Monday - Evening at Chops

This review is my own personal experience... if you would like more information about cruising check out my Facebook Fan Page Cruising-Princess-Cruiseline-with-Vickie where knowledgeable cruisers share their experiences.

 

 

 

We met Fran and Curt a few years ago on the Emerald Princess and we found out thru Cruisecritic that we would be sailing together again.  For sailaway from Labadee they invited us to their cabin for some wine and cheese. 

 

 

We were scheduled to sailaway at 5 pm as per our itinerary and we headed to their cabin at 4:30 but as soon as we went out on the deck we were pulling away.  A half hour early, I guess cause everyone is on board they left, but a half hour early?

 

 

Fran and Curt were gracious hosts, we loved the wine and cheese and we had some good laughs.  Ultimately this is what cruising is all about, those gatherings with other cruisers over a glass of wine, a coffee, a meal, getting to know about them and sharing your day.  Thank you both for a lovely evening.

 

Before dinner we went to our new favorite lounge "Schooners" it is up on deck 6 and you can look down on the Promenade and people watch.  I ordered a lemon drop martini, very good but a bit too sweet for me, but somehow I managed to drink it. 

 

Tonight we have reservations at Chops for 6:30, the key for us is to ensure we get a quieter table.  When we arrive we request a table outside as it is quieter but are told it is already filled with too many tables for the waiter.  I am confused as there are only two tables occupied out there and I am like okay but this is the second time we have been told "no" and I am disappointed.  She does direct us to a nice table though.  We are given a table for two beside the window with a two top table beside us on each side, but it is quieter.  We can actually chat, but I know the tables in the middle or at the back wall are having trouble hearing each other.

The place is packed and you can see and experience how the waiters are run off their feet.   We get a bottle of wine from our wine package (Castle Rock) and again they use the aerator and let us know we can buy it if we want. 

I get the spicy tuna for an appetizer and Bernie gets the goat cheese souffle both were amazing a definite 10 out of 10.  And both are beautifully presented.  Oh I should add the bread they served was yummy too.

 

 

Then Bernie got their signature salad and I got the french onion soup, both were good but prefer Princess' french onion soup, but these were good a 7 out of 10.

 

For our main entree I get the petite fillet mignon and it is cooked perfectly.  Bernie got the veal chop and he loved it too.  The sides are served family style and we get what was recommended, the roasted potatoes, green beans and also mushrooms, all were done top notch - amazing.  They also come along with sauces for the steak which I loved as I enjoy Bearnaise sauce with my steak and normally I have to ask for this extra but at Chops they come by and offer you a variety of sauces.  But I do miss the different salts that are served with Steaks at the Crown grill, but certainly not a deal breaker.  I felt the main dish and all the food served were the some of the best meals we have had on board.

 

For dessert I had the mud pie which was well damn good.  Bernie got the red velvet cake.  Both pieces were huge -- actually too big and neither of us could finish them.  The red velvet cake was good but it taste exactly like the red velvet cupcakes served at the cupcake store right down to the icing.

 

 

 

 

We are stuffed but content - a great meal and the service was better tonight.  Even though a tip is not necessary as you already tip thru your pre paid gratuities we tip extra tonight. 

 

 

 

We then went to the Schooner Bar to play some Beatles Trivia, we joined another couple and had some fun, but didn't win.  But I have to say the prizes here on RCI are much better than many we have gotten on Princess.  I played the Sudoku challenge earlier and even though I didn't win I got a key chain.  But we do notice there are not a lot of these games/challenges.  There is only one general trivia a day and each evening a themed trivia like the Beatles one.  They don't seem well attended and often it is hard to participate as the sounds elsewhere around us make it hard to hear anything.  They only had one Sudoku challenge the whole cruise - sad for me as this is one of my favorites.

 

We head back to the cabin and we are happy as we finally had to leave a note for our steward asking for three towels every day please and some moisturizer, and we were provided with both.  I am not sure if I mentioned but yesterday we got a chocolate on the pillow and a towel animal.  I later find out that they only provide a chocolate and towel animal on formal nights -- odd and certainly not a deal breaker but it is all these little things that add up to make the experience better.

