bluenoser2

Another back and forth time change during the night meant DH and I were up brighter and earlier than the rest of the world again. DH walked, I showered. Then DH showered while I hightailed it to the IC and summoning up all my nerve, nervously pointed to the “cross-nut” in the window. (Deep fried Croissant for those of you who have yet to meet one – as if a croissant needed any more fat.) Carrying it reverently and guiltily, yet guarding it from more than one passenger and crew member who enviously eyed my prize, I took it to Florence for her approval. We each tried a snitch of it (well, not Florence, she’s on some weird diet) and declared it to be…..underwhelming. So much for the big DH birthday breakfast surprise.

Early breakfast then instead, or in addition to I suppose (You don’t have to count the calories if you don’t particular like it right?), and then immigration something or other where we stood in line, shuffled to Club 6, and showed our passports to the authority. All I got was a plain yellow dollar store circle sticker on my cruise card to show for it. (Had Florence and I been responsible, everyone would have gotten gold stars.) Again, lineups make for Crankys. We should really have brought Florence with us to mellow them out. No one should have to start the day that early and that grumpy. The line did move quickly and efficiently, and if one weren’t in any rush, waiting until 7:30 would result in no line at all.

That done, we waited in our room to allow the early departures some space, and then, thinking that as we had arranged a tour outside of the Princess realm, we might have to wait longer for a tender to transport us to the port, we headed down to the dining room meeting place at 8:00. We were given our tender tickets and realized we were the only humans (and zebra) in the place. More gathered, and the only wait was the fact that we had just missed the previous tender.

Once on land, we headed for Testa’s restaurant to pick up our tickets for the Acadia Park tour we had booked online some time ago. As mentioned earlier, it was DH’s birthday. We knew that, but we are still trying to ascertain how the tour people also knew that. I don’t remember mentioning it when I booked the tour online, but when we walked up, the owner looked at DH and said, “Happy Birthday!” and we were only required to pay for my ticket. Score.

(see her? Florence? She was a little shy in Maine)

If you can focus on the ice cream names, see if you can find out why I took the picture.....one out of three of my kids that looked at this picture got it.....

(No she wasn't in trouble with the law, just delighted that she had found a vehicle that matched her right down to her jaunty yellow ribbon.)

Our tour guide Mike was hilarious and kept us well informed and totally entertained for the 3 hours we were in his company. It was a beautiful day for seeing the scenery, and a most enjoyable tour. I have to say that the fall leaves were not spectacular this year, or in this area, but that’s all the luck of the draw isn’t it?

stay tuned for more of Florence in Bar Harbor......

This was our sideways interior on Baja on the Regal last week. I had been worried the overhead bunks might be in this room, but I was happily wrong. We were very happy with the layout of this room. I hope the pics help a little - I'm never sure how to get the right viewline. But in the first one you can see where the bed is in relation to the door, and in the second one, the shot is taken standing to the right of the closed door. Don't mind the zebra - that's just Florence, part of the family.

Lo and behold, there it was. A Beavertail hut. Open for business. Ironically, just a few hundred feet from the ship. Where, as we all know, there is no food at all. On the ship. (Sarcastic wink.) Would we stop? Would we succumb? Of course we would. We asked for the server’s recommendation and chose the cinnamon sugar Beavertail as it was the easiest to eat and the best seller, according to him. Was it all I hoped for? My expectations weren’t that high, but it was tasty and warm…mmmmmm. I’ve done it now and can lay that longing to rest. I may fall to its temptation again in the future, but there’s no pressure anymore.

With that lunchtime appetizer out of the way, we got cheeseburgers at the Trident Grill and I got DH a piece of pizza, all the while trying to memorize how they are able to push and pull their pizza dough into a perfect circle with so little effort. My pizza is good mind you, but it never seems so effortless. Of course, I don’t make as many as they do in a day, every day.

From there I took my book to deck 7 to read and people watch. DH attempted to watch a movie, but after ½ hour realized he had indeed slept through that ½ hour and had to start all over. The sun had made its appearance by now, so we went up top to catch the departure, and were entertained by a lone bagpiper who performed an eclectic repertoire for almost an hour as we were taking a rather long time to depart. I know I live in “New Scotland” and all, but there’s a place and a time for bagpipes – the place is always far enough away from me that I can choose whether or not to listen, and the time is, well, less than an hour.

However, eventually we heaved ho, and after watching the big turn-around of the ship (I believe there is a more technical name for that action, but I rather like Big Turn-Around – feel free to correct, and enlighten me) we went and got a pre-appetizer…er… appetizer before heading to an earlier than early production show of “Fiera”. Since there were so many people trying to make it to the early shows this cruise, they were attempting to appease the late seating guests by going with two earlier than normal shows. We got there by 6:45 for the 7:15 performance, and there were already quite a number of people there, but I think there were a very few empty seats left by lights out. It was a very good show. DH only dozed off once, no twice. Still pretty good for him. Those Sudokus and brain teasers they have in the library every day come in handy to use while waiting for the show. So does an I-pad, as we noticed many of the early birds utilizing.

We decided to try the Concerto dining room tonight, and got that busy front section again that we’re not really fond of. Again, no stellar servers in this dining room either, and we didn’t feel that they were super attentive to any table, including ours, that was there at that time. However, it WAS the evening for the twice baked goat cheese soufflé – which I love. And it was good. Very good. So were the scallops in a citrus-wine sauce. Late dinner for us meant very sleepy eyes, which meant some very unsuccessful movie watching in the room to end the day.

