Epilogue to our fifth winter at sea

When I said at the start of this season that it was time to change things up a bit, I couldn't for a moment have imagined just how our winter would turn out. The only cruises that we ultimately did that were originally in our sights were the first six on the Pacific Princess and the first two on the Caribbean Princess. The Grand Princess was never a consideration; we thought the Royal Princess was a certainty. And the Hotel Tiare Tahiti on the waterfront in Papeete?  We'd never even heard of it. But that's okay...we could never have sat at home and planned a winter of cruising as interesting and fun as ours ultimately was. This one needed to unfold 'on the run'. 

As for next winter ('cause people are already asking)...at this point, we're past our original five year plan for winters at sea, but we're still of like mind when it comes to moving (not yet) or owning a second home (never!). So we'll take it just one year at a time for awhile, and, life and health permitting, I predict we'll spend at least a portion of next winter on a cruise ship. Where we'll cruise is anyone's guess. We enjoyed the small Pacific Princess much more than we'd anticipated, and found short cruises in the Caribbean to be a heckuva lot of fun.

I am working hard right now to not become overwhelmed by all that needs to be done around here immediately. I could swear the piles of mail on the dining room table grew in our absence, and Martha had another box waiting for us in the foyer last night. While today was taken up mostly with double digit loads of laundry (and folding and putting away, the parts of laundry I like least), tomorrow we start the recovery process in earnest, with the grocery shopping and appointments and paperwork and phone calls and to-dos that make up our season at home. 

But I also know that, every so often, in the middle of a busy day, G will look at me and ask "Did we really do that?  Did we really spend three months in French Polynesia?  Did we really party our way through the Caribbean?  Did you REALLY get in 65 degree water to snorkel with sea lions?"

Yep, we did. And I've got the blog posts to prove it. 

Thanks for coming along for the ride!

Home. Land of high speed wifi and comfy bedding and large bathrooms...and ample clean washcloths.

;-)

Day 135: Home!

We're home. HOME!  And, despite the fact that the work starts now (the crew calls it our contract) I am thrilled to be here. 

As far as disembarkation days go, this one was textbook perfect.  No issues, no delays, and we arrived home safely. It doesn't get any better than that. 

In fact, the only surprise in returning home actually arose a few days ago. We were planning to use the EZ Check option (pay $20pp, put our checked luggage outside our cabin door the last night and don't see it again until our home airport baggage claim) but discovered that it's not offered on Princess cruises of less than 7-nights. Well...shoot. We love that option. We had wanted to take the Sun Trolley back down to Fort Lauderdale Beach hauling just our carry on bags, but that wasn't possible. Instead we were among the very last off the ship this morning and caught a taxi right to the airport 10 minutes away.  Fortunately, though we were too early to check in our luggage at the Southwest counter, we could take it down to the baggage claim area and check it there. Unfortunately, the line down there stretched out of the airport and down the sidewalk but we waited just a bit and discovered that, if we timed it between the arrival of bus loads of cruise passengers, the line would occasionally be quite short. 

Once we were no longer encumbered by our large suitcases, we returned to the car rental terminal and those high backed leather chairs by the Hertz counter that had served us so well the night we flew in. I plugged an extension cord into the only outlet in the area, we both plugged in to that and happily sat there internetting and texting.  Several hours later; we walked through TSA Pre-check security and waited just a few minutes until it was time to start boarding. I was thrilled to learn that, only two boarding places in front of me were people who had paid for Early Bird Check in through Southwest. I guess that, despite using ship's Internet and dealing with the Southwest app upgrade issue, we were pretty quick with our online check in yesterday. 

I was sitting on the plane, just before I put my phone in Airplane Mode, when friend Suzan texted me about a cruise out of Los Angeles in April. I think in the addiction world, she is what is known as an enabler. ;-) All I know is I love it!  Don't get excited...we're just considering it, but how addicted are we to this cruising thing that I actually quickly looked up the round trip airfare before I put my phone in Airplane Mode?  On a plane, still at the gate, going home after over four months of cruising. We're hopeless. 

