Ocean Terrace Seafood Menu

Ocean Medallion Accessories

Now that the Ocean Medallion is coming out at a steady pace many of you are looking at accessories.  

While on the Royal in 2019 the Ocean Medallion kiosk was set up on the Starboard side of deck 6 midship, right near the Photo Department.

Here you could buy a variety of accessories.  Above is the clip that cost $8 each.  They come in a variety of colours including one for each loyalty level.  We bought the clip and really like the flexibility of it and being able to clip it on to almost anything.  Although Bernie did clip it to his pocket and with always putting his hands in and out it did fall off on occasion.

The plastic band for $12.  Also came in a variety of colours.  This is handy but I hate wearing a rubber bracelet and is a pain if you also wear a watch/bracelet.  I have seen others on line buying a fitbit band for a minimal costs too but for the small price difference I would just get the one onboard. 

I like the idea of the gold/silver plated bracelets but found them to be way to pricey for my budget.

Silver or Gold plated necklace with pendant.  Again way to pricey for my pocket book.

These are inserts you can attach to your lanyard to customize it a bit.  Cute idea and at a minimal price it is a nice option but I hate wearing a lanyard so I opted out.  You can also buy an insert that represents your loyalty level.

Here is the clip we bought.  I really enjoyed it and glad I got it.

Parental Advisory Welcome Aboard Information

For our seven day Mexican Cruise I was surprised to see this Parental Advisory Information.

It was delivered to every cabin.  I thought it was very informative and helpful for those with children, but also those that did not have children.  This way everyone had the information.

Sunday – Day at Sea

We wake rested and confused.  During the night Bernie went to the washroom and I could tell he was not sure where the bed was and that he did not have to crawl over the bed to get in like in our old cabin. 

Today we have some housekeeping items to do.  We call to exchange our mini bar.  We actually have a lot of stuff to drink.  A few friends from the last sailing gave us their leftovers – including wine, soda, beer and even Vodka. 

We also have two laundry bag of items to get cleaned.  Bernie needs his suit cleaned and I have some blouses that need cleaning – plus the usual stuff.  Nice to have this perk back and I am sure the laundry won’t take that long to get back as there are not that many Elites on board. 

Next we have to get our wifi cleared up.  For Bernie they see he is in transit as last sailing he was a guest of a guest entertainer but his Captain Circle number followed him (but the benefits don’t) so when he tries to log into the system today to get his wifi free minutes of 150 it is showing that his plan from last cruise has expired and has not cleared for this voyage.  For me the system clearly showed the free 150 minutes as the last voyage I was not connect to my Captain Circle Number so the system sees me as a new joiner.  A visit to the Internet Guru Lew fixes this and by the afternoon Bernie has his 150 minutes. 

People have been asking and I can confirm that when you first log in the system offers Platinum and Elite their free wifi of 150 minutes or you can purchase an unlimited plan for one device (although you an always log out of one device and use a different one) for a discounted rate of 20% off I believe.  But we turned it down as we should be able to manage with the 300 minutes for the 7 days.  Now the next cruise of 28 days it could be tough but they don’t offer an unlimited package as the Star is not ocean ready.  So blogging may slow down on that voyage. 

Next item is we never got our Ocean Medallions as we were unique as we were Guest Entertainers last sailing and this sailing we are guest.  First we went down to the Purser’s desk and asked them as we are the only two guest on board without a medallion.  The woman (who I won’t mention by name) said oh it is not a necessary as it is just a glorified key card.  Well that is technically true right now I thought but probably not a good thing for someone at the front desk to say that.  And that is where it was left – us still without our medallion.  Later we ran into one of the officers we know and they asked how we liked the Medallion and when I explained the situation they went and got us our new medallions.

Last sailing everyone had a blue medallion as they were just rolling it out.  This sailing the medallion colour reflects your loyalty level.  So we have a black one.  The first thing I wanted to do was buy a clip or even a bracelet to put the medallion in.  But the price of the bracelet is too high for my liking at $60 for the silver and $65 for the gold.  But the clip is only $8 and you buy the clip.  I bought the black one.  Not sure if they are only selling the colour that matches your loyalty or not but I bought black.  There are other colours like pink so unless that represents Ruby who knows.  Note there is no elite discount of 10% when you buy things in the photo department, where the accessories are sold.

We are also had to turn in our invite for the Most Travelled Guest Cocktail Party.  Yes it is a cocktail party which we prefer.  It is going to be held on the evening of Puerto Vallarta in Club 6.   We are the 5^th Most Travelled Guest on board this sailing. 

Also during this cruise Bernie celebrates his 750^th day on board Princess but we have been told it will be celebrated on his next sailing.  So when we board the Star it should be noted and we will get the Milestone celebrations then.

So that is all our housekeeping things done.  And mixed throughout those things were lots of different activities. 

Breakfast up in Horizon Court with everyone trying to figure out the buffet.  Remember we have just come off a 49 day voyage where the guest knew the layout and now it is mass confusion but give it a few days and it will be all good.

Then a coffee and some reading and then I joined Matt O in his line dancing in the Atrium along with a lot of other people.  Matt does such a great job and it is so much fun! 

