Given these interesting tidbits to mull over, we went to breakfast in the Club Restaurant. It was natural, then, that our discussion turned to reviewing our own adventures in Polynesia on this trip, the totality of which usually sinks in only when we watch these sorts of documentaries on our cabin TV. Simply put, it has been an amazing experience, and, looking back, we wouldn't change a thing except our original hotel reservation on Rapa Nui, which is saying something after almost three months of travel.
Sitting at a table for two at breakfast, we were only inches away from a table for six, and overheard people discussing the Princess Messenger@Sea system. Apparently, many people have been using it successfully, with the only issue being that they have to set up their contacts daily. Well, that would be an improvement for us. We were able to successfully set up one of those passengers on our iDevices; they could not do the same with us. However, that helped to isolate the issue enough that, armed with that new information, we re-visited the Internet Manager immediately after breakfast. He said that he had been told this might be an issue for some passengers, but we were the first he'd encountered. He has sent an email to hopefully get an answer on how to fix it.
Just think of us as the beta passengers for Princess@Sea on the Pacific Princess. Hopefully, the kinks will be worked out for the 50th anniversary cruise starting December 3, the day we disembark. (Have I mentioned that we will be home for Christmas? I know I have, but have I mentioned it lately?) ;-)
Since we were just one deck below the Pacific Lounge, and line dancing was starting, we went up there long enough for me to do the Achy Breaky, but that was as long as we lasted. Even G was feeling it a bit, though the sea was definitely a little calmer today. Instead we went down to the stable Casino Lounge to watch Samuel and John demonstrate fruit and vegetable carving. That's a fun thing to see once a season, and these carvers seem especially creative. Dancer/ Cruise Staffer Michael was the MC/commentator, and, I swear, that boy was born with a microphone in his hand. He just came on board two cruises ago, and like all but one of the dancers is right out of school and this is his first job, but Michael acts like he's been doing this for years. There's definitely cruise director potential there!
I joined G for British Pub Lunch in the steakhouse at 11:30pm. I didn't eat, but split a Strongbow Gold Apple hard cider with him and discovered a new favorite beverage. G was going early to ukulele class at 12:30pm to get in some extra practice (he takes these things so seriously!), and I went down to the Club Restaurant for a quick lunch of spaghetti aglio, oleo and pepperocino, a favorite.
After lunch, I changed into a swimsuit and went up to Deck 9. The day was sunny and hot, about 84F-ish, and there were several people in the pool and hot tubs, but there were still plenty of loungers available around the pool. Open loungers! On a sea day! At 1pm! I love this little ship!! There were also plenty of loungers available on the Promenade Deck, even though one side remained closed due to the 23 mph wind from the east and the resulting sea spray.
I used the pool for about an hour and sat in the hot tub after that, just as a squall moved in. The mix of hot water and blowing rain was refreshing, but that marked a change in the weather for the remainder of the day. From then on, we had a mix of sun, rain and clouds. Except for during tomorrow's Crossing the Line ceremony, I care less about clouds vs. sun than the winds dying down, giving us a little relief with the pitching and rolling. Still, as I said, there was improvement on that note today.
We spent the second half of the afternoon in the cabin, with me reading and G alternately napping and watching ESPN on TV. I was thrilled to watch the Baylor-OK State game, although I cared not a bit who won. We have simply been seriously football deprived. I also texted the twins for an update on their weekend basketball games (fall football is done): two wins (one in OT) and one loss. We'll take it!
It was the first of three formal nights of the cruise tonight, so we started getting dressed about 4pm for that. We had time for a brief stop in the Elite Lounge (it runs from 4:30pm-6:30pm this cruise, mighty early, but then we're sitting down to dinner at 5:15pm!). It was Stilton and port night, and I couldn't miss that, regardless of the movement up on Deck 10 forward.
Dinner tonight was the 50th anniversary menu. By now we pare it down to the mixed greens salad and the beef tenderloin. G had the orange marnier soufflé and coconut ice cream and I had the poached pear for dessert. We went to the 7:30pm Cabaret Lounge performance of entertainer Heather Sullivan, who sang the music of 20th century divas backed by the Pacific Princess shown band. We do love live musical entertainment.