Our flights ran on schedule and I was quite content watching five episodes of Season 5 Downton Abbey on the planes. The lady sitting next to me told me that the season finale had just been shown on TV in the US last weekend, so I'm only two episodes behind. Our luggage collected, Martha met us with her toasty warm car and mysteriously did some flashing of headlights once she arrived in front of our house. Our neighbors suddenly appeared, margaritas in hand, to welcome us home, and even helped us wrestle our suitcases up the front walk. (We called them Room Service. I wonder if they'll also deliver breakfast in the morning?). 

We're still waiting for hot water but I plugged in the microwave and heated up a can of Progresso chicken and noodle soup and we called it dinner. No unpacking tonight, except for a couple of things we must have; even easy travel days are tiring, and travel days after a 28-day party are especially so. We'll be asleep in minutes. 

I'll publish a wrap up post with some final thoughts in the next couple of days, but I am filled with gratitude for so many things tonight.  I am thankful for good friends...good friends to cruise with and good friends to come home to. For a snow-free front sidewalk (see prior sentence) to roll suitcases on.   For a warm house to walk in to (G had turned up the heat to 68 earlier today).  For the ability to spend a fifth winter at sea. For blog readers who send encouraging emails. For my husband. 

For my husband (I mean this so much that it bears repeating). 

Life is good. :-)

Day 134: At Sea

Never before have 28 days gone by so quickly for us on a cruise ship. I feel like we just unpacked a couple of days ago, and here we were putting it all back in suitcases. What happened?

The Caribbean Princess is what happened. We will disembark tomorrow with our fuel gauges on EMPTY, some body damage and our batteries with just enough charge to keep our Check Liver Soon lights emitting solid red. But, boy, did we have fun!!

We once again started our day with breakfast in the International Cafe, sitting right by a window as the ocean rushed by outside. That's not something we'll be able to do again anytime soon. We ended up having a conversation with fellow cruisers that took us right up to lunch, which we enjoyed in the Coral Dining Room.  We skipped the Grapevine Wine Tasting (really, I'm not certain if I'll drink again for months) and started the packing process, which, I must say, is considerably easier when we've only been in a cabin for 28 nights and are flying right home. Throw it all in and straighten it out later!  Much simpler than packing up 96 days in French Polynesia, spending a night in a hotel and then embarking the Grand Princess. 

We also had to remember to do our check in for our flights tomorrow. In a "don't they realize that not everyone has high speed internet all the time?" moment (I could write a book on those after this winter!), Southwest Airlines issued an update to their iPhone app and we couldn't check in without doing the update. But we didn't have internet fast enough to allow us to do the update. Finally, I checked on my iPad to see if we'd have the same issue on it, and we didn't. I did both check ins consecutively and we ended up with boarding positions only 9 spaces apart. Go us!

While we were in our cabin, Captain Foster made an announcement about a plume of smoke coming from a boat that several passengers were reporting on our port side. He said that the bridge had been in contact with the US Coast Guard who had a helicopter watching it and was sending rescue boats and didn't need the Caribbean Princess to respond. Apparently the boat was purposely set on fire and the people on it were trying to get away on jet skis. Quite interesting; as Captain Foster said, we could only imagine why the boat was set ablaze as the Coast Guard approached it. Yes, we could imagine all sorts of things...and did. 

By dinner time, we were nearly packed up. I kept dinner simple again (I've had salmon on 4 of the past 5 nights) but did splurge on only my second escargot of the entire winter. The first had been on our first cruise in October, so I guess you can say our winter was bookmarked by escargot. We made it to comedian Troy Thirdgill's 7:15pm performance and his show was a great high note on which to end this cruise. We attended trivia with new friend Joyce (Princess 50th anniversary trivia...just get to the Love Boat Disco Deck Party an hour early and see the questions and answers shown over and over on the MUTS screen) and won. We negotiated our winning bottle of schlock...er, sparkling wine into flashlight key rings and promptly gave ours to two little kids who were getting whiny as mom and dad were finalizing their photo purchases. 

We've just shoved our evening clothes into our suitcases and set them outside our door, so our day is officially over. G is in bed bemoaning the fact we're going home tomorrow one minute, then the next minute saying he can't wait for cable TV to have something decent to watch. Given 150 TV channels and DVR, he'd happily cruise forever. I, on the other hand, don't give a fig about TV but miss people and high speed internet (in an order I won't admit to). I am so ready to go home, which doesn't mean I haven't enjoyed every single day of our winter, right down to this evening. It simply means we have a home and a life there I adore.

