Day 62: New Year's Eve At Sea

I was feeling so much better this morning that I made it to breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room with Darko. I told him that Dr. Darko's key lime pie was just the medicine I needed!

We were up way too early this morning (mostly because we were asleep very early last night), and I knew that was going to catch up with us later and that an afternoon nap would be required to make it to midnight tonight. We left breakfast and went our separate ways, which is our typical M.O. on sea days, planning to meet back up for lunch. I returned to the cabin for that 9am pill taking activity, and to start preparing this post, typing in all the New Year's Eve activities on board the Emerald Princess today. 

The first thing I did was add a shortcut for New Year's Eve to my keyboard shortcuts, so I don't have to type that over and over again. I use shortcuts quite a bit for those terms I use most often, like Emerald Princess, Royal Princess, Princess Theater, Explorers Lounge, Club Fusion, DaVinci Dining Room, Michelangelo Dining Room, Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, etc. I'm pretty fast at this two-fingered iPhone typing, but I'm not too proud to save myself keystrokes at every opportunity. 

The Emerald Princess (shortcutted to just "ep") was rocking and rolling again, but somehow it wasn't bothering me quite as much today. I think having just the five day reprieve that we've had has reset my tolerance limit and I'm good for awhile once again. Still, other passengers were not so lucky and we heard many tales of "mal de mar" today. 

I might have enjoyed some sun time, but we had bright sun mixed with rain showers all morning long, and so I didn't want to go through the trouble of finding a lounger only to be chased inside time and again by rain. Instead I sat through 3rd Officer Nick's navigational bridge lecture at 10:00am (3rd officer Dennis has gone home and will be back on February 17th) and Chief Engineer Roddy's technical lecture at 11:15am, simply because I enjoy them, and they are the only lectures offered on board this year, which is too bad. 

As it turned out, G and I skipped lunch altogether in favor of a nap (and I actually slept). He woke up in time to continue his plans for the afternoon, first attending the 3:00pm veterans get together and then we both went to the Gold Captains Circle party just to hear the singers and Emerald Princess orchestra perform the Motown medley that the old Motor City show (which was our favorite) has been shrunk down to. We raced back to the cabin to change for tonight's formal night, which was perfectly timed to be on New Year's Eve. How very Poseiden Adventure-ish of us!

Here is a listing of all the New Year's Eve celebrations tonight on the Emerald Princess:

7:30pm to 8:30pm- British New Year in the Wheelhouse Bar

10pm onwards- Gala balloon drop party in the Piazza

10pm onwards- Latin New Year's fiesta in the Wheelhouse Bar

10pm onwards- Ultimate New Year's Eve deck party on the pool deck

10:30pm onwards- New Year's Eve ball in the Explorers Lounge

11:30pm onwards- late night New Year's Eve in Skywalkers

This was a partyin' place tonight! 

We started the evening at "Dinner With Darko" (candles again!) in the Michelangelo Dining Room. The menu was very similar to last New Year Eve (possibly the same) and both G and I chose the filet mignon (the best beef of the year) and there was happiness all around.

We decided to skip the early performance of production show Boogie Shoes so as not to rush through tonight's dinner, and instead walked out of dinner into the Captain's Welcome Aboard Party and Champagne Waterfall (wait a moment, please, while I go to Settings and set up a keyboard shortcut for the Captain's Welcome Aboard Party and Champagne Waterfall), where we continued the evening's festivities with timely champagne that was freely poured (it does taste better after the fourth glass!). 

We left there to to directly to the Wheelhouse Bar for British New Years at 8pm, which we love to do, because these people know how to party, and we ending up chatting with a 1st officer and two 3rd officers from the bridge (including Nick) and their girlfriends who are on board for the cruise, and Auld Lang Syne-ing in true British form. 

But we were just getting started, and walked down to the Explorers Lounge to hear comedian-musician Gary Delena's act (he's very good) and then to the Princess Theater for the 8:45pm performance of production show Boogie Shoes. Now we're back in the cabin for a refresh, intending to go back out for the New Year's Eve party and balloon drop in the Piazza. 

Here's hoping everyone has a safe and happy New Year's Eve!

