Two and a Half Days

We boarded our honeymoon cruise in Fort Lauderdale at about 3:00 pm and sailed a little after 5:00 pm. We were directed to our veranda suite and we proceeded to eat lunch. This ship, the Volendam, is by no means a big ship but I only found this out by walking around. I was expecting one of those grandiose, larger than life atriums you see in pictures or in brochures but this one is nothing like those. It’s rather small and uninspiring, however, the ship size of the ship makes it easier to have more staff per guests than a big ship.

We have been at sea for the past 2 and a half days so nothing really exciting to tell yet. Last night we went to the Captain’s Welcome Reception where everyone on board was invited. We got there late so we got bad seats, but even then, it was nice and there was free booze. After the reception, which we decided to go to right when it started and thus threw some nice clothes on in a hurry, we showered and dressed properly for a nice meal at the Pinnacle Grill.

I had made a reservation so we were just escorted to our table where, for the first time, we were seated side by side instead of facing each other. It was nice. I had Dungeness Crab Cakes for appetizer and Matt had the Thai Chicken Soup. The crab cakes were very tasty but small, gourmet portions I guess. Our main dish was a Pinnacle cut Fillet Mignon with Béarnaise sauce, I had creamed spinach and scalloped potatoes as side dishes and Matt had scalloped potatoes and asparagus with hollandaise sauce. The steak was divine! Mind you, not as good as the one at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse but close. The spinach was really good too, even for a non green veggies eater like me, and the potatoes were better. We decided to get some champagne since we were celebrating anyway so we ordered a $78 bottle of some Curve Rose but the name escapes me right now. I’m a lightweight so after the second glass I was tipsy and drunk by the third. I was laughing like a nut and staggering. We thought it would be fun to go to the casino and gamble some money. We started out with $10, lost it, got $20 charged to the room and played some more. We won about $30 but spent it all….LOL…so I guess we lost $60. It was fun, we had a great time and we liked the Pinnacle Grill so much we are going a back in a few days.

Today was slightly more active. We decided to actually partake in the ship’s activities so at about 10:15 am we headed over to the ship’s kitchen for a tour. I guess once you’ve seen a ship’s kitchen you’ve seen them all, this one looked an awful lot like the USNS Comfort’s kitchen. After the tour we went into the culinary center for a show that started at 11:00 am. We got there early enough to get front row seats. That too was fun and after the show, we got to taste the food.

It was lunch time by then so we went into the main dining room for burgers and fish and chips lol. We then hurried to make it to the ping pong tournament but it was full by the time we got there. We tested our knowledge in a team trivia game, then we played some bingo, etc. We were invited to a VIP only cocktail reception with the Captain at the Crow’s Nest bar on the 9th deck. That was fun because unlike the reception yesterday, there were few people there. I am not sure why we got invited but we did. To be exact, Matt got invited and I crashed the party. The invitation was for Mr. Matthew Hawkins. We sat with this nice old couple who are on their 13th cruise and have been married for almost 50 years, their anniversary is in April. The finger food was good and once again, free drinks. Being at a VIP party really makes you feel important, even if it’s just on a cruise. We were the youngest couple there. I had two glasses of champagne and got tipsy again. Our dining time is 8:00 pm so we had to leave the party early to make dinner.

Right now I am in the Exploration Café posting this from a very expensive internet connection, I am that dedicated ;) Tomorrow we dock in Aruba and the real fun begins!