First Day of Third Leg - Dinner at Crown Grill

Oh I hardly slept at all.  Why? I really don't know why.  I think the last time I looked at the clock it was 2:30 and we dock early and I know that will wake me up.

Sure enough around 6:30 I start hearing the sounds of pulling into port -- the pilot boat, the thrusters, and then docking and lots of movement outside our cabin.

Thank goodness for ear plugs.  I would not leave home without them.

First thing is we go and get a load of wash into the washing machine.  Yes we get free laundry on board but doing a load gets things clean and to square one for the next voyage.

Back in the cabin we pack up our stuff for our new cabin.  We are moving again.  I know some of you hate that and sure it would of been nice to be in the same cabin all three legs, but it just was not possible to do.  So it is the price we pay for booking last minute and getting a great deal. 

But truthfully it is not hard to move cabins and in all it takes about an hour of our time for packing and unpacking and it also allows us to clean up and reorganize.  Yes even our cabin tends to get messy with papers, purchased item and stuff.  

For breakfast we head up to the buffet just before 8 am.  It is good right now.  We get a plate and a table easily.  But just after 8 it is very crowded.  I am guessing this is due to the fact that people have to be out of their cabin at 8.

Of course many are frustrated.  They have their carry on bag, their documents, their kids, their food, their spouse and patience is at a minimum.  Some interesting people watching went on.

Once again we head to deck 5 and grab a coffee and relax for a bit before we head ashore.

I review our bill once again to add up what our drink cost was last week and it only came to $200 total for the both of us.  What! That seems low.  But we didn't really feel like we did without.  Last week it was $450.  We did carry over two bottles of wine from last week so that helped.

So for us the drink package just would not have been worth it for us again.  The price of the package is just under a $1,000 total for the two of us for 7 days (includes gratuity). But it is important for you to weigh out how much you drink and whether it would be worth it for you.

We head ashore around 9:30 and we are hit with the heat and muggy temperature!  Oh not sure if I could get use to this.

We walk over to Ross for Less and do some browsing.  Then over to Publix for some items.  Then of course we need to go to Total Wine.

Our friend Elkie is from Austria and we promised to bring her a bottle of Austrian wine from shore.  But we needed help finding Austrian wine so we asked a nice man.  Miguel is his name and he is from Portugal, he chatted with us for a bit and said he use to work for Princess.

Further conversation and we find out we know a quite a few similar people.  Including Antonio Pimpao who was Executive Housekeeper and lives in Portugal.   Small world! So here is a picture of him and he says hi Antonio (I know you are reading).

So after all the errands -- including Bernie getting his hair cut -- and lunch we walk back to Pier 2.  

The lines are not long but there is a bit of a wait for the initial security check, then the security screening (maybe 10 min).  Note we had wine, but it was only two bottles and they said that was fine for two.  Also you are not allowed to have any open liquid so empty those water bottles.

The gangway line is short and we take two pictures.  One for the new Medallion system and one for the old hand held system.  Fingers crossed it works and we don't have a repeat of last week (see some of last week's port stop blogs).

Today embarkation has a bit of a new look.  Crew that are in designated areas to assist with boarding are wearing sashes with Welcome Aboard in the Medallion Class Royal Blue color. Honestly I did not like them.  Felt very pageant like.  I wanted to take a picture but felt odd about asking so sorry everyone.

Ocean Medallion appears to have rolled out to more cabins.  I had heard that Riviera deck was being added the Lido deck cabins but need to confirm. A lot more people have the medallion in a lanyard around their neck.

Once on board we make our way to our cabin and unpack.  We have to do a bit of housekeeping items with the front desk.  As I wait for Bernie to attend to these things I take some pictures of the Atrium with all the new banners.  Looks very regal. 

I will say that the regular banners that they have hanging all over the banisters and poles normally with the Caribbean designs seems a little cluttered to me and something I would find at Grandma's house. Yes it is cute for an event but all week up seems a bit much.

The Atrium has tables and stations set up for what people can expect in the coming week.  A lounge chair from Mutts, the flying shark, the production show posters, trivias, Detourist, also the drop off for the scavenger hunt form and more. Two crew staff are there too. But no one is really engaging with them.  I like the idea of this.  But I think it needs to be tweaked.

