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

[Pia1913]

I'm here folks, but not really. In the cafe with a very bad signal. It's almost 9:30 PM and we've just seen the first production show Colors of the World. It's OK. Nice to finally see something new.

OK. Power cord with the electrician; no word yet because they needed my signature to proceed and we didn't get back until almot 6 PM. It was a miserable day; weatherwise. Won't go into detail, but suffice to say our Cinque Terre tour should have been cancelled. Very dangerous for all passengers and shorex desk will probably hear from them; one by one.

Sorry that I can't continue until I have a viable computer. This thread has had so many hits, and I'm just unable to go back and read. Especially when it's all so slow.

Will be back when I can.

[shepp]

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.

 

Kind of, though I was hoping for something more definite on the second's date. BUt thanks!

[sashas_mom]

Kind of, though I was hoping for something more definite on the second's date. BUt thanks!

 

If you look at the itinerary on the Princess site it tells you the dates of the sea days. You'll be able to figure it out that way.

[shepp]

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.

 

 

Just realized that someone at Princess doesn't know what they're talking about; the final night before FLL won't be formal, night before disembarkation never is. But thanks anyway!

[bronxgirl25]

Marcia, I am also booked on the TA from FLL to CPN and then the Baltic cruise from CPN. Hope to see you then. I also had to cancel the Venice to FLL. I was sooooo disappointed.

Marcia

 

Marcia.....I was sooo disappointed too, but my husband has a business trip that he has to go to right in the middle.

 

So nice that we will be cruising together. Look forward to meeting you! You too CI66774! :D We can 'talk' more on that board.

[bronxgirl25]

Pia good to see you posting. I guess someone lent you a power cord or a computer. Just post when you can and have a great cruise!! :D

[#1winelover]

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

 

And they will "pour" you off the ship when you arrive!! LOL! I love your description! :D

[CCFC]

Surge protectors are frowned upon and have been confiscated previously as they can set off alarms.

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=40130269&postcount=17

[Kenswing]

Pia good to see you posting. I guess someone lent you a power cord or a computer. Just post when you can and have a great cruise!! :D

She posted from the internet café..

[#1winelover]

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

 

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? :)

 

CuriousCat: Have to agree as this is the 2nd electrical glitch since launch of the Royal. Circuit breakers may be made in China or something! :confused:

 

mathan416: IC is the International Café located in the Piazza on deck 5 on the Royal, and many of the recently refurbished Princess ships. Great place for some wonderful food, snacks, etc. and close to Vines (the wine bar) which is where I'll be spending some time (between Crooners visits) beginning 10/29/13.

[ibfern]

9-29-2013

Livorno

 

I woke up early to a fantastic thunder and lightning show, I am from the central coast of California and rarely witness this kind of weather. It was quite cool.

 

Yes it was not the best weather today but we had a private tour with Fabrizio (allarounditaly.net) and a fantastic time was had by all. First we headed to Siena, of course we took the back roads and saw incredible scenery along the way. Fabrizio stopped at a wonderful coffee place for a nature stop and he insisted on buying us expressos, waters, and a plethora of baked goods. The guy is so generous, he would not allow us to pay for it, and it was delicious. We had a variety of fresh pastries, I blew my diet and enjoyed every bite!

 

We continued on to Siena as the sky's were dark and foreboding but we all had the best positive attitudes and embraced the weather as a gift. We laughed and shared experiences and Fab entertained us with his extensive knowledge of history and the environment, this guy is the total package. If you have an opportunity to hire him as a guide, do it and you will not be disappointed. He is filled with a tremendous love of his country and an equal love of people, giving us the best of a great driver (so safe), a great historian, and quite the comedian. Time passed quickly.

 

Siena is beautiful, nestled in the green hills of Chianti/Tuscany, it is very old with a beautiful Piazza and a beautiful cathedral. By then it was raining hard but we all donned our raincoats, our best attitudes, and some good walking shoes and off we went up and down the streets. Periodically we encountered drenching downpours and we ducked into lovely nooks and arched passages waiting out the massive rain. We laughed at the weather because at some times it felt like we were in a Tornado, of course we weren't but if I was going to be stuck in crappy weather it was nice to be in Siena! Of course we were often forced into shops, darn, and we felt obligated to purchase leather purses and lovely jewelry, as well as the Panne Forte pastry which is a speciality of Siena. Yummy. Thankfully Fabrizio had umbrellas for each couple so we were not completely soaked.

