Australia08

Thanks! We were so blessed with wonderful weather!

Trillium was my favorite. Nice food there also!

Today in Boston, another beautiful New England summer day. We have visited Boston many times over the years so did not take a tour. But it was such a lovely day to walk the the revitalized wharf area and sample some craft beers. I clocked 14,000 steps so far today so I guess I deserved my two beers - one at Trillium Brewing and one at Harpoon. Here are a few other photos from our walk.

Yesterday in Bar Harbor was beautiful. We usually like a bit later start in the morning, so I booked an 11:30 tour. That meant we had time to have a leisurely breakfast in the dining room prior to our 9:45 appointment for our immigration clearance. We put our tour ticket stickers on, joined the long line heading to Club Fusion and within a minute, an excursion staffer pulled us from the line, walked us to the immigration officer and we were cleared. Then we still had an hour before we needed to meet our tour group to head to a tender. It was nice for us since that gave us additional time to have a coffee and return our passports to our room. We heard later that immigration for non-US citizens in the Princess Theater took forever. The captain even apologized about it later in the day. Princess was using their usual tenders, but also supplemented with Bar Harbor excursion boats (very comfortable). No real line when we returned late afternoon. I heard there were tender problems at Bar Harbor on the cruise prior to ours so that may be why we got the extra excursion boats for tendering. Bar Harbor is beautiful, but Bar Harbor on a perfect weather summer day is stunning! We took a small van tour of Acadia which included the loop road that circles the park as well as going up to the top of Cadillac Mountain. Our driver was very informative and entertaining. He made lots of stops for us to get photos and walk to scenic points. We had about 20 minutes at the top of Cadillac Mountain to walk and enjoy the view. I highly recommend this tour. The van actually seated about 20, but there were only 10 on our tour. Very comfortable! Here are a few views from our tour.

Absolutely not! I’m assuming you are not a wine drinker?? To be honest, even the nicer stemware that they use in Vines makes a distinct difference in taste.

I have to admit that I have not spent much time in the buffet, but the few times I have been there, there is only open seating in the area labeled Planks and Steamers - no food. The other thing that we found strange is that there are no food services open at the rear of the buffet. We were on this ship on a cruise to Greenland in August/Sept of 2019. Those areas were always staffed with additional food offerings. I know they served stir frys and Mongolian bbq on that end. Every time (morning or evening) that we have walked in that area, the serving stations are completely draped - I have no idea why they stopped putting food items at that end of the buffet. They are supposed to have a 3–course casual dining menu in Vines starting on the August 14th cruise. I asked the bartender in Vines how that was going to work and he said he had no idea. I asked if he would be getting additional staff to help serve. Again, he said he had no idea. That’s only a few days away now so I’ll be curious to hear how it works out.

I just realized I didn’t post any Quebec City photos. Sorry they are out of order Chateau Frontenac (we stayed here for our 10th Anniversary - 40 years ago!) Paillard - we stopped here for the best croissants and cafe au lait The Basilica Onboard Caribbean Princess almost ready to leave Quebec City On our way - Quebec City in the distance

Yesterday, we missed Sydney. The winds were high and it rained all day. We had been to Sydney several years ago so it didn’t impact us as much. We took advantage of the day to relax and eat (breakfast, lunch and dinner in the dining room). Last night was the Captain’s party. Our usual server for the P/E Lounge saw us and brought us our usual Whispering Angel (so much better than the wine that is usually served at those parties)! We both agreed that the P/E Lounge has much better snacks. The canapés that Princess passes are awful! Today, our weather in Halifax was beautiful! The last time we were in Halifax, we went to all the Titanic sites so we decided to leave the ship late morning, walk to the Citadel (spent about 2 hours there). We were there for the noon cannon firing. The Army Museum there was very good, too. After leaving the Citadel, we walked through the Public Garden. It is a lovely place to meander. This morning, before we left the ship, we decided to check out the juice bar located at the Calypso Bar. It is the only place you can get one of the Premium Juices included with the Drinks Package. The juice bar is only open in the morning, so we just hadn’t made it up there before, but we really liked the two drinks we selected. I think I got the Immunity Booster - Mike got the Cleanser. I’ll try to take pictures tomorrow. We were impressed that they actually put the fruits and vegetables in a juicer, not just using already squeezed bottled juices. We decided we’ll try another selection tomorrow.

