Friday, November 11, 2016

More Wonderful Exeriences on the Regal Princess Cruise (Days 7 & 8)

Friday, April 22nd

We can’t believe our cruise is almost to the half way point. This week has really flown by but been very relaxing. Last night I was asleep by about 11:15 pm and woke up at 4:00 am. After lying in bed for an hour, I decided to get up and take a walk around the ship as it would be a good time to take pictures, since not many people would be around. I did do that for about 30 minutes and talked to a guy from the passenger service desk. He told me that the desk is manned all through the night, and he doesn’t mind working all night because he works from 9:00 pm till 8 am, and then has the rest of the day off. He is from South Africa and because he doesn’t have a family, he loves working on the ship. When he goes home for his break, he misses being on the ship. That’s the first time I have heard that. Most people I talk to get homesick. Below are some pictures I took early in the morning which include the atrium, the art gallery, and a sculpture near the passenger's services desk.

I went to the Horizon Court buffet and just had a cup of coffee. Shortly after I got there, a woman who had been having coffee at another table, walked by my table said "hello", and started talking to me. Before I knew it we were sitting down talking for two hours and it was a really interesting conversation. She’s originally from Columbia and now lives in Australia. She is 36 and going through a divorce and is in between jobs so it’s the perfect time for her to go on a cruise. She is staying on the ship for 25 days (ours is a 14 day cruise) and is going on to Germany and Russia. At 7:30 I realized Chuck was probably awake and wondering where I was so I headed back to the room.

We went to breakfast and then sat outside on a lounge chair in the sun near the pool for about 15 minutes. Who Framed Roger Rabbit, an oldie but a goody, was on the Movies Under the Stars screen. Chuck went to another enrichment lecture about the Truk Lagoon and exploring the ships underwater that were found there. I was so tired from waking up so early that I fell asleep for about 15 minutes, then went to the library to return my book. Unfortunately I couldn’t find much else to choose from so I found a chair to sit in and wait for Chuck and talked to a nice couple comparing cruise notes of different cruises and cruise lines we have been on. That's one of the things I enjoy about meeting other people on cruise ships...the chance to compare notes and find out tips for other cruises. After meeting Chuck and heading for lunch, we once again sat in the sun in lounge chairs, but only for about 15 minutes as the sun is strong.

Back in the room, Chuck took a nap and I watched the end of the movie, “By the Sea” which was written and directed Angelina Jolie Pit and Brad Pitt, and unfortunately for her, was one of the worst movies I have ever seen! Then when Chuck was working out I walked a mile on the walking track, and then went to use my favorite pool again. The water was pretty chilly even though the sun was warm but it was very refreshing. We then went to dinner at the Symphony dining room. I had fettuccine alfredo and Chuck had lobster tails with crab cakes. The crab cakes had red pepper and filler in them so weren’t as good as many we have had. BUT the lobsters tails and fettuccine were delicious. For dessert Chuck had an amazing choice called Chocolate Journeys and I was full so I just had peach sorbet. You can see pictures of our delicious meals below. We then went to see Tom Frenek again and he once again blew us away with his piano antics. After that we had just enough time to head to the Vista Lounge to see a new comedian, Darrell Joyce who was funny talking about marriage and the typical man/woman view of packing for and enjoying a cruise.

Saturday, April 23rd

Today we got up and went for breakfast a little later than normal. I decided to take it a bit easy on the food although that’s hard to do since there are so many delicious looking choices on board this ship. I had yogurt and fruit and a small piece of banana bread with raspberry jelly, which is one of my favorite breakfast items on Princess ships. After breakfast we went to another on board sale. This one had many more items including jackets and hats, magnets, purses, etc. I ended up getting a hat that was marked way down because I forgot to bring one and the sun is quite bright out on the decks. Then we went to Club 6 which was where the eBay sellers of the world meeting was to be held, by my request. Chuck was hopeful that a lot of people were going to show up. Only 2 guys came, and they were both older men who hadn’t started selling on eBay yet, but had hoped to start. So instead of a group of eBay sellers getting together to compare notes, I gave them some tips on how to start selling on eBay. It was actually a lot of fun and I think we all enjoyed ourselves. During the meeting, Chuck had to leave to go to his lecture about the same diver that found a downed WWII airplane that was discovered off the coast of Corsica, and all of his experiences surrounding that discovery with the gunner’s body still sitting in the tail of the airplane. I happened to be going by one of the jewelry stores after my meeting was over and they were doing a drawing so I stayed and Chuck met me there and waited for me sitting in the sun on an outside deck area just outside the jewelry store. This area was a new discovery for us and it was relaxing to sit in the sunshine overlooking the water for a bit. We ate lunch (at this point I think I might be addicted to taco salad with guacamole for lunch!) and when we came back, I did our fist load of laundry of the trip. It costs $3.00 for a washer or a dryer, and $1.50 for laundry soap softener. I am glad we brought our own Tide in trial sized packets and laundry sheets. That saves $2.00 per load. You know me…always trying to save money!

Later we took a nap and then went to work out. I finally was able to show Chuck where “my” pool is and hope that he will come up there with me someday. I walked on the track and then went to “my” pool and met a woman there with her 10 year old daughter who is one of only four children on board the ship. They were really nice AND from Connecticut which was quite surprising. We went to dinner at the Horizon Court and the special thing they had tonight was Yorkshire pudding which was a very unusual offering at dinner. I also had a delicious peach Mouse with whipped cream on top for dessert. Chuck had an end cut prime rib, brussel sprouts. and beef stew over mashed potatoes and really enjoyed that. We headed to my favorite part of the ship…the back deck called the Terrace Grill and looked out over the bebeautiful view there for a bit, before heading to the song and dance show in the Princess Theater. Tonight was a show called, ‘Spectacular” which we had seen before on the Royal Princess and I wasn’t looking forward to seeing it. BUT the singers and dancers were SO good on this ship that we really enjoyed the show. Afterward, we watched a guy doing a street performance type of show in the Piazza. It was a juggling and balancing act where he balanced things on his nose and chin, etc. We called it a night after having a Coke and listening to a band play dance music in the piazza.

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