Monday May 14 Day at Sea
How wonderful to be able to sleep in and not have any agenda ashore today. I had been looking forward to this day.
This was the only day at sea on this 7 day cruise, and like most Mediterranean cruises, the ports of call involve a lot of walking and the itinerary is intensive.
It was very windy on the upper decks in the morning so I took the time to write a little bit.
According to the navigation guide we will be passing right by Sardinia and that will be interesting to see.
As it happened I was out on the deck and was able to see Sardinia and Corsica as the ship passed between the two islands.
I talked to a few of the other passengers and enjoyed the breeze blowing and the fresh sea air.
One of the most unique things on the Norwegian Epic is the Ice Bar. It is the only cruise ship that has one but they are very popular in the Scandinavian countries. Since it is such a cool thing (no pun intended) to have on a cruise ship, I wanted to go and so did Sue. It opened at 5:30 and reservations were required since it only holds about 20 people at a time.
The cost is $20 which buys me the privilege of entering a walk-in cooler turned into a bar that is kept at 17 degrees at all times.. The time allotted is 45 minutes and the cost includes two very strong vodka drinks. I had been warned not to wear sandals but instead to wear the warmest things I had, so I had on a sweater plus a jacket and a scarf. The bar provided Sue and me with gloves and capes that had sleeves and hoods with fur. The photo says it all.
It really is a cool concept and I ordered an Apple Blossom vodka drink, followed later by a Seabreeze, vodka, cranberry juice and pomegranate juice I believe. Whatever it was, it was pretty good.
I thought I would be really cold since I live in Florida but it wasn’t so bad, at first. I surprised myself by being able to stay the full time, but after about a half hour it definitely felt cold to me. My hands were freezing even with the gloves.
I had fun though and enjoyed the whole idea of being in a bar where everything was made of ice including the glasses in which the drinks were served. Vodka doesn’t freeze so it’s the perfect thing for an Ice Bar.
There were seats made of ice covered with white furry rugs and the bar was all ice. I though it was ironic that the bartender working there comes from the very warm country of Nicaragua. He was wearing one of those old aviator hats with fur and he looked hilarious. I would recommend trying the Ice Bar at least once just to be able to say at you did.
Later out on the deck I was able to capture the perfect end to the day with an awesome sunset on the Mediterranean.
Tomorrow I will be on the Amalfi Coast, one of my most favorite places in Italy.
imarancher
I remember an ice hotel that was all the thing in the Scandanavian countires. Your bed is a giant ice cube. A real ice cube. Made out of real ice. This is not what I would consider a treat. Not at any age. I would need IV Vodka to stay defrosted! But apparently this is too cool not to do at least once. In my book it is too cool period. But as long as Margie enjoyed it, its a good thing.
Florence
I was going to say something elaborate, but all I could think of “that is so cool”, obviously it fits in more ways than one. The sunset over the Med is so beautiful….