18. Tying up a few loose ends

We are now on our way back to Yokohama/Tokyo for our flight home, but I thought you, dear reader, might be itching for an update on the mutineers and a few other matters.

Unfortunately, we've been unable to find out much first hand information about the mutiny and as always, there are two sides to a story. One witness we spoke to said that a "spokeswoman" for the group was speaking rationally and eloquently while another witness said that one of the bar staff "saw the worst passenger fracas that he had ever seen in 17 years of working for Princess." We definitely know that one couple who were involved are still on board, but Terry, one of our dining companions told us that 10 passengers were put ashore in Hongkong. So, I doubt we will ever find out the truth although, as I mentioned in an earlier post, everyone has been given generous compensation for the disrupted itinerary.

We have not paid a visit to the roulette table as it is usually very busy with what seem to be semi-professional gamblers. We witnessed one gentleman waging $100 or more every spin, and on one occasion he won over $500, only to lose it all the very next time.

Trivia has been somewhat more successful and with still two or three competitions left, we have won 6. We have usually teamed up with Rick and Jan from Grimsby, but on other occasions have just played with anyone who has been looking to make up a group of four or six. The prizes have been mixed, ranging from large "I'm a winner" foam hands to useful water bottles.

The staff, as always, have been brilliant, especially Sandra and Bernardino who look after us at dinner time. Likewise, Roman, Alice and Julie who serve our pre-dinner drinks in the Wheelhouse Bar. Our dining companions (Harry, Helen, Terry, Joyce, Roger and Mary) have all been great company, especially Seattle residents Roger and Mary with whom we have got on famously. Our day with them in Macau will live long in the memory.

With a couple of very minor exceptions, the food has been excellent and certainly an improvement on our last couple of Princess voyages. It's been a pleasant change to have a wide choice of both western and Asian cuisine. 

We do have a couple of grumbles. On both occasions (Kagoshima and Okinawa), immigration back into Japanese territory has been a nightmare, although I'm not sure what Princess can do to speed things up. That said, as they must go through the process with the ship every few weeks you would think that they would have been more streamlined and more efficient by now.

Secondly, the stateroom televisions are extremely temperamental. They appear to be linked or a computer server and often don't work. The only remedy is to unplug the power at source and wait for five minutes for it to reboot. 

We haven't taken much advantage of the entertainment. The shows haven't really appealed although we did see a couple which were okay....but it must be a challenge to find something that will be understood across all nationalities. The resident musicians have, by and large, been very listenable. There is far too much karaoke, but the Japanese seem to enjoy it.

We have one more tour upon our disembarkation before being taken to the airport and so I will write one final posting once that has been completed and we are on our way back home.