geoherb

I boarded the Caribbean Princess on August 15. I had two bottles of wine in my backpack. No one mentioned it, and I did not see a table set up to declare the extra bottle voluntarily. I arrived at 1:45. This was the CB's first sailing to leave from New York City this season. Perhaps they were more organized today.

I have a cruise booked for November 28 on the Caribbean Princess. I received an upgrade from the lowest category of inside cabin to a Cat. IB. I was shocked to already have a cabin assignment. I received it before yesterday's final payment date.

On the most recent sailing of the Caribbean Princess, room service told me that they did not have Perrier/San Pellegrino. All they had to offer for fizzy water was club soda in small cans.

I disembarked from the Caribbean Princess today. I filled out my survey tonight. One of the things I mentioned was the failure to provide promised things such as the upgraded bathroom amenities and canapés on formal nights. Elites finally received chocolates on the third formal night. The lotion in the pump bottle on the bathroom counter is not the same as the lotion that was in the tubes. Perhaps it's just on the CB that it's different. This one had a gardenia scent, even though the label mentioned eucalyptus and sea salt. The liquid soap and body wash also had the gardenia scent. Only the shampoo smelled right. We did get a champagne waterfall on our third formal night. The cruise director mentioned it was the first one on that ship since the restart.

Disembarkation this morning ran way behind schedule. I'm glad I did not have an early flight to make me worry about getting to the airport. I heard one of the staff members tell a passenger that she could leave the ship, but she'd probably end up waiting for her bag. They were still bringing out more luggage when I finally made it off the ship about an hour after I was scheduled to. The buses were ready for us but still a bit chaotic. Only one was labeled with a sign to let people know which airport it was going to--and thankfully that was the bus I needed to take me to LaGuardia. I ran into people from the ship at the airport who had a friend miss her flight because she did not get there in time. Security at LaGuardia took a bit of time. They did not have anyone giving clear instructions. When I flew from RDU, I was able to leave my laptop in my backpack. Apparently that's a no-no at LGA. My backpack got diverted. A TSA agent told me that laptops had to be removed from bags. She sent almost everything back through the scanner, removing the laptop from my bag. She did give me my shoes. My flight was also delayed around 25 minutes. I kept looking for it on the board, but I was looking at the wrong time slot. I could see after the flight before mine left the gate that I was in the right place after they updated the sign there. I ate a late lunch at Juniors. The half a corned beef sandwich wasn't great. The fries were pretty good. It cost a lot more than I'm used to paying for lunch--and it's not Canadian dollars anymore. It will take me a few days to decompress from the cruise. Overall, I had a great time. It was good to see my old friend and make new ones. The staff were friendly and tried. I filled out my survey earlier tonight. The biggest problem on this cruise was the internet not working. The fastest speed I recorded was 3.55 Mbps. That was the day I was able to load photos without any problems. I'm not regretting booking this ship for my November cruise. I would do another Princess cruise to Greenland, too. Here are some photos from St. John's that I could not get to load while on the ship.

Halifax Distilling Co. is at 1668 Lower Water Street. The tours/tastings are at 1 and 3. I'm not sure about the price since I had a private tasting. Call 902-431-0505. I got lots of good comments about the T-shirt I bought there.

