Lessons learned, love shared: Golden Princess to Hawaii 3/27/13

[terrific_surprise]

Tim

What a great review! I have been enjoying it over the last couple of months. The pace is perfect for me since I have a hard time getting on here to catch up. I really appreciate the time, thought and photos you put into this. Much appreciated! I'll be on the Golden 8 months from today. :)

 

I'm pretty sure I'll be done by the time you sail. ;)

 

Then again... I can't necessarily guarantee than something unexpected won't happen before then. :rolleyes:

 

Tim

[Smokeyham]

Tim,

 

I love the way you have an album for each day, with the header at the top.

 

 

Do you need to have a paid account on Flickr to do this? Can you give some brief instructions on how you do that?

 

Thanks.

[MauiLvrs]

Finally she whispered "thank you...," her voice trailing off as she became too choked up to finish her sentence. The words weren't necessary. I could see into her heart.

AAAWWwwww. How sweet ... We'd have to say you mission was a complete success :D

[terrific_surprise]

Although most people don't seem to consider Ensenada to be a romantic destination, for us it served as a reminder of our very first cruise in 2005 (on Carnival Paradise), celebrating our 20th anniversary. On that cruise, Terri enjoyed our time horseback riding in the mountains above Ensenada, with lofty views of the city and the bay far below.

 

 

When we had returned to the ship that day in 2005 after the horseback ride and some shopping, I left Terri onboard as I headed back into town by myself to try to mail some postcards, soon finding myself in what seemed to be a bad part of town after dark as the deadline to return to the ship approached. (It was kind of a crazy exercise, especially considering the risk involved, as I knew the postcards wouldn't arrive until after we were home.) Terri was very relieved when I finally made it back to the ship that day!

 

On April 9, 2013, the final full day of our cruise to Hawaii, the Golden Princess was only scheduled to be in Ensenada for four hours (in token compliance with the PVSA law, as has been previously discussed by others on this thread), so the timeframe was probably too short, and we never heard of any horseback riding excursions being offered anyway.

 

Notwithstanding our fond memories, we had decided long before Ensenada came into view that we would not get off the ship there, because of Terri's lost ID. We didn't want to risk the possibility that Mexican officials would refuse to allow her back on board, and we were happy for the opportunity to stay on the ship. (Actually, I was disappointed that we wouldn't be able to fulfill some of the Ensenada-related clues I had given her before the cruise, but those clues had fulfilled their purpose by making Terri think for a while that the cruise would be going to Mexico, enabling the revelation of Hawaii as the destination to be more of a surprise.)

 

Even after all this time onboard, we hadn't yet found the time for some things we had hoped to do like shuffleboard, ping pong, or playing a game of chess on the huge chess board on deck. Hoping to also have a chance to take a dip in a hot tub or pool (something we still had not done after over a dozen days on board!) we put our swimsuits on.

 

We weren't watching the ship approach the bay, but the sound of seals barking alerted us to the fact that land was nearby, so we went out on the balcony to enjoy the view.

 

 

As the ship began docking, Terri covered her swimsuit with something sentimental: her Ensenada shirt from our first cruise.

 

 

The ship docked a little early: by 3:50 we noticed many people leaving the ship, and by 4:00 some people were already returning (perhaps they just made a quick purchase in the shops located in the cruise port building).

 

 

Shuttle buses soon began taking people into town, while others chose to save $2 by taking the short trip on the sidewalk. Some buses apparently also took some people on short tours, but we never heard of anybody who took a tour that day. It seemed like most people just went to town to visit stores or restaurants.

 

 

Terri enjoyed waving and shouting her greetings to our fellow passengers from our balcony.

 

After we finally left our cabin at about 5:00 on our way to the Lido Deck, we encountered two of our tablemates, who happened to mention that they had seen us dancing at the previous night's New Year's Eve party.

 

"Well," they clarified, "we saw Terri dancing -- and Tim swaying!"

 

What could I say? They were obviously right! So I just shrugged and laughed as we continued on our way, telling them that we would see them in a few hours at dinner.

Edited January 4, 2014 by terrific_surprise

[terrific_surprise]

Tim,

 

I love the way you have an album for each day, with the header at the top.

 

 

Do you need to have a paid account on Flickr to do this? Can you give some brief instructions on how you do that?

 

Thanks.

