Hot off the Press!!! Carib Princess review 9/16-9/23...

[ancldaca]

I wanted to post my full review here but it exceeds CC's length limitations so I'll have to try to do it in two consecutive posts.

 

So, here goes Part 1 - FLL to Jamaica (Part 2 - Caymans to FLL & Summary below):

 

Background: I am a 41 y.o. male traveling solo, with a European/South American upbringing and have been living in the U.S. for a total of 27 years. I see myself as a person of refined tastes but do not necessarily live everyday life that way. I consider myself as someone who knows (both by upbringing and then personal experience) what “is good” and what “is not so good”. As a consumer, I enjoy and seek out good value which does not mean cheap; there are times when a $50 entree represents better value than a $2.99 fast food meal.

 

My previous cruise resume reads: Renaissance Cruises (1x), Princess (1x), and Royal Caribbean (3x).

 

This cruise is the second of the three planned this year. In July sailed on Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas (AOS) and my review of that cruise can be found at http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=30616. In December, I am booked on the Crown Princess. I’ve always enjoyed cruise vacations but wasn’t able to do go for the past 8 years. This year I’m catching up.

 

This cruise was booked as a birthday present to myself and as a good excuse to go to the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area to visit two of my best friends (living in San Juan, I have decent cruise options locally without having to travel elsewhere). Also, from what one reads on the boards, I am one of the 3 people in this world that apparently hasn’t been to the Western Caribbean - yet…

 

My cruise reviews are written in diary style, often with several entries per day. I attempt to give as much detail as possible, when required, and try to separate fact from opinion.

 

Pre-cruise (Friday 9/14, Saturday 9/15 - Fort Lauderdale):

I often go to the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area to visit friends. Since the cruise left Sunday, I took advantage to visit my friends as well and decided to fly over Friday afternoon already. Each trip I alternate where I stay, once closer to one friend who lives in Doral, once closer to the one that lives in Plantation. Although booked back in February (and duly advertised), this trip’s turn was Plantation. However, my Plantation Friend (PF) decided on this weekend (of all weekends) to travel to San Juan. At least we met at the SJU airport for 5 minutes...

 

I flew from San Juan to Fort Lauderdale on Friday 9/14, taking the 3:30pm American Airlines flight which was - thankfully - sparsely booked. Maybe that is why they had us leaving from gate 6 which seems to have enough seats to barely satisfy the requirements of a DC-3. We arrived on time and luggage started appearing 10 minutes afterwards. Something was spilled on my luggage at some point since my sports coat was quite wet and literally smelling of onion…

 

Getting a rental car at Fort Lauderdale is by far the single best way to do it. A law should be passed that all airports in the world follow this model. All car rental agencies are located inside one building attached to the central parking facilities. To get there, you hop on continuously running shuttle buses (I’ve rarely ever had to wait more than 3-4 minutes in all my trips to FLL) which take you to the rentals building. This eliminates the awful waiting one normally has to do to catch ‘your’ rental company bus and, by taking everybody at the same time, also means that not everybody in ‘your’ bus goes to the same car rental.

 

I did the paperwork at Dollar Rent a Car and then retrieved my car. Dollar had only one agent working the exit gate which created quite a back-up. Next time, I’ll gladly spend a little more to go with the biggies - there’s only very few things in life worth waiting for - waiting to leave a car rental’s parking lot after giving them your business is not one of them.

I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Plantation (1701 N. University Dr). I have stayed here twice before and it is what it is, a suburban non-beach, outdoor pool, hotel with no restaurant, but with tons of nearby shopping and restaurants. The rooms are spacious and I’ve always found them clean. They offer a free breakfast in the morning but I’ve only eaten there once - I don’t like most breakfast foods. But, if I remember correctly, there are breads, danish, jams, yogurts, cereals, juices, milk, coffee, and tea available.

 

One thing I realized on this particular trip is that they didn’t have in-room safes. On my other trips I didn’t notice this since it isn’t an issue with a quick weekend trip, but going on a cruise, one has more documents along plus more cash. I nevertheless mentioned this on my comment card although I doubt they get too many cruisers here (located 13 miles or so away from the port). My French Onion Soup soaked sports jacket was dry cleaned today, something my soon-to-be-introduced table mates onboard will surely appreciate…

 

Dinner last night was at the Longhorn in Doral, lunch today at the India House (it happens to be next door and I have eaten there 4 times already. Each time very delicious. Their lunch buffet is a great deal at $12pp) and dinner today was at a Mexican restaurant named Ole Ole located at the Broward Mall. It is family owned and operated with terrific food and a very fresh and tasty (but unfortunately not spicy) salsa. I had the Pork Chimichanga with a diet coke for $11 before tip. I had lunch there on a previous trip with the aforementioned PF (currently having a ball back in San Juan while I‘m sitting here in a hotel room watching TV - yes, this will become a bit of a story line later on).

 

 

Sunday 9/16 (Fort Lauderdale)

2:30pm

I left the hotel at 1pm, having previously filled up the tank. Once at Dollar, they nevertheless charged me an extra $8.00 or so for 2 additional gallons. DO NOT RENT FROM DOLLAR RENT-A-CAR. They are thieves because the only vehicle I know that could possibly use up 2 gallons of gas in 10 miles is the M1-A1 Main Battle Tank. Once I get back to San Juan, I’ll try to get that back. It isn’t the money - it’s the principle. If they don’t refund me, I’ll purposely talk to them so much that they’ll incur at least $8.00 worth of employee costs and postage. So, let me repeat this: DO NOT RENT FROM DOLLAR RENT-A-CAR. Ok… rant over.

 

I hopped on the taxi at 1:35pm and arrived by the Princess Building at 1:45pm; the fare was $11.30 and I gave him $15. By 1:55pm I had finished checking in and was on my way to my cabin. As we boarded on the starboard side of the ship, once inside, I immediately avoided the closest elevators walking to the next closest ones, a trick I learned on my July cruise. Elevators opposite or a tad away from the dock/tender area are always fairly empty.

 

My cabin is Riviera 403. This is an inside cabin of the II category and one of only 6 cabins (R403, 407, 507, 508, 514, and 515) of this built that I could see on my deck plans. While all other inside cabins (including others of the II category) are of the pre-fab kind, these 6 cabins are clearly custom build and are approximately 50% larger than the pre-fab kind. Their orientation isn’t port-starboard like most other cabins but aft-forward.

 

I want to emphasize that these six cabins are not handicap designated cabins but are almost as large as these.

 

As you enter R403 the door opens to your left toward “the middle“ of the cabin which consists of two “areas“. The desk with one chair is immediately to your right along the hallway wall. The bed (in this case configured as queen) occupies most of the space up to the door area. To the left of the door and perpendicular to the hallway wall, runs an island which contains the fridge, a raised TV, some closet space below (facing the bed), as well as a waist high counter area. There is a good 4 feet of space between the island and the bed.

 

Behind the island is that second space which leads to the head (so basically you travel in an inverted ‘U’ from cabin door to the head around the island). Here, there are 4 full length closet doors. One has shelves and the in-room safe/life vests, the second has the beach towels and a hanger rod (but no hangers), the third and fourth doors open to one closet space behind them with a rod and hangers. The head is indeed small as I read on cruise critic. The shower is about 3 feet by 2.5 feet.

The decoration of the cabin is essentially beige walls with light wood trimmed accents at every edge all around. All shelve and closet knobs have faux gold accents while all lighting has a brass look to it and “look nautical”. A large mirror that spans across the bed’s headboard creates an illusion of more space. There is a large painting of a coastal scene with lots of small sailboats on the wall facing the cabin door.

 

I wish the cabin would have some hooks to hang things on. My cabin on the AOS had these as I entered the room, which was very convenient for hanging up my hat, sunglasses, and lanyard with room key. I’m using the edge of the bar that holds in the TV for these purposes as a makeshift. Also, unless I have missed some kind of hidden drawer, I have not seen paper and a pen; fortunately, I brought my own to make quick notes.

