Day 149: Home!

Today was another cautionary tale about booking flights home too early on disembarkation day. There was a snafu with the security system that records people checking off the ship and the first passengers didn't disembark until 8:15am. Disembarkation continued to fall behind, and when we walked off the ship at 11am, there were still many passengers on the ship and in transit immigration had been pushed back to 11am and would probably run until noon or later.

Unencumbered by our large suitcases, we left our cabin shortly before 8am. The only issue with using EZ Check is that none of the liquid toiletries that are used the final morning can go home in a carry on unless they are less than 3 ounces. Luckily, we were down to the last drops of so many things: shampoo, conditioner, sunscreen, mouthwash and deodorant, etc. that we just tossed what was left. It worked out perfectly. 

We had a last leisurely breakfast in the Botticelli Dining Room, enjoying two small bottles of Korbel in mimosas and indulging in blueberry pancakes and crispy bacon. Yep, it was my first bacon of the winter, and something I'm not likely to eat again until next winter. We left the dining room and went directly to the Adagio Lounge, with its quiet solitude...and power ports. We needed to keep our iDevices charged to 100%; our Southwest flights offered free TV (and the thought of something other than Love Boat reruns made my heart beat faster). We kept waiting for the 'last and final' announcement, calling all of us non-in transit passengers to disembark, but when it didn't come by 11am, we simply walked off the ship. 

Weep. We had said goodbye to the Emerald Princess two years ago not knowing when we'd see the ship again, and today felt much the same. We've now spent 471 nights on that ship, and, despite the many small cutbacks we witnessed (it's death by a thousand cutbacks), it remains our favorite large ship. 

I cannot recommend Global Entry strongly enough for any passengers doing multiple back to back cruises out of Fort Lauderdale. Having it has saved us hours in the past two months, and today we bypassed a long, weaving queue to go through immigration and went right to the head of the line. So nice!!

We were in a taxi by 11:10am, and then enountered the inevitable traffic that surrounds the area between Port Everglades and the nearby Fort Lauderdale airport. Our driver chose to go down 17th Street to Federal Boulevard, and I kept my window rolled down, waving to the waiters we knew who were walking over to the stores. As we passed the Embassy Suites, I thought how it seemed like yesterday that we were meeting Suzan and Greg there at the start of our Emerald Princess cruises. Time goes way too fast...

...unless one is stuck in traffic watching a taxi fare climb. Then it seems to crawl. Our Prius taxi had had a hard life, and kept making loud noises like the driver was rolling over dead bodies in the road. Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. I gave G a questioning look, to see if he could diagnose its disorder from the back seat, but he shrugged. No clue. It got louder and more frequent as we finally approached the airport, and by the time we were in the clover leaf leading from the expressway, I knew we could walk the rest of the way if necessary. 

Oy vey, the Fort Lauderdale airport on a Saturday is a caution. We expected that, and had discussed the wisdom of disembarking the Emerald Princess on a weekday instead, but our flight options were so much better on a Saturday that it was a worthwhile trade off. Plus, EZ Check is not available on cruises of less than 7-nights. It was nice not to have to roll our large suitcases across that carpeted (what a ridiculous choice for airport flooring!) Southwest terminal. 

We could have gone right through security and to our gate, but G still had a can of pop to drink and so we joined the masses, finally finding one chair and one stool at a charging station. Many people had their large suitcases piled around them, as they couldn't check in until 2-3 hours before their flights. We've been there, done that in the past. EZ check is so much better!!

We walked right though security with our TSA pre check, and then down to our gate. We should have stayed outside security a little longer. There was no place to sit, and so we stood until it was time to start boarding the plane. Our flights were all on time, and Martha was waiting for us when we (and our EZ Checked bags!) arrived at our home airport. 

Everything at home is fine, though I know from experience that it will take a week to feel things are under control again.  I made Kraft Mac and cheese for a late dinner (what a come down!!); I remember buying it in December thinking it would be a handy thing to have in the pantry when we got home, and it was handy, but it was not tasty.  In less than two hours I've cooked, done dishes, started laundry and cleaned the master bedroom (I'm allergic to dust). I'm lying in bed with the ceiling fan on, trying to convince myself it's an ocean breeze and its hum is the sound of gentle waves washing ashore. 

This is my new normal. 

Still, life is good. :-)

Day 148: Princess Cays

Today was in the 13 of the top 5 days of the entire winter. ;-)

Things did not look too promising when we first walked out on the Terrace Deck en route to the Horizon Court Buffet. The Emerald Princess was just rounding the southern tip of Eleuthera, and the lighthouse, as well as the small, unconnected islets that stretch off the end of the island were clearly visible. What wasn't visible was the sun; it looked rather grey and gloomy. I was disheartened. We had big plans for the day. 

We ate a quick and light breakfast in the buffet and then went back to our cabin to back for an easy beach day. I left behind my snorkel gear, though. Though I was much improved today, I did not feel well enough to want to breathe through a snorkel. We were on the very first tender to the island, and immediately left the Princess property and walked behind the fence to where the locals sell trinkets and handicrafts.

