Cruise Part 7. It's my birthday!

Today is a sea day and we've travelled 315 nautical miles since leaving Jamaica yesterday. It's lovely outside, 25 C or 77 F...my perfect temperature.

So, get this, I opened our door to check our mail, and look! A birthday surprise from the ship.

Inside the card was a $50 gift certificate from the Spa, and a $25 one from Calypso Cove, which is the gift store. And notice the rainbow on the door sign? Well, I opened our balcony curtains to see the following picture. Wow....how'd they arrange that? 😳

 

It made my day.

We had buffet breakfast and then hit the hot tubs and the pool. We picked a good time to come as the crowds were minimal. I think the hurricane scared off a lot of folks.

Here I am on the deck, enjoying my book as Steven hot tubs. He's waiting for his buddies i guess. He met a lot of people in there and they'd sit and schmooze for hours. We now have all sorts of invites to visit folks in Arizona, Oklahoma City and a plethora of other places, including Mexico. Needless to say, I shied away from all that.

We went to the Bordeaux for lunch where we both had a mini chimichanga for a starter. I had a Greek salad for lunch and he had Fritto Misto, a seafood meal. For dessert I had chocolate bread pudding and he had Baba au Rhum. It was all fantastic. 

Since today is a sea day, I'll show some pics of the ship.

This is the atrium, which was four stories high, with a glass elevator to zip up and down those floors

This is where all the shops were, the patisserie (for the good coffee), the front desk, and so on.

Some people enjoy a glass elevator far too much.

There were lots of little nooks and crannies to sit and have a bit of silence.

The Wheelhouse was a lounge with live bands every night. There were 9 bars and lounges, and 8 restaurants, so no lack of food and drink.

The restaurants were situated to make it look like you were walking down a street.

After lunch we went upstairs to change and found this on the bed, I don't know who sent it, but it was much appreciated, a selection of cheeses, crackers and grapes.

Steven wanted to hot tub again (seriously, I had no idea he was such a fan of hot tubs.) and I decided to get a few things organized for tomorrow morning as it was an early rise. I went to open the safe and it wouldn't open. It said "error". I tried again, same thing. And I tried again, same thing. What the hell?

I phoned the front desk and they said someone would be there within half an hour, which frustrated me because, #1: the instant I was told I'd have to wait 1/2 an hour I had a sudden desire to instantly do a dozen other things and #2: I was in a dither wondering how to get my passport and money out since tomorrow was the day in Colombia and I (wrongly, as it turned out) thought we needed our passports to get into South America. Were they going to have to send someone with a drill? Would I spend the entire day waiting for a mechanic? Were they going to blame me? And charge me a fee?  As I was working my way into a panic, a knock came on the door and a man in uniform was there. He came in and made me type in my code to see that it wasn't working (thank the gods it didn't work that time...that would have been so embarrassing) . He then typed in a secret code, and I have always wonderd how that works, the actual security of room safes because you know there are always those people who leave it locked as "a joke" when they leave. I always figured that there must be a master code, which then negates the safety of your safe.  However, as he typed in his code, it showed his ID number and then showed a 6 digit number, and then he had to phone someone else, who then gave him a 4 digit temporary code. He did all that and told me to enter the new 4 digit code. (They can't open the safe themselves at all) Didn't work. Tried a second time. Didn't work. He started the whole procedure over again, and I saw his 6 digit code, which was, for example, 123456. When he told it to the guy on the phone, he said "123465", transposed the last 2 numbers. I didn't say anything, because, well, I just felt like I shouldn't. Of course it didn't work and he had to do the whole thing over again. He was getting frustrated, and he was blaminng the fellow on the other end of the phone. He started a third time, and again he transposed the last two numbers. This time I gently mentioned it to him, and he said "No. I do this all the time." ("All the time"? Is there an issue with these safes?) I said "I'm pretty sure it was 314, not 341" He huffed and told the fellow on the phone the numbers I had said, he got his temporary 4 digit number and told me to type it in, and Hallelujah! It worked. He left and I quickly took out our passports and money and stashed them in our suitcases. I reset the safe and tried it a few times and it worked fine, but I didn't use it anymore. I had visions of it not working on the morning we were to disembark the ship and missing our transfer to the airport.

Anyhow.  That was the daily adventure.

Steven returned and changed into dry clothes and we decided to go for a walk and as as we passed the art gallery, they invited us to register for the auction. It was starting shortly and the seats looked comfy and you got free champagne, so hey, why not? The selection of art was really surprising, there was a Renoir etching, a Chagall (for well over $200,000, needless to say, they didn't sell) as well as a few hundred other works of art; some names I recognized, but most I didn't. The auctioneer was really funny (and very cute) and he made the few hours just fly by. He did all sorts of selling for all sorts of budgets, most in the $600-$1000 range, but one painting sold for $6,700.  There were also a lot of raffles for small, but limited edition prints, bottles of champagne, gift certificates and the like. I actually won a small print and guess what it was? An ELK!  Those who know my husband will understand the humour of that. Needless to say, he was thrilled. It is a Patrick McManus, for those who follow wildlife art. 

By this time it was time for supper, so we went to the Bordeaux where I had a rum and honey roasted pineapple for a starter and he had a Caesar salad. We both had seafood pasta for dinner. For dessert I was going to have a creme brûlée, but to my utter horror the staff came over with cake and candle and sang Happy Birthday to me. Nothing is worse for me than being the centre of attention. But the cake was fabulous.

