Rescue Dog Mom

12 hours ago, jaycruising said:

Feb 15 - Sea Day

 

 

 

We detoured from our standard morning plans and skipped the gym today as there was an event at 10 am we really wanted to attend. It was coffee with the captain!

 

As per Jody our CD, most don’t really want to do this, but he is quite willing to do it. His wife was on board as well and we saw them throughout the ship. 

 

It started with Jody asking him some canned questions and then it went to the audience. Here are a few interesting tidbits I took away. 
 

* there are no wooden stir sticks or toothpicks on board as they were being mixed in with the uneaten food (left on people’s plates) and when it was being mulched they were sticking and breaking the machine, etc.

* if the ship (Crown Princess in particular) only has a short distance to go then yes they basically do donuts in the ocean as the slowest the ship can go with its motors running is 11 knots. 
* there are water tanks down below and they move the water around to balance the ship, so if you feel that listing you are not losing it (DM was happy to have it validated that she isn’t crazy). They particularly need to balance the ship in port to allow the gangways to work correctly. 

* they loaded about 6 or 7 tones of fuel onto the ship for our 10 day voyage and the cost was about $1.2 million

 

He was a very lovely captain, his noon announcements and as we were leaving port we very informative. If you see this on your ship I highly recommend. 
 

There wasn’t much else going on after and we decided to wait to eat until the dining room opened for lunch so we headed to Crooners for a drink and to play cards. 

 

I wanted to head to the dining room for lunch as I had heard grumbling on FB about a new lunch menu and that people were rather unhappy as only a few dishes were changing everyday. 

 

I started with the summer roll and the Thai spring roll, both were good, but the peanut sauce it was served with is one of the best I’ve ever had. 

 

 

I then had the Salmon Poke bowl, it was so good it seems I forgot to take a picture. DM had the yogurt, street taco and burger and said they were al really good. 
 

I for one am quite happy to see these new options at least on the lunch menu, I LOVE poke bowls and knowing I can get one, I am all in. There are more than enough choices that everyone should be able to find something. 
 

Was there an additional charge for this lunch? Also (first-time cruiser), by MDR do you mean one of the Renaissance painter dining rooms?

I love the food and menu pics! Thanks for posting! 

10 hours ago, AZjohn said:

Hi,

 

Are you sure there isn’t a daily meeting on your cruise?

I just saw the “platter” (still a very strange name to me) someone just posted who is on the Crown and it’s listed at 4:00 in the wedding chapel. It is listed as Friends of Dr. Bob followed by Bill W. (lol, never seen it listed like that before).

 

I was just thinking back and I don’t ever remember in the past 20+ years of cruising on the majority of cruise lines there wasn’t a Friends of Bill meeting every afternoon.

 

We meet many life long friends at these meetings that we still keep in contact with today. I think you did a good job explaining that it’s not that we are tempted to drink (or drug) on the cruise, but simply want to meet similar people that we share a spiritual connection😊. But, once in a while there will be a newcomer that comes and yes, they are being tempted.

 

Cheers

Thanks! Yes, I see the meetings have been added. ☕️

On 2/11/2024 at 8:21 PM, jaycruising said:

 

This was the next place I remembered to take photos. Also we did eat standing up at a number of them and it was hard to juggle   
 

This stop had another favourite for me, this one was skirt steak and melted cheese 

 

 

Another very cool restaurant 

 

 

Some very high end condos in the area. 
 

Our last stop of the tour was at paleteria villasenor for a popsicle or ice cream

 

 

I I had the pineapple chilli, it was very unique, but I really enjoyed it!  

 

I highly recommend this tour, our guide Sylvia was fantastic. And took us to places we never would have went otherwise. 
 

 

DM wanted to purchase some vanilla to take back, so we asked our guide were a good place was and she directed us to a vanilla shop a few blocks away. DM got her vanilla and I booked us an Uber to get back to the port. He was super quick and it cost us about $8.50 US. He also dropped us right at the doors so that was nice. 
 

We did a bit of shopping around the port area

 

and I took photos of the bougainvillea, love them!

 

 

 

 

 

Did you pay for the Uber using your American credit card?

1 hour ago, d9704011 said:

I didn't realize that drinking was such an important part of cruising.  I've never been bothered about what other people are doing; others would have to speak for themselves.

1 hour ago, charliedalrymple said:

I don't mean any disrespect with this question; I'm genuinely curious. Is it particularly challenging to be on a cruise, with its focus on drinking and so many people over-indulging, when one is in recovery?

No problem! I can explain. In my case, having some decades of sobriety, it’s not about trying to avoid booze or being worried I’d want to drink — instead it’s more about meeting like-minded people who are probably involved in 12-step recovery programs and who embrace life without drugs or alcohol. It’s kind of like a tribe!

