Live From The 10-24-2013 Ruby Princess to Florida (51 Days)

[FritzG]

Thank you for giving such details reports on this cruise. I enjoy starting my day with your postings. We're probably booking the return TA in September sometime this week. We took the eastbound TA on Ruby in 2009 and 2010.

 

Now it's time to get the Ruby back on this side of the world--we're sailing on her on Jan. 18th as part of a b2b with the Emerald. We haven't been to the Caribbean in 30 years so we're looking forward to it.

[beckntom]

What a dellightful day in Naples! The kind of day where one wishes they could just tag along with someone like you who is brave enough to strike out on their own. I am envious!

[ccrain]

11-26-2013 Rome

 

What a great day yesterday in Naples. Topped off by handing out candy to various crew around the ship, Italian night in the dining room and watching the new crew pub night show.

 

Ahh, Italian night at the MDR. We snuck into early seating with Paul and Elizabeth – they have an “in” with the head waiter and the Matre De – and enjoyed my usual two eggplant parmesans ( a slightly different recipe but still ummmyyy). Judy pronounced the Penne and the fettucine almost as good as the stuff she got on the first Italian night in Michelangelo, yeah, life is tuff, and I had the Mahi-Mahi, which was very good. We also had our special coffee liqueur in the coffee and over ice cream. It won’t last the rest of this cruise for sure.

 

The show very similar to previous pub night shows put on by some of the other cruise directors – Billy London, Tim Donovan for example – but with the “Princess” stamp of approval, standardized routines, plus singers and dancers from the production show. If I were not upon the sea was not in the routine as that is reserved for the International Crew Show and there is a little loss of spontaneity, the multi-drink gag is gone as is one of the verses of Susie, but overall it was fun and a good time. Dan and Colin hosted. The entire cruise staff as well as two of the four vocalists, a couple of band members and the dance troupe participated in a new set in Explorer’s. This routine is supposedly fresh off the Royal and will be spread throughout the fleet.

 

So now on to Rome in the morning. We tagged along with a couple of fellow dancers this morning to the train station. Couldn’t be simpler and it went exactly like what Rick Steves describes in his books. Although the Cruise Services Center is now charging a 1E fee per ticket, so the tickets were 26E total. The train ride was only 60 minutes. We got off at the Ostiente station, and from the sounds of the mess at Roma Termini, it was a good move. It was very simple to get to the Pyrimade metro and ride two stops to the Colesseo stop. The people that went to Roma Termini said it was a very long walk from the train stop to the metro. We rode the metro, got off, found the Coliseum no problem – big round building that takes up the entire skyline – saw the line at the Coliseum ticket booth and went to the Forum-Palantine hill ticket booth with no line, went right in and wandered around the forum and palatine hill for the rest of the morning. It was cold, no doubt about that. The wind is what made it cold. It was blowing a steady 20-25mph all day from the north and it was cold.

 

We left the forum at the northern exit and ran into a demonstration of some kind at the southern end of the Vittorio Emanuelle monument. We went around to the east staircase and wandered up various stairs until we found the lower balcony. Took some great pictures and went looking for the elevator to the roof. We found that, but its 7E a person now. Geez. Not that worth it. So we headed out into the Rome traffic towards the Parthenon, Piazza Novana and the Fountain of the Four Rivers. Next time I bring a hard copy map, period. Relying on Google maps just doesn’t work and you can’t zoom tripadvisor in tight enough to read all the streets without having it glitch by not seeing any saved places. And google was wrong on where the metro stops were and Tripadvisor was wrong on some things as well. I even had to pull out my compass, yes it is attached to my backpack (but I did not have my multi-tool this time) to make sure which way was north. It’s so easy to get turned around in these narrow streets.

 

So we made it to the Piazza and to the fountain. A very impressive pair of fountains in the Piazza, dominated by the four rivers fountain. Very nice. The Pantheon was well worth the extra walking. Its free, believe it or not, and it is beautiful on the inside. No scaffolding, no draperies, just great sculpture and painting inside. It was a real treat.

 

At this point in time we’d already done about 6 miles on our feet, so we opted for a quick cab ride back to Ostiente to catch the train back to the ship. Only 10E from the Pantheon to Ostiente, and a real friendly nice cab driver too. Real pleasure, although I’m not sure we were any safer in the taxi than walking the streets the way everyone drives in this town. We got passed by two scooters, one in the median, one on the “sidewalk”. Geez….

 

So call this day a real success story. We did our first DIY in Rome on a train, got back to the ship successfully, no lost items.

 

Tomorrow a DIY in Florence using the DIY bus. See ya!

