AS A REMINDER, FOR BETTER VIEWING OF MY PHOTOS JUST CLICK ON THEM TO ENLARGE, THIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT WITH THE CHRISTENING PHOTOS TO FOLLOW.
LAST EVENING
Between 5 and 6pm they unveiled the Faberge Egg in its special case in the Reception area. How can it cost $1.2 million?? It apparently opens up but they did not do that yet. On left is our friend, Joan Davis.
Between 6 and 7pm there was a special cocktail party for us Diamonds, the Commodores, and some Regent corporate folks. I thought the Observation Lounge would be very crowded but it really wasn't.
On the left is Jennifer Teegen with Marcia in the middle and Jennifer's assistant on right. Jennifer is the Director of Guest Experience and Loyalty at Regent corporate.
We sat with Jim & Pat Bittle. Jim not in photo. The young gentleman is Cedric. He is rising very fast through the ranks. Last time we saw him he was a Food & Beverage Director on Mariner. Now he is the corporate F&B person in charge of all the ship's Food & Beverage departments. He is a super nice young man.
At 7pm we went to Compass Rose for dinner. All we knew was we would be seated at table #59. We did not know who else would be seated with us. We were stunned to find out Sara Faberge and her son would be at the table. Sara was named Godmother of Grandeur. Sara is second from the right in this photo and her son, Joshua, is standing behind her. Rebecca was pinching herself to be dining with Sara. Between dinner courses Sara got up and came around the table to chat with us. She explained how the Faberge family got back in control of their company. Very interesting and such a down to Earth person! I sat next to Joshua and he loved to talk.
This is the menu for the evening. Click on it to enlarge so you can read it.
Our long time friend, Budi, was our sommelier for the evening.
We both started with the Alaskan crab and avocado salad. Love it but very filling.
We chose the chateaubriand in a red wine mustard sauce. Very yummy and cooked a perfect medium rare.
It was Joshua's birthday so they brought him a birthday cake and the waiters and maitre'd sang happy birthday.
I had already ordered this chocolate cheese cake before the birthday cake came out. I ate a few bites of it. It was very good.
We all got a piece of Joshua's cake also. It was a very special evening for Rebecca and I. There was some music being played in the lounges but we retired back to our suite.
TODAY
Up at 7:30 and got Rebecca's coffees as usual. Then I came back down to Coffee Connection to work on this post. Hugo, internet manager, helped me sign in to the ship's internet again as it was reset again this morning.
It's kind of eerie in Coffee Connection as there are hardly anyone here as usual and it's now about 9am. Another 428 guests will be embarking today so the ship will be filling up later.
The Faberge Egg is sleeping this morning!!
They are bunkering fuel this morning. Huge fuel barge along side. Bunkering means getting fuel. Hate to have to pay that bill.
Flags flying across the pool deck.
Miami in front of us.
The Captain and chief engineer were out on the pool deck inspecting things this morning so I asked what the antenna looking things were on top of the cover over the deck 12 lounger chairs were. They are the new Star Link internet antennas.
At long last, tonight is the BIG night---The Christening Ceremony. The evening begins with a ship wide cocktail party from 5 to 6pm. Cocktails will be served in all the lounges and atrium.
Click on this to enlarge. The Gala dinner will be from 6 to 8:20pm. Again seating and dining room is assigned. It is a set menu and same for all dining venues. This morning we received our invitation to dine in Prime 7 with Pamela Petcash as our host. We have know her for years and consider her a good friend now. Not sure of her exact title but she is NCL corporate head of all the ships entertainment for NCL, Regent, and Oceania. Very much looking forward to visiting with her.
The Christening Ceremony is to begin at 8:30 in the theater. We got our invitation to be seated in the reserved section for it. It is scheduled to last until 11pm. Not sure what all the ceremony will entail but we know the entertainer will be Kristin Chenowich, an Emmy and Tony Award winning actress and Broadway singer. We saw them board special sound equipment yesterday.
Marcia got this photo of Shania Twain and Jesse Hamilton Jr so I asked if I could post it on my blog.
Lunch up in La Veranda. Mussels, shrimp, salmon, anchovies, & blu cheese to start with.
Salmon in pastry, paella, and grilled veggies.
The Commodores and Diamonds were invited to a "coffee chat" with the NCLH CEO, Harry Sommer, in the Meridian Lounge at 1pm. It was an interesting meeting with questions and answers from us. He also had several of his NCL staff in the room taking notes from our suggestions.
Dress code for tonight is formal. I have my tux laid out ready to go. Rebecca has a St John outfit also ready to go. Cocktail hour is at 5pm instead of 6pm this evening. Photos of the Christening will be on tomorrow's post.
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