Yes, me too! I was wondering how Caribill knew I was wearing my LBD that night! (I checked the spreadsheet to see.....)

I'm glad to know I wasn't just imagining things. And MustangGT, you're right - I only "need" to have it once a cruise now.

Well, I'll be back in a few minutes with the next installment.

Another typically energy-charged and exhilarating start to the day….yes, you guessed it….Laundry Time. Again, not wanting to waste precious “real” minutes, we had our laundry in the machine by 7:30 and the total cost of wash and dry - $6.00 for anyone who wants to know. We let it dry while we breakfasted in Horizon. (Yes, we were back before it was done – we’re like that –conscientious, polite….the Canadian way.)

So by 9:00 a.m. we were totally ready to greet the “real” day, and off we went, escaping yet another strangely dressed photo studio employee and ensuing picture. Today dawned warmer than Halifax, but still with a brisk wind encouraging me to make use of my gloves again. In both Halifax and Saint John, since these are our homeys, we didn’t stray far from the port; we’ve been to all the typical Places of the Tour, but instead chose to walk the downtown areas that we don’t get to very often. We have a cottage near Saint John, and DH lived in the city as a lad…..which brings me to my next “Things I Never Thought I’d Hear Said on a Cruise” item: “Hey, honey, if we walk up this way I can show you where my dentist’s office used to be…..”

So we entered Barbour’s General Store, right near the port and a quaint little museumesque building that has been moved at least 3 or 4 times before ending up in its current location. Discovering a photo op possibility for Florence, we set her on the park bench and stepped back to take a shot, whereupon two concerned passersby noticed little Flo and started looking wildly about for the sad toddler who must have lost her. We had to muster up all of our assertiveness and with a stern “Step away from the zebra”, we struggled to convince them that she was OUR little pet. I don’t think they were convinced. Then we had had to wait several minutes while they stood in the way of our viewfinder, ostensibly deciding where they wanted to go (I think they were actually secretly trying to determine how to make off with Florence…..).

Into the warmth of the mall we trod, for restroom breaks and to use the Wi-Fi to check the Federal election results, and confirm that we did indeed have a new Prime Minister. After strolling along the side streets and poking into the City Market and the Freak Lunch Box, we took a walk on the wild side. Which is to say we walked up to Fort Howe on the hilltop overlooking Saint John.

(Nothing says Canada like beaver sculpture in the park.....)

(Saint John City Market)

Florence is a little worried about the direction this day is taking.

Have I mentioned yet how Saint Johnians really appreciate the correct spelling of their city’s name? Do your best to resist the temptation to abbreviate by writing St. John, or worse, saying St. John’s – as that is the capital city of another province.

I digress. We enjoyed the views from above – a little sun would have been nice, but hey, there was no snow so who could complain. While up there we were greeted by a local couple who had driven up to catch the view as well – of the Regal Princess! They welcomed us to their fair city – and then found out where we were from, and after the eye rolls and astounded looks, we had a lovely conversation with them. We logged plenty of kilometres on the pedometer that day, and still had energy to enjoy a walk along the boardwalk and critique the condos along the way.

By the time I was finished being Swedishmassage-inized, the ship had already left port and I caught a little of what was left of our departure from the Halifax area in the secret little place DH had found on deck 17 or maybe it was 18. (I’m not telling, because it’s our secret – insert evil laughter here.) Protected from the wind, it actually was very warm there and it became our favourite spot for checking out the views.

This was my night to have a traditional Princess dinner – I think the only thing I missed was the Caesar salad. There was the shrimp cocktail and a salad (it had pine nuts and Asiago cheese in it, so it won over the Caesar), fettuccine Alfredo and the love boat dream. And here is the interactive part of the review again – pay attention….those of you who like the love boat dream, have you found it to be different on different ships? Once I taste it, I can’t remember what the last one tasted like, but I’d be very interested to hear everyone’s descriptions of what they have experienced. This is it – your chance for a gold star!

DH got HIS free gift now from the EFFY shop (he would be celebrating a birthday while on the cruise) and lucky him – it was the upgraded version of the free necklace I had got the day before. (With earrings! Happy Birthday indeed!) We purchased our obligatory ship magnet (though I didn’t like any of the new versions much) and then journeyed to Princess Theater to get our seats – again, 30 minutes ahead seemed to be the secret for this cruise to getting seats together where we wanted them (on the aisle). Anything later, and, well, I’ve never seen a theatre pack out as much as on this cruise – of course, it wasn’t like it was warm enough to experience MUTS though I did see a few brave souls occasionally attempting it – at least I think they were brave souls, or else just big lumps of blankets with a popcorn bag on top.

Tonight’s performance was Chris Watkins “Fireworks on Four Strings” – we had seen him last year as well, and thought he was better this time. A little less eye makeup this year, and he was very entertaining. Found our late night snack in horizon court before retiring to our room with it to watch “Spy”, concurrently with the Bluejays game, and Canada’s federal election results (online – we did not expect that Princess would be covering that!) .

P.S. There was no snow. No cloud. Perfectly sunny all day. Here are a few more Halifax pics to prove it.

(It's kind of turning into a "Where's Florence" game at this point......

(DH is getting really artsy with his photography....)

