Day 150: Welcome Back to the Real World

After five months and one day, we're HOME!

We walked in our front door at 3am EST, after several flight delays due first to air traffic control and then to sitting on the runway in a severe lightning storm that halted landings and takeoffs for nearly two hours.

It is 4:09am EST as I type this, so I'll be brief tonight (really!) and finish my thoughts in a final post in the next couple of days. 

I am thankful for so many things tonight:

- The opportunity to travel as we do, and my best friend to travel with, and the good fortune to do it safely and without incident. 

- A house and friends I love to come home to.

- Friends who kept daily watch on our house, handled our mail and waited at the airport for three hours tonight to pick us up (that's YOU, Martha!)

- A husband who is smart enough to know how to install a Nest thermostat so we can use our iPhones to turn up the heat on the way home from the airport, so we walked into a warm house. Wise enough to install security webcams all around the house to bring us peace of mind while we're away. Organized enough to have lists of hundreds of things to do to prepare for each winter away. And driven enough to do them all, so we come home to not even one surprise or issue. 

- And, finally, the foresight to leave myself a new toothbrush and a new jar of night cream on the bathroom counter. Aside from wiggling my toes in the sand of Fort Lauderdale Beach this afternoon, these have been the highlights of a very long and very tiring day. 

Life is good, and it will be even better tomorrow. I mean today. Later today. After 8 hours of sleep. 

My last view of the Emerald Princess as we whizzed past in a taxi on our way to the airport. Weep. 

Day 149: At Sea

I'll start today's post with an excerpt from Mom's email to me this morning:

"Good morning, Missy.  All is well.  Well, one more day and, I don't need to remind you, that you about to leave the Emerald.   I wonder what is going through your mind.  Will you be happy to be home?  Sad to leave the ship?  Probably, both of those."

She knows me so well!

It was an emotional day, and knowing it would be that way is probably why I didn't sleep well last night, and was up, showered, and sneaking out of the cabin by 6:30am. I feel much the same way I do during our last days at home before we leave in the fall:  excited, happy and sad all at once.  However, the second email I read this morning was from the twins' mom, informing me of their Sunday basketball schedule, two games, at 5pm and 7pm.  It's the sweetest "welcome home" email I could receive, like I'm being told, "You've had your time, but it's time to re-join the real world."

I'm ready. 

Last night's storms left lots of clouds first thing this morning, so our final sunrise at sea wasn't a ball of orange rising from the horizon, but, instead, those beautiful rays of light shooting down from the sky. 

Since we had done most of our packing yesterday, a long, stress-free day stretched out in front of me with a new e-book to read...that's not a luxury I'll see again any time soon. For reasons I will not expound on, we are in a minisuite for the last few days of this cruise, and today, more than any other, we understand their strong appeal, so much so that G has proclaimed that, on our final cruise of any future winter season, we might just book a minisuite. Certainly it's made organizing and packing an entirely different sport, a far cry from those late nights when I sat on one bed while G finished up his packing on the other. We've been packing for days; as soon as we no longer need something, it's been put in a suitcase, and the beauty of this cabin is that we have room to do that and still move around. The other beauty is that it provides solitude; we have lived with over 4000 people for five months, and to have peace and quiet on our own balcony right now is priceless. 

Though I went to the International Cafe for my coffee, and brought it back to our cabin, G ordered room service breakfast, and we sat on our balcony enjoying orange slices and mixed berries and the remainder of last night's Korbel in orange juice. 

We didn't even leave the cabin for lunch, but instead ordered beef chili from room service. 

And I enjoyed the Diet Tonic Water I'd received from cruise friends Richard and Sylvia when they left last turnaround day, with the remaining minibottles of gin from our minibar. We'd traded in three of our minibars this winter for two coffee cards each, and I must thank AstroFlyer on Cruise Critic for posting the minibar trade in options; it's much easier to carry home unused coffee cards than minibottles of liquor. 

