Day 93: Antigua

We had a full and fun day on Antigua; in fact, it was so full that we had to set an alarm and get up before 7am to squeeze it all in. We were on a schedule, so I skipped getting my brewed decaf coffee from the International Cafe, instead going directly to the DaVinci Dining Room for breakfast. Junior winter Erika was so concerned about it that she went down to the IC to get me my coffee herself. Here's the thing: Erika was working on the other side of the dining room. She came over just to check on us and say hi.  And get me my coffee. 

Just call us spoiled (and we love it). 

Coincidentally, cruise friends Kitty and Jim, with whom we were spending the day, were sitting at the table next to ours. We've cruised with Kitty and Jim twice before, and Kitty had lent her support and some consoling words when Dad was failing. It was great to see them both again, and even better to be able to join them for the Segway tour they'd scheduled for today. 

We packed for some time on a beach to follow our Segway adventure, and met up at the IC at 8:30am. Lance from Segway Antigua met us just outside the secured area of the port, and we took a taxi for the seven minute ride to the Segway office on Fort James Beach. Though it had rained briefly as the Emerald Princess had docked, the day looked sunny and promising as we started out. 

We started our Segway orientation by watching the Segway training video. Finally, after five viewings of this video (once for each time G and I have done the tour), the stick figure falling over the Segway handlebar or falling backward off one before getting run over by it fails to scare me anymore. Only one thing still scares me...riding my Segway back across the arched Fort James bridge. But that was still a couple of hours in the future, so all was good. 

Kitty and Jim took to Segway-ing as if they'd been doing it for years (it really isn't that difficult, but they seemed unusually skilled), and we were soon heading off with guides Lance and Elizabeth, through a local neighborhood and north to Runaway Beach. Riding on the beach is a bit trickier, especially when my right wheel got into the water. But, oh, that beach, like all of Antigua's beaches, is sublime. The water is a color of blue seen only on Antigua and Bonaire on these itineraries.

Runaway Beach

Segway-ers extraordinaire Kitty and Jim. 

We had a quick water and photo break, and then headed back south to Fort James. No matter how often I do it, riding a 21st century vehicle though the huge doors of an early 18th century fort is always a thrill.  I even managed to get myself (and my Segway) up and over that evil arched bridge and into the center area of Fort James. Whew!

After a water, fruit kebob and suger cane break, we continued on, with some time for free styling (our favorite) as we made our way back to the Segway office on Fort James Beach. We enjoyed wonderful rum punches and the warm hospitality of manager Juliette (and some free high speed wifi that allowed me to call Mom to hear about her run in with the garage door) before we walked over to Fort James Beach. 

If I needed any more evidence that the Caribbean has been experiencing unusually strong tradewinds for a sustained period of time, Fort James Beach offered it. Huge amounts of sand near the water had been deposited under the wooden "palapas", causing us to bend over to walk under them and making for a high sand ledge running halfway across the beach. 

Even with shifted sands, the beach was still beautiful, and we enjoyed several hours there. Kitty had brought the same Swimways float we have with her on the cruise, and she and I spent- well, I don't know how long we were there, but I'm definitely cooked tonight- sitting in the water and discussing life. I have the BEST conversations with women sitting in the water on those floats!  Kitty, I enjoyed it so much, and, as always, appreciate your wise words. Meanwhile, Jim and G talked "man" talk on the beach, which I bet wasn't even remotely the same conversation we were having. And we stayed clear of Super Bowl talk; how could we have known when we scheduled this tour well over a month ago that their Seahawks would be playing the Broncos?

Finally, it was time to head back, and we took a small bus back to the cruise pier. There we met up with some of Kitty and Jim's friends and talked some more...until a dark cloud forming overhead started spitting rain. We made it back on the ship just as the rain grew more serious. Perfect timing!  We had had a beautiful day sandwiched between two rain showers. 

After we cleaned up (us and our gear), we dressed for the evening and made our way up to Skywalkers for the always beautiful sailaway from St. John's, Antigua. We were in port today with the P&O Azura, which, despite the fact that Captain Nick said "Azura" means "not as nice as Princess" ;-), was almost an identical twin of the Emerald Princess. It was fun to look down the length of the pier at the two bridge wings so close together. I could almost imagine our captain opening a window and leaning out to ask the other ship's captain, "Pardon me, but do you have any Grey Poupon?"

Sunset is obviously occurring later and later, and I miss our Antigua sailaways in December were the sun was setting just as we sailed at 5pm. Today it was considerably higher as we left the south head of St. John's harbor behind us. 

