Day 148: Princess Cays

Today was in the 13 of the top 5 days of the entire winter. ;-)

Things did not look too promising when we first walked out on the Terrace Deck en route to the Horizon Court Buffet. The Emerald Princess was just rounding the southern tip of Eleuthera, and the lighthouse, as well as the small, unconnected islets that stretch off the end of the island were clearly visible. What wasn't visible was the sun; it looked rather grey and gloomy. I was disheartened. We had big plans for the day. 

We ate a quick and light breakfast in the buffet and then went back to our cabin to back for an easy beach day. I left behind my snorkel gear, though. Though I was much improved today, I did not feel well enough to want to breathe through a snorkel. We were on the very first tender to the island, and immediately left the Princess property and walked behind the fence to where the locals sell trinkets and handicrafts.

I had brought all of our gold mesh bags filled with Elite toiletries (10 of them!) and started walking down one side of the stalls and handing them to the ladies selling their wares. They were thrilled, and, as I walked back when I was done, several of them called me over and handed me small gifts in return, and gave me hugs. We left Coke tumblers from purchasing the soda package with the grandmother of a boy (now a teen) we had met years ago when he directed us back to Princess Cays on one of our rambling walks. 

The coolest things I was gifted were earrings and a necklace, tiny glass dolphins filled with pink Bahamian sand. I love them!!

By the time I was finished, our group for our excursion today, with Eleuthera Tours, had started to gather. Kristel from Eleuthera Tours is the one who gave us a ride back to the ship last cruise when we had walked down to the lighthouse. She and her husband, native Bahamian Donald, offer all sorts of tours on the island. The plan for today was to ride(!!!!) the three miles down to Lighthouse Beach and then have several hours to explore, and enjoy a picnic of local Bahamian food and drink on the beach. (I think I was most excited about the ride part of all this!!) 

The cost for this 5-hour tour was $90pp (www.eleutheratours.com). 

I can tell you, after riding down to the southern point in a 4 wheel drive vehicle, that it was not my imagination. This is one really rough road, so rough that it took us about 30 minutes to drive the three miles. But we enjoyed the bragging rights we had when the others we were with (seven ladies all from our home state) couldn't believe we've walked it several times in the past. 

It was a wonderful thing to arrive at the Caribbean beach still full of energy. G was a Pied Piper and led the others across the tidal pools and up to the lighthouse, but I took off in the exact opposite direction. I've always wanted to know what lies beyond the rocks on the northern end of the Caribbean side beach. And I love to walk on a beach when mine are the only footprints. 

I walked the length of the first beach, looking all along the way for any beach treasures. This was where I had found a perfect sand dollar on my first visit; I've never been that lucky since, and wasn't today, either. Once at the end, I carefully picked my way across the rocks and tidal pools only to find another length of empty, pristine beach. From this point, I could see the very top of the Emerald Princess at anchor off Princess Cays. 

I walked the full length of this beach too, loving the peace and sound of the waves crashing. The sun had come out and the water was a brilliant blue color. Somewhere along this beach I began to wonder why the heck we live where we do, in the middle of the country, when we are both so drawn to beaches, especially remote beaches. But we do, and we love it there, too. 

At the end of the second beach was a rock cliff that I could have scaled if I hadn't been wearing Tevas, but I decided that was the end of my journey. I turned around and walked back to where Donald was building a fire to cook our lunch and Kristel was pouring rum punches and other beverages for the rest of the group, who had returned from exploring. I had packed my Konvertible Kite and opened it up, and it immediately caught the wind. I got so warm flying the kite in the sun that I first stood in the water, and then eventually walked out to a rock in the water and sat on it while holding the string reel. Heaven!

That kite had gotten around this winter, and had been flown as far west as Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, as far south as Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and as far east as Eleuthera in the Bahamas. What a winter we've had!!

Eventually I decided it was time to join the others in enjoying some of Kristel's rum punch and pulled a chair out to the beach. Donald had already set the several tables we were using with vinyl tablecloths and colorful plates, and decorated the tabletops with flowers, shells and coral. It was rustically beautiful and perfect for the beach location. 

G and Donald

Around 12:30pm Donald called us to lunch. Our choices (we had made them when we reserved the excursion) were conch, fish or BBQ chicken. I chose conch and G chose the chicken and everything was served with Bahamian rice and coleslaw. Donald had caught the conch and fish last night, and Kristel made everything from scratch and it was all absolutely delicious. I was on to my second rum punch by then, and could no longer feel my lips, but, hey, I didn't have to walk back!!

At 2pm, everything was cleaned up and packed up and we began the ride back to the ship. Also not my imagination:  it is a slight but steady uphill climb on the first part of the walk back. Of course, it's usually after noon by the time we start back when we walk, and the sun is generally bright and hot. Riding on the back of a 4WD truck in cushioned seats is much better. 