Back in the cabin we relax.  Muster Drill is just about to start.  No we don't have to attend the drill as we are In Transit but it is piped into our cabins so we have to listen to it.  By 4 pm we just can't keep our eyes open so we have a good nap until 6 pm.  

I awake and feel so very rested.  

Tonight is dinner at Crown Grill.  

We are sat at a booth at a window.  Although I like booths I often find there is too much space from the bench seat to the table and have a hard time eating or sitting comfortably. Normally we just move the table towards me but this would cause one of us to have a big space between the seat and table.

So Bernie and I move to the same side and adjust the table ourselves.  Plus it is nice to sit side by side and we can easily chat without raising our voices as it does end up getting loud later.

Our assistant takes our drink order but fills up our water automatically.  Normally we like sparkling water but we did not get a chance to order it as the glass was filled already.  

It is busy and as tables around us fill up we can't help hearing two separate tables near us.  One is an older couple who seem to be so angry with each other.  Often he raised his voice to the point she almost cried (from what we could see from a few feet away). Boy and this is only the first day of the cruise.

Then a father son couple came and sat at the deuce right in front of us.  The father was very loud.  His son in his early 20s I would guess and both proceeded to slam everything about the ship and service and basically life.  They did seem to enjoy their food though.  Thank goodness they have something positive in their life today.

Argh.... I try not to let how others act affect how I react but it did require some patience.

Our meal was very good.  In fact I think the black and blue soup and the spinach and beet salad was one of the best we have ever had.

We paired our meal with a bottle of Pacific Bay and it went very well with the Sea Bass Bernie had and the filet I had.

I had a side of Bearnaise sauce and well, it looked like a thick pudding.  I say this because this is probably the fourth time I have had it since we have gotten on board (either Bearnaise or Hollandaise sauce) and it has always had this gross thick consistency.  This is not the norm on board ships though and not sure how these chefs are making it or how long it is sitting but it is horrible.

Our server started out very good but he then got busy.  They did have extra staff brought it which impressed me but we seemed to have gotten forgotten.  Normally we have a great banter with our wait staff and we did see this happening with other tables, but did not happen with us.

No one checked on how our meal was until we were almost finished - and we did not eat fast.  

Dessert order took a long time.  And once we had finished dessert we sat and sat and finally gave up and just left.  Note we had settled the bill prior to arriving.

The head waiter here - Diego we know from the last two sailings but even he seemed to check in on us only once for a very short time and never attended to assisted our table even though he walked by often.  I know on the Royal this year the head waiter in Crown Grill was very attentive and stopped often at all tables.

So I have to say sadly that the Crown Grill on board was a miss. Food was quite good with a small miss but ambiance (no fault of Princess) and service was poor.  

We are looking forward to going back to Sabatinis in a few days though.

Off to Vines to catch up with Dominique.  It is very quiet right now - it is 9:30 and I guess most are at the show or eating or resting after a long day.

While sitting here a follower came over - Juan and his spouse and it is lovely to meet them.  We have mutual friend so it is great to connect.

Later we chat with some other guys for a long time about pretty much everything.  Three are from England, two are from the US.  I learned a lot from them and I really enjoyed the conversation. 

Back in the cabin we decide tomorrow will be a room service breakfast. 

We anchor off Princess Cays and we really want to go ashore this time.

Check out the new look of the Princess Patter

Turn Around Day

As I wake to the thrusters pulling the ship towards the dock I open one eye and glace at the time – 645.  You can never sleep in on turn around day.

After enjoying some breakfast in the cabin (a perk some friends arranged for us because we are staying on) we shower and pull out the cases.  Packing is always easy if you are just moving cabins on the ship.  All clothes on the hangars stay there and the contents of the mini bar get packed into the Princess tote.

The flowers I received a week ago for my birthday still look amazing so we will be moving them to the new cabin.  I am impressed how long they have lasted.

We also throw in a load of wash in the washer on deck 8 (the closest laundromat to our new cabin).  We always like to do at least one load of wash on turn around day so everything gets a good cleaning and we start fresh.  Tokens are dispersed from a machine that you tap your card to the medallion icon.  Each token is $3 and it takes one token for each machine.  We brought our own laundry pods, otherwise you can buy soap with a token in the laundry room.

