Travelicious

We enjoyed dinner with the officers and our fellow passengers, one of whom had a birthday.  Don’t know how old she was, but I’m guessing close to 90.  Unfortunately, they didn’t tell us until we had ordered dessert, then they brought out a large cake and cut a piece for all of us.  2 desserts!  
 

I don’t know what went on at the other end of the table, but my end included a guy who managed the stadium for the Cincinnati Bengals, and sporting a 2021 AFC championship ring!

Also included this ball of joy, who said this was only her second time to participate in dinner with officers:

She was trying to be professional for the photo, but was so much fun!  This is the only time I didn’t see teeth.

The other officer was the assistant food and beverage manager.  I did not get a chance to talk with him much.

It was a really fun time.

Despite my vow of no more gambling, I decided to have one more try.  I took $100  and got down to $13 at one point.  Ended up cashing out $156 and went to the cabin.

Tomorrow is a trip with fellow CCers to see tulips in Amsterdam.  Excited about getting off the ship and seeing some countryside!

Ended up not ordering the cake last night, but did get out to see the beautiful sunset.

Pookie is enjoying her last day to sleep in.  I’m in the theater to hear the GM give us some info on upcoming ports of call.  Tonight is dinner with the officers.

I started reading, but the eyes would not stay open.  Had about a 45 minute nap, woke up and it was TIME TO EAT!

We went to Hudson’s.  It was the blah lunch menu.  Still haven’t been on a day with the embarkation day menu.  I had corn chowder, which was pretty good, shrimp fritters and peanut butter cup cheese cake.  Yum!  Pookie had Caprese salad - not good with hard, greenish tomatoes, fish tacos (she liked), and banana cream pie.  We skipped the alcohol, as we were scheduled for the Latitudes wine tasting at 2:00.

We spent a few minutes in the casino, where Pookie has now won enough dice in the coin pusher to play Yahtzee.

I quickly lost a $20 bill plus a voucher for $3 something.  
 

We headed to the wine tasting, which was rather crowded.  Our selections:

Ignore lady’s shoulder in the Italy section.  She was taking copious notes before the tasting started.  
 

We shared a table with a woman who hated all of the wines and only likes moscato, and her husband who commented that he had not drank in 10 years and didn’t know why they were there.  
 

Some were good, some not so much.  I’ve decided I would much prefer a wine tasting where they pour one full glass of really good wine.

After 8 samplings, the casino was calling me.  So I grabbed a $100 bill and ventured forth, determined to try some new to me machines.  I quickly won $100 and cashed a voucher for $185.  I put the $85 in my pocket and played on with another $100 bill.  At one point, I was up to $135 on that, but ultimately came back to the cabin with a voucher for $100 and change and $85 and change in my pocket.  Not bad for an hour of fun.

By this time, the sun was shining brightly on our balcony, and we were able to sit out for a while.  It was so warm that I actually put on shorts while people walking around deck 8 were bundled up.  We planned to order room service and drink wine, but nothing on the menu was appealing.  We made a trip to the buffet - our first of this cruise - and brought food back to the room.  
 

Pookie has now gone to return plates to the buffet and grab a couple of cocktails.  If we are still awake and up to it, we may order a pot of decaf and some 7 layer cake a little later.  Upcoming cocktail may be the end, though.  We’ll see.

Up early for the behind the scenes tour.  I slept great, only waking once during the night, which is most unusual.  After showering and coffee in the room, we headed to the Cruise Next desk, where we were divided into 2 groups.  For some reason, we were not allowed to take our water bottles, and they were placed behind the desk.

Luckily, we were not in the group with the Cruise Next employee who has no personality.  Unluckily, we were in the group with all of the annoying people.  One lady dashed to be in the front at every stop, leaving her husband way behind.  There were lots of stupid questions and, of course, the know-it-alls who try to prove they know it all by making declarations disguised as questions.  
 

The theater portion was interesting.  Sadly, we were not provided cookies or any other treats while in the galley.  In fact, nothing was going on in the galley we were allowed to enter.  I think it was for Los Lobos.

