Noggins

We ate well in Marble, a venue with quite a different look to any other, so far. It is definitely a more masculine look with less soft furnishings and luxury finishes. It's a style that suits the steak house nature of the restaurant. We were on a 2 top in a 'room' that had 4 2 tops along each of 2 sides of the room. It was Brits on one side and US on the other! The US side were actually a group and their 4 tables were pushed together. On our side we were close enough to converse with all our neighbours. Whilst we ate well, we wonder how we'll find anything different for a second visit. And this is going to be an increasing problem if the menus are never going to change. (Admittedly this is a bigger problem if your dietary choices / requirements rules out sections of the menu. Plant based dishes are there but they are few and far between.) There has been some slight motion in the night and this morning there is a fair amount of water on our terrace. Our host / steward warned us that the hot tub way above us sloshes water onto the extended terraces on deck 6. 💦 That's something to watch out for if you're out there relaxing in the sun! I'm braced for someone telling me the show was amazing. Unfortunately E has not been too well and couldn't summon the stamina for a 'late' night. (She's slept much better, so perhaps is now on the mend.) Second sea day today. The plan is breakfast in Emporium, then lecture, a bit of exercise and start my second book. There's nothing like a cruise to get back into books!

Darn it! I knew we'd regret giving in to exhaustion and missing the show last night! (sounds like no ABBA too....? 😎) Marble & Co for us tonight. Possibly an odd choice for non meat eaters so we might smuggle a sandwich in - just in case of emergencies. All being well we will manage to get to the late show.

Thanks Mike how interesting. And, please, contribute anytime! To Terry's comment, perhaps I'm giving the wrong impression - overall we're super impressed. But when you're just 2 I do believe you experience cruises differently to when you're in a group. In a group so much more of your 'bandwidth of attention' is taken up that you notice any glitches less. Well, that's my experience. Today we sat at the same table for lunch in Emporium as we did on that first lunchtime. It was not busy and the staff knew exactly what they were doing. The problem that first day was probably that they were being asked to perform beyond what was physically possible and, although looking on, their supervisors were failing to step in and help. Something good supervisors do unthinkingly! Unfortunately double dessert at lunchtime means i must break the promise to return for afternoon tea this today.... Tomorrow, perhaps. We've not had trouble finding shade today, the lecture on Churchill was very good and champagne time is not far off - so all is good. 🍾🥂

The OJ is 'subject to availability '. The evening show is now being repeated at 10.15 on the current cruise. I always think that's tough on the artists but it is very helpful.

Breakfast was Fil Rouge - the equivalent of a main dining room breakfast. Except the room is not like a MDR. Low ceiling, space broken up into multiple small sections. Very nice, very comfortable. Unfortunately minor, easily fixable issues mar the experience. (And we weren't alone - the neighbouring table was returning items. So it's not just us being fussy Brits!) Our order was taken and tasteless coffee delivered. This was replaced with lukewarm cappachino. Good smoothies and fruit were followed by scrambled egg with a side of rosti, grilled tomato and mushrooms. This is what came. Not unpleasant but just not what I expected. Our other main dish was grilled tomato and mushrooms and camembert like this... Well, it won't happen again as next time I'll know what to specify. And you know too now. I thank you..... (😎) Another sign of inexperience was the CD / entertainment manager having to make a ship wide announcement as to what the time was. They hadn't realised that everyone's phones would update and move an hour forward overnight whilst the ship has chosen to make that move tonight instead. Why? I'm not sure how many people enjoyed an unnecessarily early breakfast this Sunday morning.... (Mother's Day too - but maybe that's just a UK day / date?)

This appeared in the room yesterday. Of course , my first thought is that they're on to me and this was a compensatory gift after tea-gate. Or perhaps a thank you for saying largely nice things on CC. Then it dawned on me that perhaps everyone got one....

