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

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Enjoying your live from, we enjoyed the Royal on our TA :)

Thanks

[FraudBroad]

Hi - love your live thread! Is there any way you can tell us which nights are the formal nights? Are there just 2?? Thanks!

 

For us formal nights were the second day at sea and tonight (we are in St Thomas today). BUT...my understanding is that it's only tonight because it's Valentine's Day. Otherwise I think it's the second to the last night.

[FraudBroad]

Does Lobsters Alive also include your return taxi like the Boatyard does?

 

No they don't. But I think they are $5 cheaper for the chair and umbrella.

[FraudBroad]

I will be on this cruise in two weeks. I was wondering what was the hang up in Barbados. The ship is scheduled to arrive in Barbados at 7:00am and you said that shortly after 9:00am the announcement came that you could start getting off. Was this a one-time delay, or something they are experiencing regularly. I’m not sure if you know the answer or not, but I thought I’d ask.

 

Thanks

 

No hang up in Barbados..for this cruise that was our scheduled arrival time!

[FraudBroad]

Loving reading your posts. We were on the Royal in July and had a blast.

 

Please tell David and Toby that "the Sisters" send their love. We had such a great time with them and the rest of the CD staff. it sounds like you are having the same experience. We each ended up with more water bottles than we could carry home, plus lanyards, magnetic clips, etc. etc. etc.

 

Leaving tomorrow to head south for a trip on the Regal, but I'll follow your posts til we board and lose the speedy internet.

 

Will do!!! They are both so awesome!

[FraudBroad]

Hey Natalie, Keep up the good work with the Live from. I can't wait to try one of the new ships on Princess. Everything sounds great about them except the small balcony's and no center staircase. Let me know if your friends went to Valley Church Beach in Antigua. We love it there so much.

 

Have fun

Rob

 

Hi Rob!

Wanted to let you know that I suggested Valley Church to several people yesterday and they all loved it!

 

Also, I'll post my overall thoughts/likes/dislikes about the ship when I get home. We specifically booked this cruise because of the ship. Couldn't wait to try her out!

[FraudBroad]

:cool:

You need to buy tokens to do the laundry? I thought on the Royal you just swipe you ship's card. :confused:

 

Sorry Cosol's tour didn't turn out better. We were with Baptiste (another of Cosol's guides) last year and he never brought up tipping anyone (including himself). But he did "discourage" the mud baths....

 

The machines take tokens instead of quarters. You purchase them in the laundry room with your cruise card. Easy breezy :)

[#1Nanna]

I am really enjoying your live postings... Thanks for taking the time to share your vacation with us! We are considering the same itinerary on the Royal the first of next year, so I am excitedly reading each post and trying to clean all information. You have a great writing style, and I excitedly return each day to read more...

[FraudBroad]

You need to buy tokens to do the laundry? I thought on the Royal you just swipe you ship's card. :confused:

 

Sorry Cosol's tour didn't turn out better. We were with Baptiste (another of Cosol's guides) last year and he never brought up tipping anyone (including himself). But he did "discourage" the mud baths....

 

You're correct...kind of....I did use my cruise card to purchase the tokens for the laundry! But the machines take tokens...not the cruise card!

 

I was more irritated with the abbreviated tour than anything else. I just wished they'd told us in advance (or mentioned it on the website) that there were a couple of places we'd be encouraged to tip. Bumpy was an excellent guide and I don't fault him for anything. I felt that the company should have been up front when we booked!

 

Have a great day and thanks so much for following along!

[FraudBroad]

Hey Natalie, The catamaran with the Lobster lunch sounded amazing. Glad you enjoyed it so much. Next time Valley Church beach. If you want a close beach in St. Thomas that not that many people go to try Emerald Beach. It's only a $4 or 5 per person from where Princess docks. They have chairs to rent there at the Hotel that is there. Best Western if I am not mistaken. Nice bar and food available if you are hungry. We really like it there too.Perfect for swimming or taking a walk on the beach. My favorite is Sapphire Beach, but supposedly they don't rent chairs there at this point. Don't quote me on that.

 

All the best

Rob

 

Hi Rob!

Defiantly Valley Church next time! Everyone that went loved it! I was actually planning on going to Emerald today but we took too much time shopping!!! It was really the only stop where we had time and wanted to pick up a few things for friends and family!

 

Thanks again for following along!

