CARIBBEAN PRINCESS Jan 11 2014-Photo and video review

[Bimmer09]

Another one of your really great photo reviews...and even more food photos...thank you so very much. :):):):)

 

Thank you!

 

There are several MSC Divina reviews going on right now including one by Gambee, to whet your appetite.

 

I am 17 days away from joining the Ocean Princess in Venice...

 

Norris

[MJSailors]

Norris-

Bon Voyage to you and Carol on your upcoming Ocean Princess cruise!

Looking forward to some fabulous photos and your thoughtful recap of your experiences!

Ciao !

[enidcruiser]

Norris,

Just had to jump in here and tell you an important music note.

Houston Symphony has a new conductor, Andres Orozco-Estrada from Columbia, trained in Vienna.

Very energetic, great musicality and you should make a trip to Houston to see our symphony with the new conductor.

Check him out on Google and the Houston Symphony page.

Had no idea of any way to chat with you about him but hoped you were checking this thread on the Princess page.

If I had your email I could tell you more about the schedule for 2014.

Come back to Texas and see what great things we have to offer.

 

Julia (enidcruiser)

[Bimmer09]

Norris-

Bon Voyage to you and Carol on your upcoming Ocean Princess cruise!

Looking forward to some fabulous photos and your thoughtful recap of your experiences!

Ciao !

 

Thanks MJ for the kind wishes. I know the cameras will get a lot of use this trip and have even bought a tripod to help me do some long video takes/ night photos/beat off pickpockets and rose sellers.

 

We are docking at San Basilio which keeps us out of the bigger harbor and closer to our hotel as we will be boarding late in the day, by water taxi, after an afternoon at the Opera. Our hotel is on the Grand Canal so that's a photo pop waiting to happen!

 

Norris, anticipating.

[Bimmer09]

Norris,

Just had to jump in here and tell you an important music note.

Houston Symphony has a new conductor, Andres Orozco-Estrada from Columbia, trained in Vienna.

Very energetic, great musicality and you should make a trip to Houston to see our symphony with the new conductor.

Check him out on Google and the Houston Symphony page.

Had no idea of any way to chat with you about him but hoped you were checking this thread on the Princess page.

If I had your email I could tell you more about the schedule for 2014.

Come back to Texas and see what great things we have to offer.

 

Julia (enidcruiser)

 

Julia we haven't forgotten Houston and will be back within the next two years as two of our friends are singing in a Wagner opera there (the one that takes 4 nights to see). Thanks for the info on the Symphony!

 

Keep you eyes open for the Ocean Princess thread in early October...

 

Best wishes!

 

Norris

[jenseib]

Lucky me! I found this on page 2 the other day and have been reading off and on since then. I will be taking my fist Princess cruise in 2 weeks on this ship and you gave such great info! I have had it booked for awhile but I have been so busy I haven't had a chance to do a lot of research on it and you gave me so much great info! Thanks so much and have fun on your next adventure!

[Bimmer09]

Lucky me! I found this on page 2 the other day and have been reading off and on since then. I will be taking my fist Princess cruise in 2 weeks on this ship and you gave such great info! I have had it booked for awhile but I have been so busy I haven't had a chance to do a lot of research on it and you gave me so much great info! Thanks so much and have fun on your next adventure!

 

Thanks for the compliments and bon voyage wishes! We leave Chicago tomorrow evening and arrive in Venice Friday. The Ocean Princess will be there to pick us up on Saturday. Our first Med cruise and first small ship....very exciting indeed.

 

Enjoy every minute of your CB cruise!

 

Norris

[kruzinRiva]

Another of your legion of fans weighing in! I first discovered you with delight a few weeks ago doing a search for info on the Crown. We will be on her for 28 days come the middle of October (Tahiti, here we come!!!) and I devoured your tome all in one sitting! I read through and thoroughly enjoyed your offering for the Diamond in Alaska soon after and a couple of days ago spotted this review and just finished it. Your ability to describe just what I want to know about a ship AND evoke the essence of a perfect time at sea is beyond compare. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

 

Bon Voyage and hope your Med cruise is all you could wish it to be -- I've done two weeks on Pacific Princess in Alaska and I think the small ship will be right up your alley! Already looking forward to reading your reflections when you return.

