It was so nice to finally enjoy a late wake up and lazy morning. We ordered coffees in the cabin using Ocean Now (it worked!) and I noted one change from the last time I cruised in that we can now check a box indicating whether we want an order delivered to wherever we are or to our cabin. On the Sapphire in Alaska I had ordered bottles of water, thinking they would simply be delivered to the cabin, only to have the room service steward chasing me down as I moved around the ship. Whoops. Now we can indicate where we want the delivery and that’s an improvement.
We never made it to breakfast but we have already accepted that we’re two meals a day-type people whether at home or on board. We did swing by the World Fresh Marketplace for me to get my first watermelon of the cruise, and that reminds me of a story I can tell later to fill out this sea day post.
We were pretty hungry by noon, and went to the Allegro Dining Room for lunch. We had been told that, even with the repetitive menus, there were three entree items and the soup that changed daily, so I took a photo of one side of the menu. Today the new items were the schnitzel, the fish and chips and the chimichurri.
It was 5 o’clock somewhere, so I had my first margarita of the cruise
A double order of fish street tacos. These were yummy. G’s fish and chips were hard as a rock.
I spent about 90 minutes at The Enclave. This Princess bed is way, WAY too soft for me, and it takes me a couple of hours every morning to work through the pain. We also replaced the heavy comforter with a sheet and a blanket, and that did improve our sleep considerably. The standard bedding is much heavier than we like. Anyway, The Enclave smooths out any remaining ouchie areas, and is a welcome way to spend a sea day afternoon.
G went to the PES lounge in the Vista-less Lounge but I prefer a martini from Crooners before dinner so we went our separate ways about 4:30pm and then met up for dinner. We have really hit it off with the couple at the next (close) table for 2. They and their two daughters emigrated from Russia around 1990 with only three suitcases between them, and lived in an efficiency apartment for a while when they first arrived. They stressed the value of education for their daughters and now one is an MD and the other has a doctorate in Pharmacy and an MBA from Harvard, and, wow, if you want to feel both fortunate and humbled, life provides people that can provide both perspectives just two feet away from where you’re dining.
Baked Alaska martini in Crooners
Seafood starter
Broccoli salad from the vegan menu, one of the best things I’ve enjoyed on the ship
Pasta with red pepper pesto (not great)
We had just enough sun today to have a rainbow at dinner
I had heard on The Enclave grapevine (highly reliable and entertaining) that tonight’s singer in the Princess Theater, Tom Ball was fantastic, and he certainly was. He was a middle school teacher from the UK who appeared on Britain’s Got Talent and AGT. We loved his show and he will be performing in a variety show in two night’s time so we’ll get chance to see him again.
We settled in at the Wheelhouse Bar for the last part of Lilo Duo’s set and then listened to piano entertainer Derek Dishington. When he took his first break, we had to go to the Piazza for G’s requisite daily gelato and, just after 10pm, called it a night.
My favorite elderflower Paloma in the Wheelhouse from ShaSha from Grenada, who was so excited to see G on board again. He was well looked after last winter on this ship.
And that’s when we realized that the northern lights, which I’ve wanted to see all my life, were putting on a show of their own. I was supposed to fly to Anchorage last March to see them, but we received two feet of snow and my flight was canceled. This was quite a make up experience. Having now seen the northern lights, I can’t imagine anything on this cruise could top them. It went on for…well, I’m not sure how long, but we saw it for over 40 minutes.
And, finally, I will share a quick story that I’ve entitled: I’m too old to buy watermelon. If personal stories in my blog bother you, look away now. Otherwise, read on!.
Last summer, probably during the July 4th holiday week, whole seedless watermelons were on sale at Kroger. I firmly refuse to pay $9 for a watermelon but when they’re $3.49, it’s hard to pass that by. Naturally, everyone else was also jumping on that deal so that by the time I got to the supermarket, that huge carton of watermelons on a pallet in front of the store was more than half gone.
Still, I’m tall, and, leaning way over, could reach the melons at the bottom. I shuffled through them until I found the heaviest (juiciest) one with the nicest garden spot and then had to lift it out of the box. I had worked up a sweat by the time I finally got it into my cart. When I checked out, for the first time in my life I accepted the offer of help to get my groceries to my car. Actually, I just needed help getting that watermelon out of the cart and into the passenger seat with a seatbelt wrapped around it.
G was mowing the front lawn when I arrived home, and shut down the mower long enough to help me unload the groceries. He carried the watermelon into the service hallway and left it there, not wanting to go into the house with his grassy shoes. I didn’t want to wait for him to get it into the kitchen, so I went to pick it up and couldn’t budge it. I swear it got heavier on the way home. So I rolled the watermelon out onto the deck and cut it in half right there.
I think that was the last whole watermelon purchase I’ll ever make. Everyone has a moment when they realize they’re getting older. That mine involved my favorite watermelon shouldn’t surprise anyone.
Best kind of day!
Life is good. :)
