Semi-live from the Caribbean Princess, Dec. 3, 2016

We boarded the Caribbean Princess last Saturday. We almost did not make it. I fell after tripping on a sprinkler head while walking down the sidewalk in Fort Lauderdale. Fortunately there's an urgent care center in the little shopping center in front of the Harbor Shops that could take an X-ray and determine that my wrist is probably not broken. The doctor cleared me to sail with a brace for the week.

 

We stayed at the Embassy Suites. It's very convenient. We had planned to take a cab to the ship (docked at Pier 21), but the shuttle bus driver offered us a deal--$15 for the two of us instead of the regular $18. I think he probably pocketed the whole amount. There were four ships in port, and they all were clustered around the same area. We dropped off passengers for the Eurodam first, then had a pretty long wait in traffic before getting off the shuttle. The other two ships were Royal Caribbean--Harmony and Independence(?).

 

Boarding was very quick. We breezed through the preferred for security and then for check-in. The Elite and suite lounge was fairly full when we got there, but they began boarding about 5 minutes later. We were on the ship in less than an hour after leaving the hotel.

 

Our cabin is at the front of the ship on the Plaza Deck. And by front of the ship, I mean as far as passengers can go--P201. I was prepared for the small size. It's adequate, although it would be nicer if there were room on both sides of the bed. As it is, my side is against the wall, and I have to slide down to the foot of the bed to get out of it. We moved the little glass table into the closet to have more room to walk without tripping over it. There's still plenty of storage space for our clothes.

 

The trip so far has been good for us. We have two great couples for table mates at second seating and great waiters. Antonio, the main waiter, is on his last cruise before his break. He'll go back to Mexico City for a few months before sailing on another Princess ship.

I am sorry to hear about your rough start! Thank goodness you are okay and on the cruise. I hope it's a really great time. It's nice to hear you are have great table mates and wonderful service. We board the Regal on December 18.

 

Happy Sailing.

 

 

 

 

Marie

The first night at sea there was a medical emergency where a passenger had to be flown off the ship in a helicopter. The captain made several announcement that woke everyone up--a couple around 1:30 and then two more around 3:30. Some passengers had to leave their cabins and go to their muster stations for 90 minutes. The ship turned around and headed back toward Florida because the helicopter originally did not have enough fuel to reach the ship and go back safely. The captain estimates our arrival in Curacao will be delayed about 5 hours--around noon instead of 7 a.m. It does not matter to us since we don't have anything planned for today.

 

The food has been very good so far. I have been doing Meatless Mondays for a couple of years now and did not have any problems yesterday finding good things to eat. I had asked our waiter to see last night's menu the night before to make sure I liked the main course. I did. It was pad Thai. At lunch, I had a vegetarian stuffed bell pepper for my main course in the dining room. Tonight and tomorrow night we'll have open seating in all the dining rooms since the ship doesn't sail until late each night--10 p.m.

 

We enjoyed "Piano Man" with the production singers and dancers on the second night. All four of the singers are good. We went to the first night's "Welcome Aboard" show. Comedian Scott Wyler gave a brief set. We've seen him on past cruises. We did not go back last night for his full act, but our tablemates saw him before dinner and enjoyed it.

 

I finally made it up to the pool yesterday afternoon. My wrist was OK without the brace for a little while. We went to the Oasis Pool. The ship was rocking and rolling with slight swells, probably 6-9 foot seas. They closed some of the exits onto the Promenade Deck and the upper portion mid-afternoon because of heavy winds. I enjoyed walking out there and watching the ship crash against the waves, sending up big plumes of water.

 

We've enjoyed trivia, tying once for first place with one of our tablemate couples but losing the tiebreaker. The other times we've played regular trivia, we have been one or two points behind the winners. I'll remember Rhiana next time and fight for Shrek if my teammates try to talk me into "Braveheart." But even those right answers would not have won those games. We won a bottle of champagne in the early evening celebrity childhood photo trivia last night. The CD staff person showed 20 photos of celebrities from their childhood with four multiple choices for each question. I've always done well at multiple choice tests.

 

I can bring the Patters with me if anyone has questions about specifics on the ship about the crew, movies, etc.

I am sorry to hear about your rough start! Thank goodness you are okay and on the cruise. I hope it's a really great time. It's nice to hear you are have great table mates and wonderful service. We board the Regal on December 18.

Thanks. We board the Regal on December 11. It's just for the Bon Voyage Experience. I surprised DH with boarding passes on our anniversary. At first he thought they were boarding passes for another whole cruise. But I think we'll enjoy just an extra afternoon on this new ship. I wanted to see it firsthand before possibly booking a cruise on it for February (or sometime else in the future).

Enjoying your reports, thanks.

