Panama Canal on Island Princess 10/17-11/1 Photo Review

[RRFPresident]

Dad took these drawers for his clothing and the top is covered with our electronics and meds for easy frequent access. I have hair just to my shoulders but that hair dryer wasn't worth ship if you know what I mean. I didn't seem to get a pic but if you stand with your back to that bathroom door, you face the set of drawers I used and the cabinet where our safe was. The somewhat walk in closet is tucked in just beyond that bathroom door.

 

This is the first part of the bathroom when you enter off the living space that features a sink, mirror, and toilet. There's storage shelves on each side and hand towels hung on the wall.

 

Princess suites feature this door in between the two sides of the bathroom so you can have privacy as needed for someone bathing while someone else is using the toilet or the sink. (the brown one to the left) The one drawback of this particular cabin's door is that it not only would require a slam to shut but whenever it was opened all the way, it would react so strongly with a magnetic door stopper at the bottom that it would clank against it twice. Makes a middle of the night quiet visit to the bathroom while you're cabin mate sleeps not so quiet. On the other hand, the double clank reminded me of the Law & Order doink doink sound effect so every time I used the bathroom I'd hear "In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories." replaying in my head.

 

Other side of the bathroom that you can access from the bedroom:

 

One of the drawbacks I don't remember having on previous cabins is that this was the only shelf in the shower. My first couple showers of the trip I was knocking everything over trying to unearth one thing and all we stored was a bar of soap, my shower poof, Princess' supplied toiletries of body wash, shampoo, and conditioner, and my face wash.

 

But then I discovered how useful oversized brass decorative end caps can be. These oversized brass ending were on each towel rod and safety handrail throughout the bathroom:

[RRFPresident]

Our balcony could be accessed from doors off the bedroom and off the living space. The bedroom side had 2 lounge chairs and a small table:

 

While the living room side had a couple person dining table and 2 nice cushioned chairs:

 

This was an interesting "floor covering" for our balcony. Worked great as far as wicking away water as we routinely had condensation running along the pipes overhead but stepping out in bare feet wasn't as comfortable.

 

Our balcony had a bullhorn style loudspeaker but they didn't seem to use it for the Panama Canal Day commentary.

 

We decided that since in all of our cruises, we have never once used the dining room for embarkation day lunch, we'd head down there for the experience. When we got there, there was only a handful of tables in use but the head waiter was running himself ragged trying to keep up with the demand. We watched him use the dining room's phone to call and demand that they send help for the wait staff. The head waiter was trying to balance seating people, a small line had gathered with us at the door, and helping a man who'd wanted to switch his wine bottle choice. One woman who had walked up wasn't sure if it was okay to try and dine here but when she asked the head waiter, he was so frazzled he kept cutting her off and telling her to wait. Once the wine guy left, he confirmed that we would all be willing to share a table and led us to a large table in the far back of the restaurant. But once there, he discovered that he had two less seats available than he needed for all of us and redirected Dad and I to a four top table all to ourselves near the group of 6-8 top tables. He quickly rushed to find the appropriate settings for our table and I joked that this felt like being stuck at the kids table on Thanksgiving since we were in sight of the big noisy tables but sitting off by ourselves. Soon a handful of waiters arrived from the Horizon Court and service picked up. We'd gotten in just before the cut off of 1:30PM to eat in the dining room and we could see from our table that they'd closed the entrance doors. As we left, the head waiter stopped to make sure we'd enjoyed our meal and we commiserated with him about his frustrations over being left short handed.

 

During this cruise, I found myself constantly getting turned around trying to get to the buffet despite being familiar with this class of ship. I tried to help a lost couple find their way to the buffet this first day and we got totally turned around. It took a bit of effort once we found the buffet to actually find the table offering drink packages. I'm used to the staff wandering table to table trying to get people to sign up but this time they had tables set up in the elevator bank on the opposite side of the deck. We had a large amount of OBC to use this trip so I elected to get the Ultimate Soda and More drink package that includes soda, mocktails, hot chocolate, and milkshakes. Neither of us are big alcohol drinkers and we don't like wine at all so the bigger alcoholic package would have been a waste. Dad figured that aside from our now two mini bar setups as suite and Elite passengers, he'd be drinking mostly water and didn't intend to buy any drink package. They advertised the USM drink package as $7/day (plus gratuity) on board which works out to the $8 price listed for pre-order on the website. I know there's been some confusion on whether these packages include root beer since it's not on the fountain gun - the answer is yes. They just open a can and pour a glass full from it to serve you. Once I saw the bartender start my glass full with a can that had been sitting there open and then open another to fill the rest of my glass.

 

The last time I got to get the package, I was given a tumbler style thermal cup decorated with the Princess and Coke logos with a crazy style straw since then it was still referred to as the Ultimate Kids Package. This time I was given a simple cup that except for the Princess logo design looks just like the ones I picked up for $4 at Walmart to keep water on hand at work. Never used the cup while on board.

 

 

Soon it was time for Muster Drill and off we went with lifejackets in hand to our station, the Explorers Lounge. We were directed to go as far into the lounge as possible to find seats so they could build from the back to the front so we found one of the 2 seater couches off to the side where you can't really see the stage. One thing I preferred about the other ships' Explorer Lounges is that they have long couches in front on the floor that curve around the railing surrounding the stage with small tables every few feet. This cruise, we only ever saw chairs and small tables there if they needed extra space for bingo. They were removed when the next activity came in and instead they crowded 6-8 chairs around each small table on the raised sections of the lounge. We watched as an elderly couple on their first cruise came in and found seats on a nearby couch. Finally one of the officers (white uniform) came in and realized that no one had bothered to scan cards and rushed around calling for people to let her know if we hadn't been scanned yet. The couple on their first cruise argued amongst themselves because they didn't understand why their cards had to be scanned now when they'd just had them scanned upon boarding the ship. The officer was soon so overwhelmed with cards to scan that she just started collecting cards and taking them elsewhere to be scanned resulting in some minor confusion in the end when she had to stand there yelling out names to give people their cards back. One of the ladies traveling solo sat on a nearby chair and the couple on their first cruise was fascinated when they saw the officer return her shiny gold card. Thank goodness another couple soon sat with this couple because they could have auditioned for their own sitcom when it came time to try on the life jackets. We saw one or the other of this first cruise couple throughout the ship during the cruise so I hope they soon got the hang of things and thoroughly enjoyed their first cruise. After all, we all once were those blue card cruisers.

 

One of the interesting things from this Muster Drill was the announcement that should an emergency occur, we also had the option of being led to designated slides within the ship that led to rafts. Dad and I exchanged looks never having heard of such an escape chute style option. Once it was over, we knew full well that the corridors and elevator banks would be jammed so we hung back waiting for the crowd to clear. After a while, the lounge cleared out so we decided to start making our way back to the cabin. We passed the sole other group of people who'd smartly decided to remain seated and joked with them about making the right call. However, as soon as we passed the Bayou Cafe and turned the corner to the elevators, we saw that we hadn't waited long enough. To kill time, we ducked into the small gym just off the elevators and explored. The elevators were still crowded so we took the stairs down to deck 5 where we quickly got an empty elevator that went straight to our cabin on deck 10.

[RRFPresident]

Room service arrived shortly thereafter having brought both rounds of the usual mini bar contents and proceeded to shove them all into our mini fridge at once. We soon discovered after he left that by doing so, our fridge wouldn't cool down. We took out all of the drinks we planned to swap out and stored extras of the ones we wanted to keep in the empty cabinet underneath the bar sink. This is also where we stored extras once we swapped out for almost all sodas, choosing to swap the Princess branded Alaskan beer for Dad's preference of Dos Equis. To get more sodas, we swapped out all but one of the tiny airplane size bottles of liquor. A couple days later, our steward stopped me in the hall to ask if he should replenish our bar supply of the little bottles because he'd assumed we drank it all. Umm, yeah. You wouldn't have seen us upright if we'd really drank all those little bottles in the first couple days.

