cr8tiv1

Still Day 1…almost over. My two older sisters were supposed to join me for my March/April Sea of Cortez voyage. After final payment, the other sister had a family health event. Both sisters cancelled and I continued solo (thank you AON/Princess). When I approached this sister with the chance to cruise again, she agreed, as long as I took care of everything. She is 10 years older than I am, but in much better physical condition. I make up with being an experienced cruiser, more organized, and tech savvy. Now that we are on the ship, I can finally relax. The Medallion is doing its thing (positive). The App is behaving very well. Internet is sufficient for our needs. I downloaded Ocean Concierge on all of our hand held devices. It is a much better portal to view the Patter events. I taught her how to login.com and logout.com to easily switch devices. I am enjoying her first impressions. She has a refreshing new perspective that we sometimes take for granted. I purposely choose a 6:20 time for the Crown Grill. We had enough time to catch our breath and change gears. The joys of being on the Fiesta Deck is that everything we need is either one deck up or down. I pointed out that she will always be able to view the Customer Service Deck from anywhere in the Piazza. Then all she had to do was to look for our hallway to the right (starboard) of it. We were greeted by George the Head Waiter and taken to a table rather than a booth, since we missed the first seating. She was looking forward to the Chilean Sea Bass. I just love their lamb chops. Service was impeccable and the dishes perfecto. I wanted her to savor the joys of being on a cruise ship so our dinner was at a very leisurely pace. Neither of us particularly like comedians so opted to skip Phil Tag (7:30 and 9:30). This bread is new to the Crown Grill. Hot, crusty, and the center was filled with mozzarella cheese. What’s not to like! This was meant to introduce her to cruising in hopes that she might want to do more cruises with me. My other sister is a lost cause. Her loyalty is with Holland America. I know, it isn’t fair to drop her into a suite and then scale down to a Plaza Ocean View for our next cruise to Japan (port intensive). I love my Window Suites but don’t care for the location of full suites (and/or the cost). I showed her how to read the Patter and I would do almost anything she wanted to experience. So instead of the Princess Theater we tracked down Fortuna Luck for our free Bingo Card. EFFY drew her in with a free raffle and charm. We ended up attending 5 sessions (counted the charms) and received the bracelet without going to the shopping show. I even won one of the raffles. Who needs ANOTHER blue sapphire pendant? That was enough excitement for one day. I didn’t request turn down service but Eric prepared our room with fresh towels, turned on the lights, and fluffed our pillows. I could see that a chocolate or two went missing from the plate every day. We retired to the room and watched the Grand traverse the San Juan islands on my Marine Traffic App. One of her best friends from home lives on Pendar Island for part of the year. She arrived into YVR the day before we embarked. They “waved” at each other as we passed by. Too bad darkness shadowed the views. I was amazed how narrow the channels were and how many islands there really were. I love Princess beds, pillows, and comforters. I learned that twin beds have the fluffy comforters while the queen bed has a thinner blanket. My sister remarked that the bed was difficult to get into because it was so soft. By the next night, she had to tear apart her bed (untuck everything) to make it more cozy for her. I like to sleep like a mummy. More trivia. Suite sheets are changed everyday (i normally amend that) while other cabins are every 3 -4 days. Lights Out….Good Night.

But Kale? Why would they even have Kale on the ship? I do not recall many dishes that used Kale. You guessed it, I am not a fan of Kale. I did manage to get one Caesar salad that was "properly" prepared. How I miss tableside preparations of of Caesar salads.

The one time I needed ice in the afternoon, all that was left were a few pieces of ice floating in cold water. I am guessing the ice bucket is refreshed during turn down service and left in the "cold box". Plastic ice bucket?

This is my OCD moment. I stood over the bridge and took videos and multiple shots with my phone (or was it a point and shoot digital camera?). When I had the time, I searched and edited until I finally got one (1) shot that was keepable.

Princess does not have a laundry package. Each item has a cost. There is a price for regular and a price for Presto (in by 9 out by evening). It is not inexpensive. Princess does have laundry rooms on most decks for a fee.

Last week on the Grand, I exchanged everything out with Room Service. I know they are swamped so always let them know that I don't need the items on embarkation day. Perrier is the small bottles. San Pellegrino is even smaller. I could not get all San Pellegrino so they mixed my replacement with both. In the MDR with a beverage package, I did get the larger bottle of Perrier.

