Pam and Rex Our First Retirement Cruise 10-20-12 thru 10-31-12

[RNGALNG]

Book it, book it, book it!!! New counter tops, mesh!

[jean s]

Book it! Who cares about a slab of granite.

[TracieABD]

I vote travel...

 

(which is why I drive a "hoop-dy"):)

[sallybrown2012]

I completely understand the travel vs. granite countertops thinking. We still have one mostly unfurnished room in the house we've lived in for 5 years - I'd just really rather have a vacation every year than buy furniture or rugs. For me, experiences with the people I care about are worth more than extra material things, at least as we are fortunate enough to have the basics. Thank you so much for your posts and enjoy the adventure!

[highheel girl]

Book it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[TrnrMom]

You're retired!! Go for it! And stay safe and dry....while we wouldn't and didn't want to deal with getting back home after Sandy, if we didn't have "have to dos", our decision might have been different.

 

Friend of DD was to fly out of NYC today, but is now stuck till Friday.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the review and congrats on being retired!

[blazerjan]

Am I the only one wondering what happened to Pam and Rex??? I was enjoying her posts ... and yes I understand what is going on with the storm etc etc... but I for one was wondering how they are doing.. and what they decided to do.......

[grandma777]

Yes I am wondering as well, I keep checking back. I hope they are safe.

[pamwinn]

I blame not keeping up with the blog on Mom and AF...they kept us too busy. Then there was the slow internet and blinky wi-fi. So I am posting the notes I have before clean-up and humor. I'll do better next time:

 

Bar Harbor, MN October 24, 2012

 

It was another beautiful autumn day in New England. Of course Bar Harbor is beautiful in any weather. The ship-to-shore tender ride at 9 AM was a little crisp but Rex rode up top in the open wind and said that it wasn’t bad at all. The approach to the Island from the bay is one of those scenes that I can only refer to as awesome.

 

We had no sooner stepped onto the dock from the tender when we spotted our tour guide, Rick, who was holding a sign with our name. He is a friendly gregarious middle-aged man who has lived much of his life in Bar Harbor. I quickly felt comfortable about having pre-arranged his service as our tour guide. He seems to know every tree and rock on this American paradise. We learned about the great fire of 1947 that swept through the island and the two streets that survived it. The remaining beautiful homes are now Bed and Breakfast Inns.

 

Rick chauffeured us to Acadia National Park and Cadillac Mountain stopping along the way at the many scenic overlooks. He pointed out the changes in vegetation precipitated by the fire. We piled out of the car at every stop each time uttering the typical oooh’s and aaah’s with cameras firing away. At each stop Rick would say something like, “Wait ‘til you see the next stop!” And, he was right. The buses can’t pull over in the majority of these stops so keep that in mind when planning your visit to Bar Harbor.

 

Tragedy strikes…almost. We made it to the top from which the entire island can be seen. Rex had the camera smoking. There was not a cloud in the sky and visibility was unlimited. Then, without warning as I was strolling along enjoying the scenery and my toe found an invisible rock sticking up in the pathway and down I went… in slow motion. It was a Sam Peckinpah (sp) kind of slow motion. I had time to create a topographical map of the ground, twist, shield my face with my hands, and choose the point of impact, and pick the optimal landing spot. Mom immediately yelled for Rex who had missed the action. He and Rick came running over to help me up and after checking all the parts I declared myself to be relatively unscathed. I escaped with a little knee scratch and bruised ego. Later Rex told me that he was most grateful that I had escaped with little harm and second most grateful that he had resisted the urge to photograph me lying there on the ground flailing my arms all about and kicking my feet…sort of a horizontal funky chicken.

 

The Bar Harbor tour accompanied by Rick’s enthusiastic descriptions was over too quickly. It was 2:30 and we all were ready for the Fish House Grill at the tender dock. Rex and the other adults had clam chowder and I had lobster bisque and we all had blueberry pie made from wild blueberries gathered on the island. I told Rex that I could live happily ever after on this beautiful island and he agreed…as long as they didn’t run out of that chowder and blueberry pie. We were back on the ship by 4:00, exhausted and full of wonderment.