We let our cabin steward know that our room can be cleaned and we are ready for our stuff to be moved. 

Oh I forgot to relay that last night when we got back to the cabin we had a knock at the door.  It was someone from housekeeping and I knew immediately it was Antonio’s friend.

Antonio is a retired executive housekeeper that we met many years ago and have been very close friends with.  Last year we travelled to Portugal to stay with him and his wife for five nights.  He is very special to us and we miss him.  He had messaged me that he knew a few housekeeping supervisors on board and we should look out for them.

Tonight Menino came to introduce himself.  It was so nice to meet him and he promised to take care of us at turnaround with moving our stuff.  Normally we just move our own things but they are insisting they move them for us.

Right now we are siting in Vines enjoying a coffee and waiting for our meeting time for all in transits.  We have been told to be at the Coral Dining room for 10:10 and to make sure we have our in transit cards, our old and new cruise cards and also our passports.

I am anticipating a long in transit process as there are many, so if it goes fast we will be happy.

I just reviewed our bill and everything looks fine.  I added up all the beverages we had including wine, cocktails, coffees, and waters and the total price came to $420.  If we would of gotten the drink package it would of cost us $476 each – a total of $952.  Sure we would of probably drank more with the package but I doubt we would of drank double.  So for us the drink package is not worth it.  

Sometimes they throw it in when you book (note there is a cost even if it is thrown in but cheaper than if you buy on board) but we did not have that perk. Remember too if they do have that promo of free sip and sail you can opt out of it and get an on board credit in lieu.

We meet at our designated time of 1010 and within 15 minutes we are directed off the ship.  We go to the lower level of the port building and I am able to get my computer out and do some work.  But within a few minutes they announce we can go thru passport control.  We show our passports to the agent.  They glace at it and look at us and confirm we are the actual person in the photo.  Then we go up the escalator and right on the ship.  Again we have to bing into the only handheld system and then again into the Ocean Medallion system. 

In all it took us less than an hour from when we arrived at our designated area to when we were back on board.  One of the fastest in transit experiences we have ever had.  Very impressed!

Once on board we see that when we log onto Princess’ site it is a bit different. We have to re register with Ocean Medallion wifi and we are then on a new page that says because of our loyalty level we are entitled to unlimited wifi for this voyage.  But when we go to apply it is says error.  We go to the internet café to get it dealt with and it seams there is an issue with those of us who were in transit. 

A few hours later we are a okay.  Still have some issues logging in but once on it is very fast.  Note you can only log on to one device at a time.

For sail away we head up to the Sun deck and enjoy a beautiful sail away.  Carnival Conquest goes ahead of us then Harmony of the Seas.

love all the art in the cabins

huge tvs

We are hungry so we decide to have an early dinner and head to the Buffet.  Love that salad Bar!  For dessert we indulge in our first milk shakes.  $2.50 each and very good.

We are in a new cabin this leg, E508 and is an obstructed ocean view cabin but the view is quite good right over the life boat.  The air conditioning is working but it is still a little warm for us so we take off the grate that covers the vent and it helps a lot. 

There are definitely a lot fewer kids on board but there are still a lot!  The pools are full of little people!  Again I think we will venture to the adults only pool this sailing. 

Not sure how much blogging I will do this trip.  I don’t want it to take away from time on my vacation so bear with me if I am not posting regularly but only when there is something to report.

Fort Lauderdale – Turn Around Day – Fort Lauderdale

A quick shower when we wake and Bernie takes two loads of clothes to the laundry.  Yes Princess gives us free laundry services but there is something about throwing it all in a washing machine (we bring our own detergent) and getting everything washed/ironed/folded for the next leg.

We are once again moving cabins but we are literally just moving from 411 to 105.  Yes we are all the way forward.

Originally we were to be in the same cabin we had on the first leg but when we saw that it had two upper berths folded up into the side walls.  To save our heads and shoulders we knew we needed to see if we could move cabins for the fourth leg.  I contacted our travel agent 20 days ago to see about moving and 105 was open.  It is not a inside sideways that we would of preferred but it is a quiet regular inside and that works out fine for us. 

