9-17 CB Review Part 1

[imsulin2]

First, let me start off by thanking Host Caroline for all the hard work and effort she put into organizing this cruise for us! She really did an amazing job with the door signs, lanyards, T-shirts, and itineraries! Second, I would like to apologize to my fellow CCers for not making much of an appearance during the CC activities. Once I got onboard, I just kind of did "my own thing", and kept going from there! I did enjoy very much meeting those of you that I did get to meet, and hope you had as great a time as I did!

 

OK - here's thereview. Just hope it goes through this time!

 

Arrived in FLL on the 16th, and my stay at the Comfort Inn on Stirling Road was much better than my stay there this past April. I was actually picked up by the shuttle in about 20 minutes. My room was very hot, though, so I turned the A/C on high, put on my suit, and headed for the pool, where I received the first of several sunburns, despite the Tropicana 15. My bad. Host Caroline got us a great rate of $65/night, too! We met and mingled, and were totally psyched about our cruise! She also arranged for two shuttle vans to take us and our luggage to Port Everglades at about 11:30, and all was well! My first view of the CB told me that this is, indeed, a beautiful ship!

 

 

 

 

 

EMBARKATION: Well, this was something new for me (after about 25 cruises). Our luggage was off-loaded and delivered to the ship by porters. No problemo! Then...we were directed to the end of a very long line in the very hot sun for a very long time! Now, I've never had to do this before - always waited inside the cruise terminal. (Note to Princess: Do something about this!) We all admired the sweat dripping down each other's necks, and the soaked T-shirts and wet armpits. Truly, we did! Someone (PhatCruiser?) had the presence of mind to bring a couple of battery-operated fans, which he willingly shared! Once inside the terminal, it went fairly quickly. One thing I really liked was that Princess had check-in according to Deck. So.. I immediately scooted myself and carry-on to the Plaza Deck area, and noticed that...there was only one couple in front me! YES!! Of course, this is the "cheapie" deck, but I had gotten an upgrade from an inside to an outside. ( It's what you do when you cruise solo.) We were also given Health Forms to fill out and sign and turn in. Finally!! I am boarded!

 

CABIN: I was in P217, which was small, but very comfortable! There was plenty of closet and drawer space, and luggage storage. Nice picture window, too. I was far forward on the starboard side, near the art gallery. My cabin steward, Mikki....etc., introduced himself and said that this was his very first week! He was very sweet, and took very good care of me. I tipped him a whopping 20 bucks right off the bat, and showed him the half-eaten "Happy Honeymoon" cake in my fridge from the past week's passengers. I swear, I was so hungry, I nearly tore into that thing! He removed it immediately. (Hope the Happy Couple had as much fun as I did!) Then...I saw the..um..er..bathroom, which leads me to: The Attack Of The 7-foot Shower Curtain. Well, I could handle the toilet OK, but for seven days, I fought the shower curtain in the world's smallest shower! I think I saw one that size in a London hotel about 30 years ago. Maybe. Someone (maybe the newlyweds?) had removed the magnets for souvenir purposes, apparently. This shower curtain was immediately attracted to soap/shampoo slathered bodies (mine) and wrapped itself around me daily. Now, there's a little built-in shelf (the size of my Rolf's billfold) to hold your shampoo, razor, and soap. NOT! It only took me two days to figure out that if you stick your whole rear-end out of the shower (being plastered to the curtain), you can bend over to pick up your soap/shampoo/razor. Shaving legs involved standing outside the shower and placing each leg up on the toilet seat. It worked for me! The "blow-dryer" managed to dry my arm hairs very quickly, but I used the dryer I brought with me for my head hair. Anyway, I slept very well! Oh - one thing I quickly learned was that not all elevators go down to Deck 5. (Note to Princess: Thanks for the handy-dandy pocket guide of the ship's layout!) Mikki....etc. did a great job!!

 

SAILAWAY: The CB band, "Tenacity" was absolutely wonderful the whole time! We met on Deck 16 for Sailaway, which was great!! We left later than planned, due to late-arriving passengers. I had managed to eat a wonderful salad and sandwich at Cafe Caribe earlier. Lots of dancing and whooping!! Well, doncha know, that after a few drinks, I really had to pee! No public restrooms on Deck 16, so a very nice Deck

 

