JamieLogical's Live from the Emerald Princess 12/18-01/02

[JamieLogical]

We have a very early excursion this morning, so I probably won't be able to write up my blog about yesterday until we are back onboard.

[nini]

23 hours ago, dfields1814 said:

 

My wife and  were on the Emerald the cruise prior to the OP, from FLL to LA. .  We would have to agree with most of what the OP has stated. We do not believe that this specific cruise on this specific ship cruise met the high standard for Princess cruises that we always experienced in the previous cruises. . 

 

My wife and I are huge fans of Princess. We have over 40 cruises with them.  All the cruises we had with them I would rate 9 or 10. This one maybe a 7. Still a good cruise and we had a great time. But there were a number of small issues that started to add up. Still I am glad we took the cruise. We have been on five Princess cruises since the start up. Four of the 5 were excellent! This one was just good. 

 

The issue shower size and no sofas on the balcony cabins issues are well known. Ship comedians have been making jokes about it for years.  If you watch Youtube reviews and look at the cabin layout provided by Princess prior to the cruise you would better prepared for it. You have to get a mini suite to solve those problems.  I think the Royal class ships may have larger shower. I maybe be mistaken. But if feels that way.

 

On our Panama cruise one of three MDRs were closed as well as the Salty Dog Pub, most of the buffet  and Planks. This caused long lines at the MDR. We just starting going at 7:30 when there was no lines at all.  Room service accuracy with the orders was questionable. 50% of the time something was missing. Overall the food was mostly pretty good. But I am not picky. I had 1 meal out of 14 that was really bad. My wife had two. The variety of the main dishes is smaller that pre Covid. They kept repeating the same desserts. Many of my favorite dishes disappeared from the menu. I considered the buffet a lost cause and did not eat there at all. My wife had a more generous opinion. She ate there twice.  The production show not as good as shows in the pre Covid . The bar service and drinks were excellent. (I don't use the app. I just order in person. I had no problems and got to meet some interesting employees.) The bar entertainment was pretty good as a whole but I have seen better.  The huge problem with the Wheelhouse Bar was my drinks were so good I kinda over spent my budget there!  The Maitre D at Di Vinci was absolutely great. 

 

The dress code for both causal and formal nights in the MDR was a joke.  I would say on formal night  more than 50% of the men ignored it.  They allowed shorts and tee shirts for dinner on causal nights.  I did see three men in shorts turned away on the first formal night. 

 

There was very little or no mask wearing or social distancing even in very crowded spaces.  If there were no cases of covid or the flu we were extremely lucky IMHO. 

 

The cruise through the new locks was really interesting. Not good as the old locks, but interesting all the same. 

 

My fear is that first time cruises on this cruise would assume that this cruise is the norm for all Princess cruises. It wasn't.

 

 

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Thank you @dfields1814 for expressing more in an improved manner of what our Emerald experience was in May.

I am surprised (but not) that this ship has not become more together since then. Albeit, there were many bright spots as meeting new friends, a friendly and efficient cabin steward, and some lovely dining room experiences.

We had a rude staff member snap at us in the buffet area (this had NEVER happened) and unfriendly crew members. It was like they did not want to be there.

Our experience on the Grand in September was much improved and more like the Princess we enjoy. A bartender told us he had just transferred from the Emerald due to the atmosphere on that ship and was so happy to be on the Grand. He said that the crew on the Grand wins awards and honors and I can see why.

 

So, yes:

"My fear is that first time cruises on this cruise would assume that this cruise is the norm for all Princess cruises. It wasn't."

[JamieLogical]

12/22

Sorry for not posting about this day sooner. I will try to remember as much as I can, since it's now been 48 hours and a lot of drinks.

 

I the morning we decided to go to the MDR for breakfast for the first time, since we were actually up and out of the room fairly early. We both had the Huevos Rancheros and even though it did not resemble what we are used to, it was still very good.

 

 

 

 

While we waited for our drinks and food, I decided to try the Guest Services chat through the Medallion app. Our room had been quite warm overnight, despite having the A/C turned all the way down, so I wanted to have someone come check on it.