Yes, there is a daily programme. First of 2 seats days today. First enrichment lecture (which somehow doesn't make the front 'highlights' listing). Also something new for tonight's entertainment. Last night was a repeat (artist wise) of the first night. We didn't go - but only because we ran out of energy. Now, where for breakfast.....🤔 Oh and we picked up on the grapevine last night that there's a special multi course / paired wine event today - in the Emporium ('buffet') at, wait for it, 11am. That seems odd. There's an upcharge but I don't recall the exact figure. It's not clear who is being invited to attend but as there are probably few seats available that might explain why most people will never get to know about it. For the avoidance of doubt, we weren't 'invited'!

This evening we ate in the Yacht Club - no reservation necessary, Med style menu. We had an excellent meal, high quality ingredients (you felt) well cooked and expertly presented. The wait staff did a great job too. The room is elegant, low ceilinged and with a nice atmosphere. We were reminded that just a bit of sorting in some areas around the ship and this could be a devastatingly good product. It just needs some more experienced staff on the ground training and overseeing operations. A few of tonight's dishes....

Whilst I remember - suite breakfast menu....

Oh dear, afternoon tea has been a minor disaster. The lounge was quiet, plenty of nicely set up tables. We were quickly furnished with a quality tea bag and a few minutes later by teapots of lukewarm water. The worst possible cup of tea slowly emerged - but no sightings of the trolley that bears the other vital elements of afternoon tea We gave up and started to walk out only to come face to face with the idle trolley surrounded by chatting staff. We provided a little constructive feedback (were asked for our room number 😬) and went on our way, promising to give it another go tomorrow (with promised BOILING water!) Fortunately we were able to initiate a very satisfactory Plan B....

Funnily enough, Terry, I've been planning to comment on this and the wider subject of access. When I took my mobility challenged mum on a (Crystal) cruise a few years ago I had my eyes opened wider to the simple things that had the potential to become significant challenges if you either relied on wheels or had knees that struggle. If the designers of this ship were told to always consider the needs of our mobility challenged guests then I'd be surprised. It's not just that many of the chairs, benches, sofas etc are low it is the surprising number of steps that exist where no ship normally has steps. It does make for more interesting design but it must be presenting challenges to some guests. Even the unwary can be caught out. We witnessed one lady last night take quite a fall last night, tripping on a step that whilst lit wasn't entirely obvious. There are mobility challenged guests on board and perhaps I should break out my clipboard and interview a selection to see what they say. But, sorry, I'm on holiday so unless I have a chance conversation with someone this is probably all I've got on the subject. Maybe a couple of photos of some of the most surprising locations where steps exist.... Meanwhile I'm going to pop up and down out of low chairs just because I can. At the moment.....

Good thought. Perhaps there were a lot of 'day pass' guests on board that made it such a scrum.

CC was playing up earlier which prevented a more timely breakfast update. Seems to have sorted itself now. Last night we decided not to risk a first morning breakfast bun fight in the buffet so ordered in-room breakfast from the pretty impressive menu. (I'll post a copy later). We still took the opportunity of an 'early' additional explore of the ship and passed through the buffet in rush hour. Of course, it was calm and running well under capacity 🙄 Breakfast soon arrived after our return to the room. The photo illustrates how EJ serves an in-room breakfast..... Quality was fine with the exception of the coffee the smell of which took me back to those huge urns of coffee that used to be used at large conference venues. If I didn't know better I'd have been certain acorns were an active ingredient. Shoreside we made a rookie error of forgetting a photo ID so had to return for that before a leisurely stroll to the beach. Unfortunately seaweed rather spoils the swimming scene. Otherwise Key West retains a charm all of it's own. (And Sloppy Joe's manages to draw in a remarkable crowd even quite early in the day.) Back on board it's very quiet - as you'd expect. A recci for a shady spot confirms it helps to be a lover of lying in the full sun on this ship. Jumping back to our further exploration this morning, it turns out we had missed quite a few features yesterday. Hardly surprising as what the designers have done so well is to create very many small public spaces with different furniture and features. It is very well done, very classy - and is going to be very expensive to maintain in tip top condition. The closest comparison I can make is to Silver Dawn. EJ blows that ship out of the water (lovely though it is) on the hardware front.

If there were, Maggie, they kept very quiet about them! Crema, the coffee shop (small bites) was open - and rammed.

