All at sea

Our 4th day on the ship and one that would be spent at sea sailing Northwest to Livorno, the port closest to Florence. Sea days are usually spent relaxing in the sun and are looked forward to.

I was up in time for the sunrise

The yellow cone says it all-it's drizzling rain and no one is likely to be sunbathing today

All the loungers are wet

Breakfast today is in Sabatini's which is exclusively for passengers staying in suites.

Fresh fruit

No crowds as there would be in one of the main dining rooms or the buffet

We always choose a window table for breakfast. 

The breads and pastries selection

Large dinner parties can be catered for

Every Italian restaurant needs a meat slicer

French toast with cinnamon apples and bacon. Fuel for a day of being lazy.

Carol's Belgian waffles

The rain has eased after breakfast

A Princess cruise video plays on the MUTS screen but there are few people watching

A dark rain cloud follows the ship

One of the few places set aside for smokers on the ship

There was a Meet and Greet taking place in the Adagio Bar next to Sabatini's. An M and G is where members of Cruisecritic.com arrange through a Forum to meet on the ship at a given time. I stopped in for a short time and took some photographs of people I didn't know. Most of them were wearing name tags with their screen name showing. I didn't recognize any of the names. Cruise critic has one million members.

You pay for your own drinks and after one weak rum and coke I left to wander the wet decks again

The air remained cool and damp for the rest of the day.

In the evening, before dinner we attended a show featuring Peter Howarth who has been the lead singer for the Hollies since 2006 so we were assured some good songs. He was in fine voice. Great show! It lasted an hour so we didn't get to dinner until 9.30pm.

Sadly I didn't have my zoom lens with me

On to dinner and I was ready for some pasta with oxtail in a rich gravy

For Carol, a starter of Caesar salad with anchovies

My Moroccan chicken, cooked in a tagine. Delicious slow cooking.

Carol's braised pork

After dinner and a brief walk on deck it was time for another show-the International Crew show where members of the crew display their singing and musical talents. Before the show balloons are passed out to amuse the audience...

And finally the long walk back to our cabin on the stern to sleep as, in the morning, we would be waking up in Livorno and taking a long excursion to Florence!