We were awake early today, though we didn’t have to be. With no firm plans for the day, our original intent was to simply take the port shuttle ($19.95pp charged to our ship account) into Le Havre for lunch. The day was going be chilly but partly sunny and dry.
We have been invited to have breakfast in Sabatini’s this cruise, which is always a wonderful way to start the day. We walked in and were greeted by so many familiar faces that we spent a couple of hours there getting caught up with waiters from cruises past as we dined. G went right for the brioche French toast and bacon but I stayed healthier, enjoying smoked salmon rosettes, avocado, spinach and fruit.
We stopped by the Guest Services desk right across from Sabatini’s and got some smaller bills and verified that our OBCs were correctly reflected in our on board spending, We then settled in on the soft seating on the Horizon Terrace. It was comfortable in the sun, chilly in the shade and really a pleasant day for this time of year in Le Havre. We decided we weren’t going to be hungry enough for lunch, not even the special-ness of a lunch in France, and it wasn’t worth $40 and a 30 minute shuttle ride each way to walk around Le Havre, which we did years ago.
G eventually got a slice of pizza from the Lido Deck and I had a scoop of cassoulet from the Horizon Court Buffet and we shifted our seats on the back when the sun moved and we were quite content watching the freighter traffic for a couple of hours.
I had to request a different mattress from our cabin steward this morning, and it was in place when we returned to the cabin mid-afternoon. I wasn’t going to go down that path again, after just one night on the OG left me really uncomfortable. The kicker was when G happened to sit on my bed this morning and commented that the mattress was crap. Yep, it was, but I laid down on its replacement before dinner today and slept for an hour without moving even one time. Heaven!
Has there always been such a plethora of sports channels on the cabin TVs? The SEC Network? Wow. I subscribed to that last month just to watch McGee compete at a cross country race in Missouri. Now we just need Princess to spring for the B1G Network!
That little nap and a good shower went a long way to be energized for what turned out to be a very fun evening. We started in the PES lounge in the Vista(less) Lounge where they had the most gorgeous display of strawberry trifles loaded with whipped cream but I was good and got by with this…
We love our little table in very back of the Allegro Dining Room and our super wait team of Berenice and Sebastian. Restaurant Manager Roxanna was racing past tonight, spotted us and came back to chat when the crisis du jour she was dealing with was resolved. We ran into DRO (formerly maitre de) Enache later in the evening and it felt like deja vu all over again. It’s not a secret that it was our experience in the Regal Princess last fall, specifically its attentive crew, that made me more amenable to continuing to cruise Princess. I was hoping we’d run into at least a couple of them this year. Well, we have and it’s been wonderful to see them again.
Restaurant Manger Roxanna
From the vegan menu, roasted carrots and shallots with chermoula sauce. Highly recommend!!
Asian salad with extra shrimp
Tonight’s Princess Theater entertainment was a juggler, so we instead went first to the Wheelhouse to listen to pianist Carlos who had been playing during the PES Lounge and we enjoyed that very much. We stepped out on the Promenade Deck to watch as the Regal Princess sailed (and caught a bit of the sunset), and then spent the evening checking out the other live music options on board. Specifically, quartet Neptune’s Groove from Argentina performed Soul music in the Vistaless Lounge (loved them!) and then we went to the Piazza to listen to party band Gravity perform two sets. The first was disco music and then more country music and the place was jumping, especially considering that this had been a very long day of sightseeing to Paris or Normandy for many people.
It was 11:30pm by the time we made it back to our cabin, a late night for us, but I suspect not the last late night we’ll enjoy. With 19 more days, only six ports and a seven hour time difference between us and Texas, we’ll have lots of opportunities for more fun and frivolity on board.