I had brought all of our gold mesh bags filled with Elite toiletries (10 of them!) and started walking down one side of the stalls and handing them to the ladies selling their wares. They were thrilled, and, as I walked back when I was done, several of them called me over and handed me small gifts in return, and gave me hugs. We left Coke tumblers from purchasing the soda package with the grandmother of a boy (now a teen) we had met years ago when he directed us back to Princess Cays on one of our rambling walks. 

The coolest things I was gifted were earrings and a necklace, tiny glass dolphins filled with pink Bahamian sand. I love them!!

By the time I was finished, our group for our excursion today, with Eleuthera Tours, had started to gather. Kristel from Eleuthera Tours is the one who gave us a ride back to the ship last cruise when we had walked down to the lighthouse. She and her husband, native Bahamian Donald, offer all sorts of tours on the island. The plan for today was to ride(!!!!) the three miles down to Lighthouse Beach and then have several hours to explore, and enjoy a picnic of local Bahamian food and drink on the beach. (I think I was most excited about the ride part of all this!!) 

The cost for this 5-hour tour was $90pp (www.eleutheratours.com). 

I can tell you, after riding down to the southern point in a 4 wheel drive vehicle, that it was not my imagination. This is one really rough road, so rough that it took us about 30 minutes to drive the three miles. But we enjoyed the bragging rights we had when the others we were with (seven ladies all from our home state) couldn't believe we've walked it several times in the past. 

It was a wonderful thing to arrive at the Caribbean beach still full of energy. G was a Pied Piper and led the others across the tidal pools and up to the lighthouse, but I took off in the exact opposite direction. I've always wanted to know what lies beyond the rocks on the northern end of the Caribbean side beach. And I love to walk on a beach when mine are the only footprints. 

I walked the length of the first beach, looking all along the way for any beach treasures. This was where I had found a perfect sand dollar on my first visit; I've never been that lucky since, and wasn't today, either. Once at the end, I carefully picked my way across the rocks and tidal pools only to find another length of empty, pristine beach. From this point, I could see the very top of the Emerald Princess at anchor off Princess Cays. 

I walked the full length of this beach too, loving the peace and sound of the waves crashing. The sun had come out and the water was a brilliant blue color. Somewhere along this beach I began to wonder why the heck we live where we do, in the middle of the country, when we are both so drawn to beaches, especially remote beaches. But we do, and we love it there, too. 

At the end of the second beach was a rock cliff that I could have scaled if I hadn't been wearing Tevas, but I decided that was the end of my journey. I turned around and walked back to where Donald was building a fire to cook our lunch and Kristel was pouring rum punches and other beverages for the rest of the group, who had returned from exploring. I had packed my Konvertible Kite and opened it up, and it immediately caught the wind. I got so warm flying the kite in the sun that I first stood in the water, and then eventually walked out to a rock in the water and sat on it while holding the string reel. Heaven!

That kite had gotten around this winter, and had been flown as far west as Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, as far south as Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and as far east as Eleuthera in the Bahamas. What a winter we've had!!

Eventually I decided it was time to join the others in enjoying some of Kristel's rum punch and pulled a chair out to the beach. Donald had already set the several tables we were using with vinyl tablecloths and colorful plates, and decorated the tabletops with flowers, shells and coral. It was rustically beautiful and perfect for the beach location. 

G and Donald

Around 12:30pm Donald called us to lunch. Our choices (we had made them when we reserved the excursion) were conch, fish or BBQ chicken. I chose conch and G chose the chicken and everything was served with Bahamian rice and coleslaw. Donald had caught the conch and fish last night, and Kristel made everything from scratch and it was all absolutely delicious. I was on to my second rum punch by then, and could no longer feel my lips, but, hey, I didn't have to walk back!!

At 2pm, everything was cleaned up and packed up and we began the ride back to the ship. Also not my imagination:  it is a slight but steady uphill climb on the first part of the walk back. Of course, it's usually after noon by the time we start back when we walk, and the sun is generally bright and hot. Riding on the back of a 4WD truck in cushioned seats is much better. 

Kristel and Donald returned us to Princess Cays around 2:30pm, and after hugs goodbye, we discovered the line for the tender back to the ship was ridiculously long right then. Not interested in standing in it, we found two nearby loungers in the shade and made ourselves comfortable. The two piece local band was still playing and the sun was shining and it was a perfect end to our perfect day on the beach. We returned to the ship on the last tender of the last day of the last cruise of our winter at sea. 

Seldom early, never late. That's our cruising motto. ;-)

Once back on the ship, G showered first and went up to Skywalkers to watch our departure from the island. I joined him by 5pm and we watched as the Emerald Princess rounded the southern tip of Eleuthera and started its journey along the island's 110-mile long eastern coast. We enjoyed that view and the sunset from our dinner table in the Michelangelo Dining Room. The last supper!  G shocked me by ordering tamarind salmon, and said he actually enjoyed it. We did not know until tonight that we could have been ordering the old 'always available' salmon and chicken breast even though it is no longer on the menu. I've enjoyed salmon twice a cruise on these short cruises, but, on a longer cruise, I would definitely have ordered the 'off-menu' salmon. 