 

Spent an hour or so unpacking as our luggage had arrived just before we headed down to the drill. Was surprised to see our beds already set up in our preferred pulled apart twins. We always assumed that with the same last name the crew expected we'd want the beds together but that was also the case when I sailed with a high school friend. We had way more storage in this cabin than we ever needed. Our closet was about 2/3 full and we each took a set of drawers for our folded clothes within the bedroom area. The shelving around the bathroom sink was perfect for two sets of toiletries and we stored most of our use all the time stuff on the vanity and dresser top in the bedroom area. I used the open corner shelving on the side of the bar in the living room space to hold my shoes (1 pair of sneakers, 1 pair of hiking boots that looked and fit like sneakers, 1 pair of flip flops I mostly wore to wander the ship, and 1 pair of dress shoes from Skechers that have the stability of a walking shoe) and one drawer in the desk to hold my stock of saved Patters and paperwork as the cruise wore on. We stowed our empty suitcases upright against the wall in the foyer though we probably could have fit at least one in the closet. It was easier to get to them as we didn't take out the stuff we didn't need right away and the foyer space was large enough that they didn't impact the clearance of the door.

 

Our steward, Lusioto, came by to introduce himself and run through the spiel of showing us where everything is. He seemed really flustered by the fact that we didn't have a million questions for him. Our suite cabin allotted us one free dinner in a specialty restaurant for embarkation night so I used our room phone to call the dine line to make a reservation at Sabatinnis. Normally we go for the Crown Grill but this ship had the Bayou Cafe instead and we didn't find anything we'd like on the menu. Our last cruise, we had a few encounters with rude crew members who answered the dine line so I was pleasantly surprised when calling today went as smooth as can be. We heard several announcements calling for passengers who hadn't bothered to attend either Muster Drill, the second being 30 minutes after the original one was scheduled. With the rush of the day, I was fighting a migraine so we took some time to rest rather than join the crowds at sail-away.

 

Dinner time came and I looked forward to the one Sabatinnis dish I loved, fried calamari. I'm the only one in my family who likes calamari so it's not often I get to order it as an appetizer in land based restaurants. This time though the calamari was way over breaded and thus overcooked so it was like chewing gum trying to eat it once I took off the bulk of the breading. Dad really loved the pasta dish called Penne con Brasato di Manzo or Braised Short Rib over Penne. My manicotti was more like two noodles in so much tomato sauce it could have been passed off as soup. I had the Gamberi alla Caprese for the main course and there's just something about how they leave the tails on cooked shrimp in restaurants that bothers me. I don't like having to stop grabbing a forkful, especially in the cases of shrimp in pasta dishes, and use my hands to pull off the tail. Plus just throwing cherry tomatoes on a dish does not make it “caprese.” I've tried loads of foods for the first time on cruises – alligator fritters, reindeer sausage, and brussel sprouts plus various new unusual cheese slices were added to the list this trip so contrary to popular belief, I'm not a food snob or a picky eater. The first time we used the specialty dining first night suite perk, we sat around waiting to sign a receipt at the end of our meal and the waiter assured us that we didn't need to sign anything since it was free. Every other time we simply got up when done, said thank you and good night, and left. This time we went to do that and the waiter came rushing over insisting that while there was no charge, we still had to sign a receipt.

 

It was during dinner that I realized how much I'd regret not packing one item, a sweater or light hoodie style jacket. Despite previous experience, my brain went “oh we'll be sailing through Central America where it will be warm” and simply brought my raincoat that has a removable soft jacket liner. Only once or twice during the cruise did I not find myself freezing in the public areas, especially the theater. And I wasn't the only one. We, like all of our previous cruises, planned to catch the Welcome Aboard Showtime in the theater so we killed the few minutes before then visiting the Calypso Cove shop that has all the ship/Princess logo attire and picked out a nice lightweight hoodie jacket that got lots of use during my time on board. We made our way to the theater for the show and my arms were so cold, I took to draping the jacket over me like a blanket once we sat down. During the show, we were introduced to our current cruise director, Mike Witte and he took the time to introduce the cruise staff. By participating in many trivias and game events, we really got to know the cruise staff of Chad, Emma (newly boarded), Neesa, Armando (whom we'd previously met on a Grand Mediterranean cruise), Deputy Cruise Director Matt and the guy who picked me as his new target, I mean best buddy, who went by the name DJ Delite since he was the one playing music on Lido. On the last day, several of the cruise staff kept referencing “those of you who did the games with Fidel” so that must have been his real name. At one point later in the cruise I chatted with another passenger about the game he'd just left and I said “Oh was it with DJ?” and he said “No, it was one of the cruise staff.” I don't know if it was that we'd found a common bond both having lived in Maryland or that I was simply one of the sole people on this cruise close to his age but DJ Delite used every chance he could to pick on me and call attention to me throughout the cruise. It's quite the experience when you're spotted hanging out in the back of the lounge waiting for trivia and DJ, who is on the microphone calling out bingo to an intensely focused crowd, spots you and calls you out for “hiding in the back.” 200 sets of angry eyes turned to glare at me for interrupting their game.

[RRFPresident]

In the embarkation Patter, a great guide can be found on the first inside page. The top of the page features a chart breaking down what dates and times we are in each port plus notations of time changes and whether it's a “Smart Casual” or “Formal” night. Underneath that is the list of scheduled entertainers and expected events as well as the movies (and in our case NFL games) that would be shown on board first under MUTS or the theater and then by the next day available on our cabin TVs.

 

We never have been fond of the production shows or the entertainers who are just singers but make a point of seeing any comedian or magic based shows. Tonight's Welcome Aboard show featured a set by the comedian Darrell Joyce and he really geared his set toward making fun of being in his 40s and having to deal with today's kids and their new technology. This material was certainly relatable to our passengers as Mike announced during his portion of the show that this sailing had no one under the age of 18 on board. Cheers went up from the audience and Mike joked that they had six youth staff who had nothing to do but sun themselves on the top deck. This would be a running joke throughout the cruise as another comic, Andrew Kennedy, joked that they could have listed his Adults Only show in the Patter as “no one under 45” rather than the usual “no one under 18.” On the flipside, the Adults Only Late Night Comedy show for this cruise was held around 9:15PM instead of the 10-12 midnight range we usually see.

 

On a side note, one of our perks for being in a suite was use of the thermal suite in the spa on board. A lot of people who sail the newer ships get confused because the Enclave on the Royal/Regal is not the same and isn't included. Our ship last year, the Grand Princess, did not have a thermal suite at all. Late in the cruise, I wanted to go check it out just to say we'd used the perk and see what it was like and I was surprised that no one seemed to care that we were in there. On this ship, it's located behind a door just off the waiting room space with chairs and offerings of tea and water. For everyone not in a suite, you're supposed to have to pay for passes to use it but there was no one bothering to check.

 

Once we got out of the “everyone rush to the aisles at the end of the show and then move two inches at a time” crowd to leave the theater, Dad wanted to check out the casino so I elected to go back to the cabin not finding much other than listening to a musician play for the rest of the evening in the Patter. Dad joined me in the cabin a short while later, disappointed at learning that this ship has no craps table in the casino. Lusioto had turned down our cabin for the evening while we were gone but had yet to leave any Patter for the next day. A couple times we would have to peek back out our door and find the Patter left in our mailbox if we returned to our cabin before 11PM.

