ceilidh1

Big issues with app this evening if trying to order drinks. I tried multiple times but could only get as far as “order placed” I thought it was just me but at one point during trivia there was a mini riot n princess live when someone yelled “hands up everyone still waiting on a drink in the app”. Lol. I thought I had beat princess and the premiere package- I got a virgin pina colada at the bar (for some reason you can’t order it in the app) and then ordered a shot of Zacapa (included in premiere) to put in. I waited and waited and eventually went to the bar. Sorry. No Zacapa. Best rum is kraken. Ugh. I give up

Hands up if you remember the days when Princess buffet was 24/7… We went up at 10:45pm. All closed up. Only food options at this time are international cafe or room service

One more observation: I’m a rule follower. Always have been. Always will be. I might not like the rules or even agree with the rules, but in my mind if you are part of a society that has rules you need to follow them to keep that society running. That’s just how I was raised and how I raise my kids. It is frustrating me to no end to see sign after sign after sign saying masks required or sip and cover and seeing 95% of people blatantly ignoring it. I have. I idea if masks are making a difference right now. I have no idea what the reasoning behind the requirement on the ship is but, at the end of the day, it’s the rule. Like it or not, it should be followed. That’s all.

Another observation: the staff are outstanding but are literally being run ragged. Not only are they doing bar service and table service, they are now also having to deal with app service. It certainly doesn’t appear that there have been any additional staff to deal with this and my observation has been that these people just do not stop! Today we had both a bar waiter and a food waiter trying to locate someone that had ordered on the app. They kept asking if I was the person. Nope. This seems so unfair on them. I’m sure that many of the technology enhancements have also affected their tips. In the past, when I have had the same waitstaff throughout my cruise, I have always tipped them at the end. Now I have different people every meal, I don’t do that.

I’m finding a lot of bars don’t have “all” the ingredients for some drinks. Today I waited almost half hour for the Strawberries on Fire as they had to track down strawberries. The other day, I couldn’t get the watermelon margarita as not only did they not have the upgraded tequila but they also had no watermelon.

Observation: Every bar I have been to over the past few days, I have heard people ask for something that they don’t have. I haven’t heard “complaints “ but for sure some comments. At the Wheelhouse just now, a guy asked what kind of Rye they had. Bartender showed him the one brand and the guy was like “that’s it? No thanks” and walked away. I feel like princess may be starting to falter with drinks - whether it’s a supply thing or yet another cut back, I’m not sure…

Dark n Stormy

Is this another new thing? Take 5 bar (which I tend to forget even exists) now seems to be joined to a part of the casino? Has it always been this way?

Tomorrow’s patter

This is how you know you have a “problem” - the chocolate garnish from the cake and the tattoo on my ankle. Lol

Lemon meringue cheesecake, crème brûlée and the special occasion graduation cake! The girls just about died of embarrassment when they were sang to! My work here is done…

Bellini soup, spaghetti and meatballs, steak (subbed sides for garlic mashed potato) and stuffed chicken (subbed sides for garlic mashed potato). Steak was cooked medium rare perfectly

I forgot to take a picture of the menu - Italian Night. This is from the app

Oh my! I just tried this. You’re right. It’s dangerous. Thanks for the suggestion

More trivia winnings

We were on Royal in a balcony and I’m sure the lamps had USBs? No?

Thanks for the tip. I’ll try that one

Strawberries on Fire might not have been the best choice for DS. My lips are on fire!

Crab cakes in the buffet. I tried one. They were pretty good.

Alfredo’s for lunch. It was slammed. The waiter warned us the the pizza might take up to 30 minutes. It was actually a longer wait to get our drinks. I had been rejoicing as all drink charges had been removed when I checked this morning. Now it seems I’ve been charged the upcharge for the wine I ordered at Alfredo’s. Or maybe it’s tax. But if you order on the app, no tax is charged. It’s only $4 and change so not going to stress about it as long as it’s a one off!

DS didn’t want to get off the ship today so I took him to kids club. It’s always been the policy that kids could stay there all day so that parents could leave the ship. I guess something changed since the last time I sailed in April as when we got there I was told that they would close between 12 and 2 so I would need to collect him before 12 as there are no sign in/ out privileges in port. Obviously that wouldn’t work, as it was already after 10 and we had been planning on eating lunch in port. The manager explained that they could only accommodate kids if parents were taking princess excursions. However, just like all staff on this ship, she went the extra mile and said that for today she would make an exception and let him stay. Turns out we were back on before lunch anyways since our lunch spot was closed, but I really appreciated the gesture. On the way back we picked up Jellyfish Donuts for the kids club staff as a thank you

Ketchikan plans got scuppered since my beloved Burger Queen is closed on Mondays. We ended up just walking around and enjoying the glorious sunshine. As I mentioned at the start of this thread, you never know what you will get weather wise in Alaska. It’s mid September and we had the best weather we have ever had in Ketchikan

Headed up to buffet for a quick breakfast. They keep a big portion of it closed off, which means the portion that is open is pretty packed. They have the usual offerings- no pictures as there were just too many people jostling for food. I grabbed a waffle and got out of there. One thing that has changed is that the specialty coffee area in the Pastry Shop of the buffet now has a server that stands at the counter. Instead of ordering at the counter from the coffee guy, you order from the server standing at the counter and then wait for it to be made so the server can hand it to you. It’s really odd and causes a line up of confused people not knowing where to go or what to do.

Looks like a beautiful morning in Ketchikan

Yes!