LIVE! Crown Princess Hawaii/South Pacific 10/17 - 11/14

[ccrain]

Just a slight bit more motion this morning. Not much, just noticeable. Still beautiful weather.

 

So the highlight yesterday was the Crossing the Line ceremony. And I had the privilege of being one of the Accused. There were four passenger accused, the Naughty Couple – accused of wanton acts of lust around the ship; the Trickster – accused of various acts of pranking; and me, the Glutton – accused of eating everything in the ship. Along with us were various members of Neptune’s court, his wife Aphrodite, the men in black, his surgeon and nurse, and others. The group was made up of a lot of cruise staff and the dance troupe. There were also two new officers crossing the line for the first time and several cruise staff and spa personnel who were on their first contract AND crossing the line for the first time.

 

The naughty couple got smeared with jello, eggs, whipped cream and chocolate syrup. It was a real mess. Then they had to kiss the fish – a raw salmon. The trickster had to kiss the belly button of the recycled virgin, one of the dance troupe – a real beauty – but after the trickster got blindfolded the virgin was replaced by the male member of the naughty couple with his belly covered in whipped cream. And then he had to kiss the fish. Then it was my turn. I was led to a surgical table and the dance troupe lifted bed sheets around the table as Matais stood on top of the table and began to “remove” the following from me: several pounds of pasta, a watermelon, sausages, a pineapple, liver, heart and more pasta. At the end of the surgery I was pronounced dead. Then came the good part. The nurse jumped up on top of me, straddled me actually, and pounded on my chest until I came back to life. So basically, of the accused I did get the best deal as I was constantly reminded for the rest of the day by all the Cruise Critic guys who came by. And Judy got some excellent video and still of my ‘encounter’ with the nurse!

 

It was great to be able to be involved in such an interesting ceremony. But it was an awful lot of fun.

 

That was the highlight of the day, no doubt. When I got back to the room for a shower, I was still picking spaghetti out of my hair.

 

We did do a Horizon Court dinner that was pretty good actually. The CoCoVan was really good as was the pork loin and the mushroom pasta. The food everywhere has been really good. We’ve only had dinner once with Paul and Elizabeth in the dining room for Italian night. The rest has been catch as catch can.

 

Café Caribe has an interesting twist for lunch. Its called lite bites. Its basically a salad bar, a sandwich bar and one main course with fruits for desserts. Nothing really heavy like in the main HC buffet. The salad bar is stocked with lots of goodies and the sandwiches are made to order on the spot.

 

So let’s look at the patter today. Sasha is still recovering so no Zumba today. Line dancing is at 0900. There is a couple of trivias, a lecture on Samoa and what to see and do, Hula class, a screening of the reflections video to date, a journaling class, Joe giving a lecture on War in Pacific, another art auction (oh boy), the bingo jackpot is up to $2055, dicey horse racing, a lecture on women air pioneers, ukulele class, rum tasting, a lecture on Usual Suspects, and the choir presentation.

 

Tonight has two headline shows – Colleen (one of the vocalists) and Glenn Smith is doing a variety show in the theater and Randy Cabral is doing a new juggling show in Explorer’s. There is a Movie Poster trivia game tonight, and they are going to try Star Gazing tonight – which means its going to rain again like the previous two attempts.

 

Later!

[west coast cruiser]

Just a slight bit more motion this morning. Not much, just noticeable. Still beautiful weather.

 

So the highlight yesterday was the Crossing the Line ceremony. And I had the privilege of being one of the Accused. There were four passenger accused, the Naughty Couple – accused of wanton acts of lust around the ship; the Trickster – accused of various acts of pranking; and me, the Glutton – accused of eating everything in the ship. Along with us were various members of Neptune’s court, his wife Aphrodite, the men in black, his surgeon and nurse, and others. The group was made up of a lot of cruise staff and the dance troupe. There were also two new officers crossing the line for the first time and several cruise staff and spa personnel who were on their first contract AND crossing the line for the first time.