After we left the harbor, we went down to the Michelangelo Dining Room for Dinner with Darko. We ate lightly tonight, because, once again this cruise, we made the cutoff for the Most Traveled Passengers (MTP) cocktail party. In fact, our 547 Princess days WERE the cutoff for the MTP party. We were couple number 20 this time after missing it entirely last cruise. These numbers are at least 100 days higher than they were on the same cruises last year, which implies to me that Princess's most traveled passengers are still going strong, with many cruising over 100 days a year. What G and I are doing seems unusual, but, honestly, it really isn't. 

No surprise: we closed the party, after being deep in conversation with Chief Engineer Roddy. We missed comedian AJ. Jamal's second night's performance, but didn't have the energy to stay up until his last show started at 10:15pm. There was no second featured performer tonight in the Explorers Lounge; it was Country Western theme night in there.

A day spent on Segways and a beach have worn us out. G was asleep before I finished my evening ablutions, and I'll soon be following. Following recitation of tonIght's "Go Broncos" slogans, of course. 

Day 92: At Sea

I must start today's post by quoting Emerald Princess Chief Engineer Roddy McConnell, when he was referring to the high winds and rough seas that we are once again experiencing:

"I'm not sea sick. I'm sick of the sea."

More appropriate words for my malaise today do not exist. I think that, even worse than the bounciness is the fact that I believed the bounciness to be behind us. It's made even worse, of course, by our cabin location on the top aft end of the ship. When we go down to Deck 5 in the Piazza or Michelangelo Dining Room, we wonder why we're troubled. Then we return to our cabin and I have to shave my legs with one hand on the shower grab bar and I remember. It's a different world where we live. 

For the reason above, I had a restless night. G brought me fruit from the Horizon Court Buffet before he went to breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room, but when he returned, it was still untouched. Knowing I'd feel better if I just got out of bed, I finally showered and we went down to sit in Vines on Deck 5, which is as low and midship as we can go without checking into the Medical Center on Deck 4. I got a coffee from the International Care and called it breakfast, and there we stayed until we decided at the last minute to go to the navigational bridge and technical lectures held at 10am and 11:15am, respectively, in the Princess Theater.

I didn't know what to call how I was feeling. I certainly wasn't nauseous. But I felt like my head was fuzzy and I was moving through my day in Jello. And that's when I heard Roddy addressing the rough seas we were experiencing, and making that statement that made it all crystal clear. I was just sick of the non-stop pitching and rolling. It all makes sense now: why I have lots of energy when it's calm, but none when it's bouncy, why I generally am not fond of sea days, but I love staying on the ship when it's docked in port...I am sick of the sea.

It only took me 800 days of cruising to realize that. ;-)

Once I defined my malady, I felt much better. Following the lectures, we went to lunch in the DaVinci Dining Room. I limited mine to bread and soup, and then, despite the fact that it was a brightly sunny, though viciously windy day, retired back to our cabin, where I slept the afternoon away. G spent part of the afternoon in the hot tub, and at 4pm, we went to the Gold and Ruby Captains Circle party in the Princess Theater. We enjoy going to that simply because we like the live music by the Emerald Princess orchestra and the singers who perform a few songs from the now defunct Motor City. Captain Nick also fills us in on what to expect in the ports, and it appears that they will be busy this cruise, with several ships with us in St. Thomas. I have been very negligent in keeping up with the "ships in port with us" spreadsheet that I prepared before we left home.

Something else I've been negligent about...reading the daily Patters. G usually keeps me informed on our entertainment options, but I missed the fact that the dinner hours for the dining rooms changed on turnaround day; it's now from 5pm to 9:30pm. Given the passenger demographics, it's kind of the cruise ship version of the Early Bird Special.

We were one of the Early Bird diners when we went to dinner at 5:20pm. We wanted to go to the 6:45pm performance of production show I've Got the Music, and then to the Captain's Welcome Aboard Party and Champagne Waterfall.

We skipped dessert and coffee, intending to return later in the evening. After the Captain's Welcome Aboard Party and Champagne Waterfall (shortcut heaven here!), we went to the Explorers Lounge performance of mentalist Joshua Seth. We enjoy his mentalist show; the hypnotist show that he did last night we know to skip. But he really is amazing, and I was called up on stage for his show either last year or the year before, so I know his act isn't pre-staged with people from the audience.