 

On Flickr, my daily "photo albums" are called "sets." (Flickr also allows "collections," which can include many sets, so in my case I have a collection of all of my sets from this particular cruise.) Once you add some photos, it should give you the option to create a set (or sets) for the photos. Unfortunately, Flickr has been changing its interface over the past several months and different users have different interfaces, so it is difficult to explain precisely how it will work for you. I find it best to use the "Old Uploadr," which (after the photos upload) provides a box on the right entitled "Add to a Set."

 

You can do all of this with a free Flickr account. Along with some of the negative changes Flickr has implemented this year, they have actually improved what they offer to their free accounts. The features which previously had to be paid for in a "Pro" account are now available for free accounts. However free accounts will include some advertisements.

 

After having some serious difficulties with Flickr over the past month, I am not as enthusiastic about their services as I had been in the past. In particular, I have found it impossible to upload new videos to them (and their videos were always limited to three minutes anyway), so if you plan to include some videos you should not expect Flickr to handle that. There may be a better alternative to Flickr out there, but if so I'm not sure what it is.

 

Feel free to send me an email at terrific327 [at] gmail [dot] com if you need more detailed explanations.

 

Tim

[terrific_surprise]

When we went up to the Lido Deck while the Golden Princess was docked in Ensenada on April 9, we quickly realized that the temperature was too cool to go in the pool or even in a hot tub (I later noticed that according to the official cruise log, the air temperature was 59 degrees). So instead of getting wet, we grabbed a blanket and found a couple of deck chairs, watching a few minutes of a Barry Manilow concert on the Movies Under the Stars screen.

 

After Manilow sang "I Write the Songs," we went up the stairs to Deck 15 on our way to the huge chess board and hot tubs at the aft end of the ship under the Skywalker.

 

The warmth of the direct sunlight on the starboard side of the ship was sufficient to help us decide to try out one of the hot tubs (and there were no other passengers competing for the warm water or the view).

 

So we put our things on a couple of nearby deck chairs and climbed into the water, which was comfortably warm, but not too hot.

 

 

I enjoyed seeing that Terri had chosen to wear her heart-shaped London Blue Topaz ring and pendant, which we had purchased in Cabo San Lucas in celebration of our 25th anniversary during our 2010 Sapphire Princess Cruise. Although the jewels were not sapphires, to us their blue hue was sufficient to symbolize our cherished memories of celebrating our anniversary on the Sapphire Princess.

 

 

As we soaked in the hot tub, a flock of seagulls flew around the ship, resting at times on the railings but somehow seemingly recognizing their limits. I was surprised that I never saw a single bird venturing across the boundary of the railings.

 

 

Soon some crew members arrived to take away the chess pieces and put away the deck chairs. They left our chairs untouched, never asking us to remove our things, allowing us to continue enjoying our private time in the hot tub.

 

We never did get around to playing a game of chess, so instead I just took a picture of Terri on the huge chess board (now empty).

 

At about 7:00 a golden glow began to spread across the western sky as the sun began to set.

 

 

The beautiful sunset over Lanai after our Maui day had been a bittersweet experience, causing us to mourn the end of our "cruise of a lifetime" even in the midst of the peak of its beauty. But as we lingered in the glow of the setting sun on this evening when our cruise really was about to end, somehow we both felt an overwhelming sense of contentment and satisfaction.

 

 

Two weeks on the Golden Princess was enough of an "escape" for us, and soon we knew we would be seeing our children and getting back to facing the challenges of real life and ministry. After all of the ups and downs of our cruise, and the circumstances which almost prevented the cruise from happening, we knew that we had been greatly blessed -- and that "it is well."

 

 

Having spent about 90 minutes in and around the Oasis hot tub, the increasingly chilly air and darkening sky brought us to the realization that it was time to go. Our final dinner time was only 15 minutes away!

Edited January 5, 2014 by terrific_surprise

[I Luv Crusin]

Thanks again! I will subscribe so I can finish this cruise with your! I really appreciate all the time and effort required to do this review.

 

I REALLY hate that last day when you have to pack to go home. I often start on the last sea day and it sometimes takes me HOURS!

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

[Smokeyham]

Tim,

 

Thanks so much for the information about Flickr. I'll check into their Sets and Collections.

 

 

 

On Flickr, my daily "photo albums" are called "sets." (Flickr also allows "collections," which can include many sets, so in my case I have a collection of all of my sets from this particular cruise.) Once you add some photos, it should give you the option to create a set (or sets) for the photos. Unfortunately, Flickr has been changing its interface over the past several months and different users have different interfaces, so it is difficult to explain precisely how it will work for you. I find it best to use the "Old Uploadr," which (after the photos upload) provides a box on the right entitled "Add to a Set."

