cruzin4us

yes, they serve lobster at least once. This cruise being 16 days, they served them twice plus the additional time I did the Chef’s Dinner. I loved this cruise, and I hope you have as good of food as I did. Wish I was tagging along with you! I originally signed up for the 22nd and 29th cruises and switched last minute to the Hawaiian cruise instead. I’d love to hear your opinion of the food as well. Safe travels!

We are getting to leave Ensenada and the Captain just came on telling us there are quite a few Covid cases onboard and masks are recommended indoors….duh. I’ve seen it picking up over the last few days. He did not say required, just recommended. All the crew is now wearing masks.

The have been in Isolation since about day 4. It’s much more of a bummer for them. They are an elderly couple and both have mobility scooters. It’s only an inconvenience for me as I have to remember when I leave my room not to trip over the table (which looks like a balcony foot rest) because it’s always piled high with trays filled with dirty dishes or bags filled with laundry (towels, etc). I come out my room and take a hard left and it’s there. I’ve heard some coughing but far less from them than others on the ship that are wandering around.

@HaveDogWillTravel Well, I thought for sure I’d find the Officer pics on deck 5 near the midship elevators since that’s about the only place I don’t go. If there was an IC, I’d probably have used those elevators, but I use the forward elevators or I order my coffee off the app. So to deck 5 I headed….nope, not there. Went to guest services since it wasn’t on deck 6 either…..hmmm When I asked them where the Officer Board was they all looked at me like “I’ve been asked for everything under the sun from passengers but no one has ever asked that question before.” The 3rd person said, it was on deck 7 starboard side near the Wheelhouse. So, I braved another flight of stairs, 2 camera crews taking pictures and I found it! Have no idea how up to date it is 😁 Usually I always stop and look at the board and wonder why they always take pictures of the with their heads on a slant like they did with 1940’s glamour women 😁 Since we are on the subject of Officers, I found this Captain pretty boring when it comes to his daily announcements. He’s got a thick accent and very difficult to understand. He announces the basic stuff such as how deep the ocean is, how far we’ve traveled in miles and nautical miles, how far we have to go and the current weather conditions. Not that I expect a comedian or anything. I know the Captain on the Ruby might add a small tidbit of nautical information like what a fathom is or what the difference is between a nautical mile and a standard mile. oh, all the Guest Services people are wearing masks which I haven’t seen all cruise.

