Blown Away--Almost

Today was our first sea day. I took advantage of that and slept until about 10am. My companions got up a bit earlier and went to the sea day brunch. They called the cabin and food wasn’t sounding good to me so I went back to sleep. Well, I tried to. The people in the cabins across the hall from me are thoughtless idiots. No matter what time of day or night, they use their ‘loud voices’ and have no concept of how to close a door quietly. Sigh

After a long, hot shower, I eventually made my way up to the Lido deck to have a bit of breakfast. It is normal breakfast fare. The stations are set up with hot dishes like scrambled eggs, bacon, ham, potatoes, pancakes, waffles etc. Another station has pastries and breads, another lunch meat, cheeses -etc. There are other areas dedicated to custom made omelets and the Havana Bar has ‘Cuban bites’. I know they also offer a Green Eggs and Ham character type breakfast for the kids.

As today was Easter, they had an Easter Bunny available for pictures and bunny face painting for the kids as well. There may have been other activities but I didn’t see them.  I will say the Kids Clubs are in high gear as there are many kids on this cruise and from what I’ve heard and seen, many of the kids attend.

The sun was shining and the sky mostly cloud free when I made my way outside. The main pool area was wall to wall people around the pool and the tiered areas around it. I started climbing to the next decks intending to go to Serenity and read a bit.

The ship was still rocking and rolling and the winds were still constant at 50 knots. Holy crap. It was difficult to walk up the steps and the wind was unbelievably strong. Still, there was some seating up there—no loungers or clam shells loungers. I took a seat in one of the sectional seating areas and settled in to read. After a few minutes, I was cold. I headed around the corner to the towel station and checked out 2 towels and covered up. Yes, the wind made it that chilly. After covering up, I was able to stay there for a few hours and read, nap and watch the sea. Despite being on the 14^th deck, it was very easy to see how large the swell was and see the whitecaps.

These seas rival the cruise Lindsey and I were on in 2008 in the Mediterranean. Still, a sunny day at sea is a good day in my book and I enjoyed just being outside despite the wind. The captain came on for his daily update and said he was changing course to try and get to a less choppy and windy area. But I don’t think he had any luck as the winds continued all afternoon.

I had a late lunch at the Mongolian Wok—again. I cannot get enough of that food. Today I had chicken, vegetables and cellophane noodles in a black bean sauce. And I walked over to the Havana Bar area to eat it. That area overlooks the aft of the ship. I ate my delicious lunch watching the wake. I headed back to my cabin around 4 or so and found these giant dryers on the floor near my door. The maintenance man told me there had been a ‘flood’ in another cabin. Sure enough, when I walked in, the carpeting near my door was wet.

Because I expended so much energy lounging and eating, I decided to read but my eyes kept shutting and I drifted off, only to be awakened by my lovely neighbors screaming for Julianna to “Come on, we’re waiting”…Julianna, Let’s go…..Julianna, get out here this minute” I was pretty much ready to go and drag Julianna out of the cabin but apparently she appeared and the door slamming began. I drifted back to sleep…..RING RING RING. Hi, this is guest services, I’m just wondering about the clean-up in your cabin. Is everything alright now? You don’t notice any uh… smell? Oh great, it was a sewage flood. But luckily I did not notice any smell. Any other issues? Yes, I tell her. My toilet doesn’t flush all the time. You push the button and nothing happens, then like 5 minutes later it flushes. Ok, we’ll have maintenance come up and then finish drying out your cabin. What time do you go to dinner? 

Ok. Now back to my nap.  Dozing off……KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK, then the door opening. Oh, Hello Miss Jill, I just wanted to drop off your Platinum Gifts, I can come back. I said, No just come in and leave them. It’s fine. Seems I am entitled to a plate of chocolate covered strawberries and a pin with the year and ship name on it. Good, now maybe I can get a nap. Ahhhhhhhh, rocked to sleep once again by the ship.

Tonight the cabin and the crew were in the atrium lobby for a meet and greet. Social butterfly, me decided to shake hands with each of them and ask them some questions. If you know me you know that is so not me, but for whatever reason, I did it. I actually even had a picture taken with the Captain.  But after I did that, I immediately headed to a hand sanitizer station to douse my hands. Now, that is very me!!!