Kristel and Donald returned us to Princess Cays around 2:30pm, and after hugs goodbye, we discovered the line for the tender back to the ship was ridiculously long right then. Not interested in standing in it, we found two nearby loungers in the shade and made ourselves comfortable. The two piece local band was still playing and the sun was shining and it was a perfect end to our perfect day on the beach. We returned to the ship on the last tender of the last day of the last cruise of our winter at sea. 

Seldom early, never late. That's our cruising motto. ;-)

Once back on the ship, G showered first and went up to Skywalkers to watch our departure from the island. I joined him by 5pm and we watched as the Emerald Princess rounded the southern tip of Eleuthera and started its journey along the island's 110-mile long eastern coast. We enjoyed that view and the sunset from our dinner table in the Michelangelo Dining Room. The last supper!  G shocked me by ordering tamarind salmon, and said he actually enjoyed it. We did not know until tonight that we could have been ordering the old 'always available' salmon and chicken breast even though it is no longer on the menu. I've enjoyed salmon twice a cruise on these short cruises, but, on a longer cruise, I would definitely have ordered the 'off-menu' salmon. 

We took a few minutes after dinner to watch balancing act La Paire perform in the Piazza with Rocco (Mr. Six Pack) and his wife. At one point, Rocco lies flat on the floor and outstretches his arms over his head. His wife stands on his hands and he lifts her and pulls himself first to a sitting position and then to a standing position with her still standing on his outstretched arms, and then reverses that back to the floor. I simply cannot believe his strength. He must work out for hours every day. 

We needed to get started with our packing by then, and skipped tonight's Voice of the Ocean to return to the cabin. G always says it will just take five minutes to pack, but that is so not true. At 10:30pm we are just finishing it up. We are using EZ Check and had our boarding passes and luggage tags delivered to our cabin about 8pm. We will set our four (grrrr) suitcases outside our cabin door tonight and not see them again until they come off the baggage carousel at our home airport. For $20pp, we think this is the best deal around when traveling with lots of luggage.

It is hard to believe that our two months on the Emerald Princess are over, and that our sixth winter at sea is behind us.  G commented tonight, while packing, that he doesn't know how in the world we managed packing for our South Pacific trip. It was quite a logistical nightmare, with suitcases spread across two islands and the Pacific Princess. Coming on board the Emerald Princess and staying in the same cabin for two months has been a cakewalk in comparison. But we wouldn't change a thing about our winter. It's been the most amazing adventure of our lives. 

Five years after our first winter at sea, life is still good. :-)

Day 136: Princess Cays (aka the Eleuthera Death March)

Today was one of the 11 days on the list of the five best days of the winter. ;-) And I really, really needed it to be. What a difference a day makes. Actually, what a difference a night makes, specifically a good night's sleep. Sure, we were helped along by Ambien last night (we were that desperate), coupled with the fact that it wasn't as rocky back here in our cabin (that has sadly changed tonight), and I awoke feeling bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and ready to take on another island.

Before I go into our day, though, I must give a shout-out to friend Suzan who talked me down off the ledge yesterday when I was ready to pack up and go home...if only I could have found airfare cheaper than $1100. Of all days for us to not have a pre-booked flight home! I was all "I miss my bed. I miss my bathroom. I miss my shower. I miss the twins" (who had already texted me about today's playoff games for their basketball league and asking when I was coming home...neither of which especially helped my homesickness). And Suzan acknowledged that I had been away for home a lot since September and it was normal to be homesick but what a great itinerary this cruise had and she and Greg were wishing they were here and... Well, it was exactly what I needed to hear. And sleep was exactly what I needed to do. It was a different world today. 

So enthused was I this morning about this cruise that lies ahead of us that I suggested to G over breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room that we really should do the hike down to the lighthouse on the southern end of Eleuthera, the Bahamian island where Princess Cays is located. Really. I guess I kind of expected him to decline my offer, telling me was more important for us to just relax and enjoy the beach today. Which he didn't. Instead, he was back in the cabin packing for a hike before I even finished eating. There was no turning back. 

We were on an early tender to shore and I was talking with an older couple on the way to the island. They asked why I was carrying my walking sticks and I told them of our plans for the day. "Oh, you're doing the Eleuthera Death March", the lady said. They had stayed on Eleuthera 30 years ago and drove as far as they could take a car to the southern end of the island, and then walked the rest of the way to the lighthouse. Apparently that hike hasn't improved over the years. And also apparently, it's not just me who thinks it's a rough way to get some exercise. 

We left a note with the senior security officer on the tender pier about who we were and where we were going and what time we expected to return (in case they had to go and pick up the pieces), and started off at 9:45am. In one way, it hadn't changed since we last did this; the road is not in any better shape. However, in another way, it was a totally different sport. Unlike the days when we would not see another person for the five hours we'd be away from Princess Cays, today we were passed by nearly 20 dune buggies and a few 4-WD vehicles along the way. 

Eleuthera near Princess Cays looks like this. It closes in with brush and jungle going south. 