 

I know that Princess has been rolling out new bedding but we still usually request egg crate additions to our mattresses prior to sailing. Our first night in the cabin, I found myself still freezing so I got under the covers in bed. It turns out our bedding consisted of the mattress (sans topper), a sheet that was basically folded over to cover the mattress, and this duvet that was zipped up inside a sheet that was about 2 inches too wide for it on each side. I soon understood why our pillows were always stacked with the second pillow in front of the other rather than on top. You had to choose between sleeping on pillows at the top of the bed or having your feet covered by this duvet. At one point I grabbed the blanket they give you for sitting on the balcony and used it to cover the rest of my body. We asked Lusioto for an extra blanket and he gave us these thin beige army surplus style blankets that he took to making up with our bedding at turndown each night so now we had two layers of too short for my shoulders bedding.

 

This is how my bed usually looked by morning:

 

Another concern I had was how often I noticed the lights blinking whether in our cabin or throughout the ship. I mentioned it once when I noticed it during breakfast and the waitress assured me that “it's because they're testing the lights.”

[KruzPrincess]

Thanks for taking a picture of the first Patter. I was going to ask about movies and you answered my question. I will be going on the Island soon. I hope you had a great time overall.

[MickeysTown]

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One of the pluses we will always appreciate with Princess is that our cabins are ready upon boarding so we headed straight to our new home for the next 15 days, C704. The crew was still running around restocking cabins so we only stayed long enough to use the restroom and dropped off our carry on bags.

 

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Appreciate the report. We are going to be in the same cabin you were in for the full transit next month.

Mike

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[RRFPresident]

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One of the pluses we will always appreciate with Princess is that our cabins are ready upon boarding so we headed straight to our new home for the next 15 days' date=' C704. The crew was still running around restocking cabins so we only stayed long enough to use the restroom and dropped off our carry on bags.

 

-------------

 

Appreciate the report. We are going to be in the same cabin you were in for the full transit next month.

Mike

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk[/quote']

 

There's a storage room for the stewards right across the hall from the cabin door. Several times we'd open the door and run right into Lusioto or I'd jump up thinking it was our door he was standing in front of.

 

We like to visit Horizon Court seeking out a snack before bed so if you like to do that, you will certainly work off the calories walking the long trek back to the cabin. Someone left their scooter in the corner where the hallway turned right around the 500 numbered cabins and it became like a landmark to us marking the halfway point in our journey back to the cabin.

 

Enjoy your trip!

[TLCOhio]

For an idea of what to see and do in Columbia, you might enjoy viewing my wife's photo journal at the link below

Panama Canal Partial Transit (Cartagena Columbia included)

Have a great cruise!

 

Yes!! YES!! Appreciate Nancy's excellent pictures and postings. Had seen a link on another thread and did a follow-up with well-deserved praise for her photos. Has she posted anywhere details about her camera used, photography secrets/tips, etc.?

 

On this photo review, enjoyed the California pictures, but really excited about seeing more pictures and details from the ship, the ports, etc. Keep it rolling along!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean combo sailing over 26 days that started in Barbados, here is the link below to that live/blog. Lots of great visuals from this amazing Brazil river and these various Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, etc.) that we experienced. Check it out at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 45,400 views for these postings.

[bettty45]

In the embarkation Patter, a great guide can be found on the first inside page. The top of the page features a chart breaking down what dates and times we are in each port plus notations of time changes and whether it's a “Smart Casual” or “Formal” night. Underneath that is the list of scheduled entertainers and expected events as well as the movies (and in our case NFL games) that would be shown on board first under MUTS or the theater and then by the next day available on our cabin TVs.

 

 

 

 

We never have been fond of the production shows or the entertainers who are just singers but make a point of seeing any comedian or magic based shows. Tonight's Welcome Aboard show featured a set by the comedian Darrell Joyce and he really geared his set toward making fun of being in his 40s and having to deal with today's kids and their new technology. This material was certainly relatable to our passengers as Mike announced during his portion of the show that this sailing had no one under the age of 18 on board. Cheers went up from the audience and Mike joked that they had six youth staff who had nothing to do but sun themselves on the top deck. This would be a running joke throughout the cruise as another comic, Andrew Kennedy, joked that they could have listed his Adults Only show in the Patter as “no one under 45” rather than the usual “no one under 18.” On the flipside, the Adults Only Late Night Comedy show for this cruise was held around 9:15PM instead of the 10-12 midnight range we usually see.

 

 

 

On a side note, one of our perks for being in a suite was use of the thermal suite in the spa on board. A lot of people who sail the newer ships get confused because the Enclave on the Royal/Regal is not the same and isn't included. Our ship last year, the Grand Princess, did not have a thermal suite at all. Late in the cruise, I wanted to go check it out just to say we'd used the perk and see what it was like and I was surprised that no one seemed to care that we were in there. On this ship, it's located behind a door just off the waiting room space with chairs and offerings of tea and water. For everyone not in a suite, you're supposed to have to pay for passes to use it but there was no one bothering to check.

 

 

 

Once we got out of the “everyone rush to the aisles at the end of the show and then move two inches at a time” crowd to leave the theater, Dad wanted to check out the casino so I elected to go back to the cabin not finding much other than listening to a musician play for the rest of the evening in the Patter. Dad joined me in the cabin a short while later, disappointed at learning that this ship has no craps table in the casino. Lusioto had turned down our cabin for the evening while we were gone but had yet to leave any Patter for the next day. A couple times we would have to peek back out our door and find the Patter left in our mailbox if we returned to our cabin before 11PM.

 

 

 

I know that Princess has been rolling out new bedding but we still usually request egg crate additions to our mattresses prior to sailing. Our first night in the cabin, I found myself still freezing so I got under the covers in bed. It turns out our bedding consisted of the mattress (sans topper), a sheet that was basically folded over to cover the mattress, and this duvet that was zipped up inside a sheet that was about 2 inches too wide for it on each side. I soon understood why our pillows were always stacked with the second pillow in front of the other rather than on top. You had to choose between sleeping on pillows at the top of the bed or having your feet covered by this duvet. At one point I grabbed the blanket they give you for sitting on the balcony and used it to cover the rest of my body. We asked Lusioto for an extra blanket and he gave us these thin beige army surplus style blankets that he took to making up with our bedding at turndown each night so now we had two layers of too short for my shoulders bedding.

 

 

 

This is how my bed usually looked by morning:

 

 

 

 

Another concern I had was how often I noticed the lights blinking whether in our cabin or throughout the ship. I mentioned it once when I noticed it during breakfast and the waitress assured me that “it's because they're testing the lights.”

 

 

 

Thanks for the great review!! We will be on the full transit too on Dec 5th. I'm wondering about how you liked the Lido food? What about your port excursions? Were the movies under the stars the same as the TV movies? Did they have a lecturer on the canal that spoke? Are you going to add to your review? Did you ever use the specialty coffee service? How was your sail away party? Was the ship in good shape? Sorry for all the questions. Beth

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RRFPresident]

Tuesday, October 18th

 

Forgot to mention that our first time change occurred Monday night into Tuesday so we set our watches and electronics one hour ahead before bed.

 

These clocks were hanging on the wall next to each bank of elevators and had the loudest click when changing minutes that I nearly jumped out of my skin each time.

