LIVE: Caribbean Princess to Canada and Greenland, August 15-31, 2022: Geoherb goes solo again

[XBGuy]

4 hours ago, geoherb said:

Photos of my dinner at the Crown Grill. I could have eaten a plate of the fries without the tartare. 

 

 

 

Those "fries" are not potatoes.  They are fried polenta.   I agree that they are tasty.

 

The Garlic Fries that are on the Crown Grill--listed as one of the optional sides for entrees--are also outstanding.  Mrs. XBGuy always orders them as her appetizer.  Invariably, the server will give her a double take, but then he recovers and delivers her fries with my appetizer.  There are way more fries in the serving than she can eat.  So, happily, I get to reach over and help myself.  😁

[A Pisces]

12 hours ago, geoherb said:

 

The champagne waterfall is scheduled for tomorrow night, our third formal night. 

Thank you so much!

I am really enjoying your review with all of the pictures! Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

[roxievegas]

5 hours ago, geoherb said:

 

The point of sushi for me is getting the wasabi and pickled ginger that go with it. I wanted to try the Ocean Terrace sushi on the Majestic and Regal, but never found time to do so. I'm hoping it's better.

 

the sushi on the Majestic is wonderful.  We ate there 3 times on the last cruise

[geoherb]

Nothing on the dining room's lunch menu appealed to me enough to make me rush through the meal in time to make it to the cruise long mini Olympics. I went to the buffet. They had a nice selection. I saw people with shrimp on their plates but did not find any in the main section of the buffet. They turned out to be at the section at the back of the ship. 

 

The mini Olympics were scheduled for the Wheelhouse Bar. Masa was there, though, to direct people up to the basketball court. We had to shoot three tries from three different spots. People got 1 point for hitting the rim and 5 points for making a basket. I at least hit the rim every time. Almost everyone made at least one basket. I think five was the most made, but that was a young kid who hasn't been playing in the other contests. 

 

Our team did not have a great showing in the progressive trivia, getting 14 out of 20 points. But I did not see any other teams score higher when we picked up our paper. One of the teams closest to us in scores had to drop out. I'm thinking probably because of Covid. We also got to vote on our favorite team name. Gareth had printed every team's name on a slip of paper, and we couldn't vote for ourselves. 

 

I talked with the couple who had waited with me so long at the airport. They were enjoying a glass of wine at Vines. They said the guy just gives them a bottle of one of the wines covered under Princess Plus and lets them pour more for themselves. They're not taking the shuttle back to the airport. They arranged for a car service to pick them up instead.

 

My cabin steward dropped off my luggage tags and disembarkation information. The days have flown by. It's hard to believe that it's been two weeks since I boarded. 

[geoherb]

The cover charge for the Crown Grill did not appear on my statement until this morning. Unfortunately it was wrong. They charged me for two instead of one. I'm glad my friend was there to help explain it to the purser who was helping me. My friend and her husband had received complimentary dinners. They were paying for her cousin's dinner. Somehow they charged me for two and charged them for one instead of one each. My balance looked better after that was taken off. I cashed out my account at the casino. I ended up $56 from what I put in (not counting the $10 in free play money that had to be bet). 

[geoherb]

Last night's featured entertainer in the theater was enjoyable. He was an Elton John tribute artist. I saw a bit of tonight's performance and decided not to go back to the full show. It was a singer doing standards. I've packed away my Patters. I'll scan them in later.

 

Lots of activities going on the last two sea days. I ended up in fourth place in the cruise long mini Olympics thanks to a strong showing at skee ball. The two teenage brothers placed 1st and 2nd. A woman won 3rd. They gave out drawstring bags to all the participants who showed up the last day. The 1st place boy won a Princess backpack with a bottle of champagne, mug, coasters, water bottle, jellybeans, and more. His parents were there to make sure he did not drink the champagne. The 2nd and 3rd place had insulated bags with fewer things. 

 

My team won the cruise long progressive trivia. We had a strong showing on the last round, getting 19 out of 20. We kept our slim lead over the Lucky 5 to win by 5 points. The other team had a strong finish, edging out the Greenland Vikings by 2 points. We received certificates, medallion clips, coasters, water bottles, and a bottle of champagne.

 

The embarkation lunch menu was posted on the app for today in the dining room. Unfortunately, they had another menu. I joined the singles and solos table. The organizer told the waiter that I was in a hurry to get to another event. He served my courses ahead of everyone else's. I had my main course before they received their appetizers. Similarly, the dinner menu tonight did not match what was on the app. I had planned to order the surf and turf again--petit filet mignon and shrimp. I ended up ordering mahi-mahi. The beef options tonight were meatloaf wrapped in bacon and some sort of sliced beef with Yorkshire pudding and garden peas. 

 

I left dinner before dessert. Unfortunately, we got to see the parade of waiters and cooks between our appetizers and main courses. They encouraged everyone to wave their napkins in the air as the crew members paraded around the dining room. 

