Bah Hah-bah, Bah Humbug

October 9

During dinner last night, the Dreaded Dinnertime Announcement of Doom happened. Experience has proven that announcements broadcast into the dining rooms during dinner are 1) important and 2) not good news. The gist of the announcement was: "Safety is paramount; blah blah blah; we will miss Bar Harbor, which is a tender port, due to weather; we will have a day at sea instead; the schedule for tomorrow wil be published as soon as possible." After everyone at the table expressed their disappointment, we continued eating.

This morning we awoke to sunny skies and calm waters. Was  this because we had sailed away from the rough weather during the night? Or because we had sailed further away from the coast? Or because the weather forecast was wrong? (The correct answer turned out to be #1.)

We also awoke to find the "new" schedule in our little mailbox. I have to say that I was very disappointed with the new schedule they came up with. There were a lot of so-called activities which were really just blatant attempts to sell you stuff. If you took the schedule and added up the Effy events and the "spa" events and the "art" events, they would outnumber the entertainments listed on the schedule - by a large margin. Much of the entertainment was recycled: the same musicians in the lounges, a movie we already saw, a few trivia games. Zumba was at 9:15 am, but unless you woke up early and read the schedule, you wouldn't know about it in time to wake up early for it. 

There were a few "unhosted" events, which required no effort on the part of the cruise staff. Basically, there was NOTHING TO DO as we rounded Cape Finisterre. Look it up if you don't know where it is. The schedule said we would be rounding Cape Finisterre today.

I did see a whale in the morning, and Libby saw a pod of dolphins. Or maybe they were porpoises. Ken saw a different whale. How do I know it was different? I don't.

I went to the Knitters and Natters group. This is like a flash mob for knitters and other crafty types. Basically they have a listing in the schedule that says everyone who brought a craft project, show up at such and such a place at such and such a time and talk to each other while you work on your projectt. Thaat is hat I an "unhosted" event is. I worked on my cross-stich project and listened to knitters talk about making socks. I am usually interested in technical discussions of minutiae, but it was boring, even for me. But what else is there to do? Slot machine lessons? Shopping in the "Holiday Store,"

hich is more like a garage sale than a store. It's where grandmothers go to get cheezy gifts for their grandchildren, such as $10 pen and pencil sets with a matching tie.

A beautiful sunset tonight, but we didn't see the "Green Flash."

After dinner (formal night = lobster!) we watched a juggler in the Piazza. He bounced balls onto a large keyboard on the floor, playing different songs while doing so and wearing tights (Eeeewwww). The performance was mercifully short.

Then came the Main Event - the "premiere" (for this ship, but not for the fleet) of a new production show called Bravo. Lasst year Princess hired a new producer with a Broadway background to come up with some new shows and this was the first one.

This new show was a departure from Princess' standard formula for a production show. It was classy and sophisticated and it allowed the performers to showcase some of their talent.

There were solo performances by guest soprano Jennifer Fair and the four featured singers in the ship's group of singers and dancers. We have seen Jennifer Fair on other cruises, and she is very good, with a background in opera. The songs included selections from well-known operas, Broadway show tunes, popular songs such as You Lift Me Up, and, inexplicably, theme songs from James Bond movies.

Theere were some outstanding dance routines performed by pairs, including a tango and an emotinal modern dance piece. The ship's dancers are capable of so much more than chorus-line numbers and quick coostume changes.

The ship's band was supplemented with a couple of violins, a flute, and a few more musicians, and that really mellowed out their sound. The singers used real microphones instead of those little things that wrap around the ear and extend in front of the mouth. As  a result, the volume was perfect and you could understand every word.

The show got TWO standing ovations, well-deserved. Bravo!