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Live from Royal Princess February 7-17…Nat & Ro’s 3rd Excellent Adventure-Royal Style

FraudBroad

By FraudBroad,
in Princess Cruises

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FraudBroad

FraudBroad

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Background: We are two friends (Natalie 48, Rosie – she’d kill me if I listed her age). I’m a widow with two lovely teenage daughters (dependent on the given day) and Rosie is single and lives with cats. No, I’m not trying to be funny…that’s the truth. Can I call the crazy cat lady? She’d probably agree!

 

This will be our third cruise together. In 2012 we went to Alaska on the Golden Princess and in 2014 we did a full Panama Canal transit from LA to Miami onboard the Norwegian Star. As neither of us has a significant other and we enjoy each other’s company (on most days) traveling together works out great for both of us. We really loved Alaska (first time there for both of us) and the Panama Canal sailing last year was spectacular. While this is Rosie’s 2nd Princess Cruise, it will be my 5th (hello Platinum status…I hear you calling my name…). I am also Platinum on NCL.

 

We booked this sailing back in August when we realized that the future cruise deposits we’d made back in 2012 would be expiring soon. We’d had such an amazing time on the Star last year that I was hesitant to book on Princess again but I’d promised her that when she’d made the deposit back then that we’d sail again together. Last year’s cruise aboard the NCL Star was hands down the BEST cruise we’ve ever been on…ever...ever…in our entire lives….end of story.

 

So here we are…getting ready for what’s becoming an annual event...Nat & Ro’s excellent adventure…part three. And this time we are going in ROYAL style…

 

Now let me set the scene. My life as of late…raising two lovely teen daughters on my own…balancing a full time career with their crazy teen schedules. My oldest daughter plays on the varsity basketball team so when I’m not working or getting things done around the house you can find me cheering on the Lady Tigers. My youngest is 16 and while she doesn’t play basketball she’s involved in several other clubs and has the requisite boyfriend (we will call him Q) who’s always sniffing around. So here we are middle of winter in the greater Chicagoland area…crazy busy with work and preparing to sail. As if that wasn’t enough, my contractor showed up Tuesday to begin the remodel on my master bathroom. Love my contractor dearly, as he used to be my late husband’s business partner. But the one thing that’s always driven me crazy is that he’s super sloppy. So here we are, Tuesday morning, Danny the contractor, starts tearing apart my master bathroom. Problem was I’d laid out all of the clothing I was to bring on my trip on my bed. Danny didn’t bother to close the door from the bathroom into the bedroom. Said clothing is now covered in two inches of powdery white drywall dust. Since teen daughter one has a basketball game that night the re-wash of all clothing items didn’t start until 10:00 that evening.

 

So to start this adventure the first thing that needed to happen was to have someone stay with my kids. Enter my Dad, affectionately known as Poppy, or “Pop Tart”. Now, this is the part that made me the most nervous about the whole entire trip. Last year before we sailed when Pop Tart tried to get here from Florida to stay with said lovely teen daughters he ended up getting stuck in Newark New Jersey for THREE DAYS due to the weather. When he did finally arrive here I was long gone and almost to Cabo. So, you can get a sense of my apprehension on whether or not he would make it this time around!!!

 

Yesterday the skies opened, the angels sang, and Pop Tart arrived on schedule and is now freezing his you know what off asking himself over and over again “what was I thinking coming here in the middle of winter?” High in Chicago yesterday was 12 degrees. I was actually thrilled that he wasn’t arriving until the evening as is was -6 when I woke up yesterday. I was happy to point out to him that even though it was only 12 degrees it was 18 degrees warmer than when I woke up. I don’t think that did much….other than give me a good giggle.

 

Here I am today feverishly:eek: trying to get the last things washed/dried/packed…still wandering the house looking for various toiletries and wondering where I stashed them in my mad dash to get the bathroom emptied out. Rosie will be here at 2:15 to pick me up for our drive to the airport in Milwaukee. Our flight is scheduled to depart at 5:45 getting us into Fort Lauderdale at 10:10 PM. And tomorrow we will meet Royal Princess. The freaking anticipation is about to kill us both!!!

