January 26, 2019

This morning was cloudy and windy and the temperature was 23°C as we cruise across the Gulf of Mexico back to Miami. About 8 a.m. the ship was a little north of Havana, Cuba. The white capped waves were about two meters high. BBC World News weather showed that we would see some rain later in the day.

We decided to have breakfast on Deck 3 in the American Icon restaurant. We shared a table with Ken and Jan from Illinois and another American couple from the state of New York. We had an interesting discussion with Ken and Jan, deciding to meet them for pre-dinner drinks later.

While we walked around Deck 5’s promenade, we slowly passed the Norwegian Breakaway cruise ship, then saw an MSC cargo ship travelling in the opposite direction. We stopped on Deck 6 to order our complimentary Embarkation Day photos for later pickup. After getting cappuccinos, we walked to Deck 4’s Amber Theater for the top tier passengers’ invitational Backstage tour. Three members of the Mama Mia cast explained to the two dozen guests their roles in the production and their other entertainment duties. They also answered audience questions. Then the Production Manager took us onstage explaining his duties and opened the curtain to the backstage where the huge props for the Blue Planet show including the “Living Tree”, which weighs over two tons and carries 18 dancers forward on to the main stage. Beside the tree was the apparatus which contained the three trampolines used in the show. Tied up behind all of this was the set for Mama Mia.

The afternoon was spent using our second day of complimentary Wi-Fi to enter the text and photos of the past few days. The temperature dropped during the afternoon to 20°C due to the nearby storm front. An announcement was made to advise passengers that the Miami Fitbit Marathon was being held tomorrow, which could cause delays getting to the airport.

After picking the photos, we joined Ken and Jan for predinner drinks at the Diamond Club Lounge.

We sat at our regular dinner table and the nearby group of three tables including many young children were creating their chaos with the children running between those tables. It was a lot quieter when they left. Some of tonight’s choices were beet and Orange Salad, Green Lentil Soup and Salmon Gravlax as appetizers; Fish & Chips, Braised Lamb Shank and New York Striploin for entrées and Banana Bread Pudding and Pavlova for dessert.

After dinner the voyage map showed our location was just south of Key Largo, Florida. Allure of the Seas had travelled 1,896 nautical miles (2,182 miles) so far. We shared the last bottle of sparling white wine with the kids in their adjoining cabin.

The sea got noticeably rougher when the rain started to pour down after 8 p.m. Tonight, most of the passengers are packing to leave the ship in the morning. There are some passengers staying onboard for next week’s seven-day cruise to the eastern Caribbean. We spent the evening, preparing today’s blog entry and packing.

Total steps today 13,207