At Sea – April 3, 2014

We wake and both realize only two more days and we feel like taking advantage of doing nothing cause soon enough we will be waking and heading to work.

It takes me a long time to get moving and when I do I head down to our neighbourhood coffee shop also known as the International Café for my latte and Bernie soon joins me. 

There is another sale in the dining room for three hours but I stay away, I really don’t need anything but it is busy.

The weather is a little cooler today with a strong breeze – temperatures are in the mid teens C, we are no longer in the tropics. 

The ship seemed to have a hum of frantic business as people go about getting their last minute items done and a lot of people are saying goodbye to new friends.  Many are sad to leave but happy to go home.

People are lining up changing their disembarkation luggage tags just to the right of the Purser’s desk that never seemed to be quiet.  We are fine with our time so no need to change. 

Our cabin has not been cleaned so I want to stay away so he can get it done so I search out a quieter spot to read my book that I can’t put down.  I see Explorer’s Lounge is being set up for the art auction at 1:30 so I sit in one of the couches.  There is maybe one other couple in here and after a half hour a group of six come in and where do they sit?  Yup right beside me and chat loudly…. REALLY of all the seats they could of taken they have to sit right beside me. 

OH well off I go to see if I can find Bernie and maybe do lunch.

He is not in the cabin and it is still not cleaned so I head up to the Sun Deck (which is quite busy with those getting a bit more sun).  I walk thru the Horizon Court, around Café Caribe, which is hosting a Dessert Extravaganza and looks lovely but I need to eat lunch first.  I grab a plate and some salad, loved the bean salad and a sandwich.  I sit with the Burns (Jimmy and Lynn) who we have gotten to know really well.  And darn it if an hour doesn’t pass by like a blink.

Oh I should say there is so much sea life out there today.  All you had to do was look out for a bit and you saw turtles, dolphins and lots of whales – LOTS of whales.

When I get back to the cabin Bernie is there.  Apparently he was at Barb and Craigs for drinks and had a nice time. 

I wander into the perfume store and see that they have my lotion that I bought last cruise on sale again.  When I originally bought the first bottle I was told by the store manager Claire that was all they had left.  But today there are five more bottles and I buy two more and I was happy when I got the discount that I got from my first sale as I bought enough to get the 10% discount, plus my elite discount… now that is a deal!  Great service from the shops on board.

And boy where does the afternoon go?  Still lots going on around the ship but we relax in the afternoon.  We discuss packing and agree that for the sanity of our marriage only one of us will pack and the other will leave the cabin while this is happening.  Bernie volunteers and I am okay with that.  I will clean some things up and put aside what I will wear for disembarkation and he can pack all the rest.

Tonight is a formal night and we dress and meet up in Crooners for a drink.  The music is playing and people are dancing and the atmosphere is one of celebration.

UNTIL – the Captain comes on and guess what we are under Red Alert again.  Seems this flu virus has caused the numbers to go up again.  Although I really haven’t seen it around.  Yes there are a lot of people hacking but having heard of many getting ill with Noro.  I have been hearing of a lot of people having stomach aches but many are saying they feel it has more to do with what they ate as it passes quickly.  And I have to say I agree, today I have such a tummy ache and I am thinking it has to do with the yoghurt I had at the IC this morning.  It was very very sour and warm and after a few bites I put it aside.  I think this is what caused my tummy issues a week ago too.  I am curious if they are taking notes on those that are ill and exactly what they had eaten.

We head into the dining room at 7:55 but there is someone at our table!  Apparently the Guissipe sat someone there later and they were still on their dessert.  Hmm so we wander around for ten minutes and head back in and they are just setting up the table now.  So nice to see Mark and Lorelei again. 

We have two more bottles of wine left on our wine package and we decide to get the two tonight. One to start and one to take back to the cabin.  One issue is they are running out of many of the wines we like and won’t get restocked until Los Angeles.  We ask for the one we like Nobilo and Stephen the Head Waiter finds one in Club Fusion so he heads there to get it.  There are no more bottles left so we ask if he can find any Dazante and off he goes again and searches and WOW he finds the last bottle.  Such great service and truly appreciated.  We make sure to tip him tonight to thank him for the great service.

