Day 04 - A Day At Sea with a Wine Tasting

Oct 24, 2018 - Today, Island Princess is sailing to Cartegena, Colombia. On days at sea, there is a lot going on all over the ship. Here are just a few of the activities in the morning:

9:00am Zumba
9:30am   Ping Pong Tournament
9:30am  Stretch and Release
9:30am  Advanced Digital Photography Seminar
10:00am  Port and Shopping Show
10:00am  Morning Trivia
10:00am  Holiday Store @ Sea
11:00am  Watercolor Speed Painting
11:00am Acupuncture seminar
11:15am Dance Lessons: The Cha Cha
11:30am Snowball Jackpot Bingo
11:30am British Pub Style Lunch
12:00 Blackjack Tournament
  

So, there is certainly no shortage of things to do on a Princess cruise. Rickee's favorite thing is to be out in the sun, so we make our way up to Deck 15 aft to The Sanctuary. I cannot emphasize enough how peaceful and relaxing it is there.

Soaking up the sun at The Sanctuary

We were at The Sanctuary less than two hours when a rogue rain cloud decided to start pouring rain on us. So, we went back to our stateroom to get cleaned up for our afternoon wine tasting. The Maitre'd Hotel Wine Club is an optional event that allows guests to experience six different premium wines ($25/pp). On our way to the tasting, a sign caught Rickee's attention: "$10 Gift Event", so we were diverted into the Provence Restaurant which has been set up as a flea market of sorts. Every item is $10, and the place is packed with guests doing some holiday shopping.

Rickee found a straw visor, much nicer than the one she bought yesterday in Falmouth, for $10. She paid $12 for the one in Falmouth. So, now she is the proud owner of two straw visors.

When we arrived at the Maitre'd Hotel Wine Club (in Bordeaux Restaurant), we were seated at tables where we each had six wine glasses and a plate of canapés.

After a brief welcome and introduction by Maitre'd Silvio, three head waiters began describing two wines each as waiters circulated through the room pouring each wine for us. We started with a Champagne, followed by two other white wines. We continued with a Merlot, followed by a Malbec from Argentina and finally, a Cabernet from California. Per bottle prices ranged from $37 to $108.

I would guess that close to 100 people were in attendance at the tasting. We had the opportunity to try some new wines and really enjoyed it. If you like wine, you should consider attending one of these tastings.

For this evening's entertainment, we attended the Headliner Showtime featuring Nathan Foley, Princess Cruises' Entertainer of the Year award winner. Foley's performance was an energetic musical journey through the 50's, 60's, 70's and even the 80's.

Foley was backed up by the Island Princess Orchestra and it was a great show.

Tomorrow Island Princess will be in Cartegena, Colombia.