HaveDogWillTravel

Here are the patters. I’ll put up one day at a time.

No but captain Paolo Ravera is doing an excellent job. After Ushuaia had to cancelled due to weather he took us to see iceburg A23a. Then skirted us expertly thru Drakes passage ahead of inclement weather. We had 4 gorgeous scenic viewing days with mostly sunny or partly cloudy skies. Coming back north he again got us thru drakes passage with minimal seas by sailing between two fronts. He’s been great with his details at the noon announcement and others as needed.

Snow shoes optional

I will post the patters so the OP and others can see what entertainment has been offered once we get better internet. It’s truly amazing that it’s working as well as it is. There are a group of very serious birders and wildlife photographers onboard. They stay at the bow weather permitting and are mostly very friendly and helpful in finding and identifying the birds and sea life. I’m going to try and post a couple of photos.

I have to amend my statement regarding entertainment. I’ve watched the Diamond Strings Duo twice. And I plan on seeing them again tonight. They are an exceptionally talented pair of violinists. When they play Explorers they play rock. Think Led Zepplan and others.

We just finished our 3rd day in Antarctica, a long day of scenic cruising in Charlotte bay, Wilhelmina bay and Neumayer channel 5 am to 7:30 pm with short periods of transition allowing for naps and eating. I have been able to text all along but photos stopped sending after our first day at elephant island. I probably could have tried reducing their size. Thank you @CruiseRaider for posting my pics and comments. To specifically answer your questions Christmas had a big ginger house display in piazza, lots of caroling and Christmas songs/music. The Christmas dinner was excellent it was called Around the World and had many great choices. I didn’t take pictures of the menu. idk what’s planned for new years and I’m the wrong person to ask about entertainment. We haven’t gone to a single activity or show. The enrichment lectures have been excellent and all of those are on the TV so no need to go to the theater. I’ve learned from personal experience that to stay healthy on these long sailings (34 days for me and 16 for Adam) it’s best to avoid crowded spaces. We are here for the ports and the scenery. We have gone to MDR most days for lunch and every night except one for dinner. By the time you board there could be entirely different crew and food/wine supplies so take all of my impressions knowing that your experience could be wildly different. The tables in International ding room (lunch) and Pacific Moon have been well spaced. I am very pleased by how spread out they are. The restaurant managers we had Marius, Vitor and Borys have been fantastic as well as our server Arpan. The new lunch menu was nice at first but after a while having only 3 (maybe 4) new items to choose from is boring. For shorter sailings it would be fine. The dinner menus have been fine, some better than others but always something good to have. Overall we’ve been happy with the MDR dinners. Here’s some additional information some may find useful. We did the west to east route. While the best side is outside on any scenic sailing, our starboard side emerald deck fully covered mini had by far the best views during our Antarctica scenic cruising days. Sapphire has a plethora of outdoor public spaces from the extra wide full promenade deck to the upper decks. The top of the bridge has also been open. After getting around all those spaces we’ve been able enjoy the views from our room. We also have an emerald deck aft facing balcony and it has not had the best views most of the time. Although it is a tad warmer. Speaking of cold…I’ve been to Alaska 8 times….out of SF, Seattle, & Vancouver…Voyage of the Glaciers 3 times.. all except once in April or May. This past April (on this ship) I was at Hubbard when it was snowing on us. I grew up in NY skiing upstate every winter. I know cold. None of the following matters if you don’t plan on staying outside. But the scenery is beyond gorgeous. It is very different than Alaska. I thought this would be a one and done but it is clearly not. The temps aren’t too bad 28-32 degrees F but it’s that 30-40 knot winds that just cuts right thru you. We came well prepared and have been fine. We have parkas (the one that I wore at Hubbard with just a shirt under it) that we layer over heavy sweaters and long sleeve shirts, I have a warm head band under my hat, Adam just wears a wool hat but we both will pull the parkas hood over it and zip up to our noses to protect our chins. Basically just our noses and tops of our cheeks sticking out. I found that any exposed skin would get red and feel burnt from wind and the hole in the ozone layer allowing so much UV. N95 mask helped and eye protection is a must. Of course there are a lot of folks who wear less but then they have to not stay out for more than a few minutes. Sunscreen and protective sunglasses are essential against the UV and glare from the arctic snow. We have two layers of pants on and heavy mittens where the top flips down so we can operate camera and binocs. Good binoculars are required to really see the wildlife. And boy is there wildlife. The birding has been stunning, penguins on land, iceburgs and porpoising in the water and so many whales we don’t even get excited anymore. I got a video of a Humpback lifting full body out of the water flipping on its back and splashing back into the ocean……right next to the ship by my balcony.

