Caribbean Princess 6/4-11/05 Journal

[dolfinmusic]

Wow! I am really sad that you are home now! I think I am suffering PCD!!! :(

[pamwinn]

I've tried to answer the questions asked. If you have one and I left you out, let me know. I am still foggy.

 

sunluva7

 

Do you by chance teach English? Great writing - love your witty humor.

 

Thanks. No, I am not an English teacher. I usually have one proof my writing though. They are good aren’t they? I am certified in Math, Mass Communications and Graphic Arts. I am currently teaching Graphic Arts.

 

Pam in MA

 

Pamwinn... a suggestion for skin "cracks" is a product called "bag balm." You'll find it in the Vermont County Store catalog

 

Thanks, I ordered some today. $8.95. (It’s Udder Cream)

 

Rambill

 

Do you guys use purell as well?

 

Yes, we use it constantly.

 

Britsbest

 

Our bridge visit was part of the celebration package I purchased for "her indoors'" birthday. Feel free to copy any pics you want just leave me a message in guest book. If you want full size drop me an email and I'll send which ones you want.

Thanks britsbest. I think I will purchase one of those packages on our next cruise. Rex would really love a bridge tour.

 

Ecruiser

As a fellow teacher who will be on the CP in July, you have missed your calling. I think you need to think about writing a book about all of your teaching experiences....you know what I mean.

 

I’ve actually thought about that. But you know, there are many things that the general population could not handle and I think the truth about education and the teaching profession may be in that category. I’d have to lie….a lot!

 

Dbmiller1956

Hubby and I had a balcony last year and things got a little frisky. Think the neighbors were watching?

 

Yes, we were!

 

KathleenFL

Pam, maybe I missed it -- What was the string for??? (If it isn't X-rated)

 

Actually, string comes in handy for numerous things, but what we use it for on a cruise is to tie the curtains back so they don’t obscure a single inch of viewing space and they don’t blow all over the place and get messed up since we leave the balcony door open so much of the time.

 

EmmyW14

I signed on hoping to catch the next installment from Pam and no posts. I know...... She and Rex are busy on the balcony doing the "wild thing"...that is after putting up towels and bathrobes and whatever else blocks the view…

 

Duct tape!

 

 

Kellie in Texas

Pam - I too have loved reading your posts and I hope Tropical Storm Arlene allows you some extra time on board so you can post some more! Did you mention in an earlier post regarding margaritas that you're from Texas? We are too, in the Austin area.

 

Rex was born in Bowie and went to North Texas in Denton. His two sisters and 92 yo dad live in Georgetown. Just up the road from you. We will be in Austin in a few weeks. That is the best Airport I have ever been to.

 

Sunnycruiser

By any chance did you notice or could you check on the the price of cigarette cartons on the ship?

They are 20 dollars per carton. There is a 10% discount on volume buying but I don’t know how many cartons you would have to buy for that. The have giant boxes that contain 5 cartons.

 

tjatczak

Although I thought that I was following this WONDERFUL saga to the letter - I missed something - why the "Captain's lunch" -does it have something to do with an upper level of Captain's Circle membership?

 

Yes, it was held for the most traveled passengers. There were many first time princess cruisers and very few platinum and elite on this cruise for some reason. That is the only reason we were invited to the luncheon.

 

Riba

 

We will be on C402 and C406. I hope they are 1/2 covered and 1/2 open like they say. My husband can't really sit in the sun.

 

Yes, they are half covered. I can’t sit in the sun either. In fact, I accidentally let myself get sun poisoning on this cruise because it was overcast a lot so I wasn’t reminded by the sun to constantly reapply sunblock. I have avoided this in the past by putting on SPF 45 approximately every hour when in the sun.

 

tobbekvinna

 

I think it's safe to say everyone wants to know what those two cruises you and Rex booked for next year are...

 

We have not decided yet. We really love Alaska so we are considering that. We are also looking hard at the Crown with the new ports. We will track the prices and make the decision by the end of the year so we can get a good cabin. I am leaning toward Alaska, northbound followed by southbound.