It was almost 9pm when we returned to the Michelangelo Dining Room for Dessert with Darko and Coffee with Komang. ;-). The dining room was nearly empty by then, and we were able to have our same table as at dinner.  Darko had some time he doesn't usually have to chat with us about his life and family in Macedonia, and that was fascinating. I love hearing about what life is like at home for the crew. 

It's now 10:30pm. Captain Nick had promised us things would calm down about 9pm when we entered the Virgin Passage, but they haven't. We're still rocking and rolling up here. But, please note... I'm not sea sick. 

I'm just really, really sick of the sea. 

Day 91: At Sea

Today was another sunny sea day, though windier and a bit more bouncy than we've seen recently. But, compared to the news reports we're seeing about what's happening in the eastern US, our day was a piece. of. cake. Still...

I've reached a surprising conclusion. I don't get seasick in the classical nauseous way. But I do get dizzy and light headed and just generally slow. I've always thought that that was my reaction to sea days, but now believe that it's not sea days, but the ship's movement on sea days that's the culprit. 

And so I was slow to get moving this morning. We didn't get to the DaVinci Dining Room for breakfast until 8:30am or so. Wait staffs had rotated again, which we know happens, but it still takes us aback when, after 70 days on the Emerald Princess, we walk in to the DaVinci Dining Room to see all new faces. We kept breakfast simple (we're eating less and less for breakfast on sea days), but made up for it at lunch today. Stay tuned...

I returned to the cabin to put together some thoughts that I published on the previous blog post. While I was still in the midst of that, there was a knock on the door. We've got mail!  (Thank you, Martha!).  I have just one thing to take care of by phone on St. Thomas, and- surprise!- there were birthday cards for me. Mom's made me fry (not a typo in my family) :-) and so I just had to phone her. And I did, using ship's Internet and my Vonage app. Just a bit of latency, but still clear, despite the waves we were bouncing across. 

I then went up to Deck 19 to walk a bit. It wasn't nearly as pleasant today, simply due to the wind, but I had a mission beyond just exercise...I'm listening to an audiobook that will go "poof" off my phone at midnight tonight. And that's been a real problem lately. I can "check out" books for 21 days from our library using the Overdrive app, and it never fails...one day into a new cruise, I lose those books I downloaded two turnarounds ago. I can't tell you how many times this winter I've heard only 75% of an audiobook, and then started another that I hear only 75% of before it self-destructs. I can check them out again, of course, but have to wait until Fort Lauderdale or St. Thomas to download them again. No wonder AT&T is sending me nastygrams, accusing me of being a high usage customer. Just another part of living on a ship, albeit temporarily. 

We had written a letter today and turned it into the Passenger Services Desk, commending the cook who's preparing the fish and chips for the Pub Lunch in the Wheelhouse Bar. It's so much better than last winter, when it was almost too greasy to eat. G wanted to go back there today, so we could thank the cook personally, and so we did, and, of course, ate fish and chips again for lunch. And bread and butter pudding for dessert. This cannot continue...it's so delicious but I felt like a slug all afternoon.

While I had been in the cabin this morning, G had been hitting the 2 for $20 T-shirt sale in the Piazza. This Eastern Caribbean Voyager one caught his eye, and so he bought four. Is it any wonder we have hundreds of destination T-shirts between the two of us?

The front...

The back...

I like it too!

We went to Skywalkers at 2pm for this cruise's Cruise Critic Meet and Greet. It was so nice to see people we've cruised with before. Laurie and Howard did an amazing job organizing it, and Howard prepared personalized invitations for the senior officers that brought them out in droves. We've never had such strong attendance by them...Captain Nick, Staff Captain Dominic, Hotel General Manager Peter, cruise director JJ and his deputy Adam, the new Executive Chef and Maitre d' Generoso, the Customer Services Director Karen...they were all there. It was really nice!!

G left to go to the Veterans get together, and I returned to Deck 19 for awhile longer (trying to finish that book!). We skipped Skywalkers tonight in favor of having drinks in the Piazza and watching the 10-minute Team Rootberry juggling show before going to Dinner with Darko and Komang. Our guys are running themselves ragged this cruise; once again, these are passengers who want to be served. We made it easy for them tonight, with just a watermelon and lychee starter and chicken strips on salads. And dessert, of course. 'Cause we're never too full for sorbet!

We had two entertainment shows from which to choose tonight, and, in a new twist, comedian AJ Jamal did three shows in the Explorers Lounge:  6:30pm, 8pm and 9:30pm. Hypnotist Joshua Seth did three performances in the Princess Theater. We sat and listened to the Emerald Princess orchestra playing big band dance music in Explorers Lounge while we waited for AJ Jamal's 8pm performance. Wo do love the live music, and AJ Jamal is absolutely harious.  We were thrilled with our entertainment options for the evening. So far, so good this cruise...