I was so nervous after that, that when I flung open my napkin to put on my lap I didn't realize that a knife and fork were inside and they flew out, very nearly impaling a neighboring patron. Sheesh.

We went to evening show, tonight was a singer named Jenene Caramielo, she sang and told stories of her childhood, she was extremely entertaining. She used to sing with Chicago, back in the day. It was the best entertainment so far. Not a speck of cheesiness. We sat with our Noo Yawk mafia friends.

Up to our room by 11. I seemed to be a bit more used to the engine vibration, but I took two Gravol just in case, since tomorrow is an early rise for Cartagena and I was so looking forward to that!

Good night.

Cruise part 6. Jamaica!

At 7:24 AM we docked  in Falmouth, Jamaica. Temperature is 31 C or 88 F. At 7 in the morning! We had a quick breakfast in the buffet and then headed down to deck 4 where the gangplank was. You have to make sure you have your Princess card handy since they scan you on the way out, and then again on the way in, that way they know if someone gets off, but not back on again. Which is handy knowledge since 4 people did not get back on today. They missed the boat and had to get a taxi to the closest airport, fly to the next port we stopped at, which was Cartagena, but there no flights that day, so they had to fly to Panama instead, spend the night at a hotel and then a taxi from that airport to the actual dock. They missed the whole Panama Canal because when they arrived, the ship was already going into the locks and you cant get off or on. What an expense, not to mention the stress and disappointment.  It's all fine and dandy to tour around on your own, but don't be a fool about it. The ship will not wait for you! At least, not if you're on your own, if you take a tour through Princess, then you're covered if there are delays....vehicle breakdowns and other unexpected occurrences.

Speaking of shore excursions, here's some info. They are priced higher than if you did them on your own, no doubt about that, and you don't always get to spend as much time at a particular spot as you might want. Those are the main "cons". But having to not figure out the logistics of taxis, buses etc is a huge "pro" for me.  The ports that ships dock at aren't always the nicest places, and some are actually a bit sketchy. The last thing I need is to get lost in an area that isn't safe and/or has no decent signage or trustworthy taxi drivers. It's all a matter of common sense and being in your own comfort zone. 

Princess Lines offers a lot of different options in each port, from $34 up to $300, depending on what you choose to do....from casual beach days right up to expensive helicopter rides. I chose the ones I thought were going to be fun for us, and i decided that at home, before the cruise, so I could research them at my leisure,  and I booked and paid for them before we left the house, that way I knew I would get the ones I want, plus I didn't want to stand in line at the shore excursion desk on the boat, that's a waste of time, and also they sell out quite quickly.  In Jamaica I chose a relaxing day at a private beach, which included free booze and food! 151% overproof Jamaican Rum! Ya, mon! (Ok, that was just dorky, especially considering I'm not even a drinker. 😜)

First view of Jamaica when I opened my curtains at about 6:30.

This is the port area of Falmouth, Jamaica. It was actually a beautiful port, with a lot of shops, restaurants, bars and open area markets. It was nice for the folks who didn't take a tour, there was a lot to do.

Look at our ship looming over the port!

We met our tour guide and boarded the small bus, there were 17 others with us, so it was just a nice sized group. It was an hour drive through some small villages, and into Ocho Rios, where all the resorts are. Our tour guide was this tiny little girl with the biggest smile, who was constantly falling into fits of giggles as she tried to get us to learn various words and expression in her lilting accent. After an interesting drive we were at the Bamboo Beach Club.

The beach was wonderful. Lots of lounge chairs to relax in, lots of shade (or sun, if you're so inclined), a little open air market with crafts and hand made items.

The water was as warm as you'd expect, and was loaded with colorful fish that swam around your feet

Here I am in Jamaica!

We were given lots of local foods to try, as well as lots of rum drinks. The rum was 151 overproof and was served freely. I had a sip, it was revolting, even mixed with fresh juices, however not everyone agreed with me and tipsyness and dancing on the beach ensued. Steven had one rum drink  and a Jamaican beer later on. I mean, it was only 10 AM!  I had mango juice as one drink would have laid me out. I'm a lightweight and hate the feeling of not being in control.

Spicy sausage and pineapple.

Collard greens and fried plantain, not as gross as it looks, but close.

Jerk chicken with some strange deep fried dough ball, sort of like cornbread, SO good!

It was a good day, the food and drinks were perfect, the water was warm, the antics of those that had too much rum were hysterical to watch. I've never had a desire to go to Jamaica, and I'll never go back (not for any bad reason, it's just nowhere I've ever been interested in) but it was a great time.

There was the requisite stop at a souvenir place  that obviously is in cahoots with the cruise line as well as with the tour guide because they asked what line you were cruising with, as well as who your tour guide was. It's a common thing, and that's they way the financial ball rolls. I didn't buy anything as I'm just not a shopper, but people were loading up with rum cakes and t-shirts.

Three facts about Jamaica. It was founded by Spanish Conquistadors in 1510 (ok, I know people were already living there, so it wasn't "found" by the Spanish at all. But I'm not getting into political correctness here.)

And two, in this area of the island, the schools are painted in bright colours and the children all wear uniforms, and the uniforms are the same colour as their school. I thought that was a fun fact.