 

Hollywood Hiccups was fun. The cruise director's staff acted out scenes from 10 famous movies. Just general silliness.

 

My large bag is packed and waiting outside my cabin to be picked up. I had thought about just dragging it off the ship with me but changed my mind. We'll gain our final lost hour tonight. I'm going to bed early. Tomorrow will be an exhausting day.

[windsor26]

On 8/18/2022 at 4:08 AM, geoherb said:

I enjoyed a tasting at J.D. Shore/Halifax Distillery. We met the owners on a cruise several years ago. It was great to catch up with one of them today. I got to taste several rums. My favorite was the rum cream, which is better than Baileys. The s'more rum cream was also very tasty. 

 

The tours and tastings take place at 1 and 3. I wouldn't have wanted to push doing the one at 3 and having to dash back to the ship for our 4:30 all-aboard time. 

 

 

how do you book this or are they always at a certain address and the cost please if you know  Thanks in advance

[geoherb]

On 8/30/2022 at 10:07 PM, windsor26 said:

how do you book this or are they always at a certain address and the cost please if you know  Thanks in advance

 

Halifax Distilling Co. is at 1668 Lower Water Street. The tours/tastings are at 1 and 3. I'm not sure about the price since I had a private tasting. Call 902-431-0505. I got lots of good comments about the T-shirt I bought there.

[geoherb]

Disembarkation this morning ran way behind schedule. I'm glad I did not have an early flight to make me worry about getting to the airport. I heard one of the staff members tell a passenger that she could leave the ship, but she'd probably end up waiting for her bag. They were still bringing out more luggage when I finally made it off the ship about an hour after I was scheduled to. 

 

The buses were ready for us but still a bit chaotic. Only one was labeled with a sign to let people know which airport it was going to--and thankfully that was the bus I needed to take me to LaGuardia. I ran into people from the ship at the airport who had a friend miss her flight because she did not get there in time.

 

Security at LaGuardia took a bit of time. They did not have anyone giving clear instructions. When I flew from RDU, I was able to leave my laptop in my backpack. Apparently that's a no-no at LGA. My backpack got diverted. A TSA agent told me that laptops had to be removed from bags. She sent almost everything back through the scanner, removing the laptop from my bag. She did give me my shoes.

 

My flight was also delayed around 25 minutes. I kept looking for it on the board, but I was looking at the wrong time slot. I could see after the flight before mine left the gate that I was in the right place after they updated the sign there. I ate a late lunch at Juniors. The half a corned beef sandwich wasn't great. The fries were pretty good. It cost a lot more than I'm used to paying for lunch--and it's not Canadian dollars anymore.

 

It will take me a few days to decompress from the cruise. Overall, I had a great time. It was good to see my old friend and make new ones. The staff were friendly and tried. I filled out my survey earlier tonight. The biggest problem on this cruise was the internet not working. The fastest speed I recorded was 3.55 Mbps. That was the day I was able to load photos without any problems. I'm not regretting booking this ship for my November cruise. I would do another Princess cruise to Greenland, too.

 

Here are some photos from St. John's that I could not get to load while on the ship. 

 

 

[CruzeQueen2]

8 minutes ago, geoherb said:

Disembarkation this morning ran way behind schedule. I'm glad I did not have an early flight to make me worry about getting to the airport. I heard one of the staff members tell a passenger that she could leave the ship, but she'd probably end up waiting for her bag. They were still bringing out more luggage when I finally made it off the ship about an hour after I was scheduled to. 

 

The buses were ready for us but still a bit chaotic. Only one was labeled with a sign to let people know which airport it was going to--and thankfully that was the bus I needed to take me to LaGuardia. I ran into people from the ship at the airport who had a friend miss her flight because she did not get there in time.

 

Security at LaGuardia took a bit of time. They did not have anyone giving clear instructions. When I flew from RDU, I was able to leave my laptop in my backpack. Apparently that's a no-no at LGA. My backpack got diverted. A TSA agent told me that laptops had to be removed from bags. She sent almost everything back through the scanner, removing the laptop from my bag. She did give me my shoes.

 

My flight was also delayed around 25 minutes. I kept looking for it on the board, but I was looking at the wrong time slot. I could see after the flight before mine left the gate that I was in the right place after they updated the sign there. I ate a late lunch at Juniors. The half a corned beef sandwich wasn't great. The fries were pretty good. It cost a lot more than I'm used to paying for lunch--and it's not Canadian dollars anymore.

 

It will take me a few days to decompress from the cruise. Overall, I had a great time. It was good to see my old friend and make new ones. The staff were friendly and tried. I filled out my survey earlier tonight. The biggest problem on this cruise was the internet not working. The fastest speed I recorded was 3.55 Mbps. That was the day I was able to load photos without any problems. I'm not regretting booking this ship for my November cruise. I would do another Princess cruise to Greenland, too.

 

Here are some photos from St. John's that I could not get to load while on the ship. 

