Day 85: At Sea

If all sea days were as fantastic as today was, I might get quite good at this cruising thing. Honestly, it could not have been any smoother today if we had been docked and stable (which has always been my wish for sea days). The weather was sunny and warm and all around perfect, but we were kept busy inside most of the day.  We did start the day with an early breakfast on the Panorama Terrace, but that was it for outside activities today.

At 9:30am we went to the Cabaret Lounge for the first port lecture of the cruise by destination expert Bill Fall, and he was excellent. He had been born and raised in the Canal Zone and today spoke about the history of the Panama Canal, which we've always found fascinating, especially that most of the labor was done not by Americans and Panamanians as we'd always assumed but by workers from the Caribbean islands and British West Indies. The first time we'd become aware of that was years ago when touring the Mount Gay Rum factory in Bridgetown, Barbados where there is a monument to those canal builders from Barbados. Anyway (no 's'), Bill is going to give a couple more lectures on the Canal including one explaining how it operates, and also on the other ports we'll be visiting. I had forgotten until today that, at one point in a prior life, I had given lectures at a nearby retirement home on the history of the Panama Canal. Yep, I'm that interested in it. 

We stayed in the Cabaret Lounge for the next activity, a viewing of a Princess documentary on the Panama Canal and one of the ship's photographers explained that there will be a poster making session in the Atrium tomorrow and we'll be able to hold up posters from the open decks and he will be on shore at the side of the canal to take photos. If you're interested, I know there is a Panama Canal webcam and you may be able to watch the Pacific Princess transiting the Gatun Locks. And, of course, the ship's webcam should be interesting to watch that day. I'll try to get the Panama Canal link and post it here the night before. 

We had one more activity before lunch, the BIG!!!!!! $500 Treasure Hunt Drawing*!!! (*must be present to win) also held in the Cabaret Lounge (so we spent most of our morning in there. Thank God the seas were kind today!). Today I was a BIG!!!!!! winner and won back the chocolate covered strawberries we used to get every formal night. I guess good things do come to those who wait. ;-)

Finally we left the Cabaret Lounge and went to lunch in the Club Restaurant where Chicken Korma was on the menu (the day just kept getting better and better) served by one of our favorite waiters, Santeesh from India. I had blueberry frozen yogurt for dessert (because I really, really wanted it) and made tracks to a 1pm lecture in the Cabaret Lounge. The enrichment lecturers on board this cruise are Caroline and Christian Haim speaking on the history of classical music. At this point I really felt I'd hit the motherlode today. This afternoon's lecture was on three periods of classical music represented first by Bach, then Beethoven and finally Liszt. Christian played a piece of music from each period, including  Bach's Prelude #1 and Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata, two of my favorites to play on the piano. 

Panama Canal history, classical music...hey, I have never kept hidden that I am a geek at heart!  I've always been, but feeling free to admit it is the beauty of reaching a certain age. ;-)

We met up in the cabin where we had received a message about an ocean view cabin located about 14 doors more midship being available. We were fairly close to the bow of the ship in the cabin we had moved into yesterday and were happy with it but asked to be notified if something midship opened up. We then spent the rest of the afternoon moving again. I believe this is the same cabin we had last year in French Polynesia, and it is the same cabin steward, Douglas, we had then and for the last two cruises. I'm sure I'll be more comfortable when we eventually hit some rougher seas, which we no doubt will sometime over the next two weeks. 

We finished just in time to get to dinner (cioppino and key lime pie!) and then attended the 7:30pm performance of comedian Troy Thirdgill. Funny, funny guy. The only bad thing in an otherwise perfect day is that we move clocks ahead an hour tonight, and are again one hour ahead of EST. Lying in bed as I type this, I could believe that we are staying in a hotel on land, the sea is so smooth tonight. It was a good day all around!

I keep meaning to mention this and haven't yet...people sometimes ask on Cruise Critic if bicycles can be brought on board. Last cruise, a couple from Alaska brought foldable military-grade bikes (like those used by paratroopers) on board and kept them in their cabin. They had checked with Princess ahead of time and were told it was acceptable. They checked them as luggage on the plane stored in inflatable kayak bags, and simply lifted them onto tender boats in tender ports. They chained them up to trees at beaches and we helped them keep an eye on them when they went into the water. 