 

Rex was trying to talk me into cruising to Alaska in a few weeks just this morning. It's a good think one of us has a little willpower....I hope.

[Kellie in Texas]

Rex was born in Bowie and went to North Texas in Denton. His two sisters and 92 yo dad live in Georgetown. Just up the road from you. We will be in Austin in a few weeks. That is the best Airport I have ever been to.

 

Wow, we're practically neighbors in every way - my hometown is Lewisville, just down the road from Denton. My parents still live there, as well as my 89-year-old grandmother. So do you live in Denton now? Inquiring minds want to know where you teach! haha!!

 

The Austin airport gets a lot of raves; I've only been there once and it was last year (2004) at spring break. My parents came down and took my oldest son (who was 11 at the time) to Disney World for spring break. So, we took them to the airport and that was the first time we'd been in the building. It really is beautiful. This coming October when we head to Fort Lauderdale will be our first time to fly anywhere in 10 years!! Not that we're afraid to fly or anything, we're just the usual Texans who prefer to drive on vacation! :) Thanks again for all your great info! Kellie

[pamwinn]

So do you live in Denton now? Inquiring minds want to know where you teach! haha!!

 

We live in Georgia, south of Atlanta. Don't tell my principal on me...he thinks I'm a goody goody.

[lkmamom]

Pam and Rex,

 

I so enjoyed your journal. We have the same hair! You really have to write a book someday, you have such a talent! There is still room to join us on our European cruise this July, we would love it;) Enjoy your summer.

Linda

[sbwhite2]

We live in Georgia, south of Atlanta.

 

We're not too far apart in the grand scheme of things.... we are about 1.5 to 2 hours east, on the South Carolina border...transplanted from Ft Lauderdale several years ago.

[Louise34]

Hi Pam, We departed the CP the day you came on. Perhaps we passed on the gangplank. I got so into your comments, that I followed them everyday so I could relive our cruise....but wishing we could have shared it with you and Rex. We did the Alaskan Diamond cruise for our anniversary last year, and it was just great. Enjoyed the Diamond so much, we booked the Caribbean this year. We did take advantage of the $100pp future cruise offer, so hopefully our paths may cross on Princess in the near future. By the way, we have 4 younger grandchildren living in the Atlanta area...Cumming and Alpharetta in the elementary and junior high schools. How I wish you they were fortunate enough to experience your classroom. Our two oldest grandchildren graduated from Wheeler HS. Thanks so much for making a brighter day for everyone reading your mail.

[pamwinn]

Here are a couple of pictures of the rainbow ending on the Inspiration. The picture is not as good as being there, but I think you can get the idea of what we were looking at.

[Dreamer333]

Gorgeous!!!

[MEOWSMURPHY]

WOW..excellent pics..such vivid colors..what kind of camera did you use?

[pamwinn]

Actually, I don't really think the camera did it justice. We both have a Canon Powershot s400 (Digital Elf). We like them because they fit so easily in our pockets.

[pamwinn]

You probably thought I was making up the part about the officer on the Inspirtation fishing from the back deck. Here are two pictures to prove it. The first one shows him fishing. He noticed us watching him and laughing so in the second one, he is showing us the size of the one that got away. You can see his fishing line in his left hand. He did not use a pole. Just the line with a rather large lure attached.

 

So the next time you are on the carnival board and they are joking about fishing off the balcony....it's not a joke. :p

[izodlacoste]

Pam>..Did you ever post a link to your photos?

[pamwinn]

I haven't posted any photo's. What I have is pretty much the same as everyone else has who has been to those ports and on the CB. The only thing different really might be the photos of the storm (and the identity of the Faukers). Is there anything in particular you would like me to post here?

[laurashelby]

I was hoping for an album to look at. I love looking at Cruise photos...some may be the same as others, but there are usually enough of a variety! Thanks again for the wonderful commentary!

[gfromftlaud]

Without a doubt, the best review I have read. Your wit is fabulous!

 

Gary

[dexter727]

Great job. Very fun to "cruise" with you. We sailed on the CB last October and it was fun to do it again.