 

The naughty couple got smeared with jello, eggs, whipped cream and chocolate syrup. It was a real mess. Then they had to kiss the fish – a raw salmon. The trickster had to kiss the belly button of the recycled virgin, one of the dance troupe – a real beauty – but after the trickster got blindfolded the virgin was replaced by the male member of the naughty couple with his belly covered in whipped cream. And then he had to kiss the fish. Then it was my turn. I was led to a surgical table and the dance troupe lifted bed sheets around the table as Matais stood on top of the table and began to “remove” the following from me: several pounds of pasta, a watermelon, sausages, a pineapple, liver, heart and more pasta. At the end of the surgery I was pronounced dead. Then came the good part. The nurse jumped up on top of me, straddled me actually, and pounded on my chest until I came back to life. So basically, of the accused I did get the best deal as I was constantly reminded for the rest of the day by all the Cruise Critic guys who came by. And Judy got some excellent video and still of my ‘encounter’ with the nurse!

 

It was great to be able to be involved in such an interesting ceremony. But it was an awful lot of fun.

 

That was the highlight of the day, no doubt. When I got back to the room for a shower, I was still picking spaghetti out of my hair.

 

We did do a Horizon Court dinner that was pretty good actually. The CoCoVan was really good as was the pork loin and the mushroom pasta. The food everywhere has been really good. We’ve only had dinner once with Paul and Elizabeth in the dining room for Italian night. The rest has been catch as catch can.

 

Café Caribe has an interesting twist for lunch. Its called lite bites. Its basically a salad bar, a sandwich bar and one main course with fruits for desserts. Nothing really heavy like in the main HC buffet. The salad bar is stocked with lots of goodies and the sandwiches are made to order on the spot.

 

So let’s look at the patter today. Sasha is still recovering so no Zumba today. Line dancing is at 0900. There is a couple of trivias, a lecture on Samoa and what to see and do, Hula class, a screening of the reflections video to date, a journaling class, Joe giving a lecture on War in Pacific, another art auction (oh boy), the bingo jackpot is up to $2055, dicey horse racing, a lecture on women air pioneers, ukulele class, rum tasting, a lecture on Usual Suspects, and the choir presentation.

 

Tonight has two headline shows – Colleen (one of the vocalists) and Glenn Smith is doing a variety show in the theater and Randy Cabral is doing a new juggling show in Explorer’s. There is a Movie Poster trivia game tonight, and they are going to try Star Gazing tonight – which means its going to rain again like the previous two attempts.

 

Later!

Thanks for the update. It looks like you have some good lectures available.

I remember during the 8 days coming back to Los Angeles the internet was very sporadic.

WCC

[sanmarcosman]

Is that engine still shut down? How many knots are you doing now? Thanks

[ccrain]

We’re arriving a couple of hours late into Apia today. (Noon instead of 1000.) It seems the sea water inlet temperatures have been too high for full speed and we are a little behind the projections. That will cause a change to our excursion today, but these things happen. So instead of visiting Manano Island, it will be a catamaran cruise, snorkel and picnic type excursion for a reduced price. That’s ok with us.

 

Yesterday had some interesting events. The patter advertised a Mexican Buffet and half the ship showed up. The buffet line was between the bar and the grill, and the line, for the first 30 minutes, stretched back to the Pizza/ Scoops area. (We went to Horizon Court which was almost empty.)

 

A couple of people seemed to not be able to figure out the timing of the Horizon Court or Café Caribe. Now Café Caribe is a whole different horse. Here on the Crown, its open for Lite Bites lunch and breakfast almost every sea day. The main two HCs open on a staggered but logical schedule. One side opens with for Breakfast at 0600, the other side opens later and stays open for Breakfast until 11:30, with both sides open for breakfast at peak times. One side closes for breakfast around 1100 to prep for lunch. Lunch opens on one side at 1130 while the other side closes breakfast to prep for lunch. Both sides are open for lunch at 1200. One side closes lunch at 1500 and preps for the snack line. That side opens at 1530 for snacks, the other side closes to prep for dinner. There is typically only one side open for dinner at 1730.

 

They have sent out the invites for the Elite and Platinum CC party, which will be on deck tomorrow night. Over 1800 CC members on the ship. The Gold and Ruby members had their “party” on the first sea day of the cruise. We will be dressed in Halloween costumes for the soiree.

