March 20, 2022

As I mentioned yesterday, we had a schedule change to Great Stirrup Cay instead of Bermuda.  We know that the weather in Europe is likely to be in the 60’s so we went out to the beach today. 

We had lovely weather and nice, clear water.  They have large tenders here to get you to the island and we were the only ship anchored here.  This island is next to Coco Cay where the RCL ships go and there were two huge ships over there.  On Great Stirrup we had hundreds of lounge chairs open to us!

Supposedly there was an excursion that was called “swimming with the pigs” but we didn’t sign up for it nor did we see any actual pigs!

There was, however, a tower that I thought was a lighthouse but it was actually used as part of a zip line (I don’t do those either) but a few intrepid people were up there and zipping around!  The painting on the tower was done by Guy Harvey.

The covid restrictions have been loosened on the ship and also on this island.  The crew are still wearing masks but we are told that as soon as all are boosted they can remove them.  They say that will be soon, probably on this cruise.  Masks are optional for passengers and some wear them but most do not. This was on the walkway on the island.

After our return from the island, I went to the spa and enjoyed a rest on one of the heated tile loungers.  I want one of these at home!

Dinner was in Jacques, the specialty restaurant named after the executive chef of the cruise line, Jacques Pepin.  They only have this one on the larger ships.  On our world cruises on the Insignia, they had some items from Jacques on the main dining room menu and they were always excellent. We shared a table with a woman from Manhattan and a couple from Edmonton Canada and had a delightful time.  This is the crab salad appetizer and we both had a special fresh caught sea bream for the main course.  They were making crepes Suzette for dessert so we had to have that too.  Delicious!

Entertainer tonight was a singer – Michelle Montuori.  She has a nice voice and is quite funny.

There are about 950 passengers on board – the ship capacity is 1250.  Nothing seems crowded and we have met several passengers and quite a few crew members that we know from our previous trips.

Of course I visited the casino and so far, so good.

6 days at sea await and there are plenty of things to do.  This ship has a culinary center where you do the actual cooking and then get to eat what you make.  I hope to get into some of those classes. 

I will post on the sea days if there is something interesting to say, otherwise I will do one larger sea day posting.  We arrive in Ponta Delgada (Azores) on March 27. My friend Tori has sent me detailed weather information and maps and confirms that the weather the captain is avoiding near Bermuda is likely to make for a bumpy early part of the Atlantic crossing, so we will see. Thanks, Tori, for keeping us the most up to date with the weather!