I am not really hungry but Bernie is really hungry as he didn’t eat lunch.  So I try and eat lighter tonight.  I try the Thai Salad Roll and they were very good, the tomato soup again GREAT and reminds me of my own homemade soup.  Bernie ordered a small appetizer of the ravioli with mushroom and he really enjoyed that too.  For our entrée we both got the pumpkin filled crepe served with squash.  Bernie has been raving about this dish for so long that I had to try it.  He loves it, me, not so much I found it way too rich for my taste and didn’t finish it.  Mark was all worried and wanted to get me something else but I was fine and feel well soon enough I will be back to eating a lot less so I may as well get use to it.

For dessert I enjoy a cup of green tea and some orange sorbet which was so good and soothing.  But we need to go as we are having a friend over to the cabin for drinks soon.

In reflection today is a day of anticipation of looking forward to heading home and reflecting on all the adventures we have just experienced.

And I want to say Happy Birthday today to my Mom…. She has been gone for three years now and I know she is watching down and travelling along with me in spirit.  Love you.

Breaking News - Small Fire! - April 1, 2014

Thought I would let everyone know that tonight while watching the comedian in Explorer's lounge a bridge announcement came over the speaker.  First Aid attend to Incinerator Room Deck 4.  

All I thought, oh I hope there was not an injury to one of the workers.

Back in the cabin around 10:30 and announcement comes over the speaker all over the ship including the cabins.  It is the Captain explaining what has happened.

Apparently there was a small fire in the incinerator silo.  This is a large silo that holds waste before it is put in the incinerator.  The fire has been put out and they are just dealing with the smoke in the area and cleaning up the mess.  Everything is okay.

At 11:08 pm there is another announcement in the cabin from the Captain.  First Aid can stand down, meaning they are no longer needed.  

Captain Foster once again informs us that everything is okay and explains again what has happened and that they are investigating why it happened.

We are still on our way to Puerto Vallarta and will arrive at noon and apoligizes again and tells everyone they can sleep in tomorrow.

I have never been on when there has been a fire but I am quite impressed on how well this was handled and how well informed the Captain kept us.

I will post more if there is more to report.

Second Leg Cruise Reflections – Buenos Aires to Valparaiso

Note:  These are my own personal views.  I have had many people make comments to me but I refuse to post anything that is second hand that I did not experience (good and bad) unless I viewed it myself.

Like the first leg I wanted to go back and comment on the voyage and what I thought of it and stated the Great, the Good and the Not So Good.

Great:

-          Once again the crew are amazing.  Since we have been on board for 30 days we recognize many and many recognize us and say hi to us by name.  When we show up in a bar they remember our favorite drink and ask how our day was.  Big shout out to Beth and Jasmin in Crooners, Anthony in Vines, Zoran, Thais, Beatriz, Natasha, and Jayne in International Café.

-          Our wait staff this leg have been some of the best we have ever experienced.  Our table with Mark and Lorelei in Da Vinci is one of our highlights every day.  Mark and Lorelei (table 514) remember our preferences and we share our day with them and we love hearing about their day too. 

-          Entertainment on board is still great…. Lots to do, great shows, wonderful trivia type games, Wake Show is fun to watch too.  Lisa and Dan are seen about the ship all the time and always approachable and are working very hard at accommodating many.

-          Movies are some of the best we have ever seen.  We rarely get to the movies at home but love that we can catch up with many when at sea.  This leg we have seen almost all the Oscar nominated movies with many being shown in a venue on board but then also repeated in the cabins too.

-          The Captain and his officers and how they have managed the poor weather we have encountered and often having to make difficult decisions (skipping the horn) to protect the vessel and the passengers on her.

-          Love the itinerary, lots of ports but lots more sea days to really relax and come back new as the ads say. 

-          Love the wine package which has enabled us to really try lots of different wines.  Many of the waiters, bartenders and even bar managers have introduced us to new wines and cocktails we have never tried but loved.

-          We really enjoy that Skywalkers is designated a quiet area and it is wonderful place to go and enjoy the view and read.

-          We started this voyage under Red Alert and I am impressed at how well the crew from the Captain, to the Medical Staff, to the waiters, cleaners, cabin steward dealt with it.  The level was able to return to normal after almost two weeks under the alert because of their dedication and hard work.

Good:

-          Food is good, certainly haven’t gone hungry.  But it is still way too salty for our taste and often we try something and it is so salty we can’t eat it.  We have noticed so much salt in the food that I have noticed swelling in the joints from water retention.  We are also not drinking as much water as we normally do at home (I drink normally minimum of 12 8oz glasses a day), which doesn’t help.  Still have not gotten hot French fries in buffet or Trident Grill.  Nor have we gotten hot pancakes or eggs, we have given up on this. 