We move our suitcases and clothes on the hangars very quickly.  Yes Princess will move us if we need them to but we can move it and we don’t have to be anywhere and since they are so busy we gladly move it ourselves.

The new cabin is not completely ready so we just put the bags in the closet and head ashore just prior to the in transit meet time of 9:30.

I haven’t mentioned that today is Sunday and boy is Port Everglades ever busy!!!  The Regal is at Pier 2, and the Crown Princess is at Pier 1. Also Allure, two  Holland America ships, and a Celebrity ship.  CRAZY.

Of course with this many ship in port it impacts the whole city.  It is busy, taxis are busy, custom agents are spread thin and it is really not something we enjoy.

Normally we stay on board and just do in transit but we have things to do ashore. 

We get in the queue for customs and it is long but moving and before it snakes back and forth we are able to go into the Global Entry line and we are thru within 2 minutes.

Once at the pier side we were going to take a taxi but the queues were very long and then we saw the port shuttle, which is complimentary.  This is here to move people who parked at Pier 2 which we left from.  We get on and then get off at Pier 2 and just walk in from there.

It is very hot and humid (there was a quick shower first thing this am). 

We walk to Publix and stock up on a few items (toothpaste, shampoo, cough drops for a crew member, and another essential oil for the cabin).

We tried to get our nails done but they don’t open till later today and when we do stop in later they are busy and ask us to come back in an hour but that won’t work for us.

For lunch we went to the Boatyard and enjoyed a lovely drink and meal.  We needed this bit of peace as the whole day just felt crazy. 

Now what to do?  We are just outside Wallgreens and another couple from our ship need to get back to pier 21 too. Yes you could walk as there are sidewalks but it is a long distance and would take about a half hour at least.

 

Bernie flags down a taxi and he pulls into Wallgreens and picks all four of us up.  I noticed that the taxi had not turned on the meter and mentioned it to him, he said he had (but he clearly had not).  I know there is a sign on the back seat saying if the meter is not on call this number and get the ride for free so we knew we were covered.

When he arrives at Pier 21 he says it is $9 which is what I would expect so we gladly pay.  He then says it is an added $10 and we say why and he says because I picked you up at Port Everglads (it is a minimal fee of $10 if picked up at the pier or airport) but I said you picked us at Wallgreens and last I looked the ships don’t dock at Wallgreens. We stood our ground and paid him and left.  And they wonder why we don’t like taxis and embrace Uber.  Note most times it is not an issue with taxis and most are fair.

Third Cruise on Royal Princess

As I wake after a very restless night.  For some reason I just couldn’t sleep.  I was awake until 5 am!

When I do wake Bernie has already gotten the wash in and I grudgingly get up and pull out the bags.  We need to change cabins today.  We don’t mind changing cabins, it is easy.  It allows us to pack up items we do not need and to clean everything and organize again. 

We are in a sideways inside midship.  Wow the storage in here is amazing.  We were in a deluxe Balcony and I find those cabins just don’t have enough storage.  This one has an extra bank of drawers, shelves on the side of the desk, an extra cupboard with three shelves!

Check out the cabins video I did that has all cabin types on the Royal/Regal/Majestic 

In transit passengers (meaning those that are staying on for the next leg) for which there are almost 400 of us, are told to meet in the Princess Theater at 9:30.  Disembarkation is running ahead of schedule and they make announcements that everyone should go to their lounge early.  

Bernie has gone off to get a haircut, a manicure, pick up some wine and some items we have run out of – sunscreen, conditioner, and some sleep aid for me.  I am staying on as I really need to rest and I would be way to grumpy. 

All us in transits head off the ship, going off the ship with our old car.  In the terminal we are taken downstairs in the terminal and told to take a seat.  

While waiting they inform us that it is taking a bit longer due to a medical emergency, and they are waiting for an ambulance.  

Of course the people in the lounge start to grumble and complain that they disembarked them already last night!  I mention that there must be a new patient as they would not say that unless it is true.  

Later I did find out that one of the in transit passengers was trying to head to the lounge and called 911 on board and said their spouse was not breathing.  Medical attended right away and the patient was taken away in an ambulance.  We wish them well.