 

Our first sea day and thus began a sailing where every sea day was essentially planned around the different trivia events. The bulk of them being cumulative point voyage long affairs. Another suite perk is breakfast in Sabatinnis which is a much nicer, quieter place to dine. They have their own menu for breakfast and usually after the first couple days, the staff remembers that we don't drink coffee and would rather have orange juice. Personally though, I'd rather have the orange juice from the buffet as here they serve fresh squeezed with half an orange's worth of pulp in tiny shot glass style containers. We've had usually good to exemplary service during our breakfasts in Sabatinnis over our cruising history. One of the standouts was back on the Caribbean Princess when the host saw that the banana I was served (near the end of the voyage) was partially turning brown, he took it upon himself to check the bananas in the back and bring me the most freshest one he could find. Here, it was a bit more miss than hit. Once Dad finished off his little glass of orange juice and the waiter walked by and just took it away never bothering to ask whether Dad wanted more. Quite a few times we never saw water refills and at least once we ran close to being late for our first activity because it took an hour to get served, an even more shocking result when you realize that there's usually only about 3 other tables in use when we were there.

 

This ship had couches sitting outside Sabatinnis and the nearby Art Gallery:

 

Small tables and chairs lined the corridor outside Bayou Café that were routinely filled with people enjoying drinks:

 

Made the mistake once of staring down at this carpet pattern outside the Bayou Café while the ship was rocking:

 

Closed doors of Sabatinnis - not sure in the design plans they pictured forming the look of Mario's mustache:

 

One woman who seemed to be the head waitress as everyone scurried when she gave a direction, Anna, waited on us frequently so she was always smiling and saying hello when we'd pass each other on the ship. I must however, point out the biggest disappointment from Sabatinni's breakfast, the pastry tray they come around each time you dine offering various danishes and muffins to go with your meal. Aside from us having to ask for it a couple times and not ever seeing it the day it took an hour to get served, my biggest pet peeve was that the tray no longer featured doughnuts! I love the tiny versions of chocolate frosted and powdered donuts I've always gotten but when asked, the host informed us that Princess fleet-wide decided to stop putting donuts on the pastry tray. Given how one can get one answer one minute and the opposite answer the next from ship to ship, take that claim with a grain of salt or in this case with a crumb of doughnut. Dad said how surprised he was that they would have made that change since we'd had donuts on last year's cruise. The host's response was “things can change in a year, in a day...” Then Anna made it seem like it was more a matter of the fact that this ship doesn't have an International Cafe so they have to rely on what the Patisserie sends them. I used to love on other trips being able to run down to the IC and grab a doughnut and breakfast sandwich if we had an early activity that day. We did spot the breakfast sandwiches available in the buffet later in the cruise so why couldn't they have made my donuts?! Okay, sorry..stepping off my doughnut loving soapbox tirade now.

 

In case anyone doesn't know yet, Dad and I love to play trivia on cruises, me especially. We tried to make new friends and match up with whomever needed players during the regular trivia sessions until we'd formed trivia bonds with several people and would meet up as a group to play together. By voyage's end we'd become such an amalgam of people we'd met from playing trivia that we had to start mixing and matching and making our own little side competitions splitting our group into two or three to stick with the maximum players rule. Yes, we met a few sticklers for that rule, one who even kicked one of our regular trivia friends out of their group and accused her of cheating. Honestly, I'm pretty sure there was also some sneaking peeks at nearby papers and answer/score changing. I actually brought a bag full of our extra prizes from previous cruises and gave the little keychain flashlights, passport holders, lanyards, and carabeeners away. I just enjoy testing my knowledge and the camaraderie, it's a shame when people take it so seriously. I'd like to take a moment here to say thank you to Ann and her husband Rich, Rhonda and her husband Tony (Stu!), Al (the other Al), and Sue for including us in your groupings for trivia and making it so fun!

 

Our sea day mornings became planned around the first trivia of each day, Progressive Trivia. This trivia is where you form a team the first time you play and pick a team name. That team name is given a number and your team is supposed to report to play together each time a Progressive Trivia session is held. Each session's score from the day's 20 question trivia is added together. If your team doesn't show up one day, then you don't get any points added to your score and everyone else that did play pulls above you in the ranking. This was the first time though I've seen them not have a session on the last sea day, instead having a ceremony to announce the winners from all the voyage long events. This sailing, Dad and I joined forces with Chuck and his girlfriend Bonnie along with Oliver and his wife (whose name I can't recall for life so if you're reading this, please say hey!) When it came time to decide on a team name, Chuck came up with the idea that we should be Team Green because my shirt was green and our given number was team #4. These were some of the toughest most obscure trivia questions I'd seen asked and only near the end of the voyage did I start recognizing questions from either previous cruises or even previous trivias on this same trip.

 

A member of our roll call had organized a meet 'n greet for today at 10AM in the Bayou Cafe and we rushed in as soon as trivia was over. An officer had come by to give a chat and answer questions so we joked about raising the temperature of the interior of the ship. He laughed and replied that he couldn't do that because it was up to the Captain. We took time to introduce ourselves all around and then those who had offered up private tour arrangements for others to join took the opportunity to share details with those who had signed up.

 

Next up was the second voyage long activity, the Mini Olympics. These challenges were all individual player based, had different ways to earn points based on the type of game and were simple games that you'd find at a carnival or backyard barbecue. Today was our first introduction to DJ Delite in person as Dad and I attended today's theme of ring toss. A small wooden structure of connected posts was placed in the middle of the atrium and we each had three hoops to throw and try to land a hoop ring around one of the posts, earning different points based on which post it was. I ended this first session of Mini Olympics with the ripe high score of 0 while Dad had managed to land one hoop on the 20 point post.

 

At 12:15PM, we reported to the Wheelhouse Bar for our first round of Battle of the Sexes. We've played Battle of the Sexes on cruises before and they've ranged from just trivia questions, to some trivia and some physical challenges, to the latest on RCL that was solely physical challenges. Thankfully this one was just trivia questions as I'm pretty sure my arm will bruise up again just thinking about how crazy those balloon popping ladies got on the RCL cruise! This time the only physical challenge was trying to fit 20 women into our circle of chairs and still be close enough to give answers without shouting so the guys could hear. So many of us were exuberantly sure with some answers that it became the running joke rule of thumb, “if you're sure enough of your answer to fly out of your chair and into the circle, then we'll go with your answer.” At one point of the trip, I flew out of my chair so many times that I just stayed there on the floor for the rest of the game. There were quite a few questions during these sessions that I was amazed the guys knew. These rounds were always hosted by cruise staff member Chad and one of the days featured so many sports related questions, the ladies joked that the next session ought to feature questions about what bag goes with what shoes. This day, the final question asked what country had the capital Rabat and I fought tooth and nail to get the team to put down my answer of Morocco as they questioned it down to the last second before handing in our paper. Each session, Chad would reveal the answers and whether the men's or women's teams got it right. This day we were tied until the last question and the men put something like Saudi Arabia so we got the point that put us over the top to win. As everybody left, all the ladies' showed their appreciation by smacking me on the shoulder.

