Thursday – Astoria

We wake to the sounds coming from below.  We are just above where the door opens for them to throw the lines.  

The thrusters and the winches for the ropes are noisy.  But it is a decent hour (7 am) and we had a good sleep.  You certainly don’t need an alarm clock for this cabin. 

But I will say this cabin is so very quiet all the rest of the time, but when coming into port or leaving it is very noisy for about an hour each time. 

We get clearance to go ashore about 7:45 and the International Café is busy.  Today I go and get the coffee/tea and see Beethoven behind the bar. 

I really like their set up here for ordering.  There is a large menu board above and even one on the counter.  A sign clearly identifies “Order Here” and to the left is another sign “Pick Up Here”.  They ask your name when you order and call out your name when it is ready. But note this is all changing with dry dock next week.

Very foggy first thing

ship's photography dressed as lumberjacks

stalls set up at pier

No set plans today except to meet up with Beatrice to go ashore and grab a meal for lunch.   

She is off work and we meet her and head ashore.  

I have never been here before but the weather is lovely and a friend has recommended a water not far from the pier. Bridgeview Bistro is not far, maybe a 15 minute walk.  

There is a lovely Riverwalk you can easily do.  There is also a shuttle that will take you right to town too as well as a trolley too.

A few stalls have been set up on the pier to sell local stuff.

Bridge View Bistro

Lunch is very nice.  We all order a drink and I get a beef burger, but Beatrice gets a nice ahi tuna burger that looked amazing.

After lunch we walk further enjoying the sites.  We see some sea lions and some nice birds.  I wish we had more time here but I know we will be back.

Plus after stopping here for a stop I know we could always drive down here and visit it for a few days too.

Wednesday Night

It is a full night.  It is a formal night and there is the Captain Circle Party.  We dress and we head upstairs but we have about a half hour to kill before meeting up with friends.  

We decide to check out the Wheelhouse bar for one of the signature Norman Love Cocktails.  Note the Wheelhouse is the only place to get them.  We take a seat off to the side and sit there but after ten minutes we realize if we want a drink we will probably have to move to the bar.  And I really want one of these drinks.

This is how the drink should of looked

So we take a seat at the bar.  I ordered the Chocolate Whisky Bacon drink. Yup Bacon.  First issue is the bacon is not behind the bar so he has to get one of the servers to head to the galley to get a plate of bacon.  That takes about ten minutes.  The drink is made and when the bacon arrives the bartender is looking for a crispy piece but all the pieces are flimsy and not crispy.  He picks out the best and lays it on top of the drink and then puts chocolate on the bacon. 

this is how it looked - bacon was soft and not crisp

Hmmm doesn’t look very appealing but I give it a try.  I take a bite of the bacon with the chocolate and well, not really that good.  The actual drink is very good, kind of like an adult chocolate milk and very strong.  But have to say the presentation is not good.  As I write this I am not exactly sure how it should look but when I get home I will look it up to see.  I would not order any of them again.

Because the drink took so long to make we have to leave right away to meet up with friends so we take the drinks and leave and make our way aft to the Vista Lounge.

Rick and Monika from Kelowna are the Most Travelled Passengers and they have asked us and Kim and Norma to join them at their table at the Captain Circle Party.  The first person to greet us is Jazz and her Happy Happy greeting.  She  takes all our orders and even poses for a pic, and takes our picture too. 

Tonight we are dining in the Crown Grill and the main reason is because Beatrice is there.  We are sat at a table right behind the Hostess Station so we can chat with her when she is not busy.

Woody from Thailand is our waiter and he takes our order and Beatrice serves us our drinks. 

Our first course is the Black and Blue Onion Soup and when it arrives we are warned it is very hot and to be careful.  But when we taste it, it is just warm, certainly not hot.  We call Woody over and he whisks it away and brings us hot ones.

The next course is the beet with goat cheese, heirloom tomatoes and spinach salad.  The presentation is very different from other times we have had it and there is not as much in the way of beets or goat cheese.  Tons of spinach and the tomatoes are not heirloom but a mixture of under ripped tomatoes and some cherry tomatoes.  It was good but not at all what we have had on other ships.

For my entrée I ordered the tiger prawns with the rice and Bernie had the lamb.  His lamb was cooked perfectly and loved it.  I also really enjoyed my prawns and loved the bit of punch in flavor and spiciness it had.

