2BCruising: Thursday (01/23): At Sea and Other Things!

Where has all our cruising days gone? Here we are with just two more days of cruising. We received our dreaded disembarkation letter and tags this morning. I should start packing. At least I thought about it.

After an early breakfast (6am!) and a quick morning nap, we went up to the top deck to spend some quiet time in Skywalker's. Much to our surprise, it was crowded and noisy! I found a spot, port side overlooking the kiddie pool area. There were multiple activities going on: knitters and knitters, beginner ballroom dance lessons, and various groups chatting at the same time. Yikes! Our secret is out! Hubby tried to get some studying done. I tried to type my blog posts. I also tried getting onto the Internet to upload my posts. It wasn't going to happen this morning.

After two hours, we gave up our spot in Skywalker's. My head was throbbing from the dance music. Unfortunately the spot I chose for us to sit was next to the speakers. On our way down to Dolphin deck 9, we stopped by the Horizon buffet on Lido deck 15. We were hungry, again. I took a few steps into the buffet area and noticed a lot of similarities. Like deja vu from early this morning. Then it hit me that the tail end of breakfast was still being served. I checked my watch and it was 11:27am. I did not want second breakfast. I wanted to eat lunch. I was good. I ended up with a chocolate croissant (carbs!) and a couple of pineapple and melon slices. Hubby called this meal "elevensies". If I didn't hear that phrase right, please correct me.

After our quick snack, we noticed the crew was changing out the buffet from breakfast to lunch. I checked my watch again and it's was 11:35am. We'll catch our next meal somewhere else.

Since we were still on Noro-alert, both buffet areas have been open. For some strange reason, there has been lots of fellow cruisers eating in the buffet for breakfast and lunch. We've noticed the longer lines. At the same time, Cafe Caribe has been closed for breakfast and lunch and opened only for dinner. Yes, we were handed our silverware wrapped in a cloth napkin and a plate. Yes, the crew still served us in the buffet area. Yes, we used salt/pepper packets. Yes, we were not allowed to get our own drinks (water, hot tea, ice, etc) from the drink station. We're basically not allowed to touch anything in the buffet area while the Noro-alert is still active. I was perfectly happy with this as I preferred not to be sick on the cruise.

I dropped Hubby off in our cabin and went down to the lower decks to check out the afternoon activities. I also wanted to see if I could find a pouch for Hubby's new gadget.

New gadget? What new gadget? No worries. Hubby has been looking at a GoPro. Like for the last two years. Last year, we almost bought one in Ft Lauderdale. But something told me to hold off. I checked the reviews and it wasn't favorable. Gut feeling has never failed me. A few days ago, we had been wandering around the photo gallery and saw their GoPro display. I checked the specs and I knew it was the right model to get. You know that gut feeling? I have never been wrong about my gut feeling for gadgets. Hubby wanted me check the prices and the reviews. But my gut feeling says a big YES! No tax and no shipping fee. Another Yes!

Since Hubby did not share my gut feeling, I decided to do some research on the Internet. We each have an Internet account on the ship. Thanks to our Platinum status, we each get free minutes on each cruise. Not unlimited minutes, just 150 free minutes each. I decided we should burn through his minutes for the research.

Well, you know the results. I've been testing this cute little camera around the ship. That's my task as a gadget queen. I must say, I enjoy that task quite a bit. Conclusion: it's an awesome gadget! One of the ship's photographer, Hice from the Philippines, gave me a quick demo. He answered all my questions...which he kept saying "now, that's a good question". Yes, I have a checklist of questions that applies to any potential gadget purchase. Hice was very knowledgeable and very personable. I made a mental note to write up a recommendation for him. More on that later.

Photo Gallery area:

Princess sells Nikon cameras onboard. Yes, there's a big huge smile plastered on my face. They also sell the new Nikon 1 AW1 underwater camera. Yes, I checked that one out and it's quite heavy. It would need a heavy duty float strap to make that baby float. No, I do not need another Nikon and I'm perfectly happy with my reliable AW100 and P7100 cameras. Still, it was good to see the latest models and try them out. After all, I'm a gadget queen.

Wow! Did I digress! Back to my At Sea post!

I wandered around the ship on decks 5, 6, and 7. The huge Piazza atrium was in full swing. On Promenade deck 7, the staff was blowing up balloons and throwing them into the net. Later tonight, they will have a balloon drop. Oh, I forgot to mention that tonight is formal night.

Hubby wanted to get dressed for formal night. I was in the mood to be lazy and content in my t-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops. Hubby also wanted to eat in the Coral dining room. We dressed in our nines and went down to the Piazza atrium and then to dinner. I'm glad we went as I was able to get my favorite Princess meal: Fettuccine Alfredo.