That's very kind, Ivi but my experience pales against Terry's - and yours! (My EJ take is gradually emerging over on the EJ board.) Adrian

And I'll see if I disagree with anything you say, Terry! We are just starting day 2 on EJ. Obviously I've been following along - how many days before your next cruise starts? 5 or 6?! Adrian

I intended to post at the end of last evening but the WiFi had disappeared from our room. It hadn't returned this morning - until a phone restart when it reappeared. Never had that happen before. Sakura.... Yes we will definitely go back there. The food was excellent and up there with the very best cruise ship food. We had sushi as a starter and I ordered soup as an extra course. Oddly, within moments of ordering it appeared as if that needed to be got out the way to get the meal between us back in sync. Not a problem (the soup was beautiful) just a little unexpected. The Tonka bean mousse dessert was very artful but rather lacking in flavour (unless the Thai green curry had temporarily dulled my taste buds). The main thing missing in the restaurant was a sense of theatre and a real sense of 'luxe'. Probably only noticed because we were dining as 2. (That said we fell into conversation with the neighbouring 2 top and ended up almost as if we were a table of 4) After dinner we went to the 'show lounge ' for an ' introduction to your entertainers for this cruise '. It was the 3 piece band (talented guys that could only be improved by having a brass and a woodwind section) and the two resident vocalists - both of whom have great voices. There were maybe 40 people in the audience - so little atmosphere. And it was a shame the final number had to be bl**dy ABBA. I thought EJ wanted to do things differently??!! Back to the room and this on the bed. Setting the bar for recognising just how many 'Days' in the year?! We have just arrived in Key West. More later. (sorry, I've lost the knack of separating photos...)

Stop press. Last cruise 760 guests This cruise 420 guests. Allegedly. (wow, and such a zoo at lunchtime with 420 total 🤔)

Brief exploration complete. The hardware is indeed impressive. Nice to see such a selection of outdoor bars and the seating/ loungers everywhere are of very high quality. Clearly there are some prime spots which are bound to be sought after.... Looking forward to experiencing how it all works and how the staff / crew / hosts (use your preferred terminology) deliver the product. By the way, the muster drill was nothing more than having your card scanned and you were sent on your way. (Obviously you were required to watch a video too) Sailaway shortly!

Miami is a long way from London and I was glad I wasn't driving. Virgin looked after us well on a 350 and we shot through immigration. But our car wasn't waiting and that caused a fair bit of aggravation getting that unravelled. The hotel was fine except for the previous guests 2am alarm. At least we didn't have to go and stand outside. Which takes us to EJ - which is what we're here for! A few hits and misses so far. We were immediately approached by a porter as our car drew up. Our paper labels were stapled on (no sign of the promised wallets) and we were asked for a tip. Now I know all about the US love affair with tips but I just didn't feel that was a very classy start. Whisked through security and up to check in where we were invited to sit and wait. Others arrived after us and were quickly taken to check-in podiums. To be fair we weren't left waiting long. We checked in on the button of our assigned time and we're onboard in minutes. A glass of champagne was immediately proffered and we were encouraged up to deck 11 for lunch. It was a complete zoo. No one made any attempt to attend to us and even the maitre d had a blank expression when we explained we were searching for somewhere to sit. A colleague eventually came up trumps but 10 minutes later we still had no water, no cutlery etc. It was not a great experience. However, the food offerings were very good and we didn't leave hungry. Our room was ready and is very impressive. We're part way through an explore but a beer has waylaid me. We have a booking for Sakura tonight. There was no reminder in our room but a visit to the specialty dining desk solved that question. Muster at 5 - and we have dutifully watched the video and logged that. Laters....

If you thought the Sofitel was the only decent on-site hotel at Heathrow you'd be wrong. The Hilton comperes pretty well - and has an excellent 14th floor sky bar with excellent food (small menu). However, who knew you could have this much excitement at 2am when the fire alarm goes off.....? 🤦

Leg one complete - and with enough small glitches to make us glad we travelled today with time to spare. We needed it! If what happened today (slow check-in, rammed lounge due to delays and very slow luggage delivery) happened tomorrow we'd have been a bit hot 'n' bothered and in a mad rush to make the flight. All that said today's flight itself came with included welcome 'relaxant'.... And the Hilton Garden Inn appears to have all that we need for one night. And in the time since we arrived at Heathrow we've seen more people than we've seen in total in the last 6 months in Scotland!