Here are some details I noticed. Cleanliness: The toilet had a piece of toilet paper in it (luckily completely white…) and when I moved the phone to a location closer to the bed, a hair band fell out from the cables (the previous owner was a long haired brunette). Maintenance wise, I’ve notice that the middle shelve of the end of the island is obviously broken (about a 30 degree down angle), one of the desk drawer knobs is quite visibly out of alignment as if something heavy bent it sideways, and the closet door where the beach towels are has a completely broken off top hinge. Small details, that’s all; the observations only a consequence of me having been a Hotel Front Office Manager earlier in life.

 

I also made reservations at Sabatini’s for tomorrow (Monday), ordered a flower arrangement for my cabin (I just hope that they take my note to make it a “manly“ arrangement seriously. I want some green in my room, not a living potpourri stinking up the place) and reserved a private sailing class for 10:45am tomorrow on Princess Cays. I have taken ASA classes and feel confident that I could sail one of their boats but since it has been a while, I’ll go with the instructor first.

 

7:15pm

At around 3:45pm I went to the aft buffet on Lido deck for some very very very late lunch. After my extremely disappointing experience with the food on Royal Caribbean I was obviously a bit hesitant to go to a cruise ship buffet again but also curious what the Princess experience would be.

The buffet was understandably deserted. The first thing I noticed was the table layouts. While RCCL’s is made up of several very large areas that give a cafeteria feel, the layout here is much smarter and even intimate to some extent. Small clusters of tables are separated from others by balustrades, curved walkways, and wood carved & metal partitions. I found this very pleasing to the eye.

 

I had a plate of fresh green beans, some heart-of-palm salad, a bit of rice, and a plum stuffed pork loin with a very light brown gravy . The food looked good and, lo and behold, actually tasted quite good to my surprise. I’m extremely happy about this since good tasting food, not just good looking, is important to me.

 

The muster drill was at 4:15pm. All passengers report to the large indoor lounges and restaurants; what a blessing considering the oppressively humid Fort Lauderdale heat outside today. This was different than all previous muster drills I remember where you report to the actual “abandon ship“ station.

 

You do not wear your life vest as you go to your station something that I think is a terrific idea. On the AOS in July I wondered how many accidents there have been with passengers having to go down staircases without being able to see where they are stepping since your view is completely obstructed by 3 inches of orange covered Styrofoam as you attempt to look down at the next step…

 

After the drill I went to our Cruise Critic meeting at the Outrigger Bar, which is located all the way aft on the Lido deck. After meeting everyone, I dedicated the next 2 hours to listening to the Dallas Cowboys-Miami Dolphins football game on a cheap AM/FM radio I had bought in Fort Lauderdale (Princess was showing the Oakland-Denver game). Amazingly, I was able to clearly hear a Miami AM station until around 7pm when Dallas scored again with 5 minutes remaining in the game. I’m certain I could have listened to the rest had I chosen to, the reception was still that clear from the Outrigger.

 

10:30pm

At 8:15pm I had dinner at the Island dinning room, having chosen 2nd seating Traditional Dining. I was in a table set for 8 but only 5 of us showed up. I’d say close to a third to half of all seats on this seating were empty, including whole table’s worth. What a shame because I know from the message boards that these are highly prized. Princess really needs to take a better look at this seating situation. I say, if you don’t make the first night’s seating, unless booked for a specialty restaurant, you loose that privilege and the waiting lists are handled right away.

 

This cruise is the second with the new menu (note of 9/19: I just confirmed this with Angela, the future cruise consultant. She told me all the top corporate chefs are onboard overseeing the implementation). Well, for me the “old” menu would have been new too unless it hadn’t changed since 1998...

 

In any case, I had the lobster and seafood terrine as appetizer, then the water cress and shaved radish salad with a balsamic vinaigrette, and finished my meal with the prime rib. Again, the food tasted like something. I’m happy… One of my table mates had the Cajun inspired dish and pronounced it very spicy which pleased him immensely and made me jealous. I had chosen the prime rib precisely because our waiter had mentioned the Cajun dish was NOT very spicy and I’m disappointed in that. I really wanted to try it. The prime rib was ok, but other than drying it out, it’s really hard to kill a prime rib.

 

As a courtesy to my table mates, I informed them in advance that I’d be eating at Sabatini’s tomorrow and was planning to eat at the buffet for German night on Wednesday (which I had read was good).

 

At around 10pm I meandered over to the Explorers Lounge to take a peek at the Singles/Solo cruiser meet & mingle. I found the singer of the band that was singing pretty hot (at least from afar) and the Princess’ Cruise Director Staff Member was a looker as well. Maybe I was late or everybody else was, but this activity seemed like a big bust.

 

After some perusing through the shops I retired to my cabin and ordered, as those who read my AOS review would already guess, my evening tea. It took about half an hour to get here and was missing the cream. Also, the water was definitely not hot enough. I’ll try to remedy that tomorrow by emphasizing this when placing my order. Also, the onboard brand is Lipton (yuk); fortunately, just like in July, I came prepared with an assortment of drinkable teas (7 each of: Twinnings English Breakfast, Twinnings Irish breakfast decaf (sort of defeats the purpose, no?), Mighty Leaf Darjeeling, and Harney & Sons Chamomile).

 

So, my first impression of Princess is quite positive with just some truly smaller negative details.

 

 

Monday 9/17 (Princess Cays)

8:30am

I have been awake since about 7:30am after falling asleep at around 2am. So much for the myth that you can sleep better in an inside cabin. However, I know what the reason for this is. It is NOT the occasional deep - subdued - whine of machinery going off somewhere beyond my walls; my guess it’s from the pool above. (Actually, being accustomed to the constant sound of my A/C at home, this machinery noise helped me fall asleep.)

 

But my bed was horrible to say the least. Now, I’m certainly not the trimmest and lightest of guys, but still my bed sagged at least a good 2-3 inches giving a more hammocky feel to things than being in a bed and I could feel every single spring in the mattress. During my brief sleep, I woke up 3 times because of this. Moving to the middle of the bed (over the gap) marginally improved things but not too much.

 

My lower back is absolutely killing me because of this. I’m going to ask Jose Mari, my cabin attendant, to please switch the mattresses over. Maybe turning them will help as well.

 

Well, when life serves you lemons, make a whiskey sour or a caipirinha…. I fully intend to enjoy my sailing in any case.

 

9:00am

I used the room service breakfast card last night. The half grapefruit looked completely dried out, the water for my tea was only marginally hotter than last night, and the cream was missing again; the room service part of my cruise doesn’t bode well. When ordering the breads, make sure to specify if you want more than one roll. I had just simply checked the “rolls” on the card and I got exactly that, one roll…

 

12pm

Just got back from my sailing classes. You tender into Princess Cays by going to the theater and sitting down as aisles get filled one by one. In the order they fill out they also tender you over. From the time I stepped into the theater to stepping on land was exactly 20 minutes.

I reported to the water activity booth, had to put on a life vest (I wonder if you are allowed to bring your own, the one I have at home is so much more comfortable) and went out on a Hobbie 16 with the instructor ($80). Wind was negligible with occasional small puffs. After about ½ an hour, we returned to the beach, the instructor jumped off, and I was allowed to go out solo. Funny that the first time I soloed ever would be on a cruise… A frayed rope broke but I adjusted and headed back in after about ½ an hour more. Next time here I’ll go for the solo Bravos!!! (Good excuse to book a $1000 cruise to pay $50 for an hour solo sailing - works for me!) As a side note, it seems almost impossible to find these types of activities elsewhere. Either it’s organized “racing” (the superb America’s Cup Regatta in St. Maarten or the wanna-be outfits in St Thomas and Barbados) or those silly beach/snorkeling trips. I wish there would be more Sunfish/Hobbie rentals out there…

 

The flower arrangement arrived. It’s sort of a rectangular looking thing (about 18” high and about 12” wide) with two orchids strands and a couple of those red heart shaped flowers with white/yellow penises sticking out among other flowers. Too much color for my taste; somebody obviously didn’t take the “make it a manly arrangement” part of my order seriously. Don’t get me wrong, it’s pretty and elegant but more in line of something I would give to a girlfriend or a female relative. Will never order again for myself. I find it a complete waste of $48.