The day was mostly cloudy but still warm; it was 83 degrees in the shade on our balcony, and, though we sat outside, every so often the temperature pushed us into the AC again. I had taken time yesterday afternoon to write several thank you notes and exchange larger bills for smaller ones for extra tip envelopes and disbursed all of them last night. I didn't want to leave it until today, and also thought Darko might appreciate getting the cash early, since he has to work until 8am tomorrow morning, and then disembark the ship immediately afterward. I had included my email address in the thank you notes, and Komang has already sent me the sweetest email in return, promising to keep us updated with photos of his new son, Gade, after he goes home in 11 days. 

We had to check in online for our Southwest flights, to secure our boarding priority, and Internet on the Emerald Princess has been unreliable for the past few days, but is almost non-existant in our new cabin. Neither G nor I could access it at all today, so just before dinner we went down to the International Cafe, which generally has one of the strongest signals on the ship. Even there it was sketchy, but we managed to get online and, using the Southwest app on our iPhones, got checked in just 5 boarding priority slots apart. Go us!

Our final Dinner with Darko was simple; G had prime rib and I had just salmon and broccoli, a nice, healthy meal to make up for all the crap I'll inevitably be eating tomorrow. We had made our first special food request of the winter for dessert:  Key Lime Pie, which we've seen on the menu only one time all winter. It was a perfect end to hundreds of wonderful meals on the Emerald Princess. 

We said our goodbyes to Darko and Komang and a dozen other waiters in the Michelangelo Dining Room (short but heart-aching), made one last pass around the ship, went up to Riviera Deck to say goodbye to Raymond the Great, picked up a final fuzzy water and popcorn, and returned to our cabin. We wouldn't receive our EZ Check luggage tags until after 8pm, and so we hadn't yet set out our suitcases. By the time we re-arranged a bit and weighed them, the tags had been delivered.  EZ Check is the program we used two winters ago; we put tags on our big suitcases and set them in the hallway outside our cabin, and then don't see them again until our home airport baggage claim. At $20 per person, with four suitcases weighing between 40 and 45 pounds each, it's the best deal around. 

As I type this, sitting on our balcony, the Emerald Princess is 150 miles from Fort Lauderdale. After cruising about 50,000 miles this winter, twice around the Earth at its equator, it feels like we've just turned down our street after a very long road trip. We just have one more day, albeit a long and difficult one, to get through before we arrive at our front door for the first time in five months. 

I will miss this life and these people so much. 

I cannot wait to get home.

Mixed emotions at their most extreme. Once again, Mom is right. 

:-)

Day 148: At Sea

I shouldn't have been hungry this morning after all that lovely seafood last night at the Crab Shack, but, of course, that's exactly why I was. I've mentioned that we have let ourselves eat with a bit more abandon in the past few days (the clothes that still fit perfectly well after nearly five months won't suddenly get too tight in the next two days...I hope), and so I splurged this morning with the deep fried French toast (with orange marmalade in lieu of syrup) which went just perfectly with our champagne  mimosas. Tomorrow, I've promised dear waiter Alvin that I will have a pastry for the first time since Christmas stollen. This is truly living large!

We were kept quite busy this morning getting most of our packing done. My numerous sneezes were testament to the fact that, despite our previous best efforts, our things were dusty. We carefully wiped down everything- shoes, caps, knick knacks, walking stick, anything that had sat out for 128 days- before packing it up. We will be returning home as organized- and as dust and sand free-  as we've ever been. And, until Raymond the Great vacuums it all up, there is enough sand in our cabin for a nice beach in one corner. Left alone, and with a few sea shells added, the next occupants would never have to leave the ship to enjoy a day on the beach. 

Lunch in the DaVinci Dining Room was our favorite menu, with fried mozzarella sticks for G and spaghetti aglio, olio and pepperocino for me. It was coupled with our favorite non-brioche rolls, grainy ones liberally sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds, and we ate it all with abandon. We KNOW how much food is in our house (not very much) and are determined to enjoy these last cruising meals. 

We couldn't convince ourselves to attend this afternoon's Grapevine Wine Tasting. We need no more alcoholic beverages, nor any more shooter glasses. We gave our last two away to a friend on Bonaire, and are going home with no Coke tumblers from the soda package nor shooter glasses from wine tastings. Our only exception:  that cute hard plastic cup with lid and twisty straw from G's sole Ultimate Kids Package purchase. We have only one, which, in the past would have been unthinkable, but the twins are 10 now, and past the age where twisty straws hold much appeal. 

