Tinbergs on Tour

March 17, 2026 – At Sea – Gulf of Mexico – Cloudy – Rain Showers – Cold – 60s

“Erin go braugh” – Happy St Patrick’s Day

There are some green balloons around and a green cake in the buffet.  I was hoping for complementary beer. 

Despite high hopes, the ride continues to be bumpy.  Sleep was on and off.

In spite of the scary skies, 

and rough seas, 

I went up to the Terrace Café for breakfast.  Because we are traveling West, the sunrise is later and later each day.  It was dark when I got out there but still warm.  The sunrise was dramatic.

It was 7:00 AM so I started off with some Corn Flakes from Waves and some Café Americano from the machine.

Looking for a different breakfast this morning once the Café opened, I got into the omelet line.  The person in front of me asked for mushrooms and peppers (and I thought I had a meat free omelet pan waiting for me) but then she added the whammy ingredient, shrimp to her omelet (I didn’t even know shrimp was a popular omelet item).  Seeing that, I reverted to the breakfast I have had every day this cruise, save one, that being two pancakes (the pancake lady knows me by sight) with cottage cheese, two different preserves (in those cute bottles) and a scoop of scrambled eggs with some cheddar cheese melted in (that I get from the omelet guy and add myself). For 15 mornings, that has been a winner made even more so by the coffee server who always keeps my cup filled. It rained while I was having breakfast but I did not get wet.

Ellen ordered Room Service – her go to dish has been French Toast with two fried eggs and some fruit.

At 9:30 AM, I went down to Martinis to meet with the guests who had requested the Q&A.  While the group numbered 30 about eight showed up.  Jamie got me a mic and we held the session in a circle.  I expected more questions about the lecture topics but instead wound up on several tangents.  No matter, the session was fun and the feedback to Peter confirmed that. 

The weather outside is deteriorating and the ship is starting to rock and roll again.

When we went up for lunch, we found the Veranda closed. We both ventured out in the light rain to Waves and I ordered a fish sandwich for myself and only fish for Ellen. The fish is always good – too much actually. The ship got into the St Patty's Day mood by offering the greenest cake I've ever seen.  Didn't try it, though.

My final talk, at 2 PM today, was “Forensic Detectives: Identifying America’s Fallen Heroes”. The ship was really rocking and rolling and experiencing the occasional boom slap.  We have a lot of vets on board so I thought the turnout would be solid. The crowd was, however, smaller than yesterday’s – I think people hesitated braving the journey to the theater – I know I did. I don’t think it was the topic since this talk is usually well attended. I hung on to the podium the entire time and that made it difficult for me to see the screen.  I don’t think this talk had the energy it had in the past.  I could just feel it.  I did get some nice positive feedback on this talk later in the evening – so who knows.

The outside decks were closed – we stayed in the room – did some packing – and had dinner in the Terrace Café – we ate inside because the veranda was still closed due to winds and rain.  I had hot dogs and Ellen had ribeye steak – for the first time this cruise the hot dogs were not a winner – they had a different taste, were a bit under (maybe boiled) and the buns were too large and they had been put on the grill.  The kosher meals were excellent throughout the entire cruise until tonight – an outlier I’m sure.

We spent a little time in Horizons and were treated to a rehearsal by Faye and Lilly.

We passed on Nina Skyy and went to the room and finished packing.

I had never been able to find the lectures on the smart TV.  I looked a bit harder and found my lectures including a really nice bio and picture. Their graphics were better than mine.

We were surprised to find a “Disembarkation Room Service Card” in our room. We have never been able to order room service on Disembarkation Day.  That was a positive. We put the breakfast cards out and the suitcases were outside our room long before the 10 PM deadline.

The ship is moving and lights went out at 10:15 PM.