JimmyVWine

Sure. If you look at Google Maps and zoom in to St. Peter Port Harbour area, you will see a several distinct piers. When you zoom in close enough you will see their names. Our tenders came in at Albert Pier. At the city end of the pier is a statue to Prince Albert and at the water end of the pier is a restaurant called Pier 17. The tenders docked here and the walkway up from the water level takes you right to the Pier 17 restaurant and the outdoor seating area of the restaurant served as the meeting place for our tour. Here is a map that will help you get oriented. Guernsey Harbour(1034329.1).pdf

I’m not aware that Princess has ever varied things like this on a ship by ship basis. Princess is a “product”, not a disassociated collection of ships, each with its own set of norms. Decisions made in HQ are rolled out fleet wide. And truth be told, things haven’t changed as much over the past few years as your post seems to suggest. The cruise experience in 2023 is more like 2019 than it is different.

Day 3-Guernsey (Continued) From the dock area we walked north along the waterfront esplanade a few blocks, made a u-turn onto The Pollet (one of the main shopping streets) and arrived at Christie’s Brasserie in time for our 1:30 booking. The last tender was scheduled for 3:00 but we assumed correctly that we could complete a nice lunch in the time allotted. As the name “Brasserie” suggests, Guernsey’s closer proximity to France than to England becomes most evident when looking at street names and restaurant menus. We shared an escargot appetizer, not certain if that old favorite would make its way onto to the current ship’s menu, while I had the Octopus and Baby Squid Casserole, K had the Salmon Niçoise, and S had the Pan Roasted Skate. While up to this point of our cruise the weather had been fair to good, by the time the afternoon rolled around in St. Peter Port, it was downright sunny and warm. We were seated indoors, but right beside fully accordioned doors that were wide open facing the waterfront below. We had a wonderful lunch of fine dining and service with time enough to walk back to the ship…if we could find it! You see, an odd coastal phenomenon occurred while we dined, which was a perfect corridor of fog rolling in from the sea that enveloped the port area and the place where Regal was anchored. Where one minute we could see the beautiful ship from our second story table, a minute later the ship was gone and the fog continued to roll in as if pumped from a theatrical fog machine. It was quite a site to see. Or not see, as the case may be. We walked back to the dock area, confident that David Copperfield had not made the ship disappear, boarded a tender and made our way back to the ship. A trivia competition was scheduled to begin at 4:00 in Club 6 and S insisted that we get there in time to participate. She and her mates in Edinburgh enjoy pub trivia frequently and she also enjoys ship trivia with her parents. We ordered cocktails at Club 6, crossing that venue off of our BINGO card, both as an entertainment venue and as a cocktail venue, got settled, and lo and behold, won our very first every game of Princess trivia. We took home the life-changing prize of three rubberized Regal Princess coaster, one of which is destined to be converted into a Christmas ornament which we can hang low on our tree where we put the ornaments that the cats cannot destroy. Afterwards it was back to the cabin to shower and dress for our first Formal Night. Ah, Formal Night. Two simple words that engender countless words of debate and debacle. I am not going to use this space to discuss what one is allowed to wear. I will not use this space to opine as to what one should wear. Rather, I will simply (he says with a grin and a chuckle) tell you what we actually witnessed people wearing, with some candid photos to boot. The photos were snapped quicky and inconspicuously with my phone so forgive the horrid quality. And let me begin by noting that the Cruise Director made an announcement after all were back on board welcoming everyone back, reminding folks that tonight was Formal Night, encouraging folks to put on their finest attire, and comforting those who wished to remain casual that the buffet was open to all with no formality expected. Now, people can fuss over whether that was a “rule”, or a “suggestion” or whether it was meaningless drivel. It really doesn’t matter. This is not the place for debating the rules. As noted, I will simply tell you what we witnessed, and where we witnessed it. On our walk back to our cabin after trivia, there were already people dressed for dinner making their way to one of the MDRs. We saw far more tuxedos than I was expecting, and lots of sparkly, sequined dresses. We say suits and ties. Blazers and ties. Blazers without ties. Some long-sleeved shirts with no ties, and a handful of Polo shirts. What we did not see was a single pair of shorts or a single pair of jeans. Small sample size in the hallways and elevators, but still. Our standing reservation at Concerto was for 7:30. The Captain’s welcome and Champagne event was scheduled to begin at 6:45. We have been there and done that, but were dressed in time to make our way to the railing above the Piazza by around 7:10 and took some time to enjoy the music, look around and soak in the atmosphere. It was here on Deck 7 at just after 7:00 that I took the following photos. And I know that there will be some who will insist that I purposefully sought out the most dressed-up people on the ship, but I assure you that I did not. I just snapped off photos twisting this way and that to capture what was in out and about at that time. As was our custom, we headed to Vines to load up on some wine before dinner, (three glasses of the South African “Chocolate Block” and while there I fired off another candid. And once seated at our table, surrounded by the same cast of diners that we had been with on the first two nights, all of whom, like us, were enjoying the same table at the same time each night, I took a visual survey of the men in my field of vision. 16 in all. Four of whom wore tuxedos, three in suits and ties, four with blazers and ties, three with blazers and no ties, and two with long sleeved shirts and no ties. For people who want to make the claim that people simply don’t dress up for Formal Night any more can not use this evening as evidence. Perhaps it was the UK itinerary or the moderate temperatures. I don’t know the reason. But what I do know is this was as a dressy a crowd and as if I need to mention it, while I provide only the statistics for the men, the accompanying women were equal to the task. After dinner we went back to the Vista Lounge for more fun with AJ Clarke, and while there I snapped off one last photo as discreetly as I could. So no more from about attire and no debating it here. I was not in all places at all times so I cannot make any comment about the 3,000 people whom I did not lay eyes on that night. I comment only on the light that passed through my own rods and cones. As for dinner, the menu for a Formal Night was not what we were used to. Perhaps it was because we still had another “Dress to Impress” night as well as a “Coronation Night” dinner coming our way. But the menu was pretty standard. That does not mean that we did not enjoy it. But it could have been any night on any Princess cruise. For Starters I had the Seared Pepper Duck Breast and K had the Sunchoke Cream Soup and we were both satisfied. S had the Lump Crab Cake and one would have needed to send for a search party to find any evidence of a lump of crab, only the search party apparently got lost in the fog. We agreed that we would not order that dish again. For Mains, I had the Beef Tenderloin, K had the Halibut with Proscuitto, and S had the Duck a la Orange. I enjoyed my beef, having ordered it medium rare and receiving it “rare+” which is actually what I prefer. But the portion was quite a bit smaller than I recall from the past. S enjoyed her duck as well. K’s halibut was a bit overcooked and the “Proscuitto” appeared to be just regular sliced ham, similar to what Alfredo’s uses on its pizza. For dessert I was happy to see the Chocolate Hazelnut Bar still on the menu. In our household it is referred to as the Chocolate Viking Ship given its shape. While Norman Love’s name is no longer attached to this dessert, it remains faithful to his original recipe and was as good as ever. K and S each enjoyed their Caramel Pecan Turtle Cheesecake. As for wines, after we finished our first glasses brought in from Vines, K and I each had a glass of Belle Glos Pinot Noir and S had a glass of the Silverado Cabernet. I finished dinner with a glass of Port and K and S split a glass of Seghesio Old Vine Zinfandel from the MDR list which was priced $2 over the $15 allowance. While we were at the Vista Lounge we stuck to cocktails, all of which were under the $15 limit. We got one round at the Princess Live bar, checking that venue off of our BINGO card, and ordered another through the app which came quickly and accurately. Our total for the day was 9 glasses of wine and 6 cocktails. Our out-of-pocket cost would have been $304.44. With Plus we paid $16.52, and with Premier we would have paid $0. We closed down the Vista Lounge and from there it was time for bed with Cobh/Cork to come the next day.