This is a sculpture, not an accident. A humorous depiction of what life on Halifax streets could be like at some point of the day....one lamp post has fallen down drunk while another looks on with concern. The one in the background usually has a fountain in the summer...I'll let you guess what "he" is doing.

Halifax's immigrant sculpture.....quite a difference from the one depicting the same that we saw in New York. This is close to Pier 21, the museum of immigration where over 1 million people passed through, which we still haven't visited - I suppose we'll have to take ANOTHER cruise!

(I tried...only 3 keys worked - too bad....hard to play with gloves on anyway)

In the “Things I Never Thought I’d Hear a Cruise Director Say” department, was the ominous phrase Martyn uttered the evening before, “They’re predicting 2 inches of snow in our port tomorrow.”

I thought – well, of course – because the rest of October has been shirt-sleeve kinda weather, but NOW, NOW when we come to visit on a cruise ship, the temps drop to frigidity. Halifax is like our hometown – it isn’t actually our home town....for any of us – our research shows Florence is from China, and I’m from British Columbia and DH is from New Brunswick, but we LOVE Halifax, and lived there for 10 years, and even now that we live a couple of hours drive away, we come back every couple of weeks for some excuse or another (“honey – we need milk!” “Well, we’d better schedule a trip into Halifax” - that kind of excuse).

So it was that we had determined in advance that we would NOT do anything in Halifax that we usually do – no errands, no visiting people we know (though a dear friend did offer to bring her car down to the port so we could use it if we wished), and certainly no buying of milk. Earlier in the summer when we had been in the city for appointments, I had been craning my neck in the car trying to see what the new building we had just passed was, when DH, normally a quiet mild-mannered Clark Kent of a guy, YELLED “NO! Don’t look. DO NOT LOOK. “ I practically choked on my Tim Horton’s tea and was ready to call for assistance, not knowing what had happened to my sweet hubby, when he returned to his usual calm self and explained, “That’s for October when we come on the ship.”

While everyone else was lining up to go on their early tours at 7:00 a.m., I snuck down to the International Café to scoff an apple donut for First Breakfast. I considered the “cronut” but couldn’t quite work up the nerve. Or desire. I was able to gulp the apple donut down and be back in my room before DH was even out of the shower. Evidence hidden, I hope. Well, there may have been a sugar crumb or two on my chin. Well, HE gets to have a First Breakfast so why can’t I? We don’t HAVE to mention that his first breakfast is All Bran and yogurt……do we?

So, after a wee bit, we went up to the buffet for a leisurely Second Breakfast – and if I hadn’t known I was in Halifax it would have taken me a long time to determine what city I was in – it really looks different from that angle. After 9:00 a.m., when the ship was virtually deserted, we headed out, having bundled up in all our layers, and yes, gloves, to see what we could see. We ambled (as much as one is able to amble when the wind is blowing briskly) through some of the downtown streets we hadn’t bothered to see for many years,

and went to the brand new library (the source of last paragraph’s confusion) to check it out.

We even visited the Anglican Church that still had a piece of shrapnel from the Halifax Explosion of 1917.

My bucket list for Halifax had included procuring a Beavertail because whenever we’ve been at the harbour I’ve never bothered getting something for just me.

Alas, the Beavertail hut was closed, so we trudged back to the ship for lunch, and I comforted myself by remembering to stop at the International Café for some of that yummy chicken cashew salad that I forgot to get while they still had it last year aboard the Royal.

I took it up top with me so that DH could have his burger from the grill. After a bit of a siesta, DH headed up for some sun (!) and reading (brrrrrr….) and ice cream (double brrrrr….) and I headed to the spa (wow, there’s something I never thought I’d be writing ) for my prize massage. While nice, it wasn’t life changing for me, but I was happy for the opportunity. I was also appreciative of the fact that once she saw my feet were cold, she let me in on the secret that there was a $600 treatment I could utilize to help that. I chose socks instead.

(to be continued......)

Here was my favourite singer of this cruise - the first time I heard him, he was singing a song I have never liked - Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi - and I loved it! Colin Salter.

And just because it's kind of cool......(and because one of my favourite activities was to watch and see anyone using the sea walk for the first time)

He's pretty artsy in his photography isn't he? Notice the age-old problem of the chair hogs below......

And of course, we must have a little of this kind of photography included in a photo review!

(I thought the string quartet Allegria was very good - DH took pics of them, Florence asked for pics of their shoes......I don't need to post those.)

Sea day! The day when the cruising world languishes in bed and enjoys that first day of total getaway. Yup, you guessed it - DH was up for his walk at the crack of seven, and I, diligent, dutiful, and deranged Good Wife that I am, raced off to the laundry room to iron all things needing ironing. I certainly was NOT going to spend the “real” part of my day in that room. I had no competition for irons at that time of the morning, and lo and behold, in a few minutes all my chores for the week were done.

We chose to go to the Concerto dining room for breakfast that morning – the only morning we did so. I loved the melon cocktail with lime. As for the rest, we decided it would be considerably more fun to try the buffet for our next meal. Oh, and the chocolate pastries. Did I mention that chocolate croissant? Sigh. That’s Princess for me. Once I’ve had one of those little delicacies I’m really cruisin’.

just looking today, but tomorrow....the International Cafe adventure begins.

