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Live from Regal Princess trans-Atlantic/Baltic

nreeder

By nreeder,
in Princess Cruises

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susancruzs

susancruzs

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Thanks for the updates! I just booked next years version so I'll be following along! :)

 

I was booked on the Fall Grand Adventure 2016 but the price difference between Spring and Fall was huge so I changed to April 2016, got the last inside on Aloha! :D

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Loonbeam

Loonbeam

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That was a very different menu than we had for the CT Lumiere on the Royal back in October. Wonder if they changed it up or just because Chef Marzi was on board (we had no lobster and no tableside prep at all - I was quite disappointed about the latter)

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pspercy

pspercy

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Regal Princess and Amsterdam Tomorrow in Azores

 

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=pt&u=http://cruzeirospdl.blogspot.com/2015/04/regal-princess-e-amsterdam-amanha-em.html%3Futm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2BAzoresCruiseClub%2B%28Azores%2BCruise%2BClub%2B-%2BCruzeiros%2Bnos%2BA%25C3%25A7ores%29&prev=search

 

Regal not showing on Marine Traffic tho' Amsterdam is approaching. Regal's webcam is out too !

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nreeder "Live from...." Rare

nreeder

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LAND--SUNSHINE, what a concept! We got both yesterday, so life is good. We were in Ponta Delgada, the capita of the Azores, about 800 miles off the coast of Portugal and owned by Portugal.

 

We had an afternoon tour, so that morning we went into the historic town and got some Euro's at a couple of ATM's and wandered into a few churches including the cathedral. Many of the churchs had Baroque carved altar pieces behind the Altar covered in gold leaf. What did surprise us however is that many of the walls were covered in blue and white tiles that looked like Delft from Holland.

 

In the afternoon on the tour, the guide explained that the tile comes from two factories here in the Azores so is a local craft. We drove up to the top of an extinct volcano for some wonderful views of the island along with views of twin lakes that appear independently to be green and blue.

 

The bus then took us back down into the capital for a wine and cheese tasting of local wines and cheeses. Portuguese wine is reported to be quite good, but these wines were grown locally here on the islands, not on the mainland and so were OK, but nothing special. The cheeses were nice, one creamy, one kind of spicy and one with flecks of parsley in it.

 

The day before, we did a "cabin crawl" along with the passengers that have been corresponding about this cruise for the last year on "CruiseCritic". This was a tour of all of the different sizes and types of cabins on board. Couples volunteered to open their cabins so we had a representation of different types. They did have some cabins that no other Princess ship has except the Royal Princess which is a duplicate of this one. Their "obstructed view" cabins turned out not be be obstructed, but had solid steel balconies, especially deep, but still had an ocean view. Another obstructed view had a glass balcony that you could see through, but there was a large storage box on the promenade deck below, so we guess that's the "obstruction", but unless you looked down, you couldn't see it from the cabin.

 

There were a couple inside cabins that are turned sideways to the hallway, rather than the usual perpendicular to the highway. One had bunk beds, one not. We showed off our suite, but got to look at a mini-suite which is what we originally booked, and it was very nice too, we could have certainly lived there for the 28 days had we not got the upsell.

 

We also saw a balcony cabin in the back with a wake view. The balcony was deep, and being on Baja deck actually had about a four foot overhang above giving them some shelter. They said they had no soot issues so far, but we had noticed that when the promenade deck was closed due to windy conditions, and we walked around on the lido deck, the smoke from the ship was being blown off the side, not the back of the ship. We did notice on that balcony that past the overhang, the balcony deck had black stains, so there are issues at some times.

 

We also got to see a deluxe balcony with the love-seat instead of just a desk and chair like the standard balcony cabins. So it was very interesting to see categories of cabins we had never before seen on other Princess ships.

 

Today sea conditions are pretty calm and wind has died down a lot. Had sunshine most of the day so we are good. Hope it holds up. Tomorrow is another sea day, and then Ireland, Maureen's family home.

 

Norm

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Bimmer09 "Live from...." Rare

Bimmer09

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Great review- particularly liked your attention to detail on the dining room decor and Chef's Table Lumiere.

 

Did you take any photos you could share with us?

 

Thanks again,

 

Norris

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nreeder "Live from...." Rare

nreeder

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Yesterday we visited Cobh (pronounced "cove", the port for the city of Cork) in Ireland. With some of our CruiseCritic passengers that we had met via the Internet, we had arranged a private tour which was supposed to be on two buses of 20 each, but unfortunately one of the smaller buses broke down before we landed so we went via a large new bus.

