1) On the lightest side you could get a beverage and pastries at the 24-hour coffee station just outside the restaurant. It had one of those Nespresso push-button machines with a number of choices including coffee, hot water (a selection of tea bags was on hand), hot chocolate, and a few Italian-style coffees like cappuccino and latte. Cookies were usually available all day as well.
The white contraption on the left is the hand sanitizer. They had one at the entrance to the ship and the entrance to the dining room. I wasn't so worried about Legionnaire's disease on this small boat, but it was psychologically comforting to have.
2) Another choice was a continental breakfast in the 4th floor Panorama Bar. It included cheeses, sliced meats, fruit, pastries and the usual beverages. We ate there once. It was fine, but we prefer a warm breakie.
3) Then there was the dining room or Restaurant. Lots of choices. Here's the menu:
The above items were delivered by your server. This menu was the same every day, but there were many other options to choose from. Both Mike and I tried the pancakes one day. They were Russian style...maybe 4-inches in diameter max, thicker, heavier. Lots of choices to add to the batter or top them off. I ordered savory mushroom and Mike had blueberries.
The servers always poured our coffee or other beverage, but if you did not want to order off the menu, there was a huge help-yourself buffet with four hot options--scrambled eggs, at least two meats, some style of potatoes, and a choice of veggies (mushrooms being one).
There was also an order-your-own omelet station with various items to add. I usually had a "Greek" style with cheese, mushroom, spinach.
Mike usually had the hot oatmeal or their cold oatmeal-like muesli. With these you had many sweet or savory or syrupy options for toppings.
There was also a cheese and cold cuts area, many bread and pastry choices, and a large section of whole and cut fruits.
Here's one of my meals. The bacon looks overdone, but it was to my taste. (Yes, I'm mostly a veg head, but I do eat bacon on occasion. It's not a religious thing for me; it's a texture thing.) I also enjoyed a glass of kefir each day with a fruit puree on top. My faves were cherry and apricot. The cherry juice was wonderful also.
You could have whatever options you liked or one of everything on the menu. There was no limit. We don't usually eat breakfast, but on this cruise we surely did.
At 10:00 there was a safety drill and review. We stood outside our cabins and put on our life jackets. You had to tie it in a special knot. The captain and some crew came around to check things out and adjust our knots.
While we waited we got a chance to meet our neighbors. There was another Debbie across the hall. Later we met a third and heard there was a fourth Debbie on board, but never ran into her. We all spelled our full names differently--Deborah, Debra, Debora.
At 10:45, Program Director Margo announced over the P.A. system to meet her in the 4th floor Sky Bar (lecture room) to describe the day's activities and options.
At 11:00, she continued with a lecture on Russian souvenirs (best place to buy them and hints on authenticity) and Russian foods--borscht, blini, seasonings, caviar, pelmeni (national dish of Russia and we would have a cooking class on how to make these), stroganoff, stuffed cabbage, and pavlova (meringue-based dessert named after Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, usually incorporating fruit and whipped cream). Sour cream is served with every meal. Lunches are usually soup. Russia is starting to produce wines. And, of course, all about vodka!
Well, 12 noon rolled around and it was time for lunch. More on that later.
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