Day 3 - NCL Encore - GSC or Not?

I was up early and missing my room service coffee.   Chris went and found some coffee and brought back a nice big cup.  We went to the casino and while we were playing the captain made an announcement that we would not be stopping at Great Stirrup Cay due to winds.  We had been outside and did not really notice the winds, but GSC is a frequently missed port for NCL.  We were looking forward to a quiet boat today so our relaxing plans might be ruined. 
 
Breakfast was in The Local.  It was busy but still served quickly and very hot.  I think it is the best breakfast on the ship.  We perused the revised Freestyle Daily to see what activities have been added.  The atrium was having trivia at 9:30 so that was our first choice of activity.  The trivia was pretty challenging, and we scored 14/20.  I tried a bloody Mary since I noticed that NCL is using their own brand of mixer now.  It was a decent drink with lots of horseradish flavor.  

We found a nice area on the Waterfront to relax.  First, we played some cards.  Then, I wrote while Chris read his book.  He went inside the District and returned with two drinks, Pumpkin Spiced Guinness and a Guillotine.  I picked the Pumpkin Spice and surprisingly enjoyed it.  

Since we now had this extra sea day, I told Chris we should try the main dining room since we have not had lunch there for some time.  We both started with the scallops which were very similar to escargot in preparation.  I chose the Monte Cristo which was a favorite from Bennigan’s during my college days long ago.  It was a very close copy of the sandwich and I really enjoyed it.  Chris thought the ribs were tasty as well.  For dessert, I had the warm chocolate melting cake and Chris had flan de coco.  Both desserts were very good, and we left stuffed from lunch.  

We did some walking around to burn off some of lunch.  The rest of the afternoon consisted of relaxing and a nap in the cabin before getting ready for dinner.  Unfortunately, we didn’t get much rest as our cabin was still so noisy.  We took showers and dressed for the evening.  For our pre-dinner cocktail, we headed to the Observation Lounge.  It was busy and took a few minutes to order our Negronis.  They were slammed making lots of frozen drinks.  It was a longer wait than we have had before. Our drinks were made nicely though and we had another before dinner.

Tonight’s dinner was in the Taste main dining room.  The second night is typically a very nice menu in our opinion.  We both started with the spring rolls.  I had the smoked salmon tartare which is very good.  Chris chose the bruschetta which was ok but nothing too exciting.  For our entrees, I had the broiled hake and Chris had the shrimp pasta alla vodka.  We had both of these entrees on our Breakaway cruise and they were just as good tonight.  We skipped dessert because we wanted to go see the early show. 

The show tonight was a comedy magician, Eric Buss.  As my loyal readers know, we have attended lots of magic shows.  He had his own spin on some classic effects that fit his style.  While the magic was performed solidly, the comedy was weak.  Towards the end, the comedy became annoying when he used a looper to create a song while doing his tricks.  I do have one trick that if performed, I will make a quiet exit.  Well, he did it, so I did leave about 4 minutes early.  
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We headed to Maltings for a cocktail.  Chris had a Manhattan while I got a Woodford Old Fashioned.  I peeked in the Cavern Club to hear the music which sounded good, but it was very crowded.  We took our drinks to Sugarcane and did a little dancing to the Latin music being played.  Although it said Boleros and Cha Cha, they only played Salsa, Bachata and Merengue.  We danced a few songs and decided to check out the Atrium.  They had a R&B band which sounded nice but no dance floor, so we did not stay long.  We were both tired from our busy day and returned to our cabin for the night.