Everyone offered us a ride, with the lady driving the support vehicle for the dune buggies asking us if we knew what we were getting into. Oh yes, too well. We declined all offers of aid, and offered it instead. G assisted a guy in putting the chain back on one of the dune buggies when it broke down. 

My walking sticks saved me from any stumbles or turned ankles on the very rough sections of the road. We didn't encounter a single mosquito, though we were well covered with DEET, and, though it was mostly sunny, the high was probably in the mid-70s, so we were never uncomfortably warm. 

Sometimes the road is nicely sandy like this...

...but most of the time it is rough like this. 

Our first glimpse of palm trees after well over an hour of walking told us we were almost there, and even though this adventure was not new to us, there is nothing as beautiful as the first view of the beach on the Caribbean side of the southern point. When we crossed the dune overlooking it and walked the whole length of the beach, ours were the only footprints on the entire beach. That is a spectacular feeling. 

Finally...a beach!

The Caribbean-side beach

I may get this one printed and framed for the bathroom at home to propel me through my days of work!

At the end of the beach, by the tidal pools etched out of the rough coral, we finally encountered the people we had seen going down to the lighthouse. The dune buggies were parked there (they used to go over the dunes to Lighthouse Beach on the Atlantic side, but it was simply too rough for the dune buggies), and the participants on that excursion were just returning from climbing up to the lighthouse. And a group of six people from the Eleuthera Tours excursion had also just finished exploring the lighthouse and were settling down to have lunch on the beach. Their guide, Kristel, was very impressed we had walked down from Princess Cays, and offered us a ride back in a couple of hours when they left. We declined...then. 

We used to see nothing and no one...now it's a parking lot. 

The coral tidal pools at the end of the Caribbean side beach

G and I carefully picked our way across the sharp coral tidal pools on the southern end of the Caribbean beach and climbed up the path that leads to the now-defunct lighthouse on the cliff overlooking the southern tip of Eleuthera. We commented that, when we first did this hike five or so years ago, the path was almost indiscernible amongst the brush. Now it is clearly visible, but it is still rough in spots and partially covered with decaying vegetation. 

I'm always afraid we're going to go to the lighthouse one year and see it closed off or repaired, a safety measure with all the people now visiting it on excursions. But, thankfully, nothing had been changed. The wooden floor is still rotted, the wooden ladder to the loft is still there. We explored a bit and then picked our way now to the narrow pocket beach that disappears entirely at high tide. As we scaled the rock wall going down to that beach, I couldn't help but wonder how many more years we'd be able to do that. 

G, of course, had to stop my heart by going out on the very end of the cliff at the end of the island; and then we climbed down the rocks leading to Lighthouse Beach on the Atlantic side. A rope railing here, and a rope at the top of the cliff overlooking the pocket beach, were the only safety improvements we saw. I'm glad it hasn't changed too much. 

Lighthouse Beach on the Atlantic side

We sat on the sand for awhile, and then climbed across the coral caves to a small cave that is impossible to access during high tide, but we were lucky to be there at low tide today. We could see a ship anchored at a Half Moon Cay on Little San Salvador Island about 15-20 miles away. And there were a couple of people on the far end of that beach. But mostly it was just us, and the sound of the waves. Absolute heaven. 

G stopping my heart again

The roof of the lighthouse is barely visible here

We explored a lot, and climbed some more, and walked on the beach even more, until it was finally time for us to start back in order to safely return to Princess Cays in time for the last tender at 3pm. We climbed back up the rocks to the lighthouse and then down the hill on the other side and across the tidal pools. G kept asking me if I thought we should hitch a ride back with Eleuthera Tours, but I didn't want to (just what was in that Ambien?). We hadn't had any issues so far, and, though the walk back is always harder (it's a slight but constant uphill), I knew we could do it. Then (and this part will be debated forever), G, who is as surefooted as a mountain goat and who had just been scaling all sorts of coral cliffs where a fall would have been fatal, had one foot slip into tidal pool. He slipped on a relatively flat surface. Slipped!  He was fine, of course, but his left shoe and sock were soaked. 

I was, and am, highly suspicious. At that point, we had no other option than to hitch a ride back to Princess Cays. He would have had blisters on blisters if we walked.  This also gave us another hour to explore the Caribbean beach where Eleuthera Tours was just finishing their beach barbecue. We had a blast, talking with the tour participants and Kristel and further exploring the beach, secure in the knowledge that we could expend as much energy as we wanted...we were riding back in style. 

We were on the second last tender back to the Emerald Princess just before 3pm. It had been a wonderful day with beautiful scenery, and we weren't even tired. We showered and went up to Skywalkers to watch sailaway and look at our many photos from the day. It was even herbed goat cheese night at the PES Lounge. We hadn't eaten since breakfast and were starved. Still, we ate just enough to take the edge off the hunger pains and went to dinner at 5:30pm, where it was Italian night.  Italian night with penne arribiata and chicken strips accompanied by a glass of Merlot after a day with lots of exercise is like a dream come true for me. I also had the seafood antipasto and a delicious salad with pine nuts and pecorino cheese...and limoncello sorbet for dessert, of course. What a feast!!