Day 61: At Sea (and under the weather)

It's no surprise, given that I've been living in close quarters with someone who's just now getting over a cold, that by last evening, I started feeling a bit yucky myself. I slept fitfully, and except for a shower and lunch in the DaVinci Dining Room, I've spent most of the day in bed. I have, therefore, little to report tonight. 

Except this:  Darko is a most amazing waiter. 

He's been moved to the DaVinci Dining Room for breakfast and lunch duty this cruise, and we were seated at one of his tables for lunch. It was obvious to us that I would not be going to dinner in the dining room tonight, and G decided to skip it also. We told Darko that we'd not be at our normal table for two next to a window, and asked if he could see that someone else was seated at it. 

Now, the backstory is that Darko knows that the flourless chocolate cake and key lime pie are my two favorite desserts. 

I'm tucked into bed; G is up at the Elite Lounge in Skywalkers, and there was a knock on the door. Room service just delivered two pieces of key lime pie to our room.  Have I mentioned I love Darko?  Yes, I know I have, but have I mentioned it lately?

I feel better already. :-)

Day 60: Fort Lauderdale

Aside from a gorgeous sunrise, seven ships in Port Everglades and a few memories associated with them, the biggest news of this turnaround day for us was that immigration came on board the Emerald Princess to clear the intransit passengers (those staying on for another cruise) into the country.

So naturally, I should be able to cut this off after 30 minutes of typing. Starting....now. 

We had hoped to be up really early, so as to see the Emerald Princess arrive in Port Everglades, and, even without setting an alarm, we were. Moving clocks back on hour the night before we arrive in Fort Lauderdale gets most of the credit, but also is the fact that we really do enjoy being outside on an upper deck as the Emerald Princess slowly enters the channel leading into Port Everglades. Today we were docked at Pier 19, and eventually there was a whole lot of shaking going on as the ship turned 180 degrees and squeezed into its berth. Several ships  were already there, including the Royal Princess and the Allure OTS, and the Nieuw Amsterdam arrived right after we did. And that's where the memories came from...of the seven ships in Port Everglades today, we had been on four of them- the Royal Princess, the Allure, the Nieuw Amsterdam and, of course, the Emerald Princess- in the past two months. In fact, we boarded the Royal Princess exactly two months ago today.  We've been at this for two months, and on one hand it feels like it's been forever, and on the other, it feels like we're just getting started. 

We were treated to a really amazing sunrise, which was particularly lucky, considering we never did see the sun today. All the clouds made this sunrise a stand out.

Before it got light, we had a perfect view of the Allure's Captain Johnny's motorcycle that he keeps on the bridge and rides in port. 

After breakfast in the Botticelli Dining Room, we did two loads of laundry. We're limiting what we send out to only dry cleaning and G's tuxedo shirt; everything else we do ourselves.  We're much happier doing it this way this winter, and our clothes are too. 

We had been directed in the intransit letter we received last night to meet in the DaVinci Dining Room with the 505 other intransit passengers at 10:30 to walk off the ship, and pass through immigration. I expected huge delays based on the number of ships in port, but, no, most of the disembarking passengers were off the ship by 10:30. But so many of this huge group of intransit passengers needed wheelchair assistance that, for once, immigration got it right, and came to us on the ship. It was very slick: we were in a continuous line, getting scanned out with the old ship's card, showing our passport to the ICE and then immediately getting scanned back in with our new ship's card. This meant the ship count was not actually zeroed out before starting up again, which we've always been told has to happen. Can't explain it, but I liked it. 

From then on things returned to normal. Lunch in the DaVinci Dining Room, purchase new soda sticker, and grab iPhone charging cord and plug in and Internet in Adagio, which is probably the quietest place on the ship on turnaround day.

We were up on Deck 19 for sailaway, as first the Nieuw Amsterdam, and then the Royal Princess (Love Boat themed horn blowing over and over and over and...) sailed. 

We were next, but we were wedged in so tightly to the Allure that I wasn't surprised that I saw four officers standing on the bridge wing of the Allure and one on the open deck keeping on eye on things. 

And the crew members watching from that door on the hull amused us all by waving a big hand as the Emerald Princess pushed away from the dock. 

