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Page 3 of 10 |
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Page 3 of 10 |
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Our day at
sea sees us getting up bright and early. After a hectic breakfast at the Garden Café we head up to the
Pool Deck. Hit the deck! |
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Sapphire Pools |
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With its über-tacky
palm trees, brightly colored gazebo and water slide, the
Sapphire Pool Deck is buzzing - even at this early hour. With
the
forward pool designated as adults-only, the many families on
board congregate around the aft pool that faces the Pool Bar.
And in
true NCL fashion, there is even a "Poolside Casino"!
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Blue funnel
and blue sky |
Sports Court |
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I am
pleasantly surprised to see that there is enough space for us in the
sun, even on a fully booked ship.
True, the Pool Deck is crowded, but one deck higher deck
chairs are always available. And for a relatively quiet
sun seeking session you can ascend to deck 14 where
there's more space and less bustle. |
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Sapphire
Pools |
Time
for wine |
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Performing
every afternoon is Uprysin, the ships, resident Calypso Band.
At all other hours, the same 30-minute tape is played. Over
and over again. It's time to bring out the MP3 player! |
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Beautiful
sunset |
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Just before
lunch clouds drift in and liquid sunshine starts falling down.
People flock to the Garden Café in droves, making the place
look like the cafeteria of your local IKEA store on a Saturday. It's too bad that the overcrowding makes us forget that
the food served in the Garden Café is in in fact really, really
good! |
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It's not
until late in the afternoon that we see a speck of blue sky
again. With the outside temperature hovering around 81F/28C,
we are out on our balcony reading a book and enjoying a drink from
our in-stateroom
mini bar. Relax! |
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Le Bistro |
Le
Bistro |
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After
watching the spectacular sunset from our balcony we dress for
dinner and set the dial next to our cabin door to "Turn Down
Cabin" so that our personable Cabin Attendant Wilma ("Wilmaaaa!")
from the Philippines can decorate our cabin
with a variety of towel animals. |
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Le Bistro |
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We
have made reservations at Le Bistro, NCL's French specialty
restaurant. Located amidships on deck 6, Le Bistro has an Art
Nouveau feel to it with its deep red velvet banquettes, French
inspired artwork and
subdued lighting. |
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Versace
plate |
Mushroom soup |
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At Le
Bistro we clearly see the Freestyle Cruising concept at work. At the table
next to ours, two couples are having dinner together. Halfway
through dinner, their children come in. The kids obviously
have enjoyed their dinner elsewhere. Probably somewhere where
they served burger and fries instead of frog legs! |
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Shrimp-crusted
salmon |
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Having a
French sister in law who is a very talented cook makes me spoilt for life
when it comes to authentic French cuisine. After having dinner
at Le Bistro, my conclusion is that NCL serves French food "à
la American". My starter of scallops and crab is humongous,
hardly leaving any room for more food. Still, I do manage to spoon
out mushroom soup out of a loaf of bread before
getting in trouble with the shrimp-crusted salmon. Not having
the guts to say no to dessert, I manage to digest a divine warm Tarte Tatin
with vanilla ice cream. Phew! |
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