We went from dinner to the Princess Theater for the 8pm performance of production show I Got the Music. Then, while G stopped in Club Fusion to listen to a music trivia being run by Deputy Cruise Director Frenchie, I took the elevator up to the jogging track on Deck 19 for a look at tonight's beautiful moon (it is full?) shining on the ocean. And I was instantly reminded of that night five months ago, watching the super moon in September glisten on the water as the Pacific Princess cruised around the islands of Moorea and Tahiti. This has been an amazing winter. We really are living the dream this year. And I'm so glad that, although we are nearing the end, it's not over yet.

My night of sleep had changed everything. 

Life is good. :-)

Day 103: Princess Cays (or not)

It's a rare day that I pass up the opportunity to have my head (and my hips) underwater, swimming with the fishes, but when the day is cloudy and windy and somewhat cool, I can be convinced to stay out of the ocean. And that's what happened today.

We were awake rather early (going to sleep by 9pm will do that to you), and, as we always do, tuned our TV to Channel 44, the front of the ship webcam channel. It looked grey, but not rainy out, so we were hopeful for a decent day on the beach. But when G poked his head out of the cabin door to take a look through the window of the door heading to the Terrace Deck, he said the wind was so strong it was howling in the hallway. We suspected we might not be able to tender into Princess Cays today. 

However, when we were dressed and heading down to the DaVinci Dining Room for breakfast, we had a different opinion. It was obvious that several of the balcony cabin residents across the hall from us had their balcony doors open, turning the Riviera Deck into a wind tunnel. :-(

Captain Forteeze, in his morning "Welcome to the island du jour" announcement, forecasted a high of 74F today, not too surprising considering how chilly Fort Lauderdale had been yesterday.  I just could not work up any excitement at all about snorkeling in cool, rough, churned up water on a cloudy day. I'm here for awhile, and can be a little choosier when it comes to beach days. Nor did we need to go over to the island just for lunch; we could have a better lunch in the Horizon Court Buffet all afternoon. 

Still, G had to conform to the tenets of his religion, which obviously require that he always get off the ship in port. So after our breakfast, he took a tender to shore, and I took advantage of my alone time to do some hand laundry and straighten up the cabin and phone Room Service with a list of leftover minibar items to be exchanged. (This cruise's minibar remains on a tray in the closet). And give myself a manicure. Things were looking pretty rough on that count, and I was dismayed when my right man-hand with its broken nails and jagged cuticles resting tenderly on G's tuxedo jacket made it into our MTP photo in the Patter last cruise. G tried to reassure me that no one even looks at that photo, but that even if they did, it's so small that my hand would not be noticed, but I know he's wrong. The Photo Department was supposed to crop it out, but I guess they ran out of time after the hours of Photoshopping that were required to make us presentable. ;-)

I eventually adjourned to the International Cafe, where Suzan and Greg had reached much the same decision I had about staying on board. We sat and drank coffee (today I had the Princess White Chocolate Medley, which was delish) and talked for so long that G returned to the ship and looked for me there before even going to the cabin (how well he knows me). He said the tender ride had been a bit rough and the water around the fish feeding pavilion so churned up that he could barely see the fish in the water. (Honestly, he knows just the right things to say to make me feel less guilty about staying on board. He is definitely a keeper.)

G was ready for lunch by then, so we went to the Horizon Court Buffet for my first full meal there since we boarded the Emerald Princess on January 4. Oh, I've grabbed chips and salsa and guacamole to eat during football games, and brownies for G and red velvet cheesecake for me on more occasions than I care to admit to, but I haven't had a full meal there yet. We got there right at 11:30am when the lunch buffet line opened, and everything was fresh and looked really good. I knew I'd be having a food- and drink-filled evening, and so kept it light with gorgeous fresh veggies and my favorite sun dried tomato vinaigrette. Oh, and a big hunk of blue cheese (that I shared with my husband).

We changed for a hot tub session then, in our favorite Deck 17 aft hot tub with a great view of the long shoreline of Eleuthera island, on which Princess Cays is located. Of course, by mid afternoon the sun did come out (it figures), but I rather enjoyed sitting in the hot tub before it did, living dangerously, for once without a Tilley hat on my head. After a long while in the hot tub, I moved to the small splash pool next to it, despite the warnings from others that it was too cold to swim in. It was cold, but I started running, first in one direction, to create a whirlpool, then in the other, repeating several times until I had spent about 45 minutes in there. Everyone else was avoiding that cool pool, and that worked to my advantage as I had it all to myself. 

