LIVE fron the APRIL 1st CARIBBEAN PRINCESS- PICS and REVIEW

[MDSue]

Well as hard as I wished, the Internet gods were not kind today. I was able to get just one post in before I lost my free connection on my balcony. I walked to the back of the ship which was closest to the terminal area, but no luck. I actually took my laptop to the terminal where I saw some of the crew using their laptops, but my efforts were fruitless.

I just went through my picture I took on the tour today and some of them are postcard perfect (at least to me). I can’t wait to share them with you. Since tomorrow is a sea day, I will probably shell out for the minimum Internet package. I used up all but a few minutes last night trying to upload and share a few shots (but to no avail).

Whatever minutes I have left after printing my boarding pass I’ll use for to post to CC tomorrow. Easter Sunday is an all day travel day back to reality , but I’ll have Monday to post plenty of pictures.

Tonight is our second formal night. The production show in the theater tonight is Do You Wanna Dance. There is a Good Friday and a Passover Sedar. The MUTS movie tonight is Mission Impossible- Ghost Protocol.

Will check back soon.

Susan

[MDSue]

Greetings!

We woke up today to another sunny glorious day. My sister was exhausted yesterday so we skipped the formal night dinner. Today, I went looking around the ship to see if they decorated for Easter. I found a beautiful display of large, chocolate decorated Easter eggs in the atrium on deck 5 by the International Café. For any one boarding tomorrow, make sure you go to check out the egg display. There a lot of colorful balloons and Happy Easter signs here and there as well. They had a cookie decoration stand set up to make Easter cookies and the Easter bunny was posing with kids (and adults) for picture taking.

The pools are crowded this afternoon, but at 8:30 this morning there were plenty of chairs available poolside at all the pools.

Marah Lago, the creator and designer of marahlago jewelry, was in the atrium this morning also and we spent a good deal of time chatting with her about her travels. It turns out she is a fan of swimming with various sea animals like dolphins, stingrays, and manatees. When I told her I wanted to swim with whale sharks (a huge shark or whale, I’m not sure) that’s black with white spots, she said had swam with them off the coast of Mexico. I’m a huge fan of her jewelry, and I really enjoyed having the opportunity to meet her in person. I’ve seen Larimar pieces sold on the islands, but nothing comparable in quality to her collection.

We’ve been blessed with nice weather and smooth sailing throughout the trip. Whatever problems the ship had with their propulsion system seems to be history. The first thing I did when we departed from San Juan last Sunday was to look down from the railing off the rear of the ship to look for wakes from both engines and they were there. I checked again this morning and they seem to be operating full-speed ahead. I hope that all the people who lost their chance to cruise last month get another opportunity soon

I talked to the Internet manager again today because we weren’t able to print our boarding passes today from the ship. He said that he has the most trouble with US Airways when it comes to pre-printing boarding passes. We decided just to get them at the airport. I also told him that I’ve been unable to post pictures almost all week and he said that they take up too much bandwidth and it’s pretty much impossible. Tomorrow, I promise to upload in earnest to make up for the lack of pictures this week!

I’ll be sad to head home tomorrow and dread the long day in the airport, but I’m eager to see my family and celebrate a belated Easter with them. I am blessed to have two wonderful children (one on her own and another in college), and a hard-working husband who tolerates my need to escape to the Caribbean with my sister once a year.

The beauty of the islands and the smiles of the local people on each island bring me great joy. I hope that when I take their tours, take time to get to know them a little better, and buy their artwork and handicrafts that I can make their lives better in the process. Sometimes my favorite memories are the conversations that I have with the local islanders like the Dominican woman who sat down and chatted with me while I was waiting for my sister to finish shopping, or the mother who was selling colorful flowers handmade out of crepe paper in order to send her children to school.

I am so grateful to all the hard-working people on the ship that make me feel like a queen for a week. I’d like to say a special thank-you to all of them. They will be far from their families this Easter while most of us will be close to ours.

Happy Easter to all, and safe travels to those who will soon be boarding the Caribbean Princess. She is a great ship. I took good care of her for you!

See you soon. Pictures are coming, I promise!

Susan

[MDSue]

If this one goes through, I'll try for some more later on.

 

This one was taken from Sapphire Beach in St. Thomas:

 

[MDSue]

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you regarding being able to post the pictures. Glad you had a great day in Barbados.....:):):)

 

Bob

 

Thanks, Looks like I managed to get one in- we're going to grab a bite to eat and I'll try again this evening

 

Susan

[MDSue]

"There is a nice pottery shop in the port.

"

On my list of places to visitr on april 20 when we go to barbados is the earthworks pottery shop Is this the same place? I am interested in your impressions of it

 

marsha

 

Unfortunately, the shop is no longer at the port. I was looking forward to buying another piece.

[MDSue]

For thise departing soon, here is a shot of the Carnival Victory from the CB

in Old San Juan

 

[panamatiger]

MD Sue ->Thank you for posting your stories during your trip. We will be on her on the 22nd.Its going to be a long two week wait.