Add me to the list of "I love the Coral". I do not care for the larger Royal Class ships. Yes, it is odd that the IC is next to the smaller casino. I usually do not sit and eat there. She has new Ocean View rooms next to the casino. She has a walk around Promenade (very important). She has "On the Bayou" (best production show in the fleet). She has few passengers and more public spaces. Some of her bump out balconies are larger. Since they sold the Golden, the Coral and the. Grand are the only ships left that I really enjoy.

It was the Majestic Princess on her way to Australia. https://bsetours.com/forced-to-pass-the-tests-on-board-the-passengers-of-the-majestic-princess-almost-missed-their-excursions/

Yes, others have posted video. I have no idea how to do it. I would guess they have to be short videos. I'm sure someone will give you instructions. My, the food for your Sea of Cortez voyage was much different than mine on the Grand in March/April. Thanks for posting food photos. Pictures are worth a thousand words.

I've had that diagram for a very long time. Some engineer/architect type person decided that it was a fun thing to do while in a Window Suite. I don't even have his/her name. I think this is a unique piece of art. Doubt there are any more like it. Hint, Hint...great project for someone in the know.

Day 1: I will not be posting Patters since this is pretty much a one and done voyage. I will not be posting food photos since I always forget to take a photo before digging into the lovely presentations. I request a low sodium diet strictly to control salt intake when I am in the MDR. The Assistant Manager will hand me the menus the night before and take my pre-orders. I am rarely told what the specialty of the night is because I pre-ordered, but occasionally I have remembered to asked. I have found those extra dishes not very appealing or not to my liking. This was JUST a 7 day cruise and there was enough to keep me satisfied. In fact, we never made it to Alfredos, but did checked in with the International Cafe for my Peanut Butter cookies almost daily. We didn’t have much time in the room before my internal alarm said it was noon and lunch time. Up until now, my sister and I have been sharing meals or eating lightly (aka budget/pre-cruise diet). All bets are off. We are on a ship with an abundance of food sources. Embarkation lunch is always a delightful way to start a cruise. Literally, the Club Class Dining Room is feet away. Out the door, past the accessible cabin, around the Guest Services Director's office tucked in a corner, Calypso Shop is closed/no distraction, and you are at the CC MDR entry. Iris greeted us warmly by name since our Medallions showed up on the receptionist’s device. Before I am able to step 5 feet into the room, waiter Francisco walks up to greet me. He remembered me from my last March/April cruise. I was sailing solo for the second half of a 25 day cruise with Savio waiting on my every need. He told me that Savio was his best friend and called him often. Francisco was @riffatsea waiter. I was given my “regular” table: socially distanced from everyone, in the corner, by the window. I had the shrimp and avocado appetizer followed by beef tenderloin, and orange soufflé. I had a drink package but am not a drinker. A refreshing blended virgin margarita with a salt rim (a must have) was on order. Sister followed suit. Returned to the cabin to find our luggage. Began the unpacking. I am an old pro at this. I have a place for everything. My sister was overwhelmed. Where does she begin? Did she pack too much? Should it go here or there? Her cruising experience was 50+ years ago when she returned from the mainland on the Lurline plus one cruise around the islands in a NCL balcony. She was just happy to follow me around. I had to plan out my strategy so not to provide too much information at any one time. Up one flight of stairs to the Promenade Deck and watched us pull lines to drift away from Canada Place. We rode the elevator up to the Lido Deck for sail away around 4:15. I love sailing under the Lion Gates Bridge. Started from the forward elevators and walked her all the way aft. Pointing out the swimming pools, food venues, buffet (only one side was open), and Terrace Pool. This was the only time we made it up to the Lido Deck. Sat down overlooking the aft pool and enjoyed our view. Surprisingly, the Alfresco’s Bar was closed. I flagged down a wandering waiter and ordered San Pellegrinos. Once we left Vancouver, I took her upstairs to the Elite/Platinum/Suite cocktails at Club One Five to see if they had my pretzel rolls. Love them and the only place you can get them with a chips/guacamole chaser. How could I think of eating again so soon? My mind is cruise programmed. We seemed to be right under a float plane path. Several of them flew right over us. Is that even legal? It was a perfect sail away day: comfortable, sunny, bright, and beautiful. Mahalo Nui Loa for all your kind comments and for following along with my journey. I am hoping to end up with a nice travel log for my sister. BTW....Princess Travel Logs are a thing of the past.

