Editor's Note: Due to sporadic outages of the ship internet service, this entry, originally filed by Simon on Monday May 12 is being published today. Sorry for the delay.


It was a full "Enrichment at Sea" day today for all the adventurers onboard the MV Explorer.

The morning began with an Introduction to the Enrichment Session experts. Everyone got to meet Dr. Max Brandt, Dr. Allan Schoenherr, Ms. Ciel Duke, and the literature professor,  Ms. Toby ZInman. Each of them brings special and unique knowledge to the shipboard community. Dr. Brandt, in addition to lecturing about his specialty, Latin American Music, is also taking on the role of History and Culture professor on the Voyage due to an unexpected cancellation. Music and culture go hand in hand, so I'm confident that we'll learn a lot about the Maya people and Central American history.

I wasn't able to participate, but throughout the day and every "Enrichment at Sea" day, the ship's crew conducted tours of the MV Explorer Bridge. On future Voyages, the bridge tours will be coupled with other activities about cruise ship operation and history as part of the Circles of Interest that will form on those Voyages.

Our Artist-in-Residence, Ciel Duke taught two popular Water Color workshops today. Both filled to capacity and I wasn't able to attend, but the participants all seem to have rave reviews.

Late morning brought an Enrichment Session "From the Poles to the Tropics: Why Animals and Plants live where they Do" with Dr. Schoenherr. He shared some really interesting information with everyone.

Late morning and early afternoon saw a Ping Pong Tournament, an International Folk Dancing class and our first pre-port briefing on the upcoming call on Cozumel, Mexico.

A fun session of Bingo and our talented pianist, Pat Bianco, tickling the ivories in the Piano Bar rounded out the afternoon.

This evening was the first of two semi-formal Captain's Dinners. I had the pleasure of joining MV Explorer Staff Captain Kostas Siamantas and 10 other guests at the Captains' Table for a first seating dinner. We feasted on a spread fit for a king. I tried Pumpkin Soup for the first time (served warn and surprisingly tasty) and enjoyed a delicious stuffed chicken breast and the most incredible Chocolate Mouse for desert. It was a special meal and I want to thank Captain Siamantas for the invitation to dine with him. The food onboard has, with rare exception, been delicious. I'll go into more detail on onboard dining in an upcoming blog entry.

This evening's featured show was an Introduction to the Voyage's entertainers, and it really was  treat. Perry Dickison is onboard with his incredible voice, as is Soprano Disella Larusdottir (and her accompanist and husband, Teddy Kernizan), plus Just Olde Friends, a barbershop quartet featuring Max Brandt (he's keeping busy this Voyage!) and three "Olde Friends" from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. Each performer did a 15 minute set this evening, and think we're in store for some great evenings onboard with these talented artists.

For those wanting to stay up late, DJ Blake kept the ship rocking and rolling and the hits playing in the Aventurine Lounge.

It was a full day, and I kept busy trying to attend as many events and activities as possible. But plenty of guests spent the day just relaxing by the pool, having treatments done in the Jade Spa. That's one of the things that makes an Enrichment Voyage unique - you can do as much or as little as you want and still come away with a new perspective.

Tomorrow is an early (6 am) call in Cozumel - I'll spend the day touring the Chichen Itza ruins. Look for a full report (with photos) Tuesday evening.