Today is our last day on the Regal Princess, as it is for about 1500 other passengers. (Another one thousand are staying on eleven more days and going to St. Petersburg.)

Those of us who are history tomorrow are cramming as much as possible today.

The breakfast buffet was abnormally crowded, and – as I write this — people are already queued up for the last Pub Lunch of the cruise.  The line at the Passenger Services desk is formidable, and the number of people attending the final Zumba class in the Piazza is dizzying.  I won’t tell them they’re not going to work off all they ate in seventeen days in one hour. Heck, it would be the pot calling the kettle black.

Earl’s rented tuxedo has been whisked away, and as soon as I finish the last 40 pages of an Anne Perry mystery, I’m taking it back to the ship’s library.  Bingo and trivia games continue unabated. So does the casino and the art auction.

We’ve already made a reservation for dinner for two for this evening. After that, we’ll pull out our suitcases and begin the return to reality.  Even though we’re staying three days in Copenhagen before flying home, reality is when you have to fend for yourself without 1300 staff members eager to please you.

We just returned from a half-day tour of Hamburg, Germany.  And, no, the hamburger wasn’t created here; according to our guide, it was created in the United States.  He did say, however, that the residents of his city are called Hamburgers, so I suspect they get a lot of teasing from clueless Americans.

I knew very little of Hamburg before our tour, but our guide Jorge did his best to educate us.

Hamburg was founded by Charlemagne in the ninth century.  In the twelfth century, Frederick Barbarosa gave it a certificate that, for lack of a better explanation, made the city an independent city-state enabling it to conduct free trade on the Elbe River.  We saw impressive statues of both men at the City Hall.

The Elbe flows into the larger seas surrounding northern Germany, which enabled Hamburg to develop as a significant seaport.

The city was devastated by a great fire in 1842, but rebuilt.  One hundred years later it was devastated by bombs in World War II.  Again, it was rebuilt; so it is common to see very modern architecture standing next to buildings that are two- and three- hundred years old. It makes for an interesting historical perspective and equally interesting photo opportunities.

Our tour passed many of the major monuments, churches, and civic buildings as Jorge described each.  Clearly, his English was better than my German would ever be, and it made me wonder if tourists coming to the major cities in the United States are able to find guides who speak in their native languages.  I hope so.

The final stop on our tour was a snack shop where we were treated to a beverage – hot chocolate, coffee, or beer – and German pastries.  You would have thought the passengers on our bus hadn’t eaten in days the way they devoured everything. Or perhaps it’s become a way of life.

Cold turkey begins in two days.

It was thirty-five years ago that I last was at Blarney Castle, and I have a photo to prove that two husky Irishmen eased me over the edge of the high wall to kiss the famous stone back then. For the record, it was half my life ago.

Today Earl and I roamed the castle grounds while I reminisced and he represented the newcomer’s view. I recalled the pathway across the grounds to the castle’s edge that I’d walked with my two sons; he took photos. I tried to reconcile my memories with the current view; he took photos. And I silently vowed to contact Kevin, my older son, and ask what he remembered of that original trip.

Earl preserved this one for us.

One thing I like about cruise ships is the pleasantness and politeness of the crew.

For instance, we have moved our clocks ahead five nights in a row as we crossed time zones.  It means the crew loses an hour of sleep a night, since the switch is made at 2:00 AM.  And when you work a twelve hour day, the effect is cumulative. The passengers, on the other hand, just sleep an extra hour.

Still, every crew member we meet greets us pleasantly regardless of the time of day or lack of sleep. “Good morning, Madam.” “Good afternoon, Sir.” “Your wish is our command. “In fifteen years of cruising, I have never encountered a surly crew member, and I wonder how they do it.

Turnaround Day is particularly taxing, as yesterday’s passengers disembark while today’s guests are chomping at the bit to board.  In between, the crew prepares the ship for the next passage. Change linen in all the staterooms, restock the bars, take on fuel and foodstuffs – all the while being courteous to the departing and the arriving in equal measure.

The Captain comes on the public address system from time to time, and we all stop to listen.  On this cruise, it was his decision to change course; and I respect him for his knowledge and authority. But, really, it’s the room stewards and the restaurant staff and the other crew members who are the real face of cruising.

The two memories of Ponta Delgada we’ll recall when this trip is in the books are a brightly colored rooster and an unexpected stop for beer, both dependent on a credit card and Earl’s curiosity.

We’d been inside the local church, admired a couple lovely parks with their weird trees, and sat on a couple benches before wandering down a bumpy, narrow street. It was there we saw a souvenir shop that displayed the MasterCard logo on its door. Since we hadn’t been able to use the ATM successfully, looking for that sign became the criterion on which we entered an establishment.

Earl has a quirky sense of humor, and he spied a ceramic rooster in the window.  “Wouldn’t this look great in our home?” he asked. I actually liked the black stylized figure with the fancily painted wings and tail, but I’m more practical. “How much is it?”  “How will you get it home?”

Earl was ready: It wasn’t expensive; he would wrap it between his sweaters in his luggage, and the Waterford he’d planned to store there would be sent from the factory in Ireland instead.

Seems like he really wanted the rooster.

As we paid, the proprietor gave us a little brochure that explained the historical importance of this souvenir.  It saved a man’s life years ago, but I won’t go into that here.  Suffice to say the rooster seemed happy to be with us; and Earl named it Vladimir, after our Serbian server in the pizza restaurant on the ship.

This called for a celebration, but we couldn’t find a café with the MC symbol.  That is, until we passed the Hotel Talisman. I figured a hotel would certainly accept various credit cards, even if its door didn’t advertise. So we asked the hostess in the hotel café, who nodded and showed us to the bar.

Can a beer be charming?  Probably not, but both the bar and the hotel outdid themselves. I was so taken with the Hotel Talisman that I asked for a brochure at the reception desk.  If you want to see for yourself, go to www.hoteltalisman.com.

If I’m ever in Ponta Delgada again, that’s where I’m staying.