And three, Usain Bolt is from one of the tiny villages we drove through.

So we headed back to our ship for a shower and rest before dinner.

I wasn't tired so I thought I'd check out the library, which was really large with a huge selection of books and games to borrow as well as a section of books that you could keep, if you turned one of your own in. I had finished a Harlan Coben book on the plane, so I exchanged it for The 100 Foot Journey, which was an extraordinary read. I read on our balcony while Steven had a snooze.

We had dinner in the Bordeaux restaurant tonight, I had chilled coconut soup for a starter and Steven had beef satay. We both had a seafood chowder and biscuits for the main, and I can't remember what was for dessert. The live show tonight was an older Canadian comedian, and while he was a bit funny here and there, he was mostly very corny. I was hoping that the rest of the entertainment wasn't going to be as cheesy as he was and the magician earlier.

Checked out the casino for a short while, and in bed by 11:00. The vibration was as annoying as ever, so I popped two Gravol to help me sleep. 

Good night!

Cruise part 5. In which we have a sea day

Since departure yesterday we have travelled 394 nautical miles. One nautical mile = 1.852 km. We are in the middle of nowhere, although there was an announcement that we were in the Sargasso Sea, and yes, it was wide (shout-out to all my video store staff!)  and it's sunny and 82 degrees F (28C). Cuba on one side of us and Santo Domingo on the other.There's a nice breeze, but it's still really humid. No sign (or concern) about Hurricane Michael. The time changed last night, we set our watches back an hour.

Since today is a sea day, we had the chance to sleep in a bit, which was so great, and today is "explore the boat" day. 

Outside every stateroom is a mailbox, and every day there is mail, which I loved. Coupons and offers for the various stores and services as well as a 4 page "newspaper" called The Princess Patter, which gave all the news and info of what is happening that day. It was oddly exciting to check my mail every day. Also a morning show show called "Wake Up" every day with the cruise director and his assistant cruise director telling what was going on that day. They were both Canadian and really funny. Told a lot of stories with Canadian terms and innuendos.

The TV had quite a few stations, which surprised me. 4 news stations, MSNBC, Fox News, BBC and another one. I tried to not watch any of that....the one time I checked, Trump was on all 4 stations and I didn't need to see any of him on my holiday. There was also the Discovery channel, HGTV and Animal Planet. Two sports channels and four movie channels. Also 2 channels that showed reruns of Big Bang Theory, Friends, The Office and other G-rated shows. And of course web cams and other boat related things. There was plenty to watch if you were sick or just needed some time to rest.

The Princess line is the actual line that was used on The Love Boat, and thus they also had a channel that showed Love Boat reruns 24/7. They used a lot of the original cast in various advertisements for the boat, explaining how to get around and how things worked and so forth. It was massive cheesiness but hysterically funny as well. I got a huge kick out of it. 

We went to the buffet breakfast this morning and I had my Nescafé. 😕. We decided to start our exploration at the top (deck 15) and work our way down. 

You could play chess or checkers.

 You could go to The Sanctuary, which was an adult only/positively no children or teens area, which would certainly be a fabulous spot during summer or Xmas etc. As I mentioned we saw virtually no kids, so we only checked this out the once.

Also up here was a basketball court and a mini golf course, neither of which we utilized.

There was a small smoking area where the wind was so strong that I almost felt sorry for the smokers.There may have been a huge fan somewhere, I'm not sure, but it was crazy windy. They huddled together like survivors of a storm, puffing away. So glad I'm not a smoker. Smoking anywhere else on the boat was strictly verboten, other than a tiny corner in the casino.

Deck 14 was The Lido, where all the outdoor fun was. Three hot tubs, a shower and the pool as well as the burger place, the pizza place and two outdoor bars as well as a free ice cream and milkshake place. The TV screen showed not-yet-released "Movies Under the Stars" at night. The staff line up deck chairs with pillows and blankets and provided free popcorn. The new Jurassic Park was one movie. It was a lot of fun. During the day they played things like "Grease", "Footloose", "Coco" and other Pixar/Disney type movies with lots of music that got everyone in a good mood

Lunch time! We went to the Bordeaux and he had mussels for a starter, a Philly Steak Sandwich and a fruit tart, and I had mussels, a Cobb Salad and a pear-walnut turnover. Delicious. It's interesting to watch the servers (almost all men, I think I saw two women the whole time). They carry massive trays of dishes and they swoop and swerve around each other like a well-oiled machine. It's almost like a ballet. We never saw a single spill or trip. I treated myself to a cappuccino, $3.50 (US$), but worth every penny.

 

 Then we went on the long, long hike to our room and got our towels and sunscreen and swimsuits and went back up to 15 where we had discovered a small splash pool that looked out the front of the boat. You had to walk through the smokers and up a flight of stairs (so I guess it was actually a secret deck 16) There was only ever 5 or 6 people there, it was like it was our own secret gem. I didn't take my camera that day, but here's a photo that I took on another sea day, the only bad weather day we had.

The deck chairs were all tied together with a huge ratchet strap, and none of the other people there had a clue how to work it, lol, so Steven unratcheded (is that a word? I think not) the straps and gave everyone a deck chair. It was super hot, so we didn't stay long, but we came back frequently. We went back to our room to change, the steward had been and made the beds....no towel animals on this cruise..😟. But he left a bucket of ice every day, sometimes twice a day, as well as fresh towels twice a day. He was in our room as much as we were I think.

