23 May 2007:

The days are noticeably longer in the higher latitudes. Sunrise comes at 4:11am and sunset at 9:31pm. Thus the unwary cruiser who leaves his drapes open upon retiring for the evening can count on an early wake-up call from the sun.

Today is a sea day and is devoted to learning a bit about our upcoming ports and meeting some new members of the Cruise Critic group who joined the ship in Copenhagen. So the schedule was:

9:30am – 10:30am:   Port Lecture on Stockholm

10:30am – 11:30am: Lecture on Russian artisan Faberge

12:00pm – 1:00pm:  Cruise Critic Meeting

1:30pm – 3:00pm:    Port Lecture on St Petersburg

5:00pm – 6:00pm:    Captain’s Cocktail Party

6:00pm – 8:00pm:    Formal Dinner

That is a grueling pace for a cruiser, since there was hardly any time for lunch or a nap.

The lectures were informative and the Cruise Critic meeting was very pleasant, though much smaller than the previous meeting on the Transatlantic segment. This time less than 20 members attended the meeting, compared with 50-60 last time, but John Lawrence, our Cruise Director sponsored and attended the meeting along with Leah Helmsley, his Deputy Cruise Director. So we not only had a chance to meet each other, but we had a chance to get some advice on ports and tours from the cruise staff. It was informal and low-keyed, but more informative and intimate than the larger gathering a few weeks ago.

However, there is not much of general interest to report from today’s activities. I believe that I mentioned earlier that the gym is now closed indefinitely and this is causing me some distress because I can no longer threaten myself with physical punishment if I overindulge.....I am a weak man, without the continued threat of physical pain, inflicted on the treadmill, stair-stepper or weight machines, I will not be able to convince myself to employ moderation. I was reasonably well controlled during the Transatlantic segment, but I can already feel myself slipping.....and the ship’s activities invite....no, make that, encourage or even demand, excess in all things. So, while I started the day with a pure heart and good intentions, I found myself being given free champagne at the Cruise Critic meeting, then since it was a formal night there was the Captain’s Cocktail Party where good manners required me to accept a glass or two of wine....this was followed by dinner, where, after consuming wine at the Cocktail Party, I felt it obligatory to order a bottle of good red wine....well, one thing just led to another and here I sit....ruddy glow on my puffy cheeks having just consumed enough appetizer, soup, beef and wine to support a third-world village for weeks....and I didn’t even have dessert. This must not continue!

I am still withholding judgment on my new tablemates. We had the full compliment in attendance tonight and everyone had a chance to rest up during the day, so I think we are beginning to glimpse the real people now, but we still haven’t been able to get to know more than one other couple....this is due in part to the fact that the table next to us is loud, rowdy, unruly, and out of control to the point that we can barely talk.....I think I’d like to move to that table.   

Once again, time is fleeting so I’m off....