Sigh. Our final day. This has been one cruise that we wish would never end. And, somehow, this last day was the best day of all.
We started the day with our final Sabatini’s breakfast. We know that, while we can look forward to potentially enjoying the Sanctuary on future cruises, breakfast in Sabatini’s is likely out of our league. Unless we make it to 1500 Princess days (not likely). We have really enjoyed celebrating this milestone cruise on a 15-day cruise with a lot of sea days (remember, it was originally going to be on a 3-day cruise. Quite a difference!).
Mrs. Doppelgänger attended today’s culinary demonstration in the
Princess Theater and kindly shared the handout with me.
I had to do some running- well, walking- around the ship today to clean up unfinished business. We each got $25 in cash from our refundable OBC (I had brought extra tip money from home but not enough to compensate certain crew members for all they have done for us). This left enough in our account for me to purchase one tub of Clinique Take the Day Off makeup remover balm for less than I can get it anywhere else. The last one I bought was on the Majestic Princess in Australia…but there hasn’t been a lot of makeup in my life that needed to be removed since then. (No makeup, no earrings, no rings…I never spent the day in jammies during lockdown but was otherwise pretty lax). I started throwing clothes into a suitcase and when I was sufficiently on top of that, headed up to the Sanctuary.
It was sunny and warm today, but windy at times. We rotated between our loungers in the Sanctuary, and the Lotus Pool and hot tubs. Life is pretty darn good in the Sanctuary! When it was time for lunch, we ordered street tacos and chips and guacamole using the Medallion app, and it was delivered promptly (the Dopplegangers waited about 40 minutes for theirs just a little bit later). And we added a key lime custard, simply because we had had it on the Majestic Princess. It’s much bigger and better on the Emerald Princess!
Street tacos and chips and guacamole in the Sanctuary
Key lime custard
Day 15 lunch menu
Finally, about 3pm a fierce wind blew in, strong enough to blow a full glass off a table. G and I left, and, walking across Deck 16 on the open decks, were amazed that, by the time we reached midship there was no wind at all. We sat on our balcony (also calm) until it was time to get ready for dinner. The Doppelganers joined us on their way to their Club Class dining and helped us drink our last bottle of champagne (and we had given our award champagne away last night). There has been no shortage of champagne this cruise, and I am, frankly, champagned out until probably New Year’s Eve. It was hard to say goodbye to them. Isn’t it funny that, somehow, when you least expect it, friends just appear in your life? We met on Day 3 of this cruise, and have enjoyed each other’s company immensely.
It was also very hard to say goodbye to Restaurant Manager Francesco and waiter Ricky. If we return ti the Emerald Princess before the end of February when Francesco goes home to Italy, those two will be the reason. We showed Francesco a photo I’d taken of him on the Emerald Princess in December 2011. We’ve known him a long time. And Ricky showed us a video he had taken with us saying hi to his family when we were in Hobart, Tasmania in 2019. Isn’t cruising just the best?
Francesco, 2011
Ricky and us in Hobart, 2019
Day 15 dinner menu
Afterward we went to the Wheelhouse Bar to listen to guitarist David Barrett. Why, oh why, does it take us until the very last night of a cruise to find entertainment like this that we like so well? He is from Ireland, and we asked him to play some Irish ballads. For one of them he used a whistle, a long recorder-type instrument with a soulful sound.
And that was the end of the day for me. I wanted to finish my packing before G started his, so he is out at tonight’s Princess Theater show (a female vocalist) and I am setting the last things in my suitcase. We will be taking a Princess transfer to the airport tomorrow in Fort Lauderdale and will be leaving the ship about 8am.
Weep!