We went and had ice cream (I feel pounds accumulating already, and it's only Day 1) Discovered another swimming pool with more hot tubs, this one was under a roof, so no direct sun.

Behind this was the spa, which looked pretty amazing, I think they had at least 20 kinds of massages and treatments, plus a hair salon, a mani-pedi salon, and an acupuncture place as well as a foot specialist. I utilized none of that. The thought of strangers touching me makes my skin crawl. 

Returned to our room to find this on the bed, with a note that said "Happy Cruising!" I'm not sure who it was from. But they were tasty! (They weren't just sitting uncovered, they were on ice with a cover over top.)

Tonight was formal night if you wanted to go to the sit down restaurant. There were two formal nights out of the ten. Steven did bring a pair of dress pants and a nice shirt and I brought a dress, highly unusual for us, but we thought we might want to check out one formal night. If you didn't want to participate, then the buffet was where you went. They wouldn't turn you away if you wore shorts or capris, but they encouraged everyone to dress up and not ruin the fun for others. The amount of tuxedos and Hollywood-style sparkly gowns was amazing and it was fun to see. The ship's  photographer took a lot of time posing people and taking pics of them all dressed up on the stairs. You'll notice we are not there, I hate having my picture taken.

 

Dinner: He had a duck appetizer, for the main he had beef medallions and for dessert an amazing chocolate-raspberry mousse affair. I had a fruit cocktail with a coconut-pineapple sauce, lamb chops with mint gellee and the same dessert. We had an Irish cream after dinner, and were pleasantly surprised when we were told we could keep the tiny shot glasses which had the Princess logo etched on them, and then we went and changed....we are not formal folks, especially on a holiday. 

We decided to check out the casino, which was nicer and bigger than I expected.  Over 100 slot machines,  and blackjack and poker as well. We walked around and I spotted a machine I had never seen before, called "Crystal", which is my lovely daughter-in-laws name, so I decided it was a sign and sure enough, within the first $20 I won just over $200 US. Hooray! I cashed out, as I know when to fold 'em.  The cash goes right on your Princess key card, and the next time you play, it's there. If you choose to cash out literally, the casino hostess will give you actual cash, but I knew I'd play again another night, so I left it on my card. 

It was just after 9PM so we decided to head to the theatre and see what tonight's show was, hoping it was not another cheesy magician. It was a song and dance show called "Encore", which was just fabulous, but to Steven's horror and dismay, it was mostly opera and Broadway show tunes. I loved it, and we sat with our mob friends and enjoyed the show. (Well, she and I did, I don't think the guys did)

 The show ended at about 11 and tomorrow was an early morning so we headed to bed. The engine vibration was as annoying as ever and I woke frequently throughout the night.

Good night.

Cruise part 4. In which we are on the ship!

We boarded at 12:30, but the rooms weren't going to be ready until 4, so it was suggested we go up to the buffet to have a snack. Of course we did. It wasn't too crowded, that was yet to come, as we were in the first group to board. The Horizon Buffet was massive, and in order to combat the dreaded Norwalk Virus, there were a set of six sinks and a Purell Sanitizer station at each of the two entrances. You were not allowed in until you washed and sanitized. And there was a person standing there watching you. (Ostensibly to hand you your plate, but I think that was just a cover. I wondered what would happen if I just cruised in (ha! Pun!) without washing, but I never had the nerve to try....didn't want to be "that woman who didn't wash her hands" even if it was only an experiment)

Of course it's a great idea, and Steven has such compromised immune system that I had sanitizing wipes in every pocket in every pair of capris and pants and shorts that I had with me. The Norwalk Virus is such a fear to the ships that they actually ask you to not shake hands when meeting people, but to fist bump instead. 

But the buffet....it was like every buffet you've ever been to, except better. Certain nights were theme nights with food to go along, which I will get into more detail as those nights arrive. My only complaint was the coffee. Considering we were in coffee capitals of the world; Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Jamaica, you'd think the coffee would be primo, but it was Nescafé, I'm sure. (Nescafé as in instant). I'm kind of a coffee snob, and I'd bet $$$ that it was Nescafé. Made me sad. However there was a Patisserie that served espresso and cappuccino, as well as the "sit-down" restaurant, but not for free.

When I was in Africa and Peru, also coffee capitals, they also served Nescafé. Very odd. 

But to continue, the buffet had rows and rows of breads and rolls and cheeses and coldcuts, dozens of salads and starters, plenty of fresh fruit, tons of veggie, and potatoes of all sorts, a huge selection of main dishes, pastas, meats, soups,  more than you can imagine. And desserts? Oh my god, no wonder I'm dieting this first week at home. Can't do my pants up. Pies and cakes and cookies and delectable things that I don't know what they were. I ate them all.

Breakfasts were all manner of eggs, from eggs Benny (yes please), omelette, fried, scrambled and hard boiled. Bacon, sausage, ham. Pancakes, waffles, bagels, muffins, pastries galore, cereal, yogurts, granolas, smoothies....and more. Lots of foreign fare as well...blood sausage, and yes...spotted dick.