We took a few minutes after dinner to watch balancing act La Paire perform in the Piazza with Rocco (Mr. Six Pack) and his wife. At one point, Rocco lies flat on the floor and outstretches his arms over his head. His wife stands on his hands and he lifts her and pulls himself first to a sitting position and then to a standing position with her still standing on his outstretched arms, and then reverses that back to the floor. I simply cannot believe his strength. He must work out for hours every day. 

We needed to get started with our packing by then, and skipped tonight's Voice of the Ocean to return to the cabin. G always says it will just take five minutes to pack, but that is so not true. At 10:30pm we are just finishing it up. We are using EZ Check and had our boarding passes and luggage tags delivered to our cabin about 8pm. We will set our four (grrrr) suitcases outside our cabin door tonight and not see them again until they come off the baggage carousel at our home airport. For $20pp, we think this is the best deal around when traveling with lots of luggage.

It is hard to believe that our two months on the Emerald Princess are over, and that our sixth winter at sea is behind us.  G commented tonight, while packing, that he doesn't know how in the world we managed packing for our South Pacific trip. It was quite a logistical nightmare, with suitcases spread across two islands and the Pacific Princess. Coming on board the Emerald Princess and staying in the same cabin for two months has been a cakewalk in comparison. But we wouldn't change a thing about our winter. It's been the most amazing adventure of our lives. 

Five years after our first winter at sea, life is still good. :-)

Day 147: At sea

Thankfully, probably due to my rest day yesterday, I finally started showing some signs of significant improvement today, and just in time, too. Starting tomorrow, there are no rest days in sight. 

We slept in today; G had been out and about listing to live music and attending the Love Boat Disco Deck party (I really wish I had set up a keyboard shortcut for that!) until well after I fell asleep. I feel a little like I've abandoned him this cruise, but, except for one night, we had dinner together and I have made to the (to him) all important MTP and Captains Circle parties. That's life. 

We went to breakfast together in the Horizon Court Buffet and the first person we saw was our waiter, Victor with a huge smile on his face. Victor had confided in us that his wife, Marisol, and two of her girlfriends (all from Mexico) were on this cruise, as a goodbye to him before he leaves on the Emerald Princess to Europe on April 2. We found out that Marisol and her friends were having dinner in a specialty restaurant last night and had a bottle of Veuve Cliquot champagne sent to them.  We knew immediately from Victor that the champagne had been successfully delivered.

Marisol happened to be in the Horizon Court Buffet when we arrived, and Victor took us over to introduce her to us. She doesn't speak English and beyond 'mucho gusto', my Spanish is almost non-existent, but Victor translated and it was all quite fun. 

I like when things like that happen. We do tend to get close to our waiters when we're on a ship for long periods of time. 

We were still sitting in the buffet at 11:45am when I uttered those words that seem to get said at least once a cruise season..."Hurry up and finish eating so we can go to lunch". Ah yes, that's a sea day on a cruise ship! ;-)

We did go to lunch in the DaVinci Dining Room around 12:45pm. I had just a calamari starter but G had a chef salad and ice cream for dessert. It wasn't that we were particularly hungry (my appetite had left me altogether this cruise), it was simply our last opportunity for lunch in the dining room, and we didn't want to miss it. 

We walked up the stairs to the Promenade Deck when we were finished eating, and strolled (really, it wasn't even as ambitious as a walk) around it a few times. I think I was expecting my usual lethargy of late to hit me, but it didn't (that's when I knew it was going to be a better day). On our fourth time around, we saw a small power boat pass behind the ship. That's quite an usual sighting on a sea day! Coming around the ship, we saw a sailboat. We knew we had to be close to Florida. 

Sure enough, we were, about 20 miles off then Florida Keys, and we automatically tried for an AT&T signal. Oh happy day, we had one. G immediate placed a call to our insurance company to get the insurance started back up on the cars on Saturday; I called Mom to let her hear how well I sounded, and we both internetted for about 30 more minutes until we lost the signal as we reached the northern end of the Keys and headed east toward the Bahamas. 

How addicted are we to this cruising thing that G was finding cruise deals for the next two months and I was checking airfare for them? From the promenade deck of a cruise ship. After almost five months at sea. We are hopeless cases. (For those interested, the March 20 Caribbean Princess and the April 2 Emerald Princess are heckuva deals). 

AT&T territory...yay!!!

By 4pm I was starting to get cleaned up for our 712th and final formal night of the winter. Hallelujah!!  As G was putting on his tuxedo, he said "Let's don't ever dress for dinner at home". ;-) No argument here.  I will miss this ship, I will miss this crew, I will miss fellow passengers and beach-y ports. I will miss the food and the service and the entertainment, but, as God is my witness, I will not miss dressing for formal nights in the least little bit!!