 

 

Thank you for taking us along. I enjoy reading your reports. Nicely done 💖

 

[windsor26]

30 minutes ago, geoherb said:

 

Halifax Distilling Co. is at 1668 Lower Water Street. The tours/tastings are at 1 and 3. I'm not sure about the price since I had a private tasting. Call 902-431-0505. I got lots of good comments about the T-shirt I bought there.

Thank you

[edinburgher]

Geoherb  I too am adding thanks for you taking us alomng with you despite the internet frustrations.  Enjoyed reading and looking at the photos.

[durangokid]

Thanks for sharing your trip.  Hope someday to do this itinerary.  

 

[alibabacruisers]

Thank you for taking us along!

[LawDog61]

Joining the thanks!   I always enjoy your reports.

[Megamixer]

We embarked the day you disembarked. You getting off the ship late explains why the bus was over an hour late picking us up from the hotel. So far the internet for me has been slow but workable. I'm able to stream security cameras from home and upload pics to FB and via text. (We've yet to reach Boston though) We have so far found this ship lovely. Reminds me of cruise ships from the 80s and 90s before the big Vegas hotel type redesigns! I just miss traditional dining. 

[G&Gcruisers]

Thanks for taking us along. Enjoyed your pics.  

[G&Gcruisers]

On 8/29/2022 at 8:39 AM, geoherb said:

 

I walked a few laps around the outside Promenade. I saw a whale's tail and some pods of dolphins. They just made the announcement that there are more of them out there. I'm heading back out to see.

What was the ship’s general location when you saw the whale’s tail?

[geoherb]

10 hours ago, G&Gcruisers said:

What was the ship’s general location when you saw the whale’s tail?

 

It was our first day at sea after St. John's. We were off the coast of Nova Scotia. We continued to see whales and dolphins the next day when we were off the coast of New England. One of my friends took an amazing photo of a whale from the Emerald Deck portion of the promenade.

Edited September 2, 2022 by geoherb

[geoherb]

11 hours ago, Megamixer said:

We embarked the day you disembarked. You getting off the ship late explains why the bus was over an hour late picking us up from the hotel. So far the internet for me has been slow but workable. I'm able to stream security cameras from home and upload pics to FB and via text. (We've yet to reach Boston though) We have so far found this ship lovely. Reminds me of cruise ships from the 80s and 90s before the big Vegas hotel type redesigns! I just miss traditional dining. 

 

I hope the internet holds out for you. It did not get truly bad for us until after leaving Sydney. I will miss traditional dining when I sail with DH. As a solo traveler, I prefer sharing a table. I had a couple of bad traditional experiences in 2019, so I had already decided to go with anytime dining when solo before Princess came out with Dine My Way last year.

[geoherb]

I received my final statement via email yesterday. For some reason, the amount I'm getting as a refund is wrong. I had a final balance of $103.21, but the amount on the statement for a refund is just $80. I asked via CrewCall Chat before leaving if the refunded port fees and internet were refundable. Samantha-Joanne Erica B. answered me, "Its refundable." I don't understand how Princess decided that just $80 was going to be refunded to me. I filled out the website contact form. According to what I was told, I should have had more than enough refundable OBC to cover the $103.21 left on my account: $39 transfer refund, $54.58 refund for Nuuk port fees, $13.79 initial port fee refund, and $50 credit for the lousy internet. 

[Keikidoc]

Geoherb, thanks for the excellent live reporting. We are scheduled for Sept 10 embarking from Quebec City to NYC on Caribbean P. Could you tell me if cabin steward tended to ur cabin 2x a day or just once a day? 

[worldtraveller]

We were on the same cruise and yes disembarkation was a mess.  We got off an hour after our set time but they were still at least 30 minutes away from calling our number.  Customs/Immigration was a zoo - found out later that only two officers showed up to start and later a 3rd arrived but that is no where near enough for the number of people on the ship.  Then we got to the busses and NO busses were available.  Waited probably 30 minutes for one to show up and then people just walked to the front of the line and got on ignoring everyone in line.  The people "in charge" did nothing about it (one said, oh they know someone's grandparents as if that is a reason while another said he didn't see them do it even though they went right past him).  As a result my mom missed her flight and I barely made mine.  A poor way to end a very nice cruise.

[VaCruzers]

I didn't realize you were posting a live trip report during this cruise - no wonder you were more disappointed with the internet speed! It was nice meeting you and chatting during our long wait at LGA and seeing you around the ship a few times. Thanks for posting the trip report. I always admire those who take the time to do so. Safe travels on your next voyage! 

 

Debbie

[roxievegas]

1 hour ago, Keikidoc said:

Geoherb, thanks for the excellent live reporting. We are scheduled for Sept 10 embarking from Quebec City to NYC on Caribbean P. Could you tell me if cabin steward tended to ur cabin 2x a day or just once a day? 

we are currently on Caribbean - we are getting serviced 2X a day