At Sea – November 20, 2015

This is our third day at sea out of six.  Seas have calmed down considerably.  The weather has also improved and gotten warmer and more sun.  Definitely can sit out by the pool more comfortably but windy.

After slowly getting dressed we head up to the Horizon Court for breakfast and sit with Barbara and George.  They are participating in Passenger Talent Show which will be tomorrow and we promise them we will be there to support them.

I wish I could say our days were filled with exciting things that would keep you all on the edge of your seats but nope it was rather boring.  But for us boring is okay.  

We sit in the Atrium and enjoy our latte while chatting with people there.  I do a bit of reading but it is getting busy here and too noisy.  We grab our stuff and head to the open deck where we sit and read for awhile and look out at the ocean – ahhhh.  Can you picture it?  

Around 12 pm we both agree it is time for a hamburger.  We love the hamburgers up on the open deck at the Trident Grill and we have not had a single one yet.  It was good! And a special treat.

Still seeking out a quiet area (wish this ship had a skywalkers) to read.  So we choose to head to Crooners and sit on a lovely couch right by the window.  It is perfect.  

Well it was perfect until this guy sits at the bar right near us and all he does is complain.  Complaining about the passengers, complaining about Princess, complaining about the food.  After sitting there for a half hour listening to him we get up and move to the other end of Crooners.

At 2 pm we go to the Movie Music Trivia with TinTin and we do respectfully with only 3 wrong.  But this cruise is full of strong trivia players and we rarely stand a chance, but it was fun.  TinTin is very good with the passengers.  He has patience and a good sense of humour and doesn’t let things get too far out of hand – but it is time he cut that hair.

The cabin is calling and I sit on the balcony reading and enjoying the view.  Bernie is reading on the bed and I bet he will fall asleep very soon – YUP – he is asleep.  

I quietly leave the cabin around 4 to do some walking.  Even though the Promenade doesn’t go all away around I like that it is easy to walk all around deck 15 (yes you have to climb the stairs at the aft to the sports deck and back down again) and at this hour it is relatively quiet.  One downfall is you have to walk thru the smoking area on the starboard side forward.  But there are not many smoking.

After four laps I head down to Aloha deck and then walk that deck, then down another deck to Baja and around that deck.  I do this for the entire ship until I get to my deck on Emerald.  

Once back in the cabin Bernie is getting ready and I follow him.  Tonight is the Captain Circle Party.  Ours is set for 6:25 in Explorer’s Lounge.  There are three parties tonight and two tomorrow.  We take a seat with Karin and John at a table up front.  We get a round of drinks and trust me they take very very good care of us.  Bernie makes sure to tip Alvin who was very helpful in keeping our drink supply in tack.

Gina and Bernie

Crissy Reid our Captain Circle Host welcomes us and informs us of the top three.  If memory serves me right the numbers for the top three are 1,200, 1,400 and 1,600 for number one!  Wow!  The Captain says a few words – short and sweet – and the party is over!  Only a half hour and we are ushered out!  Okay it was good, but we feel a bit rushed.  It is understandable because there are so many Platinum and Elites but I am feeling that maybe even this party needs to be revamped.

It is 7 and we all decide to go to dinner together.  We arrive at the dining room and our Head Waiter welcomes us and shows us to a lovely table in Boots’ (our waiter) section.  It is Italian night – the sweaters the waiters are wearing are a dead giveaway.

We enjoy the rest of our Mouton Cadet wine and I start with the eggplant ptarmigan.  Then the pasta course.  For dinner I accept the recommendation of Boots and have the roast beef braised in a red wine served with polenta.  It was so good and I could cut the meat with my fork.

Tonight the feature entertainer is Alex Crow a Mentalist at 10:15 (he had an earlier show at 8:15).  We take seats near the front but still a bit back in row three.  We are amazed… blown away!  Karin is brought up on stage and asked to write the name and the time of one of her children’s births.  
She gives the paper to Bernie in the audience.  Alex guesses it within five minutes a 58 instead of a 53 and guesses her name!  Well make sure you check out his show if you see his name in the Patter.

When the Cruise Director comes on he asks what is everyone going to do now – we yell party – it is 11 pm.  But we do head to Explorer’s afterwards to dance to Latin Fever but there is maybe ten people here (taking advantage of the Happy Hour).  No one is dancing and the rest of the ship is quiet too.  We stroll back to the cabin.  And we gain another hour tonight – only one more hour to gain before arriving in Florida.

Other activities today:  Enrichment Lecture Pearl Harbor 1941, Zuma, Morning Trivia Super Sports, Walk a Mile, MUTS Mrs Doubtfire, Fussball Tournament, GoPro Seminar, Mission Impossible is playing in the cabin, Caribbean Drum Circle, Mastering the Masters, Ballroom Dance Class Rhumba, Chocolate Martini Demo, Bingo, Medical and Dentist get together, Festivals of the World Arts and Crafts Mardi Gras Mask Making, MUTS Avitar.

Evening Activities: Christmas portraits, Movie on MUTS Love and Mercy, Discovery and Sea Trivia: how is it made, Evening Stateroom Movie Run All Night, Ye Olde Pub Night, and so much more.

Some other items in the Patter you may find interesting:
GoPro Hero4 Silver for $399.99; Lighten Your Smile with teeth whitening for $119; Drink of the Day $8.95 Mucho Mango.