Hi, I’m Julie McCoy, Your TR Director Review of the CB

[scubacruiserx2]

See that shower curtain to the left…we had a very intimate affair this trip.

You can use towel clips or the hangers from the closet that have clips on them to make that pesky thing behave.:D

 

Affairs of this kind are usually brief ( and sometimes messy ) . And if you try to break free - they tend to be clingy ;)

[jenseib]

Affairs of this kind are usually brief ( and sometimes messy ) . And if you try to break free - they tend to be clingy ;)

 

 

Very very true!!! :D

[jenseib]

I try to take pictures of the food I eat on vacation. For one, many people like to look at food porn. Also it reminds me of what I ate and of what I liked and didn’t like.

Here is my first Princess food plate….that’s moms hand snatching a fried scallop off my plate.

Mom had carrots and said they were some of the best she ever had. But they were super sweet and sugary. I don’t like sweet cooked carrots so I never tried them.

When we sat down we had a server come and take drink orders. I decided on a lemonade (which actually is one of the free cruise beverages). Mom wanted coffee. My lemonade came and her coffee didn’t. This gal was super slow and she kept saying “I’ll get your coffee soon” but then would go take other orders. Finally another guy came around and he got mom her coffee right away and by that time I was done with the lemonade and got a diet coke. Later mom found where she could go and get her own coffee and refill it.

Of course no meal is complete on vacation without a little bit of dessert.

I think the one thing was actually coffee flavored and I don’t like coffee at all so I gave that to mom. The strawberry shortcake was REALLY good and I had several pieces of it throughout the cruise.

With our meals done, we headed out the back door to check out the back of the ship.

As we walked out there we saw the draw bridge opening so I had to get a shot of that.

I was surprised at all of the sun worshipers out already. I guess for me that is just not something that is most important…and I get too hot. But I do know for some that is what is nice about their vacation.

[jenseib]

To the port side of the aft on this deck (15) is one of the smoking areas.

In the last year or so Princess has banned smoking on balconies. I heard a lot of people grumble about this. For me it’s no big deal either way, but I can see how it upsets smokers, many who have booked balconies in the past because of this feature. (Disney has recently done the same thing). And I can also see how this bothers nonsmokers. There really is a no win situation there.

This tunnel led up to Skywalkers, which was a club/lounge type place. They had some activities there too for the Elite guests. I am sad to say I never made it to those activities. I just did not have enough time.

I did go up one morning and take pictures there.

If you are wondering where Skywalkers is located on the ship…well our ship has a spoiler and it is located in there. I always like a car with a spoiler…on a ship it’s kind of odd looking in my opinion. Here is a shot from our Costa Maya day to show you the spoiler.

We have the flat rear. I don’t think the ship was ugly, but it wasn’t pretty either. I will say when it comes to looks, my personal favorites are the Disney Ships. I know not all agree and that’s fine. It’s just my personal preference in looks.

This is the bar near the back pool.

And then we moved along and I took pictures as we went.

[jenseib]

A look out across the way.

[jenseib]

Look! Someone is parasailing!

The other ship in port was the Royal Caribbean Vision of the Seas.

[DiTomCruisers]

Love this review thus far

[PathfinderEss]

Enjoying your review and wonderful photo's.

[jenseib]

Love this review thus far

 

Thanks

 

Enjoying your review and wonderful photo's.

 

Thanks

[jenseib]

We walked around exploring a bit of the ship.

The Sanctuary is an adult area and I believe you can pay to reserve seating in there to hang out and sun. It’s not my cup of tea, but I did go in and look around.

Mom didn’t go in with me, but I just ran in and took several pictures.

[jenseib]

I believe any adult can go to the pool, that is not locked off with the actual Sanctuary.

This looked refreshing.

[scubacruiserx2]

Nice photos , what camera are you using ? :)

[jenseib]

I think I only came by here one other morning so I am not sure how crowded this area ever got.

[jenseib]

And then I caught back up with mom. We took a look over at the docked side of the ship.

I loved these little decorations on the walls.

[jenseib]

Nice photos , what camera are you using ? :)

 

I use a Canon 50D.

[scubacruiserx2]

I use a Canon 50D.

 

Very nice , indeed !! :D

[lynwar]

Hi

Your photos take me right back to the ship. Thank you for taking the Sanctuary shots. I only saw it from outside the gate, and never got inside.

 

I miss all the ships I've been on but this cruise was especially nostalgic, having been on her 10 years ago and then returning for a visit.

 

Lynne

[cruiseclues]

Thanks for your fine review and all your great photos...including your room. :):):):)

[jenseib]

Very nice , indeed !! :D

 

I like it!

 

Hi

Your photos take me right back to the ship. Thank you for taking the Sanctuary shots. I only saw it from outside the gate, and never got inside.

 

I miss all the ships I've been on but this cruise was especially nostalgic, having been on her 10 years ago and then returning for a visit.

 

Lynne

 

Glad to help! I do try to get familiar with most of the ship when I sail if I can. I like to see all that I can.

[jenseib]

Thanks for your fine review and all your great photos...including your room. :):):):)

 

You're Welcome!

[jenseib]

While in the area I wanted to take a look at the spa. I am not a spa type of person either, but I always enjoy touring them. I do think one of these days I am going to schedule a massage though.

It was kind of odd as they had the entrance blocked off so you had to go to a side entrance.

I did not ask for a guided tour as I just like to wander and take a few pictures.

I went into the salon first…as I am a licensed hair stylist, even though I no longer practice in a salon….by choice!

[jenseib]

They really like these Statues on Princess. I have seen quite a few around the ship.

I always have intentions of going to the gym. I have yet to make it and work out on a ship yet.

I assume these are for spinning with no seats? Doesn’t look comfy to me at all? LOL!!!!!

[jenseib]

 

 

 

The CM insisted I take a picture of her set up so I obliged.

 

 

 

[jenseib]

It looked like a nice spa. Is it better than Disney or other lines? I really don’t know. I am not a spa person so I really can’t compare. This seemed to be a bit smaller and that could very well be that this is an older ship and the new Princess ones probably have a lot more to them.

[jenseib]

Mom decided to head back to the room to rest. I headed off near Trade winds and decided it was time for a mocktail!

I was really happy I got the drink card as I had several of these over the course of the cruise. Super yummy!

I sat and observed some people. There were a group of about 3 couples that came by. I noticed the one guy had a seed company logo on his hat. FARMER! I can spot them a mile away. He even had mannerisms of my husband. I would guess at least one of his buddies was one as well.

I then met a lady who said hello and introduced herself as M (I won’t post names here). She was friendly but promptly told me she hated the ship. LOL! I just totally laughed to myself. She had been on the previous cruise as well. I wondered why in the heck one would keep sailing the same ship? She told me this was around her 8th cruise on this ship alone. I later found out it was because it just wasn’t very accessible for someone in a scooter. And she had been on several Princess ships and this one just wasn’t her favorite. They lived in the area so they did like to cruise a lot and were close to being Elite.

After chatting a bit I decided to explore some more.

This place had pizza and it was very good. It was a thin pizza and I really thought Princess had good pizza especially compared to Disney ships…which are pretty much known for bad pizza.

I had seen a deck out very far towards the front so I decided to go in search of it.

A nice view from the front. I never did make it back here again to take more pictures while out at sea.