 

Becca

Edited September 18, 2014 by kruzinRiva
some spelling errors just CANNOT stand...

[Bimmer09]

Another of your legion of fans weighing in! I first discovered you with delight a few weeks ago doing a search for info on the Crown. We will be on her for 28 days come the middle of October (Tahiti, here we come!!!) and I devoured your tome all in one sitting! I read through and thoroughly enjoyed your offering for the Diamond in Alaska soon after and a couple of days ago spotted this review and just finished it. Your ability to describe just what I want to know about a ship AND evoke the essence of a perfect time at sea is beyond compare. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

 

Bon Voyage and hope your Med cruise is all you could wish it to be -- I've done two weeks on Pacific Princess in Alaska and I think the small ship will be right up your alley! Already looking forward to reading your reflections when you return.

 

Becca

 

Becca-yikes! Thanks for the kind words.

 

The Ocean P cruise is the longest anticipated one for us as we booked it 18 months ago and have watched Shipmate App count it down during all this time and now it says 2 days and 3 hours (yikes again!). So I have the camera memory cleaned out to take a potential 2300 photos (wahhhhh!) and the camcorder will overheat no doubt. Carol has 1,000 photos freed up and we both have iPhones to take photos with so I am anticipating a very long photo/video review come October.

 

I am happy you read my accounts with relish (hold the mustard) and that they fire your enthusiasm for cruising.

 

Norris, packing his money belt.

[rdsqrl]

Since I have vivid recollections of you chivvying me on my Live thread for photos, photos, and more photos, I have to take this opportunity to remind you that what goes around, comes around. In other words, are you sure 2300 will be enough?!

 

I hope you adore the Ocean as much as I did her twin sister. Frankly, I can't imagine why anyone would want to sail on any of the other ships.

 

And your first Med cruise, too. Fantastic. Enjoy every moment of your trip, both onboard and on land.

[Bimmer09]

Since I have vivid recollections of you chivvying me on my Live thread for photos, photos, and more photos, I have to take this opportunity to remind you that what goes around, comes around. In other words, are you sure 2300 will be enough?!

 

I hope you adore the Ocean as much as I did her twin sister. Frankly, I can't imagine why anyone would want to sail on any of the other ships.

 

And your first Med cruise, too. Fantastic. Enjoy every moment of your trip, both onboard and on land.

 

Annie-thanks for the bon voyage wishes. I am going to be dragged around every Basilica, Campanile, museum, church in Venice and will be looking at great Titian paintings until I am blue in the face. If my cameras don't get stolen in the first half-hour then I will offer up a deluge of photos. I have even bought a tripod to ...well, you'll see. We are booked at a touristy restaurant (Da Raffaele) on our first night and then I am going to sit at the outdoor patio of our hotel (Palazzo Sant' Angelo) on the Grand Canal and drain their Sambuca barrel dry.

 

We have opera on embarkation day and arrive at the ship late at night , just before they put the cat out. Sabatini's or Sterling for dinner then back onto the shuttle (ship is docked at San Basilio) to St Mark's Square to hear the dueling bands. Well that's the plan anyway.

 

I think we will LOVE the Ocean Princess. Time will tell.

 

Arrivaderci !

 

Norris

[dodgetrucksrule]

I have spent the last 3 days reading your wonderful review. We are sailing on the CB on the 29th. Our first Princess cruise. We were already looking forward to a change from our normal cruise line (CLL) and your pictures and words have already convinced me that we made a good choice.

Have a wonderful med cruise ~ can't wait to read that review as we will be sailing there next summer.

In the meantime I am off to read your blog.

Edited September 18, 2014 by dodgetrucksrule

[Bimmer09]

I have spent the last 3 days reading your wonderful review. We are sailing on the CB on the 29th. Our first Princess cruise. We were already looking forward to a change from our normal cruise line (CLL) and your pictures and words have already convinced me that we made a good choice.