 

We did have a very nice talk with the Hotel General manager in the Elite Lounge last night. We talked about our experience with the Salty Dog. I wanted to make sure he understood we wanted it to succeed and wanted Princess to keep trying. Yes we recognize that every taste bud is subjective – especially us Americans. But I really hope the money they are paying Ernesto Uchimura (the Salty Dog “chef”) and Curtis Stone (“Share” and Chef’s Table celebrity chef) are well spent. (We’ve been to a few restaurants at home, recommended by friends and kind of shook our head over the food.) The food speaks for itself no matter who ‘designs’ it. It’s sort of like the ‘come back new’ slogan. Does anybody really like it? Now how about the 50th anniversary logo with the sea witch in the “0”. Does anybody not like it? Just because you pay big bucks to smart, or famous people, doesn’t mean you are going to get a ‘where’s the beef’ hit. Princess has the talent internal to their own work force and they should use it. Have an internal competition, like the one that created the cucumber martini, to create menu items.

 

We did a Vines light dinner with sushi and wine last night. We’ll probably go with the Riesling for the dinner at the Crown Grill in a couple of nights. After dinner we went to see Randy Cabral in Explorers. He’s a comedian/juggler and juggling in Explorer’s is always interesting. It was a good show. He’s very funny.

 

We stayed for the Movie Poster Trivia as well. Only got about ½ the posters. We knew most of the movies, just couldn’t get the titles right.

 

So today is Apia and our now snorkeling excursion. We are supposed to be in port from 1200 to 2000 hours. The patter is light this morning with line dancing and trivia before we arrive in Apia. Tonight we set the clocks back an hour as well. There is a folkloric show this afternoon. Tonight’s headliner is Carl Andrews, a mentalist, in the Princess Theater. The baseball playoffs are on MUTS this afternoon. It’s a very light entertainment night considering our late departure from Apia.

 

That’s it for the day. Later…

[ccrain]

Is that engine still shut down? How many knots are you doing now? Thanks

 

It was a generator, not an engine. The generator developed a hydraulic leak which caused smoke and generated a Stage 1 response. Once they determined the source, they shut the generator down, they have 5, and were running on the other 4.

 

Not sure if they are using engine and generator interchangeably, since the main engines are generators for the electric motors.

[sanmarcosman]

It was a generator, not an engine. The generator developed a hydraulic leak which caused smoke and generated a Stage 1 response. Once they determined the source, they shut the generator down, they have 5, and were running on the other 4.

 

Not sure if they are using engine and generator interchangeably, since the main engines are generators for the electric motors.

Thanks for the update.

[ccrain]

Did not want to get out of bed this morning. At all. Pulling into Pago Pago harbor this morning. Mostly cloudy. Tug just pulled alongside to nudge us into the harbor. Ship is decorated out for Halloween.

 

We were 3 hours late into Apia yesterday. It changed our Manano Island excursion from an island village, snorkel and BBQ to a reef snorkel, picnic lunch and breadfruit run. It was a really fun day. Bill (Cayooga) from the CC roll call had set up the trip with Samoan Adventures. We caught the catamaran about 45 minutes from Apia along the coast and went out to the barrier reef. The island itself is not a developed destination like St Thomas, but more like Grenada and Roaten. Families live on the same land and have family crypts on the same lot as well. Very ornate crypts in some cases. Besides the crypts the most distinguishing feature are the ‘meeting places’ – open air stand alone veranda’s, large palapas or pavilions. It was actually Saturday in Apia, the 31st, so the families were gathered BBQing and eating in the pavilions. Kids were playing in the yard, it was hot but it reminded me of a typical Saturday or Sunday in the southern US. According to the driver, family is very important here.

 

We drove by a ton of mom and pop ‘7-11’s’ in people’s homes. Almost every little village or neighborhood along the road had a little shopette selling sundry items. According to the owners of the boat, the cost of living is very high here and people get around $1 per hour minimum wage, but have to live together to share costs. The shopettes, including, typically, a taxi stand, in their houses in extra rooms alongside the road.

 

Christian churches are everywhere. A lot of Methodist churches, a couple of catholic churches and even an LDS temple. The missionaries were apparently very busy on this island.

 

The water was really warm and pretty clear considering the turbulence in the water from the waves. Just a few types of fish around the coral. Several different types of coral. We only had about an hour for snorkeling. Then lunch, a homemade picnic lunch with skewers, sausages, curried fish, potato salad, corn salad and ice cold beer – the local brew. Very nice lunch. There was only 12 of us on the tour, so that was really nice.