 

Continuing with today's trivia theme, Dad and I next headed to the Explorer's Lounge to play “I'll Take Trivia for 100” aka Jeopardy. Here we met and joined up with Gary and his wife Tina whom we ended up playing trivia with frequently as Gary knew a whole lot of useless information, I mean wise facts and knowledge. During the Battle of the Sexes game earlier, the ladies had taken the time to introduce ourselves and I discovered that 2 of our fellow passengers were a husband and wife from our neighboring town of Ellicott City. I'm sorry I don't recall their names either (you should see the notes I made for this review because I can't remember what day it is half the time) but we called them over to join us as well so Dad could meet them. This game featured a paper set up like a Jeopardy board only there were blank spaces where clues would have been. I think this game was hosted by Chad with Emma handling checking people's papers when they came up. They used the screen to display the clues and you had to write your answer in the correct block on your paper and bring it up to get checked by Emma. We kept track on the back of the paper as we went along with how much we were earning in “dollars” from the clue values. Between the 6 of us, we got every question right and soon other teams started noticing. I had to walk by other teams to bring the paper up each time and I started hearing people questioning what answer we had and trying to sneak a peek as I passed them before quickly scribbling down the answer. If you really need that pen or lanyard bad enough to cheat, than perhaps you'd be interested in purchasing them from the on board gift shop for $99.95. When it came down to final Jeopardy, it was a bet all or bet nothing requirement and we were shown the category of Literature before we had to make our decision. We decided to risk it all. This time it was a trick question style fact that I'd heard before so we got it right and doubled our money. We only came in first because the team with the second highest total chose not to risk any money. We won passport holders.

[RRFPresident]

Also on each sea day, a Bridge Players Get Together was held from 2-4PM in the Bayou Cafe. Dad enjoys playing bridge at the senior center here so he was pleasantly surprised to find that about 20 people showed up this day to play. While he was off doing his own thing, I went down to guest services to inquire about arranging for a cake to celebrate Dad's recent birthday. I had read on the boards that in addition to the free small cake they offer at dinner with the candle and singing waiters, you can purchase a real cake and get charged $3-4 per serving. The line at guest services was really backed up, even the “suite/elite” separate line, and I was impressed that someone in a white uniform took the time to come out and ask each of us in line what we needed so that he could weed out the simpler issues and get them out of line. Someone just wanted their card punched so he reached back over the counter and took care of it himself. Other issues like billing and cards not working he told to stay in line. When he got to me, I mentioned the cake and he said they could absolutely take care of that for me and to stay in line. The couple waiting in line next to me joked that it was so nice of me ordering a cake for them and the husband tried to pretend that his birthday was coming up. We all had a good laugh when I replied, “yeah only a short 364 days away huh?”

 

The plan fell apart though when I got paired with an employee who'd only been on the job three months. He literally argued with me swearing that they don't offer such a thing. Finally, he asked the more seasoned employee next to him and that guy said “Of course you can” and showed my guy where to find the form on the computer. We went through putting Dad's name into the system as having a birthday to recognize, cake size, servings, flavor choices and even what to write on it, and confirmed that I was willing to wait the required 24 hours in advance of when I'd be expecting to eat this cake. All blanks filled in and checked looking good to be enjoying this cake at dinner the next night until we hit a big snag. According to this employee, despite choosing the smallest cake size and telling him it was only the two of us, the cake itself would have cost me $75. I questioned that and he went in the back to double check with a manager before coming back out to insist that yes it would cost $75. That seemed so absurd to me and I told him to cancel the whole order. I headed off in search of a late lunch and by the time I made it back to the cabin to relax before we'd planned to meet back up, our cabin doorway had been decorated with a “Congratulations” sign, 2 balloons, and an unsigned “Happy Birthday” card. Never even got the card to turn in requesting the free cake like I have gotten when noting my birthdays in the personalizer pre-cruise. We certainly had no shortage of regular dessert options but I was disappointed that this plan didn't work out.

 

 

At 4PM this day, Dad and I rejoined each other to head down to the Wheelhouse Bar for the regular afternoon trivia session. The bar was so packed because a guitarist had just been entertaining the crowd enjoying happy hour. Several couches and chairs near the back of the room were marked off for some private party that we never saw while we were there. Very few people decided to leave even after cruise staff came in announcing the start of trivia. We met up again with Gary and Tina and thankfully two ladies decided to leave and gave us their folding chairs that the staff had just brought out to try and appease the crowd. We used a railing between two sections of the bar to write on with Tina and I in the chairs and Gary sitting on the rest of the railing. When it came time to check papers, we switched between groups so many times that I was glad we had written a name to identify our paper. There were a few questions that earned multiple points so we won with a score of 23, the multi point answers canceling out our wrong ones. A woman on the first team we swapped with started yelling that she had graded our paper and there's no way we got 23. We showed our paper and explained that since we traded so many times, she'd actually graded the paper of a team a couple tables over. Walked away from that game with a deck of cards.

 

Wheelhouse Bar:

 

In front of this window is where the screen came down showing the trivia questions. I really liked how they've added hooking their computers up to the screen to show the questions rather than just reading them off. Spent many a previous trivia trying to understand what the cruise staff member was really saying through their accent.

 

Perhaps the best place for Battle of the Sexes as these two statues marked the entrance:

[RRFPresident]

Earlier in the day, Dad had the idea that rather than have to call the dine line each day to make an anytime dining reservation and thus avoid waiting in that long line, he arranged for us to have a standing daily reservation of 7:15PM for the whole trip. I was able to sneak a peek at the reservation list and ours was the only one under “Daily Reservations” while several had called that day with specific times. The first day, the host wanted to make us share a table but Dad pointed out that the reservation was for a table for two. While nice to meet others, we find that visits to the dining room for us are usually just fueling stops in between activities and if we share a table then it takes longer.

 

Tonight was formal night and each formal night, they delivered chocolate covered strawberries to our cabin. I don't recall if we got corsages more than once as usually when there's only 2 formal nights, you only get a corsage the first night. At least one of those corsages that was left in our cabin was actually labeled for another cabin. Since this was formal night, I was expecting more of a grander offering on the menu but it barely differed from the night before. One nice change for formal nights is that the waiter offered a tray of petit fours style pastries regardless of what dessert choice you picked.

 

After dinner we met back up with Gary and Tina to play TV theme trivia. I was impressed with how many of these American shows Gary knew since he's British. At one point, while I love TV theme songs, everyone of them reminded me of Dallas. Eventually, Dallas was the next song clip played and it took me the longest time to figure out why Tina was staring at me with this big grin. Our team tied for first and won a bottle of the ship champagne but since none of us drink, we gave it away. This result scenario would become a running theme throughout the cruise. Majority Rules was played in the same place right after so we teamed up with another frequent trivia playing couple who later ended up joining Gary and Tina's progressive trivia team. When the question of “best/worst pickup line” came around, Gary had the idea of writing “I'm Donald Trump, want to see my tower?” It got a huge laugh from cruise staff and passengers and became its own running joke in future games.

 

This was our first night with the extra blankets Lusioto had supplied and it ended up being the night the cabin was so warm that I couldn't stand to sleep under any covers. We moved our clocks ahead another hour this evening.

[RRFPresident]

Thanks for the great review!! We will be on the full transit too on Dec 5th. I'm wondering about how you liked the Lido food? What about your port excursions? Were the movies under the stars the same as the TV movies? Did they have a lecturer on the canal that spoke? Are you going to add to your review? Did you ever use the specialty coffee service? How was your sail away party? Was the ship in good shape? Sorry for all the questions. Beth

 

 

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The Lido food was fairly good. A few times we opted for breakfast and lunch in Lido. We enjoyed the sandwich station, the chicken fajitas, and the bbq chicken. The wait staff on Lido was very good offering drinks and clearing plates faster than I could blink. Some days we'd give our drink request to one waiter and 2 more will stop by to offer in the few minutes it took for the first waiter to return. The only drawback I'd say of the Lido is the frequency in which several of the more "ethnic" dishes were repeated that I felt could have been traded out for more variety. I'm not sure what Dal is but it was offered Dal the time. Only once or twice did I see more of what I'd call the "kid friendly" options like chicken fingers and macaroni and cheese but that could have been a choice given that we had no kids on this sailing. Dad loves popping up to Lido before we head to bed in search of a snack.

