Another late start today, with our 8 hours of sleep happening between 2 and 10 a.m. just enough time to grab a quick bite at the International Café and watch the passenger vs officers Baggo game in the Piazza.

---

---

I ended up staying on deck 5 talking to a lovely couple, Chris and Jenny, from Arizona by way of Zimbabwe. We traded airport and customs clearance stories that had us all laughing and shaking our heads – and before we knew it an hour had flown by.

So… it must be time for more food. With a big crowd involved in line-dancing and early afternoon activities, I thought I’d give the buffet another try. By visiting three unconnected stations in the Horizon Bistro area – the fajita station (ingredients sadly not being grilled to order, so somewhat lukewarm), the barbecue station (for rice), and the nacho station (for chopped jalapeños, salsa, cheese, guacamole, and sour cream) – I managed to put together a really nice burrito, with a side of nacho chips.

---

As is so often the case on cruises, if you’re eating, someone will strike up a conversation. Today at lunch it was a gentleman named Keith, from Saskatoon Saskatchewan, travelling with his wife Shelley. He’s logged millions of miles on land as a long-haul driver, his post-retirement job after owning a 250-truck logistics company. His wife runs their own farm, plus an agricultural business – AND they’re related to the CFO of Princess cruises, so they’ve travelled not only in every state and province, but all over the world as well. VERY interesting, as was the video Keith shared of Shelley’s “pet” on their farm: a moose calf that she feeds daily. Now THAT is a Canadian stereotype in real life!

After lunch and our chat, I was ready for a specialty coffee from Princess Live!Café. Cruise baristas aren’t judgy like those in Italy, so I’m “allowed” to order cappuccino in the afternoon!

---

The cappuccino was an excellent accompaniment to an afternoon of reading. I’ve started another World War II novel, The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin.

Dinner tonight gave us the option to check out the decor in the third main dining room, Allegro. Since the menu in all three dining rooms is the same, and we’ve had good service in all three, on a future cruise I’d simply book the one closest to our room. The decors are not so different as to make a difference to the dining experience.

---

---

We were really excited about tonight’s event in The Piazza: the Princess World Orchestra, featuring all of the bands, vocalists, and instrumentalists in one huge musical program. Luis, our favourite bar pianist, was going to be playing his trombone, and Cruise Director Allie was slated to sing. It’s the kind of crew entertainment event we love.

---

We were still able to make it to the late show in the theatre, featuring Italian illusionist Ottavio Belli. While he was very good, and we still don’t know how he saws someone in half, to me the show felt a bit dated with all its cabinet and sword tricks. I guess we’ve come to expect more modern twists on magic,

---

We weren’t ready to head back to our cabin yet, so we caught Luis’ last piano set in the Wheelhouse (with martinis), and the band’s last dance set in The Piazza. That took us to midnight and bed.

Clocks go ahead one more hour tomorrow, but now we’re only a day away from landfall in the Azores!!