JamieLogical's Live from the Enchanted Princess 5/4

[avonlady6390]

My guess the second formal night or dress to impress which I've seen it called should be Thursday so Sunday and Thursday.

[JamieLogical]

Bundles are packed. Here are the final tallies of what went into each of our bundles.

 

My Bundle:

4x Wide-legged Pants

3x Yoga Pants

1x Jeans

2x Trail Pants

2x Maxi Dresses

1x Swimsuit Cover-up
1x Raincoat
4x Long-sleeve Linen Shirt

2x Sweaters

2x Moisture Wicking T-shirts

3x Cotton Print T-shirts

7x Cotton Camisoles

1x Swimsuit Bottoms

1x Spanx

1x Pair of Boat Shoes

7x Pairs Slipper Socks

3x Pairs Cotton Socks

3x Pairs Moisture Wicking Socks

9x Underwear

1x Swimsuit Top

4x Bras

1x Collapsible Hamper
 

Husband's Bundle:

1x Trail Pants

1x Slacks

1x Jeans

1x Long-sleeve Linen Shirt

4x Tommy Bahama Shirts

6x Cotton Print T-shirts

4x Moisture Wicking T-shirts

2x Shorts

1x Swim Trunks

10x Boxer Briefs

10x Pairs of Socks

2x Pairs of Shoes

 

[maggieq]

@JamieLogical   Jamie I am thrilled you are doing another live and even more so on  Princess.  We were loyal to rccl for a very long time.  However, giving up on pinnacle status (would never reach for years so d+ it is) and better pricing have gone on a few celebrity cruises and one ncl in the last few years.  Our first and only Princess cruise was on the golden in 2004 and had a wonderful time. We then went on the rccl navigator later that year and were blown away by the ship and entertainment and never went back.  Now considering Princess  due to new amazing ships and added packages that include Wi-Fi, drinks and Grats.  
 

Would love to hear a comparison to ncl or celebrity to what Princess offers and evening entertainment.  
 

again, thanks!

[JamieLogical]

8 minutes ago, maggieq said:

@JamieLogical   Jamie I am thrilled you are doing another live and even more so on  Princess.  We were loyal to rccl for a very long time.  However, giving up on pinnacle status (would never reach for years so d+ it is) and better pricing have gone on a few celebrity cruises and one ncl in the last few years.  Our first and only Princess cruise was on the golden in 2004 and had a wonderful time. We then went on the rccl navigator later that year and were blown away by the ship and entertainment and never went back.  Now considering Princess  due to new amazing ships and added packages that include Wi-Fi, drinks and Grats.  
 

Would love to hear a comparison to ncl or celebrity to what Princess offers and evening entertainment.  
 

again, thanks!

 

I will do my best to compare all the lines I have sailed, the most recent of which have been several sailings on MSC. I had written off Princess after my one and only sailing on the Emerald Princess, but I am more hopeful about the newer ships and even booked another sailing today on the Star Princess, which launches in October 2025.

 

Edited May 3 by JamieLogical

[F355c5]

12 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

Bundles are packed. Here are the final tallies of what went into each of our bundles.

 

My Bundle:

4x Wide-legged Pants

3x Yoga Pants

1x Jeans

2x Trail Pants

2x Maxi Dresses

1x Swimsuit Cover-up
1x Raincoat
4x Long-sleeve Linen Shirt

2x Sweaters

2x Moisture Wicking T-shirts

3x Cotton Print T-shirts

7x Cotton Camisoles

1x Swimsuit Bottoms

1x Spanx

1x Pair of Boat Shoes

7x Pairs Slipper Socks

3x Pairs Cotton Socks

3x Pairs Moisture Wicking Socks

9x Underwear

1x Swimsuit Top

4x Bras

1x Collapsible Hamper
 

Husband's Bundle:

1x Trail Pants

1x Slacks

1x Jeans

1x Long-sleeve Linen Shirt

4x Tommy Bahama Shirts

6x Cotton Print T-shirts

4x Moisture Wicking T-shirts

2x Shorts

1x Swim Trunks

10x Boxer Briefs

10x Pairs of Socks

2x Pairs of Shoes

 

You packing for an around the world cruise?

[JamieLogical]

2 hours ago, F355c5 said:

You packing for an around the world cruise?

 

Not quite! I know that looks like a lot of stuff. We are staying with friends for two days in NYC after the cruise so I had to bring more that I typically would for a 7-day, especially since the clothes I wear in real life are completely different from my cruise clothes. Thus the need for jeans, t-shirts, and cotton socks.

 

My normal cruise attire consists of a pair of wide-legged pants, a cotton camisole, a linen shirt over the camisole, a pair of slipper socks, and my "boat shoes." I won't rewear the camisoles because they are basically like underwear... they get sweaty and gross, though I do wear them to bed, so whatever one I wore that day is what I will sleep in. The pants and linen shirts I will rewear one time each, thus the need for 4 of each on a 7-day cruise.

 

I sleep in my camisoles and yoga pants. I will only rewear those two times each and since we have the night in the hotel before the cruise and two nights at our friends' after the cruise, I need 10-night's worth, thus the need for 3 pairs in the bundle (one is in my backpack for the hotel tonight).

