We separated for lunch: G wanted to attend the British Pub Lunch in the Steakhouse but I wanted the Greek salad on the menu in the Club Restaurant. Still, he joined me for dessert (as he never misses an opportunity to have ice cream).
I wanted to share the schedule from today's Princess Patter to show you the huge variety of sea day options that exist, a real surprise for us on this small ship. Frankly, I think they do just as well, and in many ways better, than on the larger ships. I've included some of the TV programming (the programs that appear in the Patter) simply because so many of them are specific to the South Pacific itineraries. However, I have left off the sales seminars- both jewelry and spa- because they are very similar on all Princess ships
6a-11a: The Wake Show with cruise director David and deputy cruise director Michael on Channel 21
6a-6pm: Gavin McLeod, a biography on Channel 20
6a onwards: Port presentation on Rangiroa by Douglas Pearson on Channel 30
7a onwards: fitness classes in the Lotus Spa
9:45a: Basic photo seminar in the Casino Lounge
10a: Enrichment lecture with Douglas Pearson on Rangiroa in the Cabaret Lounge
10a: Latin dance workout with dancer John in the Pacific Lounge (not called Zumba but very similar)
10:30a: arts and craft- paper flowers with dancer Natalie in the Atrium
11a: fruit and vegetable carving in the Casino Lounge
11a-2p: Magnum PI on Channel 21 (Tom Selleck bare chested is always appropriate)
11:15a: trivia in the Pacific Lounge
11:15a: remote control car race in the Atrium (a hit with the young boys on board this cruise)
11:30a-1:30a: British Pub Lunch in the Steakhouse
12p-2p: Brain Waves quiz in the library
12:15p-1p: music by the pool with Great Escape (very nice easy listening)
12:15p: singles and solo travelers meet at the pool bar
1p: close up magic lesson with Greg Moreland in Sabatinis
1p: gaming lessons in the casino
1:30p: line dance class in the Pacific Lounge
2p: champagne ring toss in the Atrium
2p-6p: From Here to Eternity on Channel 21
2p: Bridge players get together (unhosted) back of Steakhouse
2:15p: golf chipping into the pool
3p: veterans get together
3p: beginning merengue class with dancers Cameron and Shannon
3:30p: carpet bowls in the Atrium
4p: snowball jackpot bingo in the Cabaret Lounge
4:15p: afternoon quiz in the Pacific Lounge
5p: LGBT get together in the Pacific Lounge
5:15p-6p: piano melodies with David Crathorne in the Casino Lounge
6p-9p: recorded hits of George Benson in the Pacific Lounge
6p-7p: recorded music of Oscar Peterson (who??) in the Casino Lounge
6p onwards: movie Belle on Channel 21
6p onwards: The Blue Lagoon, a snorkeler's world with Douglas Pearson on Channel 30
7:15p-8:15p: live music with the Pacific Princess trio in the Casino Lounge
7:30p-8:15p: Captain's Welcome Aboard Cocktail Party in the Cabaret Lounge
8:45p and 10:15p: production show Do You Wanna Dance? in the Cabaret Lounge
9p-9:45p: live music and dancing with Chico and Dawn in the Pacific Lounge
9:30p until late: David Crathorne entertains at the piano in the Casino Lounge
9:45p: Majority Rules game show in the Pacific Lounge
10:30p-11p: live music and dancing with Chico and Dawn in the Pacific Lounge
11:15p-1:30a: DJ Yu in the Pacific Lounge
The Elite/Suite Lounge is held in either the Steakhouse or in Sabatinis (Deck 10 aft), whichever restaurant is not open that night (the specialty restaurants alternate evenings)
There is also the standard Princess television programming, which, I'm happy to report, has been updated this winter after the same fare the past two winters. As I've already mentioned, Seasons 1 and 2 of Downton Abbey are being shown (on the Comedy Channel, which is harious), a most welcome addition. Every day, there is at least one classic movie with a South Pacific location shown on TV, and Magnum PI is also being shown.
The total of all this, with Douglas Pearson's port lectures (which are always rebroadcast on TV) have kept us thoroughly entertained so far. We haven't even touched the videos on our iPhones and I've only read one book so far, most of it on the Air Tahiti Nui flight coming down here. For such a small ship, the variety of entertainment options is quite impressive.
I walked after lunch on Deck 10, for 45 minutes or so. Today was mostly sunny, but with occasional brief rain showers. The water is just bumpy enough to confirm that this ship is not quite as comfortable as the larger ships in rough seas, and I am grateful for our low, mid-ship cabin location.
G went to this afternoon's veterans get together, but I got involved with preparing this blog post and watching From Here to Eternity on TV. I love classic movies, and have really appreciated those that have been shown on these cruises. When he returned, G got equally caught up in the movie, and we spent the rest of the afternoon in our cabin watching it. Tonight was the first formal night of this cruise, and there was no Elite lounge due to the Captain's Welcome Aboard Cocktail Party later in the evening. At 6pm, we went directly to the Club Restaurant for dinner at our table for 2 by a window (the only one in the dining room; we feel very fortunate). Seating in the Club Restaurant is fairly tight, though. Our table for 2 is only a foot away from a table for 6. This is not the place for intimate honeymoon conversations. However, we been lucky to have lovely table mates at the next table on both cruises so far. We currently have two couples from New Zealand "next door". One of them was celebrating their 56th anniversary tonight and it made our evening to be able to share it with them. :-)
The Captain's Welcome Aboard Cocktail Party was held just once this cruise, at 7:30pm, in the Pacific Lounge. We then had to vacate it a bit for clean up afterwards, and then returned at 8:45pm for the first production show of this cruise, Do You Wanna Dance? We had missed this last cruise, due to our early mornings and evenings, and enjoyed it very much tonight. Getting to know the dancers in their cruise director's staff roles really adds to our enjoyment of their performances. After that, it was fuzzy water, blog publishing (hopefully, fingers crossed) and bed. (I am not taking any chances tonight with publishng any photos...I'm saving those Internet minutes for island photos.)