Attendant advised me to use the ones in the Lotus Spa. Bee-line to the Spa! Picture me: "Mature" lady with badly wind-blown hair, a wrinkled CC T-shirt on, no visible sign of funds, and a glass of beer in my hand. Picture Kathy from Vancouver, a very young, perfectly coiffed and made-up Spa employee. I politely asked to use the restroom. Ms. Kathy from Vancouver rudely replied, "Our bathrooms are not functioning at this time." Riiiight!!! U-bet! I really believe that! So....after bolting like crazy down to Deck 15, I arrived "intact" at the public restrooms. I later went back to the Lotus Spa, nicely dressed, hair in place, and wearing years' worth of St. Thomas jewelry, ship card in hand and encountered....(you guessed it!), Kathy from Vancouver, who immediately delved into the spiel about Spa specials. At this point, I asked her if the Spa bathrooms were up and functioning. Suddenly her co-workers were looking at her, and she apparently recognized me, because she sputtered something about "flushing" problems. Needless to say, I did not book any Spa treatments due to the rudeness of KfV, but several of the friends I met did, and they enjoyed it. Yes - I wrote it on the comment card.

More to come!

 

 

[JandD Mom]

I enjoyed your review. Do you remember what time you arrived at the port for embarkation?

[pamwinn]

Okay....tap, tap, tap....I'm ready for part 2. :D

[imsulin2]

We arrived at about noon for embarkation. Part 2 is being written as I write! The problem is that the next subject is FOOD, and I'm salivating just thinking about that seafood!

[imsulin2]

FOOD: Well, I thought that the food was fantastic!! I must admit that I over-indulged myself in shrimp, lobster and crab legs at the Cafe Caribe (2 cold nights, 1 hot night). I'm now Googling for a Miami surgeon to perform a seafoodliposuction for a cheap price. (Note to Princess: Put the drawn butter next to the seafood instead of in the main buffet line.) I also over-indulged on the wonderful pizza (Here a slice, there a slice, everywhere a slice- slice). The oft-heard comment was, "There goes that lady in the black bathing suit with more pizza again". I had dinner in the Coral Restaurant twice, and was very impressed! I've always cruised with "traditional dining", but I absolutely loved eating whenever I felt like it! I also didn't pack my traditional long formal gowns which have seen too many cruises, and the matching shoes hurt! I really enjoyed the Cafe Caribe, and went there quite often. Wonderful sesame rolls and salads! Great dishes and desserts! (Note to Princess: Put the butter pats next to the breads...not the cheeses, OK? I tried to spread Feta cheese (which looked like butter) on my rolls and croissants, and it wasn't pretty!) I loved being able to go in and not wait in line. I could get a plate of fruit, a sandwich or salad, a dessert, a main dish in no time at all! Of course, finding a place to sit was another story! Also, I wondered why there was only ice water and tea, and hot "coffee" at the drink stations? Lemonade, anyone? Another slight disappointment was the room service breakfast menu...only cereals, and rolls/danishes. I've always ordered breakfast from room service because I'm basically lazy, and want my coffee/OJ/breakfast delivered to my cabin. (Note to Princess: You might want to follow the HAL example of full breakfasts and fresh-squeezed orange juice. Your OJ was..um..not very good!!) Other than the bad orange juice and stale croissants I got from room service, the food was - IMO - among the best cruise food I've ever had! I was very impressed with the variety of food that Princess offered. My belly is proof of this! Alas - I did not eat at Sterling's or Sabatinis...maybe on a later cruise.

[Nicecara]

I was on this awesome cruise also and have also cruised this same ship two previous times this year....the first two embarkations were horrid but I was told on several occasions by others cruisers that had arrived later that they had not much of a line. Sooo...this time we just lounged around Embassy Suites and decided to go late to see if we could avoid the lines. To our amazement, we were on the ship in no time. I love getting on the ship early like everyone else but I will forgo that from now on. It was so much less stressful.:)

[imsulin2]

Good point, nicecara! We sailed on the Zuiderdam this past April from FLL, and didn't even go to the pier until about 2:00. No lines, got right onboard!

[stooth]

insulin2, you mentioned in the food section that you had to look for tea, water, lemonade,etc? I thought with them being a "Carnival" relative, that they would have drinks availabe. My husband has to take medicine at timed intervals(because of kidney transplant)each day and when were on RCCL-Mariner in August, you could not find water without stoping at a bar for a cup of water, which drove my hubby crazy. It was like, if you weren't drinking the hard stuff or coke, they wanted you to be. I really was hoping for some sort of drink station open past 9pm at night.

[Crazsea]

FANTASTIC Imsulin2!!!!

Keep it coming.

Thank you!

PS. I too boarded at 2PMish. Walk right on the ship. No lines again for me either.

[jerseygirl3]

OMG, I did the same thing with the feta cheese!