 

We found that the movies under the stars were played on the stateroom TVs by either the next day or the day after that and thus replayed several times during the day. They did have lecturer on board, Dennis Cheredar and several days of the cruise he held a lecture based on the running theme of money and the "financial monarchs of the world." On Panama Canal day we had narration by Bill Keene and you could hear his words either on the open decks or via the bridge cam channel on your stateroom TV.

 

Missed the sailaway party due to trying to sleep off a migraine so I can't speak to that. The Patisserie, where the specialty coffees are offered, was frequently busy as there is a decent sized seating area nearby. The wait staff did an amazing job keeping things moving along for those sitting and anyone who walked up to order at the counter. This is where I picked up a couple hot chocolates to go as part of my beverage package. Never did try the coffee but there was a good sampling of flavors plus the usual straight coffee and tea.

 

The ship was in fairly good shape give or take a few mishaps which I will cover when I get to those days. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more!

[bettty45]

The Lido food was fairly good. A few times we opted for breakfast and lunch in Lido. We enjoyed the sandwich station, the chicken fajitas, and the bbq chicken. The wait staff on Lido was very good offering drinks and clearing plates faster than I could blink. Some days we'd give our drink request to one waiter and 2 more will stop by to offer in the few minutes it took for the first waiter to return. The only drawback I'd say of the Lido is the frequency in which several of the more "ethnic" dishes were repeated that I felt could have been traded out for more variety. I'm not sure what Dal is but it was offered Dal the time. Only once or twice did I see more of what I'd call the "kid friendly" options like chicken fingers and macaroni and cheese but that could have been a choice given that we had no kids on this sailing. Dad loves popping up to Lido before we head to bed in search of a snack.

 

 

 

We found that the movies under the stars were played on the stateroom TVs by either the next day or the day after that and thus replayed several times during the day. They did have lecturer on board, Dennis Cheredar and several days of the cruise he held a lecture based on the running theme of money and the "financial monarchs of the world." On Panama Canal day we had narration by Bill Keene and you could hear his words either on the open decks or via the bridge cam channel on your stateroom TV.

 

 

 

Missed the sailaway party due to trying to sleep off a migraine so I can't speak to that. The Patisserie, where the specialty coffees are offered, was frequently busy as there is a decent sized seating area nearby. The wait staff did an amazing job keeping things moving along for those sitting and anyone who walked up to order at the counter. This is where I picked up a couple hot chocolates to go as part of my beverage package. Never did try the coffee but there was a good sampling of flavors plus the usual straight coffee and tea.

 

 

 

The ship was in fairly good shape give or take a few mishaps which I will cover when I get to those days. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more!

 

 

 

Thank you so much for that quick reply!!! Yes I will stay tuned for sure. You really should be a travel blogger and get paid for this. [emoji106][emoji41]

 

 

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[RRFPresident]

Thank you so much for that quick reply!!! Yes I will stay tuned for sure. You really should be a travel blogger and get paid for this. [emoji106][emoji41]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

From your typed words to anyone who may be hiring's ears. I would love to get paid for traveling and sharing my experiences!

[RRFPresident]

Our second sea day so the same plans for multiple trivias filled our day. On this morning though, we had neglected one thing in that we'd forgotten to change our Ipad time setting and thus our wake up alarm from Los Angeles time and nearly overslept. Thankfully I like to sleep with a clock by my bed so I can see what time it is when I wake up in the middle of the night and hopped up with enough time to shower before we headed out.

 

Another breakfast at Sabatinnis - this ship had Sabatinnis that curved around the side in front of large windows so they always wanted to seat people at the two chairs opposite the bench seats that sat under the window. Part of our morning entertainment while having breakfast was to watch the morning walkers and joggers on the open deck. I loved waving at the people from inside and turned it into a challenge to see who I could get to wave back when we'd step out on the open deck after dinner and walk by the same windows. Got one guy to bust out laughing and his wife to wave back as they enjoyed their dinner one evening.

 

Progressive trivia – Scored a little lower than we could have because I let our teammates talk me out of some answers. Chuck was convinced that the question about the mammal with the longest gestation was a blue whale and told us about a previous sailing where a team got it wrong because they just put “whale.” I went against my gut instinct of putting elephant as the answer because Chuck was so passionate. He was so passionate about being right even after the correct answer was revealed that Oliver agreed to use this internet plan to look it up.

 

Second Mini Olympics session was golf putting up on Princess Links. It took us a while to find it, especially since it's a raised platform of various putting greens tucked behind a door. The hole DJ Delite chose to use was around a light post so it was like we had our own built in hazard. The only way to get points in this round was to get a hole in one and you had two tries each of the two rounds. The way to end of the green was curved, it rose up and sunk again right before the wall so it got stuck up there instead of bouncing off the wall and back down to the hole. Neither Dad or I managed to score any points and the one or two guys that did managed to get it to bounce off the light post and then the front wall towards the hole.

 

What happens when you give your camera to Dad to hold while you take your turn:

 

Each sea day, this ship offered “Pickleball Open Play.” The basketball court on the top deck with the basket wide netting around the perimeter doubled as the pickleball court. Dad and I have gotten into playing pickleball through the parks and rec program here and usually people say “pickle what?” when we suggest they join us. We decided to come check out the court space this morning. We were impressed with the supply of equipment, the paddles were the kind regular players buy, not the wooden ones they offer where we play at home.

 

Once we figured out that the entrance to the netted in space was via a small triangle cut out door shorter than me with a long piece of metal having broken through the netting, we discovered that the net they expected us to use was majorly in need of repair.

 

Dad pretending to have to hold the net up to play:

 

The nets we usually play with are just above the floor and the tops hit just above my waist. This net was so sunk in the middle, Dad jokingly pretended to hold it taught in order to play. No one else showed up to play this morning so we moved on.

[RRFPresident]

Outside the door that leads to Princess Links:

 

Made our way down to Battle of the Sexes where they had started early. Once again, our teams were tied except for one question. This time it was “What city has the biggest traffic jams?” and we picked Rio de Janeiro but the men got it right with Sao Pablo.

 

Today was the first time we'd see an event called carpet bowling listed on the Patter. Today it was run by DJ Delite and held completely inside the currently empty art gallery space. Basically it's a version of bocce ball except that these balls have varying weights inside that cause them to turn as they roll. The object was to keep your ball from going past the far line and as close to the small white ball as possible. We played as 2 player teams with a couple rounds alternating which direction we were facing. One of the passengers who showed up to play was British and very familiar with the game so he took to advising everyone on how to roll the ball. DJ Delite's personality is to joke around and poke fun at the passengers so one of our frequent game players Amanda slapped him on the butt when his back was turned. He jumped, pretended to be offended but then said he loves his job.

 

When we split up so Dad could go play bridge, I took the rare opportunity to go swimming. Thankfully without any kids on board we didn't have to lose the main Lido pool to them. I sought out the Lotus pool and while there were lots of people in the chairs sunbathing and reading, the pool was empty. I did find though that despite being marked as 5ft 3 inches by the shallow end just off the steps, I had to tread water and I'm 5'7”.

 

I was able to actually do laps back and forth until one lady wandered in on the steps as far as her waist and stopped because of the cold water. A crew member was testing the water so she chatted with him and then shared that he'd reported the water to be 87 degrees to most everyone who also came in and found it cold. A couple other people came in and we alternated crossing the pool length to do laps but soon they all decided to get out and return to the sun. One couple came over to dip their legs in while sitting on the large wading space and the man eventually eased his whole body into the water via the ladder. He kept splashing and teasing his wife until she finally jumped in only to climb right back out and return to the lounger. A couple people seemed to come and go but never stuck around and eventually I got out to make sure the clock I'd been checking on the wall was set correctly. It was so I tried to return to the water but by then it had turned super cold and my muscles were rebelling. I returned to the cabin with a pizza snack to dry out and change clothes.