 

 

Monday - Labadee

This review is my own personal experience... if you would like more information about cruising check out my Facebook Fan Page Cruising-Princess-Cruiseline-with-Vickie where knowledgeable cruisers share their experiences.

 

We wake up just before 8:30 from our alarm clock as we had pre reserved the Breakfast in Bed from our Romance Package.  But 9 am came and still no breakfast.  I call room service to see what is happening.  Of course they never got the request from the head waiter we gave it to yesterday.  They ask for the name of the head waiter and well I can't remember his name.  I remember he is from Indian and it started with an H on Deck 5 in the dining room.  She mentions a name and I say yup that is him.  She says she will check and get back to us. 

Five minutes later she calls and she can't find him and asks for our requests so she can fill it.  I ask for her to tell me what they have again.  I ordered 2 bloody mary drinks, 1 hot tea, 1 cinnamon french toast, 1 western omelet, 1 milk, and 2 orange juices.

It arrives at 9:30 an hour after our original time.  Sadly the french toast is cold.  My eggs were very good, the pastries are nice.  The bloody mary were way too spicy, and we love spice but we couldn't drink them.

Overall my advice, don't waste your money on this romance package.  It has been a pain getting the items and the breakfast was very disappointing.  We did enjoy the champagne and the cupcakes and will enjoy the picture with the frame too. 

Initially I loved that RCI offered all these packages and gifts but since our experience has been so poor we would never do it again or even look at another package.  RCI is really dropping the ball hee, unless they get repeat cruisers to keep booking these packages they are limiting how many will buy them.

Something I just remembered:  RCI has these really cute beer coolers that hold five beers.  You get the cooler with the five bottle of beer package.  He enquires about the cost and finds out that the cooler on it's own is $10, or you save 10% off the cooler ($9) if you get the five beers.  But he doesn't go for it as there is no way to close the cooler, and he does have a similar one at home - I remind him. 

Today we are in Labadee.  first I will discuss the disembarkation.  They have it down pat, and it was so easy, very impressive and sure beats tendering to any private island.  When you get in the elevator you press the button that says gangway and it takes you to the gangway and announces gangway too.  Then there are screens pointing you in the direction of the gangway.  There is a crew member right there advising passengers to have their cruise cards out.  You take a short escalator ride down and there are numerous machines to put your cruise card in and you are off.  This felt so well done that it felt like we were on a ship of a 1,000 instead of 6,000.

 

 

 

The pier is very long.  The resort area is huge!  It certainly didn't feel crowded.  We walked to the end to Adrenaline beach - note there is a small shuttle train that can transport you as well.  We arrive to the beach and one of the staff was quick to get us two chairs and place them just where we wanted.  Have to say this resort is top notch, huge though so be prepared.

 

 

complimentary shuttle

 

The water was lovely, very shallow for a long way, there are lots of rocks but this is normal but if you are sensitive you should wear water shoes.

 

 

 

A few bar staff wandered around but they were selling the day's drink the Labadoozie and that just wasn't something I wanted.  I asked if he had a menu but he didn't so I didn't get anything, but those Labadoozies looked good, I just didn't want another souvenir cup. 



 

 

The zip line was right above us, we thought of doing it but after hearing it was $89 per person and you only get to do it once we said no way, we can't justify that cost.  We have done all day zip line trips that included transportation and a meal for $10 more.

 

our view from our chairs



 

 

We originally were going to stay all day but I was breaking out in a rash (figure it was from the sun or something I ate and I needed to get back onboard to get some antihistamines).  So after three hours ashore we wander our way back on board.  They did have a few locations where they were serving the barbecue and it looked good but we didn't try it so can't comment.

 

We head thru the security check point, now here is an important note.  Don't take off food from the ship and don't bring any back on either.  Even with signs all over and in the Compass the guy in front of us at security had a banana, pear, apple, 2 kiwis and yes 3 hard boiled eggs.  All were confiscated and thrown out.

