(a very late) Cruise Review

At last, the review you've all been waiting for
(I was going to list all the reasons for the delay but now that it's here, there's not much point - they were all brilliantly believable though 😉😜)

Our Caribbean Princess Review

Embarkation

Quick and hassle free - our luggage arrived outside our room about 1½ hours after we'd set foot on the ship so it gave us chance to start unpacking early

Cabin (appearance)

Lovely. 

Spotlessly clean, bright and airy and nothing about the decor looked jaded or in need of replacement. 

Cabin (facilities)

The bed was a problem - sagging on both sides - I have never slept on a more uncomfortable mattress in my life......it was rock hard.  T actually prefers a firmer mattress but even he couldn't get comfy. 

L and C had asked for a topper as they were having the same problem & advised me to request one too - we did but I can't say it helped much and when I saw it the morning of departure*, I'm not surprised.......I've had thicker bacon butties!!!

I did notice that a few of the beds on the cabin crawl looked as worn as ours - the new mattresses can't come quick enough for me.

(*As we forgot to put a "don't disturb" sign on the door, our steward nipped in to change the bed for the new occupant while we were out saying hello to Lady Liberty and he left the topper in the wardrobe area along with all the dirty linen!   
I took a picture but - wouldn't you know it - it was one of those that didn't write to the SD card.)

The pillows were another problem.  They look lovely all plumped up but there is nothing in them, they flatten to nothing the minute you put your head on them.  We both struggled and because they gave hardly any support, T ended up with a sore neck.

We didn't use the balcony very much at all but even though it was small, it's certainly big enough for 2 - we even managed to have an Ultimate Balcony Dinner out there with no problems whatsoever.

(I don't think I'd get a balcony room on a T/A again, the weather isn't really good enough to justify the cost.) 

We did have 2 issues with the toilet not flushing - it wasn't blocked, it just wasn't whooshing!

(oh, that rhymes, I promise it wasn't intentional, I didn't realise I'd turned into Robert Browning until I read this back.......... I'm laughing my head off here).

I rang guest services and they had it fixed in a jiffy and I'm really glad cos it could have been iffy

(ok, ok......that was intentional.......I'll stop now)

Despite the bed, the loo and my dreadful poetry, everything else cabin-wise was fine.

Food & Drink (a subjective view!)

From the blog, you'll know that we weren't always that impressed with the food, specifically the food in the MDR.  We did have some nice meals there but others were pretty bad and those bad meals outweighed the good (I still haven't eaten eggs of any kind after that huevos rancheros debacle.....honestly 😌).

Pastries, muffins and sandwiches from the IC were wonderful. 

The pub lunch - terrific fish 'n chips but the peas need work (memo to Princess... they should always be marrowfat)

The pepperoni pizza from Prego's (while not as good as on the Island Princess) was still very tasty and T loved the burgers & fries from the Trident Grill.

The Horizon Court & Caribe Cafe both had some lovely food (the fish stew & Mexican lunch both get 5 stars from me) but the goodies on offer didn't always "marry up" e.g. a beef casserole needs some spuds (boiled or mashed) but during one lunch service, there weren't any (and yes, I asked). 

We quite often went up to the HC and left without eating because there was nothing to 'go' with the main part of the main courses (admittedly, that could be a British thing).

The 'made to order' tapas, cheeseboard and sushi in Vines were all delicious - I'm just sorry it took us over a week to try them out.

We had some issues with drink and, as we'd bought the All Inclusive Beverage Package, we found it to be a bit of a pain, quite frankly. 

The first day on board we were told they'd already run out of Coors Lite (really!!!).  Miller Lite was the alternative but within 3 days, they'd ran out of that too (they did eventually get some Coors..... while we were in Flam, I think).

Merlot 🍷 stocks were hit & miss - Vines had none at one point and it was very rare to be served it when we were in the MDR.  The Horizon Court gets a brownie point or 3 though because they always seemed to have some (just a pity we had to drink it from those horrible plastic glasses).

The biggest issue with eating & drinking in the buffets and atrium was seating..... or lack of it. 

The notices on the tables in the HC and Caribe Cafe asking people to leave when they'd finished their food were a waste of time - nobody took any notice and nobody from the crew did anything about it 😠. 

We actually saw one couple get 4 glasses of water, sit at a table for 4 and put a glass by each seat making it look like there were no spaces available - they proceeded to play cards and weren't challenged at all.

If people aren't eating or drinking or have nursed the same drink for hours just so they can play card games or mahjong then they should be asked to leave.  That's fair.

It was very difficult to find a seat in the atrium too - if you wanted a snack from the International Cafe for lunch, you stood little or no chance of eating it anywhere near the IC because there were no seats/tables available as people were sitting in them to read or watch the world go by.

Obviously, passengers should be allowed to sit in the atrium to read or play cards etc....I'm not saying it should be outlawed but there should be a few chairs and tables reserved for people who only want to eat & drink.  That's fair.

Entertainment (another subjective view)

Main Shows

We saw three.  The first wasn't to our taste, the second was terribly amateurish and although the third (the crew show) was actually amateur night, it put #2 to shame......it was magnificent. 