After dinner with Darko, we went to the Welcome Aboard show (my first time this winter on the Emerald Princess). After the singers and dancers did their high-energy thing, and the cruise director's  staff was introduced, comedian Al Katz did a short bit. We have been Katz-free so far this winter, but I guess it was finally our time. My mother taught me that, if I can't say anything nice, to say nothing at all, but apparently Al Katz's mom didn't teach him the same thing. He told us several times that we sucked as an audience, which, of course, always helps strengthen that performer-audience bond. :-|

Ok, it's 10:20pm and I've run over already. We're going to go out to watch a bit of the Cowboys v. Eagles game and then call it a night. Other NFL Football on MUTS today:

1:00pm- Ravens v. Bengals

4:30pm- Packers v. Bears

Finally, I've passed on the Sanctuary this cruise. I enjoyed it immensely, but it falls into the category of "nice but not necessary" for me. I'll tough it out on the open decks where there's no pressure to relax.

;-)

Cruise #8: Southern Caribbean

Don't pay any attention to the little directional arrows. Princess uses the same graphic regardless of itinerary order. 

Day 59: Princess Cays

Prepared Saturday evening, December 28th, but not published until we arrived in Fort Lauderdale. Uploading all these photo using ship's wifi would have taken that long anyway. ;-)

I was hopeful, after the gorgeous day we had yesterday, that today would bring more of the same, but, sadly, no. As we sat at breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room, watching as the tender boats were lowered right outside our window, we could see a huge black cloud overhead and rain spitting against the window. 

Well...shoot. After being rather "ship bound" this cruise due to the demands of the Sanctuary ;-) and G being down, I had been ready for some serious beach time today (not to mention that G is making noises about us hiking to the lighthouse on our next visit to Princess Cays, so I'd better grab my snorkeling time while I can). 

We returned to the cabin uncertain of our plans for the day. At that moment, Captain Nick made an announcement that the weather forecast showed rain over the island on and off all day, and G encouraged me to just spend the day in the Sanctuary. But when I walked out back on the Terrace Deck to get some fuzzy water for that 9am pill taking activity, the sun was out a little bit and there was a beautiful partial rainbow off the back of the ship.

Back in the cabin, I rounded up G and the minimum required basics for a day on the beach (backpack, two towels, snorkel and mask), and our Tilley hats (good for sun OR rain) and we took an elevator down to Deck 4 to board a tender boat over to the island. 

Once on Princess Cays, the morning was never impressive, but, thankfully, any rain showers were of the misty variety and extremely fast moving. 

It seems like the sand quality deteriorates a bit more every time we visit. G thinks they're trucking in sand of poor quality; I don't think simply raking the beach is going to do enough at this point to help.

I decided not to snorkel; no sun means no color underwater, and so plugged in my ear buds and relaxed in a lounger, covered with a slightly damp beach towel. G went through the buffet line and brought me a chicken breast, and I never budged (a skill I've learned in the Sanctuary) as I munched on it. Shortly after noon, the rain grew increasingly serious, to the point where a steady stream of water was flowing from both the roof of the picnic shelter and the brim of my Tilley hat. 

We decided to bolt right then, while it was still pouring, to return to the tender dock, knowing that when the rain stopped the line to return to the ship would quickly grow. By the time we got back on the ship, we were drenched, and dumped our things in the cabin and headed right to a hot tub to warm up. 

Eventually we showered and went up to the Sanctuary, where I lounged and G held a vigil in a chair at my side. Of course, as is our luck, the sun actually came out a bit by late in the day, and our view of Princess Cays from the Sanctuary at the front of the ship was striking. 

Sanctuary location on the Emerald Princess

Even better was when, after the Emerald Princess had retrieved its tenders at 4pm, we were able to get a perfect view of the southern tip of Eleuthera and the lighthouse, as well as a view of the Nieuw Amsterdam and Zuiderdam at Holland America's private island resort, Half Moon Cay, just 15 miles south of Princess Cays on Little San Salvador Island, also part of the Bahamas. 

At 5pm, we went up to Skywalkers for the Elite lounge and the sun was actually brightly shining, though low in the sky by then.  Because the ship remained on AST today while Princess Cays is actually on EST, sunset wasn't until almost 6:30pm, while we were enjoying dinner with Darko. 

