12 Mar 2017 – at Sea

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Hello from the Caribbean Sea. Well, we aren’t quite sure where the Atlantic ends and where the Caribbean begins but we think we have reached some part of the Caribbean. And back in the US, we think this is the day Daylight Savings begins, but it didn’t happen here on the ship. So altogether we aren’t quite sure where we are or what time it is at home, but we had another good day anyway.



It was a nice bright morning with occasional passing clouds during the day. The temperature only got up to about 84 today, so it was a nice comfortable time to be out on the deck. The waters were a little wavy last night and throughout today, so we are weaving a little while trying to walk a straight line, but it’s not uncomfortable, and it’s not from drinking because everybody weaves synchronously.



We got up earlier than usual today and went to the dining room for breakfast. Janet had Eggs Benedict again, but this time they asked how she wanted her eggs. Since they are poached, it wasn’t a question she was expecting. Anyway, it came just like she likes it. David had a ham & cheese omelet with a side of hash browns and a ham steak. It was a good breakfast but we can usually only afford the time during a sea day.



Janet went to Knitters and had a good visit with them. They had some trouble with the phone up in the lounge (wouldn’t stop ringing) but otherwise she had a good visit with her friends.



Today was laundry day. Hopefully this should be our last time of doing the laundry. They had been doing some work on the ship’s water system last night and apparently most people didn’t know the laundromat was working again. Before we were finished there were several people coming in trying to use the machines, but we got them first. Anyway, we are fully cleaned again and hopefully should be able to make it all the way home without washing clothes.



For lunch we went to the Horizon Court and had sandwiches and a bowl of chili. David was able to find potato chips, which are fairly scarce on the ship. Janet found French fries, so we swapped a few back and forth and had a nice small lunch. Then of course there was a light dessert. David had to get a Coke because they are still without lemonade. He actually had submitted a complaint through the feedback system and someone called yesterday evening saying they hoped to have the problem resolved once we reach Barbados on Tuesday.



After lunch, David went to the pool for a while. The ship was rocking and the pool water was sloshing, so it seemed a bit like swimming in the ocean, but not salty and there was a pool edge to grab anytime you needed it. Actually he now has a better idea what clothes feel like in a washing machine – without the detergent.



Janet went to the Princess Theater to watch a movie called Jackie. She said it was very good and was fairly crowded. David returned to the cabin and watched the latest Star Wars movie on the TV. It too was fairly good but not crowded at all – just the way he likes movies. After her show was over Janet got one of her fancy coffees and came back to the cabin.



Tonight is the Captain’s Reception for returning passengers, but our invitation was for after dinner – on past cruises we’ve always gone before dinner. So we got a small plate of cheese and crackers from the Horizon Court and drank some of our wine in the cabin. Then we went to dinner. Janet had a cup of seafood soup and roast beef with Yorkshire pudding but no dessert. David had shrimp cocktail, chilled coconut soup, a chicken pot pie, and dessert was a chocolate praline tart. We told our waitress we needed to leave promptly this evening and she got us out in plenty of time for the reception.



At the reception we had a two glasses of champagne and two beers, but we did not need any of the canopies. They made a couple of thank you speeches to welcome people back from previous cruises on Princess. They also talked about some of the new ships coming out and tried to encourage people to sign up for more cruises. There are 921 passenger who are Platinum (50-149 day cruising) and 634 Elite (150 or more). There are 92 people who graduate from Platinum to Elite during this cruise – including us. The 3 couples with the highest number of days on Princess were about 1100, 1400, and 1800 days. Although we proved ourselves wrong about never becoming Elite, we are certain we will never qualify for the 1000 day prizes.



The timing worked out best for us to try to attend a magic show at 9:00 in the Explorer’s Lounge after the reception. They were having a crew talent show in the Princess Theater (they have always been entertaining on past cruises), but it just was at the wrong time for our schedule. The magician (Michael Misko) gave a good magic show and quite a bit of humor too – we did enjoy the show. After the show we adjourned to our cabin and found they had delivered our passports – the ship had held them ever since we boarded in Chile. We also got certificates stating that we had “Crossed the Equator”. These certificates do not entitle us to any additional feet on the table (like Cape Horn).



This was not a day with new photo opportunities, so there are no pictures to attach today – unless someone wants to see the laundromat where we plan to never go again. So goodnight from what we think is the southeast Caribbean Sea.

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