Live from the Crown Princess 20th Nov

[Dorset Cruiser]

It was good Shogun. Some how thought you would be older than you are;). Sounds like you are enjoying Crown Princess. We had a very hot cruise on her in August and spent most of our time in the Sanctuary:D

[Shogun]

Hi All

When the Captain says this is quickly turning into the cruise to no where should we start to worry,

The issue is a storm has decided to join us for the rest of our cruise, we have reached Corfu, but can not dock due to strong winds and sea swell, Captain says Head Office thinks weather tomorrow will be better however local pilot says will be worse, so we are sitting off the town so close but that is one of the joys of cruising, the unexpected, so we may well miss Corfu tomorrow and head to our next port to be chased by the storm, so who knows what will happen when we get there then there is Venice Captain has advised it to is under water.

So went back to Casino OK I know I should not but thought I would try the deal or no deal machine,

So got to the last box banker was offering 10,000 last box either 200 or 20,000 so took the offer and ran, the box opened to show 200, so had made the right call, what is 10,000 worth $100 so happy.

Tried room service for some drinks time taken hard to guess but may be under two minutes, then ordered some hot food may be around 5 minutes excellent service,

If anyone has a good weather site then have a look at the storm and let us know what is happening,

Captain says pressure falling which is not good, wind tonight will be 32 to 40 knots where we have anchored, worse out at sea,

Yours Shogun

[caribill]

Hi All

who knows what will happen when we get there then there is Venice Captain has advised it to is under water.

 

 

Recent photo in the news from St. Mark's Square

 

[Snoozeman]

So Capt Andy is or is not on the TA?

[caribill]

If anyone has a good weather site then have a look at the storm and let us know what is happening,

 

Here is a link to a ten day forecast for the weather for all your cruise ports

 

http://cruiseoutlook.com/report/884

[WWLL]

The Meet and Greet on the Trans-Atlantic is 11 am on Dec 3 in Skywalker.

 

For more details

 

http://crownta12-02-2012.webs.com/

[Dorset Cruiser]

Here is a link to a ten day forecast for the weather for all your cruise ports

 

http://cruiseoutlook.com/report/884

 

What a great site! Just wish they did P&O:(

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

Captain Andy boards in Venice,

Well what a storm we had last night here in Corfu, so much lightening, winds and driving rain, we are now enjoying the calm after the storm, big puddles of water everywhere, care is required not to get soaked by a passing bus as it splashes through the water, temp is pleasant but not hot. However some of my fellow passengers appear to be setting of on an artic expedition, I am wearing a T shirt and carrying a light jacket in case of rain, but some are dressed with large quilted parkas with boots, gloves, scarfs, I expect to see a team of huskies and a sledge appear any minute, OK I know some folks come from warmer parts of the world but I think some have lost a sense of prospective.

Last night my waiter had to say sorry as when my main course arrived it was in a tiny dish even my table mates thought it was a starter, to make a main meal 4 or 6 of these little dishes would be required as I have seen starters twice as large. Princess will need to look at these new menus or I can see a few un happy cruisers.

Thanks for weather links

Yours Shogun

[caribill]

Last night my waiter had to say sorry as when my main course arrived it was in a tiny dish even my table mates thought it was a starter, to make a main meal 4 or 6 of these little dishes would be required as I have seen starters twice as large.

 

What did you order?

[Shogun]

Hi All

As to what I ordered it was a little sea food pie, very tasty but small.

A few of my fellow passengers have complained about missing a port, so we had 70 mile an hour winds north of us, a hurricane behind us and a thunder and lightening storm that lasted 6 hours above us, the ship lost its wind speed reading device it got blown away, what some of my fellow passengers fail to under stand the safest place for us in a storm is in a shelter anchorage were we can ride out the storm, get caught against a pier could damage the ship or trap us there for a day, and to be out at sea while we would be safe we would certainly rock and roll.

Dubrovnik was a great port of call and one that I will return to, streets were so clean they would put most of the worlds cities to shame, shuttle bus service was good we are now on the run to Venice the ship is rocking around quite a bit, its formal tonight so could be fun for those in high heels.

So as this cruise comes to its end, it will be remembered for many years to come,

With more than just a few cruises behind us, it is always nice to be surprised and take away new memories from a cruise, for us this cruise will always be remembered by the crew we have met on board, on day one an officer past us, straight away DW said I have seen him before, then after a minute” he was at our re newel of vows on the Emerald” just a few months ago, I went to find the officer and he turned out to be The Passenger Services Director Johannes D Velliers, he recalled our names and that special day, then walking along a corridor a crew member past us, stopped and we both turned’ it was the supervisor at The Crown Grill who two years ago when we boarded the Crown for a day while in Greenock again he recalled our names and the flowers that we were presented with that day, these chance meetings are one reason we enjoy Princess so much.