After the tour, we headed directly to the immigration check.  It took about 20 minutes to get through the line.  We stopped by Cruise Next to collect my water bottle.  No one was there, but my bottle was visible on the back counter, so I retrieved it.

After a brief rest, we got a breakfast snack at Indulge.  I must be in the minority, as I find the breakfast potatoes delicious - much better than those greasy hash brown patties they used to serve.  Still, an occasional cookie would be nice.

Now it’s time to rest and read for a bit until we eat again. 😆

Had a light dinner and heavy drinks.  
 

Hopefully rough seas ahead to help us sleep.  Here’s me all bundled up this afternoon.  Anonymity maintained.

Lazy morning here.  Woke up around 9:30, made some coffee and laid in bed watching the newish Little Mermaid movie.  This movie, especially, looks great on these TVs!  
 

When it was over, we got ready and went to Hudson’s for lunch.  We wanted to be there for sailaway, which was supposed to be at 1:00.  However, by 1:45 we still were not moving, so decided to go to the balcony then to walk around deck 8.  
 

I got all bundled up and watched from the balcony, then went to walk around deck 8. It was COLD and windy down there.  Part of deck 8 was closed for maintenance, so we only made it around 3/4 of the way around.  That was enough!  

Now we are back out in the ocean with no view of land.  Going to read in the cabin for a bit before going out for cocktails.  We need to get up early tomorrow for the behind the scenes tour, so need to be able to get to sleep at a decent time tonight.  Accordingly, going to try to refrain from napping today.

Also on deck for tomorrow is the mandatory immigration screening, and the wine tasting at 2:00.  We have been gifted a couple bottles of red wine, so may order room service tomorrow night and stay in to drink a bottle.  I can’t drink red wine anymore without food - too dry.  
 

Only 2 more super lazy days before this trip starts getting crazy.

7 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

Is it a free shuttle, or do you have to make some krona magically appear between getting off the ship and getting on the shuttle?

Free!

8 hours ago, JIMESOPUS said:

Our hot dogs were red in color, consisting of Lamb, Pork, and Beef. I swear someone said Reindeer as well, but no Turkey. 

Ours were brownish in color.

The good news is that there was a cruise shuttle outside the terminal into downtown Reykjavik.  The bad news is that there isn’t much happening on a Sunday morning.  Still, we had a walk about.  When we realized it was Sunday, and that the dentist’s office would likely not be open, we decided not to waste the cab fare to get there.  The Fixodent is currently holding.

More good news:  we found the famous hotdog stand early and there was no waiting.  More bad news: it wasn’t really anything special.  The only thing I found rather unique was the crunch of the fried onion.  Otherwise, it was bland.  I don’t quite get the rave reviews, but I guess not everyone has experienced an Oscar Meyer turkey dog roasted over a wood fire, eaten in a Wonder bread bun with French’s mustard and raw onion.

We caught the shuttle back to the ship, and walked out around the sea walk and the rock pier.  After a few hours, we are back onboard and enjoying a margarita in The Local.  It is Cinco de Mayo, after all!

Land ho!

The message about the change of schedule for tomorrow indicates that people should be able to begin leaving the ship around 7:30.  I am going to set my alarm for that time, get showered, and grab a light breakfast.  Hopefully most will already be ashore by then.  
 

The only must do while in Reykjavik is to eat at the famous hot dog stand.  We’ll probably try to get Pookie in to a dentist, but if it doesn’t work out the Fixadent seems to be doing the job for now.  Otherwise I just want to walk around and see what there is to see.  Had I known we would have a full day we would have joined one of the big tours.  Oh well.  A hot dog and a walk about it is!  😆

We are still trying to find the right balance of when to eat.  We are definitely only doing 2 meals per day.  Of course, activity level is also greatly decreased from last week, so that doesn’t help.  
 

Luckily, we will be in Reykjavik tomorrow and will get some walking around time.  Looks like there is about a 20% chance of rain in the afternoon.  We should be able to deal with that.  We were scheduled to arrive at 2:00 in the afternoon and to depart at 1:00 in the afternoon on Monday.  Not ideal times.  However, we were notified this evening that we will arrive at 6:00 a.m. due to a medical emergency.  
 

