Cruising in the Caribbean: Not a lot to report about Saturday - our final day of the cruise. Skies were grey and cloudy. Though not rough, the boat was rocking a bit. Dave and I had lunch with Lenn in the dining room. Lucile and Lisa had lunch at the Salty Dog Grill poolside. Leo foraged at the buffet, and then hit-up his favorite spot on the ship - the soft-serve ice cream shop, Swirls.
The afternoon entertainment included Elevator Roulette. I took Lucile down so she could play, but I was also roped-in to crazy shenanigans. One of the assistant cruise directors covered the elevator UP/DOWN arrows so we couldn’t see where the four elevator cars were, nor where they were headed. Players chose which elevator they thought/guessed would next open by standing in front of it - much to the confusion to people in the cars when the door opened to reveal ten children jumping up and down with excitement. If you were standing in front of a door that did not open, you were eliminated… but no worries, there were many rounds played. Prizes were again the awful plastic Princess Cruises coasters. One elderly woman, using a walker, said no thank you to her prize, claiming it was much too elegant for her decor! I thought the cruise director was going to pass out from laughter!
As I reported yesterday, tonight we were all having dinner together at Rudi's The Catch, the fancy seafood restaurant on Deck 5, and met before dinner at the Bellini Lounge. Lucile was wearing her new blue bag:
My smoked salmon appetizer arrived under a cloche (glass dome) that was somehow filled with smoke!
(crab shell lid is removed to reveal the soup)
filled with every type of shellfish you can imagine.
I had the sole for my main course. I often make this at home, but do not debone the entire fish at the table (waiter was quite skilled), and do not serve an entire fish to ONE person. This fish was about a foot long. One person could/should not eat this much. Such a waste, but dang if the quarter I consumed wasn't delicious. It must have been sauteed in an entire stick of butter.
Our server suggested to the children they order "Rudi's Face" for dessert. We have never seen Rudi (but knew he was on board for this sailing), so can't say for sure this resembles him, but it does look like a face!
There was music playing around the ship to entertain the passengers in the evening, but first there was a little ceremony in the Piazza to honor and thank the culinary staff:
The speaker is the ship's cruise director, Jayson... or as he always introduces himself: Jayson-with-a-Y. (Lucile introduced herself to him the other day as Lucy-with-a-Y!) Jayson is South African and has been a lot of fun for the passengers as he is quite entertaining, handsome, and has a great sense of humor. Funny thing, the butt of many of his jokes is the cruise line! Lucile has a running gag about how Jayson is everywhere - how when her mom ordered more towels from housekeeping, Jayson delivered them to their cabin (not true), and when Lucy went to the front desk to complain about something (this did not happen), Jayson was there... but when Lucy asked to speak to the manager, Jayson went back behind a curtain only to return to her with wearing a little cap and saying he was Jayson-with-a-Y, the manager. Her jokes go on and on and on, to where he also cleans all the cabins, leads the yoga classes, cooks all the food, and serves it to the guests. Serious exaggeration, but Jayson is everywhere and I have no idea when he sleeps, nor how he gets himself into those tight slacks.
We are now off the ship and in hotels for the night. We all fly out Monday morning (different flights), so will call it a wrap. I will do a trip recap and maybe a little review of our cruise after we return home and adjust to the 4-hour time change. As Jimmy would say: It's been a lovely cruise. We had such a wonderful time with our family in the beautiful Caribbean - and that is the most important thing.
Until my next update, I remain, your Terry-with-a-Y correspondent.