Orange juice was free at breakfast, but not during the rest of the day. Coffee, tea, iced tea and lemonade were free all the time, as of course was all the food you could eat. Liquor was not free, but was reasonably priced, as were soft drinks. 

The buffet was a huge horseshoe shape at the front of the ship (the bow, I guess?) so you could sit at the very front and eat your way into new places. 

  

Lots of seafood all the time. We ate our fill of that.

Reasonably healthy desserts

The desserts that I ate! It's no secret that I have a terrible sweet tooth.

We were originally told that the rooms would be ready by 4, but an announcement came somewhere around 1-ish that we could proceed to our little home for the next 10 days.  

The ship had 15 stories, and we were on 12, the Aloha deck. The elevator announced each floor by name, as elevators do, it's not that I was surprised by that, but it felt so personal because all the other floors were announced in a bland manner: "Dolphin" and "Emerald"  etc, but when we came to ours it was a hearty "Aloha!" It struck me as humorous every time and I'd answer back with an "aloha to you too!".  I'm sure it got old to everyone else on the elevator very quickly, but I'm nothing if not polite. Plus, I don't really worry about what people think of me.

So we headed down the long, long, long, hallway to our room. It was LONG! We started at the 300 series of rooms and ours was 717 at the very other end. The halls were narrow and there were odd little jogs so you'd see a dead end and get excited, thinking it was actually the end, but the hall would jog to the left or right and another loooong hall would appear. it was like those deceiving lines in Disneyland. I was exhausted when we arrived, partly because we were hauling our little carry-ons and they didn't roll so well on the carpet. Gave my arms a good work-out for ease of lifting all that food to my mouth later on though, so there's that! When we got there, I realized we were across from the Kids Resort, the babysitting area and beside that was the Teen Room, and I was a little concerned when I saw that (for noise and screaming kids) but we never did hear a sound, they must have used super-potent soundproofing. 

And speaking of the babysitting services, I always wondered how reliable they were, but holy cow, it was impressive. The doors were locked, with a keypad, and as you dropped off your kid you were given a code so that you could leap through the door at any moment to check on your kid. The door had a eyehole (what are those things called? My mind has gone blank) so that if you just knocked, the door wouldn't open until you had proof (passport) of who you were. Very secure. Inside the kids had tons of crafts, games, movies, snacks, their own little nap area, it was amazing. There was a list outside of how many kids, and their ages and whether they were boys or girls, who were inside at any given time. The most I saw listed was 10. There were virtually no kids on the boat, which was glorious. I saw 5 in person. It was like spotting elusive jungle animals....you'd be surprised, and point and exclaim "Look! A kid!" It was $5 per kid, per hour. Maybe there were more in the teen area, but I don't think I saw a single teen. Must have been the time of year, too early to take time off school or something. All I know is, being able to sit on a deck chair by a pool with no screaming and crying was spectacular. The adults were well behaved too, I never saw any drunks or fools. 

Kids area.

We found our room and unlocked the door...TA-daaah! I had a fear that the keycard wouldn't work and we have to trudge all the back to the front desk, which at this point I had no idea where it was, and start all over. I'm bot kidding, those hallways were a trek. But it opened without an issue.

They keycard, by the way, is your life on these cruises. The ships these days are cashless, and anything you want to buy goes on the card....anything from a $1 pack of gum to a $6,900 piece of art (which we saw someone buy), it's used to get on and off the boat at the different ports, as well as in the casino and for drinks in the bars and restaurants. It's literally cashless. You can check your account at various kiosks, and on the last night a detailed copy is delivered to your room. It all goes on your real credit card to be paid whenever you get your bill. It actually was a very simple procedure. But you guarded your key card with your life. 

Our little room was awesome. Queen size bed, little desk and chair, another table and fridge and a TV on the wall. A perfect balcony with chairs and a table and a beautiful view.

A night stand on each side of the bed, and a large closet with loads of storage space on the other side of that picture. A small wall of shelves was there too, and of course the bathroom which was 

surprisingly spacious with shelves as well. 

We unpacked and organized ourselves and sat on the balcony and watched people arrive, boats come and go, we could see the ship being loaded with tons and tons and tons of supplies, and then we had to have the dreaded Muster Drill. It's maritime law, so I get that it had to be done, but the others I've done have been a crowded, hot, sweaty disaster, but this was very civilized. There were staff at every hallway and stairway (can't take elevators during a muster drill!). Besides, I genuinely want to know where to go if worst should come to worst. 

So after that the ship set sail and we decided to go for dinner in the Bordeaux restaurant, which was the fancier sit-down one for our "anytime" dining. We didn't want the other option, which was same table/same time/same servers every night. Some people like having a set schedule, but not us. I think it would be good if you were meeting people for dinner every night, but we were never sure where or what we would be doing at any given time. 

It was a pretty formal place, and sometimes you just want to be served and enjoy a bit of luxury. Each meal had 5 or 6 starters/appetizers to choose from (you could have as many as you wanted) and the same amount of main courses and desserts, so there was plenty to choose from and always at least one vegetarian option. This night I had a fruit trio in a port reduction, it was supposed to be a tiny bit of port, but I think the chef's elbow slipped because mine was swimming in it and it was yummy! Steven had shrimp sautéed in garlic. For our main, I had roast pork with potatoes lyonnaise and white beans and Steven had prime rib. Dessert for me was a mousse with vanilla saboyan, and he had creme brûlée. It was all delicious.

