At Sea

Thursday, 23 Aug 2018 – Today, we were scheduled for Hubbard Glacier, Scenic Cruising.  For breakfast we went to the Horizon Court.  This was our first time on Coral Princess.  They have three sinks for washing hands before entering the buffet area (as some of the other ships now have).  We had “the works” without having to think about how much it would cost, for a change.  Then we walked about the ship, to shops and the library.  We checked out books, knowing full well that we wouldn’t have time to read them.  Back in the room, Jesse called to have some of our complimentary beverages, provided to elite passengers, exchanged for water and vodka.

          After lunch, we crossed the central open area to get some ice cream and discovered a pool back in the covered area and resolved to try it sometime, thinking it might be warmer.

          In the late afternoon we were approaching Hubbard Glacier, while we were also dressing for formal dining night.  Shortly before we left for dinner, the glacier came into view.  It was huge!  Numerous chunks of ice that had broken off the glacier were floating in the water around the ship.  However, it was very foggy so any photos taken wouldn’t be very good.  At this point, the ship turned around.

          Afterwards, we met Val and Ed in front of the Provence Dining Room and asked Maitre D if he could change our seating arrangements, since we had been assigned to different tables!  (So far, the only thing on this trip that remained the way it was intended was our cabins, which were only two doors apart.)  Anyway, the Maitre D reassigned us to a table for four.  Actually the table seated 6 people, so we had extra room!  An alternative was to share a table with one or two other couples, which Sally rejected because she doesn’t hear conversations very well at large tables.  We enjoyed French onion soup, oyster Rockefeller, fish (Jesse) and shrimp (Sally), which we shared, with fruit cobbler for dessert.  We were hungry for good menu selections.

Formal Night

          After dinner, free champagne was served, which Jesse enjoyed.  We four then moved on to the Explorers’ Lounge for dancing to the Party Band Project 5, from St. Lucia.  They played mostly 1960’s popular music, not really ballroom dance music, which was mostly too slow for anything but rumbas.  When that group went on break, we moved on to the Wheelhouse Bar to the Blue Jade Quartet, who played more suitable ballroom dance music.  Anyway, it was fun.

Lamplugh Glacier

Friday, 24 Aug 2018 – For our second “at sea” day, we were scheduled for Glacier Bay, Scenic Cruising.  For breakfast we went to the Horizon Court again, where we sat near a couple from Adelaide, Australia.  Although we had considered swimming, Sally felt tired so we decided against it.  Soon after lunch, we saw Margerie Glacier from our balcony – we had been seeing ice fragments in the water around the ship while at our table in the Horizon Court.  Again, it was too foggy for good photos.  After an hour or so, we sailed pass the Lamplugh Glacier.  The fog had cleared somewhat, so we got better photos of that glacier.  A little later, we noticed that the indoor pool had netting over it; it was a good thing we hadn’t put on our swimsuits and walked more than halfway through the ship only to find it closed!

After dinner the four of us danced again.  All of the music that the Party Band Project 5 played seemed to have the same beat, usually a little too slow, though twice we danced the Cha Cha.  The Blue Jade Quartet was from Argentina and played lots of Latin ballroom music.  The two bands took their breaks at different times, so we would move to the other location for more dancing.  However, Sally started wearing out long before the bands finished for the night.  After a while, Val and Ed also tired.  Only Jesse could have danced the night away!