All aboard the Norwegian Gem

June 23, 2008

Well we’re finally on our way and I’ve broken the one rule that I have on this trip…don’t check work e-mail and that’s exactly what I did. We set sail last night from Barcelona on our way to Malta and I jumped on the computer to check my e-mail…not my WORK e-mail, mind you, but rather my personal one and also so I could upload my photos, which unfortunately turns out to be impossible because they don’t want us to upload our crap onto these computers. So I went ahead and checked up on my work e-mail (out of habit) and violated the cardinal rule of a vacation…dammit!

Fortunately the world didn’t come to an end in the 3-4 days since I’ve been away and there’s only one real fire to put out so reluctantly, I had to e-mail my boss and a couple of other people and bite the bullet. It sucked…and believe me, I’ve been really mulling it over, along with some other things going on over the past couple of days. Reflection time, yeah…I know.

But back to the cruise and enough about work! I’m on-board the Norwegian Gem setting sail for a seven-day cruise throughout the Mediterranean. It’s an enjoyable ride and there are plenty of people on this ship. The cabin that I have has a wonderful view and the food is absolutely delicious. We started out our visit to the ship with a buffet lunch…mmm…it was pretty good save the fact that the hamburger was pretty dry and the chicken was somewhat salty, but the dinner was delicious! They have several different restaurants on board the Norwegian Gem, ranging from having Asian Fusion to Italian to Teppanyaki. Nice assortment, but if you wanna go hit up the dining room, then by all means…they have good food too. Just last night, I had the Potato with Fennel soup for an Entree and continued with the Chicken Breast with Mashed Potatoes before wrapping it all up with some delicious vanilla ice cream. Yumm…and late night room service is pretty awesome too!

The rest of the ship is pretty quaint and cozy too with a BIG screen tv mounted on the wall. Rather, it’s a projection screen that’s in the main lobby of the damn ship! Okay, I had never seen a soccer match in Europe before, but with all these “crazy” Europeans on the ship watching Spain versus Italy in the EuroMatch Quarterfinals last night, it is unbelieveable! You gotta see the videos that I took…and as soon as I find a computer that’ll let me upload via USB, then no worries, but until then, you’ll need to take my word for it.

Anyways, had an enjoyable first night on the boat and there’s plenty more to see…they have a pretty cool night lounge with pool, casino games, dance floor, awesome chairs, dart boards, and big screen tvs. They’re also supposed to have a Wii event here or something in the afternoon for about 1 1/2 hours. Should be interesting. Gonna try and snap some videos of the thing too. Haha…but today will be a pleasant day at sea…I hope.

Next up? Malta! Bon Voyage!

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Posted in Sightseeing, Travel