Day Two of the cruise meant traveling north on the Mediterranean Sea. The weather was cool and overcast and, as we traveled north, became cooler all the time. The open sea days were my favorite, with no schedule to keep and no deadlines to meet, just the beauty and peace of the enormous sea. My youngest grandson soon became bored, and happily enrolled in the Kids Club, which had nonstop activities from 9 am to 10 pm and later, daily. He even came back with a cruise tee shirt that he had painted. The Kids Club staff were wonderful and kept the kids actively engaged. They had a large room complete with a play and climbing area and padded flooring. For those under two, there is The Under Two Zoo, and for the Tweens and Teens, there are special programs as well. Since this was a winter holiday cruise, there were lots of kids but the pools were not as busy, despite a three story circular slide. The kids were getting a little restless, with the older boys glued to their iPod and iTouch. I was grateful for some respite so I could make it to the ship’s gym for a good workout each morning. This, plus walking endless flights of stairs and the large deck, made for a healthy vacation. The Norwegian Jade, our ship, holds over 2400 guests and sports a staff of well over a thousand, too. I was left wondering why a small rock thrown overboard would sink, but this monster which weighed over 935,000 tons stayed afloat. Back to physics class for me!
I rarely made it to the breakfast buffet, since I had to first get my workout in and get my grandson up and off to the Kids Club. Breakfast buffet offerings were slim for vegans: oatmeal, fruit, dry Cheerios — coffee and tea. Lunches were available at the perpetual buffets around the ship, especially on the upper deck with the swimming pools. I found very little, though, that was vegan. I was surprised that every vegetable appeared to have bits of flesh or animal secretions in them. The only thing safe to eat was on the salad bar, and was the same every day. Even the couscous had flesh in it! There were three or four types of lettuce available, some kidney and garbanzo beans, raisins, sometimes corn or peas, and vinegar and oil dressings. And, there was an endless supply of crispy, thin, french fries. I imagine I ate more fries than I have ever in such a short time, but by day four, I was unable to look at them. It was salad for lunch, daily, for me. Noting what most people were eating and the horrendous offerings for the children was appalling. Almost all “white foods” that we are all told to avoid: pizza, french fries, pastries, hot dogs, pasta, breads, along with the horrifying animal flesh of course. There seemed to be an animal carcass displayed daily. I soon learned to scoot clear of that aisle – direct to the salad bar and then to the seating. There was also fruit juice if you knew where to look (and we did). We always ate in the Kids Cafe – a corner of the dining area that had a mini buffet and smaller chairs. Even my gigantic son would sit with us, enjoying the company of his boys. The Kids Cafe was the only place to find the fruit juice!
Daily Dining Vegan Suprise!
We all would gather every evening at the very start of the dining process. Since we were such a large group of twelve, it made it easier for them to seat us when they first opened, so the Aunties (who were housed on the opposite site of the ship) usually were waiting in line for us when we came down to the dining room. There are always several dining options, with some included in the cruise fees while others cost additional fees. We ate at the included dining hall, while a few of the group tried out the exclusive dining options, too. One among us took delight in taunting me with their flesh choices and seemed to enjoy my discomfort – there always seems to be at least one, doesn’t there? When the daily menus were passed around, I would wait to see what surprise the chef had made for me. My appetizer was usually a green salad, always good despite the over reliance on salads for lunch. Day two was a vegan lasagne that was a bit more creative than the steamed veggies with rice from Day One. At least they did seem to know what a vegan eats and that was a relief! Considering the thousands of people that need to be accommodated daily, I felt fortunate to have prepared vegan meals every evening. If I was indeed the first vegan on this particular cruise, I wanted to be amiable and appreciative. Being on this ship made that easy!
After our flight to Madrid, we had a short layover and then flew Iberia Airlines to Malaga on the southernmost strip of the Spanish Coast. We were staying at the Mirabella Resort, one of the loveliest places with all the amenities of a vacation home: two bedrooms, a living room, a dining area, a kitchen, and a complete laundry room. As we were only staying overnight, we had little time to enjoy all this resort has to offer, but my grandson and I searched out all the possibilities. There was an indoor pool not far from our room and due to the cool weather, the boys were excited to try it out. I read the posted rules and walked the boys to the beautiful waterfall and pool enclosure. The only people in the pool were elderly folks gently swimming laps and enjoying the water. I realized after a few minutes and several sidewards glances that this was an Adults Only pool, so we had to leave. The boys were disappointed, and it was too dark and cold outside to investigate other possibilities. They would have willingly dived into the outdoor pool despite the cool air and even cooler water, but I hated to see them catch a chill at the very onset of our travels.
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