We weren't especially hungry tonight. In a real change for us, we skipped the lobster and the beef Wellington and both had just the veal ravioli. It was really delicious, and I don't know why I've never tried it before. We had mandarin sorbet for dessert, and scooted out to the Captains Circle party in Club Fusion at 7pm. We finished this season as #3 Most Traveled Passengers again, with #1 and 2 staying on from last cruise. Although I have given some of the award crystals away, I am going home with six of them. Lucky for me that Southwest doesn't weigh our carry ons!

G is still out socializing, but I could feel myself finally starting to fade by the end of the party. Poor Captain Forteeze; he is going home to Italy on Saturday and has just come down with something, too. I was so careful at the MTP party not to shake hands or get too close to anyone, but there are a lot of respiratory infections going around right now. 

I am tucked into bed with an alarm set for 7am tomorrow. We have one last hurrah planned for tomorrow, a final big day on Princess Cays. On one hand, it's hard to believe this season is almost over; on the other, it feels like a lifetime since we've been home. G admitted today that he was ready to go home, but said that, as soon as we are, he'll want to be here. We are kind of balanced between the two worlds right now, not totally convinced that either is the better one. 

But what a quandary to have. ;-)

Day 146: Cozumel

I remain quite sick (I'll confess...it's a smidge of pneumonia) and couldn't muster up the energy to do anything today other than eat a piece of pizza and go to dinner. I've traded towels with Ambrish twice, and emptied my own wastebaskets both morning and night so as not to spread germies. As for what's filling them...I've gone through boxes and boxes of Princess tissues and that is a hardship no human should bear.

We have plans for Princess Cays on Friday, and I'm working hard to feel better by then. This is not the way I wanted to end our cruising season, but I know how rough things are when we first return home. If this had to be, it was best to have it while in the cocoon of the Emerald Princess. 

Day 145: Roatan, Honduras

Our bad weather luck in Grand Cayman has definitely not carried over to Roatan this year. We had brightly sunny skies the first time we were here, and mostly sunny skies today, with the added bonus that we had a sea of glass to enjoy. This is really a beautiful port!

Another instance of local and ship's time not in sync

I skipped breakfast in the dining room today and instead picked up a decaf Americano in the Calypso Bar by the MUTS pool and then joined G to watch from the Promenade Deck as we arrived in Roatan. Afterward, I had a very light breakfast in the Horizon Court Buffet. That's not a common occurrence for me, but I was kept very happy with plain yogurt and dry cereal, and a few pieces of fruit. 

This is such an easy port for us, like Princess Cays or Grand Turk in many ways, with a beach right next to the ship. More accurately, it's easier than Princess Cays (no tender) and not as easy as Grand Turk (there's more of a walk to get to the beach), but all these ports allow us to be low energy and relaxed, and that was just what I needed today. (Of course, Princess Cays when we do the Eleuthera Death March is neither relaxed nor low energy). 

We watched from the Promenade Deck as the Carnival Glory arrived just ahead of us

We walked through the 'Enter Through The' gift shop and up the hill and down the hill and across the bridge to the little island where the beach is located at Mahogany Bay and set ourselves up on two loungers on the beach, imbibing in just one drink each and swimming and floating and immensely enjoying people watching (the Carnival Glory arrived just before the Emerald Princess did). Sorry, no pictures of this. We wanted to both use our floats at the same time and didn't want to leave our iPhones on the beach while we did.  

This was our first really stinking hot day of the winter, and humid to boot, so we spent most of the day in the water. But there were ample loungers available despite there being two cruise ships in port (though the Glory is not a large ship by today's standards). Ambrish and his buddies got some time off today and we enjoyed visiting with them for a short time on the beach. I think Ambrish ranks right up there with Cristian from Romania as our two best cabin stewards ever. We will miss him!

We didn't reboard the ship until almost 4:30pm and raced through showers to get to Skywalkers to watch the beautiful sailaway from Roatan. We both decided today that this is one of our favorite ports in the Caribbean, and no one is more surprised by that than we are. It was Stilton night in Skywalkers, and we had skipped lunch today, so I happily indulged. There is no next cruise any more this winter, and many Stilton-less months in my future. 

However, the Stilton at 5pm left me not especially hungry for dinner at 5:30pm. But it was Italian night, and the last penne arribiata for me, too, so, of course, I had some with two glasses of merlot. We skipped dessert tonight, because this cruise's Most Traveled Passengers cocktail party started at 7:15pm in the Adagio Lounge. After my wine with dinner (Dr. Bronwyn had approved) I was abstemious at the party and just drank a couple of Perrriers...and had two of the fancy tiny desserts that are served. 

