LIVE-The Grand Southern Carib Holiday Cruise with Sungirl 12/21/09

[KCSungirl]

Greetings from Port of Spain, Trinidad

 

I will be back later with a full report of our day in Trinidad.

 

Barbados - We had a nice day in Barbados. I have cruised to Barbados several times and I have taken two pre-cruise land vacations in Barbados. I love the white sand and beautiful water. The service industry workers have never been overly friendly. Last year we spent the day at the Hilton. Loved that. I have snorkeled with the turtles a couple of times. That is fun. Yesterday we taxied ($30 RT) to a smaller hotel on the south side - Coconut Cove. They do not charge cruise ship passengers for a day pass. We had full use of the facilities. We had lunch on the beach - curry chicken, grilled kingfish, and the most delicious fried plantains. I ordered a second order of them. ($40) I did not see Rihanna or Jude Law/Sienna Miller on the beach. They were in Barbados according to TMZ! We should have gone to Payne's Bay next to the Sandy Lane to find them. The weather is improving the farther south we get. After spending the better part of the day on the beach, we shopped in the cruise terminal before returning to the ship. I sent a couple of postcards at the post office. They have really good phone and internet kiosks in the cruise terminal. $5 for 30 minutes of internet. This is a good port to phone home.

 

DH and I walked the promenade of the ship. We have never done that before. The Queen Mary and Seabourn Legend were docked on the opposite side of the ship so we wanted to walk around to check them out up close. I don’t think I have ever seen a Seabourn ship in port before. I have always been interested in their ships. I also wanted to check out the recessed balcony cabins on the promenade deck - cat BF. I had originally been assigned this category cabin before I switched our booking to a minsuite. It would be weird to have people walking in front of the balcony.

 

We ate dinner in the Horizon Court. Many of the menus are new to me this cruise. Tonight’s theme was British Isles Dinner. I had fried fish and chips. Loved them. I have not done a very good job letting you know the dinner themes. I apologize. One night was Cosmopolitan dinner, etc.

 

After dinner we watched some football. The Island Night Party became a Rock and Roll Island Night Party. The band is not very good IMHO. No food or snacks. People had fun dancing. I am not into dancing to Elvis so much. We skipped the second Lionardo show. Cabin movie - The Ugly Truth.

 

I hope my daily reports are not getting redundant and boring.

 

See you soon, Sungirl

[jtagphillycruiser]

Dear Sungirl,

Please do not give it a second thought - your posts are wonderful. As I reply to your post it is freezing cold/very windy here in Philadelphia, PA. So please give us as much weather details, your thoughts, etc., as possible. A great big thank you for taking the time and effort in doing the live thread for all of us stuck back home....Your posts take me back to my Emerald Princess cruise in Nov, 2009. Thank you again....Joanne

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the continued live from and enjoy!!

[mycruz]

Nope, keep them coming, I'm living vicariously through you again. Nice to hear the weather continues to improve. It's "ding dang" cold here for Orlando this morning 37F. I can just imagine the beach and warm weather....thanks for the updates and Happy New Year! Mary

[luv1another4ever]

Hey KCSungirl - keep those post coming, they are keeping those of us stuck in KC warm. It was -1 this morning and the glow of the computer screen is keeping me warm. So the more that you write the warmer I stay!!

 

Your posts are wonderful, can't wait to read tomorrows.

[Arlened236]

KC Sungirl...please keep the posts comming...they are not boring or reduntant, but much appreciated...we will be on the Grand in 45 days (but who is counting). As somone else said they are keeping us full of warm thoughts (it's 12 degrees in Chicago) and our hot water heater went out last night...waiting for a new one to be installed and trying to keep warm from the computer glow!

Sound like you are having a great cruise...looking forward to seeing some of your photo's when you post them

ty for taking time to post

Arlene

[seacrystal]

Redundant or boring - OMG:eek: NOT A CHANCE. I am enjoying your reports more than any of the other Princess ships' holiday reports. You have such a colorful way of describing things and you would be a blast to travel with. I never actually thought of cruising during Christmas but your report makes me want to leave the family for the holidays in the future.

[Katiekakes]

Please keep them coming. I so look forward to reading them every day!

