Eleanor Rigby 14

Arctic kitty, I am enjoying your reports so much! And let me tell you what I (and probably many others) are thinking…despite your medical challenges, your courage, determination, resiliency and sense of adventure are to be admired. You’re a warrior, girl! So proud of you. I have never tried as many things as you have done, both on and off the ship! But I do keep pretty busy on a cruise doing the things I really enjoy. (Trivia is a big favorite!) My motto has always been “Don’t wait for your ship to come in, swim out to it”. You seem to adhere to that motto too. Good for you. I am a big coffee fan so I really enjoyed your coffee-related reports! I don’t spend much time in my cabin…you’ll find me down by the IC having cappuccino in an actual cup and saucer with a special design in the foam. What a fabulous self-indulgence! Have you tried the regular hot chocolate drinks…or better yet, the mint hot chocolate drinks? To me they are as good as drinks from a Parisian cafe. Give them a try if you haven’t already! Continue your fun escapades! Enjoy! Eleanor Rigby

What a story, Kolleen! Unbelievable! I’m glad to hear that you and your fellow cruisers got off the ship safely. (Note to self: Keep medications and passport in an easily-reached location!)

Early on in our cruise our very helpful waiter discouraged me from ordering duck which I love. He suggested that I order a more tender meat and so I did. But I have never felt that duck was not tender enough for me so I am not sure why I went along with his suggestion. We did not eat in the MDR on the last night of the cruise. Maybe if we had dined there I would have seen duck with cherry sauce, orange sauce, plum sauce, blackberry balsamic reduction…all my favorites! (I just remembered another reason why I did not order duck. There was a couple sitting next to us who were avid duck hunters and they spoke to us about their hobby a lot. I just couldn’t bring myself to eat duck after that conversation.)

We had a similar experience with Kahlua running out by the last evening in Sabatini’s on Sky. I asked for a Kahlua and cream…the waiter was gone for a long time. When he returned he said were out of Kahlua. (I was wondering if he had checked at another nearby bar and perhaps he did.) So I thought he was suggesting to me to choose another drink. But he suggested Tia Maria instead which I had never tried before and it was perfectly fine.

Thanks for all the great ideas! In the past few years when I travel I bring my e Marie travel blanket/ scarf/ shawl which was on Oprah’s favorite things list in 2019. https://getemarie.com/collections/oprahs-favorite-things/products/travel-scarf?variant=30989189054527 I also like to travel with my LED neck light which I use when my DH wants to sleep and I want to be reading but he doesn’t like much light in the room. (Three different light settings) I use it on the plane, at night outside on the patio/balcony; I hang it on the bedpost if I want to have a temporary nightlight for when I get up in the middle of the night; it’s helpful going into a dark garage or storage space when I don’t want to hold a flash light. My friends use it when they go camping.

My 4 1/2 year old grandson loved every single minute of his one week Caribbean cruise in late September. And believe me, he was actively involved in all sorts of activities from early morning until about 8pm when he finally fell asleep. He returned to nursery school after the trip. His teacher told us that on the day before Thanksgiving she asked the children to share with the class what they were grateful for. One by one each child gave responses like “Mommy and Daddy”…”Grand-mom and Grandpop”…” My brothers and sisters”. When they came to my grandson he answered enthusiastically, “My cruise!” The teacher then heard several children discussing among themselves what a cruise could be! Don’t be surprised if you see my grandson on this board one day. 😀 Tempvariant, I wish you and your family a wonderful trip!

That’s so funny, Buckeye…I have both long and capri length that I bring…and they are navy and black. Two great minds with but a single thought. 😊

SeaHag, I am glad you mentioned Lands End which has a big selection of pants of various lengths as you said. I own quite a few of them and I bring them on cruises or any other vacation trips. (Just as a side comment, Lands End also has a fabulous selection of women’s bathing suits. I like how they offer the longer lengths which you don’t always see when shopping in department stores.)

Worldtraveller, I was just going to mention that drink, the Dirty Banana. It’s delicious even without the Kahlua or banana liqueur. We also love the non-alcoholic Mudslides! You REALLY need to enjoy sweet drinks though!

We couldn’t find any excursions we wanted to go on either so we did some retail therapy. I used my excursion credits in the Brighton jewelry section of the Princess shop. I was pleased to see a wide selection of bracelets, necklaces and earrings there and the prices were the same as if I had bought them back home. My DH bought himself a very nice Tommy Bahama shirt. 😊

