We had great seats for people watching and stayed in that area until after midnight. It was billed as a Black and White party, but I didn’t see a lot of people dressed in only those colors. The Majestic Princess orchestra started playing at 10:30pm, and people were dancing (kind of in the corridor, as there isn’t a dance floor there).
We took turns exploring the other parties taking place, and two hours before midnight, the Piazza was packed. Since balloon drops at midnight are no more, the Piazza party has lost a little of its allure for us. The Vista-less Lounge was the location of the family party, and the dance floor there was full of little kids like it was a wedding reception. Very cute.
But we enjoyed the Crown Bar Party. We were sitting with two sisters from New Zealand who had left their husbands behind for some sisterly-bonding. After midnight, one of the production show singers, Nick (who has an amazing voice, a la Michael Buble), sang several songs with the orchestra. We stuck around until nearly 1am, and then, hungry (since it had been nearly seven hours since we had dinner), we swung by the World Fresh Marketplace, which was open to 1:30am last night.
The Majestic Princess was scheduled to arrive in Dusky Sound at 10am this morning, and it was storming and windy at that time. We went up to the Hollywood Conservatory to find a place to view the scenery, such as it was, and there must have been people camped out up there since there wee hours of the morning. Still, we found two chairs along the side, and tried to see what we could, but it was very limited. Plus, it was cold in there! We moved to the Hollywood Pool and settled in on two loungers. The rain was running down the glass roof in sheets and it was nearly dark as night in there at noon. Still, we were entertained by a large lightning storm directly overhead.
When the Majestic Princess moved back to sea, we went to the World Fresh Marketplace for lunch...and so did everyone else. I am really struggling with the buffet on this ship. I don’t see anything but breads and rolls and carving stations with huge hunks of meat. And when I’m sitting down munching on a roll, people walk by with plates full of shrimp and mussels and other good things. When I ask where they got them, they point in one direction or the other, but there are three buffet lines in those directions, and I try to find the good stuff, and all I see are more rolls and hunks of meat.
I finally gave up and walked outside across the Lido Deck in a sideways rain (Captain Dino said the wind gusts were reaching 100 knots) and deep puddles and got a vegan miso ramen bowl at the Noodle Bar, then walked back to the World Fresh Marketplace to eat with G.
There has to be a better way. I’m still trying to find it.
We missed Thompson and Doubtful Sounds (again), and we returned to our cabin to watch videos until dinner. We entered Milford Sound about 6pm, and we ate quickly and then tried to find a place on the lower decks to watch the scenery. It was just misty at first, and we were able to take some photos from the Promenade Deck by the shops, but then the rain picked up and forced us inside. The areas of the Promenade Deck that are open to passengers are not covered. I’m sure we would have had a more favorable ship experience today if the weather had been better, but the rain really limited our viewing options, and this ship is incredibly inward-focused.
Waterfalls everywhere...
...but the clouds were hanging very low
The terminus of Milford Sound
The Princess Theater entertainment tonight was the Buddy Holly tribute artist we had seen on the Ruby Princess, and we went to his 7:15pm performance. The weather looks pretty rough for at least the first part of our Tasman Sea crossing, but Hobart has been having a heat wave lately. Somewhere between here and there, things have got to change. We’re ready for it.
And, finally, the first day of 2020 is drawing to a close off the coast of New Zealand, but I’m sending wishes for a safe holiday and wonderful year to you all. Thank you for continuing to travel with us via this blog!