Decided to get a head start on packing. It’s supposed to be a high of 57 tomorrow in Ensenada so no need for any of my Hawaii clothes. It’s pants and a long sleeve shirt from here on out. Too cold to sit outside I forgot to mention last night at the Chef’s dinner. The Chef explained every day/night before dinner all the dishes are lined up for him to taste prior to dinner time. He said the plates must be hot as well as the food and they must be presented well on the plate. “If not, we have a problem”. Not sure if all Chef’s fleet wide do this of if it’s unique to this this Chef. Maybe that explains why the food is seasoned well/correctly, plated nicely and served on hot plates. Dunno but he made me happy this cruise 😁 couldn’t order a dirty banana from the casino bar because they ran out of bananas. Not sure if other bars are out too. They were also running short on the small bottled waters so the gave me a huge one at no additional cost. Talking out loud to myself and anyone that wants to chime in on the dreaded tipping subject. I’ve been fortunate to have as close to traditional dining as you can get on Princess. I have the same waiter and same assistant waiter (he’s new….like brand 14 days new). Back in the days of old when the waiters relied on what their passengers tipped at the end of the cruise (different from the auto gratuities) they had an uncanny memory of the little things. For instance, I order an ice tea without exception and one yellow packet of Splenda. To this date, I have yet to come to my table and they take the initiative to automatically deliver it to my table. I know this is a petty thing, but every day I ask for the iced tea and then wait for the Splenda. I’m still planning on giving them a tip but they would have received a larger one had they just taken that little extra step and just done it automatically. Do any on you understand what I’m talking about? For example, every morning without exception I head to Good Sprits and order 4 shots of espresso in a flat white. By day 3, they knew what I wanted as soon as I walked up. Now, I realize that there are 2447 passengers on board and they can’t remember everything, but that’s pretty basic. Another example is my room steward knows I would like an extra bath towel. Again, without exception, it is done daily. I think if I was at a different table every night, this wouldn’t be an issue for me because I probably wouldn’t be tipping unless some extraordinary thing took place. There are a few waiters that know I like a Dirty Banana and they will come up and ask if I’d like one today. That’s the kind of service that I think warrants tipping and what I’m referring to. If my DH was here we would discuss this and come to some mutual agreement as what to tip. But, since he’s not I’m just talking out loud trying to figure out if it even matters or I’m being petty on such a small thing. oh, for the record: I have not removed the auto gratuities. It’s just a matter if I should tip more because they have been my servers for 15+ days. Anyway, that’s my dilemma for today and I’ll probably stew on it all night. Update: I started typing this before I got to dinner and was going to finish this up after I ate. Well, my dilemma has now been solved. Waiting on my table was my iced tea with my Splenda. 😁. Mist if you probably know this, but if you don’t: Don’t be shy about ordering smaller portions of items such as soups and pastas. It gives you a chance to try a few more items without the guilt of wasting food. The guilt from eating them another another story. Gala Night Menu Escargot - on the past few cruises the escargot has been ok, but it seems like something had changed post Covid. I haven’t been able to put my finger on the problem. Snails smaller perhaps? Sometimes the come in bits and pieces. Tonight these knocked all the others out of the park. They were large and the garlic butter was the best to date. Bread dipping in the butter was soooo good. The escargot was tender and not overcooked. I could have easily eaten another round as my main course. Roasted Tomato Bisque - ordered just a cup for research purposes. Basically a roasted tomato soup with a basil pesto drizzled on top. It came out so hot, I wanted to ask for an ice cube like a child. ….lol. Glad I ordered just a cup. Dang bread is filling me up. I swear if one person tells me their food is cold, they need to order this soup! They should serve this for lunch with grilled cheese sandwiches. I really enjoyed the flavor of this soup. One of my favs. Lemon-Scented Ravioli, Truffle Oil - Ordered an appetizer size portion (again for research). On the Discovery it was good, so I ordered it on the Ruby it was horrid. So, I was looking forward to trying it here. The dish arrived on my table and I could smell both the lemon and the truffle. Good dish if you are going the vegetarian route. Probably my least favorite item I ordered tonight but it was still good. Lots of diced tomatoes and asparagus. Much more veggies that my previous orders. Beef Wellington, Truffle-Madeira Demi-Glacé - BW can be good or excellent and many shades in between. Sometimes the pastry is mushy or there is more mushrooms between the meat and pastry than there is meat (Ruby). This BW was cooked rare which is what I asked for. I tried cutting it and I thought OMG this is the toughest piece of meat ever, until I realized my knife was upside down. Duh. It was really good and my meat had to be almost 2” thick Lobster Tail - Ordered just an extra lobster tail, did not want a full dinner with rice, etc. It was good for the MDR, but not near as good as what I was spoiled with last night at the Chef’s dinner. Crepes Suzette - Probably the worst thing I’ve eaten in the main dining room. It tasted like dry flour tortillas? Aren’t crepes supposed to be soft and pliable? These were like cold flour tortillas ( you know like when you fold a refrigerated tortilla and they break). Wasn’t a fan. While I’ve been enjoying the meals, I’ve found the desserts seriously lacking in the variety department. It’s mostly ice creams, flambés, and a few cheesecakes mixed in one in a while and Princess special dessert which is lackluster to me since they have changed many of them. It’s a just a fancy name for a “try to be fancy” dessert. Why not some pies like coconut cream, key lime or even berry? Sufficiently stuff, I waddled out of the dining room to go search for the elusive Officer Board for @HaveDogWillTravel Normally, I stumble upon this numerous times during a cruise. This time it’s eluded me as I wander around the ship.

Cruise is coming quickly to an end. Tomorrow we will be in Ensenada and the home to San Diego. Seems like there is a lot more coughing, runny nose’s and mask wearing. Hearing mumbling about Covid cases on board. I know of the room next to me but I haven’t wandered the halls looking for tables in front of doors. Such is cruise life. Headed to lunch, no other reason than it’s there……I sure don’t need to eat. Lunch Spicy Andouille Sausage and Southern Style Potato Salad - I ordered this mostly out of curiosity. It was good, basically it was cold Andouille Sausage slices with a tasty potato salad Grilled Chicken Paillard - Glad I ordered this as it was fairly light. Ate the chicken and a few fries. All came out good. Fries were hot. Apple Peach cobbler - The funny thing with lunch is they ask you what you want for dessert when they take your order. Not like dinner when they bring you a new menu. I ordered but forgot I did because I sure didn’t need it. I ate it anyway. picture of the butter too. I’m sitting by myself thus the small portion

At the podium right inside the dining room. showtimes are 7:30 and 9:30

which dining room were you in? I was In International which wasn’t my first choice. I think the key is to go to the Maitre D as soon as you board. I asked for a private table, didn’t care where it was per se (like close to a window) I just asked for a table that wasn’t in a busy area (by the front door). Told him I didn’t even care particularly what time. I just wanted the same table every night so I didn’t have to mess with standing in line. I think if your demands are great (like wanting a window view, at a certain time in a certain location or certain restaurant it cuts your chances to get what you want). Flexibility is the key. Prime time hours of 6-7 make it even harder. I dined at 5:20 which was after the first rush but before the large 6-7 o’clock crowd

they have large pats of butter on the tables now in a silver colored bowl. There is always plenty of butter and it’s in pretty thick pats. 😁

