Our day at sea largely revolved around the Most Traveled Guest luncheon. G met with the Liars Club and then went to breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room; I skipped breakfast and did a water workout in the aft pool on Deck 17. I knew that, once I was cleaned up for lunch, I was not going to want to use a pool this afternoon.
As we waited to enter the Crown Grill, we were thrilled to see Michael and Leone from Sydney, who we met on our Golden Princess cruises two years ago, and even happier to find out we were seated at the same table with them, hosted by Safety Officer (a position formerly called the Senior First Officer) Luigi Starace from the island of Capri. I had kept an eye out for Michael and Leone since the first day of this cruise out of Sydney but hadn’t yet seen them. They are staying on for two more cruises after this one, so we’ll have plenty of time to get caught up.
Also seated at our table with Dave and Rhonda, who we already knew. They have been on the Ruby Princess since LA, and are staying on the ship until it returns to North America in May. The most traveled couple, Joy and Brian from Sydney, are pretty much staying on longer than we are (they drop off for one cruise, which is easily done because they live in Sydney). We are far from the only ones who do what we do!
I asked Luigi about the tendering process on this cruise, and he said it is complicated not just because of the distance from the ship to shore in Yorkey’s Knob, Port Douglas and (the longest of the three) Airlie Beach, but also because the winds as the tenders approach shore are notoriously tricky in this area. It did seem like the tender rides were bouncier than the weather would have indicated.
Most Traveled Guest luncheon menu
The seared tuna on the starter was to die for
My entree was served with lentils instead of risotto
This was the standard dessert, a work of art
My dessert was dairy-free and delicious
It was 2pm by the time we left the Crown Grill, and we had had a wonderful time. We obviously did not have lunch in the DaVinci Dining Room, but, if we had, this is the menu for today (the blue shading is caused by the shadow of my hand when I use the PhotoScan app to photograph the menus):
Day 8 lunch menu, page 1
Day 8 lunch menu, page 2
Not wanting to have to change clothes, and then change again for dinner, we stayed in our cabin watching TV and reading until it was time to go to the Elite Lounge at 4:30pm. We ate lightly at dinner because we simply weren’t that hungry, and I ordered the always delicious (and always available) salmon as my entree.
Day 8 dinner menu, page 1
Day 8 dinner menu, page 2
Day 8 dessert menu
New Zealand green-lipped mussels
Salmon with well done broccoli
We went to the Princess Theater a full hour early for tonight’s performance of production show Colors of the World. It’s probably my favorite one currently on the Ruby Princess, and is visually quite stunning. I wanted to get a seat in the raised, middle section of the Princess Theater so I could take some photos with a clear line of sight during the show.
The alarm is set for 6:15am tomorrow morning. We have tentative plans in Brisbane, and it looks like the weather is going to fully cooperate. I’m also very happy to report that, although we’ll be at the freight dock, quite a distance from the central business district of Brisbane, we will be at a dock, and will not have to tender. Oh happy day!
Day 8 Princess Patter, page 1
Day 8 Princess Patter, page 2
Day 8 Princess Patter, page 3
Day 8 Princess Patter, page 4