Grenada

Oh what a fun night that was and I sleep so very soundly.  When I wake we are already docked in Grenada.

I get my blog written for yesterday and posted.  Bernie calls from upstairs to say that there is no reason to rush to the Sanctuary as a rain shower is passing.

I take my time. I get dressed, gather my items for a day of relaxation and head up to the Pastry Shop on Lido to get my soy latte.

The wonderful Indonesian crew member (sorry can’t recall his name) is so sweet and makes me a special latte made with love he says and it has an interesting foam art.  But can't post that picture.  Ahhh….

I get into the Sanctuary and you can see that we have had a downpour.  The chairs are covered though and it is relatively quiet in here.

When the rain stops though it is like a sauna and very hot!

I don’t think I am lounging for more than a few minutes when I need to get up and cool off in the pool.

Looks like quite a few people stayed on board.  We do love Grenada and the beach is our go to thing to do here but since we have an early departure and the skies are not cooperating we decide to stay on. 

Another great thing to do here is get a yummy meal. Our favorite is BB’s Crab Shack.

For those that like to tour – check out Fort George or head further afield to experience the spice island and what it has to offer.

Again the rains start and we all take shelter in the Sanctuary cabanas. 

The poor staff are so busy with covering the lounges, uncovering the lounges, changing towels, covering them again when it rains and repeating. 

At one point they all had on rain slickers – they nicknamed themselves the penguins.  Oh aren’t they adorable, but boy do they work hard.

We are in port with Jewel of the Seas an RCL ship.  It sure is small compared to us.

At 12:45 I head down to the Wheelhouse to partake in the Speedy Sudoku.  Kimmy is still there hosting the Jenga game and take a look at this Jenga tower!  

Nathalie is hosting the Sudoku.  There are not many of us but she makes it feel like we are the special ones to be attending this game with her.  Although I did not win, it is always fun to participate.  So try something new when on board next time.

I head up to the Horizon Court for lunch and it is an absolute ZOO!  Crowds of people force their way to the food items.  I have to strategically make my move to whatever is open.  I grab a big plate of salad and then aim for the toppings. I give up on some that there is no way I will get to without loosing a limb.

Of course it is crazy in here.  Everyone is just getting back on board and they are hungry.  Also the skies have opened and it is driving everyone indoors so why not eat.

 

I take what I can and head back to the tranquility of the Sanctuary to eat it.

All aboard is 1:30 and the horn is sounded.  It appears there are a few people missing.  The horn sounds again.  Names are called, then names again.  It seems a family is still not back.

The gentleman beside us went off to investigate and came back saying a family was on the pier and they made it back on board just in time.  

We finally did leave and we noticed another ship (A Thompson Ship) is waiting to get in.  The pilots quickly get off our ship and head out to the other ship to lead them in. 

The rest of the afternoon was lovely. The rain stopped, or maybe the Captain just dodged all the rain clouds.  Either way I was appreciative and I am sure the Serenity Stewards were happy too.

I read a lot of my book and stared out at the seas.

At one point I watched a few sea birds (sorry no idea what they were) soaring in the air and couldn’t help notice how graceful they were.  I was just mesmerized and felt so lucky to be on this beautiful ship at this time. 

Of course as our vacation comes closer to the end I always reflect and get a little emotional and I am always so thankful for the blessing that have come our way.

I hope that others on cruises take the time to stop and enjoy the moment.  Take a look at that beautiful sky.  Spot the wildlife around you in the ocean and in the sky.  Listen to that song and the words.  Feel the wind on your face.  

And even more so that special person you are travelling with. Grab their hand and squeeze it tight.  We are all so blessed!

Two Sea Days – Sanctuary – Formal Night and So Much More

I know I have not written much in the two days we are at sea. Sorry.  Part is I think “what can I write that is interesting” and then the other reason is I have just been relaxing and no real time to write and post.  Wow first world problems I know.  But many of my followers have been asking and I have run into a lot of fans (and now considered new friends) who tell me they enjoy reading whatever I write. 

So I will indulge you, for those that are interested.

One thing that is great is this new Dinning Options flyer we get each day that shows where and what  you can get and when. Then on the back is “don’t miss items”. I now know this is on a testing basis for this ship only for a few sailing to see about the feedback.  Here are the two from the 2^nd Sea Day and the St. Thomas Day.