 

The trail pants and moisture-wicking shirts and socks are for excursions. I sweat a LOT. All four of our port days for this sailing, the temps are supposed to be around 90. So I need moisture-wicking/quick-dry clothes for wearing onshore and with as gross as they get, no way I will rewear them more than once, thus the need for two sets of everything for our 4 port days.

 

Swimsuit and cover-up are pretty self-explanatory.

 

The spanx, dresses, and sweaters are for our two formal nights.

 

Underwear should be self-explanitory. Should always bring a couple extra pairs of those! One of the bras I am bringing is strapless to wear with my two dresses. The others are my normal bras and like my yoga pants, I won't rewear those more than twice each, so I needed enough to cover the 10 days of the trip.

 

The raincoat is just in case it rains for one of our excursions since those usually don't get canceled for rain.

 

I have no say over what my husband packs, so I will let him justify his choices himself!

[JamieLogical]

One day to go! Got our bundles packed last night. Took one quick trip to the grocery store for pet supplies. And I vacuumed the whole house just to try to get a handle on the existing cat hair so there will be slightly less of it to deal with when we get home.

 

This morning we got a notification that our flight from JFK is delayed an hour. That won't be too bad. If nothing else, it gives us a little more time to grab dinner. Our flight from Rochester to JFK is still showing on time for now. It does mean that we will be getting into FLL an hour later and will miss our hotel shuttle, which stops running at 11pm. At least Uber/Lyft from the airport to our hotel should be super cheap because it's a short drive.

 

Before our flight, I still have several last-minute tasks to tend to around the house, mostly pet-related.

 

Tomorrow we will be on a cruise!

[jinpasco]

Looking forward to your posts as we are on this ship in July. Thank you for taking time out of your vacation to let us enjoy it with you. Mary Ellen

[JamieLogical]

Our flight from Rochester to JFK just took off. We were able to gate check out roller bags without issue and the bag tracker shows them loaded on the plane. Even though our flight departure from JFK to FLL still shows a 25 minute delay, we are now scheduled to arrive 3 minutes earlier than our original arrival time!

[Anastas617]

22 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

Bundles are packed. Here are the final tallies of what went into each of our bundles.

 

My Bundle:

4x Wide-legged Pants

3x Yoga Pants

1x Jeans

2x Trail Pants

2x Maxi Dresses

1x Swimsuit Cover-up
1x Raincoat
4x Long-sleeve Linen Shirt

2x Sweaters

2x Moisture Wicking T-shirts

3x Cotton Print T-shirts

7x Cotton Camisoles

1x Swimsuit Bottoms

1x Spanx

1x Pair of Boat Shoes

7x Pairs Slipper Socks

3x Pairs Cotton Socks

3x Pairs Moisture Wicking Socks

9x Underwear

1x Swimsuit Top

4x Bras

1x Collapsible Hamper
 

Husband's Bundle:

1x Trail Pants

1x Slacks

1x Jeans

1x Long-sleeve Linen Shirt

4x Tommy Bahama Shirts

6x Cotton Print T-shirts

4x Moisture Wicking T-shirts

2x Shorts

1x Swim Trunks

10x Boxer Briefs

10x Pairs of Socks

2x Pairs of Shoes

 

Were you able to get this all into a carry-on?? I know I overpack, but even when I "try" to pack light, it's tough getting everything into my medium suitcase. 😂

[JamieLogical]

2 minutes ago, Anastas617 said:

Were you able to get this all into a carry-on?? I know I overpack, but even when I "try" to pack light, it's tough getting everything into my medium suitcase. 😂

 

Well, one carry-on each. That is the miracle of bundle packing!

[EDVM96]

23 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

My Bundle:

4x Wide-legged Pants

3x Yoga Pants

1x Jeans

2x Trail Pants

2x Maxi Dresses

1x Swimsuit Cover-up
1x Raincoat
4x Long-sleeve Linen Shirt

2x Sweaters

2x Moisture Wicking T-shirts

3x Cotton Print T-shirts

7x Cotton Camisoles

1x Swimsuit Bottoms

1x Spanx

1x Pair of Boat Shoes

7x Pairs Slipper Socks

3x Pairs Cotton Socks

3x Pairs Moisture Wicking Socks

9x Underwear

1x Swimsuit Top

4x Bras

1x Collapsible Hamper

This is a 7 day cruise, right?

[JamieLogical]

Landed safely in FLL only a few minutes late instead of the full hour we were originally delayed. In the Lyft to our hotel now. See you tomorrow!

[JamieLogical]

DO NOT recommend the Holiday Inn Express Ft. Lauderdale Cruise-Airport. The location sucked us in, being within walking distance of Terminal 2, but the hotel is terrible. One of the lights doesn't work, furniture is in rough shape, but the bathroom situation is insane.

 

The only light is the super dim led lighting built into the mirror. It has about the same level of illuminati as a night light. Fine for using the toilet at night, but showering and shaving is a real challenge. I tried propping up our cell phone flashlights to shine towards the shower, but that didn't help much.

