Day 5 - happy thanksgiving from grand cayman!

Good Thanksgiving morning! We awoke early when the ship started anchoring in the harbor around 7:30. Our initial plans were to try the Royal Palm beach club but a lazy day on board won. Last year, we had our second visit to Grand Cayman so that helped make the choice to create another day at sea. We snoozed a little more and went for breakfast in the Marketplace and dined outside.


It was warm early so we changed into our bathing suits and spent the day at the pool. The hardest part of my day was “Goldilocksing” around the deck. We started in loungers by the pool which were delightfully shaded. I read my book while Chris did crosswords on his phone. We went for a dip in the pool which felt so refreshing. I glanced at my hand and noticed the main gemstone missing from my ring. I knew it was there when I entered the pool so I started the hunt. The pool is very salty so Chris went back to grab our mask. While he was gone, I found it. I attempted a dive but the salt water was brutal. I located it once more and stood with my foot over it until he returned. He dove with the mask and got it back. It is not the most valuable of rings and ironically I had the prongs fixed a few months ago but it is a sentimental ring so I’m glad we found it. After our diving adventure in the pool, we returned to our seats and decided to try lunch in the Marketplace and if nothing seemed interesting we would go to Silk. The Indian food won me over so I made a salad with some vegetable curry. We returned to our seats but the sun was now overhead. We changed loungers but didn’t stay to long there as the sun crept onto my one side. I sat briefly and one of the couches but the windows behind them can make it quite hot. Chris saw a round chair, perfect for us both under the shade open up. Ahhh, that was just right as Goldilocks would say. I wrote for awhile and read some more. Alan, one of our favorite bar waiters suggested we try the drink of the day, Harvest Old Fashioned. It was Thanksgiving in a glass for sure. Then it was just perfect for a nap in the breeze.


Tonight was the Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle so we returned to freshen up for the 5:30 get together. It was pretty late in the cruise and the timing of Thanksgiving did not seem the best choice. There were 11 in attendance. The head housekeeper stopped briefly by to introduce herself. We enjoyed talking all things cruising with some really great passengers. We both had a Negroni and enjoyed snacking on the tomato with olives and shrimp sliders. If you followed my thread on Cruise Critic, the complainer did not make an appearance. I was really hoping to chat with them and would have been completely cordial after all it was Thanksgiving. But, sometimes it’s hard to meet face to face.


We headed to dinner around 7:30 hoping it would not be too brutally crowded as it is a popular night in Waterside. We were squeezed in to another section but Viktor once again was our server. Tonight, we decided to upgrade the wine to use our on board credit. Our initial idea was to order Caymus but the sommelier convinced us to try the Caymus Special Selection after hearing the descriptions of both. When he returned, he told us this was the same as the first bottle he had ever opened on a ship way back in 2008 and then he broke the cork. Tonight he extracted the long Caymus cork with ease. He said he has never opened a bad bottle of Caymus and I’d have to agree. It was spectacular. For appetizers, we both started with the escargot. They were delicious. After that, Chris had the beets with goat cheese while I had the butternut squash soup. Chris thought the beets were fantastic and I enjoyed the soup especially with the addition of a few pieces of pickled pumpkin. For mains, we both went with the traditional turkey dinner. It was the biggest portion for a main I have seen but it is Thanksgiving tradition to make a big plate. The turkey was very juicy and the sides were fantastic. We both enjoyed the heartier bourbon gravy. For dessert, we stuck with tradition and both ordered pumpkin pie but minus the ice cream. Since Viktor recommended the pecan pie, we shared that as well. I think the pecan was the superior choice. We left Waterside stuffed like turkeys and waddled back to the cabin.


Our intention was to pop into the cabin a moment and then go to the Curtis and Beverly show in Starlite at 10:15. We both dozed off thanks to fine wine and turkey. I did wake up with plenty of time but asked Chris if he just wanted to stay in the cabin and watch a lecture. Well following the lazy theme of the day, that was the winner. The lecture was about the aftermath of Titanic. The speaker’s grandfather was one of the musicians on Titanic and did not survive the tragedy. I almost made it to the end but did fall asleep. I will try to finish and also attend his lecture tomorrow on Titanic movies, fact or fiction.


I hope everyone reading this had as wonderful a Thanksgiving as we did. Happy Thanksgiving!