Sunday Night – At Sea

We meet up with our friends Michelle and Pam and their spouses in Skywalkers at 6 pm for cocktails.  Fletcher the bar waiter is there again, we are able to catch up more this time as it is quieter here tonight.  We remember that we first met him on the Star Princess and then this year on the Crown Princess.  We are so proud as he has been promoted to bar staff up here in Skywalkers and he does such a great job too.  Very personable with the passengers. 

this is a margarita special in Skywalkers

Tonight’s drink feature is the Mojito and chips and salsa.  Drink prices are still $5.

We head down to the Atrium to catch the champagne waterfall and meet up with Claudio and see Francesco and others.  Cara is replacing Johan as CSD and we enjoy chatting with her getting to know her better. 

Cruise Director Billy Hygate

Claudio the Hotel General Manager

Francesco - Food & Beverage Manager

Captain

The Atrium is not as crazy as we have seen it in the past, we can actually maneuver around.  Even the line up to pour the champagne is not long.  Princess’ chocolate feature is being presented.  Staff are walking around with a tray that is tiered that has these chocolate pops on it.  I have one and they are to die for, very decadent. 

Chocolate Pops

The Officers are introduced and the Captain talks for a bit, he notes that there are just over 200 Canadians on board.  And as he says this I hear two couples behind us speaking French and I know they are from Quebec, as I am.  So I turn around and respond back in French and we have a nice conversation.  They are from just outside Montreal and we find out that they are here for some boat racing so decided to add a cruise to the trip.  I always make a point to chat in French with those on board if I can, not only to keep up my French (which I desperately need to do) but to converse in a language with them that is their first language, which is not easy to find in North America, or the World for that matter. 

Dinner reservations are for 8 pm and we head to the Crown Grill.  The Head Waiter sits us in a nice booth and there are quite a few tables filled.  The Head Waiter we recognize but he is not very personable so we don’t really engage with him. 

But our waiter Ricardo makes up for it cause he is someone we do know from the Star and then the Crown this year.  He is so good at his job and so nice.  Very professional and accommodating, ensuring your entire experience is a special one.  I feel like I am in the Come Back New Commercial where I am being pampered as we ask him for a wine recommendation and he helps us pick something we will like.

For our meal we both order the exact same thing so reporting here will be easy.  We start out with the tomato/beet and goat cheese with spinach salad.  The Black and Blue onion soup, which oddly was warm to cold but Ricardo takes it and gets us new ones that is hot.  The Fillet Mignon is delivered and is cooked perfectly.  Our sides are garlic fries and asparagus, and oh those fries are done perfectly!  We were breathing garlic the rest of the evening, but it was worth it.

Fay from the photography department comes by and takes pictures.  We chat for a bit and find out she is from Bristol England.  She asks about Jasper our mascot and she even takes his picture too.  He is honoured.

We discuss whether we want dessert, and as much as we want the chocolate obsession we are full.  So Bernie orders a tea and I get Ricardo to make up a nice cheese plate with some fruit so I can finish the last of my wine with some nice cheese.  It ends our evening perfectly.  

The meal and the experience are memorable.  We spent the evening chatting and sipping, making toast after toast to us, our lives, our voyages, our friends, and our amazing experiences.  We don’t ever take anything for granted and we live in the moment.  Life is Good. 

As we stroll down the Promenade we see Andrew from the Cruise Staff and then walk down to talk to Ju Ju from Facets and he is quite excited to be getting off tomorrow in San Francisco.  We are tired and head to the cabin and crash. 

We are in San Francisco early tomorrow and we are there till 11 pm so a full day.