The first post of each season:

Tuesday, October 8, 2024

Day 3: At Sea

Well, today was the day and this morning was the time. I needed to unpack my large suitcase. I had packed a couple of shirts, socks and undies in my roll aboard to access during our London stay, but all my dirties needed to march themselves to the laundry this morning and I had to find something clean to wear. 

Regardless of my thoughts on a Regal minisuite (aka our semisweet), I can say nothing but good things about the storage contained therein. I had immediately laid claim to all the drawers (and had to keep speaking up when G, who unpacked last night, kept eyeing them wistfully. He gets the cubbies; all’s fair in love and cruising). 

While he made it to breakfast in the Allegro Dining Room, I had a different mission in mind. On Embarkation Day,  G surprised me with a cruise long package in The Enclave, a thalassotherapy suite in the spa. With a thalassotherapy pool, multiple showers, a sauna and two steam rooms with varying degrees of humidity, not to mention heated stone loungers and even two water bed loungers, this place was made for me. I just hadn’t had a chance to get there yet, and today was the day. 

First though, I had to don my new miracle swimsuit from Lands End which I had purchased on sale a couple of months ago but never tried on. It fits- it’s my size- but Lord have mercy it’s like squeezing into heavy duty Spanx. All I could think of the entire time I was rearranging parts into places was that recent political line about a too small bathing suit on a too long ride home from the beach. How timely. 

The Enclave was amazing. I don’t know which was my favorite part but that pool ranks right up there. A couple of the shower features didn’t work and the sauna seemed a little cool but maybe that was because I had been basking in the steam room for a while. I even tried the water bed loungers but that was a calculated risk, because what goes on must get off.  It worked just fine. I can’t wait to return (and I’ve seen the Patter for tomorrow night. The Princess Theater entertainment is a magician. I’ll be in The Enclave just as soon as I can squeeze into that swimsuit after dinner). 

As for the rest of the day, we went to lunch in the dining room and I was finally moderately hungry. We are batting 1000 when it comes to waiters, and it’s so sweet to see all the crew that is coming to welcome G back and see that he really does have a wife. 






Corn chowder


Seafood curry

While we were at lunch, I searched online for excursions for tomorrow in Cobh, Ireland and found a perfect one that involved a narrated train ride. We paid Viator online, and I received an immediate notification of the charge, but just 15 minutes later I received an email that it had been cancelled. So we were back at square one with no square two in mind. We’ll see what tomorrow brings. 

I spent the rest of the afternoon getting caught up on blog posts and holding down a chair in Vines. Dinner remains a highlight of our cruising days, and, frankly, I’m glad that hasn’t changed. I keep hearing how things have changed on Princess, but some things are non negotiable and a good table and service at dinner is at the top of that list for us. 












Basa filet 

Tonight’s Princess Theater show was Bravo, and it still has a diva appearance. We had skipped dessert after dinner and instead went to the ice cream place for G to get gelato after the show.  Neither one of us is really thrilled with the party band onboard and they were playing in the Piazza, so we went down to the Wheelhouse to listen to piano entertainer Derek Dishington and have drinks, and that was a lot of fun. 

We move clocks back an hour overnight, just what we need. From now on, they’ll only go backwards, so we’ll have six more 25-hour days before we get to Galveston. The only thing better than a day on a cruise is a 25-hour day on a cruise. 

Life is good. :)