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Royal Princess live, Brooklyn to FLL

Carolyn R

By Carolyn R,
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Carolyn R

Carolyn R

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Day 8: Aruba. One of our roll call members set up a day sail with the Tranquila. It was a short hike to the dock through the hot, hot, hot streets. We were already starting to appreciate that we would be on the water today. Captain Anthony and mate Duane made us right at home and we sailed/motored to the southern end of the island and enjoyed swimming and snorkeling time away from the crowded tourist spots, beautiful water, lots of fish. After a lunch of homemade soup and sandwiches and drinks including rum punch we sailed back to home port. It was a great day. Thanks Dave!

 

The Coral Princess was in port with us today. We followed her out to sea just as the sun was setting.

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coops14

coops14

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Day 8: Aruba. One of our roll call members set up a day sail with the Tranquila. It was a short hike to the dock through the hot, hot, hot streets. We were already starting to appreciate that we would be on the water today. Captain Anthony and mate Duane made us right at home and we sailed/motored to the southern end of the island and enjoyed swimming and snorkeling time away from the crowded tourist spots, beautiful water, lots of fish. After a lunch of homemade soup and sandwiches and drinks including rum punch we sailed back to home port. It was a great day. Thanks Dave!

 

The Coral Princess was in port with us today. We followed her out to sea just as the sun was setting.

 

Really enjoying your trip reports. We are sailing on the Royal this month. This is our first ever cruise, but have a feeling it wont be our last.

We saw the Royal and Coral on the Aruba webcam. .... looks fantastic,

We are staying in a deluxe balcony cabin too.

Thanks for writing :)

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dmwnc1959

dmwnc1959

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I've really enjoyed reading your wonderful LIVE thread - made me wish I was back on Royal Princess again for another two weeks!!!

 

Looking forward to watching the ship pull in on Tuesday morning, and if you're topside as the ship maneuvers into the port turning basin it'll make for some nice pictures of Regal Princess at Terminal 2 with Royal Princess as your foreground (first light should be around 6:07am).

 

:D

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Carolyn R

Carolyn R

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Days 9 and 10 at sea: We are at the end of our cruise. The last two days were relaxing and mostly spent on our balcony. We have a reservation again tonight for the Crown Grill.

 

Last thoughts: I do love this ship. I loved the deluxe balcony with the loveseat. The size of the balcony was perfectly adequate. Having the balcony did cause me to not be out and about as much on the ship though. The ship's coffee seems better, especially the room service coffee in the morning. The casino was not kind to us. Both of the cabins I have had on this ship were far aft and I find this to be a very convenient location, no elevator problems and good internet connectivity. Our room steward Carlito from the Philippines was great.

 

I think I may have broken my toe today when I stubbed it on the desk chair. It looks like I will be wearing my flip-flops home to winter in Vermont.

 

If there are any questions I will check back from the airport tomorrow and when I get home. Thanks for following along.

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pusywillow

pusywillow

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Days 9 and 10 at sea: We are at the end of our cruise. The last two days were relaxing and mostly spent on our balcony. We have a reservation again tonight for the Crown Grill.

 

Last thoughts: I do love this ship. The casino was not kind to us.

If there are any questions I will check back from the airport tomorrow and when I get home. Thanks for following along.

 

Did you notice if there were a lot of video poker machines in the casino? It is my game of choice. Thanks!

 

Hope your toe feels better.

 

Sue

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Pia1913

Pia1913

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Good luck and safe trip home.

 

FYI, Those disembarking in Ft. Lauderdale on the Ruby today reported that it was slow and delayed, and only two customs agents.

 

Correct information. We met friends for lunch but they got off very early so avoided the long wait.

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pmcue

pmcue

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We did not purchase the Enclave package. We have been too busy eating, sleeping, relaxing on the balcony and repeating.

 

Pia, I got a chance to see Sam tonight and I gave her your regards.

 

Day 5: Today we sailed into St. Thomas and docked in Havensight at 7 am. I know I am in the minority but I prefer Crown Bay. I like to go to Water Island and it is much more convenient from Crown Bay. Cathy left for her underwater scooter adventure and I ventured on my own via crazy St. Thomas open air taxi to Secret Harbor. I had never been there before and really wanted to go to a "secret" beach because there were five ships in port today, one of which was the Allure I think. I soon realized I had made a good choice, not many people at all, nice white sand, tree shade, chairs for rent, and the water was warm and clear. I had a great day! I happened upon three couples from Scotland who were so kind, seeing I was there alone, and ended up adopting me. We had a few tropical cocktails sitting in the warm water and chatting and they made sure I got back to the ship safely via their air conditioned van. Tomorrow is Antigua and I invited the Scots to join us at Valley Church Beach. Cathy said the underwater scooter excursion was a big disappointment but she did it and I am proud of her, not knowing how to swim or a beach/water person at all.

 

When we left NY the captain was unable to play the Love Boat on the ship's horns because of noise regulations in the harbor. Today he played it twice as we were leaving St. Thomas.

 

We had a nice dinner in the Symphony dining room and are back in the cabin, sitting on the balcony, drinking wine, and listening to Johnny Mathis. We are really not participating in the evening activities at all.

 

Goodnight all.

 

Secret Harbor is one of favorites when cruising St. Thomas. Love the snorkling, no crowds and Cruzan Rum Bar. Getting excited for our second cruise on Royal this spring. Thanks for sharing.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Forums mobile app

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Carolyn R

Carolyn R

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Sitting at the airport. We did EZ check and it was money very well spent. We were not given a time to disembark so we had breakfast and strolled off the ship at about 9 am. There were only three customs agents so disembarkation was delayed. We had no line to grab a cab to the airport. There is construction going on in the Jet Blue terminal so it was very crowded and the lines were long. It was so nice to be able to bypass the lines and go straight to security.

 

Sue, I don't play the slots and know nothing about the poker machines. Sorry.

 

Having a Bloody Mary. My flight isn't until 3:15 pm. I have a five hour layover in JFK and will have dinner there and watch the election results. I won't get to Burlington until almost midnight and it will be 1 am before I get home. Long day! Don't forget to vote everyone!

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Carolyn R

Carolyn R

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Hi Carolyn

So glad you had a wonderful cruise and thank you for posting all that you did.

 

What is EZ check? is this done with Princess or the Airlines.

 

Was is Jet Blue you took and why were you able to go straight to Security?

 

thank You

 

EZ check is something that you sign up for on the ship. You put your bag out on the last night and you don't see it again until you reach your final destination. Boarding passes are delivered to your storeroom and you go dire toy to security when you reach the airport. It saves searching for your bags in the cruise terminal and waiting in line at the airport to check your bags. Overweight fees are waived if you use this service. The cost is $20 pp plus any baggage fees the airline charges. The service is available on most airlines but not all.

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maun

maun

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Hi Carolyn,

I, too, just returned from a wonderful, relaxing cruise on the Royal Princess. Sorry I didn't get to meet you -- we were neighbors -- I was across the hall in B731.

I agree with you about Carlito -- he was the best -- took excellent care of the cabin and always had a smile on his face. The cabin stewards all work so hard day after day for months at a time.

The Royal is a beautiful ship with many nice features. This was a great itinerary -- loved all the relaxing sea days and the ports. The weather couldn't have been better after the earlier prediction of rain for all three port days.

Looking forward to doing this repo next year.

~~maun (Maureen)

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