jollyjones

For Dr Ron - walking two lengths - ie stern to bow to stern - of each of the four passenger decks plus the stairs in between comes to about two and a half thousand steps. That's according to my phone, not sure I entirely trust it, I'll probably pace out one length and count it manually. Decks 8 and 9 are slightly shorter but only by a few paces. And for rojann - while I seldom eat meat, on my first dinner in La T I indulged in lamb chops - the plate held three plump juicy tender and delicious chops - you would have loved them! Even the spinach underneath them was cooked al dente rather than the usual slightly slimy overcook. La T being down on Deck 4 is slightly less bright and cheerful than it is on other ships up on Deck 7, but otherwise I have found it to be excellent. I eat lunch there often and have had dinner twice so far and am looking forward to more - so far everything I have chosen has been well cooked (or well presented for the raw stuff), and has been of good quality and delicious. I'm guessing flyers, whose experience differs, chooses different dishes - I am not vegetarian but choose mostly fish or vegetarian options because that is what I prefer. I don't eat beef, so much of the general angst that I read about the quality of steaks or burgers completely passes me by. I haven't made it down to Atlantide for dinner yet so can't comment on the relative merits vis a vis La T. Now I must bring my attention back to today - we are just approaching the entrance to the Canal, passing Colon to port, I'm looking forward to an interesting, albeit very warm and humid, day!

Back to random observations about the ship ... (to other posters, please do continue to join in even if we do go wandering off down highways and byways, it's all great fun) Today's observation is how grateful I am that the SALT bar has been raised from the dungeons of Deck 4 up to the rarified air and expansive views of Deck 10. I did once enjoy a delicious cocktail in the SALT bar on the Dawn and would have liked to repeat the experience, but the room was just too small, dark and crowded for me - it induced stirrings of claustrophobia. Now I can enjoy Interesting Drinks and a wonderful Panorama which is a big bonus because the Panorama lounge ain't wot it used to be - more about that on another day. A simple SALT G&T:

Sorry! I was ashore yesterday and, being a person who enjoys her own company I usually gravitate toward the less populated areas of the ship. But this is a long enough cruise, I'm sure we'll bump into each other sometime.

And I think the amount they put in is too much - I have considered asking for no chili flakes but have suspected that’s not possible. Reminds me of les37b and myself re the Muse - he found the food in Indochine to be too bland, I struggled with it as being painfully over spiced. Chili (capsaicin) is sensed in the mouth by the pain receptors - I don’t understand the attraction of food that hurts.

I’m coming to that Lois, but, sadly, no.

I bet you could find me if you try - both les37b and Stumbles managed it first go on cruises long past. (Where are you both? We miss you) I’ll be found strolling the ship solo clutching my trusty iPad and a real book, I’ve short white/grey hair and red rimmed glasses, and - no getting round it - I’m not as slim as I was. More clues in due course if that’s insufficient. Life’s a game, after all. Let’s all enjoy. PS - BTW the duck pasta thing in La T has been rubbish for years - do not let your eyes settle for even a nanosecond on that menu option. It was once good but it is time for that myth to curl up in a corner and die of shame. Maybe the mid-cruise questionnaire would be a vehicle to suggest that? Again.

Instalment the next … To begin at the bottom - Deck 3 - where one will find Atlantide side by side by SALT. Last night I planned to eat at one of these venues so I thought I would try a pre-dinner tipple in the Shelter - an attractive semi circular room on the for’ard side of the huge empty area around the aft stairs. I had been down there earlier to sit in what appeared to be some comfy chairs (they are), but there was a rather loud speed Sudoko competition going on so I retreated rapidly. Upon my evening return, I could see that it is the ante room to the other Deck 3 facility - the toilets - and so it is a completely logical design choice that it is The Place for sophisticated and soignee souls to sink serious dosh buying posh champagne. Being but an ‘umble person (who had to look up the spelling of soignee), I opted for the house champagne which was about to be delivered on a silver tray when CRASH came the sound as a mobility scooter exiting the aforementioned facility somehow tumbled over. I drifted thataway to see if urgent help was required but the need was mechanical, not medical, so I retreated. Help was summoned, the situation saved, peace was restored and my silver tray arrived. It really is a beautiful bar, I will be back. At about 8.20pm I wandered to the restaurants which were of course both busy, the rush of early eaters still eating, (I’m not deliberately awkward, it just works out that way), but the Maitre’d in SALT found me a perfect table and I enjoyed one of the best meals I have ever eaten on SS. I’ll come back to food in another instalment, but suffice it to say that so far every morsel of every meal I have eaten on this ship has been good, great or best … no, sorry, I lie, the French fries at lunch in the Marquee are a bit skinny for my taste ... but otherwise it's all good.

