We sat soaking up the deeply angled sun until 9am, lingering over coffee and breakfast and generally remarking to all of our fellow cruises about what a glorious day it was and what a change from the weather we've seen this cruise (and they didn't know that even that has been so much better than the weather we had on the October 4 cruise). G had a gathering of some of the guys he'd met from the veterans get together earlier in the cruise and I took my iPad up to the library and published my post from last night. I hope that's working out okay for those who read my blog; it's great for me but even better is the fact that I am not fighting ship's WiFi in trying to upload photos. Though I sometimes have WiFi fast enough to upload a few photos while in port, I've learned that's a major battery drain, and I'd rather save my battery for other internet things I have to do. Still, I am saving all my favorite photos and am now up to (let me check)...562 of them. I promise to upload a majority of them when we return home in January. We will be home for exactly four weeks which means that, as of right now, I'll have to upload 20 photos per day. No problem (with the hyperfast WiFi at home)!
I ran by the casino to find out exactly when to report for the final round of the slot tournament and was given the not totally unexpected news that the tournament was at risk of being cancelled due to lack of an adequate number of participants. It's hard to give away $500 in cash when only 12 people have paid $20 each (and in my case not even that) to play. I was told to report back at 2:30pm to see what would happen.
Next up was walking on Deck 10. Though I saw several people out there wearing shorts, I chose instead to wear yoga pants and a t-shirt, but it's the first time I've been able to wear only that since we returned to the Pacific Princess. Without my tracker, I just walked until I needed to get ready for lunch. G had found me out there and told me he had invited a couple and their adult daughter to join us, so it would be another social meal. I abstained from having wine (no one else wanted it) but did miss it. It would have gone well with the paella I chose as my entree.
Meanwhile, we've been trying to figure out which cabin we'll be moving to on turnaround day. The cabin steward in our originally booked cabin did not have us on his list for next cruise, so we knew something was up. We swung by the Passenger Services Desk and were told that an email had just been received moving us to a Deck 4 cabin. It is just around the corner from the cabin we'll have for our last two cruises and while our move in a couple days will take a little effort, our next and final move will be a piece. of. cake.
At 2:30pm I presented myself at the casino only to learn that the slot tournament final had, in fact, been cancelled. Everyone got their entry money back plus a t-shirt. I got no money back but two t-shirts and a hat. G happily accepted those items in lieu of a chance at $500 (because the 263 t-shirts and 347 hats he already owns are simply not enough). Plus I get a free entry again next cruise (which may or may not have enough participants to take place). It's just about the only drawback of this small ship.
I had some time, then, to return to Bill Bryson, still On the Road to Little Dribbling. Several people were actually sitting out by the pool (a first this cruise), but G and I were commenting just yesterday, about what better shape our skin is in this season. The sun and salt water, as much as we adore them both, is hazardous to our skin and hair. I wasn't going to mess that up by sitting outside (as much as I wanted to). So I read in our cabin and enjoyed the solitude. G wandered out to a hot tub and I took advantage of the time he was out of the cabin to be ready for the evening by 4:15pm just to have the bathroom free for him when he returned (and if that's not love...).
There was no PES Lounge because of tonight's Captains Circle party, so we went directly to dinner at 5:30pm and ate lightly. We had asked new friends Jet and Lee and Robin and her son JD to be our guests for tonight's party and were honored to be this cruise's first most traveled passengers, something we certainly didn't expect would happen on these Mediterranean itineraries. We stayed in the Cabaret Lounge for tonight's production show, What the World Needs Now, and afterward Jet and I walked down the Promenade Deck from the front of the ship to the back. That's something G and I did every every night in French Polynesia but tonight was the first time since we joined the Pacific Princess on October 4 we've been able to do that. It was still mild at 9pm, which gives me great hope for more comfortable weather tomorrow.
We will be in Dubrovnik for the third time this season. With no firm plans for the day, I think we'll explore the Old Town a little more and will undoubtedly fit in a wine stop in D'Vino's Wine Bar. We saw the first of the Christmas decorations during our visit last cruise; hopefully, a few more medieval buildings will be sporting holiday greenery and lights.