May 31 – Day 8 – Back at sea

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Hello from the deep blue sea. It is continuing to turn cooler as we travel further north. This morning it was only about 44 degrees but, in the midafternoon, it had gone down to 42. It continued to be nice and sunny this morning but overcast in the afternoon. It was breezy again making it pretty chilly out on deck. Fortunately, the seas have been fairly smooth, and we are having very little deck motion.

Some interesting facts about Halifax which we omitted yesterday: (1) Halifax used to be the main export seaport for Canadian grain until the St Lawrence Seaway was opened. Now most of it is put on ships in the great lakes. (2) The distance from Halifax to Vancouver is about the same as the distance to London. (3) There are 121 bodies buried in a place of honor in a cemetery in Halifax as passengers who died in the Titanic sinking. (3) The lady who was in the book "Anna and the King" lived in Halifax. (4) Halifax has the second deepest natural harbor, second only to Sydney Australia. (5) The price of gas is 1.559 dollars per liter. Math geeks can convert that to US dollars per gallon. Our guide was happy about the price though because last year it had been $Ca 2.50/liter. We probably learned even more, but that is enough for now.

This morning we got up in time to have breakfast in the dining room, and once again Janet was able to have eggs benedict. She complimented the waiter and the head waiter, and they both said they would tell the chef. David had pancakes and bacon, which were just alright. Then we were off to the Knitters & Natters group in the Crooner’s bar on deck 7. While Janet worked, David wandered around the ship and thinks he knows how to finally find the places we want to visit – as well as stretching his legs.

On the way back to the cabin, we took a detour through the ship’s shops. Janet had seen through the window a nice green sweater but picked out a warm pullover instead. She has a “blue hoodie” which she has worn a long time and we keep expecting it to end up in the lint trap of the dryer. Now she has a new one to keep her warm that should last a long time.

We waited in the cabin for a while and then went to the Horizon Court for a light lunch of sandwiches, chips and dessert. Well David changed plans to Steamship Roast Beef with mashed potatoes, soup, and dessert. After all that exertion we took an afternoon nap.

About 3:00 we went down to the Fitness Center – hooray for us! Well, they had a lot of people doing serious exercising instead of Physical Therapy rehab work. The instructor gave us some exercises to do “at the bar” (not the drinking bar), instead of trying to use the machines which weren’t designed for our needs. But just walking to the center and back in the rear of the ship was good exercise.

At 5:00 we went to the dining room. We sat with the same people and had a good dinner. Janet had pork chops and David had fettuccini. After dinner we went to the Captain’s Circle reception for Elite members (more than 150 cruise days on Princess). They gave everyone some drinks and the captain told us how happy they were to have us back. A couple of the more interesting items was that the Future Cruise office was offering half price cruises, but only while we are on the ship, so we may visit him in the next few days. Also, they gave some statistics about the passengers. There are 344 Blue (first timers), 256 Gold (second timers), 187 Ruby (more than 3 cruises), 560 Platinum (more than 5 cruises), and 656 Elite (more than 15 cruises). The passengers with the more cruise days were 1253 days, 1410 days, and 1792 days. Each of them won a bottle of champagne.

Afterwards we stayed in the Explorer Lounge and played a game of trivia. Our team only got 12 out of 20, but that’s not too bad considering the winning team only had 15 correct. Then we went back to the cabin for the night. Tomorrow will come an hour earlier as they move the clocks forward again tonight. So, this will wrap up today’s report.

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Comments

[Janel]

Great trip
Sounds like you're having fun. Will be interested to see if you sail near enough to Greenland to get good views. Have flown over that place many times and it's gorgeous from overhead and probably from the sea. Thanks for sharing your adventure. I really enjoy reading about it..