LIVE from the Royal Princess - 30 days, Barcelona to Ft. Lauderdale - 9/27 - 10/27

[#1winelover]

Pia;

 

Enjoy your day and don't worry about internet minutes. I'll give you a hand answering questions when we board on the 9th. I booked the cruise before the July 2012 free suite internet cutoff....:):):)

 

Bob

We all thank you for your help, Bob. You are a saint! :)

[clmom]

Pia (or someone else on board at the moment) -

 

Can you tell me if the showers have real bars of soap and little bottles of shampoo or if the Royal is trying to go green and put those big bottles of bath gel and shampoo on the wall of the shower that the cabin steward refills?

 

Thanks and see you soon!

Jennifer

There are bars of soap for the sink but the showers have the big bottles of bath gel and shampoo/conditioner

[#1winelover]

Looks like "potable surge protector" will be added to my take on cruise list.

Yup, A POTABLE surge protector would certainly come in hand on the many lounges aboard the ship if you intend to imbibe perhaps too much!! :eek:

[hugsthecat]

Hi Pia

Just found out about your thread. We will be on the Royal next April 27 th for its TA cruise. So everyone on my thread will be following you. Have a great cruise.

Michael

[shepp]

Hey Pia...sorry about your battery. Just threw a surge protector into my luggage.

 

Any chance you'd know when formal nights on the Venice-FLL run will be?

 

xo,

S.

[seamwoman]

I'm sure Pia is reading posts and writing off line. That's what I do to not eat my platinum minutes! Made it though a 30 day cruise without buying more and posting a LIVE to my friends. Karen

[RNGALNG]

Pia;

 

Enjoy your day and don't worry about internet minutes. I'll give you a hand answering questions when we board on the 9th. I booked the cruise before the July 2012 free suite internet cutoff....:):):)

 

Bob

 

Thank you, Bob, for coming to her rescue! Start writing down the questions as we send them out there! We will all follow you as well, I'm sure!

 

My question is, is there more headroom in the fitness room? My poor DH can't use any of the ellipticals or treadmills as his head hits the ceiling! It would be wonderful if they have corrected this on the new ship!

 

Thank you in advance and enjoy your cruise!

 

To Pia: Enjoy your cruise. Look forward to hearing when and if you can post!

[fnewman]

Hi Guys: this is not a happy post. First let me say we had a wonderfully, exhausting day, but right now I'm in the internet cafe using their equipment. It seems that the ship had a major power surge during the night, which knocked out my power cord. My computer now has a dead battery. They took the cord and will try to regenerate it tomorrow when electrical dept comes to work. Meanwhile we leave on a Cinque Terre tour very early, so hopefully I will be back in business tomorrow night.

 

Sorry, but there is no way I can read and/or respond to anything. Bye for now.

If they don't get it working for you, let us know - I'm sure someone will be glad to bring a replacement for you.

[Working 2 Cruise]

Thank you Pia... Bob, thanks for sharing the burden with Pia.. I look forward to hearing from both of you! Bob, enjoy your suite!

[ibfern]

9-27-13

 

Wow what a beautiful ship! It's incredible, from the glorious luncheon buffet to the IC, there is quite a spread for everybody. The showers are definitely larger, I can shave my legs in it, yay. The room is awesome, huge TV and now you can pick what you want to watch when you want it. It is simply fabulous here and we are thrilled with it completely.

 

Ok a few problems so far, toilet doesn't flush all the time and it took a day to get it fixed. Main dining room is claustrophobic for me, not open and spacious, instead it has lots of cave like cubbies with benches rather than chairs. We left Allegro for one one of the anytime dining rooms and hope they are more open concept, will report back after tonight.

 

Gotta go, I can see Fabrizio waiting for me because we are in Livorno yippee...

Amelia

[Lynda90]

9-27-13

 

Wow what a beautiful ship! It's incredible, from the glorious luncheon buffet to the IC, there is quite a spread for everybody. The showers are definitely larger, I can shave my legs in it, yay. The room is awesome, huge TV and now you can pick what you want to watch when you want it. It is simply fabulous here and we are thrilled with it completely.

