Live from the Royal Princess, January 28- February 7: The Move-Over Boomerang Cruise

[caribill]

I came very close to being left in Morocco last year when the captain changed the time to depart from 11 pm to 7 pm at noon that day. We were already off the ship, and had no way of knowing. (If you want to read more about this, I did a live-from on the NCL Spirit. I can't post a link about it, but it is out there).

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=41341671&highlight=morocco#post41341671

 

Starting at post #4

[rdsqrl]

So glad to hear you're feeling better. Your St. John day sounds fantastic. Fondue -- so retro! Can't wait to hear all about it.

[dmwnc1959]

For those unaware, St. Thomas and St. John are in the US. It is the US Virgin Islands (just not a state) and that is why everything is in US dollars. Similar, Puerto Rico is also part of the US.

 

 

Another great thing about St. Thomas is that if you have AT&T as your cell phone and internet provider there are no additional charges - it's the same as if you're calling and 'surfing' from the mainland US. You can pick up the AT&T signal several miles off the coast as you approach the island.

 

:D

[PescadoAmarillo]

Another great thing about St. Thomas is that if you have AT&T as your cell phone and internet provider there are no additional charges - it's the same as if you're calling and 'surfing' from the mainland US. You can pick up the AT&T signal several miles off the coast as you approach the island.

 

We have even picked up an AT&T signal cruising by Puerto Rico en route to/from St. Thomas. However, this is a case where being at Havensight is a definite disadvantage. The cell towers there are quickly overloaded when there are two or more ships docked there. I've never had the same issue at Crown Bay.

[RNGALNG]

We have even picked up an AT&T signal cruising by Puerto Rico en route to/from St. Thomas. However, this is a case where being at Havensight is a definite disadvantage. The cell towers there are quickly overloaded when there are two or more ships docked there. I've never had the same issue at Crown Bay.

 

When we will be in St. Thomas on our cruise, there will be 4 ships in port that day. Where do you suggest finding 'free wifi' on the island. I'm sure they will be totally overloaded that day!!!

[TracieABD]

Thursday, February 5, 2015

 

Last night...

 

Let's don our leisure suits and put on a little Donna Summer, because...

 

It was our fondue night. They host the event in the port side of the Horizon Court or Bistro, I am not sure which. Maybe for simplicity sake we should refer to it as The Bourt. That sounds so much better than the Cistro. Well, anyway... we reported upstairs at 6:00 pm. The first course was potato pancakes for me (I asked them to hold the salmon- not a fan) and a cold meat board for my mom. Her appetizer was enough for a small brigade of hungry Swiss children. It was a meal in its own right... We then had traditional Swiss cheese fondue. This was served with bread and sausage and chicken for dunking. We like the bread best of all. They offered to let us taste the Champagne or the Cheddar/ Beer, but we are traditional Swiss girls. We stuck to that. Finally, we had our dessert of chocolate fondue. This was accompanied by mini-marshmallows, choux puffs, strawberries, and pineapples. I wish they had included bananas, too. One of the best parts of the dinner was the abundance. In most commercial places, you run out of the fondue pretty quickly. On board, we had to really pace ourselves because the servings were so generous. It was not well attended, as it was formal night. We wore our formal flip flops and tee shirts to fondue night. We looked pretty good next to our wait staff who wore the required "aprons of shame". These would be the special aprons they bust out for fondue night. The girl aprons look like the body of the German Bier Halle girls (there is a bit of cleavage that is artfully placed in the general region that one would find such a thing). The boy aprons had lederhosen and chest hair. It was a whimsical touch. I am really glad this is the way that we opted to spend formal night.

 

There was a bit of an issue with the Princess Theater. The mechanical stage bit it rendering the performance of Spectacular impossible. There were some very unhappy cruisers. Lisa the cruise director scrambled and managed to put together an impromptu band performance during the final scheduled time. I hoped this calmed the savage a beast a bit.

 

And while on the topic of unhappy cruisers... Seriously, folks. It is a cruise. Smile. Have a nice coffee. Chill. Enjoy. Remember, you are not having a root canal, paying your taxes, getting pulled over for a moving violation in your motor vehicle, scrubbing the inside of your rubbish bin, or listening to your boss berate you. You are on a cruise! Act like it!!!! If it is really that terrible, I will buy you a nice coffee. You can find me hanging around the IC. :) Now, smile. And exhale.

 

I am still fighting my new BFF "cold-gate 2015". So I will cut here and go to bed. Tomorrow is our final day and I promise to blog liberally!

 

Thank you for following along!

 

More later-

Tracie-Lynn :) :)

[canadarocks]

Thanks so much for the Fondue review. Sounds like fun! :)

[Colo Cruiser]

Good Night! :)

[TracieABD]

February 5, 2015

 

Turks

 

I woke in a complete fuzz. I had not slept well, and my resistance was at an all time low. I sort of stayed in bed for most of the morning and part of the afternoon. I finally rallied around 2 and showered. My mom and I headed into Grand Turk to poke around. We are not beach people, per se, so there is not as many options. There were some cute little shops, but we did not leave anything behind. The dock in Turks is interesting. We docked starboard side, but port side faced the beaches. The water in Turks is the most beautiful blue I have ever seen. When we would look out from our balcony, there were so many cute little beach clubs dotted with their red umbrellas and blue chairs. It would have been great if I had thought to take a picture. (but why ruin a perfectly good streak now?!?!)