Immediately afterwards, we went to the Princess Theater for Mitchell Zeidwig's second performance. He started out a bit Victor Borge-ish, while I would have preferred he just play, but I was amused when he got G in on the act (we're on a roll this cruise!). 

He finished up seriously playing Rhapsody in Blue, which we enjoy listening to at home too...performed by our Yamaha Disklavier piano. ;-) Zeidwig is an amazing pianist; it's just his performing skills that are a bit quirky. 

Next we found two single seats in the Explorers Lounge for Rootberry's second juggling show, which was just beginning. Something tells me these two were the boys sitting in the back of the class in sixth grade keeping everyone entertained with their antics. Afterwards, G went to Scoops for a milkshake, which he gets as part of his Ultimate Kids beverage package, I got a fuzzy water and popcorn, and we're back in the cabin early. Our hope is that, once again this turnaround, we can roust ourselves out of bed really early, to watch the Emerald Princess and six other cruise ships arrive in Port Everglades tomorrow morning. It's going to be a crazy day in Fort Lauderdale, our busiest turnaround of the season to date, and the Royal Princess will be at Pier 2 (aka the "good" dock), while the Emerald Princess will be stuck down at Pier 19 (aka the "really bad" dock). 

Day 58: At Sea

This has been the best day of several best days on our winter. It has been absolutely perfect from start to finish, and, let's face it, even on a cruise that's a fairly rare thing. 

I started this post early, while sitting in the Sanctuary following a wonderful breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room (still stollen!). The Emerald Princess has been much calmer as the Christmas winds have died down considerably (I guess thanks to the same winter storm that has left half a million homes without power in the northeast. Not exactly a fair trade-off, is it?), and any winds still around are at our back as we head northeast. The sun was shining brightly, but was mottled through the canopies covering the Sanctuary, and, honestly, it was an entirely different sport today than it was during the first two sea days when I huddled in wet towels and wool blankets. This I could learn to love.  (Insert deep sigh of contentment here). 

Because it's less windy, we're sleeping better every night (well, G's cold getting better deserves some of the credit for that, too). I've always known, but have been recently reminded, that I do not function well without eight hours at night. People say that, as they get older, they sleep less at night and more during the day. If that's any measure of aging, I am happily still in the midst of middle-age. At any rate, life was good this morning. 

In case you think I've been coy about how long our winter at sea is going to last, those closest to us can vouch for the fact that we honestly don't know. In fact, now that G is again healthy enough for the argument, we've picked right up where we left off before he got sick, with debating, debating, debating just how long we'll be here. This discussion, which happens year 'round in jest (I say 100 days and he says 150; I say 110 and he says 150; I say 120 and he says 150...a compromising man he is NOT) has intensified now that we are making final payments for the March cruises. And we actually have flights to return home on three different dates in March, and into April.  Darko is well aware of our dilemma (actually, MY dilemma...G could happily stay until the Emerald Princess leaves for Europe in mid-April, and we are booked out that far) and thinks we should all leave together on March 29. This would mean that we arrived on the Emerald Princess on the same day, and would leave on the same day, basically keeping us here for (as the crew loves to tell us) "one European contract".

Now that we've effectively used Princess Vacation Protection's "cancel for any reason" coverage (to cancel those two Royal Princess cruises in November), I'm a small bit more settled about committing to more cruises. Cancel for any reason coupled with fully refundable Southwest flights (booked with points) provide a measure of comfort. Things have gone shockingly well so far this winter (wonderful service from our waitstaff AND our cabin steward, just one cold each and no Code Red norovirus outbreak in sight, Zappos delivering shoes to my cabin) and, between you and I (because G NEVER reads my blog)...yeah, I might commit to ten more days.  Stay tuned...

For the first time this cruise, I wore a swimsuit and coverup to the Sanctuary, and took frequent cooling dips in the Lotus pool just one deck below. G popped in a couple of times, finally staying for the lunch we ordered from the Sanctuary menu. (Greek pinwheels for me and tostito chips and dip for him...$3 per person delivery charge). 