[CruisingObsessed]

11-24-2013 At Sea To Naples

 

A couple of clean up items. Found out why Fusion was not utilized more – lack of production and cruise staff. I just looked back at a 2010 review on the Emerald. There were 9 cruise staff on board. On this cruise there are only 8. There were 7 in 2005 on the Dawn alone. It is clear that Princess is slowly drawing down on the number of staff to reduce prices. With no extra cruise staff or production staff, they simply can’t use Fusion to its full potential without production personnel to run the electronics. Thus we have recorded music or recorded videos that require minimal maintenance or involvement. They use the wheelhouse for the band because the production staff that supports the theater can double time back and forth and support wheelhouse, but Fusion is too far away, even though the band stand and the dance floor are much larger. The production shows, especially the new ones with the video backing and the moving sets require a lot of support. However, they are getting an extra production person for the crossing and this should allow Fusion to be used for more activities that are appropriate to that venue. Fusion is great for a sports bar, or multi-media trivia and has the best and largest dance floor on the ship.

 

As I’ve previously written, Dan is leaving in Barcelona and Lee Childers will be the new CD for the Ruby crossing as well as the start of the Caribbean season. …

 

Thanks for clearing that up about club fusion, I really couldn't figure it out when we were on Ruby. I really wish they would just hire that extra person, even if it makes my cruise go up $10. Seriously, how much could it be? Glad you will have him or her for the crossing, when you are on the ship for several days. Without the use of that venue in the evening the Ruby felt awfully crowded, a sensation I never noticed on the Emerald.

 

Lee is fine. Dan is probably funnier, but you will enjoy Lee as well I suspect! Thanks again for doing the live, it's been fun continuing to sail on even though we disembarked a couple of weeks ago! :p

[ccrain]

11-27-2013 Livorno for Florence Evening Update

 

Three words describe today: Fun, cold and GREAT!

 

Fun. We did the DIY on the bus to Florence. Great tour guide for just being on the bus with us. She gave us a whole bunch of information on the way to Florence. The bus dropped us off and we walked to the Church of Santa Croce that would be our starting place and meeting place. We did wander into the Galleria Michelangelo for a leather and jewelry showing, but a small price to pay for really clean restrooms. (However the prices were astronomical for Italian leather goods. Several hundred Euros for a ladies purse!?!) Anyway we had about 6 hours of free time in Florence. We did the Galileo museum, the Ponte Vecchio, Signoria Square, the Duomo and the Bapistry, lunch at Casa Toscana and several turns through an international market that was set up in San Croce square. We had been to Florence before and have done the other various museums, so we concentrated on other things we wanted to see this time, as well as more time on things we only saw part of the last time – and we wanted to do lunch.

 

Lunch at Casa Toscana was fun and good. I threw out the tripadvisor recommended places when I read that Toscana had a salami and cheese appetizer plate – this was the highlight of the meal. Various salami’s, hams, bacons and other forms of pork goodness got my vote! I ordered lasagna, Judy ordered spaghetti Bolognese, but after they arrived I liked hers better than mine and she liked mine better than hers, so we ended up switching –they were good, better than anything in the states or on the ship. We also had a liver mousse bruchetta, a liter of wine, liter of sparkling water and a cappuccino to cap lunch for 60E including tip. Not as cheap as Naples, but hey, how often do you eat in Florence Italy. Service was excellent and everyone spoke English.

 

Cold. It was COLD in Florence. One temperature gauge read 5C, but did not include wind chill and the wind, with the high humidity, cut through you like a knife and sucked all the heat out. Wind gusts were easily to 20MPH in the squares. It was the coldest cruise excursion I’ve ever been on since Antarctica. Yep, that cold.

 

GREAT! So once back to the ship I did something I’ve never done before in 12 years of cruising. Stayed for a second showing of the same show. Colors of the World debuted on the Ruby (having been on the Royal), without the LED wall that will be installed in FLL in 3 weeks, and it was fantastic. Someone at Princess must finally be reading my travelogs. I’ve been complaining about tired choreography, outdated costumes, lack of symmetry in the production show, blah, blah, blah. Well they all got answered in this show. The choreography was up to date, energetic and the dancers were definitely enthusiastic about the show as it showed in the smiles as they went through their routines. The show was funny (the Greek sequence was really, really well done and funny as all get out), poignant (the two solos were great in their simplicity to highlight the vocals, not the music, not any dancing, no flashy stuff, just pure vocals), energetic (the dance routines were modern with fast rhythm dance music) and the costumes were absolutely stunning (from the bollywood to the orient to the dragon to the scantily clad young beauties – WOW – they were flashy, colorful and balanced across the stage). The production staff needs a ‘well done’ for this one as well. While the stage props were simple in concept, the lighting was very complex in application and completely in synch with the music and dancing. Very well done. I only hope the new LED wall does not detract from an already great show.

