Here, there and everywhere – December Part III

“Christmas Eve ought to be a very joyful evening to us in all its associations, in all the truths which it naturally brings to the soul…. A man’s soul is to be as the heavens were on the night when the shepherds looked up and saw them full of angels as well as stars”. ~Henry Ward Beecher (1813–1887)

I woke up this Christmas Eve morning excited that for the next two days we would celebrating my very favorite holiday of the year; Christmas. 

I stepped out onto the balcony to see the sea the color of dark blue and a sky filled with dark clouds.  But I took heart because the forecast for the day would be bright blue skies and sparkling royal blue waters. 

We absolutely had nothing on our agenda today except to take a nice walk around the ship enjoying all the festive decorations.  Over the last few years we have noticed more and more that passengers are decorating their cabin doors with everything from twinkling lights, Christmas stockings, Santa hats, wreaths and more. 

We made our way to the Diamond Lounge for a simple breakfast of fruit, pastries and coffee.  Then we were on our way.  Our first stop was in the Centrum to admire the Christmas tree and the beautiful garland covering all the railings. 

Then we were off to one of my favorite rooms on the ship at Christmas time; the Edelweiss dining room where the railings and trees are all decked out in beautiful green garland covered with gold and silver ornaments. 

We stopped by the gingerbread display once again to admire the gingerbread church and the beautiful crèche just below. A nice reminder of what the holiday is all about. Then it was back to the cabin to enjoy the beautiful view from our balcony.

The quiet of our afternoon was only broken once when a plate of cheese and crackers was delivered courtesy of the Crown & Anchor Society. A very nice and welcomed afternoon snack.

It seemed as though time just drifted by and suddenly it was time to prepare for the evening.  We joined others in the Diamond Lounge for cocktails and then on to dinner.  Tonight’s menu included one of my very favorite choices. I just love the carved filet of beef tenderloins with Morel-crimini mushroom sauce, creamy mashed potatoes and asparagus.

We returned to our cabin for an evening of excited anticipation about what Christmas morning held for us both.

“Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind. To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas”. ~Calvin Coolidge, 1927

We woke up on Christmas morning to a glorious day!  The sky was blue, the waters calm and the air filled with a gentle breeze. 

First things first, set the stage for an at home Christmas morning.  First, turn on the television to the channel featuring a beautiful crackling fire.  While I was setting the stage, Randy ran up to the Diamond Lounge for fetch cups of hot café lattes for us both.  We donned our Santa hats and proceeded to open the lovely green and red packages under our Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

What fun!  We had a great time opening and admiring our Christmas gifts.  After all the packages were open we looked at each other and said, “Of course, the best Christmas gift of all is that we are together”. 

We then made our way to the Diamond Lounge to wish Alan a very Merry Christmas and present him with our gift. Alan surprised us with a gift bag of little candies from his country.  “How wonderful”, I thought as we hugged and wished each other Merry Christmas.

We then made our way back to the cabin because today we dock at Cozumel, Mexico.  So not only are we celebrating Christmas at sea but we will be enjoying lunch at one of our favorite restaurants in Cozumel, Ernesto’s Fajita Factory.

We discovered Ernesto’s Fajita Factory several years ago and have enjoyed returning many times since when visiting Cozumel.  As always we enjoyed bottles of ice cold SOL beer, shared our favorite combination plate called Plato Mexicano, fresh salsa and chips and topped it off with a slice of their version of a Key Lime pie. Everything was delicious!

We returned to our cabin and discovered a lovely box of Belgian chocolates had been placed under our little Charlie Brown Christmas tree.  What a nice surprise from the Crown & Anchor Society. 

Our evening was extra special with a delicious holiday meal of roasted turkey and all the fixings and a delicious miniature Yule log for dessert.  While enjoying our dessert the wait staff gathered on the stairs and sang a medley of holiday favorites. Lovely, just lovely.

We returned to our cabin for an evening by the fire and enjoy the memories of this beautiful day in quiet thoughtfulness. 

Tomorrow we arrive at our next port-of-call, Costa Maya, Mexico.

Enjoy,

Mary