Xcite

The resident band - they were good.  They covered a wide variety of decades and genres and (loud drummer aside) we both quite enjoyed listening to them. 

Fun/games and quizzes

All a good laugh and a round of applause should go to every one of the passengers who joined in and made them so much fun for the rest of us watching from the sidelines. 

There was certainly enough going on for a 'sunny' cruise where people can also laze by the pool, have a swim, play golf or just go for a walk but for a cruise like this, when the weather is so bad that passengers are stuck inside 24/7, I think more entertainment could have been laid on.

Casino

We aren't big gamblers but I did enjoy playing (and losing) on the slot machines.

I don't know if they allowed smoking in there all the time or just on specific days but sometimes it smelled very strongly of cigarette smoke.

In room TV

Repeats, repeats, repeats....mainly of Downton Abbey & The Love Boat.

I'm surprised that Princess doesn't have some 'on demand' system in place yet.  Maybe something will be installed during the CB's drydock?!

The Staff (and passengers)

Some MDR staff lacked a bit of oomph and service could be very slow (or when they went missing, non existant) but they mostly did a good job. 

Buffet - again, sometimes a bit slow but the thing I really noticed was a lack of interaction - apart from having a laugh with one of the waiters during our first afternoon on board, no-one spoke to us unless it was to answer a good morning greeting or to ask about what drink we wanted.  

The bar staff were all excellent (particularly Kelvin & Don in Crooners)

Main entertainment team - superb

Generally, all members of the crew were very friendly, always willing to help and gave the impression that nothing was too much trouble.  Sometimes, they were treated very shabbily by the people they were serving or trying to help and I found it quite embarrassing to watch. 

Here's a message to those few people who feel entitled to treat people who work in the hospitality/cruise industry like they are some kind of sub-species.......

A please or a thank you goes a long way, clicking fingers to get attention isn't very nice and barking orders at someone standing 6 inches away from you is just plain boorish. 

Get your act together folks, the crews help to turn our cruises into wonderful experiences and treating them poorly, despite being looked after so phenomenally well by them, just makes you look stupid & ignorant.

That said, 99.99% of the passengers were fab 😁- it was lovely to get in the lift of a morning (or anytime, really) and be greeted with a chorus of hellos, "have a nice day" and "enjoy your trip" or whatever.   It really put a smile on my face. 

Chatting like long lost friends to people at the bars, lounges and dining rooms was wonderful - we heard such incredible life stories. People were more than happy to give advice (even if we didn't want it, ha ha) and, with us still being relative cruise newbies, some of it was invaluable.

To those (roughly) 3,168 people  -  thank you xxxx

and finally............

The Ship (public areas)

We saw nothing of the "tired and worn" appearance so many people had mentioned prior to our cruise. 

I can't even bring myself to spin the standard "well for a 12 year old ship, she's in good condition" blurb - it would imply that we forgave a few 'issues' because she's getting on a bit..........well, we just didn't see any 'issues'.  There was nothing that alarmed us or made us think "oh dear, that needs sorting out"

If we got back on her tomorrow and she was in the exact same condition, I'd not only be happy because I was taking another cruise, I'd be happy because I was back on the Caribbean Princess.

If you'd like to read about what we got up to in Orlando, check out the tabs at the top of the page (starting with "And so to Orlando").
I may combine them with the blog at a later date but for now, I'm keeping them separate.

20/9 to 22/9

Apologies for taking so long to finish off the cruise section of the blog.
I truly didn't have time in Orlando - we were trying to fit our normal 14 days there into 5.....it was busy, busy, busy.

Once we got home on Thursday we just wanted to sleep.  Friday it was hairdressers, sleeping, shopping, laundry, sleeping, finding out our car needs some work (which we can't get done til Monday and means that we couldn't drive down to get Pongo 😢😢), sleeping, laundry, catching up with family & friends, etc., etc., etc.

Below you'll find my posts on the last 3 days of the cruise.

I will be writing an overall review too....... our likes, dislikes (guess what's top of the list 😏) and what was brilliant etc. but I want to get the Florida part of our trip typed up properly first.

We were so busy at the theme parks, I didn't have time to write more than a few words once we got back to our room and I knew (iffy wi-fi at the hotel not withstanding) that I couldn't post them as they were.
I'm going to spend the next couple of days expanding on what I've already written (before I forget what went on) and as soon as I've done that, I'll get back to the CB review (and hopefully I will also have sorted out pics to upload onto the blog so you can see what I've been blabbing about)

In the meantime, thank you all for following us on T's birthday celebration adventure and I'm very grateful to everyone who sent emails via the blog and who tweeted & texted  their support (along with all the lovely comments I got from cruise forum members).
It was great to hear from you all.

Thanks again,

S x❤x❤x❤

Our last 2 and a bit days on board the CB (sob)

20/9 - Cruise Day 016 - Boston, USA (part two)

As you can tell from the start of my last post.....I was a very happy bunny as we arrived in Boston.

Daft as it seems - it was really exciting to wake up knowing that we've sailed across the Atlantic. My mum travelled the route many times when she was a Cunard stewardess in the 50s & 60s and I'm sooooo proud to have (sort of) followed in her footsteps.

