Farewell lunch,Bombe Alaska and Stromboli

Dawn Nomads Farewell Lunch and Formal Night

As the first sector of our cruise draws to a close in Rome, a number of our Dawn Nomads are leaving us in Rome and then another group are leaving in Venice. About 37 will join the ship in Venice.

Today we had a lunch to farewell them and wish them safe travels as they continue their journey. In honour of the occasion, the wonderful chefs on the ship made a special farewell cake – with lashings and lashings of delicious gooey chocolate.

Tonight was the final formal night of the sector, and as is the tradition on the ship, it was celebrated with the Chefs Lobster dinner and the parade of the Bombe Alaskas. Not wanting to face another formal night, our table group had decided to have dinner in the Pizzeria. When we told our waiters, Alfred and Vincent, that we wouldn’t be at dinner – their faces fell and they were so disappointed that we felt so guilty and we changed our mind.

Our menu for tonight was

Smoked Duck with Orange Cranberry Glaze

Lobster Tail with Prawns, lemon caper butter, asparagus and glazed carrots

Beef Wellington with truffle madeira sauce and seasonal vegetables

Baked Alaska with Chocolate Sauce

Artisan cheeses with fig and walnut bread

I have a gluten free diet and the chefs are so extraordinary that they even made me a gluten free Bombe Alaska – I wouldn’t usually have dessert but I felt obliged to try it after their special effort.

Is it any wonder that the salt air is shrinking our clothes??

Now, we have a very port intensive sector of the cruise – after so many sea days we have a port almost every day for the next month around the Mediterranean – so I don’t know how much time I will have to keep the blog up to date, but I will try to update regularly.

While getting dressed for dinner we opened the balcony doors to watch a beautiful sunset over Sicily as the navigator of the Seas from the Royal Caribbean fleet passed by. After dinner, we went upstairs for a Volcanic Deck Party as we sailed by the active volcano of Stromboli and watched it spray a burst of lava into the air. Unfortunately it wa too far away and too dark to get any decent photos.

Tomorrow, we will be docked in Naples – what adventures will we find there?

Thanks so much for all the comments and messages from home – they are really appreciated.