Day 6: Last day at Sea with an English Pub Lunch for my Birthday & Day 7 Disembarkation

Day 6:  Last day at Sea with an English Pub Lunch for my Birthday

We began our last day at sea looking out over the blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico, headed north toward the Port of Houston where we dock tomorrow (Saturday) AM.  I got up much earlier that MA, checked email and quickly logged off of our Wi-Fi because we only had 9 minutes left on our “frequent cruiser” free plan.  I wanted to be sure MA had some time to get on line so she can check her email, Word games with her son, her nephew, and Dorothy from our Bible Study class, and let us not forget, “Candy Crush Saga.”   

We had our usual two egg breakfast, mine with toast and coffee and hers with grits and coffee. Our breakfast companions were a couple we had dinner with last night.  We call John “the mayor” because he could be a twin of Rudy Guiliani! Then we decided to try our knowledge skills with other passengers in the morning trivia pairing up with a dentist and his wife.  I knew we were in trouble from the first question which was: “What was Juliet’s last name in the Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet?”  The dentist’s wife knew the answer (Capulet). We got 13 out of 20 right, about par for the course for us. This game was tougher than others with questions like what are the names of the four members of U2?  Bono was one, but as to the other three, I don’t think anyone had a clue.  Ok, here’s another question I should have known the answer to. “What is the only house that the Queen of England is prohibited from entering?” (House of Commons)  We did skip the seminar on “dinner napkin folding” however!

After trivia we went shopping and found a birthday present for our grandson Jason who turns 11 in February.  I’ll not mention what it is because he may read this blog.  On most cruises Princess offers a typical “British Pub lunch”.  We like the fish and chips but today we had the shrimp and chips.  Fried shrimp is one of my very favorite foods and it’s my birthday so I get to have whatever I want, right?  J  We had lunch with a couple from Idaho.  He was a retired mining engineer who had spent a lot of time in Argentina, right up MA’s alley from her Pan Am days. They compared notes about Buenos Aires and how great a place it is to visit.  We four really hit it off and in fact he gave us his card and they invited us to come visiting anytime. 

This afternoon was “pack it up for home” time.  All bags are color coded according to the time one is scheduled to disembark.  We leave them outside the door tonight and we’ll will see them again in the baggage claim area of the port tomorrow morning (one hopes!).  Never had a problem though, at least with Princess. 

Like I said yesterday, may not sound all that exciting but we love it, especially because of all the cool folks we meet from all over the USA and places beyond our borders.  Next cruise is a Transatlantic from Ft. Lauderdale to London in April.  We’re going to Florida a day early too have dinner with friends we met on last year’s Transatlantic, Bill and Sam!  That’s the thing about cruising, you can end up with friends all over the place, friends who share one’s love of travel, dining, and new adventures.  So until then, here’s hoping the Port of Houston is not fogged in tomorrow!  Bon voyage!

Disembarkation and home....reunion with Tanner

I woke up this morning after I noticed that the ship stopped moving. I looked outside outside and saw the Hartman Bridge to Baytown and knew we were home.  We got dressed and packed our walk-off bags and then went to breakfast.  We met a couple from Winnipeg, Canada and they shared their table with us.  I had my usual two eggs on toast breakfast with black coffee.  It was 8:40 and we were scheduled to leave at 9am. We went back to the room on the 9th floor, made sure we got everything and walked off.  We found our bags in the Light Blue section, cleared customs and we were in the car by 9:25.  I took MA home first, unloaded the car and went to Susan's to get Tanner.  I can only tell you he was as happy to see me and I was to see him.  I think he will miss his big brother and sister Irish Wolfhounds but he loves our walks.  We are home and I thank the Lord for a safe and wonderful trip.