We moved our clocks ahead another hour last night, and are finally back on PST. We've been sleeping in slightly later, but were still in the Panorama Buffet for breakfast at 8am. I had a taste for a freshly made waffle today, and we can't get them in the Club Restaurant. Plus, the weather was so spectacular that we wanted to be outside in it as much as possible. So we sat on the terrace behind the Panorama Buffet and drank coffee and ate waffles and enjoyed the expansive view of a cellulitic sea.
We went up to the Lotus Spa then, to see what was going on in the extra cost area at the front of Deck 9. Believe it or not, we had never been out there until today. The cost is about $10 per day, bookable only for the entire cruise, and there is a thallosotherapy pool there that is included. The water was only lukewarm, the cushioned lounges are the same as those on the Promenade Deck, and there was no one in sight at 10am. We had heard good reviews of it when the ship was in French Polynesia and needed to see it for ourself. Much like the Sanctuary on the larger ships, it's nice but not exactly right for us. Forced relaxation is not my forte and G doesn't sit still long enough to get any value from it, either.
G went to champagne hoopla at 11am in the atrium and I took advantage of the few minutes he was out of the cabin to fly into action, dragging the scuba suitcase (as we call it) out from under a bed where it was stored opened flat for easy access. I emptied it out and neatly re-packed it, with masks, fins, snorkels, wetsuits and hoods on one side and multiple Princess tote bags, rain gear, metal water bottles, floaties and the beach cooler/bag on the other. It is closed up and weighed and ready to make the trip home. I also folded all the clothes I won't be needing before we disembark. We divide up the storage in here as we do in most cruise ship cabins...I hang everything except undies and swimwear and G uses all but the two shelves (or, in the case of the Pacific Princess, drawers) I use. With all the stuff we brought with us this year, we still have shelves and drawers we've never used. The over-the-door shoe rack helps a lot, and keeps us organized.
By then G had returned, for once not toting a winning bottle of champagne. Apparently he was no match for a fellow passenger who plays professional horseshoes. Frankly, it was a relief. We are down to our last bottle of champagne, Veuve Cliquot, and will take that to dinner tomorrow night to share with our next-door tablemates. G made a phone call to change out a few remaining minibar items. Like always, we're carting home a bag of unused minibottles of gin to add to the previously unused bottles of gin stored in a dark corner of our kitchen island. I really wish they would simply give us drink coupons we could use in the bars onboard!!
We went to lunch in the Club Restaurant where I had a salad and a small plate of linguine with peppers and broccoli and G had the first item he's actually not liked (a BBQ brisket on salad). He declined waiter Herbert's offer to bring him something different, but toasted coconut frozen yogurt for dessert saved the meal for him. We met the most interesting people, a couple from Houston who is sailing around the world. They started in 2013 in St. Lucia but go home for the holidays every year. Right now, their sailboat is docked in Tahiti, just south of Papeete, and they will return to it in March. Instead of immediately continuing west, they are going to spend some time in Rangiroa and other islands in the Tuamotu Archipelago. They are under no time constraints, and plan to meander their way around the globe. Their longest single passage so far (I think it's called the big leap or the great leap or something like that) was 21 days from the Galapagos to Hiva Oa in the Marquesas Islands.
Fascinating!
Douglas Pearson was making his final presentation of the cruise, on the history of California, in the Cabaret Lounge at 1:45 pm. I will miss him and his enthusiasm for everything! G left early to go to a Goofy Golf, not knowing what to expect. Well, they started at the top of the stairs in the Reception Hall and the first cup was on the landing, then at the bottom, and then around the Deck 4 atrium. G said there were golf balls flying every which way, bouncing off the Passengers Services Desk and rolling around on the hard stone floor of the atrium. I'm sorry I missed that!
Eventually we met up in a hot tub. I had avoided spending a lot of time on the pool deck in the near-equatorial sun of French Polynesia, but now that we are so far north, I'm making up for it. Still, I armed myself with almost the last of the spray sunscreen (just enough left for tomorrow) and my Tilley hat but left my rash guard behind. The hot tubs, which have been HOT this season, and wonderful, are now only lukewarm. Still, compared to the chilliness of the pool water, they felt good. I alternated between dancing in the pool (the water is still only about chest-deep) to the live music of duo Rockin Paradise to sitting in the hot tub. Cruise Director Sammi said Rockin Paradise is going home on turnaround day; if the next cruise passengers are lucky, duo Great Escape will come on board. We loved them last year!
Tonight was the third formal night of this cruise (don't get me started...), but G had already decided to dress down a bit, so I wore the least formal of my three formal outfits and he wore his nicest tropical shirt and no one batted an eye. I splurged on escargot and did have lobster tonight (I don't usually), and mandarin sorbet for dessert. At 6:45pm in the Reception Hall, a farewell party was held, offering champagne and some free drinks. Many of the ship's officers were there, in their dress uniforms, and Captain Ciruzzi made a goodbye speech. Not all cruises feature a farewell party, and it was a nice event.
Production show Do You Wanna Dance was performed at 7:45pm, a wonderful show that received a standing ovation at the end. You know I have trouble with most transitions, and didn't want to adjust to a new cast, but these dancers are fantastic. I will miss them, and miss the kinds of interactions with them that this small ship affords.
At 9:30pm we are tucked into bed. As I lie here, I can't help but think that in 48 hours we'll be sleeping in our own bed. While our last departure from Bora Bora seems a lifetime ago, it feels like just yesterday that we were embarking on the Pacific Princess in Vancouver.
Time is a funny thing, isn't it?