[pamwinn]

Boston, MA October 25, 2012

 

I checked my email and we received the following from Princess cruiselines:

 

Dear Passenger,

 

Hurricane Sandy is presently tracking up the Atlantic coast and is projected to continue to impact the entire region over the next few days as it moves northward. If we set course for Bermuda, we would be traveling into the worst of the storm both directions. As your safety and security is our primarily concern, we have made the decision now to cancel our call to Bermuda. Based on weather conditions we will advise you at embarkation if an alternate port to the north can be arranged.

 

We hope this information is helpful as you plan for your cruise. Thank you for your understanding and we look forward to welcoming you onboard Caribbean Princess.

 

Notice: This is an automated email, please do not reply as it is undeliverable.

Boston is a wonderful city and like all of the other cities we’ve visited so far, I could easily live there. We arranged a private tour with a local historian. It was 6 hours long and included a very brief stop for lunch. We could have eaten in a famous, fantastic restaurant but we opted for quick and easy to have more tour time. To all my historically inclined friends, you must take this tour. In a city so rich with history, our tour guide painted a picture of our founding fathers and the tea party, the massacre, the revolution as well as the literary giants whose writings were required readings when I was in high school and college (I think now they are required to read the Twilight series or Harry Potter books instead). In my mind, I could hear the pipes piping and the drums drumming as we followed the freedom trail. We retraced the midnight ride of Paul Revere and photographed his house and Old North Church. We learned so much that wasn’t in my US History book and saw every site in Boston I’ve ever seen pictured or read about. We saw Bunker Hill, Beacon Hill, Old Iron Sides, Lexington, and Concord. We stopped to stretch our legs at Walden Pond that is bigger than I had imagined. In Georgia we call that a lake. It’s such a beautiful and peaceful setting and it’s easy to understand Thoreau’s attraction. I have a much greater appreciation for history which has always been my least favorite subject being a devout member of the science/math geek cult.

We are having so much fun with Mom and AF. I want to go ahead and plan our next trip together. They are a blast and we can last almost as long as they can.

The magnificent architecture of days gone by makes the steel and glass structures of the modern skyline appear as monstrosities by comparison.

We were so full of history that we (me) felt like exploding.

All four of us were so tired by the time we returned to the ship (not long before sail away) we decided to stay on the ship tomorrow and blow off Newport.

[pamwinn]

Newport, RI October 26, 2012

What a gorgeous day! The weather was beautiful. If my football-sized feet weren’t so frighteningly horrendous to look at, I would have worn my flip-flops off the ship…yes, we changed our minds about getting off the ship. Newport is beautiful. This is either our third or fourth cruise on this itinerary, and I can’t believe how much I’ve missed on prior trips. It’s so much more beautiful than I remember. Maybe it’s having mom and AF along.

A Hertz agent met us at the Marriot next to the tender pier. We were on our way shortly thereafter. We planned to have lunch at Anthony’s, a short drive from downtown, as we enjoyed it on a previous visit. Coincidentally, Anthony’s was featured on HGTV’s Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives a few weeks before the cruise. We like to watch Food TV when we are on a diet so we don’t forget what it is.

It was an amazing lunch of chowder, fried codfish, French fries, cole slaw, shrimp cocktail, crab cakes, and more that none of us finished but wished that we could. We drove through town and enjoyed the scenery for another hour, shopped for nothing in particular and it was quickly time to turn in the car, get back on the tender, and head for the ship.