Dinner with Darko featured our last big bottle of Korbel. When G promised me champagne for every big project we accomplished around the house last summer, it was a pledge he took seriously. We still have two mini bottles of Korbel left, just perfect for mimosas our final two mornings. Assistant waiter Komang is excited about the prospect that we may pay two visits to Bali next fall, and is already planning what he will show us as our tour guide, as he lives about 15 minutes from the port. That's definitely an added incentive for us to strongly consider a cruise on the Diamond Princess in Asia. 

We next attended our favorite production show I Got the Music, the first time this cast has performed it. It was enthusiastically received, and it's quite interesting how the different singers really do give the the show a different feel. 

The Emerald Princess is rocking and rolling today in a fashion we've not seen since the Christmas winds. The day had been sunny and hot, but around dinner time we cruised through a storm, followed by sun but stronger wind, followed by another storm. I'm hoping our final day tomorrow will be pleasant. 

And, finally, nternet has been very slow and intermittent the last few days, causing me to cut way back on the number of photos I'm uploading. Today I'll feature just two...

These flaky rolls are the BEST with escargot!

Who needs dessert beyond a decaf cappuccino and cookies?

Day 147: Aruba

We were determined today to get to Palm and Eagle Beaches for the first time this winter. Ever since we'd been told about Nikky Beach, it was so much easier to get there that we'd kind of abandoned the beaches in the Hotel Zone. It was time to make up for that. 

After a quick breakfast in the Horizon Court Buffet, we walked off the ship (the Vision of the Seas was behind us at the preferred berth) and caught the #10 Arubus to the furthest hotel. We then walked back, via beach, road and sidewalk, from Palm Beach to Eagle Beach. Today was sunny and HOT, with a stiff breeze, and by shortly after 1pm we were beached, sunned and walked out, and caught a privateer minibus back to Orangestad. 

We returned to the ship for a late lunch (so tired of pizza- I'll not be eating pizza again anytime soon!) and spent the remainder of the afternoon sorting through paperwork in our cabin.

At 4:30pm, we were on the Promenade Deck for our last sailaway of this entire winter, accompanied by our final bottle of Barefoot  Bubbly. (And I did a quick calculation:  counting Fort Lauderdale but subtracting our missed ports of Half Moon Cay and three Princess Cays visits, this was our 99th (!!) sailaway of the winter.)

As much as we hated to, we skipped Dinner with Darko tonight; I accompanied G as he ate a burger and fries in the Horizon Court Buffet (but didn't eat...yet). At 8pm, I had a much anticipated Ladies Night Out.  This had been in the planning for awhile, a last hurrah with some ship officers who have become friends, at the Crab Shack. I have been wanting to go to the Crab Shack since it was started on the Emerald Princess after the holidays, but as G considers this sort of seafood to be bait, not dinner, he was not at all interested. It worked out perfectly to do it with friends. 

Brown paper tablecloths and crayons to draw:

Serious tools for serious crab leg excavation:

We started with shrimp and hush puppies, and then had Manhattan clam chowder. Just these two courses made a meal, but the really good stuff was yet to come. 

The entrees, served family style- GORGEOUS and delicious!  Crab legs and mussels and clams and shrimp, corn on the cob and kielbasa. 

There was a choice of two desserts; we all chose neither. We were stuffed!!  It was so much fun to dine with new friends, and I'm happy I was able to try the Crab Shack. It's well worth the $20 per person charge. 

Meanwhile, G went to see Jon Root and Bill Berry, of juggling Team Rootberry, who came on board today in Aruba, so he was happy doing his own thing tonight. It was a harbinger of days to come; once home, we become unconnected at the hip, which is not a totally unwelcome operation after five months of togetherness.