Day 3-Guernsey (Continued) The reason why I wanted to address the next two stops on our tour in a separate post is because you will note a distinct change in writing style. While I generally prefer a lighthearted, Erma Bombeck style of writing when doing my travel journals, there is nothing lighthearted about the subject matter of German Army (I can't even spell out the "other" word) war tunnels or the most comprehensive museum of occupation artifacts found anywhere on the planet. My typical irreverence would be misplaced and tone deaf. That said, the stop at the German Underground Hospital was fascinating. It makes all too real the story of the complete occupation of this island during the war and both the physical and emotional scarring that this occupation imprinted on the landscape and the people. Thankfully the effect on the people has largely faded, but the change to the landscape is evident everywhere. I have been to other German war tunnels before, most notably at Eagle’s Nest in Berchtesgaden. But this system of tunnels and storage facilities left me speechless. The tour takes you far underground, (as far as about 80-90 feet) to cold, damp, dark but intricately constructed and maintained tunnels and storage rooms, most left exactly as they had been abandoned on May 9, 1945. According to Soo, after the German surrender, the de-occupation of Guernsey was negotiated on May 8 and by May 9, the Germans began (and largely concluded) their departure from the island in one day. So much of what the occupying forces had constructed was left in place, torn down or converted at the discretion of the people who resided or returned there after the war. These tunnels were largely forgotten about until construction and curiosity brought them back to the metaphoric surface many years later. The tunnel system is so vast that one would surely get lost in them without a guide. Indeed, a non-tour visitor had to beseech Soo for some directions our of the system and back to the entrance/exit as she had gotten terribly turned around. The tunnels themselves are mostly poured concrete, held in place by wooden boards until the concrete set so that the boards could be pried off and reused. In this photo you can see a “wooden” texture to the walls which are just concrete, with the lines you see formed by the wood planks. When you get close enough, you can actually see the graining of the wood imprinted into the concrete. In the second photo you can better see puddling on the concrete floor. Many of these puddles for in clearly discernable boot prints that were left by either the tunnel builders, (forced labor, obviously) or German soldiers themselves. The third photo provides a perspective of the length and vastness of the system. As the name of the museum implies, there was a hospital aspect to the facility and that can be seen here. The beds are replicas of what would have been found during the time of its use, but everything else including the whitewashed brick is original. From here we were taken to the German Occupation Museum. This is a small in size, but huge in content private collection of one man’s obsession of collecting everything he could from within the island that the Germans had left behind. The artifacts are in “as if used yesterday” condition and present some of the best war artifacts found anywhere. We could have spent a full day here, but the 90 minutes gave us ample time to get the overall sense and scope of what we were seeing. If there is one single “don’t miss” site in Guernsey, this is it. With that said, I did not take any pictures inside of the museum. It was not that they were prohibited, but emotionally I just did not think that it was right to fill my camera with swastika-laden objects and German Army guns, uniforms and paraphernalia. I have my memories, but “tourist photos” just didn’t seem right. When this part of the tour ended, we were driven back to the tender dock where some people opted to get back on the ship for a late lunch, but we honored a previously made 1:30 reservation at a lovely restaurant about four blocks away along the waterfront. Lunch and our time back onboard the ship will be covered in a subsequent post.

Day 3-Guernsey We now begin Day 3 which is the tender port of Guernsey. And by that I do not wish to imply that the Isle of Guernsey is somehow fragile or overly sensitive. Rather, one must board the ship’s lifeboat (tender) to reach the island. The stopover is a tad short, with arrival expected at 7:00 and the last tender back departing at 3:00. As this was yet another place with which I was not the least bit familiar, I did my homework, read up on some private tour options, took everyone’s advice and watched “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” on Netflix, and landed on a small group tour called: “Highlights of Guernsey with German Underground Hospital (4 hours) - SPECIAL SMALL GROUP TOUR” run by an outfit called, appropriately enough, Tours of Guernsey. Our instructions were to take one of the first tenders off the ship so that the group could assemble by 9:00 and depart by 9:15 for a full morning of adventure, leaving us just enough time for a sit-down lunch before heading back to the tender dock. Now, the instruction to “make sure that you are on one of the first tenders” is easier said than done, especially when priority for shuttle departure is given to guests in Suites, who are Elite, or are booked on a Princess tour. We did not qualify for any of these ranks. The stated process for tender departure is to go to the Photo Gallery on Deck 6 once your entire group is ready to disembark, collect a paper ticket with a silly aquatic animal name printed on it (and often misspelled), and wait until your misspelled nautical animal name is called which signifies the “all clear” to march down to Deck 4 for tender boarding. Past experience has ranged from: “Make your way down to Deck 4. We are not handing out tickets at this time”, to “Sit and wait for over an hour to hear your nautical animal’s name called.” Because of this, I had a heck of a time answering K’s question of: “What time do we need to leave our cabin in the morning?” I tried to explain that if we found ourselves in the “Head straight down to Deck 4” scenario, 8:15 should be fine. If we found ourselves in the “Wait to be called” scenario, 7:30-7:45 would be better. She gets very frustrated when I cannot give her a straight answer about what time she needs to finish her morning routine in preparation for being seen in public, but I was doing the best I could. We settled on 7:45 and at that time, K and S headed to the IC to get coffee and takeaway pastries while I ventured up to the Photo Gallery. Luck was on our side (in terms of timing) as we were told to head straight down to Deck 4 because nautical animal groupings were not being formed at this time. This was good in terms of ensuring a timely arrival for our tour, but bad in terms of incurring the wrath of K who moaned that she could have slept an extra 30 minutes. Oh well. We headed down to Deck 4 and were ushered onto a tender with much of a wait. S and I went up top for the view and fresh air and K stayed below thinking that this would be more conducive to keeping the hair she had just spent 20 minutes on in a condition suitable for public viewing. While up top, I was able to snap off a quick shot of Regal as we made the 20+ minute trip to the main dock. We arrived at the dock and walked to the Private Tour meet and greet area and soon found Amanda, the Tours of Guernsey agency owner. She paired us up with our guide and we then had to wait about 20 minutes for the last of our group to arrive. They had obviously opted for the extra 30 minutes of sleep and were on the tender after ours. Because tenders do not leave until they are full, this can take some time. So it goes. In all I think there were 3 “small groups”, each taking their own van to the various sites. Whether by luck or design, the guide with whom we were paired, Soo Wellfair, wrote the book on visiting Guernsey. No. Really. She literally wrote the book, and “Soo” really is how she spells her name. https://www.amazon.com/50-Gems-Guernsey-History-Heritage/dp/139810356X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=VKJ2J8094HPS&keywords=50+gems+of+guernsey&qid=1684079927&sprefix=50+gems+of+guernsey%2Caps%2C137&sr=8-1 Soo is an incredible guide who loves what she does almost as much as she loves her adopted home of Guernsey, and I can see why. Here is a place that I knew nothing about, and after 4 hours of driving the entire length, width and depth of the island, I could honestly see myself retiring here, if only I could afford some real estate. Each house we saw was nicer than the next and it really looked Utopic. I can see why Victor Hugo spend his days in Napoleonic exile on this island where he wrote some of his most important works including “Les Misérables.” The island’s beauty and charm are reasons enough to visit, but as one learns from reading (or watching) the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, the island’s occupation and eventual liberation during WWII is the defining history of this place, and the common thread for much of what is the fabric of this Channel Island Crown Dependency. (The first thing Soo tells you is the answer to the most-oft asked question, which is: “Is Guernsey part of the UK?” and the answer is “No.” But please do not ask me to explain what a Crown Dependency is, how it operates separate and apart from the UK, and why Coronation bunting and UK flags were everywhere to be seen on the island. Soo explained it, so don’t fault her. I am just too dense (or too American) to understand it all.) Indeed the WWII history informs much of this tour, which is described on the website thusly: You will be picked up from your hotel or the tender pier, by your accredited guide and separate driver, from where we will start our amazing adventure. Drive past Victor Hugo's House, to see where this famous writer once lived, and onwards to a photo stop (for small vehicles of 7 guests or less) overlooking Castle Cornet, nearby islands and any visiting cruise ships. Travel through the parish of St Martin before arriving at the unique and beautiful Little Chapel where you will have time to visit inside. A short drive will then take us to The German Underground Hospital, the largest construction in the whole of the Channel Islands by the Germans during WWll, you will be provided with a private tour inside this amazing attraction. On leaving, a short drive will take us to the German Occupation Museum, explore with us a private museum which we consider to be the best in Guernsey. On leaving the museum, drive through the beautiful countryside and along our west coast to view some of the best beaches on the island. We will then continue back to St Peter Port where we finish the tour at your tender pier or hotel. This very accurately describes our four hours. The company offers other options, but this is what we chose to see. We began with a lovely drive that did indeed take us right past Victor Hugo’s beautiful house in a beautiful neighborhood. Of course, prior to my research, I associated the name “Guernsey” with only one thing, which you can probably guess. Cows. And at our first stop at the Little Chapel, we were greeted by some namesakes right by the Chapel itself. We learned that all of the cows are privately owned, used only for dairy purposes, and all of their milk combined and processed/sold through an island cooperative. S took some time to make new friends as she truly is an animal whisperer. Animals take to her like, well, flies to a cow. Spinning around from the bovines, you see what is accurately described as a “Little Chapel.” This was started in around 1914 as either a labor of love, a labor of lunacy, or both. It is a toy-shaped chapel made from broken ceramic mosaic and sea shells, but just big enough for humans to duck in for a look-see, a prayer or a candle lighting. However I would not recommend this venue for a wedding. There is a small gift shop beside the chapel (because, of course there is), and outside it, and just as you enter the chapel driveway stand two five-foot puffin statues that are part of a local community fundraising campaign entailing 60 decorated puffins placed in various spots around the island. The one by the giftshop is appropriately decorated in the style of the chapel. After some more scenic walking and driving where the full bloom of Spring could be experienced… …we arrived at our next major site, The German Underground Hospital. The name is a bit misleading, as it seems that 90% of this tunnel system was designed and used for munitions storage and hiding armaments from aerial attack. A more full description and photos will appear in the next post.