Last night's featured entertainer in the theater was enjoyable. He was an Elton John tribute artist. I saw a bit of tonight's performance and decided not to go back to the full show. It was a singer doing standards. I've packed away my Patters. I'll scan them in later. Lots of activities going on the last two sea days. I ended up in fourth place in the cruise long mini Olympics thanks to a strong showing at skee ball. The two teenage brothers placed 1st and 2nd. A woman won 3rd. They gave out drawstring bags to all the participants who showed up the last day. The 1st place boy won a Princess backpack with a bottle of champagne, mug, coasters, water bottle, jellybeans, and more. His parents were there to make sure he did not drink the champagne. The 2nd and 3rd place had insulated bags with fewer things. My team won the cruise long progressive trivia. We had a strong showing on the last round, getting 19 out of 20. We kept our slim lead over the Lucky 5 to win by 5 points. The other team had a strong finish, edging out the Greenland Vikings by 2 points. We received certificates, medallion clips, coasters, water bottles, and a bottle of champagne. The embarkation lunch menu was posted on the app for today in the dining room. Unfortunately, they had another menu. I joined the singles and solos table. The organizer told the waiter that I was in a hurry to get to another event. He served my courses ahead of everyone else's. I had my main course before they received their appetizers. Similarly, the dinner menu tonight did not match what was on the app. I had planned to order the surf and turf again--petit filet mignon and shrimp. I ended up ordering mahi-mahi. The beef options tonight were meatloaf wrapped in bacon and some sort of sliced beef with Yorkshire pudding and garden peas. I left dinner before dessert. Unfortunately, we got to see the parade of waiters and cooks between our appetizers and main courses. They encouraged everyone to wave their napkins in the air as the crew members paraded around the dining room. Hollywood Hiccups was fun. The cruise director's staff acted out scenes from 10 famous movies. Just general silliness. My large bag is packed and waiting outside my cabin to be picked up. I had thought about just dragging it off the ship with me but changed my mind. We'll gain our final lost hour tonight. I'm going to bed early. Tomorrow will be an exhausting day.

The cover charge for the Crown Grill did not appear on my statement until this morning. Unfortunately it was wrong. They charged me for two instead of one. I'm glad my friend was there to help explain it to the purser who was helping me. My friend and her husband had received complimentary dinners. They were paying for her cousin's dinner. Somehow they charged me for two and charged them for one instead of one each. My balance looked better after that was taken off. I cashed out my account at the casino. I ended up $56 from what I put in (not counting the $10 in free play money that had to be bet).

Nothing on the dining room's lunch menu appealed to me enough to make me rush through the meal in time to make it to the cruise long mini Olympics. I went to the buffet. They had a nice selection. I saw people with shrimp on their plates but did not find any in the main section of the buffet. They turned out to be at the section at the back of the ship. The mini Olympics were scheduled for the Wheelhouse Bar. Masa was there, though, to direct people up to the basketball court. We had to shoot three tries from three different spots. People got 1 point for hitting the rim and 5 points for making a basket. I at least hit the rim every time. Almost everyone made at least one basket. I think five was the most made, but that was a young kid who hasn't been playing in the other contests. Our team did not have a great showing in the progressive trivia, getting 14 out of 20 points. But I did not see any other teams score higher when we picked up our paper. One of the teams closest to us in scores had to drop out. I'm thinking probably because of Covid. We also got to vote on our favorite team name. Gareth had printed every team's name on a slip of paper, and we couldn't vote for ourselves. I talked with the couple who had waited with me so long at the airport. They were enjoying a glass of wine at Vines. They said the guy just gives them a bottle of one of the wines covered under Princess Plus and lets them pour more for themselves. They're not taking the shuttle back to the airport. They arranged for a car service to pick them up instead. My cabin steward dropped off my luggage tags and disembarkation information. The days have flown by. It's hard to believe that it's been two weeks since I boarded.

Breakfast in the dining room this morning had bad service. One of the head waiters came over to help the waiter out. The waiter served me someone else's omelet, he forgot the toast for one man, and a woman was missing her bacon with her pancakes. When my omelet came, the hash browns were missing. I think he missed some other things that people did not speak up about. I walked a few laps around the outside Promenade. I saw a whale's tail and some pods of dolphins. They just made the announcement that there are more of them out there. I'm heading back out to see.

At least it's not just a lack of upgraded bathroom amenities for Elites not in suites. On my February cruise on the Regal, I was in an aft balcony cabin beside a suite. My suite neighbors received some of the upgraded bathroom amenities, but Elites did not. Princess should just remove it from the listed benefits if they can't provide them. Have you requested the evening canapés? I'm supposed to receive them on formal nights. I did not get anything on the first two. I was told that we'll get chocolates for tonight's formal night. I agree that the menus have not been great. The selection of appetizers, soups, and salads are particularly weak. But I'm usually able to find a couple of things to order. Most of the food has been very good. Service has been slow compared to what I received in February. But the Regal only had around 1,300 passengers on that cruise.

