There is a First Time for Everything! Live from the Emerald Princes-- 3/10-3/14, 2016

[Pierlesscruisers]

Also, due to the fact that this is a short cruise, we had to fill out our disembarkation intent forms before we could get our cruise cards. That is another first. I hate it when they are already plotting our eminant demise before we have even boarded. Boo.

 

They're not plotting your eminent demise, it's very possible that the information you provide may make your departure from the ship/pier on your return quicker and easier for you. We don't do that at the pier in Seattle, but we don't have any short cruises that come back to the same pier they left either and that may be why we don't do that.

 

Hope you have a great cruise.

 

Tom

Edited March 10, 2016 by Pierlesscruisers

[KirkNC]

Bon voyage!

[MustangGT]

Can't wait to travel along with you! Love the Emerald! Bon Voyage!!

[TracieABD]

March 10, 2016

Embarkation Day- Part 947

 

We are off to sea! Muster was fine. Fast. I am always amazed by the number of people who blow the whistle. Can you say, "Ewwwww"? I always want to say, do you know where that whistle has been? It is no wonder there can be rampant sickness on cruise ships. I wonder if the amount of illness is directly proportional to the lack of common sense.

 

Passenger make up: There are still some college students, but by no means am I seeing a mob mentality. There is also a large group of HVAC professionals. We will see how that pans out. I am not sure if it is the nature of such a short cruise, but people are out and about. Lots of people.

 

And this evening, I had another first! I went up to Skywalker's for the PES Lounge, and it was packed. The entire venue was designated for PES and there was not a seat to be had. I think there are a lot of Platinum on this cruise, as the Plat seating area filled up very, very fast this morning and they had to send the overflow upstairs. I had a bit of guac and a couple of chips and headed down to dinner.

 

The dining room is full. I was assigned a table for two and I am its sole occupant. This was my preference. I am at the 5:45 TD seating. All the other tables are full.

 

Just some general notes:

Butter is back on the table. The butter dishes took an extended vacation on our Coral cruise. I thought maybe this was the wave of the future, but I am at meal two and there have been butter dishes at both.

I have yet to see a single pair of shorts in the dining room. Most people look very, very nice. The atmosphere is exactly what us "traditionalists" would hope for.

There were very long lines to purchase the AIBP at Vines. The majority of the line was adults that looked to be 40 or above.

As stated earlier, there are some college students who have not gotten the memo. I keep seeing young adults roaming the halls, shirtless, shoeless, and most likely clueless. Lots of super short shorts on the young ladies. What the heck... Smoke 'em if you got 'em.

And speaking of smoking (no flames), wow! the smoking area is stacked high and deep. The smokers are keeping themselves segregated to the assigned areas, so no worries.

The water temperature and pressure in the shower is just fine. I did not freeze, nor did I boil. But for the love of all things holy, could they please have a decent shelf in the shower? I put my little bottles of shampoo on the shelf. One fell off. I reached down to grab it and wacked my head on the faucet. Promptly dropped the bottle again. Reached down to grab and hit my head AGAIN. I believe it was Albert Einstein who said, "Insanity is repeating the same mistake twice and expecting different results." This makes me officially insane.

 

And speaking of the shower... I think as a result of my time in the shower this afternoon, I may need to get divorce. You see, as I was in the process of dropping and bending, and dropping and bending, I was assaulted in a very adult way by the shower curtain. I am not sure, but after that shower curtain had its way with me- there may be baby hand towels due in 3/4 of a year. I just want to say to my DH, Bradley, I did not mean for this to happen... I hope you won't hold it against me. I did register a complaint with Nepalese Gurka Security Team, but I am quite certain much was lost in translation. I just feel so.... violated.

 

With that moment of stupidity- I will turn to my dinner and report on that and the evening entertainment later.

 

Needing a shower to recover from my shower!

 

Tracie-Lynn :) :)

[Colo Cruiser]

Ha!!! you crack me up.

If you have any AC issues at least there are techs all over the ship. ;)

[Host CJSKIDS]

Enjoy Traci!!

 

Please tell Chris & Depack in Crooners that Carolyn & Steve say hello!

