LIVE: Royal Princess, Trans-Atlantic, Sept. 10-25, 2018

[geoherb]

The show last night by ventroliquist Michael Harrison was good. We went to the 7:00 show before dinner. We have late traditional dining. We got a table for four set for just the two of us. We’d prefer to eat at a larger table with others. Tonight is open seating because of our late departure from Rotterdam.

 

The menu was the regular first night one with basa, roast pork, prime rib, chili, and leek and ricotta tart for the main courses. I enjoyed the vegetable spring rolls, artichoke bisque, an appetizer portion of the fettuccini Alfredo, and the tart. DH had piña colada soup, salad, and prime rib. We both had the flourless chocolate cake for dessert. It’s one of our favorites. The head waiter met with DH about his food restrictions. We got to see the menus for today’s lunch and dinner.

 

The couple at the table beside us was asking about kosher meals. The head waiter found the menu for them of the boxed meals available that they could order ahead of time. He also brought them the other menus. The strange thing was the husband had ordered the shrimp cocktail as his appetizer.

 

We lost an hour last night and had a notice in our cabin that we had to show our passports at 7:30 this morning. We went to bed right after dinner. I got up early this morning and walked around the Lido and Promenade decks.

 

We ate breakfast in the Allegro dining room right after going through the passport procedure. There wasn’t a line. We shared a table with three other interesting couples. Like us, none of them had planned specific things for Rotterdam today.

[geoherb]

My in laws from Austin Tx. onboard with you. Thanks for walking thru the cruise with us at home. Keith said he was in the elevator and the power went out ??? What's going on ? Should I be concerned ?

I haven’t heard of any elevator problems. I always take the stairs. There were problems at embarkation yesterday. One of the couples at breakfast this morning got to the port before us and onboard after us. They’re also Elite and made it into the lounge. They said they were led around the port—back downstairs and then up. The official explanation was that the tides and currents were making it difficult to keep the boarding ramps in position. Apparently right after we got on, they had to clear the ramps and hold people until they could get things back in place.

 

Bon Voyage! I will follow along. I am in love with Elliott on the Entertainment staff!

Thanks. We’ll look for him and say hi from you when we see him. We saw Matt O last night. He remembered Sam’s name from our cruises with him last year. I find it amazing that he can do that.

[oldjetdriver]

I'm going to miss unlimited Wi-Fi. But I'll be glad to get my laptop plugged in instead of typing on my phone. I think we'll purchase a transformer for our next trip to England if we will be staying several nights.

 

The power supply for your laptop should handle 220 volt 50 Hertz current. All you should need is a plug adapter.

 

Tom

[Colo Cruiser]

My in laws from Austin Tx. onboard with you. Thanks for walking thru the cruise with us at home. Keith said he was in the elevator and the power went out ??? What's going on ? Should I be concerned ?

 

 

I was not.....I took the stairs. :confused:

[geoherb]

Our cabin steward, Romeo, has been great. He brought us wine glasses without our asking after noticing our bottle of wine. He brought me an extra pillow and us extra bars of soap for the bathroom after we asked. When we went to the immigration check and breakfast this morning, he had made up our room by the time we got back. I like that a lot. We’ve had previous cabin stewards who have not been as efficient. He made our cabin for the evening when we got back to it tonight at 6:45.

 

Arrival at Rotterdam was a little before noon. We missed seeing the ship sail in because we were at trivia. We met a nice family from Israel, who joined our team. It’s a mother, originally from Mexico, a father, who’s British but was born in South Africa, and the 22-year-old son, who just finished his military service and is about to enter medical school. We finished with 18 out of 23 points. The winners had 22 points. I’m betting they’ve seen these questions before.

 

We had a good day in Rotterdam. The port offered a shuttle bus into the center of the city but we opted to walk. We started off at the cube houses. We paid the 3 euros each to tour the open one. It’s fascinating, especially the fact that they now sell for 280,000 euros. We walked through an open air market and on to the Boijmans Museum. They had a very nice exhibit on Rubens on loan from the Prado Museum in Madrid. Their permanent collection and some of the temporary exhibits were also good, with an emphasis on Dutch artists of course. But they also had works by a number of other artists, especially the Italian Renaissance ones.

 

We walked back to the ship since we did not know the place to catch the bus back. It was about a couple of kilometers.

 

One disappointment today was that the dining room wasn’t open for lunch as we were told last night it would be. Perhaps the menu the head waiter let DH order from for his special diet will be tomorrow’s when we’re at sea. We ended up eating in Alfredo’s. I enjoyed the vegetable antipasto and the veal agnolotti. DH had the antipasto and a Hawaiian pizza. He gave me a slice. It was good.

