Apparently, the Carnival Group, which owns Princess and 31 other cruise lines had just announced the launch of its 100th ship and the CEO had decreed that all 27000 passengers currently on their ships would be given a glass of cheap champagne and asked to toast the new vessel, Carnival Magic. We had been watching, all day, the decorating of a huge cake and that was to be cut after the toast. There was also to be a balloon drop before we all went to bed. Passengers got into the spirit of the occasion and those who had been whinging about him all day were among the loudest to cheer him after his speech. The glasses were drained, the canapes wolfed down, the cake was cut and distributed and Marilyn and I went off to dinner, and what a dinner it was.
We both started with Jumbo prawns with a brandied cream dressing. They must have picked up a load of prawns in Broome because they were superb. Normally prawn dishes on Princess are made from those frozen creatures from the Mekong delta but these were crisp and tasted of the sea. Marilyn had a green salad and I had beef broth before the piece de resistance. We could have had any of 8 dishes but both opted for grilled Lobster Tail and King Prawn with asparagus, cream potato and buerre blanc. The prawns were huge and had been butterflied like the lobster tail, so it looked like we had three good portions of lobster. It was a fabulous dish with great flavor.
We ordered light desserts but were encouraged to wait for the parade of Bombe Alaske when the kitchen staff and junior waiters march around the dining room with the bombes. Great fun and another happy memory to store away.
We were a bit over-heated by this stage so quickly changed into casual gear and headed off to the Princess Theatre for the show, The British Invasion. Wow! The shows have generally been good but this was spectacular with incredible costumes and lots of pizzaz. As Marilyn said, the music gave them a great foundation but they really made the most of it. There were many highlights but their interpretation of Bohemian Rhapsody brought us to our feet. If you had asked us, when we were leaving Bali, whether we would sail with Princess again, we might have been a bit non-committal. However, last night showed us how good they can be so we’ll be happy to give them another go.
Marilyn wore one of the outfits she bought in the Philippines last year and there is no question she turned heads. There was nothing else like it on board and the deep red colour is very eye-catching. People passing by complimented her and people in the dining room leaned over to say how impressed they were with how she looked. Nobody, of course, even noticed me but I’m used to that and just get on with opening doors and carrying bags for my more glamorous better half. Her friend in the photograph is Jillian, one of the other passengers.Today we’re at sea again. I’ve been getting up early each morning for a brisk walk on the deck and a quick swim before breakfast. It was 7.15 this morning before I hit the deck. Sometime earlier than that we had passed an oil well platform and I could still see it some way behind us The sea was a bit rough and walking wasn’t easy but I persevered through the salt spray to complete my minimum three laps. Two of the pools were closed but I found the third one open and had my quick dip, then a shower and breakfast.
It’ll be another quiet day today. Marilyn has Goofy Golf at 10 and there’s a movie with Russell Crowe at 2. In between times we’ll try to avoid snacking on the extraordinary amount of food the crew keep offering us. We still have 7 cups available on our coffee card so will have to make sure we drink that today or tomorrow. We’re in Geraldton tomorrow and, as has become our habit, we’ll post home from there a box of excess clothes. I can’t imagine I’ll need a dinner suit in the few days we’re in Perth, and Marilyn put aside a heap or stuff she won’t need, so we will rid ourselves of some excess weight.
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