G is heading back out to listen to some live music around the ship and then go to the Love Boat Disco Deck Party. I am passing on it tonight; I am feeling better but still need to see some improvement before I choose parties over sleep. Besides, I really want to watch all the exploding heads on TV reporting on today's Super Tuesday results. ;-)

Day 144: Grand Cayman

We have not had the best luck, weather-wise, in Grand Cayman this winter. The best weather we've had was on our first visit, when we accompanied Suzan and Greg to Seven Mile Beach. Once, the Georgetown port was closed and the Emerald Princess had to anchor off Spott's Bay (and I didn't even get off the ship). Today was cloudy and humid, but not too hot, and we had no other plans for the day other than purchasing some last minute souvenirs for the kids.

I slept fairly well, all things considered, and went with G to breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room (just toast with peanut butter today, and a decaf café Americano). We were not in a rush to get off this morning, and, apparently, neither were most people. Open tender was called around 8am (we had arrived at 7am). 

We went down to the Deck 3 tender platform carrying just some cash and a credit card. We tendered into a dock even north of the North Pier (the Carnival Glory was in port with us and tendered into the same pier). We walked along the main street to the right, along the waterfront, browsing all the T-shirt shops along the way. Nothing was hitting exactly the right note. 

Then G spotted a sign pointing to a customized hat shop down a street and behind a building. Intrigued, we walked down to check it out and hit pay dirt. T-shirts, monogrammed baseball caps...three times we walked out of the shop and thought of someone else to gift, and turned around and bought more. It was a successful stop. 

I wanted to have Awesome Ambrish embroidered on it but it wouldn't fit. And it might embarrass him. But mostly because it wouldn't fit. ;-)

It s a bit hard to read, but there was a glass floor in the shop over stone steps carved down to a freshwater pool that was the source of potable water in the 18th century

Walking back toward the tender pier, we saw a sign advertising conch fritters and turtle burgers. Intrigued by this, too, we walked down to the restaurant and ending up having lunch there. I've been jonesing for conch fritters since we missed Grand Turk last cruise, and G shocked me (I was gobsmacked!) by ordering and eating a turtle burger. (He liked it!). We went all out and ordered dessert, too, key lime pie for me (of course) and coconut cream pie for G. What we really hadn't realized is that the prices were in Cayman dollars which are worth more than US $ and, in the end, this was a lunch with a value on par with any we had in French Polynesia. Oh well. That was really the only entertainment we spent money on today. 

It rained lightly on and off the entire morning, and, by 2pm, we were taking a tender back to the Emerald Princess. We went to the cabin to deposit our purchases and ended up resting until sailaway. We were showered and dressed for the evening by 3:30pm, and went up to Skywalkers with drinks to watch as the sand bar that is Grand Cayman quickly disappeared into the distance for our last time this season. 

We stayed in Skywalkers long enough to have some nibbles when the PES Lounge was set up at 5pm, and then went to dinner in the Michelangelo Dining Room around 5:30pm. Dinner was hit and miss for us tonight, only because we are trying some things that are different from what we usually order. We both started with beef satays (yummy), then I tried the plantain chips and returned them. Not good. I ordered the turkey pot pie for my entree (comfort food sounded good tonight), but G got really brave and tried the Curtis Stone flank steak on the always available menu.  His review?  "There is no end to the chewing until I finally get bored and swallow it", which had me falling off my chair with laughter. 'There is no end to the chewing' might be good for gum, but it is definitely not good for a Curtis Stone dish and is not likely to entice people to try his speciality restaurant. 

Princess really needs to work on those three always available Curtis Stone dishes. Between us, we've tried all three and didn't like any of them. Bring back the salmon, please!!

I was started to fade fast, but we sat in the Piazza and listened to new pianist Monika Rosca. Ryszard Sulek went home last turnaround, and Monika's musical style is totally different. She plays the light, quick tempoed classical music that I love to play (though she plays it much, much, much, much better) and I could listen to her forever. G is not as much a fan and misses Ryszard's more popular music. Is it any wonder that entertainment is a subjective thing when even two pianists have different appeal?

G is in the Princess Theater listening to comedian Eric Lyden. Even if I was feeling 100%, I could not be convinced to sit though his show again, but, feeling as I do gave me a very good excuse for missing it. Hopefully, things will come together to allow us to enjoy a sunny day on the beach in Mahogany Bay, Roatan, tomorrow.  

Day 143: At sea

It started late last night, with a sudden spiking of temperature and massive headache that signaled I was getting very sick, very fast. Luckily, I was not waking up at home this morning, buried in mail and laundry and open suitcases, and having to wait until tomorrow to see a doctor. Instead, I took an elevator to see Dr. Bronwyn from South Africa and, by 9:30am left with the antibiotics required to have me feeling fit as a fiddle, if not by tomorrow then the day after, for sure.

I spent the day ordering room service and walking up one deck to the Horizon Court Buffet for hot tea and onion soup, and frying through the last episode of Downton Abbey, but mostly sleeping. G has been out and about, being the social butterfly he usually is, and is right now, at my urging, having dinner in the Michelangelo Dining Room to be followed by the Captain's Welcome Aboard Party and Champagne Waterfall and then production show I Got the Music. 