[GUT2407]

Have a great cruise.

[SOLIVITA LADY]

I'm enjoying your review and your wacky sense of humor. Love it!

 

Have a great time on your cruise and report in when you can.

 

Jackie

SOLIVITA LADY

 

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk HD

[Kenswing]

I love these live froms.. :)

[seamwoman]

Thanks for posting Tracie! I have enjoyed your cruises in the past. This will make my daily Yellow Fish withdrawal easier! Enjoy! Karen

[shredie]

Bon Voyage!! :)

 

 

Ditto! Have fun Tracy.

[Britter16]

,please tell Chris in Crooners that Deb and Gary say hi and keep the Hendricks cold and dry. Have a great cruise, we sure did.

[RLK33853]

Great humour!!!

 

If you get a chance can you see who the Head Waiters are in De Vinci and Michelangelo?

 

thanks

 

Ray

[decamp303]

You have a phenomenal way with the written word. I will be definitely be enjoying your Live From...report.

[PhotoFlo]

Thanks Tracie for posting! It was great to meet you this afternoon and look forward to seeing you again around the ship!

[mjmalino]

Bon voyage! Watch that shower curtain!

[zencruisers]

Already enjoying your review. Looking forward to hearing more.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Edited March 11, 2016 by zencruisers

[TracieABD]

March 10, 2016

Embarkation Day AGAIN!!!!!

 

Dinner was fabulous and the service is amazing! I had the consumme, a salad, and the leek tarts with (saying this with my bestest Southern spelling- because my darn spell-check won't do French- or any other language for that matter) rat-tat-too-ee. All was very good! And guess who came back to Princess to visit at my table??? My buddy, Norm! You know, Norman Love! The desserts are back! Tonight was chocolate souffle with a white chocolate sauce. So delish! So never enough...

 

My waiter is Enzo! This is just meant to be. I have a dog named Enzo-- this goofy Italian Greyhound. I think as the cruise progresses, I will amass a list of differences between Enzo Dog and Enzo Waiter. For example- Enzo Waiter brings me yummy Norman Love Desserts. Enzo Dog hides food under the bed-- not kibble. Enzo Waiter asks me what I would like to eat. Enzo Dog demands that I take him for a ride to Panera so I can buy him a scone. You see how this works??? Hopefully, there will be more to come in the days to come.

 

After I left the dining room, I headed to the Princess Theater to see Disco! Blame it on the Boogie, one of the newer productions shows. Alas... guess who did not listen to the announcements. No Boogie. Broken singer. Boo. However, we did see Steven Moris who appeared to have quite the career with the Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, America, and some other bands. He had truly funny, if not really inappropriate moments. It was a fun way to pass an hour.

 

And now I am in my lucky cruise jammies (if you need a reference- first couple posts of my first Royal cruise last January), laying in the comfy bed, struggling to stay awake long enough to post it.

 

Just put out my breakfast hang tag- Any one want me to add something for you?

 

Buenos noches-

Tracie-Lynn :) :)

[AryMay]

A good friend of mine is onboard with you so I will just hitch a ride and go along via your trip report! I'm pretty sure he is a permanent resident of the Sanctuary so you might even see him!

 

I was waving good-bye as the ship pulled out of Port Everglades today and thought I was going to see a collision between the Emerald and a Celebrity ship!

 

 

Thanks for taking time to do this live report. Wishing you blue skies and calm seas. Have a great cruise! :)

[lindy sails]

Enjoy your first Solo cruise

Tracie! So glad you were able to reserve a chair in the Sanctuary-the only way to cruise! Happy spring break and thanks for taking us along.

Linda

[RNGALNG]

 

As is typical, I did not sleep much. When I am preparing for a vacation, I always count-down the "go-to-sleeps".

 

We too sing the song, "Only (fill in the blank) sleeps to cruising" as we get ready to cruise!

 

Everytime I fly, I am so grateful to live in a city with a major airport. We can fly direct to all sorts of super fun places, including Europe. See how lucky I am??

 

I do believe I know of what city you speak about. My b-i-l was a dean at Queens before he retired. He still lives there. A beautiful city!