Will do. My photos are being held hostage on my wife's computer and she has needed it for work over the past day and a half!

The older tiny hair dryers were not good. Lately I have been seeing larger salon style dryers that are fine. This is a picture of the older one. The newer ones are bigger and more powerful.

Day 2-Portland UK (Continued) Skipping back in time just a bit from the last photo which was taken from our balcony, (and as an aside, not that it can be counted on for future trips, we were on the port side and at every port stop except Holyhead, our side of the ship faced the land/disembarkation area) before we headed back to our cabin we sat (collapsed, really) in seats in the Piazza to enjoy some well-earned refreshments. K got some espresso, but it was too late in the day for me to indulge. We all got a sweet from the IC and we used this opportunity to cross the Good Spirits at Sea bar off of our BINGO card. So we sat, relaxed, had a cocktail and then made our way up to our cabin to shower and change for dinner. This was another Smart Casual Night. As 7:00 approached the Celebrity ship beside us was preparing to leave and after the Andrews Sisters finished their set, we heard the thunderous booms from a cannon placed at the end of the pier. I thought that we were being besieged by pirates, but Penzance was too far away for that to be an issue. It was just the locals saying farewell. We would receive the same treatment just a bit later. As became our habit, we made a stop off at Vines to load up on a nice glass of wine to take with us to the Concerto MDR. The wine list in the MDR is just OK, and nothing compared to what one can find at Vines. We had checked out the menu on our TV while getting ready and had a pretty good idea what we were going to order, so each of us opted for a glass of Belle Glos Pinot Noir. I don’t think I recall seeing that wine on the Concerto list, but on the first night the sommelier did come to our table with a bottle in hand after she noted our Burgundy glasses and suggested that we might enjoy that wine. We let her know that we were familiar with the wine and to keep a bottle (or 4) handy during the length of the cruise, so we were able to get a second glass of that in the MDR later during our meal. Incidentally, it was this evening that I checked the lines at the MDRs (Symphony and Concerto) to see how things were shaping up and found no waits at either at 6:15 and 7:30. At exactly 7:30 we walked straight in and headed to “our” table and received a warm welcome from John and Shashi. Our first night at our designated table and we could not have been happier. For starters I ordered the French Onion Soup from the Favorites board, S had the Traditional Caesar Salad and K had the Beets and Goat Cheese Salad. We were all pleased with these dishes and the Onion soup was among the best I have had on a Princess ship. K’s salad wasn’t quite as she expected, thinking that it would be mostly beets with an accompaniment of goat cheese, and instead it turned out to be the reverse. That’s OK, as she enjoys goat cheese, but it turned out to be heavier and more filling than anticipated. For Mains I rolled the dice and ordered the Pork Schnitzel. This isn’t something that I would ordinarily try from a mass-producing kitchen, but it turned out to be a wonderful dish that exceeded my expectation. S had the Chicken Cordon Bleu which she declared a success and K had the Truffle Risotto. The flavor of the risotto was fine, but the consistency was off. It was not really a true, creamy risotto and more of a fluffy rice dish. But the flavor overcame the texture issue. For desserts we chose the French Vanilla Crème Brulé (me), the Frozen Chocolate Praline Torte (K) and the Lemon Meringue Cheesecake (S). I am always amazed at how consistently excellent the Crème Brulé is on Princess ships. They never seem to have an off night, and tonight was no exception. S enjoyed her Cheesecake. But K’s frozen concoction was sort of like a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake. She wasn’t expecting the “frozen” part of the dish to be just plain ice cream, but that is all it was. The name of the dessert promised a more interesting preparation, but it was really just a dish of ice cream with just a little touch of extras. So far we had two really full days and nights, and tomorrow we would have to get on an early tender in order to meet our private guide for our tour of Guernsey. So we resisted the temptation to keep the party going and decided to relax in our cabin and get to bed early-ish. Our drink scorecard for the day was: Good Spirits bar checked off; 3 cocktails and 6 glasses of wine. Total out-of-pocket had we paid cash would have been $169.92. Total cost with Old Plus was $28.32. Total had we had Premier would have been $0. Some random notes while I am thinking of them. On our first day when I was at the Guest Services Desk getting my Gift Cards placed on our account, a gentleman came up to the agent next to me and asked about the Special Desserts. Specifically he wanted to know if his package qualified him for "just gelato" instead of the whole concoction. He was politely told "no" and that the only thing that was within the scope of the package was the full dessert. I could sense the frustration on both of their faces as each seemed to understand the idiocy of this policy. As we sat in the Piazza that afternoon I explained the various packages to K and S as they know nothing about any of this. Dad does all of the heavy lifting when it comes to planning family fun. When I explained the Special Desserts to S, she said that she had to see one so I called up a picture of some on the internet. Her response was one that I will never forget: "I prefer my desserts without pyrotechnics and moving parts. And you can leave the sound and fog machines behind as well." K just laughed hysterically at the photos and insisted that no sane person would ever eat two of those a day. For the record, despite spending a whole lot of time in the Piazza, we never saw a single Special Dessert being made, carried or consumed over the whole 8 days. Not. A. Single. One. I don't know if they make them at Swirls, but given the weather on the trip, not many people were hanging out around Swirls and we were only in that area for a brief time or two. On our first sea day, we saw a crew member walk past us in the Horizon Court dressed up like she was stationed at Ice Station Zebra. We saw her later that afternoon manning the station at Swirls! As for internet, we never had any issues. We aren't super-users and don't post "Live" updates or upload photos. Nor do we stream or download content from Netflix or Disney+ while onboard. For quick internet searches, texting, reading email and keeping our Wordle streaks going, the internet was perfectly fine. Guernsey is on the way as soon as I get my photos sorted out. Patter Day 2.pdf

Day 2-Portland UK (Continued) Our next stop, after a nice drive through the countryside, was to the Village of Tyneham. Tyneham tells a sad but interesting story of a coastal village set too close to the dangers of WWII. The residents of the village were required to abandon their town and relocate so that the British Armed Forces could use the area for training and bombing practice. Even to this day the village is engulfed in an active military training and bombing base, and Terri told us that Ukrainian forces are brought here to be trained to use the weaponry being supplied by Western nations. Today the village sits as a ghost town, but there are some heartwarming plaques commemorating the return visits of some of the children who were born here, only to return 50+ years later to see what was left of the village. From there we were off to Corfe for a visit to a more lived-in village, and a medieval castle. Along the way we were able to glimpse Lulworth Castle from the moving van. This castle has always been “residential” as opposed to one built for defensive purposes. Corfe Castle was built by William the Conqueror in the 11th Century as a strategic and defensive stronghold, but the geopolitics of the medieval times have taken their toll on the structure. Still, it is fascinating to be looking at something that was built before 1100. Aside from the castle itself, the village of Corfe and its adorable train station are worthy of a bit of time and souvenir shopping, and perhaps a pint. Coronation bunting and flags were everywhere. And I swear that Thomas the Tank Engine stops at this station! After some more countryside sightseeing, we made our way to Weymouth where we had time on our own for lunch. My research led me to a local favorite “chippie” called Fish ‘n’ Fritz which did not disappoint. The haddock was battered with a crisp, craggily crust of goodness that we enjoyed al fresco along the Weymouth Quay. After lunch we wound our way back to the Isle of Portland itself to take in a fantastic view of the surrounding area, see the Olympic Rings commemorating Portland’s claim as the host of the sailing events for the 2012 Olympics, and to see some real live, (well, not really live) fossils that help give the Jurassic Coast its name. A view of the strip of rocky sand that connects Portland to Weymouth. And here is a nautical fossil that is almost the size of a car tire. I can’t imagine seeing one of these things swimming by me! Our last stop was the Portland Bill Lighthouse with some more unbelievable coastal views. We used the full 7 hours for this adventure, and were returned to the Portland Castle where we started, and where a blue bus picked us up to take us back to the ship. After we were settled in our cabin, we heard the beautiful tones of what sounded suspiciously like the Andrews Sisters. We opened up our balcony slider, stepped outside and saw this! What a great way to send us off to our next port. One last photo to capture the mood. (And yes, they did sing “In The Mood”) Shipboard activities, dining, drinking and entertainment to be covered in the next post.

