LIVE Geoherb's Solo Cruise on Majestic Princess, August 22, 2021

[mellon1]

26 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

geoherb, the passengers that indicated they were tested for COVID due to a fellow passenger on their excursion testing positive, did they say they were confined to their cabin for 24 hours and tested again?

I would be interested in how this is working too.  Thanks.

[grandmaa]

7 hours ago, geoherb said:

 

One of my trivia teammates reported that he had to be tested at the medical center because someone on an excursion apparently has Covid. They notified everyone who was traveling in the same bus, so they are keeping track.

 

Some people reported difficulty booking their Covid tests within three days of this cruise. There are plenty of threads talking about that on these boards, so I don't want to restart that discussion here. Wearing a mask everywhere is a bit uncomfortable, but I understand it. I think it's ironic that we take them off, though, when eating and drinking with others close by. As I reported above about dinner last night, the waiters weren't removing the lobster tails from the shells. That's not really an inconvenience. It's not that hard to do. But it was one of the touches that elevated the dining experience on previous cruises. Participants at trivia are grading their own answer sheets instead of swapping them with nearby teams. So far, I don't think anyone's taken advantage of that to inflate their scores.

Thanks for your response.  We are conflicted about the cruise we have booked for December.

All the rules that are now being implemented take away the naturalness of the cruise experience.

Decisions Decisions....Again..thank you.

 

[azbirdmom]

59 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

geoherb, the passengers that indicated they were tested for COVID due to a fellow passenger on their excursion testing positive, did they say they were confined to their cabin for 24 hours and tested again?

 

The same thing happened on the August 8th cruise.  We got a call that someone on an excursion that we were on had Covid like symptoms.  They called everyone who was on that excursion and had us come to the Allegro dining room.  This happened on the last day of the cruise.  They gave everyone a rapid test and all tests were negative thankfully.  So we were free to enjoy the remaining hours of our cruise although it was a bit of a reality check.  Note: we did take additional tests after we returned home and remained negative.  It probably helped that we were all masked on the excursion as well as on the ship.

 

At the time I didn't say anything on CC because I didn't want to freak people out but now that it's becoming more common, I'm sharing our story too.  I now think of it as comforting to know that they are doing contact tracing, and are doing so quietly so as not to create panic on the ship.  Covid is everywhere but it's good to know that Princess is doing all they can to keep us safe.

[MamaFej]

1 minute ago, azbirdmom said:

 

The same thing happened on the August 8th cruise.  We got a call that someone on an excursion that we were on had Covid like symptoms.  They called everyone who was on that excursion and had us come to the Allegro dining room.  This happened on the last day of the cruise.  They gave everyone a rapid test and all tests were negative thankfully.  So we were free to enjoy the remaining hours of our cruise although it was a bit of a reality check.  Note: we did take additional tests after we returned home and remained negative.  It probably helped that we were all masked on the excursion as well as on the ship.

 

At the time I didn't say anything on CC because I didn't want to freak people out but now that it's becoming more common, I'm sharing our story too.  I now think of it as comforting to know that they are doing contact tracing, and are doing so quietly so as not to create panic on the ship.  Covid is everywhere but it's good to know that Princess is doing all they can to keep us safe.

It sounds as if the protocols are doing what they are designed to do. Thank you for sharing, and I respect your decision not to share earlier. 

[azbirdmom]

6 minutes ago, MamaFej said:

It sounds as if the protocols are doing what they are designed to do. Thank you for sharing, and I respect your decision not to share earlier. 

 

You're welcome.  By the way, we didn't run around the ship after the test.  We did lay low and skipped the shows etc. on the last night.  I forgot that I took a picture of the letter that we got after the test - it's a bit crumpled as it was in my pocket!

Edited August 27, 2021 by azbirdmom

[MsSoCalCruiser]

1 hour ago, geoherb said:

 

Yes. I don't think it had a lot of calories. It had a touch of cream but not a lot.

I have a dairy allergy so I’m thankful that you mentioned the cream. Hopefully I can order it without because I would love to try that.

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, geoherb said:

 

But if I extend the one that expires in December by two years, it will last longer than buying an extra one now that will expire two years from today or tomorrow. Not that I'm planning on holding onto it that long. I'm hoping next year to be back to taking three or four cruises.

Yup, but it was some general advice/tip.  I did this in NOV, 2019 and entered Covid-19 with ~5 FCD's with far-out dates.  (I don't recall anymore since some came back from cancellations and I cashed a couple out I think).  Have used four since and still have one left.

Edited August 28, 2021 by Steelers36

[geoherb]

2 hours ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

geoherb, the passengers that indicated they were tested for COVID due to a fellow passenger on their excursion testing positive, did they say they were confined to their cabin for 24 hours and tested again?

 

No, he did not say that. I need to ask him. But I don't think so because he did not miss a trivia.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

3 hours ago, geoherb said:

 

Yes. I don't think it had a lot of calories. It had a touch of cream but not a lot.

