It was actually quite nice to wake up, slowly and quietly get cleaned up for the day (G was still sleeping) and then lay back down and read until he started stirring. If I had been hungrier, I would have taken my iPad and read in the Horizon Court Buffet or the International Cafe, but I was not even the least bit hungry. Ugh. I do not like feeling that sluggish when I wake up! By 10am I was feeling the need for a cup of coffee, not the caffeine part, of course, as I have been caffeine-free since 1987, but the smell and taste of even decaf coffee goes a long way toward launching me into the day, whether it's at 6am or 10am.
The International Cafe was packed, but they do have a really good system of ordering specialty coffees on the Emerald Princess and, even with a wait today, it worked perfectly. There is a roped off queue where one waits to place an order, and then once it is ready, the passenger's name is called.
Of course, you can still do what G does, which is take a seat and look fairly helpless until some lovely young lady comes, takes his order and delivers it to him with a smile. That won't work for him at home! Oh sure, he has the helpless thing down pat, but I am not particularly lovely and definitely not young and sometimes not even all that inclined to smile at a helpless-appearing husband first thing in the morning.
Once my coffee was ready (a salted caramel strata cappuccino, which, along with the vanilla bean cappuccino has become a favorite), I sat in the Vines area where it was a bit less busy and drank my coffee and read and listened to Strings and Steel play some great Motown hits in the Piazza. The plan was that I would return to the cabin to collect G at 11:50am, so we could go to lunch together in the DaVinci Dining Room.
Meanwhile, Captain Forteeze made another announcement. Ruh-roh. I am starting to cringe when I hear his voice at unexpected times. Today's bit of unfortunate news was the propulsion system was still not working correctly, and, as a result, the Emerald Princess had to travel more slowly from St. Thomas yesterday to Grand Turk today. Instead of arriving at 1pm, we were now going to arrive at 2:30pm.
Well...shoot. Again.
But G and I had even more time now for a leisurely lunch. I was feeling the need to be very good today, and had just gazpacho and a chef's salad, less the ham and half the cheese. After the congestion in the international Cafe, it was nice to dine in relative peace in the dining room. I don't think most passengers realized it was open today. On port days, scheduled late arrivals and early departures usually mean it is.
Our only firm plan for today was to, along with Andy, meet Phyllis in the Piazza and walk off the ship with her to give her some encouragement to purchase a piece of artwork she had seen in a gallery in the shopping area at the Grand Turk Cruise Center. We all walked off together about 3pm, at the tail end of the long line of passengers waiting to go ashore. The artwork was gorgeous, and it took no effort at all to urge Phyllis to make the purchase. Besides, helping others spend money is one of my favorite things to do!
By then it was nearly 4pm; an already short port day had gotten considerably shorter because of our late arrival. On board time was 6:30pm, but it was also formal night, and our assigned dining time is 5:30pm. We hadn't dressed for the beach, and instead hired a taxi to give us an island tour for $20pp. In all the times we'd been to Grand Turk, we had never ventured much further than the area surrounding the cruise ship pier.
Driver Tony took us first to the only tiny town on this tiny island, Cockburn Town. On the way, he told us a little about the Turks and Caicos Islands. Part of the British Commonwealth, they drive on the left side of the road...not that it really matters. Most of the roads are single lane anyway. There are 40 islands in the Turks and Caicos, and only ten are inhabited. Grand Turk has 5000 inhabitants and Cockburn Town is the capital of the island nation. We saw the old jail, and the Prime Minster's house (The Yellow House). Aside from a few governmental buildings, Cockburn Town was mostly a collection of tiny souvenir shops.
Grand Turk seems like quite an enigma. First, Tony said there are two cruise ships docked at the island every day in the winter, and at least two a week all summer. Every passenger pays $30 in port charges to visit the island. Conservatively, that's $150000 in revenue every winter day. There are no taxes in Turks and Caicos (income, sales or property) and land is free for citizens. Healthcare costs $10pp per month, and a college degree from any college in the world is free...with the stipulation that, upon graduation, each student returns to the island to work for six years. Most residents have bachelor and masters degrees. There were many beautiful homes with incredible views of either the Atlantic Ocean or the Caribbean Sea, since the island is only 6 sq. miles. It sounds like utopia, right?
But there are still issues. Most crime (requiring the building of a larger jail) is drug related or a result of illegal immigration from Haiti or the Dominican Republic. Hispaniola is only 20 miles away, and illegal immigrants arrive easily by boat. And just last weekend, three teenagers sent fire to the island's only high school, causing considerable damage and leaving it unusable for the near future. The roads are in deplorable shape for an island with so much tourist revenue. But it certainly is a pretty place with gorgeous beaches.
An island tour of Grand Turk doesn't take long. We stopped at Pillory Beach and the lighthouse on the northern end of the island and then Governours Beach just north of the cruise ship pier. We saw the international airport and the monument to John Glenn, who landed in the ocean near Grand Turk after his first orbit of the earth and was debriefed at the (then) US military base on the island. The military base is now the local community college.
Gorgeous- and nearly deserted, even with two cruise ships in port- Governours Beach
We returned to the pier about 5:20pm...and made it to dinner at our table in the Michelangelo Dining Room at 5:45pm. We flew onto the ship and dressed not at all formally (which means we fit in with most of the few passengers who chose to eat in the dining room). I ordered my last bottle of wine from the 12-bottle wine package I had purchased exactly one month ago today, when we first boarded the Emerald Princess. Of course, I have three open bottles and one more in our cabin, so you can tell that, while I really enjoy wine with dinner, I usually have just one or two glasses.
We finished dinner just as the Emerald Princess pushed away from the pier about 7pm, and went up to Skywalkers to watch sailaway, although it was pretty dark by then. The Carnival Valor was still docked, but I think they were sailing right after we did. I am a bit sniffly tonight, and am tucked into bed early, well medicated with Sudafed and guafinisan. Magic to Do is the major entertainment tonight, and I know I'll be seeing that again soon!
Speaking of entertainment, a passenger contest called The Voice of the Ocean has arrived on the Emerald Princess this cruise. Now, do I even have to mention that this kind of entertainment is not our favorite? We must be the only people in the US who don't watch those sort of competition shows on TV; we certainly aren't going to watch them on a cruise. It was harious; in the Welcome Aboard show on the first day of this cruise, a promotional video for The Voice of the Ocean was shown, lots of loud music and something about chairs and voting and...well, when it was done, G turned to me and asked "What did I just see?" He had no clue, and I was only slightly better informed. I really don't think we are the intended audience, just as we aren't for most entertainment performed by our fellow passengers. That's okay...as long as we have Ryszard Sulek playing piano and Strings and Steel and a few good production shows and guest entertainers, we'll get by.
And, finally, I keep forgetting to mention that my shorts were returned two mornings ago, with a brand new zipper perfectly inserted. I am beyond thrilled with this repair by the ship's tailor. Coincidentally, on the Wake Show that day, Cruise Director Neil interviewed the laundry master in the ship's laundry and there was even a quick appearance by the tailor, and I captured it on my iPhone.
Did you ever know that you're my hero??