The only variable in our morning routine is in which of us gets the earlier start. Today it was G, up and enjoying his first breakfast of the day (always a made-to-order omelet) on the terrace behind the Panorama Buffet. Honestly, when we stepped out there last night after dark to watch the ship's wake, it was the very first time I had been in the buffet since we boarded. Things will be quite different once we start the steady stream of port days tomorrow, as the Club Restaurant will not be open for lunch, but, as the primary food server at home, I do enjoyed being served myself.
G joined me for breakfast in the Club Restaurant (same waiter, same table, same order...am I a creature of habit or what?). Our table for two for breakfast is one some people might not like, as it is right in the traffic pattern, but it is working out perfectly for us as so many new friends have to walk right by to be seated themselves and we end up chatting our way through our breakfast. Samsuri, our waiter, is very patient, even replacing our cold food for hot without being asked. Breakfast is taking longer every day. ;-)
We had some spare time after that (Douglas Pearson's lecture on Hawaii flora and fauna was not scheduled until 1:30pm today, to accommodate the 10am culinary demonstration in the Cabaret Lounge) and I took advantage of the time to start our shopping list for the Hilo WalMart (as predicted, it's not short) and to return the tour tickets for the Kauai excursion we had originally booked to the Shore Excursions Desk. We have also decided against renting a car in Kauai (G did not want to be the designated driver and distances on Kauai are deceiving) and so we may have to see what tours are available on the pier. We think Kauai is the most impressive of the Hawaiian islands on this itinerary, but, the island lacks a road totally encircling it because the the cliffs of the Na Pali coast. Therefore, we have to make a decision...go east or go west from the pier in Nawilliwili. But I'm getting ahead of myself. That's a topic for another day.
Though many people were interested in the culinary demonstration and galley tour, we've done them both before and had other things in mind. G headed off to...something, I'm not quite sure what, but another ukulele class, a hot tub and and ring toss in some combination are safe bets. I went up to the Steakhouse on Deck 10 for Ramon's 10:15am crafts class, and today was one of my favorites. Our efforts yielded the cutest origami box...or lid, or tray or something. Fortunately, there were only five of us there today (as so many were at the culinary demonstration), and company performance manager/dancer/ cruise staffer Alex helped out, because we needed a lot of individual attention to make this one come together. Ramon kept saying that this next part was the hardest part, then ten minutes later we'd hear that this part was the hardest part and we were all soon wise to Ramon's ways. They were ALL the hardest parts, but the last hardest part was the hardest part of all.
My finest hour ;-)
We only had time to finish one part of our two part project, but took the paper required to complete the other half (which I have yet to do because it's been a busy day...really!). G found me up in the Steakhouse as we were finishing up and said he wanted to go to lunch in the Panorama Buffet for the first time, as they had a special Hawaiian food buffet. It was a perfect-weather day, and we sat out on the aft terrace and watched the sun glisten off the tiny wavelets. Soooo beautiful...and relaxing.
I was only able to stay for the first half hour of Douglas Pearson's 1:30pm of Hawaii's flora and fauna in the Cabaret Lounge (Margot, I gave him your regards) because the Grapevine Wine Tasting was scheduled for 2pm in the Club Restaurant. Thank goodness this ship is as small as it, because travel time from any point on the ship to any other is not more than 2 minutes. On the Emerald Princess, it takes us longer than that to walk from our cabin to the midship elevator bank!
Grapevine wine tasting, like everything on this ship, was cozy and intimate. I went directly from there up to the Pacific Lounge to retrieve my open bottle of Chardonnay to enjoy with lobster at tonight's dinner (didn't want to have two open bottles of white wine at one time!). On the way back to the cabin, I walked across Deck 10, with its 360 degree views of open, empty Pacific Ocean, and looked a bit longingly at those people still in the pool and hot tubs. Tonight was the second formal night of this cruise, and the Captains Circle party to boot, and neither a pool nor a hot tub was in the cards for us.
