Part of the issue (ok, all of the issue) is that, once again, our Plus Package with its included drinks and internet is not appearing on our account. It’s because of that damn Medallion app and being a B2B cruiser. They can see we pre-purchased Princess Plus, but the app seems unable to process the purchase. And I didn’t realize I didn’t have WiFi until it was too late, and lost what I had written. Darn.
So, here I am, remembering what we did yesterday, which should be easy, right? No, wrong. These days at this point are all blurring together. I will do my best (though in a slightly half-hearted manner).
Turnaround days, whether we are joining a ship or changing cabins, are hectic from the get-go. And yesterday was another cabin change for us, for the first time this season to an un-upgraded cabin, an inside on the back of the ship. We like this location; even if it hadn’t been one of the one very few cabins we could actually choose when we booked this cruise just a couple of weeks ago, this is our favorite part of the ship. But, oh my, moving from the front of the ship to the back on a different deck is not a feat for the timid, not when people are rolling two suitcases in the opposite direction, the elevators are full and housekeeping carts plug the hallways.
We started off by going to the Allegro Dining Room for breakfast at 6:30am, and I put in a load of laundry at the laundromat by our new cabin. We were lucky this time, and our cabin was free of its former occupants by 8am (last week they hung around until 9am, making things more difficult for several of us). Packing up gets easier every cruise, because I’m using so few items of clothing, but moving all the bottles of alcohol gets harder every cruise. This is the last cruise we are getting the Princess Plus package. Yes, I am returning home after this cruise, but G easily has enough to drink for his next two weeks of cruising. We could never book more than 21 days in a row with Princess Plus. At some point, we simply burn out on everything. We have just about reached that point, but then we are people who don’t drink at all at home, except for the occasional beer or margarita (only at sunset during the summer).
In transit immigration took place in the Symphony Dining Room at 9:10am. Well, it was actually close to 10am before an agent came onboard, but in Galveston they do come onboard, and that is a wonderful thing. We then “click” out and immediately click back in and the deed is done. Very easy, and we thanked the agent profusely.
We were settled in and unpacked before lunch, and then went to the Allegro Dining Room for the embarkation day menu. If only we’d known that that would be our last meal with Sona and Gift…but we didn’t. In fact, our dinner servers, Marvin and Gift, had told us they would see us tonight after dinner last night. Spoiler: they are both in another dining room and we have to chase them down to give them their extra tip envelopes. We adhere to the “tipping at the end” theory. We just didn’t know that last night was the end.
I forgot to take a pic of the menu, but it hasn’t changed since last Sunday.
There was a very infrequent muster drill at 2pm, the kind we used to have every cruise, and ours was in the Vista-less Lounge. I didn’t go; I clearly remembered reading in our in transit letter that we didn’t need to. G wasn’t sure, and went, but I figured they could hunt me down if they’d changed their minds about the necessity of my attendance. Apparently they didn’t and I heard nothing about it.
Instead of going to a superfluous muster drill, I returned a text message I had received when I connected with Verizon this morning. Actually, I also received a voicemail from Mom’s bestie, Meme last Tuesday. Meme and I have stayed in touch via phone calls and cards, and talking to her was always a joy. The text was from a common friend asking me to call her. Meme passed way Friday at 94 years old. I’ll be forever beating myself up about missing her call, but take great solace that I was one of the last people she reached out to. I’ll miss her, but am happy knowing she and Mom are re-united.
Meme and Mom, May 2023 ❤️
I joined G in the PES lounge which is held every night in the Vista-less Lounge. I prefer Crooners for a pre-dinner drink, because I seem to feel I need to enjoy some of the hors doerves that are served every night if I go to the PES lounge. As I did last night. And then I go to dinner without a bit of an appetite.
We met our new waiters, Made and Nyoman, both from Indonesia. We just had a Nyoman from Indonesia as our cabin steward on the Carnival Jubilee, but it’s not the coincidence it might appear to be. Made means second child in Bali, and Nyoman means third child, so they are fairly common names.
I had just the Greek salad and the black bean soup because hors doerves at 4:30pm leave room for only that much at dinner at 5pm. But, speaking of the Medallion app…check out the ship time at 4:48pm (6:00pm), then again at 5:26pm (6:02pm). It’s not rocket science, guys.
The entertainment in the Princess Theater was a juggler so we spent the evening listening to live music around the ship, and were in bed early. Turnaround days, you know?