Both days were spent in the Sanctuary.  Both days were very windy in the Retreat area.  In fact the first day after we left Nassau it got very windy.  It was windy in the Sanctuary but not as bad as the Retreat Pool.  When we left the Sanctuary the entire Retreat Pool was empty. 

while we were in Nassau

While we were in Nassau, can you spot Roy and Sandra

The Captain came on mid day to inform us all that the winds are high and will delay our arrival into St. Thomas.  Same thing happened last sailing. Our arrival is now scheduled to arrive at around 11:15am.  They have not extended our departure time (like last voyage).  Shore Excursions have been adjusted to reflect our arrival.

The ship is moving.  You definitely feel it!  But it is not horrible.  Nothing on tables is moving around like we have seen in the past.

On the second sea day we wake to very high winds! In fact I was not sure if the forward deck would even be open because of it.  So I dress and head up early to check things out.  The Retreat Pool is open but no lounge chairs have been put out (they are still tied down).  It is crazy windy.  In fact it is very very hard to just get to the Sanctuary.  I learned quickly to walk right next to the glassed in wall with railing to make it.

Irena (the manager there) lets us know the Sanctuary is in fact open.  I can see that again the winds are not as bad there. 

We both layer the sunscreen on and bathing suits and head up stairs to the Sanctuary.  We have it booked for the entire day.

When we arrive Todd and Sue are in the first cabana and have it for the whole day.  They invite us to join them.  So we leave our lounge chairs covered and join them in their cabana.  Each cabana can accommodate four people but if you have four people they each have to have a lounge chair.  So if you book it and you have four people the other two also have to pay for two lounge chairs.  Which we had so we had good intentions to enjoy our lounge chairs but we never left the cabana.

Each cabana comes with a drink package.  It was very difficult to get more exact details of what is included and the cost - I asked, but it is just not available.  But here are the pictures of the sheet that describes what you get for alcohol. 

We got two bottles of wine (as they had it for the full day).

We drank those two bottles and I ordered another bottle. 

Then we had a bottle of Prosecco.  Needless to say we were all feeling good. 

The afternoon got very very hot and being sheltered from the wind in the Cabana made it enjoyable.

Bernie has received the gift of that cold that everyone seems to have.  It is rampant all over North America and it is spreading on board too with new people coming on with new germs.  I am sure even if we would have been at home we would of gotten it too.  I am just working hard to not get it too.

So after a full day Bernie crashes in the cabin and he wakes around 6:30 pm to tell me he is not up to getting dressed and heading out.  I agree he needs to rest so he takes some cold meds. and sleeps.

Me I shower and head out for the evening. 

I arrive in the Atrium just in time to witness the Senior Officers get introduced.  I then meet up with Dylan and we go for a drink in Vines. 

After the drink we head up to the Ocean Terrace to have sushi.  It was very good! 

Dylan heads back to his cabin as he has early hours tomorrow and I then run into Sue and Todd in Vines.    We all head to the 10:15 showing of Encore.

This time we sit on the right side, second row.  Sadly the woman next to me has drips of water falling on her.  I recall this exact spot had the exact same problem two years ago.  I really wonder if it has even been fixed since then? Sure it could be an ongoing issue and I have been told it is condensation but something should be done so passengers don't have water dripping on them.  Or close off that seat permanently. 

Thankfully the woman in that seat is taking it with stride and is laughing about it.  I offer her the napkin from drink.

So don’t sit in the second row, second seat in from the aisle on the starboard side.

The show was still AMAZING.  It is a singing show.  There is some dancing but not like other shows in the past.  Instead it focuses on the stunning voices of the singers and guest Soprano with touches of dancing.

The Princess Orchestra is a big focus too. They do a few instrumental numbers that are quite powerful.

After the show I wander around a bit by myself and spend a bit of money in casino – correction donate some money in the casino. 

I walk back to the cabin via Club 6 where the dance floor is hoping.  I dance a quick song with Nathalie from the cruise staff.  Then I am back in the cabin around midnight!

What a fun night!

Nassau and the Sanctuary

Today we are docked in Nassau and arrival is early.  We did not sleep very well.  Again those worrying issues about my aunts is on my mind.

