Today was our first day totally spent on the ship. Mom and I slept in (or tried to at any rate) until 8:30am. We decided to go to the talk about the Captain’s Circle (AKA the frequent cruisers club for Princess). I had tea and a jelly donut. It was interesting and lovely to think of being able to be a frequent cruiser. Probably will come to naught. We then went to Horizons for buffet breakfast. Egg over easy, toast, bacon, pineapple, banana, and French toast for me. Oh, and I found the milk, so milk too.
The ceramic beds at the Thermal Spa. Ahhhhh!
The sanctuary that was the sauna.
At the International Cafe, I got a fruit tart (as did mom & elsaf, with judiang getting the tiramisu glass) and then followed it up with a peanut butter cup (the cup being a demitasse with peanut butter mousse & whipped cream in it). I shall partake of the International Cafe several more times this trip, I think.
The Polonia Quartet began played. 3 violins & 1 cello from Poland. [As will be noted in a future blog entry, it’s 2 violins, a viola, and cello.] They did a nice mix of classical and contemporary music. Quite lovely. Mom stayed the whole time while I directed Judi and Elsa to the Library by what turned out to be a convoluted way. Ooops. I returned to mom and the concert (which was being held by the main elevators/giant staircase in the center of the ship), leaving again later to get my camera. I caught their final piece and took plenty of photos. Then purchased their CD. The quartet are very nice people and we chatted with them briefly.
The Polonia Quartet in the Piazza.
Mom and I then went to the ring sale on deck 6. She found two rings for $35 the pair. They were all very sparkly and pretty, which although a fun distraction, just isn’t for me to be wearing. Mom also purchased a t-shirt with fun facts about the ship. She says she’ll wear it tomorrow on our hike.
We had a wine tasting to attend at 3pm, so we got into the Michaelangelo dining room around a quarter till and were seated with two men from Newfoundland. They were fun to talk to. Their wives weren’t much for wine, so it was just them. We had fun tasting the wines and appetizers. I didn’t find any wine which I liked (no surprise there) but several of the appetizers were tasty. We had enough fun that we signed up for the wine tasting on Saturday (with cheaper wines, thus for less moolah). As with the original wine tasting, this one will be on my tab. Go figure!
Lots of glasses! And just for me!
Mom and I decided it was Spa Time. So we returned to the adult deck and sat out sunning ourselves and reading. Then we swam for a bit, seeing Elsa & Judi in the pool before they headed for their Spa Treatments (massage for Judi, pedicure for Elsa). Mom and I returned to the deck. Which I later left to get an ice cream. Then it was down to the spa for more ceramic sofa, sauna, and shower. Heh.
Around 7pm, we returned to the room to get ready for dinner. It was formal night in the dining rooms, so we dressed up. As I told the girls before the trip, I don’t do formal, I do dumpy. But apparently I was good enough to be let in when our 8:15 reservation was ready. (Before dinner, however, we watched them fill a champagne fountain. People could pour stuff in and get photos taken, and Judi decided to do that. Mom was sad that no one came and gave us complementary champagne. They’d given us some of that earlier today as they seated us for the wine tasting, and she’d really liked it.)
Even more glasses! And none for me! (Yes, that’s Judi pouring!)
They had escargot for appetizer, which Judi, Elsa and I ordered. And it was very tasty. Snails are a perfect medium for butter & garlic, apparently. Mom liked it too (and the shrimp cocktail she ordered). I didn’t opt for the cold soup this time, instead going for a won ton soup that was quite yummy. (They did have a cold soup, which I might have gotten if this other soup hadn’t been offered.) For the main course, I had mignon medallions (medium rare) with almond croquettes. Very yummy.
Tonight was officially Judi’s birthday. So she had balloons outside her room and they brought out a fun cake wrapped in solid chocolate and topped in 3” of whipped cream. (Elsa was glad she didn’t have a birthday!) I had the chocolate/hazelnut soufflé and some of the gourmandises (aka, cookies) the waiter brought out for all of us to try.
Stuffed to the gills, we sat around a bit and then headed off to our respective evening entertainment. Mom and I opted for the comedian/juggler, Phil Prudhomme. Judi and Elsa opted for the Motor City musical extravaganza. Phil was quite fun and funny. And we got to see a member of the audience crack a raw egg on his own forehead (he was certain it was hard boiled). Heh. I think Phil was surprised the guy went that far. One of the neatest things Phil did was juggle a bowling ball, a machete, and an egg. And even threw the bowling ball around his back. (He’d started that particular set by claiming he’d kick the ball up and land it on a little girl in the front row. The girl thought he was serious and cried into mom’s arms and then dad’s. Phil apologized, said he was kidding, and that he’d toss the machete over instead. Heh.)
After he finished the show (with flaming batons, quite impressive), mom and I headed back to the room. Only we saw that the Motor City revue was still going on. So we popped into the Princess Theater and watched the final number. And noticed there wasn’t a single black person in the revue. Sure enough, we had a knock on the door once we were back in the room and Judi and Elsa were there, still laughing from the performance. It was the whitest tribute to Motown Judi had ever seen. She was too amused to be offended.
So now we’re in bed. Mom’s asleep and I’m finishing this up. Tomorrow we have a big hike ahead of us. So we intend to sleep in a bit. Hope we’re up to the challenge!