 

After the cruise we had a basket weaving demonstration and some fresh coconut several ways. The basket guy was amazing, and then we saw several fisherman on the way back to the ship carrying fish in the same type basket. He weaved a basket from coconut fronds in about 5 minutes. Then a couple of hats and a plate. Meanwhile a couple of others were husking and carving coconut. We had coconut water, raw coconut, shaved coconut and coconut milk from pressed shaving in coconut husks. Fresh off the tree coconut is just completely different from store bought versions. It was great. One of the coconuts had that round center that the survival dudes rave about. I had to try it. Unfortunately it tasted like the coconut body wash we brought on the ship. Slightly perfumey and soapy.

 

So apparently, one of the Bills in the group wanted to try breadfruit. The driver called his brother’s house and his sister-in-law put some breadfruit on the barby. After we left the boat dock we dropped by his brother’s house and picked up some BBQ’ed breadfruit and coconut fish sauce for dipping. It was really, really good. Breadfruit is like a spongy, more fibrous potato, with not a lot of flavor, but once dipped in the coconut fish sauce, it was really good. Nice touch.

 

We also stopped at one of the roadside shoppettes. The driver hops out and buys a loaf of bread. We all joked that the wife called. Then he stopped by a tidal pool and started handing out the bread. It tasted really good, but it was for feeding huge green sea turtles and fish in the tidal pool. Some of the turtles were easily 100-150# turtles, and they loved the bread. We got some great pictures up close of the turtles slowly rising up out of the water and gulping the floating bread.

 

We left the ship around 1300 and got back about 1900. A really great excursion and highly recommended. Needless to say that when we got back, it was shower, download photos and videos, charge electronics, rinse and wash clothes and crash. We finally got all the ‘chores’ done around 2100 and crashed big time.

 

Today is Pago, Pago and we are free wheeling it. Not sure what we are going to end up doing, but tonight is the Halloween party, so we have a lot of prepping to do. They have scheduled the Captain’s Circle party tonight as well, so everything is happening at once.

 

That’s it from Pago, Pago. Later!

[ccrain]

The winds have picked up and there is a bit more buffeting of the ship this morning. The seas have a bit more chop. It’s mostly cloudy and we moved through several rain showers overnight.

 

Yesterday it was rainy, sunny, cloudy, hot and humid in Pago Pago. We did not make it to $2 beach. When we left the ship it was pouring rain and we needed to do a little shopping and find an ATM – and since it was the 31st, I needed to find an internet connection to pay bills.

 

‘Downtown’ Pago Pago near the dock is sort of a misnomer. Unlike Apia, Pago Pago is mountainous with unbuildable slopes around the port. So there is no real ‘commercial’ district. They do have a McDonalds, with Wi-Fi that was not working. I had no 3G or 4G digital connection at all via Verizon. Only cell service.

 

There is an ATM at the bank across the street and to the right about 4 blocks from the ship. It’s one of those grab your card ATMs, which always gives me the willi’s. But it is US$ here in Pago Pago. There were several open air markets in the area. One completely under cover. There were a couple dozen shops set up on the pier as well. Mostly clothing and carved items. There is a park about ½ mile up the road to the right as well. No beach, but it has grass and very clear water. No one was snorkeling or swimming. There were no signs posted except one on how to get out of a rip current. So I think swimming was allowed. It was across the street from the National Park Service office.

 

We found what we needed at the ABC Fax store – not a HI ABC store either. There was a lot of BBQing going on, including a whole yearling pig at the Vietnamese food place just a little ways from the ship. It looked like it wouldn’t get done until 1300 or 1400 that afternoon.

 

I really felt for the people on excursions. They were crammed into the local busses. They are not air conditioned until they start moving. We could have sold a ton of little personal fans! The local bus system is confusing. There is a pickup point to the right past the open air market building. All the local busses are non-air-conditioned, custom painted and named. Lots of local traffic on the road, but very friendly people. No issues with no lights. Just enter the cross walk and they stop, no problem. All the people we talked to were very friendly, talkative, eager to point out directions and places.

 

Like my experience in Naples and Dubrovnik, relying on digital communications was our downfall. I had several places and routes mapped via TripAdvisor and Google, but without digital cell connections, I could not access the data or the maps. And I had no backup printed versions available. Lesson learned. Next time in strange places, I bring paper backup copies of all maps.

 

When we got back to the ship we were literally soaked from head to toe. The humidity was 100%, and like a steam sauna when the sun peaked out from behind the clouds. I could even squeeze water out of my backpack straps.