 

I agree with next time getting there later to avoid the lines. I had a reason for having to get there early this time; otherwise I'd wait til around 2 p.m.

 

The only drink stations I saw were in the buffet areas (take a page from Carnival and put more of them around) and they contained only coffee, hot tea, and iced tea, and water. No juice or punch.

[WOOFIE]

This is one of the best posts and replies I've read yet. I've been LOL since reading these. So glad to see people with a super sense of humor! Hope there's more to come with this review. :D

[dbmiller1956]

This is great!...I am looking forward reading the rest. Going to be on the ship in 10 days.

 

Deena

[madelinerose]

Fabulous review! :D

[cruzinchris]

Imsulin2,

So glad you finally got your review posted - and, puhleeeez, let us hear more. I'm absolutely loving your humorous take on things! If everyone could look at a cruise through your eyes, every ship would be a much happier place.

 

Surely you must have much more to say about the entertainment, the crew and staff, and, of course, your fellow passengers. Don't hold back - we all need a little laughter in our lives.

 

Encore! Bravo! Encore!

Chris

[Roboat]

This is one of the best posts and replies I've read yet. I've been LOL since reading these. So glad to see people with a super sense of humor! Hope there's more to come with this review. :D

 

Absolutely agree!!! What a great writer!! Wonderful humor. And to think this is only your second draft! ;) (Imsulin2's post she wrote yesterday went to the great CC la-la-land in the sky.)

 

I think I'll make it a point to look for Kathy from Vancouver in the Spa, and let her know that she has a reputation. I LOVED your "before and after" descriptions.

 

Deena - care to join me with this childish behavior? :) :D

 

I'll post this in our CB 10/8 Roll Call, too. Maybe when she hears it often enough she'll realize that her rudeness might cost her a few bucks. :p

[Coolcruise02]

What is the Caribe Cafe? Does it have its own food and serving lines or is it part of the Horizon Court? Thanks for the great review. :)

[leighj]

That review was great and heeeeeeeeeelarious! I was snickering out loud at my desk about the shower curtain and then the scene in the spa (that situation would SO happen to me!). Like another poster said, next week, I'm thinking of doing a little test on Kathy a la Vancouver so that when she starts getting snippy, I can say, "Of course! You're the Kathy from Vancouver that I heard about! Your reputation precedes you! Now, where exactly is the rest room, and let's not have any of that business about flushing problems!" Of course, I'll never wind up actually doing this. :D

 

Someone else in another review talked about this same little cluster of spa employees. That time, they actually locked people who were using the tide pool out of the area where the bathrooms are located! People apparently complained and they loosened up a bit. Sorry, but after boat drinks by the pool, I will need to avail myself of that facility, Kathy or no Kathy!

[lv2crooz2]

Great review !! How did you get in my room while I was in the shower ? I didn't MEAN to drop that soap ! Actually, you tell it like it is for those of us unfortunate to be part of the real world. We're leaving on the 15th on CB and I'll be sure to look up the bathroom monitor ! My Mom will be having a spa treatment there on her 84th birthday and she'll tell her what will happen if she doesn't let her use the facilities. It won't be pretty and will involve a MOP ! AAAHHHH...thanks for the chuckles. When can we expect more ??????:) :) :)

[imsulin2]