;-)

Day 146: Bonaire

Having stayed up for the Ultimate Deck Party last night, we slept in this morning, until nearly 9am. Our scheduled arrival in Bonaire at noon allowed us plenty of time to have a leisurely breakfast in the buffet, straighten a few things in preparation for packing, and then walk on Deck 19 as we passed Klein Bonaire on our approach to the cruise ship pier in Kralendjik, Bonaire. 

It took awhile to get the Emerald Princess docked in the strong wind. As Captain Nash has said in the past, Bonaire today was hard to arrive at, but easy to leave. G and I packed up my laptop in my backpack to go back to the Internet cafe on land to download more TV series (just to see us through the next couple of days), but were separated in the mass of humanity in the Piazza waiting to disembark. That's always the case when there's a late arrival; everyone wants to get off at the same time. No worry, though. We both knew where we were going and met up on the way to the little telecenter tucked in by the Del Sol store. Whereas last time we had done this, we had been able to download about 12 hours of video over an Ethernet cable in one hour, today it took two hours just to get 8 hours of video, but we can finish out the cruise with that. 

We took the laptop back to the ship and left again to do just a quick snorkel - well, I snorkeled and G floated- down the waterfront. The beauty of Bonaire is that that can be done, safely and enjoyably and for free, within a couple of minutes walk from the ship. The downside is that it leaves me with not only a dirty swimsuit (which is easily hand washed) but with a dirty rash guard and swim skirt as well. As soon as we were back on the ship, I started what will surely be my last load of laundry (praise God!) with the little bit of Tide detergent we had left. We've used two 50-ounce bottles of laundry detergent this winter, right down to the last drop. I'm not sure if that's excellent planning, or just making what we have last till the end (but I think it's the latter). 

G made it out to a hot tub while I was doing laundry. Apparently another couple had noticed that the hot tub on Deck 17 aft was out of service all the time lately, and, after getting a bit of a run around about chlorine levels being out of whack (when the tub is empty??), raised enough of a stink to get the issue resolved. This has been ongoing all winter. G fought the fight once, but didn't want to have to go through it again. Luckily, someone else picked up the cause, and, hopefully, the hot tub will be open for our final three days on the Emerald Princess. The four hot tubs mid ship are too noisy for our taste, and it's quite a hike to the two quiet hot tubs in the Lotus Spa. We book this cabin simply because of its proximity to the Deck 17 hot tub; it's a bit of a let down when it's out of service. 

I can't say we were hugely hungry when it came time for Dinner with Darko, but these are very numbered at this point, and we are a bit reluctant to miss even one. We took a bottle of Martini & Rossi Asti Spumante that's been floating around here (no pun intended) since the holidays to start with dinner and finish at sailaway.

Darko suggested the veal, and -heaven help me- that's what I ordered, and they were perfect together. I made G promise not to give me any of his usual "Poor little baby cow" talk, which is guaranteed to snatch any good taste right out of my mouth, and he was good to his word. 

We were up on the Promenade Deck for sailaway, to watch as "the gangways were struck, the lines let go and the Emerald Princess thrust off its berth". (We've learned so much nautical talk from Captain Stenzel!). 

We stayed until the lights of Bonaire were no longer to be seen, and then excitedly returned to the cabin to watch some of the TV shows we purchased from iTunes and downloaded today. 

Other entertainment options were Disco:  Blame it on the Boogie, and Philomena on MUTS, both strong offerings but...new TV shows. That's no contest, at this point in our winter. 

Day 145: Grenada

Well, we awoke again today with a purpose: to do some serious walking. Unfortunately, we didn't wake up until almost 9am, which, considering we wanted to eat lunch in the dining room at noon, didn't give us a lot of time to squeeze in breakfast and a hike.  So we skipped breakfast, packed just water bottles, and walked off the ship, through the terminal at the Esplanade Mall and turned left. We wanted to figure out Grenada's public "buses" as part of our walk, and the main terminal in the capital city of St. George's, where the cruise ships dock, is just north of the pier. 

We found the people there very helpful about telling us which bus to take to get to a destination (those minivans are the buses), at a cost of about US$1.50 per person. The problem is there was no place we wanted to go. 

We then continued on, walking past the several fruit and vegetable stands that inevitably spring up around every island bus terminal, and the fish market, right next door (just like on Antigua). It was another mouth-breathing opportunity. 