We had to wait a couple of hours until we were in international waters for the casino to open up, so we went back to our room to find that our steward had left all sorts of papers (explaining ship policies and what was going on and so forth), and a beach bag as well and two large beach towels, plus they do a turn-down service with your pillows fluffed and chocolates set on them, as well as fresh towels and soaps. I was mortified because we hadn't really finished unpacking and my underwear and bras were scattered all over the bed. 😳😱. Turn-down service isn't my thing, I can turn down my own bed, but that's what they do. The chocolates were nice, hahahahahaha, a different kind every night.

We headed to the Princess Theatre for the entertainment. They have two shows a night, an early and a late, the early was always super crowded as all the older folks wanted to be in bed at an early hour, but the late (10 PM) usually had a few empty seats. Tonight was a magician, he was actually pretty cheesy. He tried to be a comedian as well and it was pretty lame. The tricks were all ones I had seen before, but it was still sort of fun. The theatre was nice, seated about 800 people, maybe a bit more and you could get drinks as well. The couple that sat in front of us ended up sitting with us at every single show. They were from "Noo Yawk", with the proper mob-type accent. He sort of looked like  Joe Pesci actually. 

After that we went back to the buffet for a late night snack. Too. Much. Food. Must curb myself.....

Bed by 11:00. Asleep by 11:05. I could feel the vibrations of the engine and I dreamed I was on a train.

Good night.

The sunset the first night as we left Ft Lauderdale and headed towards Jamaica. 

Cruise Part 3.

We left Cranbrook on Tues at around supper time and flew to Calgary on one of the notorious tiny planes that seat 18. It's a 40 minute flight, but it lasts a lifetime. Those planes are rickety, loud, cold and bumpy. The kind that have no cockpit door. But, even though we could have driven to Calgary and been there by early afternoon, that would mean actually driving to Calgary, and I worry about road closures, accidents and other unexpected emergencies. I am a true fan of "Better early than late". Plus, you then have to pay for parking and worry about your vehicle while you're away.

It's not worth the stress, especially in the winter. That's my justification for flying to Calgary.

And, what made it even better was that we stayed at the In-Terminal Marriot hotel. Got off the plane, walked for 3 minutes in the terminal and there was the hotel. We didn't have to step one foot outside in the cold and snowy Calgary weather. Plus, we only have carry-ons, so no waiting at the luggage carrousel....that fearful wait as it goes round and round and your suitcase just never shows.  

We had dinner at Yakima's in the Marriott, I had chicken breast and rice noodles in a broth (it sounded fancier on the menu, but was basically chicken noodle soup)

 and he had a steak sandwich, and then we headed to bed as 4:30 comes early. Yes, we had the dreaded early morning flight, one of the perils of a last minute booking.  Price was right, but this second leg was not so friendly, time wise. 

It worked out fine though,  we woke up on time, went down the elevator and across the hallway to security, where Steven was pulled aside for secondary screening (ha-ha, as it's usually me, although they did take away my 120ml bottle of mouth-wash. Horrors! Trying to bring 120ml into a 100ml world.) Then to our gate where we had breakfast at Tim's and got on the plane and flew to Toronto. Nothing could have been simpler!  Then we got to Toronto and nothing could have been less simple. 

To make a long and stressful story short, we got off the plane and had to change to a different terminal side we were flying to the USA.  Asked a guy where it was, as the signage was horrendous.(a customer service guy, not a random stranger) and he pointed "there" so we went "there" which was up a flight of stairs. Wrong place. Back down and asked a different guy and he directed us to a hallway. We went there, and it was correct, but seriously, the security is over the top. I believe  we showed our passports four times, and went through two screening areas. At one point we showed our boarding passes, went down a long hallway with no windows or doors, and then had to show our boarding passes at the other end. I mean, did they think that perhaps I had some sort of machine in my carry-on that woud allow me to print counterfeit documents or sneak someone on board between one end of the hall and the other? Paranoid much? Then a final room, where there was a long row of check-in terminals with a sign that said Global Entry, which we don't have. So we went past them, a guy scanned our passports and we got in the line for customs (immigration...whatever, I always get confused in airports) . We still had about 30 minutes until boarding. We waited, and we waited and we waited and no one moved. Only one window was open and the guy was apparently taking the complete life history from each passenger. Now we only have about 15 minutes and I ask a guard/security woman  if there's any way she can let us through early as we were going to miss lur flight and she bluntly states "nope". People are letting us go ahead of them, which was awesome, but the line still wasn't moving. Like, literally, it did not move. So I promised to make this short:  we had not gone through the Global Entry line and gotten a photo taken, which apparently everyone has to do, so we ran like hell back there, scowled at the Guard who let us through without this crucial paper, basically pushed our way to the front, got a woman to scan our passports and print this piece of paper (which I might add was SO dark that the photo was just a black smudge with no redeeming features), ran back to the line-up (which still hadn't moved), and now we have 6 minutes to catch our plane, the little fellow who was letting people through must have seen the panic and dismay on our faces and he let us go through the priority line. We ran like mad down the hallway until we found our gate, with seconds to spare. Of course the plane ended up leaving late, but still, it was the closest I have ever come to missing a flight. It wouldn't be a holiday without some type of early stress. But we made it and arrived in Ft Lauderdale on time. The flight itself was uneventful, but to my great surprise there were no TV screens. No inflight entertainment at all. I haven't seen that (or, I guess, I haven't not seen that, for years)