Instead, we started getting ready at 3:30pm (on a sunny, warm sea day. It's a crime!) because, at 4:35pm we needed to meet Captains Circle host Lindsay outside the Cabaret Lounge in preparation for the 4:45pm party. G thinks that, with all the accessories to his tuxedo, he has the more onerous job of preparing for formal nights, but he is wrong. I (and any woman) could tell him that clothes are just one part of the package. It takes me time just to remove the casual jewelry and retrieve the formal earrings, necklace, bracelet and ring. Change out the casual macrame bag to the formal black clutch. Transfer over the coffee card and the ship's card. Add a lipstick and tissue blotter.
Then there's the makeup. On a normal night, I'm lucky to be wearing mascara and lipstick, but...well, take tonight, as an example, because G was having a hearty laugh at my expense. I stepped out of the bathroom after my shower to retrieve my "tools" from the over the door shoe rack, naming them as I did. Moisturizer, primer (this immediately caught G's attention and from then on it was all downhill), concealer, color corrector ("Caulk?", he offered), foundation, contour ("Spackle?"), bronzer, highlighter, eye shadow, brow gel, eye liner, mascara, (and then it got even worse), foundation brush ("Roller?"), contour brush ("Angled trim brush?"), eye shadow brush, lip liner ("Blue painter's tape?"), and lipstick. It was obvious that he had had no appreciation what it took for me to be presentable. As I've said before, at home we live the way God intended for couples to live, with separate bathrooms, and these many tools are allowed to remain my little secrets. There is no privacy in an ocean view cabin!
We asked new friends Donna and Ron to join us for the Captains Circle party, and we were honored to be the #2 Most Traveled Passengers (MTPs) of this cruise (#1 had 35 days more at 765 Princess days). Even more exciting to me than the honor or the bottle of Korbel we were gifted was the fact that we were given an etched glass commemorative of Princess' 50th anniversary. I thought I had read about these in one of the 50th anniversary press releases but then figured I had dreamt it because I heard/saw nothing more about them in the intervening months. Well, they were not a dream but a nice reality, and a special one at that.
Dinner featured the usual second formal night menu (lobster for me, beef Wellington for G), which alone would have made the evening special, but the best part came next: production show Motor City, accompanied by the Pacific Princess show band. We will never tire of that show. I'm pretty certain that it's our very favorite production show on any Princess ship but then we see Do You Wanna Dance and I'm no longer sure. They are winners, both of them.
And, finally, a few catch up and housekeeping things to mention:
Captain Domenico Lubrano (Captain D) is following in Captain Martin Stenzel's footsteps in making the noon announcement himself and in sharing a bit of nautical lore when he does. We love this. Furthermore, from his time as Staff Captain on the Emerald Princess, Captain D liked the four bells that are rung at the onset of the noon announcements and does the same thing on the Pacific Princess. We love that, too, first because it certainly adds a nautical feel to the occasion but because it reminds us of the Emerald Princess. :-)
I decided at some point today, sitting in the Deck 4 Reception Hall (atrium) while a group played champagne ring toss that the Pacific Princess is exactly like a country manor, and these five days at sea have been like we're all here for a long weekend. It reminds me so much of my mom's new home (lots of cherry and Queen Anne furnishings), which reminds me a lot of her old home. Certainly not modern, nor stylish and absolutely not trendy. Just comfortable and cozy and welcoming. It's the closest we'll ever come to a yachting experience.
We have landfall tomorrow, arriving in Hilo, on the Big Island of Hawaii around 8am. For the next few days, I'll be typing my blog posts on my iPhone, with its free, unlimited internet, so they will likely be shorter and more error-filled. I will also be able to retrieve the emails I've received from readers. I will try to answer those with questions, but may not have time to get to all of them. And if you wrote to wish us good travels, I thank you en masse. It means a great deal when I know that someone is out there following along.