 

Natalie

[FraudBroad]

I am really enjoying your live postings... Thanks for taking the time to share your vacation with us! We are considering the same itinerary on the Royal the first of next year, so I am excitedly reading each post and trying to clean all information. You have a great writing style, and I excitedly return each day to read more...

 

 

 

Ohhhhh...you're too sweet! Thank you so much! I enjoyed the "Live From" that TracieABD did so that was my encouragement! I really do appreciate your kind words! When I get back I'll put together my overall likes/dislikes and final thoughts about the ship!

 

Regards,

Natalie

[FraudBroad]

Hello from St Thomas!!!

 

Awoke this morning to pouring rain. We docked at 7:00 and at 7:30 they announced that ALL tours scheduled through the ship were cancelled!!!!! 14 cruises and I'd never seen than happen before!!!

 

Sat on the covered deck for a while catching up answering your questions and headed back to the cabin at 8:45 to get ready to go into town for some shopping. The weather had cleared up but they were still calling for rain later. I didn't want to get rained out at the beach. This was really the only port where we had time to shop and I needed to get a few things for said lovely teen age daughters and my sweet mamma!

 

Got back to the cabin and found that Ro had opted to crawl back into bed so I headed downtown by myself. We agreed she'd call when she got there and we'd meet up.

 

The taxi from Crown Bay (where we docked) to downtown was $4 each way and they dropped us off in the center of town right in front of "Little Switzerland." I stopped at a park and called my sweet mom and I caught up on all the happenings back home. My girls are doing well (I was hoping to hear that they were quietly weeping every night cause they missed me so but not so much) and Pop Tart was doing an excellent job overseeing the master bath remodel.

 

I headed into Diamonds International and picked up some items from my favorite designer Marahlago. She has beautiful designs using Larimar, a stone only mined in the Dominican Republic. As I was getting ready to leave the sky once again opened up and it began to pour. I'd evidentially spent enough money because then they offered me free champagne. So I sipped my champagne and watches the rain while drooling over the gems!

 

About that time some of my CC friends wandered by and we caught up on what they'd been doing the past few days. They'd used Herrod's tours in Saint Lucia and had a wonderful time...they even got to go to the mud baths :) can you here the irony and jealousy that seething right now????

 

Ro called and we met up at a different Diamonds International. This time it was Ro's turn to purchase. They were hosting a Kabana trunk show and the company's rep was there. We talked the lady next to us into letting her husband buy her an uber expensive Kabana necklace. By this time the couple who'd bought the necklace were starting to think we were working for Diamonds International!!!

 

Because we helped that big sale along the rep gave Ro a great discount on a new ring. I was excited to see that they are coming out with a line in sterling (gold is wayyyy out of my price range). Eric, the rep, ended up giving me a deep discount on one of the promotional pieces.

 

We walked down the street to the end and headed back. We decided to cut through DI to get to the shops on the waterfront and the couple who'd bought the necklace was now looking at an expensive watch for the husband. We oohed and awwwed and told him how great it looked...and once again he asked the sales guy if he wasn't sure that we didn't actually work there! The guy bought the watch and I told him I'd meet him at 4:00 onboard to buy him a drink :)

 

More shopping downtown and then we headed back to port. Picked up a tshirt for Q (lovely teen age daughter's boyfriend) and called home one last time. Once onboard we headed up on deck for a cold drink and are now enjoying sail away!

 

Big vow renewal by the captain and a party in the Piazza scheduled for tonight!

 

More later...

Natalie

[caribill]

Hello from St Thomas!!!

 

Awoke this morning to pouring rain. We docked at 7:00 and at 7:30 they announced that ALL tours scheduled through the ship were cancelled!!!!! 14 cruises and I'd never seen than happen before!!!

 

 

Really rare and Princess usually says all tours will go "rain or shine."

 

I guess that means you can't cancel due to rain, but they can.

Edited February 14, 2015 by caribill

[FraudBroad]

Wow...what an awesome night last night!!!

 

I met my new BFF, Joel, at 4:00 at Outriggers...I don't think he actually thought that I was a passenger or that I'd show up!!! We drank and chatted for almost 45 minutes when his wife, Ellen, stopped to say hello. They told me they would be in Sabatinis for dinner, so I promised to stop by to see the jewels. After all, it was formal night!!!!

 

I headed back to the cabin for a quick change then down to dinner. Of course I HAD to go to the dinning room tonight...it was time for lobster!!! I started with the escargot then the lobster tail and prawns with a side of beef Wellington...I always say "go big or go home..." Dinner was divine!!! Ro and I brought the two cheap bottles of champagne we'd won earlier in the cruise to share with the table. Since I believe Princess pays about 14 cents a bottle I don't know if our table mates considered us sharing with them a gift or a curse :) but they were all good sports and thanked us profusely!!!

