LIVE on the Crown 7/22

[LunaMoon]

Good Afternoon Everyone,

 

Yesterday was another great day here on the Crown. Othellocruiser and the Suncats, Marlinmike and his Mrs, and Fabflounder, and Julie&David all went ashore and your very own Lunamoon remained onboard free as a bird to roam the quasi empty ship.

 

Since it has become apparent that I and the rest of our semi-geriatric group have become insidiously affllicted with the mob-mentality plaque, that often strikes with little or no warning, I ran to the Lotus Spat STAT for an emergency detox treatment! HA! WOW, if you're ever overcome with joyous laughter and pleasant repartee produced by nothing more than happiness, great ambiance, and wonderful company, and, I might add a glass of ice water with a twist of lemon, then off you must go to get your Ionithermie treatment ASAP! :-)

 

Ok then, let me tell you that this spa treatment is very different from anything else I've tried onboard. I will quote randomly from the pamphlet for you: "Your therapist will measure you in approximately five differnent areas.....every trouble area is marked with crayon....products rich in algae, kelp and ivy are applied to the skin....a warm natural clay infused with algae is applied to the area being treated as electrodes (YIEKS!) are placed in specific areas......galvanic and faradic stimuli are activated! (ARRRR)....the clay and electrodes are removed....cooling body lotion is applied to the area....your therapist will re-measure your body..."

 

WOW! It was like I had become a living sushi roll being shocked by cattle prods! AND, TA DA! It seems that I LOST 7.7 inches in my problem area (my thighs of course!) BUT was I cured of the mob mentality epidemic that was obviously running rampant throughout the ship, particularly among greying professors and demure professionals?!? NO! :-)

 

So, I quickly found Jerome, the messuse, for a session of the most amazing and relaxing and wonderful reflexoloy and hot stone message that you can ever imagine in this whole wonderful world!

 

I would highly recommend both Anthony AND Jerome for your treatments in the Lotus Spa!

 

Since I now had 7.7 inches of body space to fill, I found my way to the Da Vinci dining room for High Tea. Ahhhhhhhhhh what bliss! There I was seated at a table with a husband and wife both in their 90"s and both amazingly vibrant and energetic, and lovely to talk with. This is their 25th cruise and they were having a great time. We ate delicious scones with clotted butter and strawberry and raspberry perserves, and fancy little sandwiches with our hot tea. This wonderful couple regaled me with reminisence of their youth and were so animated and having such a good time laughing out loud that OH NO I became convinced that the mob mentality illness had spead to them! What would the poor harpsicordist, violinist, and obo player (who were providing the live music for tea) DO?!? QUICK call the medics! This plague seems to be hitting only those over 50! AND maybe tea is the catalyst!?! STOP THE MADDNESS!

 

I would highly recommend afternoon High Tea when you cruise on the Crown. It was elegant, and delicious, and lots of fun!

 

Afterwards, convinced that I had finally rid myself of the lemming affect apparent in the mob mentality of our sweet and fun loving group, I headed to the spa/lotus/wave/buddha (take your choice of names :-) pool. There the homeboys started to trickle back from the day in Bermuda with happy tales of excursions and things they had done. BUT where was Othellocruiser? The CEO, Mr. El Presidente, my DH and love of my life, was no where to be seen. Where was he?

 

YIEKS, he was being held ashore by security because he had lost his Princess identification card at the beach in Bermuda!!! OH NO! I, of course, knew nothing of this at the time because I suppose he wanted to spare me worry AND more significantly spare himself hell to pay for worrying me :-) ayayayayayayayaya mamma! Some of the Homeboys actually saw security holding him for further identification, and in the throes of their mob mentality maddness they kept pointing to the HOMEBOY TOUR baseball caps (we had made for fun before the trip) and that they were all wearing now. Seems like secuity didn't give a flying hoot if Othellocruiser was wearing the same goofy hat as all of the rest of them who were boarding without a problem! HA!

 

Happy to report that after someone from Princess verified that my old darling goat was indeed a bona fide passenger, although unfortunately infected with a mob mentality disease, they let him back onboard and right into my arms and into my relentless teasing! :-)

 

OH THE HORROR!

 

(to be continued............. :-)

[Nliedel]

Lunamoon,

 

Shame on ya for trying to sneak a new husband aboard LOL!! Glad he got on okay.

 

I LOVED afternoon tea and cannot say enought good about it. Glad you liked it too.

