Day 19: Roatan

I understand now why I was so diligent in writing blog posts when we were doing more intentional cruising. I would never have gotten caught up if I let things slide a day, let alone two or three. And those people who blog and review once they get home are real wonders. How do they remember things?

This morning the ship was in Roatan, and something truly different happened. For once, I was awake before G. I am not as adept at getting up and getting dressed and leaving the cabin quietly as he is (because I have no experience doing that, I guess), so I just read while he slept. And slept and slept, until after 10am.  What the heck!?

A change in routine like this one required some analysis, but when I figured it out, it explained why I’ve been sleeping so much, too. I take a prescription antihistamine every night for my multitude of allergies. It’s supposed to be non-drowsy, but I’ve still always taken it at night. When we extended our cruising, I mentioned I was ordering some things from Kroger and Amazon and having them delivered to our hotel in Galveston. One of the things I ordered was generic Benadryl. I had a little experience with them; years ago when I was bitten by a brown recluse spider (a story so horrific I will never re-tell it), I was on them around the clock for a few weeks. So I at least had some experience with them, albeit 20 years ago. 

I also ordered my usual 5mg melatonin tablets that I use, and have been taking one of them every night, too, since we re-boarded the ship. I knew I was sleeping really well, but couldn’t figure out why I was waking up feeling kind of…well, drugged. I never really considered the sedating properties of the Benadryl.

Until G was having trouble sleeping last night because of an itchy rash on his leg. I offered him a melatonin and a Benadryl. And nearly killed him. He didn’t itch any longer, but he also slept for over 11 hours. Now that we’ve figured it out, I’m dropping the Benadryl. They are wicked strong, at least in combination with melatonin. 

Once we were both moving, we got a late breakfast/ lunch in the buffet and carried it back to the Horizon Terrace to enjoy the expansive views from the ship in Roatan The weather in this area has become much more comfortable in the past week or so. Low 80s with less humidity; it’s perfect for being outside. But while we were sitting there, the almost expected rain showers developed. It must rain nearly every day in Roatan. It has certainly rained every time we’ve been here this year. 

Watermelon and a decaf soy cappuccino

No surprises here

For lunch, I first tried a ramen bowl that people have been raving about. 

Nope. It wasn’t even hot. 

So I hunted and foraged until I pieced this meal together. 

Buffets are hard. 

But margaritas are always easy

In the end, we didn’t get off the ship. In fact, except for the time we made it as far as the pier in Roatan before a huge rain forced us under the canopies set up there two weeks ago, I haven’t been off the ship since we re-boarded on November 17.  I do kind of understand why now…I’ve been legally stoned for almost three weeks. And it’s no surprise that we aren’t doing these cruises for the itinerary (prior Cozumel visits: 63 plus several week-long dive trips). 

For dinner I had the broccoli salad on the vegan menu, the best thing Princess makes right now, and some salmon. I’ve been eating a lot of salmon. It’s like I always say…the longer we stay on board, the more I eat like I do at home. 

The illusionist was back again tonight, so we instead watched the Lions v. Packers game in the Vista Lounge. That was football spectatorship at its best. The live audience was probably 40% pro-Green Bay, 35% pro-Detroit and 25% anti-illusionist, and all were quite vocal in their opinions. What an ending!!!

Day 18: Costa maybe? Costa not

Apparently Captain Traverso made an announcement last night hinting that today’s scheduled port of Costa Maya might be tricky due to the high wind and swells we’ve been experiencing since we left Galveston. We missed that, so it was a bit of a surprise this morning when we approached the pier, and then turned and sailed away. Another ship was already there, but Costa Maya is a port where assigned berth and wind direction make all the difference. So we had another relaxing day at sea. I was devastated (not). 

