Even though we had not set an alarm, we were awake just before 08:00. We got up and ready. Then we headed to the Windjammer for breakfast. Graham had fruit, yoghurt and oatmeal. I had my usual congee. Be both had some juice and coffee.
After breakfast, Graham wanted to go back to the cabin to pack. I was not too keen about n this idea. Once I am packed, I feel like the holiday is over. I was not ready for that yet. Graham commented that I could always pack later if I preferred, but that seemed silly. I did pack at the same time he did, and this turned out to be a blessing.
Once the suitcases were packed, we headed downstairs to the Schooner Bar for morning trivia. We scored 12 out of 20 and the winning score was 16.
After morning trivia, we went on a bit of an art trail. We had given up on the general art a while ago, but I wanted photos of all the glass or glass and marble panels that were in the aft stairwells and on some of the aft landings. We started on deck 2 and made our way up. Once we had reached the top, we headed to the Crown Lounge to have a couple of cups of coffee. It was quite empty up there and we stayed for a while to relax.
It was a nice, sunny day and we decided to take a turn around the sun deck. This coincided with the noon captain’s announcement. This had a very different tone from the announcements that we had for the rest of the cruise. It was however moving and dignified. At some point during the cruise, I had read that Harmony of the Seas had been diverted due to a medical emergency. Unfortunately, the medical emergency was the captain. Earlier that morning, I had read that sadly Captain James had passed away. I did not really expect that this would be mentioned on the ship. However, Captain Rumen started his noon announcement with a tribute to Captain James, which was then followed by the blowing of the ship’s horn and a minute of silence as a mark of respect. I am not sure if this was handled the same across the fleet or if this was Captain Rumen’s touch. It did feel right though, especially as Captain James had started his career with Royal Caribbean on Radiance.
After we had enough fresh air, we headed to the Windjammer for some lunch. It was packed that day. The only seat that we could find was outside. It was not too cold, and that area is quite sheltered. This was even more though as we managed to snag a booth against the back wall. They had gone all out that day. They had a huge fried seafood feast. This is not my thing, but Graham had some with fries, but also had some salad to keep it healthy. I had a cup of black bean soup followed by a plate with pork schnitzel, Beef Wellington, mashed potatoes and green beans. I did of course also have one last vanilla and chocolate swirl soft serve ice cream.
After lunch, Graham decided that he definitely needed to work on his tan. He found himself a lounger by the pool. I did not quite share his enthusiasm. I was somewhat surprised that the outside pool was open for the first time since the day we got on the ship in Vancouver. Even more surprising, there were quite a few people in the pool. After a while, Graham asked if I wanted to go somewhere else. I suggested that we check out the secret sundeck that we had discovered the first day. Unfortunately, all the sun loungers in that area were tied up against the back wall.
We headed down to the promenade deck. The views were incredibly pretty. Graham wanted to check out the helipad. He loves this area, but for much of the cruise it was just too cold and windy out there. I still was not entirely sure how pleasant it would be out there, but I figured we could always go back in if it was too cold. It was actually lovely out there and we stayed for about an hour to admire the beautiful scenery.
When we started to feel a bit chilly, we decided to head in. We walked along the promenade deck until we got to midship and then we headed to the Schooner Bar. For all the space they have at the Schooner Bar on this ship, it was absolutely packed. We went to the Colony Club and there was hardly anybody there. Their bar was closed. I went to the Schooner Bar and got an Irish Coffee for Graham and a desert pear margarita for me. There was a music quiz going on and if I wanted, I could have played along as we could hear everything from where we were sitting. I passed though.
Once the music trivia was over and we had finished our drinks, we went back to the Schooner Bar and hovered with intent. We figured that it would probably start to empty out as people that had early dinner needed to get ready. Initially it looked like I was wrong, but eventually some people were leaving, and we were able to snag a couple of seats by the windows before afternoon trivia started. We scored 14 out of 20 and the winning score was 16.
After afternoon trivia, Graham wanted to head out again, but I had enough fresh air for one day. He went out and I stayed put. I had another desert pear margarita and alternated reading with enjoying the view. At some stage, Graham came back, and we stayed in the Schooner Bar until we saw the lighthouse that we had seen on our float plane tour. I was surprised how close we were to Vancouver.
We headed back to the cabin, and we added a few more odds and ends to our suitcases. I filled out the luggage tags and attached them to our luggage. Then we headed down for dinner.
Dinner that night was the Bon Voyage menu. Graham chose the vegan pan-seared asparagus with white bean hummus and a hazelnut-basil pesto drizzle for his starter. I had the baked French onion soup. Graham had the autumn turkey dinner with mashed sweet potatoes, apple stuffing with toasted walnuts, sautéed corn and cider gravy. I had the spaghetti bolognaise. Graham had the warm apple cobbler with vanilla ice cream. I had the dark chocolate brownie with sweet, whipped cream, caramel popcorn and a caramel drizzle. We also had our last two glasses of the Chateau St. Michelle Riesling. I am not sure if this will be available on our next cruise. I can’t remember having seen this on cruises out of Europe before.
We spent a while chatting with our serving team. Our assistant server used to be on Ovation. Once we said goodbye to them, we headed to the photo gallery to pick out the prints we wanted. We got two free prints, and I paid for two more. I was surprised how quiet it was there considering this was the last night. Then we headed back to the cabin. On the way, I took a couple more photos of the Centrum. Once we got back to the cabin, I put our suitcases out and then we got ready for bed.
Dolphingirl’s Travels 
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