On Our Way Back Down

This is the first day of our return back to Vancouver. The calls for baggage tags of certain colors began VERY early. By six things are beginning to move. It is a rainy cool day. We met Ann and Ken for breakfast and had our usual friendly visit. Because it was such a rainy and cool day we did very little other than stay in our cabin. Turnaround day is always so busy for the staff that it is best to stay out of their way. We received notice that they were going to be cleaning the glass of the patio doors and asked that we keep out drapes closed during the morning. With all of the wind and rain there was little to see anyway.

W e got a very nice surprise this morning . Kim sent us chocolate covered strawberries. She is the BEST TA. As well as flowers and strawberries she has given us spending money to use during these 14 days. If you are interested contact me and I will tell you how to contact her.

Happily the rain has stopped, the wind has died down and the ship is no longer rocking and rolling. When we left our cabin to head for the dining room we met our steward in the hallway and he allowed us to take his picture. He has been and is a great stewart. Every night we leave him some candy and a little thank you card. He has said that he likes that little smile we give him every day. His name is Renaldo and he is from the Phillipeins.

One thing we had not taken advantage of yet during this cruise is the Elite reception in the Vista longue. We decided to do that today so we went there at 4:30 when it started and we had lovely appetizers and I got a new cocktail. It is named Dark and Stormy. It is a mixture of dark rum and ginger beer with a piece of fresh lime. I am now a fan. I really enjoyed it. Unfortunately it comes in a tall glass and Princess only has short straws. I had to hold that straw when taking a sip and when trying to mix the 2 layers. I took that Dark and Stormy to the dining room and Emile put it into a shorter glass. This will be my new favorite drink, of course the fack that I love ginger and the flavour of rum did not hurt.

The evening was cold and wet, it was just pouring so we made no plans to go topside or anywhere near the wind and rain. Because the ship was rocking we got into bed early and soon was off to dream land.