Sky Princess, Dec 23, drink of the day and random thoughts.

[J13C85]

[J13C85]

Turnaround day today. This is our first B2B and I thought I would share the experience. We arrived Port Everglades when it was still dark. Definitely rose slowly and went to our normal breakfast in Sabatini's. We chose not to go into the city and return to the ship ASAP. After breakfast we went to the Soleli (I am probably butchering the spelling but more on that later) dining room and were given a group number (we were in 4). We waited in the dining room with appx 600 people who were staying on for the second leg. After all disembarking parties exited (we had to wait for 2 people to leave) they started offloading us based on the group cards they gave us. We exited through the gangway on Deck 6, we followed a path into the terminal where we did a quick stop with our medallion and some facial recognition software and then we were escorted to the Platinum/Elite/Suite lounge in the terminal. Once we all offloaded (and we filled the whole lounge) they started letting us back on board based on our group number. We were back on the ship by 10:15.

 

At this point we has access to our cabin so we dropped our passports in the safe. DW was very surprised by the new roses for the second leg (Georgia in the Concierge Lounge set it up for me the previous night.

 

After that it was a pretty typical embarkation. We had a lot of boats honking and passengers waving at us as we left. Same with people on the shore, more so than last week. Of course the Love Boat Horn is awesome.

 

At 5:00 we went to the Concierge Lounge for Happy Hour and Avi talked me into 3 Caribbean Ice Teas (didn't take to much of an effort). Now I am a big dude, 6'3" and just under (just over) 300lbs and it usually takes a fare bit to get to me. Let's just say that things are a bit hazy (or I can just admit that I got hammered.

 

I am sitting on the balcony, it is cool and breezy and I am definitely in a happy place. Looks like we are in a line of 4 cruise ships (one is directly across from me). Tried to get a good pic, but no real luck. I'm sure it is an operator error spurred on by too much rum. LOL. 

 

Princess Cays tomorrow. I'll have some new drinks then (yes Captain Hudson Sr likes flowers whike Junior is a bit of a drinket but that is another story for another day)

[Simsonite]

Just got off the sky today and returned to the fridged north so jealous of your extended stay! Never did back to back so appreciate the behind the scenes of how that works. Are you able to keep all your stuff in your room during the turnover? Or do you have to take everything out and bring it back in? Thanks and safe sailing!

[J13C85]

Just now, Simsonite said:

Just got off the sky today and returned to the fridged north so jealous of your extended stay! Never did back to back so appreciate the behind the scenes of how that works. Are you able to keep all your stuff in your room during the turnover? Or do you have to take everything out and bring it back in? Thanks and safe sailing!

Everything stays in the room unless you are changing cabins (we were not). Only things we took were our passports, our guest in transit card, and our medallions. Glad you are "safely north".

[triple7tahoe]

Keep the ship safe. We will be joining for our two week B2B cruise next Saturday. Can't wait to get out of the Washington rain 🙂

 

[nini]

5 minutes ago, triple7tahoe said:

Keep the ship safe. We will be joining for our two week B2B cruise next Saturday. Can't wait to get out of the Washington rain 🙂

 

 

 Hi neighbor! We have enjoyed such a glorious sunny December, here at the beach; Ocean Shores.  A few days ago, two very lucky tourists were able to save themselves from the King Tides. Enjoy your cruise!

[J13C85]

Today is Princess Cays and we are having a lovely day. We each tried sonething new today. I chose the "Coco Loco" and DW had the "Mint Chocolate Martini". 

 

Mine was OK, really just had the taste and consistency of coconut milk. Drink was fine for what it was but I would take the Pina Colada (subbed with a Peach spirit) over this any time.

 

As for DW's Mint Chicolate Martini, this had to be done incorrectly as it looked NOTHING like the photo (the picture on the menu looked very much like the Milky Way Martini). As for the taste, she puts it in the "Chairman of the Board" category as all she tastes is the vodka and schnapps. Again, if you like that sort of thing, it might be up your alley, but it was not for us.

 

Last year on Princess Cays day (pronounced as "Keys"

by staff on board) we had a Sanctuary Bungalow (we shared with another couple) and it was awesome. This year we opted to avoid the tender crowds and stay on the ship. Very good choice for us. After breakfast we went up to 16 and took a dip in the Infinity Pool. As we are anchored the views are awesome. We laid in the sun for a bit as the weather was totally in the "Goldilocks Zone". We then wandered about for awhile and had a nice lunch on our balcony.

 

Spent time texting people we love. A wise person once told me "what you do on New Year's Eve is what you do all.year long." What a better way to set the stage for 2024 than by expressing love

 

NYE celebration is tonight (and it's formal night). I have a minor issue as my cleaning with my dress slacks may not be returned in time for dinner. If so, l may need to be creative. Again lemons and lemonade, right?

 

Here come some pics (last one is from our balcony about 5 minutes ago).

[J13C85]

Just now, triple7tahoe said:

Keep the ship safe. We will be joining for our two week B2B cruise next Saturday. Can't wait to get out of the Washington rain 🙂

 

You are in for a treat. Ship is lovely and staff is superb. BTW, did you know SCUBA is an acronym? This knowledge may come in handy in a couple trivia games, LOL.

[nini]

@J13C85 Lovely photos!

[J13C85]

Just now, nini said:

@J13C85 Lovely photos!

Thank you. It is so gorgeous here today. Best weather we've had since we arrived Lauderdale on the 21st.

[nini]

1 minute ago, J13C85 said:

Thank you. It is so gorgeous here today. Best weather we've had since we arrived Lauderdale on the 21st.

 

This is one of the reasons why DH and I book our large aft balcony rooms.

[J13C85]

Just now, nini said:

 

This is one of the reasons why DH and I book our large aft balcony rooms.