 

So you LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the spa? Great. I could not stand being rolled like sushi, but a nice massage? Ahh, bliss.

 

Let me think... Oh yes, if you have the same menu as we did last week avoid the fish tonight. If it's the lamb, go for it. Heaven.

[SeaMatesNYC]

So happy to see that you have continued to enjoy your cruise, despite the reports that it had been ruined by us busy bodies here on this board! You are truly a delight and I would happily join your mob any day (although I am not sure you would have me given my opinions on this thread). Seriously, you have taken all of our blather and deflected it with the utmost of humor and grace and you deserve kudos for that. Keep on having fun!

[LunaMoon]

Now my CC'er friends,

 

Here are some answers to some of your queries:

 

Seaglass, request either Jerome or Anthony for a treatment at the spa and I think your hurting back will be happily eased. NO there has not been any listing or leaning or tilting whatsover on this voyage, even at the beginning when the weather was very bad and the seas were extremely rough.

 

Sandy, the Zinfandel aboard is $5 a glass, and $22 a bottle (for the Woodbridge not the Berringer, which is $25 a bottle)

 

HMS, we dress up formal night in tuxes and fancy dresses because we think it's fun. However not everyone dresses up in black tie. There were many men in suits and women in nice dresses; others didn't bother at all and ate in the Caribe or Horizon those evenings. I must add that most of the Homeboys changed so fast after dinner you would have thought they were on fire, but your luna stayed in heels and long dress until the bitter end! LOL

 

Skitter, YES the wooden horse races are alive and well on the Crown.

 

Makeupface, YES, the balconies on the Emerald deck are completely covered (mini suites too). AND YES you can hear some sounds from Club Fusion in the Aft Emerald's...Marlinmike and lovely wife are currently in E730 and have said that the sounds they hear at night are only the base from the music and it has not distrubed them.

 

I also wanted to tell you that when I walked through the Horizon Court and the Caribe Cafe on the Lido deck last night, hunting for a fix of yummy pizza with my DH, we both noticed that all of the wet and damp and musty carpets up there HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY replaced! YIPPIE for the crew here on the Crown who have clearly worked relentlessly to put humpty-dumpty back together again! :-)

 

I lost at craps last night! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh...I'll never hear the end of it!

 

AND I guess this will probably be my last message to you all from aboard the beautiful Crown.

 

It has been a blast, and I really enjoyed trying to let you all know what's been going on here, particularly after the shock and upset of last weeks listing incident.

 

I can reassure all of you, with complete confidence, that if you cruise on the Crown you will have a wonderful time. I cannot imagine how anyone could not.

 

Ciao tutti and the next time we speak I will be ensconced in my study back in Princeton.

 

XO

[LunaMoon]

oh, I forgot:

 

JULES, Express Walk-Off or Self Disembarkation is from 7:30AM to 8:00Am on the morning you arrive back at the Redhook Pier in Brooklyn.

 

Everyone was given the opportunity to fill out a request form for this service. However, if a passenger choses to disembark using this Express, they must carry off all of their luggage themselves.

 

 

OK, now for real!

 

Saying Goodbye Live from the Crown's 7/22 sailing

 

THE HOMEBOYS

 

LunaMoon, OthelloCruiser, MarlinMike and his Mrs., Suncat and her Mr., Julia&David, and Fabflounder (and our honorary new member, GKNY! :-)

[Hve2cruise]

LunaMoon...............Thank you so much for taking time to report back to us each day. What a joy to read! Have a safe trip home.

 

Helane

[madelinerose]

Lunamoon, the pleasure has been mine. Thanks for the info on Marlinmike's cabin....made my day. Have a safe trip back to Princeton.

 

 

Karen

Baltimore

[MaryPoppinz]

What a fun review.

 

Safe travels home!

[badissa]

Lunamoon,

 

Your thread has been amazing to read and I can honestly say I have enjoyed it immensly. Your tails of eating adventures have made me so jealous and craving the seafood extravvaganza! I can't wait to sail on the Crown! Have a safe journey home to the New England heatwave and thanks again for a great thread!!

 

Badissa-kitty

[makeup face]

Thanks LunaMoon.......just the information I needed to read. I'm booked in E724. I love to sit out on my balcony as long as it's covered. I ALWAYS travel with earplugs....just in case they are needed...mainly for the plane:eek:

Thank you again for taking time from your vacation to keep us who are waiting to cruise on the Crown updated. I for one truly appreciate it;)

 

Welcome home:D

[trishnbaby]

3. James Lay, the cruise director...

 

Oh God no, say it isn't so.... :( Someone PLEASE tell me there will be a different CD on this ship in December. I just cannot STAND him.

