March 26 – Day at Sea

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Hello from the Coral Sea. We left Port Douglas yesterday evening and cruised east, back out through the barrier reef. Now today we have been cruising leisurely south and we will enter back through another passage in the reef and will be back on shore tomorrow. But that means that today is a day of rest and leisure.



David woke up early and went up to the Fitness Center for some treadmill work. He tried something called an elliptical machine, but it was a bit more exercise than he wanted and settled for the treadmill. Then he went to the Promenade Deck and did a few laps there. He got back and found that upon leaving the cabin he had not awakened Janet. We got cleaned up and were ready for our Sea Day.



One thing which we forgot to mention yesterday is that we’ve been warned that swimming in the ocean is highly discouraged this time of year. Sharks and Salt Water Crocodiles are a comparatively low risk, but there is an infestation of jellyfish all along the coast this time of year. We didn’t go in the water yesterday anyway, but the same warning applies to Airlie Beach tomorrow. However our guide yesterday said that all along the beach are warning signs, but also bottles of vinegar (apparently this is the best antidote for the jellyfish toxin). The guide said that blue dye has been added to the public bottles of vinegar to discourage tourist from adding it to their lunch salad along the beach.



We went to the dining room this morning and had breakfast. We asked for a table in Kim’s section (our dinner assistant waiter) and he was happy to see us. We had another large meal (Janet had bacon & eggs, David had blueberry pancakes with ham & eggs) along with juice, fruit, and pastries. These are more restful meals than the buffet, but it does take about an hour so we do not usually try this on tour days.



After breakfast, Janet went to the Vista Lounge with her needlework and she waited for the Morning Trivia. Her team got 14 right but the winner got 17. It was fun anyway, even if she didn’t get a prize today. Meanwhile David took the laundry and headed for the Laundromat. Since the ship had lots of little things available but nothing of great magnitude, there were a lot of people searching for machines. Anyway, David eventually got a couple of washers down on level 6 and got things started. It takes 40 minutes for and the same for drying, but the two machines were 20 minutes out of sequence with each other, so it took most of two hours. He brought the clothes back to the cabin as the two loads finished and Janet folded and hung them up. Now we are fully equipped with clean clothes to wear again.



We went to the Horizon Court a bit before noon and just wanted some hot tea and lemonade. We mostly were thirsty and had decided to get a small lunch later in the day. We did have a small plate of cheese and crackers, and they were good. Then we went back to the cabin and checked the e-mail. We had a message from Elizabeth saying that the weather had turned cold in St Louis again. We feel sorry for everyone back at home, but we need to report temperatures close to 80 today. There was drizzle much of the morning, but the afternoon sun came out and we had a nice smooth cruising day.



We went to the Pizza place about 2:00 to get a pizza to split. We’ve been there a couple of time before and have gotten one apiece, but that’s been bigger than we really needed. Anyway, we had a good afternoon snack to keep our energy level up.



We have discovered there is an Australian club called SKI. Unbeknownst to us, we are already members of the same club in the US. SKI stands for Spending Kids Inheritance. Anyway, we have certainly been having a good time and intend to get the most out of every day of the vacation.



This afternoon Janet went down to the International Café for a “fancy coffee”. That classical trio was playing in the atrium and she was able to sit and listen to the music while she drank her coffee. David went to the pool at that time and was able to do some lap swimming (not a big pool but too crowded today – maybe because it had been drizzling during the morning). He got a cup of ice cream before coming back to the cabin.



This evening was the reception for returning Princess passengers. We got a couple of cocktails and chatted with the Deputy Cruise Director (Marcus) for a while before the event. There were some short speeches expressing appreciation for their faithful customers. Then they gave some prizes for the people with the most cruises. The 1^st place winners have sailed 2130 days. Apparently they don’t have a home. The second and third pace people were in the high 400’s of days – we are never going to win this prize.



Afterwards we went to dinner. Janet had smoked salmon as appetizer, oxtail soup, and tilapia. David had a small order of fettuccini, chicken and lentil soup, and chicken Kiev. For dessert we each had a chocolate gateau with ice cream on the side.



After dinner we went to a concert in the Vista Lounge. It was by the musical director for the ship, who is also the lead trumpet player in the band. His name is Chuck Curry and we really enjoyed his music too. He sang some songs along with playing the trumpet (his trumpeting is better than his singing) and it was an enjoyable hour.



Now we are back in the cabin getting ready for tomorrow’s excursion. By the way, Janet’s knee is well enough that we can get along with just a couple of Aleve a day instead of the more powerful pills from the doctor. That’s all for today - sorry there are no shipboard photos today.

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