I'm currently on the Caribbean Princess with around 2,700 passengers. Here is the breakdown given to me by the loyalty and events manager: 351 Blue 395 Gold 276 Ruby 856 Platinum 836 Elite

Photos of my dinner at the Crown Grill. I could have eaten a plate of the fries without the tartare. The scallops were small but tasty. I should have taken a photo of the sides.

The point of sushi for me is getting the wasabi and pickled ginger that go with it. I wanted to try the Ocean Terrace sushi on the Majestic and Regal, but never found time to do so. I'm hoping it's better.

The champagne waterfall is scheduled for tomorrow night, our third formal night.

Last night's Captain's Circle party was nice. They had plenty of bar servers circulating with drinks. The people I sat with had special requests. They were able to get some of them, but had to settle for a Riesling when the first wine they requested was not available. I don't remember what it was. The loyalty and events manager gave out the numbers of Platinum and Elite passengers: 856 and 836, respectively. She told me to see her later for the other numbers. I saw her this afternoon. There are 351 Blue, 395 Gold, and 276 Ruby. The cutoff for the top 40 event was 713 days. The most traveled passenger had 1,224 days, second place had 1,184, and third place had 1,164. She recognized one passenger at the party celebrating 500 days on this cruise. Broadway Ballroom was enjoyable, not as good as Bravo but much better than Born to Be Wild. I didn't have trouble finding a seat arriving about 20 minutes early for the second show. I had dinner in the Crown Grill with friends. It was good. I had the steak tartare, scallop appetizer, veal chop, and creme brulee cheesecake.

We had perfect weather today in St. John's. It was mostly sunny and around 75 degrees. I walked to Quidi Vidi. It's a cute little village in a cove. There's a shop with artisans. I talked with one who's from a town about 5 hours north of St. John's. He and his wife have one of the little stalls upstairs. He said they're there for just four weeks. I had a flight of beers at the brewery. Afterward, I walked up to Signal Hill. The trail was steep but in good condition. There are several overlooks. I toyed with the thought of taking the difficult trail section back to town, but I decided to walk down from the hill on the sidewalk. I went into a few shops on the way back but didn't buy anything. I made it back to the ship in time for afternoon tea. I watched the sailaway from the Promenade Deck. We left a little bit late. I got a good video of the pilots departing the ship onto the pilot boat. I tried attaching more photos, but they're not working now. Tonight's menu in the dining rooms was Italian. Nothing really appealed to me, so I decided to skip it for the buffet. I went to the early show of comedian Joe Larson. He was pretty funny. I went up to the buffet afterward. The carving station had leg of lamb. They had a large selection of sushi.

Chocolate demo:

Cooking demo:

The Great Lake in Qaquortoq.

Photos from Qaquortoq:

Trying a shot at uploading some photos from Nanortalik.

It's been an enjoyable day at sea. My team tied in the morning trivia but lost the tie-breaker question. They had a nice chocolate demonstration in the piazza. The head pastry chef and two assistants did it along with Gareth. After the demo, they passed out samples of chocolate-covered strawberries and other fruits, chocolate mousse, and house-made chocolates. I had a chocolate-covered strawberry and some grapes. I ate lunch in the dining room. I had a seafood quesadilla appetizer and rockfish main course. I did not have time to stay for dessert. The mini Olympics started at 1:00. Today's Patter listed it as Bongani's choice. It turned out to be Score Four. They drew for opponents. I got the college kid. He beat me after about 20 moves. I lasted longer than some of the others. We scored 16 points on yesterday's progressive trivia. Gareth has stopped showing us the leader board, so we're not sure exactly where we stand. I know we did better than the team right behind us, and I did not see any sheets with higher scores. Hopefully, we're still at the top. But today's trivia was really hard. We know we missed several. The mother and daughter on my team snuck out right after the new quiz sheets were out. They helped with the ones they knew and headed to the wine tasting. The daughter had won it for two in Princess prizes. The rest of my teammates and I gave up on getting any more right answers, and I made it down to the wine tasting as well. They sampled a sparkling wine, and Chardonnay, a Pinot Noir, a Cabernet Sauvignon, and a dessert wine. I think the first four were the same as on previous cruises, and the last one was new. Even with the better internet speed, it's still taking three or four tries to post things on Cruise Critic and Facebook at times.