Edited April 7, 2012 by panamatiger

[travelingran]

Would love to see some pictures of the ship.

[DTarp531]

Greetings!

We woke up today to another sunny glorious day. My sister was exhausted yesterday so we skipped the formal night dinner. Today, I went looking around the ship to see if they decorated for Easter. I found a beautiful display of large, chocolate decorated Easter eggs in the atrium on deck 5 by the International Café. For any one boarding tomorrow, make sure you go to check out the egg display. There a lot of colorful balloons and Happy Easter signs here and there as well. They had a cookie decoration stand set up to make Easter cookies and the Easter bunny was posing with kids (and adults) for picture taking.

The pools are crowded this afternoon, but at 8:30 this morning there were plenty of chairs available poolside at all the pools.

Marah Lago, the creator and designer of marahlago jewelry, was in the atrium this morning also and we spent a good deal of time chatting with her about her travels. It turns out she is a fan of swimming with various sea animals like dolphins, stingrays, and manatees. When I told her I wanted to swim with whale sharks (a huge shark or whale, I’m not sure) that’s black with white spots, she said had swam with them off the coast of Mexico. I’m a huge fan of her jewelry, and I really enjoyed having the opportunity to meet her in person. I’ve seen Larimar pieces sold on the islands, but nothing comparable in quality to her collection.

We’ve been blessed with nice weather and smooth sailing throughout the trip. Whatever problems the ship had with their propulsion system seems to be history. The first thing I did when we departed from San Juan last Sunday was to look down from the railing off the rear of the ship to look for wakes from both engines and they were there. I checked again this morning and they seem to be operating full-speed ahead. I hope that all the people who lost their chance to cruise last month get another opportunity soon

I talked to the Internet manager again today because we weren’t able to print our boarding passes today from the ship. He said that he has the most trouble with US Airways when it comes to pre-printing boarding passes. We decided just to get them at the airport. I also told him that I’ve been unable to post pictures almost all week and he said that they take up too much bandwidth and it’s pretty much impossible. Tomorrow, I promise to upload in earnest to make up for the lack of pictures this week!

I’ll be sad to head home tomorrow and dread the long day in the airport, but I’m eager to see my family and celebrate a belated Easter with them. I am blessed to have two wonderful children (one on her own and another in college), and a hard-working husband who tolerates my need to escape to the Caribbean with my sister once a year.

The beauty of the islands and the smiles of the local people on each island bring me great joy. I hope that when I take their tours, take time to get to know them a little better, and buy their artwork and handicrafts that I can make their lives better in the process. Sometimes my favorite memories are the conversations that I have with the local islanders like the Dominican woman who sat down and chatted with me while I was waiting for my sister to finish shopping, or the mother who was selling colorful flowers handmade out of crepe paper in order to send her children to school.

I am so grateful to all the hard-working people on the ship that make me feel like a queen for a week. I’d like to say a special thank-you to all of them. They will be far from their families this Easter while most of us will be close to ours.

Happy Easter to all, and safe travels to those who will soon be boarding the Caribbean Princess. She is a great ship. I took good care of her for you!

See you soon. Pictures are coming, I promise!

Susan

 

I appreciate your thoughts concerning the crew. As the wife of one of the crew aboard the Caribbean Princess, I can tell you that holidays are difficult when you're always apart. But the reunions are so much sweeter;) Glad to know you had such a great time this week and thanks for posting for those of us that will be boarding soon!

 

Desiree

[Trooth]

Thank you so much for your posts. I appreciate the time and $$ it takes to do this live. I look forward to more pics. Again thanks for your well written and photograped updates.

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

[lorima]

Thanks MDSue!

We are on CB on April 22nd. and appreciate your comments.

We all need to let Princess know that we are not happy they will not be sailing out of San Juan in the future. I hate the thought of switching lines, but will.:eek:

[Cruzin-K]

Thanks so much for the informative posts. I'm not trying to wish your cruise away, but I can't wait until you get home and we can see the rest of your photos :D I'll be in San Juan in 14 short days and am SO looking forward to it.

[MDSue]

I appreciate your thoughts concerning the crew. As the wife of one of the crew aboard the Caribbean Princess, I can tell you that holidays are difficult when you're always apart. But the reunions are so much sweeter;) Glad to know you had such a great time this week and thanks for posting for those of us that will be boarding soon!

 

Desiree

 

Thanks Desiree, I remember on my first cruise, our room steward said he worked 8 months on and 4 months off. That seems like a long time to be away from home. I hope you have a great reunion soon! The crew is excellent on the ship. Susan

[MDSue]

Would love to see some pictures of the ship.

 

I took lots of pictures today on our sea day. I'll post them soon!

[MDSue]

Thanks so much for the informative posts. I'm not trying to wish your cruise away, but I can't wait until you get home and we can see the rest of your photos :D I'll be in San Juan in 14 short days and am SO looking forward to it.

 

I know you will have a great time on your trip! I'm not eager to end my vacation either- but at least I will have my memories and pictures to remember it by. I really enjoyed sharing my vacation with everyone.