I left there and went directly to the steam room in the ladies locker room in the spa. That the Emerald Princess has both a steam room and a sauna available for free is one of the big reasons we are on this ship right now and not the Royal or Regal Princess (though there are others, too...that could be a whole separate blog post). The steam room still smells a bit fiberglass-y after something that was done to it (I later found out it was painted, and it is still being completed) during the dry dock, but it doesn't bother even sensitive me. It certainly is adequately hot and steamy, and felt so good after my water workout. 

As it turned out, I was showered and ready for the evening by 3pm, and thought that a glass of wine from Vines might be a perfect way to spend an hour, but then I realized that it was a port day and Vines didn't open until 4pm. Well...shoot. So I instead started this blog post (somehow I knew I might have a late night), and waited in our cabin for Room Service to come and exchange our minibar items. And waited. And waited. This evening it still hasn't been done, but I know that the Room Service waitstaff were the hors doerves servers for tonIght's MTP cocktail party, so it seems petty to complain about it. 

We went up to Skywalkers to watch as the Emerald Princess sailed south along the coastline of Eleuthera and Little San Salvador Island where Holland America's Half Moon Cay is located. In fact, we saw a Carnival ship in the distance, leaving Half Moon Cay. 

I could have just stayed there in Skywalkers, watching the islands of the Bahamas go by, but we were on a schedule tonight, and went down to dinner in the Michelangelo Dining Room at 5:15pm. We ate lightly, just two starters each, but of course had dessert, too. There's always room (and time) for sorbet! Waiter Victor told us tonight that, after we leave the dining room every evening, they put a new table top seating six people on our table top for four people that we have for just us. We are feeling exceptionally spoiled. 

Back in our cabin, we combed hair and brushed teeth and did the usual freshening up before going to the Adagio Lounge on Deck 16 next to what used to be Sabatinis but is now S h a r e. The MTP cocktail party started at 7pm.  We had already seen frequent cruiser Phyllis earlier in the day (we've cruised with Phyllis most Januarys since 2007), but were happy to see Joyce and meet Sue. They are #3, 2 and 1, respectively, and Phyllis jokingly told us she is the reason we were bumped out of the top 3 MTPs. Maybe so, but I can't think of a better reason. 

For the record:

#1 MTP 1481 days

#2 MTP 1385 days

#3 MTP 918 days

Sorry, I didn't get cutoff for top 40 most traveled passengers. 

Poor Chief Engineer Roddy. My first words to him at the party (actually my second since I might possibly have said "Hi") were, "Who's in charge of the pools?", then, when he confirmed it was him, told him he needed to turn up the temperature of the water at least five degrees. They can always count on me for honest feedback, but Roddy knows me too well to expect anything less...or to take me too seriously.  ;-)

I drank lightly, mostly because my second Breeza Marina disappeared off the table while I was being social in another part of Adagio. That's okay; I had a late evening planned and needed to stay bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. While G went out to listen to some live music, I was bound and determined to stay awake long enough to first sit in the Princess Theater for an hour waiting for the start of the 10:15pm performance of Magic To Do and then enjoy the 53-minute performance.

I was standing outside the closed doors to the Princess Theater on Deck 6 shortly after 9pm, while the theater was being reset after the 8pm performance. My goal was to get one of the great seats with plenty of legroom and unobstructed views in the raised middle section of the theater. Luckily, I did...barely. Passengers were also entering the theater from Deck 7, and had made tracks to those coveted seats. I settled in for my hour long wait, intending to finish this blog post, but just as I typed Phyllis' name (above), Phyllis appeared in front of me. (This prescience is getting kind of spooky.) Of course, we sat and talked and talked and talked until the show started, so I am finishing this post later (much later) in the cabin. 

I liked Magic To Do the first time I saw it. I loved most of it this second time. There is dark part in the middle that I definitely do not like, but the Colors of the World segment is incredible. The difference, I think, is that I sat in the front row the first time, and several rows back and higher this time. Magic To Do is not a show to see up close; there is so much going on in it that it's best appreciated from further back. I ended up sitting for two hours total, and walked halfway back to my cabin hunched over like a question mark before I could finally straighten up. But it was so worth it!

We move clocks ahead an hour tonight, making it 1:15am as I finish up this post. I stayed up past 1am and it didn't even involve football. Now that's magic!

Day 97: Princess Cays

We enjoyed a fantastic first visit this season to Princess Cays, despite the less than stellar weather. In fact, it was maybe because the weather was overcast that it was such a great day. We didn't stress about getting too much sun, and everything seemed less crowded on the island. 

I knew the weather wasn't perfect as soon as the sun rose- or didn't rise- this morning. The ship remained on AST time today despite the fact that the Bahamas, where Princess Cays is located, is actually on EST. We are so far west now that sunrise today was at 7:51am, and long before that occurred I was sitting (alone, at the back corner table) in the DaVinci Dining Room having breakfast as it changed from night to day outside the window, but the clouds hung low and there wasn't a bit of sun to be seen. Luckily, there wasn't any wind, so the Emerald Princess was able to anchor and tender into Princess Cays.