 

Also, since I have the time, energy, and free wifi, I want to comment on Global Entry. What a great investment that has been! Best. Travel. Investment. Ever!

 

Planning on getting mine before the next trip I take!

 

Want to share an Uber to the Cruise Port?

 

Will Uber take you to the port? Can you use it to get back to the airport? We are new to this. Used it once on our trip last month. I was going to ask the driver all my questions - can you pick us up at the airport, return us there, take us to the port?? It was only his 4th day and he spoke no English! Best laid plans. . .

 

Tracie-Lynn :) :)

 

 

Tracie-Lynn, have a wonderful cruise! I am looking forward to hearing how this week compares to last. We were on for a 5/4 b2b in February over Presidents weekend. A much younger crowd onboard but they were mostly well behaved! (Except maybe for the Not so Newlywed game show?) :rolleyes:

[cruisequeen4ever]

You are so witty! See, you're not cruising alone; you have the CC world with you!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Colo Cruiser]

[TracieABD]

March 11, 2016

Sea Day #1

 

Good morning, Sanc-tu-ary!!!

This cruise is shaping up to be exactly what I was hoping for... rest, relaxation, and an opportunity to unplug (I know, I know, is live blogging really unplugging? For me, yes!).

 

However, I do need a piece of advice from my CC fam- as you know, this is my first inside-- and when you turn out the lights, it is dark! Really, really dark. I keep bumping into that little round table. Where is the best place to put that sucker so that I preserve my knees and my dignity. I am certain that someone may have a super nifty tip here-- Suggestions needed, please!

 

Ok-- and back to our regularly scheduled live from!

 

I set out my breakfast hang tag last night asking for non-fat yogurt and an 1/2 grapefruit. I figured that would hold me through yoga. I requested 7:15 delivery, and at 7:10 food magically appeared! I love how that happens. I am going to have to switch to plain yogurt, because the non-fat yogurt was way too sweet. At home, I only eat organic, Icelandic skir-- and boy, did that take some getting used to-- so this morning's yogurt was like pudding. Really, really sweet pudding. It was so nice to have a cut grapefruit.

 

I walked down to the IC to grab my first non-fat iced latte du jour, and I have to say, the place was hopping. Lots and lots of people waiting. So I adjusted my expectations. But what happened, you ask?? 1 PERFECT and delicious iced latte!!! And they were fast! And they were cheerful and fun! Holy mother-of-pearl! It was an amazing first day coffee experience!!!! Go, IC staff! Thanks for rocking it out the morning and getting my day (and many, many others off to a great start!)

 

I trudged it up 9 flights back to the Fitness Center for 8 am yoga. Ship yoga is typically a hoot. You have all different levels-- and commonly it is pretty mild. A little bendy. A little stretchy-- and done. Today? Not so much... This was as close to a land-based yoga studio experience I have ever had on a ship. The class was large and varied in experience, but I swear, our yoga dude had us down on our hands for at least 25 minutes of the class (other yogis will get this). I actually broke a sweat, and no, it was not a hot flash- smart alecks! He also spent a fair amount of time working on hip openers which I have never seen on a cruise. The only thing he did not do that you would see in a land studio-- he did not make adjustments. I am pretty sure that is for liability reasons. He was decent and I really felt great about the morning. The seas are pretty calm this morning, but I have done yoga in higher seas and it is hilarious. You and your class mates are in a balance pose, the ship tilts, and everyone falls out of it in slow motion-- sort of like synchronized clumsiness. None of that this morning, though.

 

I moved it on over to the Sanctuary, dropped my stuff, and committed (not quite) another first. I went to the buffet to grab some food. The only thing I love about the buffet is that it has COW! Yep, you heard me-- COW!!! Good old Cream of Wheat! Yankee Grits! Gruel! Yay! Holy COW!!! and a little fresh fruit. I imported it back to the Sanctuary-- and here I sit.

 

The Meet and Greet is in a bit, and I suppose I should commit and act of human kindness and good will-- by taking a shower.

 

Scrub-a-dubby, Scrub-a-dubby!

 

Tracie-Lynn :) :)

[chamima]

Tracie-Lynn

Try putting the table in the closet.