Sea Day

I wish I could write something more exciting but I am having a hard time coming up with a different description of – doing nothing but relaxing.

We woke around 8 am and the fact we are able to sleep until we wake without the thrusters to wake us up coming into port is a treat.

YEAH sea day!  I know some people dislike them, but for me it is a forced relaxation day… yeah I can hear you all now…. As if I need a reason to relax on board.  Okay okay, but it is a forced day to relax and not feel like I should do anything I don’t want to.  The only downside of sea days is nobody gets off the ship! 

So we have to share the Atrium and the coffee bar with a lot of people who would do almost anything to get a table and seat, and don’t dare stand up to get something because someone is eyeing that chair!

  

Ron takes care of my coffee needs

But we are settled in nicely at a nice table and I see Beverly and before I can even ask she says “cappuccino and English Breakfast tea?” yup…. Oh we are going to miss this service.  And when I come back to the table Bernie has just gotten a tea and latte from Ron at the coffee bar.  Oh my what is a girl to do with two espresso drinks!  Well sit back and relax and do my Sudoku and enjoy them.

Oh this reminds me…. I went to the Sudoku up in Adagio Bar this morning being hosted by Corrine and there were not many of us playing but I came in second, but sadly still no prizes.  Really Lee (our CD) time to throw a few prizes down to some of the other activities, even a pen would have been nice! 

Back to the coffee bar and relaxing….. yup you know me!  Bernie and I sit and talk about the trip and the wonderful experience we are having.  We comment about some of the staff we now call friend and part of our Princess Family.  Every staff member keeps asking “are you staying on for another ten” sadly no.  Next question to us is then “when is your next cruise” sadly none booked as of yet.  But I am sure we will sail again this year some time.

The Bijoux sale is happening in the dining room this morning – basically flea market at sea, I know there are good deals there, and I even bought a few things the first voyage.  But I hate how it is organized and the crowds and people freak me out.  I don’t like how they have it set up, the entrance is also the exit and the long lines to pay deter me from buying anything anyways so why do I bother even going in.  I don’t know --- but it is like slowing down to see an accident I just am drawn to it. 

My tummy is upset – could it be the two espresso drinks!   I decide to head back to the cabin and relax on the deck and read and sip a club soda to settle the tummy.  It works great and later on I am take a look at the Patter and see that it is Mexican Buffet in the Café Caribe so I head there for a small bite to eat.

I should state what has been going on today that I didn’t participate in but did happen….. galley tour, Movies Under the Stars is showing the Devil Wears Prada and Princess Bride, Body Sculp boot Camp, Zumba (sadly haven’t made it to any of the classes this cruise), Slot tournament, Morning Trivia (way too many serious players for me), Ice Carving Demo, Pub Lunch, Bingo, Ballroom Dance Class, Art Auction, Bar Wars, Movie in Princess Theater:  Butter, Grape Vine Wine Tasting (never made it to any of them), French Class, Afternoon Tea and much much more.

Natalia and Courtenay

I want to do a huge shout out to Natalia from Russia who works in Facets who went a step above to help a passenger.  A Canadian couple we met the first night who are both in wheelchairs accidently ran over their pair of glasses and the lens popped out and the frame was damaged.  Natalia took the glasses to an optometrist in St. Thomas and got them fixed for them at no charge!  Now that is why we love Princess!

It is formal night tonight…. We are not dressing formally but will dress nice, it seems that the dining room is not enforcing the dress code so we will be find in nice pants and blouse and Bernie will wear a tie but we are tired of dressing up and I don’t think I would be comfortable in my formal dress anymore anyways.

We head down to the Michelangelo dining room for 7:30 and we are happy to see Elda again.  We are at our usual table but it is busy around us.  It is so noisy I can barely hear myself think and there is so much going around with waiters, junior waiters, head waiters dashing all around us.  It is a little off putting and very distracting.  I think this is one thing I really dislike about the dining room is when it is busy it is not an enjoyable evening.  I wish there was somehow to create a more intimate setting where we can relax and hear everyone at the table and not have people rushing around us.

I feel for Elda today, she is very busy and both Bernie and I are wanting to not eat much as we are meeting up with Johan later and I know he will have the spicy tuna sushi in vines for us so we want to save space for that. 

I start with the Thai Salad Rolls and sadly the rice paper wrapper is hard, this usually means it has been sitting for a while.  I am having no luck with appetizers this trip but don’t feel like returning it as Elda is just too busy and I just eat the insides.  My second course is the tomato soup and I love their tomato soup!  For my entrée I have the short ribs.  This is the first time I order it, but I had tasted it the past few cruises when others have ordered so I made sure to order it this time.  I don’t eat much of it (again I am saving room) but I really enjoyed it.

Carin the photographer is set up outside the dining room but tonight I take the picture

We opt out of dessert and coffee/tea to head over to Vines, plus the dining room tonight is just not enjoyable with so many people in it. 

Ryan and Christian

We are joined by Johan, and others and we share wine, sushi, and lots of laughs and reminisce about our holiday and old memories.  Ryan and Christian take very good care of us and Meldon assists with a special after dinner drink – ZING.

We want to catch Blame it on the Boggie 10:15 show and we run in and sit right in the front.  Those dancers, singers are great, still don’t care for the wigs but really enjoyed the performance tonight and it seemed like they had an extra boost of energy!

We are back in the cabin just after 11 pm and we are greeted with a lovely note on the bed from Princess wishing us a Happy Valentine’s Day.