 

You can do all of this with a free Flickr account. Along with some of the negative changes Flickr has implemented this year, they have actually improved what they offer to their free accounts. The features which previously had to be paid for in a "Pro" account are now available for free accounts. However free accounts will include some advertisements.

 

After having some serious difficulties with Flickr over the past month, I am not as enthusiastic about their services as I had been in the past. In particular, I have found it impossible to upload new videos to them (and their videos were always limited to three minutes anyway), so if you plan to include some videos you should not expect Flickr to handle that. There may be a better alternative to Flickr out there, but if so I'm not sure what it is.

 

Feel free to send me an email at terrific327 [at] gmail [dot] com if you need more detailed explanations.

 

Tim

[terrific_surprise]

It was a short trip from the Deck 16 aft hot tubs to our stateroom on the aft Baja Deck, but after getting ready for dinner, we needed to take some additional time to quickly finish packing so that we could put our luggage out in the hall. (The final deadline for putting luggage in the hall was midnight, but we had been asked to put the majority of our luggage in the hall before leaving for dinner.)

 

When we could see how late it was getting, we eventually decided that some of our suitcases would need to wait until later, not wanting to miss too much of our final dinner with our tablemates. Somehow we also hoped to get to the Piazza in time to have Dave and Leialoha autograph our Elua CDs after their 8:30 concert. After wasting a few more minutes (looking for my cruise card, which I had temporarily misplaced) we hurried down to the Canaletto Dining Room on Deck 6 aft, arriving a minute or two after 8:00 (about 15 minutes late).

 

In the interest of time, we decided to skip the appetizers and go straight to the main course. (My photo of the final dinner menu was hopelessly blurry, but you can read what appears to be the same menu on this Cruise Critic post.)

 

Terri ordered "Roasted Tom Turkey with All the Trimmings" (including giblet gravy, cranberry relish, apple & raisin stuffing, cornbread and sweet potato).

 

 

I ordered Grilled New York Cut Strip Steak with Green Peppercorn Sauce.

 

 

With other more exotic choices on the menu like Filet of Kingklip with Garam Masala and Gentle Spices, my selection seems strange in retrospect. I can only assume that our waiter Ram had recommended the New York Steak (because I had learned to appreciate his recommendations).

 

Although our anniversary was 19 days away at that point, Princess had given us a coupon we could use for an anniversary cake, so I handed it to Ram at the beginning of this final dinner.

 

Having celebrated our 20th anniversary on our first cruise and our 25th anniversary on our second cruise, the connection in our minds between cruises and major anniversaries had become obvious before this 2013 cruise to Hawaii, so we were glad when Princess encouraged us to celebrate early.

 

After we finished our entrees, Ram brought us our little anniversary cake as the waiters gathered around us, bidding us a happy anniversary with an

(which we considered to be very sweet, even if there may have been a sour note or two).

 

 

After sharing our small anniversary cake, I ordered a souffle (which I apparently forgot to capture on camera) and Terri ordered the Floating Islands (at my suggestion, because it was one of the pre-cruise clues I had given her).

 

 

Reminiscing about our cruise experiences, I lamented the fact that I never had a chance to take a good underwater photo, so Terri decided to quickly remedy that problem.

 

 

As the topic of our anniversary arose, we talked about our visit to Mazatlan on the Sapphire Princess on our 25th anniversary, April 28, 2010. Our story reminded one of our tablemates of a very special ring he had purchased in Mazatlan during a cruise. He had described to a jewelry store salesman a silver elephant ring he would like to buy, but they didn't have anything like that. When they visited Mazatlan again on a subsequent cruise, the same jewelry store salesman happened to recognize our tablemates walking by, telling them that he now had the ring he had been seeking! With one glance at the ring, our tablemate acknowledged that it was exactly what he wanted.

 

I wasn't surprised to learn that there was a political connection to the story of the silver elephant ring. Our tablemate went on to talk about being a Republican, which led to a lively debate about gun control, with one side focusing upon the Second Amendment while the other retorted "the Constitution was written a long time ago!" I wondered for a few moments if all of our friendly conversations might be soon be forgotten, but both sides remained quite civil (in spite of the obvious fact that their opinions were poles apart).

 

Meanwhile, I was becoming concerned about the time. When the clock passed 9:30, I knew that we were missing the start of the International Crew Talent Show in the Princess Theater, and that we had also missed out on having Dave and Leialoha autograph our Elua CDs.

 

Nevertheless, we didn't want to leave the conversation early, especially in the middle of a debate. When we finally prepared to leave the Canaletto Dining Room at about 9:45, the controversy had subsided and we shared friendly goodbyes all around.

Edited January 7, 2014 by terrific_surprise

[terrific_surprise]

Hurrying through the Photo Gallery on our way from the Canaletto Dining Room to the Princess Theater, we passed by the Wheelhouse Bar, where we had enjoyed so many hours making leis and practicing ukuleles with Dave and Leialoha of Elua. Suddenly we had a wonderful surprise: Dave and Leialoha were walking toward us! They must have had a very long autograph session (and/or an extended concert) in the Piazza, as it had been over an hour since the announced time for their concert, and Piazza concerts typically lasted only 15 minutes.

 

Even though it looked like they were done with their day and headed back to their cabin, we couldn't resist stopping them to ask them to autograph our Elua CDs. They graciously took a few minutes to stop, chatting with us about our cruise experiences and about my CC posts which had preceded the cruise. It was the best conversation we had with them during the entire cruise.

 

After they were kind enough to autograph our CDs, we couldn't resist asking for a photo with them. One of the ship's photographers was standing nearby, so we asked him if he could take the picture. He seemed a bit uncomfortable being asked to provide his professional skills for us with our cheap camera, but he didn't openly object.

 

 

By the time we said goodbye to Dave and Leialoha, it was almost 10:00. We knew that we had already missed most (if not all) of the International Crew Talent Show, but our unexpected encounter with Elua was worth it!

Edited January 7, 2014 by terrific_surprise

[Smokeyham]

Hurrying through the Photo Gallery on our way from the Canaletto Dining Room to the Princess Theater, we passed by the Wheelhouse Bar, where we had enjoyed so many hours making leis and practicing ukuleles with Dave and Leialoha of Elua.

 

Suddenly we had a wonderful surprise: Dave and Leialoha were walking

toward us! One of the ship's photographers was standing nearby, so we asked him if he could take the picture. He seemed a bit uncomfortable being asked to provide his professional skills for us with our cheap camera, but he didn't openly object.

 

By the time we said goodbye to Dave and Leialoha, it was almost 10:00. We knew that we had already missed most (if not all) of the International Crew Talent Show, but our unexpected encounter with Elua was worth it!

 

How wonderful that you got to spend a few minutes with Dave and Leiloha, to have your picture taken with them, and to get your CD signed. It is also nice to hear that a ship's photographer would be willing to bend a little on the "only take photos with our camera, and make you buy the pictures" policy.

[terrific_surprise]

How wonderful that you got to spend a few minutes with Dave and Leiloha, to have your picture taken with them, and to get your CD signed. It is also nice to hear that a ship's photographer would be willing to bend a little on the "only take photos with our camera, and make you buy the pictures" policy.

 

I wondered afterwards if it might have been inappropriate for us to ask the photographer to take such a picture. He looked a little shocked by the question, like nobody had asked him that before. Perhaps if it had not been the final night of the cruise (when the photographers were done taking pictures) he would have handled it differently.

 

Various times when I have been writing this review I have wondered if something I wrote might get somebody in trouble for doing us a favors like this. I certainly hope that wouldn't be the case. To me it seems that being the "consummate host" should include some bending of the rules at times like this, especially when there was no paid photography going on at the time.

 

Tim

[Smokeyham]

Various times when I have been writing this review I have wondered if something I wrote might get somebody in trouble for doing us a favors like this. I certainly hope that wouldn't be the case. To me it seems that being the "consummate host" should include some bending of the rules at times like this, especially when there was no paid photography going on at the time.

 

Tim

 

I would hope that the leadership at Princess understand that the things we remember, and tell others about, are often the small gestures which might be bending a rule or policy, but which bring us back for more cruises on Princess.

[terrific_surprise]

Although we were almost 30 minutes late for the International Crew Talent Show, it was still going strong when we arrived. The Princess Theater was totally packed, so it seemed for a while that we would need to stand in the entrance to watch the show. Although most of the theater shows on the cruise had been 30 minutes long, I think this show lasted almost an hour.

