LIVE from the STAR PRINCESS - March 9th-24th, RIO to FT LAUDERDALE

[rdsqrl]

. . . 　

On today’s schedule is a Mormon church service at 9:00. Very strange. I wonder why this particular one and no other, such as an ecumenical which is usually done. . . .

Perhaps Princess is covering their bases in case Mitt Romney wins in 2012?

Hope the French Onion Soup lived up to expectations. I was at bar trivia last night and thought of you, as our team finished out of the prizes by one point! If only my teammates had believed me about John Winthrop and the fork. . .

[Pia1913]

Good Monday morning at sea; another sunny, hot and humid day in store for us. The 7:00 AM temp was 84.7 and now an hour later it feels like it doubled. I understand you moved your clocks ahead Saturday night, so now we are only one hour ahead of EST.

　

　

We went to see the British comic Lenny Winston last night. Very funny; enjoyed the show. He currently lives in Ft Lauderdale, but is moving to Las Vegas in the near future. My dinner in Portofino was wonderful; French onion soup and escargot. Too full to eat anything else, but that’s fine because those two items probably contained a zillion calories. :eek:

　

On the schedule for today is a Joe May introduction of our upcoming 3 Caribbean ports; Barbados, Antigua and St. Thomas. There’s the movie “You Again” in the theater at 1:00 followed by another Maxtone-Graham presentation; The Only Way to Cross Part II. For us, the most traveled luncheon in Amalfi at noon.

　

Tonight in the theater there’s a male vocalist; Spencer Robson, and in Vista, Lenny Windsor is back with the same show. He told us not to attend because it’s a total repeat. MUTS is showing “The Social Network” and there’s a country and western hoe down in Explorer’s at 9:30. I think it might be time for us to stay in the cabin and watch a movie.

 

To whomever asked: the uh oh was towards aft.

 

RDS: Now I need to look up Winthrop and the fork. :confused:

 

Breakfast time.

[BosoxI]

"There was some sort of “uh oh” going on down the hall from us. Full Hazmat unit out in their regalia shortly after noon. Whatever it is, hopefully it’s been contained. We will no longer even walk by that door."

 

Hi Pia - am enjoying reading your posts. We will be on the cruise following yours and are also on Caribe forward (202). I hope the "uh oh" isn't in our soon-to-be home :) Thanks for all the info on movies that are onboard!

 

Ha! Ignorance is bliss, isn't it? God only knows what has gone on in any of the cabins. The event that occured in the cabin next to us on the Pacific in 2009, or the one that happened inours through no fault of our own on the Grand that same year. Maybe we ought to start a list of these cabins to worry the dickens out of future occupants.:p

[irwinler]

It was easy to check on John Winthrop, but I'm curious about "the fork"??

nmi

[Woobstr112G]

Good Monday morning at sea; another sunny, hot and humid day in store for us. The 7:00 AM temp was 84.7 and now an hour later it feels like it doubled. I understand you moved your clocks ahead Saturday night, so now we are only one hour ahead of EST.

　

　

We went to see the British comic Lenny Winston last night. Very funny; enjoyed the show. He currently lives in Ft Lauderdale, but is moving to Las Vegas in the near future. My dinner in Portofino was wonderful; French onion soup and escargot. Too full to eat anything else, but that’s fine because those two items probably contained a zillion calories. :eek:

　

On the schedule for today is a Joe May introduction of our upcoming 3 Caribbean ports; Barbados, Antigua and St. Thomas. There’s the movie “You Again” in the theater at 1:00 followed by another Maxtone-Graham presentation; The Only Way to Cross Part II. For us, the most traveled luncheon in Amalfi at noon.

　

Tonight in the theater there’s a male vocalist; Spencer Robson, and in Vista, Lenny Windsor is back with the same show. He told us not to attend because it’s a total repeat. MUTS is showing “The Social Network” and there’s a country and western hoe down in Explorer’s at 9:30. I think it might be time for us to stay in the cabin and watch a movie.

 

To whomever asked: the uh oh was towards aft.

 

RDS: Now I need to look up Winthrop and the fork. :confused:

 

Breakfast time.

 

Enjoy your day onboard.....:):):)

 

Bbo

[Pia1913]

It is so unbearably hot out there and we are getting closer to the equator. Can’t imagine it being any hotter. We have stayed indoors the entire day; balcony not an option with the sun beating down on us. Even with half covered, doesn’t get any better. The seas are extremely calm; hardly moving at all.

