Breakfast was up in the Lido, and today being Saturday, Sharon would be attending the Vigil Mass later in the day. It’s never fun waking up to the realization that the time to pack is neigh and what once seemed a never-ending vacation is almost at its end. With the refunds to my account from several tours that I’d canceled I had a negative balance on my cruise account, so I bought the bingo cards today. Today’s crowd was the biggest yet, and even Linda and her husband John showed up, as good Catholics do. But my system of waiting until card sales are nearly through didn’t work today, as it did at our last bingo when Sharon won. We both got to briefly stand; but, the bingo gods weren’t smiling on us today. It was ... read more

My foot seems to be doing fine, and the weather looks nice for Sharon getting off the ship in Kiel, Germany. We dined up in the Lido, and Sharon is much more optimistic about her journey to Lubeck to try their world renowned marzipan. I had been looking forward to this, and I had almost decided to keep this ticket and not turn it in when my big toe went south on me; but, you never know. Sharon was beaming, “There isn’t a single palace stop planned on this tour, and I won’t be asked to walk through a single palatial garden!” I decided to try the French Toast that Sharon has made one of her mainstays, and I must admit, it tasted good. This is Sharon’s third solo trip ashore; while, I must be content ... read more

Our arrival in Stockholm was delayed a bit from our itinerary schedule due to the port authority’s concerns for navigating some of the narrow channels through the archipelago into Stockholm’s harbor without the benefit of good daylight. We’d been notified two days prior that this would be the case; but, it had little effect on us since the tour that I had booked didn’t start until after noon; however, we also had an earlier departure time due to the same concerns. Daylight seems to be dwindling away in these northern climes. My toe was feeling much better, and the swelling is down; so, I guess the meds are working. Still, I didn’t feel that I should aggravate things now that I’m feeling better. We caught a brief breakfast in the Lido, and then waited for noon ... read more

Not getting to bed until early this morning, my toe hurting the way it was, and Sharon tired, we decided not to set the alarm clock. We were pretty sure that we’d both need to skip our tour in St. Petersburg (where our ship stayed overnight). We slept well past 7AM, so we would have been “No-Shows” anyway. Sharon turned our tickets into the Excursion Team so they wouldn’t waste time waiting for us. Sharon wanted the Lido for breakfast; but, I wanted to get some Eggs Benedict in the Dining Room, and in the end we wound up in the Dining Room. As I’m hobbling down the hall after Sharon, she would look back every once in a while, and then mimic my gimp-walk with a shuffling of baby-steps. I got my Eggs Benedict and ... read more

Day 15 – Bright Star Sea Day Nobody wants to hear a “Bright Star Room Number” announcement come over the in-Room PA system; but, that is exactly what we heard this morning as we were getting ready for our impromptu sea day. “I thought they had stopped doing that,” Sharon said, as everything seems to be done over walkie-talkies. I know I haven’t heard this for several years now. We were supposed to be visiting Estonia today; but, our delayed departure from Warnemunde made it necessary to skip this port. When we left to go to breakfast about forty minutes later, the response team was still in our hallway and the emergency was several doors down. We had to walk away from the stern and then back down the starboard side. Sharon eschewed the Dining Room ... read more