Day 5 Panama & Carribean Cruise

Day 5

This is the final sea day before our first port of call – which is Cristobal, Panama. The weather has turned quite warm; I could only take about 5 minutes on our balcony this morning as it was in full sun. We breakfasted in the Britannia Restaurant, a first for us on this cruise – Sandra reported that the Eggs Benedict were perfect!

Oh my god what a relaxing day; we met Kat and Mike in the Golden Lion pub for lunch and then I trekked off to the Spa for hydro therapy (much needed after the beer therapy) and assorted saunas. This was followed by 2 hours of relaxing reading in the Spa while being pampered with ice cold water (with just a hint of orange). I can’t believe I got to just sit (lie) and read for 2 hours undisturbed – yes it was the dogs bollox!

A quick note to our friends at Centro Espresso; we‘ll be docking in Panama at about 9AM on Saturday morning – we expect you to be there with our care package! I once worked with a guy from Panama and as a “gift” one time, he gave me some genuine Panamanian coffee – it was bloody awful.

Well tonight is only a semi-formal night (as opposed to the full-Monty = formal); so I get to hang up my penguin suit for one night and put on my regular dark suit – to be honest, from a distance, I can’t tell the difference – but then again I have absolutely no fashion sense (as Sandra is apt to remind me, and it’s true). I can also box up my dickey and just wear a regular tie. I feel so blessed.

All togged-up and off to the martini bar for a quick one before dinner. For an extra treat tonight we went to the onboard specialty restaurant call Todd English (we had to pre-book); it seems to be a trend on cruise ships to offer customers the option of paying a little extra ($30) for a fancy meal. Sandra and I ate at the Todd English last time we were on this ship and we really liked it - hence the trip tonight.

The meal was absolutely fantastic; every dish a work of art and mouth wateringly good. We had an array of appetizers that were shared around the table; baked goat cheese, shaved Brussel sprouts, calamari, jumbo shrimp, roasted beets and a special form of ravioli called “love letters”. Kat ordered a bouillabaisse of crab, lobster, clams, mussels etc. - when it arrived it was in a gigantic bowl with no liquid. The waitress then arrived with a large pot of lobster sauce which was poured over the seafood OMG! This was followed by the main event – I had tenderloin of beef with roasted lobster on top, accompanied by truffled potatoes. Sandra had a big hunk of Sea Bass, cooked to perfection and accompanied by a great risotto. Desserts we equally spectacular; you know a chef is pulling out all the stops when he makes carrot caviar to go with the carrot cake. Unfamiliar with the breed of carrots that lay eggs, we had to ask as to the origin of this strange item. We learned that the carrots are first juiced, then filtered, then a small amount of gelatin is added and the mixture is drizzled into hot oil – creating tiny little caviar-like balls. I really must try this when I get back. Sandra and I had a molten chocolate cake that was just to die for.

We liked the Todd English so much that we booked to go back for lunch and dinner before the end of the cruise.

Following dinner we took in The Mad Welshman Jimmy Smiles’ show. This was a singing stand-up comedy act that consisted mainly of verbally abusing members of the audience, based on their country of origin – of course we loved it! After the show we sidled into the chart room to hear the jazz trio and have a nightcap. All in all a great day.