Today is what the Sanctuary was made for, and, for the first time this cruise, it appeared to be fully attended. I think it was nice enough today for us to forget the hurricane of the early days of this cruise and consider re-booking for next cruise (where the kid count will drop from 350 to 250). G laughed at me, reclining in my lounger, not even lifting my head, while I popped slices of Greek pinwheel wraps into my mouth like I was an extra in a Cleopatra movie while the sun sparkled off the water 17 decks below. (Insert second deep sigh of contentment right here). 

Nice as it was, G still insisted I attend this cruise's wine tasting with him, so at 2:30pm I dragged myself back down from heaven and returned to the cabin to shower. We have this wine tasting thing down: I give G my whites and he gives me his reds and he gets the final dessert wine and we're both happy (well, I would have been happier up in the Sanctuary, but...). The shoebox from my new sandals makes a good storage box for the complimentary shooter glasses, and I've even saved the tissue paper the sandals were wrapped in to wrap the shooter glasses in.

We came out of wine tasting right in the midst of fruit and vegetable carving in the Piazza, and Jefferson and Cecil there carving and trimming and pounding in skewers as fast as they could. Jefferson told me we'd be seeing his carvings later at the Elite Lounge in Skywalkers, and I am going to try to note how many days they're able to be used. 

We had just enough time for a quick rest in the cabin before dressing for the evening (smart casual on a sea day...what a treat!) and heading up to Skywalkers. The ocean was flat today like we haven't seen for weeks. Every so often there was a wisp of white on the surface, but that was it.  What a change from a few days ago!

At the last minute, G decided to go back to the cabin to get a bottle of champagne to take to dinner, and told me to go ahead and he'd meet up with me. I was seated for just a few minutes when he arrived with the champagne and told Darko we'd like it with dessert. Because ship time right now is an hour ahead of the time zone we're actually in, sunset wasn't until 6:16pm, and it was spectacular and on our side of the ship. 

And at the very end of it. I saw the second green flash of my life. That's exciting!

But the thrills were just beginning. Headwaiter Johann surprised us with cannolis, a treat from Maitre d' Generoso, and then Darko delivered the desserts we had ordered, and the champagne...AND a small gift bag "from Sir". Huh?  I was shocked...what was going on?

Well, it seems that G had stopped by. Facets fine jewelry store on the ship and picked up a gift for me:  an ammolite pendant. He's always been fascinated with the geological origin of ammonite, and I love that it's a 75 million year old stone, and that it's so colorful. It's the only stone we've ever looked at in port, and even then just casually (you know that I am not a shopper). 

That was the whole reason for G's coming to the dining room after me...He snuck the bag to Darko to be delivered with dessert and champagne. Darko loved it, I loved it, G loved it, the pendant is beautiful and the cannoli was delicious. What more could I ask for?

But the evening was still young, and while the second and third and fourth acts paled a bit in comparison, they were still fun:  the production show Disco:  Blame it on the Boogie; Team Rootberry juggling in Explorers Lounge, and the Emerald Princess orchestra playing big band music in the Explorers Lounge. We're back in the cabin now, watching college football (Syracuse v. Minnesota) on TV. I love an exciting fourth quarter. 

I loved this entire day. Don't tell G, but I'm softening my stance on staying an additional ten days. I'd hate to miss the opportunity for another day like this. :-)

Day 57: St. Thomas

The Emerald Princess docked at 7am, the only ship at Havensight in St. Thomas. If you think this makes the passengers happy, you should see what it does for the crew. I know, I am among only a few people on this entire planet that prefer docking at Crown Bay, but that's only because we enjoy going to Water Island. Since we probably wouldn't have done that today anyway, it really didn't make any difference to me. Docking at Havensight is actually a plus if you're going to Magen's Bay or St. John, so, with only two ships in St. Thomas today (the Emerald Princess and the Queen Mary 2), I'm betting there was happiness all around. 

Also all around today:  Christmas carols on the ship's playlist. Except these must be from Side B. "Santa looked a lot like daddy, and daddy looked a lot like him", and a Chipmunks carol that nearly had me jumping ship.