[KCSungirl]

As much as I dislike sea days, tomorrow is a welcome day of rest. We had a fantastic day in Trinidad. It was new, interesting, and somewhat of an adventure, but nevertheless one day was enough. I am always happy to add something to my been there, done that list. We got off the ship around 9am. The steel drum band was playing Que Sera Sera, one of my favorite songs. I was hoping for The Glory of Love also. Taxis were more than plentiful. The four of us hired Archie for the day to be our guide and driver. ($150) Port of Spain is a very busy city. A few high rises. The port is large and very busy with cargo ships and containers. We had coffee before we left the ship and a man at the coffee bar was telling me not to wear jewelry, etc. on shore because of crime. I am never afraid for the most part, but I decided to leave my wedding rings in the cabin safe. We were completely safe with Archie and most of the crime is drug related. Trinidad is an oil rich country and they don’t depend on tourism for much income. The cruise terminal has no shopping to speak of, so if you want to shop you should go to the main street downtown - Frederick St. We started our tour by driving over the mountains and through the rainforest to the famous Maracas Beach. It is probably a ten mile drive, but takes about 45 minutes because of the narrow winding road. The drive is gorgeous and a little scary. Even if you don’t want to camp at the beach, you must take this scenic drive. We made a few photo stops along the way. We arrived at Maracas Beach around 10:30am. It is a very large public beach. The sand is darker in color, but very fine. Our first food stop was Richard’s Bake and Shark. This guy is famous. There are several food stands to buy drinks, snacks, and lunch. Richard makes these unbelievable fish sandwiches. The bun is a fried sweet biscuit/cornbread. The fish is fried, but not greasy at all. There is a salad bar where you can add whatever you want to your sandwich. There are also several sauces - spicy, garlic, curry, mango, and a French salad dressing. This fish sandwich was one of the best food items I have ever eaten. Hot off the fryer, fresh, and a nice portion all for $5. It was worth a trip to Trinidad just to eat at Richard’s. We rented chairs at the beach for $5 each. The surf was wild. Six foot waves crashing on the beach all day. It was way too treacherous for me to even think about getting close to the water and I am a good swimmer. We were entertained all day by the waves. The island is beautiful. The public restrooms are fairly clean and nice at the beach. It costs $1 Trinidad money which is about 15 cents US to use the restroom. I forgot my Charmin on the Go at home, and I have needed it several times this past week. I put tissues from the ship in my beach bag. Always carry Purell or travel size liquid soap and tissues or toilet paper. The sun was very hot, but we had a strong breeze. We left the beach around 2pm and drove back over the mountain to Port of Spain. We stopped at Linda’s Bakery for some snacks. Most of the baked goods had coconut. I don’t like coconut so I got a sugar donut. I love bakeries. Archie drove us around the city and gave us a nice tour. We stopped in the heart of the city at local fast food type place for a Roti. Becky was dying for a Roti. She spent a week in Tobago in January and got hooked on Roti’s. They are basically a curry chicken wrap filled with lots of mystery sauces and veggies. I also got some sort of fried dough balls you dip in a sauce. I couldn’t understand how the locals pronounced the word but something like a peori. The chicken in the wrap is still on the bone. The locals eat the bones. Gross! After Richard’s fish sandwich, the donut, the Roti, and the fried dough balls I was lucky I wasn’t sick. It was all too rich, but I loved trying everything. We bought some local ground coffee on the way back to the ship. A great day.

 

Happy hour on the balcony with margaritas was perfect. We ate in the Horizon court, but I couldn’t eat very much after all of the crap I ate during the day. I did have a salad and a piece of pizza. I love the creamy Italian salad dressing. DH had meatballs and pizza. He has been sneaking out of the cabin every night around 11:30pm to get a snack at the HC or grill. We went to the comedy show - Don Ware. He was a writer on the Cosby show and very good. We skipped Motor City. Love that show, but have seen it many times. It repeats tomorrow night. We spent some time in the photo gallery buying photos. I talked to Brandi Chapman after the comedy show. She is performing New Year’s Eve. I really like her a lot. I have seen her once before. Cabin Movie - I Love You, Man and The Wrestler

 

Sneak preview for you - Captain’s Circle is hosting an Elite party at the Sanctuary from 11pm to 1am on New Year’s Eve. The ship is staying close to shore in Curacao for the fireworks at midnight supposedly. Full moon, fireworks, private party - can it get any better than this? I don’t think so.