 

I was happy to receive a quick response and was told a ticket had been created. I was the. Asked if there was anything else and I decided to ask about the Salty Dog Gastropub, since it had not appeared to be open at all yet on our sailing, despite having been advertised as one of the available specialty dining options on the website and in the app.

 

The guest services rep told me that it was open from 4:30pm until late and no reservations were necessary. Having never witnessed this so far on the sailing, we decided to go to the actual Guest Services desk to ask about it. The guy there also told me it was open in the evenings. I explained that we had been by there in the evenings several times and even hung out in the Wheelhouse (Salty Dog is inside the Wheelhouse Bar) and it had never been open. I also showed him that there were no hours listed for it in the Patter, despite hours for all the other dining options being listed. He said he would look into it more and get back to us.

 

After that we headed down to Good Spirits to have some Mimosas and read/play video games. Our plan was to meet up with Matt & Meghann for board games after lunch.

 

We spent the entire duration between breakfast and lunch just reading and relaxing. We did lunch in the buffet and Matt was finishing some laundry, so I decided to go lay down for a bit.

 

My stomach really disagreed with something I ate and I was suffering by the time we were supposed to meet up for board games, so I sent Clayton down by himself. Fortunately, I did start feeling better and was able to meet up for the second round.

 

Matt noted that High Tea was going to be served in the MDR at 3:00 and we had never done that before, so we decided to pack up and head over. I was able to drink a cup of tea and eat a tiny tuna salad sandwich and a scone without any trouble.

 

After that we went to one of the conference rooms on Deck 6, which we were told we could use so long as nothing else was going on in there. We played games until the Friends of Bill W. we're scheduled to be in there. We then went our separate ways for a bit before dinner. Clayton and I had a drink in the Explorer's Lounge where we ran into Roger and Alicia from the night before. We had a nice chat about past cruises and our plans to retire on cruise ships. Then we met up with Matt and Meghann got dinner in the MDR.

 

 

 

 

After dinner I made a quick trip to the casino and then it was off to bed early because we needed to be up for our excursion first thing.

 

Day's Drinks: Mango Daiquiri, Ginger Mojito x2, French Martini, Lemon Drop x2

 

12/23

Yesterday was our port day in Hautulco, Mexico. We had an early morning excursion, so we set an alarm for 6:00am so we would have time to shower, dress, and eat some breakfast at the buffet.

 

After we were done with breakfast, we still had a little time left so we decided to go out on top of the bridge (accessible from a non-descript door on Deck 15) to watch the docking. We were docking backwards though, so could only see anything from the wings.

 

 

 

At about 7:50, we went down to the theater to meet up from our excursion. I was once again unimpressed by the operation Princess was running. They had us all stuffed into the theater again telling us not to leave any empty seats between people because it was a "full house". I still don't understand the benefit of having everyone arrive at the same time in the same place for every single excursion. At least werl weren't tendering this time so it wasn't quite as bad. We ended up waiting about. Half hour or 40 minutes before they led us outside and then on quite a long walk to the bus.

 

Our excursion was to see a crocodile sanctuary that was about a 90 minutes drive from the pier. We all got pretty nappy on the bus. I know I slept for a bit. Our friends were with us on this trip and Meghann got pretty car sick, unfortunately.

 

Once the bus stopped, we were directed to some restrooms. That was the real adventure. Everyone needed the restroom after 2+ hours and the restrooms were not much more than holes in the ground with toilet seats and no toilet paper. Fun times!

 

After the restrooms we were each given a bottle of water and split up into smaller groups with a guide who had a wooden boat paddle and a pile of life vests. We all put on the life vests then marched quite a ways to the canoes.

 

The canoe ride was pretty neat, despite being very hot and sunny. We saw several crocodiles, turtles, and egrets. Then we parked on the little sanctuary island where there were lots of crocodiles being raised to be released into captivity. There were lots of iguanas as well. There were also tiny white tail deer, one of which got to eat from my hand. Lastly, there was a poor solitary monkey. Apparently, some local family had smuggled it into the country and it had been confiscated by the government and left to live out its lonely life on this little island.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the island we were served a tiny quesadilla made with the local cheese. It was quite good, but I definitely wished it were more than three bites. Once we were done eating, we were led back to the canoes for our return trip.

