Epic sea days

On this transatlantic cruise we departed from Miami and then had seven full days at sea before our first port of Funchal.  We enjoyed one day in port and then it was two more sea days before reaching our final destination of Barcelona.  The Epic provided plenty of day and night time activities and entertainment.  Maisie really enjoyed going to cruise camp each morning after breakfast until lunch time.  Unlike our previous transatlantic cruise where there were only nine children, this one had approximately 60, so more little friends for my girl.  Maisie though really attached to one little girl, Mahe and the two of them were fast friends the entire cruise. 

While Maisie attended cruise camp each morning, I enjoyed some quiet time and of course I attended the daily cooking demonstrations.  Eammon was happy to catch up on sleep and spend time in the gym.  Each sea day at noon we picked Maisie up from camp, had lunch together and spent the afternoon and evenings doing activities, playing and seeing the shows.  Many days we shared lunch time with Mahe and her family as the girls didn’t want to be apart, then afternoon activities were often planned by what the girls wanted to do together.  Evenings too, if our plans could be arranged, our families would dine together and see the shows together.  It’s always fun to meet new people and Maisie having a special friend and wanting to do all the activities together makes for a truly enjoyable time.

One of the very special things on the Epic is the Ice Bar.  I’m not much of a drinker but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to drink, what turned out to be amazingly delicious, drinks in a room where everything from the bar to the seats to the glasses were made of ice.  My favorite drink was the Polaris, sweet, delicious and not too strong.  Eammon preferred the much bluer, stronger and sharper Northern Lights with extra shots of Svedka vodka to just make it even that much stronger!!

Eammon’s drink wasn’t the only blue thing on the ship, we also got to see Blue Man Group, which was awesome!!

Maisie and Mahe chose to share a seat, as they did at most of the shows.  We were in the second row and were all given plastic ponchos to protect us from the paint and any of the other flying debris.

Qaiser, Mahe & Maisie with the Blue Man Group band members after the show.

We attended a “behind the scenes” meet-and-greet with the Blue Men when they weren’t blue, very funny and interesting listening to them.  The Blue Men that performed on the Epic were from Germany, England & the U.S.  After seeing the show Maisie posed with the Blue Man from Germany.

The German Blue Man shared his “blue” and then “danced” with Maisie and Mahe.

A typical lunch, Mahe and Maisie squeezed together as close as possible.

This was the calmest of our three transatlantic cruises but we still managed a few days of strong winds and big waves.  One of those nights we were dining in the French Bistro on deck 5 and a number of the waves came higher than the tops of the windows, a great show to enjoy along with our delicious dinner.

One of the afternoon family activities was making balloon animals.  Maisie and Mahe made poodles on hats.

Posing with one of the bar servers before the magic show.

We had front row seats for the magic show and so that their friend Natashia could sit front row too, Mahe & Maisie once again shared a seat…not that they wouldn’t have done so anyway, but this gave them a good excuse.

Maisie and Mahe at dinner, two beautiful girls.

Because there were only about 60 children on the ship they didn’t do all the regular Nickelodeon events and shows but they did do some meet-and-greets and this picture was from a special breakfast with Dora & Diego.  Maisie thought the characters were creepy but humored me with a picture.

Because of Maisie’s allergies, special meals and desserts were made specifically for her.  So when I met Denton Laing, the ship's Executive Chef, I thanked him for all the special meals and especially for the Maisie “safe” cookies that were made for each meal as she just loved them.   He was so nice and charming and after speaking for a short time he invited me and a couple of other passengers on a private tour of the kitchens. 

Pretty cool getting a private tour with the Executive Chef.

Pick up line.  Pictures of all the plates and what each should contain so that each plate is consistent and contains all components.

Part of the bakery.

Beef butchering room.  Even though there are, I think 20, kitchens on the Epic, all the beef is butchered in this one room before being sent to the appropriate kitchen.

Poultry butchering room.  Same as the beef room, all the poultry for all the kitchens is butchered here.

Fish and seafood room for all 20 kitchens.

Room service kitchen

Soup kettles      

Another family activity was cupcake decorating.  Mahe & Maisie had fun frosting and putting on candy decorations.

Maisie ate all her gummy bears as they’re Maisie “safe” and she used the remaining candies to decorate her cupcake which she gave to Eammon.

Another “creepy”, in Maisie’s words, meet-and-greet with Sponge Bob & Patrick.

The Epic has a Cirque Dreams & dinner show which was amazing to see.  The performers were incredible and doing their performance on a moving ship, well WOW!!

Eammon and I on our return visit to the Ice Bar, this time bringing along our friends Qaiser & Mary Jay to enjoy the experience.

Sitting on the ice bench enjoying our drinks in their ice cups…cold but delicious!  This time we’re drinking the Sunburst Yellow, delicious but not as wonderful as the Polaris…which I had after this one.

On our final night of the cruise, Eammon, Qaiser, Mary Jay & Lisa, ready for dinner at Moderno Churrascaria 

Maisie and Mahe enjoying the flowers made for them before dinner, by our waitress, at the Moderno Churrascaria.

Even though we had nine full sea days I just didn’t take all that many photos as we just enjoyed our time.  I did do a bit better with photos in Funchal & Barcelona…actually pulling out my real camera instead of being lazy and just using my iPhone.  Next up, our time in Funchal.

Today I posted a new recipe over on Cook Lisa Cook for Honey Spiced Game Hens which is an easy, quick, one pan, delicious alternative to everyday chicken.  So simple it can be cooked up on a weeknight and so delicious it would make a wonderful meal for company.  Click on the link or the picture to be taken to Cook Lisa Cook and the recipe.

More delicious chicken recipes on Cook Lisa Cook include:  Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole, Slimmed Down Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole, Copycat “KFC” Original Recipe Fried Chicken, Chinese Five Spice Wings, Chicken Satay Noodle Salad, Thai Peanut Noodles with Chicken, Thai Massaman Curry, Cilantro Lime Chicken, Red Curry Chicken, Curried Roast Chicken Pieces with Spicy Sweet Potato & Carrots, “Rotisserie” Chicken, Cheaters Chicken Soup, Thai Chicken Noodle Soup, Fire Roasted Tomato and Chicken Tortilla Soup, Tom Kha Gai, Chicken Tenders, Grilled Thai Chicken, Curried Grilled Thai Chicken Salad, Mom’s Curried Chicken Salad, Fruit, Nut & Poppy Seed Chicken Salad, Slow Cooker Chicken Curry, Home Style Chicken Curry, Texas Chicken with Lime Butter, Texas Chicken Sandwich, Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwich, Oriental Chicken Salad, Thai Peanut Salad Chicken Dumpling Patties and Loaded Buffalo Chicken Texas Toast.

Enjoy!