After some actual relaxing, no ironing of shirts involved, we moseyed down to the Piazza to await the treasure hunt raffle. We had lovely comfortable seats that were behind the fruit and vegetable carving demo so I’m afraid for those of you who were anxiously awaiting photos of those, well, you can go back to one of my earlier reviews (posted at the bottom of my signature for your convenience….) for those. We’ve had enough of fruit and vegetable animals.

On with the raffle, and on to the last prize – a full massage or facial from the spa. Guess who won. Yup. That’d be me, the “I never go to the spa” girl. Oh the irony. We realized at this point, that we “always” win prizes if our kids are NOT with us……hmmmmm….every cruise we’ve gone on that’s just been the two of us, the DH wins something. This time was my first time to win.

We visited the new EFFY store where I got my teeny weeny free necklace (choosing not to upgrade to the larger setting with earrings for $10) – good enough for a souvenir for someone…..and walked through the sale in the dining room. We weren’t even tempted there. However, we were amused by the number of people buying warm jackets and toques (see how Canadian I am? Toques?) for the upcoming Canadian ports. Of course, the hats said “BALTIC” on them and the jackets were from Ketchikan or just generally Alaska…..there were brisk sales on gloves as well.

We set up our Platinum minutes for internet use. I had not realized that we each got 150 minutes (I don’t know why that had escaped me in all my “what’s in it for me” research, but it had, so it was a delightful surprise.) We were both able to access DH’s minutes first from our respective toys, and when those minutes ran out, we then activated my minutes. And those minutes were enough. Enough to check in with the kids. Enough to tell them that we couldn’t possibly be online all the time because of the time limitation we had. And the internet wasn’t too bad – there were a couple of times it was pretty slow, but all in all we were very happy with this platinum perk.

After lunch in Horizon Court, where I, righteous eater that I am, was able to have salad, and a vegetable burrito, AND only 1 ½ desserts today. After testing the outdoor temperature, which was just plain cold, I decided to do my walking of laps indoors. So I logged over 2km just walking down hallways. I liked Marina deck because it goes all the way around. But mostly I entertained myself with stairs and the lower levels that have more to amuse me while I walk, and do the obstacle course that is people not interested in a brisk walk. I was polite. Just know that. Never impatient.

Princess Live! was hosting a Chocolate Love demonstration, so we went early to make sure we obtained seats for that. We were there to witness the greatest disaster of our time – the chocolate fondue fountain’s table was not secure and the whole thing tumbled to the floor. Chocolate sauce and all. It was tragic. The shrieks of despair from the audience, the tears, the woebegone looks of the crew that had to quickly clean it up. I’ll not forget the travesty for many a day. And that was all before the show even started.

After a brisk, and by brisk I mean frigid, walk outside, we returned to the shelter of Horizon for my own little teatime – scones and apricot jam, while DH had his cookie and lemonade. All that intense activity resulted in a little movie watching in the room before getting dolled up for formal night. For the first time in the history of our cruising, we did not stop for pictures anywhere. No! We were not tempted by the staircase. No! Not the autumn foliage backdrop! We put our blinders on and headed straight to the dining room, where we were seated right by a window at our request. So relaxing. We enjoyed the “50th Anniversary Dinner” with a great salad, blueberry sorbet and beef tournado with roasted onion tart. We could have been happy with just the onion tart which was great, but when they actually got DH’s beef “well done” (without any eye rolling or looks of distaste) AND he got his skim milk with his Chocolate Love dessert….well, let’s just say the angels rejoiced along with him and all was well with the world. We were out of the dining room and in the piazza to enjoy the vocal stylings of the group Rhapsody.

They had soul, and I really enjoyed them – though I did get the giggles when they started into Achy Breaky Heart….then I knew it was time to leave. But not before sampling the Truffle Pops and champagne that were being handed out whilst the champagne waterfall was underway. Sigh.

We headed over to Princess Theater 30 minutes before showtime for “Spectacular”. We scored aisle seats at that time, but 15 minutes later, people were getting single seats scattered about the auditorium, and the place was packed for the early show. I thought it was a good show and it must have been, because DH managed to stay fully awake for it. My favourite was the 2 female vocalists singing one of the songs from SMASH – gets me every time, and I get all weepy. I got over that when the cast moved into a rendition of Barry Manilow’s Bandstand Boogie – and I felt my face burning with embarrassment that I still, after all these years, knew every single lyric to the song.

Back to the room to finish McFarlane the movie – sigh, Kevin Costner, AND chocolate truffles in the same day? Does it get any better?

As we passed by the cabanas last week on the Regal, I do recall seeing the price as $80 a day, but I don't recall seeing any discount for the week on the sign that was right at the cabana.

It all depends on your own likes and dislikes. We just got off the Regal, and had Anytime dining, which we like because it gives us the freedom to eat whenever we want - having said that, we usually eat at 5:30 every night anyway. Hubby likes tables for 2 and every night we were able to ask for that and get what we wanted with no problem. In anytime if you like a particular spot, you might be able to reserve that for each night anyway, depending on the whims of the head waiter. We didn't because we didn't find any server to be particularly outstanding. We did however ask for something near a window each night, and usually got something close if not right by it. Traditional seating is good if you'd like to be sure to be at the same table with the same people every night, at the same time. There are 2 seatiangs of Traditional - one at 5:45 I believe and the other at 8:00. So depending on your day, and what excursions you're on, and when you like to eat.....traditional locks you in to a specific time. Hope that helps a bit.

(And welcome to Cruise Critic!)