Once the ship has received the zero count a custom agent is there and all we do is open up our passport to our photo page and show the agent and walk right by. Back up the elevator and right on board.  In all the whole process took about an hour.

Take note that they have free wifi in the terminal so it was easy to update my phone and also install an app from CBC Olympics so we can follow the results of the Olympics while on board.

Once back on board I head straight to the new cabin and unpack and fold everything and get thing straightened out.  Bernie walks in the door soon after.

I still need a nap so Bernie leaves and I crawl into bed.  I manage to sleep for a short while (about an hour) until the announcement comes on for Muster.

We meet up with Roy and Sandra who have just gotten on for 20 days in Vines.

Stefan our wonderful server in Vines

So nice to see them again.

Tonight we already know we need to have an early night.  We head upstairs for dinner in the Horizon Court.  They had Pho soup!  You just let them know what you want in it and they prepare it for you and deliver it to you too.  So yummy.
We then attend the Welcome Aboard Show where Matt hosts and wow there are 800 Canadians! The comedian A.J. Smith does a segment and he is hilarious.

met up with Helga who follows my blog

After the show we stop in the Essence Boutique to buy some cologne for a friend.  If you buy $100 in the shops the first three days you get an extra 10% off, also elites get an additional 10%.  Should note too that the cologne we bought was charged at the wrong price. I thought the total price was high and looked at the bill when we left and yup the scan put in the wrong price than what was on the tag.  We returned to the store and the staff corrected it immediately - of course these things can happen but check your bills

It has been a difficult day, with being so tired, but Princess makes it effortless.

Fort Lauderdale - Turn Around Day

Turn around day is always an early day! As we dress and pack up to change cabins we can hear everyone around us getting ready to disembark. 

Our new cabin isn't ready yet but Danny our steward is working hard to have it done as early as possible. 

We had booked a guarantee obstructed balcony and we were assigned an unobstructed balcony just a few doors from our old cabin with the same stewart. 

The people in that cabin don't vacate until 8:30 (note it is suppose to be 8). And Danny works on that cabin as soon as they vacate. It is ready at 9 am! We really appreciate his hard work. 

We move our own bags and clothes on the hangars to the new room (just a few down) making sure to return empty hangars to the old room. Of course if we would of needed they would of moved our items, but we were totally capable of moving the stuff. 

We don't need to unpack as much as we won't need the sweaters, jackets and long pants - so they stay in the suitcase. We travel rather light so the whole process goes very quickly and we are totally settled by 9:30.

Today is unique because this is the first time the Royal is docking back in the US after a long time away.

Can you see the crew lining up - it was so long they were lining up outside

Every crew member needs to go thru US Customs. This means crew (during their break) must head to the pier to queue up. We later hear the process took hours - up to four hours for some.

Even our steward had to work hard all morning then head to customs, then right back to work to deal with embarking passengers.

The faces of the crew really show their exhaustion and I feel for them.

For us we meet in the Princess Theater at 1045. There are not a lot of us, just over 100 but we are warned the process will be slow today.

We are lead to the port building (bing out our old cards with security) lead to the first floor of terminal 2. There are still a lot of past passengers queuing up to get thru customs. So we are told to wait until it dies down. We wait around 40 minutes.

The Custom agent scans our passport and we are cleared. It really is just a formality as we are not officially entering the US. We will do this after this next voyage.

I should add those leaving today have to fill out a Customs Declaration form. We were not given one as we are in transit. However while waiting in the Princess Theater Purser staff said we had to fill it out. So who are we to argue so we fill it out (one per household) although in the end we never did require it. Note if you are heading ashore you will need to fill one out.

Back to waiting. After sitting on the first floor a second time for about 20 minutes we are lead upstairs to wait again.

However some passengers are also being sent up. They are being led to an elite lounge right beside us. But direction is not that clear. As usual Princess falls down heavily with their embarkation facilities in Fort Lauderdale. This is not because of customs but because there really is no defined flow -- even under perfect conditions. But if you throw in one hiccup it truly falls apart fast.

My advice is to totally revamp terminal 2. Just take a look at Pier 18 where Oasis and Allure dock - now that flows.

We are now upstairs at pier 2. It is noon. Coast guard are on board the ship conducting drills. No passenger are allowed on until this finishes.

