We had simply the best day at sea. Really. It truly could not be improved upon. Of course, it helps when the day starts with a sunrise as pretty as this one right off the balcony. It’s moments like this (and, frankly, many others throughout the day), that make me realize how much I missed cruising.
I didn’t mention last night (because I fell asleep again while writing yesterday’s post, just like the old days), that not only is this our 150th cruise, we’re also celebrating our 1250th day cruising with Princess, which makes it a “milestone” cruise. We didn’t book this 15 day cruise with that in mind- in fact, our 1250th day was supposed to have occurred on a 3-night cruise on the Regal Princess in November- and even when we realized it would fall during this cruise, we had no expectations that there would be any recognition of it at all. First, we weren’t certain Princess was still celebrating milestones cruises post-COVID; we also felt this ship was going to be way too busy with its return to service to even remember things like this.
Apparently not. We are being treated in a most special way. In fact, we’re kind of shocked by it all. First, when Director of Restaurant Operations (that just doesn’t roll off the tongue like mature d’, does it? Kind of like water shuttle vs. tender.) Rui Pereira seated us at dinner last evening, he invited us to have breakfast in the rarified atmosphere of Sabatini’s (formerly blessedly briefly known as Share, which was formerly known as…Sabatini's). It has floor to ceiling windows and phenomenal views off the back of the ship. Fifteen days of breakfasts in Sabatinis on a cruise with lots of sea days…this was a windfall beyond measure. We didn’t get this perk on our 1000th milestone cruise. We were in Australia where they had never heard of it, but, as any 3-year old knows and too many adults don’t, you get what you get and you don’t pitch a fit. We had it on the Pacific Princess sailing in French Polynesia for our 750th day cruise and still talk about how amazing that was.
So they could have stopped at that and we would have felt we’d won the lottery, but there was still more to come. But I’ll get to that…
A most peaceful breakfast experience
The highlights of breakfast in Sabatinis are the mimosas and specialty coffees, the service, and the fact that every food item is prepared to order and is served piping hot. It’s the only place on board I’ll order a waffle…and I did today. A quarter waffle, a fruit plate, part of a mimosa and a couple of decaf soy cappuccinos and life doesn’t get much better than that.
That kind of breakfast demands a stroll afterward, and so we went down to the Promenade Deck to do a few laps, and, for the first time, noticed these new chairs. I’m not sure if they’ll eventually get cushions (I’m guessing not) but they are a huge improvement over the aged teak chairs that were there previously.
We returned to the cabin to find still more treats: a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a letter stating we will receive a specialty dinner for our milestone cruise. We had already booked a Crown Grill dinner and so will use this for that one and possibly have dinner at Sabatinis later in the cruise.
I’ve always made a point in my blog of only mentioning perks that everyone is entitled to or can achieve. I’m including this information just so everyone who reads this can know how things like a milestone cruise are being handled. Of course, as we learned on our 1000th day milestone cruise, there are no guarantees. We are just really appreciative when we receive any perks like this. And considering we didn’t believe anything was going to be said or done, we’re quite stunned by all the largesse.
We also received the not unexpected letter advising us to report for antigen testing twice during the cruise. Gosh, life is weird right now, isn’t it?
On a far more mundane note, we received our Elite amenity bag today, a gold mesh one, not the sexy travel bag the Majestic Princess is now handing out. Here’s a pic of what was inside (because people always ask). I guess I grumbled so much about the fact we used to receive only two Qtips for two people for a 30 day cruise that we lost them altogether. That’ll teach me. 😉
Somehow this morning, squeezed in between breakfast in Sabatinis and lunch, we found ourselves in the World Fresh Marketplace. Honestly, I don’t now remember why we went, and I know I didn’t eat a post-breakfast or a pre-lunch, but I do remember being there because waiter JoJo from the Pacific Princess (you know, I erased that keyboard shortcut in a fit of pique when the ship was sold but I really need to add it back if I’m going to keep mentioning the Pacific Princess) saw us and raced over. It was so wonderful to see him!! And I didn’t mention last night that dear friend waiter Ricky was seating someone at a table next to ours in the Botticelli Dining Room last night and all I had to do was hear his voice and I knew in an instant it was him. Ricky had introduced us to his wife via FaceTime when we were in Hobart, Australia in 2019 on the Ruby Princess. He’s another waiter who is like family. We can’t hug but there was a lot of elbow bumping going on.