Lobster lunch on today’s tour

Not cheap at $150 a person but our dining room waiter told us about it and we had OBC so why not.

For anyone on a future Caribbean Princess cruise, here are shots from the Tuscan Luncheon served in the Crown Grill on the first sea day. The wine served with each course was super! Carpaccio d’Agnello served with Col d’Orcia BrunelloDi Montalcino La Zuppa Bordarino served with Feudidi San Gregorio Greco di tufo Spaghetti Ubriachi a fatti in casa served with Luce fella Vite, Frescobaldi Branzini e pollo ala griglia served with Sella & Mosca La Cala Vermentino Bistecca allá Fiorentina served with Tenuta dell’ Ornellaia, Bolgheri Superiore Torta Della Nonna served with Limoncello It was a fun lunch. The head waiters who introduced the wines were very entertaining!

In the main dining room we asked for the quiet table and that we have it each night. It was ready for us as soon as we arrived last night. I’m so happy we told the head waiter what we wanted. He really delivered.

We went on the Anne of Green Gables and Lobster lunch tour today. We really enjoyed it. Our guide was informative and even entertained us with harmonica music on our return to ship. My lobster was delicious and the pier for dessert was tart and great with the coffee served. I had an aperol spritz when we returned to the ship. Very disappointed since they used little aperol and too much club soda. I immediately stopped at Crooners on the way back to the room and ordered a shot of aperol. I drank a bit of the original drink, topped it off with my extra shot of aperol and it was fine. I told the first bartender to go heavy on the aperol but I guess he didn’t understand that I was willing to be charged for a double aperol. Oh well, I know how to fix it myself. I will never.come close to 15 alcoholic drinks a day so getting a drink made the way I like counting as 2 drinks is ok by me. We’re now out on the comfortable covered balcony enjoying our drinks. Again, I’ll repeat I really like our room. The day that started out overcast is now warm with beautiful blue skies.

I understand that’s how Princess handles it. I just prefer the way Viking does it. Pool is right outside the buffet on zViking Ocean ships. People seem to understand that one uses plastic if eating outside by the pool. They have glass inside the buffet. It’s not rocket science. Like I said, I’d be happy with plastic on the entire deck 15, but please make it a plastic wine glass, not a plastic water tumbler.

Newfiegirl4, I’ll see if I can find anything out about the room. cre8tiv1, yes the band has been in the atrium several times, but we are eating in the Palm Dining room aft so no blasting music. We had our new table again last night and it is perfect. We are not right next to the window but just at a perfect distance and angled so we both look out. The best part is that the serving station is on the other side of of a table of six. Weather has been good. The day we boarded had off and on showers. The full ship day in Quebec City was beautiful. Showers in the morning in Saguenay but clear in the afternoon. Gorgeous at sail away down the fjord. Yesterday was a sea day. I walked around 8 am. Clear and breezy. I don’t think it ever got over 65 degrees but it was just light clouds. We are approaching Charlottetown right now and it is light overcast skies 61 degrees at 7:30 am. I’ve heard about East Coast conditions but it hasn’t affected us yet. One thing we noticed is that anywhere there is something that doesn’t work (public area clocks, public restroom faucets, buffet wash stations, etc) Princess puts a sticker on it that says “We’re on it.” The stickers we’ve seen haven’t changed in 3 days. Wonder if they’ll remain there until the next dry dock. We’re missing nuts or some type of munchie while having a drink. I know COVID brought an end to the communal bowls, but Viking provides small individual glass containers with munchies. We have the availability of the Platinum/Elite lounge in the evening so we just go there. We used to love to go to Vines but we went there the second night and the bartender was so busy stocking?? Or something? He barely gave us or drink much less conversed with us. Of course there was no tapas plate like the pre-COVID days so the experience was lacking. Our servers at the P/E lounge on the other hand are very engaging. So that is working out well for us. I’m not sure how the 3 course prix-fixe at Vines will work (begins next cruise). You certainly couldn’t sit at the small tables to eat a meal. And they will certainly need to up the staffing. I wish they’d just return to a simple tapas plate there. Heading off for our tour on PEI. I’ll report on that later.

