Aaahhh, sea days. So little to write, so much time to write it. ;-)
We fell asleep so early last that I woke up one time and the ship was still berthed (we sailed at 10pm). When I woke up again, the over the side lights were on and illuminated the huge swells just outside our cabin window. It didn’t affect how long we slept (until 6am) but we sure weren’t particularly rested when we awoke. We know this feeling too well, the effect of the Pacific Princess in rough seas.
G left to go to breakfast in the Panorama Buffet but returned shortly thereafter, saying it was difficult to even stand up there. Instead we went to breakfast in the Club Restaurant when it opened at 7:30am, and even getting there was a feat. I have no idea how the crew can work when it’s like this! Francisco and Dragon served us oatmeal and juices, which was all we wanted. This was going to be a low exertion, low calorie burning day.
G attended a lecture on the navigational bridge in the Cabaret Lounge but I returned to the cabin for the morning pill taking activity and to finish and upload yesterday’s blog post. This was one of those sea days I can really appreciate. Sure, it was a rough one, but I have felt like I was running on fumes the last couple of days. I needed today to relax and recharge!
We alternately slept, watched TV and read for the rest of the morning. At 1pm I asked G if he was interested in going to the Panorama Buffet but he wouldn’t tackle it. I went alone, and had just soup and crackers. But what a wild ride it was up there! The waiters were assisting by carrying trays, and, of course, getting drinks, but every few minutes we’d hear something else crash to the floor, either in the galley or in the buffet itself. I sat with a couple who had played a morning session of bingo in the Cabaret Lounge, and they said that it had been shut down when one of the stage lights crashed to the floor.
The fact that too many sea days are like this one are a huge part of the reason we like to avoid a steady diet of them.
Captain Slight made on announcement that the weather was worse than forecasted, and we were encountering 50mph gusts and 15 foot swells, which are not insignificant to this little ship. He also said that conditions would improve throughout the afternoon into the evening, especially after the Pacific Princess rounded the heel of Italy and entered the Adriatic Sea.
G skipped the Grapevine Wine Tasting but went to the Veterans Get Together (thankfully held in the Casino Lounge on Deck 5 midship). But mostly we watched the same four episodes of Two and a Half Men, The Middle, The Office and The Big Bang Theory, over and over and over again.
Tonight was the second (and final) formal night of the cruise. Once again, we left dinner a little early to go to the Cabaret Lounge for the Captains Circle party (just one party on this small ship). We were honored to be this cruise’s Most Traveled Guests…and were surprised this morning when our photo appeared in today’s Patter, instead of on the last day of the cruise.
Production show Do You Wanna Dance was scheduled to be performed tonight, but the rough seas (and the fact that two dancers are so seasick) resulted in a schedule change. Instead vocalist/ actor Paul Baker, star of several West End shows and an Olivier award winner performed, and received a standing ovation both after his show and during it. His was truly one of the best performances I’ve ever seen on a cruise ship.
Despite today’s storm, Captain Slight said we will have an on time arrival to Kotor, Montenegro. We’ve been, several times (and too often in bad weather), but there are still places to go and things to see. And a blissfully calm ship to return to when we’re done. We’re not actually setting an alarm, but have promised each other that whoever is up first tomorrow will wake the other. The sail into the fiord in which Kotor is located is stunning, and, since sunset will be at 4:20pm tomorrow afternoon, we have to catch the views going in because we’ll be leaving in the dark.
It’s hard to believe that just ten nights from tonight we’ll be falling asleep on the Sapphire Princess, and between now and then lie four more European ports, a stay in Dubai and two flights. I am so happy we are both well, un-injured, and, after today, well rested. Time has seemed to move very slowly since we left home a month ago, and I hope these next ten days will also. There is much to experience and enjoy, and, leaving behind Western culture, it will finally start to feel like we are actually going around the world.
Life is good. :-)