Masked Ball
This was the first of three Sea Days on the way to our next port of call, Petropavlovsk, Russia. We attended the morning show with Cruise Director Jorge who interviewed the assistant cruise director Amanda. Amanda comes from a background of sports and cheerleading and runs health and fitness activities onboard. She hosts a sit and be fit, water aerobics a morning stretch.
In America’s Test Kitchen Spencer showed us how to make southern biscuits with a pimento cheese and fried pickles with a homemade ranch dressing. Not probably something that we would make, but interesting to see how they are made.
The seas continue to be rough and the skies are mostly gray with scattered showers. We look forward to sunshine and clear skies.
In the main dining room, they served a spectacular brunch from 11:00 to 1:00. It was a four-course fixed menu. The first course was an assortment of pastries, fresh squeezed orange juice served in mini glass milk bottles with colorful straws, coffee and tea. The second course was a cold sampler plate with all of the following in bite sized servings: fresh fruit skewer with granola parfait, Caesar salad, bay shrimp cocktail shooter, Norwegian smoked salmon on brioche, deviled egg with Osettra caviar, prosciutto and coppa on six grains baguette and Beecher and Maaslander cheese on crackers.
The main course consisted of all of the following: vegetable omelet pot with crispy oven roasted bacon, sautéed jumbo shrimp, a breaded fried chicken tender, tenderloin medallion a la minute with béarnaise sauce, steamed broccoli and home style roasted potatoes, biscuit and gravy and a stack of quarter sized pancakes with Dickinson’s maple syrup.
Dessert included a small chocolate crème caramel, a pecan pie bite and a mini baked apple strudel.
Michael Hick lectured on the Aleutian Islands. This string of islands has an extraordinary number of active volcanoes and one island was also used to test an atomic bomb years ago.
The black and silver gala dinner had folks dressed up in suits and long gowns. The dining room chairs were covered in black and silver fabric covers and the linens were changed to match. Party favors of masks for the masked ball later in the evening were placed at each place setting on the table. Favorites like filet mignon and crab legs were included in the menu.
The evening’s entertainment was a pianist from Manchester, England, who performed a variety of music from the classics to the contemporary. He enjoys mixing a classic song of the past with a song from artists like Michael Jackson or Lady Gaga. He was accompanied by the Amsterdam band.
At 9:30pm there was a Black and Silver Masked Ball in the main showroom. The Station Band that normally performs in the Crow’s Nest was set up on the stage for the music. Guests brought a variety of masks from home or wore the masks provided at the Gala dinner for a festive evening. Kent and Mark observed from the balcony in the theater. Later in the evening a chocolate surprise arrived with waiters carrying trays of delectable chocolate treats. It was a wonderful sea day filled with more temptations of food than anyone needed but we managed to enjoy it all.