Martin Ford Hotel Manager who we first met also on the Emerald but many years ago, runs a very good team, we can not vault him or his team for service, all have been very polite and professional, the maître d Giorgio Pisano who I have not met before welcomed me like a long lost brother and dealt with all my requests, mainly down to DW being a bit fussy but every request was dealt with.

Now Captain Nash has his own style which I like, he is the boss and this comes across in his broad casts, missing a port is not an easy call to make, to then have your next port of call at risk adds more pressure but if we had missed Corfu as well then I would not have complained, as I know he is putting my safety and that of the ship first.

As to the cruise director Sam we have cruised with her a few times now, and its only right that she is going to the Royal as cover for Ron Goodman who is our number one cruise director.

Now not everything can go right all the time, we understand that ships are complicated mechanical structures and can break down and require maintenance, however how a company deals with such events can say much about the company. Princess dealt with my minor problem in a very professional manner

This will my last post till we get home

Thanks for reading my ranting’s

Yours Shogun.

[caribill]

Thanks for reading my ranting’s

 

Yours Shogun.

 

Thanks for writing them.

[IECalCruiser]

As to the new menus still think this is a cost saving exercise by limiting choice and having more always available items they must be a cost saving no issue on short cruises but on longer ones I can see folks having a small moan, quality is fine but may be quantity is down a little bit.

We had the new menus for three days on the Coral in September. Choices were not limited. There were still three appetizers and always shrimp cocktail, four soups/salads and always Caesar salad, one pasta and always fettuccine Alfredo, six entrees and always salmon, chicken, tri-tip and ground sirloin. These were essentially the same number of choices as the old menus introduced in '08 or '09. Portions do appear to have gotten smaller but I appreciate that as it helps keep down weight gain on longer cruises and you can always order more. It is nice to see what others think of the new menus. Everyone has their own opinions.

[Carolina Cruisers 2]

Hey Shogun,

 

I love Mykonos ... some of my best photos taken there. Love the old fisherman with wrinkled faces and the cute caps.

 

Enjoy!

 

Franky

[Shogun]

Hi All

We are home to ice and snow, memories of warm if not hot sunshine fading fast,

The important stuff Shogun is happy playing in the snow, he was happy to see us but is acting very much like a spoiled child, you tell him to do something and he growls back, me thinks he has been getting away with to much when at dog sitter.

The ship was being decked out for Christmas, looked very nice.

Will post some pics and menus etc ,

As to the trip home, I am starting to think that I have been kidnapped by aliens and had some metal device inserted, once again I set of the metal detector and got searched, once again they could not work out what was setting it off,

Now my visit to Venice airport was a few years ago and I recall the gents being flooded with clean running water, well it still is running.

Our checkin is away in the bottom corner of the airport most are one level up. Our gate however was up one level, so we go through the gate and they take us back down next to checkin, great planning,

Flight home was bad very bad, got a head ache, moved to be migraine felt sick not happy, maxed out pills from air port pharmacy but did nothing to help, then on flight home stuck with two very nice young girls in front of me and a young boy behind, the girls screamed for most of the flight home parents did say be quite a few times but they were having the time of their lifes, but boy that scream could crack glass.

Yours Shogun

[Shogun]

[Shogun]

[vickie_bernie]

on day one an officer past us, straight away DW said I have seen him before, then after a minute” he was at our re newel of vows on the Emerald” just a few months ago, I went to find the officer and he turned out to be The Passenger Services Director Johannes D Velliers, he recalled our names and that special day,

 

Johannes is the customer services director, he was promoted to this position last year on the Emerald, he will be joining the Emerald again in January after a short stint on the Crown after his vacation at home in South Africa. He is an great guy and friend and look forward to seeing him again in jan.

 

vickie

[Shogun]

Hi Vickie

 

DW renamed him hugs and kisses he is so full of life, was great to meet up with him again, he is back on the Crown after the Emerald for the summer UK cruises.

 

Hi Vickie just noticed I called him PSD which is now hotel manager he is as you said CSD

 

why so many titles First Pusar was so simple.

 

yours Shogun

[vickie_bernie]

Hi Vickie

 

DW renamed him hugs and kisses he is so full of life, was great to meet up with him again, he is back on the Crown after the Emerald for the summer UK cruises.

 

Hi Vickie just noticed I called him PSD which is now hotel manager he is as you said CSD

 

why so many titles First Pusar was so simple.

 

yours Shogun

 

 

I agree too many titles for reg position, I am still calling hotel general manager instead of PSD.

 

Yes he is joining the Emerald Jan 19 from St. Thomas. We are on for 30 days so we can't wait to bug him and spend time with him again.