 

The moonlight tonight is spectacular. It is so bright outside you can read. I go crazy over sunsets and full moons.

 

See you tomorrow at sea on the wonderful Grand Princess. Did I mention I love cruising?

 

Cheers, Sungirl

[GSDsky]

Stamina is all I can say. No power naps to talk about?

Have had the pleasure twice to stop there on the Grand and never bothered to get off. Made it a sea day with pizza at the empty pool. Guess I missed something. Thank you and I may try that beach next time.

Yes watching fireworks from the ship sounds marvelous. I thought watching NFL playoffs on MUTS was great but this beats that. Enjoy....

[AlaskaGolden]

...Did I mention I love cruising?

 

Cheers, Sungirl

 

Sungirl, it seems in addition to cruising, you really love LIFE! :D

 

Really enjoying your Live from Grand.

 

Have a wonderful New Years Eve celebration at the Elite Party with the captain!

[jtagphillycruiser]

Hey Sungirl,

 

Yep, you certainly are giving me delight in all your adventures on shore. The moonlight you described sounds awesome. Thank you again and keep the posts comin'....Joanne

[KCSungirl]

Cruising into Curacao on a gorgeous morning. RCCL Enchantment of the Seas is racing us into port. It appears they are going to arrive first.

 

Let me catch you up on our fun-filled sea day. I thought I was going to get some rest, but that never happens. There were several exciting “firsts” for me today. I hit the ground running with a 8am manicure in the spa. It was a complete rip-off ($50/30min), but I knew that when I signed up. Not complaining, just stating the obvious. It was a nice treat as I don’t have manicures very often. I am a “Do-it-yourselfer” The pedicure was $75/45min. I booked a repolish appt ($19) for later in the day. I had red nails/toes with candy canes for Christmas. I switched to hot pink for New Year’s. I took care of some administrative duties - shopping in the boutiques, checking our cabin bill, and drank a latte from the coffee bar. I am not happy to inform you that Princess has not yet credited us for the excursion in La Romana. I check with the excursion desk everyday and they keep giving me this excuse that they are waiting to hear from the tour operator. I finally told them that they needed to take responsibility and not keep me waiting. I have not gone for the throat yet and am being very patient. We decided to camp on deck outside of the Conservatory pool so those that wanted shade could be inside. It was hot and I loved it. We went to the HC for lunch. I had a salad and various items. After lunch we decided to move our camp ground forward to the Sanctuary area. We had no cross wind or breeze on the side of the ship. After we set up camp, I did something really CRAZY. I decided since I had a posse to cheer me on, I was going to sign up for the pool games. This is a tame crowd, so I thought it wouldn’t be so much of an event. It wasn’t crowded, but the only other people to sign up were the good looking twentysomethings with hard bodies. I am old enough to be their mother and my thighs look like elephant legs. I was sick at the thought of humiliating myself, but decided it was my chance to prove to myself that I can compete in cruise ship pool games. I was a nervous wreck and thought these kids would be upset for my for bringing them down. In the end, I held my own but we lost. I still got a second place medal that I will cherish forever as I have never really won anything before and have never excelled in sports. After the excitement of the pool games, I needed a rest. We sat out on deck until my nail appt. at 5pm. Had my second spa treatment of the day and went to the cabin for margaritas on the balcony. My DH’s alter ego at home is Ramon’, heavy on the accent. He is being a good Ramon’ at sea and taking care of all my liquid courage, snacks, and coffee. Other than that, he likes to sleep..

 

Dinner was a hard choice tonight - French in the dining room and German in the buffet. I traded my favorite snails for my favorite spaetzle. Love the German buffet. Another first - MUTS. I can’t believe after 17 Princess cruises I have never watched a movie outside. Tonight was the most heavenly experience ever. FULL MOON above the screen and stars twinkling everywhere. The movie was ridiculous - Night in the Museum 2, but I loved every minute of our evening under the stars. We were exhausted and went to bed after the movie No cabin movie because we could not get into it - Game 6. Watched a bit of the Holiday Bowl. It appeared Arizona was no competition for Nebraska.