Now it was time to explore in earnest. We clutched our little stamp cards for the treasure hunt and found all the places to get them stamped. We were especially excited to avoid the spa tour when we got that stamp because it was a painfully long experience for the men in our group last summer when they were forced to go through the whole thing in order to get their little stamp on the Royal. The spa attendant was very nice and just asked “have you used the spa before”. “No.” “Why not?” “I’m just not into that kind of thing.” (Remember that.) Florence however was looking past her longingly, in hopes that someone might specialize in zebra makeovers.

We toured the sports decks, played 9 holes of weird little golf, shot a few hoops at the basketball net, Florence played foosball, and we opted not to play table tennis because of the strong wind afoot. We also inspected the gym for the first and last time of the cruise. Someday…..we’re just too intimidated by it for now. Remember…small town….in the sticks……

A little tea, a little lemonade, and then time for muster drill. I don’t know if we have just usually been in less congested areas of the ship but I’m just going to go on record as saying NOTHING brings out the ugly in people like trying to get themselves and their lifejackets up the stairs after the drill. It was like nasty bumper cars trying to get back to the safety of our room. (Insert your own comments about no central staircase here if you must – the bumper-jacket people did….)

I must say though, that was the ONLY time we had any competition on the stairs this trip. Our policy is to NEVER EVER use the elevators on board and we made good on that promise to ourselves on this trip. Not a single elevator ride. That trek from deck 5 to 16 is a killer though. Fortunately there is sustenance at both ends.

Time to don the warm jackets, and head up top for sailaway. Yup, let it be known that we were still in the USA and it was COLD. Cold and windy. So, remembering a trick from our California Coastal cruise, we opted to see the sights LAST, instead of first, and went aft where it was less breezy and less crowded. I really don’t mind if I’m the last person to go by the Statue of Liberty. I’m just not a competitive type.

As the skyline of New York began to recede into the distance, we returned inside to change for dinner, which we had in the Symphony dining room, as we were People of the Anytime Dining. We’re usually not real picky about where we are seated, but after the first night we did make sure to request anything but table 18, which is great for watching EVERYONE come into the dining room, but there was nothing intimate about it. I only choked a couple of times as various members of the Red Hat Society came in – once I got used to them I was fine. DH only likes tables for two when it’s the two of us (sometimes he likes tables for two when we have our family with us, but he doesn’t get them….) so that’s how we did it. Some day we may get up the nerve to actually try making reservations, but this trip, as we never actually came across any servers that were stellar (all were efficient – mostly – but nothing memorable – to which our kids would say, “see! You needed us with you to get the good servers….”).

Oh, the spring rolls….yummmmmmmm. Best part of the meal. Second best? The chocolate hazelnut soufflé. Second best because I burnt my tongue on the first taste (as I always do). DH loves to have skim milk with any chocolate dessert, but it never arrived. Pretty slow service that time.

We rushed off for the 7:15 welcome aboard show in the Princess Theatre knowing we would never be awake to make the later show. The singers/dancers did one number, and then Martyn Moss CD did his shtick which I understand some don’t appreciate, but look – put a guy in a suit and give him a British/Welsh accent and I’m good to go. So whether his humour is appreciated or not by others, we enjoy him. The magician, Michael Barron, also easy to look at, was good but his tricks were so small and weren’t being projected on the screen that from the back where we were the amazement was lost on us.

The earlier scent of pizza wafting across the Lido deck drew us back up to Deck 16 where we enjoyed a little slice (and by little I mean large) before heading back to the room to begin watching a movie before giving up to sleep. Or at least lights out. I was hoping for some gentle rocking and rolling of the ship to lull me to sleep but I ended up taking a gravol just to make me sleepy because there was virtually no movement and sleep took it’s time coming to me that night.

A quick note about the tvs in the room. (I heard that. I heard you saying that in my review there is no such thing as a quick anything.) They’re nice and large, and if the selection of channels isn’t what it is on land, and that’s important to the traveller, then maybe a land vacation is a better choice. We didn’t care – and MLB was on every game – not that we enjoyed that once the Jays lost. We did enjoy the on demand movies as there were several we hadn’t seen yet and it was nice to be able to just watch a little and then pick it up the next night from the point where we fell asleep the day before.

Try this link - Princess has sample menus from Crown Grill and Sabatini's. Then you could see yourself what your children would most enjoy. We thought our kids would definitely NOT like Crown Grill when that was the specialty restaurant assigned to us as part of our deal, but they LOVED it! I guess Filet Mignon can do that to the most picky eater!

http://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/food-and-dining/specialty-restaurants/

I know dear reader, you thought I might never get here. I hope everyone’s been sleeping well? I aim to please. After all that walking we couldn’t stay awake to watch any baseball, but had a pretty good rest and the feet were more or less back to normal by morning’s arrival. Breakfast – I was a good girl and had my oatmeal. Don’t ask me what else I had.

Time for packing and relaxing before heading out to Red Hook Terminal in Brooklyn to our awaiting cruise. The thing is, where do you prefer to wait? Hotel or cruise terminal? We actually tried watched home improvement shows for a bit, and then decided it was definitely better to wait at the pier than in our room so after checking out we were able to hail a taxi. Well, we didn’t actually hail it, there just happened to be people being dropped off at our hotel, and we grabbed it, politely of course, warm seats and all. A woman with an SUV was trying to sell us on a $65 drive to the terminal, but we opted for the taxi and ended up paying, with tip, $50. It was a slow ride there – not so much because of traffic, but construction, so we were in a tunnel getting a little claustrophobic for a long time – there were more than a few restless sighs from the DH. However, in spite of the snail-like pace, we soon saw the literal light at the end of the tunnel and eventually arrived at the terminal where things there proceeded quickly, efficiently and smoothly.