 

Thanks for joining our trip…bring any questions you have and I will try to answer along the way! Hoping that my review will turn out half as good as the one TracieABD has been writing this week. If you haven't seen it take a look...it's specatcular!

 

Until later,

Natalie

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jagsfan

jagsfan

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I hope these wonderful blogs keep coming till we board Royal on March 29.

A friend told me knowing so much about the ship would spoil my cruise. She's so wrong. It builds the excitement. I also know what to do and what not to waste my time on.

Looking forward to following you, Natalie.

 

 

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ellie1145

ellie1145

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Ooh, I'm not sure if I can bear to read this!

 

We were on Royal over New Year and loved her! I am madly jealous, but if I can control the green eyed monster than I will have to read every word!

 

Hope you have a wonderful time.

 

If you enjoy swimming then do try the wonderful warm Retreat pool.

 

And make sure you take a daily walk through the Pastry Shop - its awesome! :D

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FraudBroad

FraudBroad

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Well...we made it to Fort Lauderdale....just barely!!! I'm not sure where I should even start...

 

Rosie was almost an hour late picking me up due to traffic. By the time she got to my place I was in a panic. We were cutting it close now...REALLY CLOSE. Knowing that I'm a total control freak she let me drive. It's now after 3:00 and the airport is an hour and a half from my home (5:45 flight) and we were parking off site. Do the math...it didn't look good.

 

Doing my best to imitate Mario Andretti I drove like a maniac. We decided enroute to head straight to the airport. My biggest fear was that we wouldn't get there in time to get the bags checked. We pulled up in front of ticketing at 440. There was a porter standing next to curbside check-in and I yelled "ARE YOU CHECKING BAGS?" He nodded and and I screamed "GET OVER HERE!!!!" This is where I literally started throwing out suitcases from the back of the car. Nice porter boy grabbed every one of them and rushed to get them checked. I threw $15 dollars at him and told him I loved him with all my heart. Jumped in the car and we were headed to offsite park at a local hotel.

 

Thankfully the hotel was only 6 minutes away but parking proved to be problematic. It looked like EVERYONE traveling out of MKE had chosen to leave their car at the Holiday Inn Express. No joke...I literally parked in a snow bank. We rushed inside, filled out the obligatory forms, and quickly got on the shuttle. Then the driver explained that we had to leave a piece of paper on the dashboard of the car. Rosie then tells me that I'm going to have to be the one to put it in the car. That's when she takes a moment to point out that she's wearing sandals and doesn't want to have to walk through the snow. This is when I start to question Rosie it's 20° and with snow on the ground....who wears sandals?????

 

Thankfully we made it to the airport in no time. Went through security pretty much without a hitch and that's when Rosie hit mean with the really bad news. She'd forgotten her CPAP machine in the back seat of the car. Why she didn't have it in back with all of the bags I'll never know. All I knew at that point was that her snoring was going to keep me awake for the next ELEVEN NIGHTS.

 

We made it to the gate with five minutes to spare. We each grabbed some something to drink and boarded the plane. Since we were boarding group A we were each able to get an aisle seat at the front of the plane. And that's when something truly horrific happened. I looked up as a woman asked me if the seats next to me were available. Standing next to her was her husband wearing a Green Bay Packers sweatshirt. I was going to have to spend the next almost 3 hours next to a Green Bay fan. Shoot me now!!!

 

All kidding aside they were truly a lovely couple. Had a great time chatting with both of them all the way to Fort Lauderdale. Best of all our flight landed early and we are off the plane before 945. All we needed to do was get the bags and head to the hotel. Little did we know what was in store for us.

 

After getting the bag we headed to the hotel shuttle area of the airport and waited and waited and waited. I looked up the phone number of the hotel only to find out that they were closers!!!! They weren't accepting any guests. This is the point where I had my melt down. I mean how much more could I take????