Next up, "Catholic slogans" before bed, asking for the good guys (aka the Broncos) to win on Sunday. Let's hope the fried fish I'm burping decides to give it a rest too. 

Miscellaneous cruise notes

Since these notes will be of interest only to people who will be on the Emerald Princess or a Princess cruise in the near future, I'm posting this information in a separate post. 

Wine packages were sold yesterday on the Emerald Princess, but their purchase is being discouraged due to wine availability.

Formal nights on this cruise (Eastern Caribbean with two sea days up front and Princess Cays last ) are the second sea day and St. Thomas. The reason, we've learned, is to promote formal portrait sales...it's hard to buy formal portraits when you're sitting in the beach in Princess Cays and the photo gallery is closed.  I've grown to like it, only because formal night on a port day feels less formal, if that makes any sense.

Mocktails are available for free on Princess Cays for passengers who purchased the Ultimate Kids Package. Some bar waiters might tell you otherwise, but they're wrong. Ask for a supervisor if this happens. While the soda gun drinks on Princess Cays are specifically excluded on the receipt you get when you buy the soda sticker and UKP, mocktails are not. 

The Emerald Princess is currently offering "power hour" specials from 2pm to 4pm and 10pm to 12pm. I'm not certain whether these specials are available at all bars or not. 

I've heard talk of delays in getting laundry back due to the high number of Elites on board (and we certainly experienced that last winter), and we only send out laundry 3 or so times each cruise, but we've always gotten it back the next evening. Our total laundry bill (that appears on our statement and then is immediately credited back) runs about $20 per cruise, so you can see we don't send a lot of things. We are much happier doing most of our laundry ourselves this winter, and run one or two loads a cruise through the washer ($2 per load to wash or dry, and the dry cycle has always been more than adequate). 

We've had no issue trading our Elite bar setup in for two coffee cards on occasion (just call room service to make the trade). 

The Emerald Princess is operating under Code Yellow norovirus cautions for the first two days of this cruise, but will stop these on Day 3 if the number of noro patients remains low. Code Yellow has minimal impact on passengers and then only in the buffet, where silverware is distributed when you get handed your plate and there are no cups or glasses or salt and pepper shakers on the tables. You can still serve yourself food in the buffet. Personally, I prefer that silverware and cups NEVER be on the tables ahead of time; especially with large tables, it's quite easy for germs to be spread to these items and then they are not removed when they have not yet been used. In the dining room, Code Yellow has no visible impact on passengers. A sustained Code Red period is what has a tremendous affect on crew and passengers alike; we haven't been there this winter. (Yay!). Fingers crossed...

We believe the food and service qualities on the Emerald Princess have been excellent.  The only questionable items have been a few of the cuts of beef, but we can always get a different one.  In general, we've been very pleased and are having a wonderful time. There is something special about this ship and this crew that we will miss very much next winter. 

Day 90: Fort Lauderdale (turnaround day)

When was the last time we did something for the first time?  Today, about 6am, when we slept right through the Emerald Princess spinning into position to dock at its berth at Pier 2 in Port Everglades. Unbelievable. We awoke at 6:22am, turned the TV to Channel 40 (the "front of the ship" channel) and saw that we were already docked. As G said, "We gotta find out who parked this boat today". Indeed, whoever it was did it without copious amounts of thruster action, much to the benefit of those in the back of the ship, which lasted only until the slamming of the cabin doors began. But still...that was an extra 30 minutes of sleep. Nice!

While I immediately ran down to the laundry room to start two loads of laundry (and I was trusted with some of G's race T-shirts...make a note of THAT), he traded used towels for fresh ones from Raymond and made the beds. Neither one of us can make them look as smooth and crisp and inviting as Raymond can...but, then, we don't get the practice he does either. We watched the sunrise from the Promenade Deck and were at breakfast in the Botticelli Dining Room just after 7am, and having just a bowl of cereal allowed me to get back to move a few items to a dryer, and hang the rest on our clothesline.

By 8am, the laundry was done, and we were getting passports and new ship cards and our shopping list together before walking off the ship.

