The sea was calm, so we slept in until 6:45 am. We spent the morning leisurely until breakfast arrived, and around 8:30 am, we began preparing to meet up with others on the ship.
While awaiting MAry to get ready, I went to the veranda and thought to myself (always a dangerous thing to do), what did Cinderella wear when she swam in the ocean? Then, in a blinding flash, it came to me, glass flippers.
We left the suite at 9:45 am, changed some spa appointments, then went to Deck 18 to relax with a cup of tea and some reading.
On the way there, Mary asked me, “What keeps the ocean from leaking out?” Being smart, I quickly responded, “The seals.” Then the fight started.
Our secret place in the sky!
At noon, we had lunch in the DaVinci dining room. Paul had pasta, while Mary opted for soup and salad. We had to be done at 3:00 pm because, being a formal night, we needed fixin’.
Health food on a cruise ship?
At 3:00 pm, Mary and I went back to the spa. While Mary was getting her hair done, I received a shave and exfoliation treatment.
How do you make perfect more perfect?
It was a new experience for me, but it felt pretty good. Of course, the only way to improve my appearance would be to have a full head transplant. The poor technician worked on my face for almost an hour and finally offered me my money back. There was nothing he could do.
He worked so hard but nothing can fix ugly!
A technician came up with a clever solution – Mary just has to lead me around.
It seemed to work, except is was hard to walk!
It was 4:00 pm, so we rushed to the fourth-floor medical center and met the ship’s doctor. She showed us her cabin, which was Spartan but actually quite nice; she is a lovely lady who we enjoy every time we meet.
What’s up, docs?
She then took us into the crew area, and we saw “M1”, the main end-to-end walkway on deck four. It was like a freeway! People with every uniform went about their duties.
We went to the engineering office and met the Chief Engineer, a cheerful man with 23 years of experience with Princess Lines. We talked to him in his office for about twenty minutes, asking questions.
I attempted to stump him, so I asked how much power generated on board is used for air conditioning. He smiled and responded, “2.5 MW”.
The Chief Engineer is a fantastic person overseeing 400 people.
Then he took us on a tour of the “engine room” and its supporting equipment for an hour and a half. The engine room is not exactly a room; it is many rooms from the bow to the stern of the ship.
The ship is powered by six diesel generators providing over 67 MW of power to operate the vessel. We were loping along at 19 knots, 24 miles per hour, on four of the six engines consuming about 34 Megawatts for propulsion. The remaining energy went to operate the cooling systems, sanitation systems, and running all the ship’s electrical/electronic systems.
The engine room was 900 feet long and contained a nice-sized machine shop and all the other equipment.
The engine room goes forever, the entire length of the ship
Below decks is a fantastic array of machinery, all operating in unison to make to voyage memorable.
After the tour, we rushed to prepare and put on our formal attire for the captain’s cocktail reception for suite guests. We had a drink before the pictures were taken.
To me, “drink responsibly” means don’t spill it! We were thinking of Scout and remembered, It’s not drinking alone if you dog is home.
We got several photos taken during the evening.
Wow!
Socializing is tough, but someone has to do it.
We chatted with the Captain for a few minutes as we were at the end of the line.
“Hear no evil, speak no evil, and you won’t be invited to cocktail parties.
Good music, but we had to get to dinner at 8:00 pm; we were meeting Paul, the Indian gentleman.
We danced and had a glass of wine and then went to the Crown Grille, where we got served two spicy Indian dishes; I needed my fix. Mary had a steak. Paul, our new Indian friend, knew how to order, and he was insistent.
We went back to the cabin at approximately 10:30 pm and immediately fell asleep. Our day was full of activities, and we were exhausted. We talked a lot about being retired.
I now keep my suggestions to myself.
Last night, I dreamed I was swimming in an ocean of orange soda. But it was just a Fanta sea.
I did look out at the sea, and something that had puzzled me for years got cleared up. I always wanted to know why seagulls fly over the ocean. Well, duh, Because if they flew over the bay, they’d be bagels.
