Sea Day and Formal Night with Sabatinis

Yeah finally a sea day.  The five port days in a row can be tiring.  Not that we did anything that constituted us being tired but just to have a complete day to relax and not feel guilty about it.

I slept in first of all.  Our cabin is so dark and quiet it is so easy to do this.  I would definitely book this cabin again.  R232

I had a lovely lunch in the buffet.  So glad it has expanded and lots of great options.  Ironically over the years I am eating a lot less on board.  When I first started sailing we felt we needed to try everything.  Now we often skip meals and pick and choose what we want without feeling like we are missing out.  Often we lose weight while on board as we are not snacking in between meals like we would at home.

I do grab a drink and watch part of Bohemian Rhapsody on the movies under the stars.  But after about an hour my chair is no longer in the shade and it is way too hot.  

We got our luggage tags today.  We selected disembarkation for 825 as we only need to travel to Jacksonville that day to meet up with a friend so no big rush to get off.

Tonight is formal night.  We dress smart casual though.  No formal for me.  Many are dressed up, but many are not.  

It is also the Captain Circle party.  There are two parties and theg said just choose one.  Since we have dinner reservations at 610 we opt for the 5 pm party.  It is held in Vista Lounge and is well attended.  But really seems sad now.  Yes some officers attended and it was nice to see them; however Commodore Nash did not attend.  And it was hosted by Cruise Director and Captain Circle host (she has a new title but I don't remember it).   Odd that Commodore is not here.  On the Majestic Captain Dino attended and spoke.  Not once have we see Commodore.  I understand Covid, but there ate ways he could protect himself.  Plus why is it different ship to ship.

We arrive at Sabatinis for 610 our reservation time.  I love the decor here, very nice.  We are sat at a 2 top in a row of many 2 tops.  We brought our wine that was given to us by the HGM.    Our waiter introduces herself and the assistant comes and opens the wine.  We request sparkling water. 

We are served some bread and dipping sauce.  Omg were they ever good.

Then we waited.  Waited and waited.  15 minutes later our assistant waiter came back and wanted to give us water but we said we are still waiting for the sparkling water.  Off he went to get it.

After 50 minutes we still have not gotten our first course. We have filled our own wine glasses and we are a disappointed.

Bernie goes to talk to the head waiter.  Who we know from our 28 day South Pacific cruise.  He see we arrived at 610 and  should have something by now at 7 pm.  We see now the head waiter is helping out and even the hostess is attending to drinks etc.

Like my previous posts the biggest issue is staffing.  And the ability for the supervisors to recognize when help is needed, not for the guests to say something.   

Two other tables have sat beside us, who arrived at 640 and they get their food the same time we get ours.

Our food is out of this world, very very good.  I love this Sabatini menu.  I just am disappointed in the lack of service.

I know it is happening in Crown Grill too.  Good friends who are also in the most travelled group dined there and they said service was poor due to not enough staff.  They left early from their dinner because of it.  

Sicilian Kiss Martini 

Then later that night I was at the bar in Crown Grill and a guy came up asking if the 2 drinks were mojitos and for cabin such and such and yes they were.  He commented they ordered them but have been waiting so long for them at their table in Crown Grill they just got up and got them themselves.  Hmmm  

Anyways the meal was outstanding in Sabatinis and I would go back but it does worry me about the staffing issues.

After dinner we attend the Love Song trivia by Jayson and well attending any of his events is fun no matter what and it is.

Tonight is also the production show Rock Opera.  This is the first time this new cast will preform it since getting on.  We have never seen it and we are so looking forward to it.  Two brand new shows for us.  How lucky are we.

The show is phenomenal we can't stop dancing in our seats!  We LOVED it.

Bernie heads off to bed and I decide to stay up and watch the marriage match game. I join a lovely couple who are from Levi Quebec.  So I get to speak French again and help translate some of the show they miss.  Always a lot of laughs.

What a great day.  Tomorrow is our last day and a sea day.  Got word of my work schedule when I return.  Yes I took on a part time job working in a beautiful nursery close to home.  The pay will go right into our travel fund!  

Aruba

We are docked bright and early, but then again we are no far from Curacao so a 7 am arrival is no issue at all.  I faintly here the announcement in the hall that we can head ashore.  One thing I prefer on this ship is that no announcements in our cabin.  If I want to hear I just open our cabin door.

