Day 8 - Sea Day

I was up early to see the sun as well as the moon from our balcony.  We both really liked the forward facing balcony.  It was very well protected making it useable in port as well as at sea.  It is a unique view to see the bow of the ship from your cabin.  

We went up to the Yacht Club sundeck for coffee and a light breakfast.  The pastries and breads have all been superb.  I’m a tough judge of bread after baking my way though a bread cookbook in 2020.  We had some mimosas and planned our day.  

Ammie had the suggestion to go for a walk to get our exercise rings closed on our watch.  She must know me well because this is one of my favorite activities on a ship.  I love walking laps while seeing the sea and breathing the salt air.  Just remember to use indoor walk unless you want to feel like a superhero.  You will easily get a four minute mile without any effort if you select "outdoor walk!"  

We wanted to try out the XD cinema and the F1 Simulator today as well.  It was a little confusing purchasing the tickets as they tried to sell us more than we needed.  The XD cinema was fun as it was the same movie that was on the NCL Joy.  I love shooting the zombies even though I came in last place.  Chris and Joe both drove the race car while we watched.   They both thought it was fun.

Next on the agenda was to check out the stores.  Grandiosa has quite a few shops and boutiques.  As the stores are not permitted to be open in port, this was the first time we did any shopping.  There was a nice selection of items for purchase and people were definitely spending some Euro.

We were invited to two parties very close together though.  The Yacht Club was hosting a cocktail party at 11:30 while the repeat cruiser cocktail was a 11:45.  Although it was our first MSC cruise, our status on NCL was matched for all of us making us gold on MSC.  We opted to just attend the YC one.  It was very nice.  The had some bubbly, spritzes and a special martini passed about as well as snacks.  The martini was a sweeter one but tasty for the time of day.  The cruise director announced some officers, butlers and the captain.  They gave a toast and the party was basically over.  

I wanted to play some more UDog so we met up on the pool deck.  It was pretty windy to play cards so we played at our usual table in the lounge.  The game went pretty long so afterwards we went upstairs to the pool deck for lunch.  I had spotted some shrimp earlier and thought it would be good on a salad but they were all gone.  I wasn’t a fan of the other choices as I was really craving vegetables.  We went down one deck to the restaurant and ordered a king crab appetizer and lobster ravioli.  The appetizer was good but the ravioli were not edible.  They were super salty as well as strangely fishy tasting.  Chris suggested the regular buffet as I enjoyed it yesterday but it was a madhouse.  I just wanted food now at this point and decided to order room service.  I also wanted to play more UDog as I was addicted.  We grabbed some drinks from and lounge and was off to our cabin where we ordered chips and salsa, and pizza.  The order came quickly and the butler who brought it saw the decorations in the room and said, “Oh it’s a party!”  The chips and salsa were not what I expected as the salsa was sweet chili sauce but the pizza was on point.  Our butler showed up while we were still enjoying the food and our game with our daily treat.  He asked if we wanted more drinks and he brought another round for us.  This is one very nice perk because on NCL the butlers will only bring drinks for a charge.  It turned out to be a fun time in the cabin even if Joe and I lost to Ammie and Chris!  

Tonight was the Gala Night dinner so we dressed up for the evening.  We met at the bar in the Yacht Club tonight as we had not sat there much at all.  We watched the sunset and I could not help but think the sun was setting on this cruise as well with only one more day ahead of us.  We went upstairs to the Yacht Club restaurant for dinner after we finished our drinks.

The Gala Night menu was not quite what I expected as I assumed there would be lobster offered.  It was not the fanciest of menus for a “gala.”  Most of us tried the shrimp cocktail and once again the shrimp were not the best.  Ammie wanted horseradish and our server returned with a giant jar.  We all tried the shellfish bisque which was not very flavorful and very difficult to find any shellfish.  For our mains, Ammie went with the salmon again.  Chris had the potato gnocchi and Joe had the fillet of beef Rossini.  I was really scared to order the beef so I went with the shrimps on lime-flavored rice cream.  The waiter tried to make me switch and that was worrisome and I probably should have ordered the vegetarian strudel instead.  No one really raved about their entrees and I hated mine.  The shrimp were once again this mushy texture.  It must be the quality of the shrimp they are using which is surprising since the shrimp in Barcelona were amazing!  We had the same waiter as our anniversary night as he wanted to bring me another dish but everyone else was almost done.  He did bring some grilled vegetables for me but they were pretty bad especially the eggplant which was spongy and tasteless.  We ordered a truffle risotto for the table but it was very rich tasting with lots of truffle oil flavor.  I am not sure who could eat a whole portion of that.  Dessert was better as Chris had the ice cream pyramid which was like Baked Alaska and I had the After Eight Sensation.  Ammie had some ice cream and Joe skipped dessert becuase he wanted to try the gelato.  I cannot really say today was a very “gala” day for food in the Yacht Club and when it is billed as such its all the more disappointing.  

We spent the rest of the evening in our usual corner of the Yacht Club lounge.   Chris and I danced some rumba, cha cha and even one hustle.  It seems as if Alberto learned a few new songs to play.  He even played Ammie’s request of Bella Ciao made popular by Money Heist.  He did a fantastic rendition of the song.  While not everything was outstanding today, it was still a great day.  I shared lots of laughs with three of my favorite people, my travel buddies who I adore.  We have made so many memories so far and I know tomorrow we will make even more in Palma de Mallorca.