LAFFNVEGAS'S First LIVE From a Princess Ship The Crown

[themerle]

Glad you enjoyed Sabatini's! I remember how I felt after eating, eating and eating there! I wasn't a member of CC when we ate there so I didn't know to take it easy on starters. I'm enjoying your "Live" but won't be able to check back in till next week. I hope the remainder of your cruise is a blast!!!!! Can't wait to return from my trip and read the rest of the story.

[localady]

If I was there I would be right behind you Tom ;) Michelle did you guys find any PePe size margaritas? LOL PS Johnny wants to go there this time and of course I won't say no:D Sounds like you guys are carrying on the Yummer tradition of having a great time. Maybe next year we can get to the East coast side of things

CARRY ON !!

 

I know they are struggling without us! ;) :rolleyes: :D

Love reading along.....definately 2nd best!

[ugminer]

Hi Sher, are you doing the 10 or 20 day? I just have to bite the bullet and fly east one of these days. Sounds like they are having a good time even if we aren't there. Can you believe it? lol

[Jo and Rob]

Monday January 18, 2010

 

 

We have not exactly been Party Animals this cruise like we were on that quicky NCL Star cruise we did in November. We have kind of fallen back into our HAL mode of eating and going back to our cabin with the exception of last night when we did go to the show. We have not even had the chance to think about going to MUTS. Part of the problem is when you are so full from eating it just feels good to go back to your cabin to relax. For a first time Princess cruiser there is just too many things you want to do and it almost takes 2 full weeks.

 

I am going to end tonight's report because I want to also do some reading. I usually read at least three full books on a cruise and I have not finished one I brought that I started a few weeks ago so I need to get reading.

 

Signing off from the Beautiful Crown Princess.

Thanks for the great reports. We are on the Crown for our first cruise on 13th Feb and bearing in mind it is a 7 day cruise please could you give us a list of "make sure you don't miss" so we don't miss any highlights.

[caber]

Hi Lisa,

 

I have just found you "live from " thread and read through all the pages so far. As we came off Crown on 14th November I find it brings back lots of lovely memories.

 

Looking forward to the rest.:)

[madelinerose]

... I then pulled my Black card out of my pants pocket and was holding it in a way I knew the Manager could probably see it. Suddenly he thought he could get us in. We were seated immediately.

 

 

Lisa, wonderful thread...I'm enjoying it thoroughly!

 

What is the "Black card"? I haven't sailed Princess. Thanks! ;)

[Colo Cruiser]

Lisa, wonderful thread...I'm enjoying it thoroughly!

 

What is the "Black card"? I haven't sailed Princess. Thanks! ;)

 

Your key card color.

Blue first time cruiser

Gold for 2-5 cruises

Platinum 6-15 cruises

Elite-Black 150 days or 16 plus cruise.

[onebzyldy]

OK,,,,maybe I missed something :eek: but I beleive this is Lisa's *first* cruise with Princess ?? How did she get a black card :confused:

Enquiring minds want to know :p

Happy Cruising.....

DonnaF :D

[madelinerose]

Your key card color.

Blue first time cruiser

Gold for 2-5 cruises

Platinum 6-15 cruises

Elite-Black 150 days or 16 plus cruise.

 

 

Thanks. ;)

[Sanibel*Gal]

OK,,,,maybe I missed something :eek: but I beleive this is Lisa's *first* cruise with Princess ?? How did she get a black card :confused:

Enquiring minds want to know :p

Happy Cruising.....

DonnaF :D

 

 

I wondered the same thing....but way back on one of her posts she mentioned something about her job???:confused: and that is why she has a black card.

Maybe someone else can shed some light on this for us.

 

Mean while - Great Thread Lisa and loving the "Live" reports - especially from a HAL cruiser trying Princess.:D

 

Andrea

~~~~~~

[justluv2cruisewithhubby]

Lisa I just heard about an earthquake in the vacinity of the Cayman islands today, it was 5.8 on the scale. Did you feel anything on the ship as you were sailing to Roatan?

[Colo Cruiser]

I wondered the same thing....but way back on one of her posts she mentioned something about her job???:confused: and that is why she has a black card.

Maybe someone else can shed some light on this for us.

 

Mean while - Great Thread Lisa and loving the "Live" reports - especially from a HAL cruiser trying Princess.:D

 

Andrea

~~~~~~

 

 

She may have attended classes for Princess as a TA? For the Commodore status which gives you Elite automaticly.

