This will be another speedy post tonight, both because the alarm is set for 5am tomorrow but also because not a lot happened today. It didn’t help that it took me until almost noon before I had finally gotten up, showered and dressed for this cruise’s Most Traveled Guest (MTG) luncheon. Something last night (and I tend to think it was the wine rather than the fresh salmon) really knocked me out. I could never, ever have the drink package for more than a week. Four days would be perfect; by Day 5, it’s starting to lose its appeal. Today I had a glass of wine at MTG and nothing else all day. I’m looking forward to returning to my normal 100 ounces of water a day.
The MTG luncheon took place in Harmony, the Asian specialty restaurant on Deck 5. We had only ever been in there to collect tender tickets on our Australian itinerary. It has a very 70s look to it, at least to me. Loyalty and Events Coordinator Tina from Brazil (formerly called the Captains Circle host) met us outside to tell us that Captain Dino was busy dealing with the fog, and that, while Hotel General Manager Jasper was there in his place for a photo, he wouldn’t be staying. Nor were any other officers allowed to join us due to COVID restrictions. Hey, we were just happy that a luncheon was offered. The cutoff for the top 40 most traveled passengers was 455 days, which is insanely high for Alaska, where it’s not unheard of for people with fewer than 150 Princess days to get invited.
There were no paper menus; our waiter simply told us our options. I had the seafood starter and the halibut, and the standard dessert. Oh, and the wine. Everything was delicious and beautifully plated and served. And I was ruined for the rest of the afternoon, as so often happens after an MTG luncheon.
Seafood starter
Dessert
Gourmadeses
Dining room lunch menu
We went to dinner at 5:30pm not one bit hungry, but I had the fish soup starter and G the onion soup and we split a bottle of Pellegrino sparkling water and were done. Maybe if we return to our normal way of cruising in moderation, we’ll feel better in a couple of days.
The show in the Princess Theater tonight was a variety show of the soprano, the magician and the male vocalist. Since we had seen none of their solo shows, we went, and then changed into swimsuits for a hot tub soak in the Hollywood Pool. We vowed that next cruise we will do that more often in the evening…it was nearly empty up there and very peaceful.
The alarm is set for 5am tomorrow. We need to pack up our cabin, go to breakfast, get moved and be in the Medical Center for a COVID test at 8:30am. We were originally told we didn’t need one, but things changed today. That’s fine by us. I think there is no safer place to be right now that on a fully vaccinated, tested and masked cruise.
And, finally, I thought I’d share some thoughts about Cruising in the Age of COVID with Princess. I mentioned on the Nieuw Amsterdam last week that it felt no different than a regular cruise, other than the fact that the crew was masked. It helped, of course that the Nieuw Amsterdam holds 2100 passengers and fewer than 1600 were on board. Never a wait for an elevator, nearly always an elevator to ourselves, no one sat within six feet of us in the theater. I felt very safe there.
I knew the Majestic Princess would be different. In particular, I was concerned about the elevators and the Princess Theater, and those are exactly the two places where I felt most vulnerable. But it helped tremendously that everyone was vaccinated and masked, and it will further help that everyone will be tested starting tomorrow. Maybe it was the masks, but this cruise did feel different. But I think I noticed the differences even more because I am so accustomed to the Princess product. Being more unfamiliar with the Holland America product, everything felt kind of new, and I couldn’t say for certain that procedures were necessarily COVID-related or just their way of doing things.
The Majestic Princess cruise seemed to improve about half way through. Our dining room situation improved, and the errors with our on board statement due to waiters putting in drinks purchases incorrectly stopped after the second day. I just get more of a sense that the Majestic Princess is still having some start up pains. I suspect the fact that they were sailing nearly full made a difference.
Obviously, we were pleased enough to add another week. It will be interesting to see how things feel next cruise, their fourth week back in service.
I will likely blog next week, but in an abbreviated form. I won’t be paying for internet on the ship (it was a huge disappointment this week) and so will either post from the ports or wait until we return home. And I won’t re-post menus and Patters, because I suspect there will be few changes.
