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Live from Caribbean Princess - 21 JAN 06 cruise

pennst8r

By pennst8r,
in Princess Cruises

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pennst8r

pennst8r

Posted
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Hi, folks!

 

I'm aboard Caribbean Princess right now and thought I'd give you an opportunity to ask questions. I can't guarantee I'll find time to check in every day, but I'll try. (There's alot to do, you know!)

 

The seas have been fairly rough since late Saturday night. I'm not used to having so much pitchin' and rollin' during the day, especially being on such a large ship.

 

Today was mostly overcast so I'm hoping things start getting brighter and calmer. I haven't gotten seasick, but the movement does make walking very, very difficult. (As they say, only the drunks can walk straight!) By the way, I'm walking very crooked!

 

Right now as I'm sitting here in the Internet Cafe, the ship is literally SHAKING and RUMBLING and SHUDDERING. It almost sounds like thunder. Sleeping tonight is going to be a challenge!

 

If anyone has a question, just post it here and I'll try to answer.

 

A weeklong cruise is just NOT long enough .(sigh)

 

Off to stagger back to my cabin...a note to the woman: Do yourself a favor and wear some lower-heeled shoes. If you have seas like this, you'll need them. Unfortunately, I've got three-inch heels on and the going gets tough (er).

 

Roseann

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CruiseKing

CruiseKing

Posted
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Roseann,

How was embarkation? I had heard that if you are Platinum even if you arrive early you can at least get into the building to a waiting area inside. Sometimes the Princess reps are looking for those folks to pull hem out of the line. Had you seen this?

Thanx,

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Redsgj

Redsgj

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CruiseKing

 

I just got back from the CB on Saturday and posted our experiences with embarkation. (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=5610413#post5610413) I don't know about the pulling people from the outside line but when we went into the room they were giving anyone who had cruised 6 or more times number 1 cards so they went first once embarkation opened.

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cruzinchris

cruzinchris

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Roseann,

Sorry to hear about the rough seas and cloudy skies. I hope things improve by the end of the week.

 

DH and I will be on the next sailing of the Caribbean Princess, so we've been following the bridgecam since you left Port Everglades. Speaking of your departure, did the ship leave late?

 

Had you participated in a CC roll call? If so, did you meet & greet yet?

 

Just 4 days and counting until DH and I are aboard that magnificent ship!

 

Bon Voyage!

Chris

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CruiseKing

CruiseKing

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CruiseKing

 

I just got back from the CB on Saturday and posted our experiences with embarkation. (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=5610413#post5610413) I don't know about the pulling people from the outside line but when we went into the room they were giving anyone who had cruised 6 or more times number 1 cards so they went first once embarkation opened.

Redsgj,

Thanks for the info. This is great news as we will be heading out on our "lucky 13th" cruise.

Regards,

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Pam in CA

Pam in CA

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The seas have been fairly rough since late Saturday night. I'm not used to having so much pitchin' and rollin' during the day, especially being on such a large ship.
Actually, it's a fallacy that you'll feel less movement on a large ship. The Grand class ships are not designed to go through seas as well as the older, smaller ships such as the the Regal Princess and the recently-departed Royal Princess. You'll feel more movement on the larger ships since they have a broader beam and shallower draft in relation to the beam.
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tpear3

tpear3

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We were on the ship last week and we felt movement the entire week--yes low heeled shoes would have definitely been better!

 

Redsgj--Sorry we missed the get together --so much to do and I forgot until later Sunday afternoon!!

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Redsgj

Redsgj

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We were on the ship last week and we felt movement the entire week--yes low heeled shoes would have definitely been better!

We found the same thing.... I was walking like a drunk all week and I didn't drink that much! In fact, my head is still rocking and bobbing. I'm hoping it will stop soon!

 

Redsgj--Sorry we missed the get together --so much to do and I forgot until later Sunday afternoon!!

We missed the get together also! Oh well, what can you do!

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Nicole721

Nicole721

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I wonder if something is wrong with the stabilizers? The morning we pulled into port, either we hit a rough patch or the boat made a sharp turn. Either way, our balcony door slid open and my mom, who was down in the infirmary, said a tray fell on her from the table next to her.

 

We had REALLY rough seas two weeks ago. I talked to some people who were sailing on other ships but on the same itinerary for the first two ports and they didn't have anything to complain about.

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pennst8r

pennst8r

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I'm sorry I was unable to get online yesterday, but I'll try to respond now to your posts.

 

The ship looks wonderful; everything is in pristine condition. Embarkation was a breeze--way better than what we experienced last January when we sailed Dawn Princess out of FLL. I had Princess-arranged air and transfers and everything went smoothly. We landed about 11:15 a.m. and were on the ship by 12:30 p.m. or so. Immediately after claiming our luggage in the airport, we were taken outside to wait for the bus transportation to the cruise ship. We waited about 15 minutes--not bad, again, compared to last year.

 

Arriving at the ship, I asked a Princess rep if there was a special way to enter if one was Platinun or Elite. I read about this on these boards, but the rep said there was only preferential treatment once inside. Actually, there was no need for concern as we pretty much walked into the terminal building and right up to the appropriate check-in line (based on deck location) or Platnium or Elite status. There probably wasn't a line longer than 10 deep. What a contrast compared to last year when we snaked through the building for what seem like forever.

