Day 10: At Sea

I need to start tonight’s post with a couple of corrections, and sorry for my shoddy reporting. I’ll try harder going forward. 😆

Gail emailed me pointing out that what I reported as being aft suites on the ship (photo posted on Panama Canal day) are actually the aft stairwells. There are no aft suites on this ship. We finally realized this yesterday when we were investigating the inside cabins on the back of the ship on Decks 17 and 15, but I neglected make the correction. Thank you Gail!

We were considering the merits of booking one of those few aft inside cabins vs the inside cabins that are forward of the mid ship elevators. We’ve spent so much time on the Dining Promenade on Deck 9 that we thought those aft cabins would be convenient. They would be…but Deck 9 is really convenient to everything too. 

The second correction is that the Sea View Terrace at the front of the ship not necessarily closed off just because the sliding doors between there and The Dome are roped off. They were roped off today but we were able to go around the outside from Deck 17 and that area and the Sea View Bar were wide open. In fact, we watched the sunset from up there. 

We’re continuing to learn new things every day!

I appreciate all your emails!  Half of you are shocked that we’re even on this ship (same) and the other half are shocked that we like it so much (same again!). I did take a gander at the current blog stats. 10K+ views daily!  Good grief, I really should proofread before hitting PUBLISH each night, shouldn’t I? Thanks for being here!  Thanks for being tolerant!

So, today…

It was MTG luncheon day, and that pretty much ruins me for anything productive either before or after. I didn’t want to eat anything this morning, and the way to do that is to just sleep in, so that is what I did. I was truly hungry (a nice feeling) when we went to The Catch by Rudi at noon. 

As fourth most travelled (that’s the “sister in law of the groom” bridesmaid position, or the “cousin handing at out programs at the back of the church” position) we were seated with Staff Captain Chris from the UK and he was a delight, as were our table mates. Once again, we were the last to leave. But the real thrill was when we saw waiter Romeo who we’ve known for 20 years and who was on the Emerald Princess and Pacific Princess with us for entire winter seasons. We hadn’t seen him for ten years at least and what a reunion that was. These wonderful people are simply unforgettable. 

I didn’t want to have to shower again before dinner, so I read and watched videos this afternoon and we were on the Sea View Terrace for a beautiful sunset tonight just after 6pm. 

We weren’t yet hungry, and decided to go to the 7pm Princess Arena show by vocalist Willis White performing Lionel Ritchie and Commodores songs. We had seen him at least once previously during our winter cruises. He is fantastic!

By then, it was 8pm and we were starting to feel a tad peckish. We went to the Sanctuary Restaurant where I had just oysters Rockefeller and a coffee, and G had an entree. It had been a big food day; moderation is called for tomorrow!

The 9pm Princess Arena show is underway, but the bass sound is currently being drowned out by an unhappy toddler two cabins down. I think she’s the only young child on the ship, but she’s making herself known tonight. ATWEP!!

Before I close this, I should mention that laundry is now taking 60 hours to be returned. I’ve received requests for cabin pics, but it looks a bit like a laundry in here as we hand launder at least a couple of items every day. If we can hide the unmentionables, I get some pics. 

Day 9: At Sea

I am starting this while sitting at dinner. We are, thankfully, not at all rushed tonight (going to the 9pm show tonight with nothing firm on our schedule until Silent Disco at 8pm). G noticed in the Medallion app that “shipmate friend” Pratad who he’s met on prior cruises is dining alone just one deck down in the Celestial Dining Room so he ran down to say hi while we are waiting for our food. He simply can’t sit still very well, but, thankfully,  I do it well enough for both of us. 

Today was a brunch day in the Sanctuary Restaurant, and, now that we know the routine, we didn’t go until after 9am. I had my usual watermelon and feta and a delicious salmon frittata, but I am definitely scaling back in the eating department and only made it through half of it. Delicious!  I think this is the same menu as two days ago, but, just in case, here it is again. 

Dr. Engman’s 10am enrichment lecture topic was about corals, one of my favorite things in the world, then he (and we) had a one hour break before he spoke at noon on ocean mammals. 

The schedule for the rest of the afternoon opened up then, and we sat on the Wake View Terrace discussing this ship and plans for cruising on it again. As a result, we ended up booking six cruises going out through November 2027. Think we like it? We’ve been on the ship for a week now, and have spent a lot of time analyzing how we “live” and where we spend our time, and after all that, we decided to again book on Deck 9…just not so far forward as to be directly above the speakers on the ceiling of the Princess Arena!

We are now actually double booked for next fall, with cruises we have had booked for well over a year that I was really looking forward to, and now the Star Princess. Which way we go really depends on how we’re feeling at final payment time. They’re entirely different types of ships and itineraries. 

As a collective group, we passengers are getting more colorful by the day. The sun is bright. And hot. And burning. I’m pretty careful and even I’m getting pink. What I would have given for this weather on our last Hawaii cruise!

I keep discovering new places on this ship. There is a seawalk in the Piazza sphere. Who knew?

Today’s Princess Arena rehearsal sounded good (😉) and we were looking forward to tonight’s show. It’s working better to go the 9pm show for several reasons, but I especially love not being rushed at dinner. We spent on time on the Wake View Terrace at 5pm listening to the SaxWave Duo perform (really nice event) and then walked right into the Sanctuary Restaurant for dinner just before 6pm. It was Italian night, and the minestrone soup was superb but I also had a taste for (believe it or not) the smoked beef brisket. It was quite good. 