Day 2-Portland UK One of the great joys of travel is going to a place you never thought you’d visit, that you never knew you wanted to visit, and learning that this place exceeded your most humble expectations in its beauty, culture and most importantly, it’s people. And you wonder why you had overlooked such a wonderful place and conclude that it is because of nothing less than your own ignorance, yet you are comforted in knowing that this ignorance can be so easily overcome if only you let it. So it was with much of this itinerary. The driving force behind the selection of this cruise was not the itinerary per se, but the date, and ease with which S could join us for a week+ of family together time. At the time of booking, the actual port stops were a mere afterthought. And then I began doing what I always do, which is compulsive research. The Portland/Weymouth area (as well as Guernsey) was completely unknown to me, and no “must see” or “must do” adventure jumped out at me upon first blush. But after a fair amount of investigation, I concluded that the best way to approach an unfamiliar area would be to immerse myself in it. So I happened across a company by the name of “Dorset Tours” which offered cruise passengers small van tours including one called “The Jurassic Coast Adventure.” This was to be a 6-7 hour tour guided by an area specialist that would, well…I’ll let them tell it: “This is a fun packed day along the stunning Jurassic Coast from Portland. You’ll travel through England’s first UNESCO World Heritage site the Jurassic Coast, discovering sites dating back 180 million years with perfectly formed coves and archways carved into the natural limestone. You’ll then navigate through Dorset exploring hidden villages, thatch cottages and castles built by William the Conqueror, not forgetting a stop Weymouth and Portland’s Olympic Rings overlooking 18 miles of Chesil Beach.” Seemed pretty immersive to me, so I booked it. Another popular option at this port stop is a trip out to Stonehenge, and while a number of tours will get you there, S (with a Masters in Classical Archaeology) warned me that we would be underwhelmed by Stonehenge, especially if visiting with thousands of other cruise ship passengers. We would see that some other time. For today, it would be the Jurassic Coast. I was particularly excited to discovery what sort of dinosaurs we would see, and perhaps get a chance to meet Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern. See? I really didn’t know anything about this area at all. We were emailed instructions that we were to take the free blue shuttle bus that would meet us shipside and instruct the driver to drop us off at Portland Castle. The port of Portland is a working port with no convenient access for cruise passengers, so as a result, you will either be taken from the disembarkation area by your Princess-organized tour bus, or, if traveling on your own, by a blue shuttle bus that whisks you out of the commercial port area. Our meeting time was 9:00 so for this morning, all we could manage for breakfast was a few “to go” items from the IC and some coffee for K. We walked off the ship, boarded a blue bus and in minutes we were at the Portland Castle where we were greeted by Terri, (not Laura Dern) who was to be our guide for the day. Terri is a Dorset native and experienced traveler, has a wealth of fascinating stories and is clearly passionate about the Isle of Portland and surrounding areas. The Isle of Portland where the cruise ships dock is a small almost-island, with the “almost” being a strip of rocky sand that connects it to the mainland. But for all practical purposes it is an island, and the more bustling tourist area is the town on the tip of the mainland called Weymouth. If the blue bus will continue on to Weymouth if you are not getting off at Portland Castle. We boarded our van and began our journey to our first stop, called Durdle Door. Along the way Terri explained the history and geology of the Jurassic Coast. This really is an incredible area of geologic interest, and if you are a fan of the show Broadchurch, know that its exterior coastal shots were filmed just around the bend from the places we would be visiting. Durdle Door is a natural arch formation created by thousands of years of tidal erosion. It stands out along the beach like a sea monster guarding its lair. And while the sea monster is the star of the show, one cannot help but be overcome by the sheer beauty of the sheer cliffs. S has been to Dover and she said that she preferred this over that. From there we went to a charming village called Lulworth Cove where we walked around the village, got close up with some beautiful houses covered in tightly woven thatch, saw some more forming arches, and experienced the beauty of Spring in action with wildflowers and gorce blooming everywhere. Terri then pointed out something that should have been obvious. The rock layers of the earth had been visibly displaced in a number of areas showing where continents collided and broke apart as Pangea became the world as we know it now. Note how the rock layers clearly form a vertical pattern in what used go be horizontal sedimentary layers. And of course, Lulworth Cove would be nothing without a cove. This one a near perfectly formed circle. The village itself has more ice cream shops per square foot than any other place I have been! There was time for a bit more walking and picture taking before heading off for our next stop.

Day 1 (Continued) With dinner completed, it was now time to venture out for an evening of entertainment, and this provides a convenient opportunity to discuss the offerings for this cruise. The two live bands were “The Prestige Quartet” and “The Voyagers”. Both were very good, but there can only be one winner in this competition and the nod goes to the latter. They tended to be the band that hosted the parties in the Piazza. Which brings up a point. Perhaps it was the weather on this itinerary (not bad, but not conducive to holding deck parties outside due to the temperature and threat of rain), or perhaps this is the new normal, but there was entertainment, (especially these bands) almost non-stop in the Piazza, all the way through 11:30 p.m. As a result, Crooners was like Dean Martin’s glass of Scotch--put on ice. Over the course of an 8 day cruise, Crooners was not used as an evening entertainment venue except for a brief time on the very last sea day. This disappointed us as live music in Crooners has become our staple entertainment on most evenings. Maybe when the weather improves, the live bands will head up top opening up the possibility that Crooners will rise from the ashes. The ”piano man” for this cruise was A. J. Clarke. He played in the Vista Lounge every night except the last night when he staked out the Wheelhouse Bar. He is very, very good in a “Bert with an E” sort of way for those who remember Bert. But his library is more diverse, and his shows are pretty much non-stop requests. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of music and will tell you who wrote each song, when, why, and what they were wearing at the time. His piano playing is top notch and his singing is more than adequate for the task. His performances in the Vista Lounge were always well-attended and by the time the last evening rolled around, he had enough of a following to make his appearance in the Wheelhouse Bar a tough ticket to come by. Other musical performers (who served more as background music as opposed to featured performers) included Acoustic Guitar player Christian Bispo, the “Gold Strings Duo” (who had the honor of being one of the performers to headline in Crooners on that last night, and we enjoyed their set very much), and pianist Olena Konstantinova. She was the only holdover entertainer from our prior cruise on Regal. The Cruise Director Staff led by Allie Ambriano was well organized and did a fine job with the typical cruise entertainment of trivia, game shows, Jenga, karaoke and the like, as well as adding an additional splash of Coronation fun here and there. There was one particular entertainment staff member with whom we did not connect. I won’t name names as this will undoubtedly lead to a chorus of: “But s/he’s my favorite.” To each their own, but we found several of this person’s trivia/quiz emcee duties to be painful to the point of ruining the event. To the extent possible, I will try to upload the Patters so that you can see for yourself what was going on onboard the ship each day. We did not attend any of the big production shows. Part of this was due to the timing or our dinners, where we were seated each night at 7:30 once our “same table each night” had been offered to us at that time. That eliminated any chance of seeing early shows, and for the later shows, there was always something else that K and S wanted to do. So I have nothing good or bad to say about those performers and performances. On this first night we headed to the Vista Lounge to see what was up with this AJ Clarke dude. We enjoyed his performance enough to stay to the end. We carried in with us the last of the wine we had ordered at dinner, and for the rest of the evening we ordered cocktails through the OceanNow feature of the app. We found the ordering process to be easy, fast and accurate. On our Bingo Card for this cruise we intended to have a drink at every bar and lounge on the ship as well as use the delivery service, and here we were able to cross off the Vista Lounge as a venue and OceanNow as a drinking option. As our day came to a close, we had eaten and ordered drinks at both Alfredo’s, and Concerto MDR; had coffee and pastries at the International Café; had wine at Vines and cocktails via the delivery service in the Vista Lounge. Not a bad start. Our Old Plus “scorecard” showed that between the three of us we had had 15 glasses of wine and 3 cocktails. The retail value of these had we paid out of pocket would have been $319.78, ($106.60 per person). With Old Plus we paid $23.60, ($7.86 per person). And had we had Premier we would have paid $0. A final note on the costs. We have cruised many times without drinks packages and never, ever have we run up a tab equal to what the out-of-pocket cost of this day presented. There are two reasons for that. First, when paying cash, we would have been far more frugal with our consumption. And second, with the increased wine allowance under the Plus package and the corresponding increase in drink prices, the current cost of drinks on the ship makes it almost foolhardy to not have a package if one plans to do any sort of drinking at all. Clearly this is Princess’ goal, Even if we had consumed 6 glasses of wine and 3 cocktails, our total cost would have far exceeded the single highest tally we had ever incurred onboard a ship. By almost double. So keep that in mind when calculating whether “It Pays To Plus.” Patter Day 1.pdf

That's what I guessed. Thanks.

It's not difficult. K uses a "beach bag" style of bag for her airline carry-on "personal item" allowance, stowing her purse in her rolling carry-on. In it she carries reading material, a collapsible bottle for water that is filled up at a bottle filler, and that still leaves room for 3 nice glasses, each wrapped in a tea towel placed at the top of the bag. This bag stays under the seat on the plane, and is carried on her shoulder as she boards the ship. As long as you remember that there is glass in there and handle the bag accordingly, all is well. We have been taking glasses with us on all of our cruises. We used to buy them at our embarkation port and then donate them to the ship upon our departure, but we decided to give transporting them a chance and that has worked out well. This is a shot of one of our glasses that we are now using to give some perspective to the size. We bought them in Athens a year ago and they have been back and forth across the Atlantic twice now.