It was just as exciting knowing we were back in Boston - isn't it just a lovely city? - we visited for 4 days just over 9 years ago and had a great time - we always said we'd be back...........We wanted to get the most out of our one day visit so before we left the UK, we decided what we'd like to see again and worked out the fastest walking routes so we could fit everything in.  I printed out maps and directions and, miraculously, we didn't forget to take them with us this time (remember, lack of maps meant we missed my namesake's bar wayyyyyyyyyyy back when in Amsterdam?!). .

After we'd done the immigration thingy whatsit (which took about an half hour - I'm very impressed with how Princess sort out the logistics of such a big operation) we hot footed it off the ship and started on "S &T's Best of Boston" walking tour.

Along with another couple, who were following directions to the same place via their phone, we got a bit lost getting to the first venue - not all the streets were sign posted and quite a lot of them didn't even show up on the maps - but us stalwarts never give up and, 35 mins later, we arrived at the Boston Tea Party Museum.

If you haven't been to the museum, you should definitely go.  It was one of the best touristy things we've seen so far and it was well worth paying for .............even if we did pay twice! 

Yes, you've probably guessed it - we may have remembered the maps but we completely forgot to take the online tickets we'd bought before we came away (a whole $49 worth).  Big duhhhhhhh

I wouldn't mind, they were right there in the folder with the maps, printed on bright yellow paper so how we (aka T!!!! 😁) missed them, I'll never know.  Big, big duhhhhhhh.

From start to finish the museum was pure fun (and of course, educational). There's loads of audience participation and the team make sure to include everyone......even if it's only to assign the names of known rebels to each 'audience member'.  T & I were the Bradlee brothers (me - Nathaniel, T - David).  We all learnt how to cheer, boo and raise our arms in a specific 18th century way and, once we'd been given a load of background info, we were then off to make mischief.

(Btw, apparently David had just been released from prison..........I tell ya, I always knew there was something shifty about my hubby 😅).

I won't spoil it by saying exactly what happens** because as well as the tour on the ship, there are a couple of very good gimmicky surprises - but gimmicky or not, it all helped tell the tale and tell it very well too. 

We had such a good time.

After that we walked (following directions from our not so good maps) to the Old South Meeting House (nice but not worth the entry fee), then went to take a few pics of the State House & have a walk around the Beacon Hill area.....such lovely old houses and very pretty narrow streets with higgedly piggedly lampposts stuck in very uneven pavements (sidewalks).  Admittedly, some parts look a bit worn now but strangely, it didn't make the area any less attractive.

We had planned to walk to the Old North Church and then to Boston Harbour for lunch but aching feet and the 80s+ temp (that constitutes a major heatwave where we're from!) put a stop to that.  Instead, we decided to take just one walk to see if a favourite eatery of ours was still in business so we set off for the Back Bay area.

We got a bit lost (nothing new there then!) but, credit where it's due............thanks to me 👌, we eventually found the place we were looking for - the Globe bar/restaurant on Boylston (which is a bit further up the road from 500 Boylston - the building used in the opening credits of Boston Legal) and, just like old times (by that I mean the 3 visits we'd made during our last trip!), we had a couple of beers and a very, very, tasty, tasty lunch.

Sated, we began our walk back to the ship but I decided (a whole 4 minutes after we'd started) that I just couldn't take another step so we hailed a cab & returned to the CB in relative luxury.  As we got back so much earlier than we thought we would, we did what any pair of self respecting, tired, worn out tourists would do...........we had a couple of hours kip.

We were up again at 5pm getting ready to go to L and C's for another sailaway/wine party (along with the other lovely couple from the first sailaway).  Again, it was fab.  L and C's port side room had a fantastic view and we got some super duper shots of the most beautiful Boston sunset.

We all continued having fun at dinner......I must add here (and you probably won't be surprised) that the food wasn't much fun but the company certainly was.  Despite the food (just don't ever have southern chicken, 3 of us did and left it!), the table service was wonderful and the waiters were a real good laugh.  We had a great time.

G and N left just before 10 to go to the late show in the Princess theatre and the rest of us went to Crooners for a nightcap. 

L and C stayed for about an hour but T & I sat up for a while longer having a good chat with another British couple.  

Don (the barman) called it a night around 12:15 and we were duly sent home (in the real world, he'd have kept our car keys & ordered us a cab) to have our penultimate night's sleep on the CB.

**Small spoiler alert...............

Woooo hoooooo, I was a rebel...........I threw the tea overboard.

(Down with taxes is what I say.  Power to the Sons of Liberty! 😜)

21/9 - Cruise Day 017 - At Sea, our final day

After a bit of a lie-in (we got up around 10ish), we finished our packing - I was glad we'd sorted most of it out the other day - we only had a few things to put away.  We left out just what we needed to wear for the evening along with the clothes we'd be wearing for disembarkation tomorrow.

We went up to the Caribe Cafe for our last lunch on board and Oh Boy! had they pulled out all the stops.  It was Mexican Fiesta Day (or something similar sounding) and it was fab-u-licious.  Next to the UBD, it was the best meal we had throughout the whole of the cruise.  Chilli, enchiladas, spicy roast chicken (cooked to perfection), rice, tortillas, bean salad......it just went on and on and on with scrummy yummy gorgeousness and we went on and on eating    

Word must have gotten around - the queue was quite long by the time we got there but by the time we'd finished our meal, the line had more than doubled.  To say it was a hugely popular lunch menu would be an understatement.

