Celtic Sea

As we enter the northern edge of the Bay of Biscay …

We got a good night’s rest with little noticeable motion of the ocean. Mui, as usual, was up way early and went for an Americano (or two) at Café al Bacio … specialty coffees and teas are an included perk for passengers who have reached Elite+ level in the Captain’s Club. I forced myself to stay abed until 7:00a.

Normally, we prefer to grab breakfast on the terrace outside the Oceanview Café. However, since it was quite chilly outside — low 50F range … with strong winds against which the outer decks were off-limits to passengers — we treated ourselves to breakfast at the Grand Cuvée instead.

After our morning meal, we climbed the stairs — 9 flights — up to the pool deck. With the weather chilly, the outdoor pool was deserted, but there were a number of people in the covered Solarium despite the early hour. We weren’t there to swim, however. Rather, I just wanted to pick up some wool lap blankets to use on the veranda on chilly days like today.

We were in the reception area on deck 3 when Capt G came on the P/A for his 9:45a daily announcement. The bottomline is that we are following behind a storm today (probably one reason for the delayed departure yesterday) and hope to get ahead of another west-to-east storm that is expected to impact our sailing tomorrow.

Aside from walking around all the public decks — both to re-familiarize ourselves with Silhouette and to get some exercise — we spent the day at home, so to speak. There are a lot of activities in which we could participate. But our plan is to stay away from the crowds as much as possible. After all, COVID-19 is still a “real thing” even if the pandemic is considered over. Mui did venture out to watch today’s matinee movie — “Downton Abbey: A New Era” — but seeing the movie a second time wasn’t enough of a lure to get me to part with the veranda … even if I did have to bundle up with wool blankets.

With so many Captain’s Club’s members aboard — we heard over 1,000 Elite+ alone — the Captain’s Club Cocktail Hour (another included perk for us) is not being held in a specific lounge on this cruise. Rather, one can go to just about any bar, present key cards, and get drinks at no charge between 5:00-7:00p. Mui got us some red wine and we drank it in our stateroom with the snacks we brought along.

Since we wanted to see the 7:00p show, dinner tonight was a quick bite at the Oceanview Café instead of taking the time to dine at the Grand Cuvée. This will likely be our modus operandi when we want to attend the early show instead of going to the one at 9:00p.

Tonight’s headliner was Jayne Curry, a vocalist from the UK. Her show was a mix of comedy and music. The woman has great stage presence and great “pipes.” Attendance at tonight’s show was light, but I would bet that will change as word gets out. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that the side-view seating area on the deck 4 balcony will remain fairly unoccupied so we can stay away from the crowds.

The second day of our cruise is thus wrapped up. It was a jiggly day for sure … especially later in the afternoon when the motion of the ocean became quite noticeable. Tonight there’s quite a bit of banging and clanging against the hull as Silhouette cleaves through the waves. That said, the ship is handling the conditions pretty well. What tomorrow will bring is TBD.Read more