CAPTAIN SLOG 81.13

Well this is the last day.

As promised, I gave myself a lie in until 9.30 and by the time breakfast was done and dusted, it was time for our last trivia quiz. It's a progressive, so they add up all the scores from the previous rounds and find the overall winner. Well it clearly won't be us as there is one team that seems to score highly each time. Brian swears that he has seen them with an iPad!!

Well, true to form we didn't win but there was nearly a punch up over the colour of the Ferrari emblem! Cool!!

To be honest the prizes were a bit naff! Lanyards with a bronze, silver or gold Celebrity cross hanging off the end, t shirts etc. No cash or anything!!

I had another last go at the casino and made another $20 and this time there was a watch sale outside, once again all roped off and about 20 people deep. I decided to have a look at the remains later and have a last wander around the shops. It's a pity that we can't take alcohol through Miami in our hand luggage. It was very cheap to buy, they wouldn't let you have it until the night before we reached Port Everglades (ie tonight), just so you didn't drink it on board and make a dent in their profits! I don't fancy packing a glass bottle in my holdalls though.

Back at the watch sale it had all died down. They were actually good value, $19.95 for a set. The mens' set was either a dress watch or a big chronograph watch and then accompanied by the likes of a nice pen, an iPhone cover, cufflinks etc. The ladies' set was a watch (obviously!) - all a bit glitzy for me - a pair of earrings, a necklace and a bracelet, so not bad value really for all that. Nevertheless I didn't buy anything..

I decided on finishing off my packing before trotting off to the upper class cabins for afternoon tea.. When I got back there was another message waiting for me, could I make it 7pm because Ed has acquired a taste for Bingo and wanted to go to the Grand Finale. They also had a couple of bottles of red to drink up. Again, graciously accepted!

This meant that I could once again join Brian and Angela for a bevvie and a quiz. Damn we were good this time 14 out of 15, must have been the Prosecco!! We were beaten into second place by not knowing that Mozart wrote Twinkle Twinkle Little Star at the age of 5.
What a little Smart Arse!!

Then my final packing. Where has all this stuff come from?? I leave the country with a slightly overweight bag and now I have another holdall as well and I'm struggling to pack it all. The bags have to be tagged up and outside by 11pm tonight.

There was just time to go online and check in for my flight tomorrow. I had to pay for my extra suitcase but managed to be tempted by the offer of an upgrade to Premium Economy, where I was allowed to take two cases free of charge. I know it was indulgent but then what a good use of my casino winnings?? So much more comfortable and I got a bulkhead seat on the front row . Perfect.

7pm and I'm ringing the door bell of the upper echelons. What a lovely cabin it is with a separate lounge area and bedroom, a flat screen TV bigger than my garage door, a walk in wardrobe and a massive balcony.

Their next cruise will be spent next door in the penthouse where resides a baby grand piano, which can be programmed to play with no hands required and there's also a hot tub on the balcony.

We had a really good natter and demolished the wine and then I offered to show them how the rest of us live and it was down to 7157. In actual fact I was very happy with my cabin as anything larger would have been a waste of space for just me but it's nice to see how the other half live!!

Dinner tonight was all about exchanging email addresses and taking photos. There was also a certain amount of serviette waving as the catering stuff were all fanfared down the steps and paraded in front of us. All a bit Butlinsy if you ask me.

Oh yes and I forgot to mention, last (formal) night, we had a visit from the Christmas Fairy! Talk about a tasteless outfit, she just lacked a pair of wings and a wand. Silver bodice and layers of net made into a short skirt - she looked ridiculous!!

Sandie, bless her, disappeared after the main course and returned with ten of the largest cupcakes I had ever seen as a parting gift to us all. What a kind thought!

I managed to drag the cases out in time, damn they were heavy!!

Home tomorrow, well, the start of the journey anyway ..... Night night xx