Live from Caribbean Princess 12/5-12

[Liz54]

Hi K - Great that you will get a special trip with your mother - and years of adventures with at nice guy!!!

Martha

[cdamion]

Day 3 - Sea Day (Part 3)

 

 

After relaxing on the balcony for a little bit, it started raining so I decided to get ready for the Captain's champagne waterfall party in the Piazza. It was pretty packed in the area. He did the waterfall, and the Maitre D posed for pictures with people for a while, then the Captain introduced the officers. It was ok, but not impressive enough to deal with the crowds in that small area. On the way back to the Palm Dining Room, I passed by one of the dining rooms for anytime. If there was anywhere on board more crowded than the Piazza for the champagne waterfall, it was outside of that dining room. So happy I don't have anytime dining. I think perhaps the new 5:30 seating has probably caused problems for anytime.

 

 

I made it down to the Palm Dining Room for dinner and met my table mates - 3 couples. I told my sad tale of why I was alone. They are a fun group. Good table to land at! I should have remembered the names of the dishes to write about it here. The first was salad, which was fine, next I had a dish that was very very thin slices of duck that was very tasty. The main course was a shrimp dish is a creamy sauce, with peas, carrots and rice. Followed by Caramelized Pear for dessert. Which was then followed by... my fiancee's birthday cake, complete with a candle. Our waiter, I forgot his name, but will get it tomorrow, lit the candle so I could take a picture of it, then my table-mates insisted on singing Happy Birthday for her, which I recorded on my camera so she can see it when I get back. Fun group.

 

 

After dinner, I decided to head down to Churchill's to have a drink and a cigar. I like to have cigars once in a while. I may have 3 or 4 in a week, then not have another one for 2 or 3 months. This is my first official complaint: there were several people making nasty comments about cigarette and cigar smoke in Churchill's. IT IS A CIGAR BAR. It is the only place on the ship that I will have a cigar. I will not smoke one on the balcony because I do not want to bother anybody in adjoining balconies. I will not smoke it in the back of the deck outside, because I do not want to offend anybody. Please people, let me have this one place to enjoy a cigar and a drink. It is the smallest freaking bar on the ship.

 

 

After I had my cigar and a couple of rum and cokes, I headed up to Skywalkers. At this point it is about midnight and the place is full of Puerto Rican's and they are having a blast. Despite advertising a dj in Fusion in Patters, there was nothing going on there. Crooners, Wheelhouse, Explorers were all busy at around midnight. When I came back down from Skywalkers, all of them were empty. I was hoping to have a little less dance music and just hang out. Well, there is always tomorrow.

 

 

I ended up heading to the casino for a little while where one of the slots kept me busy for quite a while. I was way ahead, but got too greedy, so I gave it all back. After that I headed back up to Skywalkers for my last couple of drinks for the night. Still a few people left drinking and dancing up there. I miss my fiancee now because she was supposed to specifically save a dance for me on the ship. She would have really loved the Latin beat that was predominating Skywalkers.

 

 

It is now a little past 2am. I am out here on the balcony typing this update having my last beer of the evening. Incidentally, this is going to be the very same beer I will be sorry I had when I get up early tomorrow for Aruba.

 

 

As I finish today's last update, I am struck by a couple of things. First, I never should have been apprehensive about being a solo on board. Second, while some the crew seems a bit 'standoffish' at first, once you talk to them and get to know them a bit, you realize they are actually kind of shy. These are good people working on board. Third, I am amazed at how obnoxious people can be. The woman next to me during the champagne waterfall was commenting and harshly criticizing some of the clothes that a few of the passengers were wearing. She was so judgmental (nevermind the fact that she was saying the exact same things that I was thinking - I just kept it in my head instead of saying anything - hey Im human!) Fourth, I am rapidly becoming a huge Princess fan. I don't know that I would like anything bigger than this ship. Maybe if the passenger count was the same, but not with more people. I hope Princess stays Princess and doesnt try to be the party ships of Carnival, or the Las Vegas/Disney/Six Flags that RCI has become. RCI seems to do everything possible to make people forget they are sailing. I like the balance Princess has achieved - a lot.