For dessert Bernie ordered the chocolate obsession and I had the Norman Love Peanut Butter Bar.  I love this Peanut Butter Bar and hope it stays after the anniversary year.  Bernie’s chocolate Obsession was perfect too.

To see the Crown Grill Menu click here.  

In it was a great dinner.  It was so nice to spend some time with Beatrice.  You can really see her shine as hostess here.  She is so welcoming and friendly with the passengers.  She makes them feel like you are personally dining at her home.  As passengers leave she wishes them a good night and tells them she hopes to see them again and many respond back with lovely comments. 

Our server Woody was very good too and very attentive when he needed to be.  In all the Crown Grill is good but not great.  Sadly it doesn’t feel all that special and the food is often not better than the dining room and tonight I would say it was probably worse than the dining room.

We are off to the cabin and hopefully a good night’s sleep but the ship is moving.  We make sure that everything is safely secure in the cabin.  Hangers are pushed to one size to eliminate the clanging.  The bathroom door is closed shut as it often swings open/closed with the movement and we settle in to bed being rocked to sleep.

Sunday April 26, 2015 Catalina

We sure didn’t have far to travel last night.  We wake around 8 am and look outside and there is Avalon.  This is a tender port but we are not in any real rush.  We shower and head to the Da Vinci dining room for breakfast where we are sat with two couples from Southern California.  

I had the fruit plate with ricotta cheese with a bowl of cereal.  Just right!

It seems that the tender queue is a long one, and even though we don’t have to wait in it with our elite status we know the lines back to the ship will be long too.  We are not here long, last tender is at one pm.  Also apparently the port is busy and the ride is slower than normal so we decided to just stay on board. 

I am currently relaxing in the International Café having my coffee watching the people.  There are a lot of newer cruisers and it is so nice to see everyone enjoying the experience.  

Bernie has gone to the trivia and I am thinking of watching a movie later.  The Theory of Everything is showing in the Princess Theater and also in the cabin they are showing Big Hero 6.

This afternoon there is a lot going on.  Indoor goofy golf, GoPro seminar, the movie, the egg drop sign up, cruise long scavenger hunt, veterans get together, 60 second frenzy, book club which is Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, art auction, line dancing class, golf chipping challenge, origami class.  Princess Grapevine wine tasting, champagne hoopla, bingo, afternoon tea, Discovery at sea is a trivia about Velocity, singles and solos martini meet and a Friends of Bill W Meeting.

Beatrice and I

Buy one get one free is happening at 3 pm for one hour in the Wheelhouse bar as well as in the evening in skywalkers at 11 pm.

It takes a while for everyone to come back from the tenders.  Someone told me it was a very long line to get back to the ship and took a few hours, but I can’t confirm that.

I tried to have a nap cause I was so tired.  But the thrusters are right below us and while they were bringing up the tenders the thrusters kicked in and it was noisy in the cabin.  Although this is a downside for me cause I like to nap during the day it really would be a problem while docking or leaving (famous last words).

One thing I like about the cabin is that is low on the ship (deck 5) and I can sit and watch the seas go by and the spray comes up and it even at some times covers the entire window.  Fun.

Bernie is up and dressed early tonight and leaves the cabin for me to get ready.  Tonight is formal night and I meet up with Bernie in Skywalkers for a drink.  

Rock presenting me with my Mojito

Rock the bartender entertains us along with David as they banter back and forth.  In fact it is hard to leave cause they are fun to be around, but Skywalkers closes down at 7 pm and they are have to pack up all the liquor.  Gee you would think they would just install locked gates for the bar to make it easier.  

We head down to deck 7 to walk towards the Atrium and we see the Captain.  What was funny is we hear a couple ask him (don’t think they realized they were asking the Captain)  where the Atrium was.  Captain Lawes responded “just walk all the way down till you see the champagne then stop”.  

The Atrium is busy but not CRAZY like we have seen it.  I think this may be because of so many new cruisers that just are not aware of it.  

Rick, Monika, Me and Bernie

Claudio, Bernie and Antonio

We finally run into Rick and Monika!  So nice to see them again, it has been a year since we sailed with them and they are so sweet and Monika is so helpful with my facebook fan page.  She has so much knowledge of Princess and is able to answer a lot of questions.  

Rick and Monika are the Most Travelled this voyage and they have been nice enough to ask us to join their table at the Captain Circle Party.  We are more than happy to join them.  

