Prepared Sunday night, December 1st but I was unable to get on wifi to post.
I awoke so happy today, despite it being a sea day (because, as you know, they're not my favorites). You might ask me (as my husband asks me), how can someone NOT awaken in a happy mood on a cruise ship? It's not news to some people that I adore being home, and to leave it for months at a time, even for something as wonderful as cruising...well, I feel it at times, but generally only on sea days. Actually, I consider myself doubly fortunate, first to have the opportunity to cruise as we do, but also that I have a life outside of cruising to miss when I'm away. How lucky is that?
It helped tremendously that cruise friends are on the ship with us this cruise, and I'd be seeing many of them today. It also helped that today was Sunday, with NFL games to watch on MUTS (which is exactly what I'd be doing at home), and, this morning, when I looked at today's Patter, I saw that the Broncos-Chiefs rematch would be shown on MUTS at 5:30pm. Jackpot! First is the fact that we get to see it on the ship, but also that it provides me a valid pass for dressing up on a formal night. Yes, I was indeed happy when we left the cabin for breakfast.
And even if I hadn't been smiling, there is no way I could go to the IC for brewed decaf coffee and leave unhappy. The crew there is amazing, and I'm certain they are selected just for their sunny dispositions. Dear Ana from Serbia greets me each morning with a hug...how can we not love these people? And-huge thrill here- walking by today we saw none other than Thai Reznich, our fav sommelier from the Emerald Princess last year. Thai is from Detroit, and we were always in wonder at the fact that someone from the US was working on board, and that someone from Detroit was a sommelier (no offense...I grew up near Detroit and think Motown is the best music ever, but wine?). Thai is now the Junior Assistant Food and Beverage Manager on board, a position of much responsibility (or at least, as he admits, much paperwork). I had almost emailed him last week to see where he was now, and he was here!
At breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room we told Ingrid, who is the commandant of seating in the Michelangelo Dining Room at dinner, that we wouldn't be at our table tonight. Someone would be thrilled to get a table for two by a window on a formal night, and I would be happily bypassing filet mignon for pizza and football, so it's a win all around.
We returned to the cabin after breakfast to take our morning pills (honestly, we're at the age where we need for that to be an item on the Patter: "9am- Take pills". Actually, a huge percentage of people on this ship could probably use that reminder). And that reminds me...G went down to the IC ahead of me this morning and encountered, on the elevator, a lady looking for where to get off the ship to meet her excursion group. Really. She was dressed and ready to go on a tour. And I bet she forgot to move her clock ahead an hour last night too. We always look at each other and say, "There but for the grace of God go you and I". Someday, maybe, but thankfully not yet. But the "take pills" idea on the Patter might not be that far off.
While we were back in the cabin, I decided to tackle the box of mail that arrived on board for us and was delivered to our cabin the evening of turnaround day. Yes, we've got mail!
It helped tremendously that cruise friends are on the ship with us this cruise, and I'd be seeing many of them today. It also helped that today was Sunday, with NFL games to watch on MUTS (which is exactly what I'd be doing at home), and, this morning, when I looked at today's Patter, I saw that the Broncos-Chiefs rematch would be shown on MUTS at 5:30pm. Jackpot! First is the fact that we get to see it on the ship, but also that it provides me a valid pass for dressing up on a formal night. Yes, I was indeed happy when we left the cabin for breakfast.
And even if I hadn't been smiling, there is no way I could go to the IC for brewed decaf coffee and leave unhappy. The crew there is amazing, and I'm certain they are selected just for their sunny dispositions. Dear Ana from Serbia greets me each morning with a hug...how can we not love these people? And-huge thrill here- walking by today we saw none other than Thai Reznich, our fav sommelier from the Emerald Princess last year. Thai is from Detroit, and we were always in wonder at the fact that someone from the US was working on board, and that someone from Detroit was a sommelier (no offense...I grew up near Detroit and think Motown is the best music ever, but wine?). Thai is now the Junior Assistant Food and Beverage Manager on board, a position of much responsibility (or at least, as he admits, much paperwork). I had almost emailed him last week to see where he was now, and he was here!
At breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room we told Ingrid, who is the commandant of seating in the Michelangelo Dining Room at dinner, that we wouldn't be at our table tonight. Someone would be thrilled to get a table for two by a window on a formal night, and I would be happily bypassing filet mignon for pizza and football, so it's a win all around.
We returned to the cabin after breakfast to take our morning pills (honestly, we're at the age where we need for that to be an item on the Patter: "9am- Take pills". Actually, a huge percentage of people on this ship could probably use that reminder). And that reminds me...G went down to the IC ahead of me this morning and encountered, on the elevator, a lady looking for where to get off the ship to meet her excursion group. Really. She was dressed and ready to go on a tour. And I bet she forgot to move her clock ahead an hour last night too. We always look at each other and say, "There but for the grace of God go you and I". Someday, maybe, but thankfully not yet. But the "take pills" idea on the Patter might not be that far off.
