Thursday 03 November Barcelona. After breakfast, we reorganized everything back into our suitcases (an interesting ordeal) for boarding the ship and checking out of the hotel. We left the luggage and went to MX (Museu de la Xocolata), yes the Chocolate Museum. It was fun to see the evolution of chocolate through the ages, and the sculptures crafted out of chocolate. The class (maybe 6 year olds) going through at the same time ensured it was not a quiet time for us! At the end we thought it would be fitting to have a cup of Hot Chocolate, of course! It was more like a cup of melted chocolate that you would drink, or eat, with the spoon. Wow it was rich!!!
We left the hotel for the ship around 2:45 as our “boarding time” was 3 PM. This was the smoothest cruise boarding I’ve ever seen. The Brilliance of the Seas is a nice ship in the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. It’s larger than the Holland America ship we were on earlier this year for our Alaska cruise, but even with more people (and no empty staterooms), it does not feel crowded at all. We left port at 6:10 PM under dark skies with the wind blowing about 30 mph and with slight rain. We met our friends John and Sharon at dinner right at 6:45. We sat with George and Toni from London, England, and Hugh and Ann from Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Our final piece of luggage arrived after dinner. There is more than sufficient space in the stateroom for clothing, plus the suitcases fit comfortably under the bed. We haven’t spent much time on the verandah yet as the wind, ocean spray, and some rain have all combined to make being out there not overly enjoyable. But I expect that once we get closer to the Suez Canal that our weather will improve.
With several announcements from the captain and the staff, it was apparent that they all have quite a sense of humor – that’s good. With the rough weather ahead for a couple more days, I think we’re going to need it. Overall, today was a good day for starting the cruise, and I’m glad we came to Barcelona a few days early; we are now time-adjusted from Boise time. We are now on [whatever Europe time it is here] time.
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