Two Birds in a Gilded Cage ...

Sunday, and our first full day at sea. Disappointingly, on a day when there were to be no scheduled stops and therefore when we were prepared for relaxing whilst hoping to take in spectacular views, the weather had closed in and the low-lying fog made land impossible to see. Resigned therefore to on-board activities we scanned the daily programme for things to entertain ourselves. First we joined a large crowd for a behind-the-scenes tour of the beating heart of the ship, the kitchens! Vast, steel, immaculately tidy and staffed by smiling crew the kitchens really do deserve high praise. The food is clearly a highlight for many people, ourselves included, although we're making a conscious effort to restrain ourselves for the sake of actually being able to still wear all the clothes we brought with us by weeks 2 and 3 of the holiday! 

Pastries ..... and vast amounts of stainless steel 

Time to get some fresh air, as the fog lifted a little, and we took to the Promenade Deck for a stroll. Once round the ship is a third of a mile and the exercise outside very welcome. That said we vowed at the start of the cruise to limit our use of the lifts as much as possible and with reasons to move between Shore Excursions booking or the Front Office on deck 1, restaurants on decks 2 and 9, the Observation Lounge on deck 11 and our stateroom on deck 5, I've managed to clock up over 10,000 steps and 18 flights of stairs each day so far so we're not doing too badly. 

Beautiful 4 foot wide floral display ... Tulips, naturally, from Amsterdam. 

After lunch we moseyed along to a Fin, Fur and Feathers talk to learn more about the wildlife, a really informative presentation that served us well later when, as the sun was going down, we saw 5 or 6 sightings of significance first over pre-dinner drinks and again from our table at dinner, such that we can now confidently say we have seen humpbacked whales, in their natural habitat, blow-hole activity and all!! 

And so now, as the day draws to a close and we lose yet another hour passing into Alaskan time, we're greatly looking forward with anticipation to our catamaran trip to get up close and personal with the glacial ice tomorrow. It will be liberating to be off the ship. When you're not best enamoured with the casino, bingo, the frequent 'whoop whoop' of the head of the animations team and the somewhat materialistic shops, we simple folk are starting to crave the great outdoors. Bring it on. 

The closest thing to nature we've seen close up to date - the Big Apple is perhaps 5 foot high!