-          Cabin Steward is good, he certainly does his job but he is rather shy and doesn’t do anything extra unless we ask.  We have been spoiled on other sailing with Stewards that anticipate our needs and we rarely have to ask for anything.  This time we find we often have to ask for extra laundry bags, soap, note paper cause we have run out.  Although we have really appreciated the sheets changed regularly and he is quick at cleaning the cabin.  We normally tip an average of $5 extra per day to our steward but so far in the 30 days we have maybe tipped him an extra $25 in total.

-          I have really enjoyed the Captain Circle Parties – currently there are four parties to accommodate all the Platinum/Elite Passengers.  The Captain has been hilarious and the waiters have been very efficient at providing drinks for us.  Sadly they have not been going around serving appetizer to us like they normally do, not sure if this is fleet wide or not.

-          The Glacier Alley after leaving Ushuaia should really go under Great!  But since we left Ushuaia early evening and only got to see the first three glaciers before nightfall it goes under Good.  I love this area, and it is beautiful.  We would love to see a change to the itinerary so that we could travel this area during daylight and really appreciate it.

Not So Good:

-          Lecturers John Maxtone Graham and Jeffrey Wolff have been a disappointment for us.  Don’t care for John’s political views being added to his lectures.  Jeffrey Wolff’s talks seems to be more like I am in a fourth grade class and I just don’t get the feeling he really knows his subject personally but more he gained the knowledge on line and is just repeating.  This is too bad cause we really like the subject matter and miss the excellent lecturers we have had in the past. 

-          Tender Service – now this leg tender service has really not been a good experience.  I should state though that in Punt Arenas Chile the weather with the high winds caused huge delays with tender service could not be helped.  But in Falklands and Puerto Montt tender service was slow and long waits to get back to the ship.  In Puerto Montt there must have been over a 1,000 people waiting to get back on board when we showed up at the pier at 4:30 pm (last tender was 5, but was much later).  They are down a tender due to mechanical issues but with the remaining tenders this causes long waits and many with mobility issues are having to line up for long periods, often in the elements.  Thankfully next leg there is only one tender port.

-          Downfall of this cruise is that it has a lot of demanding passengers who are experienced cruisers.  We keep encountering people who are upset about so much but we feel their complaints are not justified and wish they would look at the 95% great things instead of the 5% bad things.  The crew are encountering a lot of abuse from some of these people and I feel for them.  Also because this leg forced a lot of people inside due to the incumbent weather not only did it make many of the public venues busy it also cause many short tempers among passengers and also passengers to the crew.  I am quite impressed on how the crew have been able to defuse many incidents. 

-          Although we are only two weeks later in the season from the last time we did this voyage the weather has been poorer (although this could happen earlier too) and also a lot less wildlife viewings too.

-          The Captain Circle desk area is on Promenade Forward just outside the Wheelhouse and it is really a poor location.  Poor Cameron has his desk out in the middle of the hallway and often we encounter people using his desk and chairs when he is not there.  Not sure how Princess can rectify this but it really should be off limits and made a bit more private.

-          I have said this before on previous cruises but feel Princess should do something about the women’s uniforms.  They have to wear skirts even though they are exposed to the elements where the men get to wear pants.  In today’s day and age I would hope that they would be treated more equally. 

-          One thing I really really hate and wish Princess would do something about it has to do with the Waiters Bus Station/Food Serving Stations.  The cupboards/drawers bang so loudly when they are closed.  It scares the crap out of me all the time and certainly is not enjoyable to hear bang bang bang bang throughout a meal.  Why can't they install self closing, non slamming doors!  

So to wrap this up we have really enjoyed this voyage so far.  We have tried new things this voyage and look forward to trying new things next leg.  Bernie is tickled pink that he finally got to go golfing in Ushuaia and can’t wait to brag to all his golfing buddies.  We love this area of the world and we are so happy we are getting to experience it again.  We even can say that we would book this itinerary again but maybe not from Fort Lauderdale but instead maybe join the ship in Valparaiso or Buenos Aries and doing a back to back. 

Princess still is our line of choice and our Princess family keeps growing.

Sea Day March 18, 2014

We wake and the sun is shining.  Tonight is a formal night (still haven’t decided whether we will go or not).  We have a bridge tour at 10:30 planned.