This pic was taken with permission, but this optical illusion in the Wake View pool is so weird!

Our three main guys in the Sanctuary Restaurant. Junior waiter Man from Nepal, waiter Somphot from Thailand and Restaurant Manager Ray from the Philippines are the best!!

Next up was the Silent Disco in the Piazza (so.much.fun!) before heading to the Princess Arena for tonight’s show by Italian vocalist Marco Romano. 

yet another Frank Sinatra song bomb on a cruise

I was kind of iffy on his show, especially when he squeezed in a Frank Sinatra number, but he finished strongly with Bring Him Home and Con Te Partiro and knocked it out of the park with those. 

The Luminescence White Party was held in the Piaxza starting at 10pm and was kicked off with another aerial act (different couple than we had seen in The Dome a few nights ago) and then the party band opened it up for dancing. 

It was nice to have seats (up in Deck 9, not far from our cabin) from which to watch the aerial performance! There were several (not a lot) of guests wearing white outfits. G actually brought one, too, but that was before we knew that the Luminescence White night Party would be held when it was Italian night in the dining rooms. White gauze and red sauce just don’t mix!

Day 8: Fuerte Amador for Panama City

It is only 8:30pm as I start this post, and we are already settled in our cabin for the evening. We had a relaxing and uneventful day, documented by precious few photos, so this will be brief tonight. 

We were highly amused today by tales from the crew. The Star Princess docked in Fuerte Amador at 9pm last night, and crew members who claimed their passports in advance were able to go ashore until 1am.  This is cause for extreme celebration, especially for the younger ones. Apparently a bar nearby was selling $1 beers and there was a steady line heading that way. I’m happy for them. Those sorts of opportunities happen only rarely. 

I’m sure there were some passengers who also went out last night but we were not among them (I know you’re shocked). It’s now clear to us that this tropical heat packs a punch. Still, we intended to ride the Panama City double decker Hop on Hop off bus today (there are a couple of stops very close to where the ship docks in Fuerte Amador. ($30pp, $22 for seniors)). 

We were up early and went to breakfast in the Sanctuary Restaurant, then made the mistake of going up to Deck 19 on the jogging track to get a good view of the area. G had not yet been up there, and I discovered it only yesterday. With the ship not moving and the sun baking, it was beastly hot up there, and the thought of riding around on the upper deck of a HOHO bus all day started to lose its appeal. We decided to instead just walk off the ship in search of those $1 beers. 

I missed this game up on Deck 19 yesterday

In the Piazza today

While we were leaving the terminal area, G said he thought we should climb the circular road to the top of a nearby hill for the exercise. He’s so funny!  Actually, that’s exactly the kind of thing we did, frequently…15 years ago in the Caribbean (do you recall our forced marches?).  Those days are long behind me, and should be behind him, at least in the Panamanian heat and humidity. 

When we returned to the ship, we settled in what is quickly becoming our favorite area of the ship, the Wake View Terrace. I actually fell asleep in a lounger while G used the pool and hot tub nearby and I ended up in the sun as it shifted around. Luckily, G spotted that and fashioned a pool towel to provide some shade, a very good thing. I’ve would have gotten fried. We were surprised, when we returned to our cabin about 3:30pm, to hear a rehearsal in the Princess Arena with the show band. Tonight’s show was a juggler. We thought we wouldn’t hear drums as we were getting ready for dinner. 

We spent some time in the Elite Lounge (still a weak link in this experience, though we had a guitarist tonight, which was nice) and then had a leisurely dinner in the Sanctuary Restaurant with Somphot and Man. We didn’t intend to go to the Princess Arena juggler show tonight, so there was no need to rush. We ended up instead enjoying a Candlelight Concert by guitarist Kali J in The Dome, and it was fantastic. Such a beautiful venue, with the candles reflecting in the glass ceiling.

Restaurant Manager Ray carving G’s prime rib

A couple of people have emailed asking how we got so lucky to be dining in the Sanctuary Restaurant this cruise. I really can’t say. DRO Claudio is making it happen. We certainly didn’t ask for it, and it never even entered our minds that it might happen. We had never before met Claudio but we do have a common dear friend (in whose debt we will forever remain). But, to us, the real win is that we have a table for two at 5:30pm. There are three more entree options each evening, and G has certainly enjoyed the beef, but, aside from them, the menus are the same and the galley is the same. And we’re getting the same great service we generally seem to get in the dining room. However, the Sanctuary Restaurant when we go is never anywhere near full, and, in fact, is almost empty some nights. It was actually a smart utilization of that space to make it possible for us to dine there. 

Tonight’s Celestial Dining Room menu for comparison:

G’s pic, but I saw it, I liked it, I stole it. 😆

Once the concert ended, I really didn’t want to eat anything else today, so we were safest back in the cabin. Tomorrow starts five days at sea, and I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to every one of them. 

It’s 9pm and late show just started. Wow, that percussion is loud tonight. For a juggling show?!? Time to break out the ear plugs. Don’t leave home without them!!

Guess who figured out where to best take the scans of the Patter in our inside cabin? No more shadows. It only took a week!