Today is another relaxing sea day. I ate breakfast in the dining room with three passengers who have been at my table before and a new couple. One of the specials was banana nut pancakes. They tasted pretty good, but I miss having real maple syrup like I do at home. One of the women at breakfast was talking about hearing a head waiter talk with the women she had lunch with yesterday about the chef's table. They're meeting in one of the dining rooms this morning to go over the details. So apparently there will be at least one on this cruise in spite of what I was told. My cabin steward left me a note that today is the last day to send out laundry. I sent my last few pieces yesterday. The first two batches came back in 36 hours. The last two batches took 60 hours. It's still better than the 72 hours he warned about initially. The weather looks like it wants to clear. We have seen plenty of overcast skies and fog on this cruise. My hopes for seeing the northern lights were dashed. The weather forecast for tomorrow in St. John's is promising--clearing in the morning after overnight showers with a high of 72 F. I found out my cabin assignment for my cruise that starts the Monday after Thanksgiving. I booked the lowest category of inside and received a slight upgrade to a Cat. IB on the Aloha Deck. I'm glad I won't be back underneath a pool, even though I've been awake before they started moving around the pool chairs on this cruise.

Wow! Finally got the previous post to go through. It seems like I've been trying for over a day. Some of my friends say they have received a refund for a portion of the cost of the internet. So far, it's only been the people who had Plus who have told me they can see it. If it doesn't appear on my statement by tomorrow evening, I'll ask about it. Today was a nice day at sea. I ate breakfast back in the dining room. It is nicer down there, although it does take a bit of time. I made a paper airplane for the contest. I missed the hoop by about six inches high and to the left. At least my plane came close. Next up was the morning trivia. We did OK, behind the winners by a couple of points. I made it by a demonstration in the piazza by a chef. They were showing off the dishes from the Crown Grill and Sabatini's. I saw him make the shrimp and papaya salpicon from the Crown Grill and the tomato and burrata appetizer from Sabatini's. I ate a chicken sandwich from the Salty Dog Grill for lunch. It was very good. I went back to the buffet at tea time for some fresh fruit and a scone. I knew there was not enough time to eat lunch in the dining room since the mini Olympics started at 1:00. Today's event was Jenga. I was lucky to be one of the first four chosen. They had two Jenga stacks, with two contestants at each one taking turns. We earned 1 point for each block pulled. Bongs later changed the rules so that people could only pull with one hand at a time. He made a further change to award 10 points to the opposite contestant if the person going up against them knocked the stack down. It's all for fun, but those points mattered to some contestants. I'm more serious about the cruise long progressive trivia. My team is still in the lead. The bad news is that we know we missed several answers today. The further bad news is that Gareth is not going to be showing the leaderboard for the next couple of trivias. I'm just hoping that the teams close behind us also missed at least as many as we did. Dinner tonight had a nice menu. I was originally going to go to the Crown Grill with friends tonight, but they changed our reservation to tomorrow night after seeing the surf and turf on tonight's menu. My filet was cooked perfectly. The shrimp were tasty but not the jumbo ones promised. One man at my table came just for the lamb. He said he and his wife usually eat up in the buffet except when he sees lamb on the menu in the dining room. Unfortunately for him, he had a lot of tough bits to his lamb that he left behind. I skipped going to the show tonight. It was a variety show cobbled together from the guest entertainers (and Caroline Miller). I hope the people who made it enjoyed it. I will miss Broadway Ballroom tomorrow night unless I go to the early show and skip out before it's over. I just saw it a few months ago and am fine with not seeing it again. I'm sure it will still be around in December. They were doing Liars Club in Explorers Lounge. It was pretty crowded. I did not finish dinner until around 15 minutes after it started, and I only caught a bit of it as I passed through. They had two of the Captain's Circle parties tonight in Club Fusion. The line for the early one was to Sabatini's at one point. My party is the first one tomorrow night. The lamb man at dinner said he managed to score three drinks at the early party, so that sounds encouraging. We gain half an hour tonight so that the ship will match the local time in St. John's on Sunday. I've changed the time on my pedometer. Speaking of which, I walked just 4 miles today. My hamstrings are sore from yesterday's hike.