The Smiths Take Europe!

Well the Smith family has arrived and taken the Celebrity Century by force.

Our family vacation did however get off to a rough start.. I unfortunately came down with  a pretty bad case of swollen tonsils. After a few trips to medical (including a shot of penicillin, a Z-pack a few days later, and LOTS of tea with honey and lemon), I am feeling much better! We did have our show “Touch of Broadway” last night though when I was feeling my worst. My costumes got a bit more sweaty than usual because my body was resisting all the running around, but I made it. And both shows went off fairly untainted. Phew!

After my last post, I immediately met up with the fam at their hotel. We set out in Barcelona for breakfast. On Sundays nothing much opens in Spain until the late afternoon, but we managed to find a nice outdoor cafe for breakfast. Then we just wandered around Las Ramblas and meandered back to the hotel for check-out. We took some pictures at the rooftop of the hotel before packing up their bags.

Then we headed to the ship!! I waited with them for most of the security and check-in process, but I left partway through to go change and get ready to meet them on the gangway on board! At our embarkation port, crew has a separate ship entrance from the passengers. Once on board, I took my parents on a tour of the ship. I think they like it. ha. After passenger boat drill, we met up on the pool deck where the party band was playing to hang out before sail away. The sail out from Barcelona was gorgeous! And the weather was perfect (knock on wood it stays this way!)

Afterwards we had to part ways.. I went to get ready for the Welcome Aboard shows that evening and they headed to get ready for their first dinner in the Grand Restaurant. We don’t do much at all for the Welcome Aboard show, so I told my parents they really only needed to come to the second show. I was able to meet them for a few between shows before they headed to the theatre. The show was fine. We went up to the Crystal Lounge for a drink after the show and to listen to the Party Band. Unfortunately, I started feeling worse and had to peace out early.

Our first day on board was a sea day! I was still feeling worse, so I stayed in bed most of the day. I ended up meeting up with the family for breakfast and lunch, but otherwise they hung out by the pool, and I stayed inside. We had a show that evening so I wanted to conserve my energy as much as possible. The show last night “Touch of Broadway” ended up going very well despite all my stresses. It was definitely very draining though. I was not feeling well and my energy definitely died out about halfway through the second show. My whole family loved the shows though! They were the first to shoot up to their feet (of course) in the audience. I think they enjoyed them anyway.. And Dad got a good recording of the Jersey Boys/Mamma Mia number. After the shows, I showered and headed up to my parents’ room for some free room service before I crashed in bed.

This morning we woke up in Messina, Italy on the island of Sicily. I decided to take the day to continue to recuperate, so my family got off without me. They had a great day wandering around into churches and random buildings. The pictures came out great from their day out. 

By the time they got back, I was feeling much better and spent the afternoon with them outside taking in the sites from the ship and watching sail away through the rest of the Strait of Messina. Next we got to have our first family dinner in the Grand Restaurant! I wasn’t able to dine with them due to shows the past two evenings.. Tonight, though, we finally ate together! I love the Grand.. Especially with family. We had a great table by the window and amazing food. Afterwards, we wandered around the ship. We sat in on the train wreck that was Karaoke for a while (but did not perform) and then headed upstairs to hear the Party Band play. We had a great evening.

Tomorrow’s another sea day on board.. Who knows how we’ll spend it? Most likely lazily by the pool. 

We’re having a great time, and the fun’s JUST getting started!