NYC Turn Around Day October 27, 2012

 

We arrived in NYC bright and early. The weather was nice. It’s hard to believe a hurricane is bearing down on us. Mom and AF cleared out their cabin and came to await their departure time in our cabin to avoid the crowds. We had breakfast together and went to the Coral dining room with them at the appointed time. I purchased princess transfers to LaGuardia with hopes that they would not have to deal with finding a cab or dragging luggage around. AF has antique luggage that does not have wheels. I am not sure what they were doing for the hour after they left us, but during that time we were moved from our Lido deck (15) inside stateroom to a mid-ship Baha (11) deck balcony stateroom where we were overlooking the port. I immediately spotted AF and Mom rolling her suitcase toward the waiting bus. Of course, I was immediately concerned about my tiny mother negotiating the hustle-bustle New York Port with a large suitcase in tow but, that’s my mom. She can negotiate anything.

 

We watched them board the bus and stood on the balcony frantically waving hoping they would look up and see us. They didn’t. We waved until the bus left the terminal. I was anxious for the rest of the day until the phone conversation with her. She was safe and sound at home around the time we sailed past the Statue of Liberty.

 

Rex and I attended the Platinum/Elite cocktail hour featuring Margaritas. Every time I so much as smell that kind of “inexpensive” tequila, I am reminded of a horrible experience I had with tequila when I was a college student. This was not anjeho (sp).

 

We decided against the ultimate drink card this time. Hopefully I haven’t already mentioned this. My cruise card stops working about 12 hours after I receive it. I had my card replaced 5 times on the first segment. It had to be replaced as it could not be re-magnetized or whatever it is they do to it with “regular” people. Apparently, I have some sort of genetic magnetic field mutation and if I wear my cruise card on a lanyard around my neck, it demagnetizes after a few hours. I say genetic because AF had to replace hers 4 times. It wasn’t so bad to make the daily stop by passenger services but then I had to carry a receipt to a specific bar to have the drink sticker replaced. To make that less hassle, I simply did not purchase the drink package for this leg of our cruise.

[pamwinn]

Sea Day October 28, 2012

 

Upon opening the cabin door, I was greeted with pretty balloons and a card. I was puzzled at first because the balloons have congratulations written on them. I thought I remembered this being a birthday cruise (my birthday is next week) but must have said retirement cruise instead...until I opened what is obviously a birthday card (as indicated by the words, happy birthday). It appears that once you reach a certain number of years, you are congratulated. Some youngster in passenger services can’t imagine how it could possibly be a happy occasion.

 

I just found out Georgia beat Florida yesterday. I think I’ll drink another of those nasty Margaritas to remind me of my college days…go dogs! Sic ‘em! Woof, woof, woof!

 

I think cruise ship entertainment is bizarre (like 4-H camp or something) but for some strange reason I find myself drawn to it from a casual observers point–of-view. Today we attended the ever-popular paper airplane competition in the atrium. Rex was going to enter (so I had the camera ready) but we aren’t very good Patter (ship’s bulletin) readers so we missed the part about registration and three hours of paper airplane design so they would not allow him to enter…sigh. I am pretty good at paper airplane construction having studied under the tutelage of my father (we only had paper, sticks, and rocks when I was a kid) and Rex is into the construction of anything so I am absolutely positive he would have won hands down. If you ever paper airplaned as a kid, you know there were always a couple of kids who made asymmetrical dorky looking planes that simply did not fly. Most of the competition planes fell in that category. All in attendance were entertained and I didn’t see a frown in the crowd so I guess the competition served its intended purpose.

 

Princess Cruise Critics take note: I took one of the old coffee cards to the international café to see what would happen. I wanted a fresh brew and the card had never been punched as I prefer regular brew to latte’s and foamy, sweet things with cinnamon and cherries and whipped cream. One guy punched my card and then another guy took it and gave me a new card. The new card has no expiration date on it. So I have a new card that I can use forever just like the old cards. Don’t throw away your old coffee cards.

 

 

Looking at Boston October 29, 2012

 

It’s like being inside an ice water mist machine. I can’t find a perspective that will allow me to say it’s pretty outside. It’s windy, cold, and wet so if you like that kind of thing, then it’s pretty outside.