I quickly had a fruit plate followed by a veggie omelet and swung by the Passenger Services Desk to get a copy of our onboard spending statement before the end of the cruise, and to make certain that our statement would roll over to the next cruise. One drawback of Princess@Sea is that I can't see G's spending statement, only my own. (However, because his credit card is on file for both of us, he can see my spending.)

Housekeeping complete, I returned to the cabin to find G stirring, and packed for a beach day. We went down to the International Cafe where G grabbed a quick breakfast and we waited for tender operations to begin. We managed to get on the first tender over to the island, and though it wasn't a pretty day, it's always exciting to see Princess Cays for the first time each season. We wasted no time in walking down to our usual spot past the BBQ pavilion. We can always find shade down there, but, of course, that wasn't an issue today.

No shortage of chairs!

I dumped my backpack, picked up my mask and snorkel and was the first one in the water. I love being able to get photos without the legs and fins that are inevitable later in the day. The water didn't feel too chilly, and I was later amazed to see that it was only 78F. I guess that when the air temp is about the same, that temperature is actually tolerable. I was happy to see a few fish as I made my way along the rocks, but they suddenly all headed in the same direction, toward the end of the feeding platform. Sure enough, G and others were out there creating a fish frenzy, but it was when someone threw in pieces of a burrito that they went really nuts. 

Lots of sargent major fish

Plaid trumpetfish

The feeding platform as seen from the water

We ate some of the fresh fruit that was being cut up, and were joined by Suzan and Greg for awhile. The BBQ buffet started early, around 11:15am, and we ate lunch and then returned to the ship. Our favorite Princess Cays routine when it's not perfect beach day weather, is to leave the island early, return to the ship, adjourn to the hot tub on the back of Deck 17 and look out at the Eluethera shoreline as we relax and have a drink. 

We dressed for dinner early and went up to Skywalkers to watch sailaway, taking a closer look as the Emerald Princess headed south and rounded the end of Eleuthera. The lighthouse is still there, and we could just make out the beaches on either side of it.  The Emerald Princess would spend the next 5 to 6 hours following the east Eleuthera shoreline north en route to Fort Lauderdale tomorrow morning. 

At dinner, I clarified the policy on the unused bottles of my wine package (they carry over to the next cruise), and maitre d' Giuseppe stopped by to confirm that our dinner table won't change next cruise (woohoo!!). We skipped dessert and made it to the 7pm performance of comedian Dean Gaines, a new comedian for us.  This is rare, and therefore a big deal!  I wasn't sure for the first few minutes if we would like him, but when he started doing impressions, we were firmly in his court. The guy was uniquely funny. 

I couldn't convince G to go to Kory Simon's Broadway sing along in the Explorers Lounge (I'm shocked!). He wanted to return to the cabin to watch movie The Intern, half of which he slept through last night, but first we went to the Horizon Court Buffet and I actually ate there for the first time this cruise. Suzan has been raving about the desserts up there, and tonight I had red velvet cheesecake. OMG, it was the best dessert I've had all cruise. I may need to stroll through there more often. 

We're back in the cabin watching the movie on TV. We set the clock back an hour tonight, and I think we may stay on EST for the next cruise, which goes only to Grand Cayman. It will be a quick cruise, and a bit more restful than our recent five ports in a row. Our Fort Lauderdale shopping list is ready (more Bandaids for blisters top it); we also need to do some banking and make some phone calls. That's the beauty of returning to Fort Lauderdale every few days...it's a far cry from staying in French Polynesia for months at a time. Plus, we love sailaways, and we'll get to enjoy many of them over the next few weeks. 

One cruise down, lots to go. 

My favorite part of doing back to back cruises is knowing I don't have to do this yet. I'm giggling here!!

Life is good. :-)

Day 108: Princess Cays

I am loving having all my keyboard shortcuts already set up from prior years for use in describing these Caribbean cruises!!  pc = Princess Cays; cbb = Caribbean; fll = Fort Lauderdale; stt = St. Thomas; pt = Princess Theater; cf = Confusion, I mean Club Fusion. I can type an entire blog post in just ten keystrokes. ;-)

I slept until 9am this morning!  Slept like a baby...I have a good sleeping mattress; G, sadly, got the bad one this time around. He's going to have to address that, or have a deformed back by the time we disembark after 28 days. (It flattens down to nothing.)  I may, in a separate post, tell you just why I was so exhausted last night. Or not. We'll see...it's definitely blogworthy (it's a great story) but will also be easily misunderstood.  That's why I'm holding off another day to consider it. 

So, back to this morning, waking up after 9am, without a headache for the first time since Wednesday (yay!  My sinuses were in shock after first returning home and then leaving again so soon). G was putzing around in the cabin, which looks shockingly empty and organized. Did we really bring that much less stuff with us for this round of cruises?  I guess so. We did bring three larger suitcases, simply because they were free on Southwest Airlines, and it's nice to pack our wetsuits and snorkel gear separate from formal clothes, but they weighed in at 35, 37 and 41 pounds at the airport yesterday, far less than our usual four suitcases of 45 to 48 pounds each. What I'm seeing in our neat and tidy cabin is reflective of that. I love it!