We meet with security at the scheduled time, there is around 12 of us for the Bridge Tour.  We are surprised when the door opens and Captain Foster is there to greet us.  He shakes all our hands and even says “oh the bus drivers are here”.  That is nice, and of course we are honoured that he remembers us.  He can’t stay long as he is busy with meetings and introduces us to First Officer, Lauren from England. 

First off as anyone who knows me I am a strong activist for equal rights and am so pleased to see more women up on the bridge.  I am still looking forward to when Princess has their first female Captain. 

We have done numerous Bridge Tours in the past and I have to say I enjoyed today’s the most.  Lauren was fun, she made us feel comfortable and explained many of the items and even provided personal example of when they use them.  Like the thrusters and how they had to use them a lot in Punta Arenas.  Or when they had to use the Distress Communication when she heard a Mayday on a different ship and they were able to call for assistance for someone adrift. 

She explained the flags, and instead of just saying these are the flags she explained what many of them mean and which flags we put on and where.  Including telling us how tough the wind was on the Falkland flag. 

She showed us the Radar and pointed out the HAL ship to us and where it is going and what type of vessel it is.  So seeing the equipment in action was extra interesting.

This is the first time we got to actually see how they can zoom in on each balcony and see everything and I mean everything, they can even see what you ordered in room service and are enjoying on your balcony.  So beware!  And like we say those special moments are recorded and that Reflections DVD can be bought by special order – kidding.

We took a lot of pictures and Lauren even posed for many of them too.  The tour was so good I had to write a thank you to Lauren when we got back cause it was the best Bridge tour we have been on.

Today in the cabin they are showing the “Dallas Buyers Club” and it is being played on a loop so after enjoying a latte in the International Café we head back to the cabin to watch the movie.  This voyage has shown great movies and we have enjoyed watching many of them.

After the movie we head up to Horizon Court for lunch.  They are also hosting a pub lunch again and the dining room is open but we just want some salad and fruit, of course we ate a bit more of that.

When I get back to the cabin the bell hop phones to ask us what we want for our mini bar for the next leg and we state we want two coffee cards in lieu of the bar.  They are delivered right away, although they do have the voyage written on the back so if we use them for tea on another voyage they will punch the cards, but that is okay, we just love getting the cards. 

The weather is definitely getting warmer, the seas are calm and we are moving slowly up the coast of Chile.  We have one more sea day before getting into Valparaiso on the 20^th.

Bernie has gone down to afternoon trivia and I take the time to relax in the cabin and give myself a pedicure, I am all set for warm weather again and sandals.

Things happening on board today:  Bible Study, line dance class, knit and natter, police force get together, wringle remedies (no that is not a typo here, but what is published in the Patter, which I believe should be wrinkle, but this is one of the few typos I have seen in the Patter and made us giggle), Culinary Demo & Galley Tour, trivia, bingo, tango with Jorge and Anabel, Rotary Club get together, Zumba, horse racing, art auction, photo seminar, wii bowling, afternoon movie Runner Runner in Princess Theater, Grapevine Wine tasting. 

This evening:  Stateroom Movie Thor: The Dark World, Production Show What a Swell Party,  MUTS World War Z, Dixeland Jazz with Crown Princess Orchestra in Piazza, Arizona Party Band, 70s hits with Dj Alex in Skywalkers, Princess Pop Star, Spotlight Showtime with Vincenzo Martinelli and more.

Punta Arenas, Chile March 14, 2014

We are awaken after a very restful night.  We slept a long time last night and as we look out we can see we are still on our way to Punta Arenas even though it is 7 am we should be anchored.  We soon find out that we will be a little late due to the wind.

No worries we have no big plans and I curl up in bed and watch the tv and update my blog.  The Wake show is always a good laugh and we can’t get over how many people are writing in with comments and complaints.  Time for me to bring some fun to the Wake Show.  So I do up a letter to Lisa with a post it on it saying “please read before going live to edit if necessary”.  Read the next blog to hear what I wrote and if she read it.

We see that there quite a few white caps in the water and the tender boat is bobbing up and down.  We are in no rush and since there are so many tours trying to get off and so many who want to get off early we decide to wait.

We make our way to the Da Vinci dining room which is the spot for all those with priority boarding to wait.  We enter and there are about 30 people in the dining room.  We sit at a large table and soon another couple joins us.  Right away they start complaining about stuff, silly things really.  Now I am sure they must have something positive to say too but when the wife tries to say something good the husband cuts her off and complains some more.  The weather, the tenders, the port, Ushuaia, the coffee, the AC, the heating, the linens…. On and on and on.  Bernie and I look at each other and say our “code” word for change the subject… which I might add is sometimes hard to put into a sentence.  Sorry can’t tell you the code I am sworn to secrecy.