G has changed out of his tuxedo and is heading back out for the game show Majority Rules but I am tucked into bed with an e-book on my iPad. The Pacific Princess will be crossing the equator about 3am tomorrow morning. I'm not sure we'll get up to watch, but it's always a noteworthy day. The Crossing the Line ceremony will take place on the pool deck at 11:15am tomorrow morning, and we will officially be just one month away from winter.
And, finally, that stream of consciousness I promised last night, disconnected observations about things happening (or not) around the Pacific Princess...
The new internet system, one that I think most of the bigger ships have already been using, is a huge improvement in terms of logging onto and off of WiFi. One needs to set up a login and password to access it, but, in my case at least, by keeping one Princess@Sea window open on my iPad and iPhone, I remain logged in and have not needed to re-enter my information. To use WiFi, I simply touch the the Internet button on the bottom of the Princess@Sea home screen and am asked to Confirm or Cancel my decision to connect to the Internet. It's instant and easy. Logging off is a smidge more difficult, only because I sometimes lose that logout window, but I type logout.com in the address line and it does the same thing.
The online Princess Patter is about 65% effective, because it doesn't contain all of the events listed in the real Patter. So it's nice to refer to about event starting times and places, but can't be used to browse all available activities. I am still carrying a Patter as backup. Princess@Sea also has a list of desk hours and open times for various things such as the Captains Circle host and Shore Excursions desk, and these seem to be accurate, and this is very helpful to have at hand.
Something else that's only partially useful...having our onboard spending account on Princess@Sea. I can only see my own, not G's, as a credit card in his name in registered to pay for our on board spending. He can see both of our accounts, and ends up handing me his iPhone to check them both. It would be nice if he had the option of allowing me to see both accounts on my iDevices.
Not useful at all (for us...yet) is the Princess Messenger feature. I'll keep you posted on that...
There has been no wine package offered on any of our Pacific Princess cruises, not even this 16-night cruise. I was told it's because they cannot get the stock on board to assure that they will have what passengers want. I don't know whether this situation will change for the next few cruises out of Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale before the 2016 World Cruise, but I have to admit that I miss it. Instead, I've been buying wine at happy hour between 3 and 4pm. The choices are more limited but I've found a couple of wines that I like.
The handling of on board credits (OBCs) has changed again. Instead of getting cash for the refundable OBCs, a check will be mailed to our house after the cruise, but I know better than to get involved in chasing that down. It's not been an issue from a spending perspective (we've well overspent our OBC) but it has become an issue for getting US $. After 76 days away from home, we are flat out of them, and have had to use French Polynesian francs for extra tips, which we've been assured is not an issue for the crew. Luckily, we'll soon have access to an ATM in Hawaii.
I have had to start a list of things I need to replace or fix before we cruise again, and I seem to add to it almost daily. Reader sunglasses, one contact (left), two broken earrings (unfortunately, of different pairs). Then last evening I was taking off my necklace, one of those $4 magnetic strings of beads I'd bought in the Caribbean years ago, and the wire inside broke, sending tiny beads flying everywhere. Oh joy! This was while G was still out and about, and so I dropped to the floor and, using my hands (it was dark and the lighting in here is not the best), found dozens of them. Then, walking around in bare feet, I found even more. ;-) It reminded me instantly of a wonderful toy I'd received as a child, one with tiny nails and a small hammer. I think I played with it on the hardwood floor just once, and then it disappeared, never to be seen again. Well, that mystery is now solved.
We are loving our Deck 4 ocean view cabin with its large window, and it was well worth having to move on our last turnaround day. The location is unbeatable, the best on the entire ship for being centrally located, and we make a habit of using the Reception Hall stairway (we call them the 'pretty stairs') to walk up the one deck to the Club Restaurant or Promenade Deck.
And, finally, I heard tonight at dinner about some snow heading for the upper Midwest, including northern Ohio. For the first time in recent memory, it didn't wrench my stomach to hear that. Mom is safe and well, and doesn't have to go outside for anything when the weather is bad.
Life is definitely good. :-)
