Crossing the Bering Sea

 Crossing the Bering Sea

September 7, 2022

Yay! Sea day! Time to do a little, a lot or somewhere in between. Perhaps a spa day, a presentation by one of the Discovery Team, time in the Fitness Studio, even a visit to the Bridge. The Captain has an Open Bridge policy so passengers are welcome to pop in and learn a little about operating this vessel. 

There are 145 passengers and 200 crew members on board. That’s better than a 1:1 ratio. I’d heard that the service is sublime and boy is it. It’s not in your face, but suddenly you realize that someone seems to anticipate your needs, answer questions or do little things that make it all a little nicer. Curious to know the name of the birds following us along? Well,  Pablo, the Spanish ornithologist can tell you. What’s the menu going to be at Lumière on Friday night? Michael, the very debonair maître d’ from South Africa will find out in a jiffy. Need something in your stateroom? Dial “1” n your phone and your butler will get it for you. The re-entry  into the real world is going to be painful!

And let us not forget the food. We’ve tried four of the eight restaurants so far. The Azure Cafe has a curated selection of little bites appropriate for the time of day as well as a menu of pizzas, burgers and sandwiches plus a full bar and coffee service. Think Starbucks without the attitude. The Yacht Club is aft with a clear view of where we’ve been. It’s open for breakfast and lunch with a variety of cold and hot dishes, breads, fruits and salads plus desserts and frozen treats made daily. I’m taking one for the team and have volunteered to try a different frozen dessert every day. So far I’ve had pomegranate frozen yogurt, green apple gelato with a drizzle of caramel sauce and guava sorbet. It’s a sacrifice I’ll gladly make. Element is the main dining room open for lunch and dinner ordered from a menu changed daily. Tonight we tried Koko’s for Asian fusion. Delicious. Tomorrow we have dinner reservations at Lumière, the French restaurant. The menu there changes every third day. It’s every other day at Koko’s. It’s sheer bliss not having to plan meals, shop and cook. And that’s going to be another real world re-entry issue.

Just as we were sitting down for dinner on the starboard side, the ship slowed way down as an announcement was made that there was an enormous pod of pin whales and humpbacks on the starboard side. Myrta grabbed her phone and went to that side and came back with pictures of a full rainbow and plumes of water spouted by the whales, looking like little geysers on the horizon. I’m certain we’ll see a lot more marine animal activity in the days ahead. Sooner or later it’ll be on the side of the boat where I’m standing. 

Onward to “The Dutch”