 

2pm

As expected, the buffet was very empty. Most people are still ashore although the weather is now seriously overcast.

 

I had a salad, stir fried vegetables, braised cabbage, a bit of rice and a chicken curry that I saw several Indian crew members attacking. Very tasty and no pineapple (don‘t worry folks, that‘s an inside joke). Not exceedingly, runny nose, type spicy but enough to make it a chicken curry instead of a chicken stew. Always eat what the crew eats!!!

I was very tempted by the deserts I saw but since I’m planning on participating at the afternoon tea, and because of my borderline diabetic condition, I decided to hold off.

 

4:30pm

Just returned from my first “afternoon tea”. Unfortunately, since traveling solo, I was used to fill up a table which happened to have a chair left (an absolutely terrific mix of Brits, Americans, one German lady and myself). This wouldn’t have been a problem if service would adjust for this. However, I arrived at the scones part (for that table) and that’s it. Afternoon tea was well attended in my opinion. Considering we were on this all-day-beach-party thing, roughly half of the Coral dining room ended up getting served.

 

Now back in the cabin, I’ve asked for additional hot water (emphasis on HOT). I succumbed to temptation and snuck out a fruit tart, a vanilla profiterole, and another pastry from the buffet… I’m now pre-warming the cup with hot water before making my tea.

 

10:45pm

Dinner at Sabatini’s was terrific. Now, I did not participate in the whole process that eating there is, but instead just ordered a mixed greens salad, the vegetable papardelle, the veal chop with mushroom ragout, and a raspberry frangipane. All items were properly seasoned and there were 5 types of breads served. If you would like to tip over and above, this tip can’t be placed on your ship’s account but needs to be left in cash. Like on my AOS cruise, I left an additional $20 in tips in compensation for traveling solo and since I don’t generally drink alcohol anymore. Eating at Sabatini’s is highly recommendable. I think I’m going to skip my evening blood sugar reading - no need to knowingly break the curve…

 

After dinner I strolled over to Churchill’s to watch some of the Monday Night Football game. It was sort of funny seeing the Spanish ESPN video feed with Spanish text on screen while hearing the English audio. I never realized that they co-ordinate everything, even the halftime videos, etc. The lounge was fairly full, including some poor sucker fans of both Philadelphia and Washington watching their pitiful teams play (he he - remember, I‘m a Cowboys fan). Interestingly, the game is not being shown in the cabin’s TV…

 

I’ve reviewed the patter for tomorrow’s day at sea. There’s a Navigation presentation being held at 1pm. I suppose that means I’ll have to have an early lunch or a large late breakfast. Also, there is a Towel Folding Demonstration at 9:15am. This, of course, begs the question of why a demonstration of this art but no towel animals in the cabins???

 

Time for some late evening tea, catching up on some news, and begin reading the second book I brought on this trip (finished the first one this afternoon). Tonight’s musical accompaniment is Beethoven’s 9th Symphony conducted by Wilhelm Furtwaengler (his famous “War 9th“ - Catalog# AB 78581). It is my favorite interpretation of this work of the three I have for the sheer power it transmits even though - obviously - it is a mono recording from 1942. The 4th movement, in my opinion, is magnificent with orchestra, soloists, chorus, and director operating on all cylinders and rumbling at you like a horse stampede. Powerful stuff…

 

 

Tuesday 9/18 (at sea)

11:05am

I woke up about 45 minutes ago after, basically, sleeping through since 2:30am. I suppose the bed-board (in this case an inverted room service tray) helped in firming up my back.

 

Instead of a big breakfast I decided on just a bagel with smoked salmon, something I just love to have for breakfasts on vacations. I figure the Navigation demonstration should be over by 2pm. A very light lunch will tide me over to afternoon tea.

 

Speaking of tea, I discovered Twinnings Green Tea at the Horizon Buffet. I snagged 3 bags to take back to the cabin and add them to my personal stash. I also “stole” a mug which holds a bit more than the 2-sip cups one gets with room service.

 

The outdoor areas seemed well attended but I also saw plenty of chaise lounges available. That is just a quick impression, not something I purposely looked for. I’m not one to lie out in the sun in the first place (I tire the screams of “beached white whale” of concerned environ nuts whenever I do take suntans) but know that is something others look for.

 

For the 2 days at sea, I purposely bought two operas to listen to on this trip. Today’s turn is Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro. This is the 1955 Erich Kleiber/Wiener Philarmoniker version (Decca 289 466 369-2) which is digitally re-mastered and sounds crystal clear so far (given the limitations of a set of Sony portable speakers). If I’m not mistaken, this is actually the recording seen (heard?) in the Shawshank Redemption.

 

3pm

The Navigation presentation was a half hour affair, which basically outlined the ship’s facts, figures, and trivia. For example, the average fuel bill for a 1 week cruise is around US$408,000. Also interesting was to hear of the ship’s fresh water generation capabilities. Seawater is essentially vaporized under pressure and this vapor is then collected, treated, and stored. If I heard it correctly, it’s a total process that lasts about 24 hours from the time water is drawn in until we consume it. I think it would have added a lot to have a true basic navigation class with taking bearings, marking your position on a map, etc. (I know, the lack of visual aids to navigation when at sea would make this a tad more difficult… Hey Princess!!!! How about a basic class about Celestial Navigation?)

 

For lunch (2pm) I mixed it up a bit. They had one of my favorite dishes at the Horizon Court (Herring in Cream Sauce) to which I added a salad, and then went to the Caribe Grill where it was Asian lunch; a spring roll (nice and crispy), a dumpling, and a small portion of noodles completed my lunch. There was also a couple of very large arrays of sushi being served. All dishes tasted well prepared.

 

One thing I have noticed is that waiter service at the buffets appears to be non-existent. They seem to be busier cleaning up than assisting you with drinks… In the three times I have been there, I have yet to be approached by one.

 

The pictures at the photo gallery are almost all composite pictures with your photo in the middle surrounded by some gaudy frame showing where it was taken. I asked, and the shop people answered that - yes - you can only get your picture without the frame thing. My initial guess is that they just guillotine off the silly frame thing in the back room…

 

At 2:30pm I stopped by the art auction at the Explorers lounge. Seemed ok. Two pictures caught my eye which were 2 caricatures from The Simpsons. One was Homer drinking beer and one of Burns. The Homer one was terrific, almost lifelike, but I have better uses for $390 in my life right now. I stayed for a while. Some artists sold (mostly prints in the $30-55 range), some didn’t. It sure looked like a production line and needs to be. The auctioneer said that in a typical cruise they show over 2,500 pieces. Wow!

 

Time to go to afternoon tea. Don’t want to miss the sandwiches this time!!!

 

4:10pm

Tea was terrific. There were less people doing it today; about ¾ the crowd of yesterday. I brought my own Mighty Leaf Darjeeling this time. The sandwiches (4 types, I had the cucumber one and the salmon one) and pastries, the part I had missed yesterday, were very tasty.

 

There were two ladies from California with their 2½ year old niece who promptly pronounced the tea as being “gooooood”. As luck would have it, there was also a Puerto Rican couple that had been living in Jacksonville for the past 20 years.