And, finally, I have a couple observations of this first segment of the World Cruise. It does have a special feel, even for those of us not staying on for all five segments. The menus and Patters have a 2017 World Cruise logo at the top, there are dance and bridge instructors on board and the World Cruise passengers have white pins and special lanyards to wear. Still, about 20% of the passengers are only staying on for this first cruise, so we are not alone and have not felt excluded from any of the activities. 

I'm so glad we stayed on for one more cruise!

Day 84: Fort Lauderdale (turnaround day)

Yes, yes, I know that I said that we had recently looked at the January 3 Pacific Princess itinerary through the Panama Canal and dismissed it.  We had originally thought that we might possibly stay on the Pacific Princess to Los Angeles and went so far as to book a fully refundable flight home from LAX on the 20th, just in case. But when we finally looked at the itinerary we decided it had too many sea days, ports that didn't hold too much appeal, and we've already done two full transits and several partial transits of the canal.

But four days ago we looked at the weather at home for this week, and we immediately forecasted another cruise. Sure it's ten sea days but they are, for the most part, ten warm sea days. All of the ports except Aruba and La Paz, Mexico are new to us, and I've always said there is no place I don't want to visit at least once. We are always fascinated by the Panama Canal. This cruise is the first of five segments of the 2017 World Cruise and we were curious about what it would be like. And it's going to be cold at home and we have no food in the house and the car batteries are disconnected and we don't fly to Hawaii until the end of the month...

We booked the cruise on Virgin Gorda day and couldn't have pulled it all together without the help of friend Steve. We had emailed our CCL stock ownership documentation to him a couple of weeks ago just in case. And once we had a booking number, he faxed the information to Princess for us and followed up with a phone call and we had our CCL on board credit within a few hours; on a Friday before a three-day holiday weekend. Thank you Steve!!

So here we are, in a cabin just two doors down from our previous cabin, with cabin steward Maria who was our steward on the November 21 cruise. We were up very early this morning and watched from the Panorama Terrace as the Pacific Princess entered the Port Everglades channel. We ate breakfast and when we were done watched the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean from the Promenade Deck. Our new cabin was ready for us shortly after 8:45am (go Maria!) and by 9:20am we had moved in. We didn't pack and we didn't unpack; we simply moved things a few at a time in our Princess tote bags. Easy Peasy. 

 

In the channel entrance to Port Everglades

 

The 17th Street drawbridge with Pier 66 on the right

 

 

 

 

 

We left the ship with my empty carry on suitcase and my backpack and a couple of Princess tote bags and walked through a few brief showers interrupted by periods of sun and high humidity over to Walgreens. Our shopping list was detailed and long; we had packed so efficiently that we started running out of things just this past week. Toothpaste, mouthwash, hair spray, some makeup and more spray sunscreen, gum...and then we needed some heavy liquids. We put our Walgreens purchases in the backpack and rolled the empty suitcase down to Publix where we added 12 half liter bottles of fuzzy water and Mentos and G bought two cans of his favorite instant flavored coffee. And then back to Walgreens where we added two 12-packs of Mountain Dew into the two tote bags and G carried them and we added a bottle of Barefoot Bubbly to the suitcase and we were loaded down like pack mules as we walked through another shower on our return to the ship. This is the not-fun part of turnaround day. 

We dumped our purchases in our new cabin and I put our iDevices and charming cords and an extension cord into my backpack and we went to lunch in the Club Restaurant. When we were finished, we immediately walked into the terminal (Terminal 2) and it was nearly empty. We settled in next to a power port and I simultaneously downloaded two more seasons of TV shows from iTunes on my iPhone and updated 67 apps on my iPad and downloaded three more books and several more magazines and we have enough entertainment content to last 50 sea days, let alone 10. Bills were paid, appointments cancelled or rescheduled, neighbors notified, our flights home from Fort Lauderdale today cancelled, the heat at home turned up a little during this cold spell and we generally prepared to spend another 17 days away from high speed WiFi. 

We reboarded the ship exactly at the on board time of 3pm, and attended the muster drill at 3:15pm. No one told us we had to attend again, but buried in our turnaround day letter for the first time was a statement that passengers needed to attend a muster drill at least once every 31 days (I think this was for the benefit of the World Cruisers). We hadn't attended since we reboarded the Pacific Princess on October 28 so we simply decided we needed to go. 

This left just enough time for very short showers before we went up to the Panorama Terrace with the Barefoot Bubbly for sailaway. There were some late arriving passengers, and we were a bit delayed in sailing but by 4:45pm we were exiting Port Everglades into the Atlantic Ocean. Mom phoned, quite happy that she could see our little ship sail on the Port Everglades webcam for the first time this season. The day had turned sunny by then and it was a beautiful sailaway. Bye, Port Everglades, until at least next winter!

