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Published: February 6th 2020
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Where did the time go? This was a 10 day cruise. It felt like a five day because we stayed so busy while thoroughly enjoying ourselves. We shall never forget this cruise for several reasons. Of course, the best reason comes to mind first.....Cory winning the $20,000.00 jackpot in the casino (plus more wins on other days). Mr.Lucky scores again.
Tragedy was another reason. You know what this is all about. I don’t want to even think about it, let alone, mention it. Lulu vanished, never to be found. Lost Lulu! The ship was almost like the Poseidon.....turned upside down by so many onboard that formed a search party looking for her. We are steadily trying to move on without her but thinking of her sleeping with fishes; it shakes us to the core. Because we never found her body, we could not do a ceremonial burial at sea. Goodbye, Little Lulu. We shall miss you forever. RIP. Float away, “L-L”.
Another unwanted event occurred. Remember how I became deathly ill on this ship 2 years ago? Had to stay in the snuggly, comfy bed (only plus in a bad situation). Well, this time, it was Sam who got
sick. He went to the ship’s doctor and had blood work and chest X-ray. Showed he had pneumonia but it had been caught early. He was dehydrated so he received an IV infusion with strong antibiotics. They put him on oral antibiotics and a cough medicine and sent him back to his room. Now he could rest and wallow in the dream bed like I did. Sandy maintained her supportive ways .....taking various foods to him to eat/drink.
One morning, we attended a comedy interaction between the Head Chef and the Head Maitre D of the main dining room. They were great with their banter. After that, thousands of passengers assembled and took a walking tour through the kitchen. Fascinating! We were given a pamphlet of facts about the mega amounts of all the various food it takes to feed the 3,600 passengers on this ship. Awesome.
Oh, I almost forgot. Every morning, the ship left a big pamphlet in our room called the Princess Patter. It lists all the activities throughout the entire day that passengers can do or see. One activity I selected was to go to a Sign Language class. I liked it. Our young
instructor reviewed the finger alphabet (which I had previously taught myself). She also showed us various, common words or phrases in sign language. I’ll have to go to YouTube to refresh myself with what she taught us. Oh, how I wish I was gifted with a photographic memory. I was glad I attended this class. I’m pretty good with my non verbal, facial communication. This goes right along with signage. It’s acceptable to be very demonstrative and exceedingly expressive. Right up my alley.
As is the custom, we had several photos taken of ourselves by the ship’s photographers. Most were dreadful. Some horrific! A couple came out fair. Two of them, I was able to secretly take my own picture of them using my IPad. The gallery staff roam the photo area trying to catch people doing this very thing. I guess if I got caught, I would be sent to Photo Jail. Because we had to do this deplorable act fast, the photos ended up with a few flaws but we can deal with that. They wanted $25 for each photo. We did buy one photo so our children can have one nice picture of their aging parents.
Better than the photo app that showed you as would look like as an ancient, old person! Yuck!
I took a photo of Jim and Mary Jane as they posed for the professional photographer. So photogenic!
Carolyn joined us for breakfast one day before she left on an excursion. I have only known her with her beautiful, perfectly styled hair. Never one strand out of place. She is an envy of many ladies....me, included. Today, she had her hair pulled back! A new look. I just stared at her for a long time. But true to herself, it was beautiful and perfectly styled. I had to take a photo of her to save for eternity. She has such a gift with her gorgeous hair. I do have to share a funny story about Carolyn. She loves fine jewelry. Sandy and I followed her into one of the island jewelry stores. As a sales clerk approached her, she asked if there was anything special for The Princess! Of course, she meant a special deal for the Princess Cruise Line passengers. I rather took it that she was referring to herself as The Princess! From that point on, we referred
to her as “Princess”; bowing down to her, giving her the royal wave and kissing her ring. She eagerly accepted her new status.
At our last, exquisite dining experience, baked Alaska was one of the dessert choices. The dining room and kitchen staff paraded through the seated passengers carrying hundreds of meringue covered goodness on trays. The chefs followed in the parade as we cheered them on by waving our napkins high in the air. Here come the chefs!
The night before our departure, we all gathered together to take a group photo. Sam and Sandy couldn’t join us so I took the liberty of photo bombing them into our picture. Quite a group, eh? We had a fun time sharing our experiences on this cruise ship. Made a lot of good memories. Remember: “There are good ships and wood ships but the best ships are friendships!!” So true!!
After a final and unsuccessful check at guest relations for Lost Lulu, there was one more thing that had to be done. Every year, Sam & Cory bet on the Super Bowl. First they have to decide what the winner will receive. This time, we all decided on
a trip to Woodsby’s (remember that restaurant where the locals eat?) ......loser picks up the tab. Next, how to select their teams. Winner gets first choice. Because we were rushed and limited resources, the guys used a collector coin obtained as a freebie from an island jewelry store. So at our final breakfast, weary Sam called heads. I tossed the coin. It hit the buffet floor showing heads! Sam won...his pick. He selected the 49’ers. And as you know now, Sam lost the bet! Too bad, Sammy. We are looking forward to our free meal at Woodsby’s.
And this concludes our terrific Princess Cruise blog to the Panama Canal. Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. The best part of it was to be able to share it all with you and our shipmate friends. Friends who cruise together, stay together.
Once home, Cory had one last thing to do - Hide his money. He carried the cash in a sock tucked in his special shoulder bag. Monday, he went to a local, Regions bank and opened up an account and handed over his wad. Now, he can relax. Mr.Lucky was the name he put on
his new checks.
So here we are... back at the ranch. It seemed like I was chained to our washing machine for days trying to get all the wash done. Exhausting! We have left our lowered canopy closed up and down in readiness for a big storm predicted for late Thursday night and all day Friday. Yikes!
This week we are in a rest & recovery mode. Next week, our dance cards are full. Be prepared for more journeys and outings. See all of you then. Only 17 photos (a real shocker).
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DeAnne McKay
non-member comment
Disembarking
Great pics!!!