My DH and I consider our very recent Sky Princess Cruise to be one of our very best! The ship is beautiful…so elegant and classy. Our beds were so comfortable. Our room was kept clean and neat two times a day. We were given all the items we requested on the first day…extra hangers, extra pillows, two bathrobes, shower chair. No complaints there. I thought the singing in the Princess Theatre at night was top notch…Broadway quality really. Costumes and choreography were also wonderful. We loved every dinner meal we had in the MDR…lamb, veal, duck, beef tenderloin and my fave coq au vin…and we were able to walk right in to the Soleil Dining Room with no wait at our requested time of 5:40. We finished our meals in time to leave our table by about 7pm to get seats in the theatre for the 7:30pm show. We were always seated near other MDR tables for two and we were able to have some nice socially-distanced discussions while waiting for meals to be served. (We had a fascinating chat night one evening with a man who has done most of those fighter jet maneuvers that you can see in Top Gun: Maverick. I learned what I suspected to be true…many of those pilots like to live on the edge in most other aspects of their lives. Makes sense.) Our cruise took us to the Dominican Republic where we signed up for a Princess catamaran excursion which was exactly what we were hoping for. Most attendees did the snorkeling but we were just happy being on the catamaran, meeting new people, feeding the fish with bread from the captain, enjoying the breezes, the rum drinks and the gorgeous views along with a delicious lunch. Perfect day of relaxation! We highly recommend! I am a big coffee lover, we had the Plus drink package so I definitely made use of it by ordering several cappuccinos a day. Even though I had ordered them in the MDR and also Sabatini’s, nothing beat the taste of the cappuccinos in the International Cafe. Just as strong/robust as any you would have in Italy. The best! And of course they just taste better in a ceramic cup and saucer with decorated foam (not a throw away cup) when you sit at a nearby Piazza table mid-afternoon on a port day, nibbling on a few warm almond cookies and listening to the smooth sounds of a lone trumpet player from the ship’s band playing “You Send Me”. Heaven, I tell you…heaven. You are going to have a fabulous trip, Larsen. Enjoy every minute.

Thank you for sharing these Princess secrets, very helpful for upcoming cruises. I’m someone who really enjoys going to formal teas, especially in London when I visit a friend. Although I enjoyed a very recent afternoon tea at 3pm in a Sky Princess Dining Room, there was no clotted cream, just whipped cream which was fine. No big deal.There was no lemon curd which I kind of missed actually. We were not offered any choice of tea, everyone got the same tea and unfortunately it was not hot enough. Scones, tea sandwiches and little desserts were all good though. (It’s just that the desserts were served to us first, then the scones then the tea sandwiches!) I wonder if there would be cruisers like me who would be willing to pay for a Fortnum and Mason quality afternoon tea with lemon curd, clotted cream, strawberry preserves, choices of teas along with tea sandwiches with Coronation Chicken? Please let me know if you hear of a secret breakfast menu that serves creamed chipped beef on toast (SOS), pork roll (some may know it as Taylor Ham), and Philadelphia scrapple. Or a secret lunch menu with Italian hoagies, soft pretzels with mustard, and cheesesteaks. I will be the first to sign up.😊 Now that I think about it, I wouldn’t mind a cruise ship serving me New Orleans style chicory coffee and freshly made beignets with chocolate sauce to dip them in. Just sayin’.

We used to cruise sometimes with our kids when they were growing up. I remember being so grateful for the free gift of just one week of not having to shop at a crowded supermarket, not having to cook meals or clean up the kitchen or wash the dishes and put them away. I remember being thankful for the free gift of being able to try new foods that I would never have paid for in a restaurant back home because maybe I wouldn’t have liked them and it would have been a waste of money. I recall having a sigh of relief at not having to work a full day in a busy office only to dash home to become a chauffeur to Girl Scout meetings, soccer practices, dental appointments for braces, doctor visits for my elderly parents. It was a thrill just to have the free gift of a waiter putting linen napkins across all our laps like we were rich and famous. And how special it felt to only have to make decisions like what clothes to wear to dinner or whether we should go to trivia or a destination lecture that afternoon.Those were all such special free gifts for a super busy mom living a very hectic life. Now we’re retired. Our children are grown and have places of their own. Mom and dad have passed on, my in-laws too. No more driving to basketball games, Honor Society installations, softball tournaments. Our lives are so much quieter. We often just get ready-made meals from Costco. Although I enjoy the “present” (which is also a gift) I do miss the good old days. And actually I loved being a sports team mom. I loved watching track meets all day even though I was sometimes sitting on a cold metal bench in the rain cheering our kids on. And I miss having our parents around to celebrate afterwards with a nice homemade roast beef dinner around the dining room table. Little did I realize back then that I was surrounded by priceless “free gifts” both on and off our cruises. I think we must all have our own versions of “free gifts” like that. Don’t you agree?

So glad to see this thread - I’m a big fan of fans! On my cruise to Bermuda recently I recognized a fellow cruise passenger at a formal afternoon tea held in a garden on St George’s. It was a lovely tea, very elegant but it was so hot and humid that day….it was uncomfortable really. I noticed the other cruiser, a woman, whipped out a small, battery-operated fan and placed it on her table to stay cool. I was so jealous! I made up my mind that I would buy one for my next cruise…especially since I use a fan all year round in several rooms at home. I have them set up so I can ask Alexa to turn them off or on at any time from my bed or chair. If Alexa could speak on her own she would probably tell me to make up my mind already. (Actually, Alexa does speak up on her own occasionally...kind of scary…but that is neither here nor there.) For those who might wonder why would you need a fan on a cruise, it’s just something many of us have gotten very accustomed to in our daily lives…like some people would depend on the air blowing from a fan while getting an MRI.