TracieABD

Hey T! I would love to hear your thoughts on Santiago! Thank you for all of the good wishes!

February 1, 2023 Belize City, Belize Hi friends- Another slow post… after another great night of sleep. I got up and made it to yoga. This time the class was with Melissa and was much more “yoga-y”. AND there were actually four of us! For as introverted as I can be, I do like to practice yoga in a group- even on a cruise ship. However (helpful hint here), entering a closed yoga studio to ask your wife what time she will be finished- and then persist on having a conversation with said wife for about 3 minutes-bad form. Oh- the cluelessness. We have been going to the International Cafe for breakfast. I am astounded at the changes- and maybe it is just on this ship- but WOW! There used to be just pastries and maybe an eggy sammich for breakfast. Not today, my little health nuts, not today! Every morning in the IC, the offerings include- avocado toast, beet toast, salmon toast, chia pudding, multiple yogurt parfaits, eggy sammich, ham and cheese sammich, egg burritos, cottage cheese with fruit, egg bites, monkey bread, cut fruit, whole fruit, and then the usual suspects in the form of pastries. I am loving this so much. It is the healthiest I have seen on any ship- any where. After stuffing ourselves with healthy deliciousness at the IC, we headed up to the Sanctuary. Because Belize City is a 30 minute tender ride each way, lots of people stayed on board and the Sanctuary was packed. However, there was a Christmas miracle… every single person was quiet and respectful. We spent the day chasing shade- the sun was bright and hot! So bright. So hot. We stayed through tea and then moved down to our cabin. I decided to do a load of drip dry, which initially was a study in frustration as I had to visit 8- count ‘em- EIGHT laundry rooms before I could find a working token machine. Not sure if you are getting on in the next couple of days- but Deck 10 Starboard was the only working machine I could find. As for the Elite laundry perk- another WOW! Load 1 came back in less than 24 hours. Load 2 in less than 48 hours. This is a metaphor for this cruise- everything is just better than I remember. Food, service, ship condition, etc… I know this is a top down deal- and the captain seems to be really “on it”. The crew seems to be really happy. We ate dinner again in the MDR. I had the chilled carrot and ginger soup and the TBGCS!!! (IYKYK)- If you don’t- It is the most delicious dish EVER! Twice-baked Goat Cheese Soufflé! Yum! For the first time I have seen, it was offered as a main and not an appetizer- but the portion size was the exact same- Personally, as a TBGCS aficionado and life-long fan- I think that if you offer it as a main, it should be twice the size! Then it could be DSTBGCS…We might need to start a movement- a protest- We could make signs and get matching t-shirts and everything!!! Double the size! Double the fun! Who’s with me here??? Back to our regularly scheduled blog—- We attended the production show in the Princess theater. It is their guest singer Ross Hunter- who has a rather impressive “West End” pedigree. He was actually really talented- albeit a bit cheesy. The crowd loved him. Jon and I are a tad bit more jaded (sorry, it’s just facts)- and at one point we both lost it during the performance. We are like the co-worker you can never sit next to- once one of us gets the giggles- it is game on. Thank goodness for really loud amplification and masks- otherwise we would have needed to leave the theater. Back to the room. Back to a few episodes of the Resident. Back to bed. Back to sleep. Another day in the can! Anyone want to join my cause for DSTBGCS? Come on! It’ll be fun! Thanks for following along! More later- Tracie-Lynn

Night 5 Menus:

Apologies… I forgot to screenshot the night 4 menus. Bad blogger. Bad blogger. ☹️

Night 5 Menu

Hi Carolyn! I hope they are having an amazing redo just like us!!!

Hey J! Antarctica!!! That is exciting!!! I know it must be cold… Stay warm and well, my friend!

Hey Frank! I hope all is well! Assuming you are in Maui making us all jealous!