Now, onto dinner! Tonight was the first formal night and the American Feast dinner. Most people were dressed to the nines! I love seeing that. The tables were covered with a white tablecloth tonight but that formality I love at dinner was still not present. I had pasta carbonara as a starter and the lobster and shrimp for my dinner. Oh and while we were waiting for our appetizers to come out, the waiter came over and started speaking to Kolton about complimentary wine and showed him a wine list. Then it came out that the wine was for the inconvenience of the accident in his cabin with the plumbing. Ummm, yeah that was me. So I chose a nice bottle of white wine to go with dinner. I thought that was very nice as I was not really inconvenienced at all.

Pasta Carbonara

Lobster and Shrimp

After dinner, we walked out to the atrium where they were just beginning a Motown tribute. We were 1 deck above and the place was packed. They had the stage show singers and dancers all around the bar and then for 2 more floors above, people were gathered around the railings. We watched that for a lot longer than we should have and then made our way to the comedy club. We should have gotten there a lot earlier as it was SRO. So we stood and the comedian was very dirty and very funny. I’m glad we decided to go.

There really is so much going on, day and night, on this ship. You will never have enough time to do it all.

Totally random thought--the Cruise Director on this ship began to annoy me Day 1 with a particular word she uses in her 'announcements' every single time. The word is "lovelys". It even looks annoying spelled. She refers to all the passengers as her "lovelys'. Good day my lovelys, have a great evening my lovelys, enjoy your day at sea my lovelys. She is British--obviously. And to me, she is just as annoying in person. You just know she has those awful British teeth. I hope I don't get close enough to her to find out. LOL

Well, kids, it’s 12:30 and I should get to sleep. Another grueling day of lounging is up tomorrow and I need to rest up.

Oh, and I will post pictures tomorrow—I took a bunch on my phone but forgot the thingy that takes them off your phone and puts them on the computer. So I am re-taking pics with my camera!

TTFN---The winds and high seas continue to blow us further southeast but we are down to 47 knots. 

A Sunshine Kinda Day

We awoke very early this morning, after a few hours of sleep, at the Aloft Hotel – BWI for a 7am flight. We took their shuttle (that runs every ½ hour) to the airport at 5am. Once again, Pre-Check was my friend. 2 people ahead of me in the security line and I could leave all my stuff in my carry-on, my shoes stayed on my feet and only had to pass through a metal detector.

The goodness continued as I had an almond pretzel from Auntie Anne’s and an Orange Smoothie from the smoothie place. Breakfast doesn’t get much better than this!

Boarding was smooth and I ended up having a great seatmate and we ended up chatting for the entire flight! It even made me forgot about the child that screamed for the first hour of the flight! Our luggage was on the belt in about 10 minutes and we were out the door to catch our shuttle to the port. We used Coltran Shuttle. The cost was $20 per person each way. The driver was so nice. He carries a stapler because most people forget those dumb luggage tags have to be either stapled or taped on the handle of your luggage. He did all of that before we even left the port.

Now the port was an entirely different story. A complete clusterf@#k. There were 3 ships in port and we had to wait about 30 minutes in the van because the people directing the traffic were so inept. UGH But after that the good mojo continued as I have priority boarding and was directed to a completely non-chaotic, quiet area to get checked-in for the cruise.  Then a stroll past all the other folks waiting to be called and we were on the Sunshine !!! 

First up—food. I must say I was impressed. I’ve not ever been on this ship but I liked how they had the buffet set up in smaller stations. It seems like there were not as many long lines. I immediately made a beeline for the Stir Fry place. I found it tucked away at the front of the ship near the Havana Bar. Most people had not yet discovered this place but it’s one of my favorites. I had stir fry chicken and shrimp with fresh vegetables and cellophane noodles in a black bean sauce. OMG Food Nirvana!

Kolton and Betzi went for the Guy’s Burgers and fries. They said they were delicious. Then we had to have a cone of soft-serve ice cream. My stateroom was ready when we boarded so we put all our carry-on stuff in my cabin and set off to explore the ship a bit. Then it was nap time until the muster drill.

After the muster drill, I came back to the cabin and my luggage had arrived. I packed everything away. The cabin does have an ample amount of storage. It’s decorated in a more updated color scheme and the art work is different. The bathroom is a bit different than other ships I’ve sailed on. The shower is much larger than the typical ones and therefore, none of that nasty shower curtain cling if you attempt to shave your legs in there. Very nice. Overall, a very comfortable room.

I chose Deck 9 this cruise—which is the Lido deck. We have 2 forward, inside cabins. It’s too early to decide if this was a good choice. I’ll let you know. The main reason I chose this location is that it is 2 decks below the Serenity Area on this ship and directly below the Spa-so no noise above us in the evenings. And we thought we wanted to be close to Serenity. This ship has a 3 level, adults only Serenity area, with its own pool and waterfall, hot tubs and a big bar. It is in the very front of the ship and offers some nice views.