Lovin' your review! We board the Caribbean Princess on 12/17. :)

Enjoying your report and looking forward to more. We'll be on CB beginning January 6th.

Have you been to the new Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Bar yet? We understand it replaced Club Fusion.

Hope your wrist isn't too painful.

LuLu

How was the sailaway ? Live caribbean music or DJ. How is the live music on sea days around the Lido Pools. Is there live music in the evening in the Bars/Lounges, was good ? Thanks :)

Enjoying your report and looking forward to more. We'll be on CB beginning January 6th.

Have you been to the new Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Bar yet? We understand it replaced Club Fusion.

Hope your wrist isn't too painful.

LuLu

Thanks. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is basically just a redecorated Club Fusion. They've put up posters of rock stars around the room. There's a small display case with memorabilia such as ticket stubs and handbills and handwritten lyrics. They still call it Club Fusion in the Patter.

How was the sailaway ? Live caribbean music or DJ. How is the live music on sea days around the Lido Pools. Is there live music in the evening in the Bars/Lounges, was good ? Thanks :)

The live music that we've heard has been good. We were on the Promenade Deck for sailaway and did not see which group played by the pool. There's a really good female singer we've seen in Explorers Lounge in the evenings. The classical musicians in the piazza include a piano soloist (light classical music and old standards) and a violin and guitar duo (same type of songs). There's also a steel drummer who plays there. He's also been in the Wheelhouse Bar some evenings, which I think is too small a venue for him in terms of volume. The guy in Crooners in the evenings seems to draw a big crowd, not as big as some previous ones we've seen. The singers and dancers in the productions shows are also good.

thank you for the report. May i ask how is the internet speed? do you have to leave your cabin to get online?

Thanks for the reports. We sail on the Caribbean in Sept. Like you, I always put the little glass topped table in the closet. It's in the way in the cabin but in the closet we can put hats, scarves, gloves, bags on it. Works great. :)

Edited December 7, 2016 by 1965

thank you for the report. May i ask how is the internet speed? do you have to leave your cabin to get online?

I haven't tried to get online on DH's laptop. I left mine at home. I've been using the computers in the ship's internet center. The online speed is slow but not as slow as sometimes.

Hope you are having a wonderful time!

 

 

 

 

Marie

We had a relaxing day in Aruba. We got off the ship after breakfast for a walk around the downtown area then headed back to the ship. It was very hot. A lot of folks on our roll call thread worried about the rainy forecast for this week. It did not rain yesterday in Curacao but there were some brief showers this afternoon in Aruba. We were in the spa pool at the time. The overhang from the Sanctuary kept us from getting too wet.

 

Service on the ship has been inconsistent. Our cabin steward and waiters at late traditional dining are excellent. Today at lunch, however, one of the waiters in the International Cafe area ignored my request for a glass of water. Another waiter brought one right away.

 

For the last two days, we've unfortunately been seated for breakfast at the table of an assistant waiter trying to be a waiter. Yesterday morning he had all six people at the table waiting for something. I did not get the rye toast I ordered to go with my smoked salmon. Two people were waiting for syrup for their pancakes. DH did not get the bacon he ordered. Another gentleman was missing the ham he ordered. His wife did not get her toast. Today was slightly better but still not great service. He brought me white toast instead of rye, but at least he got my entree order correct--the Spanish tortilla without the onion.

 

Last night's show was "Broadway Ballroom." It was very good. They used the LCD screen behind the singers and dancers to great effect. Once again, the cast is all very good. Most cruises there seem to be weak links but not this one.

Hope you are having a wonderful time!

 

 

 

 

Marie

Thanks. We are. I was even able to take part in the golf chipping contest at the pool this afternoon. I did not win, but it's a quick and fun activity.

Thanks for this report. We will be on the Caribbean Princess this Sunday. Curious about the Pub Lunch offerings. Glad your wrist is ok.

Edited December 7, 2016 by G&Gcruisers

--> geoherb, update from the Carolinas.

Way colder weather is coming in. "Frost on the pumpkin." Burrrr!

Thanks so much for taking the time for your "LIVES"!

How's your wrist?

LuLu

Loving your report will be sailing on her in 59 days!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

We boarded the Caribbean Princess last Saturday. We almost did not make it. I fell after tripping on a sprinkler head while walking down the sidewalk in Fort Lauderdale. Fortunately there's an urgent care center in the little shopping center in front of the Harbor Shops that could take an X-ray and determine that my wrist is probably not broken. The doctor cleared me to sail with a brace for the week.

 

 

 

 

Our cabin is at the front of the ship on the Plaza Deck. And by front of the ship, I mean as far as passengers can go--P201. I was prepared for the small size. It's adequate, although it would be nicer if there were room on both sides of the bed. As it is, my side is against the wall, and I have to slide down to the foot of the bed to get out of it. We moved the little glass table into the closet to have more room to walk without tripping over it. There's still plenty of storage space for our clothes.