I was instantly reminded of last night's issues when I went into the bathroom. We had no washcloths to wash up after a night's sleep. This was ridiculous. G went into the corridor and snagged a single washcloth off of Antonio's cart but said he didn't feel right grabbing even two; Antonio only had five on his cart (for 18 cabins?!?  What the heck is going on?).  I quickly claimed that single washcloth (I really didn't feel like I had completely removed my makeup last night, using just fingertips to wash my face) and G appropriated our single hand towel for use as his washcloth. This is like camping!!  

We also didn't have our Elite minibar yet, on Day 2 of a 7-night cruise. Craziness. I phoned Room Service again and put the phone on speaker while I got dressed. It took that long for someone to answer. No, they hadn't gotten all the minibars delivered last night and ours was on tap for this morning. Geesh, we usually like taking a couple of beers with us to Princess Cays, but then we've never had this issue before. We decided things would look better after coffee and breakfast...

...or not. We went down to the International Cafe (hereafter IC) on Deck 5 in the Piazza for some fresh brewed coffee. We had clearly missed breakfast in the dining room, and so decided to follow our pattern set on the Grand Princess of having a bacon, egg and cheese muffin from the IC for breakfast. While they had always been freshly made, hot and tender on the Grand Princess, we both received one where one side of the English muffin was as hard as a rock. We couldn't even bite into it. G gamely removed half the muffin and started to eat his as an open face sandwich, but I have my limit, and the Caribbean Princess was strongly testing it. I went back up and asked for a different sandwich, with a muffin that I could bite into (I helpfully demonstrated that I could not even bend the muffin with my fingers, it was so hard). In response, I was given two sandwiches. I only asked for one, but it didn't make any difference; they were both similarly hard as rocks on one side. This was silly, and, frankly, I have no patience with such incompetence. Back up I went (as G tried to hide in the Piazza) and explained that this was simply not acceptable. I really needed a sandwich I could eat, and they needed to know that they were serving inedible food. The chef went back into the kitchen and got a fresh muffin sandwich, put it on the panini press for not nearly long enough, and handed it to me. Well, it certainly wasn't overdone but it also wasn't warmed through. But that was all the strength I had in me to do battle before breakfast; I took it and ate most of it. We then went up to the Horizon Court Buffet and got some fresh fruit to go with it. 

Back at our cabin, we tracked down steward Antonio and asked about the washcloth situation. He finally admitted that the ship didn't have nearly enough, and that they keep ordering them but they were not arriving on turnaround days. This is also ridiculous; it's not like this is a ship on the other side of the world dependent on restocking every three weeks or so.  This ship is in Fort Lauderdale at least every seven days. They can't get a container of washcloths to stock it?  Can't they knock on the side of the Royal or Regal Princess and ask to borrow some washcloths?? I have truly never heard of such a thing. I am going to go to Ross Dress for Less on turnaround day and buy some damn washcloths. 

By noon we had still not received our Elite minibar, but decided that if we wanted to go to the island for lunch, we needed to get going. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Our minibar had arrived!!  Score one for the Caribbean Princess! Finally!!! No apologies for its tardiness, of course, and the beers were not cold, but beggars (and, by this point, we truly were begging) can't be choosers. 

Not our best Princess cruise start, but everytime I tried mentioning that, G would cut me off. "Negative waves, babe. No negative waves!"  And, of course, he was right. We are going to salvage this cruise!

A ride to Princess Cays on the open top of a tender went a long way to make things right. The day was warm in the sun, but the breeze made the shade feel cool, and the net effect was that it was a perfect day, weather-wise, if one did not intend to be in the water. I did see several people swimming and snorkeling, but far fewer than normal. We simply went over to get lunch, and I got my favorite chicken topped with balsamic dressing, salad, coleslaw and cucumber salad. We took our lunches to two lounge chairs right by the water near the feeding pier and soaked up some sun (armed with Tilley hats and SPF50, of course). Princess Cays never fails to remind us of all that we love about the Caribbean:  clear blue water, colorful water toys, tropical vegetation and live Caribbean music. 

We got in line for a return tender about 2:30pm. The line was long, but moving fast, and by 3pm we were back on the ship. I immediately went to the bar on the Terrace Deck (Outriggers?) to get a fuzzy water when those negative waves found me again. The bartender informed me that I did not have the correct soda sticker for this cruise and asked if I had bought one for this cruise. Uh, yes, I did, this one, yesterday during lunch in the Coral Dining Room. Well, I had the wrong sticker. He explained that what I needed to do was go to the Passenger Services Desk and get a copy of our statement showing I had paid for a sticker and then take it to the Calypso Bar, the only bar that still had the stickers today. Okkkkkkkaaaaayyyyy...