We always go to dinner about 15 minutes late on the first night of a cruise while people are lined up to be escorted to their new tables. Early dining was changed from 5:30pm to 5:15pm for this cruise, which, with all these sea days is fine with us.  We were so fortunate (in fact, it sealed the deal on our decision to stay on) that Maitre d' Oscar allowed us to keep our table for two by a window for this cruise too. This time it really was the last flourless chocolate cake of the season, a very sad thought. We went to the Welcome Aboard show at 7:30pm and when we were introducing ourselves to the people sitting around us at Cruise Director Frank's urging, I turned to my left and met Deb who said she was from Wyoming and I said, "You're Lindsay's mom!", and she was. Dancer Lindsay told me just last night that her mom had surprised her on Christmas by telling her she had just booked this cruise. Lindsay wanted us to meet her mom, and when the curtain opened and Lindsay came out in stage, she looked surprised that we had already met. 

Comedian Troy Thirdgill did a short routine and he was a scream. Actually, some audience members were a scream, so serious in their heckling of him that the rest of us were dissolved in laughter. Troy's long show is tomorrow night and this could be interesting...and harious. G observed that some of these World Cruisers are very serious people when something as innocuous as a joke about playing a tuba has a grandmother interrupting the comedian to point out her granddaughter makes good money as a professional tuba player. Honestly, I can't make this stuff up. 

It is after 10pm on a day that started for us at 4:30am. I have a few things I've forgotten to say about the Christmas cruise. But they will have to wait until tomorrow (except for the fact that the Christmas decorations were taken down today); I am nearly asleep already. 

Cruise #7: Panama Canal Connoisseur

Because, baby it's cold outside (at home)!

Day 83: At Sea

We were awakened quite abruptly this morning around 3am when an announcement came into the cabin requesting a response team to go to the Lotus Spa, then, within a few minutes Captain D announced that there had been a small fire (actually, I think a bulb overheated) in the spa but it was quickly extinguished and all was well and to go back to sleep, which not all of us could. Several passengers were dragging a little today. I didn't really sleep anymore either, but I was asleep so early last night that it hardly mattered. 

And, speaking of last night, G told me this morning that Mark Preston was not feeling well and had a gravely voice as a result and had ended his first show a little early. I haven't heard whether his second show was able to take place at all. That's the second time we've had that happen with guest vocalists this season, and the funny thing is that they sing better on a bad day than most of us could hope to sing on our best days. 

We were on the Panorama Terrace early this morning, in time for the sunrise (beautiful) but just had coffee. Eventually we went to the Club Restaurant because I had a taste for pancakes and they are best freshly made there. We had time, then, to sort through paperwork in our cabin, tossing the Patters we'd saved since we returned to the Pacific Princess on October 28. I no longer save the Princess Patters, but do still take home the logs of the cruise and any Captains Circle-related invitations and menus and photos. Eventually, I suppose, I'll have to stop doing even that. I have a small wicker trunk in a spare bedroom that has to hold our wedding album and travel memorabilia and when it is full, I have to toss things, and I'm not going to toss the wedding album!

At 10:15am I went to the culinary demonstration in the Cabaret Lounge, just to smell the good smells. G, who hates the smell of onions and garlic cooking (he's not normal that way) skips the culinary demonstration but enjoys the galley tour. We met up again in time for lunch in the Club Restaurant (grilled chicken salad with cilantro lime vinaigrette). We didn't even make a pass through the Panorama Buffet for the Pastry Extravaganza afterward. We're very past the point where more desserts hold any appeal. 

I spent part of the afternoon walking on Deck 10 (soaking in sunscreen and wearing my Tilley) while band 2Cool played poolside, and then held down a lounger on the Promenade Deck (sunny side or shady side, there are always loungers available because it's the Pacific Princess!) while I listened to an audiobook that quickly put me to sleep. I stayed there until G came looking for me (it's not hard to find each other on this ship); he had just participated in an activity called Human Slot Machine and won me a Princess water bottle. This was perfect because, though we have several at home, there was no room to squeeze one in on this cruise. I didn't miss it in Europe, trying to limit my water intake as I was but have really missed it in the Caribbean. I immediately filled it up with ice water and was a happy camper cruiser. 

I joined G for the jackpot bingo session, an opportunity to win $1000 for an investment of $10 for a bingo card. There were two winners but we were sadly not among them. To say we were unsurprised would be an understatement. 