 

Dad had stayed in bridge right up until our afternoon regular trivia session, this time now moved to 4:30PM in the Explorers Lounge where we'd have more space. On the ride down from our cabin, I got into the elevator with an older gentleman who'd pushed several floor buttons and asked for my help in finding where he can get a drink. I explained that the Explorers Lounge where I was headed had a nice bar right in front and I'd gladly show him where. The bar was packed as they held bingo in here before trivia and as we waited to be served, he told me that he and his wife had tried to get room service to bring them drinks but were refused. He was out on a mission to find something to bring back to the room for himself and his wife. I assured him that unfortunately, that's the rule when it comes to room service. I watched several people served a long tall glass that looked like a chocolate milkshake and found out it was called a Dirty Banana. I asked for the non alcoholic version as part of my package and it was delicious. After explaining how to get back to the elevators we just left to my new drinking buddy, I joined up with our new group to play trivia. When the answers were revealed, we felt that a couple could have been argued into being marked correct but decided to give up the fight when another team had a winning score that would have been higher than ours even with the corrected markings.

 

I normally love playing slots in the casino but this casino was so small and the slots weren't very forthcoming so I soon gave up.

 

This is not just a representation of the tables in the casino. There's really only these few tables:

 

These put in quarters in hopes of something getting knocked out the front side machines actually featured Princess casino tokens instead in addition to people's quarters:

[RRFPresident]

I'd say maybe only about 25 slot machines total in the whole casino space:

 

Darrell Joyce's first full comedy show was tonight so we went to the earlier 6:30PM show in the Princess theater. Thankfully I had thought to grab my new jacket on the way out of the cabin as I and several others were still hugging ourselves for warmth as they enjoyed the show.

 

Some pictures I took of the theater early one morning:

 

Several seats in the first couple rows as you descend toward the stage were marked specifically for passengers with mobility issues. I've seen theaters with tables to pull up wheelchairs to and spaces in the back to park a wheelchair while their companion sits in a free standing chair next to them but this was the most attention I've seen paid to providing helpful seating to those with disabilities.

 

Leaving the theater post any show was a horrendous effort so this time we decided to start heading up before the lights turned on. Several others did too and my rush to keep up with Dad in the crowd had me miss the top step and nearly tumble. A big sarcastic thanks to the nearby bar waiter who watched me start to fall and offered a “watch your step” rather than reaching out to help.

 

Made it to dinner about 15 minutes late for our standing reservation but we were still seated quickly. When it comes to anytime dining, those who don't have a reservation line up in one doorway while those who do line up in the other doorway that everyone inside uses to leave. After a couple days, the male host started to recognize us but several times the female host manning the line at the other door would above and beyond necessary rudely and loudly yell at us until we explained that we had a reservation. Tonight's waiter introduced himself and then joked that his assistant waiter had just run away. Our service was great with quick food delivery and water refills. I ordered a dish called iceberg wedge in mimosa and expected to be eating salad out of a glass but it was simply a wedge in a bowl with dressing and a couple pieces of hard boiled egg. Dad chose the chocolate creation of the night for dessert and had to leave the bottom half behind as the pastry bottom was so full of caramel that it had become hard and congealed. When the waiter asked about why he left it, Dad showed how he couldn't even get his fork through it to get a bite.

 

A nice walk out on the open deck and a quick trip in search of Dad's routine bedtime snack of cookies and off we went to the cabin to settle in so Dad could watch “The Infiltrator” movie on our stateroom TV. Lusioto had been by already to turn down the cabin leaving new laundry bags per our request but had forgotten to take the one we'd filled and left on the chair. We spotted Lusioto grabbing supplies across the hall and gave him the laundry bag. From then on, I made a point of leaving our laundry bags on the beds so he'd be guaranteed to notice it.

[RRFPresident]

Random thoughts from my notes for today:

We noticed after Dad ordered a can of soda that he wasn't given a receipt to sign. When asked, the bar waiter said they don't require you to sign anymore. Nice for less paper and less hassle since most of the time you have to try and sign once the lights had gone down in a show but it also meant no chance to write in an extra tip to that specific bar waiter.

 

Dad's obsession with cookies had him seeking them from the buffet before bed most every night but he was getting tired of seeing only peanut butter and double chocolate. He approached a nearby man in uniform to lament that there wasn't any regular chocolate chip cookies and that man turned out to be the buffet supervisor. He went right over to the dessert counter and insisted that they make some chocolate chip cookies.

 

Today is the first day I know several of my readers have been waiting to hear about, our first port of Puerto Vallarta Mexico!

 

The finest Puerto Vallarta has to offer - pirate ships and Walmart:

 

My best attempt at catching the Mexican flag:

 

Upon the advice of other cruisers during our planning, we booked Princess sponsored ship tours only for both Mexico ports. Today's tour was Viva Tequila, Tasting, Mariachi, Beach and Lunch. Meet up time was 8:30AM so we skipped breakfast. Went to our meeting place of the Wheelhouse Bar and it was packed with loads of other tours leaving us to stand around until enough people's tours were called that we found a seat. Once our tour was finally called we received our little colored numbered stickers and were led to go sit in the theater. Seems like they could have cut out the middle man there but I don't work for a big fancy cruise line so what do I know? While waiting an announcement was made ship wide that due to technical difficulties, one of the gangway options was being closed only to announce that it was fine again 5-10 minutes later. We were finally led down to one gangway only for the crew member leading the pack to decide it was too busy and led us back to the other gangway. Our tour got to have the Princess videographer tag along so if you're checking out those videos on Princess' website that show what excursions were like and spot a guy sound asleep in the theater, that's Dad!

 

Once off the ship we were led to two lines where we had to sign a waiver and pick a lunch choice from several Mexican food options. They gave us the carbon copy version of our lunch choice paper and warned us not to lose it. While in line, each person got affixed with a certain color wristband and it turned out that the color groups were their initial attempt to make smaller groups for the Viva Tequila facility tour. A woman wandered through the line putting a parrot on people's arms and suggesting they take a picture.

 

While you're waiting in line, you can stock up on all your "magic pill" needs:

 

I think this guy already got his magic pills:

 

We all were led a couple blocks to a parking lot where two trolleys were waiting. They handed each of us water bottles after we boarded the trolley. Dad and I ended up in the last row that faced out so we got to watch all the ticked off drivers who had to follow us down the road until we reached the Viva Tequila building.

 

Our view riding in the back of the trolley:

 

Well, it was certainly "an experience":

[RRFPresident]

They had everyone sit in the lobby and seemed very confused and kept running around. At one point, they brought out these little glasses of some sort of drink with a large amount of something on its rim. No explanation of what it was but judging by how popular happy hour was, this crowd didn't even need to know what it was. They just saw a drink in front of them and down the hatch. A nearby table did finally stop one of the employees while she was rushing by and she told them what the drink was but it was so loud I couldn't tell what she'd said. Dad tried it but I couldn't get past how strong the drink smelled.

 

Bottoms up!

 

After at least 15-20 minutes of sitting there, they finally asked that 20 people get up and go with one of the other employees for a tour with a promise to have the others go next. We were closer to where the other employee was standing so we got into the first group of 20. We were led into a series of small rooms that were decorated like science center exhibits and in each we were played a video projected onto a clear space within the exhibit. That ended in a room with a single line of clear bottles that featured different scents. The idea was to sniff each bottle and try and guess what flavor it was with a drawer underneath each bottle that revealed the answer. 6 bottles and 20 people doesn't add up well so I sort of hung back waiting for the crowd to clear. Then we emptied into a room with the various grades of tequila in bottles displayed on shelves and the first employee gave a brief explanation on the differences. She took questions from a few people and then we were led down a set of stairs that didn't really have a railing. Most of us held on to the wall and I discovered later that I'd somehow taken home part of the mural that was along the wall in the form of a faint VT in paint or chalk on my arm.

