ceilidh1

The last night onboard always feels sad. Everyone is trying to make the most of the time left but you can sense the mood has changed. DS commented “I can’t believe we have to wait three whole months until our next cruise”… I reminded him that most folks only do this once a year - he looked horrified

Victoria We ended up arriving around an hour earlier but we opted not to get off. We were later joined in port by Eurodam and Bliss

Ship pictures

You will find it a little different from the pre Covid /pre app times. The crew are really run ragged and, while I’m not sure if they are short staffed or just struggling to keep up with everyone ordering on the app in addition to regular ordering, it is apparent that this system is much harder for them. The bar and wait staff have been fantastic but there is often a wait in drinks as the bars are swamped with customers (who all have drink packages) and orders from the app. It’s not the fault of the staff. I hope you get a cruise director in Vancouver- I really missed having that “face” of the ship. Assistant cruise director Guido from Italy is fabulous - the others are good, too, but he is the stand out for me! Have an amazing time. Also, FYI only 3 confirmed positive cases on this sailing (that’s not to say there aren’t more that just haven’t told medical they are sick…)

Few things I forgot to mention over the course of the week: Laundry: I sent out two batches of laundry and both were returned within 36 hours. As usual, the laundry charge appeared on room bill and then was credited back overnight for the elite perk Wifi: pleasantly surprised at how well wifi has functioned all week. All four devices connected the whole time. Only in Endicott Arm was the signal spotty, but that’s to be expected. The app itself seemed to glitch and malfunction at times, but even when that wasn’t working wifi was d fine. Photos: you may recall I upgraded to premiere package as I wanted to get the unlimited photo package. There were ample opportunities for casual and formal portraits and they did have embarkation shots. However, no pictures getting off in port and I never saw anyone taking pictures in the dining rooms. We ended up with 72 digital pictures (could have got more but we were all smiled out) and you choose 3 to have printed. Initially, pictures of the kids that didn’t have me were not available for me to download but there is a station at the photo gallery where you pull up a QR code and scan it and download the picture that way. The staff were very helpful there Crew Chat: hands down one of the best features of the app. I never stood in line at guest services once - everything needed was taken care of through crew chat. I had lots of drink charges that needed to be removed and I would just send a message each day and it would be taken care of pretty much right away

Voice of the Ocean time

Update on cruise director situation- Natalie is meant to still be CD but she fell and injured her knee so is currently on medical leave. There was no CD this sailing or the prior one and no one seems to know if/when the next CD will join

Someone asked for pictures of gym machines

Princess prizes was a bit “meh”. There were 4 prizes of $25, one $50 and one $100 along with the grand prize of $5000. They made it sound like everyone was entered and no mention of having to “buy” into it. You did not need to be present to win.

Caught up with my friends again at Princess Live and, once again, we closed the ship down! Lol. 3:40 and just heading to bed

Princess Prizes

Today was an odd day. Last full sea day but kind of “meh” in terms of activities. We did bingo followed by Deal or No Deal (won two $5 scratch cards). Packed some of our clothing 😪 Sampled all the hot tubs - upper pool deck has HOT tubs but no bubbles. Lower pool deck has tepid tubs with bubbles. I went to captain circle party (normally don’t do this) which lasted all of 15 minutes. Free drinks but kind of irrelevant if you have the drink package. Afterwards attended trivia and marriage match game show before calling it a night..

Tomorrow’s patter

Top three most travelled 629 days / 647 days / 648 days

1252 crew

Captain Circle part numbers 1025 first time 525 gold 228 ruby 378 platinum 206 elite

Deepest portion is 6”11 and shallow end is 4”11. Sun is shining today and there were 3 in the hot tub, 3 in the pool, and 2 on loungers. It was a little windy but the pool users said the water wasn’t cold. I suspect this is another area that many haven’t discovered

The bar that was called Take 5. It’s now a combo of sports bar with big screen tvs and casino. I’m curious about these Princess Prizes. I’m addition to the $25 OBC that was posted to my account, I have been getting multiple entries into the draw. It gives the message that the games team will provide more info but we only have one more day left and so far nothing…anyone have any info on it?

That came about way too quickly

Since we didn’t eat breakfast this morning we went for an early lunch. Had no idea it was the British pub lunch as it wasn’t advertised. We got the fish and chips, which was ok…not great. I also asked for vinegar and it came in a small bowl as opposed to the bottle!? Maybe a Covid thing? Needless to say, my chips ended up saturated in vinegar as I had no means to sprinkle it over them. Lol

I don’t think I posted today’s patter. It’s kind of “meh” for a sea day

I will get some pictures later today or when I go to work out tomorrow. I’m surprised how many people are using the gym early in the morning. It’s well equipped and comparable to my gym at home

The two times I have gone to the retreat when sailing it has been closed due to weather. This is Alaska so probably not the norm. In Juneau it was open but empty as most people were off ship.I plan on doing another walk through later so will check out the depth for you

This is my fourth cruise this year. The first three were masks recommended but not required. Ironically, around 90% of passengers on these sailings wore masks. This one is masks required and I would say 90% are not wearing them. It’s not enforced at all. We wear ours at all times, partly because I’m a rule follower. Lol. I wouldn’t say I feel any less at risk than I am at work everyday, where no one is required to wear a mask. The mask/no mask doesn’t bother me either way. What is frustrating is that if Princess is going to the effort of making this rule, why not enforce it? Or else not bother with it…