 

After more than an hour on the phone with hotels.com they were able to get us a room at the Residence Inn. Room was beautiful...we were exhausted....it was well after midnight by the time we arrived at the replacement hotel. And I'm not sure who to be angry with...hotels.com or Comfort Suites. All I know is that this isn't the end of my story with either of them....

 

So here I am...eating breakfast in the lobby while Rosie is upstairs calling doctors and trying to find a new CPAP for the trip. We are both exhausted and can't help but wonder...what next?????

 

In a few hours we will head to the port. Hope that at some point today I can find my good vacation "chi". Get ready Royal Princess...here we come!!!!!!

 

To be continued...thanks for traveling with us!!!

 

Natalie

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dchip

dchip

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OY!!!!!! What a start!!! Rosie sounds like my friend Beth. :D Makes for interesting travel. I hope things calm way down for both of you.

 

We were on the Royal for 19 days in 2013. Looking forward to 20 more beginning 3/29. She is a beautiful ship and we loved her!!

 

Have fun. Stay calm. Can't wait to read more!!

 

Cheers, Denise

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Bruinboy

Bruinboy

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For your fourth Nat and Ro's Excellent Adventure I suggest you pick up Rosie :) Thanks for taking time to tell us about your trip. You are right ... TracieABD's trip report is fabulous. Have a great time. Can't wait to hear what befell you on the way the ship today. Old wive's tale, or maybe it's an old husband's tale, is that bad things come in threes ... so given the late pickup, the forgotten CPAP and the Comfort Suites no longer accepting guests .., it should be smooth sailing from here on out. Have fun.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

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FraudBroad

FraudBroad

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Let me start by saying what a difference a day makes!!!!!

 

After breakfast at our replacement hotel (can you tell I'm still a little bitter) I joined Rosie in the room as she feverishly combed the Internet trying to find someplace that could get her a CPAP for the trip. Unfortunately for us both it was a fruitless search. No bother...we were on vacation and nothing was going to stop us from having a wonderful time!!!!

 

Around 10:00 my mother and my aunt met us at the hotel as I'd signed them up for the Bon Voyage package. We had a great visit (hadn't seen my sweet aunt Gloria in several years) and then it was time to head to the port!!!! We left the replacement hotel (still bitter...yes) and headed to Port Everglades.

 

Traffic getting to the port was a breeze but things started to get packed as we waited to drop off the luggage. Rosie and I got out and checked the bags while my sweet mamma went and parked. They were back within 10 minutes and we were headed to security.

 

Now this part is what cracked me up...two lines...one for "Priority" boarding (Platinum, Elite, BVE) and one for all of the rest. As my mother and aunt were part of the BVE group they allowed us to go into the preferred line. Problem was...the line for the regular folks was MUCH shorter than the priority line...it's the little things in life that make me giggle.

 

Once through security (which was actually very quick) they ushered us right up to check in. Within 10 minutes we we all processed and ready to go...here we come Royal Princess!!!

 

Had our obligatory embarkation picture taken (as part of the BVE each person gets a copy of the pic) and we were headed onboard. All I can say is WOW!!! She's well worth the wait.

 

Entering on deck 6 and overlooking the Piazza is simply beautiful. The color pallet is warm and inviting...a sea of creams and golds a washed in crystals. We all marveled at the elegance. It really is stunning.

 

We headed to the cabin to drop off a few things. We are on Emerald (deck 8) midship obstructed balcony. All that means is there is a lifeboat outside our balcony. While it blocks us from seeing straight down it doesn't obstruct the rest of the view. My first/only thought about the cabin was it's a "typical" Princess cabin. And please know that's not a bad thing!!! It's always good to have some constants in life that never change...though I'll admit I wasn't looking forward to getting to intimately know that shower curtain in the bathroom.

 

Off we were to the Concertto dinning room for lunch. Sweet mom and aunt Gloria each received a complimentary glass of wine. For lunch sweet mom had the spinach and ricotta ravioli, Rosie the bacon burger & aunt Gloria and I each had the beef tenderloin. Also, Ro and I split the shrimp and avocado appetizer. All of our meals were excellent!!!