　

Most traveled luncheon was lovely; as usual. Picky me had a special entrée of pasta Bolognese which was yummy, but I also drank too

much wine. We sat with the chief purser (female, from England) and another couple with whom we dined with on the Sapphire. They are in 3rd place, and you know we are in our usual 4th spot.

　

Trivia this AM the same. Lost by one. Trivia this afternoon. Lost by one. It would be nice to break the pattern, but when you lose with 19 …………… :eek:

 

See you tomorrow in Fortaleza.

[Toto2Kansas]

It is so unbearably hot out there and we are getting closer to the equator. Can’t imagine it being any hotter. We have stayed indoors the entire day; balcony not an option with the sun beating down on us. Even with half covered, doesn’t get any better. The seas are extremely calm; hardly moving at all.

　

Most traveled luncheon was lovely; as usual. Picky me had a special entrée of pasta Bolognese which was yummy, but I also drank too

much wine. We sat with the chief purser (female, from England) and another couple with whom we dined with on the Sapphire. They are in 3rd place, and you know we are in our usual 4th spot.

　

Trivia this AM the same. Lost by one. Trivia this afternoon. Lost by one. It would be nice to break the pattern, but when you lose with 19 …………… :eek:

 

See you tomorrow in Fortaleza.

Pia, don't feel bad, we came in 4th on the Tahiti cruise also. lol

[socaljo]

Trivia this AM the same. Lost by one. Trivia this afternoon. Lost by one. It would be nice to break the pattern, but when you lose with 19 …………… :eek:

 

That just shows how very brave you are, Pia! I can't get DH to even go to Trivia with me for fear of being shown less than knowledgeable.

 

I've really enjoyed cruising vicariously through your posts. I dream of having your itinerary someday... :D

[mema4]

Pia,

I just love reading about the trip. I can't wait to hear about your next day's activities.

alice

[treesah]

Pia, who are these people that keep beating you by a point? Retired rocket scientists? Former Jeopardy champions? Or are the questions dumb?

[Kiwi Kruzer]

The seas are extremely calm; hardly moving at all.

 

I checked the cam today and caught the lovely sunset.

I see what you mean about the calm seas....

 

[stansthos]

Thank you for all of your pictures...a picture is worth a thousand words :p

[margord]

It is so unbearably hot out there and we are getting closer to the equator. Can’t imagine it being any hotter. We have stayed indoors the entire day; balcony not an option with the sun beating down on us. Even with half covered, doesn’t get any better. The seas are extremely calm; hardly moving at all.

　

Most traveled luncheon was lovely; as usual. Picky me had a special entrée of pasta Bolognese which was yummy, but I also drank too

much wine. We sat with the chief purser (female, from England) and another couple with whom we dined with on the Sapphire. They are in 3rd place, and you know we are in our usual 4th spot.

　

Trivia this AM the same. Lost by one. Trivia this afternoon. Lost by one. It would be nice to break the pattern, but when you lose with 19 …………… :eek:

 

See you tomorrow in Fortaleza.

 

 

Wow, that Trivia is tough.

[dbeckett]

As we'll be on after you leave the Star - any trivia questions that cost you the win that stick in your mind that you wouldn't mind sharing (course everyone else will know too so that makes it a level playing field)

[Rockymountainsparky]

Perhaps Princess is covering their bases in case Mitt Romney wins in 2012?

 

This is uncalled for.

[Pia1913]

Good HOT Tuesday morning from Fortaleza, Brazil, where the 7:00 AM temp was already at 86. Fortaleza has a population of over two million and is the capital of the state of Cerara; the first state in Brazil to abolish slavery. It is also the 5th largest city in Brazil. We arrived around 6:00; people started getting off at 7:10; departure is scheduled for 4:00 PM. It was announced that there would be a free shuttle into town. Amazing! I was wondering whether Princess would offer the $5/pp one way and here they are doing it at no charge. Or is the city of Fortaleza doing it? In any event, we’ll catch a ride in about 2 hours.

　

Last night I started to watch an old Matt Damon movie; Rounders. Got boring, so I read instead. I think Mike stayed with it. Will have to ask whether it was worth it.

　

Not much on the schedule today or tonight. “Knight and Day” again at 1:30 and last night’s singer Spencer Robson on again tonight. Vista has the regular piano player who is still here, doing a solo show and MUTS is showing “Megamind.” The late movie is “Black Swan” which I would like to see, but a movie that starts at 10:30 is not for us. We love our B2B’s, but the bad thing is that very little new is presented.