 

Definitely do afternoon tea if you haven’t done it before. If anything, it is a nice “decompression” session amidst the activities and possible crowds elsewhere on board or on shore.

 

Let me also take this opportunity to write a bit about the ship itself, as I have covered the cabin in detail earlier. The Caribbean Princess was launched in 2004, displaces some 112,000 tons, and can carry some 4,350 people of which 1,200 are crew (2.625 pax/crew ratio). There are few wide open spaces (compared to, say, the Promenade on the AOS). Thus, by definition, there are lots of smaller spaces everywhere. Most are concentrated around the Central Atrium area where the shops are located among the various decks.

 

With a few exceptions, all cabins are basically located from decks 8 to 15. Decks 5-7 are dedicated public space areas where the theater, casino, dining rooms, and several bars are located. Keeping with the “nooks and crannies” type architecture each of these public space is separated from the next by some winding passages, bulkheads, or elevator/stairs banks. The decoration is “muted elegance”; it is there without being overpowering to the senses. There is lot’s of wood (or faux wood) trimming with splashes of brass when required. There is very little metal or plastic around.

 

The “sun” decks and areas are all fairly wide open and yet, by again slightly twisting passenger flow, create several individual areas. I was amazed at MUTS (though I didn’t watch anything there) and I though you could clearly hear what was being said. A few steps away would be the main pool area (located above my cabin) where a band would play but the two sources of sound would not intermingle; kudos to the engineer(s) that designed this. There are tons of lounge chaises available for those willing to fry themselves and making dermatologists the world over rich along the way. Not all chaises could obviously be next to the pool(s) but there really are a lot of them available.

 

11:00pm

I fell asleep late this afternoon and didn’t wake up until about 7:10pm. I quickly jumped out to the Lido deck and could see the outline of Cuba in the background. The picture I took will only show some dark mass breaking up the horizon since we were beyond sunset…

 

This is definitely a place I’d want to visit in the future and this itinerary is perfect for it. I suppose a day at sea will eventually be substituted for a call at Havana. However, living in Puerto Rico, I also know that an opening of Cuba to the American tourist will greatly impact our own, quite fragile, economy and probably that of other Western Caribbean ports as well.

Tonight was our first formal evening. It was impressive to see the number of diners in the Island Dining Room that adhered to this (dark suits and formal wear everywhere). In fact, on my way out, I commented on this to some of the waiters closer to the door and they mentioned that they like to keep it this way and that people that come underdressed are informed of the more casual dining atmospheres available elsewhere. Hadn’t heard that before and I thought that was an interesting tid-bit to share. In fact, I only saw one table where people were somewhat underdressed. Also, the dining room was a lot fuller. My table mates informed me that there had been a 400 pax. charter flight that had arrived from England on our sailing date. With that type of a long trip, I can now understand why many didn’t choose to dine with us that first night.

 

I thought the food tonight wasn’t as good as the other night. It was ok, but nothing culinarily special. The smoked duck appetizer was a bit on the salty side as were the shrimps with saffron rice I had as an entrée. The dessert, a sugar free tart, was surprisingly good and light. Of course, after watching my sugar intake during dinner/desert, I wrecked everything with a small profiterole and a coconut mackerel they served with coffee…

 

My table mates commented that the Chocolate mousse desert is now served differently. Apparently, this soufflé type of desert used to be scooped out of its dish, placed on a plate and a vanilla sauce then poured on top. Now, it is served inside its soufflé dish, a hole is depressed by the waiter and the sauce then poured on top. The result of this is that a good deal of the sauce flows down the sides of the dish onto the plate. Seems a bit messy to me… My guess is that they will have to revert to “the old way” at some point.

 

Tonight we set our clocks back one hour to account our moving into another time zone. The hot water for my tea has arrived and I retire to bed to read and to listen to rest of Mozart. Terrific and fully relaxing day at sea!!!

 

 

Wednesday 9/19 (Ocho Rios, Jamaica)

10:40am

Today is the one port day of this cruise where I seriously considered staying onboard beforehand. There is absolutely nothing in the least that has ever really attracted me to Jamaica before. I honestly could care less about its history, people, and most of all - I detest reggae almost as much as hip hop or its un-holy child: reggeaton. My pre-breakfast stroll to the Lido deck observation deck forward (located right on top of the bridge) pretty much cemented this view.

 

We are not docked on the Main Dock that Princess has on its little shopping map. I have to assume that we are therefore docked at the James Bond Dock - perhaps, just because of the name, a saving grace to this rinky dinky excuse of a port. After using my binoculars from the observation deck I’ll change my previous thoughts about Cuba: once Cuba opens up to the American Tourist, they’ll drop Jamaica for Havana. Another cool possibility would be a cruise touching the 3 ports in the Caribbean with the three El Morro Spanish colonial fortifications: San Juan, Barranquilla (Colombia), and Cienfuegos (Cuba).

 

The Monstrosity of the Seas is docked at the Main Pier. The ship is huge and Royal Caribbean can now deaden the taste buds of 5,000 passengers at a time instead of just 3,000; a crowning achievement in any corporate environment, I’m sure. Loud music was blaring over there (10:15am). As I observed the behemoth, I now knew that my past July cruise was likely to be my second to last one on Royal. My experience on Princess has been like night and day so far. I made a future cruise booking for RCCL in July. Maybe I’ll redo that southern route to take advantage of the OBC (that route with Aruba & Curacao were worth it); at least the OBC will cover 5 nights cover at Portofino’s, the only place on board worth eating at Royal. I suppose I really don’t want to “get out there” much…

 

Anyway, back to Ocho Rios. Since I promised myself, when booking this cruise, I will go ashore to eat some jerk food as part of my “culinary” themed self-tour. Based on posts on the boards at cruise critic, I’m interested at a place called the Jerk Center.

 

Breakfast was at the Horizon Buffet: Smoked salmon, a bagel, some sautéed (canned) mushrooms, and a cup of tea. Plus a discovery: deep fried boiled egg. With a name like that, I just had to try that. Turned out to be a hard boiled egg, with a very slight crust, and served in a sweetish sesame sauce; my guess is that it’s an Asian dish. I also saw fried rice for breakfast… We should be thankful that the foods of the world are so wonderfully diverse!!!

 

I also just received an invitation to my birthday party the Captain is throwing in my honor. I suppose he’s a man who thrives on efficiency since he has also invited all Captain‘s Circle Members as well. I forgive him for inviting total strangers to my party… Dress code is formal. Good man Capt’n!

 

2pm

Back from a magnificent lunch. The Ocho Rios Jerk Center is on the road towards Dunn Falls. As expected, I got ripped off on the taxi by having to pay $15 for a 5 minute ride (mind you, at first they offered it at $20). If Jamaica didn’t have enough of a low score in my book in the first place, this type of attitude toward tourists doesn’t exactly help.

 

Amazingly, I met a co-worker there. I knew ahead of time she was going to cruise out of Miami/Fort Lauderdale but didn’t know what ship. Turns out she’s on the Behemoth of the Seas and that darn thing will be in Grand Cayman and Cozumel at the same time as us as well. Maybe Princess should consider doing the cruise in reverse (start with Cozumel and end with Princess Cays) to avoid overlapping with other ships in port.

 

In any case, I came for the food and what glorious food it was. The Jerk Center is an open air restaurant with a big parking lot in front, and reggae music coming from a large speaker system. You go to the cash register, order, and the food is then brought to you. I had a ¼ jerk chicken, a ¼ lb. jerk pork, and something called a Festival. Both the chicken and the pork had a jerk taste that was not at all overpowering of the palate; terrific stuff. On the table, they had a home made hot sauce which I believe was made of scotch bonnet peppers (should have asked) which I hopefully shall feel tomorrow morning (the mark of a true good hot sauce in my opinion).

