The morning of the 22nd I woke up early as usual, we thought since we were getting up to the pool area around 8.30 that for sure we'd find a lounger but once again we arrived on the pool deck to find all the towels once again comfortably "minding" the loungers. Oh well ... we popped into the buffet and grabbed some breakfast and perched ourselves up at one of the poolside tables on stools. I gingerly managed to force my breakfast down, my tummy protesting every mouthful... pity it wasn't so "outspoken" last night whilst I was feeding it red wine and vodka!! Oh well there's nothing to do for it but lounge by the pool, take a dip and hope I perk up a bit, which I did a little whilst in the pool. We lasted on those stools for about an hour and all I wanted to do was lie down so we ended up finding a table with chairs so I could make myself a lounger with 3 chairs (this worked ok last time so why not try it again). Around 10.30 this bloke called Roger came up and sat down ( we'd seen him and his wife around the ship quite a bit and had been chatting to him last night ). He was biding his time waiting for his wife to wake up so was thankful to have someone to chat to... I sat half asleep while Rodd had his 2nd drink for the day with Roger and they chatted happily without my input!! He had bought the first one cos he saw a sign on the table saying "Screwdrivers $4.25" so obviously he had to have one. By about 12 I was feeling a bit peckish so headed inside to the pasta bar for some yummy pasta with pesto and alfredo sauce then I just couldn't stay up any longer and had to go back to the cabin for a nap which lasted until about 4.30 when Rodd stumbled into the cabin and collapsed on the bed. I got up, showered and dressed but Rodd was out cold so I headed out by myself, it's time for Progressive Trivia with the gang up in the Observation Lounge.
 After that I spent about half an hour wandering around the ship looking for Heather and Tim and finally just went up to the Garden Cafe for a cup of tea and some food and as I left there I ran into them so went back out to the Garden Cafe deck to sit with them while they ate. By 7.30 we were in the Stardust Lounge for the show, Rock You Tonight, which as usual was fantastic entertainment. Tonight is the White Hot Party so after the show we sat on the pool deck and watched them set up table and chairs and then we claimed one right up the front. From time to time through the night I'd go back to the cabin to check on Rodd, most of the time he was fast asleep but at one stage he was barely conscious and hungry so I went to the Garden Cafe and grabbed a plate of food and juice for him. So the rest of the night I sat with Heather, Tim, Brenda and Kevin watching everyone dance away the night... I really would have liked to dance but I've got a thing about organised dances, I'd rather just do my own thing rather than being told what the steps are... anyway it was a nice night. Brenda and Kevin are a lovely couple and we seem to get on quite well with them so hopefully we'll get to see them on another trip and I did eventually have a dance with Heather and Tim just before I headed off to bed just after midnight.

Last sea day.... first thing I wanted to do was get all packed up because I do like to be organised and there's so much going on today. I managed to get most of the mess tamed before we headed out for breakfast and a little time at the pool, once again of course not managing to get a lounger but at least today I feel like a normal person so the stool wasn't quite so hard to stay upright on! At 10am we have to be up in the Observation Lounge to "mark" the Scavenger Hunt sheets that Ann had passed out at the Meet and Greet on the first day. There weren't too many people participating but it was fun never the less... we had started off with a bang racing around the ship getting all our bits and pieces and photos but as the port days kicked in we got a little slack so didn't get everything ticked off. Oh well... it was fun and I'd do it again, there was a little good natured controversy at the scoring cos one team had gone on the internet and printed out a sheet with all the worlds flags instead of taking photos of flags as was the instruction!! Just enough time once this was done to get down to Il Adagio to meet Hanno, one of the cruise staff, who was taking us for a behind the scenes tour, another activity arranged by Ann. This lasted about an hour and was really very interesting, we went into the galleys and laundry and saw all the hard work that goes on back there to make our trip so easy and enjoyable. At one point while we were all standing around on the I95 (as they call the back passages that the staff zip along to get to their work stations) with Hanno doing a question and answer, Stevie walked past and when he saw Rodd he stopped to chat to tell Rodd we had to be in the Stardust Theatre at 3pm for the crew Talent Show. Must be lunchtime now so off to the buffet we go... we ran into Heather and Tim and told them about the Talent Show so they ended up coming there with us. There was some great acts but Stevie was definitely the best, he has a beautiful voice and I got goosebumps listening to him sing. After the Talent Show the Cruise Director and his staff put on a show, it was a bit silly but quite amusing, they have a great job just cruising about dancing and playing games but it must get a bit tiring sometimes doing it day after day.. one cruise ends another begins and they do it all again! For the rest of the day we just wandered about having a drink here and there, I know we went to the final Progressive Trivia in Dazzles at 5pm which our team won (thanks mainly to Ginny and Dan) and looking at the charges to the cabin we went to the Windjammer Bar, Topsiders, Sports bar and Great Outdoor Cafe ( which I know realise is the name of the place I've been calling the Garden Cafe all through! ). I do know that we had dinner at Il Adagio with Heather and Tim because we were cutting it a bit fine to meet them and as we walked through the Galleria Rodd decided now was the time to buy a watch. He's been looking at watches the whole trip and saying he's always wanted a good watch but of course it was now or never so we had to stop... as is so often the way with men shopping it didn't take him long to decide which one he wanted but seemed to take an age for the guy to do the paperwork etc so I raced off down to the restaurant to get seated with H & T and then raced back up to let Rodd know they were there and I left him to get his watch band shortened to fit properly... it is a lovely watch but it's very fandangled with buttons and lots of dials and I think you need a licence to drive it! After dinner we walked up the stairs into Dazzles and caught a couple of songs before the band finished. Rodd and Tim went to bed at a fairly reasonable hour but Heather and I ended up once again sitting drink up on the top deck... a lovely way to end a fantastic cruise.