So, back I went to the middle of the ship, down to Deck 6 where I saw a very long line (no surprise to me) at the PSD. Luckily, I was able to wait in the Suite/Elite line, which was much shorter. Normally, I don't take advantage of that, not wanting to be helped in front of others, but today...today I was feeling a bit differently. The rep who assisted me insisted that I did, in fact, have the correct sticker, and started to explain to me about the three different drinks stickers Princess sells. :-|  I told her I was familiar with them, and that I had paid for the least expensive one and simply wanted a beverage, but was having trouble getting one. "Well", she explained, "You can only get certain beverages with the sticker you bought. What were you trying to get?"  When I told her I was trying to get soda water, she replied that I should have been able to with my sticker and wanted to know who had misinformed me. 

I asked for a copy of my statement so I could show it to a bartender as proof that I had, in fact, purchased a Soda Package and she hesitated. "Well, there's an issue. It hasn't yet posted to your account. Did you really purchase that sticker this cruise?" 

Negative waves, babe. Negative waves. 

I told her where and when I had purchased it, and she went behind the wall and returned with a stack of receipts. One by one she went through them, until she found the one that I had signed yesterday in the Coral Dining Room. When she found it, she said I was all set. Well, not quite. The bartender at the bar closest to our cabin seemed to think otherwise. I asked for a copy of the receipt to present as proof of my purchase, and she made me one. I then took it up to the Calypso Bar where I asked the bartender if I had the correct sticker. "Oh no. You have to buy a sticker every cruise. You can't use the one from last cruise. That's cheating!!"

Negative waves, babe. Negative waves. 

I produced the copy of the receipt, showing that I wasn't cheating, and told her I just wanted the correct sticker and a large soda water, easy ice. And, 20 minutes after I went for a fuzzy water, I finally had one. When I returned to the cabin, I saw that we had TWO hand towels and one washcloth from our morning service. Things were looking up!  And remember, we endured 120 days with the Steward Nazi two winters ago. We can do this! 

While I was fighting that battle...er, resolving that situation, G had decamped to a hot tub. Smart man!  He returned and asked why I had never shown up to join him. When I explained the latest situation, he reached his limit. After he showered for the evening (he got to use the sole wash cloth tonight; we take turns!), he went down to have a chat with Passenger Services, only the second time in 69 Princess cruises that he's felt compelled to do that. 

At 5pm, we  met up in Skywalkers for the Elite Lounge. One whiff told me it was Breeza Marina night; herbed goat cheese was in the air. Yay!  Bartender Armando made me the best one I've ever had, and I enjoyed my favorite hors doerve (hor doerve?) of the cruise. On a "what are the odds" note, we talked with a man, 89 years old, who said he had just completed a cruise on the Oceania Marina. When asked, he told us the cruise started in Valparaiso, and I added, "And finished in Papeete on January 4". He was dumbfounded and asked how we knew. We told him we had watched his ship sail into Papeete harbor that morning from our hotel room balcony. Really, what are the odds of that?

Almost as unbelievable, our cabin steward looked familiar from the first time we met him yesterday, but we couldn't place him. By last night he had figured it out. He had been our cabin steward on our 5-night cruise on the Royal Princess in October 2013. He also remembered that we had been moving to the Emerald Princess for the rest of the winter. That he remembered us was amazing; that we'd have the same steward on two different ships in two different years is even more so. He was a great steward; this wash cloth situation is not of his making. 

Dinner had a few new regional choices on it, and they were quite nice. 

We had hoped to get to production show "Born to be Wild" at 7pm, but when we arrived in the Princess Theater, it was standing room only. We did stand for a part of it and decided it was good enough to come back for the 8:30pm show. We went to listen to the duo playing in the Wheelhouse Bar and returned to the Princess Theater at 8pm for the show...and got two of the last seats. Oh yes; we're back to needing to arrive 30 minutes early for a show. 

Born to be Wild was very good, not the best we've seen, but I enjoyed the music and the pink Cadillac (really!  There was a car onstage!) and the smoke and pyrotechnics. Having slept until 9am, we were full of energy tonight, and headed to the Explorers Lounge for the 50s and 60s Rock and Roll party at 9:30pm. It was huge fun, and we really loved the music of band Epithanie (that's not a typo). We stayed until the end of that, then went next door to the Piazza for the 50th anniversary balloon drop party, where busy Epithanie also played. That was a lot of fun, too, and I took some video I'll try to post in St. Thomas (so nice to be able to do that!!). 

It was a great evening, topped by our return to the cabin where we discovered not none, not one, not two but FOUR washcloths and two hand towels. I hope this doesn't mean someone else is doing without tonight, but things are definitely looking up. 

I believe there are no bad cruises, just occasionally bad moments on a good cruise. What kind of challenges/fun will tomorrow bring?  We can only imagine...