After eats we went to sort out our Future Cruise Credits but the office was shut - not wanting to wait around for 45 minutes until it re-opened, we decided to fill out an FCC form and pop it in the drop box (fingers crossed there's no problems with it?!) and then we went for a last walk around the ship.

Despite not doing much, we were a bit tired so we had a quick snooze before getting ready for our final evening aboard the CB.  During our afternoon walk, we'd checked out the dinner menu and didn't really fancy the sound of it (what a shocker, ha ha) so we thought we'd go to the buffet but, when it came time for dinner, we were still quite full from lunch so we ruled that out too.  

Instead, we decided to kill 2 birds with one stone and go to Vines for some tapas & sushi as it would give us chance to say thank you & goodbye to Jack & Cherry (two of the most hard working bar staff on the CB).

Following our light dinner in Vines (yummy), we travelled around the ship saying our goodbyes to everyone who'd made this such a wonderful birthday celebration and ended up in Explorers for our final evening's entertainment.

Mary Ann, L and C joined us for the last ever trivia quiz of the cruise (we were predictably rubbish) and then, after saying goodbye to Mary Ann and doing a lot of goodbye hugging with L and C, we started to make our way to Crooners.....it took us a while to get there - we got stopped by every one of the Explorers' bar staff, they all wanted a goodbye hug too - it was actually quite emotional.....I got a lump in my throat & very teary eyes (good job it was near the end of the night cos it totally ruined my makeup  😅).

After a final drink & farewell in Crooners we trotted off to our room and got ready for our last sleep on board the Caribbean Princess.  

(Wonders will never cease, we actually remembered to set the wake up alarm for 4:30am - we were due to sail past the Statue of Liberty around 5:45...........we just couldn't miss that.)

22/9 - Cruise Day 018 - New York, disembarkation

We were up before the larks and after whizzing down to the IC for a couple of hot drinks, we were ready to wave to Lady Liberty at around 5:30. 

We made our way to one of the top decks - it was cold and very windy but we forgot all that as we sailed under the (Hudson?) bridge - we could see the statue in the distance and it was amazing to watch it getting closer and closer. It really is an iconic sight.

More and more people had started to arrive by now but we managed to get a great speck on deck 16 (port side, near the bow) and stayed there until the ship sailed passed the statue and had started to turn 180 degrees to reverse into Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.

We still hadn't drank the half bottle of champers we'd got with our UBD so before we went back to our room, we nipped down to the HC for some orange juice - that meant we could have a bucks fizz on our balcony as we watched a fab sunrise over Manhattan.  

At 8am we had to leave the cabin and I truly welled up - I didn't want to go.  I really didn't want to go.

T sweet talked me out of trying to become a stowaway and, with me still teary-eyed, we walked into the corridor & closed our door one last time (cue dramatic music...... just like you hear in those weepies from the 1930s)........

As we didn't want brekky, once we were out of the room, there wasn't actually that much to do except wait until our colour/number (navy 2) was called to leave the ship.  We stayed on the Promenade Deck for quite some time watching the goings on on the water (Staten Island Ferry etc) and @8:50 we made our way to the casino (our disembarkation meeting point) to sit and wait, and wait, and wait.

Things were running a bit slow so we were delayed getting off the ship (and made even more delayed by me saying goodbye at every stage......bye deck 7, bye casino, bye fave slot machine in the casino, bye CB (repeatedly), bye ganglplank!) but when we eventually got into the terminal, we found our luggage easily enough, got through customs pdq and, in no time at all, were searching out the coach that would be taking us to Newark for our flight to Orlando.

I must say, all the Brooklyn terminal staff were very friendly - nearly every one of them said "Welcome to Brooklyn", it was lovely.  Round of applause for them please.

The journey to the airport was quite uneventful for us - sadly, one couple found that a piece of their luggage had been accidentally taken by someone else who'd gotten off at the previous terminal stop. Once the rest of us had been dropped off, the driver was taking them back to Terminal A to try and sort it out.  I hope they found it.  

(I must have had a premonition or something because at the very first stop, I'd asked T to get off the coach to make sure no one took our cases or if they were taken off - so the driver could get at other luggage - that they were put back on!).

We were sooooooo grateful for the porter/sidewalk check-in clerk (is that what they're called?) who spotted us struggling as we left the coach - he just took over. 

He loaded our cases onto a trolley, got us to the check in desk, checked us in, gave us our luggage tags and boarding passes, told us where to go to get to security and then cheerily waved goodbye to go in search of another clueless couple to help.  What a very nice man (and well worth the tip)  

Well, that's it, with a new destination to get to - via a plane and not a ship - our cruise had definitely come to an end and we were about to start on a different part of our adventure.

We were on our way to Orlando 😁😉😁😉😁

18/09 & 19/09

Cruise - another couple of days at sea

18/9 - Cruise Day 014 - Transatlantic Journey Day 4 of 5

Apart from writing the blog/live from, I didn't stir until 2pm and although I still didn't feel 100%, I felt much better than I had at around 7am when I'd first woken......... a latte & a choccy muffin delivered by hand by my wonderful hubby made me feel even better :D

I felt that good, we even managed to get some packing done. 

