Of Seas and Storms

For years I've heard of North Sea oil and as we traversed those waters we saw a lot of evidence of it, especially at night when the lights of the oil platforms

in the distance lit up the horizon for miles.

As we traveled north from Amsterdam through the Norwegian Sea we got fairly close to the coast of Scotland,

where it would have been nice to have at least one stop.  Those are some pretty barren cliffs and headlands that far north.  My thanks to my friend Michelle for the Scotland photos.

This part of the North Atlantic can get pretty nasty, but having complete trust in Captain Stig, who has spent 30 years as the captain of ships in this region.  Most of his his 27 year career with Royal Caribbean has been as captain of Serenade of the Seas, no one knows this ship as well as he does.

So when these storm tossed seas arose, LeaAnn took photos this evening after tonight's show was cancelled because the stage was moving so much due to wave action.  It wasn't safe for the performers.  Much as we were sad to have Patricia's show cancelled it was the right call, we wouldn't want her or Andre & Tatiana to get hurt.

Not sure what filter LeaAnn used on the photos but the waters were much more gunmetal gray as you'll see in a minute, rather than this pretty blue-green.

Mother Nature can get pretty powerful and we were all definitely looking like a bunch of drunken sailors as we walked out of the theater and along the hallways.

Since we couldn't go to the show we decided to go up to the Windjammer to have some dinner.  Just before we got there the rough seas had sent plates and food trays sliding to the floor.  They let a few of us in the Windjammer while they cleaned up, as long as we stayed seated and away from the food....for now.  When Emmerson, one of the servers came by, Karl and Chuck asked if he could just bring us a pan full of fries to munch on until the buffet opened.  Next thing we knew there was a big tray of fries and a few small plates there on our table.  We only had to grab the salt and pepper once as they threatened to slide off the tabletop.  No catsup to go with the fries because that container had fallen to the floor and broken open.

I took these photos a little later, the color is more true to life.  Anyways, the Windjammer got completely closed but since we were already in there, Ellen, who supervises the WJ, offered everyone fries, pizza, and chicken strips, other than that it was off to Main Dining for something to eat.  We got a kick out of the fact that on a formal night when they were eating steak and lobster downstairs, we were having pizza and chicken nuggets.  Considering the company we were in, it was a most excellent meal.  It's going to be a favorite memory.

Captain Stig said the rough seas should calm by around midnight.  We were reminded of something he had said near the beginning of our journey, that this ship could handle a lot more than we would be comfortable handling.  In the meantime these waves should do a really good job of rocking me to sleep...as long as they don't roll me out of bed!