Sometime during the early hours of morning (2:15am?) there was an announcement made in all the cabins about an incident in the incinerator room. This isn’t the first time we’ve had one of these middle of the night incinerator announcements. In fact, on one ship (the one with Awesome Ambrish as our steward) the crew was called to their muster stations. This time, no muster stations were involved. There were two or three more announcements, these by Captain Forteeze and in the first one he sounded like his deep sleep had been interrupted too. Eventually there was a stand down announcement and that was the end of it. I think I actually fell asleep between the announcements so I have no idea how long it all lasted.
Still, I was up early this morning for Hubbard Glacier viewing. We weren’t quite at the glacier yet, so I headed to Botticelli for breakfast. It wasn’t at all full. I think most people were either on their balconies or on the open decks. I ordered an egg beater veggie omelet made with less fat and, frankly, it was swimming in grease. It was the first thing onboard that I truly couldn’t eat. The one I had in the buffet yesterday was perfect. So breakfast was a double order of orange segments, not a bad thing.
I then decamped to the Promenade Deck. It was sunny and not as chilly, or at least it wasn’t wet. I can handle cold but not wet cold, and today felt far more comfortable than the past two days.
Hubbard Glacier looked much the same as it did in 2023; with lots of bergy bits in the water, the bridge got us as close as they could. Some guests were disembarked into a local boat for an excursion that got them much closer. It’s pricey (I heard $525pp, but that’s unconfirmed), but if close is important to you, that’s the way to get there. Some interesting facts about the glacier: the front of the glacier that is visible from the ship is 350 feet high above the water line and 250 feet below the water line, and it originates 76 miles away.
I stayed on the Promenade Deck for quite a while (so you know it was pleasant out there), me taking photos with my humble iPhone 15 Pro standing next to someone who needed a crane to hold up his telephoto lens (memories of our Tongariki sunrise experience on Easter Island). Eventually G texted that he was up and moving and we met on the Lido Deck while he enjoyed his first burger of the cruise (and he snagged hot chocolates for each of us to enjoy while he ate).
And then there’s me with my iPhone held high above my head, unable to clearly see what I am even taking a photo of. 😉
It was nearly noon by then, and I wanted soup, so I uttered those immortal cruise words, “Hurry up and finish eating so we can go to lunch”. Always, every cruise, at least once. 😂
We went to Botticelli (lentil soup today, and roasted cauliflower, too), then took advantage of the sun to sit on the Terrace Deck until we finally got chilled (but it took longer in today’s sun). Then it was back to the cabin to warm up and get ready for the evening.
Roasted cauliflower (but really steamed, I suspect)
Lentil soup…so good!
Throughout the day we researched what to do tomorrow in Valdez. Nothing is standing out, so we’ll either simply walk around (and maybe find a place selling contact lens solution. My new case uses more than my usual one would), or find someone in port selling tours.
The afternoon turned a bit bumpier, at least on the back of the ship, as we left protected water and entered the Gulf of Alaska. I was not bothered this time, but G was a little. We know from years of cruising that pitching (front to back) bothers me, while rolling (side to side) is his kryptonite.
Our first production show, Colors of the World, was supposed to be shown at 4:30pm, 7:30pm and 9:30pm, and we went to the Princess Theater at 4pm to get a seat for the 4:30pm show, but there was a technical issue and it was never even started. At 4:45pm we gave up, and went to Michelangelo for dinner. It was nice to return to our usual table for two tonight, and our next-door tablemates. They had taken the small boat excursion today and told us all about it. It sounded great…but $525. Yikes. Dinner for me was a piece of salmon and rumbledethumps, British comfort food at its best. I then ordered flourless chocolate cake, and, oh Princess, what have you done to that formerly decadent dessert?
Rumbledethumps
I removed the cheese on top and enjoyed the mashed potatoes and cabbage underneath.
I ate the whipped cream.
That is all.
It used to be one of my favorite desserts.
And chocolate with fruit? Just no.
The technical issue was fixed for the later production shows, so we returned to the Princess Theater at 6:30pm for the 7:30pm show. We were happy to see it, but it only lasted 30 minutes. That’s a lot of collective sitting and waiting for a 30 minute show. However, free champagne was handed out to alleviate any whinging. Get them drunk, keep them happy I guess.
We were SRO for Tom Franck’s 8:30pm Exploeres Lounge show and then caught the last of the Domino Duo’s set in Club Fusion. I was well ready for sleep after my early wake up, but we first went up to Skywalkers to catch the very last of the sun before it slipped behind a cloud bank. It had been another relaxed day at sea.