I am so blessed. :-)

Day 133: Cozumel

We were moving slowly on this, our very last port day of the winter, but that wasn't a surprise. After 26 days on the Caribbean Princess, we're moving slower by the day. We have never had such fast paced; more fun-per-minute cruises as these have been. However, we can't keep up this pace much longer, and, thankfully, we won't have to.

We enjoyed a leisurely coffee and light breakfast in the International Cafe, and had an earnest discussion about our plans for next winter that led us to complete the paperwork to purchase (warning:  cruise terms to follow) an additional ten FCCs for each of us.  That completed, we walked off the ship intending to go to Paradise Beach Resort. Then we saw that the Oasis of the Seas (nearly 6000 passengers) was at the International Pier and that there were six cruise ships again in Cozumel. That means there were close to 20000 cruise ship passengers descending on tiny Cozumel. Yikes!  I remember when we used to travel to Cozumel to dive several times a year. Cruise ships were allowed to come just one day a week, and were limited to just two ships at a time. Even then we'd avoid going to town on that day, because (said in a horrified tone) "the cruise ships are here". Ha. 

We decided to just stay in the Puerta Maya pier area again, and spent the afternoon relaxing in loungers in the shade of palm trees. 

My view for the day. I may enlarge this and hang it in a prominent place at home to get me through the next few weeks. 

Whatever antics we expected to see today from our fellow passengers, we didn't see any. There were not the drunken college students of yesterday. We saw plenty of students, of course, but they seemed downright sober. Once we were back on the ship, steward Antonio filled us in. The Spring Breakers near our cabin didn't get out of bed until dinner time. I knew that Costa Maya would do them in!  What we might expect tonight and in the early hours of tomorrow morning is kind of frightening, but they were well behaved and subdued today. 

We had a pretty light dinner (still not hungry) and then went to this cruise's Most Traveled Passengers cocktail party in Skywalkers. We're heading back out tonight for the Mardi Gras party and then production show Caribbean Caliente. 

No time to write more...another party awaits!

Day 132: Costa Maya/ Mahajual, Mexico

Wow. I have to say it again...today was the BEST!  We had fun both on and off the ship, saw several "old" friends and most likely feel better tonight than most of the young people on this ship (who continue to provide quite a bit of entertainment). Were we ever that young and foolish?  Maybe...

We were awake reasonably early today (meaning before 9am), which was commendable, because we had been up late watching the movie The Theory of Everything on MUTS (it was very good). We grabbed a quick and light breakfast (muesli for me) in the International Cafe and then walked off the ship with our only plan being to get to Majahual, the little fishing village just a mile or two south of the cruise port.

While we were having our coffee, I heard passengers at the next table talking about the college kids on their deck coming in at 4am last night and screaming in the corridor. "Are you on Riviera Deck?" I asked. No, on Aloha Deck. Apparently the abundance of college kids in one area is not limited to us. It's not bothering us; G could sleep through anything and I just pop in my ear plugs and take a Benadryl and I'm out for the night. But the Spring Break crowd seemed to be gaining a reputation on the ship before we even arrived at our first port. Little did we know what lay ahead today. 

We were so excited to be in port today with our beloved Emerald Princess. We had not seen this ship since we passed it in a taxi on our way to the Fort Lauderdale airport last March 29th. As a ship we've spent over a year of our lives on, it certainly feels like our second home. We walked down the pier looking for any familiar faces, and were thrilled to see Chief Engineer Roddy overseeing a major maintenance project on the pier. We talked for just a couple of minutes and then continued on our way. 

The Caribbean Princess on the left and the Emerald Princess on the right. 

The Carnival Pride was also in port with us, so there were nearly 10000 cruise passengers descending on Costa Maya and Mahajual today, and a lot of them were college students. It was bound to be an interesting day. 

We first walked around the cruise port area of Costa Maya, which, like the Puerta Maya pier in Cozumel, is very well maintained.  The weather was sunny and beautiful, though a bit windy today. 