 

We got back in time for the tail end of the Platinum, Elite, and suite cocktail event. I tried the floradora. I can’t remember what’s in it, but it was good. I ordered the Mayan mule for DH, and he enjoyed it. Tonight, at least, they did not run out food like they did last night when there weren’t any chips to go with the guacamole. They finally brought some as we were about to leave.

 

Tonight’s show is the Ancora folkloric show. It’s a troupe of Dutch performers. I’ll find out when we go. And now, it turned out to be a trio of male singers. They started out with Molly Malone. I thought they were a holdover from the British isles cruise. But then they started singing more songs in Dutch. Overall, they were OK. I wish the backing track wasn’t so obtrusive.

 

Dinner was open seating in all the dining rooms. We lucked out to have a table with a British couple and Canadian couple. It’s the type of table we hope to get for the rest of our cruise. The head waiter told us to check in with the maître d’ tomorrow night when we arrive to request the change to a larger table.

 

The menu was one we’ve seen before. I had the shrimp and scallop cocktail, an appetizer size portion of the penne with mussels, and the braised lamb shank. DH had the mango and pear soup, beef satay, and jerked chicken. The latter did not have much spice. He had the chocolate cookie with ice cream and hot fudge sauce. I had a fruit plate.

 

I asked about the wine package and bought the 10-bottle less expensive one. We did not finish the bottle tonight—but only have a glass left. At that rate, we’ll be OK for the rest of the cruise with maybe having to buy another bottle. The Canadian man at our table also had the wine package. He said he found out about it at one of the tables set up for beverage packages. It wasn’t openly advertised then, either, but they told him about it when he asked.

 

Both couples told more horror stories about boarding yesterday. The Canadian one had a three-hour wait for the Princess transfer from London. When they got to Southampton, they had the circuitous route on to the ship due to the problems with the gangways.

 

Tomorrow is the first formal night, along with the champagne waterfall. Our cabin steward left us the order form for the canapes. We won’t bother ordering any since they no longer have the chocolate-covered strawberries on it. The last time we ordered some, they arrived in our cabin way before we did. I ended up throwing them out since I did not know how long they had sat at room temperature.

 

We played the Passenger Feud game show in Princess Live after dinner. Matt O was emceeing it. He’s hilarious. We did not do that well. It’s very fast paced. As it ended, I ran into a woman I used to work with. We retired the same day 21 months ago. It was good to see her again, but now I have to behave.

[Colo Cruiser]

Sounds like a great day!

[sunsetbeachgal]

Enjoying your blog, we are hunkered down waiting for Hurricane Florence. We are all stocked up and are staying at home. Your timing for going away is good, Raleigh is supposed to get lots of rain.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Dreamer115]

following along

[geoherb]

Enjoying your blog, we are hunkered down waiting for Hurricane Florence. We are all stocked up and are staying at home. Your timing for going away is good, Raleigh is supposed to get lots of rain.

Stay safe. Our neighbor at Topsail checked on our cottage, and the real estate company folks have put everything inside. We’ll be watching the Weather Channel on the ship to see where Florence goes and what happens. Our basement in Raleigh floods sometimes. The worst was during Fran. It’s better since Sam worked on piping to direct the gutters away from the house. I worry about the folks around the Neuse and Tar rivers who had such devastating flooding after Fran, Floyd, and Matthew.

 

We missed breakfast in the dining room. We ate at the International Café instead. Afterward was time for trivia. We joined two couples and did well, missing just one question. Unfortunately, another team got all 20 right, so we did not get water bottles to give away.

 

I went to the Cruise Critic gathering in the Vista Lounge. Over 100 people showed up. Thanks to the organizers for coordinating everything. The first 15 or 20 minutes was just talking amongst ourselves. Later on, a large contingent of officers showed up, led by the hotel general manager, Michael Prasse. The others included the entertainment director, customer services director, executive housekeeper, customer relations manager, bar manager, food and beverage directors (one who is leaving in Bergen and the new one who’s taking his place), head chef, maître d’, finance manager, hotel controller, crew relations manager, and cruise director. They said they were coming from one meeting and heading to another, so there wasn’t time for each of them to talk. The hotel general manager took a few questions before they all had to go.

 

We went to a second trivia later this morning in which they’ll continue the scores for all the sea days on the rest of the cruise. One couple from this morning was on our team and we picked up another couple from Britain to fill it out. We placed second with 17 out of 20 points, just one point out of the lead.

