Today marked the start of four straight sea days before we reach Apia, Western Samoa. You'd think that would mean sleeping in. Oh no. We were up at 5:45 a.m. to do laundry. Surely there would be machines available that early. Wrong. Apparently, after four consecutive port days, a few of the other 3,000 guests had exactly the same idea.
With the laundry room packed, we headed to the Horizon Court for breakfast. I finally managed to get a couple of real fried eggs instead of what Barb is convinced are powdered scrambled eggs. Hash browns, watermelon, a little cottage cheese, lox, and some really bad coffee rounded out my meal. I don't recall what Barb had because I stayed behind to guard our table while she gathered her breakfast. By the time I got back, she was nearly finished eating. That's the downside of preferring to sit while you eat. The dining rooms are much better for finding a seat, but every meal seems to take about an hour. Then again, with four sea days ahead of us, we're really not in much of a hurry.
Later we stopped by the International Cafe for a mocha before wandering through a few of the shops. Eventually we found ourselves at the Future Cruise Center—the place where you sit down at a computer and figure out how to spend thousands of dollars. Which is exactly what we did. After looking at several options, we settled on a 20-day Caribbean cruise aboard the Royal Princess. No money has changed hands yet, but I'm pretty sure Barb isn't going to let this one get away.
On the way back to our cabin we checked the laundry room again and found several machines available. By some stroke of luck, they were still empty when we returned with our laundry bag.
While relaxing in the cabin before lunch, the captain came over the PA system with an announcement that no one wanted to hear. We had a new guest aboard. Yes, Norovirus had officially joined the passengers and crew of the Crown Princess. We were reminded to wash our hands frequently and instructed to call 911 if we became sick. Don't leave your cabin—the ship's doctor would come to you.
With that cheerful news fresh in our minds, we washed our hands and headed to lunch in one of the dining rooms. Horizon Court was suddenly off our list for a while. Lunch was potato soup, turkey sandwiches, and hazelnut ice cream for both of us.
Barb made reservations for dinner at 7:30 in the Crown Grill, one of the ship's two specialty restaurants. "Specialty" means there's an extra cover charge, but for me it was money well spent. I'd give the meal an A. The scallop appetizer was outstanding, the French onion soup was excellent, and the filet was cooked perfectly. Barb wasn't quite as impressed with her selection, but we both agreed the desserts were excellent. To top it all off, we enjoyed a bottle of Oregon wine from Willamette Valley Vineyards.
Tomorrow brings another sea day. Hopefully, the laundry is done, the
Norovirus stays away, and the coffee somehow improves.
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Aboard the Crown Princess
009° 41' North
163° 37' West
Posted by iPad Air 2
Sorry to hear about the norovirus. We tried not to touch handrails or elevator buttons, etc, with our fingers and washed hands a lot. Our cruise didn't have norovirus, but lots of flu which we were fortunate enough to avoid. In the Horizon grill, you might try one of the custom made omellettes. We were told on our kitchen tour that the eggs aren't powdered, but they are pre-mixed and frozen, so they definitely don't taste like home-made scrambled eggs, but the omellettes are good.
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