 

I enjoyed it so much we stayed for the second showing and it was even better. The production staff must have critiqued the first show and adjusted volumes and reverb levels on the music and vocals. It was a much more enhanced audio in the second show. Bottom line is that we gave them a standing ovation for their efforts. I’ve been critical in the past on audiences handing standing o’s out for almost anything, but in this case the entire cast and crew really deserved it.

 

Important Note – We did not know this before hand, but in the patter was an announcement for two shuttle services that we did not know of before hand. One was a continuous shuttle service for 5E each from the ship to the Plaza Grande in Livorno. The other was a one time only 12E per person shuttle to the train station at 0820 and a one time only back from the train station from the 16:49 train arriving in Livorno from Florence. This might have been a cheaper option than the DIY Princess bus, but not one I would be interested in chancing.

 

So all in all, one heck of a good day. Night all…

[ccrain]

11-28-2013 Happy Thanksgiving From Toulon

 

Sunshine. Not a cloud in the sky, slight breeze, but nothing major. Not at all like Florence. It was a beautiful day. We docked on the opposite side of the bay from Toulon and was boated over for $15 roundtrip each, if you bought your tickets ahead of time. It was $30 each roundtrip if you bought them at the dock. We almost didn’t go, but the day was just too beautiful to pass up the chance. We did not have an excursion, but decided to explore the town on our own. A great town to explore on your own. Easy to find your way around. Clean minimal beggars, lots of cafes and shops.

 

The draw for me was the naval museum – 9E each to enter – including the handset. A real bargain. The highlight? The 1/6 or 1/12 scale frigate and ship of the line from the 1700’s. Used as class room training tools they are magnificent and simply gorgeously built. They take up half the room, but wow are they intricate and detailed. The museum had a audio handset included in the price, which was a good thing as all the signage is in French. We spent several hours in the museum seeing the history of Toulon, the French navy all the way up to the nuclear carrier.

After the museum, we wandered around the town. There was a street market in the main drag, many blocks deep into the town, that was just in the process of being over when we wandered through. The fruit and vegetables were fun to see, but boy were they pricey! (So far EVERYTHING has cost much more than US prices. I have not seen any “bargains” on this whole trip!) We wandered around the town for a while longer before catching a shuttle boat back to the ship. Got some great pictures of the French naval base and several French warships in dock, drydock and undergoing repairs.

 

Toulon was a worthwhile and simply visit to do on your own, but don’t miss the naval museum if you have even the slightest historical curiosity. Don’t know which days the street market is open, but it’s a neat thing to visit as well.

 

Dinner tonight was Thanksgiving with ham, turkey, tri-tip roast, pumpkin pie and all the fixin’s. The roast was good with the chimmychurry sauce. The corn chowder was excellent. Judy had the ham and corn chowder as well. We both skipped dessert. Just too much food for one day.

 

We danced a bit to Atomic afterwards and then went to the international cruise show. It was worth seeing again. A couple of the acts had changed and we promised to support Cat – the blackjack dealer – although she needed no support as she kneed Chris, the sergeant major, to the ground. This was Dan’s

[ccrain]

11-29-2013 Barcelona Turn Around

 

Wow how time flies. 36 days down, only 15 to go. Two weeks from tomorrow we will be disembarking. They will probably have to drag us off the ship kicking and screaming.

 

Judy is not feeling well, so we will probably stay onboard today. We have Barcelona today, Toulon tomorrow, Florence the next day and then Rome. 3 days at sea, then Maderia, then 7 days at sea. We only have an excursion schedules in Maderia. We are definitely checking out Livorno this trip, not going to Florence. Rome is up in the air depending on the weather. A lot depends on the weather. We’ve had great weather for the last 36 days. Never got wet on an excursion. Got cold, but never got wet. Also was hot on several during the earlier cruises.

 

We are getting new movies on the crossing. Jobs, Pacific Rim, Despicable Me 2 and White House Down are joining the mix. All of the standard game shows are back. Atomic is back, Jean and George are back. Three formal nights. The day after Rome. The day after Maderia and the 5th day at sea back to FLL. Hopefully the weather on the open deck will warm up a bit and there are some new movies playing on MUTS.

 

Four production shows: Broadway Ballroom, Colors of the World, Once Upon a Dream and Stardust. Comedians Paul Eastwood and Tom Drake. Vocalists Siobhan Phillips and Aaron Shaw. Ye old Pub night is back. We’ll see how quick Lee picks up from Dan.

 

We have found the key to the what the crew craves. Candy. We have found two European candies that are big hits as we pass it out to the various crew members. One is a chocolate with a liquid espresso center, the other is a chocolate with a cherry liqueur center. We have to find several more boxes to last over the transatlantic and to take home. This stuff is pretty good.