 

Now it was time to explore the ship with my family as Rosie headed down to the Symphony dinning room to try and get our dinner seating changed from the late to the early seating. She waited over an hour but was successful. We'd be dinning in Concerto at 5:30 each evening.

 

My sweet mamma, aunt Gloria and myself started out by checking out the Piazza. We oohed over the offerings at the International Cafe and had to make a quick stop at the Guest Services desk. I was so glad we'd walked by as we saw the cool display from the naming ceremony. It included the beautiful dress Princess Kate wore and the scissors she used. I get a kick out of stuff like that and thought it was pretty cool!

 

We then headed to 16 to check out the pool deck. I agree with what everyone else has said on these boards. Fountain is cool but takes up WAY too much space. As a side note, the fountain show at 10:00 last night was cancelled due to the wind.

 

The sea walk is cool to look at but I'm terrified of heights and you couldn't pay me to walk over it!!! End of story.

 

We walked through the Horizon Buffet but as it was the first day it was super crowded and we didn't get a good look at the offerings. We stopped to enjoy the view at Outriggers and popped up to the outdoor deck on 17. We took a few photos so they'd have proof that they were actually on the ship. It was time to head inside as it was almost 2:30 and they needed to disembark.

 

We went to the photo gallery to retrieve their photos only to find they weren't ready yet. The last took my name and number and said that she'd hold them for me and I could pick them up later on that evening.

 

Even though we'd come onboard on deck 6 we were told that they had to disembark on deck 5. We went downstairs and again stopped to enjoy the beauty of the Piazza. Just as they were about to head to leave the nice lady from the photo gallery appeared out of nowhere with their photos! Gotta love the service from Princess!!!!

 

We said our good byes and I headed to the cabin to get ready for muster. Bags had arrived and I had enough time to hang a few clothes before it started. After muster we went up to the Outrigger to meet a few of the other Cruise Critic members. Was great to finally put faces to names!!!!

 

Before we knew it it was once again time to eat. We are at a table of 8 and all of our table mates are great. Ro and I love getting to meet new people and the table didn't disappoint. The couples were from Montreal, Charleston and Fort Lauderdale.

 

I started with the run infused Pina Colada and had the Prime Rib as my entree. They were both excellent. For dessert I had one of my all time favorites...chocolate hazelnut soufflé. AMAZEBALLS!!! My tummy was full and I was in heaven!!!!

 

After dinner we did two activities lead by the cruise directors staff. The first was a game called "Name that picture." Pretty self explanatory. Ro and I actually won and each walked away with a Princess lanyard. Later we enjoyed the "Name the movie poster" game and finished in second place.

 

Off to the casino to make our nightly deposit. I put $20 in a Quick Hits penny machine, bet the $2 max, hit 7 Quick hits and one $153. Moved to a different Quick Hits machine, bet the $3 max and won another $160. I was then done for the night!!! I'm sure over the next nine days I'll be able to give all of it back.

 

We walked through some of the shops and then headed for bed. It was 11:30 and we were exhausted. You will be happy to know that we found a solution to Ro's snoring. I am not lying when I tell you she moved her mattress onto the balcony and spent a blissful night under the stars!!!!

 

Overall our first impressions of Royal. She's beautiful, but a little bug. Without the center staircase it takes a while to get your bearings and find your way around. We had a great discussion at dinner and everyone was in agreement that the staircase was a huge issue. I've heard a LOT of passenger complaints about it. Bottom line is that the lack of a staircase will not put a damper on my vacation!!!

 

I was up early and am enjoying my morning caffeine outside on deck 17. There are a lot of activities today and we can't wait to see what kind of trouble we can find.

 

Will check in later...thanks for sailing with us!

 

Natalie

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sunsetbeachgal

sunsetbeachgal

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She slept on the balcony? I think That is the first time I have ever heard of that!

 

Glad trip is going well. LOL about checkin...Preferred line was longer on our recent cruise on the Regal too!

