Prinsendam 2005 World Tour... it has begun

[slgjhg]

Hi All,

When you were on tour in the Sychelles, did a guide slash - cut the bark of a tree? I ask because, when we were there, the sap was red, like blood. One of the strangest things I have ever seen. We thought the Sychells were rather like the Carib. many,many,many years ago. What did you think.

Alot of American dollars went into their infostructure, Which is most evident on Mahea. The other islands are so remote. One taxi on Praslin (sp) I think. It was terrific.

Keep the posts coming.

Best Regards,

Shannon

[Mariner05]

Dear Grumpy and Slinky:
We are leaving this evening via KLM to Amsterdam and then to Johannesburg for our precruise safari in Botswana and Zimbabwe. We will be flying back to J-burg after Victoria Falls. From there to Cape Town to greet the ship as it sails in on Wednesday. We shall be a the Table Mountain Hotel which is near the pier. We will be boarding the Prinsendam after tour of CapeTown on Thursday. Have Crow's Nest on our calendar for the next evening at 4:30 P .Anxious to meet you all and say hello to Johnny I. We have read your wonderful accounts of the cruise thus far and thank you for taking the time to do so. We are reliving our trips to the ports mentioned with excitment. Thanks again and see you! We know that the next special night is : "Out of Africa " We have all our safari clothing for that one! LOU and GRACE

[2552phxcrzr]

Not to hijack the thread - but have a wonderful time in Botswana and Zimbabwe. We were in Botswana last June/July for our safari and ended our visit in Zambia so we could see the spectacular Victoria Falls - we did cross over to Zimbabwe for a day. The pleasant memories of that safari sustain us until we can return to Africa ... which will more than likely happen before we get to go on our World Cruise - retirement can't come soon enough.

[blackbird71]

Oh Grumpy

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[ekerr19]

Hi Grumpy & Slinkie! We are just back from 10-days on the Volendam - and I just got caught up on your exploits!

Grumpy - my DH wants to know if you know (offhand) how many formal nights there are on your cruise? Also, are there ever any nights when you just don't feel like getting dressed for dinner? Or wish you could just have a Big Mac and fries?

We are loving all your reports - thank again! :)

[RuthC]

are there ever any nights when you ... wish you could just have a Big Mac and fries?

Laura, I wouldn't presume to answer for Grumpy, but I will tell you in my experience you do start to long for simple food. That's one reason why the new "comfort food" selection is a good idea---at least on longer cruises.

I remember thinking one night "do I have to go to dinner again?"---just didn't want to.

Also, you don't have to be a child to order from the children's menu! Fingers and fries, or mac and cheese just hits the spot some nights.

As for getting sick of dressing up goes? Can't say that's ever happened to me. I always wear hose and pumps anyway, and a dress is a dress is a dress---doesn't matter how fancy it gets, it feels the same from the skin side of the cloth.

[Cruising Jake]

Laura, I had asked about the number of formal nights very early in the thread. I think he said there were 28.

[Grumpy1]

Prinsendam 2005 April 5, Day 82

 

 

 

Another day at sea... but not a dull day, by any means. First order of business, wake up enough to navigate to the Lido without crashing into anything... seas are a little bit rough, causing the ship to pitch or roll at times... water in the aft pool was splashing 20 feet in the air... for the morning walk around the deck, it was advisable to take the route along the aft rail instead of cutting behind the rows of lounge chairs... Every now and then a wave would go over the aft end of the pool and crash down on the Promenade deck...

 

Since there is no sea day between the next two ports, Frank Buckingham gave the Mauritius talk yesterday and La Possession, Reunion today. On Mauritius, Slinkie and Grumpy will explore the Port Louis area in the morning and then take a tour to Curepipe in the afternoon. The next day looks like a good time to take a tour to St. Denis... there probably won't be too many purchases either day, both tours list shopping time, but unless some little curio (or item of clothing) really jumps out... but then, you never know...

 

This afternoon's star attraction on the Daily Program was another session of wine tasting. The last session was before Australia, so the Prinsendam wine afficiondos were getting pretty dry. HAL brought on board the Dutch wine expert Hubrecht Duijker for this session. Most of the other tastings have been conducted by reps from the vineyard that was featured or reps from the distributor. Duijker is known for his wine expertise around the world and has authored more than 50 books on the subject of wine. So here's the Prinsendam... sailing in the Indian Ocean off of Madagascar... with a Dutch expert... So what wines are the subject of this tasting?... The wines of Missouri!.. Now if that had been in the April 1 Daily Program Grumpy would have figured his leg was being pulled... but no, it was actually a selection of wines from Missouri... Specifically, a half dozen selections from Stone Hill Winery. Selections were a Vidal Brut-style champagne, a Vidal Blanc, a Chardonnel, a Norton Red, a Vignoles and a late harvest Vignole. All were good... samples too small... hic...