We are heading up to the Sanctuary for the entire day.

Nassau is lovely if you can get away from the downtown area.  But we have a 12:30 all aboard so for us we have agreed that the Sanctuary is where we are meant to be.  We look forward to a full day of relaxation.

Bernie heads down to the international café to get coffees and says a lot of people are already off.

Oh I wanted to share this new food listing we got with the Patter today.  It lists all the dining venues their times and what they are featuring.  What special items you can get – like made to order omelets.  Also the times for each venue.  Well done Princess.  I later find out that Princess is trying this on a trial run to see how it goes.  I like it, but it is missing Alfredos.

I did notice yesterday when I was doing the Princess end of cruise survey that they had extra questions about food items.  Like do you know about Alfredos freshly made pizza, sushi bar, omelet station etc.  I of course knew about all the items they mentioned but I am sure many don’t know.  This extra sheet with detailed information will really help new cruisers or new cruisers to the Royal Princess.

Well we are off to the Sanctuary.  Will write more later.

Grenada

We dock early – 7 am – and I don’t even hear the call that people can go ashore.  We end up waking at 8:30 and are slow to get moving.  I type up my blog and post it.  Have to be cautious of my minutes as I have used quite a bit this voyage with the blog and posting pictures and I need to save some for banking and personal stuff.

Today we have the Sanctuary booked all day.  

Although we do love Grenada with such an early departure we thought it would be best to hang out on the open decks and we do love the Sanctuary.

I really don’t know what to write! 

Our day was spent up in the Sanctuary from around 9 am until 3 pm up there.  Tudor sat us and made sure my latte was ordered.  The crew again pamper us. 

It is not very busy up here in the morning as we are in port.  But the afternoon session is VERY busy, full actually.

While in port it is so very HOT. You really miss that breeze when you are staying still and once we depart the breeze helps a lot.

There was a regatta of some sorts happening today in Grenada which made leaving the dock rather challenging for Captain Nash.  Sail boats racing really don’t want to make way for a HUGE ship.  But Captain handled it very well.

We were in port with a Thompson Cruise ship and there was a ship tendering in.  Both were rather small – and combined they do not equal the passenger count that we are.

I want to share what happened in the elevator going up to the Sun deck. A couple who were French from France were waiting at the elevator bank and speaking French and saying insulting things about the island of Grenada.  Of course they did not know I speak French.  I responded that the beaches here are amazing but sadly because we are not here long and leave early afternoon it makes it difficult.  They still complained that this island is horrible and that many of these islands are not worth getting off to see.  I responded I was sorry to hear that but the ship is a beautiful destination.  They sort of agreed, but then complained about the ship.  My final response was “well I hope you have a good holiday”.  

But sadly I do not think that will happen.  I am a glass half full woman, there is beauty in everything you just have to choose to look for it instead of the ugly things.  And even ugly things have beauty!  

Sure many of these ports are not full of shops and stunning white sand beaches, but heck this is the Caribbean.  Can you get any more beauty then sailing towards Grenada and the lush mountain sides with the smell of spice in the air? 

The beaches here and around and some Caribbean islands have breathtaking black sand beaches from the volcanoes.  The people here are so friendly and I love hearing their languages spoken. 

Travel is meant to expand our senses, to try new things, hear new things, and taste new things. So get out and embrace it, whatever you do.

Sometimes as travellers we take our baggage with us.  A Caribbean vacation is a time to relax and unwind.  We need to take Princess’ slogan to heart “Come Back New”.

Okay, back to today.  We ordered lunch up in the Sanctuary – Bernie had the shrimp and crudities, me I had the tuna salad and gazpacho.  

We head back to the cabin around 3 pm - skipping  afternoon tea – I know crazy but true.  Before heading out we reserved our lounges for the next cruise.  We have booked the first sea day, Antigua and 2nd to last sea day.

I wanted to check out the cameras on board and was going to buy one of the underwater cameras but changed my mind when I heard that you do not get the 10% elite discount in the photo department.  You only get the discount in the boutiques.

Tonight was even quieter.  The Captain Circle Parties are happening tonight.  I know there are three parties but we decide to skip it this voyage and to get some martinis and to chat with Stefan, Felix, Farrell.  It is quiet – funny same thing happened last cruise on this day too.