 

 

 

Luckily, I had sweated out the three bottles of water I drank, so I did not need to use the bathroom again before boarding the bus for the long drive back to the pier.

 

Back in town, we decided to get some food and drinks at one of the restaurants on the beach. I started out with a mango daiquiri and then had some "enchiladas" that were nothing at all like anything I had ever had in the States. There were no tortillas or cheese or sauce involved. It was cutlets of pork that had been rubbed and/or marinated in some seasoning. The pork was served with a side of black beans and rice. It was very good and I had no complaints other then I wish it had had SOME cheese.

 

 

 

We all sort of hit our wall of heat/sun tolerance at the same time. We got back on the ship all desperate to get out of our sweaty clothes and wash off the sweat and sunscreen and soak up all the air conditioning. Once we were feeling human again, my husband and I went for some drinks at the Explorer's Lounge. After a couple of drinks there, we went over to Crooners to listen to the string duo playing and had a couple more drinks. Matt & Meghann met up with us for a drink and played some cards. Then we split up for dinner. I had hoped to do the MDR, because there seemed like some good options, but no one else was up for it, so I just went up to Slice for a couple of pieces of pizza. Then I hit the casino for just a few minutes before calling it a VERY early night.

 

Day's Drinks: Mango Daiquiri, Ginger Mojito x2, French Martini, Lemon Drop x2

 

 

[Coral]

I had air conditioning issues on the Emerald on Dolphin deck in November. They came several times. It eventually got a tad better but there was a rubber smell after that last repair. I was disembarking the next morning so I mentioned it to my room steward.

 

I don't think my room ever got below 72 and was frequently up in 77-78 degree temps. My clock has a thermostat so I could go by that.

[YVRteacher]

On 12/15/2022 at 12:38 PM, graphicguy said:

Same issue.

 

I post from my iPhone or iPad. So, composing to a program (like word) is not an option.  So, I have to endure the CC dumping entire posts for unknown reasons. Doesn't happen on my home computer (like me typing this right now).  Cruise Critic seems to have some sort of incompatibility with ship based internet service.

That’s happened to me too.  Now I compose in the Notes app on my iPhone and copy and paste to CC.  As you’ve seen, I do have font issues!

[KKB]

On 12/22/2022 at 12:38 PM, dfields1814 said:

 

My wife and  were on the Emerald the cruise prior to the OP, from FLL to LA. .  We would have to agree with most of what the OP has stated. We do not believe that this specific cruise on this specific ship cruise met the high standard for Princess cruises that we always experienced in the previous cruises. . 

 

My wife and I are huge fans of Princess. We have over 40 cruises with them.  All the cruises we had with them I would rate 9 or 10. This one maybe a 7. Still a good cruise and we had a great time. But there were a number of small issues that started to add up. Still I am glad we took the cruise. We have been on five Princess cruises since the start up. Four of the 5 were excellent! This one was just good. 

 

The issue shower size and no sofas on the balcony cabins issues are well known. Ship comedians have been making jokes about it for years.  If you watch Youtube reviews and look at the cabin layout provided by Princess prior to the cruise you would better prepared for it. You have to get a mini suite to solve those problems.  I think the Royal class ships may have larger shower. I maybe be mistaken. But if feels that way.

 

On our Panama cruise one of three MDRs were closed as well as the Salty Dog Pub, most of the buffet  and Planks. This caused long lines at the MDR. We just starting going at 7:30 when there was no lines at all.  Room service accuracy with the orders was questionable. 50% of the time something was missing. Overall the food was mostly pretty good. But I am not picky. I had 1 meal out of 14 that was really bad. My wife had two. The variety of the main dishes is smaller that pre Covid. They kept repeating the same desserts. Many of my favorite dishes disappeared from the menu. I considered the buffet a lost cause and did not eat there at all. My wife had a more generous opinion. She ate there twice.  The production show not as good as shows in the pre Covid . The bar service and drinks were excellent. (I don't use the app. I just order in person. I had no problems and got to meet some interesting employees.) The bar entertainment was pretty good as a whole but I have seen better.  The huge problem with the Wheelhouse Bar was my drinks were so good I kinda over spent my budget there!  The Maitre D at Di Vinci was absolutely great. 