We are rather slow to get moving.  We see it is quite windy!  One thing here is the sand is so fine that it blows and it is like stinging your skin.  Also we are being rather lazy.  I guess we earned that, and we decidevto just walk around and do some shopping.

Remember how I said it is so very windy.  Well when Bernie walks on the gangway a huge gust of wind is blowing along the side of the ship and blows Bernie's baseball cap off and it lands in the water between the pier and the ship.  It is his Vancouver Canuck cap!  Security quickly comes and grabs a long pole with a hook and retrieves it.  Now that is impressive and we note their names so we can commend them later.

Even though we were here twice last fall we were not able to get off.  Today I want to see how things have changed since before the pandemic.

One thing I immediately see that is different is the pier exit.  Last fall we had to walk straight out, now we go yo the left and there are lots of stalls/shops set up selling items.

We are also right where the free trolly stops.  However I did not see a single trolly while we were walking so not sure if it running.

We notice a few differences.  Some new bulidings!  Where the bus station is they have built a building on their left.  So you now have to access the terminal from main access the has the pathway thru the building.

Also a lot if shops have closed.  A lot!  A woman was complaining later on board saying she was annoyed that many shops were not open!  She sadly is not in touch with the effects the pandemic has had on the islands.

We do a bit of shopping and after 2 hours we are back on board.

Oh the Aloe store is closed right in town but the terminal has a large stroe where you can pick up their amazing products.  We live their after sun and lotion.

We change into swimsuits and grab a seat up above the retreat pool.  It is super hot out, still crazy windy though.

I had some pizza and it was so yummy.  Princess still has the best pizza on the high seas.

 

It was a great day.

For dinner we decide to try the dining room again.  We take Marc's advice and go to the Santorini dining room.   We are sat right away and our server is attentive and even has an assistant waiter too.  

Service was quite good.  Although when she gets a large table of 8 she is now swamped.   We opt out of getting dessert tonight.  But the food was very good.

I have had some time to think about service issues on board.  The biggest issue is there just are not enough staff for service.

Dining room staff now have to serve everything.  Bread, butter, condiments.  Remember when they would just put a dish of ketchup down, or the bread rolls.  Now they have to serve each.

Drink package, a high percent have the package and they are drinking.  Either the waiter or assistant, if they have one is busy just filling drink orders.  Sadly we rarely see a supervisor coming around to any tables anymore to see how things are.  But these poor crew are way overworked and need smaller sections or dedicated staff for just drink orders.

Bar servers are so busy filling drink orders in bars that often they are not walking around taking orders.  Although if they are full/busy they have the time to walk around and engage.

Numerous times I have ordered something only to have the drink sit on the bar for a long time before it can get delivered.  

Perhaps a dedicated bar staff at each bar for just medallion orders would be good. 

Ship has only 2623 guests, it can hold a lot more, so I am concerned if it gets very busy what they will do, are more staff coming?  

Although these 2 issues affected my trip they certainly didn't ruin my holiday.  Just observations, and hoping princess improves, but it has been an issue before the pandemic so I don't think it will.

We head to Crown Grill Bar to listen to Trevor Cole play.  We met up with him in Curacao and he promised to play our wedding song.  And tonight he does!  We dance and we are both so very happy, and in love.

Man life is good.

Curacao at Night and Deck Party

Once back on board we shower and head for sushi at Ocean Terrace.  Again it is hard to get a table as many are using the tables just to sit and listen to music or people watch, not for eating.  

We let the staff serving that we need a table and he gets one for us when someone leaves and we snag it.

But soon the place is buzzing.  He is all alone and is having a hard time keeping up.  Food was still very good.  But service was lacking, but not the crew's fault.  Really needed 2 staff tonight and a supervisor should of seen that and corrected the situation.

We grab a cocktail and head to the Wakeview Bar.  There are some lovely couches near the doors to the buffet that are very comfortable and we sit and reflect on the day.

We are having the best time!

At 930 DJ Jayson is playing music to get the deck party started.  Right away we are shocked to see all the Movies Under the Stars lounge chairs all out with people laying on them, and with wool blankets.  It is still warm, or at least it is for me.  