We have dinner upstairs in Horizon Court.  Really enjoyed the Greek section having stuffed peppers and a greek salad. 

They are doing the Crab Shack tonight too.  This 10 day hosts the Crab Shack only one night per cruise so make sure you reserve you spot when boarding.

We wander around a bit but there really is nothing that we want to attend and since we missed our nap during our stressful day – ha ha, we head back to the cabin and watch the movie ET.  Boy it has been a long time since I have seen that movie.

 

2nd Sea Day

I wish I could come up with something exciting but we really did not do much.

We woke, we lathered on the sunscreen, got on our bathing suits and went up to the Sanctuary.  We had reserved a few days up here and today is one of them.  It is full today.  Every lounge and Cabana is spoken for.

wonder where this plane is going

The weather was perfect, lovely sunshine, not too hot either.  We did encounter a light shower but we were able to take shelter and enjoy our lunch and then when we were done with that we returned to our seats.

Cost for the Sanctuary is $20 for half day $40 for a full day for the lounge chairs. 

We felt guilty enjoying afternoon tea without Meghan but Bernie insisted he had to have an extra scone for Meghan since she is not on board anymore.

The day could not of been any better – I am sitting back in the cabin and I feel like jello – so relaxed.  Yup I will definitely come back new.

Again lots happening all over the ship today including:  lawn bowling, Zumba, Mah’ Jong, Bridge and Card Players, New Cruisers Welcome Event, Shopping Spotlight show (10 am), Pop Choir Rehearsal, Morning Movie is Beauty and the Beast, Holiday Store at Sea, Future Cruise Presentation, Bingo, Blackjack Tournament, Enrichment Lecture: Pirate Life, Art Auction, Origami, Pool Games and so much more.

Tonight is our first formal night. The Captain’s Welcome Aboard Party is at 7 pm.  Muts is showing Murder on the Orient Express, Tribond Trivia Challenge, Production Show Encore – 8:15 and 10:15, and Liar’s Club.  Plus much more.

Horizon Court theme is Mexican Corner plus lots more.

Photo Department is doing a photo finder raffle.

Tomorrow we dock in St. Thomas and right now our plans are to go to the beach.  So stay tuned.

St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

Today we are docking at Havensight in Charlotte Amalie.  

The temperatures predicted is 25C/78F with a few showers.  It is hot and muggy when we open our balcony door first thing in the morning.

There are only two ships in port today.  Celebrity Reflection is at Crown Bay and we are the only ones at Havensight.

Right away when you look at the island you can see the damage from the hurricanes and apparently a lot has been repaired but it is definitely an issue.

even hooters is closed

The Paradise Lift to the top of the mountain is still not operating and personally I don’t see it opening any time soon.  Apparently (from a local) two of the pillars that support the cars have to be replaced and I can’t see that happening soon.  Cables are slack in areas and the look out at the top does not appear to have any action. 

Added note -- as of late February the Chair lift was open.

The stores at Havensight are open, but again there are quite a few that are not open. 

We decide to try and find a dive shop so I can buy an O ring for my snorkel mask but the shop they refer me to is now closed due to damage.  We walk along the main street to the Kmart and you can see a lot of damage.  Gas Station roofs over the tanks have huge sections missing.  The Kmart sign is missing a few letters.  Random signs are missing letters.

But the island is so happy to see ships back and they are all very much need our support.

We do buy a few items – including two beautiful bamboo cloth shirts for Bernie.

We get back on around 11:30 and we are heading up to the Sanctuary this afternoon.  It is quiet on the ship and the Sanctuary is lovely and perfect for our afternoon.

The sun is out but we thankfully have arranged our chairs so that we are in the shade.  The staff up here bring us water and a cold cloth.  We place an order for lunch. 

We each got a vegetarian burger (which was actually not very good – they need to grill that patty – the one we had was very mushy with no texture at all).  Bernie also got the gazpacho and I got a citrus plate.  Oh those items were yummy.

At around 3:15 the skies open and we take cover in the enclosed area to enjoy afternoon tea.  Meghan is up here too and we enjoy some girl time. 

The Sanctuary is a lovely treat and I always enjoy coming up here.