 

See you later with a report on our day in Curacao. We have crowns, beads, and boas tonight for our party dresses. Happy New Year’s Eve, Sungirl

[sprout76]

KCSungirl...have a WONDERFUL New Years Eve (although it already sounds like you will)! It will definitely beat the one that we're having here in KC:D Love reading your posts and wish we could be there to experience all the wonderful times you guys are having. Congrats on the second place finish...always fun to do a little something spontaneous! Enjoy the rest of your cruise and thanks for taking the time to post.

[Clutterlady]

Sounds like you are having a great time on your cruise!!! Happy New Year and can't wait to read more:)

[Colo Cruiser]

Happy New Year!!

[danacline]

KCSungirl, here's the news from home. We had a megablizzard for Christmas, started snowing Thursday night and didn't stop until Sunday morning. Hard to tell how much snow, but I think I got around a foot or so, and three more inches yesterday morning. And we're also supposed to get more this weekend. Hope you're tired of the heat there - the high temps for the next week are in the teens.

 

The last time we had this much snow in December, the January snow topped 30 inches (1962). So you'll be wanting to book that next cruise for February while you're onboard...

[KCSungirl]

I am already hungover, my boobs are really burned, and I am so tired. We found a super secret place in Curacao. Can anyone try guessing where we spent the day? Details will follow.

 

The excursion desk called and told us NO refund on the La Romana tour. My DH went to have a pow wow with the Manager. She stood there and smiled and said "Sorry, nothing we can do". My DH has always wanted his courtroom moment. He argued like a top attorney. She never budged. Win some, lose some, but we will always think twice about booking a Princess tour. He gave it a good try. I will write a letter when we return.

 

Need to get some momentum going to get on with the party. See you soon, Sungirl

[LKITT]

Since Grand does not have International Cafe, does the ship have Gelaton anywhere on the sandwichs and salads that the International cafe usually have?

[GSDsky]

Would that be Kon Tiki Beach. Not so secret but if you joined in one must have 40 suncreeen. LOL

[kiawahdon]

Sounds like you are having a great time on the GP. Since we are on the ship at the EOM, I have a couple of questions about the HC and Crooners if you have a minute:

1. Quality of seafood sailaway- on the Caribbean last year it was not good.

2. Are dinner menus the same as the DR with buffet for appitizers and wait staff service for entree? How was quality?

3. We really enjoyed Bert in Crooners on the CP last spring. How is the talent in Crooners on your cruise?

 

Enjoy your last few days and Happy New Year!

[jtagphillycruiser]

Hey sungirl,

 

Love, love the updates. I too just hate when the boobies get burnt....lol. Terrible about not getting your credit for the excursion. Fight the good fight once you get home w/Princess. Sungirl, I love your spirit and have so enjoyed your posts. Happy New Year and here's hoping you make it to midnight....Joanne

[KCSungirl]

Good Morning from sunny Aruba.

 

 

I will catch you up on yesterday’s activities. Words can’t describe the New Year’s Eve fireworks in Curacao. It was like nothing you have ever seen before. It was awesome.

 

Curacao - we got off the ship around 9am. We always meet in the coffee bar on deck 5. I like the little pastries and muffins they serve. Good bran muffins. I miss the sugar the donuts in the International Café on the Crown, Ruby, Emerald. I haven’t found them yet on the Grand, but I also have not made it to the HC for breakfast yet either. The gangway is on deck 4. I think the boardwalk area of Curacao is all new and has been redone since I was there last. The Renaissance Hotel and Casino sits very close to the port with an outdoor mall with lots of designer shops. The walk into the downtown area takes about 20 minutes. Easy walk. We didn’t have time to shop because all of the stores closed early due to New Year’s. We taxied ($100/RT) to the best beach in Curacao. It is a secret, so don’t tell anyone. Cas Abao was perfect. It is a private beach and costs $3 entry fee, plus chair rental ($5). The bar/restaurant is excellent. We had fried fish fillets and curried beef for lunch. The drinks were very strong and one margarita completely knocked me crazy. We spent $50/couple for our day at the beach including food, drinks, and chairs. Very few cruisers know about this beach or they don’t want to spend $100 to get there. We only saw two other groups from the cruise ship. It is mainly a European crowd and they allow topless sunbathing. The shoreline is a little rocky, so water shoes are helpful. The sand is fine, white, and soft. We prearranged for our taxi driver to pick us up at 2:30pm. We were running a little later than that because we didn’t want to leave. We got back to the ship and grabbed a sandwich. We are loving the deli in the HC between 3 and 5pm. The poppy seed Kaiser egg buns are delicious.

