We were up very early today, having collapsed in bed early last night. Somehow, our lack of activity on turnaround day made us feel even more lethargic than if we'd had a busy day. We were determined to remedy that today, and left our cabin before 6am. I went right up to the jogging track to walk a couple of miles and G, after getting a cup of coffee, climbed the aft stairs from Deck 6 to Deck 18, over and over, checking on me up on Deck 19 occasionally when he'd get to the top. We spotted a hint of a sunrise off the back of the ship, but it lasted just a minute before clouds once again moved in. Luckily, the forecast for Cozumel tomorrow is quite encouraging.
I picked up a coffee from the International Cafe (today it was the decaf skinny salted caramel strata, only because we need to start using up some of the punches on our coffee cards. I am really a brewed decaf person at heart.) and joined G at a table for four for two in the back corner of the DaVinci Dining Room for breakfast. I love it when they hide us back there. I can download and read the news of the day; G can look back at photos he's taken, and emails he's received and we're not caught up in conversations inherent with sharing a table. It's not that I'm anti-social; it's just that it's Day 131 of our winter, and that's a bit like having company in the house for over four months.
I took a chance at ordering iceberg lettuce for breakfast today, and used it, along with peanut butter and toast, to channel Dad and make a PB&L sandwich. It seems the longer we're here, the more we're eating as we do at home. When we start craving chicken muddle for dinner, it will definitely be time to leave.
We went from the DaVinci Dining Room up to Deck 15 to see what the weather was doing. It was overcast, and the clouds looked ominous, and, by the time we got back to our cabin, we could see from the front of the ship webcam it had started to rain. With nothing else pressing, and with tonight being formal night, I gave G an extensive haircut that will hopefully see him through until we get home. We finished and he showered in time to go to the Curtis Stone S h a r e restaurant open house up on Deck 16 at 11am. The menu's dishes were displayed, and chefs and waiters were available to answer questions. Champagne and mimosas were served and it really was the best idea I've seen to promote this new restaurant.
It's hard for us mere mortals to picture a starter called 'Cavatelli- beets, castlemagno, sun choke and brussel sprout' (and even harder to get that past Autocorrect), and, if it's hard to picture it, it's hard to summon any enthusiasm about eating it. We are more used to fast food restaurants with their photo menus displayed overhead; even the menus at the local Ruby Tuesday feature lots of photos. Well, the open house went a long way to answer questions. I found three of the six courses I thought G would tolerate and booked us a table for two Friday night. Stay tuned to see if my meat and potatoes guy survives S h a r e.
The funny thing is that the head of the ship's photo department was there taking candid shots, and he loved G's brightly colored tropical shirt and its contrast with his freshly trimmed white hair and tanned skin and...well, my husband can now add model to his list of life's accomplishments. Several photos were taken of him discussing the displayed food with Curtis Stone's corporate chef, Christian. Nothing surprises me any longer. ;-)
We next went to British Pub Lunch in the Wheelhouse Bar. I think G was extracting early payback for Friday night, because you know (and he does, too) that I'm usually happier with a salad from the dining room for lunch on a sea day instead of greasy fish and French fries. But I paid it forward, smug in the knowledge that I will be watching G eat nasturtium pesto (really) Friday night.
We returned to our cabin to see that Ambrish had completed his morning service, and our new Princess Luxury Bed was finally complete. (Except for the pillows, of course...we still choose to have the old pillows covered with the new pillowcases.) The bed looks gorgeous, and the sheets are silky and feel divine, but when G started digging into this depth of luxury atop our mattress, he quickly got lost in linen. It's completely different from the old duvet system. The bed anatomy is now as follows: the super comfortable mattress is covered with a bottom sheet, a top sheet, an uncovered duvet (it's used like a blanket, and it's not washed between cruises) and another bed cover/ top sheet with an 18" pocket into which the top of the duvet is tucked.
All those people who have asked for top sheets for years will be thrilled; those of us who find the shower curtains that go unchanged between cruises a bit cringe-worthy will imagine germs everywhere. This will take some getting used to. We've so enjoyed the old Princess system of sleeping under only a duvet with a frequently laundered cover that it's what we now use at home, too, with nothing tucked in at the foot or sides of the bed. Tonight's bet is about how tangled we will get in all these layers by the time we awake in the morning.
And the new pillows are like balloons without enough air. They are huge and poofy but they flatten down to nothing under the weight of the head, and puff up around it. Side sleepers like me will find their heads flat on the bed and their faces covered by pillow poof. Hopefully these will calm down over time.
As for the cabin stewards...I hope they can calm down over time, too. God bless them; these beds have added hours to their day.
We changed into swimsuits and went to a hot tub and then I did some water jogging, too. The sun came and went, mostly went, but it was a perfect afternoon to use a pool. I squeezed in just a few minutes in the steam room before returning to the cabin. The only formal night of this 5-night cruise was tonight, so we took a little extra time getting ready for dinner. This will be a busy cruise: formal night tonight, MTP cocktail party tomorrow night, Captains Circle party the next night and dinner at S h a r e the last night. Something tells me that, after tonight, entertainment will take a back seat to everything else.
G was dressed in his tux and left the cabin in time for the 5pm veterans get together held in Crooners. I left the cabin, too, but went to Vines to have a glass of merlot and just a tiny serving of hummus and tapenade. I loved sitting there and watching as the champagne waterfall for tonight's Captain's Welcome Aboard Party and Champagne Waterfall was built. I also chatted with the couple at the next table. What they said did not surprise me, that yesterday's embarkation had been brutal, and they stood in line for two hours to get into the terminal and get checked in. It was not a good way to start a cruise.
G and I met up in the Michelangelo Dining Room for a very un-formal night dinner menu. He had surf and turf and I had the seafood skewer and we both had red currant sorbet for dessert. It was an excellent meal; it just wasn't the usual formal night fare. This shorter cruise gets a bit shortchanged that way.
We left the dining room in time for a glass of champagne at the party and then went to the 8pm performance of Magic To Do. Frankly, the Prestidigitation segment has got to go. Bloodshed really has no part in a Princess production show. But, aside from that, I'm liking the show. G remains unconvinced, and he's not alone. When the curtain falls, one can almost sense the audience asking, "What the heck did I just see?" Typical Princess entertainment this is not.
The ship is totally stable tonight, a welcome change after last night's bounciness (BTW, the minibar stayed in place on the vanity all night). We called it a day after the show. True, we were up early this morning, but I think we are just anxious to see how this new bed sleeps. G was out in about 30 seconds; I think that means he gives it a thumbs up. :-)