 

Last night was the official Halloween party. It was a ship wide blowout. There was easily over a couple hundred passengers costumed up, along with most of the crew. They really decked out the ship in all kinds of fog, spider webs, pumpkins, streamers and black and orange balloons. They did a really good job. They also had the Captain’s Circle party for Elite and Platinum up on deck last night. That was less successful, but only because of the sheer number of people. It was packed cheek to jowl, and it was still hot and humid. There had to be over 500 people gathered around the pool area. Of course with that many people, it would have been hard to accommodate them anywhere on the ship.

 

The Halloween party was also a SRO event in Fusion. Many of us who had prepped for the Thriller dance with the dance troupe could not get to the floor through the crowd. People had actually lined up for entry to Fusion an hour before they opened the doors! Judy and I had dressed up as the Skipper and Mary Ann. (Judy was Mary Ann.) Unfortunately, most of the crew didn’t know who Gilligan was! (We has several Captain and Tennille references though.) Judy ordered, and Neville and Erno delivered, a Coconut Cream Pie for Mary Ann to carry around. (She gave it to the cruise staff after the party.)

 

We passed out candy for most of the evening to every crew we could find. We brought about 10# of Jolly Ranchers from home and bought another 10# of Macadamia nut kisses in HI. The girls get the chocolate and the guys get the Jolly Ranchers, and we made up 30 bags of a mix of both for special people and group sharing. We still have a couple of pounds left to pass out for the remainder of the cruise.

 

So that was Halloween. Its now November 1st, so lets look at the patter today. Zumba is back at 1000, but being taught by a passenger. There is a destination lecture on Bora Bora and Moorea, lectures on Beverly Hills Cops, Waco Airplane Company, Maritime Time and Position. There is an Arts and Crafts class in Hibiscus Barrette making. NFL football today, an egg drop challenge, bingo (starting back at $1000, so apparently someone won the big jackpot), Ukelele Music Class, Chappie in the Theater, Line Dance Class, Elevator Roulette, the Human Slot Machine, a Spelling Bee and a couple of trivias during the day.

 

Tonight is a new production show for us. “What a Swell Party”. Max is the movie on MUTS. Majority Rules gameshow #2. Name that song trivia. Lots more dancing tonight in both Fusion and Explorers.

 

That’s it for now. Later…

[Pam in CA]

Thanks for the update. While they may not have a map of Pago Pago, I strongly recommend an app called "Maps.me" -- offline maps. You don't need a cell connection.

[SusieKay]

We recently booked this cruise for 2016 so I am finding the daily blogs most interesting.

 

Is the weather experienced so far pretty typical for this time of year??

[cruisincdns]

Hi there. We board the Crown for Mexico as you disembark on the 14th.

 

Are you able to take a picture of the current Mocktails listing and post it? I just read on another CC thread that some ships are removing the Chococobanana from (ie: the Caribbean Princess has removed it).

 

Thank you.

 

Paul

[traveling1969]

Hello from the Crown,

 

Haven't had many opportunities to post and sad to say, when I logged on today, it said I had only 25 minutes remaining. Should have been over 200 so there was a snafu somewhere. I'll speak with the internet rep. tomorrow and try to get it straightened out. Till then I'll cut this short and go from there.

 

Seas kind of rough today. Halloween festivities were lots of fun. Joyce dressed as a Vegas showgirl and I squeezed into my Elvis jumpsuit. It's getting to be a tight fit but that's cruising for you;).

 

Hopefully more to come.

 

Harry

Edited November 2, 2015 by traveling1969

[caribill]

Are you able to take a picture of the current Mocktails listing and post it? I just read on another CC thread that some ships are removing the Chococobanana from (ie: the Caribbean Princess has removed it).

 

 

The bar menus are often different at different bars on the same ship. Not sure if the poster from the CB checked all bars or just one.

[Working 2 Cruise]

Hi there. We board the Crown for Mexico as you disembark on the 14th.

 

Are you able to take a picture of the current Mocktails listing and post it? I just read on another CC thread that some ships are removing the Chococobanana from (ie: the Caribbean Princess has removed it).

 

Thank you.

 

Paul

 

Posting photos from the ship is very expensive and time consuming. You may just have to wait until you board, which won't be long. However, they may be able to ask if the chocobanana is still available.

[ccrain]

The weather is a bit angrier this morning. Grey skies, head winds buffeting the ship, white caps, still warm though. The seas are choppier with a low long swell. The winds though are enough to move the ship around to put Judy flat on her back most of yesterday and last night. No Crown Grill. Because of that we didn’t do much together. I did Zumba in the morning with an additional run in the gym – BTW the ellipticals are all Star Traks, not Pre-Cors, with individual TV screens and Ipod plug ins. I always bring my own ear pieces.

