Live from the Royal Princess, January 28- February 7: The Move-Over Boomerang Cruise

[TracieABD]

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

 

Dominica- No, wait! Sea Day

 

I woke early so that I could meet my CC group for a private tour and hike in Dominica. We were scheduled to dock at 7 am. Firstly, we did not dock at the "tourist" dock, but at the industrial dock. Next, though docked, they did not deploy the gangways. At 7:30, the captain came on and shared the regrettable news that we would not be disembarking in Dominica. Even though we were able to dock at a berth, there were 1+ meter swell making it dangerous to drop the gangways. The port authority at Dominica had decided it was unsafe to stay. If you looked out the window, you could really see the ship rocking from side to side. I hid out in Sabatini's and had a little more coffee. By the time I left, the line at the Shore Ex desk was pretty long.

 

While I am mildly disappointed, as Dominica seems beautiful, I am equally as grateful. My man cold lingers, and this gives me a day to rest and repair. I am super grateful that the cold is all in my head, and has not decided to migrate southward to my chest. I think it is a bit better today, but then again, I am a natural-born optimist. It seems well managed with kleenex, Motrin, and cough drops. A new found advantage to being in a suite is the shower. I can stand in the glass shower and let the steam do its thing. I am pretty certain that the worst of this will pass by the time we reach St. Thomas (see??? there is that optimist thing).

 

I am going to make my way down to the MDR for a little goulash for lunch. My mom is having one of her sleepy days, so I am trying to minimize the disruptions in the cabin. The entertainment staff are working to fast and furiously add to the day's activities, but I am feeling no pressure to do anything more than what I am doing.

 

I do want to say this about the Cruise Director, Lisa... she is fun and personable and really present on the ship. She teaches dance classes, directs trivia, and closes the shows in the Princess Theater. She did a great job with the Super Bowl. But her true standout moment was yesterday when we were parked along side the P&O vessel. She scared up enough fun for both ships. She had people singing English pub songs, waving contests, and a cacophony of horn blowing. Even when it started to rain hard, people seemed reluctant to go in as it was so much fun to watch! From what I understand, this will be her last cruise as CD, but I sure have enjoyed her. Toby is her assistant CD and this is the second or third time I have sailed with him. Geeze that boy has a quick wit. He is the king of the snarky one-liner, a skill I am highly impressed by. Overall, the CD and staff have been excellent-- Like David Cole excellent (I am a fan!)

 

I am going to quit here for a bit, but will certainly have some time to update later.

 

Thank you for joining me on this impromptu Sea Day!

 

More Later-

Tracie-Lynn :) :)

[canadarocks]

Thanks so much for your great ongoing review. Could you please find out what nights The Fondue & Crab Shack are open and offered?

[luvabeach]

Is it at all possible to find out who the next cruise director will be? We board on 27th. Feel better and drink lots and lots of WATER with your vitamin cc

 

 

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[PescadoAmarillo]

Tracie- I've just enjoyed reading your entire thread. Thanks for taking the time! As for water in your ears...I swear by a 50% alcohol, 50% hydrogen peroxide solution. I use an old Swim Ear bottle and make my own (but, if you can find Swim Ear, it works too). Mom used to use it on us 50 years ago on our pediatrician's advice, and it's the best. The alcohol dries the water in the ear canal; the hydrogen peroxide kills the germies the water brought in. It's seen me though nearly 200 dives over the years.

 

Hope your cold is soon history too!

[canadarocks]

Is it at all possible to find out who the next cruise director will be? We board on 27th. Feel better and drink lots and lots of WATER with your vitamin cc

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

If you go back a bit on our Roll Call, you'll see that I posted that it will be Peter Tredgett.

[Colo Cruiser]

Sorry you missed Dominica.

 

Its one our favourite islands. :(

[Larry Barry]

here in Phoenix. Here is my husband's note from yesterday:

 

I read everyone of them, and laughed...… This lady is funny… I really like the way she writes … Keep them coming…

 

We won't be on Royal until October and you are helping bridge the gap!

[TracieABD]

Thank you, friends, for all of the kind words. I am not really sure if you want to keep encouraging this mess!

 

The cold is still winning the day, and I would absolutly kill for a box of Puffs Plus.

 

I will post again tonight (provided I can stay awake).

 

Thanks for traveling along.

 

:)

[Mom33]

Sorry to hear you aren't feeling well. I hope you improve with this extra sea day to rest.

[jagsfan]

When I'm miserable with a cold. I wear socks to bed. I'm sure it's in my head, no pun intended, but I feel cozy in my bed with socks on.

Wish I could send you some Vicks.

 

 

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[TracieABD]

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

 

Post Sea Day/ Present Sea Evening

 

After lunch, I napped like it was my job. I am willing to commit any acts of voodoo to rid myself of this cold. Fingers crossed, it stays in my head. Like a stated earlier, I would give about anything for a box of Puffs Plus with aloe and lotion. One thing about any commercial entity is the lack of softness in the paper products. Kleenex, paper towels and toilet paper are merely reincarnated sandpaper. I even checked in the shops for a better class of tissue, but to no avail.I love everything about cruising but the paper products!

 

I spent the afternoon with some friends and then headed down to the PES (Platinum, Elite, Suite) lounge in Club 6. It was shrimp night and the lounge was packed. Seriously, I had a bit of a challenge finding a seat for one. I was not feeling terribly social (actually, I am feeling like a big old germ- but I keep washing and sanitizing regularly). I had some veggies and a club soda and moved to the captain's party. I can't believe what a personable guy the captain is. Really friendly, and very, very quick witted. Of course, I am jockeying for a visit to the bridge, but I don't think it is going to happen this cruise. Boo. and oh well. From what I understand, the bridge is becoming less and less accessible to passengers, even certain passengers who ask (well, beg) creatively. I don't drink and I am not a fan of the canapés, so it was a very short visit, the highlight being meeting the captain and staff.

 

Next came dinner. It is Italian night, which is always a favorite of this Swede. Italian food has so much flavor. Swedish food-- not so much. Italian food is made with passion! Swedish food--- not so much. Italian food is spicy! Swedish food--- well, you get the idea. I don't think that there is any coincidence that there are about 98 million Italian restaurants to every one Swedish restaurant. "Yum, I am craving some lutefisk", said no person EVER. (for those of you who are lutefisk virgins (stay that way)--lutefisk is a white fish or cod that is dried into a plank that could compete with granite on a Moh's Scale of hardness. And then, to add insult to injury-- it is reconstituted with lye. Yep, that's right. Lye- the stuff of the super harsh soap of yore. If you need more information on lye, watch Fight Club. And Swedes, bless their little sub-Artic hearts, eat this. No matter how Swedish my pedigree, I will never be able to stomach lutefisk. And you should trust me on this. Pass it by. Lutefisk should never be on anyone's bucket list.) So back to Italian night! Yay! Melon and prosciutto! Pasta e' fagioli (I love, love, love to listen to people try to pronounce this) and bonus--penne Arrabiatta!!! Yay! For this Scandinavian, this is the stuff that dreams are made of! The soup was a little dense and over beany. But the rest was divine. I lived in a part of the country where many last names ended in pronounceable vowels and several of my friends might or might not have been in the trash-hauling business. They taught me a ton about the food, and to this day, I can't figure why they were slumming with my Swedish self! (Probably trying to rebel against their Italian mamas...)

 

For dessert. I had to decide between tiramisu and ice cream. I went with the tiramisu and it was good. Overall, dinner was great, and that is in part, because it was not Swedish. 'nuf sed.

 

I know it is only 7:30, but I am going to pack it in. Hopefully, a little sleep will cure my cold.

 

Thanks for sailing along.

 

More later,

Tracie-Lynn :)

[Colo Cruiser]

Love Tiramisu!! I can taste it now! :D

Write the Cap a short note, you never know.

Palm it to him.

Who is it anyway?

Edited February 3, 2015 by Colo Cruiser

[dchip]

Feel better soon, Tracie. I am enjoying your cruise news very much. We will be on the Royal for 20 days the end of March and I can't wait!!

 

Cheers, Denise

[luvabeach]

Love, love your posts...even sick you are a superb writer! Inspiring me a little to do a "live" post end of Feb. Just not nearly as witty and slick a writer as you are...and am a bit intimidated....would never do as great a job as you are doing. Please please feel better tomorrow, hope you are snoozing away every cold germ you have right now and wake you as right as rain!

 

 

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[FraudBroad]

Hope you are feeling better today! Thank you so much for your review...it's awesome! You are so getting me in the mood to board Royal Princess this Saturday...I can't wait!!!!!

[jbu]

Hi Tracie!

 

Wow! What an awesome thread you have going here! I love following "live froms" and every morning, the first thing I do when I get to work is fix a cup of coffee and then read blogs from both Vickie and PescadoAmarillo. I know Vickie is there on the Royal with you, and PA is about halfway through this winter's cruising. I live vicariously through these blogs as I stare out my 41st floor office window at cold. and snow. and cold. and gray. and cold... I'm thrilled to have found your thread, and have added it to my morning mandatory reading!

 

We'll be on the Royal on 2/27 and am literally counting the days down! I was on her in November 2013 (her second cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale) and just loved it, so I'm really looking forward to our return visit. It sounds like you're making the very most of it, even in spite of your "man cold". So sorry it's beating you up, but I guess it could be worse: you could be experiencing a man cold at home in NC. If you're going to be at death's door like that, then the Caribbean is the place to do that knocking!