[Sanibel*Gal]

She may have attended classes for Princess as a TA? For the Commodore status which gives you Elite automaticly.

 

 

Thanks Keith - I did not know that but makes sense.;)

 

Andrea

~~~~~

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Tuesday January 19th, 2010

Good Afternoon from Mohogany Bay at Roatan Honduras.

What is a word the describes something much better than Perfection???

I had originally thought that this was a port that we might not even get off the ship. Then I had done some reading on Cruise Critic about this new port facility at Mahogany Bay. Having been to Grand Turks twice last year I sort of visualized that. OH MY GOSH!!!! It is so much better. I have been to many beaches in our travels and the beauty of the area is just amazing. We did get the chance to sleep in this morning without a wake up call but mostly because we gained an hour of sleep last night. We woke just before we arrived at Roatan to watch the Captain get the enormous ship backed into her slip. Either the Officers on the Bridge dread getting the Crown in here or they love it for the challenge. Having Mini Suite E730 proved to be the perfect location with watching the show of getting in here and seeing everything up close. I cannot wait to view the pictures.

We spent the day on Mahogany Beach under a palm tree, reading, swimming, with caribbean music playing in the back ground and drinking Mojitos of course.:D The beach is so nice with the sand being more packed and easier to walk on. Plus the water is so crystal clear and warm. I know that I have never swam so much as I did today at a beach.

The new facility here has some very nice shops with many more shops that will be opening. The walk over to Mahagany Beach is nice but is far more fun to take the Magical Flying Beach Chair over to the Beach. For just $5.00 per person you can take it back and forth all day. Tom is normally very afraid of heights but he found it a lot of fun and so did I. The view were quite nice from there as well. The Magical Flying Beach Chair is like a ski lift.

We are now back in the cabin relaxing, we both got a bit of sun today and have red noses but nothing too severe because we were wearing sun block. Tom went up to get us some slices of pizza as a snack. I did not want to each much because we have 6:30 reservations at the Crown Grill. I did not even have breakfast this morning but then I am sure my body was still surviving on last night's dinner from Sabatini's.

I do think I have found my new favorite Port of Call. I could easily come back here on every cruise. You can bet the next time we cruise the Western Caribbean it will have to have a port stop in Roatan Honduras or I will not chose it.;)

I think I will sign off for now to do a bit more reading and relaxing before i get ready for dinner.

Signing off from the Beautiful Crown Princess located in true Paradise.:)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Thanks for all the wonderful comments,:) it is hard to answer questions and I have almost burned thru my free minutes and will have to purchase a package for the remainder of the week. I will try to answer most of your questions when I get home.

 

Lisa I just heard about an earthquake in the vacinity of the Cayman islands today, it was 5.8 on the scale. Did you feel anything on the ship as you were sailing to Roatan?

 

When I signed on to the Internet a few minutes ago was the first I heard of this. No we did not feel it. Talk about good timing. Earthquakes have been following us on cruises. Last April we were doing the Panama Canal we were in Acapulco when there was a 5.4 Earth Quake. I am sure we would not had the opportunity to swim with the Sting Rays had that happened yesterday.

 

She may have attended classes for Princess as a TA? For the Commodore status which gives you Elite automaticly.

 

Yes I took many hours of on line courses to get to what Princess calls Comodore for Travel Agents in doing this you get Elite Status.

I have defintely enjoyed the perks and can see why Princess cruisers stay loyal to obtain this status.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Looks Lovely Lisa.....

 

[LAFFNVEGAS]

David Thanks :) Yes that is exacty what we can see too :D

As you can see it is picture perfect with not a cloud in the sky.

Thanks so much for always being there with those great web cam pictures :)

[seadrifter]

Wonderful descriptions - thanks Lisa. I want to visit Roatan now.

[senior lady]

Looks Lovely Lisa.....

 

 

So where do you get the great pictures from??? Know your not on the cruise;)

[Kiwi Kruzer]