The ship also has “Dive-In Movies” on the Lido deck in the evening. A family movie early and a more adult feature later—around 10. The screen they have is gorgeous. During the day it plays videos of underwater scenery that is so crisp and clear, I’m sure the movies will be gorgeous as well.

I am just back from dinner. We chose late seating at 8:15. It’s a tab bit late but on port days, we won’t have to rush back to the ship to make a 5:15 dinner. They have anytime dining on this ship too but I prefer a set time.  Dinner was good however, I almost choked to death on a piece of grapefruit in my salad. Really. I think they were getting ready to Heimlich me when I started coughing. Not really the type of attention one wants to draw to ones self—but that’s life.

Lack of sleep and a long day of travel today has wiped this gypsy out and I’m going to call it a night at 10:45. Tomorrow is a sea day and they are also having the Sea Day Brunch, which is always quite good.

The ship is rockin’ and rollin’ right now. The ship information on the TV says that we are moving at 17.5 knots and there is quite a bit of motion as the winds are 50+ kts and gusting. But it’s just going to rock me to sleep.

I will try and add some pictures tomorrow. 

Ta-ta from somewhere off the coast of Florida!

Sea Days 4 & 5

Once again, I'm combining a few sea days together. Some differences we've encountered in the past few days:

Yesterday was the 1st rain we've encountered this cruise. We have been blessed with beautiful sunny days at sea. Yesterday was crazy. I'm not talking a few showers, I'm talking pouring rain and fog so dense you could hardly see the water unless you looked straight down from the deck. It was sort of creepy. However, an hour or so before sunset, the clouds disappeared and we were once again treated to a spectacular sunset.

Another big difference --the size of the waves started to increase. There is a definite roll to the ship now. Not uncomfortable by any means, but it does leave you off balance at times. It just rocks me to sleep. I love it.

We are now on Hawaii time. We moved one hour back three days in a row. I think that made it a lot more difficult to adjust. I think it would have been better to just do all 3 hours at once. But I am not in charge. Actually, I think they did it that way to keep sunrise and sunset appearing at normal times.

This is the ocean today:

Today was beautifully sunny once again. I did try to attend a few events today. I finally felt a bit sociable. Actually, I have not been solitary the entire cruise, I mean, I have dinner with my tablemates and we actually have had a few quite interesting conversations.

Look at this water...... OMG

I don't know if I've mentioned that this cruise is one of  Carnival's Journey cruises and they have special lecturers and events not normally included on a cruise. There is a naturalist on board giving lectures about Hawaii--both current and historical facts. There is also more of an entertainment type of lecturer.

Today I went to a lecture on Astronomy. It was entertaining but not at all what I expected. It focused more on how historical figures used it to navigate. I was hoping it would be more about constellations. But it was still Ok.

Another event I was determined to go to on this cruise was Afternoon Tea. I have to say I was slightly disappointed. Of course, I was comparing it to Tea last year on Princess. I would skip it all together on a future cruise. They served you a pot of tea, of course. Then the waiters came around with either cucumber sandwiches or salmon on a toast point. Meh. They also had a selection of pastries but their scones were pretty forgettable. So far, my 1st disappointment on the ship.

I also attended the Chocolate Extravaganza. It was just beyond decadent. All that chocolate just made my teeth hurt looking at it. LOL They did have something new that made me get in line though. In addition to the dark chocolate fountain, they had a WHITE CHOCOLATE  and strawberry fountain. I skipped right past all the desserts and went for the fruit that you could have dipped. YUM They even had apple slices. It was quite good.

I did read some reviews on Cruise Critic bashing this ship, but I have seen nothing that wasn't up to my expectations as far as the condition of the ship. I've been on this particular ship 6 times, I think and it's still my favorite. I love the way it's decorated. Some people say 'tacky', I say it's mostly elegant, especially all the artwork.

This is the lounge on the 2nd floor, before you enter the dining room. They also have a wonderful bar there. It used to be a martini bar but now they have these wonderfully original creations. I usually have a drink there before dinner and chat with a couple I see there regularly. Most nights they have a duo playing jazz.



This is the dining room .It's 2 levels.



This is the 2nd level but the sun was shining too brightly during tea today.. so not a great picture



This is just some random art in the stairway on the 4th floor. They even have art in the elevators. I really do love this ship.
Another gorgeous day!