 

 

On that note, let me finish. It is 2:30 am we are 432 nautical miles from San Juan and just 45 or so nautical miles from Aruba (am I really going to be in Aruba in a few short hours?!?). Ocean temp is 86 degrees (I have been all over the Caribbean and Hawaii and don't recall it ever being that warm - maybe the ship's instruments are reading it wrong). Air temp feels like about 82 and very humid. Seas are pretty calm now. There is another ship a few miles off of the port side. Perhaps the HAL Westerdam or the P&O Ventura, both of which are due to be in Aruba with us.

 

 

I hope these updates are not too lengthy for you guys.

 

 

Until tomorrow...

[cdamion]

 

I don't think he will be taking me on a cruise. He said the refund would go toward some kind of vacation for my mom and me. A cruise? Maybe.

I love this man and am so happy to hear he is having a good time.

K-

 

Yes, the money I get from the insurance, techincally reimbursing me for the single supplement I was charged, is going to go toward a cruise for you and your mom. She needs to experience one.

 

As far as a cruise for us, I am going to get the future cruise credits before the end of the trip. I think I can get 2 since they still seem to think you are on board. Im thinking Alaska, cant go for about a year though. Princess does Alaska like no others.

[lukfam]

I am really enjoying your posts. We will be on the CB Dec 26. This will be close to our 20th cruise. The week before we will be on the RCCL Adventure of the Seas. Even though we have been on many cruises this is our first time on the Princess line so we are learning through your experiences. Any tips you might have would be appreciated. Enjoy your vacation!

[Pam in CA]

Great thread. I'm enjoying your posts and love your fiance's posts. It's lovely to see how much you care for each other.

 

A suggestion if you plan to eat in the dining room for breakfast again, make arrangements with the Table Captain the night before for anything you would like prepared and served the next morning, including eggs Benedict.

 

Enjoy Aruba. If you don't have a tour planned, there are vans just inside the port gates that will give you a tour for $20. You can even have them drop you off at the beach if you want. There's a public bus back to the port area, which is on the main street.

[CrusinAgain]

So glad you are enjoying one of my favorite ships. It is so nice of you to keep us abreast of what is happening. I feel like I am on the ship with you. I'm sorry to hear that the 3rd traditional dining is causing long lines on that ship also. I do hope they get it straighten out for the anytime diners because we won't do anytime dining any longer with that type of hassle to get a table and eating late is not an option for us so I'm glad you got traditional as we will in the future.

 

Hope you have a great day in Aruba. Its one of my favorite ports and lots of casinos.;)

[u2cruiser]

Your posts aren't lengthy enough, nevermind 'too lengthy' :p

 

Too funny about the inevitable birthday cake. Great ice breaker for your table mates.

 

You are certainly making the most of the evenings. I never want to go to bed either as I want the days to go on and on and on. :D

 

Enjoy Aruba. Really looking forward to some pics when you get back. Thanks for taking this time to entertain us. :cool:

[scottsgal]

I'm really enjoying this thread - takes me back 2 weeks ago to our trip on the CB. We ate in the Coral as well for early dinner and it was usually only 25% full when we went. The waiter said most people start coming around 7 pm which pushes out the wait time for anytime dining.

 

Enjoy Aruba!

[Socref124]

A suggestion if you plan to eat in the dining room for breakfast again, make arrangements with the Table Captain the night before for anything you would like prepared and served the next morning, including eggs Benedict.

 

You can do that and they will make it for you? WOW, I always have Eggs Benedict at breakfast on the last day of the cruise. We got so busy saying bye to cc members on the Dream that Iwe didn't have time to go to the MDR so I missed out. Maybe I will make up for it and have Eggs Benedict twice in the CB.