 

We were returned to the lobby where a second group had arrived and we were left to sit without any further instruction. Suddenly, that new group got up to follow one of the employees and members of our group started following them. We tried to ask the other employees we passed as we followed everyone else if this was the tour again because we'd already done that but they just would reply “uhh let me check” and rush off.

 

We soon realized that we were all instead being led into an auditorium. Everyone was being led up the stairs to fill in the seats from top to front so I started following the couple in front of us expecting to fill out their row. Instead they took the first two seats from the steps and insisted we as the last two go down to the row in front of them. I had to pivot to step back down to the row below and banged my knee right into the large cup holder they had built into the right arm of every seat. I took a seat in the middle of the row and Dad took his usual aisle seat.

 

One of the more competent seeming employees came on stage and gave a short greeting before using the giant screen at the back of the stage to play the same exact movie clips we'd seen on the tour. Guess they decided after our first group that it would be too many people to move through in sections. Dad showed his appreciation for this repeat performance by nodding off.

 

Peek a boo, I see you Mr. Princess videographer!

 

The employee came back out to give an explanation as these trays built to fit into our cup holders were passed out. The trays contained 3 small glasses of different aged tequilas with a cracker in the middle of the tray and little things in dishes in front of each glass like a lime peel. I tried the 1st or purest sample and didn't care for it. Tried to move on to the 2nd choice but it was just way too strong smelling that I couldn't even get it close enough to drink. Dad did try all his samples.

 

[RRFPresident]

Then we were treated to a mariachi show featuring men and women paired up for multiple dances as well as each gender group taking solos during the performances. A mariachi band played and sang and at times each moved to stand on the stairs so the stage was clear for the dancers.

[RRFPresident]

 

Halfway through the show, a trick roper came out and performed to the music.

[RRFPresident]

 

Once the show was over, we returned to the lobby where the dancers stood and posed for anyone who wanted photographs.

[RRFPresident]

Once everyone was done with pictures, we were led across the street on foot to Mango's Beach Club and sat ourselves at tables for four. We shared our table with another couple and shared fun stories of past cruises. A waitress came by and collected the little copies of our lunch order.

 

Don't worry - these are prices in pesos:

 

Wonder if these guys know that fish tacos was a lunch menu option?

 

We were given choices for beverages but they were not included in the cost of the excursion. Dad treated everyone at the table spending the equivalent of $6 for our sodas and their water bottles.

 

I thought it was funny that after a tequila based tour, my soda was served in a glass advertising Bacardi Rum:

 

Dad and I had both chose this chicken burrito dish and I was surprised to see that it was more like a thin phylo dough than tortilla. Still was tasty though.

 

While we ate, the Viva Tequila employees came around to each table and told us that the trolley would be leaving from their facility at 2PM or 3:30PM so we could choose when to be back for the ride back to the ship. I don't know if anyone actually walked down to the beach but I saw several Princess tote bags as we walked the street up and down checking out the shops. We stopped to admire these beautiful little girl dresses and I surprised the young lady who was sitting outside her shop by complimenting them in Spanish.

 

I had to google this symbol we saw repeatedly on the sidewalk. Turns out it's known in Mexico as the meeting point should you have to evacuate your building in the event of a disaster like an earthquake:

[RRFPresident]

Dad was more interested in this shop:

 

And found a shirt he was tempted to bring home:

 

Little did I realize that I'd be needing to remember even more high school Spanish because after walking the whole street and back being yelled at by locals offering their own tours, we completely lost where the Viva Tequila place was located. Couldn't figure out why we'd gotten lost when we merely walked up the street and back down. After walking some more thinking we'd just not gone far enough, I approached a woman mopping her shop's floor and asked in Spanish where to find Viva Tequila. She looked completely confused so Dad tried to describe it in English. She responded in English to say she didn't know the place. We continued walking until we found a taxi driver and I finally had the thought to show our wristbands and say “Donde this place?” This driver immediately recognized the place and explained that we simply needed to go to the traffic light and turn left. We literally had just walked past the half block up a side street it would have taken to return because I'd been distracted by quizzing Dad on translating the supermarket signs as we passed it the first time. What would have taken 5 minutes took 20 and we definitely sweated off lunch.

 

Several of our group were milling around outside unsure whether we could get back on the trolleys that were parked next to the building as we approached. An employee had just stepped out as we walked up and told us to go sit inside where it was cool. After a few minutes of sitting inside, we saw people heading back outside so we went back out to find the trolleys being loaded. Unfortunately, this time none of the employees thought to pull out the little middle platform on each row so people were literally having to hoist their spouses up from the 1st curb level step to the entrance into the trolley by any means necessary. We walked past a man who resorted to pushing his wife into the trolley by her backside. I knew I'd never be able to get my sore legs up that high to step feet first into the trolley so I went with the less glamorous step on the curb level platform and kneel crawl my way in to the top level until I could use the seat to pull myself up. What I didn't anticipate was that the floor of the trolley wasn't flat and my shin sported a most colorful bruise and hurt to flex for the next several days. We rode back in the trolley with the woman who had explained the different bottles and she joked that if we liked the tour to leave them a nice review; if we didn't like it then don't say anything.

 

The winds decided to treat me on the way back up the pier with a slightly better flag picture:

 

Back on board Dad checked out the golf chipping contest into the Lotus Pool but reported that everyone fared horribly. We made our way down to Explorers Lounge for a round of afternoon trivia.

 

Back to the dining room and the host insisted that we be led to a table by the window so we ended up at a four top that was butted up against a two top that was slightly higher than our table. We watched our waitress running around seeming to be responsible for everything in her area resulting in pretty slow service. At one point when she stopped at our table, we asked if she didn't have an assistant waiter. She assured us that she did and joked that otherwise she'd be super skinny. Dad asked about getting a job here then too so he could lose weight and she told him he'd have to be away for 9 months and work 11 hour days. We did notice that each time a member of the wait staff returned to her station, she sent them away to do something else. I had surprisingly loved the iced tea offered in the dining room on RCL so I finally asked to try it tonight. Took 20 minutes of our waitress assuring me that she was still working on getting my iced tea and once it did arrive tasted more like they threw some ice into hot tea.

 

Not finding much that I liked on the menu for tonight I ordered the Caesar salad and the chicken entree from the always available side of the menu and the waitress chided me for not choosing one of the dishes she recommended. Then she ends up completely forgetting my salad skipping ahead to delivering the entree. She was super apologetic and stressed out over taking back my chicken entree to be kept warm until I was done with my salad. I assured her it was fine to get both plates at once. However, the chicken was tough to cut and served on the bone so I gave up after a while of trying to get anymore meat off. You would have thought it was a personal insult to this waitress that I didn't finish the chicken the way she reacted. I was tempted to ask if I wouldn't be allowed to have dessert the way she reacted as if I was a kid who hadn't finished my plate.

 

Despite knowing that our knowledge of certain trivia themes like sports or various music genres would be futile, I stopped by the lounge to sit in on Rock 'n Roll themed trivia expecting to find our new trivia friends. The place was packed and I couldn't find anywhere to sit so I decided instead to return to the cabin and grab a shower before bed.

 

Caught a peek of us literally sailing off into the sunset: