Just back from muster drill.  Our meeting spot was the Casino and it did not take very long but is very important to attend.  There were a few who did not attend and they will be meeting later for a “special” muster drill.  

We stop in to see our friend Claudio the Hotel General Manager.  So nice to see him again.  We haven’t seen him since last September and he is just back from his vacation too.  

We visit with him for a half hour or so catching up with him.   
Francesco the Food and Beverage Director pops in too and we get to see him too.  Oh what a great day.

Since it is raining and it is very windy the sail away party is being moved to the Atrium.  We take a seat in Vines and order a bottle of wine.  Allan is behind the bar and he looks at us and says you look familiar, yes he does and we realize he was on the Caribbean with us when we did a b2b to Canada New England.  

We get some sushi to go with our wine and listen to the band The Emperor Penguins Party Band.  They are really good.  They play a lot of current tunes and it is hard to stay still in our seat.

The ship is really moving, in fact they have closed access to the Promenade deck for safety reasons.  

Tonight we got the brochure Princess thru the years to celebrate their 50 years.  And the Princess bag with the 50 years logo too.  

We change for dinner and head back out.  Up to Skywalkers for a drink.  The Platinum/Elite lounge is up there starting at 5 pm and it is BUSY.  We take a seat at the bar and the drink of the day is the Breeza Marina but the waiters say we can have any of the drinks that they feature.  That is great cause that was not the case on the Royal this past January.  
We decide to get Cosmos then.  

We notice the Bartender David from England and I say “hey weren’t you on the Diamond about two years ago” yup that is the same David.  

Bernie grabs some finger food and there was a lovely flatbread that the goat cheese was served on.  Yummy. 

Time to head to Crooners to say hi to Red.  Red is a bartender (oh this is beginning to be a trend where we recognize a lot of bartenders).  Red was on board for the South America and then we really got to know him last Sept.  We sneak up and see him and he is shocked we are on board.  Big hugs!

We have a table reserved for us in Botticelli at second seating with Mark.  We arrive and we are led to his station.  
Oh my it is so nice to see him again, big big hugs and kisses.  
We meet his assistant Gio also from the Phillipines.  

Federico Cantos is the Maitre d’hotel and we get to see him again and we certainly recognize quite a few head waiters too.

We have a lovely dinner.  I had the spring rolls and then the artichoke bisque (which is new and very tasty), for my entrée I had the tri tip and Bernie had the ricotta/leek tart.

We had some parmesan cheese to finish off our wine and then some sorbet.  

A few days ago we headed into the city to get some treats for Mark from the Filipino store.  A bag full of snack foods for him to either share or keep to himself.

What a wonderful dinner!   So happy to be back on board.

After dinner we wander around, there is the welcome aboard show but we are not interested.  We wander into the perfume shop where Henishia helps us.  She is so helpful by picking out lotions for me and then complimentary perfumes too.  

I buy some lotions and a perfume and take advantage of their extra 10% off the first two days, plus our elite extra 10% off too.  Henishia even reminds us that if we want to buy more stuff later in the voyage just bring back the receipt and she will make sure we get the discount.  

We also notice some more 50th Anniversary items in the stores.  Here are just some items for sale for the 50th anniversary, check out my Facebook photo album for more.

We decide to head up to do some dancing in Skywalkers after hearing that DJ Alex is here.  He is from Ottawa and he is surprised to see us.  The place has about 75 people and many are dancing and we get a drink (two for one is happening from 11 to midnight) and chat with a group of women who are travelling together celebrating. 

It appears that many on board are celebrating.  There are a few families, but very few kids, or at least what we have seen so far.  Lots of younger people.  I am sure the 7 day itinerary is more conducive to younger people too.  

Here is a list of the officers:  Captain Justin Lawes, Staff Captain Tony Ruggero, Chief Engineer Vincenzo Alfi, Hotel General Manager Claudio Mazzoni, Cruise Director Kelvin Joy, Senior Doctor Mark Mason, Food and Beverage Director Francesco Grasso, Customer Services Director Stefano Ambrosino, Human Resourses Manager Elizabeth Kirkpatrick, Executive Housekeeper Antonio Pimpao, Executive Chef Manilo Cuzzolin, Maitre D’Hotel Federico Arcos Cantos.