 

Next we drove to San Gimingnano (it's late forgive my misspellings) which is easily one of the most scenic areas in Tuscany. We found a delightful restaurant and plopped down for lunch and some respite from the driving rain. It was of course delicious, fresh, organic, and very reasonably priced.

 

Here again we climbed up and down the lovely streets, spying the many towers and getting more drenched. My group of dear friends had the best attitudes, nobody got cranky nor complained about the weather and instead we embraced it once more with positive attitudes and lots of smiles! It's all about how you choose to see what unfolds, and travel brings us all a greater appreciation for everything, even rain!

 

We decided to forgo visiting Volterra since Fab was worried about the rain, the conditions of the roads, and his main concern as always was our safe return to the ship. We happily complied, knowing we will see him again tomorrow morning at 7:15 am for our visit to Rome and some surprise places. After many hugs, we left Fab and boarded our lovely ship. All in all we had a fantastic day, can't wait for tomorrow.

 

Forgive me if I am not answering any questions, I am not reading the live right now but trying to keep up with my excursion reports and I promise I will eventually read and answer when we have our first sea day in several days. I will continue to write about our adventures as current as I can. Hope all is well with all my cruise critic friends. Until tomorrow...all the best,

Amelia

[ibfern]

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

 

Jerry and Helen,

Fabrizio said to say hello to you both, so glad you are here so I can pass hiss messages on. I posted our day, hope you enjoy. We all miss you both, when will you join us in Europe again? Hope soon...

[Pam in CA]

Just realized that someone at Princess doesn't know what they're talking about; the final night before FLL won't be formal, night before disembarkation never is. But thanks anyway!

This is just a guess but I think the first formal night will be the 2nd day (sea day) between Venice to Messina. Second formal night will be a sea day between Barcelona and Madeira. Third formal night will be one of the sea days between Madeira and FLL, most likely Thursday or Friday. The first two are probably pretty good educated guesses, the third formal night is more of a random guess.

[bigjer]

Jerry and Helen,

Fabrizio said to say hello to you both, so glad you are here so I can pass hiss messages on. I posted our day, hope you enjoy. We all miss you both, when will you join us in Europe again? Hope soon...

 

Amelia,

Great post about your day with Fabrizio, felt like we there with you. We really miss seeing him. Have fun in Rome. Doing the Wall Museum again? Lol!

Jerry and Helen

[Northender]

This is just a guess but I think the first formal night will be the 2nd day (sea day) between Venice to Messina. Second formal night will be a sea day between Barcelona and Madeira. Third formal night will be one of the sea days between Madeira and FLL, most likely Thursday or Friday. The first two are probably pretty good educated guesses, the third formal night is more of a random guess.

 

I would be willing to put my money on the educated guesses:D

[Seal]

Must admit we have never taken a surge protector on a cruise--we also no longer use them at home--just use them for Christmas decorations to give me more plugs.

 

Hope this trip improves for you.

 

Safe Travels

 

Nancy:D:D

[Carolyn R]

I'm here folks, but not really. In the cafe with a very bad signal. It's almost 9:30 PM and we've just seen the first production show Colors of the World. It's OK. Nice to finally see something new.

OK. Power cord with the electrician; no word yet because they needed my signature to proceed and we didn't get back until almot 6 PM. It was a miserable day; weatherwise. Won't go into detail, but suffice to say our Cinque Terre tour should have been cancelled. Very dangerous for all passengers and shorex desk will probably hear from them; one by one.

Sorry that I can't continue until I have a viable computer. This thread has had so many hits, and I'm just unable to go back and read. Especially when it's all so slow.

Will be back when I can.

Pia, It sounds like your charger is fried. It has happened to me before.

Nothing will remedy the situation but a new charger. Maybe you can find one to borrow? Can I order you one from Amazon?

 

Amelia, Thank you for reporting in. Enjoy!