51 minutes ago, NavyVeteran said:

If you don't see them scheduled when you board, ask at Guest Services. If they don't already have them scheduled, they will schedule them if you ask.

Thank you!

6 minutes ago, Jadn13 said:

Double check with Princess because they have had meetings on every Princess cruise I have been on. 

Thanks, yeah that was my understanding too. Thanks!

Hi, I see that the Crown Princess cruise I'm booked on in March doesn't seem to have 12-Step meetings on the calendar, according to some recent Patter/Event Listings newsletters I've seen of similar Crown cruises. So I was thinking of starting a meeting. Does anyone know how I'd go about doing that?

2 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

 

Actually this question made me go back and check the posted Patters and, while I see vocalists I have to agree with @Rescue Dog Mom that I don't see any Production Shows listed. I actually looked in order to take a snip and post it to point out the shows but there really don't seem to be any at all.

 

EDIT: D'Oh! My bad. There is is just like you said. Snip from the Patter in post #40.

 

Oh!! Good catch! OP let us know if you liked it.

2 hours ago, jaycruising said:

Feb 10 - Sea Day

 

 

 

Last night was another time change and I guess I took advantage of that and didn’t wake up until 9:15 this morning!  Quickly got dressed and we headed to the gym for our usual am workout. After went to tides bar to grab our morning juice and then into the buffet area. I grabbed a table while DM went to grab her items. This is where it went a bit sideways, they only had 1 section of the 4 open and there were at least 100 people trying to get breakfast, everyone was in a line and it went to the back of the buffet. So she grabbed a croissant and that was it. We decided to go down to the IC, I love breakfast there!  Got my egg bites, they were a little lose.

 

DM went up and they had just switched to lunch so she got an egg salad sandwich and it had shells in it!  Just wasn’t her day. 
 

Back in our cabin to change and get ready for our day and we go out on the balcony and there is a bird laying there, not sure whether it was dead or alive!

 

I had to find our steward for something else and mentioned the bird, so he came and checked, thought it was dead, so he went and got a towel to pick it up and when he did turns out it was still alive, just stunned. But he took it with him… I don’t know where or what happened to the bird now!  Seriously, can’t make this stuff up!

 

We had booked the sanctuary for the afternoon again and there was finally some sun and warmth up there.

 

Here is the special menu just for the sanctuary 

 

 

We ordered some food, since DM hadn’t really ate, but it was delayed in coming as they also serve tea time up there too!

 

We did end getting our food a little later

 

That was one of the best avocado’s I’ve ever had. 
 

Spent the rest of the afternoon lounging. 

Thanks for posting these daily events! Question, in the newsletters you’ve posted so far I haven’t seen a big show listed. Is this expected?

5 hours ago, Crusin Karen said:

I’m a Princess newbie. How do I make reservation pre cruise? Also are there tables for one? TIA

Did you go on the app yet and try to reserve one?

On 2/7/2024 at 11:32 AM, jaycruising said:

This morning has gone incredibly smooth!  We were climbing the ramp to board the ship at 10:45am.

 

Once on board we headed straight to the Sanctuary to get the afternoons that we want to spend up there. We had our choice and there was only one lady ahead of us!

 

After that we stopped by our cabin to drop off our umbrellas, passports and other items. They aren’t ready so we headed out right away. 
 

Down to deck 7 and we checked into our Muster station.  Then grabbed a seat in Explorers (we were the first) to get our first drink and to watch our safety video. We will just hang out here for the time being until lunch time and we will then go to the main dining room!

Did Princess assign an embarkation time or did you just show up?

On 2/6/2024 at 8:03 AM, memoak said:

Fit the motion lights we just prop up an extra pillow. Problem fixed. We just did this cruise and to us Manzanillo felt like the Mexico we used to know before all the resorts and condos showed up. Had a great lunch at a small eatery 

To get to your lunch did you take a taxi? 

23 hours ago, OTrail said:

My first time on Princess. I'm a solo cruiser, can I just turn up at the main dining room for lunch/dinner and be seated at a random table with others or is it better to reserve a time through the app? 

 

Also are there any days with the MDR is formal only and if you're not suited and booted for a formal night you need to eat elsewhere?

Good questions. Following!

Thanks for the tips, everyone. I made an early reservation for every night at shared tables (solo traveler).

On 12/9/2023 at 6:49 AM, TheDawg79 said:

I’m booked for my MDR dinners 18 months in advance. So if I’m doing it this far out so are others. How many will book between now and the next 18 months? See how quickly the prime dinner reservation times will be gone if you wait until you board to make yours?

How do I know which night is Prime Rib night? Sailing Mar. 25.

I understand there's an additional charge. What kind of classes do they offer, and regarding yoga, what type of yoga was it? I'm joining the Mar. 25 SF-Mexico sailing for 10 days.