Actually, it gave me more time to make my daily Guest Services run. As I said yesterday, G visits them every morning, gets a printed copy of our folio and then drops it in front of me when we meet up.  He has learned not to do that until I’ve had coffee. Well, he learned that today. This is getting very old. I combined my visit there this morning with a stop at the IC where I finally got a cappuccino and picked up an almond croissant while I was at it. Not the most nutritious breakfast, but I needed sugar to cope. As of this evening, I can see in the app where one folio problem was fixed, but another still exists. I guess I know what I’ll be doing tomorrow morning. 

It shouldn’t have to be this hard. (!!!!!!!!)

With plenty of time, we went to the Allegro Dining Room for lunch today. Kudos to them for pulling that together so quickly, as it wouldn’t have been open if we had actually been in port today. Sure, G’s jam roly poly dessert was still mostly frozen, but that was the only sign we had that the galley had faced a time crunch. The British pub menu was a good (and quick) choice. 

Chicken curry…yum!

G went to watch Top Gun on MUTS and said it was a zoo with everyone on board and looking for things to do. I chose to instead sit on the Terrace Deck and read, which I do precious little of on these cruises. There are at least five Live Froms on Cruise Critic dating back two months that I’ve wanted to get caught up on, but they may have to wait until we return home. 

Speaking of returning home, in all the administrative minutiae I dealt with yesterday when I decided to stay on for the next two cruises, I forgot to book me a flight home. Fortunately, I was reminded of that when Southwest sent me an email reminding me that I had a flight this Sunday. Whoops. I was a bit trepidatious looking at flights for December 22, as it is the Sunday before Christmas, but I had no problem booking myself on G’s flight and actually saved $70 over this Sunday’s flight. Phew. 

I joined G for the PES lounge held in the Vista-less lounge, which is the easiest place to get a pre-dinner drink with our cabin at the very back. We then went to dinner at exactly 5pm. Tonight at 6:30pm was this cruise’s MTG Cocktail Party, so we wanted to be prompt. Unfortunately, we had the slowest service ever, getting our first course at nearly 6pm. Poor Made was slammed, and apologized to us, but what can you do?  Some nights are just like that. 

I wasn’t actually going to the MTG party anyway. I am underwhelmed by a party held in a corner of the casino without enough seating for everyone. Plus tonight I had to make a decision: get seats in the Princess Theater for Alfreda Gerald’s 7:30pm performance or go to the MTG party, after which there would be no seats left. I chose the show, and used the time to start this blog post (yay me). Like the Elite minibar and discounted internet, MTG cocktail parties lose a little allure when packages are so prevalent.  Particularly when the (limited) seating makes conversations nearly impossible. 

Alfreda’s show, in which she did a Tina Turner tribute, was simply the best (see what I did there?).  This lady is amazing entertainment! 

Guitarist Oleg is incredibly talented. He plays all around ship, all the time. 

I think he never sleeps. 

We followed up with G having ice cream and me a cappuccino in the Piazza with party Moonshine and Mud playing, and who got up and sang a few songs but Tam, the Associate Hotel General Manager. Speaking of talent…wow. She has an amazing voice and stage presence. She must have performed in a band before her hotel management days. 

And, finally, in a “haven’t we already done this?” moment, we received an email from Princess today about next week’s cruise. Our itinerary is changing due to the need to “complete critical preventative maintenance”. I can’t find the new itinerary (the old one still exists online) but the letter mentions an extended stay and overnight in Roatan. G talked with the captain about it at the MTG party and he said the officers just became aware of this today. I can’t imagine what needs to be done so soon after the ship was out of service for three weeks, but told G that we shouldn’t be surprised if we end up having to fly home from Roatan. It’s just the way this season has been. Oh, and I think I should be nervous. It was the day after I added the November 3, 10 and 17 cruises that Regal cruises started to be cancelled. Yesterday I added December 8 and 16 and here we are. If you’re really counting on a cruise, maybe you’d better email me to make sure I didn’t just book it. Just to be safe. 😉

The original events listing 


The post-port cancellation events listing

Days 16 and 17: At Sea and Cozumel

Once again, I am playing catch up here, not because I’ve been busy having fun (in Cozumel), but for a few other reasons. First, I’ve been enjoying watching game highlights from Saturday’s Michigan v. Ohio State game (it brings me huge joy), and I certainly enjoyed Monday night’s Broncos v. Browns games (which I watched with the sound off while listening to live music around the ship) 