We love those as well. We weren't able to get one for this trip but the suite we have, (directly across from the Concierge Lounge) is awesome. So nice to walk across the hall for a snack or a coffee. I actually served DW afternoon tea one day as they had everything in the lounge.

[nini]

5 minutes ago, J13C85 said:

We love those as well. We weren't able to get one for this trip but the suite we have, (directly across from the Concierge Lounge) is awesome. So nice to walk across the hall for a snack or a coffee. I actually served DW afternoon tea one day as they had everything in the lounge.

 

Fantastic! We have never enjoyed a suite of any kind. Maybe someday.

[triple7tahoe]

3 hours ago, nini said:

 

 Hi neighbor! We have enjoyed such a glorious sunny December, here at the beach; Ocean Shores.  A few days ago, two very lucky tourists were able to save themselves from the King Tides. Enjoy your cruise!

One of my PAC 10 officiating buddies (recently passed away) had a place at Ocean Shores-We would use any excuse possible to visit him 🙂 Love that area and Washington after moving here from San Francisco , 4 years ago.

[triple7tahoe]

3 hours ago, J13C85 said:

You are in for a treat. Ship is lovely and staff is superb. BTW, did you know SCUBA is an acronym? This knowledge may come in handy in a couple trivia games, LOL.

Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus ?

 

[triple7tahoe]

3 hours ago, J13C85 said:

You are in for a treat. Ship is lovely and staff is superb. BTW, did you know SCUBA is an acronym? This knowledge may come in handy in a couple trivia games, LOL.

Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus ?

 

[J13C85]

Just now, triple7tahoe said:

Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus ?

 

Bingo

[strobellayjam]

22 hours ago, J13C85 said:

Today is Princess Cays and we are having a lovely day. We each tried sonething new today. I chose the "Coco Loco" and DW had the "Mint Chocolate Martini". 

 

Mine was OK, really just had the taste and consistency of coconut milk. Drink was fine for what it was but I would take the Pina Colada (subbed with a Peach spirit) over this any time.

 

As for DW's Mint Chicolate Martini, this had to be done incorrectly as it looked NOTHING like the photo (the picture on the menu looked very much like the Milky Way Martini). As for the taste, she puts it in the "Chairman of the Board" category as all she tastes is the vodka and schnapps. Again, if you like that sort of thing, it might be up your alley, but it was not for us.

 

Last year on Princess Cays day (pronounced as "Keys"

by staff on board) we had a Sanctuary Bungalow (we shared with another couple) and it was awesome. This year we opted to avoid the tender crowds and stay on the ship. Very good choice for us. After breakfast we went up to 16 and took a dip in the Infinity Pool. As we are anchored the views are awesome. We laid in the sun for a bit as the weather was totally in the "Goldilocks Zone". We then wandered about for awhile and had a nice lunch on our balcony.

 

Spent time texting people we love. A wise person once told me "what you do on New Year's Eve is what you do all.year long." What a better way to set the stage for 2024 than by expressing love

 

NYE celebration is tonight (and it's formal night). I have a minor issue as my cleaning with my dress slacks may not be returned in time for dinner. If so, l may need to be creative. Again lemons and lemonade, right?

 

Here come some pics (last one is from our balcony about 5 minutes ago).

Such a smart thing to do to stay on the ship. It took us nearly 45m to wait for a tender to get back onboard !

[J13C85]

Just now, strobellayjam said:

Such a smart thing to do to stay on the ship. It took us nearly 45m to wait for a tender to get back onboard !

@strobellayjam that was our experience last year. I was so miserable and overheated on that tender that DW and I decided, not again this year. From the ship the Island is quite lovely to see.

[strobellayjam]

13 minutes ago, J13C85 said:

@strobellayjam that was our experience last year. I was so miserable and overheated on that tender that DW and I decided, not again this year. From the ship the Island is quite lovely to see.

Thankfully it wasn’t too hot yesterday but yes, quite tiring. However my girls can never turn down an opportunity to visit Princess Cays. 

[triple7tahoe]

Not trying to be to far ahead but, if possible, would one of you PLEASE ask what expected load will be the next two weeks? THANKS.  I am guessing that these last couple of cruises have been full (especially with school break), hoping for a slightly smaller crowd. We were recently on an Australian cruise that was so crowded that it took forever to get bar service. Granted it was a short, 4 day booze cruise but even at the bars you could count on a 20-30 minute wait 😞

 

[J13C85]

No drink yesterday for a very quiet sea day of recovering fron NYE. Today we are in San Juan parked alongside Carnival Mardi Gras (Celebrity Ascent just arrived).

 

We took a cab and tooted around San Juan for a bit this morning. The area right by the port is hopping and there is a Senor Frogs right down the street.

 

Super Hot right now (was roasting on our balcony) a d chilling a bit before sailaway. Thus far today it's just been Dirty Banana and Perrier (different glasses)

 

[Leo37]

Onboard the Sky with you now, so nice to see your photos and get your take. Enjoy the rest of the trip!

[J13C85]

Just now, Leo37 said:

Onboard the Sky with you now, so nice to see your photos and get your take. Enjoy the rest of the trip!

Tonight's Production show is "Spotlight Bar". We loved this last week.

[J13C85]

Drink of the day time. Today we have the Salted Watermelon Margarita and the Tokyo Tea. I tried to order the Peach Tree Smash but it was unavailable.

 

Salted Watermelon Margarita was missing one key ingredient, the salt. Drink was way too sweet (the "syrup" was too strong).

 

As for the Tokyo Tea, think Long Island without the tea flavor. All I tasted were the spirits. Neither were for me (but the 2 Dirty Bananas I had at Alfredo's for lunch) were awesome)