I finally made it to the end of the thread. Thank you so much for your wonderful posts and photos. Looking forward to your Hawaii version with lots of videos of ELUA. As for the Caesar salad....I had it a couple of times and it was dreadful. Dark green romaine leaves, a few Kale (which I don't like) and chickpeas. I don't know why Princess decided to "fix" something that was a favorite/standard. But then again, I am not surprised. Princess has been modifying lots of things that were working and ruined them.

There is very little to do in Limon, but there is a Jaguar Rescue Center outside of town. Do some research on how to get there. There is even a YouTube video. https://www.jaguarrescue.foundation/ At the end of the walkway (within walking distance but hot) in Cartagena, you will find a small (free) zoo and shopping area. If you have never been to Cartagena, it is a worthwhile trip into town. As in almost all Caribbean ports, you will find independent tours.

I doubt that they will have sushi and/or sashimi at the Piazza level venue. If they did, I am not sure how "fresh" it would be. The sushi I have had on Princess (US Market) has been pretty pathetic. I will give them credit for trying, but it is not even close to the real stuff. Their is Kai Sushi on Deck 7 (for a fee). I would trust that they would have good sushi. Not sure the sashimi would be fresh (not frozen). PS. Thank you for using correct terminology. So often, I run into people (and NEWS casters) that disseminate the wrong information. Sashimi is raw fish and other sea friends. Sushi is rice with any number of toppings, including egg, cucumbers, raw fish, etc.

I never understood why Princess opted to have such archaic thermostat dials in their cabins. But there are two of them. I leave the one by the bed set at 20 and raise/lower the one by the door. It's really tough to turn the dial with arthritic fingers. Given the choice of cold or hot, I'd rather be cold in a cabin. I bring along an old fashioned travel alarm clock that has a temperature reading. I'm sorry you had such discomfort. Did you pile on the plush robes that were left in your closet? Did you know that there are two different sets of blankets too. The fluffy warm soft ones are for twin configuration and the thinner, not so warm blanket is for when the beds are together. On the Caribbean Princess, I could not figure out the shower handle. Took a cold shower the first night. Housekeeping supervisor came by to see what "my" problem was and had to give me a lesson. Felt so foolish.

Yes, call room service. 10 alcohol (gin/scotch/beer/cognac/vodka) 10 drinks (water/soda) There are multiple threads that discuss all of the different options. I'm just answering your question.

Yes, between November and March, they replaced the sofa. This one is so much better. Cushions do not "slide" out when you sit down. Much firmer and very comfortable. I could take naps on this new sofa.

Thanks again, but my IT support (SIL/daughters) are all remote. I have one 8 TB drive...HaHa...as if that wasn't enough, several 5 TB and decreasing. I don't have the patience nor the desire to take the time to organize. Unfortunately, it will be one of those things my daughters will have to deal with when I am gone. Higher on the priority list is decluttering the house. Like that is going to happen any time soon. Too many cruises planned.

@harryfat1Thank you for the information. I do back up my computer and hopefully, the photos are included. I have so many external drives, I don't know what is in any of them. But I never return to see if they are there. There lies the problem of digital age. I have boxes and boxes and boxes of slides, negatives, and photos pre-digital. I have albums and albums and albums. Slowly, I am dispersing the albums to their rightful owners. But the digital images may be lost in electronic purgatory forever. My son-in-law's mother has one of those fancy cameras (so does he). They must have a zillion photos of the grandkids. Do they ever print them out? No. Do they display them...maybe one or two. Do they make albums? No. What good are trapped photos? Somewhere, a little voice is screaming to get out of the little black external drive/server box.