Walked off the plane and the humidity slapped me in the face like a hot wash-cloth. It felt like my lungs filled with water as I breathed deeply.  We walked to ground transportation and took a taxi to our hotel. The taxi driver was a scruffy looking fellow who discussed his parent's divorce, his one trip to Canada, which he hated because of the snow and told us that our hotel was so close that it was "hardly worth his while" but we could "make it worth his while". I wasn't 100% sure if that was a threat or a hint. 😳. Anyhow, $17.00 later we arrived at the hotel, and thank the gods for air-conditioning. The hotel rooms were average, nothing special, but the location was fabulous. Right on the Ft Lauderdale Marina and across the road from Port Everglades, which was where we would board our ship tomorrow. You can just see the top of it to the right of the palm tree.

We walked around the unbelievable yachts that were docked there, and tried to find a breeze, which did not happen. It is so hot and humid here....I don't know how people survive. 

Anyhow, we had a light dinner at the outdoor restaurant, where a giant, lazy, fat cat seemed to be the doorman. He lifted his head and scrutinized us with cat eyes as we walked past him, and every now and then he would saunter past a table in hopes that a morsel of something yummy would fall his way. From his size it was apparent that morsels were not lacking. Steven had chicken strips and I had conch fritters, which I have never tried before. They were excellent. 

We walked all around the marina, people-watched a bit and before long it was time for bed. The rooms 

had great air-conditioning, and we didn't have to leave for the ship until noon so we had a good sleep with no stress about rising early and/or missing flights. It was awesome. 

Got up at about 8:30 ish and took our time with breakfast and wandered around the marina again. The humidity was a balmy 82% even at this early hour. This was the beginning of my Brillo hair. Below see the marvelous job that Heather did, and then the fabulous job that Mother Nature did. 

Every morning I'd smooth it out, which would just take 5 or 6 minutes and I'd walk outside and be a frizzy mess in 30 seconds. But during those 30 seconds, people loved my hair.

But I digress. At noon we took a shuttle to the boat, we could have thrown a coconut and hit it, it was that close, but there is no way to cross the freeway on foot and survive, so a shuttle it was. We were dumped unceremoniously off at a massive terminal filled with diesel belching buses and an array of painted lines going every which way. Of course I chose the wrong way and tried to go in a loading dock, but that surprised no one (meaning Steven or me). We found the correct way quickly and an old man who was sort of a security guard (he was about 87) told me my hair was "cute" and he'd "never forget me". He said I looked like a peacock, so I don't think I'll ever forget him either. I'm sure he thought it was a compliment. 😊😕

The waiting room was HUGE (I'm in the USA now so I guess I should say "yuuuuge", and also, speaking of, I didn't meet a single person who was a Trump supporter, every single soul dispises him)

It rapidly filled with a few hundred people, but man, were the staff ever efficient. Actually, I got an email a few days prior telling us our assigned boarding time, which was 12:30 and not to come earlier as we were to board in groups, right up until 4:30. If you came earlier than your time, you'd be sent away to wait. It was super quick, we filed in, went to a desk like an airline check-in, showed our ID and got our key cards and were whisked off to a gangway and on the ship we were. It was super organized, I was impressed. The days of hoards of pushing people and crowds and log jams are in the past. 

I'm sure most of you already know all that, but I have some friends who have never cruised, and plan to, and they wanted all the lowdown and details, so excuse the minutia. Also, I am amazed at how I forget stuff myself, and I like to keep a detailed journal. You know, for when I'm old and senile.

So we are on board the Island Princess! As I write this I've been away since 5 AM and I'm exhausted. Gonna close now and will tell ship stories tomorrow, as we begin our adventure. 

Cruise Part 2. In which I test my claustrophobia.

FNot a sun lover. Not a heat lover. Not a tanner. So where do I go for holidays? Oh....Tanzania, India, Greece, Bahamas, Mexico, you know, all those hot spots. 😕 And now Central America. Who said "sucker for punishment?"

Anyhow, I've never been fond of the heat, but I can tolerate it, assuming that whining and crying and complaining and making sure that everyone knows how sweaty and cranky I am means tolerate. 

But tanning? Who'd subject themselves to deliberately sitting in the sun? You know, standing in a line somewhere, or mowing the lawn, or just doing general outside stuff, well, that's part of life, but to do it on purpose? Yeah, you guys are nuts. Nuts. 

Now, to backtrack a little. Last time I got my hair cut, my hairdresser said "Oh, you've spent enough money to have earned xxx amount of points so you can get 30 minutes of free tanning, or free product."  And somehow, before I could stop myself,  the word "Tanning" fell right out of my mouth. I looked around to see who had said that, and imagine my surprise when it was me. I don't tan. I mean, I don't tan. Those coffin-style containers? With deadly rays being shot into my body? I feel short of breath just thinking about it. 

So, months go by. I'm ghostly pale. I book a cruise. The little voice in the back of my head is whispering "Use the minutes....use them....don't be such a wuss....use them, use them, use them". The other voice, the one I consider to be more common sense, is saying "The contraption will malfunction and you'll be burned to a radioactive crisp. And then the First Responders will see your mismatched and tattered underwear....and you know what your mother always said...."