 

Prinsendam 2005 April 8, Day 85

 

Well, Grumpy got lazy and didn't get the post finished and posted before arriving in Port Louis, Mauritius, so he'll just pretend it was planned that way and continue on... even though he's now on the first sea after La Possession, Reunion...

 

ROCK and ROLL!!.. Thats the best way to describe the seas for the last three days... running about 12 feet right now... rocking fore and aft... rolling side to side... tonight was supposed to be the Black and gold Ball in the Queen's Lounge (all the way forward) and the show was supposed to be the Grand World Voyage Cast doing their Ooh La La show... Can-Can and all... well the ball has been postponed and the show changed to an encore performance by the New York Vagabonds, a vocal quartet. Can you picture the Can-Can chorus line going down like dominoes? Someone must have decided that wouldn't be the best show....

 

Oh, you want to know about the last two ports?.. Port Louis, Mauritius... let's see... anything to report?.. Oh, yes... Beautiful island, since the tour to Curepipe was scheduled for the afternoon, Grumpy and Slinkie decided to do the town in the morning. There was a complimentary shuttle bus from the dock to town, but there was also a sign pointing to the water taxi... $1USD each way... which only took a few minutes to cross the harbor to the business district waterfront area. Because of the traffic, the shuttle bus took more than 1/2 hour on most of its trips. Most of the shops along the waterfront hadn't opened when Slinkie and Grumpy arrived, so they set out to explore the side streets in the area... A couple of blocks away they found the central market area... lots of small shops... meat, fish, fruit and vegetable vendors... not he best smelling place... did find a carved Dodo bird... continuing on, they passed through the gate into Chinatown. There wasn't that much there... most of the shops were for commercial wares. Slinkie and Grumpy continued their browsing but didn't find much else except a bottle of South African wine... about $4USD...

 

By the time they got back to the waterfront area, the shops in that area were open. Saw lots of pretty nice stuff, but didn't buy anything. Back to the ship by water taxi for lunch and then hop on the bus to Curepipe, which is a fairly large town in the middle of the island. On the way, the bus stopped for a photo op at the rim of a volcano... very nice view... stopped at a diamond boutique... saw some nice stuff, but it was all still there when the bus left... then on to the center of town for some shopping. First stop was a place that builds model ships... beautiful workmanship and detail... teak wood construction... brass cannons... fully rigged... a two foot long HMS Bounty could be bought for about $40USD... but Grumpy is not a model ship collector, and also, he couldn't figure out how to get it home in one piece... but he did find a couple of figurines, one with dolphins, one with coral and fish, that were begging to be bought... The bus stopped at a couple of more places... more of the same type of stuff... walked across the street from one of the recommended shops and found a little shop with some very nice throw pillow covers... one found its way into the bag... As usual, the bus drove right by a lot of stores that Slinkie would have liked to browse through... the tour guide said they had been told to stay away from areas that might not be too safe... so mostly, it was a nice scenic drive with so-so shopping. Prices were reasonable.. not as cheap as Thailand, India and Sri Lanka, but much cheaper than what the port information had indicated would be found.

 

Most people speak a Creole dialect, but English is compulsory in the schools and most of the people speak English much better than Grumpy speaks French or Creole... no problems communicating... and the US dollar was accepted almost everywhere. That's another port that would be nice to visit for a longer stay.

 

The Prinsendam sailed out of the protected harbor and into fairly rough seas once again. The distance from Mauritius to Reunion is only about 135NM, so there wasn't any problem getting into La Possession on schedule. Slinkie and Grumpy took a morning tour to St. Denys, northeast of the port... The ride along the coast highway is spectacular. There are cliffs just a few feet from the roadway that rise several hundred feet straight up... there were several waterfalls along the way and lots of beautiful scenery. The shoreline is all volcanic rock and lava, so there aren't any good beaches in that area. The tour wasn't that great once it reached St. Denys... a stop at one of the old government buildings... ho hum... then walk several blocks to the new government building... there were clean, modern restrooms, other than that... not much of interest... Then on to the state gardens... strolled through the park... then back on the bus for a short drive to the craft bazaar. The bazaar is a large indoor market, aisle after aisle of handcrafts, some local, but most from Madagascar... prices were reasonable... all prices were in Euros, and dollars weren't widely accepted. There were a lot of things that would be nice to have, but nothing that seemed to be worth the bother of getting it back home.