I then went and enjoyed our friend Meghan’s balcony – she has one of those jutted out balconies under the sea walk.  She is on Dolphin deck so she is in a perfect spot.  And we had a lot of room for the two chairs and small table.  I would definitely consider this location in the future.  But it is a Deluxe balcony and I really dislike the couch because of the lack storage.  Much prefer cupboard/drawers instead of a couch. 

Turn Around Day - The Royal Princess in Los Angeles!

Officers on Board

We docked early and we are along side at the pier.  Not at the regular terminal Princess uses but the one right next door.  Sorry can’t recall the number but the one right beside the USS Iowa.  The terminal is a large enclosed structure – like something that would cover a tennis court.  

It works but it is certainly not as nice as the other pier.  Note the Royal is too big for that pier.

Disembarkation was slower than normal because this is the first stop for the Royal in the US since it left Fort Lauderdale February 2.  Heightened inspection and security was in place.  All the crew had to go through Immigration and for some they waited up to three hours to go through.  Plus they still had to do their regular job.

For us we had to change cabins.  Not a difficult procedure but we had to move all our own stuff since we moved from a crew cabin to a passenger cabin. It was easy as we used the crew elevator and up to deck 12.

Although our cabin was not ready yet, we were allowed to put our bags in the closet and left our steward to clean whenever he could (note he too had to go thru immigration). 

At 11:45 we met in Club 6 along with a handful of in transit guest.  I don’t remember the last time there were so few in transit.  In total we were around 38 – and some were guest entertainers and some workers.

We were directed off the ship into the terminal where we had to queue up for immigration.  Sadly the officer stamped our passport.  Normally they do not as we are technically NOT entering the US, we are in transit.  But they did and again another stamp on a blank page is taken up.  Oh well who am I to argue.

We then are directed outside and to the entrance and queue up all again to go thru security.  No liquids!  Then we are directed to a large waiting area where we are among a few thousand.  Of course many people are here waiting to board, even though they were directed to come late as the process would be delayed. 

In all we were off the ship for maybe an hour.  It is a pain that LA is the only port that makes all in transit go thru security again.   I prefer the process in Fort Lauderdale.

Passengers Again

Have to say that both of us have really been looking forward to being passengers again.  Today marks that day as we sail the first seven day Mexican Itinerary.  

We move from our Guest Entertainer's cabin.  Which I must say was quite nice and had two portholes to an inside sideways cabin on Aloha deck.

I know Bernie is happy to be getting the free laundry back - especially the ironing.  

We have lots of good friends coming on board this sailing - John and Leslie, Darcy, and our friend Meghan.

I have always enjoyed the 7 day Mexican Riviera cruise and I am excited to be doing it again after two years.

I am sad too because this will be our last sailing with Michael Prasse the Hotel General Manager for a while.  He will be on this ship (unless he changes) on the West Coast and we don't foresee sailing the West Coast now that we live on the East Coast.

So sit back and enjoy as I continue with my blogging.  I have missed doing it, but I also enjoyed the freedom of not having to do it daily.  So I can mention now that I am not sure how often I will report but when the urge hits and I have something to say I will report. 

Wake Show Appearance

As many of you know I am currently in the role as the Destination Expert on board the Royal Princess currently.

Loving It!!

This morning I was on the Wake Show! 

Here is the video.  Sorry sound is low.  I recorded it right from my tv in my cabin.

Our Oh My God Trip - 2019

As many of you know we recently retired and moved to Nova Scotia.  One stipulation was that we would be gone in the winter.  Well we did survive December and currently this is the snow we have! (actually we have more than that as this was a few days ago)  Ironically we had a green Christmas.

For years I have been following Yellow Fish Cruises blog as they spend their winters cruising (and more recently adding land holidays) and knew that we wanted to do the same.

I already knew we would be leaving early January and doing some Caribbean cruises.  January 12 - 26 was easily booked on the Royal Princess.  Bernie insists he has to be away for his birthday - who am I to argue.

Then I start my contract with Princess as their Destination Expert for the South America Grand Adventure.  They asked me to come a week early to do some crew training.  So we join Jan 26 for a week Caribbean cruise.

Then we sail on this amazing itinerary around the horn ending in Los Angeles in March.

We knew we did not want to head home late March as winter is NOT over then.  We also HAVE to attend the wedding of a very close friend in Vancouver mid May.  

It made no sense to fly all the way home. Then 5 weeks later fly all across the country again for the wedding, then fly back after the wedding.  Plus airfare would be crazy (around $4,500 total just in airfare)!  

So we started contemplating options of what to do when this cruise ends.

We had lots of options we weighed.  

• Stay on the ship and keep sailing.
• Get off the ship and try another cruise line to Mexico.
• Sail round trip on the Coral thru the Panama to Florida and then back to LA. But the dates did not work well.
• Get off ship and fly somewhere for a long stay holiday.
• We looked at places in Mexico.  Then we considered going to the Cook Islands.  Even thought of Australia.  Even though prices were reasonable it was adding up when you added air, accommodations, food, transfers, etc. 

So what did we decide.

