Cruise Part 13. The last sea day...

Since departure yesterday we have travelled 361 nautical miles at about 19.3 knots. Much quicker than usual, maybe the captain is in a hurry to get home.

The temperature is 30C or 86F and humid. Most of the day today we can see the coast of Cuba and the buildings of Havana are visible. Getting close to Florida. 

Breakfast was Eggs Benedict and lots of fruit. The pineapple, bananas and mangos in the buffet are so fresh and delicious that neither of us can get enough of them.Then we hot tubbed and swam for bit before starting the inevitable chore of packing. Actually, packing wasn't too bad since I didn't really buy anything. A small bottle of hot sauce for one son, at his request, and that went in my liquids bag for carry-on, a linen shirt for second son, that was his request, it was thin enough to fit in my carry-on and that was that. Easy-peasy. I did buy one picture of the two of us, it's not great but it's the best out of what I think might have been as many as 50. 

And before I knew, it was lunch time! We both had stuffed calamari for a starter and Beef Bourginone for a main. Steven had a banana split for dessert and I had creme brûlée. Our last sit down lunch.....

The main pool was empty, which made for an awful lot of pissed off people. The staff said it was "for maintenance", and I guess it was, but they could have done it this evening. It's obvious that once the cruise is basically done, the fawning over the passengers is done as well. I remember this from our other two cruises also. 

We wandered thru the casino and used the last of our credits (didn't win) and did some swimming and hot tubbing in the other pool and before long it was suppertime! Can you tell that food is an important part of my life?

I had a watermelon and feta salad with roasted pumpkin seeds and a citrus dressing, as well as a seafood terrine. For a main I had salmon with a glazed tamarind sauce. Steven had a pork riblet and Caesar salad and a New York strip steak for his main. For dessert we both had Baked Alaska. That must be "a thing", the Baked Alaska Parade on the last night. The kitchen staff all come out with Baked Alaskas on a trays,  with a candle (a battery operated one) on each, and everyone sings and applauds as they circle the dining room.

I remember on our cruise to the Bahamas, the staff actually balanced the Baked  Alaska's on their heads, and they were flambéd and the flames were pretty high! I guess all that is a thing of the past, but the song was the same, "Hot Hot Hot" by Arrow, and covered by everyone from Buster Poindexter to Menudo. It's a catchy tune though, and suits the occasion. It was, like many things on the boat, cheesy but fun. And the cake was excellent.

The show that night was, without exaggeration, fantastic. It was called The Secret Silk and was produced by the composer of "Wicked", Stephen Schwartz  (he wrote songs for "Pocahontas", "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", "Enchanted" and others. The dragons and monsters, (of which there were many) are all from Jim Henson's creature shop. It was as good as the Broadway productions of "The Lion King" and "Warhorse". I seriously would not have been disappointed if I had paid money to see it. It was created especially for the Princess Cruise Line, but I'm sure it would be equally at home on Broadway. 

We were in bed by 11-ish, as usual, and the engines were just as irritating as they were on day one, except I was a bit more used to them, but I'm sure glad I had the foresight to bring along some Gravol as it's a great sleep aid.

Good night.