 

Ok a few problems so far, toilet doesn't flush all the time and it took a day to get it fixed. Main dining room is claustrophobic for me, not open and spacious, instead it has lots of cave like cubbies with benches rather than chairs. We left Allegro for one one of the anytime dining rooms and hope they are more open concept, will report back after tonight.

 

Gotta go, I can see Fabrizio waiting for me because we are in Livorno yippee...

Amelia

Thanks for posting! :p

[leavingocalaagain]

9-27-13

 

Wow what a beautiful ship! It's incredible, from the glorious luncheon buffet to the IC, there is quite a spread for everybody. The showers are definitely larger, I can shave my legs in it, yay. The room is awesome, huge TV and now you can pick what you want to watch when you want it. It is simply fabulous here and we are thrilled with it completely.

 

Ok a few problems so far, toilet doesn't flush all the time and it took a day to get it fixed. Main dining room is claustrophobic for me, not open and spacious, instead it has lots of cave like cubbies with benches rather than chairs. We left Allegro for one one of the anytime dining rooms and hope they are more open concept, will report back after tonight.

 

Gotta go, I can see Fabrizio waiting for me because we are in Livorno yippee...

Amelia

 

The famous Fabrizio.... A fun day ahead! Thanks for posting.

[traveling1969]

When we boarded in Barcelona, the only security station was run by port security so they were not at all concerned with wine in carry-ons. We brought 7 bottles of wine on board. There is a duty free shop after security and we purchased 2 bottles of gin and carried them on as well so no worries. There is also a wine store there but it was a bit pricey. We bought our wine at a grocery store across from the Hotel Continental; 21 euros for seven bottles. We've tried 2 of them and they were both good. At those prices, we will float our way to FLL;).

 

Harry and Joyce

[IdahoCruises]

It’s Saturday Sept. 28th and we’re in Toulon. First, a little info.

 

　

Toulon Harbor has long been a significant commercial port and a major naval base as well. Even today it is the headquarters of the French Mediterranean fleet. The military importance began about 1600, when King Henry IV built a naval arsenal, later strengthened by Cardinal Richelieu. During the French Revolution in 1792, the city was dominated by Royalists who opposed the revolutionary Republican government in Paris. They turned over control of the port and its fleet to the British navy, then at war with France. The Republicans then sent an army to retake the city, aided by an unknown artillery captain named Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon’s careful disposition of his guns made it impossible for the British Admiral Hood to keep his ships safe, and so he withdrew, which left Toulon back in French hands. I think we can say that Napoleon went on to bigger and better things.

 

 

　

Docking is in the port of La Seyne and you need a water shuttle in order to get to downtown Toulon. Transit time is approximately 15 to 20 minutes and an all day pass is $15 per person. Of course you can take a taxi right at the pier for 20-30 euros or a DIY 30 minute walk into town.

 

 

　

On board during the day is not much, with highlight being Forest Gump on MUTS. We sail at 6:00 and at that time there will be a talk: What to Explore Ashore: Rome, Italy. I don’t know whether or not this is a shorex thing or just interesting information for travelers with little or no Rome experience.

 

 

　

At 7:00 in Princess LIVE, there will be a presentation on the lives of two artists: Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein and MUTS will have two showings tonight of Oblivion. After the art presentation, Alegria String quartet will perform in that same venue. Showtime in the theater is vocalist Mark Preston and in Vista, is music and dancing with The Volume. In the Wheelhouse is a piano player, Ray Coussins and the Rick Kilburn Quartet performs several times in the Piazza. The Crooners pianist is Kory Simon.

 

 

　

Assuming the internet is working properly, I am attempting to post this shortly before we leave for our private tour. BTW, the IC doesn’t have egg muffins before 7:00 AM.

 

 

Request: please understand that I do not have unlimited minutes, and I will not be able to answer all your questions. There is no way I can ask the MD for his email address and I do appreciate all you guys who answer questions like the IC.

 

The library to answer one, has a table where passengers books are lying. There was not much, and the whole library is as large as a big bathroom.

 

Bye.

 

 

You and Mike have a great time! We can wait as I know how expensive it gets trying to do a "live from"...

