October 26, 2023 – At Sea – Cooler – 70s

Another nice breakfast up in the Oceanview Café – better yet, I have trained the suits up there relative to the cottage cheese requirement. They find my table and deliver it to me.  Nice service.

I have to admit that the coffee is really good on this cruise and really hot.  I am diluting the coffee 1:1 as it is also really strong.  Another great breakfast with a view.

The ship is on its way back to San Pedro and as we go North, the air temp has really dropped.  The pool areas are still saturated with people but it is too cool for us so we spend the day inside – mostly in Café Baccio.   

I’ve got two talks scheduled for today.  “Forensics and History: Identifying the Famous and Infamous” is in the Theater at 11:15 AM and “Forensics and History: The Search for Jack the Ripper” in Celebrity Central at 4 PM.  

With the extra time this morning,  thought I would try a $5 mocha in Café Baccio (my only indulgence of this cruise and it wasn’t all that great).  It was a little chocolaty so I diluted it with some milk. Maybe it would have been better in a glass rather than in a to go cup.

The morning turnout for "The Famous and Infamous" was the largest theater audience of this cruise and larger than those I've had on Edge, Apex, and Beyond (when I'm in the Theater) – several hundred passengers attended.  

The crowd equaled some of the lower turnouts by some of the entertainers.  In fact, the crowd caused a bit of a slam up in the Oceanview Cafe - it was difficult to find a seat with all of the theater folks coming in all at once. 

I got to Celebrity Central around 3:40 PM and there were already people seated.  They kept coming and at showtime, it was an SRO crowd (people standing in the back).  The talk went very well and ended right on time.  I guess cruise passengers can go to two sessions in a day.  

I had pasta pesto made by the pasta chef in the Oceanview Cafe.  It is a very nice dish and along with a salad makes for a good meal in a relatively quiet venue.

We ran into our neighbor in C3521 outside our stateroom and it turned out she is tonight’s headliner, Paulette Ivory. We said we were looking forward to her show this evening,  

We did go to her 7:00 PM show in the theater and she told the audience that she had starred in “Aida” and “Buddy” (the Buddy Holly Show).  

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She had a powerful voice (too powerful maybe) but she was a hyper rifer (like Mariah Carey). Each note was divided into several other notes along her range. I personally find that difficult to listen to.  In addition, she had such a heavy UK lilt that I couldn’t understand a word she was saying. 

We spent a little time in the Ensemble Lounge (Deck 5 Aft) – the couches are comfortable.  We gave the Vesselets a try but didn’t like their music.  We headed back to the comfort and quiet of the cabin.