 

All tours, excursions, and shuttles have been cancelled and the natives are restless. We made our way to the atrium and tried to position ourselves so we could observe the chaos at passenger services. It doesn’t take very long at all to start feeling very sorry for the crew who are somehow able to maintain pleasant dispositions while being berated by rabid, mouth foaming morons who blame them for the weather.

 

I spent several hours trying to book the 10-day repo with no luck. The internet connection would inexplicably drop after tedious clicking and waiting. The clock was ticking. I new the booking window would close in a few hours. I tried calling Princess to book the cruise but they could not match the price…strange, but true. I thought about the Future Cruise Consultant so we set up camp outside her office to await our turn. She is another staff member who was having a less than perfect day. Her pricing was the same as the Princess pricing but she kindly allowed me to use her computer, which has a better connection, and I was able to book the cruise at the killer price. She went way above the call of duty to help me out and I really appreciate it. Her name is Natalie Zeppieri. Be kind to her should you meet her on a Princess ship. She’s a life-saver.

 

Meanwhile, at Crooner’s bar in the atrium, things are getting rowdy. Since everyone is trapped on the ship and everything is closed, many people have chosen excessive consumption of alcohol as the activity of preference. They seem happy enough, though ear-shatteringly loud, in their Hurricane Sandy Survival celebration.

 

We had dinner in the buffet as I was looking a little wrinkled and that is where we found the angry people. A couple of young men set up a protest in the aft elevator/stair lobby outside the horizon court. They wanted us to sign a petition demanding some sort of fair compensation from Princess. We have already been offered a future cruise credit of some thus far unnamed monetary value and that is more than Princess is contractually obligated to do. Plus, we get at least one extra day on the ship and who knows what else. I’m pretty happy about it myself as all I expected was a refund of Bermuda port fees.

[pamwinn]

Leaving Boston October 30, 2012

 

It’s nice outside. The sun is making intermittent breaks through not very gray clouds and bouncing off the ocean. It’s breezy but not windy and I am trying to spend some time in the cabin keeping my football feet elevated. I know that more passengers are disembarking this AM and I know that we are leaving Boston at some point today enroute for NYC. We are not expected to dock until Thursday.

 

We had a very nice day roaming the ship. People were swimming and sunning on the Lido, we’ve had nice conversations with people…I think most of the unhappy people are off the ship and unfortunately some of the happy ones too. They had to get home, back to work etc. I still don’t see any activity from Logan though so they must be renting cars or something.

 

Rex hates the wine tasting sessions and I am not sure why. I don’t think he knows. It isn’t because he doesn’t like wine. Although he can pirouette with the best, he is still a Texan and they have an idea of what manly is and it isn’t swirling and sniffing wine glasses. So in an attempt to embarrass me and guarantee he will never have to attend another, he typically slams the wine as soon as it hits his glass. It’s really very much unlike him. Today, we attended the wine tasting with some cruise critic buddies (Marjorie and John) so I warned them that he always tries to embarrass me. Karma! The servers did it a little differently since the last time I attended and poured several glasses at once. I proceeded to empty 2 of them into my lap…one glass hitting the floor and shattering. The resident wine expert, with microphone in hand, made fun of me. I was so embarrassed at that point that the blood had rushed to my head making me temporarily deaf so I am not sure what he said…everyone laughed at me though so I am assuming it was quite funny.

 

About thirty minutes after scheduled departure, the Captain announced that the Brooklyn Port will be closed until AT LEAST the weekend so we are staying in Boston for an undetermined amount of time. We are going to try to rent a car tomorrow. I feel like we won the cruise lottery! This is fantastic.

 

Leaving Boston Again October 31, 2012

 

I am trying to catch up to the present. I am leaving all the funny stupid stuff out just so I can get back to it quicker. It’s errand day. We (Rex) did not bring enough of several medications to extend the cruise an extra 10 days so we decided to rent a car, find a pharmacy for medicines, and find an internet café for bill paying. We toured around Boston looking for these things and took care of all our business. Sail away from Boston was once again delayed but only until 11:30 PM. We finally headed out to sea…in a ghost ship. Many people disembarked and the ship is very empty…I love it!

