Today we sailed south on the Costa Favolosa towards Rio de Janeiro.
Sailing towards Rio de Janeiro.
I woke up at about 7 am & after having a shower I made my way to the pool at the back of the ship on deck 9. I got myself a coffee & sat next to the pool to read my Kindle. I wanted to have a swim, but the pool had been closed. It didn't feel very rough at sea but it must have been worse than any other day because the water in the pool had large waves. It looked like the areas they have in water parks with large wave machines. The pool had waves racing from one end to the other which was being forced out of the pool onto the surrounding deck. I just sat there reading my Kindle for a few hours before getting out of the sun.
I walked down to the Palatino Grand bar for a quiz. I missed the start so didn't take part but I stayed to watch when I saw the violin player, she was fantastic. The quiz involved her playing the theme tune for a film on the violin & the people taking part had to name the film. It was a shame I got there late as I knew every single one.
Today was the last day onboard ship & it was a quiet one, I read my Kindle & lazed around until lunchtime when I went for something to eat. For lunch I had, pumpkin soup as a starter, pork for my main course & strawberry cake for dessert.
This afternoon I took part in two quizzes with Gail, Ann, & Darrel. We did win a prize but as we were leaving the ship tomorrow we gave our prize, two ice creams, to a family with children. At 5 pm I quickly went to collect my passport from a desk that had been set up in the Moliere bar for guests that were departing tomorrow. I went back to the bar where I had left the others & had another drink. Gail, Darrel & Ann left but Dwight & Tessa arrived for a drink. At around 6 pm I went to the piano bar for a drink & saw Marcus. He explained that he was celebrating his birthday & being alive today & asked me to join him at 8 pm for a drink with some of the other people he had met on the cruise. I agreed to see him later & went to dinner in the restaurant at 7 pm.
The service at dinner this evening was terrible, everybody had to wait for their dinner or to even order their dinner. I did manage to get my spinach soup but it tasted disgusting & I couldn't eat it. Likewise, my lamb tagine was terrible, it lacked lamb & wasn't in a tagine, again I sent it back. It soon became apparent why the service was so slow, the dining staff were going to perform a dance & sing to us as it was our last meal. They started their show & I left, not waiting for my dessert, they should stick to serving & give up performing, if I wanted to see a show I´d have gone to the theatre, not the restaurant.
I went back to the piano bar & met Marcus, we were soon joined by the German couple I had met previously, my friends Dwight & Tessa who had also become friends with Marcus & a Brazillian couple. Marcus had bought a few nibbles for us all & several bottles of very nice wine. We sat chatting & toasting to Marcus good health for an hour or so before Marcus & the Germans left to go to the restaurant for their dinner. Dwight & Tessa left to go & see a show & I went back to my cabin. I packed my case & left it outside to be collected by the ship's staff before I went back to the quiet bar.
After Marcus had finished his dinner he joined me in the piano bar & we were later joined by Ann, Rosa, Dwight & Gail at different times during the night. We chatted & all said our goodbyes to each other not knowing if we would see each other tomorrow when we left the ship. We all eventually left & went back to our cabins.