 

After lunch, Slinkie and Grumpy took the shuttle bus into Le Port. The bus stopped first at Jumbo, the local version of Super KMart and then into town. After getting some Euros from the bank-in-a-box machine, Slinkie and Grumpy wandered around, up and down the side streets, in and out of the shops... lots of the stores were running end of summer sales and had very good prices on a lot of their clothing items. Slinkie picked up a pair of strappy gold and rhinestone 2" heels to complete her outfit for the black and gold ball, a nice long sleeve lacy white top and a turquise print top.

 

On the way back to the bus stop, while walking along a fairly wide sidewalk in front of the cathedral, one of the local bad guys thought that the little pouch that Slinkie has on a nylon cord around her neck was going to be easy pickings. She keeps a few dollars, her ship card, a copy of her passport, her drivers' license and a few tissues in the pouch and doesn't have to worry about carrying a purse. As he rode by on his bicycle, he reached out and grabbed the pouch. Surprise! That nylon cord doesn't break that easily! About the same time he was concentrating on grabbing the pouch, he plowed into another local pedestrian that was walking behind Slinkie and Grumpy. The bike, the perp and the pedestrian went down in a pile, Slinkie wasn't hurt and she didn't lose anything. The bus pulled up across the street about that time, so, after Grumpy politely questioned the parentage of the perp and let him know what he thought of him, Slinkie and Grumpy quickly boarded the bus and didn't pursue the matter further. Another passenger on the bus had encountered the same or similar perp, who had tried to grab his camera case from his belt. It was firmly attached and did not give. Again the perp lost his balance and went down in a heap. Not the brightest bulb in the pack...

 

Someone must figure that Grumpy isn't getting enough sleep... they've ganged two 25 hour days back to back... so now there is only a six hour difference between ship time and EDT. The days are starting to go by much to quickly...

 

Will post this and try to catch up on the questions and comments tomorrow...

 

Grumpy and Slinkie

 

[pmts]

Thanks for the continuing saga. We look forward to each instalment.

[Rotterdam]

Grumpy & Slinkie - thank goodness you both are ok after that attempted theft. Surely Slinkies jewelry held her steady!

 

Glad to see you are back...enjoy the rocking!

[dakrewser]

Well, Grumpy got lazy and didn't get the post finished and posted before arriving in Port Louis, Mauritius, so he'll just pretend it was planned that way and continue on.

 

Well it's about bloody time!!:rolleyes:

 

Don't you realize how many people are sitting in front of their monitors repeatedly hitting the "refresh" button on the off chance that maybe Grumpy remembered that someone might be looking forward to another post? You've built up expectations here, you know. You're loyal fans have made you World [cruise] Idol - but they can break you like a matchstick! :rolleyes:

 

Didn't Slinkie get a nasty rope burn on her neck?

[jazz22]

Grumpy and Slinkie...

 

We are glad you are O.K. after the almost robbery. Thank you very much for sharing your trip with all of us at home.

[venicecruiser]

Glad Slinkie is ok after her scare! We were in withdrawal waiting for the next installment..........Wasn't pretty!:eek:

 

Did you get a chance to meet Mandy???

 

 

Claudia

[blackbird71]

Laura, I wouldn't presume to answer for Grumpy, but I will tell you in my experience you do start to long for simple food. That's one reason why the new "comfort food" selection is a good idea---at least on longer cruises.

I remember thinking one night "do I have to go to dinner again?"---just didn't want to.

 

 

I have read somewhere that World Cruise passengers have been known to request to "Officers/Crew" menu. They have things like chile and other "comfort/standard" foods on it. These menus also come out for a week at a time so you could plan dinner.

 

Mexican food, good chinese, those would be the foods I would miss. HAL has a piazza place I think. But on the Radisson Sevens Seas, the only piazza was on room service. .... ...

 

 

But in the end do be able to do 100 day cruise, I would force myself to eat in the main DR. :)

[Cruising_Gator]

Oh no Grumpy, you let the secret out about our wine! We live about 1/2 hour away from the local wine country. Actually older than the California Wine country. We really love the ice wine that is only sold in very limited quanities.