 

We went to Joe’s Maritime Time and Positioning lecture, then stayed with Nicole and line dance. Stopped by Jamie and Sasha doing elevator roulette, and then tried Human Slot Machine. Judy made the mistake of taking a shower in a moving ship and that was all it wrote for her for the evening.

 

I went down to the Elite Lounge to meet Paul and Elizabeth and then we took in the Production Show “What a Swell Party”. I don’t remember seeing it before. It does look familiar. It was very well done. Production got the vocals balanced with the music much better than Motor City, the costumes were great and the dancing was very well done. As I have opined in my previous Live From in June on the Golden, after spending several hundred dollars seeing “professional” production shows in Vegas (ONE and Mystere), I have a new appreciation for the ship shows. And like the dance troupe on the Golden and their rendition of Motor City, which was the best I’ve ever seen, this particular production fitted this particular dance troupe like a glove and it showed. The movements and synchronicity were almost perfect in their execution. And, as always, the best way to see these shows are 3-5 row center. (A tip from a dancer in 2009.) The dancers make eye contact with the first several rows as those are the rows they can see. It makes the performance much more personal, interactive and enjoyable.

 

Although there was a lot more going on, it’s just not any fun without Judy around, so Paul and Elizabeth went to dinner and I went back to see how she was doing.

 

We moved the clocks ahead last night. Although I screwed up and moved all clocks back an hour. So at 0300 this morning, the dawn was breaking. I had to think about that for a couple of minutes before I realized what I had done – and then, it was time to get up.

 

So the Patter for the day. Zumba is on again at 0900. There are five enrichment lectures today. Bora Bora and Moorea, Bush Pilots, Greedy Black Widows, Tahiti and Piracy in the World Today. Today is the Princess Grape Vine wine tasting – the free one for elites. A digital Iphone and Ipad seminar, a Service Club get together, Pasty Demonstrations, a Pearls Event, a Texas Holdem class, book club, bingo, a ballroom class – the Cha Cha. Groundhog day is on MUTS this afternoon, a colorful Key Chain in arts and crafts, Monday night football and Pop Choir.

 

Tonight Carl Andrews, the Mentalist, is on in Explorers, Claude-Eric (Entertainer) is on in the theater, MUTS has the 100 foot journey. Who’s the Cuckoo is the gameshow tonight. (Sort of like Liar’s Club in which the staff describes their “previous” work experience and you have to guess which one is telling the truth.)

 

So that’s it from here. Later…

[ccrain]

Typical weather is hot and humid. Upper 80's to Low 90's. Then you add in rain or blue sky sun that can change on an hourly basis.

 

Seas and wind are really dependent on Cyclone and Hurricane locations, and that can change drastically from year to year.

 

The only safe thing is that it won't snow on the ship...

[ccrain]

Still on the specialty drink menu. They still make it. The bartenders are familiar with it.

 

They can make anything if you can describe it to them. Like a Kentucky Mule - which is a Moscow Mule with bourbon instead of vodka. Not on the menus, but the bartenders knew how to make it.

[Balconies R Us]

Judy's seasickness...

Has Judy tried green apples to relieve her problem? I was very sick coming under the Golden Gate one year...never was ill before then...the wonderful steward saved my lie, and cruise. Eat green apples he said. When the first bite of that apple hit my queezy stomach I felt better. Now that is the first thing I order from room service and eat one each day of the cruise. I hope this will work for Judy.

[XBGuy]

Judy's seasickness...

Has Judy tried green apples to relieve her problem? I was very sick coming under the Golden Gate one year...never was ill before then...the wonderful steward saved my lie, and cruise. Eat green apples he said. When the first bite of that apple hit my queezy stomach I felt better. Now that is the first thing I order from room service and eat one each day of the cruise. I hope this will work for Judy.

 

BRU, that is an amazing tidbit. Thank you. When you say "green apple," I assume you mean something like a ripe Granny Smith apple, not an unripe Jonathon or Delicious.

[EightFurryPaws]

Only Granny Smiths will work. When seas get rough, there seems to be bowls full of them in the Horizon Court.

 

Add a few saltines and I always bring ginger capsules or candy, and I made it through some extremely rough seas.