Things continued to go smoothly in the terminal; with five ICE agents, immigration was a walk-through, the fastest we've seen this winter.  (Ain't it always the way when we're not on a schedule?) We started on our list of errands, stopping first at Walgreens to check out the ad (home or cruise, we are value shoppers), and then G wanted to stop at each hotel on the south side of 17th Street to get some information about them for the future, mainly, whether their rates include transfers between the hotel and the airport/Port Everglades, and whether they include breakfast. This took a bit of time, but it was a beautiful morning for a walk. Sunny and warm (the east coast chill apparently didn't reach that far south), and with only one cruise ship in port, walking down 17th Street was a different sport today. 

We went as far as CVS and then backtracked to Publix, Office Depot and Walgreens. I found a perfect New Baby Congratulations card for Komang, with the Earth on the front...

...we got an HDMI cable, coffee creamer was on sale at Publix and Mountain Dew was on sale at Walgreens. It was a productive mornng, but we were so laden with liquids that we were anxious to get back to the ship to dump our purchases in our cabin and head to lunch in the DaVinci Dining Room. 

After salmon and frozen yogurt, I grabbed a charging cord and went up to my favorite spot in Adagio to plug in and make some phone calls and do a bit of work. I'm pleased to report that Sally Hansen is mailing me coupons worth $22 for the defective nail strips, that our investments, though down a bit after last week, are still up from when we left home (cruise on!), and that things are fine at home. I'm sorry I ever doubted G's wisdom in installing that Nest thermostat; it's a prize, and hasn't failed us yet.

This is all seeming too easy this year, isn't it?

Before long, the emergency signal was sounded, and things got loud as the muster drill announcement started. That was my signal to head back to the cabin to shower and dress for sailaway and dinner. I left a note for G that I was up in Skywalkers (we miss all our friends!!!!) for sailaway, and it was a beautiful one today. The ocean was flat as we left Fort Lauderdale behind us. Flat!  We are loving this weather!

Thank God we can still count on Dinner with Darko and Komang. It was wonderful to see their familiar faces. I took a photo of G at dinner, wearing a black Diamonds International pullover and a necklace I got him last year on Bonaire with a square-shaped coin.

I  told him for the eleventy-hundredth time that he looked like a priest in that outfit, and he told me I needed to teach him some Catholic "slogans" he could say if anyone said the same thing to him.  "Catholic "slogans?", I asked, confused.   "You know, those things priests say". You mean prayers? "Well, yes, and those things priests say in church, and people say "You too"". Now, by this point, I was pulling myself back up off the floor, I was laughing so hard. It suddenly occurred to me what he was talking about. "You mean, "And also with you", in response to "The Lord be with you"?"  Yep, that's what he was thinking of. Well, that, and prayers. I will NEVER say that again without thinking "you too!" :-)

I miss Jim and Marcia, but dinner with G is never, ever dull.  

I owed him for the laugh, and so accompanied him to the Princess Theater for the Welcome Aboard show. We always enjoy the singers and dancers, and love when they are accompanied by the Emerald Princess orchestra.

Comedian AJ Jamal finished out the show, and, hand to heart, I thought he was funny.  This was also only the second time we saw him this winter, another plus. 

Cruise director JJ told us to expect some hoo-ha on Super Bowl Sunday.  The Super Bowl!  I had forgotten about it for 17 minutes, and as soon as JJ mentioned it, I could feel my stomach clenching.  This will be a tough five days.  I need to start saying some "slogans" each evening, asking for a Broncos win. 

;-)

Cruise #11: The Super Bowl cruise (which just happens to go to the Eastern Caribbean)

Day 89: At Sea

It's hard to believe that we are almost at 90 days of cruising. The first year I blogged, we left home intending to be gone for 90 days, and that seemed an unfathomable eternity. This is definitely a case where we're building up our "tolerances". Now, 90 days is just a blip on the way to...however long we're cruising this year (and, with flights home on five different days, we still have no idea how long that will be). We continue to skate through this winter untouched by all the challenges we dealt with last winter. I'd like to think that we're getting better at this "winters at sea" thing, but, really, I think it's just luck. Luck and the fact that Mom is offering non-stop novenas behind the scenes. Keep it up, Mom. It's obviously working!

And before I get to today...I seem to have started a firestorm with my recent comments about entertainment on the Emerald Princess.  I've received lots of emails, all agreeing with me. And I have to tell you, this particular cruise seems to have hit a new low, so if you thought it was bad on your cruise...it's worse. I really hope things improve a bit next cruise, but just in case they don't, we're going to try to buy an HDMI cable tomorrow in Fort Lauderdale. I have several TV shows on my laptop, and I might even order some DVDs from Amazon.  Video downloads over the Internet are obviously not an option.  Where are the Beatle Maniacs and Sol Provider when we need them?!?