It doesn't seem like a party to me, no real dancefloor, everyone staring forward.  Seems more like a show than a deck party.

Sadly the music isn't conducive to dancing either, one song is great and people on the Sun deck are dancing, then next no one is, etc etc.  Which shocks me as Jayson is amazing at the musical games but even his hosting seems frazzled.  

When the bad Static, and the horn players from the band and steel pan player Trevor start it is like watching a show.  Blah.

I comment it seems more like a senior care home show with everyone laying down with blankets watching a party band.  Every so often seeing a hand waving to the music or a foot tapping to the beat!  The movie Cacoon meets Deck Party.

We give up at 11 and head in to bed. 

Curacao

We take our time this morning.  We don't dock until 1 pm and we enjoy a coffee and a breakfast sandwich.  The International Cafe is busy so we grab a seat in the Salty Dog Pub at a booth by the window.  Note Salty Dog isn't open at this hour so you can sit at the tables.

I also try the almond croissant.  I wanted to try these at least once.  On Majestic the egg sandwich was not good.  Actually it was not edible.  Muffin was a rock, and the rest was dried out.  So I am so relieved to see this one is very good and glad to see it was obviously an issue with that ship,  and hopefully the food has improved on board since then.

One issue with arriving later in the day is everyone crowds the 5th floor and near gangway.  Thankfully they have roped off the stairwell going down to deck 4.  But it is crazy so we search out a quiet spot to read until around 2 pm when we head ashore,

We had wanted to go to the beach.  However, after going outside and seeing how windy it is we knew the wind would stir up the sand and it would not be fun being pelted by the sand.  

Also we got quite a bit if sun yesterday and I really don't care if I have a tan or not and want to be careful in the sun too.  So Bernie and I discuss and since I really want to visit a few spots to see with my own eyes as I refer to them in my lectures and wasn't able to get off the ship when we were on celebrity Equinox in the Fall due to crew restrictions.

When we get on the pier we are almost blown away.  Very very windy, hold on to your hat!  Lots of people on the pier going on tour.  Oh I should add we are in with an RCL ship and they are docked closer to the town.  We are at the secondary pier, the newer one.

Our first site to see is the Tula Monument and Freedom statue commemorating the Revolt if some slaves (led by a slave called Tula, even a movie was made about it).  Although they did not succeed in their freedom at that time it did happen in 1795 and the break the chains statue is nice, and actually can be seen by the ship, especially since we are at the further east pier.

I will say I was very moved by being here and it"s significance.  However I am saddened to see no street markers showing how to get there.  It is at at the end of a street that has stunning  views,  but the site it is not kept up or maintained.  However after walking around Curacao it is apparent not a lot of the city has been kept up except for parts of downtown or where the tourists go.  

old abandoned building on main street near pier.  Thought it looked cool.  There are a lotbof abandoned buildings here.

We walk back towards town and the Queen Emma bridge.  Still stunning view of the iconic buildings at the Unesco World Heritage site.

We walk around town and do some shopping.  Best place to get souvenirs is at the New Market - a big round building with a lot of stalls selling everying!  

I then want to go and find the Serena Chi Chi doll store.  You probably have seen the Chi Chi doll statues around town.  Chi Chi is a term used to refer to the oldest sister/daughter.  She is caring, comforting, always has arms stretched out for embrace, takes care of younger siblings and often puts other's needs ahead of hers.  These statues reflect that.

The woman working the stall was not friendly at all or helpful but I really want one so we pick out one and I am so happy.

There are lots of lovely art installations throughout the city.

Bistro Sur Le Mer

Bistro Sur Le Mer is a relatively newer specialty restaurant.  It is French cuisine.  We have dined here a few times, 3 times actually when we were on Majestic for 5 weeks in the Fall.  

It probably is not for everyone.  You kinda have to be a foodie and open to trying new things, and if you are a picky eater, don't go.  Although there are basic items too.

But for us we love food and trying new things.  We are adventurous eaters.  For a $29 cover fee this is a steal.  A meal like this at home would be at minimum $125 each.

When we are sat our waiter is saying, hey I remember you.  As we try to figure out where we finally figure it out.  He was on the Star Princess in 2019 when we did the South Pacific.  He was one of our servers every day in Sabatinis for breakfast.