 

Sea Day November 1, 2012

 

Ahhhhh…finally. It’s not missing Bermuda that is hard to handle. I missed the sea days and the smell and feel of being on the water. We had a lovely day at sea. The shops onboard were finally opened once again, and we visited one of them…it being the last day of Cruise #2 and all. You know what I am talking about. We are well supplied for Cruise #3. We miss our dogs a lot. We decided to see how many people we could meet during the day and had many interesting conversations. I preferred the people who could still find something positive to say about the situation but there were still those who claimed the will never sail the Princess line again…so I don’t have to run into them at a later date! We are receiving 50% credit for the 4 day (turned 6) Bermuda cruise to Boston. We are receiving a two day refund plus 50% credit for the remaining 8 days on the 10 day Caribbean cruise. I don’t really know how much better than that people expect.

[Mom33]

Thanks for your perspective Pam....enjoy the rest of your extended cruise. :D

I'm glad you decided to stay onboard.

[mollyanne]

Pam - this is GREAT! So glad you were able to book the 10 - now 7 - day repo and that you experience nothing but beautiful weather from here.

 

Watched the CB sail out of NY tonight and it was so pretty. Looks like many lights are on now - but my heart still aches for those who are suffering so much.

 

I will keep following - hope you have a great time!

[caribill]

Sea Day October 28, 2012

 

Upon opening the cabin door, I was greeted with pretty balloons and a card. I was puzzled at first because the balloons have congratulations written on them. I thought I remembered this being a birthday cruise (my birthday is next week) but must have said retirement cruise instead...until I opened what is obviously a birthday card (as indicated by the words, happy birthday). It appears that once you reach a certain number of years, you are congratulated.

 

A couple of years ago, in what I assume was a cost saving move, Princess started using balloons that simply said "Congratulations" instead of ones that were specific (Happy Birthday, Happy Anniversary, Happy retirement, Happy Graduation, Just Married, etc.).

[sallybrown2012]

Pam - Thank you so much for your posts - I love reading them. Enjoy the continued cruise!

[pamwinn]

It’s a Dark Day in Manhattan November 2, 2012

The Brooklyn terminal is not open yet. We docked at the Manhattan terminal but there is no power. The part of Manhattan visible from the ship is also without power and the traffic is comparable to that in a very rural city. Even without power in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, New York has its allure.

The in-transit procedure was not all that pleasant but given the circumstances, I can’t really complain. I took the opportunity to ask every port worker and security guard I came in contact with about their family and home, and to wish them well. They are pretty tough cookies.

We attended sail away…brrrrrr…and went to the Elite lounge for the drink of the day and then outside for more pictures. Night was falling so it was easy to see the huge areas without power. I haven’t seen any angry people, thank goodness, but I’ve avoided the area around passenger services today for the most part.

With the in-transit procedure and huge confusion over whether we were changing cabins, we didn’t eat breakfast until 4PM. Afterwards, Rex ventured out on his own, probably looking for ladies to help do something. It’s funny but he is always searching for a damsel in distress and women are naturally drawn to him anyway so I know he is entertaining some sweet grandmotherly types somewhere. To find him, I just go to the atrium and listen for giggling ladies. He’ll be in the middle of that.

I decided to use some of the down time in the afternoon to get better acquainted with my Braun Silk epil 7. If criminals were forced to use these in prison, the rate of recidivism would drastically decrease. I was only able to use it for 3/10ths of a second on this tiny area beside my mouth. I hope to eventually work my tolerance up to 1 second maybe even 1.5 seconds.

We are looking forward to two sea days.

Sea Day November 3, 2012

The early morning view was breath taking. The sky was cloudy with little pinhole breaks through which flying saucer tracking beams spotlighted the sea monsters below.