Tonight was the Chef’s Table and of all of them I’ve done in the past (maybe 10+) this was favorite by a long shot. The Chef knows what he is doing and you can tell he had a passion. He doesn’t just they something together. There was a lot of thought, time and effort going into preparing our dinner. Everything was seasoned just perfectly. Im not going to give comments on every item because everything was a 10+ included with dinner is a group picture, individual picture with the Chef and the Head of Food and Beverage. Also included was a Culinary Cookbook and a Red Rose for the women. I waddled out of dinner and headed directly to bed because I felt a food coma coming on. Well worth the $

they did have the Captain’s Circle party yesterday, but I did not attend. I don’t know why I never go, but for some reason it’s never been my thing. soooo, unfortunately I can’t answer your question. one of these cruises I’m going to go 😁

Not going to lunch today but here’s the menu.

you and me both….I grew up on homegrown avocados and I’m also a guacamole snob 😁

Decided I definitely needed to cut back on my food consumption - only took me 11 days into the cruise to take a good hard look on the mirror and reality sank in pretty quickly. I had egg sandwich this morning and skipped lunch. Tonight is Italian night which typically isn’t my favorite but hunger sank in about 4:00 and I was ready to eat my right arm. The hazmat group was cleaning the room next to me this morning. I’m not sure why I always walk out of my room when their door is open and they are stacking their dirty dishes, but I do. Now I just take a big gulp of air, hold my breath, open my door and make a B-line for the elevator. Not sure it’s going to help but it makes me feel better. There are always dirty dishes piled up outside and I’m not sure who hails them away, but it’s ugly nonetheless and I almost trip on it every time I leave my room. It’s just kind of odd to me. Moving on…. Weather is colder as we make our way home. Seas are rocking but nothing too bad, it’s a far cry better than our way to Hawaii I’ve had really good success ordering on the app. Drinks have been delivered promptly. Internet also continues to work well. Princess seems to be getting their act together. At least on this cruise. At the Meet & Greet I signed up to do the Chef’s Table. I received a call confirming my attendance and a card confirming the dinner which is tomorrow. They must have just taken a copy of the invitation from the Island Princess because it mentions the Island Princess in the letter. It instructed me to wear closed toe shoes Guess that means I’m wearing my tennis shoes because that’s all I have. TACKY. I’ll be embarrassed if we don’t do a Galley Tour and we head right to the table. Normally, I do this post while I’m at dinner since it’s just me. Tomorrow my post will be delayed until after we are done. Dinner - Italian Night Prosciutto and Melon - very good but I wish there was a tad bit more melon to balance out the amount of prosciutto on the plate. Plated really nice Eggplant Parmesan - another appetizer the server recommended so I tried it. It arrived and was beautifully plated. The eggplant was a bit thicker than I care for, but it was tasty and the eggplant was tender. Could have been a tad bit hotter. It was a good choice and a healthy one to boot 😁. Cleaned my plate. Veal Scaloppine, Marsala Wine Sauce - I was hesitant to order this because of out tough mine was in Sabatini’s. Well, this is a far cry better than what I had in Sabatini’s. It’s hot and very tender, just the way it should be. Yay! Could have licked the plate clean. Lemon Meringue Cheesecake - (Forgot to take a picture of the dessert menu). It was good, not quite lemony for me. But it’s one of my favorite cheesecakes that Princess makes. I keep waiting for the disappointment in the dining room and every night I leave thinking how good the food has been in the dining room. Tonight was no exception. Excellent all around. Pic: Promenade Deck at night

You know, I wasn’t expecting much on this cruise as far as good meals, service or anything else for that matter. I really thought since the Diamond has been out of service since Covid (recently started up in November 2022) she wouldn’t be up and running smoothly. I didn’t expect a well oiled machine as far as everything being up to what I consider the normal Princess standards. I expected mediocre food, poor service, long wait times for items ordered on the app, and irritable people. I am really happy to report everything has been top notch, especially the food in the dining room. It’s arrived hot and seasoned properly and exceeded my expectations by miles. The scale will show it when I get home. The Buffet isn’t figured into my opinion. The crew has been awesome. For a full ship (almost) and many new crew, they have been superb. I hope more of the Princess ships can get to this standard (especially the food). Sure, there have been wait times especially on the first couple of nights at the MDR. Learn to avoid these times and pretend it’s a freeway and try to avoid rush hour. That’s my after dinner cocktail thoughts

Woozer that created a bit of a stir I’ll bet. Did they escort her off at the next port?

