Regal Princess October 14 to 21, 2017 New England/Canada

[Bimmer09]

Norris see this Guiness article in today's New York Times.

 

https://paidpost.nytimes.com/guinness/great-times-in-beer-history.html?tbs_nyt=2017-nov-nytnative_hpmod&cpv_dsm_id=188666616

 

 

A storied history of the Ultimate Man's Beverage. 1988 was a banner year when the nitrogen capsule was introduced to make the Draught experience from a can, which is what Princess serves me. I love to watch a pint being poured though-expectations run high. Then the pause to let it rest before the second pour and the rich foamy head crowns the heavenly drink. Draw a shamrock in it with the final dribble and it's good to go. Pairs with most simple foods and ideal for everything on the Princess pub lunch menu. There are times when a light crisp refreshing lager is called for- with salad, fish that isn't battered, peel and eat shrimp! And times for a glass of wine in a real glass-like my Princess dinners.

Thank you for posting this for me! Much obliged.

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Do you happen to know if the casino has live Texas hold 'em instead of the virtual kind?

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I honestly couldn't tell you as I never set foot in the casino when it was busy with gamblers and none of my photos capture anything about TH live. Is it a poker game?

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Heaven only knows what I am looking at here but I was in my photograph anything and worry about it later mode.

 

 

 

I could have switched the GPS function on my camera and I could tell you where/what I was looking at. Maybe next time.

 

 

It's only a 45 minute ride but we are heading back to from whence we came



 

 



 

More...

[Bimmer09]

Ports with harbors are definitely my favorite

 

 

A Always B Be B Building



 

 

Bless my soul-she's a beauty!



 

 

Nice apartments!



 

 



 

 

Returning to the dock



 

From time to time I would pop down one deck to visit Carol in the comfy interior on the middle deck. The bottom deck where we got on held the toilets and the snack bar/ adult beverages and some seating too.

If you want to take photos or video you should be on the top deck in the wind like me.

Norris

[BarbinMich]

Heaven only knows what I am looking at here but I was in my photograph anything and worry about it later mode.

 

 

Norris, here you go (thanks to Wikipedia):

 

Custom House Block (built 1848) in Boston, Massachusetts is a former warehouse located on Long Wharf, at the end of State Street. Architect Isaiah Rogers designed the four-story building, constructed of granite and brick. In its 19th-century heyday, it contributed to the life of "Boston's busiest pier, commercial port, and embarkation point for travelers." Today private owners maintain the site.

[i think it's been converted to condos; I remember seeing it on our cruise stop there a few years and I'm sure I also took a photo of it. ;-) ]

[Bimmer09]

Norris, here you go (thanks to Wikipedia):

 

Custom House Block (built 1848) in Boston, Massachusetts is a former warehouse located on Long Wharf, at the end of State Street. Architect Isaiah Rogers designed the four-story building, constructed of granite and brick. In its 19th-century heyday, it contributed to the life of "Boston's busiest pier, commercial port, and embarkation point for travelers." Today private owners maintain the site. [i think it's been converted to condos; I remember seeing it on our cruise stop there a few years and I'm sure I also took a photo of it. ;-) ]

 

Barb- you are exactly the kind of help I need here in identifying what I saw. I was too busy to take in all the guide was saying (non-stop) and when I heard they had been shooting at the British here a long time ago I inwardly went "eek". Britain actually had a much bigger Empire than Rome (or anyone ever) but with that comes unpopularity (until the Beatles came along) and resentment (Freddie and the Dreamers). I don't know if you have seen the musical Hamilton but it's a masterpiece of historical storytelling (and wit and great music) that tells people like me some American turning-point history and Boston sure had a role to play there!

Thank you!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

I got home at 11 last night and made supper and did a bit of comments answering. Bed at 1 a.m and up again at 5 so forgive me if I don't write more tonight as there is dinner and some TV catching up to do.

In the meantime here is video I shot during our harbor tour....

rD93hmR-SWg

 

See you tomorrow!

Norris, who has just received some good news about our Crown Cruise from a friend on this board.

[Bimmer09]

The tour bus was waiting on the dock so we went directly from boat to bus and now we enter the "through a bus window" phase of our sightseeing. That certainly saved time. Narration was provided by our guide way up front. We sat at the back. The bus had a toilet as I think all of the buses we were on that week had.