 

Of all of the shows we saw on this cruise, the audience was by far the most responsive at this particular show. It seems to me that the audience's enthusiasm was an indication of our genuine personal appreciation for the members the Cruise Director's staff, many of whom by this point had become quite familiar to us.

 

Eventually we found two open seats in the upper box on the far left side of the theater. Unfortunately our view from those seats was quite "obstructed"!

 

 

However, I discovered that my camera could get around the worst part of the obstruction, capturing a reasonably good view of the stage, if I held it in my outstretched right arm.

 

During the talent show, Cruise Director Gavin Chandler introduced one of our favorite people, Deputy CD Marahscalh Stanton, asking Marahscalh to list the many Princess ships he has worked on over the past several years. Marahscalh then performed a stratospheric rendition of My Funny Valentine (as you can hear in this

), seeming to be incredibly at ease even in the midst of his highest falsetto.

 

 

As Gavin began introducing the night's biggest number, If I Were Not Upon the Sea, CD staff member Michelle interrupted him by placing a paper sack on stage, coaxing him to "get in the sack." Then Shirl, whom we had come to know through the Princess Pop Choir, surprised everyone by walking on stage with her funny pineapples, coaxing Gavin to include them in the show!

 

 

As Gavin found a place for the pineapples, Shirl milked the audience for applause, with Gavin remarking "This is the strangest show I have ever been in."

 

We had never before seen a performance of If I Were Not Upon the Sea, but apparently it is commonly performed at these crew talent shows. (I don't recall hearing about such a show on our 7 day Sapphire Princess cruise in 2010.) I was surprised to hear Gavin say that this act actually started way back in Vaudeville. (Gavin's introduction, along with the interruptions from Michelle and Shirl and the beginning of the song, is included in

.)

 

A costumed "sergeant major" performed the first verse of If I Were Not Upon the Sea, with a "blackjack dealer" (whom we recognized as CD staff member Rosarita) performing the second verse. Every time Rosarita said "hit me" she swung her arm and hit the "sergeant." At one point it seemed she may have hit him too hard -- he doubled over and left the stage for a while.

 

 

Each successive verse of the song involved an additonal costumed crew member coming on stage to add a new twist to the song, usually featuring some kind of slapstick assault against one of the other crew members.

 

As can be seen in

, Gavin himself provided the hilarious finale for If I Were Not Upon the Sea, dancing onto the stage in a somewhat scandalous ballerina outfit -- and literally making himself the "butt" of the biggest joke of the night.

 

 

At the end of the show, Gavin (still dressed in his ballerina costume), struggled to stifle the laughter long enough to provide some serious parting advice for the passengers (as you can hear on

).

 

 

Gavin wisely encouraged us to "continue the cruising traditions," such as smiling and saying hello to people, when returning home. (Could it be that cruising is not just about "escaping," but about helping us learn to be friendly people? It's nice to think so.) Then Gavin pranced off stage, and as the lights came up, we left the theater for the last time.

Edited January 8, 2014 by terrific_surprise

[catergirl]

yes this is a very 'standard' show. seen this many times on princess and even the 'tutu'. the crew talent show is always great! nice way to end he cruise :) another tradition i have seen many times on princess is in the theatre, they hand out balloons before the show starts. people blow them up and start bouncing/volleying them around the theatre. lots of fun while u r sitting there waiting:D

[Jasperdo]

We've seen "If I Were Not Upon The Sea" numerous times on cruise ships. Even though you know what to expect after seeing it the first time, it's still a lot of fun, and is one of the highlights of the cruise for us.

Edited January 8, 2014 by Jasperdo

[RetiredNTraveling]

terrific_surprise Cool Cruiser, Thank you for an interesting review! We were on the same cruise and luck was with us as everything turned out perfect. We were belatedly celebrating our 50th Anniversary and what a celebration it was. I believe that we met on the cruise, but can't be sure. I do know that I remember reading you pre-cruise comment posted on line. Keep you posts coming on future cruises.

[terrific_surprise]

terrific_surprise Cool Cruiser, Thank you for an interesting review! We were on the same cruise and luck was with us as everything turned out perfect. We were belatedly celebrating our 50th Anniversary and what a celebration it was. I believe that we met on the cruise, but can't be sure. I do know that I remember reading you pre-cruise comment posted on line. Keep you posts coming on future cruises.