And, finally, some thoughts on the Pacific Princess, specifically about cruising on a ship this size...
Simply stated, we love it. It is not as elegant and showy as the larger ships, especially the Royal Princess, and it took us a day or two to fully appreciate what it does offer. Our first thought is that it reminds us of an older, downtown boutique hotel in New Orleans, with lots of darker woodwork and carpeting (probably because of all the wrought iron and faux wrought iron railing on the ship). Everything is close, just a minute or two away, and we can easily find each other by looking in just one or two places. Also compact: the atrium and elevator lobbies, but what it offers in abundance are a lot of comfy seating areas all around the ship.
There are still a few chair hogs around the pool on sea days, but there is so much seating on the open decks that it really doesn't matter. All of the venues are large enough to accommodate the passenger load. In fact, only the Panorama Buffet occasionally feels crowded and then only on port day mornings for breakfast. There is ample seating in the Cabaret Lounge, and shows are still 45-50 minutes long (or, as I like to call them, "adult-length"). We like that the cruise director's entertainment staff is supplemented by the dancers from the production shows; we know them all by name and love that they make a point of being on the open decks during sailaway, simply to talk with passengers. Port lecturer Douglas Pearson adds so much to these cruises; I hope Princess never (ever) does away with a port lecturer on these itineraries.
The Pacific Princess manages to blend the best of what is Princess, without the inevitable structure of being on a larger ship. It manages to feel simultaneously familiar and new. We could easily spend months on this ship, but that newfound awareness does not make us any more willing to book a World Cruise. Part of what we're enjoying so much about these French Polynesian itineraries is that there are so few sea days, and we appreciate those that we do have simply because they provide a chance for R and R and to get caught up (with blog posts such as this one!).
As far as our obstructed ocean view cabin on Deck 3, we love the location, and, since we've rearranged the furniture, the layout is perfect for us. There is plenty of storage (although, as I've mentioned before, I could do without the closet doors), and I appreciate the drawers in the vanity and closet, but miss the drawers in the night stands. We are making good use of the ledge under the porthole window for storing lesser used bulky items. The bathroom layout is not my favorite; the handle for the sink stopper is hard to access; but I do, twice a day, when I deal with my contacts. As suspected, our suction cup shower bins (which we managed to fit in our suitcases at the last minute) don't work in the shower but are proving very useful stuck to the mirror in the bathroom, easily reached from the shower. The shower at first seems a bit larger than on the Grand Class ships, but narrows on one end so that it isn't really. We're coping just fine with that, too. And we're really enjoying having a love seat in our room, not that we spend a lot of time sitting on it, but because it does provide a nice alternative to sitting on the beds (and does a fine job holding clothing overnight to be worn the next morning).
I am happy to report that I've sent laundry out three times without a single fail yet. In fact, I discovered, after we'd arrived on the Pacific Princess, tiny holes on the back of a tank top, courtesy of the Emerald Princess laundry. But there have been no new holes, just as there aren't holes in the sheets or tablecloths or napkins on the Pacific Princess. We think there were burrs in the Emerald Princess washer or dryer drums, and are happy that, so far, we've noticed none on the Pacific Princess. On this ship, the free Elite laundry is proving to be a valuable perk. There is one passenger laundry, too, but we've not yet used it. We do some hand washing, such as swimsuits, nearly every night in our bathroom sink, and hang it on our ever-present travel clothesline.
Not so valuable: the priority tendering perk. Open tenders are usually called by 8:30a, meaning that tender tickets are not required for anyone from that point on. Only once to date have we actually used our priority tendering; there are simply no lines. And thank goodness for that, as we have so many tender ports on these itineraries.
Our fellow passengers come from a wide variety of countries (29 last cruise) and most announcements are made in multiple languages. Outside of the US/Canada, the largest group seems to come from New Zealand, which is, after all, the closest country. There have been a few passengers from French Polynesia; and several from South America, Mexico, Europe and even China. Age-wise, I would have said last cruise that the average age was active 60s, but this cruise seems a little bit older. There are a few young honeymooners, and fewer families, but, so far, we've seen no scooters and only one walker. Regardless of age, this is a physically mobile passenger mix, no doubt due to all the tendering. In fact, passengers must be able to physically move themselves on to the tenders without the use of any mobility devices, which sadly excludes a number of the passengers we see on Caribbean cruises.
There are many first time Princess cruisers...the ability to see these remote islands without paying the exorbitant prices of land resorts or even the Paul Gauguin or Windjammer cruise ships that we've seen down here is obviously the draw, more so than the Princess name. Still, it's nice to know that, for many passengers, their first experience with Princess Cruises will be such a positive one.