 

The Festival was a type of lightly sweet fried dough tied into a simple knot. It acted as a terrific counterpart to the spicy/hotness of the jerk dishes. As a side benefit, since the chemical that makes hot “hot” - capsaicin - only bonds with fat (it doesn’t bond with water. Thus sodas/beer don‘t help when trying to quell “hotness“; milk and ice cream, however, do), this deep fried dough also helps remove the extra hotness that may linger for longer than one might wish.

 

They were showing the World Cricket Championships on TV. England vs. India. With apologies to cricket aficionados: from what I could make out, each “home run” is worth 6 points and every “hit” is worth 1, which explains a bit these extremely high scoring affairs. The only player to use a mitt seems to be the catcher who doesn’t get to see too much action as the batters seem to hit every ball. The pitcher hurls the ball toward the batter trying to hit these 3 sticks that are set up behind the batter. I think that if the batter swings & misses and the pitcher knocks down one of the 3 sticks, the batter’s out; the same batter seems to keep hitting until he‘s finally out (either the pitcher hitting the sticks or someone catching the ball). There was actually a camera imbedded in those sticks and sometimes they would show the view from there. Think of it as a camera placed inside the catcher’s mitt in baseball. The cricket ball looked like something fairly heavy and encased in some hard looking leather. The outfielders catch pop flies with their bare hands - ouch. Kudos to them. The changeover from defense to offense seemed to take an awful lot of time and the umps seemed to be applauded as they got on the field again, tipping their hats to the crowd. The fans in the stands seem to party a lot more than in baseball. Then again, with so many “home runs” who wouldn’t? You’re down 60 points; hey, no problem mon, 10 home runs coming up. Party on.

 

The food part was US$10.00 and worth every single Abraham Lincoln. The diet cola was unfortunately diet Pepsi, but I miraculously survived (those that know me are aware that I absolutely detest Pepsi products since having been force-fed them to me in my Babson days). The drinks were a bit expensive at $1.00 but it was nice to drink out of a glass bottle again. Even Pepsi products taste better…

 

The same highway robber of a taxi driver picked me up again (Why not? Sucker the same tourist twice!!!) and hijacked me for another $15 back to the ship. However, he was kind enough to make a pit stop at the Taj Majal shopping plaza and I picked up the obligatory jerk seasoning and marinade. I look forward to experimenting with these back in San Juan.

 

As I got back to the ship it was hard keeping a straight face while I lied through my teeth saying that I look forward to my next trip to Jamaica. This place now positively ranks at the same level as Darfur, Iran, North Korea, and Iraq on my “to do” list…

 

4:30pm

Had afternoon tea again, about half the crowd of yesterday showed up and the waiters were pushing “seconds”. Not a nice thing to do to someone battling his girth line. I resisted temptation and only had one more pastry instead of two… =)

 

Since I have finished the two books I brought along, I practically ran to the ship’s library to take some books out. You can rent out two at a time but I settled on a collection of Edgar Allan Poe short stories. With 955 pages, I doubt I’ll finish it. Actually, I’ll probably just read about 10 or so and then take out another book for variety’s sake.

 

I also bought a Future Cruise Credit thing with Angela, our seemingly omnipresent Alaska 2008 future cruise representative on board. I found her sales spiel too over the top when I chanced into one of her mass presentations. Personally, and only based on what I saw there, I would have turned around and bought an Alaska cruise elsewhere. But in person, one on one, she was actually quite charming. I guess I just get turned off by hard sell techniques. Seduce me slowly and I’m yours for life…

 

Tonight, it’s German night at the buffet which is something I looked forward to. I wonder if they’ll have Sauerbraten!!!

 

7pm

Well, if Princess’ food hadn’t won me over until now, they certainly would have with the German Oktoberfest Dinner alone. As I looked at the buffet, I saw bits and pieces of my childhood laid out in front of me in various trays, pots, and carving stations for the world to see like a centerfold of a men‘s magazine. This was to be a TWO-plater; waistline and borderline diabetes conditions be damned.

 

- Plate #1: Four different types of sausages, one Semmelknoedel (Bread dumpling), Sauerkraut, Rotkohl (Red Cabbage) and mustards.

 

- Plate #2: Spaetzle (German type pasta), Veal Snitzel in mushroom sauce, Goulash, and a slice of Leberkaese (sort of a meatloaf)

 

- Plate #3: (Ok, I lied, it wasn’t just two plates - sue me) A slice of Schwarzwaelder Kirschtorte (Black Forrest Cherry cake) and a piece of Apfelstrudel. Truth be told, I brought these back to the cabin. I’ll eat one later tonight and the other tomorrow; bless those in-room fridges. (Note: Sad to say, but unlike the rest of the German food, the two deserts were nothing special.)

I swear I only plated about a third of the offerings. The breadth of the items offered was staggering. The bread station alone must have had a good 10 different types of breads (including pretzels). Alas, no Sauerbraten. Princess - I forgive you.

 

I have now also resorted to thievery to feed my ugly tea habit and swiped a small hot water pitcher from my last room service order. I’m going to try to keep it until cruise end and I’ll just get hot water on my own. I don’t understand why Princess puts in water boilers for the Brits when cruising in Europe but doesn’t have at least the option of getting one for the cabin here. Wouldn’t it make more sense to just have ship-board approved appliances available for the duration of your cruise rather than people bringing possible dangerous ones on-board? How many of these would you possibly need for a cruise ship around here? 100? 200? Call it 400 if you put together the serious coffee and tea drinkers that really do need true boiling water… I bet you, we would even rent these from Princess for a reasonable daily charge. I don’t know, but $4.00 a day sounds reasonable which is about what I’m tipping to room service right now (and make sure these $4.00 go to the room service tip pool!!!!!). Sorry, I guess the Knoedels have gone to my head…

 

Tonight’s musical experience is: Aida by Giuseppe Verdi. This particular 1972 recording is by budget label Opera D’Oro (OPD-1167) which means: cheap but excellent (at times superb) older recordings. Claudio Abbado directing the Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala in Milan; Martina Arroyo as the Ethiopian slave girl Aida (who in reality is the Ethiopian Princess - hey, opera is nothing but a 19th Century “soap opera” after all!) and Placido Domingo as Radames, the CINC of the Egyptian Forces. Ironically, my plumber’s name in Puerto Rico is Radames as well but he’s no field general; in fact, he’s a bit of an incompetent slacker - as if you needed to know that!

 

9pm

I honestly didn’t want to write another entry today but something has been bothering me about the picture that hangs in my room ever since I walked in. At first, I couldn’t quite put my finger on it what it was and yet every time I looked at it - something wasn’t right! It is a fairly simple painting of a coastline with two bays. The one in the foreground has a small peninsula sticking out and there are a number of houses around the bays. On the water, there are quite a number of small sailboats dancing about going to and from. There’s a couple of boats tied to their moorings, a few flags flying in the wind and the obligatory seagulls in the overcast skies.

 

And just now it dawned on me. By looking at the positions and points of sail of the boats out on the water, the wind is coming generally from the “top left”. There are boats tacking upwind correctly and a few running.

But the ship that is moored from its stern up front is pulling to the left of the picture indicating that it is being pushed by a wind coming from the right. This same mystery wind theory again agrees with the second sailboat casting off where the sailor appears to be sailing wing to wing (sort of), again wind coming from the right. But the nearby flags show little movement as if there was no wind, another inconsistency.

 

Artists………..

 

Sorry, just being anal.

 

12:15am

Just a quick note about this cabin R403. Tonight there was a big party at the pool upstairs. Yes, I could clearly hear lot’s of music, stomping, etc. from up there. However, shortly after midnight, it ended. I don’t think this would be a problem for most people considering this cabin.

 

I’m going to go back now to into the twisted mind of the master Edgar Allan Poe.