We sorted out all the clothes we'd need up to and including disembarkation and then we threw what we didn't need here or in Florida back into the cases (separated from our clean clothes, of course).

We had to wash a few things (and we had to wash them twice cos the first time around, the rinse didn't rinse!!!, grrrrr/pffftt) so while that was going on, we got ourselves ready - tonight was Mary Ann's star turn at "The Voice of the Ocean".

Laundry (eventually) sorted and ourselves laundered & dried off too, we got to the Princess Theatre around 7.  Every competitor had been allowed to invite up to 6 guests - we found the section of seats that had been reserved for "guests of Mary Ann" and made ourselves at home.

(These seats were right at the front - prime real estate in theatre seating terms and the number of people who completely ignored the reserved signs and sat in them was unbelievable - they were all asked - politely - to leave by Paul and other members of the entertainment crew but, really, it shouldn't have been necessary.)

The show was marvellous, marvellous, marvellous.

Based on the TV programme, 3 'coaches' (with turn aroundy chairs and everyfink 👍) picked their fave singers by their 'voice'.  If more than 1 coach had pressed the buzzer, it was then up to the singer to select which coach they'd like to be mentored by.  (The mentoring consisted of the coach selecting which of their 2 or 3 singers should go forward to the public vote and then it was up to us to pick the winner.)

The star of the show for me was one of the coaches, Peter the ship's Hotel Manager - unlike the other 2 coaches, he had no showbiz background so rather than gush about their singing abilities, he resorted to blackmail to get the contestants to select him as their mentor. 

He was totally hilarious, from threatening problems with immigration and customs, to luggage issues and the morals of their room stewards.....he tried everything and he did it brilliantly (and mostly, unsuccessfully).  If he ever decided to leave the hospitality industry, he could well make it as a comic.

Mary Ann sadly didn't make the final but, to me, everyone was a winner - to stand up in front of 800 strangers and sing your heart out is a very brave thing to do.

Afterwards, the contestants and all their supporters went to the Explorers lounge for a private champers celebration - it was wonderful. 

We went back to the theatre to see the International Crew Talent Show - the ship's crew left their normal jobs behind for a while and entertained us with everything from belly dancing, magic acts and ukulele playing to comedy sketches and scenes from famous plays/films............Billy Hygate's Fiddler on the Roof routine was superb. 

All in all, it was a brilliant night in the Princess Theatre.

19/9 - Cruise Day 015 - Transatlantic Journey Day 5 of 5

Our final day of the transatlantic was a bit of a mixed bag of good and not so good.

We met up with Lee & Jim (2 other guests of Mary Ann) for the early morning quiz and then for the first time in what seemed like years (God, don't I exaggerate ha ha) we had a walk on deck.  It was lovely to get out in the fresh air without being bent double or freezing cold, or both.

After lunch in the HC (nasi goreng & shrimp) we went for a little snooze and then got ready for the final formal night of the cruise.

We had wanted to eat at a table for 2 but the waiting time was around 40 minutes so we agreed to our standard share of 6 or less.  Everyone was (mostly) really nice but we all could have done with the guy sat next to me who insisted on describing some horrible medical problems he has......one of the other ladies actually told him to shut up (I wanted to applaud but thought that was going too far lol).  To add insult to injury dinner and the service we received were abysmal.

The list of complaints is really too long to go into but hilarity soon took over.  This sounds daft now but T's glass being topped up (twice) with still water when it already contained the sparkling variety made my day and gave me a really happy memory.  Every cloud eh?

We spent the rest of the evening in the Explorers Lounge - it was 70s night and it was brilliant.  The DJ playing all my fave disco hits, the music quiz (we did better than we thought), boogying with the entertainment team to the decades' most well known dance routines (the hustle, YMCA etc) made sure that a wonderful time was had by everyone.

Before we turned in for the night, we had more fun losing another $10 at our favourite 1c slot machine (they don't call us the 'last of the big spenders' for nothing).  It was a perfect ending to what started out as a not so perfect night (well, winning the top prize of $500 would have been even more perfect but we were still happy)

19/9 - Cruise Day 016 - We arrive in Boston (part one)

I missed waking up to see the waves whizzing passed the window this morning but it was really exciting to open the curtains and see the huge letters of CRUISEPORT BOSTON right in front of our balcony.

We've done it, we've sailed the Atlantic ocean from east to west.

How WONDERFULLY, FABULOUSLY, WONDERFULLY WONDERFUL is that?

I'm hoping as we step off the gangplank on to US soil that there's going to be a special ceremony with medals awarded for our amazing cruising feat (well, a girl can dream can't she :D)

We're just waiting to go through immigration (Club Fusion, 9pm) and then we'll be able to get out and about in Boston.

More about today tomorrow (or maybe the next day..............)

16/09 & 17/09

Another 2 days of reporting...........

16/9 - Day 2 of our Transatlantic Crossing

After our non-day on Thursday, the 2nd day of the TA crossing seemed non in a different way.....non-stop. 