If you want a discrete (what all the kids are wearing lol) noise canceling device get the apple air pods. I loved my Bose noise cancelling headphones and resisted getting the AirPods. Now that I have the AirPods OMG I’ll never go back.

The sanctuary area

More bungalows

Some pics of the grounds

Pictures of bungalows and the view from it.

These photos were taken just before 11 am Sept 6, 2023. You should consider how much shade or sun you want. We received several waters, buckets of ice and we really liked having a little fridge. One of us brought a hammock and hung it between 2 palms. The floating loungers were nice. We enjoyed the ocean views and the easy water access so chose the area outside the sanctuary #8. It was close to the restroom but not so close we had all that traffic. It had the perfect amount of shade for us. ‘if you look at this map the bungalows start just to the left of Davy Jones locker. The first is number one. Just count them off to the left and you’ll know exactly which little rectangle is what number bungalow. I’ll try and post my pictures (I have a lot). But I’m on the Sapphire near Chile and I may not be able to.

We are now on day 10 and I have had no more issues with smoke from my neighbors. Sweet! We get 700 new passengers on the 19th so I’m hoping that should this problem recur the same solution will work. My neighbors will be new on the 19th.

This might help it’s nice to consolidate thread topics

Yes then it would totally make sense. For the sky suite sailing though it’ll be a bit different for us. We’ve got more than a dozen friends we will be sharing that space with. Afternoon teas, cocktail parties, movie night where we get to pick the MUTS movie, MDR dinners on the balcony, cases of special wines brought onboard to celebrate…..totally don’t see spending time in the bars on that sailing anyway.

I have sailed quite a bit since the restart and have seen scent dogs more times than I can count. At embarkation as we sit in the terminal,in ports as we get off and on. even edibles are not tolerated. It is definitely taken seriously. I witnessed security policing the promenade deck smoking area after pot was smelled wafting in from that area.

I have the premier package. I ate at sterling steakhouse and was not charged the 18%. A little off topic. But relevant in terms of new extra fees for dining. I sometimes sail in full suites. I asked my lovely room service person Dianna who always answers the `phone if a full suite passengers wants to order off the MDR menu as this is an included perk but they do not have any package, would they be charged $5? At first she said yes, then she said Well but they are entitled to MDR. Then she said they could order on the ap but wait MDR isn’t on the ap. Then she said I’ll get back to you. At least on this ship the answer is yes, anyone without a package will pay $5 for calling room service. Even those in a full suite using the only method available to order an included perk of MDR in room dining. On a Royal Class ship I’ve used the concierge to arrange an in room MDR dinner, but the other classes of ships still, to my knowledge, do not have a suite concierge. They’ve been talking about it and I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong. I sail in the Sky Suite this coming April and I won’t get a package as it has its own nespresso machine, two full bottles of booze, sodas, waters & beers both in the room and the concierge lounge and free wine and cocktails the concierge lounge. Plus I get my elite bar setup. Why on earth would I get a package?

I’m on the Sapphire now as well and have definitely noticed how incredibly empty Alfredo’s is. It’s right next to vines which is now open noon to 1:30 for the sushi. The upside is they also will serve the great wines at that time so you don’t have to wait until 4 to get a nice glass. I am usually at Vines during lunch. Twice I’ve taken a pizza from Alfredo’s to go. They’ve actually suggested I could get two. I have premier package. Once the pizza is on my balcony I can share it with as many friends as I care to. Since this is the case I just might ask if my friends can eat with me in the restaurant.

True that. I started smoking at 13, started trying to quit at 16 and was finally successful at age 43. I’ve been smoke free 24 years now.

Please do not overly concern yourself with this worry. I’ll be celebrating my 300th day on Princess during this cruise (all in cabins with a balcony) and other than the post pandemic fiasco of closing the aft promenade deck so crew could use it as their smoking lounge (discontinued now thank god) the incidence of annoying balcony smokers has been a rare event for me. It is MUCH more likely that you will have a fabulous experience, especially if you go into it with positive attitude, a smile on your face and a bit of patience and grace.