We had to eat lunch in the DaVinci Dining Room because it was chicken korma and veggie burrito day. Had to. And I’m glad we did, because we might otherwise have missed waiter Samuel who came from the other side of the dining room to say hi. He remembered that he was our breakfast waiter on the Ruby Princess in Australia in 2019, and exactly where we sat. I remember too, because of this blog, and showed him my posts from then that mentioned him (I think he was quite touched by that (see Days 60 and 66 in late 2019)). I don’t think these crew members have any idea how much they mean to us.
Day 2 lunch menu
All that eating had clearly exhausted us, because we went out on the Terrace Deck, laid down in loungers and actually fell asleep. The air was slightly cool but the sun was hot, so much so that when we woke up and walked down those few back outside steps to return to our cabin, and opened that heavy wooden door at the end of the corridor, the rush of air conditioned air brought back instant memories of having done that hundreds of times before on the Emerald Princess over the years.
A view of Mexico about 4pm
It’s so easy to get to Skywalkers for the Elite Lounge from our cabin location. Cook Cyril puts out such an extensive feast for the hors doerves that I feel badly only getting a few nibbles, but we go from there to dinner just 30 minutes later and I have to keep some perspective in view of all the opportunities for food.
Crudités are pre-plated in tiny flowerpots
You know, I have never liked Botticelli Dining Room on this ship because it was always so difficult to get to. Those four aft elevators bog right down at dinner time. Naturally, having only 25% of the usual passenger load helps with that, but it think it’s also the fact that Botticelli no longer has fixed seating. Arrivals are much more staggered. The dinner menu tonight was my all time favorite, with cioppino and key lime pie. It was spectacular, as was our dinner service by Anil and Verna. G and I had quite the conversation about the extremely high level of service we’re receiving all around the ship. Some people have said that it is because the best crew members were selected to be on these early cruises, but we’re more inclined to believe that they’re all “best” at their jobs, but some better handle the pressures that are put on them when they are continually asked to serve more and more guests. That’s obviously not an issue right now, and it shows.
For the first time tonight, going into dinner, our temperatures were taken. They were taken again going into the Princess Theater for the show. I’m not surprised by this. My dear friend (my Sis!) and her husband cruised on the MSC Meraviglia three weeks ago, and they had their temperatures taken every time they entered a dining venue. It was done in a flash, and, if it keeps us safe, no worries, mate.
Day 2 dinner menu
I could live on cioppino…
…and key lime pie
After dinner, we went up to the Terrace Deck to chat and watch the wake. It’s so beautiful out there at night! When it started feeling chilly, we returned to the cabin to sit on the balcony and found champagne and chocolate covered strawberries had been delivered. Perfect timing!
We had over an hour to enjoy them before we headed down to tonight’s Princess Theater show, Jesse Kazemek backed by the Emerald Princess showband performing a Beatles tribute.. That music… I have little good to say about wearing masks all the time (but it’s required, so we do), but I finally found a silver lining. Sitting in the naturally socially distanced Princess Theater with our faces covered with masks, we could sing our hearts out and no one else could see or hear. And so we did.
Finally, lest you think that everything is perfectly perfect on board (and it very nearly is), there are a few cutbacks, most notably evening turn down service. On the Majestic Princess it was an option (and I opted in). Here, it simply isn’t. And I miss it. It really hit me when we returned from dinner and things looked exactly how we left them (how rude!), including wet towels in the bathroom. But even worse, the cabin was dark. The night stand lamps weren’t glowing softly and the corners of the bed weren’t invitingly turned down. Sigh. It’s hardly roughing it, and I know it’s driven by COVID, but it’s the way of the future, I’m afraid.
Also, this is a start up cruise and, at times, it shows. The safe yesterday, being open in the closed position, and then, last night, I was taking care of nighttime ablutions at the sink and realized my feet were getting wet. I used Crew Chat on the Medallion app to report the issue this morning and a plumber was sent. G supervised, but only a little😉, just enough to see that the discharge pipe just above the floor was totally rusted out. I imagine they are being kept extremely busy right now. These cabins sat empty for 18 months. We received a phone call tonight while we were enjoying our treats on the balcony; Guest Services is giving us a $25 OBC for our trouble. I tried to turn it down- I actually feel badly about taking it since our only inconvenience was shoving a towel under the sink when we used it- but it just goes to show how hard everyone is trying to make things go smoothly.
I really can’t think of a better time to cruise.
Day 2 Princess Patter
