And, speaking of last night, G told me this morning that Mark Preston was not feeling well and had a gravely voice as a result and had ended his first show a little early. I haven't heard whether his second show was able to take place at all. That's the second time we've had that happen with guest vocalists this season, and the funny thing is that they sing better on a bad day than most of us could hope to sing on our best days.
We were on the Panorama Terrace early this morning, in time for the sunrise (beautiful) but just had coffee. Eventually we went to the Club Restaurant because I had a taste for pancakes and they are best freshly made there. We had time, then, to sort through paperwork in our cabin, tossing the Patters we'd saved since we returned to the Pacific Princess on October 28. I no longer save the Princess Patters, but do still take home the logs of the cruise and any Captains Circle-related invitations and menus and photos. Eventually, I suppose, I'll have to stop doing even that. I have a small wicker trunk in a spare bedroom that has to hold our wedding album and travel memorabilia and when it is full, I have to toss things, and I'm not going to toss the wedding album!
At 10:15am I went to the culinary demonstration in the Cabaret Lounge, just to smell the good smells. G, who hates the smell of onions and garlic cooking (he's not normal that way) skips the culinary demonstration but enjoys the galley tour. We met up again in time for lunch in the Club Restaurant (grilled chicken salad with cilantro lime vinaigrette). We didn't even make a pass through the Panorama Buffet for the Pastry Extravaganza afterward. We're very past the point where more desserts hold any appeal.
I spent part of the afternoon walking on Deck 10 (soaking in sunscreen and wearing my Tilley) while band 2Cool played poolside, and then held down a lounger on the Promenade Deck (sunny side or shady side, there are always loungers available because it's the Pacific Princess!) while I listened to an audiobook that quickly put me to sleep. I stayed there until G came looking for me (it's not hard to find each other on this ship); he had just participated in an activity called Human Slot Machine and won me a Princess water bottle. This was perfect because, though we have several at home, there was no room to squeeze one in on this cruise. I didn't miss it in Europe, trying to limit my water intake as I was but have really missed it in the Caribbean. I immediately filled it up with ice water and was a happy camper cruiser.
I joined G for the jackpot bingo session, an opportunity to win $1000 for an investment of $10 for a bingo card. There were two winners but we were sadly not among them. To say we were unsurprised would be an understatement.
Ventriloquist Kieran Powell did a matinee show at 4:15pm, but we did not attend. We used the time to get cleaned up for dinner and the evening and went to dinner a few minutes early so as to eat quickly and escape the baked Alaska parade, which we generally limit to once per season but have already done more than that. G had garden salad topped with chicken breast and I had just salmon...and dark cherry sorbet, of course. We are simply not hungry.
We were most looking forward to our evening entertainment, and we were done with dinner in time to attend the 6:45pm show of pianist Ryan Ahern. We have see Ryan's show in the past and were blown away by it, and were again tonight. We were exhausted by the end of it, having done nothing more than watch him play so quickly and powerfully. I wouldn't have minded seeing his second show too, but more wanted to hear Jere Ring play in the Casino Lounge one final time. I hate these goodbyes...we just never know when our paths will cross again.
Speaking of that, after making so many new friends each and every cruise, but especially on the crossing (many people were on for 29 nights including the last Mediterranean cruise of the season, and Paul and Marlene had been with us for 41 nights), I am convinced every cruise that it will never be as good as the most recent one. We don't know the new passengers, it just doesn't feel the same...but, somehow, it eventually does feel just like the others and it was hard to say this round of goodbyes. We have been very fortunate this year, and even Captain D commented several times how he thought that some holiday cruises are ruined by inflated expectations but the passenger group on this cruise was wonderful. We feel the same way. :-)
We move clocks back an hour tonight, to EST, which is a very good thing, as tomorrow will be a long day and we want to be up early and watch as the Pacific Princess enters Port Everglades for the last time until it returns from the World Cruise in 111 days. We are the only Princess ship in port tomorrow, and will be at Pier 2. In fact, I think that the only other ship in port will be the HAL Prinsendam, embarking on a a circumnavigation of South America. It will be a slow day by Port Everglades standards and that's another very good thing.