 

We first stopped at Blarney Castle and Blarney Woolen Mills. The Woolen Mills advertises that they are the largest Irish shop in the world and it is big. Besides lots of sweaters, scarves etc, there are linens, souvenirs, T-shirts and sweatshirts, Waterford Crystal, and more. We browsed around, and I bought a black Irish sweater and a hat.

 

Then we walked across the road to Blarney castle. Lots of flowers on the grounds and the cherry trees were in full bloom. Took some pictures of tulips in bloom just in case we miss them in Holland. We didn't climb up to the top of the castle to kiss the Blarney stone. Line was too long, and too touristy!

 

Then we drove for an hour to Kinsale, a cute, quaint coastal town where we could shop and stop at a pub or restaurant for lunch. We ate at Kitty O'Sea's pub/restaurant accompanied by 2 Smithwick ales of course!

 

Finally it was off to Middletown and a visit to the Jameson's Irish Whiskey factory. We had an hour tour, then a tasting. It was interesting to see the differences between Scotch Whisky, American Whisky, and Irish Whiskey. They actually gave us a small taste of all three so we could compare and understand why they taste the way they do.

 

We had wonderful weather in the morning and mid afternoon, then it turned to rain for the rest of the day. By that time we were on our way to Jameson's and it didn't matter. Today is cold (50) and cloudy, but the ocean is smooth. We sail around the southern coast of England this afternoon, and then cross the English Channel to France by morning.

 

Last night we saw the "Fiera" show in the Princess Theater. That was truly wonderful and put the first two shows to shame. Great sets and costumes and production values. There is one more production show to come---"Bold?" or something like that. We know that all will be repeated on the Baltic link, but we have tried to go to these on the Atlantic link so we can sleep late the next morning. Speaking of that, we've gone through 5 time changes and we are now on French time, in preparation for going to Le Havre tomorrow.

 

It's been great fun trying to change 2 iPhones, 2 iPads, our Calendar app, and watches to the different time zones. When you cross the Atlantic there's not a lot of cities you an name that represent a time zone. For a few days we used the ones in Greenland!

 

There will be fewer of these now that we are reaching Europe.

 

More to come! In reply to above, I don't have a place to share pictures as I'm storing them on my portable hard drive until I get home in late June

 

Norm

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nreeder "Live from...." Rare

nreeder

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Another day at sea, but this will cover the tours of the last two days.

 

Le Havre, France

One of our CruiseCritic buddies had arranged for small vans for a trip to the D-Day beaches and cemeteries as well as a stop at the village of Honfluer. There were 8 of us and we used Overlord Tours. Had a wonderful young Frenchman, Yanick who gave us some background on the two hour trip up there. We first went to the northern part of Omaha Beach and he told us the story of the battle there.

 

Since the air bombardment dropped most bombs too far back from the beach, and the naval bombardment didn't do any better, it was a terrible morning for the U.S. troops. About 2,000 died in the morning trying to take the concrete gun turrets and machine gun nests at the top of the bluffs. But by the end of the afternoon, the tide had turned, and our troops secured the beachhead and the tanks, trucks, troops and supplies started onward to the rest of France. He later took us to the Southern Beach where one of the gun turrets is still in place and you can see out the slit that the Germans used to view.

 

Then we went on to the U.S. Cemetery which is quite moving. There are about 9,000 troops buried there. Each has a white marble cross or Star of David on the grave. There is a memorial entrance with a giant map of the invasion. The entrance was surrounded by white blossomed trees in full bloom and it was a sunny but cold day. We then went to the German Cemetery which is very different in style. They have flat granite markers in the lawn, and every so often there are sets of 4 granite crosses between the graves. They have a large mound in the center with the graves of hundreds of "unknown" soldiers and it also has a large granite cross on top.

 

We had a picnic lunch on some benches in the parking lot under some trees. Then we went on to Honfluer which is a small village on the river, with almost Medieval Norman architecture for the shops and houses. It surrounds a little river basin where boats are docked (a couple of river cruise boats were docked there too). Lots of cute restaurants and shops selling Calvados, the liqueur. We went into the oldest and largest wooden Medieval Gothic church in France which was very interesting. We also saw a stone Gothic church of a different style later. Finally we found a little cheese "Frommage" shop and bought some of our favorite French cheese, mimellette, which is that dark orange cheese we've served at home sometimes.

 

Rotterdam

 

Yesterday we docked at Rotterdam, Germany, and we parked right next to their spectacular suspension bridge in the heart of the city. Our cabin had a wonderful view of the skyline across the river. Three rivers converge here and flow into the Atlantic. It is the largest port in Europe.