 

Cruising Gator

[Aussie Gal]

Grumpy and Slinkie,

 

Great to read of your adventures in Mauritius and Reunion. Glad that the thief didn't get your pouch Slinkie and that he came to a sticky end. It just goes to show how careful you have to be when in a foreign country.

 

Hope the rocking and rolling has settled down and you are now in calmer waters. Looking forward to hearing about South Africa.

 

Jennie

[Cristiano]

Falkland Islands News Network

 

"MS Prinsendam - 19 April

 

 

The MS Prinsendam will also travel from Walvis Bay, and in addition to calling at St Helena, the vessel will call at Ascension. Following this year’s visit, the MS Prinsendam is planned to call at St Helena during the latter part of next year. The MS Prinsendam will visit the Island from 10am until 6pm and whilst details of the numbers travelling to St Helena have not yet been confirmed the vessel has a capacity to carry 794 passengers and 443 crew."

[Grumpy1]

Prinsendam 2005 April 9, Day 86

 

There was one thing that Grumpy had intended to mention in the last post, but forgot to include... now some of you probably thought Grumpy's post about the laundry on April 1 was all an April Fool's post... well, maybe part of it was... but pictures are attached that Grumpy took from the dock in Mauritius. The laundry is hanging on the balcony of an SS cabin, starboard aft, and is less than 100 feet from the door of the laundry room on the same deck... As one of Grumpy's fellow travellers commented... "Cruising isn't what it used to be..."

 

On the subject of tours vs do your own thing... It seems that almost all of the city tours have to stop at every cathedral, mosque, temple in town... which is OK for some, but after awhile Slinkie and Grumpy just don't want to do any more of those unless there is some special significence to the place being visited... On their honeymoon cruise of the Mediterranean in 2002 they toured major cathedrals in Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Sicily... including the Vatican museum... There aren't many more that they really want to see... Most of the tours that include shopping opportunities do not stop at the places where most of the people want to shop, or stop for such a short period that there isn't really any opportunity to shop. Slinkie and Grumpy like to wander through the areas where the locals shop when possible and get more of a feel for the local people and culture that way. Most of the tours, unless they are listed specifically as a shopping tour, do not offer much shopping time and are just sightseeing tours. Slinkie and Grumpy look through the brochures, watch the shore excursion channel and decide whether to do an organized tour or take off on their own.

 

TexEm... you asked about mail delivery on board... The note that was delivered to Grumpy's cabin didn't come through "normal" channels... the author knew Grumpy's cabin number and since he was on board, hand delivered the note... Grumpy wouldn't have known that except that one of his neighbors saw the "delivery couple" slipping the card under Grumpy's door... The suggestions that Ruth and Prinsendam gave you for locating someone should work quite well.

 

jig... Slinkie and Grumpy also received the questionairre for the 2007 iteneraries... It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out... cabs in Colombo were very negotiable, but shouldn't cost more than $15USD per hour. They are usually cheaper if the driver can take you where he wants you to go... he'll get a gas coupon or other compensation from the "department store" where he takes you to shop... make sure the price quoted is for your entire party and not per person, double occupancy required... a little trick they learned from the cruise lines, no doubt... Tuk-Tuk cabs are cheaper than the air conditioned mini vans...

 

Sinbad37... Grumpy has avoided checking into any other threads... the minutes go by fast enough as it is... but the HAL-O-Ween Dam cruise sounds interesting... from the 2006 schedule, it looks like it is on the Westerdam out of FLL... Grumpy thought it might have been interesting to make it a HAL-O-Veendam cruise out of Tampa on the 28th... He'll take a look at the thread after he gets his unlimited internet back...

 

RuffinReady... Slinkie is also quite sensitive to cold temperatures... Since a lot of the cruise has been in tropical areas, there are times that the dining room is quite warm and Slinkie is quite happy with that. The Crow's Nest is usually pretty cool... also the Queen's Lounge. Since you will be crossing from NYC in May, expect cooler temperatures and your DW should dress in layers that can be added or removed as needed... or do what Grumpy does, and give your DW a big hug and snuggle close when she gets chilly...

 

Shannon... no trees were slashed in the Seychelles... Grumpy isn't sure what tree it is that has the red sap... he's heard of it before, but doesn't recall the guide in the botanical garden mentioning anything about it... The Seychelles could be somewhat reminiscent of the Caribbean Islands... They would probably be just as over developed and commercialized as the caribbean has become if they were as accessible to tourists... but being off the beaten path has slowed the degradation... There are quite a few projects that were begun, sitting there in limbo...

