It sure was great to have a day at sea.....finally. Breakfast was busy despite the fact there was a brunch at 9:30 to 12:30pm in the lower dining room. More and more of the regulars are enjoying the complimentary fresh-squeezed orange juice as well as the mimosas. They might as well because there is only one day left to do so.
Back in our room, we had two more tiles left for us. And later, there were two stickers with the itinerary for the 18-day Alaska cruise to add to our other ones. Glad I remember to bring one of those "Passport" booklets with us. Even at the end of the world cruise this year, the booklets were handed out towards the end of the trip.
Captain Willems came on with his noon update saying we had 259 nautical miles to go to reach Vancouver tomorrow around 7am. As we sailed between the inside islands, the temperature was a steady 57 degrees with winds at 1.8mph. Humidity was 80% and the skies were partly cloudy with some sun. We encountered some fog when it was thick enough, and the foghorn sounded. We still maintained a speed of 14 knots.
Since it was the final day at sea, there were sales everywhere (what a surprise). One of us remembered to cash in the drink cards from this sailing for two Coke Zeros. On the last 7-day cruise, I forgot to use them and they expired. We started seeing luggage put outside in the hallways, glad it was not ours. That will come soon enough.
We took in the scenery from our veranda all afternoon, keeping watch for wildlife. We saw otters, various ducks, gulls, but no bears or cougars, which are said to be roaming these woodlands.
Lunch was chicken nuggets and mini-burger sliders from the kid's menu. One salad and a bowl of soup were the starters.
Dinner was casual with wedge salads and a shared plate of anti-pesto ham and salami, and beef Wellington for our mains. Dessert was a shared piece of baked Alaska , which is not made the same as it used to be. There is no cake involved, just meringue and cherry compote. Sweet-sweet-sweet. Then there was a farewell parade of the kitchen crew and wait staff singing all the way around the upper and lower dining rooms. Once again, there was no music during the meal.
Tonight's show in the World Stage was the comedy of Jeff Burghart complete with new impressions.
Back to Vancouver tomorrow, and the start of a new adventure.
Bill & Mary Ann