The Captain comes on the speaker while we are waiting and announces that the tender ride will be very very bumpy and very long due to the high winds.  Safety first.  He recommends if you have an issue with motion sickness to maybe stay on board. 

So after listening to this couple complain and complain and then the announcement I turn to him and say “would you be disappointed if we don’t go ashore” NOPE he quickly responds and we are off to the cabin.  Now I will add we have been here before and I would of loved to have gotten off if I could of to see the city again but sometimes it is important to go with your instincts.

We later find out from those that did go ashore that the ride was horrible and very long.  One couple said they were in the tender for an hour.  They closed the upper seats for safety.  People did get sick on the tenders.  Long queues at the pier because it was so dangerous to tie up next to the pier at times.  The wind did die down late afternoon around dinner time thankfully for the last few tenders.  Although we did not pull up anchor until around 9:30 pm.

Some comments for Punta Arenas from the port lecturer you may find helpful.  Taxi to Ottway Sound to see penguins is around $120.  It is a 15 minute walk to the main square where you will find the statue of Magellan.  At his feet are a pair of reclining Indians and the story is if you rub their big toe you will one day return, we did this last time we were here and we did return, but since we didn’t go ashore this time and rub it I am afraid we may not return.  Surrounding statue are local vendors selling all kinds of stuff. 

Around the plaza is the Hotel Jose Nogueira, former residence of one of the city’s wealthy matrons Sarah Braun.  On the East side of the plaza is Punta Arenas’ larges hotels the Cabo de Hornos.  The Cathedral is directly across the plaza from the hotel. 

There is a small grocery story right near the pier that you can buy essentials.  And currently the exchange rate is 529 Chilean Pesos to $1 US dollar.

The Cape Horn and Sea Day March 12, 2014

When things go bump in the night… and bump and bump and bump.  The seas are rocking and a rolling and when Bernie comes back with the coffees (and two hot almond croissants) he comments that there are people crashed in Explorer’s on the couches.  I think quite a few people are having a hard time with the motion.  The sickness bags are out too at every possible place.

I certainly can feel and see the motion but I should be fine but do take two ginger tablets just in case. 

When we look outside we see Albatross, the largest sea birds that spend most of their lives at sea.  There are tons of them out there first thing this morning, and we try to deal with the elements but damn it is windy and that is not comfortable.

When we look out again it is snowing, then hail, then rain, then go figure sun!  The tv channel shows winds at around 45 to 50 knots and it is hitting us on the side and the ship is bobbing.

I am sitting in bed watching Captain Phillips on the stateroom tv and even though I am not into violent movies I can’t stop watching.  I cover my face but have to peak thru my fingers to see what is going on.

Bernie has gone to morning trivia and then I join him for Motown Trivia (we didn’t do that great at either) and when I head down to the International Café they are so busy.  I see Thais and Beatriz and I say “wow this is crazy” they giggle and say “oh yeah” and I respond “don’t these people know about room service”. 

Lunch in Café Caribe is a Mexican Buffet so we head up and I am surprised at how busy it is.  It is quite good and you have to sit near the aft cause if you sit near the mid ship doors in Horizon Court you will freeze every time the doors open. 

I should add that they have closed off the Promenade deck due to safety as the spray and bouncing of the ship is just too dangerous. 

The Captain comes on for the noon announcement and informs us that because of the wind we just can’t safely go around the horn today.  Plus if we did go slow and safely around the horn we would be so late getting into Ushuaia.  This is too bad but I trust the Captain, and we have been around the horn before and the last time we froze out there and the weather was much much nicer.

We are back in the cabin mid afternoon, we thought about going to see Twelve Years a Slave which is being shown in the Princess Theater but it is packed in there and we decide to just relax in the cabin. 

Barb and Craig have invited us to their cabin for drinks at five and I decide since they have never been around the horn I need to improvise.  So I draw a picture of a horn!  Yup a horn.  So we all pose with the picture and say “see we have been around the horn”  and really the land in the distance looks like the horn too.  We enjoy a great time with friends and this to me is really what cruising is all about.

We are down in Vines to enjoy the rest of our wine from the other night and we head to our table at 8 pm and we see it is just getting set up.  Mark welcomes us and we enjoy a lovely meal, I had the lychee watermelon salad, the gazpacho soup, and the barramundi for my main.

