Saturday, March 16, 2013

March 15 - An Unexpected Sea Day



Last night while we were eating dinner the Commodore came on the tannoy and announced that we would be missing our port call in Grand Turk.  Evidently the cases of gastrointestinal problems on the last cruise seemed to point to something people caught there, so the decision was made to bypass the island.  Instead we spent the day cruising and will stop in Nassau on Saturday.  Katie was disappointed because she was going diving at Grand Turk and it’s a good dive site.  Oh well, there will be other times!

We did not much of anything in the morning.  At noon we were invited to attend the most traveled passengers luncheon in Sabatinis.  As usual the food was excellent with things not normally seen on the menus.   The hostess at our table was the Human Resources Director for the Ruby Princess.    It was interesting to hear her commentary on handling crew contracts and scheduling issues.  This year some of the difficulties have been exacerbated by the arrival of the new ship in June.  Some crew contracts have been shortened and others lengthened to allow for staffing the new ship with some experienced crew while still maintaining the proper levels on the existing fleet.

After lunch we went to the Sanctuary to play Scrabble.  We only stayed for a little while because the wind was really roaring as we sailed along, despite the fact that there were only moderate seas.  Instead we went down to the Wheelhouse Bar and continued our games.  Katie is way ahead but I did manage to win one game!

Tonight we decided to eat at the CafĂ© Caribe, one of the buffet venues.  It was Bavarian Bierfest night with all the German favorites we love.  We enjoyed our bratwurst, schnitzel, sauerkraut and red cabbage!   

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