This was a formal night, so we
dressed in our formal attire and at 6:00 PM, we joined Gail and Jim in the Club
Fusion for the Captain’s Circle Cocktail Party for complimentary cocktails and
dancing. Sally and I were mostly the
only couple on the dance floor, but four other couples joined us for a
waltz. For dinner, we sat at a table for
four and all enjoyed a lobster dinner. After
dinner, we drank tea and talked until 9:00 PM.
We were only able to dance to two songs before the Alphard Duo went on
break; then we retired for the night.
 |
| Jesse, Sally, Gail, & Jim |
Monday,
14 Sep 2015 –
On this second-of-four at-sea days, we slept until 10:00 AM. After watching a little news on the TV, we
went to breakfast in the Horizon Court at 11:15 AM. Although the restaurant was a little crowded
with late risers enjoying breakfast before the 11:30 closing time, we were
invited to join a woman from Orange County, California, at a table set for
four. (She would be taking breakfast
back to her cabin for her husband, who had been sea sick for the last few
days.) She introduced herself as being
Chinese, born in Taiwan, and now living in the Los Angeles area. After breakfast, we returned to our cabin and
watched TV, namely the movie “Saving Mr. Banks” about the author of the Mary
Poppins book. We barely recognized Tom
Hanks, who was playing Walt Disney in the movie. In our reluctance to pull ourselves away from
the movie, we missed lunch – though we treated ourselves to a dish of ice cream
mixed with Coca Cola.
We met Gail and Jim for dinner and then
joined two other couples: Richard and
Donna, of upper state New York (but winter in Arizona); and Bill and Jane of Essex,
England. The table was too large (and
the surroundings too noisy) to carry on large group conversations, but we did
manage to discuss cruising. After dinner
we danced to Jumari and then to the Alphard Duo. Before retiring, we set our clocks back again
by one hour.
Tuesday,
15 Sep 2015 – On this third-of-four at-sea days, our progress of dressing for
breakfast was slowed while also watching the American political show, “Morning
Joe,” on TV. Since the outdoor temperature
was still about 48 degrees, we raced through the open-air part of the Lido deck
on our way to the Horizon Court. Today
was another TV movie day: first, we watched the last half of “Still Alice”
about a woman with early Alzheimer’s, before pulling ourselves away to eat a
mid-afternoon lunch. (Although we try to
restrict our portions, it seems impossible for us when eating at a buffet!)
Back in our cabin, we heard our ship
captain’s announcement over the speaker system that our ship would not stop at
St. John’s in Newfoundland, Canada as scheduled for safety reasons; the weather
there was becoming stormy, resulting in high waves. Therefore, our ship would sail within a
distant view of Newfoundland, but would head to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where we
would dock for two nights. Later in the
day and during the coming night, the sea became rougher.
After
shutting off the TV (we had been watching “Roman Holiday,” an old movie that,
yes, we had seen a long time ago), we hurried – albeit late – to meet Gail and
Jim for dinner. This time, we sat at a
table for four. Our waiter was from the
Ukraine – Sally wondered whether east or west Ukraine, but she didn’t ask. After dinner, we danced for perhaps 20
minutes or more to the Alphard Duo. They
seem to play a tango, sooner or later, if we happen to be there at the right
time – and tonight we were lucky again.
When we returned to our cabin, we watched the rest of “Roman Holiday”
before turning in.
Wednesday,
16 Sep 2015 – On what was to be the last of four at-sea days, Jesse was
tired in the morning from watching TV too late and Sally, from just not
sleeping enough. (We will have a fifth
at-sea day since we won’t be docking at St. John’s in Newfoundland.) While still lying in bed, Sally discovered
that the one-hour political program “Morning Joe” was extended on TV for at
least 3 hours in the morning on our Princess ship TV.
Before walking to the Horizon Court
for breakfast, we noticed that, besides still being cold, it was raining. Accordingly, we chose a path that would at
least keep us dry. Although one or two
very hardy souls sometimes have been swimming in one of the pools, the weather
was so poor this morning that nets were affixed over the pools. (A very few do use the hot tubs, though it is
hard to imagine emerging from a hot tub into 48-degree air temp!) At breakfast, we ate with, and then continued
to talk with, Sandra and Eric now of Tucson, Arizona. His parents were music teachers who taught in
various places; at one point, his father had been a band director at Southern
Illinois University. Sandra teaches
Zumba five mornings a week at their homeowner’s association’s community center. Except for a light lunch at 3:00 PM, we spent
the afternoon watching political programs on TV and napping. Gail called about 4:00 PM to let us know they
would not be joining us for dinner.
At
6:00 PM we went to dinner, where we joined Richard and Donna of upper state New
York, with whom we had dined previously, and Mike and Barbara of Naples,
Florida. While talking, we shared horror
stories from previous cruises, the worst being one of Richard and Donna’s
cruises that encountered two hurricanes; during that cruise, about 200
passengers suffered fractures from falls, even though the captain had urged
them to remain in the cabins, preferably in their beds! After dinner, we danced to the Alphard
Duo. Before settling in for the night,
we had hoped to watch the Republican presidential debate; however, it was
broadcast only on CNN, which we don’t receive on our cruise ship.
Thursday,
17 Sep 2015 – On this unscheduled fifth at-sea day, we awoke at 8:30 AM and
watched recaps of the Republican presidential debates. Because there seem to be so many commercials
on the ship versions of the news programs, to avoid most of them, we switched
back and forth between Fox News and MSNBC.
Although we also receive BBC news, their reporting on the debates was
minimal. Finally, at 10:30 AM we went to
breakfast. For much of this day, except
for a light lunch at 2:30 PM, we continued to watch TV news. (We noted, especially, the big earthquake in
Santiago and Valparaiso, Chile, where we were just a few months ago.)
Since it was much warmer today,
about 68 degrees, many passengers were lying in deck chairs around the pools,
although there were very few actually wearing swimsuits. Tonight was our last formal night. For dinner, we sat at a table for six with
Gail and Jim, plus Tom and Cheryl of Baja California, Mexico (retirees from the
US). When we discussed our so-so views
of the aurora borealis on this cruise, long-time cruisers, Tom and Cheryl told
about the gorgeous view they had in Alaska north of Denali. They also described sitting in an outside hot
tub, when the temperature was 40 degrees below zero, and then dressing warm to
walk 50 yards or more to shelter. (Thanks,
but no thanks!)
After
dinner tonight, we were fortunate again to enjoy a tango with the Alphard Duo (as
we have several previous times) during our short 15 minutes on the dance
floor. Before going to sleep, we watched
the last half or more of the movie “Interstellar.” Since we missed so much of it (the beginning
and also parts that we couldn’t hear), we decided we’ll have to rent it later!
Tonight
we were told again to set our clocks back an hour, making us only one hour
ahead of Eastern Time in the US.
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