ENTERTAINMENT: Call me an old poop, but I didn't go to any of the shows. Probably due to the facts that: I was sprouting an ectoskeleton as a result of eating so much seafood/my sunburn counts went up each day/rumor has it that I was imbibing alcohol during the day, but that could not possibly be true!/ - or - that I'm a long-time AARP member. Anyway, I did hear fantastic reports from my pool chair buddies about Music Man and Bert Stratton! Now...about MUTS!! Call me an old poop who's "young at heart". One of the best days I had was watching "Grease" and "Jurassic Park" during the day...with nary a kid in sight!! Just old (and not-so-old) poops like me in the pool, lounging on chairs, and with the ever-present Bucket of Dos Equis nearby. And eating pizza "occasionally". Just imagine a gyrating 15-foot John Travolta!! He beat the T-Rex hands down! (Be still, my heart!) Now - the very best was the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" one night at about 11:00 p.m! I actually had to try to set a wake-up call for p.m. instead of a.m. (I flunked the course on Military Time). Tucked my nightgown into a pair of shorts, and joined the throngs of Time Warpers at MUTS. It was great!! And I didn't fall asleep! Apparently, it was so popular that they showed it again on another night. My real "entertainment" was in the....Casino!! Now, I don't normally play in ship's casinos, but on a whim, I sat down at a BlackJack table, and proffered a $20.00 bill (which looked pretty cheesy next to all the $100.00 bills). Anyway, I won it back and more....thanks to dealer Lolita from Latvia! The next night, I did the same thing, but dealer Cris from Croatia was beating everybody! So I soothed my hurt feelings with a couple of "harmless" drinks, and then went back, starting with the same 20 bucks. Well, lo and behold, dealer Roxy from Romania managed to quintuple my ante! Now...the third night at the Casino just about made my cruise! (Just about) I actually was able to "casually dress" with shaved legs, decent hair, a sunburn turning into a tan, and a whiff of Tommy Girl. Quite the "Babe". A very nice-looking gentleman about my age (mature) sat down next to me, and we both began to win, thanks to dealer Boris from Bosnia! Well, this chap was outright flirting with me, which I allowed after quickly checking out the fourth-finger, left hand to look for ring - or tan line around missing ring. Noticed nothing! I am in Heaven! I am winning hand over fist in more ways than one, and ready to give him my name, number, and AARP membership information! Sigh. Well - you can guess the rest of the story. A lady shows up and says to him, "Where the hell have you been? The Grandkids have been looking everywhere for you!" End of dream, but my winnings allowed me to have a lot of fun onshore! I did not do Bingo/Princess Idol/art auctions/bridge/ or Trivial Pursuit for Dummies. I was completely happy by the pool, watching sweet young things stuff fruit into their bikinis, and hot guys doing belly flops!!~

[Cruisin4eva]

Imsulin2-

That's it!!! I'm sending you a ticket.... you're sailing with us next month!!! As us New Yorkers say... "You are a pissa!!". And that is NOT an insult... it means you are VERY funny! Thanks for this review. No only chock full of info... but it has brought many smiles to my face and I have to say a few belly laughs too!!! Your the best! I am so happy you had a great time on your trip!!! You deserved it! :D

[imsulin2]

PORTS OF CALL #1: Princess Cays. We found out early on that we would be doing a Western itinerary, which was fine with me! I only heard a few complaints about the change - everyone else seemed to be OK with it. I heard the occasional " Damn! I wanted to buy 20 carats of diamonds on St. Thomas!" and "I saved for two years to see naked people at Orient Beach!" It really was a "go with the flow" attitude, and Capt. Guieseppe Romano made a very good decision, as we had wonderful weather the entire week! FIRST PORT: Princess Cays. I had asked several questions on this Board about this place, and read info. about rocks and seaweed. Hmmm. I packed a pair of 15-year old Aqua Socks from Target to take with me. I got up early and enjoyed a room service breakfast of a stale croissant, bad OJ, OK coffee, and great butter. I really like the way that Princess organizes their tendering. Man, I've stood in too many long lines that wind up staircases with my feet being trampled on by everything from stilettos to Hush Puppies! Went to the Princess Theater, and actually got on the very first tender! Not too eager for a day at the beach!! I was very pleasantly surprised at how nice this place was, and since I had gotten there early, I basically had my pick of beach chairs. Natch, I chose one right up front, near the bar/restrooms/buffet. In that order. Fabulous day at Princess Cays!! The weather was perfect!! Warm and sunny, no rocks or seaweed, Well, maybe a few rocks. So...I am comfortably ensconced in a great location, and reading a Patricia Cornwall paperback (The Last Precinct at the Body Farm with a Trace of Post-Mortem). Along comes the beach bartender with one of those corny coconuts on the tray.for ten bucks. Riiight! I am really going to buy one of those things! I casually said that I would prefer a pina colada, knowing in advance that they're not very strong. Well, after only three of those things, I somehow ended up with one of those crappy carved coconuts and a bit of disorientation. I'm pretty sure that I got sunburned - again. I also think I might have donated my Target Aqua Socks to some relief organization. Anyway, I enjoyed a "Cheeseburger in Paradise" sans the Heinz 57. I'm pretty sure I enjoyed it a lot!! I did not get my hair braided or a henna tattoo. My age spots form a perfect "Mother" on my right arm. This truly had to be my favorite port! (Note to Princess: Go into negotiations with HAL to buy Half Moon Cay. It's still my "perfect" beach!!) Wonderful day!!!!!