Tonight is formal night.  It is also the Most Travelled Cocktail Party.  The party is held in Club 6 and the Royal Princess does the MTP the best of any ship.  Great drinks, great foods and the company is pretty great too.

Also tonight is the Production Show Encore and I really want to make some time to see it.  We haven’t even seen a show yet this trip.  Some cruises are like that but we will try and get to this one.  Stay tuned.

Other events happening tonight:

Sunset Quartet in the Atrium

MUTS is showing Wonder Woman

Comedy Showtime Mike Wilson

Stargazing at Sea Presentation

Showtime:  Encore 8:15 and 10:15

Topaz in the Piazza

The Marriage Match Game

Balloon Drop Dance Party in the Atrium

Nassua

Today is another noon arrival.  It seems everyone needs a sleep in after so many port days.

We are no different, except I wake at 630 and read for quite a while then fall back asleep.  Apparently it was rough seas last night but I found it quite good, sure there was movement but not as bad as I thought it would be.

We relax and watched the movie Bad Moms which was good for a laugh.

I head up to the Horizon Court for a late breakfast and as I am sitting there I see a familiar face.  At the same time looks at me and we immediately are shocked.  Giovanni! 

We first met him two years ago on the Crown Princess when he was Mark’s assistant.  We all went out in Victoria where I showed them around.  You can read that trip here.

We hug and catch up.  We can not believe we have not seen each other until today, but that is how ships are.

He has just gotten on and will still be on in September when we return.

I head out to the open deck to watch the sail in.  It sure is a nice sail in.  And boy kudos to the Captain.  He basically turns the ship around and backs in.  Heck most people could not back their car up like he manages this ship.

We are at the furthest away pier.  Disney Dream is in port along with an RCL ship and a Carnival ship that leaves early. Not too crazy but still busy.

We haven’t been here since our first Princess cruise 20 years ago.

We are just about to dock and everyone is crowding the stairs to the gangway.  For me I head back to the cabin and layer on the sunscreen as the Sanctuary has 2 chairs for us.

Yes again today we are not going ashore.  So for the first time ever we basically did not get off the ship the entire ten days (except for a short stop in Aruba to get wine).  At first we felt a little guilty but we both said we needed this.

With a great cabin, and a stunning ship, and trying to limit spending we did what was right for us.

The Sanctuary is not busy at all.   We stare out at the port and enjoy the sunshine.  A lot of people stayed on board.

Departure is 630 but we are late leaving, and I can not recall why.

We had signed up for EZ check but we get a call in the cabin to say we can not use the service because of the international flight we are on.  Okay… we go and get luggage tags.  We take the latest tags we can get (1025). 

That is odd though, since we have used the EZ check service a few times now, all times from, Florida and all have been international flights.  Oh well, who am I to argue.

So we begin the task of packing.  Having the couch in the cabin helps with the packing.  We really did not bring that much and since many of the items we brought were gifts for friends we are a lot lighter going home.

We dress for dinner and head out for our final evening.  We are sad.

As we sit in Vines enjoying our last few glasses of wine we reflect on the voyage.  We both feel so blessed and grateful.

Tonight I suggest Alfredos for dinner and Bernie is agreeing before I even finish the sentence.  So yummy.

Now there really has not been anything that I had noticed that could use some improvement until tonight.  The head waiter in Alfredos. 

Each time we have been here I have noticed him. He seems to pace the entire place and just outside Alfredos.  Bernie thinks he is trying to get his steps in. The guy never smiles. In fact it seems like he is really not happy here. At first I thought oh he must be at the end of his contract. Nope he just at the beginning apparently.

Tonight it seems even worse.  I comment to Bernie that this guy looks bored to death.  Why doesn’t he come around and see how people’s meals are? Nope, he does not approach a single table.  

Okay my rant is over. I will put this in the survey. 

Thankfully all the wait staff there are top notch and don’t seem to be affected by this guy.

After dinner we head down to Ben and Dylan’s cabin for our final goodbyes.  We have really gotten close to them this year and we have a special bond with them (they are the 2 we went to Peru with)  Love you guys.

Back to the cabin around 11 and we do our final packing and put our bags out.

We sit out on the balcony for the last time.  Oh what a nice cruise.