Mediterranean Cruise Day Eleven: Sea You Later Italy & Greece

(I’m now hopelessly behind (2 days), but will try to catch up tomorrow as we will be driving for about 3 hours.)

My last day of the cruise shirt

Today was our last day on the cruise ship, and it would be a day at sea as we sailed for Barcelona. We began at the breakfast buffet, and both agreed we would be happy to eat on land again. The same choices get old after 12 days.

We went down to the shops to wander the “Captain’s sale,” which was just more of the same trinkets and cheap jewelry that had been sold all week, then went to watch the Top Chef competition, which was pretty cute. The head chef picked 4 passengers to compete in a few quick fire challenges, and they eventually crowned a ship Top Chef.

The lunch buffet was packed, and people were acting like they would never eat again after today. They set up a chocolate fountain and ice sculptures to make it a special last day for us. I had the penne Bolognese from the pasta bar, which was my favorite dish on the entire ship.

This doesn't show it well, but this is a full size tree, suspended in mid air, taking up 4 decks of the Equinox atrium

In the afternoon, Adam played poker while I went to the hot glass auction. They were auctioning off pieces they had made during our voyage. Most of them went for between $300 and $500. No, I did not buy any. I have seen similar pieces at Home Goods for $30. We also strolled through the art auction. One of Adam’s poker friends told him his wife had purchased a painting of poppies onboard the ship for $5000, so we had to go see it. Um, it appeared to be worth about $149, including the frame. Again, this is based on my knowledge of art at Home Goods. 

At 5pm, it was time to trade in all my yellow tickets I had won for various trivia competitions over the length of the cruise. I had 11 tickets. I had no idea what that would translate to, but I walked away with a hat, a deck of cards, a scrapbooking kit, and a lanyard to hold a sea pass. (This was after a couple fellow passengers donated a few of their leftover tickets to me.) See, Adam, all my trivia knowledge finally paid off!

Then we had to pack, since our bags had to be out in the hallway by 10pm. Even with all our purchases, my bag didn’t appear to grow too much. We put the Pink Monster into the hall and went to dinner.

We had our final dinner in the main dining room, and had a window table, looking out over the sea. Then we went to the theater to watch the farewell show. A quartet called The Other Guys performed Jersey Boys / Frankie Valli songs. They were very talented! Then the captain walked out on stage and said, “Hello. It is me again. Your captain.” LOL! He wished us safe travels and said goodbye.

Back in our cabin, we said goodnight one final time to this large painting that hung over the foot of our bed. Adam had a name for it, but it is NSFB (not safe for blog). Then we went to sleep, knowing we had to wake up at 4am to watch the Thunder game and say goodbye to the Equinox once and for all.

Tomorrow: Our campaign in Spain begins!

Mediterranean Cruise Day Nine: Sea What I Did There?

This is the real color of the Mediterranean. No filter!

Today, there would be no port. Thank goodness, because our legs are really sore after yesterday!

We had breakfast in the main dining room so that Adam could have eggs Benedict. We raced down there, thinking that breakfast ended at 9:30, and just made it. We sat down and realized that it was actually only 8:30 because the ship clock had jumped back one time zone while we slept. Oops.

My favorite art piece on the ship. Here Comes The Sun, spanning 4 decks.

We couldn’t find chairs at the pool, so we went up to the lawn club, which was much quieter anyway. Adam laid out on the grass while I blogged a bit. Then we watched the hot glass show, which is my favorite thing on the ship.

For lunch we went to the Bistro on 5. There is a $10 per person charge, for all the crepes you can eat. I had a spicy steak crepe, while Adam had a Mediterranean chicken crepe for our main dishes. Then I had a Nutella, banana, pistachio crepe for dessert, and Adam had a milkshake. We talked about how Europeans don’t know how to make milkshakes – there’s little to no ice cream – just flavored milk. And then we realized that maybe they DO know how to make milkshakes and we are the ones doing it wrong, since nobody needs 1500 calories worth of ice cream in a glass.

Pool deck (above) and library (below)

In the afternoon, we went to the solarium again to read, swim, and take naps. Then I went to men vs women trivia (the women won, obviously) and Adam went to play poker. When we met back up, he told me he had bought me a present. I thought it was going to be the captain’s hat – but he had purchased two really pretty crocheted shawls from the ship gift shop because I am always cold. Awww. He’s a keeper.

That evening was formal night. We were really over the “prom poses” the photographers put us in, so we went rogue and did funny poses instead, including The Robot, Pulp Fiction, the Dip, etc. I think the photographers hate us.

We call this "Running To Escape The Titanic"

We played Port Side vs Starboard Side Wheel of Fortune, and our side (Port) won. But we were bored with organized games, so we decided to play Pub Crawl Poker with the deck of cards Adam bought in Greece. We would go to 5 different bars, and at each bar, after we finished a cocktail, we each drew a card. At the end of 5 bars/drinks, whoever had the best hand would win a 10 minute foot rub. I drew a 2, then a 7, then a 9. I thought I was screwed. But then I drew another 7 and another 9 – and pulled off a win! Yay!

After 5 cocktails, I fell into bed and passed out. The foot rub would have to wait.

Tomorrow:  Our last port – Messina, Sicily.

xoxo