I prefer the multi course structure of Sabatini’s. For me, Crown Grill is about the main course steak which recently has been sub-par. The rest of the meal isn’t really memorable. At Sabatini’s you get numerous courses most of which are equal in stature. For my family it is a more memorable meal.

An old paper coffee card?? Call Princess and ask them, (using this phone)

Thought it was perfectly fine, especially for the price paid. (We booked through that travel website whose name I don't know I can use, but they handle reservations "expediently".) The only issue is that it only has one dining venue and that is a pricey Michael White establishment. But casual dining is a short walk away.

Sorry. When S was younger, she insisted that phones should never be taken out at the dinner table and photos should never be taken of food on a plate. That is a rule we have honored forever. Besides, many people think that they take great shots of food on plates and most of them are wrong. I've got the equipment and lighting to take credible food shots, but that does not travel with me to the dinner table. But I promise that with Day 2, there will be many photos of our days on shore and some on the ship as well. I just didn't break out my camera on day one.

Day 1 (Continued) After several glasses it was time to make our way to dinner. We had a “Same time each night” reservation at Concerto on Deck 6 mid-ship at 7:20. We arrived on night one and found no line whatsoever. When we tapped in and were greeted by the hostess, was asked if we could be seated in Arthur’s section. Arthur was our lead waiter back in October and told us that his last week onboard would be the first week of May, and we promised that we would look him up. The hostess sighed and said that Arthur ended his contract yesterday, so perhaps he had his dates mixed up. Not to worry, she said that she would find us a table in the same general area with servers she knew we would enjoy. I said that was fine, as long as the table was toward the back of the restaurant, away from the front door. She walked us to a table toward the back left of the restaurant, four tables away from the starboard side windows. All of the tables closer to the windows were set for two. We had a lovely dinner and wonderful service, and when the hostess came to check on us, I used that opportunity to tell her that we were very satisfied and would love to have that table for the remainder of the cruise. She said that she could do one better and push two of the tables for two that were closer to the windows together if we were willing to move our reservation to 7:30 and we agreed. So for the rest of the cruise, we had the same table and same servers, one table away from nice big windows. Now a word on Dine My Way. There are lots of complaints here. But it could not have worked out better for us and everyone around us. By night 4 we came to the realization that every single table within eyeshot of us was occupied by the same people at the same time each night. Tables for 8, 6, 4, 2, our group of 3 and the 3 ladies next to us all had the same tables and same servers for the whole cruise, and no one waited in line for as much as a minute. One night I walked by both the Symphony and Concerto dining rooms at 6:15 just to gauge how the crowds were faring and neither restaurant had so much as two people waiting in line. And then the same night at 7:30 when we arrived, it was the same thing. On the first Formal Night I took out my phone and took this picture just to capture the “longest” line that I had seen the entire trip. 5 people in the No Reservation line and 2 people in the Reservation line. And it wasn’t as if they were stagnant there. All groups you see were seated within seconds of me snapping this shot. I cannot tell you how other ships are handling crowds, but I stand by what I said in October and it was even more evident on this cruise. Regal knows what it is doing. Perhaps part of this is due to so many people asking for the same table each night. If everyone has the same table at the same time each night, then everyone just bypasses the check-in area and heads straight to their table which is exactly how Traditional Dining used to work. I maintain that Dine My Way can achieve the same result, and no one who was on this cruise could contend otherwise. There simply were never any lines that I could see. [Caveat: I never checked the lines between 5:00-5:30. We were off doing other things. So I suppose the early diners could have encountered something that I did not see. But from 6:00-8:30 each night, no lines gathered that would cause anyone any concern. As for the food, rest easy folks, as the Fettuccini Alfredo was on the menu every single night. Sometimes it was in the main menu area and sometimes it was listed as a Princess favorite. A note on the favorites. In the past, Princess had a more or less stagnant set of “Available Everyday” options. This has changed to “Princess Favorites and the dishes rotate. But some things were there every day, including the Fettuccine, the French Onion Soup and the Strip Steak. So if you are fearing the demise of those, rest easy as they were available every single day. I had the Fettuccini the first night as I did not know that it would be available every night until later in the cruise. Thinking that this might be my only chance, I jumped on it. I had it once more during the cruise and S had it once or twice as well. On this first night, rather than receiving “al dente” pasta, mine was “al crunchy.” Still, the sauce was spot on and it didn’t stop me from devouring it. K had the Romaine and Kale Caesar salad and S had Peroshkies as her first course. Everyone gave a thumb’s up for their choices. For Mains, I had Short Ribs, S had Seafood Stew and K was brave and tried the Cajun Fried Chicken. My meal was tasty although the tough membrane that connects the meat to the bone was left on and presented a challenge. I always cut this off in the kitchen when I prepare short ribs as no diner should have to navigate that inedible mass. That said, the meat itself was excellent. S enjoyed her seafood stew, but K regretted her choice of the fried chicken. The flavor was fine, and the meat was tender. But there was no crunch to the skin which is a hallmark of fried chicken. With our meals we ordered glasses of the Silverado Cabernet which was priced at $18 per glass. The servers brought the pours in standard glasses, and we transferred the wine to our glasses ourselves. On to dessert. K had cheesecake which she enjoyed, and S had “Banoffee” cake with which she was familiar but was new to me. Two winners. I had to see what all the clamor was about and insisted on seeing for myself what the fuss was with the new “Love Boat Dream.” Take every negative thing that has been said about that abomination and multiply it by 10. It is now known in our household as the “Shipwreck Nightmare.” The raspberry mousse was tasteless; the chocolate layer was a gelatinous mess; and it sat atop a “biscuit” that could only be described as hardtack suitable for a deckhand aboard a whaling ship. One bite was all I could stand, and I left the rest visibly present as a sign of protest. When the table of 8 got up and left that night, I say 3 uneaten orders of the Shipwreck Nightmare, so clearly many messages were being sent to the kitchen. We were able to laugh about it, but honestly, somebody has got to get through to HQ and get this fixed. I say this not as someone who abhors change and is disappointed only in the new recipe (which honestly, I thought was the cause of most of the angst). No. I say this as someone who has fully operational tastebuds. To get this foul taste out of my mouth, we needed to head to a lounge or entertainment venue and order more drinks. That will be the next installment.

Day 1 (Continued) With unpacking out of the way, it was time to get on with the fun. We changed for dinner and made our way down to Vines with about an hour to go before our MDR reservation. Vines was well attended, but we were able to find three stools at the bar. We introduced ourselves to the staff there and warned them that they would be seeing a lot of us, which proved to be true. The staff was friendly and efficient. So now a review of the venue itself and the answers to some burning questions. As with all other venues, there is a QR code that you can zap with your phone which will open up a menu in a browser on your phone. There is also a printed menu housed within a heavy wooden tome that is supposed to resemble a wine barrel. Neither drink menu should be taken as gospel. Sometimes they don’t have what is printed on the lists, and sometimes they also have many more options. The only real way to know what is what is to ask. For what it’s worth, here is what showed up for us when we zapped the QR code on Day 1. On Day 3 I asked for a glass of the Red Burgundy (Bouchard Hautes Cotes de Nuits) and not only did the bartender not understand my (correct) pronunciation, he swore that they never had that wine. I showed him my phone with the menu in the browser telling him that I grabbed that screenshot on the first day and his response was that the menu changed earlier today. So I zapped the QR code again and lo and behold he was right, and the wine list was very different. Very frustrating. Another frustration was the inability to get certain wines by the glass even though the full bottle price fit right within that parameter. For example, I asked if we could get the Vall Llach Priorat by the glass and was told “no”. I pleaded that if we ordered 5 glasses we would drain the whole bottle, and if they priced it at $15 per glass, the ship would take in $75 in drink credit instead of the $65 that the full bottle cost. Didn’t work. There were also some discrepancies in pricing. I won’t provide details because I don’t want people running in to Vines screaming that some guy on Cruise Critic said that such-and-such wine cost “X” instead of “Y”, but in Vines we were charged $2 less per glass for one particular favorite wine of ours as compared to all other places where we ordered it, even though the price on the Vines menu correctly showed the higher price. Not sure what the deal was there but beware that pricing can be inconsistent. That said, we were never charged more than the price shown on the menu, only less on a few occasions. All in all, we drank more than our share of Whispering Angel, Chocolate Block (don’t let the name confuse you—the wine has nothing to do with Chocolate. The name derives from the vineyard block of vines), Promis, Parallel 45 and Belle Glos Pinot. At the end of this Journal I will recap our drinks scorecard to show how we made out with Old Plus. As for glassware…I neglected to mention above that in Alfredo’s we were each served in different glasses. We brought our own glasses with us on this trip and used them 95% of the time when drinking wine, but in Alfredo’s we did not break them out and used what we were provided. K, with her off-tasting Chianti was served in a Riedel red wine glass. S and I were each served in more standard Princess stems, albeit hers and mine were slightly different. And one time when I went to Vines after returning from a day on shore and with our glasses still in our cabin, I was served in a puny little glass because the server knew that I would be taking the wine over to the sofa in the IC area of the Piazza. He saw me walk in from there and asked where I would be consuming the wine. I pointed to the sofa 25 feet away and he whisked away the Riedel glass and served me in a wedding reception stem. I had no need or desire to raise a fuss. Just thought I would pass that along as there has been some debate as to whether one can get a nice Riedel glass “to go”. I could not. As for pours, on the very first day the server at Vines poured our glasses of wine into standard Princess glasses and then poured those glasses into our own stems. Both he and I could tell that his pour was right on the mark, and from then on, when we took our glasses into Vines, he poured our orders into our own stems, knowing exactly where on our stems the proper pour should land. And on most occasions, we ended up with heavy pours, especially when he drained a bottle and had to open another. And that happened a lot. We probably drank through a case of the Chocolate Block. A pretty nice wine within the $15 price allowance. The bottom line is that Vines is pretty much a “must-have” venue for us. Vines has many wines that are simply not found elsewhere on the ship. Do the ships that omitted that venue recapture the varied wine offerings in some other venue? If not, that is a big loss and would be a reason for me to steer my bookings elsewhere. Happy to answer any questions that anyone has regarding Vines.