 

Lots of folks are finding the dining room for lunch. We got there around 12:15 and did not have to wait for a table. By the time we left a little after 1:00, there was a huge line waiting to get in. I had an appetizer size portion of the beef tortellini and a chef’s salad. I ended up not eating much of the meat on it. Another couple at our table ordered it as well and also weren’t fond of the cubes of ham and turkey. DH had the veggie burger and said it was good. It looks anemic to me. The menu was not the one that the head waiter had shown DH on the first night, so somewhere along the way someone changed his mind about serving lunch in the dining room yesterday.

[geoherb]

It was a busy afternoon. We just did the art trivia and general trivia, but there were lots of other activities going on. They were setting up the champagne waterfall as we were leaving the late afternoon trivia. We went back to our cabin to get ready for formal night. After the champagne waterfall, I stayed behind to talk with new friends while DH got lost and went back to our cabin. Our laundry came back—just 48 hours instead of 72 (or, as I feared, 96 since we sent it the first evening). We had prepared another couple of bags of items to go out. I’m glad it came back because I was out of socks to wear with my sneakers. I did not want to have to wear the pair I had on today again, and I did not think they’d dry overnight in the cabin.

 

We met with the maître d’s assistant, and she put us at a table with four nice people from New York—a couple and two women, all traveling together. We were having such a nice dinner with them, the time snuck up on us and we ended up leaving without dessert to catch the show. It was Encore. The cast is leaving at the end of this cruise, so this was their last performance of the show. They are very good.

 

Tomorrow morning is early arrival in Hamburg at around 7. We don’t have anything planned. All aboard is 6:40 p.m. We talked with people going to Berlin and others planning tours of Hamburg. One couple is going to a nearby concentration camp, and another had an organ recital on their itinerary.

[emmak8]

Love your trip report! Thanks for posting.

[happy cruzer]

We have a TA planned for next year, it will have different ports. Really appreciate the details about the activities and the MDR (seating and food). let us know what you think of the other dining areas like IC, buffet and grill. Thank you.

[bronxgirl25]

Thanks for doing this "live." Enjoying it very much. We will be boarding the Royal for a two week Caribbean in November.

[geoherb]

We played it by ear in Hamburg. One of the men at our table at breakfast talked up the Miniature Wonderland, so we decided it would be something we should see. A lot of folks on our roll call had purchased their tickets in advance. We had to wait about 15 minutes since we had not.

 

The displays are fascinating in their detail. After a while, though, I got tired of the crowds. We were there about two hours. DH has caught a cold, so he did not want to walk as far as I did to St. Michael’s. We split up, with him walking toward St. Nicholas’. I’m sort of glad he did not go with me because he would not have wanted to walk down the stairs after seeing the views from the top of the tower. Admission to the tower is 5 euros. There’s an elevator to the top after climbing over 50 steps. Coming down was over 400 steps. The views from the top are great. There are interesting displays in the tower on the floors below the viewing platform. Inside the church is also nice. I sat in a pew as a Princess tour group came through. I got to listen in to the guide. I’m glad I was not pressed to leave as soon as they did, but I did learn some things from the guide.

 

I decided to purchase a ticket for the tower at St. Nicholas’ as well when I got there. It’s a church that was bombed by the Allies in 1943 and was not rebuilt. There are ruins of some of the walls and an interesting museum below. Five euros covers admission to both the tower and the museum. The views from the top of it are equally good as the view from the other tower. I’m glad I did both.

 

I walked around the area over to the city hall. Along the way, I looked for a place to buy DH some throat lozenges and finally found somewhere that sold them. I bought a pretzel roll from a little bakery, too. It was good. I thought the Spice Museum sounded interesting, but I decided against going in when I got there. They said they had an abbreviated guide in English. It was nice that the Miniature Wonderland and the churches had captions in English for their displays. There is a little spice and tea shop across the hall from the museum. I did not buy anything, but it was interesting.

 

I got back to the ship in time for a bite to eat at the International Café before afternoon trivia. I played with the British couple from our sea day team. The other couple from that team had already joined another team. Unfortunately, the quiz was the same as one given on the previous cruise. There are 600 passengers who stayed on from that cruise to do the trans-Atlantic. The winning team remembered most of the answers—getting 20 out of 21.

 

DH ended up actually getting back to the ship after I did. I’m not sure exactly where he went other than St. Nicholas’—and he isn’t either. He ended up catching a cab back to the pier. I guess next time I’ll have to stick with him and not leave him on his own. I’ve always had a good sense of direction. Having downloaded the maps of all our ports on my phone for use offline also helps me find my way around.

[Orangefan]

Thanks geoherb for your " live from". I am enjoying it since Nov. 9 I will be on the Southern Carib cruise. I haven't been on the Royal before but have been on her sister ship the Regal five times. Also have sailed with Ron Goodman a few times when he was CD on the Regal. He was very visible and active. However he has a different roll on this cruise.