Across the street was an older building with the sign Meat Market on its front, which I found amusing, for its obvious colloquial connotations, but it appeared to not be in use. This isn't a huge surprise; these islands have lots of fish but very little in the way of meat, other than chicken. 

Walking through St. George's like this no longer surprises us. First, we're pretty accustomed to the fact that most of the world doesn't live as we do, and, second, the sidewalks and streets are a bit better than in Dominica, which isn't saying much, but, after nearly five months, we've kind of grown used to them, such as they are. 

Everywhere you look, there are buildings in various states of disrepair, whether due to age or hurricanes or being bombed by the US in 1983 (and not repaired since). 

I love this kind of signage!

Finally, we needed to climb a hill today, and so headed up this street to the church at the top, which provided a whole new experience from several different perspectives. 

Eventually, even with several months of experience, we were starting to feel a bit culture-shocked and headed back to the ship, arriving on board just before 12:30pm. After a good wash up, we went to lunch in the DaVinci Dining Room where I had a delicious chef's salad that I wished I'd tried earlier this winter, because it was served in a homemade tortilla bowl and was really good. 

We finished lunch in time to be out on the Promenade Deck for sailaway at 2pm, which was made even more interesting by the 5-masted Royal Clipper yacht anchored in St. George's Harbour. We'd seen this ship a few cruises ago in Barbados, but it was pretty to see it at anchor and not docked. 

It was so pleasant sitting in the shade on the Promenade Dexk that we stayed there until nearly 3pm, when Grenada was far behind us. 

At 3:30pm, there was an event called Escape Completely in the Princess Patter, and we knew what that was, having seen it on the Royal Princess last fall. The singers and dancers dress as crew and officers and passengers, and do a flash mob in the Piazza. Since we knew what to look for, we had fun spotting the cast members in various uniforms and dressed as passengers. 

All three of these are dancers:

Darling Rodney as Mr. Pizza:

It's very fun to watch, but there were no more than 50 passengers there to see it, and it's sad that so much effort is placed on 4 minutes of entertainment that so few people see. (But that's just me going on again about Piazza entertainment.)

We had time for just a quick rest before getting cleaned up for Dinner with Darko. We kept it get simple tonight, but G warned me that he might want another dinner before the evening was over (and he did!). Entertainment options tonight were comedian Phil Tag in the Princess Theater and mentalist Brent Webb in the Explorers Lounge; we've seen both, and recently, and had the Captains Circle party for this cruise at 7:30pm, and so skipped the entertainment tonight. (Sadly, there were no movies on MUTS tonight, perhaps due to the Ultimate Deck Party being held at the Neptunes Reef pool area next door). 

We did return to the Michelangelo Dining Room and were seated at the table next to our regular one. It was about 8:30pm, but the dining room was nearly empty. Darko and Komang had maybe six guests; it's quite a change from 5pm when they get slammed with 16 (18 if we get there that early). We started talking with the delightful couple at "our" table who "knew all about us" ( it's always a little scary when we're told that!), and, along with Darko, chatted until after 9:30pm. What a pleasant hour!  G had another filet, and I had sorbet and happiness reigned. 

Since it was already so late, we stayed up for our first Ultimate Deck Party of the winter (at least a bit of it), but at 10:30pm, picked up popcorn and fuzzy water on our way back to the cabin.  

Only four more nights of this. Something tells me tears will be shed. I'm so torn; I want to be home so badly, but I want to be here too. It helps greatly that so many crew friends, most notably Darko, are leaving on the 29th, and Komang and Raymond leave by April 8th. It wouldn't be quite the same here for us after that even if we stayed. 

But I think I fear it will never be this good again. 