Around 1230 the in transit passengers are allowed on but regular embarkation did not start until 1300. Not passengers were warned that embarkation would be delayed.

Once we are back on board we drop our stuff in the cabin and head to Alfredos for pizza. We are the only passengers there! Pierre sits us, and he is tire! But his professionalism shows, he fights thru and never stops smiling.

I forgot to add earlier before we did customs there was a knock at our door delivery of our mini bar. We asked right away "can we trade it all for 2 coffee cards" she says we have to call bell hop after sailing. Okay we are use to this and will do it afterwards.

But Princess save yourself time, have elites fill out what they wish for the mini bar set up ahead of time. Send it via email or let it be part of your personalizer. This way you can have it set up beforehand. Or at least for those in transit, send us a form to fill out near the end of the first cruise with our preference.

Right now we have to call the bell hop or room service after sailing. But we couldn't get thru all evening. Finally got thru at 830 am the next day.

By having elites notify ahead of time it will save us from calling. Save bell hop from answering and then writing down the request and then getting that request and then delivering. Not to mention the passenger will have less frustration with having to try and get thru to bell hop.

After lunch I walk around taking pictures. When I run into Karin and John. We later head down to our cabin for drinks.

Muster is at 1615.

The flow of passengers from one building to the next then back again

I should add embarkation was so late due to uncontrolled circumstances beyond Princess' control.  They actually had people drop bags at terminal 2. Then head to terminal 1 to check in then head back to terminal 2 to board. 

If you were platinum/elite and got preferred boarding it went relatively smooth. If you were not it was longer.

For sailaway we went up to the Sun deck aft in the shade (it was hot). Larry and Amy our friends from Orlando are on and they joined us.

While sailing out a helicopter is flying all around us.  All kinds of advantage points for filming. We wave and wave. The helicopter is there to film the ship for Princess as we are the first ship with the painted bow with the seawitch.

Oh forgot to tell you that Facets has closed and will remain closed for a few days as they transform it an Effy store. Big reveal happens in a few days.

We received our Most Travelled Party invite. Not sure what the cut off will be. Will try and find out later. It is a cocktail party held in Club 6.

Also the Platinum/Elite Lounge is back in Club 6.

We meet Larry and Amy in Vines at 7:30 for a drink then dinner in Concerto. It is busy here. Have to say the food and service were lacking (which rarely happens on this ship or this cruise). I will not judge harshly since I know the crew are suffering due to a very very long day!

After dinner I am so tire and I know I am getting a cold. That cold made the rounds last voyage and looks like it has finally landed on me.

January 29, 2016 - Fort Lauderdale Turn Around Day

Oh this could be a long day.  With very little sleep I am struggling.  Thankfully I have my latte nearby and I slowly come to life.

Bernie is off to throw the wash in.  Yes we always do a large load of wash on turn around day.  We do get the free laundry perk but doing a big wash every ten days gets it all clean. Really clean!  The ship’s laundry service is great but it often doesn’t get some things out that a regular wash does. 

I start to get the bags out and start packing up things.  We need to change cabins today.  Thankfully we have less stuff now (less wine, toiletries etc) and we are also just moving down the hall to the front of the ship on the same deck.  

We have it all packed and ready to move just before 8 am and when Bernie checks the cabin it is available right now.

By 8:30 we are in the new cabin and totally unpacked.  

Wash is done (some things still need to get ironed) and we are down in the International Café by 9 enjoying another coffee and reading.  Louise and Brian join us and we catch up.

The in transit meeting time is 10:30 in Princess Theater.  Again this turn around we are opting to head off before this meeting time and clear customs and head ashore to do our errands.

Again we walk to 17^th Street and hit Publix and Total Wine for our necessary items, toothpaste, salt and vinegar chips for Michael, conditioner, and two bottles of champagne.

Normally we head for lunch next but I am so tired (well really grumpy is what Bernie would call it) and we both agree we should just head back on board. 

I was a little hesitant to head back at noon because I know the pier can be a zoo at this peak time but was happy to say that when we did arrive we presented our in transit cards and we were directed to a door on the far right - marked “in transit”.  No line at all for security!  Then up to the next floor where we joined a queue but it moved relatively quickly.  We were on board around 15 minutes later. 

