Live From the Royal in the W Caribbean- November 24, 18- To Blog or Not to Blog...

[TracieABD]

On 11/27/2018 at 12:07 PM, CRLess said:

 

Marius is one of the best Head Waiters we have encountered...very friendly and attentive.  He knows his wines very well also.  I'm glad you got to meet him and don't be afraid to reach out to him if you hit any snags while on board.

Marius is truly awesome! Thank you for the introduction!

[TracieABD]

On 11/27/2018 at 1:58 PM, aliciam said:

 

Hope you are enjoying Costa Maya today!

 

I am very excited! Have you heard anyone talking details about the upcoming wet dock? I'm hoping everything goes as scheduled and we are able to embark on time (or maybe even have our cabins ready early)🤗

There was a little chatter but not too much. I hope all is ready for you!

[TracieABD]

On 11/28/2018 at 12:16 AM, geoherb said:

I'm enjoying your posts--and following the adventures of our other Princess in Europe. You're missing a cold snap in Charlotte. Wednesday's high is supposed to be in the mid 40s. It's supposed to warm up by Friday.

I know. It is like a blogging Princess smack down... I would have loved to have tagged along with P2- her trip looks so fun!

[Colo Cruiser]

27 minutes ago, chamima said:

Hi Tracie

I was looking forward to your impressions of Nachi in Cozumel.

Too bad the weather interfered in your day.

We are going to be there in January and my daughter said she's heard rumors of drinks in all-inclusives in Mexico not being safe.

Something about them using "home made" liquor to save money .

Did you hear anything about that?

Yes very true. You have to be really careful.

The $$ are part of it and the fact that tourists make a*&^'s out of themselves after they drink it is another reason.

Many times its a type of homemade grain type alcohol, very dangerous.

[TracieABD]

On 11/28/2018 at 8:31 AM, FraudBroad said:

TRACIE!!!! So excited to see your "Live from" thread....oh how I love them!

Glad you enjoyed your day at Tropicante. I just love Steve, and Oscar is the BEST! Hope you had the chicken and sour cream enchilada. They are to die for!

 

Keep having fun!

Natalie

Hey Nat! How are you???

[Colo Cruiser]

22 minutes ago, TracieABD said:

 

1. THIS IS THE BIG ONE- PAY ATTENTION- Princess is reportedly phasing out Splenda. They are replacing it with some weird white stuff- that has the same ingredients as Sweet and Low. Saccharine gives me a migraine, so it is off my list. I was lucky. The nice lady at the IC dug around and gave me every Splenda she could find to hoard. It wasn’t much, but it got me through. I will be bringing a big box of Splenda on our 34 day cruise. Has anyone else had this experience?

I saw the nasty white stuff on the Regal. I thought it was regular sugar and runied my cappuccino when I put 4 in it.  

[4cats4me]

10 hours ago, TracieABD said:

Ugh... I am 800 versions of annoyed right now. I have the remainder of the blog written on my iPad- but every time I try to access Cruise Critic, it just loads and reloads and reloads. I will work on it today.

 

Thank you for your patience!

Same here, but it didn’t happen on my iPhone.  Yesterday iPad cooperated, and tonight it keeps reloading.  

[4cats4me]

6 minutes ago, Colo Cruiser said:

I saw the nasty white stuff on the Regal. I thought it was regular sugar and runied my cappuccino when I put 4 in it.  

I always travel with my own... Stevia in the raw is very good.  

[aliciam]

1 hour ago, TracieABD said:

I have not heard anything about bad liquor. I don’t drink, so it is not anything that has crossed my path. It sounds dangerous.

 

Just chiming in - we've been to Nachi multiple times and never had an issue with the drinks (other than maybe being a little weak). Bottled beer is also included if your would rather not chance it. We've also visited and stayed in other all-inclusives and never had any issues with drinks in Cozumel/Cancun.

[Astro Flyer]

Thanks again Tracie for sharing your cruise with us! 😃

 

I wonder if the lack of Splenda is another pre-shipyard maintenance inventory shortage?  Hopefully so or it’s like several years ago when the brand names were replaced by yellow, pink & blue packets of generic artificial sweeteners with the Princess name.

 

I’ve discovered a temporary cure for the disembarkation blahs...I book longer cruises to delay the inevitable disembarkation blues. ☺️

Edited December 3, 2018 by Astro Flyer

[caribill]

6 hours ago, TracieABD said:

 Used one of our brand new shiny FCC’s to book a 34 day cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Santiago, Chile- with four days of cruising around (not all the way) Antarctica.
 

 

I assume your cruise will go to the Falkland Islands. The tourist infrastructure there is not sufficient for the number of people on the large Princess ships, so if you want to take a Princess tour there, reserve it as soon as it is available. If you want to take a private tour there, reserve it even earlier.

[TracieABD]

7 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

Thanks again Tracie for sharing your cruise with us! 😃

 

I wonder if the lack of Splenda is another pre-shipyard maintenance inventory shortage?  Hopefully so or it’s like several years ago when the brand names were replaced by yellow, pink & blue packets of generic artificial sweeteners with the Princess name.

 

I’ve discovered a temporary cure for the disembarkation blahs...I book longer cruises to delay the inevitable disembarkation blues. ☺️

I am not sure about the Splenda. They were pushing the white stuff hard, though.

 

This will be my first long cruise. I am not sure what qualifies as a really long cruise- but 34 days seems long to me!