I am so not into doing much after dinner and we wader around a bit but we both decide to head back to the cabin around 11 pm.  

Sea Days March 9 - 10, 2014

I don’t think I had mentioned, or maybe I had but the clocks were moved forward before arriving in Montevideo so we are now five hours ahead of Vancouver time.

I don’t even wake up until 9 am and I am shocked, although it was not a restful night I woke up quite a few times but no worries I am just glad I can relax all day while sailing south towards the Falklands.

We are still under red alert but the Captain has announced that things are going very well and looks like the code will be lifted tomorrow!  Yeah…. We have been at alert for almost two weeks!  But I think people are getting the hint and washing their hands.

MUTS has been down for the past few days, the technicians are working frantically on it though. 

Today we pulled out the suitcase and the clothing items we packed for cooler climates – jeans, long sleeve tops, fleece jackets, coat, mittens, hats and scarves --- oh and the hot pocket hand warmers to use when going around the glaciers.

This morning I meet Bernie down in Vines and Sherri and Ken join us as they want to see our Rio Carnival pictures.  For breakfast I grab a few items from the International Café and the almond croissant is still warm and decadent!  Loved it!

There are lots of lectures going on today, dance classes, language classes, Zumba, vegetable carving and lots lots more. 

But I end up back in the cabin on the balcony reading my book and was able to finish it.  Really enjoyed John Grisham’s latest book Sycamore Row but like all his books it is very predicable and makes for great vacation ready.  Just started a new book “Rosie Project” by Graeme Simsion and this is my third book this trip.   Bernie adds he is reading “Nine Dragons” by Michael Connely.

Hard to believe we have been gone for three weeks and we are almost half way thru the trip.

Today is formal night and we are aiming to dress up and head to the dining room.  Tonight feature in the Princess Theater is Destination Anywhere and since we didn’t see it the last voyage we will try this evening, but if we miss it we know we have seen it before too.

We are also heading to our “new” table.  After the very noisy table in the back we ask to move and we are assigned table 485 in Da Vinci with Mark and Lorelei and it is the same waiter we had the other day when we dined with Barb/Craig.  Service is excellent, location is great and we can actually communicate between us and hear.  We feel a huge sense of relief.  Stephen the Head Waiter even makes an appearance to make sure everything is good.  Wow could things in the dining room have turned a leaf?  Stay tuned.

Bernie asked Mark about the wine card and how the tip is distributed when you buy the card.  Mark tells us that when you buy the card the tip is charged at that time and whoever sold you the card gets the tip portion.  Darn we never saw the waiter again that we bought the card from.  We just assumed that every time we buy a bottle the waiter we buy it from gets the tip money.  We have used 10 of our 12 bottles so I am sure we will be getting another one.  And when we do we will make sure to buy it from Mark.

Tonight we head to the 10:15 show of Destination Anywhere and we both comment that this is a new show for us and we are amazed.  Excellent, and kick ourselves that we missed it last voyage and sad they won’t be repeating it before we get off.  Oh well we will catch it another voyage.  I do have to comment that a woman with her partner sat in the middle seats in the front row and talked VERY loudly the entire show.  Now I understand if you want to make a comment but talk quietly and don’t disturb others.  She was quite rude and it was very obvious and I felt bad for the dancers/singers who work so hard only to have people not pay attention.  

Okay I have ranted for today.  But to end on a positive note, Make sure you see the production show Destination Anywhere.

The next sea day was a sleep in day, there was quite a bit of movement on the seas, but not horrible but enough to make quite a few creaks and I kept waking up.  So Bernie crawls out of bed and dresses and tells me to sleep and I do just that until around 10 am when I shower and head downstairs for a cup of coffee and we catch up with Claudio.

I want to check out the Oriental buffet in Café Caribe and we head up for around 12:15 and there is a huge line so we just get a seat and wait for the line to die down, which really hardly did die down.  The food was good, very salty again and I need to drink a lot more water cause I am noticing the salt and since I rarely every use salt in my food it is more than I am use to, but others may find it perfect.

After lunch we decide to head to Club Fusion to check out the new lecturer on board Jeffrey Wolff who is talking about The World of Sea Turtles.  The place is packed but this is a good venue because there are so many tv screens that you can watch the show from.  But I have to say I didn’t find his lecture to be that informative, he kept asking questions with multiple answers and asked for a show of hands for responses…. Really just tell us and move on I am thinking.  He did have great pictures but would of like to have had a much more educational lecture on turtles.  I really am missing Mark’s lectures.