 

 

 

[ancldaca]

Thursday 9/20 (Grand Caymans)

 

9:15am

 

Was woken up by a lovely girl from room service delivering my fresh fruit and we are anchored at the Caymans. I can think of worse ways to start your birthday with… Then again, I can think of a few better ones too.

 

Yesterday’s hot sauce indeed was good!!! Room service breakfast arrived 15 minutes early.

 

My cabin attendant came through for me. We have upgraded the inverted room service tray for a full piece of plywood. What a world of difference. I still feel the springs, but I realize there is little he can do about that.

 

4:04pm

 

Had a terrific time in George Town. It took a while to tender over but the Jolly Roger Tour is exactly what you need to take for this tiny island/port. It was about a 45 minute ride covering George Town and vicinity.

 

After we got back I started on my trek for local food; this meant turtle soup and conch fritters. As I’m walking up a street I saw the sign of the Chaine des Rotisseurs at a restaurant called Bacchus. This peaked my interest as a restaurant with that designation should offer extremely good and higher end food.

 

I ventured in and saw the bar in front of me. At the bar, there was a cute young lady having lunch by herself. Forget turtle soup!!! I sat down next to her and after a while we started talking. Her name is Graciela and she had arrived just yesterday from Brazil with a contract to work 7 months in the Caymans. Lunch was a combination platter of half a (Caribbean) lobster, a piece of dolphin with Creole sauce, steamed vegetables, rice & beans, and conch fritters. Extremely good, fresh, and very tasty.

 

After lunch we went looking for an internet café where we each logged in to catch up. My image was beamed to Brazil in her chat session; apparently I’m the only one who thinks that my face was made for radio. We exchanged email addresses and I saw that a weekend trip from San Juan is only about $1,000 which is roughly what I end up spending when I stay in Miami in any case. Hmmmm…. Maybe I’ll get to know the Caymans a little better in the near future.

 

At around 2:30pm I had to head back to port and Graciela had to get ready for a job-related exam she had to take at 4pm. Before heading into the tender line I called up my parents, since it’s my birthday today, and also purchased one of the omnipresent Tortuga Rum Cakes for the office.

 

Tea was a good time again and the captain just announced that we are finally leaving (4:20pm). Turns out two people were still at the dock 45 minutes late!!! However, Cayman Immigration regulations prohibit a ship leaving without everyone on board (that is, the ship is forced to wait until these idiots got on board; Princess can‘t just sail and the passengers have to find their own way - as is S.O.P). I thought that is an interesting bit of information. Because of this, we may be late into Cozumel.

 

10:20pm

The Captain’s Circle Cocktail was informative. Over 1,000 passengers were members on this sailing which means roughly 1/3rd of the ship. The most traveled one had 370 plus days on record. That’s a year of paying cruises. If you sign up for the Navy, they pay you to do it for more than that!!! Ok… the food and accommodations may be lacking a bit.

 

I had the seafood and caviar (salmon roe) tian, a Caesar’s salad (the dressing tasted strangely citrusey), the pheasant (since I’ve never consciously eaten pheasant before), and a no-sugar cherry mousse. Like two night ago, I found it the food ok. The pheasant had a bit up of Seran Wrap on it. The staff then brought out a small birthday cake which was a chocolate covered, chocolate filled, chocolate sponge cake. Did I mention it had chocolate? In our dining room alone there were some 5 birthdays being celebrated today. Lot’s of us Christmas vacation kids around… (do the math)

 

My table mates, who know that I am writing this, wanted to make sure that I comment that the coffee has been coming out overly piping hot, to the point that two have burned their lips already. I am jealous that the water for my teas isn’t the same temperature… The passion fruit soufflé was again served inside the custard dish.

 

12:36am

I tried going to the comic after dinner but the place was too packed for my taste. Instead, I found refuge in the serenity of Churchill‘s. At midnight I continued a tradition of the past 16 years by having a shot of tequila celebrating the end of one birthday (mine) and the beginning of another one (PF‘s). It is one of a handful of occasions where I still have a bit of alcohol. Happy birthday PF!!!

 

 

Friday 9/21 (Cozumel)

10:00am

Returned from breakfast in the dining room, something I had wanted to do since the start. I don’t think it was anything special as the menu is essentially a reduced version of what is available at the buffet. My eggs Benedict were dried out and the muffin tough. My table mates commented that this wasn’t the best breakfast they’ve had. No steak and eggs available either; that is my favorite breakfast item. On my first cruise ever, on the Renaissance IV (the baby Rens) I used to have steak & eggs every morning and on debarkation day, they served it to me with filet mignon…

 

There are four ships in town. We are tied up with the Carnival Conquest what appears to be downtown and a ways off I can see the distinctive superstructure shapes of Royal Caribbean (I’m assuming the FOTS) and another Carnival ship.

 

My plan for today is simple: pay off my ship-board balance and head ashore for a local lunch at either Casa Dennis or La Choza. I also want to purchase a small birthday present for PF who grew up partially in Mexico. Maybe I’ll even find some gut busting hot sauces for moi. I’m proud of myself. I’ve stayed within budget for this cruise so far. I may actually donate at the casino tonight…

 

2:30pm

I ended up having lunch at Casa Dennis, which is located 3 shops down on the right from the market on Calle 1 Sur. This was about a good 5-7 minute medium paced walk away from our Punta Langosta pier towards the Main City Center Pier.

 

I came, I saw, I ate. The dish, cochinita pibil, was almost like I expected. The pork had a slight seasoned taste (some spices and orange juice with a hint on banana leaves) and was served with rice, refried beans, some onions, and fresh small tortillas. It was nice to eat fresh tortillas again; they just taste better than the pre-made kind. Back to the pork. The plate had a lot of juices on it, but, the pork itself was pretty dry actually. That surprised me a bit. From what I know of cooking in such a manner (wrapped in banana leaves), the meat should come out fairly moist as it steams in its own juices. My guess is that they pan prepared it in an oven. Service was fast and good. The total cost of the meal, one diet Coke, and a coffee was $11 something; I left $15.

 

After lunch I wondered down Avenida 10 Sur toward our pier, which runs parallel to the main oceanfront drive. A bit further down I first bought PF’s birthday present and then headed into an internet café ($1.00/hour for the internet) and also called PF to congratulate via telephone (40 cents/minute).

 

On the way I procured three extra hot habanero sauces at Casa Mexico. I figure that if Mexicans consider it hot, it will be. By the way, Casa Mexico is a nifty store with all manner of local arts, crafts, some jewelry, and some - selected - food items.

 

There are two impressions I’d like to share of this shopping port. First, I got a little tired of constantly having to say “no thanks” at each store I passed (probably why I decided to walk back the “back way”, except for my popping into Casa Mexico). Second, there was a lot of street construction going on. It certainly looked like they were pushing for a completion by high season.

 

Perhaps next time I’ll look into the archeological aspects of this place and go to the museum. Today was just too hot and humid to do so.

 

7:20pm

Had a siesta and therefore missed afternoon tea. Don’t fear dear reader, I just took a trip to the Horizon and made my own in the cabin. They had a venison pate which was very good and I grabbed some pastries.

 

Starting at around 6:15pm, I watched the Carnival Conquest leave (we had some light rain) and then made my way to the Promenade deck to watch our own departure not without first counting “the runners” trying to make the ship without incurring the wrath of the captain… There were a lot of people upstairs on Lido but Promenade was almost deserted. I’m taking a liking to the Promenade deck because it has those “old look” wooden chairs around; makes me think - just for a fleeting moment - that I’m on a 30’s ocean liner not a cruise ship.

 

I was able to take some nice sunset type pictures because of the overcast skies. Cozumel sure looks like the type of place I would like to hang out after the daily departure of all the cruise ships. Nice and sleepy…

 

1am

Dinner was very nice as it was the Chef’s Dinner. I had the cheese soufflé for starters (very nice taste), the French Onion soup, the salad (was wilted), the sorbet, and then the lamb chops which were beautifully cooked and tender. The desert was a trilogy of samples; sweet but nothing to write home about.