January 31, 2023 Roatan, Honduras Dinner Grits Hi friends- (Preamble- forgive me- for not getting this posted yesterday- some days, I just don’t have it all together!) We woke up after another great night’s sleep. I am sleeping better on this ship than I have in so long. We went to breakfast in the MDR. I had the Tropical Fruit Boat- which was diced fruit on a full slice of pineapple. It was actually more of a Tropical Fruit Raft… just saying. I decided to give the yoga class a spin. It was just me and the instructor. I did not get his name, but it was a decent class- lots of vinyasa so I knew I was getting a work out. The weather was pretty cloudy with intermittent sun. Thunderstorms were predicted for the midday, but ya’all know about the weather… so of course we ignored the forecast and headed up to the Sanctuary. Within an hour or so of settling in, here it comes- the wind, the rain, the thunder and lightening. Yep. We totally bet on the wrong horse. We were the last holdouts… leaving us to get soaked while making a run for the elevator. The afternoon was relaxed. Jon hung out in the International Cafe… I might have napped. I love these cruises. Because we have been to these ports multiple times, we feel no obligation to get off the ship. For us, the ship IS the destination. Also, the Carnival Vista was docked next to us… and there seemed to be a lot of people. Very, very people-y. We were scheduled to depart at 7pm with a 6:30 All Aboard. At 5 pm, we decided to get off the ship to take a lap on the chairlift. The chairlift takes you to the beach and to the water sports area. It costs $14 per adult for an all day pass. If you are adverse to paying for a pass, there are excellent walkways to the beach area, as well. We had seen the long, long lines all day- but by 5 pm, most of the people-y people had returned to their respective ships. We headed out. The chairlift is fun and we timed it right around sunset. While we did not see the sun sink into the sea- it was close. We stayed on for a round trip (approximately 25 min) and then went back to the ship to get ready for dinner. It was Italian Night! And we were hungry. We had forgotten to eat lunch- not sure how that happened- so many, many courses were ordered and consumed. We both had the prosciutto and melon, minestrone soup, and mista salad. I had the veal scallopini and Jon ordered the chicken Florentine. The veal was excellent and plentiful. The chicken to spinach ratio was off- and it made the chicken too “spinach-y”. I also ordered a side of polenta. And it was the best darn polenta I have ever had. Now, excuse me while I digress a bit (seriously, this blog is just one massive digression- what’s one more?) I have lived in the deepish South for over 30 years. But according to Southern standards- I will never be a true Southerner- the saying goes “just cuz you put chickens in the oven, don’t make ‘em biscuits” (I just know you said that in your head with a Southern accent)- But having been in the deepish South for over 3 full decades- I do know a bit about grits. I personally love them- but I am in the butter/ salt/ and pepper camp- Never the sugar and butter camp. Never. So back to my point about the polenta… grits are made of ground corn. Polenta is made of ground corn. Therefore- I officially declare polenta to be “dinner grits”. Dinner grits- its a thing- Let’s start a trend! Nuf said about that- (actually way more than needed) After our massive dinner- we rolled on back to bed. We decided to pass up on the ventriloquist and return to semi-binge watching The Resident. I am sad to report, we have not watch a single episode of the Love Boat. Sleep soon followed and that ends our 3 day! Anyone want to split an order of Dinner Grits? Thanks for following along- More later- Tracie-Lynn

Day 3 Menu:

January 30, 2023 Cozumel, Mexico Riding on the Struggle Bus Hi friends- This morning was glorious. We slept well, woke up relatively early, coffee went off without a hitch, and we love our seats in the Sanctuary. Perfect! I decided to head into the port at Cozumel. It is always nice to go for a little walk. I wanted to look for a specific battery- for our little battery candles (helpful hint: these help to provide a little light in an otherwise dark cabin). I wanted to leave the port area and walk out a bit… I did not find the battery- but I had a great walk. One thing I love about Cozumel, while the hawkers are there- they will take no for an answer on the first round. Jon came in to meet me at Los Cinco Soles/ Pancho’s BackYard for little nosh and shop. I had the taquitos and Jon had shrimp tacos- and the coffee flan! Oh the coffee flan! The weather was lovely and the food was great. Pancho’s is probably a bit more spendy than your typical fare- (more like American pricing)- but worth it. It is one of my fav places. Jon really liked it too (he is a Pancho’s F’urchin!) We bought a tchotchke at the adjacent store. We found a really fun green pig that would have been amazing on our back porch- but it was big- too big to haul home. Maybe next time… On the way back to the ship, I developed a migraine- and that was it for me for the afternoon. Dark, cold cabin and sleep. It took me a few hours to resolve it. Jon helped me get settled and returned to the Sanctuary. There was Afternoon Tea to tend to… At one point I woke up and found the tea and scones he brought down for me- but I just had to pass. I hated missing the day in the Sanctuary- and to add to it- I lost a contact lens in the shower- fortunately I scrounged around and found another one. Whew. I fussed with an email/ internet/ app issue for a bit. I am so grateful that Jon is super calm and helpful in these situations. I was struggling and he was just handling stuff- and me. We went to dinner- fruit, salad, and leek quiche for me… fruit, crab dip, and stroganoff for Jon. The stroganoff was really good, but was more of a “deconstructed roulanden”- It was delicious, but a bit heavy for me. We could not get seats to the production show at 7:30- even though were were there 15 minutes early- and we took this as a sign to return the room. I did a little yoga and Jon is watching a show. It will be an early night for us. I am going to cut it here and pack it in early. Anyone need a seat on the bus? Thanks for following along! More later- Tracie-Lynn