When I was a member of the working class, occasionally on a Saturday, I would stay in my PJ’s far into the afternoon…or so. I didn’t shower. I didn’t brush my hair or do anything that was part of my typical morning work routine. I felt immorally satisfied on those days. I wanted one of those days. It’s hard to do that on a cruise ship because if you don’t come out of the cabin at some point, they will start vacuuming outside your door until you respond, just like my mother used to do when I was a teenager. I suppose they need to make sure you are not ill or contagious or succumbed to either. And, the bonus is if, I quickly glance into the mirror sans eye-glasses, from a distance while loudly humming la la la la, I look like a much younger version of myself.

We received post cruise transfers to the Fort Lauderdale airport so I guess I accidently didn’t uncheck that box when I added this cruise to our journey. I was in a hurry so I forgive myself. Our cruise card numbers do not work in the computer system so all receipts must be hand written. I don’t exist in the system for purchasing internet minutes. I’ll need to take care of that at some point. Fortunately, Rex exists so I am chewing through his minutes. I did not receive an email from Princess verifying this booking meaning I may be a stowaway and that is okay by me.

A little bird sniffed out the soft-hearted, tree-hugging, animal-rights activists and is now paying constant visits to our balcony (I think he’s bringing friends as well). To me he looks like a tennis ball standing on toothpicks but Rex says he just has his feathers all puffed out because he is cold.Rex has constructed a make shift birdbath from a saucer (water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink) and discovered that this bird does not really care for popcorn so we included a bird food trip to the buffet. I think the bird’s nest is located in the canvas-covered ceilings on the Lido deck. We also secured a balcony blanket for Birdbrain so he doesn’t have to expend precious energy puffing out his feathers to stay warm.

We played the game of ship roaming and spotting interesting people (who we name) or people who look like celebrities (who we name). It’s a lot of fun. Our most noteworthy spotting was Sylvester Stallone’s mother. She and Sylvester need to fire that plastic surgeon. She was wearing an airy and silky leopard print dress that was longer (by about 6 inches) in the front than back. She had one of those new styled sweaters draped over her shoulders that reaffirmed my wonder about what people wear with the intention of making themselves fashionable. To me, clothing has been at odds with attractiveness for several years now but those tops that have the longer ruffled thing in the front are completely weird looking and I think they are a clothing designer’s idea of a joke on humanity. Body type is irrelevant and does not alter the unattractiveness of this particular style.

We spent the remainder of the day doing whatever we felt like at any given moment and that wasn’t much as we are finally settling in to the cruise lazies. We called it an early night.

[pamwinn]

Sea Day November 4, 2012

Calling it an early night precedes calling it an early morning especially on clock set back day. I woke up at 4AM and after unsuccessfully attempting to go back to sleep, I did what any good wife on a cruise does…I woke up my husband and asked him to go get us some fresh brewed coffee. We hoarded a few morning room service tags for days like today. We put them out at different times hoping whoever collects them didn’t notice…I know they wouldn’t care but still…unfortunately, first call wasn’t until 7AM with eight tomato juices and a pot of coffee. Our 8AM request was for eight orange juices. We are officially health nuts now and need our morning cruise juice. Being at sea takes so much out of you.

It was very warm on the balcony and now I fear my flammies and hoodies are going to attract attention. We packed expecting one warmish day in Bermuda. Rex has two t-shirts and his Hawaiian lobster cruise shirt. I have enough tee shirts, but most are the kind to be worn under other stuff. I only have two pair of crops. One pair has sea horses embroidered on them. If I wear them multiple times (and I will) those people who notice things like that will notice. “Hey, look! There’s sea-horse lady.” “Is that the lady who used to have football feet?”

With all the procrastination we indulged in for months leading to this cruise, when crunch time arrived, I did not have time to get a much needed haircut. Rex has given me two tide-me-over haircuts during this cruise. Just imagine a frizzy combo bowl cut mullet…you get the idea.