While we were back in the cabin, I decided to tackle the box of mail that arrived on board for us and was delivered to our cabin the evening of turnaround day. Yes, we've got mail!
We're always a bit relieved when that works as it should, and a bit surprised too. Once a month or so we ask friend Martha, who gets our mail at home, to box up the first class mail and magazines and send them to the ship. As you know, most of what we get we've already seen online, but every so often we get a check in the mail or a bill (usually a small medical bill that has worked its way through our insurances and we still owe $0.27 for). So, just for the peace of mind, we like to occasionally see what we've received, and Martha is integral in doing that. Anyway, back to the box...it was delivered to our cabin by someone from the Crew Office and our cabin steward Raymond and they both looked shocked to be doing it. I guess it's not very often that a passenger on board gets mail. And the box had been sitting on the vanity unopened since we received it, because sorting it into piles basically displaces us in this tiny cabin. But finally I opened it and sorted it on G's bed. As expected, most of it was either car/house insurance or health insurance related (really, does any group generate more paper than the insurance industry?), and there was a check for a whopping $8 in there which I'll remotely deposit using my iPhone tomorrow from St. Thomas, but no nasty surprises. I guess that means we can keep on cruising for awhile longer, and thank you, Martha, for making that possible. :-)
I spoke on the phone with friend Suzan (who, shockingly, despite being just around the corner, I still hadn't yet "run into" on board) and we were both happy that our favorite teams' games would be shown on MUTS today. Suzan shares my football mania, and when we're home I'll send her photos and stats from the twins' games and she'll keep me updated on her husband's team (he coaches a high school team) and we simply understand each other.
I'm still making progress on my audiobook American Tropic. It's thankfully not a long book, and I sometimes wish I could have just six straight hours to finish listening to it, which you would think should be easy to do on a cruise, but it really doesn't work that way, at least, not for me, being married to Mr. Never Sits Still. He did go to this cruise's Behind the Scenes tour in the Princess Theater which I attended last cruise, and that gave me the chance to start this blog post, but I was typing expecting that, at any minute he'd return and we'd be off on our next adventure.
And while I was typing I heard the Port and Shopping Guide (Really, the Shopping Guide. Really, the "let me point you in the direction of jewelry stores that give the cruise line a kick back" guide) Marty, who is a wonderful fellow we met last year, make an announcement about this cruise's shopping show starting in 15 minutes in the Princess Theater (which meant that G's behind the scenes tour would be done soon and he really would be showing up any minute), and it occurred to me that, in over 70 cruises, I have never, ever gone to a shopping show, and yet there are passengers on board who would never miss one. You know I am not a shopper, either at home or on a ship (that's a gene that skipped me entirely), because, aside from beaded baubles I pick up from souvenir stands on the islands, you've never read here that I spent the day shopping, or that I bought a new diamond something. It's just not who I am.
Sidebar: (break out the GPS...this really is a wandering post today) I've been meaning to share this story from last cruise which further illustrates my most recent point:
After lunch we followed the sound of classical music being performed by strings duo Playthoven into the Piazza where we ran into Sandy (of Gene and Sandy), last seen renting a golf cart (we thought) on Bonaire. Well, she regaled us with a story of renting not a golf cart but an Indian mini cart with one seat in front and two in the back, a stick shift, no reverse gear (she provided the backing up power) and wandering the streets of Kralendjik looking for this place they've rented for two months next year and by the time she was done we were rolling on the floor of the Piazza with laughter because no one tells a story like Sandy does. It was turning out to be a most enjoyable sea day!
I had finally just had it with being on a ship with Suzan and Greg and not yet seeing them so we went to the MUTS pool when the Cardinals-Eagles game started and stood under the screen scanning the crowd for them, and, sure enough, Suzan saw me and came running and all was right in the world. It was wonderful to get caught up, but I needed to break away at 3pm to go to this cruise's Cruise Critic meet and greet because several people we've cruised with before were going to be there, and, of course, it was so much fun to see them all again, especially cruise sistahs Adelle and Mona and new friend Jan, with whom I'd been exchanging emails since summer.
Captain Nick Nash came to the Meet and Greet, as did Hotel General Manager Peter Hollinson and several other customer relations officers.
