Day 13 - Mon 1st Apr 2024
Participants: Tam & Kev
Another at sea day and we are up and out of the room at 7.45 am. We go to the buffet where I have omelette, toast and breakfast potatoes. There are small dolphins swimming alongside the ship and they can be seen through the buffet windows.
At 9.00 am we go to the theatre for a presentation on Huetulco, the Mexican port we will be visiting tomorrow. Why they put the port presentations on at 9.00 am is beyond me, I would imagine it's too early for many. The presentation is ok, but doesn't really tell us anything we didn't already know from our own research.
Out to the sun deck on the front of the ship. This area is always quiet and I listen to my audiobook in the shade. I feel someone grab at my hat and turn round to see Bob and Carolyn from our tour group in Cartagena. I'm wearing my Packers hat and it turns out that they are Bears fans! For those that don't know the Packers and the Bears are divisional rivals. Bob and Carolyn also have an apartment in Florida and they tell us that they go to watch the Dolphins (the Miami variety, not the swimming kind) 2 or 3 times a year. Very nice.
Next is a light
lunch in Botticelli where we split a Summer Roll, a Fish Taco and
a Salmon Poke Bowl. Back to our balcony where I sit and watch the
sea and catch sight of quite a few dolphins and turtles.
At 3.00 pm we go to the International Wine Tasting in the
Skywalker Lounge. On the daily information sheet it says there is
a nominal charge for this. We turn up to fing it's $29 per person
- hardly nominal, but we decide to do it anyway.
It runs from 3.00 pm to 3.45 pm and there are 5 or 6 tables set
up from various countries with 2 wines on each table - mostly a
red and a white. You have a glass and visit each table as many
times as you like to sample the wines. Each table has a few
nibbles as well - meats, chesses, chocolates etc.
Off we go! As
you can imagine with 3/4 of an hour and a lot of wines to get
through it's a bit of a race, but fun as well. We have a great
time. We start with the whites, then the reds, then anything we
can get in our glasses!
We also talk to a lovely American couple for a while. I know I've
said it before, but it bears repeating - Americans often get a
bad reputation around the world, especially in Europe, but the
friends we have in the US and the vast majority of people we meet
on our travels are lovely, outgoing, friendly people.
It's getting towards the end of the 45 minutes and Tam is happily
trying to find the last dregs in the bottles. The servers are
pretty good about pouring you anything that remains. 3/4 of an
hour seems a little too short to taste all the wines in a
leisurely manner, but I guess things might get a bit messy if
they made it longer. Even though I moaned about the price and
short running time we both really enjoyed this.
Off to the spa pool for a quick swim and a lie in the shade where the temperature is still above 20 C at 5.00 pm.
Wine tasting + quick swim + warm weather = Tam sparked out on a sunbed.
At 6.00 pm we return to the stateroom to shower and change. It's formal night and we dress appropriately before heading out to Vines for a glass of wine. We ask for a wine that had at the tasting this afternoon, but they don't have it, only what is on their list. To be honest it's not a great selection for a wine bar.
We take our drinks to the Wheelhouse Bar to watch the guitarist before going to the Michelangelo restaurant where we are given a nice table in the corner. I have the Roasted Garlic Shrimp, Beef Fajitas and an espresso. Tam has the Beetroot Salad, Beef Fajitas and a hot chocolate with Amaretto. The fajitas are nice, but not really hot enough.
What to do now?
We don't want to see the female vocalist in the theatre, so we go
to Movies Under The Stars again. A film has just finished and the
next doesn't start again for the next 30 minutes, but we don't
mind as it's nice to lie on the comfy padded sunbeds in the warm
air. The Ruby Princess doesn't really have any nice outside bars
other than pool bars.
I have a rum and coke and Tam promptly falls asleep face down on
the sunbed in her sparkly formal dress. Classy. Damn, I wish I'd
got a photo.
I watch some of the film then it's back to bed at 11.00 pm.