 

Ekerr19... Slinkie never gets tired of getting dressed for dinner... tired of wearing the same old clothes, maybe... Grumpy doesn't mind either, as long as half the nights are casual... he probably would get tired of it if every night were formal or informal. There are some men on board that never show up for dinner in less than jacket and tie... it's just their nature to dress for dinner... There is enough variety on the menu that Slinkie and Grumpy always look forward to dinner... Slinkie loves fish and really looks forward to trying the featured fish of the day... often something that she has never heard of, but usually very good and cooked just right... Grumpy doesn't eat too much fish, but never has a problem finding something good on the menu... There is always one selection on the menu that is labled as being a "simple fare", which usually means no fancy sauce covering the meat...

 

Slinkie and Grumpy always eat breakfast and lunch in the Lido rather than the dining room. Slinkie says she prefers to pick out her own fruits and vegetables and make a choice from among the many seafood or vegetable salads that are offered. Grumpy likes a soup and sandwich lunch, or sometimes just the soup and some fruit... Neither one has yet gotten one of the dinner type entrees that are offered at lunch time... maybe that has something to do with the fact that the clothes haven't shrunk too much yet... Grumpy did stop at the Terrace Grill the other day and got a hamburger and french fries for lunch, and once in a while will have a pizza for lunch... he hasn't had a mad craving for a PBJ sandwich yet, but could probably get it... Children's menu?... Grumpy has not seen one of those... since the captain's wife and daughter left the ship in Chennai, children have been rather scarce, too...

 

Blackbird71... Grumpy has no clue what post #879 was all about... since he has all of the options for displaying embedded links turned off, smiley faces, animated GIFs, pictures and so forth do not display and just show as a URL... so that message was four URLs, which Grumpy won't see unless he goes back into the thread later...

 

Today, there was an auction onboard... No, it wasn't the art at sea auction... those were held a couple of times during the first week or two, but not since... This auction was a white elephant auction with the proceeds going to the Red Cross Children's Trust Hospital in Cape Town. Passengers donated unwanted (outgrown) items of clothing, purchases that were no longer as desireable as they were in port... Logo emblazoned pillow gifts that weren't needed by the recipients... There was a beautiful baby's quilt that two women had made while on board... it went for $300... The carved wooden Harley and the elephant,similar to the ones that were being pushed at Grumpy in Bali were on the table and sold for more than Grumpy could have bought them for in Bali... Captain Gundersen sold for a mere $110... well, it was the right to dance with the captain to open the upcoming Black and Gold Ball that was being auctioned... Slinkie was in the bidding, but there was another passenger that really wanted that privilege, and one of her friends seemed to be determined to spend whatever it took to secure that honor for her... Slinkie's already danced with him a few times... the first dance would have been nice... probably would make the cruise video... the captain did stop by and thanked her for pushing up the bidding... otherwise he might have sold for a mere $30 or $40...

 

All in all, the auction raised a few thousand dollars, not counting whatever was put in the box for cash donations. All of the items that have been knit by the ladies for the Gifts of Love were also on display... Those ladies have been busy!... Piles of blankets, sweaters, caps... very colorful... There will be a couple of very large boxes of knit goods delivered in Cape Town... Good job, ladies...

 

VeniceCruiser... Grumpy still hasn't met Mandy... she's around here somewhere, but she may have gotten word that you want Grumpy to keep her out of trouble, so she's avoiding him... Grumpy keep her out of trouble??.. That's like the fox guarding the hen house, isn't it?...

 

Right now, there is a strong cyclone east of Mauritius and heading southeast... it appears to be chasing the Prinsendam, but she's past the southern end of Madagascar now and the cyclone will most likely turn more southward... hopefully... seas aren't as rough today, but still running 7 to 12 feet. As he was typing this.. about 6p.. Grumpy felt the ship start to pitch and roll quite a bit more... stepping out on the verandah with his trusty GPS, Grumpy was surprised to find that the Prinsendam, which had been holding a WSW course toward Durban, had turned and was running ESE at 12 knots. As he watched, the Prinsendam slowly came back around and picked up speed again... it will be interesting to see if Grumpy can find out what that little maneuver was all about...

 

Time to post and see what has been added since yesterday...

 

Grumpy and Slinkie

 

[Grumpy1]

for some reason the pics won't attach. will try later.

[tigerlilycruiser12]

Hey Grumpy and Slinkie

Just found your thread. I am so happy to hear that you are having a great time. You both deserve it. I have to go and read the back post of your adventures.

