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!