[Oahucruiser]

If you don't go into Rome, do spend a few hours in Civitavecchia, a delightful small town with a pedestrian street right where the shuttle drops you off. Nice shops, gelato places, a great open air market, nice walk along the beach and small restaurants.

[ccrain]

Not much to report today. Rainy day in Toulon. Good thing we were here just a few days ago. Judy is still not feeling well, so we stayed in all day watching it rain.

 

She should be good for Livorno tomorrow. We plan to do the town.

 

If it is raining in Civitavecchia, we may stay in town rather than go to Rome. We'll play that by ear.

 

Later...

[ccrain]

12-1-2013 – Livorno

 

Last night wasn’t a total loss. Judy started feeling better about noon, but stayed down until later in the evening when dancing started. They have opened up Fusion for Atomic now. We watched Atomic and the production crew “tune” in the instruments, sound and light systems. It was kinda fun to watch all the work involved in it. I just hope she hit the “save” button on all of the settings!

 

So we danced to Atomic for a while, but the ship started to really act up. Effective wind speed over the deck, and into the forward starboard quarter was 61 knots when we went to bed, and it must have picked up after we went to bed because we were woken several times when things hit the floor or we were jolted awake. Good thing we retired before it really got bad. Judy had to resort to Ginger Ale and bitters for a drink.

 

We’ve now been to Florence twice and have seen all that we want to see. Today was Livorno. Our primary task was to find the pocket coffee chocolates and the cherry liqueur chocolates at the grocery store, we also need some more water and a couple of other things.

 

We took the 5E shuttle to town, as did a lot of the crew. The shuttle lets off in Piazza Grande and the grocery store is only a block south and west. It’s a supermarcado CONAD on Via Grande in the basement of one of the other stores. But we didn’t go there right away – we actually didn’t know where it was and wanted to find it on our own.

 

The wind was very cold in town. But there are some great statuary among the piazza’s and fountains. The main “market” area was closed on Sundays, but a semi-flea market popped up a block away. It was nice to be able to appreciate people’s handcrafts without getting deluged with beggars, traders and salespeople. After wandering around for several hours, we ran into Jerry, one of the service staff in the IC, and asked him where the supermarket was. It turned out we were just across the street from it at the time – about 200’ away. Go figure!

 

The candy was on sale. 5.5E for the 32 count pocket espressos and 4.99E for the30 count mon cheri. We got five boxes each. 4 each are going home. 1 each are going to various crew as we cross the Atlantic. They love this stuff! There were a bunch of crew in the shop, as well as a lot of passengers. Everyone stocking up with everything from wine to beer to water to snacks. We also got another bottle of the Santa Margherita Pinot Grigiot we bought in Venice. 7.88E for the bottle. Great bargain and Judy really likes it.

 

We actually rode back on the shuttle with the Chef – Paolo Mario. He was in civvies and very hard to recognize, but we chatted for a while. Very nice man. The head chef of Princess is onboard for the crossing. Alfredo’s Pizzaria’s namesake. Paolo’s boss. That should make Italian night very special this trip.

 

Not much in the patter today. Most of the stuff we’ve seen already, so if the ship doesn’t rock too much, we will be dancing in fusion to atomic. Sunday football is all over MUTS and explorer’s. Paul Eastwood is doing a show, but we’ve already seen that last cruise. Nice thing about B2B’s, you at least have a chance to see or do it all.

 

Tomorrow is Rome and we plan to BIRG ticket into Rome, ride the metros to see the Capuchin crypts, Spanish steps, Michelangelo’s Moses and whatever else I can come up with going through TripAdvisor. I have to buy a paper map of Rome on the way in tomorrow. Relying on electronics is just not working in these narrow streets and roaming coverage. I’ve been in places with cell phones all around me, but no coverage for my phone. So it’s back to hard copy and dead reckoning for me.

 

Later…

[ccrain]

12-02-2013 Rome

 

Interesting day. Wind prevented the ship from docking until after 1000 this morning – it was gusting to 50 knots as the Commodore made the first approach. Civitavecchia has a very narrow entrance with a sharp turn to starboard required and like Katakalon the other day, the Commodore was not willing to risk any chance of a gust of wind pushing us into the breakwater or the dock. He waited a couple of hours until the wind died down a little bit and we easily slid into the docks. Three hours late, but not a single scratch on the ship.