 

I'm Elite status and joined that lline as the second person...amazing. Since the people in front of me were still talking to the Princess rep, the rep for the Platinium level called me to her line rather than have me wait behind someone else.

 

As for noise on the Riviera deck, I can't answer that. If I meet anyone from that deck, I'll be sure to ask and then post. I'm on Plaza Deck and my friends are on Caribe and Aloha. None of us had any complaints about noise, although my friends on Caribe mentioned loud people on the balconies near her when she was trying to sleep at 1 or 2 a.m.

 

Someone on our cc roll call suggested we meeting at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday and again at that time on Sunday for those who couldn't attend the first one. Unfortunately, no one showed up either day except my three friends and me., not even the person who suggested the meetings!

 

We did meet a lurker who happened to book the same independent sail on Rumbaba in St. Thomas. We met them at the dock in Red Hook where we were to meet the captain. We chastised her for not joining in on the pre-cruise fun. I hope she'll be more brave the next time.

 

My group of four had PC dining and we "converted" a couple we met from traditional to PC. The traditional, PC and "pay" alternative restaurant patrons all have the same dress code. People in these rooms all dressed for formal night. Was it the glitziest cruise I've been on? No, but people did go the extra step to get cute. The Horizon Court and Cafe Caribe had no dress code so folks who didn't want to dress formally ate there.

 

By the way, often the Cafe Caribe offerings were better and more varied than what was in the dining room. Though we haven't eaten dinner there so far, but two of us did pop into Cafe Caribe tonight for skewers of shrimp and sea scallops. We ate two or three skewers as an appetizer and then went to the dining room for Italian dinner night!

 

Internet access is at 35 cents per minute. If you are Platnium or Elite, it's free!!

 

It's after 1 a.m. now and I'm soooo tired I keep nodding off as I write this; and I mean that LITERALLY. Please excuse any typos or squirrelly sentences, I can't even proofread this because I'm falling asleep and I still have to stagger to my cabin. (No, I'm not drunk; only had one chocolate banana today. It's a drink and I highly recommend it!)

 

I'll try to be back online tomorrow to answer any further questions.

 

...Off to beddy-bye now before I collapsel

 

Roseann

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macmax

macmax

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My group of four had PC dining and we "converted" a couple we met from traditional to PC. The traditional, PC and "pay" alternative restaurant patrons all have the same dress code. People in these rooms all dressed for formal night. Was it the glitziest cruise I've been on? No, but people did go the extra step to get cute. The Horizon Court and Cafe Caribe had no dress code so folks who didn't want to dress formally ate there.

 

By the way, often the Cafe Caribe offerings were better and more varied than what was in the dining room. Though we haven't eaten dinner there so far, but two of us did pop into Cafe Caribe tonight for skewers of shrimp and sea scallops. We ate two or three skewers as an appetizer and then went to the dining room for Italian dinner night!

 

 

Roseann

Thanks for this....and BTW, the Chocolate/Banana is my DW's fav. I have to remind her that it's not a milkshake.:D

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pennst8r

pennst8r

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Thank you all for your kind wishes. The seas have been much, much calmer since sailing out of St. Maarten.

 

Regarding the ability to order a litre of alcohol from room service, I'm not sure. I'll see if I can find out and post the answer tomorrow.

 

MacMax, I can understand your wife confusing a chocolate banana with a milkshake, it's soooooooooo good. You don't even realize you're drinking alcohol, it just tastes really, really good--especially when you've been on deck and in the sun for awhile.

 

Tonight my friends and I had the MUTS experience. It was quite nice being under the stars on soft, padded lounges and watching a movie. We viewed it from above the pool deck and it worked out beautifully. I'd recommend going higher to avoid having your eardrums blown out from the sound levels of the movie as heard from the pool deck.

 

Frankly, when walking through that area during the day, I find the sound level to be extremely annoying. We always find deck chairs away from the MUTS pool area to get a little peace.

 

Tonight as we left St. Maarten we were treated to two representations of nature's beauty Off of the starboard side we saw maybe a half-dozen porpoises (at least we THINK they were porpoises) jumping and playing in the waves.

 

Then within maybe 15 minutes of leaving the port, we passed through several areas of light sprinkles and witnessed the most beautiful rainbow that was visible for at least 10 minutes.

 

At first, it appeared to be reaching from the hillsides of the islands we were passing right into the sea. And though there were some points where it faded so much that one needed to strain to see, at other times it was very distinctly bright. As the ship moved, the view of the rainbow changed. Before we lost sight of it completely, it appeared to begin in the sea (I expect that's where the pot of gold was located <grins> and then arch from the starboard side over the aft portion of the ship. It was absolutely gorgeous.

 

According to the announcement from the bridge as we left St. Maarten, we are going to steam the 800+ miles at pretty much top speed (22 knots) in order to arrive at Princess Cays on time. I sure do hope the seas stay relatively calm in the next couple of days.

 

I'm nodding off to sleep again, so that's it for the night from me.

 

Roseann

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