When you have to leave home on Wednesday morning to get to your cruise ship for lunchtime on Friday you know you've got quite a journey in front of you. Why do we do that when we could leave for a Med cruise on the day of departure? Simpler, cheaper and for, maybe, more interesting destinations and ports. Historically the answer would always have been something to do with the journey being a part of the holiday - as enjoyable but in a different way. Along came COVID and travel took on a mantle of at first disappearing altogether and then becoming so unpredictable and painful that it became something to endure rather than to enjoy. Perhaps we have moved on from that now - although the memories have not entirely faded. The plan is to properly enjoy this journey. It is designed to be unrushed and comfortable. In fact it is even less rushed than planned as a result of Virgin changing their flight times. We could have avoided an overnight in London. (And we should have arrived in Miami in time to enjoy an evening rather than have a late evening arrival.) But this way we have no early morning starts, plenty of time to enjoy the Virgin Clubhouse tomorrow and plenty of time to shop for essentials that we might have remembered we left at home..... All we can hope for now is that things run to plan. 🤞 Oh and why the Caribbean? Because we rather like it and it makes a very nice contrast to the Med. - especially when your plan is for a lazy relaxing holiday. Adrian

Hi Chris & Heather. Goodness, and I thought we had moved a long way from 'home'! Yes, let's meet for a drink. It's not unusual for us to be found in a bar... As for trivia, we have a phenomenal amount of knowledge across a wide range of subjects. Unfortunately we have yet to stumble across a quiz master that recognises that these particular parcels of knowledge exist. Consequently we have come to spare ourselves the inevitable embarrassment. Hi Terry - thanks and I will speak as I find - promise! As for kilts, my less formal 'country casual' kilt requires braces - an odd look - and thus will not travel with me. I'll stick to my plus fours. Incidentally, my mother's side of the family were Grants - Clan Grant could be quite a feisty lot (and possibly explains one or two of my own characteristics...). The Grant tartans are very fine. Hi Colin - thanks. Shirt sleeves and sunshine here today. You've got quite the wrong idea about Scotland! We're looking forward to meeting our butler and room steward..... Folk have reported various issues regarding the EJ website / booking process etc. We too have had a few issues, in particular at the check in point. Our ever helpful TA untangled that but we still ended up with an unexpected telephone call with EJ. That said they did efficiently organise our 2 pre-booked dining options. I know it is the modern way but I do still miss the executive style box arriving in the post with a wonderful zipped wallet containing lots of nicely published documents and personalised luggage labels. (some of the old robust Silversea boxes now sit proudly in my workshop marked up 'spanners') I managed to print off the EJ documents twice. First off was after I had finally checked in and then again a few days later when our TA reported that we had been moved from the OT we had booked to four doors down and to a GT version (low slung bed and stripes on the walls?). Once I had completed the second printing I realised I had failed to notice reference to a different room number to the one booked the first time of printing. 🤦‍♂️ The only other comment I would make about the booking is that when we booked it was not a cruise with a 7/10/17 day set of options. Yes, a bit like B2B's but will we pick up the feel of significant numbers 'already there and in the groove'? So there we are, time to think about packing. The cat used to pick up very quickly on the emergence of suitcases. Unfortunately he's not too well and doesn't seem too bothered about anything. Because of that we cancelled the house sitter and family members have taken on the role of being his carers whilst we are away. (Is it futile to hope they will be as willing to adopt such a role when I'm the one needing it.....?) Oh, quick question. As UK citizens we need an ESTA to enter the USA. Our current ESTA's are good until 11/3 (3/11), so fine for entering the USA in Miami on the 7th. Is it possible EJ will take an interest and require us to have an indate ESTA through until the end - even though we don't re-enter the US at any point? Anyone have any thoughts? Adrian