 

Didn’t stop a lot of people from griping, whining and moaning – while they were piled up in the Piazza and the stairwells. Didn’t know we had so many certified Ship Masters on board. They did delay all aboard until 2030 tonight, but we decided to can the plans for Rome for the day. Good thing we did our thing the last time we were here. We won’t see a few things, but it gives us a good excuse to come back. We decided to grab a workout, shower, spend some quality, non-moving time together and have dinner in Crown Grill tonight with Paul and Elizabeth; and Ken and Merrily. I need my rack of lamb fix!

 

We have a new Caribbean band coming on board. Icon. We have sailed with them before in November of 2010 on the Emerald. They were good then, and hopefully they will be as good now. That means we have three live dance venues. Fantastic!

 

So we are not disappointed in the least for missing Rome today. I suspect Judy will take a few days to get adjusted to the sea state over the next few days, so it was a good time to have dinner together with a few friends.

[Jasperdo]

We have a new Caribbean band coming on board. Icon. We have sailed with them before in November of 2010 on the Emerald. They were good then, and hopefully they will be as good now. That means we have three live dance venues. Fantastic!

Glad to hear that Icon is still working Princess ships. We had them on our Panama Canal cruise on the Coral last year, and thought they were very good. The female singer has a wonderful voice.

 

I've been enjoying your "Live". The Grand Mediterranean is a cruise I really want to take. Your Port information has been very valuable. Thank you.

[ccrain]

12-03-2013 At Sea Transatlantic

 

So starts the last part of the trip. 3 sea days, one port, then 7 more sea days. If we have good weather this will be fun, if not, we will have to make do.

 

Last night’s dinner at Crown Grill was great. Paul, Elizabeth, Ken and Merrily, and us. We had reservations at 1800 and it was perfect. Almost no one in the place for over an hour. Nice and quiet, good conversation, drank the two bottles of wine from Italy we had left – and great service. Christo was excellent. The food was very good. Judy had the New York strip, I had the lamb and everyone else had filet. Christo brought a couple of dozen of the small lobster tails as well. They were very nice and perfectly cooked as well. The garlic fries are to die for. They serve the sides family style so we were passing all sorts of goodies back and forth. We actually didn’t leave until 2200. It was great being able to talk without shouting. A very nice, leisurely, quiet dinner with friends.

 

Lee has really started off with a bang on this trip. We have an extra band – Icon, and he is using it to the maximum. Today’s patter is chock full of stuff and tonight’s schedule is full of dance opportunities. (I just hope the sea state stays down so that Judy and I can enjoy it.) This morning we have Zumba, a lecture on the Royal Princess, a Bridge lecture, a knitting get together, bible study, holiday sale at sea, trivia, bingo and a lecture on flying boats.

 

This afternoon we have a martini demo, line dancing, putting challenge, Blue Jasmine as an afternoon movie in the Princess theater, art auction preview, casino lessons, pop choir paddle tennis, ballroom dance demo with Alex and Natalia, art auction, a lecture on rome, foxtrot class, more trivia and a Flash Mob rehearsal. Flash Mob? That’s new.

 

Tonight we have Jean and George in the wheelhouse, Icon in Explorer’s and Atomic in fusion. And the hours are staggered. So we have lots of dance opportunities up till midnight. Showtime is Vicenzo Gentile – a musical showtime. Not sure if he is a vocalist or what.

 

Tonight is a formal night and they have started the Christmas Decorations around the ship. Christmas trees, lights, wreaths – so the ship will be in full holiday regalia when she gets to FLL and for you on the next cruise.

 

Judy is getting her nails done this morning and will miss Zumba – I detect an ulterior motive here – but I will persevere. I am going to try and make the royal Princess lecture. I think its going to turn into a real interesting Q&A at the end. Might do the history of flying boats. Line dance, foxtrot and then flash mob sounds like lots of fun. We gain the first of 6 hours back tonight, no ports, no excursions, so now we party ourselves into exhaustion during the crossing…

[FLTinyDancer08]

Thanks for the updates!!! I've been anxiously awaiting everyday's events.

 

Happy to hear about the holiday decor - I was wondering if they would get to it before we boarded.

 

I'm a dancer myself and we're worried there wont be enough to keep up occupied, but sounds like we just might if they keep this up!!!

 

Praying for a smooth TA for you and Judy!

[MaChere]

Certainly enjoying your fun and fascinating report! We will be on the Ruby next summer in the British Isles, and your report makes us want to see the Mediterranean on the Ruby, too! Thanks for sharing!

 

:D

[ccrain]

12-04-2013 At Sea

 

Yesterday was busy and very tiring. Started with Zumba, went to the Royal Princess lecture (John-Maxtone Graham – he apparently has been cruising forever), did the line dance class, joined in rehearsal for Sam’s flashmob, started dancing to canned music in Fusion then went to Icon in Explorer’s, back to fusion for atomic and then back to Icon. Did about 10 miles of dancing yesterday. Ibuprofen is a wonder drug!