I am sorry to be missing all the fun, but am so grateful to be here instead of at home. Another few days of rest and relaxation are just what the doctor ordered, and the Emerald Princess offers both. 

Day 142: Fort Lauderdale (turnaround day)

There is little notable news of the day today, other than the number of in transit passengers (those staying on from last cruise to this cruise) and the weather (cool but brilliant), but most significant is that this is our final turnaround day of our Winter 2015-16 cruising season, and that always makes me hopelessly sentimental. The same things that tend to start driving me nuts after four months at sea (the same.old.elevator jokes, the people who stop in the middle of everything and block traffic, the formal night and MTP and Captains Circle party obligations cruise after cruise after cruise) suddenly stop driving me nuts and instead everything is viewed through rose-colored glasses. It's kind of like the first cruise of the season all over again. I like it. 

We had planned to be on an open deck when the Emerald Princess arrived in Port Everglades today, but didn't make it. Oh well, there will be others. No wait...there won't. ;-) We had a quick and simple breakfast in the Botticelli Dining Room and returned to our cabin to do the normal sorting of paperwork and setting up of a calendar for the cruise starting today. We had heard that there would be between 700 and 800 in transit passengers today, scheduled to meet in the Princess Theater at 10:15am to go through immigration, and we knew we didn't want to get involved with that. Instead, we walked off the ship about 9am, and bypassed the immigration line in the terminal by using our Global Entry cards. 

We later heard that the in transit immigration was held up for 45 minutes by someone who ignored the letter about meeting in the Princess Theater at 10:15am and was using a treadmill with ear buds, causing her to miss the announcements being made for her, too. Oy vey. That's why we left the ship early. 

We first walked up and over the 17th Street drawbridge, and though the Harbor Isles neighborhood (I think that's what it's called) on the other side of the bridge; just for exercise, then stopped at the top for awhile to enjoy the cool sunshine and the Saturday morning boat traffic on the intercoastal. We didn't want to get back to the terminal until 11:30am, when we would be allowed to re-board the ship. 

A slow Saturday at Port Everglades: (from left) RCCL Independence OTS, HAL Westerdam, RCCL Oasis OTS, Emerald Princess 

Loved watching these little sailboats being towed out for a sailing lesson at sea

We stopped into Walgreens for just a few more things- Wet Ones hand wipes, hair spray and another bottle of Barefoot Bubbly and protein bars that will be our lunch and dinner next Saturday when we fly home- and walked back to and through the Pier 2 terminal and right onto the Emerald Princess. We dropped our purchases in our cabin and went down to the DaVinci Dining Room for our last embarkation day lunch of the season. This was no time to hold back; we had salads and entrees AND orange soufflés for dessert. They don't serve those on Southwest!

I had thought about taking my iPad off the ship and sitting in the terminal to use the Port Everglades WiFi, but...shoot. We'll be home in a week. Things can wait. Instead I went up to the Adagio Lounge and phoned Mom (she is doing so well!) and texted friends and downloaded another audiobook to see me through the next seven days. My calendar is already starting to fill up with appointments and commitments, including hanging with the twins for a long weekend in March while the rest of their family is out of town. Such a chore! ;-)

Muster drill at 3:15pm marked shower time, and I returned the cabin to see that G had had the same idea and was just finishing up. By sailaway, we were out on the Terrace Deck for our last sailaway of the season (weep) accompanied by a bottle of Barefoot Bubbly. It had been such a gorgeous day, cool and clear and dry, and was probably the prettiest sailaway from Fort Lauderdale we've had all season. 

The drawbridge opens to allow a relatively small sailboat to pass through.

One final look back through the Port Everglades entrance channel

Two more cruise ships leave Port Everglades after the Emerald Princess.

It was so pretty on the Terrace Deck that we stayed there talking to Dee and Bill from England, who we'd met last cruise, until it was time to go to dinner. The last Caribbean shrimp!  The last pasta conchiglie with chicken strips!  The last flourless chocolate cake!  Every course was especially savored.

We went to the early Welcome Aboard show (good grief...not even Cruise Director Neil's same old same old jokes grated tonight) and stayed for comedian Eric Lyden (Neil's were the better jokes). I dropped a final bottle of Merlot off at the International Cafe only to discover that dear Cherry returned home today, then stopped by the International Cafe for a cup of coffee and to check out the new faces among the crew there. With only a week left, things there will never feel quite the same again. 

But what great memories I have of being spoiled for the the past almost two months!  :-)

Cruise #10: 7-nights to the Western Caribbean

Day 141: At sea

The second we opened our eyes this morning, the first words out of G's mouth were, "I wonder what adventure Captain Forteeze has planned for us today."  This nut I'm married to always makes me smile...well, almost always. We've shared one bathroom and the close confines of a cruise ship cabin for 141 days in less than six months. It's not all love and laughs. I read once that a woman should never let her husband see her floss her teeth (Modern Bride, 1982).  After that horrid night of norovirus on Rapa Nui, teeth flossing doesn't make the cut of indelicate activities my husband has seen me participate in. 