We did qualify for the Most Travelled Party – which is the top 40 passengers.  On this trip it is a cocktail party (which we prefer) which is taking place the night we are in Astoria.

We finally get to meet Stephano the Customer Services Director.  What a lovely man and I can see why Ali loves him so much.  He misses you Ali.

Dinner again is the Botticelli Dining room where we are sat at our table for two in Mark’s section.  It is very busy in this area.  It is full and very very noisy.  Large tables surround us and it is hard to talk, but everyone is having a very good time and I am glad.  

There is a table for 8 beside us but only five are at it and they are so sweet that they even ask if we would like to join them.  But we are happy to have our table.  Plus because two nights on this 7 day voyage are in port, and we are dining in the specialty restaurants twice, we only have three dinners with Mark.  So we thank them and decline.

Marianne a Head Waiter here comes over to say hi.  He ran into Bernie earlier in the day and promised to come over and say hi to me tonight.  We haven’t seen him in a while and we chat and catch up. 

I really enjoy this menu.  I start with the Rissoto Rice Cakes.  Then a lovely salad and my entrée is the Turbot fish entrée.  Bernie had the vegetable curry dish.  Then of course it is the Norman Love dessert.

we played a little joke on Gio

Dinner is very long tonight, over two hours and it is too late to attend the show.  The Production show was Destination Anywhere and we could of pushed it and made it to the show but we choose to not to.  

We wander around a bit and walk to try and digest a bit.  

We stop in at Crown Grill to make a reservation for the next formal night.  We want to see Beatrice and this is why we booked the Crown Grill.

Back in the cabin we watch the morning show and do some reading.  Both of us are asleep by midnight. 

A Day on the Crown Princess

After spending such a long time on the Crown this year and reconnecting with old friends and making many new friends we were excited to be getting on the ship as guests of one of the crew.  This would give us time to see the ship again, and see so many of the crew again.

Of course Bernie stopped by Purdy's Chocolates to pick up some treats to hand out to the crew we knew.  

We arrived at the pier at around 9 am and went to the security area where we were happy to be lead to the line for the crew.  They confirmed we were on the list as visitors for the day.  Scanned our bags - guess no issue with bringing chocolates.  

We then snaked our way thru the terminal to the check-in for crew at the pier just before the gangway. Here they once again checked our id, gave us visitor passes to be worn and held on to our driver's license till we got off.  We headed up the gangway against all the traffic coming off the ship.  Kind of felt like salmon going upstream.  

Princess security was there and they scanned our visitor pass and took our picture and binged us in.  

Our friend Laura was called and she came and met us and big hugs and smiles ensued.  

Down to the International Cafe and so excited to see Beatrice again.  But that is one of the only faces we recognize in the IC as all the others have gone home already.

We sit and catch up with Laura and as we sit there we have so many come by and welcome us on board and big hugs again.  

It was great to see so many - too many to list - and of course everyone was asking "are you on for the week". Sadly no.... we have to head back to work but will be on in September.

We found out that Claudio the Hotel General Manager is still on and is heading home today but he is still around as his flight isn't until later.  We get the chance to meet his beautiful wife and two lovely children.  

We find out that Niki is the new Hotel General Manager while Claudio is away.  We both smile and say oh we remember Niki from the Star when she was the Customer Service Director.  She comes by and we catch up on what she has been up to and congratulate her on her promotion.  We are sorry to hear that she won't be on in September, but then again we are happy Claudio will be back on then. Although she does mention to us that she is getting on the Golden and will be there when we are on it in November.

Johan and Laura join us for a lovely lunch in the dining room.  Note:  Check your Patter when you get on as at least one dining room is open for lunch usually from noon until 1:30.  

It had been a while since I had embarkation lunch so I was curious to see what had changed.  Not much but it is enough of a selection to really be worth the effort instead of fighting the crowds in the Horizon Court.  

I started with the avocado and shrimp salad.  I remember it being served in a half avocado but now it is more just a few slices of avocado, but still very tasty.  

I decided to go with the hamburger for lunch, I know boring but the other options just didn't entice me enough and I really enjoy their burgers and this one did not disappoint.  

I did decide to have the apple Tarte Tatin, but it really was different and not a tart tin at all but the apples were very tasty, but I knew I should behave as I am not on holidays - although I wish I was.

Laura and Johan need to get some work done, so we part ways and tell them we will met up later.