 

Mike & Betty (I hope that's right) -

 

I'm pretty sure we met (briefly) at the sailaway meet and greet by Outrigger. You look familiar (from the tiny CC photo). We were a bit distracted that day, for positive and negative reasons (Terri wanted to shout down to our friends watching the ship sail away, and we were still anxious about her lost ID).

 

I think I also recall passing you in various areas such as the Photo Gallery throughout the cruise, but I don't think we were taking Gavin's advice enough so I don't think we said hello. :o

 

Congratulations on your 50th anniversary (or I guess by now it's probably time to say congratulations on your 51st)!

 

Tim

Edited January 8, 2014 by terrific_surprise

[terrific_surprise]

We've seen "If I Were Not Upon The Sea" numerous times on cruise ships. Even though you know what to expect after seeing it the first time, it's still a lot of fun, and is one of the highlights of the cruise for us.

 

I have to ask: is the ballerina's exposed derriere a standard part of the act? The audience sure seemed surprised that night. (Perhaps I spoiled the "surprise" for new cruisers.) :o

 

Tim

[catergirl]

I have to ask: is the ballerina's exposed derriere a standard part of the act? The audience sure seemed surprised that night. (Perhaps I spoiled the "surprise" for new cruisers.) :o

 

Tim

 

seen that many times!!

[RetiredNTraveling]

Mike & Betty (I hope that's right) -

 

I'm pretty sure we met (briefly) at the sailaway meet and greet by Outrigger. You look familiar (from the tiny CC photo). We were a bit distracted that day, for positive and negative reasons (Terri wanted to shout down to our friends watching the ship sail away, and we were still anxious about her lost ID).

 

I think I also recall passing you in various areas such as the Photo Gallery throughout the cruise, but I don't think we were taking Gavin's advice enough so I don't think we said hello. :o

 

Congratulations on your 50th anniversary (or I guess by now it's probably time to say congratulations on your 51st)!

 

Tim

 

 

Yes, it is Mike & Betty and we're still hitting one anniversary after another. It is hard to remember everyone, but Cruise Critic is a great help!

 

Here is hoping that Terri and you keep having anniversaries like we are. What would we do without out wives to keep us going. :rolleyes:Attached is a picture from our 51st Anniversary cruise....

[Jasperdo]

I have to ask: is the ballerina's exposed derriere a standard part of the act? The audience sure seemed surprised that night. (Perhaps I spoiled the "surprise" for new cruisers.) :o

 

Tim

I don't recall the Cruise Director's ballerina costume being quite so short and skimpy as shown in your photos. That might be something a little different that Gavin does.

[sonnenschein]

I don't recall the Cruise Director's ballerina costume being quite so short and skimpy as shown in your photos. That might be something a little different that Gavin does.

 

Oh yes I have seen that CD ballerina costume short cut and in a rainbow of different colors (they do wear a swimsuit or shorts underneath) and on the last couple of cruises the guy had stuffed big ballons in his chest area under the costume. It was the funniest ballerina you ever saw.

[terrific_surprise]

I haven't quite finished reporting on our final full day on the Golden Princess -- there were some significant issues we encountered during the final 90 minutes of the day (issues which may seem to be a tempest in a teapot, but at the time, they caused me no small anxiety).

 

When we left the Princess Theater, we found ourselves in the Grand Casino, where Terri reminded me that there was still some casino credit on our account that she needed to deal with before midnight. I would have seen the small balance as an opportunity to get a little cash, being more than willing to wait in the long line at the casino cashier if it meant that I could put a nickel in my pocket, but Terri had a different idea. I don't think she was hoping for a big payoff, but she just enjoyed the games. I couldn't think of discouraging her from doing what she wanted to do for the final hours of her big birthday cruise.

 

She likes me to stay and watch her on the games so that I can help her pick boxes if she gets a bonus round. But after watching the reels spin a few dozen times I tend to get bored, and just can't escape the feeling that I'm watching money get flushed away.

 

Plus, I had my own reasons to be concerned about the impending midnight deadline. First, we needed to finish getting a couple more suitcases in the hall. More importantly, I needed to make sure that our onboard account would settle without a problem.

 

Although I had previously paid down much of our shipboard account in cash, I was worried that the $200 which would be charged to our account for the two Future Cruise Deposits which I had previously submitted would place our bank account at risk of falling below its minimum balance. I could solve the problem if I could have our shipboard account and the Future Cruise Deposits paid from two different bank accounts, but I didn't know if that was possible. Of course, Terri didn't know about the Future Cruise Deposits yet, so she knew nothing of my anxiety.