 

Princess went above and beyond - our room steward took my DH’s funny plastic shoes to the resident carpenter and he glued the soles back on the shoes. I guess they won’t have to go in the trash after all.

 

I spent a few hours getting ready for our big New Year’s Eve party. I have a lot of stamina and can go and go and go even after too many margaritas. No naps for me! Becky and I had matching attire. Short, black dresses, fish net stockings, pink/black/silver boas, beads, rhinestone crowns, and our fabulous large, pink glowstick magic wands. We were the New Year’s Princesses and we were granting everyone wishes with our wands. We were running late so we stopped in the buffet to eat. I was full from all of the eating and drinking we did earlier, so I had some shrimp cocktail. They had lobster in the dining room, but not in the buffet. We went to the 8:30pm Brandi Chapman show in the Princess Theater. She does a great show and is one of my all-time favorite performers on a cruise. I told Brandi that I would be President of her Princess Cruise fan club. After the show, we walked around, mingled, and took some pictures. At 10pm we went upstairs to the pool deck party. The band was playing and the drinks were flowing. All of the 200 plus kids on board made an appearance tonight. We didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when the kids took over the dance floor and the band played “If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands”. I did crack up. The kids were fun to watch. At 11:30pm we headed up to the private Elite party in the Sanctuary. It was crowded and no seating was available by the time we arrived. The were serving shrimp cocktail and fruit kebabs. It was a lovely party, but a little tame and boring for us. I met Debi, the Captain’s circle host. I did not see the Captain, but he may have come and gone by the time we arrived. The Captain had positioned us very close to the entire western/southwestern shoreline of Curacao. He basically did a forty-five minute drive-by along the entire coast. At 11:45pm I realized the best seat in the house for the New Year’s eve countdown and fireworks was on our balcony. We rushed to the cabin and had the most spectacular New Year’s celebration ever. Curacao lights up the ENTIRE island with fireworks. I have never seen fireworks coming out of an entire island before. Usually they would be in one central location. Curacao had fireworks for an hour from around 11:30pm to 12:30am or so. The sulfur smell was very strong. We were over the full moon happy. After all of the excitement of the fireworks, we changed clothes and went back to the buffet. There was a lovely Midnight buffet. I had fried shrimp and more shrimp cocktail. We also had pizza. The Pizza parlor stayed opened later - til 1:30am.

 

Not only was this a full moon on New Year’s Eve, it was also a Blue Moon. I read the next Blue Moon on New Year’s Eve will be in 2028, 19 years from now. We made a pact to meet again for New Year’s Eve, even if we are using the Hoverrounds.

 

We fell into bed around 2:00am. What a day to remember. I am looking forward to posting my photos on web shots when I return home.

 

See you later with a report on our day in Aruba. I will answer all of your questions soon.

 

Happy 2010! Sungirl

[sunsetbeachgal]

Wow!! Wishing you a happy and healthy New Year!

[Tohna]

I'm following your posts because we are boarding the Grand on Jan. 15. We noticed the other day that Princess had changed from Dominican Republic to San Juan instead, so I was ecstatic since I love the shopping in San Juan! :D I'm enjoying your posts! Keep up the good work!

 

 

We are also on the same cruise as you hopSingh, I think you have posted on our roll call board too.

 

KCSungirl, thanks so much for your wonderful and amusing posts, I am laughing at every one I read. You really should do reviews for TA's. Sorry to hear about the bad weather but it sounds like you are the kind of person who is making lemonade out of lemons and enjoying everyday even the bad weather days.

 

We booked a tour to St. John on our trip on the Grand in two weeks, but we booked through the ship and they say we are going to the island and having a tour, I sure hope we do and don't have the problem you did. We have been to St. Thomas a few times and aren't jewelry or liquor shoppers so we decided to do the St. John tour, also heard it is beautiful there.

 

Keep up the wonderful posts, I look forward to reading them.

 

Thanks, Joyce