 

In the afternoon we took a Princess tour to Keukenhof Gardens to see the tulips. We couldn't be sure that we would be there at exactly the right time for them to be in bloom but it turned out that we were there absolutely at their peak. It was like a park with a lake, fountains, trees, and huge beds of tulips (7 million of them!) sprawled out among the trees. They had 5 pavilions spread out in the park for snacks, souvenirs and explanations of how the tulips were bred and planted. They are only open 7 weeks of the year, and it takes hundreds of gardeners to keep this up. It was like one giant "Kodak Moment"!!! I have at least a 100 tulip pictures. Again we lucked out on the weather with clear but it was in the low 50's but we were prepared for that.

 

We are now on our way to Hamburg tomorrow

 

The Princess Experience

 

This is just a little comment on some of our favorite Princess moments on board. We've now been on board for two weeks, and have two more weeks yet to go. Our waiters in the dinning room (late seating), know us very well, and since we are at a table of two, and next to us is a table for six which has been empty since the first day, they have some time to spend with us. We've also had a wonderful time with our dinning captain who supervises our area. We've talked food and wine a lot, and he has given us a couple of "treats" at dinner such as a cheese plate to start, and in Le Havre, escargot which wasn't on the menu that night.

 

He said the night before he was going out to buy some cheese in Le Havre, and we mentioned our favorite French cheese which is mimellette, a dark aged hard cheese which looks like cheddar but doesn't taste like it. On our day in Le Havre, we stopped at Honfluer and passed by a "Frommage" shop so we bought two pieces of cheese, one for us and one for the dinning captain.

 

When he stopped by our table that night he said he did buy cheese, but couldn't find ours. That's when we handed him a little bag from the cheese shop and he was surprised and delighted. We enjoy having a nice dinner each night and not having to rush. We consider it part of our evening's entertainment

 

After dinner we usually go up to Crooner's Bar and have a glass of wine and listen to Annika, the singer/piano player on this cruise. She is very personable and down to earth, and if you go up to her or make a request, she remembers your name for the rest of the cruise (which amazes me as I have a terrible memory for names).

 

Haffnar, the Concierge continues to check with us and makes sure everything is arranged. We feel totally spoiled by the crew, and this trip, our 20th on Princess will always be a very special memory for us for many years to come.

 

Norm

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Fletch1

Fletch1

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Norm,

 

I can also relate to your Princess experiences. Having very good dinner waiters makes our cruise that much more enjoyable.

 

Loving your posts...thanks for finding the time whilst on board.

 

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Mom33

Mom33

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We are enjoying your travel experiences on your TA and thank you for sharing them with us. We missed the tulips on our 2010 TA and hope you will post your "Kodak" moments when you complete your cruise.:)

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nreeder "Live from...." Rare

nreeder

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We had a wonderful day in Berlin yesterday Glenn, one of our CruiseCritic friends knew how to get train tickets from Hamburg to Berlin. He was able to get us First Class tickets on the ICE fast train. So we got to Berlin in about an hour and a half. Princess had chartered a train for it's tours that was going to take over 2 1/2 hours. We also heard some passengers took buses that took 3 hours.

 

Glenn looked at TripAdvisor and found a great guide to take us around in Berlin. Harald met us at the main train station and off we went. We travelled around both the old "East" and "West" Berlin. Saw the restored Reichstag (parliament) with it's new glass dome. We then went to the Kaiser Wilhelm church. This was mostly destroyed in WW II (in retaliation for the German bombing of Coventry Cathedral). Only the entrance hall with it's mosaic ceilings remains from the old church.

 

In 1962 they built a bell tower and new hexagon shaped church next to this. What surprises about the new church is not the outside which is rather drab. But all six sides inside the church are small panes of dark blue glass imported from Chartres in France. Thus, that deep blue colored glass that you see in Chartres surrounds you on all sides. There is a gold image of Christ with his hands out forming a cross that is suspended above the altar and is quite beautiful.

 

We went on to visit most of the major sites, the Brandenburg Gate, and Checkpoint Charlie etc. Stopped at a "Curry Dog" place next to Checkpoint Charlie for a snack. It was quite good with a German hotdog, covered in a home made ketchup with grilled onions and then curry powder sprinkled over it. That plus a Berliner Kindle beer hit the spot! In total we spent from 11:15 am to 5 pm in Berlin and then took the train back to Hamburg.

 

Today is a day at sea, and tomorrow we will reach Copenhagen where two thirds of the passengers will depart. Our waiters told us that approximately 1,000 of us are staying on for the Baltic cruise portion.

 

Norm

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