Day 3 - Embarkation - Celebrity Infinity - Lisbon to Barcelona - October 2023

Our alarm woke us and we were both excited to return for breakfast after sampling it yesterday. Along with our coffees, we had today’s offering of strawberry banana juice. Chris ordered the roasted eggs with spicy tomato sauce and 18 month Parma DOP ham while I had a poached egg with bacon. Of course, I had another perfect croissant, sourdough bread and fruit cocktail. Definitely the best included hotel breakfast I’ve ever had.

While I packed upon and finished getting ready, Chris went out for a morning walk. I enjoyed relaxing in our well appointed room until he returned. Since our room was so lovely, we weren’t in a hurry to get to the pier and we waited to leave the hotel around 11. It was just a short Uber ride to the port and we breezed through security and check in. No waiting at all and right on the ship with little crowds to be seen anywhere. We were dropping our carry on bags off in our cabin at 11:45. The cabin is definitely dated in style but very large due to being an accessible suite. We had a bottle of unchilled sparkling wine waiting for us but it is a brand we are familiar with from NCL so I do not think we will bother asking for it to be chilled.

Still full from breakfast, I gave Chris a ship tour since the layout is pretty identical to the Summit. We were astonished by the lack of crowds in the buffet at noon, it seemed a delight. After seeing all the decks, we made our way to Luminae for lunch. We both started with the prawn ceviche which was light and fresh tasting with a hint of heat. Next, was the lobster roll which was a decent lunch even after the amazing one we had last night. For dessert, the creamy dark chocolate and dulce de leche rounded out the lunch perfectly. We were both very pleased with our first meal in Luminae. It was very relaxing as well as delicious.

We decided after exploring a bit more to see if our suitcases had arrived. Since they were not there, we did unpack our carry on bags and while doing so the doorbell rang and it was our steward with our bags. While unpacking, the head butler also stopped by to introduce himself and explain his service.

Done with the chores of unpacking and still plenty of time until sailaway, we went to play music trivia which is name the song and the artist. We tried two different zodiac cocktails, Taurus for me since I enjoyed it last cruise and Chris had the Libra which is peach and bourbon based. My drink was prepared much differently, straight up this time in martini glass versus on the rocks in a collins glass but still yummy. Chris liked his peach drink for afternoon as well. We scored 26 out of 30 for music trivia for third place but quickly redeemed ourselves as general trivia started right afterwards. We scored 13/15 for first place which meant we won a window seat at the buffet any day we’d like! The host for trivia was Gigi and she seems like she will be lots of fun this cruise.

We found a nice couch on the rooftop lounge area to enjoy sailaway. I grabbed a blanket to share since I knew it would get even more windy once we started moving. It was fun going under the 25 de April bridge which looks just like the famous Golden Gate Bridge. The Christ the King monument can also be seen which might make your think you are now in Brazil. We stayed outside until we reached the Monument of the Discoveries and the Tower of Belem. It was getting colder and dark so after freshening up for dinner, we headed to Rendezvous lounge for two Negronis before dinner. We had fun meeting the bar staff here so we didn’t get to dinner at Luminae until around 7.

Dinner in Luminae starts with an amuse bouche each night and tonight’s was a nice nod to Portugal. It was a small bacalao fritter. I had the fennel soup with lobster that was so flavorful. We both tried the asparagus appetizer that was a very good sized portion of crisp asparagus. Next up for both of us was the smoked hake served with a poached egg. The hake tasted just like bacon to us. I had the confit cod loin which was so moist with a mild yet flavorful curry sauce. It was served on the side since I imagine many people are wary of trying a curry. Chris had the homemade fettuccine with calamari and shrimp. He thought the pasta was very good. For dessert, I had the licorice raspberry which was not heavy on licorice at all and I was thankful as I am not a huge fan of licorice. It had amazing fresh raspberry flavors with a refreshing chocolate ice cream. Chris enjoyed the chocolate caramel custard that had a pretzel ice cream. It was a great dinner to start our cruise.

We went to the late show which featured King Jamsheed, a vocalist and pianist. He had a definitely cabaret style with some jokes and stories added to his songs. Some songs were more obscure while others the crowd enjoyed. The show was moderately attended but the ship was really rocking and rolling. We were in the front row of the balcony and I was nervous to stand to exit as I felt I could fall over the side due to the motion.

To end our night, we headed to the Martini Bar for the Silent Disco. I know Chris wanted to try it out after Veronica and I enjoying it on the Summit. It was not as well attended but those who were there had lots of fun dancing and sing along. We danced quite a bit which is a great way to burn some of the extra calories. The crew were beginning to decorate for Halloween tomorrow on the stairs below. The ship was pretty quiet when we returned to our cabin around 11pm. I think the motion of the seas was probably a bit much for some.

It was hard to fall asleep even though I was tired. Our cabin was creaking so loud that I thought I’d never fall asleep. It was also rocking so much that at times I felt like I would roll right off the bed. This cruise is definitely off with a rocking and rolling start.