TracieABD

We have seen this on our last two cruises. Fortunately, it seemed to be handled rather quickly by staff. Now… if we could just get a grip on the super loud, speakerphone talkers! I swear- what folk will talk about in full presence of complete strangers- health issues, financials, and so-and-so’s messy breakup… Just stop!

There is a bar right outside of Princess Live Theater that has an espresso machine. There is also an espresso machine up in the Buffet, in the same area as the desserts. Also, if you are in a full suite,there is an espresso machine in the Concierge Lounge on Deck 14.

We had a similar situation. We were a little luckier, as we don't normal get off the ship- so we could book port days. Both of us noticed that they could get a few more loungers in there... and if this is a money making venture- why not? Many Sanctuaries have 3 rows of loungers... If the Sanctuary is so popular- why don't they increase the size?

This is GOLD! Pure gold! Now, sing it with me... Like a F'urchin! Oooo! Touched for the very first time!

Thanks, Frank! Fingers crossed that the weather gods smile upon us!

I have no idea... but what a great question! Sadly, I am off the ship.

Thank you for that! I love hearing another perspective and I am so glad the performance resonated for you. Maybe some day, I will give it another spin... based on your recommendation.

February 5, 2023 Charlotte, NC Annnnnnddddd... That's a wrap! Hi friends- I am home and trying to stabilize our lives- and Jon is off at work. It was a charmed cruise- Not quite as charmed as Nov. 2021 B2B2B- but really lovely. (and way better than the Triple C- Caribbean Covid Cruise- of May 2022). The Great: The food and presentation- all around excellent- with only a few misses. The MDR staff- from Giuseppe to Ron to Bob/ Tryvon. Right down the line- it was truly like the TD of old. We loved the MDR so much, we never did go to specialty dining- and that is a first for us! Our cabin steward- Ronaldo- who was quite possibly the most efficient steward ever. Selections in the IC The colour palette and overall condition of the ship. The bed. Oh! The bed! The Good: The Sanctuary staff were helpful and kind and really worked with us- but there are just not enough seats available. The entertainment. It was fun and it was free, but there were some misses for sure. The Coffee Crew at the IC. They were the most personable staff that I have seen in quite a while. The Not-Terribly-Wonderful- But Not a Deal Breaker The Passenger Service Desk staff. I am not going to troll them, but they could definitely try a little harder to connect with passengers. The Ugly Nothing. Nothing at all! (YES!!!) That is all I have to say about that! (F. Gump). I will stick around to answer question and respond to any silliness! Thanks for following along. Anyone want to help us plan our next big cruising adventure??? Fin- Tracie-Lynn PS. I will be walking the Camino (Portugal/Spain) in May and working at the Special Olympics World Games (Berlin) in June. I will be blogging those on my Facebook page. If you want an add- feel free to email me at tracie <@> carolina <.> rr <.> com (take out the pointy thingies).

That is most excellent! Congratulations!

We did not get them on the Sky last week.

On the Sky last week, Elites boarded at 10:30 am. It was as early as I have ever seen. And that included boarding the 400+ transit passengers before us.

Just got off the Sky and I would go with Coral’s plan and manage it off the ship’s Wi-Fi. Our connection was spotty and slow on the cruise. Our best connection was in Cozumel- and with ATT there is no additional charge for Mexico. However, we had almost no service in Costa Maya.

Bon voyage! I hope you have an amazing time!

They only thing I could figure out is that they must have paid a small ransom for the production rights, costumes, sets, etc… Maybe, they are not in the position to switch it out. I can’t help but think that they could replace this show with a comedian or magician or a hula hooping contortionist or just about anything- and get a better response.

Yes! I am actively recruiting for my TBGCS cause! Glad to know you are on board!

It was certainly weird- and not in a really good way.

February 3, 2023 Sea Day! Last Day… Hi friends- It is the last day. Tomorrow they unceremoniously throw us off the ship. In all my cruises, I have never been able to shake to omnipresent LDD (last day dread). The packing. The goodbyes. The drill of disembarkation. All of it adds up to a big old case of LDD. I started the day with a yoga class at 7:30 am. It was a legitimately good class from start to finish. Again, there were only four of us and the instructor in the studio… and no pesky interrupting spouses (for reference- see the blog post from Wednesday). Actually, our yoga dude locked the studio during class. No complaints here. Jon texted me that he was “set up” in the IC. I found him neatly tucked into a couch with lots of gear. We needed the time to “make up” for the lost work yesterday. At 8:30 am, the internet runs pretty fast… He ordered the components for our coffee and we focused on our devices. We often like to work in the presence of one another. We have managed to stay out of the buffet for the entire cruise (still gun shy after the Covid cruise-May 22)- but we missed breakfast in the MDR- so Jon masked up and went to forage for bacon in the buffet. Not me. I just held down the fort in the IC- and here comes Jon with a plate full of bacon. My hero! We decided to pack in the morning and get it over with. We knew that Jon only had about 17 hours at home before flying off to work, so we arranged the luggage so that he was actually packed to for his next adventure. The problem with packing up is that it feels like the cruise is over. Boo to that. We tried to cheer ourselves up by having lunch in the MDR and that seemed to help a lot! We played some trivia- and were the “first loser”. It was, I swear, the longest trivia game ever… seriously- it took 54 minutes to ask and answer 20 questions. And some people really take their trivia seriously- not kidding. It’s a game people. You are playing for little rubber coasters. Lighten up! Our final dinner in the MDR, with our amazing wait-duo, Bob and Tryvon, was delicious. We both had the feta and watermelon- which was more of a salad than a fruit cup. I ordered the Chana masala and Jon had the mahi mahi. Both dishes were both so yummy- and the presentation on this cruise has been outstanding. I had the Love Boat Dream for dessert. Jon had another lobster. No, just kidding. I think he had apple pie. We decided to attend the final production show in the Princess Theater- Jeffry Allen- who does a pretty decent Elton John tribute. He branched out a bit more with some Billy Joel and Stevie Wonder. But the best was the “improv” with Princess orchestra. By the way- huge mentions for them- they are really really good. Our final stop of the evening was back to our stateroom to set out the luggage. Honestly, if I didn’t have students the next week, I might have stayed on for another lap. And that is pretty much that. I will write a wrap-up soon. Anyone want to sit in the Piazza and drink some tea? Thanks for following along- More later- Tracie-Lynn

Just got off the Sky. Nope. No library. Sudokus at Passenger Service Desk. Games and tables in the Crown. I never did see a book exchange.