I was up early this morning, because I was asleep early last night (see prior paragraph) and enjoyed a beautiful sunrise off the back of the ship.

I went for coffee and then to the DaVinci Dining Room for breakfast with Joel and Erika. I didn't expect G to be joining me (he was still snoozing when I left the cabin), and he didn't...until I was about done. It was almost 9am when we left the dining room. I immediately headed up to Deck 19, plugged in my earbuds, and walked. And walked. And walked. Our weather this cruise has been perfect...the best we've had all winter. The sea is flat and the sun is bright, and I love being up on Deck 19 with 35 mile views in all directions. It's good for me mentally as well as physically; a bit of time alone on a ship with over 4000 people. 

I was so caught up in the moment that G came looking for me. We had decided earlier to go to the Wheelhouse Bar for Pub Lunch today, and just before, at 11:30am, there was a drawing for a Marah Lago necklace in Facets jewelry store. G is always optimistic (I know better, but the store was right across from the Wheelhouse, so it wasn't like it was out of our way). Of course we didn't win, but fish and chips accompanied by a Strongbow cider (me) and a dark ale (G) was a really good consolation...at first. All that greasiness came back to haunt me all afternoon. It's fun to go to Pub Lunch- once a winter or so.

It was "extra-tip day" again, and so I needed some smaller bills from the Passenger Services Desk (I really should take care of that before the last day of a cruise when the lines at the desk are long). I also chose possibly the worst day of the cruise, when everyone is printing airline boarding passes, to log on to Princess.com from a computer in the Internet Cafe to print the boarding passes for our upcoming Bon Voyage Experience, but it's done now, and was possibly the easiest part of the whole process. 

I had to attend to some personal grooming details this afternoon. All the norovirus in the news about Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas as well as the Emerald Princess's Code Yellow has me scared. I removed the peeling glitter nail polish and cut my nails short; better for keeping my hands germ free, I think, but- wow- what a sacrifice for the cause. My exciting home activities of grocery shopping and toilet cleaning and dish washing (sans a dishwasher) pretty much render nail polish of any sort unnecessary; that's why I have so much fun with it on a cruise.  Next I colored my hair for the first time in almost six weeks.  This is not an easy task in that tiny bathroom with white shower curtain, white towels and white robes hanging on the door hooks. The opportunity for disaster is everywhere. What I need is for the bathroom floor and walls to have the same ultra-patterned carpet that's in the bedroom; THAT could hide a hair color explosion quite easily (I recently spent 20 minutes looking for an earring back on it, and chose not to divulge that information on that day's blog post, but if my activities one day seemed light, that's the missing link). But I managed to avoid a mess, and if I don't mind going home with yellow hair and I avoid sun and salt water, I might not have to deal with it again this winter. Or maybe I should add that to tomorrow's shopping list...

The bathroom closet (aka my carry on suitcase under the bed) is starting to look empty as we continue to draw down our inventory of toiletries. We have to pick up some more foaming hand soap and hand wipes (and maybe hair color) tomorrow in Fort Lauderdale, and G needs more Carnation French Vanilla coffee creamer, but our shopping list gets shorter every turnaround. Keep your fingers crossed we can find that HDMI cable; I really can't bear another Love Boat rerun, and G is now quoting Simpsons dialogue by heart. 

We had a last hurrah in Skywalkers before dinner; we met up with Janet and Bob and Ross and Claudette and Jim and Marcia and enjoyed one more Elite Lounge.  We will miss then intensely next cruise; it's been wonderful having them all on board for the past 20 days.  We're all planning on another annual reunion next January, this time on the Royal Princess, but we know that the Elite Lounge in Club Six will never be quite the same. Weep. 

I kept it simple for Dinner with Darko to make up for the fried lunch- just the watermelon and feta starter and then the turkey dinner, which is plain but always so good. We had lingered long enough in Skywalkers that we were still in the dining room for the baked Alaska parade, which we usually try to avoid. But it's another thing that's good fun...once a winter or so. I don't need to wave my napkin in the air every cruise. 

We were done with dinner and our sad goodbyes to Jim and Marcia in time for vocalist Jacqi Michaels first show at 7:15pm. Yes, we've seen her twice already this winter, but Jacqi Michaels is good entertainment. Good entertainment and long entertainment (she still does a show that's 45 minutes long, twice an evening). Makes me nostalgic for the good old days. 

As we walked through the Piazza, we saw the first non-musical entertainment there of the entire cruise (G calls them "side shows"): Team Rootberry. Even the side shows have been light this cruise. 