 

I pulled myself away from Terri's side at the casino, reminding her that we had to have the luggage out before midnight. When I arrived at the room to quickly finish packing, I remembered that our coupon for a free drink was still unused. (We had attached the coupon to the wall with a magnetic disc, which had been also helping to hold up the poster-size photo of Terri with her parents which I had posted on the wall at the beginning of the cruise.)

 

While I finished packing, I discovered a new problem: one of our newly-autographed Elua CDs was missing!

 

I mentally retraced my steps. After our unexpected encounter with Elua, we had gone straight to the Princess Theater, then we had gone to the Grand Casino, then I had returned to our cabin. There were only a few places where it could be. I hadn't even stopped for a snack at the International Cafe.

 

So I hurried back to the casino, checking to be sure that Terri didn't have the CD. Then I went to the Princess Theater to look around the box where we had been sitting. A crew member who was in there cleaning said that he hadn't found anything.

 

Could it be that someone found our Elua CD and kept it? Or maybe they turned it in. So I went next to the Passenger Services desk, where I needed to go anyway to deal with our account.

 

At that late hour the line was short, so it didn't take long for me to settle our account issues. For some reason I had Terri's cruise card and she had mine, but that didn't present a problem. I was able to pay the balance of our shipboard account to the debit card I had originally registered, and then register a different debit card so that the Future Cruise Deposit would settle to the other account. (After the cruise I discovered that this entire exercise was unnecessary, as there were sufficient funds in the original account, even though the two $100 transactions for the Future Cruise Deposits were promptly posted to our account on the day we disembarked. But I hadn't been sure that there would have been enough funds, because I didn't have Internet access to that account at that point. Yes, sometimes I just manufacture superfluous problems for myself.)

 

Then I asked if there was a "lost and found," and if anyone had turned in an Elua CD. My heart sank when I learned that nothing had been turned in. But I still wasn't ready to give up.

 

Returning to the casino to rejoin Terri, I was too agitated to just stand in one place, so I began looking around in places where I knew I hadn't been. Soon I noticed something on the seat of another game. It was the autographed cover for the missing Elua CD! But the CD was missing! Did somebody take the CD and leave the cover? Anyway, that wasn't such a big problem. The CD could be replaced, but at least now we had the autographed cover.

 

At this point, my memories (and my notes) fail me. (After all, that did happen nine months ago!) It seems like the casino cashier might have had the CD, but I'm not sure about that. Whatever the case, we soon returned the CD to the autographed CD cover where it belonged, breathing a sigh of relief. (Terri had thought that all of my anxiety during this time related to the lost Elua CD, knowing nothing of the account "problem" I was trying to solve.)

 

Regarding the final casino balance, Terri had no problem making sure that there was no need for us to get cash from the cashier (even though by that time there was no line). Yes, in the end, "the house always wins." But at least Terri had enjoyed her time there, so the price of her entertainment was relatively small.

 

After leaving the casino, we stopped at the Promenade Lounge so that Terri could use our free drink coupon (I think the drink she ordered was called something like Hawaiian Paradise, so it was an appropriate final drink for the cruise).

 

It was after midnight when we made it back to our stateroom. Turning on the TV, we found a channel playing a Love Boat rerun (I don't recall the exact episode, but I think Isaac was the central figure in it). We didn't try to pay too much attention to the TV, but we just let the Love Boat set the ambiance.

 

Cuddling up for a final few hours in our comfortable bed, it definitely felt like we were really on the "Love Boat." At that point, thoughts of the rough seas and difficulties we had experienced over the past two weeks seemed like a "tempest in a teapot."

 

It's hard to believe now that this final day began with Terri thinking "please don't ever do this again!" My only thought at that point was "mmmm... let's do this again!"

 

To see pictures from the final full day of our cruise to Hawaii on the Golden Princess, go to:

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjEPmcr5

 

Links to videos from that day are found on the corresponding photos at the link above, or you can see them on our YouTube channel.

Edited January 9, 2014 by terrific_surprise

[terrific_surprise]

I don't recall the Cruise Director's ballerina costume being quite so short and skimpy as shown in your photos. That might be something a little different that Gavin does.

 

I suspect that what appeared to be trailing toilet paper was also something Gavin added to the typical ballerina costume. :p

 

Tim