[MDSue]

Thanks MDSue!

We are on CB on April 22nd. and appreciate your comments.

We all need to let Princess know that we are not happy they will not be sailing out of San Juan in the future. I hate the thought of switching lines, but will.:eek:

 

That would be really sad if they leave San Juan altogether. I was looking forward to getting up to 5 cruises with Princess so I could get some free Internet minutes. I like having lots of island stops which makes San Juan my favorite departure port.

[MDSue]

A few pics from the ship's Easter Egg display:

 

 

 

[MDSue]

Diary from today's travels

Did I mention that I had a flying phobia? I do, but I like to travel too much to let it hold me back. But on days like today- it’s going to be tough. We are currently sitting in our plane watching what looks like steam or condensation pouring out of all the vents on the aircraft. Mechanical problems, the pilot says. We have returned to the gate (Thank god this didn’t happen in the air!!!!). We are now waiting for the mechanics to figure out what the problem is, but supposedly the stuff pouring from the vents is nothing to be concerned about. At this point, there is no way we are going to make our connecting flight home. We are just sitting tight until further notice.

Update 2 from the pilot

Great- now the pilot says the problem seems to be with the starter for the right engine. If they can manually start the plane we will be on our way- so all I can think is- great- We are going to fly hundreds of miles over the ocean in a plane with engines that can’t seem to start and steam pouring out of vents of the cabin. My sister and I want off the plane!!!. We still don’t know why there is condensation pouring from the vents, but I’m sure there is a logical exlanation. I’ve tried to take pictures, but it’s hard to see on my camera.

Update 3 from the pilot

The pilot just came back on again to say that maybe the plane won’t start because of a possible broken pneumatic line which is causing the engine to not start. Maybe that explains the steam that no one is talking about. My sister is in tears and does not want to stay on this plane and to be honest, neither do I. I much prefer a plane that is not broken to fly on.

I guess it shouldn’t even be crossing my mind right now that I’m starving because we left the ship at the crack of dawn and I wasn’t hungry then. I thought about buying a sandwich to take on board, but I figured that I’d just purchase whatever the airline had to offer once we were in the air.

Update 4 from the pilot- The plane can’t be fixed today, so, thank god, we are getting off the plane. “No worries” the pilot says, we just need to go back to pick up our checked bags and return to the US Airways ticket counter where they have a special line just for us to rebook our flights. So off we go to pick up our bags and head to the “special” line, which, lo and behold, is one line for the 300-some passengers who all need to re-book. Anyone else with an already booked flight can go right to an agent, but we get to wait for the one agent handling all of us. After 3 hours in line, we are finally re-booked for an early flight tomorrow morning and have a voucher for taxi fare and a hotel room for the night. Somehow, I thought it might be fair to reimburse us for a meal or two, but evidently USAir doesn’t do that anymore. I guess I’ll be on the phone tomorrow letting them know what I think about their policy, but right now I’m just happy to be off my feet and in my hotel for the night. Home will have to wait another day L

Susan

update- we finally ate at around 7p.m tonight. Will hopefully be home late tomorrow afternoon. I start back to work and school on Tuesday, but will promise to find time to post pics. I'll start with ship pictures and go day by day.

Any special requests, please let me know

Edited April 8, 2012 by MDSue

[panamatiger]

MDSue-> Wow! what a terrible way to spend Easter Sunday. Glad to hear you and your sister are OK though. Sleep well ! Just curious, what hotel did USAir put you up at?

[MDSue]

MDSue-> Wow! what a terrible way to spend Easter Sunday. Glad to hear you and your sister are OK though. Sleep well ! Just curious, what hotel did USAir put you up at?

 

We are at the Verdanza, a place somewhere near the airport. It seems to be okay, the rooms are clean and the beds comfortable. It could use some updating, but okay for a night's stay.

[Cruzin-K]

That is terrible, but thankfully the airline at least gave you a hotel room :rolleyes:

 

I hope tomorrow is better and all your flights are on time, and fully functioning. It's almost funny that the ship was broken, and then it was the plane :eek:

 

Safe travels.

Edited April 9, 2012 by Cruzin-K

[MDSue]

That is terrible, but thankfully the airline at least gave you a hotel room :rolleyes:

 

I hope tomorrow is better and all your flights are on time, and fully functioning. It's almost funny that the ship was broken, and then it was the plane :D

 

Safe travels.

Thanks, my sister and I were kidding about having both a broken ship and a broken plane, and ondering what might come next! At least the ship sailed and we had a great vacation- it's just too bad we didn't get home today as I really could have used a day to relax.

[fishin' musician]

The post about the beds triggered something in me, it made me realize the bed was very comfortable and that I was not sleeping on a bag of rocks. We usually get the egg crate toppers immediately.

[Seago2]

Thank you so much for your CB review! Sounds like things are getting crazy at the end:mad:

 

Let us know what happens.....

[AMAC86]

Condensation from the vents is completely normal.