I would love to take a nap right now, but decided I better provide some of my observations before the cruise is over! Let me begin with something positive. We are very pleased with our room. We always book mini-suites because we like to have somewhere to relax away from the fray. Usually, we book on Dolphin Deck with the open balcony because it has staterooms below and above so more quiet. This time, there were only guarantee cabins available, so we took our chances. We were given E726. I was a bit afraid that Club Fusion below would be a problem, but we haven’t heard a sound from below. We are near the end of the ship so there are only a couple of cabins beyond us so it is exceptionally quiet on this end. I love the location - easy to head up or down. And we have a wonderful covered balcony. It’s always shady and inviting. Our air conditioning is working well and we have a wonderful cabin attendant who is at our beck and call. Although the ship in general appears a bit frayed at the edges, I think they must have just replaced our sofa because it looks brand new and is very comfortable. Ok, now for a few things we don’t care for. We have never liked the sales mentality of Princess! This cruise is reminding us that we still don’t like it. The “sidewalk sales” filling the walkways on Deck 7 in particular is super irritating. I am amazed that they still do the Art Auction. Who buys this stuff???? I was really surprised that at the Tuscan Lunch that we paid extra for today, they had a “special gift” for us - an envelope with a $100 discount coupon for the Art Auction - tacky, tacky, tacky! Now the rest of the Tuscan luncheon was great (served in Crown Grill) but giving us more sales brochures at a function we were already “sold” was awful. The other really awful occurrence was yesterday at lunch. We just returned from our tour and decided to hit the buffet for a spot of lunch. I ordered a glass of Sauvignon Blanc from our nice server. She returned with my wine in the plastic glass tumbler. I asked about a wine glass and she said they did not stock them in the buffet anymore. She would have to go to the dining room to get one for me, which she was happy to do. I asked if she couldn’t get one from one of the bars on Deck 15 and she said they were not allowed to. I didnt want this lovely Ukrainian girl to go down 9 floors to run this errant for me so I said thats ok. But it wasn’t OK. I mean really - how tacky! So I found a supervisor and made him go get it. He got one from one of the bars. It was plastic since that is what they use at Deck 15 bars. I understand plastic glasses for the pool areas. No problem. But I was not near the pool. I was inside the buffet. Oh well, plastic was certainly better than the glass tumbler I don’t even like drinking water out of. Chalk one up for Viking. They use glass wine glasses and water glasses in the buffet, and plastic for service at the pool. Another thing we learned, it is important to tell staff when you’re not happy. The first 2 evenings in the dining room, we were seated at tables for 2 (we had a reservation). But the seating always had one of us directly facing a service station. The dining staff works hard and there is definitely a fair amount of banging and clanking of dishes and silverware. It’s not conducive to a quiet dining experience. Finally, last night we asked to see the head waiter and asked to be seated in a quiet area. He said that we can have that table for the rest of the cruise. Fingers crossed that it is there for us tonight. I guess thats another thing I like about Viking’s dining room, the service stations are behind partitions so they are part of the dining room experience. Naptime. I’ll add more comments later.

