Day 4, Thursday April 19, At Sea, Smart Casual

Today started more like my usual routine for a sea day. I was up at 5
and completed my normal 5 miles just after 7. I was wearing the ankle
brace but took it off soon after completing the walk and the ankle felt
fine. During the walk the skies ahead were clear while those overhead
and aft were very cloudy and ominous.
I'm beginning to think that this will be my one and only cruise on
Celebrity. I did know of course about the very limited walking
facilities on this 122,000-ton ship but didn't know how much of an issue
that would be. The ankle gave me a reprieve from having to face that
but now that it's getting better I found 5 miles on that little jogging
track truly B-O-R-I-N-G. I do appreciate having the cable access to the
network and think that Choice Air is the best air-sea program in the
business. I also enjoy the Beyond the Podium experience which is way
ahead of anything HAL offers but not as good as either Cunard or
Crystal. I think the other thing that's really turning me off is having
the Sky Observation Lounge closed to me 5 hours every day. I would
really like to enjoy a sunrise sometime from a comfortable lounge but
even if it is open after sunrise I would need to leave immediately
afterwards. I am turning that in as an "Attention to Detail" item but
doubt if anything can be done about it.
Today's Beyond the Podium events got off to a sad start. Fred Bronson
was supposed to go behind the scenes on "The Sound of Music" but you
could hear a pin drop as the topic changed. The 40-minute tribute to
Dick Clark was both ironic and moving. It's fortunate we got one last
look at Dick Clark yesterday as a living person, and how sad it would
have been if he had been the planned topic today.
In his noon update Captain Yannis Berdos reported we are about halfway
to our first port of Tenerife. The afternoon Beyond the Podium
presentations were "Exoplanets Galore: The Discovery of Billions of
Planets Beyond our System" by Marc Kaufman and "You Make the Call" by
Steve Javie. He will run a free shooting contest Friday weather permitting.
In the Solstice Theater this evening we were treated to the Magical
Mayhem of Neal Austin.
The MDR menu today was menu G from the menu thread (with a few
changes). The sequence so far has been A-B-C-D-G. Since I am dining in
Blu, I don't see the full printed menu including the every day
selections, but I would think they do not change with the length of the
cruise and any changes would be widely discussed.
My parting shot today has to come from current events, especially as
they coordinate so closely with activities on the ship. Rest in Peace
Dick Clark. You truly are a legend.
Roy