I suspect that what we stumbled upon was a holding area of luggage intended for further distribution and beat them to the punch. But I've never gone to my cabin after the "Ready" announcement and not had the luggage waiting for us at the door.

Day 1 (Continued) While sitting in the IC we heard the announcement over the PA system regarding the need to complete the safety protocols, and we were informed that we could tap into our muster station before watching the safety video, so that is what we did right outside of the Concerto MDR at the entrance on the Alfredo’s side. Since we were already at Alfredo’s, this was easy and convenient. From there we went to the IC for espresso. Seeing how we were at the IC and cabin was just slightly forward of mid-ship, we had the option of taking either for forward or mid-ship elevators with our carry-on luggage to get to our cabin. People were still pouring on to the ship, and the gangway led them directly onto the ship at the point where the mid-ship elevators are, so we assumed, rightly, that the forward elevators would be the better strategy. Well, it’s a jolly good thing that we made that choice elsewise we might not have found our luggage for hours. On all past cruises, our checked bags have been taken to our cabin door or lined up against the interior wall directly opposite our cabin door. Not so this time. As one walks through the hallway from the forward elevators to the mid-ship cabins, one encounters a 90-degree zigzag where the balcony cabins give way to the Mini-Suites forcing the hallway to jut out several feet more. As we took the turn at this point, we were confronted with a large mass of luggage stuffed into the bend in the road, much the same way you encounter luggage in the terminal at the end of the cruise. A mass of bags from which you must play “find my bag”. At first we giggled and thought that the poor souls who own those bags will have a hard time finding them, but then we noticed that our three bags were among the hoard. Maybe this is the standard operating procedure, but it was certainly new to us, and we had been on this same ship a mere 6 months ago. So we pulled our bags from the pen and rolled them to our cabin. However, had we taken the mid-ship elevators to our cabin and approached from the opposite side, we never would have passed the bag bullpen and never would have known that our bags were not going to be delivered to our door. Perhaps this was just a temporary holding area, and our bags were indeed going to be delivered to us, but that remains an unknown. As we approached our cabin we were able to give our medallions their first test. One of the three of us was “recognized” by the sensor and the door unlocked. Funny thing about this. Every time that the three of us approached our cabin together, and I do mean EVERY TIME, it didn’t matter if I was first in line, in the middle position or holding up the rear, my medallion was NEVER the one that was recognized to trigger the unlocking mechanism. K or S could have been 10 feet behind me and the screen would show “Welcome K” or “Welcome S” and never “Welcome J”. If I approached the cabin all alone, say for instance, if I had run down to the IC in the morning to get the girls their coffee, I was recognized and welcomed. But never if I was in a group of two or three. It didn’t really affect anything, but I just thought that this was weird. We wondered how that would have impacted my chances of winning “Prizes” had we opted into that gimmick, but I suppose we will never know. Our cabin was exactly as we expected, seeing that it was a mere 4 cabins away from the one we had 6 months earlier. We have sailed on Regal three times now and have progressed from a Mini-Suite with a standard sized balcony to one that is slightly extended to now one with the most extended balcony available (in this location). I liked this one best of all. The carpet was showing a bit of wear, and the mattress, while still firm enough, seemed to bend to and fro a bit more than necessary. It wasn’t concave in a way that would steer you toward the center, rather it was more convex, steering me toward the outer edge. Not enough to draw a complaint, but enough to suggest that replacement should be close at hand. Same goes for the carpet. The sofa cushions were definitely in need of replacement, though the mattress within it was perfectly fine. As it so happened, the tiredness of the sofa did not matter for the rest of the trip as our steward never returned the sofa to its sofa-state after his first conversion into a bed on that first night. The sofa remained a bed for the entire journey. Not my preference but given the condition of the sofa and the amount of time we spend outside of the cabin, I wasn’t going to make more work for the steward by requiring that he flip and flop the sofa bed twice every day. As K began her unpacking process, (only she knows where everything is packed and where it will live), I engaged in the process of disabling the dreaded nightlights with the small roll of black electrician’s tape that I stuck in my carry-on. I succeeded in blocking the sensors on the refrigerator (that annoys the person sleeping in the sofa bed), the two on the nightstands (that annoy the people sleeping in the bed) and the one on the ceiling outside of the closet/bathroom area (that annoys everyone.) This worked like a charm for all of the lights except for the one outside the bathroom. While that one never went on when someone walked past it (suggesting that my “fix” of the sensor succeeded), it did have the nasty habit of coming on randomly two or three times each night when all three of us were in our beds. Not sure what was tripping or tricking the light, but it was a bit annoying to have the light come on for no apparent reason. The bathroom was in fine shape and the test that I apply to all showers is: “Is the water pressure better than what I have at home?” As has been the case on every Princess cruise, the answer here was “Yes.” So I am good. On our cruise 6 months ago Regal must have been doling out the last of its round bars of soap as we got a new one each day. But here, the soaps appear to have gone the way of the Dodo Bird and there was nary a single one to be found in our cabin. Fare thee well old friend. I suspect we shan’t meet again. Our steward apparently never got the memo that we would be traveling as a party of three as there were only robes and towels enough for two. Or perhaps the “Kids Sail Free” promotion was being marketed as: “You get what you paid for.” We wanted to make a note of what our cabin needed to give to or leave for our steward, but pen and paper were nowhere to be found. I find the lack of paper to be an odd cutback. If I can steal paper pads from various Westins around the world, why can’t Princess employees do the same and reposition them on their ships?? But the note proved unnecessary as our steward soon knocked on our door to introduce himself. We were expecting that at this time we would be greeted with our complimentary glass of warm Champale, but none was offered, either then or ever. Is this gone forever too? Honestly, I could not care less since we have Old Plus. But I was unaware that this “perk” had been discontinued. Or maybe our steward didn’t get that memo either. We provided him with our list of needs and they were all met by the time we returned from dinner. Our steward also gave us a sheet of paper explaining that we would be required to turn in our passports in advance of our stop in Cork and would get them back after we left that port. So if Ireland is on your itinerary, be prepared for that. We always travel with a color copy of our passports, so we had some form of backup just in case. Our balcony was large and in good condition. Large enough for the two chairs and table provided, and to move the barrel chair out there if needed if all three of us wanted to enjoy time outside. As I stood outside to take in the view, such as it is, K had uncovered my camera equipment from its secure spot in one of the bags so I could finally start taking some photos. Here is the first one of the trip. Many more to follow. Watching the safety/muster video was next on our list, but we could not get that to function on our televisions. Not sure what the issue was, as the TV seemed to have all other functionality. But the muster cartoon would simply not start for us. Luckily that requirement can be met by watching the cartoon on your phone once you are connected to MedallionNet. Unluckily, if you do it this way, each person must activate the video separately on their own device to register that you have completed the task. So while we were unpacking, we used each of our phones to play the video once and with that, we had all the checkmarks we needed for a safe, enjoyable adventure. Coming next, our first visit to Vines and the MDR.