That is just flipping amazing! It’s like the Sky could swallow the Pacific whole… and still have room for dessert!

I hope you have a wonderful cruise! In 24 hours, you will be sailing far away!!! Bon voyage!

February 2, 2023 Costa Maya, Mexico Groundhog Day! Seriously. Groundhog Day. Hi friends- It’s another beautiful day on this beautiful ship. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Again, we slept so well. Is it the bed? Is it the gentle rocking? Is it the fact that our stupidly high maintenance Italian Greyhound is not running our lives? Who knows! Who cares! I missed yoga this morning. I will do it on my own this afternoon. That is how it works on these cruises- we don’t over schedule- then it is less guilt when we whiff at port/ meal/ activity. That is how we roll. We are fortunate enough to live a short flight from port and are semi-retired, so we can go a bit more often. Breakfast was again in the IC- with all of its delicious and healthy choices. We are docked next to the Carnival Pride and the RC Allure of the Seas. The size difference between the ships is astounding. The Pride is about 2100 and Allure is sailing with 5600 (one of their passengers offered that tidbit of info). Take a minute to let that sink in… 5600 passengers! Wow. Just wow. Not sure that would be my thing. I am including a picture for reference- just look at the difference in the hull for the two ships. Massive! We moved on up to the Sanctuary. It was quiet in the morning- though completely booked. Costa Maya is a walk-off port- so maybe most people went aboard. We are some of the only people up there today. However, we had a cabana of loud talkers… might be time for headphones. It stared to rain a bit- so we found shelter to conduct our business. I made a critical error on our return flight that Jon- who has more status- spent an hour and a little money correcting. Jon and I have a shared philosophy- “The best kind of problems are those that you can throw a little money at.” It keeps stuff in perspective for us. We are lucky we can do that. We have been eating our lunch up in the Sanctuary each day- off their menu. Loving the set up of the bento boxes. I just love food that is neatly sorted and stuffed into little buckets. What more could a girl ask for- healthy, delicious, and well organized! All aboard was at 4:30, but I think that most people were on well before that. With potentially 10,000 passengers ashore- it was just too much for Jon and me- and probably a lot of other people as well. The Sanctuary was full by 3 pm tea time. This was our last day in the Sanctuary for this cruise. We said goodbye to the stewards and headed back to the cabin. As an aside- we learned a little lesson- the hard way. Both Jon and I are still working- somewhat- and we banked on having great phone/internet service in Costa Maya, just like Cozumel. That sadly did not happen. We found out that Costa Maya is a 6 hour car ride from Cancun… and that it is pretty remote. Cell service is spotty and slow, if at all. Add to that 10,000 passengers and well, you get the picture. We have actually done better with the ship’s internet. It was the second formal-not formal night. They are calling it “Dress to Impress”. We dressed, though I am not sure if anyone was impressed. We had a reservation for Sabitini’s but ran into our assistant waiter in the IC- and he reminded Jon that it was lobster night. We quickly changed our reservation to Friday- and made the MDR our destination. For dinner, I had the wedge salad- which was on par with a wedge that you might find at a fine dining steakhouse like DelFriscos or Mortons. I also had the panko fried tofu- which was the absolute best agadashi-style tofu I have ever had. I should have just ordered three more of those, but sadly I am supposed to limit my soy intake (IYKYK). We both ordered the surf and turf- or land and sea- or pasture and ocean- or whatever they call it. I eat no seafood or fish. None. So, Jon was tasked with eating my lobster and his lobster. If you have a shellfish allergy (I do not), they place the lobster tail on the steak- so there I am- with staring at a lobster butt planted on my steak… Hmmm. I had the pistachio dome for dessert and Jon had a third lobster tail. We tried to sit through the production show “Five Skies” in the Princess Theater. Holy weirdness, Bat Folk, what the actual heck was that?!?! Something about a guy who has to negotiate through 5 levels- lots of strange EDM, talking screens, an narrating amatron, and funky costumes- but the dancing was excellent. Maybe on another day, I would have found it intriguing, however, I am sad to report that we were among the throng of confused people who were in mass exit- mid performance. Actually, I have never seen anything like it on a Princess ship. I am certain that Princess paid a ton for the production- but they may want to consider their primary audience and cut their losses on that one. JMO. In lieu of the show, we decided to play cards and backgammon in the IC. It was hopping! So many people. There was a contortionist who hula hooped for a seven minute performance and then the Motown-based band. At about 8:30, we gave up the ghost and went up to bed. And in the spirit of Groundhog Day- it was another amazing day on a cruise ship! Anyone want to try to explain “Five Skies” to me? I’m all ears! Thanks for following along! More later! Tracie-Lynn

Night. 7 Menu:

Night 6 Menu

Hey Frank- I will try to remember to order the lasagne tonight… and will report back forthwith. In truth, the MDR menu seems to be reduces- the every night offerings are gone on many nights… not sure if you can still order them- as on off-menu deal. It is our last night in the MDR- so this is my big chance!