　

Will check in later with the Fortaleza report.

.

Treesah: Not always the same group. Lots of very smart people

 

Dbeckett: Once it's over, it's over.

 

Breakfast time.

[wineforhealth]

Pia

 

Thanks for taking time out of your cruise to post your live. Love all the details to your day

 

It looks like your in a cruise rut, 4th on most cruised and second in trivia at least you had some wine to soften the day for lunch.

 

Enjoy the heat while you have it's been rain here for the last month.

 

Have a cool day

[RASHOPPER2]

Hi Pia

 

Really enjoy following your trips. Keep having fun.

 

Ruth-Ann

[Kiwi Kruzer]

 

Hi Pia,

Thanks for the info on Fortaleza. I had no idea it was such a big place.

[Pia1913]

I monitored the bus shuttle lines from my balcony, and at 9:30 it looked like a good time to get off. We only waited 10 minutes before boarding our air conditioned comfortable coach. The skies started to darken almost immediately and as we continued the rain started falling. And falling. And falling. By the time we reached the market dropoff, it was pouring. We stayed on the bus for the return trip, figuring this market couldn’t be much different than the one in Salvador.

　

Along the way we saw the beaches; some areas very nice. We also saw two of the churches included in the Princess city tour. Lots of new construction and renovation in this city, but also lots of old, decrepit areas and housing. Interestingly, some of the new high rise construction is being built without central air. Graffiti everywhere, and not the artistic kind. All in all, for the price we paid, it was a very enjoyable 1 ¼ hours.:D Princess city tour was $65.

　

A funny thing happened a little while ago. We were reading in our cabin when there was a knock at the door. Opened it to find a gentleman who wanted to criticize something about the ship. (Yes, we have a door sign which I made for us and for some others) I explained Cruise Critic to him, though I’m not sure he really understood. He asked where he could write something, so I sent him to Trip Advisor. ;)

　

Since we’ve already seen those ensuite movies we had desired, tonight we will try the artsy film “Girl with a Pearl Earring.” Or read. Or sleep.

 

 

Jim: I have wine every day. At least once. :)

　

See you tomorrow.

[Iowa Traveler]

Enjoying your thread...

"John Winthrop introduced the fork to the American dinner table for the first time on 25 June 1630."

And Pia shared trivia prizes she and Mike had won with us during our Panama Canal cruise 12/09 :)

[denims]

 

Hi Pia,

Thanks for the info on Fortaleza. I had no idea it was such a big place.

David, how do you copy/paste the ship pictures. I have the bridge cam on my desk top for my future crusie, but I can't copy it.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

David, how do you copy/paste the ship pictures. I have the bridge cam on my desk top for my future crusie, but I can't copy it.

 

Briefly...I use Print Screen, Paste to Paint, Crop, and Save to My Pictures,then Upload on Photobucket and get URL for posting.

[t60]

David, how do you copy/paste the ship picture.

 

I use screengrab

 

Sandy in Spain

[Pia1913]

Good Wednesday morning at sea, the first of three sea days before we reach our next port. We will be crossing the equator today, with the usual ceremony taking place at 10:45 AM. 8:00 AM reading is 82.7, with humidity at 83.

　

I really made an attempt last night to stay with the “Girl with the Pearl Earring,” but it was too slow and made me too sleepy. Johannes Vermeer is not one of the most interesting artists of all time.

　

Besides the equator ceremony, the only other offering this morning is another “up to 75% off” junk sale. They have pre-empted trivia. For sure, there will be lots of annoyed passengers. The movie “Going the Distance” is being shown again at 1:00 and Maxtone-Graham will give another presentation at 3:30. Today’s subject is the rivalry between Normandie and the Queen Mary.

　

Tonight is formal and we will attend the 2nd of the three Captain’s Circle cocktail parties; 6:15. Entertainment in the theater will be the production show “Stardust”, in Vista a new show by comic Lenny Windsor and MUTS is showing “Get Low.” Explorer’s will do a Liar’s Club at 9:30, which our friend’s usually attend. We will pass. Clocks go back an hour tonight and that should put us even with EST. I don’t know whether or not we will play musical clocks again, but I always appreciate getting back that hour of sleep.

 

Time to get some protein.