Second, I’ve been busy trying to get our folio straightened out. It seems to be a never ending process. Early every morning G stops by Guest Services to spread cheer, pick up an extra Patter, and ask for a paper copy of our on board statement. He then shares that with me, and I end up standing in line to get that day’s issues resolved. Issues in general involve OBC not being carried over from last cruise, not being shown for this cruise, and being charged again for the Plus package. But at least it now shows that we have free drinks and internet. Cruise on!

And the issues do get fixed, and then are broken again the next day. The Guest Services Officer this morning told me what a nice guy my husband is and how they look forward to his visit each morning. There was an implication there…but I’m choosing to ignore it. 😉

And, finally, after planning to return home next turnaround day, December 8…I’m not. That happened just yesterday, and when we should have been enjoying ourselves on Cozumel, we were instead having deep discussions and I was getting myself added to the next two cruises and again changing transfers on both ends. What changed my mind?  All along, G was leaving it up to me, and was making a point of not influencing me either way. But yesterday he made one comment and- boom- that’s all it took. I’m needed at home, but he takes priority. 

Obviously, as happens when one plans to stay for four weeks and extends to seven and now eleven weeks, I am running out of things and looking travel worn and weary at the same time. I am going to visit a shop onboard tomorrow to see what I might be able to find there. Gentle facial wash, shampoo and conditioner are the most critical things. And then there’s that haircut I desperately need…

Looking back, I’ve missed breakfast every morning so far this cruise. This inside cabin sleep is so good, but we’ve had lots of wind and big swells every day of this cruise, and I think I’m just enjoying being rocked in my sleep. We are definitely feeling the movement in the back of the ship.

Having missed breakfast on our first sea day of this cruise, I wanted to go to Ocean Terrace for sushi for lunch. G doesn’t eat sushi, but does sit with me while I enjoy it. Today I ordered a saketini, a martini with sake and it was a real drink, not one of the fruity things I usually drink. 

A saketini

I love the seaweed salad and edamame…

…but skip the spicy tuna and get California rolls instead. 

Junior Waiter Nyoman at dinner serves my Princess Plus boxed wine in the GOOD wine glasses. 

I think I love him. 

Monday night’s show was amazing, vocalist Alfreda Gerald singing the music of Aretha Franklin. I was definitely in the zone. Loved it, and she’ll be back singing Tina Turner later in the cruise. An abundance of riches, for sure. 

We then rushed to the Vista-less Lounge for comedian Rollin Jay Moore. We haven’t seen him since we used to cruise the Caribbean on repeat, and found him quite funny after having burned out on him years ago. 

And then we finished the evening next door at the Wheelhouse listening to piano entertainer Colin Salter, whose style is very different than Derrick Dishington’s, but that’s what makes a piano bar so fun. 

Today I again slept through breakfast (in my defense  we WERE out very late last night!) so we went to Alfredo’s while the ship was in Cozumel (trying to fit in those casual dining options while we still have Princess Plus).  And sitting there is when I ,decided to stay on, so we left there with a list of things that needed to be done while we had phone service in Mexico. 

I can highly recommend the Tony Gemigani Cal Italia pizza. 

I gave the prosciutto to G but loved the figs. 

I spent all afternoon online and on my phone making changes to my travel plans and appointments I had scheduled for when I return home.  I made my last phone call sitting on the Promenade Deck before we went to dinner, and the sun was just starting to set in Cozumel. 

One final sunset photo

We enjoyed seeing production show Bravo with the new cast, and finished out the evening at the Wheelhouse Bar listening to Colin Salter. 

Day 15: Turnaround Day in Galveston

Ugh, I had this post ready to publish and I lost it. Re-creating a post is the most unhappy thing I have to do with this blog, so this is going to be much shorter than the OG post was. It can’t be helped. 

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?