Another view from my Balcony

Tonight is another elegant night. Many people are dressed to the 9s. It's really nice to see that. I've always enjoyed getting dressed up for dinner.

The demographics are not what you'd think for this cruise either. I was expecting a lot of retirees but surprisingly,  I've seen quite a few newlyweds, and I would say the biggest group of cruisers are mid- 30s to early 50s. There are retirees on the ship, of course, but they do not seem to be anywhere near the majority. I've also seen a lot of families or groups traveling together.

All day today was Throw-Back to the 80s. They had an old Carnival Capers printed and the events they held today were all geared to the 80s. They had Thriller dance classes, 80s trivia etc. They are capping things off tonight with a true Midnight Buffet. Hard to believe they used to do those all the time. I'm going to try and stop up and take pictures but we are in Hilo tomorrow morning. Plus, I want to get to the comedy club tonight too.

Random food shots:

I'll report back later.
TTFN
Jilly

PS, I went to the comedy show. It was very funny--but too short. The comedian had the crowd laughing so hard.

Now it's past my bedtime. Tomorrow we reach land! Hilo. Hawaii and the weather website says it's supposed to be beautiful. I'm looking forward to my tour. I'll post more tomorrow.

Sea Days 2, 3, 4

Not a whole lot to report on sea days.

This is pretty much the ways the days have gone:

I showered and made my way up to the Lido deck and got a large Iced Tea. I headed out to Serenity and really lucked out. A clam shell lounger facing the aft was open. I set down my backpack and drink and went to get a towel and blanket. Yep—the air is still chilly.

I looked at the map showing the ship’s position and we continue to move in a south western direction. Probably more west than south though. We appear to be parallel to San Francisco. The Captain came on a little while ago and said the ocean depth is about 7000 feet.

I am surprised at how calm the seas are (I hope I don’t jinx us by saying that). We are told the swells are about 2-3 feet.  From my perch on the Lido they look like small ripples. The ship rocks very gently. It’s so relaxing.

The ocean is that dark blue color that is indicative of really deep water. It’s gorgeous. I have not seen fish of any kind leaping from the water. I hope we will maybe see some whales along the way.

Once again, there is quite a bit going on all over the ship but I am choosing to spend my time out here on the deck just reading and watching the ocean.

New day, more of the same. I’ve read 3 books now and watched that deep blue ocean for hours.  A clamshell lounger, all mine again! I’m not sure I’ll be able to cruise without one in the future. They just feel like the epitome of luxury. 

Dinner was a semi-formal night. Of course, I had the lobster! As usual it was very tasty.  Plans to go to the comedy club were thwarted by the presence of the comfy bed when I went back to change clothes. All this relaxation is tiring!

Another new day and it’s fairly warm outside. Shorts and flip flops for sure. I’m once again chilling in Serenity. I did spend some time in a lounge chair in the sun, but wisely moved to the shade after an hour. The lily whiteness of my legs is about blinding.

Truly enjoying these sea days and I can honestly say, tension? What is tension? The biggest decisions I need to make are what to eat and when. It’s about 3:30pm here and still gorgeous. The seas are still fairly smooth.

I have been hearing people complain about the stupidest things and I am tempted to speak up, but have wisely been keeping my mouth shut. I sometimes wonder, when I was not the happy sunshine filled ball of happiness I am now if I sounded that way. God, I hope not

I expect I will have a lot more to talk about once we reach Hawaii and I am on excursions every day. For whatever reason, I’ve chosen to remain solitary on this cruise and enjoy my ‘me’ time. It’s been restful and restorative both.  

I’ve yet to make it to afternoon tea. I think I only have one more day to attend that.

A Clamshell lounger opened up and I am all comfy as I finish writing this post. I'm debating on whether or not I want to go to dinner tonight. I'm not really hungry. But the faint inner voice I've been hearing is getting a bit louder and I keep hearing the words "Casino"!!! We shall see.,.....

Tomorrow is our last sea day and I am determined to be up fairly early and walking around the track on the top deck. (Don't laugh too hard, it could happen)

ta-ta from the Carnival Legend, home of Champagne Kisses and Sweet Dreams.. or something like that.  

Ahhh Sea Daze

Awoke this morning after a wonderfully refreshing sleep at sea. The ocean did it's magic and rocked me to sleep and kept me snoozing all night long.