This was our first cruise as Platinums, so after getting through security, we found the priority line (thanks to CC people for making it look like I knew where I was going all along), got checked in quickly, were ushered to the platinum/elite/suite lounge where we finished filling out customs forms (I feel like we were always filling out customs declarations on this trip!) and then we politely (because we ARE Canadians) waited as the Suite passengers, then the Elite passengers, and finally us poor platinums were accepted to make our way on board. (It’s kind of like graduating from junior high into high school….) We arrived at the terminal around 11:30 and were on board by 11:50. Score.

This was the first time we were on a Princess ship where we couldn’t go to our room immediately. Insert pouty face here. Not because I was upset about not going to my room first. I was perturbed about having stated with the utmost confidence to DH that we didn’t have to worry about our smaller carry-on being heavy as, after all this wasn’t Carnival, and we’d be able to drop it off in our room instead of schlepping around the ship with it. I know I’m wrong a lot, but it still stings. Some of the decks were clear to go into, but our beloved Baja was still closed off to the general public with a sign saying “available by 1:00”.

So we hauled ourselves up to Horizon court and found consolation in the age old way - food. We had an hour to eat…er….wait, so we ate. For an hour. Well, not quite an hour. But it was leisurely and I do not recall feeling the least bit hungry when done. It wasn’t crowded or chaotic and since we were on the Royal last year, the huge buffet was a bit familiar, though still more than a tad overwhelming at first inspection. I think the trick is to pretend there’s only one section available and just shut one’s eyes to the rest. It’s a survival thing. I never completely got the hang of that though, always just HAD to see EVERYTHING. I mean, I did exhibit a fair bit of restraint – I only had 3 desserts. What could I do? Is that a cheesecake? And a crème Brule…..and ooooh is that warm peach cobbler? They were all calling my name and to shut them up I ate ‘em.

(Florence photobombs the Statue of Liberty yet again.)

Now that it was safe to proceed to our room at 1:00, we did so and our luggage was already there jumping up and down excited to see us. We jumped up and down together, so sweet was our reunion and did a quick unpack not needing nearly all the space there was. This was our first time trying an inside stateroom, and we really actually enjoyed it. We have had balconies and oceanviews before but usually just reserved insides for the peasants…er…kids. This time, we didn’t figure we’d be spending a whole lot of time sunning on the balcony, so it seemed as good a time as any to try it out. It was one of those new-fangled sideways configured insides.

Here’s another tip – if you ever feel that the quarters are cramped on board, just have a New York City hotel room first, and they don’t seem nearly as small. Not that we’re complaining about our New York City hotel room, it was just cozier than similar rooms of the same chain of hotels up north. Where there’s more room. Inside and outside. Anyway, all that to say that we had loads of room for everything – 7 empty drawers attest to that, several empty shelves in the cupboard and empty open shelving. We did however use all 28 hangers. Yeah, I actually counted them. (I’m the one who counts the number of carrot slices as I’m chopping at home too….you can deal with that however you like. My family does. )

(I don't know how she keeps getting in all the pictures.....even the skyline isn't safe.)

This past trip we stayed at Hampton Inn - United Nations - I think it's East 43rd st. We've stayed at 2 other Hampton Inns - one nearer the Empire State Building, and one nearer Times Square - I can't remember the address of those. All were excellent - but their prices vary widely. Each time we picked the lowest priced of the 3 and each time a different one has been a LOT less than the others. No consistency in the prices but the quality is all as good as you'd expect. The rooms are pretty small, but there's only 8 to a floor because the building is so narrow! Hope that helps a little.

Florence was a little upset that I didn't include a few more pics of her adventures in New York City, so before we all embark here are a few last shots of our whirlwind walk through the city!

She needed to show you that she was brave enough to come on the subway with us. She's really just a smalltown zebra.

such a flagrant disregard for Prince Philip. Always the mocking zebra. Her way of say nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah. (It works if you say it outloud. )

On this trip I found the sculptured images in each city we visited very powerful. This one was the top of the list for me in NYC.

WE ARE CANADIAN.

And with that, I'll get ready to embark.

We were on the Regal last week and the Royal last year, and both times it was a tube of the Lotus Spa lotion but it has very little scent - no more eucalyptus lotion - I feel the same way! I keep an old bottle around just to sniff at home when I'm feeling cruise-homesick!

Friday, October 16 NYC

Well, sleeptime followed after we kept the window open just so we could hear real live actual city noises. We ARE People of the City, but we currently live in a small town, and as nice as that is, there’s something about hearing cars honking, sirens …umm....sirening (wow, 2 made up words in one review), that is just plain exciting for us folks from the sticks. For a time. Then we shut the window so we could sleep.

After a nice breakfast we set out to explore again. We waited until after 9:00 (yeah, we slept in – until 7:00!) to walk over to Grand Central and add the New York subway to our list of Subways We Have Taken. On our way, we walked through the Grand Central Market – wonderful sights and sounds, but a little out of our income bracket. From Coffee Cake to Caviar, it was all there. While DH visited the facilities, I just enjoyed listening to all the sounds of the place. It was like Grand Central Station in there……oh, yeah, it WAS Grand Central. Violins playing, people singing, laughing, yelling….

