Thank God today was a sea day. Really. Thank God. I slept horribly last night, caused, in no small part, by the new, wonderfully fluffy pillows that were distributed over the past two days. On the first day, we received one each, and, along with the older, firmer pillow we still had, I slept just fine. But when the second pillow was replaced yesterday, everything changed. These are hugely fluffy pillows, and, for a side-sleeper like me, the optimal configuration is difficult to find. Two are too many; one flattens down to nothing. I tossed and turned all night, doubling and undoubling and placing one pillow behind me and then finally throwing it on the floor. It was a rough night for me, which meant it was a rough night for G.
Also adding to my sleeplessness was the meeting that the PSD supervisor had asked to have with me today about our still-hosed on board statement. We had agreed to meet at 9am, and I had, at some point during the night, set an alarm just to make sure I got there. I am growing weary of the issues; happily, we have added no new ones this cruise...yet. They seem to lurk in the background, popping up on turnaround days but are post dated back a cruise or two. Just the supervisor's luck that I have the background I do. I suspect I may have contributed to a few sleepless nights for him, too.
So, at 7am, G and I just sort of gave up trying to get any more sleep. We had probably slept somewhere between three and four hours last night, but, as I said at the start, thank God that today was a sea day. If this was our one day in some exotic port, things might feel a bit more desperate. Instead, we only needed to get through an easy day. We met for breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room (Richie from the Philippines is another waiter who is a star), where I had the usual (orange segments and an egg white veggie omelet).
I had first stopped by the International Cafe for a to go cup of brewed decaf coffee, and for the first time since we've been on the Emerald Princess, was not asked to show my coffee card. Progress! They are been real sticklers for that, rightfully so, constantly checking the ship name and date on the back of the card to verify that it entitles me to brewed coffee. But it's been 42 days, and coming from the Pacific Princess where, when the barista saw me approach, would have a cup of brewed decaf ready by the time I reached the counter, it's been quite an adjustment.
Following breakfast, I met with the supervisor and G retired to a lounger on the Terrace Deck. He and his cronies out there (guys we've sailed with in the past) discuss cruising and living in Florida and solve the world's woes while soaking up the sun. And the wives all heave a collective sigh of relief that it keeps the husbands occupied for a few hours at a time. We were very fortunate today to have brightly sunny skies and a temperature around 80, but, oh, the wind was so strong. The Promenade Deck was completely closed off, and the Riviera Deck was turned into a wind tunnel from people leaving their balcony doors open and the door to the Terrace Deck opening and closing. It was actually dangerous as cabin doors were strongly slamming.
I returned to the cabin by 9:15am with a list of things I wanted to get done today. A personal pedicure was at the the top. It's been six weeks and finally things were starting to look weary. I had come prepared with the aluminum foil required to wrap each toe in polish remover, letting it sit on the nail for 5-10 minutes. (It's magic for removing glitter polish.) Then I applied new Rock Star nail strips and repolished fingernails with clear strengthener. I thought as I was doing that, in our cabin on the back of this very rocky ship, that there is a reason I use only the nail strips and clear polish. Time has taught me that anything else just makes a mess.
Those items completed, I turned my attention to thank you notes and extra tip envelopes. We don't do these at the end of every cruise, particularly when the cruises are as short as these. But we also don't wait until we disembark. Crew comes and goes, and, though we haven't yet had a change in waitstaff or room steward, we can, at any time. Therefore, I hand out extras at the end of every three weeks or so. It also allows us to get a handle on our cash requirements for a few weeks at a time.
It was not yet 11am, and things were moving right along. I gave myself a minimal haircut (top and sides), and G took care of the back when he came back to the cabin to change for a hot tub. This was a bit trickier today, with the bounciness resulting from the high wind, but we managed. I was thrilled, when we returned from three months in Polynesia, to have my hair stylist Lori tell me we had done a surprisingly good job at cutting my hair on our own. Go us!
I ran down to the DaVinci Dining Room at noon to check out the menu for today's lunch. G was having a good time hanging out with his buds out back, but when I went out there to report that today's menu was one of his favorites, and one that we'd not yet seen on the Emerald Princess this season, he was back in the cabin showering and dressing in a flash. We were at lunch before 1pm, and he had the coppa and Waldorf salad starter followed by deep fried mozzarella sticks followed by meat lasagna followed by macadamia nut ice cream. Yep, he likes that menu! I had an appetizer portion of the spaghetti aglio, oleo and pepperocino with its gorgeous roasted garlic slices and a nicoise salad. All eaten windowside with attentive service, it was a meal that couldn't be bettered.
Back in the cabin, G napped for a few minutes (what a talent) and I didn't, and at 2:55pm we decided to go to the Grapevine Wine Tasting held in the Michelangelo Dining Room at 3pm. Much has been made of the fact that we are no longer gifted the Princess shot glasses at the wine tastings, but I am much happier with the way things are now. Many Elites don't bother to attend any longer, but, guess what? The people who do go actually listen to what is being said now, instead of carrying on loud conversations on their own.
Speaking of that, I don't think I've ever shared with you the experience that almost turned me off Princess wine tastings altogether. A few years ago, I was seated next to a very elderly lady who was hard of hearing. She kept asking me questions very loudly, which I would try to reply in as short answers as possible as quietly as possible. She would loudly ask, "What? What?" Meanwhile, a lady at the next table kept turning to me and ssshhhhing me. Well, she was probably ssshhhhing both of us, but it was lost on the elderly lady, who continued to loudly have a conversation with me.
I don't need that kind of stress for a stupid shot glass. Things are much better now.
Back in the cabin, we decided there was no way we were going to go to tonight's PES Lounge, despite it featuring Stilton with port wine reduction. Was it possible? Were we too tired and too stuffed to be able to enjoy Stilton with port wine reduction? G was even making noises about skipping dinner tonight altogether, but I didn't have a Thanksgiving-sized lunch like he did. Plus, it was tamarind salmon night. We had to go to dinner!
Valentine's Day had been celebrated around the ship today with offerings for flowers and special breakfasts (extra cost), and most of the venues were nicely decorated. At 5pm, there was a renewal of vows taking place in the Piazza. G was still snoozing a few minutes before it started, so I just let it go. Plus, just between you and me, my favorite vow renewal came over 10 years ago on the Sun Princess. G woke me just before sunrise, led me out to an open deck, and told me he'd marry me all over again. Now that's romantic, and will likely never be topped.
We skipped right to the entree at dinner, and both had the tamarind salmon and finished our bottle of Sauvignon blanc. We each had one scoop of dark cherry sorbet, intending to go to the Horizon Court Buffet later this evening for red velvet cheesecake and a brownie. Comedian Troy Thirdgill, who is probably my favorite cruise ship comedian, had shows at 7pm and 8:30pm, and we made it to the early show. The man is harious, and had a lot of material that was new to us. Of course, he was allowed to perform for 50 minutes instead of just the 30 minutes he was limited to for a few years. What an improvement that is!!
We never did get to the Horizon Court Buffet for our second desserts. How tired am I that sleep is more appealing than red velvet cheese cake? Pretty darn tired. Awesome Ambrish had temporarily stored our old pillows under the bed until they can be discarded. When he heard about our rough night last night, he retrieved them and they were covered with clean pillowcases and back on the bed in a minute. Which is about how long it will take me to fall asleep after publishing this post.