[HelloHelloHola]

I notice that, like our cruise, this particular cruise is going to Aruba first. However, on the previous run, it was Aruba last.

 

It worked out for us because by the time we got to St. Thomas, Hurricane Tomas was no longer affecting the island.

[Mr Bean]

Mike & Laurie---how the heck are you two love doves doing? Kegs miss you guys! Hope all is well and Happy Holidays!

[cdamion]

Day 3 - Aruba Part 1 of 2.

 

 

We arrived in Aruba a little after 6 this morning. I slept with the curtains open and happened to wake up seeing the Aruba coast glide by. I skipped breakfast this morning because I was still basically full from the 34 meals I had yesterday. Getting off the ship was fine, only one picture to pose for, so it didn't slow anything down.

 

 

I booked a shore excursion through Princess for the Atlantis Submarine. I did not necessarily have high expectations for it, but booked it because it is the one thing I always wanted to do in Hawaii and never did it. Who knows when the opportunity will present itself again, so what the heck. Anyway, the group (a whopping 12 of us, including a crew member) got off the ship and went to a waiting boat right by the dock. Princess had the exclusive trip, so that is all that went. Once we got out to the sub, they sat the 12 of us on one side. I guess usually they are full with somewhere around 48 people facing out both sides, so they have to pass everything twice, once so the passengers on each side of the sub can see. Since we only had people on one side of the sub, they said we could see twice as much. It was interesting. The water wasn't as clear as I expected it to be, but Aruba has apparently been having heavy rains recently, which they aren't used to. The sub passes by the hard corals, then deeper to the soft corals, then deeper to a couple of sunken ships. The tour was a little less than 2 hours with about 55 minutes of that in the sub. It was ok. Im glad I did it and would recommend it for people who do not snorkel, but would definitely not recommend it for divers. We went down about 132 feet. After dropping off some passengers back at the ship, they were kind enough to drop the rest of us across the harbor downtown, where I wandered around the shops.

 

 

Next I caught a taxi to Palm Beach where I swam and relaxed for a while. The water was much cooler than I expected it to be. I'd say it was around 78 maybe. The beach was packed with passengers from the two ships, plus hotel people. I rented an umbrella and chair so I could have some shade. The beach was nice enough, but the water wasn't too clear. Im glad I saw it, and was happy for the swim, but it wasn't really worth 14 for the taxi and 25 for the chair and umbrella. On the way back I asked a couple from the P&O ship if we could share a ride, so we saved a couple of bucks.

 

 

I ran back in to change and headed over to the casino downtown here to waste some money and wander around the shops a little more.

 

 

Overall, I was a bit underwhelmed by Aruba. Im not a dry island kind of person, I like lots of green and mountains and waterfalls, etc. Im glad to have seen it, and picked this cruise partly because of the call because I knew I would not likely ever see the island otherwise. I sure filled the day though, running nonstop. Im tired now. I came back to the ship (for the third time) at about 4 and headed up to Trident Grill. There was a line there and no seating anywhere, so I came back up to the cabin to type this update. It is a little past 5 and we haven't left yet, it sounded like they were trying to locate a couple of passengers. I ordered room service for a very late lunch (or first dinner?).

 

I sat out on the balcony for the sail away from Aruba. This is exactly where the balcony beats an outside room, when you can hang out when you are tired and don't really feel like being up on the Lido deck listening to music or movies, but don't want to be inside either.

 

 

I am going to rest for a little bit and then hopefully catch the sunset if it stays clear enough. Oh, speaking of weather, warm and partly cloudy all day, no rain for the first day in a while according to the taxi driver.

 

 

More later on tonight (maybe not too late though - I wore myself out!)...

[cdamion]

Great thread. I'm enjoying your posts and love your fiance's posts. It's lovely to see how much you care for each other.

 

A suggestion if you plan to eat in the dining room for breakfast again, make arrangements with the Table Captain the night before for anything you would like prepared and served the next morning, including eggs Benedict.