Embarkation Day / continued: Window Suites Once onboard, I headed straight to our Muster Station checkin since we embarked on Deck 7/Crown Grill. Then walked to the forward elevators to avoid the crowds of people trying to get to their decks midship. One deck down was our coveted Window Suites on Fiesta Deck. On a side note: Did I mention that I called my travel agent in June? I told her that if she could find me a Window Suite on the Grand for the repositioning cruise from Vancouver to book me. I could not see any availability on the website. Not only did she find me a Window Suite but was able to book me in my favorite stateroom, F311. I have managed to avoid F309, F305, and F301. I would get lost on my way to the bathroom at night since the furniture is arranged “opposite..ly”. I can’t imagine why anyone would dislike the location, but one of the cabins was empty. My steward said that the passengers were unhappy when they arrived at their cabin. It didn’t have a balcony and they moved. I didn’t ask if they paid for an upgrade or whatever. But the ship was sailing at about 50% capacity. Didn’t think there were any more suites available. Window Suites have 21 drawers, 3 closets, double sinks, 5 USB lamps, 5 European outlets, 2 US outlets, and feet away from Club Class Dining. My travel agent is a miracle worker and always comes through for me. First things first. Sat my sister down so she could watch the Muster Drill on the television, while I alcohol’d the entire cabin. I’m not as bad as Howie Mandel, but I can be a little OCD when it comes to germs. There was a nice vegetable platter waiting for us from my TA. We went to lunch and then the infamous hors d’oeuvre arrived. At least they were fresh and cold. My room steward appeared and remembered me from my last March/April cruise. He asked for my list. I always have a “list” of things I might forget to request. And as I get oldER, the list gets longer. He brought us 2 glasses of champagne. I always bring along Hawaiian treats and handed him a small bag. This time, I also brought along Dove chocolates and told him to help himself, which he did every day. When I traded out my mini bars, I gave him 6 beers. The suite did not have an orchid plant (which arrived on the third day). Round bars of soap, shampoo, conditioner, and lotion in the tubes were in the stateroom along with the giant bottles (shower gel and shampoo/conditioner) in the shower and on the counter top (lotion and hand soap). My elite and/or suite amenities include an emery board, q-tips, and a shower cap x 2. There was an orchid spike in the bathroom too. I won't dwell on the things that were missing. I called room service to request a fruit basket. She was very nice and told us there were no strawberries or pears but suggested bananas. I also gave her my order for the (two) mini-bar switch out and told them we were not in any hurry and could waiting until the next day when things settled down for them. Missing in the picture are the grapes, vegetable dip, and champagne that my sister enjoyed. Note that masks were “required” but was never enforced.

I agree, but not sure where I read that the actual times can only be predicted a couple of weeks ahead. Of course, that reference point escapes me now. Just one of those trivia points that I file in the back of my head. I am sure there are many factors involved and with such little clearance for the Royal Class Ships, even minor changes will be important. This is the best I could google: https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/pdf/Tide_Prediction_Error_for_the_United_States_Coastline.pdf "Differences between predicted and observed tides will be greater than average during extreme weather events and during above normal river runoff to stations on tidal rivers. Errors in time and height of tide are generally larger for those areas with weaker tides."

I want to know how you pull up photos from 2015. I have photos "archived" in old computers. Whenever I run out of space, I buy a new computer. Photos rarely are migrated.

I am getting toward the end of your thread, but you seem to be posting faster than I can catch up. Now on page 10. Sorry if someone has already addressed La Paz. The Sea of Cortez is one of my favorite itineraries. Don't know who is sponsoring the buses to La Paz, but they are nice buses. (Had to look up plural of buses...also acceptable...busses). You can stop at a beach on the way in, but not on the way back to the ship. Then catch the next bus going in to town to return to the ship. You are dropped off and picked up at the bus station a few blocks from the pier and Malecon. There is a washroom/bathroom. It is suggested that you pay the 25/50 pesos to get toilet paper and a slightly cleaner facility. La Paz is lined with street cafes and shops. If you go a little further in (up the hill) you will reach a really nice cathedral and off the beaten path stores. You can even have your photo taken with a donkey. It is a really safe city to visit. Absolutely love the fact that Diamond International and other tourist traps are not in La Paz or Loreto. I love your photo journey. Thank you for doing lives. Looking forward to your Hawaii cruise "live". I found your take on the internet manager amusing. Princess definitely has an issue with false advertising. It is far from being the "best internet/wifi at sea".

I've been escorted on the ship once....and it was post-covid. I was shocked to see a man in a suit (from the MDR) make a beeline to us sitting in the elite lounge with his device. He called us by name and said he would be back at 11 to escort us onboard. It was a fun experience and great having a young and strong able body pull our heavy carry ons for us. We found him in the MDR later and thanked him again. We did tip him. I don't know if it is port specific but we were in San Pedro. I don't need to find my way, but would have been impressive to my sister. At least "he" knew where my cabin was. I've been told by elevator people that there were no cabins on deck 6.

@travelin.sistersWill your sister join you on your Hawaii cruise? Sure hope you are cruising with Elua on the Crown this fall/winter. You are going to have such a blast. When is your cruise?