It is fun to see all the new people coming on board.  Their excitement, their awe of the beauty of the ship, the lost people!  We grab a pizza at Alfredos and it hits the spot.  So I am not hungry anymore but I am so very tired!

It is 1 pm and I get to the cabin, close the drapes, put my ear plugs in and use my eye mask and I am out very quickly. 

I don’t wake until I hear Captain Oliver wake me from a dead sleep.  What is Captain Oliver doing in my cabin?  Oh …. It it is the Muster Drill and his voice is being heard throughout the entire ship.  Well I am not going to sleep anymore and two hours will tie me thru till tonight.

The weather is not cooperating today, it is cool up on deck.  Gee I feel like I am back home in Vancouver it is probably around the same temperature. 

Our friends Angelique and Simon are on board with Angelique’s Mom and friend.  We arrange to head down to their cabin for sailaway (well down from Lido, but one up from us).  They are in M108 it is the first forward cabin on Marina deck and it has a huge balcony.  A bit different layout of the cabin but it works.  Their balcony is right above the wing of the bridge.  Pretty windy when sailing, but great place to be when in port.  I would certainly book this cabin.

We shower and dress for dinner and head down to Vines for some wine.  It is strange not seeing Wilf here, but Ronnie is still behind the bar.

We take our usual seat and order some wine and a man comes over and asks if I am Vickie.  Yes I am!  When he introduces himself as Chris and his fiancé Julie I remember chatting with him on my Facebook Fan Page -- Cruising Princess Cruiseline with Vickie -- about this voyage.  We ask them to join us and we spend about an hour getting to know them.  It is really what cruising is all about.  Connecting with people in a beautiful environment over some good food/good drinks and lots laughs.

Dinner tonight is in Symphony Dining room.  We get there just after 8 pm.  There is no wait at all and we are sat at a table for two in Orlando’s section.  His section is busy but most of his tables are on their entrée/dessert. 

One thing I always hear is how frustrating Anytime Dining is.  Anytime doesn’t mean you will get a table whenever you want it, sometimes you may have to wait.  Of course this depends on the demographics of each cruise.  Last two cruises and this cruise seems to be the same, most people are eating early.  So the main Anytime Dining Room opens at 5 pm - it fills up but 5:30 and then it takes around an hour and a half to eat. So arriving at this dining room between 5:30 and 7 you will probably encounter a wait. 

If you need to have early seating and always want this I urge you to take traditional seating.  Concerto is used for early seating at 5:30 but turns into Anytime at 7:30.

Allegro Dining room has early seating at 5:45 and late at 8 pm.  Whatever you choose remember you are on vacation.  Relax and enjoy the food, the service and the company. 

For dinner I have the prawns with the lemon dipping sauce, then a lovely soup, and for my entrée I have the Curtis Stone pork dish again.  I love this dish, the pork is so moist and tender you can cut it with your fork.  The sweet potato mash has a taste of coconut in it and the pineapple chutney adds a lovely sweetness to it.  The red sauce has a bit of spice.  My only complaint about the dish is it looks so bland.  Everything on the plate is white or beige except for a swish of the red sauce.  It needs vegetables, some color.  But the dish is very good and I would have it again.

After dinner we both skip dessert and head to the gelato bar to get a sundae to share.  While there we spot our friends in Vines so we enjoy the sundae in there.  The Atomic Party Band is playing and we really enjoy them. 

Lots of people are dancing!  After they finish Perry Grant starts up, but really he is not my favorite.  He reminds me of a Liberace character, and really doesn’t play much current music.  This does seem to be apparent in the people who are diehard fans of his, and there are many on this ship.  They love him!  But I am happy to report that Kory Simons is coming back to this ship February 8.

Lots happening tonight on board:  Feature Film Trainwreck in Vista Lounge 7:15 and 10:15, LGBT Gathering, Singles and Solos Mix and Mingle, Variety Showtime in Princess Theater at 8:15 and 10:15 pm featuring vocalist Willis White, Royal Princess Dancers, Showband and Comedian Troy Thirdgill, Late Night Dance Party with DJ Smoke, Where In the World Am I Game Show at 10:15 in Princess Live and of course BOGO Happy Hour in Club 6 at 11 pm.