On days at sea during cruises, we tend to oversleep. And that’s exactly what happened. Sunday May 15 was a day at sea, and we did not get up until noon (in our defense we will say that during this cruise we crossed the time zone lines several times, so it was difficult to keep the right time in mind).

We headed directly for lunch at the restaurant. It was so empty, that we had to double check. Apparently everybody prefers the buffet! Call me spoiled, but I’d rather be seated at a nice table by the window and be properly served my food, than having to sit on a stool and cue in line fighting for the last piece of stew in the casserole.

After enjoying a light lunch, we went to the suite to read a little (my friend Raminder gave me a copy of “Regenesis” by George Church and Ed Regis that I brought with me to the cruise) and at 15:45 we attended a lecture on the history of Saint Petersburg by Niki Spesas. It was a weak lecture, but full of trivia and factoids.

At 16:30 executive chef Henning Giese gave my wife and I a private galley tour, complete with caviar and champagne. We have really received the VIP treatment! Since this cruise is not as big as other ships we have been to, we were not as impressed with the logistics and volumes. But it is still amazing the clock-work operation that a cruise galley really is.

After showering and changing for the formal night of the cruise, we went to the Gala Reception at the Grand Salon, where Captain Sigurd Darbakk introduced his crew, followed by a delicious dinner.

At night we attended a show by Master Magician (and humorist) Peter Mehtab, member of the Inner-Magic-Circle in the Grand Salon. Peter has performed for Queen Elizabeth II, and has appeared in the James Bond film “The World is not Enough”, and his magic show is truly amazing.

Right after the magic show we enjoyed a delicious caviar and lobster dinner, with a fancy caramel-chocolate-icecream-banana-hazelnut dessert.

Before going to bed we watched the movie “Anomalisa”.