We find all the shoppies (staff from the stores on board) at the forward elevators helping passengers and it was really cute to see how happy they were to see us.  Nancy from Mexico was in charge of one of the elevators and she kept saying "stay here until I come back".  Sanja came and met us and we caught up with her and gave her a belated birthday card and of course a big hug.  We also were so happy to see Clare the Shop Manager as she was getting off today but was still busy doing handover stuff and she informed us she is heading to the Grand so we thankfully will get to see her there.

As the afternoon progressed we both are saying how odd it feels to be on board but having to get off soon.  We are not use to that.  We don't really have an interest in going back to Alaska but we wish we could stay on and just relax, but something tells me this is going to be a busy cruise.  

Why you ask do I say that... well the demographics.... we noticed right away that many passengers were first time or had just a few cruises under their belt.  Lots of questions to the staff, lots of younger people, lots of kids.  I am excited for them.  I remember when I was like them and how everything was so new and fresh and exciting.  So many kids will get to experience this amazing adventure and I am pleased. 

So around 3 pm we decided it was time to head off (we had to be off by 4) and make our way home.  6 glorious hours on board the beautiful Crown Princess.

Not sure if we will get back on again this summer.  We have arranged to meet up with other crew in the coming turn around days to show some of them around and we will be seeing many in just over two months.  

Until then....

Second Leg Cruise Reflections – Buenos Aires to Valparaiso

Note:  These are my own personal views.  I have had many people make comments to me but I refuse to post anything that is second hand that I did not experience (good and bad) unless I viewed it myself.

Like the first leg I wanted to go back and comment on the voyage and what I thought of it and stated the Great, the Good and the Not So Good.

Great:

-          Once again the crew are amazing.  Since we have been on board for 30 days we recognize many and many recognize us and say hi to us by name.  When we show up in a bar they remember our favorite drink and ask how our day was.  Big shout out to Beth and Jasmin in Crooners, Anthony in Vines, Zoran, Thais, Beatriz, Natasha, and Jayne in International Café.

-          Our wait staff this leg have been some of the best we have ever experienced.  Our table with Mark and Lorelei in Da Vinci is one of our highlights every day.  Mark and Lorelei (table 514) remember our preferences and we share our day with them and we love hearing about their day too. 

-          Entertainment on board is still great…. Lots to do, great shows, wonderful trivia type games, Wake Show is fun to watch too.  Lisa and Dan are seen about the ship all the time and always approachable and are working very hard at accommodating many.

-          Movies are some of the best we have ever seen.  We rarely get to the movies at home but love that we can catch up with many when at sea.  This leg we have seen almost all the Oscar nominated movies with many being shown in a venue on board but then also repeated in the cabins too.

-          The Captain and his officers and how they have managed the poor weather we have encountered and often having to make difficult decisions (skipping the horn) to protect the vessel and the passengers on her.

-          Love the itinerary, lots of ports but lots more sea days to really relax and come back new as the ads say. 

-          Love the wine package which has enabled us to really try lots of different wines.  Many of the waiters, bartenders and even bar managers have introduced us to new wines and cocktails we have never tried but loved.

-          We really enjoy that Skywalkers is designated a quiet area and it is wonderful place to go and enjoy the view and read.

-          We started this voyage under Red Alert and I am impressed at how well the crew from the Captain, to the Medical Staff, to the waiters, cleaners, cabin steward dealt with it.  The level was able to return to normal after almost two weeks under the alert because of their dedication and hard work.

Good:

-          Food is good, certainly haven’t gone hungry.  But it is still way too salty for our taste and often we try something and it is so salty we can’t eat it.  We have noticed so much salt in the food that I have noticed swelling in the joints from water retention.  We are also not drinking as much water as we normally do at home (I drink normally minimum of 12 8oz glasses a day), which doesn’t help.  Still have not gotten hot French fries in buffet or Trident Grill.  Nor have we gotten hot pancakes or eggs, we have given up on this. 

-          Cabin Steward is good, he certainly does his job but he is rather shy and doesn’t do anything extra unless we ask.  We have been spoiled on other sailing with Stewards that anticipate our needs and we rarely have to ask for anything.  This time we find we often have to ask for extra laundry bags, soap, note paper cause we have run out.  Although we have really appreciated the sheets changed regularly and he is quick at cleaning the cabin.  We normally tip an average of $5 extra per day to our steward but so far in the 30 days we have maybe tipped him an extra $25 in total.