We got our ticket, after visiting the wrong self-serve machine, and being helped by someone to get our act together, got our tickets, and found our way to the #4 express subway, easily getting on it (much easier than London or St. Petersburg!) and easily getting off – in the right place!!!! I think the hardest part was just convincing ourselves that we were taking the right train (because of course, it would never occur to us to actually ask anyone for help). We actually were just a block or so away from Ground Zero, just like the kind helpful souls on CC said we would be. Imagine. We chose not to go to the museum, but found the memorial pools very moving, and I got teary just being there.

We did visit St. Paul’s Chapel, and spent quality and quantity time there – it was a highlight of my day.

Following that, we wandered off and visited Century 21, a department store, not the real estate company we have in Canada……I restrained myself and only purchased one item. That’s the plight of the carry-on only community – very few souvenirs. We walked down Wall Street, pulled Florence away from the Bull statue and didn’t let her have a photo op there since everyone ELSE was doing the same thing (mind you, without zebras) and the picture would just have been of a crowd of people.

We stopped in at the former U.S. Customs House that is now a museum. We really just needed a restroom break, and it was free to get in, so get in we did, though it was the first time we’ve ever had to go through security just to use a restroom. And get a drink of water. Onward and outward, we walked to Battery Park and stopped for a snack before walking along the harbour front and back to the subway, and then back to our room to regroup and retread the feet.

(Florence photobombs the statue of liberty)

Refreshed and renewed after some hot chocolate, we snatched a peek inside the Chrysler building, which was just on the next block, because our Top 10 NYC book said we should. So we did. We’re very obedient like that.

Off to Rockefeller Centre – I have yet to get to the Top of the Rock – last time we were around it was too foggy, and this time we were just trying to do so many other things! (Not to mention Florence’s fear of heights.) We visited Saks just because you can’t be right outside Saks and not go inside! We browsed until I found the $2500 ladies’ vest and since it wouldn’t have fit in my luggage (it actually would have I think – we could have ditched DH’s shoes…) we left it there. We returned to the Rock to get a piece of amazing pizza to share as our pre dinner appetizer. A few other photo stops like the skating rink and St. Pat’s and then off to supper. After a relaxing dinner (Olive Garden for the curious) we meandered again, and sat on the red steps again, and got more free samples at the Hershey store.

Here are some tips we learned for walking in New York City. Perhaps they will help someone and if you have other recommendations, please feel free to add them – this is the interactive part of the review – you can’t all just sit there and read – I’m looking for more gold star participation.

1. While walking, do not turn around to look at other things while still walking in a forward direction (the lady in front of us just about took out a poor woman with a baby when she turned and seemingly forgot all about the large pizza box she was holding).

2. While walking, look up from your cell phone. Do not assume everyone else is looking at you. (We enjoyed trying to see how close we could get to people who were doing this very thing as they crossed streets)

3. Do not STOP in the middle of the road.

4. Do not STOP in the subway after getting off the train, or before getting on. There is a rhythm to this procedure, and this was the only time I heard any disgruntled comments (that’s my political correctness coming out) from New Yorkers.

5. Do not STOP in the middle of the sidewalk – guess what – there are people behind you!

Off to the United Nations headquarters first, we successfully pulled off another security checkpoint and had a look around. We are not People of the Tour, so we just did what we could on our own, and were happy with that considering the limited amount of time we had to give NYC this trip. We had been in town last year, doing a lot of other things, so now we were trying to see new sights – as if that would be a problem!

A passerby asked in a hushed voice "what are they doing"...we replied that we didn't know - we left out the part "I think they're mostly playing games on their phones..."

So many restaurants to choose from, we of course chose…..wait for it…..Red Lobster. We love Red Lobster. So does Florence apparently. Well, she loves something about it, or someone......it was a momentary thing, not even a fling.....

We don’t have any in our neck of the woods, so it was kind of a given that we’d be stopping here for an early supper (early for New Yorkers, our bodies were an hour ahead, and stayed that way for the duration of the voyage). Yummmmm….those cheddar biscuits are enough, but the rest of the meal wasn’t half bad either.

We spent time on the red steps to people gawk, and then did some more walking to justify the rather large meal we had just put away. The Hershey store, Macy’s, H&M (not necessarily in that order) and back to our room to rest some pretty tired feet. A little peppermint tea and sleeptime followed.

Grand Central at night.

Florence would like to affix shiny gold star stickers to your homework books Retiringcajun, TracieABD, dickinson, and ar1950! Well done, for watching the video AND telling us that you did. Thank you for your kind comments as well, and we'll get on with the review. It's a shame that work and chores get in the way of this......

Wednesday, October 15, 2015 The trip begins.

“Are you crazy?”

“Now why would you do that?”

“Really.”

These were some of the comments we began to get when telling “friends” where our next cruise was taking us. So we stopped. Telling anyone. We just left. Yes, it was time for Florence and her caregivers to sail again. Hoping that we wouldn’t forget her in my purse EVERY single time we went to a new port this time, she began packing (she packs light – one ribbon suffices), and dreaming of the excitement to come.

