlorine, it’s warm and just a slight breeze. So what if I’m a little antisocial.

Last night we were out on our veranda, looking at the stars. It’s been a long time since I could see the Milky Way. Not counting planetarium shows, I can’t remember when I last could see it, I’m guessing I was a teenager at summer camp. I’m pretty sure we couldn’t see it from any of our other cruises, and I’m sure the main reason we can now, is this great balcony. There are very few lights around the back of the ship, just a couple of dim ones from rooms down the hall. We could see thousands of stars. Jim thinks he could see Orion’s belt, but neither of us know our constellations well, so right now we aren’t sure. There in the east was a really red shining “star” – perhaps it was Mars? Since our room is at the back of the ship, we’re now facing north. I wanted to know if we could see the Southern Cross, so we went up to deck 11 to the outdoor deck that circles the ship, but there are so many lights up there we couldn’t even see the Milky Way! And that’s why I suspect we didn’t see it before on any other cruises, didn’t have the right balcony. Hopefully, when we return going north, then this room will face south, so I’ll see the Southern Cross then.

About an hour ago I stopped at the Concierge desk and asked if there was something they could do about the high step to get outside onto our veranda, and as I’ve been typing some men came in to measure for a ramp. I have to admit I’m impressed. It still might be hard for me to get out alone, but this step is so bad it’s been hard for Jim to even push me over it because it sort of has 2 mini steps and the wheels get caught. He has to treat it like a curb going out, and we’ve found going backwards to go inside works best. Perhaps this will change. I’d like to be out there on my own power, not having to wait for Jim to come back to assist me.
There are bumps around the ship in places – usually in the entryways to cabin sections. I suppose there are doors there that can be sealed if necessary. And there are bumps getting out onto the outer decks, also where there are doors. A couple of these doors are automatic, near the pool area, which is really nice! But most I can manage. I have this little mental map of the ship that is sortof like, “deck 11 aft has impossible door, avoid!” If I want to go to the bar at deck 11 forward (nice view) I’ll go to 5 or 10 and go to the front elevator bank and then go up.

Overall, I’m pleased. After the craziness of the last cruise – Azamara Journey – this ship is great! Without too many details, let’s just say that Azamara’s ships are old, and I couldn’t get outside anywhere without the assistance of 2 people. There were other problems too.

There’s a professor here from Minnesota who is giving lectures on Antarctica on every at sea day, and he’s good. Another lecturer this afternoon on South America. The food is ok, and there’s plenty of variety. We’re happy, but honestly it’s our veranda that is going to make this cruise special. I think it’s about 12 feet by 15 feet.

Maybe we’ll find out why these rooms at the back are less popular when the sea gets choppy. I am not sure exactly why they chose this room (maybe it is the balcony, maybe they weren’t selling well?), but they relabeled certain rooms Concierge Class, and upgraded service to include flowers and fruit in the room, and I think slightly better bedding and bathrobes, or something like that. It isn’t much different from a regular veranda room otherwise. There isn’t a real butler like the Sky Suite rooms, not that we found the Butler that useful the one time we had a Sky Suite. CC class is a little more money, but not as much as a suite, and the veranda is worth it. OK, enough praise about the veranda, right? Time to go to the South America lecture.

Feb 16 – Rocking and Rolling:
I’m not talking about music, the ship is rocking and rolling. It’s not as rough as the day we came out of the Panama Canal, which had 15 ft waves, but way rockier than anything on the Alaska cruise. I’m guessing what we have now is 8 - 10 ft ones. But they have been pretty constant for the past 24 hours, and I doubt they are going to let up anytime soon. These are South Atlantic seas, and none of the staff seemed the least concerned. The lecturer we heard yesterday talked about how the seas are most rough when we cross fromt the South American tectonic plate over to the Antarctic one, which I assume will be the day after the Falklands (tomorrow we visit there) and again 3 days later when we head back to Ushuaia.

I kind of like the rolling though, especially when I’m lying down on the bed. It’s sort of like being in a hammock that some kid is jerking around, but not unpleasant. Sometimes you roll side to side, sometimes head to toe. It makes walking and wheeling, and a few other things a little trickier though. Pouring water into a glass can be messy. Photos aren’t always of what you intended. I’ve suspended doing any needlework because it’s too easy to make mistakes. Please excuse any typos as well.

And I’ll wait till calmer waters for a shower. I can wash up, even my hair, in the sink for now. Somehow doing a transfer off the shower seat while wet and slippery doesn’t appeal to me. On and of the toilet is bad enough, but here I’m glad I have the convenience of a catheter. It means I only have to get on the toilet once a day. The good news is that both the shower seat and toilet seat are sturdy, so if I really had to be on there a lot, I could do it. And Jim is helping by steadying my chair. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve reached down to put the brakes on my chair to discover they are already on.

Not much happening today – a lecture on Wildlife of Antarctica, and High Tea for Concierge guests – a perk we didn’t expect, but wil enjoy. They had High Teas on the last ship we were on, and usually they have the string quartet playing (or on the last ship the harpist sometimes, but no harp on this ship). Everyone is looking forward to tomorrow, but awaiting word whether we’ll be able to go ashore there. Apparently a large percentage of cruise ships can’t put passengers ashore because it’s a tender port and the winds can be fierce if they come from the wrong direction.

Before I forget – the handyman built 2 perfect ramps for me to get out onto the veranda. One is about 2 feet long in the room, where the step is highest, and nice and smooth. Then there’s and 8 inch one outside. It’s a little steeper, but because it’s so short it works. So, now all I need are calmer seasl, and I’ll go out! Actually I have used them already some, but it is a bit rough at the moment.