Day 144: Dominica

It was fun to wake with a plan for today in Dominica, which, as you we'll know, is probably the toughest island for us. The last time we were here, and were doing this Iinerady in reverse order, we cruised up the western coast of Dominica after sailing from Roseau at 4pm. It was still light much later, and we were able to see the entire northwestern part of the island from the ship. We decided that the next time we were here, we would simply hire a taxi and drive up the coastal road until it ended where the mountains reached the sea. It looked like a beautiful drive, and, most importantly, it would be flat and relatively straight, and not encourage carsickness.  Unfortunately, as we discovered today, it would have cost at least $90 in taxi fare, and we were assured that there was nothing up that way to see. The taxi drivers want to offer island tours for minivans-full of people at $20 per person, visiting a waterfall and a gorge and...

Well, we've done all that in the past. And Dominica remains at the top of our "tough islands for repeat visitors" list. 

We ventured over to Fort Young Hotel where we enjoyed a drink and free wifi, and spent the remainder of the day on the ship, walking on Deck 7 (Deck 19 was waaaayyy too warm today), and using the steam rooms and sitting in a hot tub, but, once again, not the one on Deck 17 aft, which has been closed for most of this cruise. 

And filling out disembarkation paperwork. :-( Yep, it's finally our turn for that. Cabin steward Raymond told us he initially bypassed our cabin when distributing the forms, out of force of four months of habit, and had to backtrack when he'd discovered his error. 

We also signed up for EZ Check, a service that, for $20 per person, will allow us to place tags on our four big suitcases, set them outside our cabin door on the night of March 28th, and not see them again until our home airport luggage carousel. We've used this service in the past and LOVED it; it will be especially invaluable next Saturday when the Fort Lauderdale airport is packed to capacity and we must sit in the terminal for several hours before being allowed to go through security. 

But I don't want to think about that yet. 

On a related note- we actually started packing up a bit last cruise when we believed I might be flying back to Michigan. We were quickly forced into discussions about what I would take when or if I left, and what G would need to finish out the cruise. Thus, our beloved over the door shoe rack was taken down, which was not a huge sacrifice, as quantities of...everything are pretty depleted by now. In fact, we've run out of several things, but of the most important things (shampoo, conditioner, contact lens care, deodorant, toothpaste and dental floss) we have just enough of to see us through. I had simultaneously tried using the shower gel and moisturizer that are included in the Elite amenity packet; no surprise, but I'm allergic to one or the other or both. Luckily, G found a sample tube of Aquaphor in his stuff that will last about five more days. We're out of vitamins, out of ibuprofen, out of facial serum and night cream and concealer  and tinted moisturizer and...well, I become a scarier sight day by day. We definitely could not stay for another 10-night cruise! 

We had pizza about 2pm, which made us not very hungry at Dinner with Darko at 6pm. Once again, I had just salmon and broccoli...and vodka lime sorbet for dessert. We sat in the Wheelhouse Bar for awhile listening to four members of the Emerald Princess orchestra playing dance music, and then went to the 8:30pm Princess Theater performance of production show Boogie Shoes. The new cast is not quite polished yet, but it's always fun to see darling Rodney from Brazil, and now Igor and Steven who we met at the Backstage Tour, perform. 

Rodney's in the middle...

...and the bottom right of the pyramid:

There was another show option tonight: mentalist Brent Webb did three performances in the Explorers Lounge and Nob was in MUTS. With an early arrival in Grenada tomorrow, we are tucked into bed with fuzzy water and popcorn at 10pm. 

Day 143: St. Thomas

I have to make another confession tonight. Mom called me on it when I was talking with her today...she wanted to know what was wrong with me yesterday; last night's post sounded "off". Well, here's the truth:  I've had a bit of a cold in my lungs, I'm getting better but was left with a cough, G picked up dextramathorphan (anti-cough) tablets at Walgreens in Fort Lauderdale, they make me sleep for hours. I wasn't saying anything because I wanted to hide it from Mom; so much for that. I slept for almost 20 hours yesterday and am fine today.

So, moving on...