 

Ro and I skipped dessert as we wanted to see the vow renewal in the Piazza. I ran into Michael, the Hotel Director, who told me that only 6 couples had signed up. Well, by the time it got started there were about 50 to 60 couples in the Piazza, staring lovingly into each other's eyes, while Peter (Cruise Director) read a beautiful poem, followed by the vows from the captain. Very over the top in the "sweet" category but like I said earlier...go big or go home!!!!

 

We the headed to love song trivia, where you had to know the name of the artist as well as the name of the song. All of the songs had "love" in the title. It was hosted by Tansy and Melissa, who both had us all laughing hysterically!

 

Next was the cult classic game "Marriage Match." Now, understand...I love watching that game and have never missed it no matter what ship I've sailed. It's always, always, always an absolute HOOT. But I gotta tell you...tonight it just fell FLAT!!! I know they have to pick the names randomly, but I really wish they could at least SPEAK with the couples before hand to make sure they're living on the same planet as the rest of us before they put them out there live...just my two cents folks!!!

 

After Marriage Match was a big party in the Piazza. The party band was playing and the Piazza was packed with everyone dancing...and then they dropped a few hundred balloons on us, some filled with prizes. It was great fun until everyone started popping the balloons...then it sounded like I was standing in the middle of a firing range!!! LOL!!! I never saw what anyone won but it looked like everyone was having a spectacular time!!!! We danced, we laughed..we sang...overall a great party!!!

 

Was thrilled to get back to the cabin and see the little sign instructing us to set our clocks BACK one hour tonight. A sad reminder that we're headed home but after all of the champagne I drank tonight the extra hour of sleep will be FABULOUS!!!

 

Also received a little surprise...a very nice bottle of Cabernet sent to little ol' me by the Casino hosts. I've obviously lost WAY TOO MUCH MONEY!!!! Funny thing is...I've really been playing on their money all week :)

 

We don't arrive in Grand Turk today until 1:00. Wish I could have slept in a little but...not so much...will do some trivia at 9:00 and then see what other trouble I can get into!

 

Until later!

[FraudBroad]

Really rare and Princess usually says all tours will go "rain or shine."

 

I guess that means you can't cancel due to rain, but they can.

 

Toby told me last night that it was the independent tour operators that Princess contracts with that cancelled all of the tours. Too many roads were flooded due to the heavy rains. He even commented about how rare it was. Was also grouchy because his work phone had woken him up before six that morning with the flash flood alerts and he couldn't go back to sleep!

[OhioDogLover]

Love your review and your travel attitude. Have a fabulous time on the rest of your vacation. thank you for sharing with us.

 

Ohiodoglover

[canadarocks]

I think you and I would get along famously if we ever met. I absolutely love all the different trivia games onboard as well. So good to read from you how many there are! We won about 6 bottles of what they call Champagne last cruise. We gave most of them away after trying it! ;) :D

[MusicalBear]

I have loved reading your live thread. We were on the previous sailing with Tracie. I was looking forward to the big balloon drop and they never had it on our sailing. Our weather was fantastic on our cruise with just a few sprinkles for about 5 minutes in Aruba. Hope you have a great time on the rest of your cruise!

[TracieABD]

Good morning, Nat!

 

I am finally caught up with your blog and am thrilled to hear you are having such a fun time! I love that you have done different ports than our cruise. It is like a big old gigantic 2 for 1 sale!!! (Two cruises for the price of one, unless you are me-- and then it is a one cruise for free!)

 

Please, keep posting! I am having a great time reading. And it is also helping with the post cruise blues!

 

Have a lovely day in Turks!

 

Tracie-Lynn

[vickie_bernie]

I will be on this cruise in two weeks. I was wondering what was the hang up in Barbados. The ship is scheduled to arrive in Barbados at 7:00am and you said that shortly after 9:00am the announcement came that you could start getting off. Was this a one-time delay, or something they are experiencing regularly. I’m not sure if you know the answer or not, but I thought I’d ask.

 

Thanks

 

we are also on board, this itinerary is different than the normal one.

 

First stop was St. Kitts instead of the normal Antigua

 

We had a longer day in Barbados too.

[WisCruiser2]

we are also on board, this itinerary is different than the normal one.