We are back in the cabin and watching a movie “Despicable Me” and since Bernie is having a hard time staying awake I head out to the balcony and read my book.  Considering our location it is rather nice out.  I am able to sit out in my capris and t shirt and I actually got some sun. 

Dinner tonight is back at our new table and we asked Jan/Michael to join us.  We sailed with them twice now and we have visited them at their home in Seattle too.  We like our smaller table which allows us to dine together or ask friends to join us and enjoy a lovely evening.

 

I wanted to add that we enjoyed wine in Vines prior to dinner where we ordered a bottle of Sanceer which we corked and saved for another night – note you can’t use the wine card in Vines.  As we are finishing our wine I see the Singer/Dancers wandering around and they are dressed in crew costumes and I say “hey they are going to do that production in the Atrium that we saw them rehearsing the other day”.  So we take a spot along the stairway and catch the new “Sail with Princess” act.  It isn’t long but it is cute and shouldn’t be missed.

After dinner we head to Explorer’s to catch Dan’s The Top Five Gameshow but the place is packed and we can’t get a seat and since there ends up being over 45 teams we just grab a seat along the promenade, order drinks and answer from there.  Next time we will come earlier.

Tomorrow we are arriving in Stanley in the Falklands and it will be an early day with the tender operation.  Oh and the clocks go back an hour!  Yeah.

Other things happening around the ship today:  Hot Latin Hour, Musicians Get Together (unhosted), In Stateroom Movie: The Hobbit The Desolation of Smaug, Spotlight Showtime with Vocalist Peter Fernandez, Country Trivia, Music and Dancing with Rhumba Jazz Duo, Country & Western Night, Disco Inferno in Skywalkers, Zumba, Hole in One Challenge, and much much more.

Miscellaneous Comments:   

MUTS is still out but they are working hard at fixing it.

The demographics of this leg are different, we had a 1,000 people leave in Buenos Aries and  1,000 new passengers join us.  A lot less South Americans now on board, much fewer kids, I think I have seen one or maybe two kids.  A lot less Spanish Speaking guests to the point they are not doing the announcements in Spanish any longer, nor do they have the Spanish Channel or the Spanish Wake Show.

Laundromats will be closed from the evening of March 12 until March 15 due to Environmental Water Restriction while ship is sailing inside the Strait of Magellan.  I don’t recall this happening two years ago.

Dining rooms seem to working smoother with a lot more waiters around and helping each other.

Specialty restaurants appear to be busier too.

Since we left Montevideo we have notice a lot of moths being attracted to the lights from the ship.  I have never seen so many moths.  To the point if you open your balcony, especially at night you will have moths in the cabin.  They clean down the promenade in the morning and there are tons of dead moths.

The Red Alert has been lifted!  Yeah!  Everyone, especially the crew are smiling.

Two sea day! February 27 and 28, 2014

drinks and sushi at Vines

First I believe I mentioned that we were going to arrange to get a table for just the two of us for Da Vinci and we have arranged a set table that can accommodate us but also four so we have our friends join us occasionally.  We are given table 514 in Da Vinci and it is a great table.  The first night took a bit of getting use to things, but the second night it was great and the waiters are getting their groove. 

We got a call from Room Service asking what we would like in our upcoming mini bar that will be replenished when we arrive in Buenos Aries.  With over 800 elite they are smart to do this cause so many need to edit it anyways and will save them time in the end.  For us we want all Vodka and no tonic water replace it with soda water.

Jasper Enjoying Captain Circle Party as an Elite Member now

The second sea day we were up early so we decided to go to the dining room as soon as it opened for breakfast.  I was craving pancakes but it was not meant to be in the end.  We are sat right away at a table for two in a large row of twos along the bench seating.  They take our order and then we wait and wait and wait.  A half hour later we got our pancakes for me and Bernie eggs with pancakes.  I wanted sausage with my pancakes but they were not there so I asked and it was delivered quickly.  I spread the whipped butter onto the pancakes and right away I see the butter is not even melting.  Hmmmm pour on the syrup and take a bite and they are ice cold.  Bernie’s eggs are overcooked and his pancakes are cold.  We just got up and left after a few bites.