There are two swim-up bars in the pool at Costa Maya

We didn't stay in the port area long; we had been there last cruise and wanted to get over to the fishing village of Mahajual today. We took a $3pp shuttle (don't buy a round trip ticket). The shuttle was a trailer with bench seating hauled behind a truck and it was a bumpy ride to the village.  My ribs were NOT happy, and we knew we had to find an alternative way back to the ship. 

The last time we were in Mahajual was 10 years ago, and the road along the long stretch of beach was just sand back then. It's paved now, and closed off to traffic, but Mahajual hasn't lost its charm that we remembered. The beach is a long stretch of gorgeous white sand lined with beach bars with loungers and umbrellas and massage tables. We walked past the busiest areas until almost the end of the village and chose two loungers under an umbrella. As much as we loved French Polynesia, they did not have beaches like this one!

G has had some back issues ever since he put up with that bad mattress for our first two weeks on board, and in a real "Who is this man?" moment, decided to get a 40-minute massage for $20. The waiter gave me the password for wifi and brought me a Superior beer (the local brew) and happiness reigned. 

G returned to me feeling considerably better, and ordered a beer, too. He asked me to check the weather back home, and, when I did, this is what was happening, with snow due to start in 42 minutes ...

...and this is what we were looking at. And we laughed and laughed. (Mas cerveza, anyone?)

The beach in Mahajual was like French Polynesian beaches in one way:  there is a barrier reef out about 100 yards on which the waves break, and so the water is very calm and shallow near the shore. 

I saw this beach vendor selling hats, with several stacked on his head, and I was immediately reminded of a book my dad read to me over 50 years ago. Hats for Sale?  I thought that was it, so I Googled it and discovered it was entitled Caps for Sale. 

I hadn't thought about that book for decades!  And that's just one reason I miss the Internet when we're cruising...I find ten reasons a day to Google something that pops up that I'm curious about.

Another vendor came by selling something I thought would appeal to the kids and, while I might sometimes find the constant pestering by beach vendors annoying, it's really quite handy to be able to enjoy a beach, drink beer AND shop for souvenirs simultaneously. Plus, I like to spend a little money in every port to support the locals. I wanted to get another henna tattoo to replace the one I had gotten in Puerto Vallarta (which lasted perfectly for three weeks), but we didn't have enough money to pay for the massage and the beers and the souvenirs and the transportation and a tattoo, so it will have to wait until tomorrow in Cozumel (something tells me they might sell them there). ;-) Or maybe I should just accept the fact that, after Friday, I won't be wearing shorts again for a month or two and no one would see it anyway. 

It was finally time for us to make our way back to the ship, and we started walking back along the beach road through the village when we were approached by a taxi driver offering us a $2pp ride back to the ship. In a comfy cab. That sounded nice (and it was). The funniest thing was seeing this parade of taxis returning to the ship with tanned and toned legs and bodies hanging out of the windows. It was becoming apparent that the college kids on all three ships had had an inebriating day. 

Our walk down the pier to the ship further confirmed this. How can I say this...we needed to watch where we walked. Oh my. The security staff at Costa Maya was kept busy using wheelchairs to get the  passed out bikinied co-eds back to their respective ships, where they were handed off to the ships' security who needed to sort out who they were and which ship they belonged on (Ship cards?  What's a ship card?). Chief Engineer Roddy was still on the pier and said that he had seen this stream of inebriated people returning to the ships all day starting at 10am (except Roddy is a seafaring Scot who might had used some different terminology than "inebriated"). There were going to be some unhappy people later tonight!!

It's madness, I say. Madness!

Once back on the ship, we had to hurry to get cleaned up for tonight's Captains Circle parties. On our way down to Club Fusion, the college kids down the hall were carrying an 8 foot tall plastic giraffe they called Jeffrey down the hall. Seriously. G just had to pose for a photo...I mean, who would believe this on a Princess cruise?

G and his new friend, a cutie named Jeffrey ;-) (Biggest smile of the entire winter on him!!!)

It's madness, but we're having fun with it!

We're #3 MTP this cruise, a nice way to end the winter season. #1 MTP Joyce joined us, and John and Kathy (our first runners up ;-)) and then we saw Marion and Howard from England, who we know from the Emerald Princess last year, and the Jordans, and...well, we had this whole row of Princess cruisers who all previously knew either each other or had one degree of separation, having common friends.  It was fun!  Captain John Foster is a comedian who commented that all the young people on board were in the Medical Center getting their stomachs pumped (yes, it really is that bad). And we're in Cozumel tomorrow. Pray for THEM! 