 

hey do you every hear from James Deering? Been so long, would love to sail with him again, is he still with HAL?

 

Love your reviews, they are so clear, unbiased and insightful.

 

Funny I found the new menus to have about the same amount of offerrings as before. I loved many of the new items that they added and was kind of glad they switched some things up. We were on the Star for 28 days this fall and we certainly didn't get bored with them. but we could do with missing a few meals anyhow.

 

vickie

[Shogun]

Hi Vickie

 

James still with HAL has been doing some nice cruises was on Alaska run then moving to cover Aus,

 

yours Shogun

[texankhj]

Shogun - your post was like reading a book I could not put down. Really enjoyed it. My husband and I will be on the Crown out of Galveston Feb. 16. Jan. 14th we will celebrate our 36th wedding anniversary. Feb. 18th I will turn 56 year old. I have always thought about renewing our vows. Who should I contact on how to go about this? Thanks for your help.

[caribill]

I have always thought about renewing our vows. Who should I contact on how to go about this? Thanks for your help.

 

go to http://www.princess.com/learn/onboard/gifts_services/celebrations/renewal_vows/index.jsp for full details

[Shogun]

Hi texankuj

 

Thank you, thought you might like this , its and earlier posting,

 

Its is worth doing, R of V onboard its very well done,

 

 

Today the cruise ship Emerald Princess was in Greenock, our plan was to meet up with the maître d who had taken great care of use on a past cruise, he had said he had never been ashore in Scotland and when I heard the Emerald Princess was coming to Greenock, I saw my chance to repay his kindness by taking him to Glasgow for the day for a few hours. However as today is my wedding anniversary DW was a little upset that we would not have the whole day to ourselves but a few hours on a cruise ship still is not a bad way to spend this special day. So arriving at the ship after going through the different levels of security we met Generoso the maître d and Commodore Romano in the atrium, the ship was running some drills and other events onboard which meant that our plans would have to be changed. So we had a coffee with Generoso before going on a quick tour of the ship, arriving on deck 16 where the wedding chapel is a number of ships personal were present, dressed in their best whites, we were invited in and as we did DW was handed a posse of flowers, an officer then escorted back out, and informed us to wait a minute then the piano player started to play the wedding march the doors opened and we were beckoned forward holding hands towards the Commodore, where he conducted a renewal of wedding vows ceremony, the photographer snapped away to record the event, this was Generoso ‘s first renewal ceremony and half way through he was handed a box of tissues as a tear could be seen in his eye, now DW knew nothing about what the ship had planned and was completely taking by surprise Generoso knew the story that on the last cruise with him and the Commodore, DW had turned down my offer to renew our vows, in that she wanted to do it on our anniversary so he had a arranged this special day for us.

Afterwards we had a great lunch of Italian food, with the head chef, the Commodore and Generoso we talked about past cruises, the strange weather that was changing every 15 minutes, from sunshine, storm, fog and rain, Photos of our ceremony arrived.

While on our little tour friends from a past cruise spotted us, so I called their cabin and we met up after our lunch for a few hours of chat.

I can not thank Princess cruises, Generoso and the Commodore enough for making this day so special , the Love Boat is alive and well and for today it was called the Emerald Princess.

yours Shogun

[Zena,W.P.]

Hi Swiss Dave, WWW, and all

 

A lot of maintenance being done today on the ship, nothing wrong with that ship is very quite, most folks off very early this morning,

Looking around the upper decks there appears to be areas finished off with little stone like tiles, do not recall seeing so many on the ship before may be new or may be just been cleaned.

 

Hello Shogun, Zerna here. We were with you on the Crown and before and after. The New Tiles you saw had been one, flat, unmarked, expanse in the 12 days before you boarded. They then took a small saw and ran down the entire deck in both directions until the smooth surface became "tiles" Then they grouted the entire area. Sure looked like tiles when they were done.

 

Also, on the new menues. When they showed up, on the same segment you were on, I mentioned to our waiters and many others that I see the new menues arrived. I kept getting told, no new menue, has been here all along. Now I know the difference, I had been on the ship for 12 days prior to that:) So I gave up but almost laughed out loud when on the bridge with captain along with you, the capain askes "so, how do you like the new menues?"

[IECalCruiser]

Also, on the new menues. When they showed up, on the same segment you were on, I mentioned to our waiters and many others that I see the new menues arrived. I kept getting told, no new menue, has been here all along. Now I know the difference, I had been on the ship for 12 days prior to that:) So I gave up but almost laughed out loud when on the bridge with captain along with you, the capain askes "so, how do you like the new menues?"

It might be because the menus were only tweaked with less than a third of the items changed that the menus might not seem "new" to the crew ;)