I went to breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room alone today, just for a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal, and G took advantage of me being out of the cabin to do his hand laundry. I stopped by the International Cafe and told Filip from Serbia to "make me a hero", and he handed me a sprinkle donut on a plate to take back to G. Today was Filip's last day, and he will be so missed. We call him Mr. Pastry in the morning when he works in the International Cafe for three hours, and then Mr. Pizza in the afternoon and evening when he works in Prego Pizzeria on the pool deck. 

Filip from Serbia in the International Cafe 

It was also the last day for Nadia from Serbia who works in the International Cafe. She saw me waiting in line and told me to sit at a table and she'd bring me a hot chocolate for G. 

I returned the donut and hot chocolate to G in the cabin and went to the gym for a cardio workout. Today was very sunny and I didn't want to spend too much time working out in a pool. I then joined G for lunch in the DaVinci Dining Room, and he made up for his missed breakfast with a four course lunch. Dear waiter James from the Philippines who's provided us service for many breakfasts and lunches is also going home tomorrow, and was excited about seeing his wife and toddler son for the first time in eight months. 

G adjourned to a hot tub for a huge portion of the afternoon, but I made it through two more episodes of Downton Abbey. I have just one episode remaining to watch, and it just kills me. I am trying to savor every moment. 

In order to to resist watching the last episode, I went to the Grapevine Wine Tasting at 3pm, just for a diversion. I followed that with a couple of walking laps on the Promenade Deck and then returned to the cabin to beat G into the shower to get ready for the evening. 

Dinner was simple, just the tamarind salmon and a glass of Riesling for me. The tamarind salmon has quickly become my favorite entree, surpassing even embarkation day lunch salmon. I would eat it every night except Italian night when I'd have penne arrabiata, and be a happy cruiser. Who could get bored with food as tasty as that?

The big entertainment for tonight was the Voice of the a Ocean, and, for lack of something else to watch, we went. As I've said, we are not two of the 500 million people who have reportedly watched this show worldwide, so we had no idea what to expect. Well, it's basically competitive karaoke, heavily produced and dramatized. The three 'coaches' were Hotel General Manager Peter, Rhumba Duo singer Teresa, and Magic To Do vocalist/magician Erik. Seven passengers performed, and the first two were really good. The others were decent, but couldn't compare. The coaches selected their teams and then each chose a finalist (that part confused me...why pick their favorites and then eliminate one or two of them?  Wouldn't they, after they chose one really good singer, choose the not so good ones for their team so it would be easy to choose their finalist?). 

The coaches and their teams 

After the three finalists were selected, passengers who had picked up wireless voting devices on their way into the Princess Theater (requiring a ship card as a deposit and limited to one per couple) voted on which of the three finalists should be the champion. The first singer won with 70% of the vote, which was surprising because I thought the second singer was just as good. I guess that's where it pays to have campaigned for votes ahead of time, and get friends you've made or came on the cruise with to attend and vote for you. 

Chad (in the middle) won it all

Given no other show to watch, I might go again. The Emerald Princess orchestra played for about 15 minutes before the show began, and accompanied the singers, and made it worthwhile, and we were lucky that two of the singers were really good, but if there weren't any good ones, it could be an excruciating hour to sit through. As I've said, we like being entertained by professional performers, but have to concede that most of America seems to like these competitive shows. Singing, dancing, talent, cooking...heck, there was even a Christmas house decorating competition show on when we were home over the holidays. I guess Princess is just giving its passengers what it seems the public wants.

We made a pass across the Lido Deck for ice cream with strawberry sauce and sprinkles (G) and red velvet cheesecake (me). We are moving clocks back an hour tonight, and forcing ourselves to go to bed early. We'd like to once again watch our arrival in Fort Lauderdale tomorrow. It makes for a long day, but the opportunities for us to do that are quickly coming to an end. 

Day 140: (Not) Grand Turk (two rescues at sea)

This was definitely the strangest day of our current winter at sea. 

Our scheduled arrival in Grand Turk today was at 1pm, but any plans we had for sleeping in were put to bed (haha) at about 7:30am, when we heard the now-familiar tones indicating an announcement was coming into the cabin. This was a surprise; surely Captain Forteeze would not be announcing a change of plans related to Grand Turk that early in the day?

The captain announced that there was a 46 ft. catamaran in distress nearby, and the Coast Guard had requested that the Emerald Princess respond. This kind of excitement doesn't come our way everyday (thank God), and we were quickly propelled out of bed and up to the jogging track on Deck 19 with its 360 degree views around the ship. Just before 8am, we saw one of the Emerald Princess rescue boats launch and, looking as tiny as a speck on the big blue sea, it started making its way at an angle toward the back of the ship and beyond.

