We didn’t know what to expect today, weather-wise. Hurricane Melissa (or maybe it’s still just a tropical storm) is causing lots of trouble in the DR and Haiti with winds and excessive rainfall. The Regal Princess was sailing on the north side of Hispaniola, so it was mostly protected from the storm. We had a warm and muggy day with passing showers, and no extreme weather at all.
The abundance of coughs on board have made me reconsider the lectures I enjoy so much in the Princess Theater, and I planned to watch them later in the cabin. Instead, we spent a lot of time on the Horizon Terrace where there were also coughs but I convinced myself that they were being blown away by the breeze. The day was far more pleasant than we had initially believed it might be.
We skipped lunch in the dining room and I had another fajita salad in the Horizon Court Buffet. I love those; I think it’s because of the shredded lettuce that makes them so easy to eat when I’m sitting in a comfy chair on the Horizon Terrace. I get a deep soup bowl, fill it halfway with lettuce, then fill the rest of way with chicken, peppers and onions, and top it with salsa, guacamole (no cheese or sour cream) and all the broken tortilla chips I can find in the bottom of the serving bowls. Yum!
Naturally, Melissa was quite the topic of conversation on the Horizon Terrace today. Few people believed we’d actually get into Grand Cayman as scheduled in two days; the rest of us figured we wouldn’t but a few optimistic souls felt that another port would be substituted. There’s nothing out here. Jamaica is also under warnings and the next closest (Cozumel?) is already full of ships 365 days a year. So we waited…and appreciated the fact that we were being kept so safe from the havoc being wreaked just a couple of hundred miles away.
A couple of people have emailed me commenting on my healthy diet. Don’t let them know that I just discovered that the oatmeal cookies on board don’t have raisins. Raisins in baked goods are an abomination until the Lord, and, absent them, these oatmeal cookies are the bomb.
These small square bowls (stacked next to the warm desserts) are perfect for holding 3 or 4 cookies (2 oatmeal for me, 2 peanut butter for G). Easily transported for consumption on the Horizon Terrace. Dangerous!
We were sitting at dinner in the Symphony Dining Room just after 5pm when G commented that the captain was surely going to tell us something soon when-boom- he made an announcement to do just that. Of course, we’re missing Grand Cayman; the port is actually closing, so this wasn’t a Princess decision to make. No one seems too bothered by it.
The Buddha bowl from the vegan menu. Delish!
The Princess Theater entertainer tonight was a vocalist singing some female rock anthems. We sat at the very top of the theater and left early when the coughs got too scary.
With just four sea days remaining, we’ll have some time to consider our packing list for our next cruise, also 21 days long but without the temperature variations that we’ve had on this cruise. I’ve challenged myself to do it with just a carry on and backpack, which I’m pretty sure I can do. And then, who knows? Can I manage seven weeks with just the same? It’s good to have goals!
