Pampering and Rest

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Geo: 59.235, 4.34509

This cruise was very port-intensive, and this is what we wanted. Unlike on a Caribbean cruise -- when I really enjoy days at sea -- the ship was really a means to an end, and with the cool temperatures, it's not as though we were going to be sitting out by the pool all day. This day -- Monday -- was our sea day, while we made the fairly long voyage up along the western coast of Norway to our northern-most destination, from which we would then stair-step our way back down again.

With her body clock out of kilter -- and a teenager's appetite -- Anna was up before 4:00am. I, too was up early, and she and I decided to throw on some clothes at 6:00am and head up for an early breakfast. K was zonked from the trip, and with no reason to get up -- save for appointments Anna and K had for massages in the spa after lunch -- we left her in peace and enjoyed having the ship to ourselves for a while. The morning weather was stormy, with steady rain and ominously low clouds. If we were near shore, we had no way of knowing. By the time we met up with K a few hours later, and won our second round of trivia, the clouds had cleared and it was again sunny.

K attended an arts & crafts class in one lounge, while Anna played trivia and cards next door. K joined us afterwards, and while speaking to a member of the entertainment staff -- a very witty Dutch woman -- she was asked to be one of the contestants in the "Top Chef" challenge they were about to have. K was whisked away with an Austrian and Italian, given an apron and chef's hat, and then the competition began. One of the sushi chefs from the Shanghai restaurant gave a demonstration of how to make two dishes, and then K and her two fellow contestants had to recreate them. A panel from the kitchen acted as judges. While she didn't win overall, K did win an MSC logo bag, which was gladly added to the stash of other prizes we had from the trivia games.

As already mentioned, Anna and K enjoyed a mother-daughter massage treatment in the afternoon, which included a pass to the steamroom, sauna, and whirlpools, which Anna and I used later in the trip. I think everyone was sufficiently relaxed by the end of the day. Just in time to step back up to the trough at dinner, which this night included the "Tiramisu parade" of waiters in the dining room.

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