Afterwards, we walked out on the Terrace Deck, watching the lighthouses on Cuba's northern coast under a night sky that's clear and packed with stars. It would be a good night for some Barefoot Bubbly overlooking the wake, but we know that the ship's thrusters will be shaking us out of bed before 6am tomorrow morning, so instead we stuck to fuzzy water. G was asleep before I even had my contacts out (and completed the other 42 steps on my evening ablutions list...but that's a topic for another post); I'll be following as soon as this is published. 

What we DON'T have to do tonight...

(Tee-hee-hee)

:-)

Day 88: At Sea

This was our first of two days at sea, followed by turnaround day in Fort Lauderdale and then two more days at sea. As you know, not my favorite sequence, but it's good that we have this every so often. It serves as a strong reminder of why we no longer do transatlantic or transpacific cruises, and why we'll probably never do a World Cruise. But today's weather was so perfect that it made it infinitely more tolerable than the last time we did this, when Princess Cays was cancelled due to bad weather at the end of a cruise full of bad weather. Today it was sunny and calm and as good as it gets. 

I was up early- really early- and snuck down to the International Cafe for coffee. I must have made more noise leaving the cabin than I thought, because G showed up shortly to join me. Together we went to the DaVinci Dining Room for breakfast with Joel and Erika (I need to fill out You Made a Difference cards for these two). Afterwards, we sat on the Promenade Deck just long enough for G to opine that he couldn't wait for the Royal Princess with its lack of a wrap-around Promenade Deck, where we could sit and enjoy the views without walkers and runners going by, their shoes squeaking on the decking. (I've told you that we're not in agreement about that, but I understand his point).

I spent the rest of the morning doing some work, while G attended this cruise's technical lecture and went to the "garage sale" in the Michelangelo Dining Room. It was lunchtime when I finished, so we ate again, and then I felt so sluggish that I needed to move, and went first to Deck 19 to walk for an hour, and then to the fitness center to lift weights, and finally to the spa for a visit to the steam room and sauna. G cheered me on my walk by waving at me from the hot tub on Deck 17 as I passed by above him. Such a motivator!

Janet and Bob hosted a champagne party for us and Claudette and Ross in Skywalkers during the Elite Lounge, and what a pleasant way to start a formal evening.  We were feeling "happy" before we even went to dinner with Jim and Marcia, and it struck me once again how much we are going to miss these friends when they leave on turnaround day. 

Entertainment tonight included production show What a Swell Party in the Princess Theater and impressionist Michael Wilson in the Explorers Lounge. G refuses to see Swell Party; I refuse to see any more comedians- magicians- impressionists...well, pretty much anything but live music and production shows. And so we went our separate ways. I returned to the cabin first to attend to evening ablutions and start this post. G just arrived back and is chatty, so I'll end here. 

Except for this...I returned to the cabin to find the smallest, sorriest looking chocolate covered strawberries ever. So tiny they gave us two extra ones, so unripe they're hard as little stones. Such a waste of chocolate!

Day 87: Aruba

This is another evening where it's getting late and, until 30 seconds ago, I had yet to start this post. So you already know we had fun today. ;-)

The Emerald Princess arrived in Oranjestad, Aruba today at 7am, after a short sail from Bonaire overnight. We slept right through it all...the thrusters, the docking, the arrival announcement... everything.  It was nearly 8am before we made our way to the International Cafe for coffee and then breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room. In a departure from my usual scrambled egg beaters, I had a toasted bagel, smoked salmon and cream cheese today. I knew it would be a long time before we ate again. 

It was no surprise (Captain Nick had filled us in that we were the only cruise ship in port today) that we had the first (aka good) dock today. We debated joining friends who had already left to take a bus to Eagle Beach, or climbing Mount Hooiberg, the third tallest "mountain" on Aruba, or walking down to Nikky Beach for the day. We figured our chances of finding our friends n the long stretch of Eagle and Palm Beaches was slim, and we were in a walking mood but not a climbing mood, and so opted for a day at Nikky Beach

Once again we were unable to get on wifi at Starbucks (but there were a lot of people already there using it), and so continued walking down to Nikky Beach. We weren't expecting it to be crowded now that the holidays are over, but we were wrong. There were lots of families there from the Netherlands and Venezuela- it's a perfect, gentle beach for kids- and we enjoyed the "cruisers special"- 2 chairs, an umbrella and two drinks for $20. 

The weather was as good as it gets today. Finally!  I think bad weather from now on will be the exception and not the rule. We managed to spend five hours on the beach and not get sunburned, no small feat at Aruba's low latitude. 