While I was sleeping the ship travelled out of what I think was Puget Sound, somewhere near Seattle, and we are now in the Pacific Ocean travelling south and slightly west. Parallel to Northern Oregon. It's still chilly outside but very sunny, windy and gorgeous.

I opted for a custom coffee from the coffee bar instead of breakfast this morning. Hazelnut cappuccino!

I went to lunch in the main dining room and had this wonderful crab and shrimp salad on a warm baguette.


After that, I headed up to Serenity, knowing a clamshell was not in my future. However, they have tons of comfy sectionals and chairs, plus padded lounge chairs. I found myself a lounge chair in partial sun and settled myself in to read with a Serenity towel and blanket! Yes, folks, it is blanket weather out there. The hot tub was being used regularly, but no one was near the pool. I spent several hours up there, reading and dozing and just enjoying the rhythm of the ship.

We are still on Pacific Time--3 hours earlier than the East Coast. I think my body has adjusted to the change.

At 6pm this evening, I am reporting to the atrium bar to meet the chef and the other people signed up for the Chef's Table dinner tonight. I am so excited to be doing this. It's $75 per person and basically a tasting menu of all kinds of deliciousness with wine pairings. It also includes a tour of the kitchen during the dinner hour!

Back from the Chef's Table. OMG   Here are a few pictures of some of the courses. There were 7 actual courses for dinner and we received 4 different appetizers in the kitchen. Being in the kitchen during dinner hour was interesting and we were allowed to take pictures of all the action.

Beef Carpaccio on Air Pillow, Chocolate Bacon with Apple Ribbons

Salmon Tartar Cornets, Sesame Seeds

The Galley

The Waitstaff lining up to get the various dinners

Our Dining Venue: Medusa's Lair, Otherwise known as the Nightclub

This bread was so good. It was filled with some sort of cream and garlic... and just out of the this world.

Some other courses, not pictured were: 

Beet Blanket, Spiced Grape Tea

Crab Stack

Sea Bass

Beef Wagyu

This was so excellent. Bisque Our Way. 

Duck Textures

Dessert--OMG Magnificent is all I can say

The Chefs were making the Mango Spheres. They look like egg yolks but when you put them in your mouth, they explode with mango goodness. They were superb.

There was also plenty of wine flowing and we were served Champagne in the Galley.

Side note: It's now about 10:30pm where I am. The map shows the ship continues heading in a South Western direction. We appear to be parallel to Northern California now. I do know tomorrow we were told to turn our clocks back 1 hour. 

So far, I have not participated in any ship activities but there are plenty. Arts and Crafts, lectures, Bingo, Trivia, Dance lessons of all kinds--including Hula, Ukelele lessons, exercise sessions etc. etc.

The Casino is also open and I've not allowed myself to do anything but walk on by.....It's too early in this cruise to get gambling fever!

TTFN

Sea Daze

Day 9 – Sea Day

Slept in until 8AM this morning. Headed up and had coffee and fruit for breakfast. I attended the Chef’s demonstration and Galley tour later in the morning. The food he prepared looked very good and smelled wonderful. They gave us a few recipes but really wanted you to buy the cookbook. And the Maitre’D and Chef would autograph it for you.

Ok, is it just me or does the Cruise Director look like Bobbi Kristina's former boyfriend... can't remember his name????????? Every time I saw him I wanted to say, what did you do to Bobbi?

After that, we all had a chance to walk through the galley before lunch. That was quite interesting and I got some nice pictures.

Had a very light lunch and spent a few hours on deck reading my book. Now am heading to formal tea! I was seated at a large table of French-speaking people—or so they seemed to me. I said Hello! And nothing but silence. That was fun. However, sitting right beside/behind me at a table for 2, were my new friends, Lee and Tony from Australia! They invited me to join them so I turned my chair around and had a wonderful time at tea! They actually kicked us out so they could get ready for the early dinner seating.

I went to the show in the Cabaret Lounge tonight and I can honestly say, it was the worst show I’ve ever seen on a ship. The man was supposed to be a comic/impersonator. He sounded like no one.

Dinner tonight was very good. I had orange roughy, pesto with green beans and red potatoes and a cold soup.

So, nothing earth shattering but a great day at sea. Tomorrow should be busy. Hope the weather stays fine.

1st Sea Day and the weather was MUCH improved

Day 7 – Sea Day

Feeling much recovered and rested after a solid 9 hours of sleep, I headed up to the breakfast buffet for coffee and the over easy egg I’ve been craving!