Most of your port stops will be overrun by tourists, so wearing the tourist uniform of shorts and t-shirts would have you fitting right in. While walking around in shorts in Florence on a workday might make you scream "tourist", walking around Weymouth on a day when one or more cruise ships are in town will put you in the middle of the curve. Edit to add: I agree about not wearing flip-flops. Not from a sartorial standpoint, but because you will do a lot of walking on varied terrain and a better pair of footwear is in order. We just returned and our step counter app showed that on three of our days, we logged 12,000 steps, 14,000 steps and 17,000 steps. I would rather do that in my Merrill's than in flip-flops.

Day 1 (Continued) No announcement had yet been made regarding cabin readiness, so we opted for lunch in Alfredo’s, a tradition of ours since the introduction of that venue. We were shown to a table one level back from the windows as most of the window tables were set for two people. No worries, as there wasn’t much of a view to begin with. When the server came to take our drink order, we figured that this would be a great time to stress test the Old Plus Package. S ordered a generic Sauvignon Blanc from the “Plus” side of the menu and we knew that this would be included. It was decidedly New World, with notes of tropical fruit and cut grass. We never did see the bottle from which it was poured, but I would guess that it was Kim Crawford or something similar. We all tasted it and declared it perfectly fine if your tastes lean toward New World Sauvignon Blanc. If you are more of a true Sancerre lover, this might trend a bit sweet for your tastes. K ordered a glass of Frescobaldi Nipozzano Chianti, a typically trustworthy Sangiovese that is often served in the Wine Tastings that Princess holds. The price was above $12, but below $15, so we would see if that showed up on her account. One whiff from her glass and she knew that something was off. She tasted it and furrowed her brow. She asked me to give it a taste to see what I thought. She didn’t think that it was corked, but still found something off-putting about it. I put it through the swirl/sniff/sip test and concluded that the wine had been exposed to heat. It could have just been a stale bottle, sitting in untouched for a week, but on a cruise ship with constant turnover I find that hard to imagine. It wasn’t corked, (I don’t know for sure but I would guess that this wine is bottled under a synthetic or composite cork), but it wasn’t right either. Poor storage condition is my guess. Perhaps kept too close to the volcanic pizza ovens. Drinkable, but not enjoyable. I urged her to trade it in, but she didn’t want to start off the cruise by being “that person.” I get it. I ordered a Whispering Angel rose at the price of $16. So here I would get the full measure of how Old Plus would be treated on the ship. Would I see a charge of $1.18 on my account, or $4.72? Time would tell. Cut to the chase, after a few minutes, our accounts showed no charges for either S or K and a charge of $1.18 for me. It made me very happy to know that my dear Whispering Angel would cost me but $1.18 for each glass I ordered. Very long story short, I was privileged to be part of a tasting panel for marketing purposes after Sacha Lichine acquired Chateau d’Esclans in 2006 and strove to introduce high end, high quality Rose’ to the United States. It would be a tough sell to convince White Zin haters that Rose’ is a wine worthy of their attention, but that is exactly what the Chateau set out to do. At that time, they were testing to see if they could market “luxury” Rose’ from Provence to select markets and get it to take hold in a way that would make the masses long for the product. Kind of an obnoxious concept if I am being honest, but I was honored to be included in the tasting and evaluation of their new products that would hopefully (for the Chateau) be marketed in Newport, RI, The Hamptons, (as in Southampton NY, not Southampton UK), Palm Beach, Aspen and Beverly Hills. That was pretty much it. At the time they were producing three wines: Whispering Angel which would hit the market at around $18; Chateau d’Esclans with a price point of around $45 and the top-of-the-line “Garrus” at $75. Skipping ahead because none of you probably care about any of this, I thought all three wines were wonderful, but seriously doubted if America was ready for a $75 Rose’, especially when the quality was (IMHO) only marginally better than the $18 version. My scorecard showed that I thought that the Whispering Angel was better than the d’Esclans, but that the Garrus bested them all. But when voting with my wallet, I would only buy the Whispering Angel, and would do so with gusto. Of course, I don’t live in any of the test market areas, so I don’t run with a crowd that downs $75 Rose’. Anyway…..Whispering Angel has been a personal favorite of mine since that day, long before it became ubiquitous and product-placed into Bravo reality shows. But truthfully, at its current price point of around $24-$26 per bottle, I find many other Rose’ from Provence that enjoy almost as much at half the price. So even though Whispering Angel is the “entry level” wine from this producer, (actually, that isn’t right—they have since introduced some lower end quaffers called “The Beach” and one other that I am forgetting that are just OK), it is still a “luxury” Rose’ for me, and at $1.18 per glass, we would be drinking a lot of it I suspect. And so should you. So the takeaway here is that Old Plus works as advertised. Wines up to and including $15 will cost you nothing. That was a long way of getting here, but there it is. Now on to the food. We ordered a starter of “Antipasto Mari e Monti”. Literally translated as a first course from the sea and the mountains. Well, they can pretty much toss this one into the sea or bury it beneath the tallest mountain. The “mountain” was three sad little half-slices of salami, mortadella and Parma-style ham. Not sure if it really came from Parma, and it certainly wasn’t Proscuitto di Parma. S decried that it looked like an unpackaged “Lunchables.” Alongside the meats was a few pieces off lettuce dressed with a balsamic dressing. About one bite at best. But the shocking part of all of this is that this was the best thing on the plate. The meats took second place. As for item cast as the “Mari” part of the performance, that was a horrid looking salad of mostly mayonnaise with a few micro-shrimp tossed in that looked like they have been extracted from a dissected eggroll from your nearby take-out stand. It honestly looked like the disemboweled innards from an alien autopsy. S said that she would take one for the team and give it a try. She tried a small forkful and sweated out the process of swallowing it. She said: “You know me. I can eat pretty much anything. But that is the closest that I have come to spitting food back onto the plate in a very, very long time.” No further convincing was necessary. The rest remained untouched. Not sure if this was a new recipe, a bad batch, or the same thing that many others love. Either way, it was not for us. Next came the stars of the show and the reason we were here in the first place—the pizzas. Terrific as always, we polished off a “Capricciosa” topped with artichoke hearts, ham, mushrooms and olives, and one of the pizzas that is usually sold under the name of the ship that comes with cherry tomatoes, ham and shaved Parmesan. The crust on these was not quite as crisp as we have had in the past, and I probably should have told our server that we prefer our pizzas cooked a bit more than perhaps the masses do, especially in the UK. Where I hale from, the food is known as “apizza” (pronounced “ah-beetz”) and the crust should be charred to the point where a typical Midwesterner might say that it is burnt. Trust me. It’s not. Either way, the pies were tasty and devoured. As we made our way down to the coffee station at the IC for our after-lunch espressos, the announcement was made that the cabins were ready so soon we would be enjoying our home away from homes. Coming next: Luggage delivery and cabin review.