 

 

[imsulin2]

PORTS OF CALL # 2; Cozumel. Now, I really do enjoy going to Mexico!! I usually go to an all-inclusive there about once a year, either in Cancun or on the Mayan Riviera. Once again, I enjoy a room-service breakfast of the "usual", and am off the ship as soon as clearance is announced. Oh - forgot to mention that the two brand-new bathing suits that I bought for this cruise were still resting comfortably on my bed at home, so I had to wear the same ugly black bathing suit the entire time, and wash it out every night. Bummer! I made a bee-line to Diamonds International to upgrade my tennis bracelet and buy a new setting for my aquamarine (birth stone). It is about 8:30 a.m., and what the heck?? The place is closed! While commiserating, I met a very nice taxi driver, and asked him to take me to Paradise Beach. I've always wanted to go there, and it was a $13.00 taxi ride each way. There was no admission charge, or a charge for beach chairs. Very, very nice beach, restaurant, bar, and facilities!! They did charge an $8.00 fee to use the floating rock-climbing wall and the water trampolines. Riiight!! I'm really going to haul my cookies up an inflatable rock-climbing wall and dump my butt into the water after the first embarassing attempt! So, I opted to just lie in my chair and enjoy the beach and water! I met a lot of very nice folks from our ship and a couple of Carnival ships that were in port that day. (You can always tell what cruise line people are on by the beach towels) I am looking for my Corona, and am distressed to learn that only Dos Equis and Sol are available. I made arrangements with beach bartender Don Juan to set up a tab, and after numero ocho Sol, and sunburn #3. I taxi back to San Miguel and go to DI. I got this little "charm" bracelet from DI last April, and every DI store you go to will give you a free charm...so I had a sombrero from Cozumel added to this bracelet. (Will probably end up selling the thing on e-bay, since the charms from Nassau, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Antigua, and Cozumel will be on it!) I was also able to upgrade my diamond tennis bracelet and bought a beautiful new setting for my aquamarine!! They plied me with a genuine Corona, and I just kept signing those AMEX Traveller's Checks! I'm pretty sure I got a good deal, and they paid for my taxi back to the ship. (Note to Princess: Thank you for not docking at the pier with the ten-mile long tin shed full of Mexican "bargains" that ends at Fat Tuesday's!!) I really had a wonderful day, mes amigos!!

 

 

[tjatczak]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the GREAT review....

Can't wait for the next installment

 

Ted

[pamwinn]

I rushed home and logged on only to discover I beat imsulin2. So......I'll just wait her out. This is my favorite part of cruisecritic. I just love reading the reviews. I read them all. The longer, the better. This one is particularly enjoyable. More imsulin2. :D

[imsulin2]

PORTS OF CALL# 3: Grand Cayman. Now, this part will probably be pretty boring, because I didn't even get off the ship! I've been one of the lucky ones who managed to tender 6 out of 6 times, so it was kind of a "been there, done that" kind of thing. We did not arrive until noon, and non-tour passengers could not tender until about 1:00 or later. I usually just go the the beautiful public beach anyway, and figured it was just too late in the day. However, I have wonderful memories of my times in Grand Cayman!! Yaz....I've done StingRay City (loved it!!), have seen the Turtle Farm, and have been to Hell. (!!) There were quite a number of passengers who also stayed on the ship, and although it was very hot, it was a great, relaxing day! Just like a sea day without going anywhere. (Note to Princess: Please set up the ice-water drink stands by the pools every day...not just on scheduled sea days!) Earlier in the morning, the MUTS pool (still can't remember whether it was Neptune or Calypso. DUH.) was emptied for cleaning, and then re-filled around noon. By "re-filled", I mean re-filled with water warmer than most baths I take! This was the day I watched John Travolta and T-Rex, and I had to keep going back to the other pool to cool off because the other water was so warm. One thing I liked about Princess, though, was the fresh-water pools. No dried, salty crust on your body! Very refreshing! I was in the pool one day, and a man next to me swore that it was salt-water. Even after he "tasted" it on his arm, he still swore it was salt-water. ( I just think the guy had a problem with his sweat!) Anyway, it was still a great day, and, of course, I was watching my "diet", so I had a great salad at the buffet with Ranch-lite dressing. Then, I had several pieces of pizza and a couple of frothy something-or-others with rum in them. I've never done any kind of extensive shopping in Grand Cayman due to the prices for quality merchandise. I can buy four fake Rolexes in San Juan for the price of a pashmina and one Tortuga Rum Cake in Grand Cayman! But, a lot of passengers did shop there, and from their comments, were very satisfied! It truly is a beautiful island, and seems to be many people's favorite port on the Western itinerary. I love full days there! This time, thouigh...not meant to be. Now, this was the night I gussied myself up for the Casino and the wife ruined my little tete'-a-tete' with the handsome stranger with no wedding ring on. Just my luck! Sigh. It was another wonderful day, though!