 

Slightly raining this morning. Overcast. Not much wind. Sea state is mild. It got warm enough and sunny enough yesterday afternoon to enjoy lunch at the grill and to stand out on the balcony to cool off. Keeping fingers crossed that the weather will hold.

 

The Royal Princess lecture was more of a collection of photos of various ships, including the three Royals under Princess, that John has sailed on – plus various photographs of christening ceremonies. A little more detail on the construction of the Royal, when he visited the Fincanteri yard at various times. Not a lot of details on the design or construction, so it wasn’t that interesting. What was interesting was that Ray Calouri was a Princess CD way back when. Didn’t know that.

 

Interesting that John referred to the Royal’s Piazza floor as a “dance floor”, which is interesting since that one of several current topics of controversy about the Royal – lack of dance floor space. ( A ceramic/stone tile floor, with chairs and tables scattered amongst it and sticky spots from spilled drinks is not a proper dance floor.) It was also interesting that both lounges and the wheelhouse were full of dancing and drinking couples last night. The floors were full and crowded, but we actually had space in fusion to have mambo dancers on the floor and a 10 person mambo line dance at the same time! Fusion is a great dance floor. Lots of fun…

 

Today is again full of stuff to do. We will skip John’s lecture about early 1920’s-1950’s cruising. Zumba, line dance, flashmob, dancing. Today there is a photo seminar, a bridge lecture, an early muts movie (forrest gump), trivia, health seminars, bingo, virtual tour of the navigation bridge, a lecture on operas, two ballroom classes – cha cha and later tonight a jive class. Recorded dance music starts at 1800, there is a new Ventriloquist act in the theater, Siobhan Phillips is repeating in Explorers, Rock and Roll night in Explorers, who am I gameshow. Lots to do.

 

Later…

[ccrain]

12-05-2013 At Sea

 

We are officially in the Atlantic Ocean. Both sides of Gibraltar were lit up last night as we went through the straits. Looking out our balcony we noticed this sole little light crossing faster above the lights of Morocco, and a large shadow underneath it occulting the lights. It was the bridge of a huge container ship. We’re talking big here. Saw lots of shipping on approach to the straits. Tankers and container ships. Lots and lots of containers.

 

Weather and sea state is still optimal. For this cruise we have had fantastic weather with minimal glitches. Only missed Katakalon, never got rained on (the last Toulon port was rainy – but we never went ashore, only really cold in Florence and Livorno). We really could not have asked for better weather so far. Keep fingers crossed.

 

Yesterday was one sweaty activity after another. First was Zumba, then was line dance, then Sam’s flash mob rehearsal. This is her first personally designed activity and we want to try and make it a success. So we videotaped her routine for later review and practice. It’s about a 5 minute routine and there is about 25 of us in the group. If we all stick with it there is enough for a good Piazza. 21,000 steps on the pedometer for the day and Judy’s feet needed a rest, so we skipped R&R night.

 

We did make it to Jimmy Tamely, the ventriloquist, last night. Good show. Very funny in spots. Tedious in others, but no bombing or crickets. The baby part was kind of weird in spots, his granddad was hilarious, as the usually are. No Jeff Dunham, no Achmed or senor jalapeno – on a stick – but still time well spent to rest the feet.

 

Interesting note, the ship is only about 2/3 full. About 2400 to 2500 people, but almost 500 elites – so much for getting invited to the most traveled party! We have heard that they have closed down Plaza deck cabins and moved everyone to OV’s and balconies at Barcelona. We know a couple of people that got moved when they weren’t supposed to get moved. One from an inside to a balcony – and they were upset at first – but are rapidly getting used to being spoiled by the balcony.

 

Today is another full day of at sea activities. One thing for sure, Lee is filling the schedule with everything you can imagine. We have Zumba, a lecture on Titanic survivors (John- Maxtone-Graham), a lecture on writing historical fiction (Thomas Williams), bingo, a pastry buffet in Café Caribe, a vignette in the Piazza from Princess’s head chef on Sabatini and Crown Grill. Line dancing is back right after lunch, Cat is having a basic Spanish class in the Deck 6 conference room (Great Idea BTW), a lecture on Michelangelo (George Weston, Jr.), pop choir, art auctions, cha cha part 2, Jimmy Tamely has a second show in Explorer’s, Vincenzo Gentile is back in the theater; and, the usual staggering of Atomic, Icon and Jean/George inFusion, Explorer’s and Wheelhouse.