We did get off the ship today, just to walk around Havensight. We had phoned the Marriott Frenchman's Reef today to see if they'd sell us a day pass (answer: no, not during the holidays) and that put an end to our ambition for the day. G is better but still not high energy and we had unlimited Internet and phone today (but, sadly, a couple of businesses back home that we needed to call were still closed for the holiday, and we're in Fort Lauderdale on a Sunday). We plugged in in the buffet over lunch and spent some time Internet-ing to our hearts content.

Finally, I had been stressing yesterday about not relaxing in the Sanctuary, and so I spent the rest of the afternoon up there. The view of St. Thomas was beautiful, there was no wind, and finally, on all counts, the Sanctuary was a little island of tranquility today. 

I skipped afternoon tea that was served while I was still up there. Much like the free drinks on the Allure of the Seas, I finally realized that, just because it's there doesn't mean I have to indulge. Not that I haven't really enjoyed afternoon tea at 3:45pm, but it's definitely been making dinner at 5:45pm less appealing. It's also like that Elite tea we can get delivered to the cabin every afternoon, but have only actually done twice in almost 400 days. Nice, but not necessary. 

We had noticed that tonight was listed as a formal night in the cruise planner in our embarkation day Patter. I had thought it was an error, but, no, we received our order form for chocolate covered strawberries in our cabin last night (a harbinger of formal dress the following night). It's rare to have it on a port day, especially with a day at sea tomorrow, but all I can figure is that it's in honor of Boxing Day ("WHAT day?" we Americans are asking). I guess it wasn't yesterday, Christmas Day, because we didn't sail away from St. Kitts until 6pm. Seems a little strange to me, but, hey, now it's out of the way until next cruise, probably on New Years Eve. 

Oh, yeah, I LOVE dressing up two nights out of every ten! ;-)

We were in Skywalkers for sailaway, which, from St. Thomas, especially Havensight, is every bit as beautiful as from Antigua.  I made one last phone call to Mom, ordered a $5 Breeza Marina, and enjoyed the view. 

Skipping tea and hors doerves, and having had just salad from the buffet at lunch, it felt good to be quite hungry at dinner, and I splurged on escargot before having my usual lobster and a plate of broccoli. 

Entertainment choices tonight were the production show What a Swell Party in the Princess Theater, and performer Mitchell Zeidwig in the Explorers Lounge. The Patter didn't give any clue as to what Mitchell Zeidwig was going to do to entertain us, and I was imagining the worst (a comedian/magician/ventriloquist), but when we arrived early in the Explorers Lounge to listen to the Emerald Princess orchestra play Big Band songs, we saw the grand piano on the stage front and center, and music director Chuck confirmed that Mitchell Zeidwig was a pianist. 

Was. he. ever!  In fact, he was a classical pianist who plays with symphony orchestras all around the world. I also suspect he's a bit of an eccentric, proved by the fact that he came out and, for his show, took requests and then pretty much played what he wanted to.  Really. But when he started playing several movements of the Nutcracker Suite without music, I was mesmerized. At some point, G leaned over and told me to close my mouth. Later he reminded me to breathe. I could have listened to Mitchell Zeidwig play classical music on the piano from now until the Emerald Princess arrives back in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday morning. 

I guess that goes a long way in explaining why Princess Pop Star and karaoke and the Marriage Match Game Show aren't quite my thing, doesn't it? ;-)

G was done for the evening, and so I returned to the cabin with him, considering going back to the Explorers Lounge for Zeidwig's 9:30pm show, but You'll Shoot Your Eye Out is on TV, and I haven't yet seen it this year, so I might be done for the night too. (It's at the major award part. No, I can't leave now). 

Sailaway from St. Thomas with a Breeza Marina in hand, escargot and lobster for dinner, Tchaikovsky and You'll Shoot Your Eye Out.

I've decided that Boxing Day is a jolly good thing!

Videos from the Emerald Princess Christmas

The Christmas village train

Caroling on Christmas Eve

I'm not sure if this is unabated excitement or unchecked sugar consumption, but we all loved it!