[lynwar]

It looks as if you still have quite a following! Good job. I'm posting with a roll call that will be cruising on the CB on Oct. 8--Emmy, DB1956, and Ted-- we were almost with them but switched to the Star which I may have mentioned before. I'm able to answer some of their and other cruisers' questions, since we were on the CB last Sept. (and Ted was aboard her in March.) Your journal provided a lot of insight and perspective on the way things were or could have been. I enjoyed that ship and kind of wish we were sailing on her again with the Oct. 8 group. Oh well, our time will come again! Next year, I think we'll definitely go on the New England/Canada cruise that leaves out of New York City. My son is starting a new job at MSNBC in New Jersey-not far from the center of NYC, so we'll have a reason to go up there to get a ship. Your writing style is so detailed that it put us all right there with you on your cruise! Thank you, again. Lynne

[celebrity]

sailing on the Crown Princess 7/20/06!! I would love to meet you & Rex. We have quite a few already signed up in the roll call. We will have a blast!!!

[britsbest]

If you want cruise pics including bridge tour take a look at ... http://community.webshots.com/user/britsbest

[pamwinn]

Great pictures britsbest. I am going to keep trying to get on the Bridge. I just need to figure out the perfect thing to say in my request.

 

celebrity, I would love to go on the Crown on 7/20. Unfortunately, if we end up on that ship next summer, it will have to be one of the earlier sailings. We are on a modified school schedule here and only get 6 weeks off in the summer. We will start school before your 7/20 cruise ends.

 

We have not decided where next summer will take us...I am already tracking prices to determine if it will be Alaska on a B2B or the Crown. I've never been to NYC and would love to sail from there.

 

We did spend part of a day post cruise in Vancouver once waiting for the Cascades Train to Seattle. I'd like to see more of that city also. We wandered through China Town and then ended up in a very scary part of town, suddenly surrounded by very weird people. I've researched Vancouver since then so if we sail to or from there again, I won't end up in skid row.

 

I am also looking at last minutes for this summer. Our last minutes are quickly running out so I hope my willpower holds...but I'm looking.

 

:)

[jerseygirl3]

Pam, what was your experience with the Cascades Train from Vancouver to Seattle. We are looking to do this after our Hawaii cruise. Did you book regular seats or did you upgrade to first class seats (or business class, I think it's called). Was the train comfortable? Any insight would be appreciated.

[pamwinn]

jerseygirl3,

 

We booked business class mainly because the price difference wasn't much and I am a hater of both plane and bus seats and feared I would be uncomfortable the entire time. The seats were large and comfortable. The cars were clean. The restrooms were nice. We spent a great deal of time in the lounge car. They have nice dining cars that serve full meals. The scenery was very nice as we travelled down the coast and could see the water almost the entire time. (Sit on the right side) I honestly can't remember the price, but it seems to me it was under 40 dollars pp. We took our luggage from the ship to the Amtrak station, where they have a room you can store it in. I think they charged us a couple of dollars per bag to store it. Right across from the station is the public transportation system. It was like a monorail that was fun to ride. It will take you to Canada Place to look at ships if you like. Then we explored Vancouver on foot for the day. The train leaves in the early evening around 6:30 or so. Make sure you get the right ticket or you will end up on a bus. I purchased ours online.

 

Pam

[jerseygirl3]

Thanks for the info, Pam, I agree, the Business Class sears aren't much more. I think they are $36 pp each way. It sounds like we will be doing the opposite of your trip, we'll be heading from Vancouver to Seattle. You did it the other way around?

[pamwinn]

We did Vancouver to Seattle too. We had just completed a southbound cruise from Seward to Vancouver. We took the Cascades trip because the airfare was so much better from Seattle. I checked on the Amtrak site today out of curiosity. The business class upgrade is only 12 dollars per person and includes dinner according to the site. I didn't remember that but we were just off a cruise and had eaten in Chinatown in Vancouver so we were not hungry at all on the train. With no discount, the price is now 45 pp. but there are discounts to be had.