Today we actually got up early and went to The Local for breakfast.  There was NO LINE!  In fact, there were probably only 5 or 6 tables that were occupied while we were there.  It was wonderful!  And peaceful.  
 

We chilled in the room after breakfast and told the steward we did not need service today.  It was a mostly sunny day for a change, so we opened the balcony door to enjoy the sights and sounds.  A little to chilly in the wind to just sit out.

We went out for a walk around deck 8 and then drinks around 2:30.  There were lots of people out enjoying the sunshine.  There were even some using the pools.  Too cold for me!  
 

We went to Belvedere’s and both had a Moscow Mule, which was nice and light.  For the next round, I had an amaretto sour and Pookie had a whiskey sour.  
 

People started lining up for the Commodore Room around 4:45, and it was getting loud, so we headed to the Observation Lounge, where we were actually able to get a seat.  We had another Moscow Mule while waiting for Food Republic to open.

This one wasn’t as good, but somehow we managed to finish it.

Having eaten at Food Republic before, I decided we should pay rather than use a dining voucher.  We started with 4 items, and would order more if still hungry.  We were both stuffed after sharing the 4 items.  Pookie also had 5 ounces of warm sake.  I tried a sip.  Some things don’t change.  I didn’t like Saki 40 years ago and I still don’t.

Finally getting a nice photo of the ocean and some blue sky.

Here’s something I love about the ship in public restrooms:

Left is soap, middle is water, and right is DRYER!  Maybe not much of a big deal to some of you, but amazing to us country bumpkins!

Breakfast at Hudson’s.  No photos,  as I forgot to bring my phone.  We arrived around 9:20.  Service was not great, but not complaining.

Slot pull with $100 entry returned $220 each!  Great time for all who participated!  I a as already lost profits, but not initial investment.

Dinner again in Hudson’s.  I had lemon-pepper shrimp and Pookie had spinach/ricotta stuffed pepper.  Both were very good.  
 

For dessert, I had lava cake and Pookie had apple strudel.  Mine was cheesy, but need to request without strawberry gelatin/ ook.  Pookie said her topping was good, but apples somewhat hard.  
 

7 hours ago, Sand and Seas said:

Metropolitan bar was our favorite on our April Galveston to Miami Prima.  Excellent bartenders. 

Hope you get to dinner in Indulge food hall.  Usually easier to get a seat and the menu is different from lunch.   

 

Loving your review!  Thanks for sharing with us😎

My bad!  We haven’t tried Metropolitan yet.  I meant Belvedere.

19 hours ago, Seas2mountains said:

Oh no!  Hoping they can be found soon. Maybe Belvedere or Metropolitan?  

It’s a no in Metropolitan.

Unfortunately, having slept so late today, we missed the bar crawl organized by @Taxvp.  Sorry!  Hope y'all had a great time!

First, bacon-wrapped shrimp from last night:

Next, tonight's dinner at Le Bistro:  

Tonight's dinner was compliments of Amex, which provides a dinner at Le Bistro and $200 non-refundable OBC.  When we were seated, we were told the meal comes with one appetizer, one main, and one dessert each.  We decided to get and split the beef tenderloin for a $10 upcharge and the lobster thermidor for a $25 upcharge.  We were shocked to find out there was no upcharge for using the Amex credit, as opposed to the FAS dining credit.  They swiped the card for the wine, but did not bring a ticket to sign for anything additional.  We even stuck around for a few minutes to make sure we were good to go.

We were able to catch the early showing of Donna Summer last night, and loved it!  Her music always makes me happy.  

After the show, we had a late dinner in the Commodore Room.  Unfortunately, there is a problem loading photos today, but the bacon-wrapped Cajun shrimp with cheesy grits was the highlight.  So good, and highly recommended!

After dinner, Pookie got a lemoncello and I got a cosmopolitan, and we headed to the casino.  Pookie is not much of a gambler.  She lost a very small amount in a slot machine, played a little coin pusher, and was done.  