Free laundry service (elite benefit). The turn around time has been 24 hours. I usually send out a few items everyday. Haven’t had any issues with shrinkage, etc. As you can imagine, I’m still stuffed from lunch so my dinner is going to be on the lighter side tonight. At least I tried to make some lighter choices. Rolls are offered at every meal and Princess makes a good dinner roll. Be careful, they are really addictive. It was a nice day and the seas were much smoother today. Dinner: Chinese Pork Dumplings - These are what I call “Potstickers”. They were good, could have been a tad bit warmer but they were good. They were soft, not crispy if that matters to you (more like a won ton). Crunchy Asian Chopped Salad - yes, I know you don’t think I eat salads. You probably think, man that girl needs to eat some veggies! Truthfully, I usually eat very little meat so I’ve beeline a kid in candy shop. This salad had an Asian flavor. Not sure what the crunchy part is in the title. I was kind of expecting won tons? I guess it the microscopic pieces of peanuts we’re supposed to be crunchy 😁. There was edamame and ginger. The ginger added a nice flavor. It was nice and refreshing. Breaded Lemon Sole Colbert, Tarragon Sauce - Wow, this came out piping hot. I looked at the full plate and thought “I was ordering light”. Oh my Lordy, that’s a lot of food”. Probably should have looked at the first word and then I would have realized it was breaded, duh. It was ok but there was no way I was going to down all that food. Argh. Dole is such a delicate fish, and it tasted like the oil it was fried in. It wasn’t my favorite. I picked my way through the meal, eating all the vegetables. No dessert for me.

Re: the 6 people in a cabin. They have 2 adjoining cabins. I thought I was 2nd from the end (forward) but actually there are 2 beyond me. Those 2 rooms are connecting and the kids must be staying in the cabin closest to me from what I’m gathering/hearing and the adults are staying in the cabin next to them. They have connecting rooms so in theory there are only 3 people in each room (according to the names on the screen outside their doors. That’s why I see them all leave the same room. Ok, mystery solved.

Well, I helped Brian and Rowena with their clothing sale and that was a lot of fun. Then we toted all the stuff back to my room since they are using it to store some of their stuff. Rowena demonstrated different ways to tie a sarong which was helpful. If you ever have a chance to do a cruise with them, you will find them to be the most approachable people and genuinely nice and fun. They truly like being ambassadors and it shows in everything they do. It’s a lazy day around the ship even though there are a zillion things listed on the patter to keep you occupied. I think I’m going to go grab a free Sudoku sheet from down in the library and see if I have any brain cells in this head of mine.

Ah, maybe this is how they do it. They are in the mini suite as far forward as they can get. I haven’t checked the deck plan but what you say makes sense

It would be a mini suite. There is a good chance they also got the inside cabin across the hall. Don’t know the exact dynamics but I see and hear them them leave the one room together all the time.

Pub Lunch today so of course I had to go. English Green Pea Soup - Wow, that’s some mighty green soup was my first thought. My soup is always dark greenish brown. It tasted great and it was hot and satisfying. Everyone else must think so too because it seems everyone ordered it. Good choice and it hit the spot. Definitely comfort food. Penne all Arrabbiata - spicy and delicious. The chef knows how to cop with spices. Enjoyed this dish a lot. Bangers & Mash - Everything I could have hoped for and more! Arrived hot and it tasted terrific. Apple and Apricot Cobbler - it was small thank God and served warm. Delicious this was a fun lunch and everything I ordered was extremely good. No complaints whatsoever. Going to go outside and find a lounge chair and maybe fall asleep if it’s warm

The patter today

This morning I woke up and grabbed the patter to figure out what I wanted to do today. I know I’m supposed to help Brian and Rowena ant some point with their clothing sale…..There is a lot going on according to the Patter. So much, the print was so small my old eyes couldn’t read the small print. Had to use the magnifying app on my phone to read it. Ha, the joys of getting old. Jumped in the shower, no, let me rephrase that. There is no jumping in or out of the showers. They are a royal pain to get into with these elevated bathtubs. I don’t know how some people are managing it. Either they aren’t showering or they are taking one in the gym. I know many elderly people wouldn’t manage. Again, I’m 5’11” so I have an advantage. Seriously, you may want to consider this if you book a mini suite. My back is starting it itch where I got sunburned. You Know, the spot right between your shoulder blades and right about your bra line….the one you can’t reach no matter how limber or young you are. I just wanted to rub some lotion on that spot. I contorted, with lotion in hand….no can do. All I managed to do was drip lotion on the bathroom floor. Gave up on the idea and just got dressed. Maybe bringing my husband with me might have been a good idea after all 😁 more later…

Nah, wish I was wrong but medical has been there a couple of times today. It’s too cold to use my balcony right now. I’m also more forward than them so it blows the air away from my balcony.