 

Enjoy Aruba. If you don't have a tour planned, there are vans just inside the port gates that will give you a tour for $20. You can even have them drop you off at the beach if you want. There's a public bus back to the port area, which is on the main street.

 

Thanks for the tips. The tours were only $15 today. She said I could not get off at the beach though. I kinda wish I would've gone on the tour to see more of the island.

 

Is there something similar in Bonaire? I am doing a snorkeling trip, but would love to get to see the flamingos there too. May be difficult because it is a short port call.

 

Oh, and Grenada, any tips. I have nothing booked or planned there yet.

[Socref124]

Mike & Laurie---how the heck are you two love doves doing? Kegs miss you guys! Hope all is well and Happy Holidays!

 

We are doing well Matt. How about you?

[Pam in CA]

You can do that and they will make it for you? WOW, I always have Eggs Benedict at breakfast on the last day of the cruise. We got so busy saying bye to cc members on the Dream that Iwe didn't have time to go to the MDR so I missed out. Maybe I will make up for it and have Eggs Benedict twice in the CB.

Yup. Princess is VERY accommodating, and not just at breakfast. If you want something special for dinner, you can order it the night before to be prepared for you. One person posted recently that they had escargots every night. On one cruise, my waiter arranged for me to have hazelnut ice cream every night.

[SCFCRUISER]

CDAMION, we will be on the CB in January. Are you taking pictures of the interior of the ship? We would like to just see what it looks like. Since we have already been on the Emerald we know what the exterior looks like.

 

Thanks,

Steve

[SCFCRUISER]

Pam in CA,

I have a question for you, since you seem to know alot about Princess. My DW is EXTREMELY allergic to shellfish. Our TA is in the process of contacting the powers that be at Princess regarding her allergy.

 

My question is this. When we get on the ship should we go to see the maitre'd to see if he will take her dinner order??? She can't even have the cookware contaminated, it's really a bad allergy. Have you heard of anyone with the same problem as far as what to do when embarking?

 

When we were on the Emerald this January we had the head waiter, help her with the menu, but I don't think he understood about the contamination because they didn't take her order the previous night before we left the dining room.

 

Any comments from you or anyone else would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Steve

[ineptinmate]

Yes, the money I get from the insurance, techincally reimbursing me for the single supplement I was charged, is going to go toward a cruise for you and your mom. She needs to experience one.

 

As far as a cruise for us, I am going to get the future cruise credits before the end of the trip. I think I can get 2 since they still seem to think you are on board. Im thinking Alaska, cant go for about a year though. Princess does Alaska like no others.

 

ALASKA? :eek:

You always complain that I am so pale being from the midwest and you want to take me on a vacation to ALASKA?

I know it's beautiful and I would love to do that someday. It's just....You were in Aruba today and I was freezing my tookus off in 15 degree weather (without the windchill!):eek:

I'm really not in the mood for a cruise to ALASKA, baby! I want to come home from our vacation with a tan for once. :p

I love you-you silly fool!

K-

[Pam in CA]

Pam in CA,

I have a question for you, since you seem to know alot about Princess. My DW is EXTREMELY allergic to shellfish. Our TA is in the process of contacting the powers that be at Princess regarding her allergy.

 

My question is this. When we get on the ship should we go to see the maitre'd to see if he will take her dinner order??? She can't even have the cookware contaminated, it's really a bad allergy. Have you heard of anyone with the same problem as far as what to do when embarking?

Steve, my daughter has the same problem. It's not that uncommon. Even cross contamination, i.e., cooked in the same pan, triggers her allergy. If you can, take a galley tour. You'll see that food preparation and cooking is separate for different foods so there is no contamination.

 

She tells both the waiter and Table Captain about her allergy and out of all her cruises (she'll be Elite after our January cruise), she's had only one incident. We have Traditional dining and one of the benefis is that she doesn't have to explain her allergy every night. She generally sticks to chicken, beef and pasta for entrees in addition to appetizers, soup and salad. She's fine with that.

