Today was the first day that these many sea days started to feel...well, like maybe we were approaching (but not yet at) our limit. Not that we minded the day so much, but the sameness of the day was starting to feel repetitive. And there is no dearth of activities on this ship; on the contrary, there are many different things to do from morning to night. But something felt different today. We started noticing things that have been the same since we boarded almost three weeks ago, but are just starting to grate, most notably the lack of seating around the Piazza (we have yet to be able to get seats at any time ever after about 7am). There are all kinds of activities that take place in the Piazza all day long, but one must stand, jockeying for position along the railings on Decks 6 and 7, or, heaven forbid, stand on the curved marble stairs. Let’s just say that the current passengers do not fit a “standing passenger” demographic (and I am right there with them). It is especially not a “standing on curved stairs” demographic. Luckily, the outside decks are still very pleasant (though we did have an afternoon shower), but the forecast for Auckland on Tuesday is for rain and 64F. We’re going to soon lose them as a place to spend time.
It suddenly occurred to me today that we have yet to even go up to the Adagio Lounge on Deck 17. That is a nice place to spend a few hours with comfortable seating. Not that anything much happens up there; there are no bar hours listed in the Princess Patter and the only activities held in there today were the Princess Pop Choir rehearsal and the LGBTQ get together. Like Skywalkers nightclub in Deck 18, it is a very under utilized space. Meanwhile, the Piazza is SRO.
But, now that I’ve injected a strong dose of realism into life at sea on the Ruby Princess, let me fill you in on our day. Naturally, food played a key role. G was just ahead of me leaving the cabin this morning, and I met up with him over breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room about 7:45am. It was eggs Benedict day for him...and another fruit plate with smoked salmon for me.
Another Nelvin fruit plate at breakfast
Woohoo, look at this!!
Is it improving because we’re slowly sailing way from the middle of nowhere
and approaching New Zealand?
I returned to the cabin to wash and hang dry my silk sleep sack (still loving it), but first made a minor modification to it using the small sewing kit with pre-threaded needles that we travel with. I had used safety pins (we travel with those, too) to keep the bottom closed, but today used a loose running stitch to close it instead, making it easier to wash.
It was in the 70s and a bit overcast this morning, so I spent some time working out in the Terrace Pool and then joined G in the hot tub. The hot tub on Deck 17 was a cold tub (I think it had just been refilled), so we instead used a hot tub around the Neptune Pool. It was perfect. After showers, it was time to eat again. I was really looking forward to today’s lunch because I had pre-ordered two items that I have never had before. They were both extremely delicious.
Day 19 lunch menu, page 1
Day 19 lunch menu, page 2
Homemade vegetarian pate
I LOVE roasted veggies
Garden pita pocket without cheese topped with non dairy yogurt
Best. Thing. Ever!!!!
We geared our afternoon toward attending the 3pm Elite Grapevine Wine Tasting. We had an invitation, but when we arrived in the Botticelli Dining Room, there were at least 30 of us that were turned away because the wine tasting was full. That was unusual, and immediately brought to mind that Seinfeld episode about the car rental reservation. “You know how to TAKE the reservation. You don’t know how to HOLD the reservation. And that’s really the most important part of the reservation: the holding. Anyone can just take them.” Thank God we have Seinfeld quotes to help us laugh our way through life.
We were already dressed for dinner, and so returned to the cabin to watch TV. At 4:30pm, G went to the Elite Lounge and I went to the Explorers Lounge for Sunday vigil Mass, offered by Fr. Deere, an Australian priest on board as a guest. It was nice for Princess to provide the space and set up to make them happen. Afterward, I joined G, already seated for dinner in the DaVinci Dining Room. I was still full from lunch, and had just the seared sea scallops with ratatouille.
Day 19 dinner menu, page 1
Day 19 dinner menu, page 2
Day 19 dessert menu
We attended the 7:30pm Princess Theater performance of magician-mentalist-comedian Steve Marshall. Not our favorite kind of entertainment, but still a nice change from vocalists.
Finally, while we are currently 7 hours behind EDT, we will not have Sunday tomorrow. Instead, as we cross the International Date Line, we’ll wake tomorrow to Monday morning and be 17 hours ahead of EDT. That’s quite a trick.
Tonight we’re on Pago Pago time.
Tomorrow we’ll be on Auckland time.
I was curious to see where we are tonight and used Maps.me to check our current location at dinner. Maps.me represents earth the way so many of our schoolroom wall maps did, as one American and European-centric flat map. We are in that curious location on the very left edge, but still just east enough to not appear on the right side of the world map.
It’s amazing the things we find to entertain ourselves. ;-)
Nearly falling off a flat earth
Day 19 Princess Patter page 1
Day 19 Princess Patter, page 2
Day 19 Princess Patter, page 3
Day 19 Princess Patter, page 4