 

I invited my table to a bottle of wine, courtesy of my Travel Agent. They had been nice enough to give me a bottle as a bon voyage gift, but I don’t really drink anymore.

 

Following dinner I decided to loose $50 at the casino (great attitude, no?). Not really inspired to play anything in particular, I approached the Fun 21 Blackjack. Since no one was there I had a chance to ask about this game and Elena’s enthusiasm won me over. I did ok until the table filled up, at which point I started tanking. Elena was replaced by another croupier at that point so I left as well. I killed another 2 hours playing quarter slots with an initial $3.00 investment.

 

 

Saturday 9/22 (at sea)

12:44pm

Woke up “early” (8:50am) in order to have room service breakfast and then see the culinary demonstration and galley tour. However, room service never showed up. I had indicated on my card 9-9:30am service and left the cabin at around 9:37am. Basically ran to the Horizon (aft - deck 15) to swallow some food down (yes… more smoked salmon) and made it to the theater (forward - deck 7) just as they were getting started.

 

The presentation was made by Master Chef Commendatore Alfredo Marzi. He cooked up three plates which, if I heard correctly, will be part of tonight’s dinner menu. About half the theater was filled and the presentation was also shown on the theater’s screen. The Chef pointed out a few hints and tips, some of which I knew, some of which I had forgotten. Following his cooking, which took about an hour, we were escorted (rather rushed) through the galley which was essentially empty. They were pushing sales of the Princess Cookbook all along.

 

Before leaving, I got a chance to talk to the Master Chef and asked him about “The Chef’s Table” program. This is a super duper premium gastronomic program currently only available on the Emerald but planned to be fleet wide in the future. He explained to me that the only reason it hasn’t gone beyond the Emerald is out of insurance reasons but that he expected a positive decision on this no later than in two weeks (this same info was later confirmed to me by a fellow cruise critic member who had also talked to the Chef on a separate occasion on this cruise over this program).

 

So, to all the gourmands out there, prepare for that $75pp charge in near future cruises. I know that I will pull what little strings I have to try to get my parents and me in on this for at least one night on our upcoming December Crown cruise. I wonder if I can get my Dad to bring his Chaine des Rotisseurs regalia with him…

 

I stopped by the photo shop to pick up my two pictures and the scrapbook that my travel agent gave to me as a present. I truly wish I could give a big shout out to Sharon’s and Nina’s Agency but cruise critic has its rules and I’m a rules kind of guy. This cruise and the reservation for my December one has been handled absolutely marvelously. Feel free to email me and I will gladly give you their web addy with my highest recomendations.

 

I’m starting to pre-pack everything. Just leaving enough out for tonight and tomorrow. My group is White-4. I am to report to the Club Fusion at 8:30am; just one more opportunity to find a new space on board…

 

4:10pm

Had lunch in the dining room. What do you know! Goulash and Spaetzle, one of my favorites (see German Night buffet description earlier). Nice to be waited on, but not something I would again go out of my way to try. It’s not bad at all, it’s just that the buffet is more convenient and, frankly, just as good taste wise.

 

With this visit to dining room lunch, I have pretty much tried everything on board except the Steakhouse and the Pizza. I didn’t try the steakhouse because I have a Ruth Chris in San Juan and I generally strongly prefer range fed not corn fed beef; has a truer and less sweet taste IMHO. The pizza fell by the way side because I ate enough as it is. The quantities of food I dispatched this week were enough to feed a small third world, war torn, nation (or a good sized group of runway models). The food was just so vastly better than on my AOS cruise it was like night and day. On my July cruise I actually lost weight; here I gained some (just perfect after buying new smaller clothes before the cruise).

 

After lunch, I stopped by the purser’s to drop off my guest comment cards and to pick up two Employee Recognition Cards (“You Made The Difference“ Cards). You fill these out for employees that go the extra mile for you. These cards are highly prized by the employees because enough of them gets them better shifts, more free time, etc. I think that such things should be given truly only when someone goes the extra step, not merely for doing their job.

 

In my case, I decided to fill out two of them. One for Jose Mari based on his efforts to get the bed board thing going and the second for Elena, the croupier from last night. Could I have filled out more of them? Perhaps. I think everybody else was doing their job and, at least in my case, didn’t take that extra step that I feel is important to be considered great service.

 

Had my last afternoon tea doing my own thing by picking up some things and hot water at the Horizon. (MUTS was well attended).

 

My cabin now looks sparser than before as I have packed most things away already. One bright point is the floral arrangement. It is still going strong; I’ve only had to discard one flower that was wilting away. I can see one of these things lasting for most of a 2 week cruise because orchids tend to last for a while. I’m now partially re-thinking my original statement of never buying an arrangement again. I think if I cruise inside, I would consider it. Maybe the smaller one. I think the inevitable salt air coming in on a balcony cabin is likely to cause them to wilt quicker; but I’m - obviously - no expert on flowers…

 

5:30pm

Pretty much ready to go except for tonight’s clothing. I also contacted room service for a roast beef sandwich plus a plain yogurt (not on the menu but I asked kindly and the girl said no problem). Tomorrow morning there’s no room service so I figure a sandwich, a yogurt, the fruit I have in cabin, and some hot water from the Horizon for my last 3 surviving tea bags will make for a nice leisurely breakfast in the cabin while all other 3,000 passengers are fighting over space and food at the buffet. Yes… I am anal…

 

Now done with all the unpleasantries, I have begun listening to my second “day at sea” opera I brought aboard. Although truly more suited for a Northern Transatlantic cruise, it is a 1968 recording of Der fliegende Hollaender (The Flying Dutchman) by Richard Wagner. This recording is part of EMI Classics Great Recordings of the Century Series. The conductor is Otto Klemperer, father of the actor who played the German Col. in Hogan’s Heroes, and the New Philarmonia Orchestra. Theo Adam sings the Dutchman and Anja Silja is his Senta. It’s sort of fun listening to the fantastic overture while having the TV on the bridge cam. First impressions: almost solemnly paced and stately compared to other bits and pieces I have listened to before by other conductors.

 

10:54pm

Dinner was very good again. I’d say better than the previous two nights. A nice sending off indeed. I started off with the avocado stuffed with seafood, then a roasted vegetable sand greens salad, indulged with a small portion of Princess’ famous Alfredo, had the grilled fish (beautifully done; just the slightest of salt and pepper seasoning and then grilled), and finished off - of course - with a bit of the Baked Alaska. It was the first time I’ve had Baked Alaska since… my last Princess cruise which was Alaska in ‘98 or ‘97 I think.

 

I just remembered something I failed to mention earlier in my review, must have ocurred during the 2nd formal night, but the lobster was served with mashed potatoes… Huh???? Certainly not a very traditional choice of starch complement to lobster, at least that I am aware of.

 

Anyway, my luggage is now outside and I’m back to living out of the carry-on. It also means that this, rather lengthy, review is soon coming to a close.

 

Tomorrow I’ll wake up at around 7:45am. That should be enough to grab some hot water at the Horizon for my tea and my contraband breakfast!!! After that, it is off to Club Fusion at 8:30am to await debarkation, immigration, and customs. I don’t have much in the way of a declaration this time around and my wallet is thanking me for that relative measure of restrain.

 

After I get off board, I hope to meet PF (I bought a birthday present in Cozumel after all) as well as my Miami friend. My flight back home departs at 7:00pm.

 

PF said that my last review was “a book”. Well, this one is double in length so I’m turning Shakespearean on these things…

 

So, let me summarize a bit this last week. The ship is beautiful and well maintained (in general); not bad considering it’s continuous use.