[ccrain]

12-06-2013 Funchal Portugal

 

Yesterday was one of the busiest we’ve ever had at sea. Zumba, line dance, Spanish class, flash mob, practice flash mob (in the aerobics studio), dancing to Icon, Jimmy Tamely’s follow up show in Explorer’s. No time for a power nap, almost no time for lunch! 8.1 miles later we hit the hay for an earlier excursion in Funchal, our final stop before 7 straight sea days in which Eve has promised 7 straight Zumba classes. Oh my aching feet and ankles.

 

I should note that Jimmy’s second show was far better than his first – and his first was not bad either. Much more content, much funnier, timing was better and the puppet boxer was just a hoot. I’m not sure the “wardrobe malfunctions” were deliberate or actually accidental, but they brought the house down. Very, very funny guy and the funniest comedy show we’ve had on this series of cruises. We never stopped laughing. Explorer’s as an activity venue is great because it is much more intimate. His ventriloquism is very good as you can watch him very carefully in this venue.

 

Lee is absolutely packing this schedule with everything but the kitchen sink. I am impressed. We have seen a lot of this before hand and are now able to see other things – which is the fun part. With three high activity classes in a day, we are beat by the evening. We still have to make it to one or two of our favorite after hours activities like country western night.

 

Cat was surprised at the number of people who showed up for her Spanish class. The flashmob is Sam’s first foray into entertainment, Spanish class is Cat’s. It was a fun class. We will try and make the others as well – although it is scheduled right after Eve’s line dance class. So we turn up all sweaty and breathing hard.

 

Today the commodore has promised clear skies, sunny, high in the upper 50’s or lower 60’s, although we did hear rumors about mid to upper 60’s at one time. Sea state has been near perfect. The swell has been a following swell which the ship takes much better than a head on swell. Keeping my fingers crossed for a smooth crossing.

 

A couple of important notes. They are running a shuttle service today to the Marina Shopping Mall for $10US each roundtrip. A lot of people are having issues with the VAT refund form. Normally you can get these stamped at the airport prior to leaving a country. Not so on a ship, so Princess has arranged a special VAT stamping service with the local officials from 1200 to 1500 at the terminal today. That should make some people very happy as there are some who have spent thousands of dollars and the VAT refund represents hundreds of dollars. Nice chunk of change.

 

So in the patter for tonight, we will be on tour all day, we have a new comedian – Tom Drake. No smoking night at the casino. Icon and Atomic stagger in Fusion and Explorers. Atomic has their Motown night at Fusion, Where in the World game show is on. Busy night, busy day.

[Spurs Fans]

Enjoying your reports. My brother and sister in law are on board. They got on in Venice.

[yankee1chic]

Hope you have smooth sailing for your crossing. Your daily reports are great. Thank you for taking time to offer us your POV. Priceless!

 

Sent from my QMV7A using Tapatalk

[ccrain]

12-06-2013 Madeira

 

A really good tour today. We did the Riberia Brava, Cabo Girao, Porto Moniz whirlwind all day island tour with lunch. (Quebra Mar in San Vicente is where we had lunch.) It was a really great tour. Another score for us. Tour guide was good, the scenery just absolutely drop dead gorgeous and the island itself very clean, tidy and quaint. Banana plantations giving way to grape vines, then truck gardens, then logging, then cattle and ‘moors’ as you go higher in elevation. The sea cliff with the glass walkway was a great way to start out the tour. Now that was a loooonnnnggggg way down!

 

From there we went to the seaside village of Riberia Brava. This particular village was almost destroyed in floods a couple of years ago by the river that runs through the middle of it – the wild river. The town has pretty much recovered and the tourist shops and cafes are everywhere, but frequented by a lot of locals. The only beggars or hawkers were those inviting you in to their store or their café. Very friendly people.

 

After Riberia Brava we went due south up over the mountains that divide the north and south side of the island. Nothing here is flat, or almost nothing. All farming is done on terraces. Stone wall terraces that are sometimes 10’ tall and only for a very small plot of land to farm. We saw all kinds of vegetables in the truck gardens, lots of bananas, sugar cane, grapes. Cabbages, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, squashes of every description – the land is very fertile – a deep reddish color similar to Hawaii. The land is very steep, but roads and tunnels are everywhere. Something like over 80 tunnels around the island. 10’s of miles of tunnels, the longest I saw was about 1.5 miles. We stopped on the top of the pass and was able to look down south to Riberia Brava and north to San Vicente. The land at this point is heavily wooded, not farmed, with pine, cedar and laurel.

 

We drove down the north side of the mountain to San Vicente to have lunch. A nice lunch with wine, a vegetable soup (after some salt and pepper was very good), salad, pork or fish, potatoes and rice. The fish was better than the pork. Much tastier. Dessert was fruit and ice cream. And a small cup of coffee at the end. Very good coffee. A good lunch. Worth the price of admission.