We are the carry-on ONLY crew, so packing is full of strategy, including, yes, you guessed it, the Excel spreadsheet. I am totally proud to say that after my well-planned rolling and jamming of items in my suitcase was complete, there was still room in my bag for DH’s dress shoes. So ha! I laugh in the face of packing. Florence was mortified to find that the rather bright pink duct tape we used for our Carnival cruise with the whole family last year was still on my suitcases. Really. That is SO last year. Too bad. I like the pink duct tape – it’s homage to my father who started us on the whole cruising thing – though his suitcase would have duct tape, stickers, yarn, and all manner of atrocious accoutrements such that I, his loving daughter, was embarrassed to be seen near it. I now attempt to continue my heritage; at least the handles aren’t repaired with pink denture plastic. But I digress.

And so it was, that on a Wednesday, bright and late (we had an evening music practice AND a Blue Jays game to finish watching), we headed off to the airport hotel in Halifax. Ah, yes, now you dear reader, are also cluing in to why we got the comments that grace the beginning of this epistle……yes, we live an hour and a half out of Halifax. Deal with it. Since the price of a room (and free breakfast and free parking) was less than airport parking we tootled off to the hotel arriving around 10:30 pm. It was time for us to actually be able to enjoy a stay at the hotel instead of previous times when we were robbed of sleep (and free breakfast) because of super early departures.

Florence bounced on the bed, and we enjoyed a swim before retiring for the night, and then SLEEPING IN! OK, the free breakfast isn’t that spectacular but it was decent, and the driver of the shuttle to the airport was kind, without being too perky in the a.m., which we appreciated. My only complaint about this hotel was that NO ONE, absolutely NO ONE, should be allowed to cheerily (and loudly) greet people in the hallway with a hearty “Good Morning!” at 3:00 a.m. Or 4:00 a.m. 5:00 is pushing it.

Once safely at the airport and managing to get through security unscathed and fully clothed, we waited patiently for the Tim Horton’s to open so we could get one last Timmy Donut before heading out into that other country…where who knows what kind of donuts we might have to make do with.

We boarded our tiny plane to Newark and enjoyed a direct flight with no turbulence or incident worth commenting about. We flew United because they are the only way we can get a direct flight and not have to backtrack through Toronto. The tiny plane worked well as we were able to gate check the larger of our two bags. While waiting to retrieve them at the other end of the flight, the first item to be gingerly and tenderly placed in the retrieval area was a guitar case, a sturdy unmarked guitar case. If you don’t grasp the irony of this, you need to watch this ever-so popular music video of a few years ago:

Go on, watch it. I’ll wait for you to get back. It might even help you get to sleep. Or you’ll have the song in your head for the rest of the day. Either way, watch it.

There. Everyone back now? Our luggage also made it with no damage, so off we went. We easily got tickets for the express bus ($16 each for a one way) to get us to Grand Central Terminal in NYC. This is a great deal, especially if (as we are not) you’re a senior because the price would have been half of that.

The first part was very quick, the last part was not. However, as we had our luggage we exhibited much patience to get to our planned destination (there were many sighs coming out of DH but he denies any impatience on his part). Once unleashed from the horror that is NYC traffic snarls, we happily trotted off on foot, luggage in tow, for just a couple of blocks (yay! we even went the right way!!!!) to our accommodations at the Hampton Inn. After checking in and checking out our 20th floor room, we set out to explore by foot.

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Canada/New England Cruise on the Regal Princess, October 2015

Stay tuned….it’s that time of the year again….Florence the tiny zebra is just back from another Princess adventure. Yup, one of those LOOOOOOONG day by day reviews that are totally indulgent, but what the tiny zebra wants, the tiny zebra gets. Sometimes. When it’s convenient. When it serves our purpose as well.

Will there be pictures you ask? Of course there will be pictures! Flo was at her most photogenic, if not cold, pretty little self. I really need to crochet her a scarf if we ever do this one again.

So it was October. The three of us –DH, myself, and Florence. Taking off on the last Regal Princess Canada/New England itinerary for the season. October 17-24. The non zebraic (I believe I just made up a word) members of our party are mid 50s, new empty nesters (wild cheers and applause in the background) and lovers of travel. We can’t afford a lot of cruises, but DH always likes that new ship smell, so we go on the newest ship we can, and if the newest happens to be in our backyard, as this one was, so be it. If you’re needing some reading to help you get to sleep tonight, join me in my long story. If you’re looking for advice on the drink of the day or the casino or Princess tours, well, you’re out of luck, and I’ll not be (too) hurt if you click out of here.

We had one of the "obstructed balconies" on Emerald deck, E109 and loved the size of our balcony! It is the one that sticks out the most. If you don't mind the bulkhead being part of your balcony instead of the clear barrier, it's great. We were on a Baltic cruise, and didn't feel any motion there. I would book it again in a heartbeat!

Short answer...yes. I've seen everything - formal nights are split fairly evenly long dresses, coctail dresses, pantsuits. Other nights in dining room are more casual, but some dress up for those times too. And many are dressed quite casually. The specialty restaurants don't require the formal attire on formal nights, same with the buffet. That probably doesn't help a whole lot, but that's what I've observed.

Our group of 5 LOVED our two day tour with SPB - they were very professional, personable, and made sure we saw as much as possible in our two days. It was not only less expensive than the Princess tour, we were in a much smaller vehicle with fewer people, which came in very handy when touring the Hermitage, where getting lost was too easy! And we are not people who stray very far from the Princess path - but SPB took care of us, not only in St. Petersburg, but Munich and Stockholm as well.