 

The service on board was always proper and a bit restrained. That has an appeal to me as I do not prefer to have overly friendly/personal type of service, unless initiated by me. I absolutely abhor the artificial “niceness” we see in the U.S. and service here was terrific. Embarkation was a snap; amazing I would be on-board so quickly with 3,000 other people there too. Kudos to Princess.

 

The food was absolutely wonderful across the board (with exception of room service which was rather plain). The meals were all good and at times exceptional, especially considering the staggering number of meals being served. I truly enjoyed that each and every meal-time had at least one dish that went beyond “the normal”. What an excellent way for people to try new things and maybe discover something new that they never thought of before (in my case the deep fried boiled eggs, the venison pate, and the pheasant).

 

The Western itinerary was a nice combination of port activity and days at sea to relax. Unfortunately, Jamaica did little to win me over and as such certainly has lost my future business. Cozumel and the Caymans, on the other hand, surprised me. I’m still neutral on Princess Cays since it’s nothing but a beach day so, coming from a Caribbean Island, there’s little appeal to me there, although it did offer the sailing which is a HUGE plus in my book.

 

Finally, my fellow passengers. I found the people on this cruise a lot more sophisticated than those on my AOS cruise in July. However, July means family vacations which brings out its own particular crowd so maybe it isn’t an altogether fair comparison. I saw people of all ages but I would venture a guess that the gross majority would have been between 45 to 65; which makes sense since the school year has started. Anyway, Princess people are more my type of people.

 

Without a doubt, I will cruise Princess again and that is discounting my already booked Crown Princess cruise in December. I enjoyed this one so much more than July. My future Panama Canal and Transatlantic are very likely to be on this cruise line.

 

Well, that’s about it. Like last time, no debarkation day information (it’s too sad). End of CD - end of review. Senta has just declared her love for the Dutchman and has broken his curse.

 

What a wonderful way to end a terrific week of vacation. This time I truly don’t want to get off board tomorrow!!! Maybe I’ll hide under the bed!!! I wonder what the penalties are nowadays for being a stowaway…

[quincytoo]

I loved your trip report!!! Very informative and it made me chuckle a few times. Well done and again thank you :)

[Colo Cruiser]

Wow what a great review, thanks. :)

[tlk0254]

Does anyone know if the Caribbean Princess and the Grand Princess are sister ships? We are on the Grand for the Thanksgiving cruise, and all the ports are the same except in reverse order. Are the restaurants that same on both ships?

 

thanks

~~ terry

[Clutterlady]

Wonderfuly review!!! Thank you:)

[travlin housewife]

So enjoyed your review! I love to think about all the other passengers' individual daily activities going on in that vast "sea" of nameless faces! You make an interesting journey for yourself and I imagine that you find pleasure in all of your adventures,even the less than ideal ones(monstrosity of the seas-loved that!). You are a great inspiration to me to really savor my next voyage. I am sailing out of San Juan,staying overnight at marriott on beach night before-any tips/advice on must see things for short stay? :)

[flvol77]

Does anyone know if the Caribbean Princess and the Grand Princess are sister ships? We are on the Grand for the Thanksgiving cruise, and all the ports are the same except in reverse order. Are the restaurants that same on both ships?

 

thanks

~~ terry

 

Only difference is that the Grand doesn't have Cafe Caribe in the buffet area. But, the grand has one less deck and about 700 less people and you can really tell a difference around the pools and in the buffet. But they are built on the same platform and very close to being the same ships.

[kafitty]

i love your writing style, and you are very funny!

[xznwfd]

Really excellent review! I love when someone mentions both the good and bad of the trip, not just complaints or raves. I enjoyed your sense of humor and the detail - just the kind of things I wanted to know. I'm on the CB in January, my first Princess cruise, and am hungry for as much info as possible in advance. Since the food is very important to me as well, I really appreciated the detail you provided - thanks so much!

 

Cathy

[MrsNoPlea]

My husband and I will be on the CB 11/25 and I am even more excited after reading your review....it was just great! Thanks so much for taking the time to post it!

[bickee]

That was so fun to read, I think I'll look for your past reviews!

[bickee]

Also, I am very interested in emailing you about your wonderful TA...but can't seem to find an email in your profile?

[comettgirl]

Great review, thanks so much for writing it!!!!!!!

[comettgirl]

We are going on the Caribbean Princess in November and I sure hope you are right about the Chef's dinner coming to the other ships by then!!!!

[Hughbud]

Wow! What a wonderfully & interesting constructed review. Spouse and I are sailing on the CB on a Western soon and I feel that I already know every answer to the many questions I had regarding so many aspects of the ship. One can tell by reading your review, that you take life's adventures and thoroughly make the very most out of each and every one. I dare say that most who travel solo have gotten so much out of their travels as you seemingly do. We too plan on booking an Alaskan cruise upon this trip, and unless we are terribly disappointed, will do so with Princess. After sailing Carnival twice before, I am sure that we will notice a great difference in the ship style and decor. Again, a wonderful review!

 

Hughbud.

[funcrusier]

Was fortunate to be at the same table as ancldaca for the cruise. What a great time. Just goes to show that the glass does no have to be half empty. As someone has said before "the worst day on a cruise is way better than the best day at WORK"

 

Just a couple of quick additions to the review. First we have been on the Grand class ship several times and did not seem to notice the additional 700 on this ship. Gererally plenty of space with only issues being with some of the late night shows held in lounges. Mix was about 33% past Pricess cruisers and 67% new. Did see a couple issues but the captain seemed to have everything well in control.

 

The new menu in many ways is very similar to the old menu as far as the large plates go. Small plates are another story, many changes some difficult to undestand. Some old favorites are not on menu but available (french onion soup). Additonally as discussed in the review some of the large plates seemed to have a strange mix. (Mashed Potatoes with Lobster??)

 

Lastly getting off of the ship was very easy and orgainized. A big WELL DONE to Princess on this matter. No more everyone heading the main lobbly and tring to make a mad dash to the doors. We had a 11:30 flight and we given Red 1 scheduled to leave ship at 8:00. Left room at 7:45, arrive at Casino (assigned gathering area for Red) at about 7:50. Cruise staff arrived a few minutes befor 8:00 and we were on our way. Off of the ship, thru customs and picked up luggage by 8:10. Checked in at airport by 8:30. Total process from ship to boarding area was 45 minutes. Very well orgainize. (only bad news went so well we had a 3 hour wait for flight.

 

If you think ancldaca reveiw was great you should have been at the table each night. Great fun. Well done.

[masterflax]

An excellent review. Very well written and entertaining. We are off on the CB in two week, but after reading your review wish we left today. Thank you for very honest review of the cruise and glad you had a good time.

[ancldaca]

Thank you all for your replies. I posted this from FLL airport. Now back home, my internet is spotty and that's being kind to Puerto Rico's Onelink's "service". I couldn't get a connection at all yesterday evening and things are marginally better this morning.

 

The email is my handle at yahoo.com. I'll be checking it daily these days, but not before calling my "service" providers first to find out what is going on.

[ancldaca]

The dreaded double post syndrome struck again...

[Coolmama_1]

I enjoyed reading your review. Thanks for sharing.

[seagarsmoker]

Thanks for writing and posting an excellent review! Actually, one of the best I've read here (or any where for that matter). Glad you enjoyed cruising with Princess and best of luck on your future cruises!

 

JB

[gopher's girl]

Hello - great to hear of your travels... have a wonderful day.

[cruiserone]

Wonderful review. I was sad to see it end and looked forward to more. We will be on the Crown in February and will sail a different itinerary. Sorry you did not like Jamaica but they have wonderful beaches and the people are truly gracious and kind. Every tourist spot has their problems even in NJ!!

 

Thank you.

 

 

Only one comment..hasn't anyone ever heard of lobster mashed potatoes!!! They are delicious.:p

[buncher]

Great review; Thank you for taking the time to do it.