What A Party!!

 What a Party!!

I turned 80 on 15 December 2025, at 07:11 EST. I can’t tell you where I was but it was somewhere between Las Palmas and Ft. Lauderdale in the Atlantic Ocean. I was celebrating on the Silver Dawn and oh my, what a party we had on that ship!

The day started normally with Cindy running and me walking around deck eleven; then we had a light breakfast and cleaned up and put on normal clothes. The party started at about 11:30 at the pool deck bar where I had the first of what would be many glasses of Champagne. We started celebrating with the Sunderland Lads, three terrific guys we had met on a previous cruise and we have stayed in touch. They are a clever lot, with lots of stories, jokes and good humor. We enjoyed another glass of Champagne before adjourning to lunch on the outside deck of the buffet restaurant, where we indulged in more Champagne, this time in real glasses. It was a lovely day - sunny, warm and not too breezy - a change from previous days where we encountered some nasty weather. We took a short walk before our nap and returned to the room to find it all decked out in Birthday Balloons, towel animals, and candy: very Silversea!

A longer walk after the nap refreshed us and we went back to the suite to get ready for the cocktail party we were hosting for the lads. Two nights before they had thrown an elegant party in their Royal Suite and it was spectacular. For my birthday, Cindy had arranged the dinner reservations and we had decided that our dress code would be Fancy, not Formal. (An aside: The British lads told us that "fancy" means "in costume" to them but luckily we cleared that up beforehand.) We were dressed to the nines and the butler came in to set up the Caviar, sour cream and potato chips, as well as putting the bottle of Dom Perignon 2015 on ice. The lads arrived looking very sharp and we proceeded to celebrate my birthday in fine fashion. 

After demolishing the caviar and two bottles of Champagne we thought it would be a good idea to have a drink at the Silver Note. This is a small, intimate jazz nightclub on the ship. Cindy and I had gotten to know the singer, Sharon, and the piano player, Sasha, and when we walked in Sharon started to sing Happy Birthday to me - followed by her singing our special song “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore!”  Cindy and I danced and had the floor to ourselves; it was magical. We finished our drinks at the small bar and the five of us headed to dinner in At

lantide, the main dining room.

Cindy had made all the plans and chosen the menu for the evening, including the dessert. We were seated at a lovely table and were immediately served ice cold Champagne. (Are you picking up a thread here?)  Our first course was perfectly seared duck liver served with a wild berry sauce and toasted brioche roll. The next course consisted of medium rare lamb chops, excellent mint sauce, carrots, green beans and roasted potatoes. Two marvelous French reds were on offer that were just perfect for the meal. We had a small cheese course and then the Chef and maitre'd came out with a beautifully decorated chestnut layer cake with rich whipped cream and fresh fruit. About twenty of the serving staff came over and sang Happy Birthday; it was delightful. 

The meal had gone rather late, as these things are wont to do, so we ambled up to the Disco on deck nine and we all danced for hours, finally saying our goodbyes well after midnight. Fortunately, on this evening we turned our clocks back an hour so we were able to get in an extra hour of sleep. My goodness, What a Party!