Have a wonderful med cruise ~ can't wait to read that review as we will be sailing there next summer.

In the meantime I am off to read your blog.

 

Thanks dodge. I have to say that I don't enjoy the blog as much as writing on CC as there is no feedback and I have to keep things short and remember that there are people reading it in very foreign countries so references that only USA or UK readers would "get" have to be toned down. I get a little World map showing which countries it is being read in. Madagascar is simply ignoring me.

 

The blog was set up mainly to cover non-cruise holidays. I am putting it on hold while I am in Italy.

 

I hope your first Princess Cruise is the first of many.....

 

Cheers,

 

Norris

[extreme4377]

Another thank you for your hard work and detailed posts. Cruising on the CB November 22nd for part 1 of our honeymoon. We're looking forward to seeing some new ports. We're also staying at the Lancaster for a night before we board. Thanks again!

[Bimmer09]

Another thank you for your hard work and detailed posts. Cruising on the CB November 22nd for part 1 of our honeymoon. We're looking forward to seeing some new ports. We're also staying at the Lancaster for a night before we board. Thanks again!

 

Thank you!

 

Glad to hear you picked the Lancaster. We stayed there this past May and have it booked for next May, both Houston Opera visits.

 

Have a great time on the CB!

 

I'm on the Emerald in 10 days-review in Mid-October.

 

Cheers,

Norris

[Working 2 Cruise]

Thank you!

 

Glad to hear you picked the Lancaster. We stayed there this past May and have it booked for next May, both Houston Opera visits.

 

Have a great time on the CB!

 

I'm on the Emerald in 10 days-review in Mid-October.

 

Cheers,

Norris

'

Norris, I can hardly wait for your live from!

[Bimmer09]

'

Norris, I can hardly wait for your live from!

 

Hi, Nina!

 

It's unlikely to be a "LIVE from" but rather an after-the-fact, written once I am home.

I will have my computer with me and 150 free minutes of Internet but I don't foresee me posting something each day on the Board. It's a very port intensive, long days ashore cruise.

 

We sail on the 26th from Civitavecchia but have 2 days in Rome first. I might take some photos....(LOL)

 

Norris

[jerseyridgearts]

Brilliant review! Enjoyed every page and photo. We sail the same itinerary, same ship, from Houston in December - even booked the cabin next door. Thanks so much for such an engaging story.

 

Catherine (just west of the Loop....at the Mississippi River)

[Bimmer09]

Brilliant review! Enjoyed every page and photo. We sail the same itinerary, same ship, from Houston in December - even booked the cabin next door. Thanks so much for such an engaging story.

 

Catherine (just west of the Loop....at the Mississippi River)

 

Thanks Catherine !

 

I loved that itinerary but mainly because of the excursions as the towns didn't look very inviting.

 

Aft cabin? Score!

 

Norris

[Retiring cajun]

is this shipmate a useful app?

[Bimmer09]

is this shipmate a useful app?

 

I use it as a countdown clock for my cruises and for looking at deck cams as it covers a lot of lines and ships. They also send me e mail notifications of cruise sales.

 

I think it was free-so good value for money.

 

Norris

[Nee Nee and Biddy]

I love Hector! He is one of the reasons I love the CB so much. My mother was on the 11/5 cruise this year and he wasn't there. I hope he is still working for Princess. Love your reviews...I'm still on page 9 and looking forward reading the rest.

[Bimmer09]

I love Hector! He is one of the reasons I love the CB so much. My mother was on the 11/5 cruise this year and he wasn't there. I hope he is still working for Princess. Love your reviews...I'm still on page 9 and looking forward reading the rest.

 

Hearing Hector sing was just another highlight on a cruise rich in them. It was so unexpected to be entertained in this way and was one of those "only on a cruise ship" moments, like a Champagne Waterfall and ice carving. Whichever ship he is sailing on is blessed to have him.

 

Thanks for reading the review-I began to read it last night after I saw your post.

 

We loved that itinerary and that ship.

 

Cheers!

 

Norris