This one was cute simply because the dad had handed over the baby to an unsuspecting dancer...er, elf, who handed it to Santa. Meanwhile, the dad had walked around to the other side of the Piazza to retrieve his baby from a different elf. I guess that, by the time you're on your third child, you're more relaxed about these things. Or maybe it's a "dad" thing. ;-)

Christmas Day (continued)

We returned to the cabin after watching the Christmas festivities in the Piazza to formulate a plan for today.  First I phoned Mom using the ship's wifi and the Vonage app on my iPhone (for free. All calls from anywhere in the world are free to the US. Get the app!). It was so nice to have the chance to talk on Christmas Day. There were three ships in St. Kitts (Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Sea and a smaller Windstar ship) and, between that and the fact that G was still not 100%, but more like 50%, we nixed the idea of going to a beach. 

Still, it was a beautiful day, and we changed into our swimsuits and sat in the hot tub on Deck 17 enjoying the beautiful scenery off the back of the ship. The view of St. Kitts from Basseterre, where ships dock, looks very similar to the view of Maui from Lahaina harbor. Eventually, we returned to the cabin, intending to clean up and go to lunch, but G became engrossed in It's a Wonderful Life on TV, and then napped, which is exactly what he needs, and today I didn't even flee the cabin to go to the Sanctuary, but instead read and watched the movie too. G woke up just as the movie ended, and, of course, I was crying, as I always do when I watch that movie, which prompted G to wonder how many Christmases we've watched It's a Wonderful Life while I fried (no typo, that, right Mom?). Well, three Christmases in this same cabin on the Emerald Princess, and probably 25 more at home. Some things never change. 

Next Christmas on the Royal Princess, it's the Southern Caribbean itinerary, and the ship would usually be in Bonaire on that day of the cruise, but the Royal is skipping it all together and having a day at sea. I personally prefer that, I think. Having twice had Christmas Day on a ship when we were in a port, and once when we were at sea, I think it adds some specialness to the way the day feels when tours and excursions don't get in the way. Of course, I visit these ports multiple times each winter, so perhaps my view might not be held by all. ;-)

By dinner time, we were truly hungry, having just had cereal for breakfast and skipping lunch altogether. There were new (to us) performers on board for tonight's Princess Theater show, a Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons tribute group called the Unexpected Boys and we certainly wanted to see that. The early performance was at 7pm, so we went to dinner as soon as the Michelangelo Dining Room opened just before 5:30pm. There were candles on the tables (!) and a special Christmas menu, and while we were going to get the turkey (me) and the ham (G), Darko steered us to the halibut and the beef tenderloins, respectively, and he was not wrong. 

We each had an appetizer and soup too, and so when it came time for dessert, we were just too full. We chose instead to go to the show, and come back afterward for coffee and dessert. 

The Unexpected Boys were very entertaining.

Two of the four sang in falsetto voices that were unbelievable. I was enjoying the whole thing immensely until they got me up on stage...and the rest of it was a blur. I. was. MORTIFIED. First, you must understand, because I had showered early in the afternoon and then lay on the bed watching the movie, my hair was flat in the back. My hair styling, as you know, is limited to standing under the air vent in the ceiling of the midship elevator lobby on Deck 14 immediately following a shower on my way to dinner. Since my hair was already dry, I halfheartedly tried to comb some water through it to puff it up again, but it wasn't my best effort. Had I known I would be standing on a stage in front of 900 people, I might have tried harder. Then, to make up for the hair, and in honor of Christmas, I wore my favorite jade green kimono, which is too easily identifiable. After the show, at least 14 people came up to me to comment on my performance. On top of that, several of the singers and dancers had come to the show and were sitting right next to me (why, oh why couldn't one of them have been chosen?). Therefore, from this day forward, I can no longer attend any production shows for the rest of the winter. Or at least not sit in the first row where they can see me. The jade green kimono must be burned tomorrow. Or at least not worn again until next cruise. And I must never leave the cabin again without being stage-worthy. OK, that won't work. I'd never see the light of day again.

As you can tell, I'm pretty traumatized.  For my extreme embarrassment, I received a parting gift of an autographed CD and a Christmas memory that won't soon leave me. I was not going to post a photo but my peeps have spoken ;-) and are clamoring for one, so here you are:

I took one look at this photo and said, "Holy s&$@, when did my hair go red, and just how bad is the lighting in our cabin that I haven't noticed?" but G assured me it's not that color at all, that it was just the lights causing it to look like that. Between you and I, I think he just doesn't want me to tie up the bathroom for an hour coloring it again after just ten days. 