[Steelers0854]

Judy's seasickness...

 

Has Judy tried green apples to relieve her problem? I was very sick coming under the Golden Gate one year...never was ill before then...the wonderful steward saved my lie, and cruise. Eat green apples he said. When the first bite of that apple hit my queezy stomach I felt better. Now that is the first thing I order from room service and eat one each day of the cruise. I hope this will work for Judy.

 

 

DW had terrible motion sickness. She would get motion sick in the car. We were at dinner one night aboard the Emerald when our table mate told us she was the same way until she had acupuncture done onboard and hadn't taken a single medicine in years. DW decided to give it a go and 1 session ($120) and she doesn't have to take any medicine onboard, in a car or flying any longer.

 

YMMV and maybe it is psychological. But DW is loving life now and it seemed to work with her.

 

We have always had great experiences with the Spa onboard and I would recommend looking into it.

[ccrain]

Angry sky this morning. Overcast, fog and wind. Lots of ship buffeting last night as well. Choppy seas, not a lot of swell.

 

Judy did much better yesterday. The wind died down a bit. Unfortunately, Elizabeth may have picked up a cold as we didn’t see her later in the day after lunch. Zumba with Nancy was ok. Her style is more aerobic and artistic at times than Zumba – more body rolls and hand/arm motions and positioning. Good workout nonetheless.

 

We decided to eat lunch in the dining room with Paul and Elizabeth. Great food and service. The seafood quesadilla with salsa and guacamole was really good as was the Monte Christo sandwich. Judy really liked the pasta. The elite lounge was also Mexican themed with chips and guacamole.

 

Since Judy was feeling better, and her knee wasn’t hurting her, we made last night our first full night of dancing to the Tri Tone Duo and Fusion prior to the “Who’s the Cuckoo” gameshow. My recollection of Who’s the Cuckoo wasn’t quite accurate. We were to determine who’s the liar. Both Fernando and Nicole did a good job of fooling people. Jamie told the truth all the way through and has some very interesting employment in his resume.

 

Today is our tour with Patrick and the rest of the Cruise Critic group. There are 4 outriggers and one catamaran. Really looking forward to this. We arrive at 0900 and all aboard is 2100. Long day, but a tender day, so we have to get to the tender lounge early this morning and get off as soon as possible. We have three snorkel stops scheduled (Sharks, stingrays, reef coral) and a Motu BBQ.

 

Tonight will be a sparse night for us. But we have to try and make it to the “Quest” gameshow. I think it’s the one that Jamie did on the Golden in June and it is a hoot, although after a long day like we have in store, who knows. And tomorrow we have Hiro’s tour in Moorea.

 

Tonight’s patter also has pitch perfect 2 at MUTS. Donna Campbell in a 60’s, 70’s and 80’s music show.

 

I’ve been forgetting to mention the Mariachi Trio “Los Brillantes”. Yes, a Mariachi band on a Polynesian cruise is a little out of the ordinary, but since the Crown goes back to doing Mexican Riviera cruises when we get back from this one, it was probably more economical to keep them on board. And they are very good. Their sets in the Piazza are really good for Latin dancing, if you like to dance on concrete. They play very good Rumbas, Cha Chas, Salsas, Sambas and the like. And they are just great to listen to as well.

 

That’s it for the day. Later…

[ccrain]

Judy's seasickness...

Has Judy tried green apples to relieve her problem? I was very sick coming under the Golden Gate one year...never was ill before then...the wonderful steward saved my lie, and cruise. Eat green apples he said. When the first bite of that apple hit my queezy stomach I felt better. Now that is the first thing I order from room service and eat one each day of the cruise. I hope this will work for Judy.

 

Her nausea is now physical due to her many stomach surgeries over the past decade. She can't snorkel, or helicopter or anything that puts pressure on her stomach and causes the nausea reaction - which is any physical pressure on the upper part of the stomach wall where the esophagus enters.

 

Everything helps her (ginger, green apples, OTC and prescription drugs), but nothing prevents it.

[Pam in CA]

Years ago, my doctor gave me the acronym BRAT for an upset stomach: bananas, rice, apples and toast. I don't get seasick but these are good if your stomach is upset for any reason.

[casavaha]

CCRAIN:

Could you please say hello to the Los Brillantes from Greg in Mexico. We have followed

them for years.

 

Thanks,

 

Greg