These days forecasts have been so wrong, we wonder how far ahead of time they are done. It was extremely windy, rainy, and downright freezing all day. Not sure we saw the sun. The best part of the morning was the fact we had set the clocks back an hour last night, giving us a little more time to sleep. Some days we tend to burn the candle at both ends, so a day of relaxing was in order.
After breakfast, we took a walk on the lower promenade deck, and found absolutely no one there. Wonder why? It took about halfway around the deck when we realized how cold it was. So much for that, we ducked back inside, and headed back to our room to catch up on fjord pictures and reports.
At noon, we met up with Barb for lunch, enjoying the dining room menu, even more than the dinner menu. We never fail to find something that appeals to all of us. And the portions sizes are just right as well.
Now was a good time to catch Ian’s lecture about the upcoming ports of Portree, Belfast, Dublin, Cobh, and Bantry. We have only been to two of these ports, Dublin and Cobh, so the other two will be new for us. Now that we will be doing five ports in a row, we need to get all the info we can today.
It seems that all of the passengers that will be disembarking in Ft. Lauderdale, got their instructions for that last day of the cruise. In addition to this, there was a notice for luggage shipping services that provide bubble wrap, boxes, and tape for taking or sending extra things back home. These items can be purchased separately or in a package deal.
There were three lectures today, two of which dealt with Celtic history and Britannia ruling the waves. However the third lecture was all about how Honda changed Southeast Asia. Probably interesting.
We took the time to listen to the music of the Ocean Quartet at 5:30pm. The photo backdrop was up, but we knew we could sit and use the two arm chairs despite that. A new photographer had joined the ship recently, and was most forward with the passing guests, trying to entice them to take a picture. It was not a gala night, so no one was dressed for posing. Up to today, the camera people have been respectful of the guests, and not annoying. Guess this will change somewhat for the remainder of this cruise.
We noticed that some people were dressed for another occasion which happened to be a special Disco Inferno Chef and Sommelier Dinner in the Pinnacle Grill at 6pm. A number of officers, including Captain Mercer and his wife also attended. These wine pairing set dinners have kept the Pinnacle busy several times this cruise, even at the price of $79. And to match the theme, some guests did dress in some pretty wild clothes, like brightly-colored lame extremely wide bell bottom pants. And these were on a man, no less.
All of us were back together at dinner time, closing down the restaurant once again by 9:45pm. The show that followed were The Tap Chaps, a group from England, we think, that tapped to the style of Fred Astaire, Ginger Rodgers, Gene Kelly, and The Nicolas Brothers. We had become to think that this was a lost art, but this group brought it alive. Not sure the audience participation was needed however. That’s usually the time we “exit stage left”.
Back in our room, we discovered some gifts had been left. This time we got luggage tags and straps, the ones that are TSA approved with combination locks. Useful too.
Tomorrow…….we will be in Scotland, and The Isle of Skye. Bet it will be cold.
Bill & Mary Ann