Here's something you don't see everyday-a Starbucks coffee shop. However this one has a gold teapot hanging outside....

 

 

 

 



 

 

Restoration work in progress



 

 

This might be Copley Square but I am guessing



 

 

I know the big building at left is the Public Library



 

All photos taken with a Canon pocket camera

 

[Bimmer09]

The city so far is looking pretty trim and livable

 

 



 

 

Classic architecture



 

 

The Arts are alive and well



 

 

The name is above the door



 

 

A very famous Music College-Berklee



 

[Bimmer09]

The old and the new side by side

 

 



 

 



 

 



 

 

A corner of Boston Common, America's oldest city park from 1634. 50 acres.



 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

The guide told us all that we could get off here at the market where there was good shopping and take a shuttle ($11) back to the ship later. This is something I regret not doing. We didn't discuss it-maybe a look at each other and a raised eyebrow (I forget which one). We were going back to the ship. We thought "crowds" "noise" "shopping". I have been in therapy over this decision since getting back and even my Psychiatrist can't put his finger on a subconscious reason. Boston looks like a lovely city.

 

And yes I was a fan of the TV show Cheers-so many great memorable characters there. I loved Cliffy the Mail Carrier particularly.

 

A busker playing energetic violin

 

We returned to the Regal and once we left the downtown streets and would our way through the dock area I realized that popping off the ship again and walking into town wasn't doable with a heavy camera bag

 

 

In hindsight we could have taken this...



 

Back on the Regal it was Trident Grill time as I didn't want to go to Afternoon Tea from 3.30 to 4.30 in an MDR (and in the Sanctuary but that is later in the tale). I did get Carol into the buffet for the one and only time to visit the Pastry Shop and there to her delight she found fresh scones! One happy camper!

A nap was in order soon after.

[MisterMet]

The city so far is looking pretty trim and livable

 



 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

Classic architecture

 



 

 

 

 

 

The Arts are alive and well

 



 

 

 

 

 

The name is above the door

 



 

 

 

 

 

A very famous Music College-Berklee

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

Norris,

 

As a native NYer it pains me to say this, but Boston is a fantastic city and area to be from! It’s a lively city with lots of young, vibrant people. Also a great college town. Bostonians are hearty New Englangers who work hard and play even harder. I spent lots of time there when I was in my 20’s and 30’s and miss visiting now that I live in FL. Great review as always! I’m here to the end.

 

Trip

 

 

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[Bimmer09]

Carol's nap was timed at 3 hours, mine half that. One of the great benefits of not being at work for a week is that you can do what you want with your time and an afternoon nap after a meal is something we don't usually get to experience as we have to power on through the workday.There would have been so much to see and experience by staying ashore and even back on the ship there are so many great places to sit, read, listen to a band, eat some more, chat over drinks to new people and so on. But it is nice to rest the brain and let a comfortable bed and the quiet of deck 10 work its magic.

If there is the possibility of a good sunset then I am all there, camera in hand. From my crisply cold and windy perch on deck 17 aft I waited. The cloud formations were encouraging. A sun setting in a cloudless sky is no good.

 

 

SUNSET OVER BOSTON

There were just the two of us- me and the nameless lady who always had her camera nearby and who says she is a novice, braving the wind about 150 feet above the harbor. We kept out of each other's shots as there was plenty of deck space up on 18 by the basketball court. The blue glass topped deck railings (of deck 17) lose their glass there for an uninterrupted view.

 





 







 

 



 

 

Nice cloud formations

 

 

As time passes (quickly) the colors get richer as the light is fading



 

More...

[Bimmer09]

 

 

 

 

Back on deck 17

 

 

 

 



 

[lola2013]

Photos: WOW...just WOW!!!

Susan

[Bimmer09]

Silly me.

When we boarded we had a card saying we had a free meal in Sabatini's waiting for us on Monday night in Boston at 6 p.m. We usually eat in Sabs on our first night onboard as then we know we are cruising. Its the culinary equivalent of the warm bosom of Princess. The time was all wrong for us as we are not early eaters. Often in Chicago we sit down to dinner at 11.30 for example as that's half an hour after I get home some evenings. So I called the DINE line and pushed it back to 8 pm, forgetting that that was when the ship left Boston. I generally deal in round numbers-8 o'clock, not 8.15 so I let it be rather than reschedule again. I figured that once we left the dock there wouldn't be a lot to see anyway. I had asked for a window seat as I usually do just in case.