 

The dress code for both causal and formal nights in the MDR was a joke.  I would say on formal night  more than 50% of the men ignored it.  They allowed shorts and tee shirts for dinner on causal nights.  I did see three men in shorts turned away on the first formal night. 

 

There was very little or no mask wearing or social distancing even in very crowded spaces.  If there were no cases of covid or the flu we were extremely lucky IMHO. 

 

The cruise through the new locks was really interesting. Not good as the old locks, but interesting all the same. 

 

My fear is that first time cruises on this cruise would assume that this cruise is the norm for all Princess cruises. It wasn't.

 

Good to hear. 

Our final payment for PC on Emerald is due next week. 

I have just gotten an email about a pretty good deal for New Zealand on Holland for similar time period...and we are contemplating doing that instead...

We love Princess but everything I'm reading here is NOT what we experienced on Caribbean, Discovery or Sapphire this year! 

 

@JamieLogical Interesting...I LOVE the closet on Princess as it is so much more space than other lines, don't mind no sofa (ends up being a clothing catcher...) & I have a hanging toiletry bag so the lack of shelves doesn't bother me. Most showers r pretty cozy on a ship...funny, 6'2" DH didn't comment on the shower. 

Sad to see some shortcomings of the Emerald...it is making me reconsider PC this spring!

DO NOT order pork loin...DH's aunt had it in buffet & MDR on Discovery & it was the only bad thing of the week. And it was BAD.

Edited December 24, 2022 by KKB

[KKB]

On 12/22/2022 at 1:20 PM, catgirl411 said:

We are currently on Emerald Princess. Our last cruise was Alaska on Regal Princess in August. We were spoiled because our FCCs allowed us to upgrade to a suite which was amazing.  This time we are in a mini suite which is quite spacious and definitely solves the shower problem.  Last night was the first formal night and I was actually pleased with the number of people who were dressed up. The Alaska cruise was super disappointing from that perspective. The food so far in the MDR is pretty sad. Last night my appetizer was a very mushy crab cake. The other night my husband had scallops with no evidence of searing at all.  The staff are all great however and very accommodating. Mind you some their time with us involved fixing problems with our dining reservations that had been arbitrarily changed by the app.  

Apparently AK cruises tend to be MUCH more casual...we sure observed that in Sept.

[JamieLogical]

2 hours ago, KKB said:

Good to hear. 

Our final payment for PC on Emerald is due next week. 

I have just gotten an email about a pretty good deal for New Zealand on Holland for similar time period...and we are contemplating doing that instead...

We love Princess but everything I'm reading here is NOT what we experienced on Caribbean, Discovery or Sapphire this year! 

 

@JamieLogical Interesting...I LOVE the closet on Princess as it is so much more space than other lines, don't mind no sofa (ends up being a clothing catcher...) & I have a hanging toiletry bag so the lack of shelves doesn't bother me. Most showers r pretty cozy on a ship...funny, 6'2" DH didn't comment on the shower. 

Sad to see some shortcomings of the Emerald...it is making me reconsider PC this spring!

DO NOT order pork loin...DH's aunt had it in buffet & MDR on Discovery & it was the only bad thing of the week. And it was BAD.

 

So far I have been on three classes of NCL ships (Breakaway, Breakaway Plus, Jewel) and two classes of Celebrity ships (Solstice and Millennium) and haven't felt the showers were an issue. My only complaint on NCL is that there is no bar to rest your foot on to shave your legs, but I solved that after my first sailing with them by bringing a suction cup foot rest o bought on Amazon. No need for that on Celebrity, since they have foot rests built into their showers.

 

As for the closet, I hate it more and more every day. In addition to just making the room look messy, we have learned that if one of us is getting dressed/ready, they completely block the other from getting into it out of the bathroom. I would infinitely prefer that the extra square footage in the bathroom. The layout on most other ships I have been on just makes so much more sense. Have the closet have sliding doors that face into the room so you pick up all the square footage of the "hallway" for the bathroom instead. I get that this is an older ship, but so are the Gem and the Summit and I did not have these problems. Granted the Summit definitely lacked closet space. Not sure two people could do a 15 day with the amount of closet space they give you on the Summit. I would make it work for one of their big showers right now, though!

[JamieLogical]

It occurred to me that I didn't follow up about the Salty Dog Gastropub. I received a voicemail on my stateroom phone later that evening that due to staffing shortages, Salty Dog Gastropub is closed for the duration of our sailing, along with Planks and Steamers. So three of the five specialty restaurants are closed for our entire 15 day cruise. How awesome is that? If we had only known, we might have made more reservations prior to boarding. As it stands we just had the one night in Sabitini's and we have the Crown Grill on the 27th and we have been unable to get any others, as everything is booked up (not shocking, since there are only two specialty restaurants for 2700 passengers).

 

Edited December 24, 2022 by JamieLogical

[jagoffee]

Bummer for sure.

[Coral]

57 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

It occurred to me that I didn't follow up about the Salty Dog Gastropub. I received a voicemail on my stateroom phone later that evening that due to staffing shortages, Salty Dog Gastropub is closed for the duration of our sailing, along with Planks and Steamers. So three of the five specialty restaurants are closed for our entire 15 day cruise. How awesome is that? If we had only known, we might have made more reservations prior to boarding. As it stands we just had the one night in Sabitini's and we have the Crown Grill on the 27th and we have been unable to get any others, as everything is booked up (not shocking, since there are only two specialty restaurants for 2700 passengers).

 

Plans and Steamers has been closed since COVID - at least that is what we were told.

[sunviking90]

3 hours ago, KKB said:

Good to hear. 

Our final payment for PC on Emerald is due next week. 

I have just gotten an email about a pretty good deal for New Zealand on Holland for similar time period...and we are contemplating doing that instead...

We love Princess but everything I'm reading here is NOT what we experienced on Caribbean, Discovery or Sapphire this year! 

 

@JamieLogical Interesting...I LOVE the closet on Princess as it is so much more space than other lines, don't mind no sofa (ends up being a clothing catcher...) & I have a hanging toiletry bag so the lack of shelves doesn't bother me. Most showers r pretty cozy on a ship...funny, 6'2" DH didn't comment on the shower. 

Sad to see some shortcomings of the Emerald...it is making me reconsider PC this spring!

DO NOT order pork loin...DH's aunt had it in buffet & MDR on Discovery & it was the only bad thing of the week. And it was BAD.

We were in on the Emerald for a TA in November and we loved the ship, the crew, almost everything! Just as good, if not better than our cruises on the Majestic this year. Granted it was not a holiday cruise and was only half full so the crew were probably not as stretched as they are now. A lot of these issues I think are due to understaffing, I read similar things on holiday season trip reports on other lines. 
International Cafe was definitely understaffed, but the crew working there were wonderful. We don’t drink, so I can’t comment on app ordering for the bars. We didn’t get room service often but the orders were right generally.

Portions in the MDR were very large we thought. The fish was not great unlike the Majestic, but the meat was much better. We even cancelled our Crown Grill reservation as we were happy enough with the MDR. We mostly used the buffet for salads as that’s what I like for lunch and they had great selection. Better than the Majestic for sure. 

Bathrooms are definitely smaller than Holland America, but I agree with you on the closets. We love Princess closets. So much room, and it makes a nice little dressing area too. 

[JamieLogical]

23 minutes ago, sunviking90 said:

So much room, and it makes a nice little dressing area too. 

 

As long as no one needs to get into or out of the bathroom while you are dressing there!

[sunviking90]

Just now, JamieLogical said:

 

As long as no one needs to get into or out of the bathroom while you are dressing there!

Haha! Very true! I don’t know if you’ve been on Holland America, but their closets and cupboards are in the narrow hallway out of the cabin across from the bathroom. We were constantly moving out of each other’s way trying to dress for dinner. Can’t remember Celebrity’s closets so they must have been fine.