After coffee from the Internetional Cafe and breakfast with Luis Gabriel from Mexico in the DaVinci Dining Room, we packed for one last beach day on Water Island. Once again, the 10am ferry from Crown Bay to Water Island was filled to capacity (get there early; stand in line!), and G then ran up the hill from the ferry dock on Water Island as I schlepped the backpack and the beach bag up the hill. I walked with Norm and Maggie and Mike and Cindy, two Cruise Critic couples G had met at yesterday's Meet and Greet, and by the time we arrived on Honeymoon Beach, G had claimed a palapa for a bit of shade for our group. All six of us rented loungers from Heidi's Honeymoon Grill ($10 each; get $5 each back when they're returned) and settled in for the day. Unfortunately, it was a busy day on Honeymoon Beach, being a weekend, and there were lots of residents and excursion boats on the beach. Still, for a weekend, it was probably one of the least crowded beaches in the US Virgin Islands. The day was sunny and hot and quite breezy. By the afternoon, the sand was getting too hot to walk on, and I remember that on our final visit there last winter we had encountered the same thing. 

For nearly four hours, we basked in the sun and used our floats in the water and chatted. Oh, and we might have had a few beers (G) and Sprite Zeros and Gin (me). Darko had had a plate of cookies sent to the cabin last night when I didn't show up for dinner, and we had packed them up for the beach, and they were pretty delish about noon today. 

Shortly after 2pm, I faced a decision:  either do another swimsuit pull down/up in the tiny bathroom on the beach, or return to the ship on the 2:30pm ferry. I'm still easily winded after that cold, and didn't think I had the strength to manhandle a wet swimsuit off and back on, and so decided to call it a day, as did Mike and Cindy and eventually G. But walking back to the ferry dock, I took a second to take this photo for the last time this winter. Sigh. 

We decided to shower and dress for dinner as soon as we returned to the ship, and then sit in Skywalkers using Internet and making phone calls until the ship sailed. It was Breeza Marina night in the Elite Lounge...but it was also Most Traveled Passengers (MTP) party night, and so I was abstemious in Skywalkers, and enjoyed just a fuzzy water with some of the delicious hors doerves that Jefferson sets up every night. 

We were struck, as we sailed away past Water Island and Honeymoon Beach, that, not only was that the last time doing that this winter, but it was our last time viewing sailaway from St. Thomas from Skywalkers on the Emerald Princess. After 41 sailaways from St. Thomas on this ship, it was the end of an era. Sailaways on the Royal Princess will be quite different, and not in a good way. 

We kept it simple at Dinner with Darko; G had a burger and I had salmon, broccoli and rice. As I've said before, the longer we stay, the more we eat like we do at home. We enjoyed chatting with Captain Stenzel at the MTP party (cutoff was 340 days or so), and told him how much we've learned from his maritime history lessons during his noon updates. He recommended a book written by a Cunard captain that was full of such nautical nuggets of knowledge, and one that we will certainly buy. We love this sort of thing!

With a Pinch of Salt by Captain Nick Bates

The featured entertainment for this evening was the Frankie Valli tribute act known as The Unexpected Boys. We had seen them perform on Christmas, but had been told that former production show singer Kurt Robbins, whom we'd gotten to know this winter, was coming back to perform as one of the four singers. Unfortunately, he had thought they were coming on board in Aruba, but instead they came on board today in St. Thomas. As G said, The Unexpected Boys unexpectedly arrived. We missed the first two shows due to the MTP Party, and will not make the 10:15pm show. At least G won't. ;-)  I might sneak back out after I publish this post to watch the show. But I learned my lesson on Christmas Day, and won't be sitting in the front row again!

Day 142: At Sea

Well, so much for cruising with intensity. While we started the day strong, and G kept up the pace all day, I fizzled out before noon and had the downest down day of the winter. 

We had intended to go to Ye Olde Pub Night last evening, in the Explorers Lounge, but never made it. We were both asleep early, but awoke well before 7am today. We started the day with mimosas at breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room, and that's quickly becoming a favorite way to start a sea day. I limited myself to a fruit plate, because I thought lunch would be a full one, but G went all out and had a double cheese omelet.

As of today, our clothes still fit just fine, but we're both being a bit carefree this last cruise! 