Bernie went up to Horizon Court for some oatmeal and I decide to try an egg sandwich at the Horizon Court.  I wait for it to get heated up and I sit at the coffee bar to enjoy but the one side of the English Muffin is hard as a rock, I can actually knock on it and I try to bite it but it is hard I am afraid I might break a tooth.  They seem to have heated it up on a flat griddle and caused it to become like this.  I go back to the International Café for a new one and ask for it not to be cooked as long.  He just gets me one without heating it up at all and I am given it and I touch it and it is cold and just hand it back to him and say no thanks.

Oh no… this day is not starting out very well.  I go sit in Vines and wait for Bernie who comes down and he looks frustrated too and tells me he enjoyed his oatmeal but with them serving us it is hard, not enough milk added and too much sugar as the staff do the adding.  But we can deal with that and understand why they are doing it.  He tells me too that he tried a yoghurt from the HC and it comes in a container and it was warm.

He needs a tea but the queue is LONG and so we sit down and when I see Beatrix and I tell here we need her help, she smiles ear to ear and says “anything for you” and she delivers me my latte and Bernie his tea made perfectly.  Ahhh this day is getting better.

I do want to say the staff are doing an amazing job and cleaning the ship and dealing with all this extra work.  The Captain does inform us that they are gaining the upper hand on it and we have our fingers crossed this will end soon.

We have been enjoying the Port Lecturer Julio Delgado.  He is very knowledgeable on every port and he has great pictures.  I also love that the lectures are televised in the cabin the next day on channel 44 so we can watch at our leisure and take notes too.  His Rio lecture was very good.  He also has desk hours so that you can ask him questions too.

Cameron the Captain Circle Host, sailed with his on Emerald 

Lots of activities throughout the day but we end up going up on the sun deck to get some sun and some swimming and we relax.  It is very very hot and humid and 60 spf is in order. 

I tried to go to the casino but when I put my card in the machine to set it up it says there was a problem.  I went to the cashier and asked and they checked it and they said there was no problem and to go to the purser’s desk.  I take this as a sign and decide maybe the casino is not something I should be doing.  I will add the casino seems to be dead this voyage.  But I know the shorter 7 day voyages it is crazy busy and makes up for these longer voyages.

We also had Captain Circle Parties over the past few days.  They had to hold four different parties because of so many Platinum and Elite Members.  Our party was the second night at 7:30.  We notice a few differences implemented because of the Red Alert.  Captain is not there to shake everyone’s hand but he does do a speech and he talks for quite a while and he is hilarious.  Could act as a comedian on board I say.  There are also not handing out any appetizers, which is fine but we do enjoy two cocktails.

May 22 Beatuiful Victoria

Last Day - But Victoria First
We sleep in and have a relaxing morning. Bernie goes down to the duty free to pick up some booze! Love the fact we are just driving home, so we stock up.

Today we are attending a get together that Richard, the Cruise Director has organized for the Cruise Critic group to meet the officers. We all gather in the Wheelhouse bar at 11, where a few of the officers are in attendance.

Bernie and Claudio the Passenger Services Director

Me with Marilyn from Cruise Critic, a wealth of information!

Claudio with two lovely ladies.

Adam the Assistant Cruise Director

Karin and I with Captain Foster





Here is Richard with his new feather boa as a reminder of us.






Jerry and his new hat. It was good for a laugh

We say goodbye to Jose, till the next time.

We weren't getting into Victoria until later, around 7 pm and neither of us felt like dressing up and heading to the dining room so we went up to the Horizon Court for a quick meal. Up there we ran into Jeanie and Harry and invited them to join us ashore in our beautiful Capital city.

Here we are -- arriving in Victoria.

Now the port is a short walk to town, about 15 minutes thru lovely residential areas. You can easily catch a taxi, and there were quite of few tours too. We chose to walk as it was a lovely evening.

Lovely Karin with a blooming Clematis

Our Parliament building

the lovely ladies

The Inner Harbour

Stunning artwork at the Victoria Conference Centre

Making friends with a local moose.

Jeannie is caught dancing in the streets.

Where to?

John's comment was in the US their lighthouses are on the water... smart !

Funny place for a canoe.

We take everyone to the pub that Bernie and I went to after we just got engaged that night. Now this was a while ago, but the pub is still there. It is tiny and crowded. We sit and enjoy a beer, but we are tired.

Time to head back to the ship. We all walk back, and we don't really want to go back, there is so much going on in Victoria tonight and I feel like we are teenagers having to get back for curfew.

The Parliament buildings all lite up.

Back on board now just before 10 pm. We sail at 10 and we need to get our bags out. So we head to the room and pack.

Hard to believe we are getting off tomorrow.