December 20, 2023 – At Sea – Atlantic Ocean – Still Warm – Partly Cloudy – 80s

The ride during the island hopping portion of the cruise was relatively smooth because the ship took advantage of island sheltering.  Now, in the open sea, the chop has returned and people are hopping around again.  Don’t know why but the chop is messing with my sleep.  I should be used to this by now,

Another nice breakfast in the Sunset Veranda – including a spectacular sunrise

the crew member who takes orders for the egg station was able to get me some sour cream very quickly this morning, improving my breakfast experience significantly.  Every breakfast on this cruise has been wonderful.

My lectures are in the morning on the return trip to FLL.  Today’s talk – “Forensic Detectives: The Search for Jack the Ripper” – is scheduled for 11:00 PM.  I took in Eric Ball’s talk on “Explorers of the Caribbean” at 10:00 AM.  There was some interesting stuff about Columbus in the talk.  Eric even prepared a slide previewing my talk following his.  We most likely have distinct audiences but I noticed that over half of his audience stayed in their seats. 

The talk was well attended and the audience was probably one of the most engaged audiences I have talked to.  

They answered and asked question during the talk – it certainly made for a more interesting session with all of the points being thrown out.  Eric stayed for my talk (I had been to his last talk and was going to attend his “Ocean Liners” presentation. One audience member came up with a very interesting idea, namely that there were two killers – Jack and a female assistant that distracted victims. 

I got a late start because of mic issues and ended right at Noon.  A very fun session.

I got lucky at lunch in the Windows Café.  It was a seafood pasta lunch and there was a pasta station preparing just that.  I told the cook that I was allergic to sea food and could he get a clean pan and spatula.  He said OK and then made me a very delicious spaghetti with marinara sauce, tomatoes, and sun dried tomatoes.  Absolutely wonderful and kudos to the flexibility of the cook. A Cesar Salad completed the meal along with a German Beer (whose name I forget).

Tonight was “Taste of India” night up in Windows and there was absolutely nothing for us to eat.  Rolls and butter and some dessert did the trick. That’s what I call a “Princess Dinner” because we frequently find nothing to eat at dinner on certain Princess ships.

We passed on the production show, “Amped Up”, for obvious reasons and instead spent the time in the quiet and comfort of The Living Room.