 

Trish

[RM]

Thanks so much for all your reviews! We really have enjoyed reading every word. Can't wait to hear all the details when you return. Have a safe journey home!

[Skitter]

Thanks Luna Moon for taking the time to answer my question about the horse races while on your cruise. I sure hope they bring them back fleet wide. We always had so much fun decorating our horses, and a couple of times we won the derby race. Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

Skitter

[hammybee]

for making the time and incuring the expense to share your cruise with all of us. I thoroughly enjoyed your delicious cruise.

[Jules1]

Lunamoon,

I've enjoyed your review! Thanks for the info on express debarkation! That helps a lot - we'll try to make the 10:45 am flight out of LGA (we're booked on a 3:40 pm flight but don't want to hang around that long if we don't have to).

[Nliedel]

Oh God no, say it isn't so.... :( Someone PLEASE tell me there will be a different CD on this ship in December. I just cannot STAND him.

 

Trish

 

Okay my son bit my finger so hard today I had to take something for pain (he cut it badly with those teeth. I was paying attention to the baby when he did it. I thought the little monster was kissing me) so if this makes limited sense please forgive me.

 

Why does James Ley engender so many powerful emotions? People either adore him or hate his guts and I don't get it. I have to say, that he was great after the Crown thing, but everyone seems to have a very strong opinion one way or the other about him. I found him to be pleasent, but not great or terrible.

 

I am not knocking anyone here. I sincerely want to know.

[momthecruisedirector]

I don't understand the strong thoughts on James Lay either. I didn't think much about him at all - thought he hosted events fine, wasn't too in your face - I am not sure how you can be offended by him.

[kingtns]

I didn't think much about him either, he just did his job, no more no less, but then again last year I had Becky from the Voyager, now she was a trip!!! Funny, funny, funny & made every show hysterical just on her own. Anyway, I did find out James is married to the Doctor on the Crown, just thought I'de mention that.

[Philly Fillie]

Lunamoon and all the Homeboys thank you for sharing your cruise with us. I loved reading every word and it just makes me that much more excited to be coming aboard on the 7th. Have a safe trip home.

[Merion_Mom]

Lunamoon, I just want to add my praise to everyone else's for wonderful and engaging posts.

 

Please let us know that you all got home safe and sound, and enjoyed that easy trip back from Brooklyn to Princeton!

[TorontoTL]

Wonderful Live From Post!! One of the most entertaining and informative I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Thanks sooo much for taking the time on your cruise to post it. It has made waiting for my cruise easier because I could enjoy yours.

[sbcs5390]

Sitting on the balcony once again, getting ready to finish the final packing. Everything was great onboard the Crown.

 

More details when we arrive home.

 

Brian

[Guest THE EDS]

Thank you for a wonderful review. Now I really can't wait, ONLY 36 MORE DAYS TO GO, but then whose counting. Thank you again, your review has just upped my hype.

 

The Eds

[LunaMoon]

Honey, I'm Home!!!

Whew....we made it back to terra firma A-ok!

 

Disembarkation at the Redhook Pier was just as much a breeze as was the embarkation last Saturday.

 

There was even a parking attendant standing at the exit of the terminal asking if anyone who parked in the lot for the duration of the trip wanted to pay right there and then, and not have to stuggle with those dastardly toll booth machines.

 

Ahhhhhhh...the rest of the homeboys are sitting waiting for their flights in Newark airport, some to Seattle and some to Nova Scotia. We miss them terribly already.

 

OthelloCruiser is one happy CEO right now, because truth be told, he missed our black lab so very much. The pup leaped into his arms when he saw my DH, and wagged himself into a frenzy. They are both taking a nap side by side at this moment.

 

And that is exactly what your very own luna is going to do! You know, having so much fun is really exhausting! :)

[mississauga]

Thank you for your "Live from the Crown " every day. Not only was it entertaining and informative but now we can put to rest all those naysayers who said the Crown should not have sailed this past week. You gave proof that you and your fellow passengers enjoyed a great cruise at half the price and got back to NY without incident. Now everyone booked on the Crown can stop worrying and enjoy the anticipation of their cruise. All thanks to you, Lunamoon!