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[curiouscat]

Hi Guys: this is not a happy post. First let me say we had a wonderfully, exhausting day, but right now I'm in the internet cafe using their equipment. It seems that the ship had a major power surge during the night, which knocked out my power cord. My computer now has a dead battery. They took the cord and will try to regenerate it tomorrow when electrical dept comes to work. Meanwhile we leave on a Cinque Terre tour very early, so hopefully I will be back in business tomorrow night.

 

Sorry, but there is no way I can read and/or respond to anything. Bye for now.

 

Wow, I'd be off that ship before it left for the crossing. Obviously the electrical systems are not fully functional... and I've done over 27 cruises ! :eek:

 

CC

[mathan416]

Thanks for the updates and bon voyage!!

 

I have to admit, I'm unclear as to what some of the acronyms are. Most notably IC... Is there a list of common acronyms handy somewhere? :)

[FolksOfMeans - ByNoMeans]

Thanks for the updates and bon voyage!!

 

I have to admit, I'm unclear as to what some of the acronyms are. Most notably IC... Is there a list of common acronyms handy somewhere? :)

 

 

I C International Cafe; Coffee, Speciality coffee, sandwiches, and all kind of good things. Mostly free.

 

O P Original Poster

 

DW Dear Wife

DH Dear Husband

DS/DD Dear Son/Daughter

 

TA Travel Agent, TransAtlantic

 

The above are the most common

[mathan416]

Thanks Folks.. I appreciate the response, and feel bad that I didn't read all the threads. LOL! Much appreciated.

 

Pia: Sorry to hear about your computer, but good to know that we need a good power surge bar. My DH sleeps with a CPAP machine and we need to ensure it stays running properly. ;)

[Guest USC Traveler]

pia...hope the computer gets working for you soon. i'm sure you enjoyed visiting cinque terra (sp?).

[CI66774]

Wow, I'd be off that ship before it left for the crossing. Obviously the electrical systems are not fully functional... and I've done over 27 cruises ! :eek:

 

CC

 

I've had a power surge on two cruises (not Princess). They're not that unheard of, that's why you bring a surge protector.

[The Big Booper]

Thanks Folks.. I appreciate the response, and feel bad that I didn't read all the threads. LOL! Much appreciated.

 

Pia: Sorry to hear about your computer, but good to know that we need a good power surge bar. My DH sleeps with a CPAP machine and we need to ensure it stays running properly. ;)

 

I've been using a CPAP for 18 years. Always bring a longish heavy duty extension cord, the electric outlets are not necessarily by the night table where the machine will sit.

[bronxgirl25]

I've had a power surge on two cruises (not Princess). They're not that unheard of, that's why you bring a surge protector.

 

Guess I'll be ordering a surge protector for us. We'll be on the Crown in December and the Royal in April. Better safe than sorry. I feel bad for Pia, but not her fault and nothing she can do now.

Thanks to those who offered their help to her!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[amazinglife]

I've had a power surge on two cruises (not Princess). They're not that unheard of, that's why you bring a surge protector.

 

 

there is usually way too much to pack so one does not think of bringing a surge protector.

[bigjer]

9-27-13

 

Wow what a beautiful ship! It's incredible, from the glorious luncheon buffet to the IC, there is quite a spread for everybody. The showers are definitely larger, I can shave my legs in it, yay. The room is awesome, huge TV and now you can pick what you want to watch when you want it. It is simply fabulous here and we are thrilled with it completely.

 

Ok a few problems so far, toilet doesn't flush all the time and it took a day to get it fixed. Main dining room is claustrophobic for me, not open and spacious, instead it has lots of cave like cubbies with benches rather than chairs. We left Allegro for one one of the anytime dining rooms and hope they are more open concept, will report back after tonight.

 

Gotta go, I can see Fabrizio waiting for me because we are in Livorno yippee...

Amelia

 

Amelia,

Sure you had a wonderful day with Fabrizio. Where did you go? Tell him hi from us when you see him again. Have a great cruise.

Jerry and Helen

[Luvsailing]

Hey Pia...sorry about your battery. Just threw a surge protector into my luggage.

 

Any chance you'd know when formal nights on the Venice-FLL run will be?

 

xo,

S.

 

Just called Princess and was told - first formal is 2nd night at sea, second is during the middle part of our cruise, third is on our last night at sea. Hope this helps.

Edited September 29, 2013 by Luvsailing