January 29, 2023 Still Bumping Along the Caribbean Sea All Dressed Up and Lots of Places to Go… Hi friends- Formal Night! This is one thing I absolutely adore about Jon… that man will put on a suit for formal night! I have some fun dressy dresses- I get to wear them on cruises- I am grateful that Jon does not mind getting dressed up. So that’s what we did! We made our way down to the MDR for dinner. Actually, in the spirit of full disclosure- I limped. A lot. Like limpy limped. The shoes that go with my dress have a 4 inch heal and a tiny strap at the toes. I am pretty sure they were actually designed a torture devices- people have been known to confess their crimes within moments of donning them. Tonight was the shoes last hurrah. I am not even sure if I will put them back in my suitcase. Buh bye- mean shoes. I had consommé and beef tenderloin for dinner. Jon had crab cakes and the beef as well. We ordered the beef rare- and it was rare and so tasty. It came with a potato cake and purple cauliflower. (Not sure if that cauliflower is naturally purple- it may have paid a visit to my hair stylist- but I’m not telling…). Jon said the crab cakes may or may not have real crab- maybe it was faux crab- maybe it was “frab”. I really, really hope it was not F’urchin- that’s for sure! As stated earlier, this is a birthday cruise- so they waitstaff came out in full force and sang a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday” to the tune of Gaga’s Bad Romance. It was flipping awesome! This was followed by a round of peach melba… yum! We could not get into the 7:30 performance of the production show- It was absolutely packed. So we returned to the room, gathered the laundry and watched football! Go Bengals! (Or not… 😞 ) Jon voluntarily left watching the game to accompany me to the Princess Theater for their production show- Rock Opera. It just might be the best production show I have seen on a cruise ship. The singing and dancing were stellar (though a couple of numbers were a bit over-engineered). And now we are back in the room and ready for a wonderful night’s sleep. Anyone want to grab a mint tea? Thank you for following along. More later- Tracie-Lynn

Tonight’s Formal Night Menu:

I am working on it!

Hey Annie! Glad to see you are around! Hope the semester is amazing! And thank you! TL

I will absolutely try to remember and try to post. Here is the menu for last night…

Stats: 3232 Passengers 1113 Blue 594 Gold 327 Ruby 694 Platinum 504 Elite Most Traveled Guest- 1684 days MTG Lunch Cut- 570 days

Yay!!! I hope you have an amazing adveuture!

January 2015… We just missed each other on a 12 day Caribbean cruise on the Royal, I think… 😉

