Day 08 -- 6/08 - At Sea to Orkney Islands (Kirkwall)

 After 5 port calls it was definitely a pleasure and a relief to have a sea day and sleep in.  We were joined at breakfast by a retired high school basketball coach and we enjoyed a lot of sports discussion.  Our first event was a port talk about our next two ports.  "Ask the Captain" was next and it was well attended and Captain Tim Stringer answered every question and often with much embellishment.  He's been at sea 35 years with 25 on Princess.



The premium Anchor Grill was open for lunch so we decided to try it.  It was really good.  I had a ribeye steak and Angela had a salad. This restaurant is full at night so this lunch opportunity was a good option.


Several people reported seeing dolphins during lunch in the aft wake of the ship. Our afternoon's entertainment was the game show "Deal or No Deal" & then we enjoyed a very good wine tasting in the Allegro Dining room.


We got our passports back today, and we were able to watch a port talk on Kirkwall as we missed the first part of the live lecture earlier.  I should mention that Princess records all of the enrichment lectures, game shows, and many other of the live events.  These can later be watched on the stateroom TV.  Holland America claims it can't be done, but Princess clearly is doing it.


Dinner was good in Allegro and I really enjoyed BBQ ribs. Afterwards, the 7:30pm show was Sammy Lomax who did a Dusty Springfield tribute show.  If was okay, but not near as good as the Celine Dion tribute show a few days ago.


Allie hosted a dance competition in the Piazza between 6 couples who were randomly paired. The winning couple won by a landslide with a performance to the song "My heart must go on" from the movie Titanic.


All day the weather was overcast and the ocean was quite choppy accompanied by significant wind.  Our route is taking us about 3-4 miles off a very rock coast in heavy tidal current waters.  The outside decks were closed off.

 

Tomorrow we will be in the Orkney Islands which have a rich and long history involving control by the Norwegians before it was presented as a dowry gift as part of an arranged marriage between a Norwegian princess and a Scottish King.

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