The Cruise Critic meet and greet was today in the Pacific Lounge at 11AM. We had a very nice crowd and 3 ship’s officers and the Head of the Customer Service aboard the ship attended. I hadn’t expected that but it was very nice!

We had the Maitre’D, the assistant Maitre’D, the head of the Bar services. And of course, I had to do a bit of public speaking—not my favorite thing. I called everyone to attention and then asked if anyone had questions. DEAD silence. As I hadn’t been expecting anyone, I quickly started babbling a question. And actually, once I got going, it was fine and then others started asking questions. All the Crew were just lovely and we learned a few things about where/how food is obtained and I did ask each of them how they got their start.

Side note: The bar manager is from Glasgow and very yummy looking. He manages to hide his accent. Had he spoken with the accent, I think I can honestly say more than one woman and maybe even one man, would have been all over him. LOL

The Meet and Greet itself was very good and was nice to finally put a face with names I’ve been seeing for almost a year. I really enjoyed it.

The rest of today was spent lounging in various areas of the ship reading and generally being lazy. Although I did attend Afternoon Tea at 4PM. I’ve never had a scone and wanted to try one. OMG what an event that was. Held in the main dining room, at open seating tables, it was a meal. First, they brought out tiny sandwiches—6 or 7 different varieties, then a plate of cookies with 5 or 6 different kinds, and if that wasn’t enough, then a tray of various desserts (which I did not try but which looked delicious). Then finally the scones served with raspberry jam and clotted cream. Magnificent! Brilliant! (Can you tell I’ve been around mostly Brits and Australians??) I would highly recommend attending if you have the chance.

More reading, more lounging and then I headed up to the Pacific Lounge for afternoon trivia. I ran into 2 of my favorite Australians, a nice couple I met on Sail away, and we teamed up. I’ve met up with them at various times around the ship and I really enjoy their company. Both have wonderful senses of humor and ‘we get’ each other. The only issue—I cannot remember their names if my life depended on it. I should have tried to get a look at their cards on the lanyards around their neck. Ughhh. I’ve met so many people in the past few days. I’m very terrible at this. I need to write the names down and see it a few times before I remember.

Tonight is the first formal night and the Anniversary Menu is being served. Not sure what I think of it, but I’ll report back later! As a side note, I’ve not been super impressed with the food. Don’t get me wrong, it certainly isn’t terrible but it hasn’t been anything to rave over either. I feel its typical cruise fare. The service is quite another thing. It has been impeccable. Our wait staff in the dining room is wonderful. We have Joseph and Rodney. Joseph is probably one of the best waiters I have ever encountered and his personality is what pushes him to the top. He will definitely be getting an additional tip from me.

The same can be said for my cabin steward, Georgeta Vasile, from Romania. She’s just come aboard beginning with this cruise after working in the Caribbean. She is another one that rates in the top of the cabin steward list. I’ve chatted with her several times on many different topics—intelligence and personality. Another crew member to get an additional tip!

And this is the first cruise where I feel I know the Maitre’D personally. I’ve watched him in the dining room. Each evening he moves around the dining room and chats with each table. He remembered who I was at the meet and greet stating that we’ve chatted several times at dinner and asked me if I was feeling better today (my stomach was upset last night and I just had some broth, a green apple and crackers—plus complimentary ginger ale arranged by my waiter!!!). This is what a Maitre’D should be. Not just waiting with his hand out for an additional tip.

All in all the service has been wonderful. Each crew member I’ve encountered has done everything they could to make sure I have what I want and need. I do believe Princess’ reputation is well deserved and most definitely a notch about the other cruise lines I’ve been on.

Ok, back----after dinner. The 50^th Anniversary Menu: I didn’t order the appetizer—some sort of duck pate with a mushroom soup. I got the shrimp cocktail instead. I did have the goat cheese, mixed greens and walnut salad and the Beef from the Anniversary Menu. Both were delicious. The beef was a filet mignon, with an onion tart and mixed steamed vegetables.

For dessert, I chose the chocolate raspberry dessert from the Anniversary menu. It was decadent. I could only eat about 1/3 of it. It was very, very rich.  Definitely try it if you have the chance.

For your viewing pleasure, a bit of food porn:

It’s almost 10PM here. We are in Rangiroa at 8AM tomorrow morning. I think I will read a bit and then get to sleep. I’d like to be up on deck at 630 for our arrival and the cruise through Taputa Pass—where there may be dolphins accompanying us!

This picture is from sail away. Sunset over Moorea:

Note to self: Must stop eating so much.... Cannot wear Spanx with my swimsuit.....