 

I was very interested in - and grateful for - your description of the Sanctuary reservation process, as my husband and I are complete fans of it and are desperately hoping to get seats for the full 10 days. If you have a moment, my follow-up questions about it are:

 

1. If you don't get a reservation for the whole cruise and have to reserve one day at a time, when do you do that? In the morning of that day? When we were on last November, you had to do it at noon the day before. It was chaotic and frustrating, and it sounds like the new process is not much better. But if we can't get seats for the whole thing, when will we need to plan to be in line each day?

 

2. Was there any talk at all (that you heard of) about changing that process before the end of February? Since it sounds like it was somewhat mayhem-ish, I'm just wondering if they'll try something different. I'll be well prepared with running shoes on feet and finger on phone as necessary - I'd just like to know what to expect.

 

Thanks so much for taking us all along on your cruise with you. I'm loving every minute of it!

 

Feel better - sleep deep - eat well - laugh hard - dance boldly. ENJOY!!!

[CI66774]

OP - love your review. Feel better. Colds are a real bummer on a cruise, but as another poster said - better to have one in the Caribbean! Thanks so much for sharing!

[Colo Cruiser]

[Camelia-]

What a pleasure it is to take this journey with you..as has been said..even sickness doesn't affect your wit!! I'm also counting the days till I step foot on the Royal in April and this is just a wonderful way to anticipate it even more!

 

Now..I too follow PescadoAmarillo with pleasure but I don't know anything about Vickie's blog. Is there a link? Apologies for asking but when life is gray and filled with messy slush and howling winds..you just can't get enough of these little escapes to the sun!

 

Hope the rest has done you good and that you have many more hours of fun ahead!!

 

Camelia

[jbu]

I too follow PescadoAmarillo with pleasure but I don't know anything about Vickie's blog. Is there a link? Apologies for asking but when life is gray and filled with messy slush and howling winds..you just can't get enough of these little escapes to the sun!

 

Hi Camelia -

 

Here is a link to Vickie's blog - enjoy!

 

http://vickieandbernietravel.blogspot.ca/

[RNGALNG]

Hi Tracie!

 

Wow! What an awesome thread you have going here! I love following "live froms" and every morning, the first thing I do when I get to work is fix a cup of coffee and then read blogs from both Vickie and PescadoAmarillo. I know Vickie is there on the Royal with you, and PA is about halfway through this winter's cruising. I live vicariously through these blogs as I stare out my 41st floor office window at cold. and snow. and cold. and gray. and cold... I'm thrilled to have found your thread, and have added it to my morning mandatory reading!

 

We'll be on the Royal on 2/27 and am literally counting the days down! I was on her in November 2013 (her second cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale) and just loved it, so I'm really looking forward to our return visit. It sounds like you're making the very most of it, even in spite of your "man cold". So sorry it's beating you up, but I guess it could be worse: you could be experiencing a man cold at home in NC. If you're going to be at death's door like that, then the Caribbean is the place to do that knocking!

 

I was very interested in - and grateful for - your description of the Sanctuary reservation process, as my husband and I are complete fans of it and are desperately hoping to get seats for the full 10 days. If you have a moment, my follow-up questions about it are:

 

1. If you don't get a reservation for the whole cruise and have to reserve one day at a time, when do you do that? In the morning of that day? When we were on last November, you had to do it at noon the day before. It was chaotic and frustrating, and it sounds like the new process is not much better. But if we can't get seats for the whole thing, when will we need to plan to be in line each day?

 

2. Was there any talk at all (that you heard of) about changing that process before the end of February? Since it sounds like it was somewhat mayhem-ish, I'm just wondering if they'll try something different. I'll be well prepared with running shoes on feet and finger on phone as necessary - I'd just like to know what to expect.

 

Thanks so much for taking us all along on your cruise with you. I'm loving every minute of it!

 

Feel better - sleep deep - eat well - laugh hard - dance boldly. ENJOY!!!

 

Have you joined our roll call? We have a very active group there and would love to have you!

 

I too have followed the same blogs you do. I sit in bed and read them, thinking warm thoughts. Here is it cold and snowy. We take an annual winter cruise to defrost so we can get through the rest of the winter! Right now, I am almost like Lake Erie - 90% ice covered!

[jbu]

Have you joined our roll call? We have a very active group there and would love to have you!

 

I too have followed the same blogs you do. I sit in bed and read them, thinking warm thoughts. Here is it cold and snowy. We take an annual winter cruise to defrost so we can get through the rest of the winter! Right now, I am almost like Lake Erie - 90% ice covered!

 

Hi there!

 

Honestly, I hadn't yet officially joined the roll call for 2/27, but I will confess to occasional lurking! I was afraid that once I joined, I'd spend all my time on CC when I should really be attending to the work that pays the bills! However, since you offered such a kind invitation, I think I'll jump over there and introduce myself. Not sure how active I'll be, but I'll weigh in from time to time. I do know that I won't be able to go back and get fully caught up - you have a VERY active group and that would take me DAYS!