January 29, 2023 Still out to sea… and pretty much out to lunch too Attack of the F’Urchins- Touched for the Very First Time Hi friends! I swear we were asleep within 5 minutes of last night’s blog post. And finally we slept. Hard. I did not wake up until 8:30 this morning. It was glorious! The bed in our cabin is so comfy. So. Stinking. Comfy. Do you think they will miss it, if I decide to pack it in my suitcase?- as sort of a de facto souvenir- per se. Ok. They probably will miss a whole darn bed. At the crack of 10 am- we finally crawled out of the cabin in search of the elusive “perfect” coffee. For those of you that know- you know. I have one vice in my life. It is my morning iced latte. Sometimes it can be challenging to get this on a ship. There is a certain order of operations that have to occur in order for the coffee to be considered perfect. It is physics. First the espresso- then the Splenda- then the cold milk- then the ice… If you insist, I will be happy to tell you why. But the real reason? Science. We went upstairs to the baristas at the buffet. We now just get espresso and we manage the prep ourselves. I will warn you- if you are on the Sky and you want espresso AND you are sound sensitive- you may want to go to the IC- the buffet coffee is acoustically disruptive and LOUD. The coffee is fine, but I need a coffee to get through the getting the coffee experience up there. We did manage to get the coffee fixin’s (that’s Southern for “ingredients”) and headed back to the cabin where it is quiet. Once we were properly caffeinated, we headed out to run errands. By running errands- we went to the IC to get more coffee. (Again- don’t judge). I also needed to get another clip for my medallion. Sadly, I lost my last medallion holder during the Covid cruise of 2022. And then we hid in the back of the Crown Grill and played cards. Fun fact: during the day, the Crown is the game room. (I don’t think they have a library on this ship, but I could be wrong). Lunch was in the MDR- as it was Chicken Korma day!!! (This one’s for you, Pescado Amarillo!) Love, love, love chicken Korma- and all of the fun condiments! I limited to a single dish at lunch. Jon had grilled prawns and the carbonara- which is not really carbonara- IYKYK. They add cream and no raw egg- but he said it was a really great Alfredo sauce- so it was an expectation deal. And because you are wondering- what the heck does all of this yammering have to do with F’Urchins? What the heck is a F’urchin? So here goes (and I hope it does not too lost in hubris and/or translation) In the back of the Estrella dining room, they have a wall decor. Looks a bit like a metal urchin- so I was trying to get Jon to touch the decor (I know, I know- bad form. I get it), and when he finally acquiesced, our waiter- Mey ( so sweet and attentive) caught him. Then she had to touch it. Then the people (who may have been on a first date- not kidding) had to touch it. Jon was calling it a “fake urchin” which became a F’urchin. And then we busted out into a rendition of Madonna’s “Like a F’urchin… touched for the very first time” and now we have completed digressed. Yep. They will be very happy to see us go in six days. Very, very happy. (See photo below) After lunch, I went up to the fitness center to do a longer yoga. When I got Covid last May, I actually got fairly sick and I stayed sick for almost a couple of months. While I was sick, I lost a great deal of muscle mass. My breathing was messed up, and it left me with no stamina. In May of 2023,I am planning to hiking the Camino de Santiago in Portugal and Spain (one of the “shorter” paths- a little over 90 miles)- I I got really concerned if I could do it- so I decided to do yoga every day for 90 days… Welp- today is Day 177 (straight) and boy am I doing better. I can finally regulate my breathing and I think I am getting stronger. Bring on that long walk! 3 months and counting!!! The staff in the fitness center, especially Melissa, are so kind. They offered their assistance and were really helpful in finding me a corner to practice. Another reason why I love Princess. However- there is was a tragic occurrence on the Sky today… The soft serve ice cream machine is down! I love the “ice milk” on Princess… and I was not nearly as thrilled with the hard packed ice cream offered in its place. Most other people were thrilled- but I am a weirdo about ice milk. Hopefully, they will get it up and running soon. Jon and I are in danger of starving to death, so we went down to Afternoon Tea and sconey scones! (Yep. That is what we call them.) We asked for mint tea and it took a bit, but we ended up with two pots of mint tea and lovely little sammiches. And that is where I will leave you. Jon has gone up to watch football and I am writing. Anyone want to touch the F’urchins in the Estrella Dining Room? Thanks for following along! More later! Tracie-Lynn

January 28, 2023 Somewhere in the Caribbean Sea It’s a Charmed Life Hi friends- The whole day… Charmed. Seriously. Amazingly. Awesomely. Charmed. No one got much sleep last night, yet we were still up and at ‘em early this morning. We stayed in Miramar last night. The hotel experience was pretty meh… I was a bit worried that it might set the tone for the week. But not so. We left the hotel at 8:17, stopped at Starbucks for breakfast sammies and coffee, and headed back to Fort Lauderdale. Traffic was light and we got there in less than a half hour. The last couple of times we have been to Port Everglades it has been a bit of circus- and my worry was increased, because the Sky was berthed at Pier 21- not Pier 2. But the signage at the port! Holy cow. Maybe it was already there or maybe it is new- but so much easier. There were big colour-coded signs. And because Pier 26 and Pier 22 and Pier 21 are so close together, they even painted the roadway which lane was best for which pier. How easy is that?! We dropped luggage (all 146 pounds- don’t judge. Seriously. Don’t judge. I can feel the judgy-ness) and headed back to the airport to drop the rental. We were in an Uber less than 20 minutes later with dear Luis- brand spanking new to Uber- Luis. He had never been to port before- we helped. A lot. We were back to port by 9:45 am. The most challenging part of the day was the line outside of the terminal- we had to wait for about 30 minutes for the ship to zero out. There were two lines- one for priority embarkation (platinum, elite, and suites) and a standard line. Once the line opened, we never stopped moving. We were directed upstairs to the lounge- yes- there were pastries and bevvies. Unlike Terminal 2- they did not segregate the Elites and the Platinums into separate areas. Of course, Jon and I were anxious to board- because- Sanctuary. It is always about the Sanctuary for us. We watched so many transit passengers board- and then it was our turn. It was a first. We were on board at 10:30 am. Unbelievably efficient. We moved quickly onto the ship and up to Deck 18 Forward. Yay! We were the first in the Sanctuary line! And…. We did not get the full week. There are over 400 transit passengers on this cruise- and they get priority at booking. So there is that. We did get the 4 port days and passed on two morning slots. We would always prefer afternoon- for the tea. We are grateful that we got what we got. We headed down to the International Cafe (IC) for some tea. I was fussing with Medallion app when I noticed that we had a shared table for dining. No offense to the 3,229 other passengers on board- I am certain they are lovely- but Jon and I are a bit gun shy. We are trying to reduce the risk of a second round of Covid by limiting a lot of contact. We are also some of the only people on the ship consistently masking. At lunch in the MDR (because nothing starts a cruise off better than lunch in the MDR), we spoke with the Maitre’d, Giuseppe, about our seating concerns. He directed us to go to the Cielo dining room at 6 pm- and they would help us figure something out. He is so sincere you can’t help but trust him. We took care of the safety requirements and went to our room at 1pm. No luggage- but that was fine- we managed a little business and headed down to the Internet Cafe for assistance with the Medallion thingy- yep- we are “Assistance in the Internet Cafe for the Medallion thingy old.” Natalya was great- she had us up and running in no time. I adored her efficient “no nonsense” approach. They had a lot of people to help those of us, so the wait was relatively short. (Actually, we had no wait- because- it has been a charmed day! We arrived ahead of the wave). When we went back to the cabin- Luggage! It is amazing how quickly time passes on a ship. Soon, it was time to head down to dinner. And just as Giuseppe told us, when it was our turn to be seated, we were directed to a lovely corner table in one of the small back dining rooms- by a window! We loved our waitstaff- and we are looking forward to getting to know them a bit more over the next week. Giuseppe stopped by to say “hello”- a really touching and personal gesture. Dinner was delicious. I had the pork and Jon had the snapper and we both had dessert and I even took pictures. I just have to figure out how to download them. Presentation was absolutely on point and the food was really well seasoned. It felt like Princess dining of old. It felt like “Welcome home”. We rushed off to see the comedian. The theater was packed- and he just did not hit the mark with us. Not our type of humor, but most of the audience seemed to really enjoy the show. We are exhausted so we headed back to the room- to read and do a little yoga. And that is where I will leave you… the ship is gently rocking us to sleep. Thanks for following along! More tomorrow- Tracie-Lynn