We saw Richard Simmons today. In fact, he got on the elevator with us. He was wearing red, white, and blue daisy duke shorts and a wife beater. The elevators have mirrored walls. Rex and I knew better than to make eye contact though neither of us could resist a smirky reflecting glance. I tried to look like I was whistling to myself. Rex tried to look like he was trying not to laugh. When Richard got off, a snort-laugher got on. I said, “snort laugh, 10 points,” and pretended to write that on the little notepad I carry in my pocket. I love have fun with people days. I can imagine her returning to her cabin and saying, “she tallied my snort!”

We enjoyed a pleasant music filled evening and then retired to our cabin. Rex is sleeping and I have made a promise to myself to never leave my little baby dogs for this long again. I should be home, watching Dexter and The Walking Dead with three old dogs crowding me off the couch and growling at each other for top position on my head…that’s the sweet life.

[sminfiddle]

...especially now that you're really hitting your stride.

 

Watching for the next installment! :D

 

Rick

[sallybrown2012]

Thank you so much for your posts - they are incredibly entertaining!

[Mom33]

Looking forward to your next post.:D

[pamwinn]

Grand Turk November 5, 2012

 

Tel-EE-phone wayking suhviss, tel-EE-phone wayking suhviss, tel-EE-phone wayking suhviss. Our call arrived as scheduled at 6AM. We had been awake since 4AM and it was daylight shortly thereafter. We had another lazy, hang out the DND sign, let’s celebrate life kind of start to the day and pulled in alongside the HAL Eurodam at 9AM. Grand Turk is a beach lover’s paradise surrounded by beautiful turquoise water and white sandy beaches. It is approximately six miles long and one mile wide and I don’t think you could find a place on the island from which the ship is not visible.

 

Although I am wearing my seahorse crops, I am not a beach lover unless I am there sometime between sunset and sunrise. There are challenges presented by vampirism (sun allergy) but I have learned to adapt (SPF 70). It’s not good for you to consume adult beverages in the hot sun anyway.

 

We wandered around the little port area filled with cruise line owned shops. We stopped in Margaritaville at a most opportune time as a downpour occurred and we had a great table for spotting unique physiques in euro-style swimwear…running. We have some pretty good photos for sale if you are interested. I wish that I could be so comfortable with the way I look in a swimsuit while droplets of rain drip from places most people don’t have but alas, that is the stuff I keep in the dark.

 

We enjoyed our time off the ship. Rod Stewart was at Margaritaville with a gaggle of Divas. He had blue, pink, and yellow hair. Someone told me that there are a lot of German citizens onboard and they are the people wearing the “unique” swim attire. I have not verified the validity of this but can someone please point me to some German beach resorts? I plan to Google German beach photos when I get home.

 

Princess removed the two-day onboard credit from those who were on the four day Non-Bermuda cruise followed by this repo. I guess that business model works these days, I don’t know. As I mentioned earlier, I wasn’t really expecting much in terms of compensation but where I come from, we cry INDIAN GIVER in situations like this. I won’t be one of the angry people throwing a fit at passenger services but I’d bet two days of OBC they are busy right now.

 

We met Debbie and Ruth from Toronto, while waiting out the rain and made plans to meet them in the Crown Dinning Room for dinner. We shared cruising stories with these two lively ladies and exchanged contact information before turning in for the evening.

 

We had a false alarm at 11:15 PM. The man across the hall came out with only a t-shirt on…no bottoms at all…hahahahahhahaha. That was a good laugh and I should sleep well now.

[mollyanne]

Princess removed the two-day onboard credit from those who were on the four day Non-Bermuda cruise followed by this repo. I guess that business model works these days, I don’t know. As I mentioned earlier, I wasn’t really expecting much in terms of compensation but where I come from, we cry INDIAN GIVER in situations like this. I won’t be one of the angry people throwing a fit at passenger services but I’d bet two days of OBC they are busy right now.

 

 

WOW - that wasn't nice!