LIVE from the Royal Princess - Dec 15, 2018 - Eastern Caribbean

[CanadianBurger]

4 hours ago, chamima said:

So anyways, it's possible you got a new headwaiter because of your post about the first one's attitude.

It may have more to do with our direct, strongly worded request for a new headwaiter 😁

[CanadianBurger]

8 hours ago, TRSuzie said:

 

 

Looks like the Sea and the Star are the only ones with USB outlets.  The Star received the new lamps at the bedside that contained two USB outlets during their summer wet dock.  It was great.  But, heard that those lamps were very pricey and ergo may not be used on all ships.  😞

 

No USB outlets in the stateroom. 

 

The Majestic had USB ports from the get-go beside the bed, so the Sky and Enchanted should also have them. Below are the USB ports and power points on the Majestic, which also include Aussie/Chinese outlets. I’m glad I took my adapters since there was only the one standard 110V one. 

[CanadianBurger]

MDR Dinner tonight. The Beef Wellington was so good I ordered a second. The service was excellent again. 

Another fantastic Norman Love creation for dessert. 

[karabear15]

Yay!  Escargot!!  I’ll take 4 of those, please. 

 

It wasnt listed on any of the menus a previous poster had shared a few weeks ago so I was thinking it was removed along with some of my other favorites. 

[CanadianBurger]

5 hours ago, letsparty2 said:

thank you.  im also looking into free online books for him but he is not into tech and prefers the books he can flip pages on.  

I’ll try to remember to take a pic. I’ve walked by it several times, but never gone in. All my books are on my Kindle. 

[CanadianBurger]

After dinner it was time for the production show “The Secret Silk”, the third Stephen Schwartz-produced show for Princess. I absolutely loved his first show, Magic To Do. I’ve seen it on three cruises (both the original and edited versions) with two different casts. I was hoping for The Secret Silk to be one of the highlights of the voyage. I wanted to like this show. I really did. Reading the program, the anticipation built. Alas, I left the theatre utterly disappointed and bewildered.

First, the positives: it was a longer show, and had a compelling storyline. The sets, show design, and costumes were fantastic. Some of the vocals were good. Some of the dancing was good. I’m running out of positives...

This was the telling of a fable, set in ancient times in a far-off land. I really enjoyed the original music, but for me, here’s where everything completely fell apart: mixing in modern pop songs completely ruined the atmosphere of the visuals and the premise of the story. Some of the vocals were terribly weak in some of the songs (Every Breath You Take) and in others the dancers were completely out of sync.

This was a love it or hate it production. Many audience members left during the show, but the majority that remained gave a standing ovation.

This is not a show I would endure a second time. I would happily watch Magic To Do a fourth. I still eagerly await a cruise with his second show, Born To Dance.

Your mileage may vary.

[CanadianBurger]

After the show, a visit to Crooners was in order to lift my spirits. Jo didn’t disappoint. Custom decorated martini glasses. 

[CanadianBurger]

The new television system has some teething pains. I only turn on the tv for the map, but several times there was only snow. Analog snow from the old days... then the system tries to reboot. The entire system appears to be IP based as Ethernet is the only connection, so I was surprised to see analog snow. 

[floridalover5623]

4 hours ago, CanadianBurger said:

The new television system has some teething pains. I only turn on the tv for the map, but several times there was only snow. Analog snow from the old days... then the system tries to reboot. The entire system appears to be IP based as Ethernet is the only connection, so I was surprised to see analog snow. 

It appears that they're replacing all the sets on Princess ships with Ethernet fed LG sets.

[nattie]

Thank you again for this thread! WE are departing tomorrow at crack of down to board Royal. Very Excited!

628 under 18th sounds about right, we had almost 800 on Regal during Spring Break :) 

[bes391]

9 hours ago, CanadianBurger said:

After dinner it was time for the production show “The Secret Silk”, the third Stephen Schwartz-produced show for Princess. I absolutely loved his first show, Magic To Do. I’ve seen it on three cruises (both the original and edited versions) with two different casts. I was hoping for The Secret Silk to be one of the highlights of the voyage. I wanted to like this show. I really did. Reading the program, the anticipation built. Alas, I left the theatre utterly disappointed and bewildered.

First, the positives: it was a longer show, and had a compelling storyline. The sets, show design, and costumes were fantastic. Some of the vocals were good. Some of the dancing was good. I’m running out of positives...

This was the telling of a fable, set in ancient times in a far-off land. I really enjoyed the original music, but for me, here’s where everything completely fell apart: mixing in modern pop songs completely ruined the atmosphere of the visuals and the premise of the story. Some of the vocals were terribly weak in some of the songs (Every Breath You Take) and in others the dancers were completely out of sync.

This was a love it or hate it production. Many audience members left during the show, but the majority that remained gave a standing ovation.

This is not a show I would endure a second time. I would happily watch Magic To Do a fourth. I still eagerly await a cruise with his second show, Born To Dance.

Your mileage may vary.