Ventriloquist Kieran Powell did a matinee show at 4:15pm, but we did not attend. We used the time to get cleaned up for dinner and the evening and went to dinner a few minutes early so as to eat quickly and escape the baked Alaska parade, which we generally limit to once per season but have already done more than that. G had garden salad topped with chicken breast and I had just salmon...and dark cherry sorbet, of course. We are simply not hungry. 

We were most looking forward to our evening entertainment, and we were done with dinner in time to attend the 6:45pm show of pianist Ryan Ahern. We have see Ryan's show in the past and were blown away by it, and were again tonight. We were exhausted by the end of it, having done nothing more than watch him play so quickly and powerfully. I wouldn't have minded seeing his second show too, but more wanted to hear Jere Ring play in the Casino Lounge one final time. I hate these goodbyes...we just never know when our paths will cross again. 

Speaking of that, after making so many new friends each and every cruise, but especially on the crossing (many people were on for 29 nights including the last Mediterranean cruise of the season, and Paul and Marlene had been with us for 41 nights), I am convinced every cruise that it will never be as good as the most recent one. We don't know the new passengers, it just doesn't feel the same...but, somehow, it eventually does feel just like the others and it was hard to say this round of goodbyes. We have been very fortunate this year, and even Captain D commented several times how he thought that some holiday cruises are ruined by inflated expectations but the passenger group on this cruise was wonderful. We feel the same way. :-)

We move clocks back an hour tonight, to EST, which is a very good thing, as tomorrow will be a long day and we want to be up early and watch as the Pacific Princess enters Port Everglades for the last time until it returns from the World Cruise in 111 days. We are the only Princess ship in port tomorrow, and will be at Pier 2. In fact, I think that the only other ship in port will be the HAL Prinsendam, embarking on a a circumnavigation of South America. It will be a slow day by Port Everglades standards and that's another very good thing. 

Day 82: At Sea

Happy 2017!

We awoke in better shape than some on the ship, and not as good shape as others who hadn't drank half a bottle of champagne on New Year's Eve. We made it back out last night and stopped by all three venues: the Casino Lounge, the Pacific Lounge and finally welcomed the New Year with lots of noise and streamers and music at the deck party, which the weather allowed to take place outside as planned.

And then we fell into bed, where we stayed until nearly 8am this morning. G's first words? "Where do we have to go today, what do we have to pack, how much will the taxi cost to get there?"  And then we laughed and laughed. We had to do NOTHING today, at least until 4:40pm. What a feeling!

The only downside of the Pacific Princess is that we miss watching football on MUTS, especially at this time of year with its end of regular season NFL games and the College Bowl games. It one sense, that's been a blessing this year (our favorite teams have not done well) but I would have enjoyed seeing that Ohio State loss to Clemson last night!! There is just no keeping up with the games and outcomes; the TV in our cabin is seldomly turned on and even then we're usually watching videos we have downloaded on our iDevices. Most of the football news we get is in emails and texts from friends, and too many of those this year have brought bad news. 

Of course, if we didn't believe that there were 101 benefits to this small ship that more than completely offset the lack of MUTS, we wouldn't keep returning to it. Obviously, we do.  But I am grateful that we were on the Emerald Princess when we watched the Broncos win Super Bowl 50 last year. I'm not sure I could have recovered from missing that!

So, back to this morning (it's a sea day so you already know to buckle your seat belts for a wandering post)...

We weren't especially hungry after that feast that was last night's dinner followed by treats at the New Year's Eve party on deck, but it's important to start a new year on a healthy note, so we went to the Panorama Buffet where I had cereal and plain yogurt and fruit. We spent a few minutes in the Cabaret Lounge watching the previews of the DVD about this cruise (the Reflections DVD, for those familiar with Princess)  followed by an extended preview of a Princess documentary on the Caribbean, but that became a mistake for me. The ship was doing a bit of pitching, and I don't suppose last night's consumption of alcohol helped, but after 20 minutes or so I had to leave. That left me lying in bed trying to shake my unsettled feeling until G asked if I wanted to accompany him to British Pub Lunch. The seas weren't so bouncy that I thought I'd have trouble up on Deck 10 aft, so I went and ordered chicken curry with lots of rice and ginger ale and felt much better for consuming them. 