Keeping it healthy, my mid-morning blended latte was decaf (of course) and skinny. Still, sitting alone at a table in Vines, the wine bar on Deck 5 in the Piazza, reading a book about Lady Almina, the real-life countess of Highclere Castle, where Downton Abbey is set, felt decadent in a different way. I have a feeling that the plane ride home is the last time for quite a while (7 months?) that I'll have time to sit, guilt-free, and read. Going home for us is like starting a new contract for the crew:  several months of lots of work and long hours. Oh well...we've heard the song, and it will be time to pay the piper.

We both attended the 10am Backstage Tour in the Princess Theater. Sure, we've seen it a few times this winter, but never with the new cast, and Company Performance Manager Astrid has been replaced by Igor and Kyle by Stephen and...well, it's probably best that this is our last cruise. I'll never learn all these new names again. 

Interestingly, one of the six seamstresses from costume maker Sylvia's of Hollywood remains on board, fine tuning the costume fittings for the new cast. I can't imagine what it was like when there were six seamstresses and billows of costumes in that tiny dressing room, because with just one sewing machine in there it's still quite tight. 

One of the two staircases for tonight's production show What a Swell Party waiting in the wings:

After the Backstage Tour, I returned to the cabin just to "rest" for a few minutes...and woke up hungry five hours later at 4pm. I'm certain the stress and uncertainty of last cruise caught up with me, because, as you know, I am not a napper. But when it's a five hour long sleep, I'm not certain I can even call it a nap. G came and went, attending this cruise's Cruise Critic Meet and Greet and then going to Pub Lunch in the Wheelhouse Bar with a two Cruise Critic couples and then playing elevator roulette...while I slept on and on. 

About 4pm I awoke and was headed up to the buffet for a snack when I ran into G. He joined me, and, while we ate, I begged off formal night tonight. I am weary of dressing up, and so we plan to have a light dinner in the buffet and then watch the movie Last Vegas on the big screen (MUTS). It's sea day relaxation at its best. 

I keep forgetting to post this photo, taken from the Emerald Princess when we were in Fort Lauderdale two days ago. 

This little tugboat was pulling a small yacht, and I thought it was the cutest thing. When I told G I thought it belonged in a story book, he said that it looked like it should be able to talk. Exactly. :-)

Day 141: Princess Cays

We have noticed that we both seem to be approaching this last cruise of the winter with increased intensity. I think, for the first time all winter, we're cruising like most 10-day cruisers cruise, making the most of every...everything, 'cause it's the last everything of the winter.

It's fun!

Case in point:  I had blueberry pancakes for breakfast, generally a splurge. Then we didn't dawdle packing for a beach day, and were on the second tender to Princess Cays (and thank God we made it in to Princess Cays today!!). Even there, we wasted no time, and I was snorkeling almost immediately, when the water was calm and clear as glass, while G encouraged the fish with brioche tossed from the feeding pavilion. 

Sargent major fish:

Yellow fin snappers:

Cruise friend Chrysalis provided the name of bluehead wrasse for this, one of my favorites:

After lunch of primarily grilled chicken breasts tipped in that wonderful Princess balsamic vinaigrette, G asked fruit and ice carver Jefferson if he would cut up one pineapple for us, and what a gorgeous plate of fruit it made!

 

I'm tempted to have that photo printed and eat it when I'm fruit deprived, three or so weeks after we return home. ;-)

G was also busy feeding the sandpipers.

But, mostly, we relaxed and enjoyed these views:

It was perhaps the best Princess Cays day of the winter, warm but not hot, breezy but not windy and oh-so-sunny. When I tell you we were on the second-last tender back to the ship, I guess you can tell we had one heck of a day. 

Once on the ship, we showered and dressed for dinner (since it was already so late in the afternoon) and then sat on the Promenade Deck watching as we cruised by Little San Salvador Island, where Half Moon Cay is located, and then San Salvador Island. It's especially interesting to cruise this time of year; with sunset occurring well after 7pm, there is so much more to see.

We hastened to Dinner with Darko shortly after 5pm (we. were. starved.), then took tonight's bottle of champagne out to the Terrace Deck to watch a sunset that was really so much more beautiful than it appears in these photos, and ended in the second green flash of the winter. 

G looked at me and asked, "Are you glad we've stayed on for one last cruise?"

Oh, yeah. 

Life is good. 

:-)