I agree 100% with your analysis.

Which ship has Magic To Do ?

[azbirdmom]

16 hours ago, CanadianBurger said:

The new television system has some teething pains. I only turn on the tv for the map, but several times there was only snow. Analog snow from the old days... then the system tries to reboot. The entire system appears to be IP based as Ethernet is the only connection, so I was surprised to see analog snow. 

 

When we had snow on the TV on the Royal last week, our room steward figured out that disconnecting for 10 seconds and connecting it again restored the picture.  He did it a couple times and I was kind of hoping it was just a temporary thing but it seems like the issues have continued.

 

By the way, I'm wondering if there was a change in cast because the voices in the show last week were very strong, in fact, the best singers that we've ever witnessed in a production show on Princess.  No one left that I could see and there was a resounding standing ovation at the end of the ship.  So I'm thinking that there must be a new crew aboard - or an off night.

[geoherb]

I felt the same way about The Secret Silk. 

[diddlydi]

On ‎12‎/‎14‎/‎2018 at 1:57 PM, CanadianBurger said:

Hello again everyone, and welcome to another one of my LIVE... photo blogs.

 

This time it's the Royal Princess to Princess Cays, St. Thomas and Sint Maarten. Since we've been to all of these ports several times, this will be a cruise of relaxation, and enjoying port days on the ship when most of the passengers are ashore. So basically, a 7-day cruise to nowhere! Let me know if there's any pics of the Royal you'd like to see, or anything else. I'll find out as much as I can about any changes after wetdock the week before last. (looking forward to the new beds!)

 

Starting our journey in the Maple Leaf Lounge at Pearson Airport, with some Cream of Potato & Leek soup and naan bread with hummus. The fog has rolled in here, and our flight is already delayed. We're flying into Palm Beach instead of Ft. Lauderdale in order to avoid Air Canada Rouge. The Palm Beach flight is still operated by mainline.

 

Stay Tuned!

Steve.

 

Can you tell me what is wrong with Air Canada Rouge?

Dianne

 

[CanadianBurger]

On 12/19/2018 at 12:00 AM, TRSuzie said:

 

You are  so lucky to meet Jo.....she is an awesome bartender and a great friend!!  Unfortunately, she is going on Holiday the day we board the Royal....February 2, 2019.   Please, please give her a hug and hello from Don and Suzie!!  

Jo says Hello!

 

[CanadianBurger]

On 12/18/2018 at 8:51 PM, FireFighter115 said:

We will be on the Royal in January.  Any chance you could find out if the Maitre d' will still be Frederico Arcos?

 

Thanks,

 

FF 115

Yes in January. He goes on Holiday Feb 2. 

[CanadianBurger]

On 12/19/2018 at 12:39 PM, Optotronics said:

With that odds change it really shifts the advantage to the house. I haven't played onboard, but now won't consider.

Did the small print on their special rules say they can deal from the bottom of the deck too;)

Interestingly, the $25 min tables still have a 3:2 blackjack payout. 

[CanadianBurger]

On 12/19/2018 at 5:18 PM, candy4040 said:

Does Princess do any tours of the bridge or inner workings of the ship?  I'd like to arrange for one for my husband when we sail from FLL to South America in February.

 

 

Here’s the latest info: (it’s $150 now)

[CanadianBurger]

15 minutes ago, diddlydi said:

Can you tell me what is wrong with Air Canada Rouge?

Dianne

 

That would take a while... but basically zero legroom if you’re not in the extra legroom seats. Your knees will be jammed against the seat in front. And they charge business-class mileage for a premium economy product. 

[TRSuzie]

17 minutes ago, CanadianBurger said:

Jo says Hello!

 

Thank you so very much for passing our messages!  I owe you a drink in Crooners!!  Hopefully, Jo will be our bartender!!  Or, better still.....our guest somewhere!!  

 

Edited December 22, 2018 by TRSuzie

[CanadianBurger]

Went to the Culinary Show today with the Maitre d’ and the executive chef. Quite humorous, as usual. Learned that the “Cruise” program is an alternate acronym for “Can’t Really Understand Italians Speaking English”. The audience howled at that one. This was followed by the quick galley tour. They had 100 plates of different ways to prepare potatoes. 

[CanadianBurger]

It was the Pub Lunch today, always one of my favorites. Had the Bangers & Mash and the Fish & Chips. Dessert was bread & butter pudding, which I didn’t really care for. 

[CanadianBurger]

We really had fantastic weather for the whole cruise until this afternoon. The Captain warned us it was going to get rocky around dinner time, and it sure did! Hard to navigate a straight path down the hallway. Some pics around the ship today. There are now seven satellite domes, three of which are shiny and brand new. 

[CanadianBurger]

Had Elite Tea in our stateroom today, something we try to do every cruise. It’s a nice touch. 

[CanadianBurger]

Today was prize pickup day for trivia and games on board. We had enough wins for one of each. The number below each item is the number of signatures needed on the game cards.