Saturday, October 24 - Last Day at Sea

 Saturday was a great day.  It was a combo of quiet balcony time, packing and socializing.

I spent a few hours in the morning with Michelle (my former 4th grade student) and her husband John.  Lovely people and I look forward to staying in touch.

The day ended at a drag show with Bill and Nancy1 and Jack and Raeanne.  A great way to end the trip and I was back in my cabin early enough to set my bags out before 10:00 p.m.

Photos!

Early morning, just before sunrise, looking aft.

But blue skies ahead!

We had a mix of clouds, showers and sun all day.

Sargassum. Harmless seaweed until it washes up on the beach, rots, smells and draws bugs.

Land ho!  First time to see land in 8 days.  A Bahamian island but I have no idea which one.

A tray of the rich and delicious cheese tarts at the Test Kitchen.

I love the Test Kitchen but I had exactly the same menu earlier on the cruise.  Tasty but c'mon.  It's only a two week cruise.

I was trying to use up my bar tab.  This ginger concoction was tasty.

Oh, just another cruise ship going by.  

The eel.  Very tasty - if you want more details on each dish, check one of the earlier posts.  

I am a fan of the apple chip smoke.

A dramatic start to the raw, sweet scallops.

The goat, Brie, blue cheese tart with mushrooms is delicious but so rich.

This time I was served a roast onion roll.  It was good but too big and rich to go with the big rich tart.

The chicken was tasty.

One of the things that nice about Virgin is that they have deliberately made it easy for strangers to dine together.  The down side, is if you want to dine alone, it's a challenge.  In this case, I was seated at a counter next to a charming man from Arkansas/Colombia.  We had a lovely conversation for the entire two hour dinner.  

Clever use of spices and herbs.

After dinner I ran into my favorite foursome and they invited me to join them at the drag show in the mann.  This is the entrance to the theater.

From the left - Raeanne, Jack, Nancy1 and Bill.

The stage, dahling.

It was a great show with audience participation.  I was right next to the stage and happily did not get picked for anything.  

Back in my cabin, it was too windy for a final hammock session.  There were several ships.

Virgin uses a band rather than a card used by other cruise lines.

5:30 a.m. in Miami.  All the crew had to get off the ship to go through Immigration.

There were 8 ships in port.  

The crew was still going through when I left the cabin for disembarkation at 6:30.

October 25, Sunday

 It's 6 am and we're docked in Miami. Yesterday was great fun and I'll post photos later.

I'd do it now but can't. Because Virgin cut off the WIFI I paid for and wants $40 to log in this morning. That is a hard no. 

It was a great cruise BUT what a rude way to end the trip. 

I'm getting off at 7, have a driver arriving at 8:15 and hope to get in a train be 10.

I'll be seeing Buddy soon!

Friday, October 23 - At Sea

 Well, we're getting closer to Florida.  Just one more day at sea before we arrive in Miami on Sunday.  To ease my sadness at the trip coming to an end, I've decided to eat and drink everything not nailed down on the ship.  Because, apparently, part of my brain doesn't believe they have ice cream or pizza in Florida.

It was a great day - an early walk, balcony time, some fresh fruit outdoors while I chatted with an interesting lady.  We talked for about an hour.  About places we've visited.  About losing family.  About the emotional challenge of getting rid of old stuff that has sentimental value.  I love encounters like this where two strangers dive past the small talk and really connect, for at least an hour.

Photos!

Last night the ship was decorated for Scarlet Night.  This morning, everything was back to normal by 6 a.m.

I'm trying to burn through my bar tab so started my morning with this expensive 4 oz of juice.

It's the orange one - it was delicious.

Decorations were gone and there were very few people out and about so early.  The music from the pool was so loud I could hear it clearly in my cabin which is far from the pool where the party was.

The giant map was off-line.  I'm hoping the bridge has a different system.

Sunrise on the balcony.  

With my decaf and juice.

The sky put on quite a show.

I left the balcony long enough to get a pizza.  Mr. Kindle and I were both happy.

Love this view.

Obligatory selfie.

Bummer for the sun lovers but I love a nice, gray rainy day.

I had this tasty mocktail at dinner with Nancy 1/Bill and Rayann and Jack at Lucky Lotus.  Conversation and food were both great.

Once again I started eating before the photo.  Tasty shrimp and walnuts.

And, the spicy/sweet ribs I had on another visit.

And, the lettuce wrap, which was "meh".  All three dishes were appetizers.

OMG - the special dessert of the night was a toffee pecan bar with ice cream.  It had caramel and chocolate and was incredibly rich and delicious.

Jack and I got this ricotta Rangoon dessert.  Meh.

I snapped this photo on my way out.  The back plate is the branzino special - a whole fish with the head propped up and the tail in the air.  Impressive presentation.

I walked a bit after dinner.  This mural was black and white when the cruise started.  Passengers colored it in.

I'm guessing they either live in Orlando or thought it was a Disney cruise.