[TracieABD]

4 hours ago, caribill said:

 

I assume your cruise will go to the Falkland Islands. The tourist infrastructure there is not sufficient for the number of people on the large Princess ships, so if you want to take a Princess tour there, reserve it as soon as it is available. If you want to take a private tour there, reserve it even earlier.

Done and done! Been chatting with Patrick Watts....

[Coral]

11 hours ago, TracieABD said:

 

 

Jon seems to like cruising... a lot. So I suggested that he might want to purchase a FCC. We headed down to the sea the Future Cruise Consultant- and casually mentioned that we might be interested in Antarctica... Yes. Princess is headed back to Antarctica! And guess what we did... Used one of our brand new shiny FCC’s to book a 34 day cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Santiago, Chile- with four days of cruising around (not all the way) Antarctica. We decided, based on the length of the cruise- that we are better off in a mini-suite.

 

Tracie - I think I am booked on the last leg of that trip. I haven't researched it yet - I figure there is time off at Christmas!

 

Just returned from Crystal Christmas Market trip and I am in aww of their river boats!

[TracieABD]

46 minutes ago, Coral said:

Tracie - I think I am booked on the last leg of that trip. I haven't researched it yet - I figure there is time off at Christmas!

 

Just returned from Crystal Christmas Market trip and I am in aww of their river boats!

Are you serious??? After all these years... finally we will find our way to the same ship?!?! At the same time?!?! BONUS!!!!

[erber]

We are booked on the Dec 20  leg of the trip....We are hoping the stars align and everything is fine so that we can indeed be on the cruise next Christmas! We plan to book excursions through Princess due to a LOT of OBC and check often to see if excursions are opened up... We know we will need to jump on it when they are available. Tracie, I have not met you but love your posts! So,  looking forward to this cruise. It is more than a bucket list trip for us.

[greenie082756]

17 hours ago, TracieABD said:

 

 

 

1. THIS IS THE BIG ONE- PAY ATTENTION- Princess is reportedly phasing out Splenda. They are replacing it with some weird white stuff- that has the same ingredients as Sweet and Low. Saccharine gives me a migraine, so it is off my list. I was lucky. The nice lady at the IC dug around and gave me every Splenda she could find to hoard. It wasn’t much, but it got me through. I will be bringing a big box of Splenda on our 34 day cruise. Has anyone else had this experience?

 

 

 

Oh my! Will the Equal be discontinued too? I usually bring some Splenda with me in a baggie for just in case. Looks like its gonna have to be a BIG baggie.. 

[TracieABD]

16 hours ago, greenie082756 said:

Oh my! Will the Equal be discontinued too? I usually bring some Splenda with me in a baggie for just in case. Looks like its gonna have to be a BIG baggie.. 

I have already started to generate the list of what I buy in FLL before the cruise...A big box of Splenda is at the top of my list.

[Coral]

21 hours ago, TracieABD said:

Are you serious??? After all these years... finally we will find our way to the same ship?!?! At the same time?!?! BONUS!!!!

Yes - I hope I can go! I am going to research it over Christmas. I booked it before Norway and haven't had time to research much about it.

 

BTW - Allegiant scares me. They have the oldest fleet of planes of any airline in the US.

[brian1]

On ‎12‎/‎3‎/‎2018 at 10:56 AM, TracieABD said:

Done and done! Been chatting with Patrick Watts....

He's the best.He is a stickler for punctuality,he likes his group to be on the 1st tender.

[TracieABD]

2 hours ago, Coral said:

Yes - I hope I can go! I am going to research it over Christmas. I booked it before Norway and haven't had time to research much about it.

 

BTW - Allegiant scares me. They have the oldest fleet of planes of any airline in the US.

I was not a fan... but it got me from here to there... I am not sure if I will ever book them again, but it worked this time!

 

Get to planning, Coral! We have a cruise to catch!!!

[TracieABD]

1 hour ago, brian1 said:

He's the best.He is a stickler for punctuality,he likes his group to be on the 1st tender.

You are right about that! This is my second attempt at the Falklands. I booked him in 2013, but we did not make it in- 

He is adamant about time. Fortunately, I am Elite, so that bumps me up in the queue a bit... 

 

Thank you for the tips! Keep em coming!

[seamwoman]

Patrick was our guide in the Falklands and was wonderful!  I hope you are able to anchor there. Karen

[Sadebud]

1 hour ago, TracieABD said:

You are right about that! This is my second attempt at the Falklands. I booked him in 2013, but we did not make it in- 

He is adamant about time. Fortunately, I am Elite, so that bumps me up in the queue a bit... 

 

Thank you for the tips! Keep em coming!

We had Patrick booked January 2017 but the Crown did not make it in due to a medical evac on the second day of the cruise and we had to return to Brazil which set us back a day for every port thereafter, and we missed our slot in Stanley...another ship was in port the next day.  I REALLY wanted to see the penguins...but life happens.  Will try to get there sometime...

[brian1]

2 hours ago, TracieABD said:

You are right about that! This is my second attempt at the Falklands. I booked him in 2013, but we did not make it in- 

He is adamant about time. Fortunately, I am Elite, so that bumps me up in the queue a bit... 

 

Thank you for the tips! Keep em coming!

We were in a large roll call group and our "leader" got friendly with a debark officer and she ensured we were on the 3rd tender.One couple were too laid back and Patrick sold on their seats.When they finally did turn up they were not happy bunnies.You snooze you lose,lol.He has quite a convoy going and they all stick together in case they have to tow each other out of the marshy ground.

Edited December 4, 2018 by brian1