 

We drove up the north coast to the west to Porto Moniz where they have carved swimming pools into lava flows and created, essentially, swimming pools out of tidal pools. Rugged, jagged, fresh (few thousand year) lava flows around concrete swimming pool. Deeper pools and grottos in the lava are accessed via concrete walkways and stairs or ladders. This would be a neat place to stay. There are several hotels nearby.

 

After Porto Moniz we traveled south up and over the island in amongst its highest and flattest terrain. They call it the plateau area. No trees, almost moor like with large bushes, much larger than heather, and meadows in between where they graze their cattle. We then descended on a little used road into the south coast area to a rum “factory” that also sold the famous Maderia cake, cookies and Poncha. That Poncha had a real kick! The cake was really good, so we bought three to have with coffee in the morning – its real good with coffee. The cake is a dense rum cake with nuts, raisins and some kind of spiced, dried fruit strips. We also got a 500ml bottle of Poncha which is rum, lemon juice, water and honey. They did not serve little sips of the Poncha either. Full shots in plastic cups were served.

 

The trip back was uneventful. In total we were gone about 7 to 8 hours. The tour was definitely worth the price and the island is absolutely beautiful. We like it more than the Azores we stopped at in April on the TA to the UK. Its definitely a don’t miss if you stop there.

 

We got back and after showers went to the aerobics studio to practice the flash mob dance for a while. We are getting better. Tom Drake was a new comedian. US comedian. Not bad. No crickets. Not as funny as the ventriloquist on the second night. He will be in explorers later in the cruise, so we will have to find him.

 

All in all a really good day.

[ccrain]

12-07-2013 Pearl Harbor Day – At Sea

 

It’s much warmer now. The weather was beautiful yesterday on the island. The sea state is kicking up just a bit this morning. Hopefully it calms down or Judy gets used to it in a hurry.

 

The patter is packed again, and some new stuff is popping up as well. We have Zumba, of course, this morning, line dancing, flash mob rehearsal for us. The culinary demonstration this cruise includes both the head chef on board, Paolo, but also Alfredo Marzi, the Princess Master Chef Commendatore. Bingo is back, John-Maxtone Graham is back with Part 2 of his north Atlantic liner lecture, there is a “Who Killed Harry Oakes?” lecture by David Bryan Lewis, an Operas of the Mediterranean World lecture by George Weston Jr, Dicey horse racing, and they are doing a boat building challenge.

 

Tonight is Jamie Clark in Explorers, Colors of the World in the theater, a skyview challenge gameshow.

 

Lots to do. No naps today…

[Bimmer09]

Ccrain-still following this epic voyage, day by day. It looks like you often have a whirlwind schedule so kudos for living like there is no tomorrow (LOL)

 

Wishing you a smooth crossing.

 

Norris

[Cruisin Sal]

I have enjoyed sailing with you, Charles Let us know about the Most Traveled Lunch on this leg. You must have a "few" days.

Looking forward to seeing you and Judy again in March.

 

Sally

[ccrain]

12-08-2013 – At Sea

 

We missed Cat’s Spanish class yesterday! I must have read the patter a dozen times and just didn’t see the class listed. Yesterday was Mexican buffet in Café Caribe for lunch. We just couldn’t miss that, but with it not starting until noon and line dance at 1215, we couldn’t enjoy it. So not realizing Spanish was at 1315, we skipped out of line dance early to have some NACHO’s! Nacho’s with cheese, guacamole, minced fresh jalapeno, onions, chips, fresh salsa, refried beans – yummmyyyy. But in doing so we missed Cat’s class.

 

It was formal night last night. Not much happening with 3 Captain’s Circle parties. We went to see Colors of The World again. The LED wall is up but not operational until after FLL. I’ve seen flashes of video from the Royal and the wall is quite flashy. Let’s hope it’s not too distracting.

 

We’re rocking and rolling this morning. It started last night later with a lot of wind. The sea state is not bad, but it’s probably enough to put Judy down for the day. Good thing Zumba is not on until 1215. No line dance, no flash mob practice. Lots of other things to do. Church service is being performed by Lee (the CD) this morning at 0900 and we’ve heard he’s very good. We have two history lectures this morning, one on the Prince of Wales, the other on Edward II. Lots of stuff in the casino with a slot tournament, a texas holdem tournament and bingo, of course. Under $500 art auction.

 

This afternoon there is a lecture about Alexander the Great, a scavenger hunt, several sales events, several movies, but not much else.

 

Tonight is football in various venues, ye old pub night, dancing in various venues. Today might be a slow day, which is good. Tomorrow night is Italian night, so we will join Paul and Elizabeth in the MDR for dinner.