Edited September 29, 2013 by Carolyn R

[Azjack]

We board in Venice with an extra netbook. Pia, it's yours if you need it.

 

Jack

[Joie]

hope the weather improve for everyone and electrical problems cease.

hopefully she will just post and not spend her min reading everything....she can answer questions when she returns.

[ibfern]

Amelia,

Great post about your day with Fabrizio, felt like we there with you. We really miss seeing him. Have fun in Rome. Doing the Wall Museum again? Lol!

Jerry and Helen

 

We are having a surprise! From Fab that usually means something special...I'd love to walk the walls but the weather might preclude us from doing that. No biggie, we are in Rome!

 

More later...

[Pia1913]

Good Morning from Civitavecchia, gatewayto Rome. It's not raining; yet. Of course much wet is predicted. I came down here to log in before the zillions of others hog up the network. So far so good. They're all going to Rome. I'm going to the gym.

A few inquiries that I happened to notice were about first formal night. It's the 2nd; our first sea day and also our MEET and Greet. Last one will be on the 7th, which is also the most traveled luncheon. The only stats I have thus far is that the cutoff is 559 and Mike and I are number seven.

Thank you all for your offers. Whomever offered the use of a netbook for the next leg I really appreciate it.

Meanwhile, here today is the movie Jack Reacher in the afternoon, the same male vocalist as two days ago performing in Vista and in the theater Threadgill the comedian. We like him; will go to that. I do not have a pattter in my possession right now. Not having your own equipment makes you a bit forgetful. Not used to public computer.

So now I have my caffeine, it's 7:25 and I'm going to the gym. Didn't I already say that? :)

I will return when I have something to say, which for me to even say that is pretty funny. Those who know me know my mouth runs as fast as my fingers.

Later.

[ssbeagle]

Here is my input on the Royal Princess. In many ways she can be a beautiful ship. The anytime dining rooms and the atrium are beautiful. However the Allegra dining room for traditional dining is very dark and depressing. We had to change our table because we were placed right next to the kitchen door and it was really bothering us. The service has been good so far and we have a wonderful cabin stewardess. The Internet Cafe and the library are both rather small. The cafe gets very crowded and hard to find a computer at times. The Princess Live studio has the most uncomfortable chairs but they hold a lot of the functions and games there. I find this ship to be too large for my taste. If you arrive back at the ship from a tour when all the other tour busses are returning, it will take quite a while to get back on board with long lines. It is very difficult to find a seat in the theater for the 8:30 show if you show up even at 8:05.

 

Our cabin on Dolphin is a deluxe balcony. Storage space is at a minimum. We have two drawers in each nightstand and one in the desk with a hairdryer in it. Three shelves in the bathroom and 5 small ones in the closet and that is it. The closet seems standard to other ships. Our balcony is adequate for the two of us. It has two chairs and a table and we have room to move around. The sofa in the cabin is not very comfortable but the beds are delightful. My husband and I agree that this may be the only time we sail on the Royal.

 

The Liars Club was very funny last night. Troy Thirdgill is the comedian on board this trip and is excellent. Sam is the CD and her assistant is Dan. Both enjoyable.

 

The spa is located on Deck 5 forward and is huge. But it is also decorated in very dark colors. Whoever designed the decor on this ship made some serious mistakes.

 

In Civitavecchia today for Rome and the ship is quite empty with most people on shore. I didn't go because I caught a cold and am trying to get over it so it doesn't get worse.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

The bridge have swung the cam around to look out over the town ...

 

 

 

From MSC Magnifica looking along the dock to Royal Princess.

I dont know who the small ship is ,thats between them ..???

 

 

[dmwnc1959]

I dont know who the small ship is ,thats between them ..???

 

 

That is the ex-Island Princess of Princess Cruises, now called Discovery belonging to Cruise & Maritime Voyages cruise line.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Discovery

 

I also got a webcam grab but just before Discovery docked and you can still see the stern of Royal Princess in the background. Quite the size difference...

 

Edited September 30, 2013 by dmwnc1959

[Pia1913]

Its me sitting in an internet cafe in Civitaveccia. Im (sorry, cant locate the apostrophe on this keyboard) going to try and read some previous pages to see if there is something I can answer. Bear with me. I am so frustrated.