As Captain D had promised, the ocean swell diminished considerably overnight (how did he know it would be exactly 36 hours of high swell after we left Hilo?). We slept in, until almost 7am. We need to quickly lose that bad habit; lots of early morning island arrivals lie just ahead. Sabatinis for breakfast was just incredible...all of it. Perfect service, beautiful table setting, floor to ceiling windows with endless views of sunshine sparkling on calm water, mimosa and fresh squeezed OJ. Today I followed the usual fruit plate with freshly made Belgian waffles, served just the way I love them, with orange marmalade and whipped cream. Mmmmm....
We were scheduled to go through French Polynesian immigration at 9am in the Pacific Lounge, and I couldn't wait to meet these people (there were two of them) who are spending five days on board to stamp 615 passenger passports (and whatever they do for the 300 crewmembers). After 20 seconds of scrutiny (most of it spent finding our cabin number on a listing), we were officially welcomed into French Polynesia...as of four days from now, on September 24th. It's good to be (almost) back!!
I returned to our cabin to put our passports back in the safe, and there was a knock on the door. Wilson, from Room Service, was delivering a plate of beautiful chocolate covered strawberries from Captain D, celebrating our 75th cruise. So nice! A few minutes later, there was another knock. This time it was Wilson delivering chocolate covered strawberries from Chef Gaetano Patamia celebrating the same. This is all just wonderful; our 76th Princess cruise can't help but pale in comparison (but we can't wait to endure it, just the same). ;-)
I had just 45 minutes to Miracle Walk up on Deck 10, and covered in sunscreen and armed with a Tilley, I listened to an audiobook while I did my duty. We've come a long way from yesterday, when we needed to hold on in the shower to stay upright; there was only a minimal swell today.
I was so excited, to read in today's Princess Patter, that Alex was going to offer another quilling session this morning. You may recall that this is the craft I so seriously botched last cruise. However, I had mailed the results of my effort to Mom from Maui and she had already received it while we could still talk on the phone, and thought it was simply the best. This just goes to prove that, whether one is 5 or 55 years old, all moms think their kids are Picassos.
We went to lunch in the Club Restaurant promptly at noon, to allow us to get to Douglas' talk on Bora Bora in the Cabaret Lounge at 1:15pm. Lunch featured our favorite menu: deep fried mozzarella sticks for G and spaghetti aglio, olio and pepperocino for me. But because I had not had any protein at breakfast, I asked for just a small portion of pasta and paired it with tilapia tacos. G declared his dessert- an apple baked in puffed pastry with walnut ice cream on the side- the best he's ever had. Happiness reigned.
Douglas' Bora Bora talk was packed, and just seeing his slides again made me very excited to be returning. When I see Bora Bora, I think it's the prettiest island in the world; when I see Moorea, I'm sure it is. They are winners, both of them. We are really looking forward to our excursion on Bora Bora; it hard to believe it's less than a week away now.
We should have stayed in the Cabaret Lounge for Dr. Rhodri Evans' lecture on the Andromeda Galaxy, but the Promenade Deck was loudly calling our names by then (after 2:30pm). Of course there were empty loungers available on both the sunny and shady sides of the ship...this is the Pacific Princess! We started on the sunny side with just our legs in the sun, and enjoyed that until it got a little too hot. We then moved to the shady side, enjoying a beer (G) and can of fuzzy water (me), and just when we thought life simply could not be improved upon, we spotted an entire pod of dolphins surfing in the ship's bow wave, then a single dolphin and another followed by yet another pod. Here, in the midst of the vast Pacific Ocean. That was an incredible thrill!!!
Eventually, we had to pull ourselves away from what I'm sure would have been more dolphin sightings, and only one thing was enticing enough to do that: Breeza Marina night in the Elite Lounge. The endless vistas from up there are just gorgeous, and Captain D promised us an even calmer and sunnier day tomorrow.
Dinner was quick and simple. Our intention had been to finish in time for the 7pm show in the Cabaret Lounge of comedian impressionist Jeff Burghart, so we had just two courses, but the gorgeous (and I mean gorgeous) sunset had us rushing out of the Club Restaurant with iPhones in hand. It had to be in the top five of sunsets at sea we've ever seen. The Pacific Ocean is definitely pacific tonight!
We made it to the comedian's show- his style was different and pretty funny- and are hoping to make it to the 50s and 60s Rock and Roll party later tonight in the Pacific Lounge. Tomorrow afternoon we will enjoy the Crossing the Equator Ceremony on the pool deck for (I think) the fifth time. It sounds like the weather will be perfect for it.