Our last day at Sea- January 3, 2016

The sunset last evening was another golden one. Nothing quite like the sun setting over the water whether it is at sea or sitting at the beach on Anna Maria Island.

All the rental boats were back in the places where they had been when we sailed in in the morning. Most had made many journeys out with passengers enabling lots of different kinds of excitement and fun- from Thriller rides to snorkeling adventures. Quite a place with lots of options of activities.

It has been a glorious cruise….a grand way to celebrate Christmas and to welcome in 2016. We have shared 16 nights of sailing as we visited St John, St Barts, St Kitts, Basseterre, Guadeloupe, St Lucia, Barbados, St Vincent, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Turks and Caicos….plus 5 days at sea.

The Prinsedam is a lovely ship and the staff is very gracious.

 Captain Dag was an ever-present force around the decks and as the “disembodied voice from the bridge” each day at noon and at sail away time when he makes his comments. He combined what I learned about the expectations of sea captains in years gone by- excellent navigator but also the chief PR person with the passengers.  Learned that reading Dead Wake by Erik Larsen while aboard this trip.

 

We boarded the ship as she was all festooned for the holidays and as we get ready to leave her tomorrow all signs of Christmas and New Year’s are gone.  Last evening when the elevator stopped at  Deck 7 for the dining room it didn’t even look like the right spot since all the trees, gingerbread houses and red flowers were gone.

All I guess is a gentle reminder that today, January 3^rd, is the packing up day. Sunrise was beautiful- even if it is the last day of cruising THIS TIME!

Sunrise-January 3

Our luggage tags are here, we’ve completed the Customs Declaration (which was easy since we didn’t buy anything), we have requested late disembarkation at 9:30 and we can remain in our stateroom until then.  Much easier and saner process than in our early years of cruising.

Now we just must decide when to stop resting and relaxing and start throwing clothes into suitcases. The reverse of packing for a trip doesn’t take nearly as much concentration or hard work for us as packing at the beginning of a trip.

We’ve met interesting folks, shared tasty meals and heard many wonderful travel stories. As we prepare to journey home tomorrow I am thankful for the opportunity to travel and to see as much of the world as we have seen. As always we remind ourselves how lucky we are…and how nice it will be to be home again for a little while. 

Even though we’ll miss the nighttime towel animals, the menus with many choices and the wonderful music we will enjoy our own bed, our neat home and our life shared together.