That's why my cabin is on Deck 6! However, this ship is seriously stable. Admittedly the sea hasn't been very lumpy yet but it's a good job there's huge windows everywhere or it could be difficult to believe we're sailing the ocean blue. And it is blue ... and beautiful.

Having 9082 in the foreground was a bit of a giveaway, but full marks. My first thought on viewing these long corridors was OMG, I'm back on a mainstream ship. But they're not that bad. I love 'em because if I get too close to a 'fitness centre' I have an overcoming and have to go lie down till it passes, but I do like to walk. There is a perfectly good walking track up on Deck 10 but it goes through the Dusk Bar, my favourite, which whispers the siren song of temptation on every lap. And if it's too cold, wet, hot, humid, wobbly or whatever, I like to walk indoors along the corridors so these are perfect for me, the other ships are too short. I haven't counted the steps yet but I bet up and back once each on decks 6, 7, 8 and 9 might even be enough for Dr Ron. Or maybe twice.

And your starter for ten: Where am I?

And back to Chris's original post - here on the Nova there is no touching serving utensils yourself in La T for lunch, you are served by a crew member. Who, one has to hope, has put clean gloves on not too long ago and hasn't touched anything dodgy without changing their gloves. One hopes. And the public areas are being wiped down a lot - elevator panels (there are no buttons), stair rails, chairs, all sorts of things. After the lecture this morning a crew member came round the theatre and sprayed something on all the seats and surfaces. The library is still closed 'for extra sanitation' - dunno what, probably waiting for any virus to wither and die of old age. Hope it does before I do, I'd like to look at some books. No-one seems worried although there are some people wearing facemasks, I presume they are still concerned about Covid. Hope no-one has H5N1. But Captain Samuele appears in a good mood and very cheerful so mebbe all is well.

Yes. They knew it didn't work against Noro. It was PR and CYA. (Since this is the acronym thread)

But how does the comparison work if you are a solo? If I see a Seabourn cruise that interests me, I look at the solo pricing and turn away fast.

Wow, am I at a disadvantage! Having cruised exclusively on the Moon and Dawn recently - seven times in the past couple of years - I thought I knew every inch of those ships and was sure I just had to figure out where they'd moved things to on the Nova and I'd be home free. Wrong. Ah, hubris! This is the Through the Looking Glass ship, it's sort of the same but at the same time, it's all completely different. When they called her the Nova, they meant it so much more that we realised. Now I've got to forget all I knew and start again, it's a good job this is a 23 day cruise, it may take me that long to properly understand the underlying dynamics of the spaces and activities and people flow in the little village that this cruise ship is, and find out how I fit in. Don't think I am disturbed by this, it'll be an exciting adventure, and so far I am very happy; all my meals have been well cooked from quality ingredients and well presented, both the Dusk bar and the Salt bar have served me perfect cocktails, the crew have been unfailingly efficient and smiling despite what must have been a very difficult turnaround day for them, and my team came third in Trivia. (OK, full disclosure - third equal with six other teams). With so many sea days Trivia is a serious business on this cruise. Well, isn't it always. But what are all these differences to which you allude, you ask?? I think they will have to come in future instalments, there is so much to get my head around first and I do want to try and get it right. My goodness, don't I sound pretentious!! Just follow the other thread by flyers if I am annoying, but I know there's some other solos out there who are interested and there's no doubt that the solo's impression and experience of cruising may differ markedly from that of couples or groups. To be continued ...

Everywhere - schools, care homes, restaurants, hospitals etc etc - suffer from norovirus outbreaks, particularly in the winter. Cruise ships are obliged to report outbreaks when they rise above a certain percentage of pax or crew so they appear more in the news. Clickbait.