Sali

[geoherb]

Big announcement from the captain this evening: We’re skipping the scheduled three stops in Bergen, Belfast, and St. John’s and heading south instead due to weather systems in the Atlantic. We’ll be stopping in Vigo and Punta Delgado do instead. We’re also leaving a little late for two reasons: a train with passengers on excursion that went to Berlin has been delayed due to an accident on the tracks and there’s also a container ship coming into Hamburg that’s too large for us to fit through at the same time. The captain said we’ll receive the updated itinerary later along with some type of compensation. Those with shore excursions booked through Princess will automatically receive credit back for them. The Princess folks will be working with locals in the two new ports to offer excursions in them.

[CruzinNoony]

I just discovered your "live from" this morning. Thank you, Marcia!! We are embarking the Royal on Oct. 26 for the Canada/NE cruise and then the next two Caribbean cruises. Can't wait!! I've heard really good things about Matt O. Enjoy!!:D

[geoherb]

We just received the revised itinerary. We’ll have two days at sea between Hamburg and Vigo. We’ll arrive Sunday at 10 a.m. and depart at 8 p.m. We’ll then have two more days at sea between Vigo and Ponta Delgada. Our time there on Wednesday will be 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. We’ll then get six days at sea between there and New York City. The letter from the captain says that they “will be providing a goodwill gesture and will communicate details as soon as we are certain there is no further impact to our scheduled itinerary.”

[ggprincess2004]

Sorry you will be missing those ports. But, safety first. They should have some interesting options in Vigo as well as in the Azores for you.

[peanutter]

Thank you so much for taking the time to post this "live from" thread DH and I were to be on this cruise after doing the Ring of Kerry tour, but we had to cancel both due to a medical issue. I appreciate you "taking us along for the ride!"

 

I'm so sorry to hear about the itinerary change (I would have hated to miss Belfast) but very glad the captain is keeping you all safe. Enjoy the new route and I will be following along.

[Cindy]

I’m really enjoying your report! Sorry about the itinerary change, but I know you’ll make the best of it.[emoji846]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[geoherb]

I'm so sorry to hear about the itinerary change (I would have hated to miss Belfast) but very glad the captain is keeping you all safe. Enjoy the new route and I will be following along.

Thanks. It’s Norway that we’re most disappointed to be missing. We have not been there before. We were on the British Isles cruise last year and enjoyed going to Belfast. We had planned on going to the Titanic Museum this year while we were there since we did not have time to go there last year.

 

We have heard great things about the Azores. Tom from Tom’s Guides was at our table today at lunch. He and his wife were telling us about the many options of things to do there. They’ve contacted a private guide they’ve used on previous cruises and are waiting to hear back from him.

 

The excursions folks had the new ones for Vigo and Ponta Delgado ready as we were at breakfast this morning. There are just three options for Vigo. The half-day ones have morning and afternoon departures. The morning ones both sold out. There are seven ones available for Ponta Delgado. Some of them have morning and afternoon departures. Three tours are already sold out.

 

 

We’re still waiting for word on what form of compensation Princess will give us. It’s not that important, but I admit that there’s an excursion I’d book if we got enough to cover it.

 

Today has been a windy and cool day at sea. Some people are out by the pool and even a few are in the hot tubs. We’ve spent the day primarily inside, with two trivias in the morning, lunch in the dining room, and a rum tasting. The line dancing and other dance classes were full. The line to get into the art auction was wrapped around the deck. I did go up to the lawn court for the putting challenge. Three other folks also showed up. Unfortunately, the staff member who was supposed to be there was a no-show. According to one guy, no one showed up previously for the shuffle board tournament.

 

We’re still following the news coverage of Hurricane Florence. Our neighbors who live on the island where we have a beach cottage evacuated to their daughter’s place on higher ground north of there in Jacksonville. They probably won’t be able to get back on the island until Sunday at the earliest.

[Colo Cruiser]

What are the temps today?

[lauriemac6]

Thank you for your update - my parents are on this cruise. We heard from them yesterday that there has been an itinerary change, but not the specifics.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Geoherb, thx for your posts, they are my entertainment today since we are inside all day riding out Hurricane Florence. Speaking of which, Wilmington was where the eye came ashore. Areas northeast of Wilmington and along the coast have been battered for two days including several high tides which makes matters worse. Over 200 water rescues in New Bern. Lots of responders in place to help out, even the Cajun Navy! All fine with us, just very windy and rainy. I’d much rather be cruising!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Edited September 14, 2018 by sunsetbeachgal