My cruise is not until December and here I sit reading your posts and planning my meals.  😂😂😂

[geoherb]

We had a smooth but drizzly sailaway from Ketchikan. It was a few minutes early. The captain made the announcement right as trivia was finishing up. My team notched another victory when we won the tie-breaker question. We should have won outright except for changing an answer when one of our teammates showed up late. I gave my coaster to one of the young guys who lost the tie-breaker. 

 

Here are a couple of photos from sailaway. I thought the tunnel with the googly eyes and teeth was funny. The other is a panorama shot of the town.

[geoherb]

Tonight's winemaker dinner was great.  It featured the wines of Yao Ming (Yao Family Wines in Napa). We started with an amuse-bouche of escargot in puff pastry with port wine reduction. That was served with a champagne cocktail consisting of champagne, vanilla vodka, and watermelon. The first coarse was panko crusted shrimp with wasabi emulsion and seaweed salad. That was served with a Sauvignon Blanc. Consommé Celestine followed. The same wine accompanied it. The waiters also poured still or sparkling bottled water for everyone. I chose the San Pellegrino. 

 

The main course was steak Diane served with Napa Crest red blend. It was delicious. Dessert was Mohr im Hemd, a Viennese chocolate Bundt cake. One gentleman was celebrating his birthday. He got another chocolate cake, which he shared with the rest of us. 

 

I enjoyed the show Emily Yates performed after dinner. She did songs by divas, including Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand, Lady Gaga, and Tina Turner. Tomorrow night's show will be by her, the soprano, and the magician performing a joint show.

 

I'll try to upload the photos separately. It did not work when I tried to upload them all at once.

[geoherb]

Here's the menu:

 

 

[geoherb]

Amuse-bouche and appetizer:

 

 

[geoherb]

Soup and main course:

 

 

[geoherb]

Dessert and birthday cake:

 

 

[Host CJSKIDS]

Happy Birthday!!  Your dinner looks yummy.

[AF-1]

Thanks for posting your dinner pics.  They look very nice

[geoherb]

17 hours ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

Geoherb, was your soup worth the calories? That looks like something that I would probably have on a daily basis. Again, thank you so much for taking the time to share everything with us. You are so appreciated!

 

I don't know why I was thinking of the seafood bisque and not the wonton soup when I answered you previously. Last night it came to me that you were probably talking about the latter, which doesn't have cream.

[CruzinNoony]

I can't wait to try the wonton soup and the other items at the noodle place.  Hopefully, they have dan dan noodles, another one of my favorites!  BTW, we also love sitting in the first row at the shows!  Thank you so much for doing this "live from".  Have a great last day on the ship and a safe journey home.  Meredith

[azbirdmom]

Happy birthday to you!  What a great way to celebrate.

[geoherb]

15 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

Happy birthday to you!  What a great way to celebrate.

 

Thanks, but it was not my birthday. Just another guest at the winemaker's dinner. He shared the cake with the rest of us. 

[geoherb]

The blueberry pancakes this morning were delicious. Service was a bit disjointed, though. I did not mind. The people I ate with were complaining more. I think it's time for them to go home.

[PescadoAmarillo]

41 minutes ago, geoherb said:

The blueberry pancakes this morning were delicious. Service was a bit disjointed, though. I did not mind. The people I ate with were complaining more. I think it's time for them to go home.

My greatest regret about our cruise is that I missed blueberry pancake day…twice. It’s a tragedy!

[CalLuvsCrusingToo]

10 hours ago, geoherb said:

Tonight's winemaker dinner was great.  It featured the wines of Yao Ming (Yao Family Wines in Napa). We started with an amuse-bouche of escargot in puff pastry with port wine reduction. That was served with a champagne cocktail consisting of champagne, vanilla vodka, and watermelon. The first coarse was panko crusted shrimp with wasabi emulsion and seaweed salad. That was served with a Sauvignon Blanc. Consommé Celestine followed. The same wine accompanied it. The waiters also poured still or sparkling bottled water for everyone. I chose the San Pellegrino. 

 

The main course was steak Diane served with Napa Crest red blend. It was delicious. Dessert was Mohr im Hemd, a Viennese chocolate Bundt cake. One gentleman was celebrating his birthday. He got another chocolate cake, which he shared with the rest of us. 

 

I enjoyed the show Emily Yates performed after dinner. She did songs by divas, including Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand, Lady Gaga, and Tina Turner. Tomorrow night's show will be by her, the soprano, and the magician performing a joint show.

 

I'll try to upload the photos separately. It did not work when I tried to upload them all at once.

 

Thanks for the info on Winemakers dinner.  Thats a family vineyard I hadn't heard of.

But then again, last I heard there are aprox 555 wineries around here between Napa & Sonoma counties.

 

[azbirdmom]

1 hour ago, geoherb said:

 

Thanks, but it was not my birthday. Just another guest at the winemaker's dinner. He shared the cake with the rest of us. 

 

I can't amend my post but will wish you a happy last day of your cruise.