As a result, I slept until nearly 9am, and decided to read in lieu of going to breakfast. We had been invited to a wonderful lunch with a couple of ship’s officers and I didn’t want to ruin my appetite. Lunch was incredible, all seafood and delicious veggies and, for me, a fruit plate for dessert that included strawberries and blueberries and raspberries (oh my!). What a treat!
G went to the Veterans get together in Skywalkers afterward, but I returned to the cabin to write thank you notes and get Christmas gifts together for a few friends onboard. The wildest thing to us is not that we are enjoying a warm-weather Christmas...that’s as it should be. ;-) but that it’s daylight until nearly 9pm at Christmas. Even in the warm weather of the Caribbean and French Polynesia, sunset occurred by 6pm in late December.
Our second last formal night of the season (silent cheer) was tonight, and we managed to dress in about 5 minutes and had one more formal photo taken before dinner. We’re still searching for that photo that makes us look 20 years younger, but by now we’d settle for ten. Or five. Dinner was a kiwi and grapefruit starter, salad and delicious red snapper with about two pounds of vegetables sautéed in olive oil and garlic. I am going to miss that!
We went to the Princess Theater very early to get good seats for our final viewing of production show Born to Dance. We skipped the Promenade Lounge tonight...we move clocks ahead another hour tonight and I really don’t want to get in the habit of sleeping late every morning, especially when we begin our six port days plus Fiordland National Park without a break.
Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. There are a lot of holiday activities and entertainment scheduled throughout the day, ending with an ecumenical worship service at midnight. I hope that our sunny and calm weather continues. These seas would be considered stable even in the Caribbean. Here in the Tasman Sea they are extraordinary. Always something to be grateful for!