So where do you get the great pictures from??? Know your not on the cruise;)

 

They are captures from the bridge cam...

 

http://*****/

[lovevacadays]

Lisa, I agree with you. We were on the Crown in November and did Victor Bodden's all day island tour. Roatan has become one of my very favorite ports. It is incredibly beautiful. We toured the island and had so many breathtaking, views/experiences. I can't wait to return there again.

[Love Boat Dream]

We enjoyed Roatan also. Even ziplining in the rain! We toured with one of Rony's drivers.

 

The beach at Mahogony Bay looked very nice, but I'm glad we toured around the island.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Tuesday Evening January 19, 2010

Good Evening from the Crown Princess en route to Cozumel Mexico.

Tonight was our night we had made reservations for the Crown Grill at 6:30. The dinner started out great with very good service. We ordered a bottle Sparkling wine and a bottle of Pinot Noir. Tom had the Scampi appetizer, Frank had the Lobster Cake and Black and Blue Onion Soup. Michelle had the Lobster cake and salad and I had the Mussel Seafood Pot and the Black and Blue Onion Soup. Tom was disappointed with the Scampi because it was actually several very tiny shrimp certainly not Scampi. Frank and Michelle I believe enjoyed the Lobster Cake, I thought the Mussel Pot was absolutely wonderful, the onion broth was a meal in itself. Next up was the Black and Blue Soup that Frank and I had. I have to admit all the raving reviews about this soup I thought it would be great. Frank and I both agreed it was far too salty. To me it was just OK

Unfortunately we all agreed that the Main entrees were fair at best to absolutely terrible. Tom and Frank had the Porter House, Michelle had a Shrimp Dish that she was not at all thrilled with and thought the shrimp were not totally cooked and the rice was way too salty. My Ribeye was tough, hard to chew, way too peppery. In all honesty I have had better steaks at Sizzler when they were still in business. I knew it was a terrible cut just looking at it when they brought it out, then when they asked me to cut it to make sure it was cooked correctly and it would not cut for the gristle I knew then it was an absolutely terrible cut of meat. I have to say in giving out points HAL's Pinnacle Grill jumps way ahead for being the very best and even Cagney's on NCL was pretty darn good compared to Crown Grill. The one thing the Princess tends to do very good is desserts. Tom had the Chocolate Molten Cake which was good but a bit too runny, Frank had the Cheesecake that was very light with coconut that he really liked. I had the Lemon Meringue which was OK but Michelle had the S'Mores cake that she thought was absolutely wonderful. If the food in the Crown Grill is a good example of what is served for the Chef's Table then I have to admit I am glad we saved our money and not signed up. I am not sure if the Crown Grill was having an off night or if Princess purchased very low quality meats but the three of us with meat all agreed it was probably one of the worst quality of steaks we have had. Sadly it was not what I was expecting. I had thought it would be close to the HAL Pinnacle Grill quality but it definitely was not.

We had thought we might try to go watch Julie and Julia on MUTS but some how going back to our cabin to get in our jammies and relax just sounded far more appealing.

Tomorrow is Cozmel and Tom and I have been there two times before. In the past we have done things such as Dolphin Swims and the Atlantis Submarine (which btw is not worth the money) this time we are not planning anything. We will get off the ship and walk around and see if we can find a place with some good Margaritas and Chips and Salsa.

Time to do some reading so.....

Signing off from the Beautiful Crown Princess.

 

[ponygirl]

Hi Lisa, very interested to hear about Roatan. It's a port that I've never been to and now I want to go. As I am also an avid reader, I was wondering which 3 books you chose to take on your cruise. I always plan very carefully which books I bring and then I go to the ships library the first day to see if there's a good book there I might also like.

[senior lady]

I was also not impressed with the food in the Crown Grill. The chef's table is nothing like that. The steak we had last time you didn't need a knife to cut. It's cooked right in front of you and to perfection.

 

If I had the choice of spending $75 for the chef's table or $25 for the Crown Grill........ no question it would be the chef's table. It's like comparing "apples to oranges"