(Continued from Embarkation Day Pt. 3) … We gathered for dinner and headed down to the main dining room at about 5pm. The journey to the dining room was very short, since our room was one floor above, and it turns out that our assigned table was directly below our room. We were assigned a table on deck 5 and a dining time of 5:30. Initially I had requested anytime dining, but this was not how it worked out. Since the five of us were assigned a table for six, and there were no port days, it turns out that assigned dining worked well, and we enjoyed our table.
Our starters included the Duck Pate Brioche, Chilled Strawberry Bisque, French Onion Soup, Classic Caesar Salad, and the Cheese Tortellini and Chicken Soup. Apparently we were hungry again, since we tried so many different things. That is definitely one of my favorite things about cruising, is trying many different things, without worrying too much about not liking them (while still not being wasteful). The Caesar Salad and French Onion Soup were available every day, and it’s quite possible that they made an appearance at our table each night. (text continues below photos)

Duck Pate Brioche
It seems that our main course choices were much simpler, as we only ordered the Prime Rib of Beef au Jus, and a Grilled Salmon with Ginger-Cilantro Pesto. Both of these items were very good, and the Prime Rib was a decent cut which came out the way we ordered it. Day one dinner was definitely a great start to the journey… and we had not yet even had our dessert.
I never eat dessert in real life, but when I am on a cruise, I tend to go ahead and indulge. We ordered Crème Brûlée, Chocolate Mille Feuille, and Cookies and Cream Ice Cream.. along with a pair of Cappuccinos for the Adults.
The rest of the evening was spent wandering about some more, and checking out the venues in the ship. The Queen’s Lounge Theatre featured a comedian named Johnny Cardinale. We stopped in for a short time on the upper level of the theatre, and then left to explore some more. After checking out some of the live music onboard, we headed back to the room, checking in with the teens, and turned in for the night after a drink or two. (Continue to Day 2, Pt. 1 – Sea Day)