Today was sunny and warm, but still very bouncy. It is difficult to even stand up in our cabin tonight (though it’s better lower and midship). Production show Magic To Do, rescheduled from last night, is being performed tonight, but I imagine they’ve had to make some significant adjustments to some of the dance moves and lifts.
The Tasman Sea is upholding its reputation on this crossing.
With our extra hour of sleep last night, we were in bed plenty long enough to be rested, but it was that kind of sleep with frequent disruptions as the ship would shimmy and shake, and we woke feeling like we hadn’t slept at all. That’s fine, there was nothing major we needed to do today. We went to breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room, then attended Coffee with the Captain in the Piazza, kicked off by a goodbye from the production show cast.
Then it was time for lunch in the DaVinci Dining Room. We ate fairly lightly; we were having dinner at the Crown Grill today and wanted to have an appetite.
Day 13 lunch menu, page 1
Day 13 lunch menu, page 2
Oriental noodle salad
Brunswick stew (aka chicken muddle)
Reviewed very favorably by the guy from Brunswick County, Virginia
who knows a thing or two about chicken muddle (but he says it needs tomatoes) ;-)
We attended the Voice of the Ocean at 1pm in the Princess Theater, but last night’s lack of quality sleep caught up with us, and we returned to the cabin and napped. I now have just one episode left of The Crown to watch. We waited two years for ten episodes? We need more!
We had a reservation for 5:30pm at the Crown Grill. G had the filet and I had lobster and happiness reigned.
Our table in the Crown Grill
Crown Grill galley
We were there early.
It filled up by 6pm
The dessert sampler
I would go to the Crown Grill just for the grilled veggie salad and this dessert
Day 13 dinner menu, page 1
Though we didn’t go to dinner in the DaVinci Dining Room, this was the menu for tonight.
Day 13 dinner menu, page 1
Day 13 dinner menu, page 2
Day 13 dessert menu
Over dinner, we talked about our season so far. Except for being sick (and I don’t know how we could have avoided that), there isn’t a thing we would change. We are having the time of our lives. The Ruby Princess crew is spoiling us forever. Every year I think it can’t be any better than it’s been in the past, and I’m proven wrong. The food and menus are the best we’ve experienced in recent years on Princess. G, in particular, is very happy with the number and quality of beef options. The past two years he’s seen precious few opportunities for beef entrees, but this year is significantly improved on both counts. And, as you know, we love these itineraries. Some itineraries, like South America and Southeast Asia, are, I think, one and done for us. They are wonderful places to visit, but they don’t “live” as well as these Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific itineraries where so often the ship is docked in the center of the action. Except for a few of the Fiji ports, these are easy places to visit, with lots of options for sightseeing on our own in close proximity to the port. We are truly happy campers cruisers.
Tomorrow we’ll have another mini-vacation in Sydney. It’s supposed to be hot, sunny, smoky and 91F. If we get an early enough start, we want to do the walk we put off last turnaround day, but we’ll see how the heat feels and the air breathes. If not that, then something else. The options are endless in Sydney.
Day 13 Princess Patter, page 1
Day 13 Princess Patter, page 2
Day 13 Princess Patter, page 3
Day 13 Princess Patter, page 4