Dinner was light and fast (salmon and salad for me, and pavlova for dessert). We are heading back out again for this cruise's Love Boat Disco Deck party around the Calypso Pool. We are tired, but there is no rest for the weary until we arrive at the Fort Lauderdale airport on Saturday. We're on a party cruise!!

Cruise #14: 5-nights Mexico cruise

Day 131: At Sea

We finally slowed down a little bit today, at least until dinner time. Since it's just 8:15pm, and we're taking a short break in the cabin before heading out for more fun, it's hard to say what the rest of the evening will bring. 

We heard from our cabin steward Antonio that the source of the noise we're hearing in the corridor is mostly the five cabins in a row holding 19 University of Florida students starting one cabin to the left from ours. They've been a little quieter this evening, so someone possibly spoke to them about the door slamming, but I really should wait until 3am when they hit their peak before making that determination. This cruise is most like the Christmas cruises we've taken in the Caribbean, with lots of family groups but even more young adults. 

We simply weren't hungry for breakfast this morning and so went down to the International Cafe for coffee. The big news is that we are no longer under Code Red noro restrictions, and things are back to normal in the dining venues and around the ship. Well, that's a nice note to end our winter on!!

At noon we went to the Coral Dining Room for lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon watching a movie in the cabin. I could have been content skipping tonight's formal night festivities altogether, but, being the loving wife I am, I went through them for the 731st time this winter. What I couldn't do is eat a dinner as big as the 50th anniversary menu. Instead I had salad and salmon and a couple of petit fours in lieu of the heart shaped Norman Love dessert (can you believe anyone would turn that down?) and a cappuccino and was content. We attended our last Captain's Welcome Aboard Party and Champagne Waterfall of the winter, and I didn't even have any champagne. I'm just so...not hungry, ever since we went to the Crown Grill three nights ago. 

In a head-scratching 'why did they do that?' move, the production show Born to be Wild was shown twice tonight; with the first performance exactly coinciding with the Captain's Welcome Aboard Party and Champagne Waterfall. There is also a 10:15pm performance, but instead we're going to listen to the Massina Duo in the Wheelhouse Bar and then go to see the movie on MUTS, The Theory of Everything at 10pm. 

And, finally, a new promotion was rolled out on this cruise, a $75 all inclusive photo package. The only stipulation is that you are limited to one print per event, which I suppose means one formal night photo, one dining room photo, etc., but I still think this is one of their best ideas ever, especially for the first time cruisers on these short cruises. 

Day 130: Fort Lauderdale (turnaround day)

Our final turnaround day of the winter season was easy and fun and even held a surprise for us. Unlike our most recent turnaround day, with its deep cleaning of the ship and delayed boarding coupled with overcast skies and wind, today was much smoother AND sunny. Yay!

We adhered to our commitment to avoid food until sometime next week...at least this morning. We went to the international Cafe for coffee around 8am and were amazed by how empty the ship already appeared. There were apparently a lot of passengers on the 4-night cruise traveling with just carry on bags who chose to walk off the ship as soon as it was cleared this morning. The Passenger Services Desk  kept making announcements:  disembarkation was running 15 minutes ahead...30 minutes...45 minutes. That's not something we hear very often. About 9:30am, we walked off the ship and right through immigration in the terminal; there was no wait at all. Nice!

We set out to walk down to Publix for the first time this winter. Our waiter Marian had told us that there was a new TJ Maxx that has opened since last year, and there it was, right next to Publix. The crew is loving it, as it's even easier to get to than Ross Dress for Less which requires crossing 17th Street. We then caught a Sun Trolley down to Fort Lauderdale Beach, and what a difference four days makes. The beach was busy today, and the sidewalks on Ocean Blvd. were filled with tourists. I know that it's a far cry from Spring Break in Fort Lauderdale 35 years ago, but it is apparently still a popular destination. We sat in front of two of the dancers from the Caribbean Princess on our trolley ride. She is from the UK and he is from Ukraine, and we found out that this is their last cruise on the Caribbean Princess and the entire production cast is transferring to the Sapphire Princess, flying out Saturday night to meet the ship in Asia. Apparently, they move as a team between the Diamond, Sapphire and Caribbean Princess, and another cast moves between the Grand, Golden and Star Princess. The new cast for the Caribbean Princess is on the ship this cruise, along with their choreographer, getting the costumes fitted and doing some on-ship practicing of the production shows, just as we saw last winter on the Emerald Princess. 