 

We decided on dinner in the MDR.

 

Come close, readers.... Let me whisper in your ears the most magical three words in all the languages in all the world...

 

Goat. Cheese. Souffle.

 

This would be the sole reason we decided to eat in the Allegro. I had that bucket of creamy, cheesy, garlicy deliciousness and a salad. I also ordered the gnocchi, but it was heavy and gummy. (It is one of two not such great food I have had on this cruise, the other being a very bland tomato quiche in the IC). I decided to eat very little and headed off to see the comedic stylings of Miguel Washington in the now operational Princess Theater. He was pretty funny at times. He treaded on the far edge of political incorrectness, and was an equal opportunity cynic. I am pretty sure no one left unscathed.

 

I found Vicki and Bernie (and Roy and Sandra-- from Princess Cruise Lovers fame) and sat with them for a bit. I was awarded a bit of Bernie's famous yummy chocolate. (True story: Vicki and Bernie have been written up on the Princess Website for their famous "reverse turn-down service". They bring lovely chocolate coins from Purdy's in Vancouver to give to the crew and staff. Occasionally, an unworthy passenger is gifted with one of these delightful tokens of perfection, and I guess I feel in the right spot of the queue last night.) Thank you, Bernie. Your chocolate was the best part of my whole day. Meeting you and Vicki has a highlight of my cruise. At the risk of redundancy, coupled with sounding like a gushing fan, I was thrilled to spend a bit of time with you. You are both so positive in your postings and even nicer in person!

 

Once I returned to the cabin, my mom and I ordered our dessert. I had the trio of chocolate yumminess and my mom had the sugar-free coconut cake. A note about the sugar-free desserts... My mom says they are the best she has ever had. I have tasted them, and I would have to say that you cannot tell they are sugar-free. Mad props to the pastry chef's staff for figuring out how to make a wonderful sugar-free dessert that actually tastes good!

 

I burned some internet and headed off to bed, finally feeling a little better. Whew.

 

Thank you for hanging in with me!

 

More later-

Tracie-Lynn :) :)

[Colo Cruiser]

See if you can stay on for another! :D

[jagsfan]

Fondue question...you mentioned the yummy sounding cheese, and then sausage and chicken. Are they cooked in oil?

I'm so enjoying your review. And sorry you're still plagued by your cold.

 

 

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[Colo Cruiser]

[TracieABD]

Fondue question...you mentioned the yummy sounding cheese, and then sausage and chicken. Are they cooked in oil?

I'm so enjoying your review. And sorry you're still plagued by your cold.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

The sausage and chicker were cooked and you could dunk them in the cheese. We pretty much stuck to the bread. The meats seemed to heavy.

[Noelle2375]

I have really enjoyed this thread! Tracie, I live in Indian Trail, right down the road from you! Small world. Hope you are feeling better. We sail on the Regal in April and it cannot come soon enough!!

[cnd crsr]

What a great live from! You are a great writer. Hope the cold goes away soon. Thanks for taking us along.

[Mom33]

February 5, 2015

 

Turks

 

I woke in a complete fuzz. I had not slept well, and my resistance was at an all time low. I sort of stayed in bed for most of the morning and part of the afternoon. I finally rallied around 2 and showered. My mom and I headed into Grand Turk to poke around. We are not beach people, per se, so there is not as many options. There were some cute little shops, but we did not leave anything behind. The dock in Turks is interesting. We docked starboard side, but port side faced the beaches. The water in Turks is the most beautiful blue I have ever seen. When we would look out from our balcony, there were so many cute little beach clubs dotted with their red umbrellas and blue chairs. It would have been great if I had thought to take a picture. (but why ruin a perfectly good streak now?!?!)

 

 

 

Here is a visual for you. :)

 

[jagsfan]

Thanks, I think I'll stick to bread and cheese, too. The meat sounds kind of too much.

 

 

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[dmwnc1959]

Thanks, I think I'll stick to bread and cheese, too. The meat sounds kind of too much.

 

 

I'd recommend still getting the meats, especially the chicken, since you can always pass the unused dippers to a dining companion.

 

;)

[TracieABD]

Friday, February 6, 2015

 

Last Day. Sea Day. Sad Day.

 

And Naked Night (Come on, experienced cruisers, you KNOW what I am talking about)

 

Well, this is it. Last day. Which means packing and settling up and saying lots of goodbyes. This is never my favorite day on a cruise...

 

I woke this morning and headed down to Sabatini's for my last breakfast. I have been very careful not to over eat, but I splurged on the Belgium waffles which are, by the way, wonderful. I returned to the room to begin packing. I actually stretch this dreaded chore out over the course of a day. Nothing like prolonging the torture. This took a good portion of the morning, as I am re-packing for two.