 

Wish I found this earlier. Enjoy Enjoy Enjoy I hope you can post the pictures as you have many people waiting for the next installment. lol You guys are a great couple.

 

marie :)

[blackbird71]

Sorry Grumpy, post 879 was the cover of an old Disney movie "The Clock Watchers" and has Donald looking at a clock. The other two were smilies from another site, one a jumping frog and one a You Rock thingy.

 

 

About Churches, some of my European cruise's shore excursions were almost all about Churchs and yes that get OLD fast.

 

My worst case of this was the Vatican museum tour. The tour from Princess was listed as a tour of Rome, as it turned out, it was a tour of the Vatican and a bus ride thru the rest of Rome with sites pointed out. Bummer for me.

[PRINSENDAM]

Prinsendam 2005 April 9, Day 86

 

 

 

Today, there was an auction onboard...

 

Grumpy and Slinkie

 

 

 

 

Grumpy & Slinkie,

 

Well done!

 

As you both know, I was just on board SAGA ROSE for a short leg of her world cruise. SAGA ROSE also holds charity auctions during her world cruises, each year going to one of two charities. One year the money will go to a small village near Cape Town where the SAGA ROSE is funding the construction of a new school and other improvements in the village and the second year the charity is to house and protect abused children in the Phillippines.

 

Each year when Ruth and I sail in SAGA ROSE I paint on board.... well, I have to. I must sail as lecturer/guest artist or we can't go. You see, Saga Cruise have an age restriction on board. As a passenger you must be over 50!!!!:eek:

Well, I meet the age requirement but DW doesn't!!!!!;) So, in order fur Ruth and I to sail, I have to 'sing' for my supper... paint actually. Each year I make two paintings... not large... one for the ship and one for the charity auction. The auction this world cruise was held on Easter Saturday.

 

Anyhow, the following e-mail came from Captain Rentell on the SAGA ROSE:-

 

"Stephen, the auction went off brilliantly, perhaps because I was the

auctioneer! There was much humour, the room was packed and it went on

for over an hour and a half. The tension when I came to sell the

painting was almost so thick you cut cut through it with a knife. I

started at £1000, slowly worked up to £2000 with 3 main bidders. £2000

caused an eruption of cheers, then a bigger one for £2.5, the last ten

minutes or so went with almost silence except for me wringing the last

drop of blood. Great roar when the hammer came down.

 

Anyway excellent comments from many of the punters, a very good

afternoon and over £9000 donated so far. The passenger who bid

successfully for the painting was Bruce Macintosh, a very nice chap from

north of the border.

 

Philip Rentell

Master. Saga Rose.

 

 

A good result.... roughly US$17,000. Now, when they come to make the donation, Saga Cruises will also make a donation to the charity... usually an amount equal to the amount raised on board the ship.

 

Stephen

[mslvp7]

As for me, I love long, leisurely & sometimes formal dinner with all the courses, etc. My longing for "comfort" food could be nicely satisfied by some pizza every couple of weeks & some potato chips every couple of weeks. The rest of the time....Caesar salad, rack of lamb, NY or filet, salmon, etc. etc.

 

Also love to dress up...expecially formal occasions...

 

Only a world cruise is waaaay too long - 7 days cruises & then I long to be back at work - at least for awhile. Then off again...

 

greatcruisinghome

 

Laura, I wouldn't presume to answer for Grumpy, but I will tell you in my experience you do start to long for simple food. That's one reason why the new "comfort food" selection is a good idea---at least on longer cruises.

I remember thinking one night "do I have to go to dinner again?"---just didn't want to.

 

Also, you don't have to be a child to order from the children's menu! Fingers and fries, or mac and cheese just hits the spot some nights.

 

As for getting sick of dressing up goes? Can't say that's ever happened to me. I always wear hose and pumps anyway, and a dress is a dress is a dress---doesn't matter how fancy it gets, it feels the same from the skin side of the cloth.

[blackbird71]

 

As you both know, I was just on board SAGA ROSE for a short leg of her world cruise.

 

Stephen

 

Are you going to do a cruise report on the Saga Rose. I love those ships from the SAGAFJORD day????

[KathieKata]

GREAT reading as usual Grumpy & Slinkie! Sure hope Slinkie finds a better place to carry her photo copy of passport etc, etc. Like inside her blouse with the cord over her head to make sure no one tries that act again. GLAD SHE's ALRIGHT!

Have fun you two!!