I’ll try to post this while I still have T Mobile Cellular leaving Seattle.
The alarm went off (actually, tapped me awake, which is a very civilized way to be awakened) at 5am this morning, and we didn’t exactly bound out of bed (it was still dark!) but we were stirring by 5:15am. There was much to be done.
Fortunately, because we didn’t bring all that much to begin with (at least I didn’t), packing was pretty painless. We were having coffee in the International Cafe just after 6am and were sitting down to breakfast in the Concerto Dining Room shortly after it opened at 6:30am. Ahhhhhh, a leisurely breakfast knowing you have another cruise ahead of you when most are getting off…priceless! Still, we couldn’t be too smug about our good fortune. We’ve met a LOT of people from Seattle that seem to be taking this cruise every other week or two while the Majestic Princess is still sailing out of Seattle. We know that when we finally leave next week, it’s for good.
We were a little early for our COVID test appointment in the Medical Center on board this morning, and there was a minor question about exactly which test we needed (they phoned Guest Services for that detail), but we were nose tickled and out of there in five minutes. They said we could wait ten minutes for our results, or they could call us. We gave them our old and new cabin numbers, and beat a hasty retreat.
And then we started moving things over to our new cabin. It was a simple task made more difficult by the overflowing used linen carts in the corridor, but we quickly found the crew pass through was open and didn’t require us to brush up against dirty laundry, probably a good thing when Cruising in the Age of COVID. We soon had everything in our new cabin…but were waiting for a phone call telling us we were COVID-free and could unpack…but finally figured out that, if we weren’t, and with the Medallion tracking system, they would have hunted us down, wrapped us in plastic wrap and booted us off the ship in a hurry.
Which reminds me of something, which reminds me of something else…
When we decided to stay on for this additional week, I know many would think it was all hearts and flowers between us. You know, like G saying “Oh my darling, if you can’t go to visit my dear mother in law, won’t you please consider another romantic cruise with me?” In reality, it was more like G saying,”If you’re just going to be miserable next week about canceling your fourth trip to see your mom, and if you’re going to complain about the smoke, let’s just stay here”.
This started a quick analysis of whether or not we had enough stuff to stay another week. My first and biggest concern was about my meds; much of what I take are supplements but there are two or three important pills. Luckily, they’re not like insulin or blood pressure med important; if I rationed them out, I was certain I’d survive. But my most immediate concern was ibuprofen. When I voiced this, G assured me he had plenty to share with me. Really? Then book the cruise, Danno.
During our move this morning, I asked him to find the ibuprofen he could share with me. Three tablets. He has three tablets. For the two of us.Three tablets is not plenty. Three tablets will be gone before Juneau.
So when we went to the Medical Center for the COVID tests, I asked the receptionist if they had ibuprofen I could purchase. Let me just say this: Asking for ibuprofen at a ship’s Medical Center when Cruising in the Age of COVID gets people mighty excited. Headache? Did I have headache? No, not today. When did I last have a headache? Well, yesterday morning, after a night of too much Premium Beverage Package, was a little rough. Body aches? Heck yeah. I’m 61 years old. Some days the parts that don’t hurt are way outnumbered by the parts that do. Add in the cold, damp Alaska weather and the zipper on my Gortex jacket is little harder to get started everyday.
Feeling somewhat misled, I might have been a bit quick with a retort when G teased me for organizing the wooden hangers in both our old and new cabins. I always do this. Unused hangers (and we have a lot of them right now) are divided, skirt hangers on the right side of the closet and regular hangers on the left. I can’t help myself. G finds these types of personality quirks harious (his favorite one is that I can’t have two tubes of toothpaste started at the same time, and that term - the travesty of two tubes of open toothpaste- is often mentioned when I’m being persnickety).
But, wait for this. I walked into our new cabin when we were in the process of moving things over to find him carefully lining up and repositioning the magnets that hold the four baseball caps he brought from home plus the White Pass Railroad cap he bought in Skagway (because the 837 he already has are simply not enough) in a perfectly spaced, level row on the cabin wall. He re-positioned the magnetic hooks a little to the right, a little to the left, a little up or down, until they were juuuusssstttt riiiggghhhttt.
The travesty of two tubes of open toothpaste, G style
😆
I suddenly realized this morning that the charge in my Sonicare toothbrush would not likely last another full week, and mentioned that, in addition to ibuprofen, I needed to buy a toothbrush in Juneau. G’s sympathetic response? “You know, you can use your hand to move that Sonicare brush around your mouth when the battery dies.” Yeah, no. Not with just three shared ibuprofen, I can’t.
So, just some insight into the reality about what our life together is really like when we attempt to be spontaneous.
Once we were settled in to our new cabin, we wanted to explore those suites/mini suites at the front of the ship above the bridge to see what those cabins looked like. They’re big. Actually the balconies, that wrap around from the front of the ship to the sides, are massive. Very cool. But, as we made our way back to our cabin, it became instantly obvious that the heavy doors to the passenger areas had been closed while we were exploring. Each door had to be opened, and when the main doors from the elevator lobbies were slid open, a loud alarm sounded. Hoping to silence the alarm, I tried pulling the door shut. Nope, I couldn’t budge it. Finally, though, it started closing on its own, and the alarm eventually stopped. This transgression is probably on our permanent Princess record now, right after “used open crew pass through to move stuff from one side of ship to the other.”
G had to do a load of laundry then, washing his clothes from his fishing expedition in Ketchikan. The passenger laundries are on way the other end of the ship on lower decks. He said by the time he started the load, and made his way back to our cabin though multiple closed doors, setting off multiple alarms, it was time to start back to the laundry room, repeating the process.
Yes, this is definitely on our permanent Princess record.
We had already decided not to leave the ship today in Seattle. It’s nearly a $20 Uber ride each way to get to the main tourist areas, and we’ve seen a lot of them over the years. And we sure didn’t want to miss embarkation day lunch in the Concerto Dining Room. More salmon (the best of the cruise), but I skipped dessert. I knew what was in store for tonight’s dessert.
We weren’t required to go to our muster station OR rewatch the safety video
We spent the afternoon alternately chilling in our cabin and listening to the live music and people watching in the Piazza. I had phoned Mom earlier today and was surprised to find out not only are they not in lockdown, but that my brother and his wife were visiting her. Wait, what? You mean my trip back there might have been able to take place and instead I’m on a cruise? Bad daughter. Bad, bad daughter.
I will get a COVID test the day after we return home and leave for Ohio the next day AND also go back for a week in September. It’s the Catholic daughter version of penance.
We have cracked the DMW code with the help of Maitre d’ Neville. We have a wonderful table with an incredible wait staff in the Concerto Dining Room every night this cruise. Pure joy, especially tonight when there was much to be seen while we dined.
The white cliffs of Whidbey Island
Whidbey Island community
The Majestic Princess making her way to the Pacific Ocean
We are skipping all entertainment tonight and instead hanging out in the Hollywood Pool area. We thought we might be able to use the Lido Pool hot tubs as Seattle had such warm and beautiful weather today, but it gets chilly and windy fast as we sail toward the Pacific Ocean. Instead we’ll use the covered pool area.
And I predict an early bedtime. After all, 5am was a long time ago. Oh, and tonight’s dessert? Flourless chocolate cake. Of course.