At 5 minutes to 8 I had to take a picture and then scurry forward to get an elevator down to deck 5 and Sabatini's to meet Carol.

 

(2 photos stitched together in Lightroom)

Please join us for dinner....

[Bimmer09]

Photos: WOW...just WOW!!!

Susan

 

Glad you are enjoying Susan!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

 

When I sailed on cruise ships in the mid 1980s and early 1990s there were no Specialty restaurants. In 2011 we took our first Princess cruise on the Coral and our first meal was in the Bayou restaurant after we left Whittier. A couple of days later we ate in Sabatini's and booked two more evenings there as a result of the food and the stellar service. The chef even came out to meet us and chat.

Since then we have booked suites most often, enjoying the Sab's breakfast and our sailaway dinner has usually been there. The food is solidly good but not amazingly Italian. We are spoiled by Rome restaurants and one in Positano (Emerald Princess review).

Passenger Services has been moved from the Piazza to near the forward elevators as has Lotus Spa. Sabatini's lives close to them. The room is not the brightly sunny Italian mural space we are used to . I will have room photos much later.

A warm welcome always awaits. The ship is starting to move from the dock. We can see out of the window. Never full-maybe half the tables occupied. $29 a head but ours is comped. Not sure why.

Our waiter is Silvana from Transylvania, a region in Romania and by the end of the meal we had decided "she's the best waiter we have had on Princess" in terms of knowing the menu and how it is cooked. No "I'll go and find out...". Recipes and techniques in her head. Engaged in her job. She's not a cavalcade of giggles like our favorite team, Siwa and Sadudee (Thailand) from the Diamond Princess. They are uniquely Masters of Banter.

As a server she is on top of her game and my post-cruise survey said so.

I called forth my wine. It was in Concerto MDR midships.

 

 

 



 

 

These are yummy



 

 

Every flavor is made richer when the wine arrives



 

When I asked Silvana for a Riedel glass she said-"but of course, a good wine needs room to breathe "

I told her to throw the thick, small bowl Bormioli glasses overboard....

[Bimmer09]

Norris,

 

As a native NYer it pains me to say this, but Boston is a fantastic city and area to be from! It’s a lively city with lots of young, vibrant people. Also a great college town. Bostonians are hearty New Englangers who work hard and play even harder. I spent lots of time there when I was in my 20’s and 30’s and miss visiting now that I live in FL. Great review as always! I’m here to the end.

 

Trip/ Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

 

Trip, thanks for the comments and compliments!

Boston is now on my list of places to revisit. I had visited it during the Big Dig on a very rainy weekend in 1998 and it didn't resonate strongly with me. Now it does.

So much World and so little time.... I haven't even been home to Northern Ireland in 14 years. Top of my bucket list is to visit Paris and sit at a sidewalk cafe.

I hope everyone stays until the end with you.

Norris

[Bimmer09]

:eek::eek::eek::hearteyes::hearteyes::hearteyes:

 

Crystal, I read emoji fluently.

Thank you!

Norris

[Pmorton3360]

The sunset pictures are just awesome. I know they took alot of skill and patience. So worth it.

 

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[josumello]

The sunset pictures are just awesome. I know they took alot of skill and patience. So worth it.

 

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[emoji106][emoji106]. Thanks for sharing.

 

 

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[morbihan]

You will have to visit Paris then jump on the overnight train to Venice and sail from there. Rome. Milan. Switzerland - although we are asleep when we go through. So many places and so little time especially if your holidays are short. I live about two hours on the train from Paris. Love it there. Sadly, my husbands' ill health is not getting any better but I get all over with you and Carol It is not your camera that is heavy - I am curled up in the bottom of the bag.

[HRPro]

Gorgeous sunset pictures. Love Boston too. No better place to get fantastic sunset pictures than on board ship. Thanks for sharing a great review. Have read your precious ones and always enjoy them.

 

Susan

[DrivesLikeMario]

Enjoying your review and great pictures! We were on just before you and we loved Boston too - much more so than NYC. We absolutely LOVED this itinerary and wouldn't hesitate to go again! :)