 

You need to get to Alfredo's to eat, sooner rather than later! One of our favorite places on Royal class ships!

Edited by sunsetbeachgal
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TracieABD "Live from...." Rare

TracieABD

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Hi Nan!

I am so glad you have decided to pick up where I am (sadly) leaving off. So far, your live from is most entertaining. And I think it will be just the "medicine" I need to help fend off the post-cruise blues.

 

I loved that little display from the Inauguration/Naming ceremony. It is on Deck 5 right across from Sabatini's. They have created a lovely display of Kate's maternity dress, photos, the ribbon and scissors. Everytime I passed it, it made me smile.

 

I hope you have a wonderful cruise! I will look forward to reading your daily updates as part of my cruise detox routine!

 

Bon Voyage!

 

TL :)

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FraudBroad

FraudBroad

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She slept on the balcony? I think That is the first time I have ever heard of that!

 

Glad trip is going well. LOL about checkin...Preferred line was longer on our recent cruise on the Regal too!

 

You need to get to Alfredo's to eat, sooner rather than later! One of our favorite places on Royal class ships!

 

Yes, she did! She tried to on our Alaskan adventure but the balcony was uncovered and it rained!!!

 

Heading to Alfredo's for lunch...each and every day 😜

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FraudBroad

FraudBroad

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For your fourth Nat and Ro's Excellent Adventure I suggest you pick up Rosie :) Thanks for taking time to tell us about your trip. You are right ... TracieABD's trip report is fabulous. Have a great time. Can't wait to hear what befell you on the way the ship today. Old wive's tale, or maybe it's an old husband's tale, is that bad things come in threes ... so given the late pickup, the forgotten CPAP and the Comfort Suites no longer accepting guests .., it should be smooth sailing from here on out. Have fun.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

You got that right...LOL!!!

We said the same thing when we thought we'd be spending the night at the airport!!! Our three things were over with and now it would be SMOOTH SAILING⛵️⛵️⛵️

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FraudBroad

FraudBroad

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After becoming sufficiently caffeinated on deck this morning I headed back to the cabin to shower and change. While I previously stated I wasn't looking forward to meeting the shower curtain I had no idea how displeased I'd be with the shower. NO shower pressure...I mean zero, zip, zilch...nada...and I have a lot...I do mean a lot of hair. It's actually more like sheets wool...not happy. I'm actually hoping that there's really something wrong that can be fixed. I'll be calling the guest services desk later to have them send someone to take a look. I'll also be checking out the shower facilities in the fitness center...gotta have a plan "B".

 

I left the cabin (Ro is still asleep...on the balcony) and headed to the International Cafe. And then...it happened...I met the one true love of my life. The croissant donut. Soft, flaky, sweet. Pure heaven on a plate. I think you'll be able to find me here every morning for the next 9 days...AMAZING!!!!!

 

I took a spin through the Horizon Buffet to try and get my bearings and to see what the breakfast offerings looked like. Though I don't think I am anywhere near breaking up with my new true love. I was a bit confused by the buffet as it seems a bit disjointed to me. I'm sure it will be fine as I know that Princess spent millions on the design of the ship to ensure the guests have the best experience...you know...like how they took out the center staircase...

 

Getting ready to head to our Cruise Critic Meet & Greet and am hoping folks actually are able to find it. Princess changed the location three times just this week!!!

 

Have a good one everyone!!! Thanks for traveling along!!!

 

Natalie

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CruisinChris

CruisinChris

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While I'm enjoying your enthusiastic review I'm disturbed by the comment about your roomie dragging her mattress out to the balcony and sleeping on it there. I'm surprised it fit, but more importantly, it creates a massive fire hazard!! We are asked to not even leave clothes or towels outside for this very reason. The fire on star several years ago was started in a balcony and spread through open balcony doors into the interior of the ship. The risk is lower today since smoking isn't allowed on balconies - but you never know. Better safe than sorry. Also - would you put your personal mattress at home outside? Seems inappropriate to me.

 

 

 

 

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