Saturday, January 28, 2023 Fort Lauderdale Oops! I did it again! Hello friends- I have debated whether or not to blog this cruise... but my blog has become my "memory", so to speak, so here goes... A few years ago, Jon (my amazing husband) and I decided to stop giving gifts for birthdays and holidays- instead we focus on adventures. So this is my Birthday Adventure Cruise (Otherwise known as the BAC). It is a big birthday for me... ends in a zero- and might rhyme with mixty. But I'm not telling... This is another lap around the Western Caribbean. One of our favorite "do nothing" cruises. It is easy for us to get to- we have already been to the ports- and we get to have someone cook and clean for us. What's not to love? This will be a new ship for us! Yay! I love that new ship smell. We booked a few months ago- the lowest category interior. We are pretty much newlyweds, so we are fine in small spaces- When we received the email to bid for an upgrade- we bid on 4 options for an oceanview or balcony. I bid low- I mean loooooowwww. About three weeks ago, I received 3 emails rejecting 3 of our bids. No worries- I am happy with what I booked. And then the 4th email arrived. Our 4th (and highest bid) was accepted. We received a BC- balcony on the Deck 17 close to pools, MUTS and bars… not our thing- but that is how the bidding system works- I was fully prepared to make the best of it, though. I did make a call to Princess and after hours of being on hold- I tried the Live Chat feature. The CSR was able to help me. We moved back to a BE on the Caribe deck! Win! Loved the location and none of the pesky other parts (connecting cabins, bump out bunks, public spaces above or below, dubious “white spaces”, etc…) We were over the moon! A few days ago, we received a complementary upgrade to an MB- mini suite on the Riveria deck. Again, all the boxes were checked and we are even happier with our new digs! Gotta love Princess! As some of you may know, our last cruise did not go so well. Jon got Covid on the ship- and I was soon to follow. Honestly, I did not think a cruise was in my future for some years to come… Princess did their best while we were on the ship, and while it took 7 months, they did send a check with all of the necessary reimbursements and refunds. So here I sit in the hotel in Florida- waiting to board the Sky Princess in a few hours. I really love this time- just before a cruise- when there is so much excitement and promise! I will do my best to keep you posted! Thanks for following along- Tracie-Lynn

Ugh... I am stuck in the wormhole. No matter what I do, I cannot get logged in. I enter the info, and I still can't get logged in. And don't even get me started with Live Chat feature.

Moving forward, I would not cruise without a comprehensive plan… including incidentals and an alternate way to get home/ stay. Just a thought, you might want to include Vicks, cough drops, and mint tea to your kits. (I found mint tea to be most helpful in thick of it).

Hey Frank- I am so grateful for the anti-virals. I cannot image what this would have been like without them. I give COVID zero stars!