[nini]

1 hour ago, JamieLogical said:

It occurred to me that I didn't follow up about the Salty Dog Gastropub. I received a voicemail on my stateroom phone later that evening that due to staffing shortages, Salty Dog Gastropub is closed for the duration of our sailing, along with Planks and Steamers. So three of the five specialty restaurants are closed for our entire 15 day cruise. How awesome is that? If we had only known, we might have made more reservations prior to boarding. As it stands we just had the one night in Sabitini's and we have the Crown Grill on the 27th and we have been unable to get any others, as everything is booked up (not shocking, since there are only two specialty restaurants for 2700 passengers).

 

 

These were all also closed on the Emerald in May. It was disappointing as we had never tried them before.

[sonomaphil]

1 hour ago, nini said:

 

These were all also closed on the Emerald in May. It was disappointing as we had never tried them before.

Both have been removed as option in the 2022 dining guide and has been removed from the deck plans.  Doubt they will ever come back.  

[XBGuy]

3 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

IAs it stands we just had the one night in Sabitini's and we have the Crown Grill on the 27th and we have been unable to get any others, as everything is booked up (not shocking, since there are only two specialty restaurants for 2700 passengers).

 

 

AI don't know why I am giving away my secrets, but this has worked for me every time.  Go to Sabatini's (the sooner, the better), and introduce yourself to the headwaiter.  Presumably, you met him on your previous visit.  Explain that you enjoyed your dinner there and would like to book another, but have been unable to do so.  Obviously, you have the Crown Grill reservation on the 27th, but, otherwise, be flexible about day and time.  On Tuesday as you are leaving Crown Grill, make sure you stop off and gush to the headwaiter about how much you enjoyed the meal, and how you would like to come back.  A handshake from your husband will not hurt.

[rideev]

I will say that I called the dine line for a Sabatini's reservation, since I couldn't get one on the app.  They said they were full for the rest of the cruise.  After dinner in the MDR (on night 3) I went up to Sabatini's to try to get a reservation for our anniversary on Christmas Eve. They couldn't work me in, but they gave me a reservation for Christmas day. All that to say, go up there and ask and you might get one. Even though you can't on the dine line or on the app.

[memoak]

10 minutes ago, rideev said:

I will say that I called the dine line for a Sabatini's reservation, since I couldn't get one on the app.  They said they were full for the rest of the cruise.  After dinner in the MDR (on night 3) I went up to Sabatini's to try to get a reservation for our anniversary on Christmas Eve. They couldn't work me in, but they gave me a reservation for Christmas day. All that to say, go up there and ask and you might get one. Even though you can't on the dine line or on the app.

The dine line does not have all the tables to reserve. Talking to the speciality restaurant manager 

[Coral]

1 hour ago, sonomaphil said:

Both have been removed as option in the 2022 dining guide and has been removed from the deck plans.  Doubt they will ever come back.  

We were told by a Restaurant Manager that they would come back when they are properly staffed, for whatever that is worth. We were on the ship right after dry dock and I was surprised the sign was still up for Planks. I would have thought if it was gone forever, it would have been removed during dry dock. Who knows - my guess is that it is still up in the air.

 

The area is still aft, with the sign. It just isn't being used.

Edited December 25, 2022 by Coral

[KKB]

18 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

So far I have been on three classes of NCL ships (Breakaway, Breakaway Plus, Jewel) and two classes of Celebrity ships (Solstice and Millennium) and haven't felt the showers were an issue. My only complaint on NCL is that there is no bar to rest your foot on to shave your legs, but I solved that after my first sailing with them by bringing a suction cup foot rest o bought on Amazon. No need for that on Celebrity, since they have foot rests built into their showers.

 

As for the closet, I hate it more and more every day. In addition to just making the room look messy, we have learned that if one of us is getting dressed/ready, they completely block the other from getting into it out of the bathroom. I would infinitely prefer that the extra square footage in the bathroom. The layout on most other ships I have been on just makes so much more sense. Have the closet have sliding doors that face into the room so you pick up all the square footage of the "hallway" for the bathroom instead. I get that this is an older ship, but so are the Gem and the Summit and I did not have these problems. Granted the Summit definitely lacked closet space. Not sure two people could do a 15 day with the amount of closet space they give you on the Summit. I would make it work for one of their big showers right now, though!

In my Getaway balcony in August the room between the bed & closet was about 6"...reminded me how much I prefer the Princess style. 