We got up around 9, took our time getting ready (ok, so not very non-stop so far but it does improve) and we then went for breakfast. The ship was rolling all over the place again (lower decks closed off & usual warnings from the captain had been issued) so, even though I'd remembered to take my tabs, I wasn't up to eating much.  I managed half a bacon sarny (sandwich) while T - who was up to eating loads - ploughed through a full cooked breakfast then - to work off those and all the other 000s of calories we've managed to consume - we went for a walk on deck. 

Well it was more of a "let's bend into the wind to avoid both our glasses being blown off our heads and being blown off our feet" than a walk but we enjoyed it and I'm sure we gave a few people a bit of a giggle as we staggered around.

Just before 1pm, we made our way to Skywalkers to meet the gang from the roll call. 

Today was Cabin Crawl Day (fanfare music again please!) & we were going to have a nose around every type of cabin.... from an inside to the very grand Grand Suite.

Margie had organised it all and she did a fab job, not only with the route but with us rowdy lot too 😃. 

We were split into 3 groups with those showing their cabins going in the first group, staying put when they got to their own room and then joining group 3 to see the remaining cabins along with all the other 'hosts'.    

Well, it was a real eye-opener.

Although I couldn't stay in an inside (not seeing daylight would drive me nuts - sorry, the bridge cam just isn't the same), I was really surprised at how roomy they are.  The bathroom is exactly the same size as ours (think broom cupboard) and I couldn't have been more wrong about thinking that passengers could probably sit at the end of their bed & use the desk.......they would definitely have to have super duper long arms to do so........there's more room between the bottom of the bed & desk in those rooms that there is between the bottom of our bed & the facing wall.  Eye-opener!

If we could get a 'not too obstructed view' like the one we saw during the crawl, then I would probably go for it if we ever chose to do a similar cruise to this again.... the obstruction consisted of just 2 steps and a few railings - hardly any obstruction at all - the room was bright and certainly big enough for two.  Totally ideal for this type of itinerary.

Another eye-opener......I mean, let's face it, the weather we've had just doesn't fit go very well with a balcony and apart from T's birthday dinner, it's not like we've been able to sit out on ours every evening and watch the sun go down!. 

For warmer climes (and deeper pockets than we have) we'd go for the mini suite - not too big but the extra room you get from the open plan lounge area (ok, so it's a settee and a table lol) does make a difference.....we got upgraded to a mini on our first cruise and loved sitting there with our room service goodies just watching tv and chilling.

The other suites we saw were absolutely lovely but, apart from needing a lottery win to pay for them, were just a bit too big for us.  The only things they have that we don't (apart from a comfy seating area or 2) are a walk in shower and a bath.......ahhhhhh, a bath (looks dreamily into the distance....remembering) 

The remainder of the afternoon was spent in Vines (isn't that place just marvellous) watching the world go by as we sat drinking a couple of glasses of wine and eating some wonderful tapas (T) and scrummy cheeseboard (me). I really love that you get such tasty, freshly prepared, delish goodies with every glass of wine you order (I still have to try the sushi - that's next on my list). 

After Crooners, Vines is our fave bar on the CB 😉

We had an early dinner (smoked salmon & crawfish followed by braised rib of beef & veggie trimmings) which was OK but different to what we're used to at home so it didn't get top marks (it's a palate/taste thing not a bad cooking thing) and then we went to the early trivia session. 

After playing (and succeeding) at being total dunces, we went to watch the stage show "Born to be Wild" in the Princess Theatre (it wasn't good at all, 'nuf said).  Following the show we took part in the very first, but hopefully soon to be repeated, "Name that Tune" in Crooners. 

The resident pianist played a few notes on the piano and we all guessed the song........from the Downtown Abbey theme tune to Alfie (Cilla's version not Cher's), it was a great success and Paul from the entertainment gang said he was going to get another session sorted before the end of the cruise - hope he manages it, it was brill.

By 10:30 we were shattered so it was a "goodnight" to everyone in the bar and off to bed again.

I forgot to mention earlier.......we were one of the 'crawl hosts' and although we've taken the cards down, all the birthday banners and pictures still festoon our room - everyone who came to see the cabin wished T a happy birthday........isn't that lovely.

17/9 - Day 3 - the middle day of our Transatlantic

Not a good day - once again we had terribly rough seas and more safety announcements from the captain and, once again (despite taking my tablets), I didn't feel too well.

The thought of breakfast wasn't very appealing but later on, I did manage to finish about a 1/3rd of my fish 'n chips lunch in the Crown Grill (for info, T ate all his 😊) and then, with decks closed off and it being far too cold & windy to stay outside for longer than half a second, we sat in the Explorers lounge for the rest of the afternoon. 

I didn't feel like joining in much - the ship was still rolling around a lot - but it was fun watching everyone else do their thing.....people were learning how to jive, there was a battle of the sexes slapstick gameshow (who knew that there's a whole load of people out there who just can't blow up balloons.... it was annoyingly hilarious) and then we had afternoon trivia.

In between all that T kept popping up to our room to make sure that all the electrical stuff we haven't used since we left home (e.g. kindles) were charged up and working.  Best to be safe than sorry......US security may decide to check it out - I wouldn't want to lose something because we'd forgotten to sort the batteries out! 

He had no probs with anything..... until it came to his phone.