We returned to the Michelangelo Dining Room (me holding my purse in front of my face after the 8th person recognized and stopped me to comment) for coffee and dessert. Headwaiter Johann from South Africa seated us at our same table with Darko and Komang, and we both chose gingerbread soufflés for dessert. I know this is unbelievable, but that was my first soufflé EVER on a Princess cruise. It was good, but not very gingerbread-y. It just tasted like sweet and vanilla. 

It's 10pm and we're back in the cabin already. We have a 7am arrival in St. Thomas tomorrow, and we know we'll be docking at Havensight, on the eastern side of Charlotte Amalie, because the Queen Mary 2 is in port and is so large it must dock at Crown Bay, about 3 miles away on the western side of Charlotte Amalie. It's our first visit to Havensight this year, which opens up several opportunities for ways to spend the day, but we aren't making plans until we see how G feels in the morning. The Sanctuary also awaits, and after tonight, I need a bit of "SERENITY NOW!"  

Day 56: Christmas Day in St. Kitts

We've had a really wonderful start to Christmas Day on the Emerald Princess. So many things were done to celebrate the holiday, and they all made for a morning that, though still another day on a cruise ship in the Caribbean, was really something special. 

I was up late last night (midnight Mass, though started at 11:30pm, still kept me up way past my usual bedtime), and couldn't believe it when we both slept until 8:15am, and only awakened then because the ship's thrusters were being used to dock the ship (backwards) in St. Kitts. There was an uncoordinated dash to the bathroom (one of those moments when I think, "Who needs a balcony?; we need a second bathroom") in our attempt to get to the International Cafe and then to breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room before the doors closed at 9am. Surprisingly, there was still a line up at the dining room door when we arrived; apparently everyone thought Christmas breakfast in the dining room was a good idea.

Meanwhile, the bridge was keeping us updated about a UFO they'd sighted, and they could see a red coat and white beard and reindeer through their binoculars. Such excitement!  When we left the dining room shortly after 9:30am (just cereal for us this morning), we walked into the midst of Christmas morning in the Piazza. First and most important, of course, was that the big man himself was seated there in front of a holiday photo backdrop.

Santa's elves, who looked astonishingly like the Emerald Princess dancers dressed in those darling Christmas costumes from the show last night, were posing for photos and directing the kids to and from Santa. I don't know who Santa was (he was looking his most authentic best, and had an English or Scottish accent), but he did an incredible job interacting with the kids and handing out presents and getting jiggy to the Christmas carols. It was nothing short of perfect. 

(And I have a darling video to upload to YouTube (it actually moved me to tears) when I get fast enough wifi )

After the little kids had passed through, the older, unbelieving kids did the same, but I suspect that they mostly wanted to stand close to the elves for a photo.  And, speaking of that, it's is nothing short of astonishing how tall and slim and beautiful the dancers are when standing next to us mere mortals. We usually see them with each other on stage, where they're all so gorgeous that no one stands out, but, I'm telling you, these are some really perfectly beautiful people. 

Also taking place at the same time was Pelican Pete's Holiday Fair. There were different stations set up all around Deck 5 of the Piazza with cookie decorating, ornament decorating, button making and face painting. And as much as the kids were loving all this, I think that the parents and grandparents were enjoying it even more.

Other Christmas activities on board:

It's a Wonderful Life shown all day on Channel 37 on TV

10:00am: A Christmas Story (known in our house as You'll Shoot Your Eye Out) on MUTS

10:30am, 8pm and 10pm: crew caroling in the Piazza

1:00pm: movie Four Christmases in the Princess Theater

3:00pm:  Miracle on 34th Street (the good one, not the horrid David Hartman remake) on MUTS

6pm, 8pm and 9:45:pm  The Santa Claus on MUTS

10pm:  holiday karaoke in Club Fusion 

I'll end this post now, as it has so many photos, and continue blogging about the rest of our day (which I'm guessing won't be too exciting given the cold one of us has) in a subsequent post.