We got off the Sun Trolley at Sunrise Blvd. and started to walk south along the beach. As we walked, I was thinking about how many beaches we'd walked on in the just the past two months:  Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora, Waikiki Beach on Oahu and Kaanapali Beach on Maui, Loreto and Puerto Vallarta in Mexico, Cozumel and Grand Turk.  We will have so many wonderful memories from our winter!!

At the same time I was thinking about this, we saw a couple walking in front of us. I looked...and looked again. "Is that who I think it is?", I asked G. He said he was thinking the same thing. We caught up with them and couldn't believe it. It was Nadia from Ottawa and Ken from the UK who were #2 MTP on the Pacific Princess on the December 8th cruise. There!  On the beach in Fort Lauderdale!  Big hugs, and we said we guessed they were joining the Caribbean Princess today. As it turns out, no. They were simply staying in Fort Lauderdale for a couple of weeks. We just happened to run into each other less than three months after our mutual French Polynesian cruise on busy Fort Lauderdale Beach. Just like meeting the passengers on our first Caribbean Princess cruise who had sailed into Papeete on the Oceania Marina on January 4th, the odds of meeting Nadia and Ken today were millions to one. 

The architecture of this building along Ocean Blvd. intrigued me. It looked like it was curving up, when it obviously is not. 

Fort Lauderdale Beach 

G and I eventually continued on our way, walking quite a bit further south along Ocean Blvd and then walking back a block from the water.  It was after 12:30pm by then, and, when we saw a Sun Trolley approaching, we decided to go back to the ship for our last embarkation day lunch in the dining room. In another 'Caribbean Princess moment', we discovered, once back on the ship, that the dining room was not open for lunch today, despite the fact that our in transit letter had said it would be. We walked up to the Horizon Court Buffet instead, the worst idea of the day, especially on a Code Red embarkation day, as the line of passengers waiting to get their food on both sides stretched through the buffet and the length of the Calypso Pool. Not a fan of the buffet on a good day, there was no way I wanted to stand in that line. Instead we went to the Trident Grill for cheeseburgers, and took them back to the Terrace Deck. It was less crazy back there, and was cool in the shade, and we stayed there until muster drill.  I think finding occasional moments of peace will be essential to my survival on this cruise. 

Muster drill is my favorite embarkation day shower time, as there is no escaping that long announcement. We were ready for dinner and out on the Terrace Deck for our last beautiful sailaway of the winter. We popped the cork on a bottle of Barefoot Bubbly and toasted another great winter at sea.  I finally ate healthily at dinner (and it felt so good):  fruit and salad and salmon and no dessert. Go me!  We were in the Princess Theater at 7:30pm for the Welcome Aboard show featuring comedian Troy Thirdgill. Sure, we had just seen him two cruises ago; but his is a great show, and I think he was even funnier tonight. 

And that's it for us tonight. We are tucked away in our cabin, listening to the shouts and squeals and door slamming from fellow passengers in nearby cabins. These are apparently students at the University of Florida, which is on Spring Break this week.  The bar staff already knows they're going to have a heck of a time this week attempting to keep alcohol out of the hands of the under 21-year olds. Something tells me this is going to be a really crazy cruise and I'm grateful for the ear plugs I always travel with. 

Pray for us. ;-)

Day 129: At Sea

Our entire day today was built around our 6pm reservation at the Crown Grill, which probably goes a long way in explaining why we don't dine at a specialty restaurant on every cruise. We didn't want to eat anymore than absolutely necessary until dinner because we knew what lay ahead. Didn't want to drink any alcohol until then because there is nothing (and I mean nothing) better than a good red wine with filet mignon (except maybe a good red wine with a spicy pasta...). Needed to be well rested and not suffering any ill effects from yesterday's "wasting away again".