 

Nice to know that we're both enjoying our morning coffee with a view to real-time life at sea!

[Camelia-]

can't wait to check it out!!

 

Camelia

 

Hi Camelia -

 

Here is a link to Vickie's blog - enjoy!

 

http://vickieandbernietravel.blogspot.ca/

[TracieABD]

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

 

St. Thomas

 

Wow. What a difference a day makes! I took your suggestions to heart and I feel a little better! I really did wear socks to bed, which felt icky, but worked their magic.

 

This morning Sabatini's was packed! I was actually relegated to the other part of the restaurant, which was terrific, because it was quiet. Coffee and fruit. (Oh, how I am going to miss cut fruit every morning when I return to life...).

 

For those of you who have asked, they are offering the Crab Shack three times this cruise. The fondue is tonight, which is also formal night. Keeping with our slacker theme for this cruise, we are opting for a casual fondue night. (Honestly, I am not sure if we are even going to bring formal wear on our next cruise. There is such a freedom in not donning Spanx and special other undergarments. Not sure if this isn't the way to go!)

 

While I have not yet left the ship, I have plans for the day... I want to find KMart to buy some Kleenex that was not invented by the Marquis de Sade. I am also going to try to find the ferry to hike on St. John. We will see how this all works out, but those are my plans and I am sticking with them.

 

Part 2

After a little coffee and fruit in Sabatini's, I headed out to find the mecca of all head colds: KMart. I walked for about 1/3 of a mile before spotting it at a distance. OK. This is what you need to know about the KMart on St. Thomas: the prices are in USD- wow! It has lots of products one would find in the US, like Puffs Plus. Of course, I had to take out a small unsecured loan in order to afford a box of tissue and some Vicks, but it is the high cost of doing business on an island. After my shopping "spree", I took a cab to Red Hook.

 

The ferry to St. John's runs every hour on the hour. It takes 17 minutes to get there and costs $7 each way (no discount for a round trip). Some of the ferries are newer than others, but what the heck. It is 17 minutes. No worries. I walked from the dock to the site of the National Park entrance where there is a trail head. This is such a great hike, as you can always find an off-shoot that will get you to beach. I hiked out to Caneel Bay and then back to Solomon Beach. There are many cruise ships in port today (The Regal, the Getaway, a couple of mega ships tendered out, just to name a few). The point is Solomon Bay is pretty secluded and never very crowded, but today there were a fair amount of people out there. Normally you can just sort of change into your swim suit, but today required a bit of artistry with a beach towel. I did forget my knees and elbows, so I knew my time was seriously limited. I laid in the shade, swam, and really enjoyed this quiet and pristine beach. And then hiked back to port, caught the next ferry ( on the hour!). I grabbed a group cab to Havensight. It was 1/2 the cost of going solo and twice as hot. As an aside, the gas on the island is still really high, around $4 a gallon. I am wondering what it would cost if we were not in a bit of an oil boon. (In NC, it is just under $2 a gallon--- maybe that is the economic rule of thumb on St. Thomas: multiply by two!)

 

I returned to the ship and headed straight to Alfredo's for a little pizza. In the words of Brittany Spears, "Oops! I did it again". I got to eating and before I knew it, the whole pizza was gone. I hope this does not mess with fondue night, as we have a 6pm reservation.

 

This has been an interesting batch of folk to cruise with. The ship declared "all aboard" at 3:30. At 4:16 passengers were still rolling in. I watched one man yell, I mean really yell, at a ship's officer. Another pair bowed and curtsied after being admonished. Overall, there was an absolute lack of sense of urgency. I do know other cruise lines (and other Princess captains) might have left folk behind. This was a very fortunate batch of passengers. I hope, in a moment of reflection, they remember to thank the officers they disrespected. It is goal of mine to never be a "bing-bong" person again. (Just in case you are wondering---Bing-bong person= "<BING-BONG> will passenger Bob Smith of Cabin Lido 897 please contact the Passenger Service Desk by dialing 5000.") I came very close to being left in Morocco last year when the captain changed the time to depart from 11 pm to 7 pm at noon that day. We were already off the ship, and had no way of knowing. (If you want to read more about this, I did a live-from on the NCL Spirit. I can't post a link about it, but it is out there).

Needless to say, we were an hour late to leave port today, and this places a bit of stress on the captain and crew to reach Turks at the berth time.

 

This has gotten lengthy, so I am going to cut here and post. Thank you for staying with me.

 

More later!!

Tracie-Lynn :) :)

[cubfan63]

For those unaware, St. Thomas and St. John are in the US. It is the US Virgin Islands (just not a state) and that is why everything is in US dollars. Similar, Puerto Rico is also part of the US.