We start with some wine that is recommended.  It takes no time to be delivered.  Soon we are cheering ... life is amazing, we are so blessed.

The started is goat cheese with olive coating.  They look like olives, but they aren't.  So good with the bread!  Also little polenta logs that are fried and served with two sauces.  

I had the escargot balls.  Now I hear so many complain about this dish.  It is not the usual escargot smothered in garlic and butter served in the dish from the 70s.  These are still escargot surrounded in garlic butter but then chilled, then rolled in a coating and deep fried.  Our server instructs us to just eat with fingers and pop in your mouth.  If you cut into it the juice will run out, or worse squirt out. 

So I pop it in and bite!  Wow, great tip.  The garlic, butter and escargot fill my mouth.  

Bernie has the tuna tar tar with papaya and other things.   Served with thin vegetable chips.  Amazing!

For our main I have the fillet of beef and Bernie the seabass.  Both were phenomenal.

For dessert Bernie has the rum Babba, definitely sealed in rum.  I have the bignets with the citrus  gelee.  One of my favorites.  Top it off with two cappuccinos and we are happy.

We have the Princess Plus.  We got dinner for two in a specialty restaurant as a perk.  When we boarded we went and reserved for here  for tonight but they had already automatically made a reservation for us for one of the first days.  Which is good as it does fill up.  We cancel it and have just the one booking.

The next morning we have pushed under our door our reservation confirmation, but it is for the original date.  But I am not concerned as via the app or tv I can see my confirmed bookings.  Also we have our 2 coupins for the free meal.

I have to say we enjoyed our meal in Bistro on Majestic, but Enchanted is way way better.  Service is not rushed, server has help with an assistant.  Food is beautifuly presented and better.  

Food all over the ship is top notch and where there were concerns on the Majestic I am going to say it is because of other things.  Supply issues?  Lack of staff - who knows.

Spice Island Grenada

I am someone who loves Grenada, yeah it is not full of fancy boutiques, big resorts, or huge white sand beaches.  If you are looking for an Aruba like place, this is not it.  

But it is real!  Real people, real shops, volcanic beaches, although there are some pretty nice beaches here too.

Sadly we aren't here long otherwise I would of gone to the beach.  Instead we will just go ashore for a short while to mainly get spices.

Now the terminal has lots and lots of shops.  But we venture out and a few blocks away to the market where the locals go.  Outside is fruit, vegetables and then under cover is where you can find lots of spices and sauces, etc.  Here is a map. The X marks the entrance to the terminal.

We buy lots, nutmeg $10 for huge bag with maybe 30 nutmeg.  Ground cinnamon, spice packets in wicker baskets (the bag had 5 baskets for $5 each Ir $25 to start, in the end we paid $15) vanilla, banana ketchup, hot sauce, and other things I just can't recall. 

The locals are so kind and helpful and so happy to have us back.  We are so happy to be back.

We do check out the duty free liquor but the items we want are actually cheaper in the US or close to what we pay in Canada.  We did pre purchase some bottles from the online shop.  Grand Marnier and Vodka mango flavour. 

We are docked beside an RCL ship.  It us so small next to us!  

Back on board around 11 we drop our purchases off in the cabin.  Bernie wants some sun, I don't want to overdo it in the sun so I tell him we can meet up later.  

Since breakfast was just an avocado egg bread slice I am hungry.  And visit the Worldfresh Marketplace.  I love the little dishes of food.  I choose a dish that has Kofta, small meatball type of pieces of meat in small log forms.  However when I cut it, it is completely raw.  Now rare may be ok but I have had this before and I am sure they should not be raw and cool inside.  I inform a supervisor and he brings the chef over.  He apologizes and will deal with it.  They keep asking for my cabin number but I say I am fine, don't need anything.  However I later thought heck they can tell what my cabin is from the app.  I settle for some lentil salad and a green salad.

Bernie us lounging in the sun.  I find a spot just outside the sanctuary where there is a couch and chairs and shaded,  after an hour I am done.  I need a nap.  Bernie is off getting lunch.  

Now I am back in the cabin, not sleeping but getting my blog up to date.  You can't fall behind, or you will never catch up.

Tonight is dinner at the Bistro Sur Le Mer, which we loved on Majestic so excited about tonight.   I will create a new blog to report on it.