Sidebar: (break out the GPS...this really is a wandering post today) I've been meaning to share this story from last cruise which further illustrates my most recent point:
The TV in the cabin was on several days ago, and somehow it was on the "shopping channel" (yes, there really is one) and Princess has a new "infomercial" now, where three pretty 30-something ladies are sitting around, "casually chatting" (a la The View) about shopping and what things are SO important for them to buy, and this one lady admits that, now that she's pregnant and expecting her first child, it's really affected the way she approaches shopping (spoken most earnestly, as if, second in importance only to impending motherhood is the fact that she now shops differently), and, silly me, I was expecting her to say she's now skipping the diamond jewelry and designer watches and is instead buying diapers and onesies and shopping at Gymboree, but, no, she confessed that now she's buying those gemstones that are in short supply and certain to rise in value, so they can be passed down to her daughter someday. Now, this would cause some people to think, "I gotta get me some of that rare tanzanite", but instead I'm thinking, "Lady, maybe your daughter would appreciate a college education more than a tanzanite ring, and you could invest that money and, in 18 years pay for her first semester at a public university". I share this story to explain why I'm absolutely hopeless at this shopping thing and really should stick to climbing hills while in port.
Whew. All this and we hadn't even gone to lunch yet!
Cruise friend Steve had emailed me to suggest that, just one time, I bypass the veggie burrito in favor of the Chicken Korma which always appears on the same lunch menu, and which he and his wife love. That was today's menu in the dining room, and I'm pleased to report that the Chicken Korma was truly excellent and now I will be forced to make a choice when this menu is offered, which is just one more reason I'm glad we do this cruise more than once.
Whew. All this and we hadn't even gone to lunch yet!
Cruise friend Steve had emailed me to suggest that, just one time, I bypass the veggie burrito in favor of the Chicken Korma which always appears on the same lunch menu, and which he and his wife love. That was today's menu in the dining room, and I'm pleased to report that the Chicken Korma was truly excellent and now I will be forced to make a choice when this menu is offered, which is just one more reason I'm glad we do this cruise more than once.
After lunch we followed the sound of classical music being performed by strings duo Playthoven into the Piazza where we ran into Sandy (of Gene and Sandy), last seen renting a golf cart (we thought) on Bonaire. Well, she regaled us with a story of renting not a golf cart but an Indian mini cart with one seat in front and two in the back, a stick shift, no reverse gear (she provided the backing up power) and wandering the streets of Kralendjik looking for this place they've rented for two months next year and by the time she was done we were rolling on the floor of the Piazza with laughter because no one tells a story like Sandy does. It was turning out to be a most enjoyable sea day!
I had finally just had it with being on a ship with Suzan and Greg and not yet seeing them so we went to the MUTS pool when the Cardinals-Eagles game started and stood under the screen scanning the crowd for them, and, sure enough, Suzan saw me and came running and all was right in the world. It was wonderful to get caught up, but I needed to break away at 3pm to go to this cruise's Cruise Critic meet and greet because several people we've cruised with before were going to be there, and, of course, it was so much fun to see them all again, especially cruise sistahs Adelle and Mona and new friend Jan, with whom I'd been exchanging emails since summer.
Captain Nick Nash came to the Meet and Greet, as did Hotel General Manager Peter Hollinson and several other customer relations officers.
Captain Nick said he didn't dare miss the gathering after the brouhaha on Cruise Critic last week when, on the Royal Princess, no officers showed up for the Cruise Critic Meet and Greet and were soundly dissed on the public forum. Of course, no one had any questions for him...apparently the captain simply needs to show up so people will be kept happy. (How silly we all are! It makes me feel a bit ashamed by association.). :-(
I left the Meet and Greet to return to football, and was scoping out some chairs for tonight's game during the second half of the Cardinals-Eagles game. Unfortunately, the skies looked threatening, and I wasn't sure, after we had given up our table at dinner tonight, if it was going to be football viewing weather after all. But the clouds cleared away and in the end it was a perfect, just slightly breezy night for the game. I was happy Suzan and Greg stopped by on their way to dinner for morale support, because in that ugly first half we certainly needed it.
G decided to take this "not dressing formally tonight" thing to the limit and came to the game dressed in swim suit and bathrobe and spent the second half of the game in a hot tub. We ate pizza and drank fuzzy water and were happy as could be, particularly when Denver started turning it around in the second half. Those last few minutes took five years off our lives, but a Broncos win was the exclamation point on what had turned out to be a really wonderful sea day from start to finish.
I left the Meet and Greet to return to football, and was scoping out some chairs for tonight's game during the second half of the Cardinals-Eagles game. Unfortunately, the skies looked threatening, and I wasn't sure, after we had given up our table at dinner tonight, if it was going to be football viewing weather after all. But the clouds cleared away and in the end it was a perfect, just slightly breezy night for the game. I was happy Suzan and Greg stopped by on their way to dinner for morale support, because in that ugly first half we certainly needed it.
G decided to take this "not dressing formally tonight" thing to the limit and came to the game dressed in swim suit and bathrobe and spent the second half of the game in a hot tub. We ate pizza and drank fuzzy water and were happy as could be, particularly when Denver started turning it around in the second half. Those last few minutes took five years off our lives, but a Broncos win was the exclamation point on what had turned out to be a really wonderful sea day from start to finish.