 

.

 

Sorry about the mishap before your boarding. Good thing its not broken :)

 

We had P205 on the Ruby and we had the same issue with the bed. I had to scoot down to the end to get off the bed. There was not a lot of room for the hubby either and the night stand was turned sideways:confused:

They could of positioned the bed on the adjacent wall IMHO and that would have worked..maybe?

 

Enjoy your cruise!!

Fun to hear your report. We will be on the Caribbean Princess 1/28 sailing.

Could you let me know if the ship time and island time are the same for Bonaire?

 

Thanks!

We had a relaxing day in Aruba. We got off the ship after breakfast for a walk around the downtown area then headed back to the ship. It was very hot. A lot of folks on our roll call thread worried about the rainy forecast for this week. It did not rain yesterday in Curacao but there were some brief showers this afternoon in Aruba.

 

Thank you for the report. We will be on the 1/28 sailing.

 

How far is the walk from the ship to Aruba downtown? Is there enough to do or see at downtown for several hours?

 

May I ask what you did in Curacao? Is the walk to downtown from the ship a long distance?

 

Thank you.

It is only a short walk to downtown. There are shops and stores and an open air market. You can cover it in two hours.

I believe ship and island time are the same in all three ports. We moved our clocks ahead an hour the night of our first sea day. I did not really notice any clocks on shore, though. With the late departures from Aruba and Curacao, it wasn't any problem. Today we left from Bonaire at 5 p.m. They paged a few people before we left. I did not see anyone running down the short pier, though. I wonder if they were already on board.

 

All of the downtown areas are close to the pier. Curacao is probably the farthest--across the pontoon bridge. But there are shops closer on the same side as the pier as well. We just walked around both of those ports since we had been to them before. We're not big shoppers but enjoy the scenery. The last time we were in Curacao, we took an island tour. Today's in Bonaire was much better--see below. In Aruba, the last time we were there we took a cab to Eagle Beach and a public bus back. Another time we took a snorkeling excursion to see the wreck of the Antilla. Of the first two ports, Curacao has more to do in the downtown area.

 

Thanks for the good wishes for my wrist. It doesn't really slow up my typing, but I can't hold much weight with it and am still wearing the brace most of the time. I take it off to swim and try to keep my wrist stationary against my belly while I'm in the pool. The injury kept us from booking any snorkeling excursions or anything else strenuous.

 

Today in Bonaire we took an excursion bus around the island. It was an interesting tour. We bought our tickets on the island in one of the tents set up for tours. They had various activities offered--snorkeling, beach breaks, island tours, city tours, etc. Our bus had 20 passengers plus guide and driver. The guide was very good. I enjoyed seeing the flamingos and other wildlife. The vegetarian is mainly scrubby little trees and cacti. We went all around the island--to the lake where the flamingos gather, up to a small distillery where they make a cactus liqueuer and other liquors, to the cross on top of a mountain for scenic views of the island, and to the salt producing area and slave quarters on the southern end of the island. The tour was 3 hours and 45 minutes.

 

The Captains Circle parties for Platinum and Elite passengers are tonight. We went to the first one. They held parties for Gold and Ruby passengers earlier during the cruise. The Captains Circle hostess said there were 789 Platinum and 362 Elite members on board. The most traveled passenger had 1,291 days. Second place was 1,093, and third place was 907. I hope to make it there one day. Just a hundred or so more cruises until we do.

Edited December 8, 2016 by geoherb

The pub lunch is today in the Crown Grill. I looked for the menu and did not see one. We'll skip it. I checked back for our Patters from our first two sea days. I only found one of them and the pub lunch wasn't offered on it and I don't remember seeing anything about it, so this may be the first one of our cruise.

 

Last night Alan Parsons (of the Alan Parsons Project) gave a talk in Club Fusion/Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame Bar. It was well attended. One of our tablemates is a big music junkie and attended with his wife. We went after dinner, about 15 minutes after it started. DH stayed, but I went with our other tablemates to see the comedian. His material did not appeal to me as much as the first comedian's did, but lots of folks in the audience seemed to enjoy him.

 

We had a rock 'n' roll night at sea last night. From our little cabin at the front of the ship, the waves pounding against the ship sounded like a construction site. Big plumes of water would come up over our window. Apparently a lot of folks are sleeping in today. It's 7 a.m. and hardly anyone is around. We'll have a relaxing day at sea--some trivias, time by the pool later in the afternoon, reading, maybe a game of Scrabble, and trying not to think about packing up tomorrow. They also have a Mardi Gras-themed parade this morning in the Piazza and the balloon drop tonight. Other activities include a paper plane contest, lots of spa and shopping specials, and other things.