Well Our Bags Are Packed...

[Ereggae]

On 3/7/2020 at 9:25 AM, Dawniepoo said:

I hope you have as good a cruise on the Sky as we did 2 weeks ago. I am sure you will. The crew is fabulous! i admit I am jealous, even though I leave in a week for the Regal lol. Bon voyage!

Please keep us posted.  We are going on the Regal in April.

[brewcrew]

On 3/8/2020 at 3:49 PM, tawlaw1526 said:

 

 

Loving  the review !!!  Enjoy the rest of your trip!

Edited March 9, 2020 by brewcrew

[Dawniepoo]

6 hours ago, Ereggae said:

Please keep us posted.  We are going on the Regal in April.

I certainly will

[MaryBethV]

19 hours ago, hllwdcruiser said:

I don’t know if sailing 400 passengers short of capacity can make that much of a difference but we have not experienced any lines or waiting anywhere on the ship. We went to the anytime MDR just before 6 last night and walked right in. Service was fast and very attentive, reminding me of what it was like when we first started sailing with Princess. If you want photos of what we are, just visit @MaryBethV blog - whom I have to thank for the photo of the grilled seafood bowl with mango salsa. I ordered it as an appetizer and it was amazing. Steve and I both had the prime rib for our main which was perfectly cooked and delicious. We then thoroughly our go to desserts, creme brûlée for me (beyond yummy) and cheesecake for him. 

Yay - glad you tried the grilled seafood bowl! YUM

AND the drink you posted looks amazing - adding that to my "to-do" list. 😃 Loving your live reports!

[hllwdcruiser]

21 hours ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

A gentle reminder to anyone posting on this wonderful live from thread..

 

hllwdcruiser is taking time out of their cruise to give us great reports from their vacation, let's not hijack the thread with corona virus issues!

 

hllwdcruiser, keep the great pictures and movies and info coming along.  Really enjoying your life from. Hope you enjoy every single day and experience. 

 

If you see Jovie on board (should still be at the coffee bar by Princess live) please tell her Carolyn said hello.

Thank you so much, Carolyn. Except for the brief convo with Tina, no-one is discussing anything to do with viruses, the stock market or politics. It makes for a very pleasant and relaxing experience - exactly what we were hoping for when we booked this cruise. 
I’ll definitely stop by the coffee bar and look for Jovie and pass on your message. 

[hllwdcruiser]

Good Morning from SUNNY St Thomas. It is an absolutely beautiful day and we are enjoying our port side balcony while waiting for the Captain’s all clear announcement. 
 

I had every intention to report back last night but we attended the 10 PM show of 5 Skies and by the time we got back to our cabin we were done in. I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. 
 

We had lunch yesterday at the buffet. Last year on the Regal my sister in-law discovered that every day they have a different type of seafood soup/stew that is chock full of fish and shellfish. I was very happy to find that they have it every day on the Sky as well. One word description: delicious. I followed it with a coconut cream rum cake that was beyond yummy. I highly recommend both. 

[hllwdcruiser]

The weather was so crummy that after lunch we went back to the cabin for a nap. That’s the only good thing about poor weather on a cruise, plenty of time for naps without the FOMO. 
 

We went to PES lounge and met Allen who will definitely be our favorite bartender for the rest of the week. I did eat the steak tartare and am happy to say that I lived to tell about it with no ill effects. It was soooo good. 
 

Last night was formal night and most folks eating in the MDR were all dressed appropriately. We ate a little later (7:15 PM) because we watched the beginning of the champagne waterfall. We did have a short wait of about 20 mins but once again the service was fast and impeccable. 
 

I know there are mixed reviews of 5 Skies but we really enjoyed it. Our children and grandchildren are all gamers so we found it easy to understand. I really think Princess has upped their game when it comes to their productions. We like the
current music selections that are geared towards a younger audience. 
 

Steve is getting impatient so I must run. Here are a few shots I took this morning and a short video of Dennis Washington’s “small” yacht that is docked right next to us. 
 

Thanks for following. More later!


 

 

Edited March 10, 2020 by hllwdcruiser

[TracieABD]

Thank you for your updates....

 

We were on the Royal two weeks ago, and I was a bit surprised at the lack of conversation around the virus. However, there were tons of announcements to wash your hands. And maybe that was the passive message.

 

I love St. Thomas. My favorite thing to do is take the ferry to St. John and hike on the coast line. It is so beautiful and unspoiled.

 

Please, keep us posted on your fabulous cruise!

[Peckishpixie]

Have so much fun!!

[hllwdcruiser]

Yesterday and today were both port days filled with fun and frolic.
Doesn’t this typ of thing just always put you in a happy mood when you first step foot on an island? This was still in St Thomas. 
 

[hllwdcruiser]

I know many of you like to know the taxi fares so here is a reminder. We decided to walk into town and passed many well fed roosters and their mates on the way. 

[hllwdcruiser]

We had been planning to go to the Red Hook ferry and spend the day on St John since we had such a late departure but because we were chosen for the winemakers dinner we decided to save that excursion for another time. 
We walked around town for a bit and found a cute little bar down one of the side streets. Bartender Chris made me a potent Bushwacker and Steve enjoyed a local lager. When I asked Chris the name of the bar, he said it didn’t have a name. He told me to just call if “The bar in Palm Passage”. Okay then....