What we didn't see, ever, was the sinking catamaran, nor the dingy into which Captain Forteeze had told us the boat's passengers were using to stay afloat until help arrived. Whatever was happening was happening well out of the vision of anyone in the ship not using high powered binoculars. We later learned that there is a very large coral reef in that area just off the coast of the island of Hispaniola, and that is why the Emerald Princess could not navigate closer to the distressed boat. I don't know what we had imagined we were going to see (G mentioned the Emerald Princess orchestra on the Promenade Deck playing My Heart Will Go On as the catamaran sank into the abyss), it wasn't going to play out quite that way. 

Captain Forteeze kept us updated every step of the way (every step, God bless him), but we eventually lost a bit of interest and went down to breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room. As soon as we had finished, we went out on the Promenade Deck, and it was amusing to see people lined up on both sides of the ship, all swearing that theirs was the side where the action was playing out. Honestly, we had no idea where it all was, but G finally got on Google Earth and determined that the catamaran was most likely In that huge shallow reef area and so it was west of us. 

The grey dot is the Emerald Princess at the edge of that large submerged shallow reef where the catamaran went aground. 

A larger view. We were heading to Grand Turk (Cockburn Town) when the Emerald Princess received the call from the Coast Guard about the catamaran in distress. 

Then came the announcement that the engine on the rescue boat had quit when it was within a mile of the dinghy, and now the rescue boat was also in need of rescuing. We watched as a tender boat was launched (Captain Forteeze said they were sending out a couple of engineers to see if they could repair the rescue boat engine), and the ship's second rescue boat was also launched. We were told that this was all playing out a few miles from the ship, which you would think we could see, but, probably because these were such small boats, we didn't see anything. Captain Forteeze later told G that they were able to see all this from the bridge using high powered binoculars. 

We spent the morning going from one vantage point on the ship to another, front to back, up to Deck 19 and down to Deck 7. I did take a few minutes to trade in the crystal I had received at last night's Captains Circle party for another (Suzan!), but, other than that, we, along with many on the ship, were in a waiting mode. Captain Forteeze eventually made the not unexpected announcement that we would not make it to Grand Turk today, which is always a disappointment but for what better reason?

Around 1pm, we went for a quick lunch, and during it, Captain Forteeze announced that a Coast Guard helicopter from Puerto Rico had rescued the four people from their dinghy (three Americans and a South African) and everyone in the dining room cheered. We think it was a chartered Daydream catamaran from the US or British Virgin Islands. After that good news soon came more: the tender boat was starting to tow the first rescue boat and the second rescue boat was staying with them back to the ship. They were still about three miles away. 

All this time, the thrusters were being used to keep the Emerald Princess off the reef, and the back of the ship was doing its usual shimmy-shake. Sometimes it felt like the ship would rattle itself apart, and then it would be less intense. Members of the security team were on the Promenade Deck through all of this with stacks of blankets and robes, which must be the protocol during rescue efforts.  We later learned that ten pizzas were sent to the bridge because this whole thing lasted nearly eight hours (hopefully the officers in the Entine Control Room and those security officers were also fed). 

It was after 2:30pm before we finally spotted the two rescue boats and the tender boat nearing the ship. Captain Forteeze said they would first load the distressed rescue boat and then turn the ship to load the other two boats, all on the leeward side. We went up to Deck 19 to watch as the tender boat towed the rescue boat as close to the side of the ship as it could, and then the second rescue boat acted as a tug, pushing it into position and holding it there until it could be picked up. That's not something they practice everyday! Once again, everyone cheered and applauded and then ran to the other side of the ship to watch the remaining two boats get picked up. 

With the tow line still attached

Holding the rescue boat in place 

Picking up the second rescue and tender boats

It was after 3pm by the time Captain Forteeze made what he promised would be his last announcement of the day, that his crew was all safe and that the Coast Guard had notified the ship that their helicopter had landed and the four rescued people were all safe and thanked the Emerald Princess for its efforts. Whew!  Honestly, we hadn't done even one thing and we were exhausted by it all. 

The Cruise Director's staff had put together a revised schedule of activities for today, but most people seemed to want to either watch all the excitement (or at least keep an eye on the horizon for a sign of anything), or lay in the sun by the pools. After it was all over, I went back to the cabin to get out of the sun and watched another episode of Downton Abbey (I'm still not through them all). G eventually returned to the cabin saying he had just run into Captain Forteeze and asked him (among other things) if our arrival in Fort Lauderdale would be affected. The next thing we heard was Captain Forteeze making another announcement he promised would really be his last, assuring everyone our arrival in Port Everglades would be on schedule. Harious. 

The day just seemed so turned upside down that we had no desire to get dressed for dinner in the dining room. Instead, we stayed casual and went to the Horizon Court Buffet for dinner with a view of a gorgeous sunset. We even skipped all entertainment tonight (Magic To Do) in favor of sitting on the Promenade Deck and watching the ocean go by. I imagine it is a lot more comforting to do that from the deck of the Emerald Princess than what those four people in that dinghy had to deal with last night. 

I have several photos from today to post, but am once again internet constricted (150 minutes over 7 days does not go far). I will upload them from Fort Lauderdale when we arrive on Saturday.