Wednesday, March 11, 2020

June 13, 2019 – At Sea – Sunny – 81F


Slept OK without the need for earplugs.  
A very nice day at sea - nicer than it looks in the photos.



Here's where we are.


Breakfast on Pacific Princess starts at 6 AM, which is good for me and us (on early excursion days).  We are in a good location as the elevator closest to our room will take you right to the Panorama Buffet.  The Panorama Buffet has two egg prep stations and the usual items (oatmeal, waffles, and pancakes) but there are buttermilk biscuits also.  The wait staff will bring you coffee and juice or you can get coffee yourself from the spigots.  The coffee this morning was good and hot.  I had a waffle with cottage cheese, a tablespoon of scrambled eggs, and a biscuit.  That will probably be my default breakfast for this cruise.  The wait staff is very friendly and the muzak was, on this day, either off or at low volume.  I tried the back deck but it was too windy.

Our last ship, Oceania Regatta (the same configuration as this one) had a Coffee Bar in the Dining Room Lounge.  Pacific Princess has the Club Bar, in the Club Dining Room waiting area, that whips us specialty coffees.  I had my decaf iced skinny latte and it was very good. 

While I was ordering, Captain Andrea Spinardi – very tall Italian and young – came by and we shook hands (yes) and said hello.

At 10 AM I went to the Cabaret Lounge to hear Deb Fraioli, the semi-permanent Destination Expert, talk about New York City, our first destination.  Deb almost mans a desk and answers questions from guests about our itinerary.  She is on the ship for months at a time.  Her husband is a member of the Cruisetones Duo, that plays in the Casino Lounge.  She is also a denizen of Deck 3 Aft.  As do all destination speakers, Deb had a nice turnout.

My first talk – “Forensics and Television” – 


followed Deb at 11:00 AM.  I got there early to chat a bit with the audience.


Lynn stopped by to introduce me. 



I had a good first audience with the lounge being about 90 percent full or about 300 people (the place doesn’t look like it can hold that many but theoretically, the theater should accommodate half the passengers).  The audience was pretty vocal shouting out answers to some of my questions.

 

We had lunch in the Panorama Buffet – I ordered a veggie burger but forgot that Princess’ veggie burgers are fried mashed potatoes.  I had a large salad for lunch.

Because of the windy conditions on the deck, we went to the Pacific Lounge. Events are in there all afternoon – dance class, line dancing, a game show, and afternoon trivia – you just have to ignore the background noise and try to read. I am currently reading Daniel Silva's, "The English Girl".  I ventured out on the open deck to capture the "magic moment" or sunset.




Showtime tonight featured the first production show, “Stardust”.   


We have seen it many times but not on a small ship – only two singers and eight dancers.  The Pacific Princess Singers and Dancers did a nice job on the tiny stage (the four piece band was on the stage and the piano was on the dance floor).  The show, even in its downsized for, was entertaining. Post show music was provided by Randy Heddon in the Casino Bar.

Seas are smooth.

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