As soon as he plugged it in, a whole load of Chinese symbols came up on the screen along with the words "Back to Factory Settings", then it promptly shut itself off.

We're hoping it's because it couldn't find a connection out here in the mid Atlantic and that by the time we dock in Boston and can get a decent mobile phone reception, it'll sort itself out......if not, guess what we think we'll be looking to buy as soon as we get home!

We were meeting L and C again for dinner so were ready and in Crooners by 6:20. 

They are such a lovely, funny and fun to be with couple and, up until I started to feel really poorly again, we had a great 2½ hours together.

I didn't eat much at all but everyone else enjoyed their meals - I was just thankful that I managed to wait until T was on his last mouthful of yummy choccy dessert before I started on a gazillion apologies and cut the night short. 

L and C couldn't have been more understanding and so, around 9pm, with me still saying sorry, we all said goodnight, T (who, I might add, was also very understanding) & I left the restaurant and in no time at all, were back in our room after a very shaky lift journey (even the elevators rock and roll in bad weather).

Now, correct me if I'm wrong but I'm starting to think that little ol' moi and transatlantic cruises in September during terrible sea conditions are not a good match............

15/09

Cruise - Day 011 - At Sea

Early on Wednesday evening the captain had announced that, due to high winds we would be starting our transatlantic journey around 4 hours later than planned. 

Waking at 6:00am yesterday to find that we still hadn't left Reykjavik was a bit of a shock. 

It turns out the winds had gotten even worse throughout the night (gusting up to 50 knots) which meant it was too dangerous to turn the ship around and leave port.

With nothing much else to do (the shops couldn't open, neither could the casino and even some of the morning's entertainment had to be scrapped because the ship wasn't in international waters) we got ready, went for a late breakfast and then I spent a very uneventful half hour in the calm & non argumentative laundromat doing some ironing. Unfortunately, not long after that, I started to feeling a bit poorly.

It was my own fault, I'd completely forgotten to take my cyclizine tablet and only remembered just as we got underway (which was late morning), consequently, by the time we hit some choppy waters, the meds hadn't had time to kick in and I ended up in bed for most of the afternoon feeling very sorry for myself..... woe is me :)

I felt better around 4pm so we were able to think about what we wanted to do for the evening and, as it was the 2nd formal night of the cruise, we went to see what culinary delights awaited us. 

T wasn't very delighted....he didn't like the sound of anything but did say he'd have the "always on the menu" Country Chicken if I'd like to go.  I wasn't that bothered and it seemed unfair to have him dress up to the nines for a bit of roast chicken & veg so we decided to have something later on from the HC.

Back in our room, I felt a little tired (I'd not long taken my 2nd cyclizine & that's one of the side effects) so I lay down for a nap.  T said he'd wake me at 7.

Ha!, don't trust a T as far as you can throw one is my advice........he fell asleep too & we both ended up staying in bed for the rest of the night.

(To be fair, I think we must have needed the R & R......neither of us stirred until 7 this morning)

So yesterday in a nutshell...........

We were well over 16 hours late leaving Reykjavik

I felt sick

T & I slept a lot

All in all, a bit of a non-day really

13/09 & 14/09

Good day everyone - two day's worth of reporting here.......we had a very early start (and a late night) yesterday so I didn't have time to write anything up until now but, better late than never I say......so here we go

13/9 - Isafjordur

We woke up to a fantastic view - after the bleakness of yesterday's landscape, I can say without doubt that Isafjordur is both beautiful and pretty. 

The sunshine & lovely blue skies helped but I think that even without that, it would still have looked lovely.  The mountains surrounding the town reminded me a bit of the Hawaiian coastline (not that I've ever been to Hawaii, I'm just going by pics I've seen), they made for a wonderful backdrop. 

Isafjordur is a tender port so to avoid the rush for tender tickets, we took our time getting ready and sauntered down to the Island dining room around 10:30 to get in line.  It worked out well, within minutes we started to board and were back on dry land around 11.

It was our very first tender experience and, apart from hitting a bit of the wake left by an earlier tender & bouncing around for a few seconds, it was a very smooth ride. 

As with every other port we've visited (apart from Rotterdam), there were no 'locals' dressed in national costume for us to have our picture taken with so we bypassed the ship's photographers and made our way to the tourist office, got ourselves a map and had a very long walk around town.

All the buildings were built with some kind of corrugated metal material (tech term escapes me!) - don't know what the rainfall is like here but if they ever get a heavy downpour, I'd be surprised if they could hear themselves think

I couldn't get over how quiet it was around the town - even the sounds from cars & trucks seemed muted.  I don't know if the surrounding mountains soaked the noise up but, honestly, I've been in little English hamlets with nothing more than a pub, church & post office that have sounded louder than Isafjordur.  It was odd.

Another strange thing was that it wasn't 'touristy', not in the least.  The shops weren't doing a hard-sell & we didn't see any of those just waiting for cruise passengers' "end of season" sales!

It took four attempts to get that pic of us......it's when we realised that the camera wasn't 'writing' every photo we took to the SD card 😲

After we'd walked around the town and (not) taken a load of photos, we thought we'd stop off at a local bar or restaurant and have some lunch but, apart from a couple of bakeries, we couldn't find anywhere to eat......no bars or restaurants. How weird is that?

