Blog for Monday 26thOctober 2026

I had such a restless night last night – maybe because I know our cruise is almost at the end. I tossed and turned and turned and tossed but sleep evaded me. In the end I stopped even trying and just lay there in the dark and tried to just relax. I counted all sorts of things, tried to recite things remembered (or not!) and that sort of thing until eventually sleep overtook me.

I woke up to another lovely day at sea, and it was already almost six o’clock in the morning! I am most definitely still on holiday!

I still cannot upload my blogs, but I should be able to do so tomorrow – hopefully. Then I will upload all my blogs at once!

The show last night in the theatre was very different – a spoof based on Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream” but the acrobatics in it were absolutely fantastic. Just fun. During the performance one could feel the rocking of the ship, so the sea must have been rough as we have not really felt any movement at sea up until then.

Ha! THAT is probably what kept me awake last night – me thinking of where to run to should there be a problem at sea – which lifeboat was marked for our use, who was the crew member to man it and blah blah fish paste! Silly old lady me!

Today is beautifully sunny but with a bit of a breeze – the sea is almost navy blue in color and although the water looks a little choppy there are large swells that cause the rolling motion and we are moving at pace today.

Ken and I went down for a coffee and something small (sugared donuts!) to eat and we just sat and relaxed amongst the maddening crowd and I loved watching the people as they came and went.

Ken wanted us to use the credit we still have onboard so we went to have a look at the Jewelry shop onboard – beautiful and some exquisite pieces but at prices we definitely would not even entertain as a thought! We watched an auction taking place there where a pair of small diamond earring went for a “specially reduced price” of $970.00 (American dollars!)

We then went to look at the handbags – again all well-known brands, for example Louis Vuitton - but something I have never been drawn to is brands known by the wealthy! Maybe because I am not wealthy! Heh-heh.

I decided to get out of the noise and came back to our cabin for some quiet so I could listen to my audio book and relax. It was too noisy in the lounge – chitter-chatter, music et cetera. When I got back to our cabin I noticed that Ronnie was about to go in to clean our cabin so after a brief moment in it, I told him to go ahead and clean and I would return to the noise and Ken.

I sat with Ken for a bit and then after he had finished his tomato juice we walked about looking in at the different shops on board, and we landed up in the perfumes and other bling-bling shop where I bought some perfumes and other things as gifts.

By the time we got back to our cabin again the sea was churned up with lots of white horses everywhere and every now and again one could definitely feel the rocking but, again not obviously so - it was just there and every now and again one was aware of it.

From the Normandie Restaurant we walked through to Deck3 where we had a drink and watched the barmen up to their cocktail tricks!

All of a sudden our cruise is drawing to a close – yoh, the time has gone by oh-so quickly. I cannot complain though as we have had the most wonderful time and I thank Shelayne and Mike from the bottom of my heart for this lovely gift. It has been absolutely marvellous and I have loved every second of it - pure relaxation.

Tonight we had dinner in the Normandie Restaurant and what a lovely meal – both Ken and I had the Grilled Octopus as our starter, and then the Broiled lobster as an entrée – both were mouthwateringly delicious and ever so tender – just yum! For dessert Ken had his normal vanilla ice cream and I chose the Bombe Alaska and the chef sent us a “surprise” of a coconut Ble mange on a biscuit base with coconut ice cream and swirls of pineapple sauce. I mean, what a way to end a meal! 

As Ken and I were just licking our plates of lobster, the entire kitchen staff paraded through the room and all the passengers yelled, waved, clapped and waved their serviettes in the air to thank them. Honestly, they have done a magnificent job of feeding us and feeding us with excellence too!

From the Normandie Restaurant Ken and I walked up to Deck 4 and sat in the lounge

there watching what was happening in the Martini Bar area – the barmen were working up a storm of activity and having such fun doing so! This photo is of three barmen up on the bar and they were balancing martini glasses on their foreheads – I took the photo through a lattice hanging in front of us!

Ken and I were tired and so after watching all the nonsense and fun we staggered (yes, because the ship was rolling a little) back to our cabin on Deck 8 – thankfully there are lifts everywhere!

I think I was asleep before my head touched the pillow tonight!

What lesson did I learn today? That no moment – happy, sad or difficult – lasts forever.

What am I grateful for today? This incredible cruise.

My saying for today is …