But I get the messy thing...we are very tidy & like everything tucked back in it's place before we leave the room.

[JamieLogical]

Yesterday was another sea day. Having gotten to bed early after being so wiped out, we were up fairly early and made it to the MDR for breakfast. I had a mushroom and cheese omelette, which was not very good, but the strawberry jam for my toast was quite tasty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After breakfast we tried to go out on deck to read/play games, but Clayton couldn't see the screen of his Steam Deck , even though we were in the shade. So we gave up on that and moved indoors.

 

At 11:30, the plan was to try to find a place to set up and watch trh Bills game with my NFL+, since it wasn't one of the games being shown onboard. After much angst and strife, I finally had to give up, but I was able to listen to most of it, even though it was via a local Chicago station and the announcers were pretty biased.

 

After the game, I met up with Meghann for drinks while Clayton ironed his shirt for formal night. He showed up to the Explorer's Lounge all decked out, while I was still wearing jeans and a Josh Allen shirt.

 

Matt eventually showed up as well and we went our separate ways to get ready for formal night at about 4:30. Once we were all beautiful, we met up again for more drinks. I had a special holiday cocktail called a Merry Berry and Meghann had some horrifying green Martini called a Grinch, I believe?

 

 

Our dinner reservation was for 7:40, but we decided we didn't want to wait that long so we headed to Di Vinci about an hour early. We had to wait in a bit of a line, but when they asked us if we were willing to do a sharing table, we said sure! However no one ever showed up to fill the last two seats at our table. That was for the best, because we all got super bitchy and frustrated with the service.

 

First off, it was about 15 minutes before they ever brought us some water. Then we actually got our first course before anyone brought us bread. We ended up asking for bread when they brought the first course out. We finally had to flag down one of the bosses to get a refill on our water. It was a debacle. In all, it took over two hours and we didn't even stick around for dessert.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We headed to Explorer's Lounge because there was going to b Beatles Trivia at 9:30. When we got there, there was a really good live act doing 50's and 60's music. It was very popular and was standing room only.

 

The place cleared out a bit once the live music ended and we found seats for trivia, which turned out to just be them playing snippets of Beatles songs, including the choruses, so it was way too easy.

 

We decided that pizza was the better option, so we went up to Slice. Then we all were very drunk and went back to our rooms to pass out.

 

 

 

Day's Drinks: Mimosa x2, Mojito, Merry Berry, Baked Alaska Martini, French 75 x4, Lemon Drop

 

 

Edited December 25, 2022 by JamieLogical

[catgirl411]

23 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

It occurred to me that I didn't follow up about the Salty Dog Gastropub. I received a voicemail on my stateroom phone later that evening that due to staffing shortages, Salty Dog Gastropub is closed for the duration of our sailing, along with Planks and Steamers. So three of the five specialty restaurants are closed for our entire 15 day cruise. How awesome is that? If we had only known, we might have made more reservations prior to boarding. As it stands we just had the one night in Sabitini's and we have the Crown Grill on the 27th and we have been unable to get any others, as everything is booked up (not shocking, since there are only two specialty restaurants for 2700 passengers).

 

Don’t forget that one of the three MDRs is also closed!  We had dinner in Crown Grill last night. Food was very good but service could have been more attentive. Seemed like the staff shortage is in okay there too.

[catgirl411]

Just now, catgirl411 said:

Don’t forget that one of the three MDRs is also closed!  We had dinner in Crown Grill last night. Food was very good but service could have been more attentive. Seemed like the staff shortage is in okay there too.

Correction… staff shortage is in play there not “okay”

 

[catgirl411]

21 hours ago, sunviking90 said:

Haha! Very true! I don’t know if you’ve been on Holland America, but their closets and cupboards are in the narrow hallway out of the cabin across from the bathroom. We were constantly moving out of each other’s way trying to dress for dinner. Can’t remember Celebrity’s closets so they must have been fine.

It might be because we are in a mini suite but I love the closet hallway outside the bathroom. We also have a lot of shelf storage in the room across from the sofa.  Storage in this room in general is better than any of our Celebrity or even Oceania cabins.