Captain D gave the noon update from the bridge and told a couple of funny New Year's jokes, including one about making New Year's resolutions being a  lot like writing a check on a closed bank account  (he really is quite entertaining). He has a real fan club on this ship. G left lunch to attend a 1pm guitar lesson in the Casino Lounge but I went out on the Promenade Deck and relaxed and listened to an audiobook and tried to nap but just couldn't today. I really needed one, too. I've been dragging since yesterday morning. Around 2:30pm I returned to the cabin to find G was out using a hot tub, providing me a perfect opportunity to use nail polish remover and give myself a manicure. He still wasn't back by 3pm so I made the sacrifice and started getting ready for the evening early, so he could have the bathroom when he returned. People ask us all the time how we manage to cruise for so long and not in a minisuite or suite and my answer is always the same:  I don't need more space but sure wish we had two bathrooms. In fact, it was my only requirement for our rental condo in Hawaii. It had to have two bathrooms. I've done my time sharing for this winter. 

I was sitting on the bed, already dressed for the evening, when G returned, and, with spare time on my hands, that is when I always get myself into trouble. In a chain of events that is me to a 'T', I embarked on a simple project with unfortunate results. I have an omega chain necklace I purchased in St. Thomas years ago (I think I mentioned it on the blog when I bought it). We were cruising with Bob and Janet then, and Janet had advised that, when I wasn't wearing it, I keep the necklace in the large flat box it originally came in, to keep it from bending when not in use. It was advice I took to heart; the problem was that the outer sleeve that fits over the box and keeps it closed was becoming dog-eared at all corners. I thought I would fix that while I waited for G. 

Handy me, I travel with some duct tape spooled around a pen just in case we need to make minor repairs. I thought it would do the job nicely. However, I had chosen to wind the duct tape around a Sharpie marker this year, and its lid made it considerably trickier to unwind. Still, I carried on, wrapping duct tape around each of the corners of the cardboard sleeve. What I hadn't realized is that the lid had come off the Sharpie, and as I unwound the tape I was getting black permanent marker all over me. Thankfully, it spared my white tank and my slacks were black anyway (no 's'), but the palms of both hands and my nails (freshly polished with OPI Nail Envy nail strengthener) and part of my face were covered. 

This would have been a sorry thing at any time but it was particularly unfortunate tonight because we and our guests were being escorted into the Captains Circle party in just 30 minutes, where I would be shaking Captain D's hand in front of half the ship and accepting a gift bag containing a crystal and holding it in front of me for the requisite photo with the captain. Yep, this was me in a nutshell. 

My mind raced; I had a hundred ways to remove the permanent marker. At home. But I was considerably more limited on the ship. Finally I hit upon the tiny tub of Aquaphor I always pack. It serves a multitude of purposes, including silencing noisy bathroom door hinges. Knowing it was a petroleum product, I thought it might do the job. Well, it did, eventually. I went through an entire box of Princess tissues (no big loss, that) and half the tub of Aquaphor but I was able to offer a silky soft hand to Captain D and smile with an unspotted face for the photo. 

Time on my hands is a dangerous thing. 

We were joined by next door tablemates Mary and Horace (from Alabama, and college football fans to boot), and Dottie and Paul and were honored to be this cruise's 2nd most traveled passengers. I received my choice of a Mexico crystal because I already have a Caribbean one. Both the first and third most traveled passengers are staying on the Pacific Princess for the World Cruise, beginning January 3 in Fort Lauderdale. For those interested, the Princess days for the top three most traveled passengers were 1537, 923 and 768 days. . 

Dinner tonight was the chef's menu, and I had that wonderful cream of mushroom soup and salmon as an entree with strawberry thyme sorbet as an intermezzo. It is only 8pm, but I am wiped out, still tired from yesterday and last night. I will be asleep soon; G is out listening to Mark Preston's second show and then, I'm sure, Jere Ring in the Casino Lounge. I am with him in spirit, if not in body. 

And, finally, with a few minutes to spare, I must tell you about fellow passenger Evie, who, with two of her children and their spouses, celebrated her 98th birthday on this cruise. Evie is in a wheelchair, and we all assumed that it was required for mobility at this stage of her life. Not so, we learned. She injured herself working out too hard just before the cruise began and needs it for a couple of weeks. She does water aerobics every day and aerobics several days a week and lives on the fifth floor of a retirement community and climbs the stairs to her apartment every day. She doesn't look a day over 75 and has had the time of her life on this cruise. 

We all want to be Evie when we grow up. And, to that end, we wish you a safe and healthy new year. 

Life is good. :-)