I am currently on the Caribbean Princess on Day 3 of the Canada/New England cruise starting in Quebec City. I’m not sure that I will actually call this a live thread since I may not post every day, but I thought it might be of interest to others who will be completing this cruise later this season. My husband and I are elite on Princess and have sailed this line off and on since 1991. We are avid travelers, and while we enjoy cruising, we also enjoy taking off on worldwide vacations that I book for us. We love train travel throughout Europe and have visited most of the European countries. Last January, we finally made it to our 7th continent, Antarctica, on an expedition cruise. This is our first cruise on Princess since before the pandemic. We were on a Princess 28 day Hawaii/South Pacific cruise in February 2020. Since the pandemic eased, we have taken several independent trips and 3 Viking Ocean cruises. We even tried our first Rick Steves tour last September and have another booked for next month. To be honest, we had sort of decided to stop taking Princess cruises since we prefer smaller ships. Four of our previous Princess cruises were on the small ships that they sold back around 2020. We loved those small ships. Caribbean Princess is actually too big for us, but manageable. So why are we back on Princess? We discovered that we had several hundred dollars in FCC that had been extended throughout the pandemic. Earlier in the spring, my husband got an email saying we had to use the credit before December 31 or it would be turned over to our state and we would have to recover the funds from them. This sounded strange, but figured we might just pick up a close Drop and Go fare and use it up. That’s why we booked this cruise. I knew I wasn’t a fan of this ship since we traveled on her to Greenland in 2019. The ship always seemed crowded to me then. But the itinerary Quebec to NYC meant that we could arrange flights using Delta miles, so we decided to give it a try. We flew to Montreal from Cleveland, stayed in Montréal for 2 nights, then took the train to Quebec City for 1 night prior to boarding the Caribbean Princess. We had an overnight in Quebec City and sailed out last evening. We have visited Quebec City before - such a beautiful city! We arranged a food tour on our own and also had a lovely 6 course tasting menu paired with wines on our first evening in town. Last night, we had a lovely sail on the St. Lawrence and arrived in Saguenay this morning. All the Princess tours here were booked when we bought our passage, so I arranged for a local bus tour of the area. It was very nice. We are about to sail out right now so I am going to close and enjoy it, but will start giving my observations on our impressions of the ship, crew, the new Princess protocols, etc. in my next post. Please feel free to ask questions and I’ll try to find the answers.

If you start writing in the “compose” box on cruise critic and you accidentally hit the microphone icon on your keyboard, an iPhone will automatically start picking up bits of conversation to compose for you. It seldom makes sense. Just be careful to stay away from the microphone button. I’ve had this happen to me while texting. Hope this explains the crazy texting.

There was a classical duo and a contemporary duo who played in the evenings, either in the livingroom or Explorers. That was the only entertainment available. No shows - just daily briefings and lectures.

The most important thing to consider is how much time you would like to spend on land. I know a smaller expedition ship would have given us more "landing" opportunities. You need to balance that with the wonderful "ship" experience you will have on Viking. The rooms, service, and food were exceptional. I also liked the fact that they loaned us most of the clothing and equipment we needed for the "outings." Since we needed warm weather and cold weather clothes, it was so nice not to have to lug along boots, waterproof pants, and parkas (you get to keep the parkas). Enjoy your first Viking cruise! Our first was to Cuba; after that we were hooked.

Hi, Moonlion. This was a private tour. Background - prior to Covid I had a deposit on a tour through a private tour company for an Australian rail experience. When Covid cancelled that, they retained my deposit and I had two years to use it on anything else. We decided to use them to arrange our hotels and guides for our extended trip in Buenos Aires to Iguazu to Rio. It was a bit pricey, but they did a great job having guides to transport us between locations, taking care of all ticket costs, and arranging the hotels. I'm sure a Viking extension would work out ok, too, but my advice for Iguazu is that both the Gran Melia and Belmond are great hotels. The only thing is, I'd actually prefer 2 nights at the Gran Melia and 3 at the Belmond so you can spend lots of time in the park, but also have plenty of time for the hotels, too. I felt that one night didn't give me enough time to enjoy Gran Melia experiences, and while 2 nights were great at the Belmond, that hotel is so wonderful, I'd just want more. Be sure that an extension gives you time at both sides of the falls. They really feel like two different places even though you can see the Belmond from the Gran Melia and the Gran Melia from the Belmond.

Totally agree with ocean cruises. The expedition cruises provide nice binoculars. Wish those were on ocean!

I have to agree. I have been on 2 cruises with I Made. He remembers everyone and is so attentive to little details!

Thanks for following along!

Thanks so much! I love reading the trip reports of others, too, so I finally decided to take the time to write a few myself.