 

The shower door made a sound like a dying walrus when opening and closing. But the worst issue was the water in the shower. It just randomly fluctuates from freezing to scalding and the water pressure went from basically no water at all to maybe a light spring drizzle. It particular favored the no water at all mode as my husband was trying to wash his hair. There was a lot of cursing and yelling coming from the bathroom.

[wallyj]

@JamieLogical, if you will be partaking in Trivia, I am looking to join a team. Will be on the lookout. Let me know if you want to see shower in my standard/regular Balcony.

[JamieLogical]

2 minutes ago, wallyj said:

@JamieLogical, if you will be partaking in Trivia, I am looking to join a team. Will be on the lookout. Let me know if you want to see shower in my standard/regular Balcony.

 

We may do trivia. If you wear a woman with glasses and purple hair with a man with grey hair and a beard, that is probably us! Will give you a call onboard about coming to scope out your bathroom.

[JamieLogical]

9 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

DO NOT recommend the Holiday Inn Express Ft. Lauderdale Cruise-Airport. The location sucked us in, being within walking distance of Terminal 2, but the hotel is terrible. One of the lights doesn't work, furniture is in rough shape, but the bathroom situation is insane.

 

The only light is the super dim led lighting built into the mirror. It has about the same level of illuminati as a night light. Fine for using the toilet at night, but showering and shaving is a real challenge. I tried propping up our cell phone flashlights to shine towards the shower, but that didn't help much.

 

The shower door made a sound like a dying walrus when opening and closing. But the worst issue was the water in the shower. It just randomly fluctuates from freezing to scalding and the water pressure went from basically no water at all to maybe a light spring drizzle. It particular favored the no water at all mode as my husband was trying to wash his hair. There was a lot of cursing and yelling coming from the bathroom.

 

Forgot to mention the towels! They only gave us two and they were about the size of the ones they usually give you to use as a bath mat. 

[Crown Cruiser]

So sorry to hear about your hotel experience.  It's an awful way to start off your vacation, but keep in mind you'll be on the ship soon!   We had a similar experience in Fort Lauderdale years ago.  Since then we only stay by the beach at resorts like the W or Ritz Carlton.  Yes, more money, but definitely worth it.  Bon Voyage!!!  Can't wait to read about your cruise!

 

[loupana]

1 hour ago, JamieLogical said:

DO NOT recommend the Holiday Inn Express Ft. Lauderdale Cruise-Airport. The location sucked us in, being within walking distance of Terminal 2, but the hotel is terrible.

 

Could not agree with you more, My wife worked for Holiday Inn for 25 years and even with her discount we would not stay there and book elsewhere in FLL. The worst Holiday Inn we've ever stayed in. It's been years but it sounds like things have not changed...

Edited May 4 by loupana

[catgirl411]

On 4/24/2024 at 5:16 PM, JamieLogical said:

 

Already done!

 

Though I am thinking about rebidding. There are only four Reserve Class Forward Facing Minisuites on the ship, so the chances of me getting an upgrade are slim to none, but they are all right next door to the four normal forward-facing minisuites, one of which I am now in. So they are pretty similar, just the Reserve Class have the larger, wrap-around balconies and get the Reserve Class benefits.

 

We are currently on Regal in the British Isles in M107. The cabin is great and the balcony is amazing. It is only day 2 but I can imagine it will be wonderful when in port.  The room configuration is wonderful basically L shaped and there is a huge picture window which provides a view from the bed.  So far we couldn’t be happier with it.

[JamieLogical]

20 minutes ago, catgirl411 said:

We are currently on Regal in the British Isles in M107. The cabin is great and the balcony is amazing. It is only day 2 but I can imagine it will be wonderful when in port.  The room configuration is wonderful basically L shaped and there is a huge picture window which provides a view from the bed.  So far we couldn’t be happier with it.

 

We aren't in one of those L shaped ones on the corner. We are one cabin in from those.

[PaulS]

I think there are several Holiday Inn Express hotels near the airport. Could you provide the address of your hotel so I can be sure never to book it.

Thanks

[JamieLogical]

We are on the ship! Left our hotel at 9:40 to walk to the terminal, despite the front desk at the hotel insisting we weren't allowed to walk.

 

Since we are at Terminal 2, we are before the security gate that cars have to drive through, so it was no issue at all just to walk right up.

 

There was a pretty mighty line outside and it took us exactly 15 minutes to get through that and make our way inside. Then we had to wait in a VERY slow-moving line to get through security, which included them digging through my WAY overstuffed backpack to get to the bottom just to pull out an EU power adapter and realize it was not a security threat afterall.

 

That all took about another 15 minutes and then we got in the green lane line and through that very quickly to walk onto the ship at 10:33.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 4 by JamieLogical

[JamieLogical]

15 minutes ago, PaulS said:

I think there are several Holiday Inn Express hotels near the airport. Could you provide the address of your hotel so I can be sure never to book it.

Thanks

 

Holiday Inn Express Ft. Lauderdale Cruise-Airport
1500 SE 17th Causeway Fort Lauderdale FL 33316 US

[PaulS]

Thanks very much!