Day 1:
After traveling Hyderabad-Bangalore-Paris, we finally arrived in Barcelona. It was nice to back and just like last year, the airport was filled with teenagers from all over Europe (not sure if this is spring break season or similar).
We finally arrived at the port to board the 'Voyager of the Seas' at around 3:00pm. With a capacity of 3,114 passengers, a total crew of 1,181 and 15 decks (aka floors), the Voyager of the Seas was the world's largest passenger ship when it undertook it's maiden voyage in 1999 with many of the world's 'first to be on a ship feature' such as an ice skating rink. Today, it is the world's 5th largest passenger ship. This is my first cruise vacation ever and I did go wow as I saw my ship and how the other passenger ships on the dock were dwarfed by the size of the 'Voyager of the Seas.'
The stateroom is small but comfortable (and to think this is one of the bigger rooms). The best part of the room is that it has its own private sea-facing balcony.
After checking in, proceeded for lunch. Though the food selection was grand, for a vegeterian, it is the usual battle. The saving grace was the huge selection of fresh fruit from apples to kiwis.
Per international law, it is mandatory for a passenger ship to have a full-scale mandatory mock emergency drill pior to depature, so I also got the taste of the ship's emergency sirens and experience a 4,000 capacity ship evacuating itself during an emergency.
I spent the rest of the evening walking along the ship and surveying its many offergs and booking my shore excursions (of which I will write in the days to come). The night plan was to visit the nightclub on deck 3 for a champagne party but I came down with fever and had to sleep the night out. We will be at sea all day tomorrow as we sail towards our first port of call.
Day 2:
Today is going to be all day at sea. Got up and headed for a super breakfast. For us vegeterians, the breakfast is the best meal of the day. I moved on to the spa for an 'Ocean Wrap Massage.' This is the most unique massage I have ever had. The massage includes the use of seaweed for a full body massage. You feel very warm when the seaweed is applied and then suddenly cold and then you are covered in some kind of foil to keep you warm while other ocean treatments are applied. Overall, it lasts 2 hours and when you come out your skin feels super soft. Strangely, my cold disappeared after the massage (lets see if it hits back soon). They also had acupuncture massages but I am not yet comfortable with needles poking my body.
I moved on for lunch followed by an ice show called the 'Ice Odyssey' starring multiple international skating champions from Russia to the United States. This was the first time I have seen a live ice skating performance and it was amazing to see the kind of acrobatics and dances these artists do on skates.
Next target was to spend some time sunbathing on the upper deck. After spending 3 1/2 years sitting 9 hours a day in a super cold, air conditioned office devoid of any natural sunlight, it feels great to spend a couple of hours straight basking in the warm sun (which s not the harsh kind of intense sunlight) while experiencing fresh, unpolluted, breezy air and just seeing yourself sailing in deep blue water (it's not crystal clear though as in you cannot see through the water) with no land in sight. Oh and while I was on the top deck wearing a t-shirt and shorts, I still found myself feeling way over dressed. It was also a wonderful sight to see fellow guests just sitting and relaxing, reading books, listening to music, napping away, enjoying a drink at the sky bar or jogging away on the jogging track (all on the same deck!). The couple of hours here were much more relaxing than doing the same at a beach.
We are going to have the captain's dinner in the evening followed by which I will be heading to 'The Vault Bar,' one of the nightclubs on the ship. The ship has many night joints and my OKR (Google lingo, so if you are a non-Googler...please feel jealous!) is to visit every one of them while on the ship. For the statistically inclined, there are a total of 12 bars and lounges on the ship and 7 restaurants (and we haven't even begun talking about the swimming pool, casino, 9 hole miniature golf course etc).
Tomorrow will be our first port to call (won't break the suspense location now!). I miss not having a cheap data connection to mark my visits on FourSquare as and when I go to all the places.
I now sit on my balcony watching the sun set and seeing tons of stars slowly beginning to appear...2 of which are named 'Hadar' and 'Rigel Kentaurus A' according to Google Sky Map, which is an Android exclusive application (Disclaimer: Google did not pay me to type this).
Looking forward to an early but exciting day tomorrow as we hit our first port of call. Stay tuned for more!
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