I was winning pretty big when she was heading back to the room.  I should have cashed out and gone too, but, alas, I did not.  I did quit with only a small loss and cashed out a decent voucher, so it wasn’t so bad.  I also didn’t drink too much, which is probably the biggest win of all.

The daily time changes seem to be catching up with us. The ship was really rocking last night and this morning, which makes me sleep exceptionally well.  We didn’t crawl out of bed until after 1:00 this afternoon.  By the time we were ready to leave the room it was a bit after 2:00.  I wanted a salad from the buffet, as we have a 5:30 reservation at Le Bistro tonight.  It was still a madhouse after 2:00, and the salad bar was closed.  We headed to The Local, got a beeper, and waited for about 15 minutes.  Why are all of these people eating lunch so late?

We each had a Caesar salad, and headed back to the room, where our room steward said he needed about 5 more minutes.  This guy probably thinks we are the laziest guests ever!  He may be right.

We are chilling for a bit and will head out for a pre-dinner cocktail around 5:00, then dinner.  I suspect it will be an early night away from the casino.

I agree with the assessment of those who say the Prima is not ideal for a cold weather cruise due to limited indoor public spaces.  The outside deck on 8 is closed again today, although it is about 20 degrees warmer than yesterday.  Still no sun, but at least it is not foggy today so we can actually see the ocean.  

I would really like to sail the Prima again, or the Viva, in a warmer setting.   The ship itself is great.  It is all the people in my way that is the problem.  🤣

9 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

Pookie mentioned to me that she prefers the cooler climate. Will she be okay in Reykjavik? 
 

Hopefully, but she was a little cold at one point today.

On 4/30/2024 at 4:49 PM, schmoopie17 said:

The next time you're in the Local, see if they can make you a Matador. They had them at O'Sheahan's on the Jade, so they probably make them at the Local. It's a bourbon drink, but a little sweeter.

 

If you order it and don't like it (highly unlikely), send it my way and I'll finish it.

Can’t find anywhere onboard that makes them.  Not even the whiskey bar.

Weather wise, I haven’t seen the sun since New York.  It is cold, rainy and foggy.  Deck 8?is pretty chilly from people going outside and those sliding doors opening.  Probably need to put on my long Johns!

Oh, and I just discovered that Pookie did not really bring any warm clothes.  🙃

After eating way too much yesterday, we skipped breakfast and headed to Indulge at around 11:15 to claim a table for the 12:00 lunch service.  We learned yesterday that this was a necessity.

 I read on my Kindle and Pookie played a game on her phone as we waited.  The time finally arrived, and we placed orders for several items, which soon began to arrive one at a time.  Again, I forgot to take photos of most items.  Sorry.  Here’s what I got:

We also ordered the bacon-wrapped dates, a salad, soup and one or two other items.  Surprisingly, the soup and salad arrived last.

It wasn’t too long into the service that people were coming through looking for a table.  Someone stood a few feet away and looked at us for a while, then approached to ask if she could have our table when we were done.  But “take your time,” she said.  Eventually she must have decided to go elsewhere.  Then a man circled by a couple of times before leaning on the column next to our booth, right next to me, before asking if we were almost done.  We told him that we still had items coming, so he moved on to someone else.  It was like vultures, really.  There has to be a better way for this facility, which seems to be the only one without a hostess.

As far as the food, it was just okay.  The best items were the gnocchi and the dates. We won’t go back for lunch, but may try it for dinner if there is a different menu.  I guess we’ll either go to Hudson’s or The Commodore Room for dinner tonight.

We were waitlisted for dinner with the officers, and received a letter today advising the date and time.  We had a conflicting dinner reservation, but were able to get it changed, so we are good to go.  Hope we get interesting people.  Pookie has never done this and I’ve done it only once.

One other oversight has occurred related to Latitudes benefits.  We have not yet received our cartons of water, and we should get 2 each.  We advised Cruise Next yesterday, and again today.  Hopefully they will be delivered before we get to Iceland, as the smaller cartons are easier to take off the ship.