-          I have really enjoyed the Captain Circle Parties – currently there are four parties to accommodate all the Platinum/Elite Passengers.  The Captain has been hilarious and the waiters have been very efficient at providing drinks for us.  Sadly they have not been going around serving appetizer to us like they normally do, not sure if this is fleet wide or not.

-          The Glacier Alley after leaving Ushuaia should really go under Great!  But since we left Ushuaia early evening and only got to see the first three glaciers before nightfall it goes under Good.  I love this area, and it is beautiful.  We would love to see a change to the itinerary so that we could travel this area during daylight and really appreciate it.

Not So Good:

-          Lecturers John Maxtone Graham and Jeffrey Wolff have been a disappointment for us.  Don’t care for John’s political views being added to his lectures.  Jeffrey Wolff’s talks seems to be more like I am in a fourth grade class and I just don’t get the feeling he really knows his subject personally but more he gained the knowledge on line and is just repeating.  This is too bad cause we really like the subject matter and miss the excellent lecturers we have had in the past. 

-          Tender Service – now this leg tender service has really not been a good experience.  I should state though that in Punt Arenas Chile the weather with the high winds caused huge delays with tender service could not be helped.  But in Falklands and Puerto Montt tender service was slow and long waits to get back to the ship.  In Puerto Montt there must have been over a 1,000 people waiting to get back on board when we showed up at the pier at 4:30 pm (last tender was 5, but was much later).  They are down a tender due to mechanical issues but with the remaining tenders this causes long waits and many with mobility issues are having to line up for long periods, often in the elements.  Thankfully next leg there is only one tender port.

-          Downfall of this cruise is that it has a lot of demanding passengers who are experienced cruisers.  We keep encountering people who are upset about so much but we feel their complaints are not justified and wish they would look at the 95% great things instead of the 5% bad things.  The crew are encountering a lot of abuse from some of these people and I feel for them.  Also because this leg forced a lot of people inside due to the incumbent weather not only did it make many of the public venues busy it also cause many short tempers among passengers and also passengers to the crew.  I am quite impressed on how the crew have been able to defuse many incidents. 

-          Although we are only two weeks later in the season from the last time we did this voyage the weather has been poorer (although this could happen earlier too) and also a lot less wildlife viewings too.

-          The Captain Circle desk area is on Promenade Forward just outside the Wheelhouse and it is really a poor location.  Poor Cameron has his desk out in the middle of the hallway and often we encounter people using his desk and chairs when he is not there.  Not sure how Princess can rectify this but it really should be off limits and made a bit more private.

-          I have said this before on previous cruises but feel Princess should do something about the women’s uniforms.  They have to wear skirts even though they are exposed to the elements where the men get to wear pants.  In today’s day and age I would hope that they would be treated more equally. 

-          One thing I really really hate and wish Princess would do something about it has to do with the Waiters Bus Station/Food Serving Stations.  The cupboards/drawers bang so loudly when they are closed.  It scares the crap out of me all the time and certainly is not enjoyable to hear bang bang bang bang throughout a meal.  Why can't they install self closing, non slamming doors!  

So to wrap this up we have really enjoyed this voyage so far.  We have tried new things this voyage and look forward to trying new things next leg.  Bernie is tickled pink that he finally got to go golfing in Ushuaia and can’t wait to brag to all his golfing buddies.  We love this area of the world and we are so happy we are getting to experience it again.  We even can say that we would book this itinerary again but maybe not from Fort Lauderdale but instead maybe join the ship in Valparaiso or Buenos Aries and doing a back to back. 

Princess still is our line of choice and our Princess family keeps growing.

Montevideo Uruguay Day Two March 8, 2014

First Happy International Women’s Day!  Second wow what a great way to wake up and open the drapes and look out and see the beautiful Montevideo.

the market located just outside the port

Mate Cup 

We are not in any big rush this morning and Bernie heads upstairs for some oatmeal (still on red alert so staff are still serving everything).  I shower and head up there and run into Bernie who is chatting with Jimmy. 

Today we are just going to go at our own speed and walk around and see some of the sights and have a nice meal, and that is exactly what we did.

Getting around Montevideo is easy and easy to walk to the city squares and sights.  The tourist bureau had tourist maps that they handed out on the pier and it has a detailed walking tour you can take.  Make note though that the streets are uneven and the sidewalks are even worse.  Watch out for dog souvenirs and broken steps, sidewalks, and crumbling bricks.  If you are uneasy on your feet you can get around but be doubly careful.

