We slept like babies last night. G had gone to the Welcome Aboard show and returned, saying we had to see comedian Steve Moris' full show tonight. We've seen him before (I think...I just don't recall which one he was), but were up for a repeat.
We were up early and went down to the International Cafe (which will hereafter be known as the IC) for coffee. The IC is open 24 hours a day and is like a bakery in the morning with specialty coffees, and with sandwiches, quiches, soups, salad and desserts the rest of the day. We purchased two coffee cards and I got a decaf brewed coffee in a to-go cup. G uses his Princess mug, but I don't dare carry one because it would soon be 1.) lost; or 2.) lost. A bit about the coffee card, because everyone who has never cruised Princess is asking, "You need a card to get coffee?" No, you don't, not at all. But many people purchase a roughly $30 card which gives you 15 specialty coffees (such as cappuccinos and lattes) and unlimited brewed (good) coffee. The coffee that is generally served on the ship is from syrup and not the best. Couple that with the fact that I was served caffeinated instead of decaf last winter and ended up in the Medical Center, we've since decided to just always buy the cards for both of us and watch as my coffee is poured from an orange coffee pot.
So, armed with coffee, we went to the DaVinci Dining Room on Deck 6 and (joy) were greeted by headwaiter Luis and led to a table for 4 by the window, just for us. (It helped that it was still early and the dining room was mostly empty). Then (more joy) as headwaiter Antonio from Portugal was also there. Antonio was our headwaiter two years ago on the Emerald Princess and we know Luis from last year. An abundance of riches in one dining room.
And guess who the first waiter we saw was? Darko from Macedonia. Do you remember me mentioning Darko last year? Always smiling, looks like a young Tim Tebow. It's so good to be home! And not only because of the crew (though they're certainly a huge part of it), but for the food. Delicious and healthy and always available. No foraging for food here. I had my normal orange segments and mixed berries, scrambled egg beaters and lots of fresh salsa. With Luis and Antonio. All's right in my world.
Back in our cabin, we packed for a beach day (made simpler because of my beach packing list). Though it was sunny and calm today, we opted not to take our snorkel gear (my cold is much better but no sense pressing my luck) and floats, but I later regretted leaving the latter behind. It was very hot and the water was 86 perfect degrees. I could have floated for hours. Instead, I swam out to and down the length of the buoy lines. It felt so wonderful!
The BBQ started early, shortly after 11am, and we enjoyed chicken and the coleslaw and salad, and G fed a hamburger bun to the sandpipers, crumb by crumb. All involved were very happy.
My view for the day. :-)
We stayed until about 2pm and, before tendering back to the ship, we walked outside the fenced area to where the locals sell souvenirs and a band was playing. The lady who offers tourist advice inside Princess Cays was there and was most welcoming. We asked her if anyone back there would know the name of the boy who showed us the way back to Princess Cays after a long and wandering walk two years ago, and she introduced me to one of the sellers who was his grandmother. She said his name was Tesean, which didn't sound familiar, but then I remembered that he had said his name was Sean. Once again this year we'll make sure that he and his family get the Coke tumblers we get for purchasing soda stickers and any unused Elite toiletries. Honestly, there is no store nearby for them to buy anything; the closest town is 50 miles away.
While we were in that area outside the Princess Cays resort, G spotted a fellow passenger fishing in the pond back there. Shy guy that he is (Mom, he's more like Grampy every day), he asked if he could catch a fish too, but he hadn't casted in years. So this fellow casted out and handed the rod to G and, voila, he caught a fish! G was thrilled, even if the fish momentarily was not.
After we tendered back to the ship, we went directly to the hot tub on Deck 17 which was netted over, so we backtracked to a hot tub at the MUTS pool area, and- shocker- the water was HOT! Princess likes to keep its hot tubs about 98 lukewarm degrees, but this one was easily 103 (I should have stuck our pool thermometer in it. Yes, we travel with a pool thermometer; that's how I can report the water temps all winter long).
We got cleaned up for the evening and went up to Skywalkers about 4:15pm just to watch sailaway. Oh, I will sorely miss Skywalkers when we're on the Royal Princess next year. I know we have to plan to leave the lounge either before or after the 6pm traditional diners head to dinner, because those aft elevators become gridlocked, but I won't complain about that at all this year, because next year we won't even have it to complain about.
Captain Nick Nash came on the PA to make his "welcome back on board and didn't we have a perfect day weather-wise in Princess Cays? (we really did!) speech and told us that there was a tropical storm in the Atlantic and the Emerald Princess would be taking a more protected route to our next port of call, St. Thomas, but to expect some big swells tonight and tomorrow.
We stayed in Skywalkers for the Elite lounge (weak drinks at $5 plus tip, don't taste quite as nice as free ones made with liberal pours!). No worries...we have our soda stickers to keep us happy and will order wine in the dining room. On our way to dinner, we caught the sunset off the Promenade Deck. Beautiful!
We made it a point to get to dinner at 5:29pm to avoid a repeat of last night's table giveaway. We once again have a table for 2 by a window, but we're not yet sure how our waitstaff will work out, so I'll refrain from naming names. Part of the issue is us; having Suttipong as a waiter for two whole winters has forever spoiled us. He knew what we wanted better than we did. Have I mentioned Sutti's on the Sun Princess now? Note to self: send email to Sutti telling him how much we miss him.
We were out of dinner early enough to get to Steve Moris' 7:15pm show (7:15? That's drinking time on the Allure!). He is talented, but I forgot that he is also the shadow puppet guy. :-( Shadow puppets of a dog coughing up a hairball as cruise entertainment? I'll refrain from any comparisons to OceanAria on the Allure. ;-)
Still, when you're drinking fuzzy water and eating popcorn while lying in a comfy bed and blogging about a day spent on a beach, it's all good.
We are rocking and rolling a bit tonight, at least high on the ship at the far back, which is where our cabin is located. It's a "tuck in the sheets" night back here. Oh wait...we don't have a top sheet; we have a duvet. Oh wait...we told our cabin steward he didn't need to tuck the duvet in, to just leave it folded on top the bed to save himself some work. We'll just have to wedge ourselves in with those big, fluffy Emerald Princess pillows.
Oh wait... ;-)