 

I stopped to have lunch in the MDR. Today is samosa day. I love samosas, and Princess does a decent job at them. I was seated next to Bernie and Vicki and we traded more stories. They recommended a movie on the super nifty TV, and I returned to the room and listened to their suggestion. The name of the movie is Pride and it was terrific. I have been so pleased with the first run movies, as I almost never have the time to watch a movie in my real life. Between the "cold-maggedon 2015" and the relaxed pacing of cruising, I was finally able to sit still long enough to watch a whole movie. I picked pretty good ones too!

 

I went to the jogging track to check out the Susan G Komen, but I was a little late, and I could not find a member of the CD staff to get signed up. I know there has been a bit of controversy with organization, and I do not wish to engage in said controversy. This is an organization that is (unfortunately) near and dear to me and my family. I have walked/ jogged/ ran many of these as a supporter, and then I had a little turn in my luck. I am fine now, but one of the the things SGK does is provide low or no cost mammograms to women who cannot access such diagnostics. So here is my preachy moment of the blog--- Girls, go and get 'em squashed. Boys, encourage your girls (friends, wives, mothers, daughters, nieces, co-workers) to go and get 'em squashed. Early detection can make all of the difference in the world. I know it did in mine.

 

We decided to spend our last dinner at the Crown Grill. We bullied poor Enrique into dividing a steak and potato for us, just to prevent post-dinner waddle. However, we each had our own dessert! We both chose the Norman Love Super Yummy Chocolate- Peanuty- Nougety Extravaganza (I know, I know that is not what it is really called-- I just think my name is such a better description). It was lovely and fluffy and yummy. There are those who have not loved the LOVE's, but I am a fan.

 

And now the naked part. You know, you get back to the room on the last night. You complete your packing. You throw the dirties into a separate compartment of your suitcase and you put on your husband's old tee-shirt or your special throw-away jammies. And that is it. You are stuck. Because you put your suitcase out and now you have NO CLOTHES! Yikes! So you watch another movie and order something from room service (and hide in the bathroom when they show up). Come on, now. I am not the only one who does this. I can't be. Of course the comedy begins when you discover that you left an integral item in your suitcase (which may or may not still be in the hall) and you sneak out, surreptitiously, to attempt to find said item- which is probably your toothbrush. And you are in PJs (without much needed foundation garments) and the toothbrush is not where you thought is was in your suitcase, and a group of fabulously, and appropriately dressed back-to backers are walking down your hall. And it is here and now you must make a critical, possibly life-altering decision: Go down in the annals of cruising history as "Crazy Jammie Lady" or just go with fuzzy teeth and hope no one notices for the next two days Really, this happened to "a good friend of mine". (Nope, not me...). True story.

 

After that, what more can I say?

 

Thanks for hanging in with me!

 

More later-

Tracie-Lynn :) :)

Edited February 7, 2015 by TracieABD

[sun14]

 

Hi, why do you post the same picture of the webcam over and over on every page of this thread? Seems redundant for those of us reading the thread.

[Colo Cruiser]

And now the naked part. You know, you get back to the room on the last night. You complete your packing. You throw the dirties into a separate compartment of your suitcase and you put on your husband's old tee-shirt or your special throw-away jammies. And that is it. You are stuck. Because you put your suitcase out and now you have NO CLOTHES! Yikes! So you watch another movie and order something from room service (and hide in the bathroom when they show up). Come on, now. I am not the only one who does this. I can't be. Of course the comedy begins when you discover that you left an integral item in your suitcase (which may or may not still be in the hall) and you sneak out, surreptitiously, to attempt to find said item- which is probably your toothbrush. And you are in PJs (without much needed foundation garments) and the toothbrush is not where you thought is was in your suitcase, and a group of fabulously, and appropriately dressed back-to backers are walking down your hall. And it is here and now you must make a critical, possibly life-altering decision: Go down in the annals of cruising history as "Crazy Jammie Lady" or just go with fuzzy teeth and hope no one notices for the next two days Really, this happened to "a good friend of mine". (Nope, not me...). True story.

 

After that, what more can I say?

 

Thanks for hanging in with me!

 

More later-

Tracie-Lynn :) :)

 

 

 

Hahahahahahaha!!

 

 

At least you didn't get locked out in the hall with limited/no clothing on. :eek:

[canadarocks]

Thanks so much for the great review Tracie-Lynn!! You have a wonderful attitude. :cool:

[lovevacadays]

Here is a visual for you. :)

 

 

Thanks for posting a picture. The water is so beautiful. I want to go back to the Caribbean.:):):)

[lovevacadays]

Tracie-Lynn, thank you so much for your wonderful "live from" thread. You have a great style of writing and you made me laugh along the way.:):):)

[Mom33]

Thanks for the memories and for taking us on your trip. I enjoyed your style of writing and sense of humor. :D

 

Hope you have a safe trip home and that you are feeling better.:D