Second Sea Day

Today is the official Cruise Critic Meet and Greet.  The roll call was very busy and lots of people participate and volunteered. It was held at 10 am in Club 6 but silly me thought it was 10:30.  No officers attended but don't think many were invited.  I know Michael the HGM was not invited as he said to me if he would of received an invite he would of ensured his whole team was there.

Weather is a little nicer today so more people are outside.

For lunch I decide to get room service delivered to the cabin and just relax. But I am on hold for 10 minutes at 11:45. Again less crew is affects the service. I know Princess is trying to save money but it is noticeable. They need more staff and one to answer the bell box within a few minutes would be nice.

I forgot to mention that last night we approached the Crown Grill hostess station and Bernie asked about making a reservation for tomorrow. The woman stated they only had two seatings (5:30 and 9). Weird we have never heard this before. He tried to clarify "is this just the only times available this night or is this an ongoing thing". She clearly stated that Crown Grill only sits people at 5:30 and at 9. Okay and since neither time works he walks away a little flustered. 

When he explains to me what has just happened. I tell him "try again tomorrow by calling the dine line".  Which he does today and he has no problem getting a reservation for tonight. He is offered a whole range of times and we agree on an 8 pm reservation. 

So not sure why we got two different answers but this is not uncommon on board. So if you get one answer check again you could get a different answer. But what really concerns me is those who are new to Princess. What would they take away from this happening to them. They may not question it but be frustrated. This is an area that I would like to see Princess improve. Again I would love to see them implement an online reservation you could do once on board with the Princess at Sea App.

Duck tape works all the time!

I should bring you up to date on the issue of the overhead light that kept flashing. Find out that it is a heat sensor that is installed all over the ship and our cabin has two of them - one in the bedroom and one in the bathroom. The reason it is flashing is offline and should be corrected soon. But in the mean time we got the clearance to put duck tape over it and it does help to buffer the flash. 

There are still issues on board with tv not working in some people's cabins (later find out that each person who had an issue with no tv got a $50 on board credit per person). The mid ship stairway is still not done but I believe it will open soon. We encounter workers all over the ship. And see them lounging in the International Cafe during their breaks. They are working very hard to get the ship finished.

Tonight dinner is in Concerto Dining room where we sit in Ivy's section.  Excellent service from Ivy and her assistant Nerus. 

Food was excellent. Tonight I had the Curtis Stone Chicken and Leek Pie and it looks so perfect - like a picture. I would just like to see it served with a side of vegetables.  I also tried the Vegetable Falafel dish which was cold and dry and the pitas that it was served with were so dry they cracked apart.  Ivy did offer to get us a fresh one but decided we probably wouldn't be able to eat it as we were getting full.

The dining room is busy but it is still a puzzle to me why some waiters are so busy with a full section where others are serving only one table in their section and the wait staff are standing around. Either spread out the tables better or have them help the waiters who are busy.

After dinner we went to Crooners for drinks where we chat and then join another couple who are from Virginia Jane and Cecil. I am trying to meet and connect with a least someone new each day.

Bernie is in love with a new martini called the Bugsy and I love the Tango Tini (vodka, blue Curacao and pineapple juice).