There is a tourist bus you can buy tickets for just across the street from the pier too, sorry didn’t get the cost but it is a double decker bus that is open above.

Bernie and grab a few items and we head ashore and start walking towards the Constitution Square and we find the same vendor from two years ago and buy some scarves for souvenirs for us and family. 

Our standard coffee at a local coffee shop is in order and we find a quiet spot that faces the theater and we enjoy our cappuchinos and juice.  Prices in the restaurants are similar to what we would find at home in Vancouver and we were able to use up our Brazilian Reals here too.  Oh the exchange rate for the Montevideo Peso is 22 to $1 US dollar currently.

We cross the street and check out the Theater and we see there are tours but the one we see is in another language.  We later find out they do offer tours in English and they were free (mind you that may be because it is Saturday, so not sure if it is free every day).

We wander around some more checking out the Independence Square and we spot the changing of the guards and lots of tourist wandering around as well.  We feel very safe and comfortable as well.

Bernie had spotted a barber shop along the pedestrian mall and so I grabbed a seat on a bench and people watched as Bernie got his hair cut.  Anthony from Vines noticed me there and we sat and chatted and got to know each other better.  What a lovely guy, and ladies – he is single!

Anthony decides to walk with us back to the ship and we show him the stall with the scarves and he buys some too for his family at home, gee we should be getting a commission I think.  As we get closer to the port Anthony meets up with friends and we say goodbye.

I wanted to buy this grapefruit soda beverage that I had tried yesterday while at the ranch, so we stop in  a small grocery store very close to the pier (just up from the market) and we get a few bottles and can’t wait to try it with Vodka on the balcony.

I will add here that even though we haven’t brought on more wine others have and it seems to be hit or miss with whether there is someone there at the gangway to check and pay corkage to.  Friends did check their wine and paid corkage on their bottles and had stickers placed on the bottles.  We still have lots of wine in the cabin and quite a few bottles left on the wine card too.

Today I really want to get a meal at the big market building, that use to be the old port building and is now filled with restaurants and little shops.  This building is located just across the street from the port and you can’t miss the great wood burning smells coming from it.

We pull up a seat at the bar of one of the many restaurants.  There are lots of places that have tables too but we want to be up close and see the action.  It is hard sitting on the stools and it is warm, and we end up smelling of smoke but the experience is priceless.

We can see everything being made and it all looks so good but we decide to order a large beer for Bernie, and red wine for me.  Oh my the entire bottle of wine is delivered to me and I wonder how am I going to drink all that!  The price is reasonable though and it works out to be around $15 for the bottle. 

For our entrée we order some sausage, cheese, peppers and fries and we will share. 

As we wait we see Beatriz from the International Coffee Bar at the other side and we insist she joins us.  We get another glass and we toast to another great day.  She orders some pork and we share all the food amongst each of us.  I have no problem finishing the bottle of wine with Beatriz’s help so we get another bottle.  At one point Carlos comes by and we pour him a glass too.

What a fun meal and I am a little drunk but boy was that an experience and I highly recommend it to everyone who visits Montevideo.

Walking back to the ship we stop at a small vendor that is selling jewelry and we buy three pairs of earring for a great price – I believe it was $20 for the three pairs (but don’t quote me as well I had a lot to drink).

Arrival back to the ship is around 3:45 and we grab a coffee and head back to the cabin and coordinate a gathering with our friends for sailaway.  But thankfully we have a short time to get in a quick nap of about 30 minutes.

Jan and Michael along with Barb and Craig join us on the balcony for sail away.  A lot of people are out on their decks and it is a party atmosphere.  Once again we go thru a few bottles and munch on some cheese and dried fruit from the International Café.

For dinner tonight we are heading to the Horizon Court, the theme is South American Buffet but it really was not a good representation but the food was still quite good.  We haven’t dined in the dining room for three nights now and I am a little worried how our first dinner there will be after such a bad time the last few visits.  We have a new table assignment so tomorrow we will check it out.

After dinner we go to Explorer’s to try our luck at the Yes/No game show hosted by Dan.  I managed to last the three minutes (prize was a bottle of champagne, but I didn’t want it) and there were quite a few other people who trumped Dan too. 

We are tired and we are back in the cabin around 11:15 pm and so ready for two sea days.