 

Once back on board we head to grab a bit to eat at Central Park Cafe, one of our preferred spots to eat.  I had a large salad and jerk chicken wrap and it was just right, and what a nice place to eat on the balcony on central park.

We decide to try out the Solarium and get two lounge chairs and relax.  We have a lovey view of Labadee and it is relatively quiet and we get a chance to really rest.  But it does start to get busier and because the ceiling is glass with intermittent openings sound bounces off it.  I say this because this man in the hot tub near us talked so loudly that everyone around us kept turning and giving him dirty looks, but he didn't get the hint and we all had to listen to him go on and on about his job, and his step kids, and his ex.

 

Next blog report will be our dinner at Chops. 

 

 



Royal Caribbean Here I Come

Can you believe it!  Here I am a huge Princess Fan, have sailed with them for over ten years now, have done 30 cruises with them!  I had sailed four times with Carnival but found it wasn’t a good fit for us and really like what Princess offered.

Then of course Princess’ Loyalty Program kept us going back.  At first it was to get to Platinum, then Elite was our next goal.  And now that we are at that stage we really appreciate all that comes with that status:  free laundry, mini bar, priority tendering, afternoon tea in our cabin, wine tasting, wifi package, priority embarkation etc.  And now we are getting loyalty on board credits.  A few years ago we purchased 100 shares of Carnival in order to get a shareholder benefit of an on board credit every time we sail on a Carnival owned line. 

So why try another line you may ask?

I really never thought about sailing another line until Oasis came out, then Allure with Royal Caribbean.  I know I know the ships are huge – 225,000 tons big, but there was something that was drawing me to them.  Being a cruise addict I wanted to see what they were like, how can a ship handle that many passengers. 

The  first drawback is it only does 7 day cruises out of Fort Lauderdale one ship sails Eastern Caribbean, the other Western Caribbean.  We don’t normally do 7 day cruises, our usual cruise is two ten days, usually on the Emerald. 

The second drawback is my honey (Bernie) isn’t interested in sailing on another line at all, especially RCL, feeling it would be more of a party cruise he feels.  Too flashy he says, too crowded he says, too expensive is his last comment.  Which is true Oasis and Allure are more expensive per day than most other Caribbean cruises. 

So for a long time we just didn’t look at either ship as an option.  Until now.

Next year in January we are sailing again in the Caribbean on the Emerald.  Originally we thought about tacking on the 7 day cruise to our Emerald voyage in January but the dates just didn’t line up unless we spent a few days in Fort Lauderdale and the price was high too.  But we have a week’s vacation in December of this year and after checking the prices for that week I brought up the option again to Bernie.  What about going to Fort Lauderdale and sailing on the Oasis in December?  Price is starting at $749 for an inside, and yes I am okay with an inside as this is an “extra” trip and balcony cabins are just way to pricy to justify this trip. 

He said yes!  So I booked, and I am still in shock that I am going on Oasis to the Western Caribbean.  Our ports will be Labadee, Haiti; Falmouth, Jamaica; and Cozumel, Mexico.  I have been to Jamaica and Cozumel before but never Labadee.

Now I am asking advice from friends who have sailed RCL for advice and what the difference between Princess and RCL.

One thing I have realized right away is RCL is much more high tech, their website is much easier to go thru, my reservation is easy to access, and the ability to book restaurants, and dining times, and even purchase gifts (Princess makes you print out an order form and fax it in) ahead of time a bonus.  Closer to sail date we will be able to reserve our entertainment and excursions.  I like this option and find it will be okay for our short seven day voyage but also find it will also mean our holiday is much more structured and filled.  As usually our cruises are much more relaxed and carefree with decisions made that day for what we want to do, including dine time, shows and events.  Normally the only thing we have scheduled is a specialty restaurant made a few days ahead of time; however we have made reservations the day of too.

So I hope to sail with an open mind to not compare the two lines until the end and to enjoy the change and the extra voyage we will get in before the end of the year.