[Colo Cruiser]

23 minutes ago, hllwdcruiser said:

We had been planning to go to the Red Hook ferry and spend the day on St John since we had such a late departure but because we were chosen for the winemakers dinner we decided to save that excursion for another time. 
We walked around town for a bit and found a cute little bar down one of the side streets. Bartender Chris made me a potent Bushwacker and Steve enjoyed a local lager. When I asked Chris the name of the bar, he said it didn’t have a name. He told me to just call if “The bar in Palm Passage”. Okay then....

Looks good.

We have always found any trip over to St John to be hair raising due to the ferry times.

Last time we almost missed the ship when we were stuck in a huge traffic jam coming back from Red Hook.

Enjoy the WMD!!!!!

[hllwdcruiser]

We returned to the ship and had a quick lunch at Alfredos. We were at port but they were still not serving Al Fresco. I honestly don’t understand the point of them having outside seating if they never use it. The food was typical Alfredos fare - nothing to get too excited about. 

We then worked on our sunburns at the Retreat Pool until we had to get ready for dinner. I know that many are upset that there are no steps into any pools - but this pool is so shallow and the ladders are almost like steps - I think that many of you might be surprised at how easy it is to access. 

The Winemakers dinner lived up to all my expectations. We met at the Vines Bar at 6:30 and were escorted to the wine cellar. 
The Amuse Bouche was an escargot in a pastry shell. Phenomenal. It was served with a watermelon Prosecco which was a tad sweet.

I wasn’t sure I would like the Veloute but the white bean, chorizo and langoustine flavors married together to create pure deliciousness.  

The gnocchi was lick the plate clean good and I think many of us wished we could throw our manners to the wind to do so. 
The filet was only average but by this time we were all happily buzzed and full so no one was in the mood to object.
The Napoléon for dessert made up for all that the filet lacked and was served with a homemade limoncello. 
The wines served were free flowing and lovely. This was a meal we will definitely do again without hesitation.


 

Edited March 11, 2020 by hllwdcruiser

[Host CJSKIDS]

Love all the pictures and the wine dinner looks fantastic!  We did that with our friends on the Regal and absolutely loved it.  

 

Hope you are having a great night tonight with whatever you are doing. 

[Arzeena]

Ooops I burnt dinner reading all this....

BUT IT WAS WELL WORTH IT! So happy to read positive posts these days when every other one is about doom! Thank you for keeping this up. I am a follower!

Enjoy your cruise!

[Justalone]

12 minutes ago, Arzeena said:

Ooops I burnt dinner reading all this....

BUT IT WAS WELL WORTH IT! So happy to read positive posts these days when every other one is about doom! Thank you for keeping this up. I am a follower!

Enjoy your cruise!

I hope you are enjoying your cruise.

[hllwdcruiser]

On 3/11/2020 at 6:04 PM, Colo Cruiser said:

Looks good.

We have always found any trip over to St John to be hair raising due to the ferry times.

Last time we almost missed the ship when we were stuck in a huge traffic jam coming back from Red Hook.

Enjoy the WMD!!!!!

Your experience is exactly why we’ve never ventured over to St John in all our past visits to St Thomas. I like to be back on the ship with hours to spare. My nerves couldn’t handle the stress of being stuck in traffic or waiting for a late ferry. Maybe it’s a good thing we were selected for the dinner!

[hllwdcruiser]

On 3/11/2020 at 7:39 PM, Arzeena said:

Ooops I burnt dinner reading all this....

BUT IT WAS WELL WORTH IT! So happy to read positive posts these days when every other one is about doom! Thank you for keeping this up. I am a follower!

Enjoy your cruise!

I literally laughed out loud when I read your response. Sorry about your dinner!

This cruise has been one of the best Caribbean voyages we’ve been on so it has been easy to keep it positive. 
Thanks for following along. More to come!

[hllwdcruiser]

This one’s for you @Host CJSKIDS

Jovie was so excited when I passed on your message and insisted I say “hi” back to you. I snapped her photo and she gave me permission to post it. She is an absolute gem -I wish I had met her sooner on the cruise. 

[hllwdcruiser]

With all the news and announcements today it seemed best to hold off reporting on our trip today. 
Tomorrow I’ll cover our day in St Maarten. 
It seems surreal that this will be the last voyage on this beautiful ship for 2 months. The Captain joked tonight that he will spend the next 60 days on his own personal and very large yacht. All joking aside, it was clear that his concern was with his crew and he asked all of us to stand and show our appreciation with applause for the outstanding job that they do. 
Thanks for continuing to follow.
More tomorrow! 

[Host CJSKIDS]

35 minutes ago, hllwdcruiser said:

This one’s for you @Host CJSKIDS

Jovie was so excited when I passed on your message and insisted I say “hi” back to you. I snapped her photo and she gave me permission to post it. She is an absolute gem -I wish I had met her sooner on the cruise. 

 

This put the biggest smile on my face!!  Can't thank you enough for saying hi for me.  We have been lucky to have sailed with her numerous times and she is one of the kindest people I have ever met and one of the greatest crew members.

 

I'm so glad you are having such an enjoyable cruise.  I really hope you continue to enjoy the rest of your time.

Edited March 13, 2020 by Host CJSKIDS