So I went out and bought new underwear and asked my hairdresser how it all worked, and did I have to be locked into a tanning bed? I'm pretty behind the times with trendy things, so I was happy to find out that I could stand up in a little room. 

I filled out the liability form (see? Why a liability form if it's sooooo safe.....?) and considering my sun abhorrence, I barely got the ok to tan for 2 minutes. Heather showed me how to put the little silver conical things on my eyes, and where to stand and where the start button was. And then I was on my own. In this miniscule room where I tried to undress without my ass hitting the door and knocking it open for the staff and customers to see me in all my cellulite glory. Although I did have new underwear on, so there was that.

I eventually got from that miniscule room into the even more miniscule actual tanning room. It hadlong fluorescent-type bulbs with what seemed to be chicken wire covering them, and I felt pretty sure that it would electrocute me if I so much as touched anything. I then realized that I wasn't sure which button was "start", so I gingerly backed out, unstuck the silver cones from my eyes, put my glasses on and checked to see where the "start" button was. And then shut the electrical door again. And poked the silver cones back into my eye sockets. And being claustrophobic, I of course, shut the door gently, and then made sure it would open, and then shut it a bit more firmly and then checked it again. And then opened it to push the "start" button. And then realized I still had my socks on.  Well fuck. Repeat the whole process. 

Finally I am standing there, sockless, thinking how  ridiculous I must look, arms akimbo, hanging on to a strap above my head, feeling like a Bizarro World scene from 50 Shades of Gray. The lights are bright, and the heat is intense and even though I know Heather set it for two minutes, I'm pretty sure at least 30 minutes has gone by and I think I feel the fluid inside my eyeballs start to boil. Dammit, I must have put the silver cone things on both inside out and backwards and the rays are focusing into my inner eyeballs, like when you use a magnifying glass to burn ants. I did enjoy having sight, and now it's gone. 

I wonder if she forgot about me? Maybe she set it for 20 minutes and not for 2. Why isn't it shutting off? Maybe I was supposed to set something myself? What if they thought I was gone, and they've all left for lunch? What will happen if I just leave? Will the death rays shoot out into the waiting room? Why did Heather say, as she left me: "It'll be over before you know it". What does she know that I don't? 

As all these things are running through my mind, the lights go out and the heat stops. I breath deeply and open the electric door. Done. I survived two minutes in a tanning booth. Thanks Heather, for showing me the joys of tanning! I will return in a day or two and go for 4 minutes! And then for 6! I am a warrior!

Cruises.

I've never been a huge fan of cruises, although I've only done two so its not like I have a lot of experience. One was an Alaskan cruise, and if you want to see the Alaskan fjords, which I did, well, cruising is pretty much the only way. The other was in the Caribbean, and it was fun, and had many "pro's"....all you could eat food, entertainment every night, only unpacking once, seeing lots of sights.

But it's not all plain sailing on a cruise. (See what I did there? Sorry, not sorry).

Not enough time in the various ports, and always line-ups, and waiting for line-ups to move, and being stuck in line-ups, and sadly being at the end of a line-up, and being in the wrong line-up all together. Being smug because you're at the front of the line-up and realizing that there is no line-up. Not even being able to find the line-up. Line-ups are my nemesis. 

And crowds. Actually I don't mind a crowd so much as long as I dont have to make inane conversation with strangers, and I have my own cave to crawl into at the end of the day, my own quiet spot. That's one of the reasons that this cruise appealed to me, it's not a floating city with 5,000 passengers. That's Hell on Water. Those mega ships, how horrifying and overwhelming. You have to walk for hours just to see the horizon. Ugh. 

But only unpacking once, man, that's a bonus almost worth the line-ups.

Anyhow, the only other cruise I've ever wanted to take was through the Panama Canal. It's always fascinated me....I mean, come on, a bunch of guys cut a continent in half! What? That's incredible!  It's so incredible that you can boil it down to one sentence, which is spelled the very same forwards and backwards. Think about it, some guy had an idea about a canal and where to build it.

A Man, a Plan, a Canal, Panama.

Now, write it backwards. Best palindrome ever.  

Plus, it's one of the few travel ideas that Husband and I both are interested in. So when I stopped in to visit my travel agent to see what was new on the horizon (Breaking Travels News: Jordan next year! 👍😱) and she said "Let me check" and "Oooohhhh, flash sale" and well, wasn't there a cruise to Panama, the right length, an awesome deal, room with a balcony, free connector flights, and decent travel times? I had to book it. 

Imagine Husbands surprise when I came home. He had been expecting groceries and maybe a treat along the lines of ice cream. Not along the lines of Princess Cruises. 

But all in all, I think it will be fun. I'm easy going when it comes to travel, I don't expect much and I don't (as they say) "sweat the small stuff ".  I'm not high maintenance and I don't need 5 Star anything.

 

Clean sheets? Check.

My own bathroom? Check.

Food that I don't have to cook? Check and check.

Delays? To be expected.

Heat? I'll live with it for now.

Change of plans? It's all an adventure. 

Norovirus and Ebola on the boat? Ok. I might have a issue with that. 

Hand sanitizer and steri-wipes and more hand sanitizer? Check and check and check.

So, yeah, We're going on a cruise.  Updates to follow