About 3pm we packed up to walk back to the ship. We were surprised by all the local families setting up chairs along the road, not facing the beach but with their backs to the beach. G was finally curious enough to stop to ask; it was Aruba's Labor Day today, and there was going to be a sports car- classic car- race car- motorcycle parade.

We walked right into it, and spent a few minutes admiring the cars and bikes. I need to clean my camera lens after snorkeling yesterday, so the photos are hazy, but here are a few. 

G used to own this car in black. 

This is just like my bike. 

We needed to get back on the ship and get cleaned up early for the evening; Marcia and Jim invited us to their minisuite for drinks at sailaway, and they are on the port side, perfect for watching Aruba fade into the distance. 

Nikky Beach Club in the forground and Mt. Hooiberg in the distance

Vocal impressionist Michael Wilson is the only show tonight, and we have seen him many times- this winter alone. On another ship note:  we're hearing lots of complaints about the lack of entertainment options again. It seemed a bit better at this time last year, with second show options on at least four or five evenings each cruise. this cruise it's been pretty light, with music and dancing often the only other option. Band New Deal is gone, and band Accent is here, and we don't seem to enjoy their music as much. Oh how I miss band Sol Provider from last year!  Also different this cruise:  no pub night. Deputy Cruise Director Lynn just left, and new Deputy Adam is still learning how to MC pub night. Hopefully, by next cruise, that will be another option one evening of the cruise. 

I have a library audiobook expiring in three days, so I'm happy just listening to that. G is talking about going back out to watch the movie Pacific Rim on MUTS.  After a day on the water, that's as much as we can handle. 

We can almost feel ourselves getting old. ;-)

Day 86: Bonaire

So much to tell you; so little energy. That's what always happens when we've had a fun and busy day, and even moreso when that day's been spent in the water. 

Our morning was at sea; our scheduled arrival in Kralendjik, Bonaire was noon. We did the usual...International Cafe for coffee and DaVinci Dining Room for breakfast with Joel and Erika. I had a goal this morning to do my nails...and it turned into a frustrating and time consuming activity. I was using Sally  Hansen nail strips in glitter for the first time; bad, bad, bad. 30 minutes after I applied them the corners were peeling off.  It was quite a disappointment after the non-glitter ones lasted two weeks without chipping, and I'll be placing a call to Sally Hansen on turnaround day to tell them all about it.  

I finished them up the best I could just before noon (three hours. I spent THREE HOURS!!), and pulled my snorkel gear out of the beach suitcase under the bed, applied at least 1/4 of a tube of sunscreen and then put a rash guard and swim skirt on over that. We were meeting Bob and Janet and Ross and Claudette to take a water taxi over to Klein Bonaire to snorkel ($20 round trip, leaves Bonaire on the hour and Klein Bonaire on the half hour). We enjoyed the best weather we've had all winter today in Bonaire, and this was the perfect day for snorkeling. The sun was bright and the wind was relatively mild (for Bonaire). 

We drift snorkeled over and over again, and on our last run saw an illusive sea turtle. 

Hungry and tired, we caught the 3:30pm water taxi back to Bonaire, and returned to the cabin to rinse the snorkel gear and shower. As much as I LOVE snorkeling on Bonaire, it leaves our cabin a wreck until everything drip dries. We were at the Michelangelo Dining Room for Dinner with Darko when it opened at 5:15pm and- joy of joys- it was Italian night!  Penne arrabiata with chicken and brocolli was the perfect meal after being in the water on a lunch-less day. We ate quickly and left the dining room by 6pm to go back on shore and take some photos of the Emerald Princess just before sunset.

Earlier in the day, we had seen some kids writing their names on the sidewalk in coral pieces. Fun!

Back on the ship at 6:30pm, we watched the beautiful sunset from the Promenade Deck as the Emerald Princess sailed... 

...and then returned to the Michelangelo Dining Room for dessert and coffee.  No entertainment for us tonight (production show Disco: Blame it on the Boogie was in the Princess Theater; it's 70s night in Club Fusion)...all I want is fuzzy water and bed. 

First, though, and of interest only to future cruisers on the Emerald Princess, I must report in the demise of wine packages on this ship. They will not exist after this cruise, for how long I'm not certain. They could not keep all the wines on the wine list in stock, and passengers would get upset when, after purchasing the packages, their favorite wines were not available. I'll let you know if the packages are sold again, but if you'll be on the Emerald Princess in the near future, I wouldn't count on purchasing a wine package.