Day 1-Embarkation Day Knowing that there would be at least one other ship departing on this day, I asked S to use her local knowledge to secure us a reserved ride to the ship in the morning. Not that Edinburgh counts as “local” knowledge, but she was miles (literally) ahead of me when it came to arranging for a car service. I really wasn’t sure if relying on the old-fashioned way of getting a taxi would comport with my obsessive desire to get on to the ship early and jump start my Old Plus Package. She succeeded in her quest and we were reserved with “Southampton Taxis” for a 10:00 pickup to be taken to the Mayflower Terminal, Berth 106. For those wondering, despite the proximity of our hotel to the port, one would not want to walk to the Mayflower terminal, especially with luggage. I am not even sure if it would be allowed. The route that we took did not look hospitable to foot traffic. Our diver called at 9:20 and said that he was running early and would be at the hotel by 9:30. We were ready to go and met him at that time. We were dropped off right where we needed to be at 9:40 as people were still disembarking. This was our first cruise out of Southampton, so perhaps much of what I am about to say is very old news to all but me, but I will repeat it here just in case there are any cruisers out there for whom Southampton will also be a new experience. Unlike many other cruise terminals where you are met by porters who take your luggage, at Southampton there are conveyor belts much as you would see at an airport, albeit much shorter. There are multiple such conveyors, each one dedicated to certain decks of the ship. Though I do not recall the order exactly, one conveyor might be for Emerald, Baja and Lido; and another might be for Aloha and Caribe, etc. So you read the signs and head to the conveyor that corresponds to your cabin’s deck. The conveyors were not ready to take luggage yet, so the early arrivers all stood by their luggage near their conveyors waiting for further instruction. At 9:55 a young man arrived at our conveyor and told us to place our luggage up against the wall next to the belt and once done, we could head over to the terminal entrance. He assured us that he would not be leaving this station and that the luggage would all be minded until it went on the belt. So we, along with two other couples did just that and joined the queue to enter the terminal just before 10:00. I would say that we were about the 15th people in line. Doors to the terminal opened at 10:10. Despite the fervent quest to achieve Green Lane status on the app months ahead of our cruise, and having succeeded in doing just that, no Green Lane was to be found upon entry. Instead there were two lines to choose from, one for Platinum, Elite and Suites (PES) and one for everyone else. The color of the lane on your app mattered not one whit. Being so far ahead in line, and given the number of check-in agents there were at the ready, we were called to the front to be checked in without once putting on the brakes. The agent scanned my barcode, (and here, the color status on the app probably would have mattered. I am not sure what the process would have been had we not been Green, and hopefully I will never know.) Our passports were checked and new security photos were taken and we were pointed over to the PES “lounge” to await the next step. The PES lounge held about 20 people and obviously that would not do for this cruise. So in addition to the seats in that area, the terminal had a few rows of “regular” seating roped off for the overflow. But to be honest, at the pace of boarding, the need for this area seems to have lost its purpose as no one waits around long enough to need to use it. Sure there is coffee, juice and some perfunctory pastries, but in mere minutes you will be boarding Deck 5, pointed directly at the International Café. And that is exactly what happened. K barely had time to take a sip of her coffee when we were told that boarding would now begin. I do not recall any special order of boarding, such as Suites first, and then Elites, etc. Instead, everyone in the PES area was told at the same time that boarding would begin now, and a line formed and was marched on to the ship. As noted, the doors to the terminal opened at 10:10 and at 10:40 the three of us were sitting on a sofa and a side chair in the elevated area around the IC with our carry-on baggage and smiles on our faces. There is a thread floating around asking what the first thing you do when you board the ship is. The answer is actually quite simple. Get your device connected to MedallionNet. While seated in the IC area we dug out the instructions that we had saved from our last cruise (which we knew would be in our cabin, but why wait?) and all got connected. It was quite easy. And a word of note for those who continue to fret over Old Plus versus New Plus. Many have noted that on the app their package shows that they are entitled to drinks up to $12. Mine did too, as I checked it the day before boarding. But the instant that I hooked up to MedallionNet on the ship and checked my package status, it magically showed that I was entitled to drinks up to $15. So there it was. Hard evidence of the new price structure to rub in the face of the first person who tried to charge me $3.54 for a $15 drink. I never needed to do that. With late breakfast in hand and peace in my soul from having boarded another cruise, it was time to relax and get a few items taken care of that required some adjustment. First, I had guessed wrong about which day would be our first formal night and accidentally made a reservation for Sabatini’s on that night. I took a family vote and the consensus was to try to move the reservation so that we could dine in the MDR on Formal Night. So Sabatini’s was my first stop. I had tried to change the reservation on the app many times after learning our true schedule but the app showed no availability for any other evening. The Captain at Sabatini’s would be my best hope. I made the short walk over there and sure enough there was a hostess with an i-Pad ready to assist. I explained what I wanted to do and she said that there would be no problem. With a few clicks of the i-Pad we were switched over to the night after Formal Night to everyone’s satisfaction. The lesson here is not to trust the app when it shows no availability. She said that there was plenty, and on the evening we dined there, the restaurant was more than half empty. My second task was to get the e-Gift Cards that I had purchased loaded onto my account. Since there was no one at the Guest Services Desk I opted to do that now as well. While I was eventually successful, it took almost 15-20 minutes to get this done. The first agent I spoke with knew what I wanted to do but had no idea how to do it. The second agent thought that he knew how to do it, but soon proved himself wrong. He had a supervisor come over and provide a tutorial and ultimately my goal was achieved. But this turned out to be a bit more of an adventure than I had anticipated. All’s well that ends well. (I can quote Shakespeare since we are on a UK cruise.) By now it was time for our traditional first day lunch at Alfredo’s and the first opportunity to put Old Plus to the test. Discussion and review of Alfredo’s to follow.

Embarkation Day -1 S boarded a very, very early flight from Edinburgh to Southampton and arrived before around 8:00 a.m. I had provided her with directions to our hotel for the evening, the Leonardo Royal Southampton Grand Harbour. It is about as close to the port as one can get, right across the street from the Holiday Inn. If you have seen the building by the port that has the big glass pyramid, then you have seen the hotel. S took a taxi from the airport to the hotel, knowing that she was too early to check in, but was permitted to check her bags and roam around Southampton pending our arrival. As noted, we arrived at LHR a few hours late, but that was of little concern to us. I pre-booked tickets on the National Express bus which takes you from LHR to the bus terminal (called the Coach Station) just a few blocks from our hotel (and hence the port as well). Our coach was to leave at 11:00 and arrive around 1:00, but the lateness of our arrival called that into serious question. Thankfully I had researched what to do in the event that we needed to change our reservation and learned that that must be done on-line via the website and not via the app. I had bookmarked the website just in case. Against all odds our deplaning, customs check and luggage collection went off without a hitch, but that still left us only 12 minutes to catch our bus. If need be, I could re-book us on the next coach, but that involved a 2-hour layover in the Central Bus Station which I did not favor/favour. As part of my OCD trip planning, I watched a YouTube video on how to get from Terminal 3 to the Central Bus Station and that proved to be worth its weight in gold, though I don’t think that YouTube videos weigh anything. In case anyone is interested, here is the video, and there are others like it that will take you through the process of getting from any of the Terminals to the Bus Station. I find it immensely helpful to have had a visual tour of something before striking out on my own, whether that be repairing a toilet, making a soufflé, or walking to a bus station. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBPJHS_oAfo Armed with knowledge and rolling suitcases, we hoofed it from customs to the station and arrived with two minutes to spare. A bit sweaty, but no worse for wear and way better off than having to endure a 2-hour layover. At approximately 1:00 we arrived in Southampton with S at the station waiting for us, ready to help us take our luggage to the hotel. It really isn’t far enough to warrant a taxi, though K swears that if we ever have to do that again, she is going to hire one, even if she has to pay 20 £ to travel 5 blocks as the sidewalks and her rolling suitcases were not getting along very well. We arrived at the hotel by 1:30 and our room was still not ready for check-in, so K and I checked our bags with the attendant and we headed off for a late lunch. My research led me to a charmingly old structure with a modern, hip interior that would provide us with sustenance and locally brewed beer. Pretty much what we all wanted and deserved. Right along the waterfront you will find “Dancing Man Brewery.” The menu is limited, but what they serve is quite good. Lots of outdoor seating, but being a sunny April day, all tables were occupied when we arrived, but there was plenty of space inside. Dark, old wood, exposed beams, leaded window, and lots of English atmosphere. While this is not my photo, it does capture the interior from the exact spot we sat. From there we walked to a wonderful little bakery/coffee shop (Edison’s) to refuel with espresso. Edison’s was a brilliant idea. (See what I did there?) Sated with food, brew and espresso, we made the 5-minute walk back to the hotel to check in. Our room was a “triple” which is hard to come by in many places, and we chose the hotel as much for that feature as for the location. The beds were comfy and the room spacious with nice toiletries and a bath/shower which is another hard to find feature these days. All in all, I was quite pleased with the hotel and the rate that we paid using an online travel site ($135). We find that the best way to adjust to the time difference is to press on and not give in to fatigue, so between check-in and dinner we enjoyed a self-guided walk through the old, Tudor style area of Southampton around the old city walls. I must admit that I was quite surprised at how much I enjoyed that area of Southampton. Perhaps not a place that I will put on my long-stay itinerary, but if I ever sail out of Southampton again, I will be sure to build in some extra time before the cruise to see some more of that city. Lots of wonderful architecture and history. The Cunard influence is apparent, and that brough back memories, as my first experience with large ships was a roundtrip trans-Atlantic crossing in the summer of 1976 on the QE2. Our family took the ship over to Europe (Cherbourg) from NY, followed by a month-long tour of many countries concluding with a westbound trans-Atlantic back to NY to end the journey. As a result Cunard is always a positive memory for me. Speaking of Cunard, when we arrived, we were surprised to see the Queen Mary 2 in port. Thinking that it might be departing that afternoon, I did a quick search to check on timing, hoping that we might experience a sailaway of that fine vessel. Unfortunately, her stay in Southampton was not a happy one, as it was held up there for repairs that were scheduled to take at least a week, causing the cancelation of at least one trans-Atlantic journey. Having put some time and miles on our legs, it was time for dinner, and we had a booking at the Duke of Wellington, an out-of-central-casting British pub close to our hotel. The menu was simple but had what we wanted and needed. Part of my BINGO card for this trip was to try several versions of fish and chips to get my fill of the real thing, as that is surprisingly hard to come by in our area. I ordered their version and S and K had other types of traditional pub food, and we all had beers and ales. The fish and chips were good, and the better on the fish gave forth an audible crackle when the fork tried to make its way through. A good sign. By now, fatigue was setting in for K and I, so we headed back to the hotel to get some sleep in preparation for EMBARKATION DAY. We view Day 1 of any cruise as a full day of vacation and try to maximize our time on board by getting on early and relaxing. To do that, we needed to get an early start on the day.