Live from the Grand Princess Transatlantic Nov 3-17 Southampton to Fort Lauderdale

[paul929207]

Donna,

Thanks for taking us along. Hope your flights home go well

[spindrift]

We are on the Crown transatlantic from Venice to Galveston stopping in Ft. Lauderdale. How warm (or cold) was your trip about mid Atlantic?

 

Glad to hear about "British Invasion." It will be just starting on the Crown about 4 days prior to our trip. Looking forward to seeing it.

[DonahCBrown]

We are on the Crown transatlantic from Venice to Galveston stopping in Ft. Lauderdale. How warm (or cold) was your trip about mid Atlantic?

 

Glad to hear about "British Invasion." It will be just starting on the Crown about 4 days prior to our trip. Looking forward to seeing it.

 

Cold and rainy all the way to Bermuda, warm and rainy there, cleared as we were leaving, then started raining again on our next sea day (yesterday) but warm. Today is sunny and warm, humid, but nice to be able to get out on the decks and balcony.

 

British Invasion is a good show - have seen several times now, but I like the music so keep going back. When they start doing shows based on rap, I'll know it is time for me to stop cruising, but as long as they keep on with the 60s to 80s, should be okay...:rolleyes:

[Shogun]

Hi Donna

 

Thank you for all your posts, enjoyed following you, only days now yo our own cruise on the Crown.

 

yours Shogun

[spindrift]

DonahCBrown, thanks for such a quick reply. Guess for clothes I will just have a variety from freezing to tropical. :cool:

 

What a great review you provided. Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

[SkystheLimit]

Thanks for the live post even though you weren't feeling well. Had the same thing happen to me on a cruise to Norway last year. Talk about expensive drugs to buy while in port. Took a pharmacy with us on our trip in May. Didn't need anything but we were well prepared.

 

Did you ever find out anything about Mauricio's upcoming schedule?

 

Hope you feel better soon.

[DonahCBrown]

Thanks for the live post even though you weren't feeling well. Had the same thing happen to me on a cruise to Norway last year. Talk about expensive drugs to buy while in port. Took a pharmacy with us on our trip in May. Didn't need anything but we were well prepared.

 

Did you ever find out anything about Mauricio's upcoming schedule?

 

Hope you feel better soon.

 

Maurizio is so mobbed nightly that I didn't get a chance to ask. Sorry.:(

[DonahCBrown]

Aloha everyone - thanks for following along. Off to get coffee and then prepare for the walk off at 7 AM - been up for ages and it is only just 5:40AM...or as Nancy says o'dark thirty...

 

Will be a long day, but not as bad as the outbound, at least...fingers crossed for no delays or we'll be stuck in LAX (AGAIN...)

[tequilasunrise]

Thanks for the thread, it has been fun to follow! Feel better soon!

[TLC535]

Welcome back Donna....Thanks for the "Live" ~ can't wait to board her in 3 weeks :D

Have a safe, uneventful ~ on-time journey home !

[paul929207]

Donna, Thanks. Feel better soon.

[DonahCBrown]

Couple of followup notes for those coming and going from FLL - first - Walk off is getting ever more popular it seems - there were 3 walk off groups - A at 7 AM B at 7:15 and C at 7:30 - A & B were off by 7:45 or so. Customs and Immigration was open by around 7:10 or so and disembarkation started immediately thereafter and moved pretty fast until we got to the elevator or escalator choice - most people were not confident about taking their luggage on the escalator, so if you pack lightly and can manage the escalator, it will go quickly. If you need the elevator, be prepared to wait.

 

There's really no need to pre-book a van or other transport - there's a dispatcher right there to get you a cab or van - our pre-booked driver never showed up (one of our party called him twice, no response) so we (group of 6, plus two more who happened along and were going to the rental car desk at FLL) booked a van at $23/p for Miami (it was 11/p for FLL, I think) and we arrived at MIA by around 9:15/9:20.

 

Would have been plenty of time for us to do the standby thing on the earlier AA flight to LAX at 10:40 as we had hoped to do, but the flight has been cancelled. So, we're in the lounge at AA waiting for our flight at 1PM. AA's website has a feature I hadn't explored before which allows you to see where the plane you are going to be on is coming in from and ours is coming from St. Thomas and is showing 15 minute early at this point, so I'm hopeful that all will go well and we'll get to LAX to make our connecting flight, which, happily, is at the adjacent gate to our arriving one, so no need to sprint between widely separated spots if all stays the same.

 

Customs and Immigration was fast and painless and there were around 5 or 6 officials so, at least on the Walk Offs, the line didn't build up much. There is a good bit of construction around both FLL and MIA, and traffic coming into the port area was getting pretty backed up as we exited, but we didn't have any issues getting into either airport and the Saturday traffic between FLL and MIA wasn't that bad. If things go as they did for us, I'd guess that it would be possible to easily make a 9:30AM or later flight from FLL and a 10:30AM or later flight from MIA.

 

In the interest of 'no surprises' - be aware that Princess has tightened up on the procedures for coffee cards and indeed are checking the back of the card to see if it is current voyage and if not are punching for 'regular' coffees - saw it happen this AM when I was getting my latte and Dennis' americano. Someone had a card from another voyage and got sort of indigent when the card was punched for brewed coffee. Barista was very polite, but very firm about the policy change. Interestingly, she was backed up by a couple of the people in line who said the old way had 'been abused by too many people.' Guy backed down but wasn't happy.

 

That's it from me - headed back to the land of aloha and, hopefully, some sunny weather and an end to 'the colds' for a while. Tune back in about this time next year for the Black Sea on Pacific Princess (Sept. 12, 2013) - no cruise in the spring this year - although I guess I could do a 'live from our kitchen remodel' that is where the cruise fund is going!:D

[silverbird]

Hi Donah --

 

Good luck on your kitchen remodel. I recently went through one. Six weeks turned out to be a little more than three months. Be prepared!! It was worth it in the long run tho'. Just stock up on paper plates, plastic utensils, and microwaveable food. Please keep your devoted following up-to-date on how it turns out.

 

We will be on the Golden on March 27 and will be visiting your fair island. We are looking foward to it.

 

Mahalo and aloha no. Silverbird

[caribill]

Thanks for taking us along on your voyage.

[SkystheLimit]

Maurizio is so mobbed nightly that I didn't get a chance to ask. Sorry.:(

 

Not a problem. Do know how mobbed the area can get.

 

Good luck on your kitchen remodel. We just finished a master bath remodel which was our cruise fund for the fall.

 

Thanks again for the posts.

[DonahCBrown]

Home again - uneventful but rough flights back - weather seems to be following us everywhere - rain in LA, too. Now if it will just come home with us - we do need the rain here - wind has been blowing hard (35 to 50 mph) for the last 2 & a half weeks according to our house sitters - they are going to be glad to get home, they tell us!

 

Donna

[DonahCBrown]

Hi Donah --

 

Good luck on your kitchen remodel. I recently went through one. Six weeks turned out to be a little more than three months. Be prepared!! It was worth it in the long run tho'. Just stock up on paper plates, plastic utensils, and microwaveable food. Please keep your devoted following up-to-date on how it turns out.

 

We will be on the Golden on March 27 and will be visiting your fair island. We are looking foward to it.

 

Mahalo and aloha no. Silverbird

 

Drop me a note at donahcbrown at msn dot com if you have any questions about the islands - I'm best on ours but we've been to most of the others as well (not Ni'ihau or Molokai'i, though)