G was up and about early (I have no idea where), and even I was up by 8:30am. I made tracks for the Passenger Services Desk before they got too 'last day of the cruise' crazy, then was content to have coffee in the not-busy-at-all International Cafe. Where was everyone? (G told me later that they were all up on the pool deck soaking up the last of the warm sunshine). G went to 11:15am ring toss in the Piazza and, when I saw him there, he talked me into trying, too.  Really?  With my vision and total lack of athletic ability? Actually, I consider myself lucky that neither of us won a bottle of ring toss champagne, because it's...not good. 

We returned to the cabin where we enlisted the assistance of steward Antonio to dismantle the sink trap and search for a contact lens that someone might have lost down the drain this morning (the reason for my PSD visit). After I saw what was in the trap, I consider myself lucky that my contact was not among it. (It seems every winter brings a contact lens crisis, but, no worries.  I was armed with a spare pair). 

The luck of the day ran out, though. I was "parked" on Internet (timer not running) receiving updates over iMessage from the twins' championship basketball game that had had to be rescheduled to today. Isn't technology something, that I could be on a cruise ship in the middle of the Caribbean thousands of miles away and be just as nervous as if I was sitting in the bleachers?  ;-) Though they didn't win, that they made it to the finals is something to be proud of (I know I am, and I had nothing to do with it!). 

Having survived the roller coaster of emotions that accompanies any 5th grade basketball championship, I went to Alex Ramon's magic class in Club Fusion. Yes, I know that I've done this before, but I keep telling you that I am a slow learner.  Besides, Alex Ramon is a cutie and, I was certain that he was more fun to observe than anything I could be seeing at the simultaneously scheduled "Sexy Legs Contest" by the pool (the thought of which, frankly, scared me a little).   

We spent part of the afternoon in a hot tub and part reading (me) and napping (G), but skipped the wine tasting for this cruise, so I don't know if there were shot glasses given away today.  By 4pm, the yogurt parfait I'd had at the IC six hours earlier was a distant memory, and I was getting hungry, but buried myself more deeply in my book and accepted my hunger pangs as good practice for what lies ahead, our non-cruising season (aka Starvation Summer). 

We started the evening with wine at Vines, and then went to the Crown Grill a little early. Headwaiter Petar from Bulgaria was a most welcoming host, and seated us at a booth by a window. Waiter Ryan from the Philippines served a perfectly paced dinner, and, once again this evening, we had a five course dinner. I may not need to eat during the entire next cruise. We ordered a bottle of Ancient Peaks merlot, and enjoyed tender filet mignons as our entree. For dessert, I had the chocolate peanut butter Chocolate Journeys dessert, and it was much more impressive than it had been on the Pacific Princess in November. 

Scallops appetizer

Lamb carpaccio starter

Black and blue onion soup

Roasted pepper salad (with blue cheese on the side for G)

8 oz. filet mignon, mashed red skin potatoes, sautéed mushrooms 

Chocolate Journeys peanut butter dessert

Lemon tart

We finished dinner in time to get to production show Do You Wanna Dance in the Princess Theater. We've seen this show on both the Pacific Princess and the Grand Princess already this winter, but it remains a favorite, and it is especially fun to see it with a different cast of singers and dancers.

We exited the Princess Theater and walked right into Dixieland Jazz in the Piazza in preparation for tonight's Mardi Gras party. Really, could they possibly squeeze more entertainment into these four days??  I imagine the Entertainment staff is in need of a long rest, but, starting tomorrow, they do it all over again, this time over the course of a 5-night cruise. And to think that Julie McCoy used to do all this singlehandedly!!

We are now waiting in the Princess Theater for comedian Phil Tag's adults only, R-rated show at 10:15pm.  G just looked at me and asked, "Now we don't have to be anywhere until in transit immigration at 10:30am tomorrow, right?"  Thankfully, no, assuming we can sleep through the Caribbean Princess docking at Pier 2 in Port Everglades at 6:30am and the inevitable slamming of doors as passengers leave their cabins. 

One more cruise. Just five more days. Whatever the weather at home next Saturday, I think we'll be ready to leave, if only to go home and sleep. Eat, drink and play...this has been a vacation (and not simply living at our winter home).