 

Your waiter can be your friend in this instance. Make sure he/she is aware of the allergy and your wife should be fine and be able to enjoy her dinner.

[Rob & Beckys mom]

Yes, the money I get from the insurance, techincally reimbursing me for the single supplement I was charged, is going to go toward a cruise for you and your mom. She needs to experience one.

 

As far as a cruise for us, I am going to get the future cruise credits before the end of the trip. I think I can get 2 since they still seem to think you are on board. Im thinking Alaska, cant go for about a year though. Princess does Alaska like no others.

 

 

You can buy as many future cruise credits that you want...:D. But buy at least 2 as they can be used as your down payment on a cruise within 5 years.

 

Jan

[SCFCRUISER]

Steve, my daughter has the same problem. It's not that uncommon. Even cross contamination, i.e., cooked in the same pan, triggers her allergy. If you can, take a galley tour. You'll see that food preparation and cooking is separate for different foods so there is no contamination.

 

She tells both the waiter and Table Captain about her allergy and out of all her cruises (she'll be Elite after our January cruise), she's had only one incident. We have Traditional dining and one of the benefis is that she doesn't have to explain her allergy every night. She generally sticks to chicken, beef and pasta for entrees in addition to appetizers, soup and salad. She's fine with that.

 

Your waiter can be your friend in this instance. Make sure he/she is aware of the allergy and your wife should be fine and be able to enjoy her dinner.

 

Thanks Pam, we knew she had to be careful when eating on cruises because you just never know. Her last scare came on the Victory in 2009, when she had a helping of red pasta from the buffett. Within 1 minute she knew she had a problem & her throat started closing. The dish had shrimp in it, but was not marked as such. Long story made short was that they gave her 2 Epi shots & steroids to get her back to normal.

The maitre'd took her dinner order for the next night every night after this happened, that's why I asked my original question.Her Dr. at home said that the next time it happens, go directly to ER. We just have to be very careful. She keeps 2 Epi shots with her at all times & wears a bracelet.

 

Steve

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

[rdsqrl]

ALASKA? :eek:

You always complain that I am so pale being from the midwest and you want to take me on a vacation to ALASKA?

I know it's beautiful and I would love to do that someday. It's just....You were in Aruba today and I was freezing my tookus off in 15 degree weather (without the windchill!):eek:

I'm really not in the mood for a cruise to ALASKA, baby! I want to come home from our vacation with a tan for once. :p

I love you-you silly fool!

K-

I love this . . . !

[u2cruiser]

ALASKA? :eek:

You always complain that I am so pale being from the midwest and you want to take me on a vacation to ALASKA?

I know it's beautiful and I would love to do that someday. It's just....You were in Aruba today and I was freezing my tookus off in 15 degree weather (without the windchill!):eek:

I'm really not in the mood for a cruise to ALASKA, baby! I want to come home from our vacation with a tan for once. :p

I love you-you silly fool!

K-

 

Ooh! The drama! :-) You tell him :D

[Minoushka]

I too have a VERY wierd allergy to GREEN PEPPERS ON all ships they prepare my food separately. In the morning for my eggs I need a CLEAN pan

At lunch on Millie I did have issues cause Peppers are used as decorations everywhere ...big NO NO for me but it's Ok I did not starve .However I always add on comment card when they identify dishes to please list ingredients

On Carnival I stuck to the Manchurian GRILL where I chose what went in Wok ...much easier

 

Make sure to add that on comment card about listing ingredients

 

At night I get next day's menu and order accordingly

 

You should be fine

[CrusinAgain]

You can buy as many future cruise credits that you want...:D. But buy at least 2 as they can be used as your down payment on a cruise within 5 years.

 

Jan

 

Our last ones we bought on the Crown in October expire in 4 years.