On March 23 we will switch from Port Lecturer to passenger again on the Royal.  We will do a 7 day Mexican cruise (which we love).

Then when the Royal returns to LA we will get off and cross the pier and board the Star Princess for it's 28 Hawaii/South Pacific Cruise.  Have always wanted to visit the South Pacific but prices have been crazy.  We just got the cruise for $100 US a day for an obstructed ocean view.  So it was an easy decision.

It again returns to LA and again the Royal will be parked right beside us.  So we will get back on the Royal and sail a 7 day Mexican again and then stay on for the 7 day California Coastal cruise up to Vancouver.

We will get off a week before the wedding.  Rent a car, stay in an Airbnb, visit with old friends and finally attend Katrina and Rob's wedding before flying home a few days later.

In total we will be gone 4.5 months. In total we will visit 25 different countries.  Visit 63 ports.  Relax with 55 sea days.  And enjoy countless glasses of wine.

Since we won't be travelling as passengers on the 49 day South America cruise we will not have a WiFi package.  So I will not be blogging at all that voyage.  

Also since we are also as crew I don't really want to talk about that side of things out in social media for the respect of the crew, the Royal Princess, and Princess Cruises.  

I will be keeping a journal and may share some of it after the cruise but haven't decided yet.

Not sure how much blogging I will do prior or after but knowing me I will want to share with you all how great cruising is and how amazing the crew are.

One great thing is we have our nephew living with us currently (as he too recently moved back to Nova Scotia) and he will be here the whole time we are gone.  It worked out perfectly. 

Thanks for following - I know many of you have commented that you will be on one of the above cruises and like I responded to you in your comment "I really do want to meet up with you!" So make sure you say hi when you see us on board.

Disembarkation

Well it is over! I am in fact writing this the next day.  Let me try and jog my memory on how the day played out.

We don’t have a flight till much later (1:30) so we request a late disembarkation.

The alarm goes off at 7 am and we shower and pack up the last few items.

We make sure to be out of the cabin prior to 8 am as noted in the disembarkation information.  The stewards all need to work very hard to get all the cabins cleaned and ready for turn around. 

It is amazing how they pull it all off getting every cabin ready within a few hours.  Just think of a hotel that would have to do that.  It just would never happen!  So I am impressed.

I suggest the Allegro dining room for breakfast.  It closes at 8:30 today so we high tail it down there.  We head to the Aft elevator bank on our floor. We know the elevators will be busy so when Bernie gets one he rolls on his roller bag and I take the stairs down to deck 6.. 

It is relatively quiet in here.  I order the scrambled eggs with asparagus (the special) and we reflect on the cruise and how sad it is to leave.  But our future is exciting and we are looking forward to the rest of the year - stay tuned.

It is now around 8:30 am and they announce that they are ahead of schedule.  I am not surprised since there is only one other ship in port with us.

We sit in the International Cafe with Margaret and Liz (The Moms). Soon Dylan joins us for a last goodbye.

We run into Cruise Staff Nathalie who has some news.  She is heading to the Island Princess for a few weeks as Cruise Director.  This is a big step for her.  Her first time in this position.  It is only temporary but it is a step in the right direction and we are very proud of her.

We end up leaving the beautiful Royal Princess at 9:30 and we are in a taxi within 15 minutes.

At the airport after a short taxi ride and we are checking in.

Home by 9:00 pm - midnight in Florida.  

Thanks for following along.

Monday Evening – The Secret Silk

After a short nap we shower and dress for formal night. 

I will say that I have noticed a lot of lovely dressed passengers.  I would say from what I saw, about 75% of the passengers are dressed in formal attire and the other 25% are smart casual.

After a quick dinner in the Horizon Court where we enjoy a quick bite to eat.  Not very hungry.

We meet up with Todd and Sue in Vines for a drink and then we make our way to the 10:15 Production Show of the Secret Silk.

Here is a video taken from the Wake Show featuring the production show The Secret Silk.

We probably got to the theater at around 9:50 and there were seats still available but maybe not in the prime spots.  We took seats in the front row on the starboard side.

Sorry I am watching the Wake Show and writing at the same time and I keep getting distracted.

Again there are professional looking programs on the seats and we are excited to see the show again.

set before the show

It is hard for me as I don’t want to discuss too much to ruin it for you but I have to say the show is excellent and will keep you intrigued.

The story is clear and I notice a few added words that help with the story line. 

Also I check with Bernie to ask him if he recalls this or that but he says yes to most and maybe to a few other things.

I really catch more the second time.  I get to focus more on the production and the dancers while listening to the music. 

I especially enjoy the puppets and sitting up closely to see them.  However, sitting a bit further back in the center is probably the best to get the full effect.

Wonderful show! 

And on the way out I got to meet John Tartaglia the creator of The Secret Silk, what an honour.

We are back in Vines sitting with friends as Matt hosts the balloon drop and the dancing continues. 

But we are enjoying ourselves talking with everyone. Time flies and we notice the bar is closing, fewer and fewer people are out.  Soon we notice that it is just before 2 am!

Well that was a fun night.

Tomorrow is our last day of this cruise and last day of this amazing holiday.