 

First stop was St. Kitts instead of the normal Antigua

 

We had a longer day in Barbados too.

 

Just curious, do you know why the itinerary is different for this sailing? We're on the 2/27 sailing, so even though the port order won't be the same, it's been fun to follow along with Nat & with your blog, Vicki. Cruise anticipation is building to a fever pitch!

[RNGALNG]

Nat, Vicki, and Tracie-Lynn, Could you tell us what you saw folks wearing on formal nights? More glitz and glam, or a little more casual? Men wearing more tuxes or possibly shirt and tie?

[TracieABD]

Nat, Vicki, and Tracie-Lynn, Could you tell us what you saw folks wearing on formal nights? More glitz and glam, or a little more casual? Men wearing more tuxes or possibly shirt and tie?

 

I saw a lot of tuxes and suits for men, sparkly dresses for women. I did see a couple of full on kilts. My favorite was the family that dresses up in pirate costumes. (these were not just any old Party City costumes, these were the quality of movie costumes). I am not sure if they were in pirate formal wear, but it seems pretty fancy.

 

I even saw tuxes in the buffet (we were there for formal night).

 

Overall, this cruise seemed dressier than my last couple.

[FraudBroad]

Grand Turk day was another excellent day!

 

I played two rounds of trivia before grabbing a quick lunch in Alfredo's..my last taste of their awesome pizza...it was a sad, sad moment...I also opted to elgin packing as I didn't want to save that chore for the last day!

 

We actually arrived a bit early and I decided to go ahead and get off right away. If you've never been, Grand Turk is beautiful. The water is some of the clearest and bluest water in the Caribbean. It's an even greater place to stop when there isn't another cruise ship with 3000+ passengers already waiting at the dock. Which was the case for us. A P&O ship was already in port making it all a bit crowded.

 

I shopped for a bit and then headed over to Margaritaville for a drink and free wifi. I ended up running into Ro and a couple of our CC friends. We had the drinks but the wifi wasn't working.

 

I was back onboard around 3:00 and opted to take a nap as I hadn't slept well the night before. My allergies were all of a sudden giving me fits and I hadn't slept a wink.

 

As you know by now once I nap dinner is a "No go!" I didn't get up until after 5:30...but it felt oh so good to finally get some rest!

 

I headed to the casino to make my nightly deposit and then wandered for a bit before going to one of the evening games. I wandered back to the casino before calling it a night.

 

I was up early today and when I walked out onto the open deck you could tell we weren't in the Caribbean anymore...the humidity was gone and the temp a bit cooler than the 8 previous days. Again...just sad..small tears...sniff...sniff...

 

I played trivia at 9 and 11:15. At 12:44 we played a game called "Celebrity Heads" with Daniel from the cruise directors staff. Daniel put a sticky note on everyone's forehead with a celebrities name on it. You had to keep asking questions until you could figure out who it was. There were only 7 of us playing so we had a great time. Daniel is from Brazil and he's just a total sweetheart!!!

 

The remainder of the afternoon was spent packing and looking for new friends to say good bye. I can honestly say that the people we've met on this trip have been exceptional! I think we've made many new life long friends!

 

Our final dinner in the dinning room was excellent...as all of our meals have been. I had a spareribs appetizer, watermelon with feta, a small side of the linguine with clams and the roasted turkey with all of the sides as my main course. Tonight was the parade of the baked Alaska...we had a great time waving our napkins and cheering on the hard working waitstaff!!!

 

I left before dessert as one of my new friends, Ju, was participating in the passenger talent show doing stand up. Let me tell you folks...for a little lady in her 70's that babe absolutely KILLED IT!!!!

 

We then attended the "blank" gameshow (like the old match game) and Princess Jeopardy. We had a great time at both! We ended the evening watching our new friend, Mary, win Princess Pop Star!!!!

 

I wandered a bit saying some more good byes before heading back to the cabin to make sure my luggage is put out to be picked up. And now I'm sitting here writing this up for all of you!!!

 

I'll spend the next few days composing my final thoughts but wanted to end today and one last great note.

 

As I was saying goodbye to Melissa and David from the Cruise Director's staff tonight Melissa said the sweetest thing to me..."Natalie I wish all of our passengers could be like you!"

 

And I wish all of the staff could be like Melissa!!!!!

 

Thanks for taking this trip with us!!!!

Natalie

[canadarocks]

Thanks so much Natalie for the fabulous review. We'll be onboard in 10 days, and now I really can't wait! :D