We made our way back to the tourist info centre to see if we could find out where we could have something to eat & drink and were lucky enough to stand behind a lady who was asking if there was anywhere to eat or drink!  She was told that the only fish restaurant in town was closed due to a family bereavement but apparently, there was another restaurant right next door to where we were all standing.  Well, in a month of Sunday's you wouldn't have guessed.....there wasn't a sign to be seen on the building - no self promotion whatsoever (we actually wondered if the locals even knew it was there 😊).

We paid it a visit and had a lovely pub lunch of burger, waffle fries and Gull beer.  It was really tasty. 

We sat watching the world go by for a while then around mid afternoon, we decided to go back to the ship.

Here's the outside of the restaurant - no clue whatsoever that it was a bar/pub restaurant
The only sign was in the foyer/reception area ⬇ where it couldn't be seen from the pavement/road (how weird !)

The food and the beer were lovely and the view was pretty good too 

Walking back to the tender - despite that long queue, we didn't have to wait long 

We were both shattered when we returned to the ship so we had a couple of hours snoozing then got ourselves ready for dinner.  We weren't in a hurry to do anything particular after dinner so rather than ask for a table for 2 and have the meal over with quickly, we decided to share (table for 6 or less please) and take it easy.  We ended up sitting with a lady we know from Crooners, her hubby and another couple.  They were all great company and apart from my rib-eye being particularly fatty, the meal was good too. 

(Part of our conversation was quite amusing - talk about Chinese whispers!!!!  
We mentioned the guy who'd fallen during our trip yesterday and one of our table companions got that "gossipy" look in her eyes, tapped me on the arm and said "I heard he was out cold for over an hour"....I had to laugh - regular readers will remember my mentioning yesterday that I'd spoken to him half an hour after it all happened.
Just shows how things can get exaggerated, doesn't it? 😉.)

With a very early start in Reykjavik, we didn't want to stay up too late so we watched Xcite's mid evening show & made our way to bed around 10ish but not before asking passenger services for a call if the Northern Lights made an appearance.

At 1:00am, we got the call.  The lights were starboard/aft. 

We had a look see and there they were.....not very bright and not very colourful but bright enough & colourful enough for us to see.....just.  Sadly, they weren't colourful enough for the camera so we've got no pics but at least we did see them and it's another item we've been able to tick off our bucket list.

14/9 - Reykjavik

The excitement at seeing the northern lights in the early hours of Wednesday morning didn't stop us from falling asleep again as soon as our heads hit the pillows and it was a good job too......we had a very early wake up call so that we could get to the Princess Theatre for 7:40 - the meeting point for our "Best of the Golden Circle" excursion which was due to start at 8:00am

It was a marvellous tour.  We saw some amazing sights from geo-thermal power stations to

geysers

and quite a few waterfalls (with Gullfoss being the largest and, by far, the best we've seen in Iceland). 

The most interesting part of the trip for me was seeing the tectonic plates that separate Europe & North America and the strangest part of the trip was sitting down to lunch at 11am!!!!!!

I don't know who made up the time-table but I reckon they need to rethink that part of it - eating so early made dinner time back on the ship seem like centuries away 😏.

It was bitterly cold by the time we returned to the CB and it was absolutely f-f-f-freezing standing on the dock in the sleety rain waiting to re-board.  As soon as we set foot in the Piazza we went straight to Vines for a glass of wine and some tapas and then went to check on the dinner menu to see if we'd need to get ready for the MDR.  Nothing appealed so we stayed in our scruff & went to get pizza and a burger and, as it was too cold to sit outside, we ate it all in the HC then went to Crooners for a chat.

After hearing some really bad reviews about the hypnotist's act, we decided to give his 9:00pm show a miss and went to the late trivia quiz instead.  We teamed up with another 2 couples and won.......yayyyyy, we came first.......wooooooohooooooooo...........go us. 

We won a bottle of champagne but decided that just one couple should have the honours and, by popular vote, it was awarded to Marianne & Ron (mainly because they were also celebrating Marianne getting to the final of the ship's singing competition "The Voice of the Ocean").

A re-visit to Crooners for a couple more drinks and then to bed.  

12/09

Cruise - Day 008 - Akuyeri, Iceland

And so, after sailing through much calmer (but not completely calm) seas, we arrived in Iceland.  Apart from flying over Greenland a few times at 35,000 feet, we've never been so far north in our lives......that thought was a bit of an adventure in itself.

Our first sighting of Iceland - not too shabby, eh? 😃

Around 9:30, we rang T's sister to wish her a happy birthday, went for brekky and then waited in the Princess theatre for our coach number to be called so we could begin our "Best of Akureyri" (pronounced like Tipperary) tour.

After nearly an hour & a half's drive through pouring rain and very low clouds (sometimes we could barely see the edge of the road), we arrived at Namaskard to see - and smell - the hot sulphur springs.
I was amazed at the sound the vents made - like a pressure cooker on steroids. It was great to experience but the stench of the sulphur stayed on our coats for ages afterwards.

Another couple of stops to see strange lava rock formations and craters created by lava flowing over wet ground got us to Lake Myvatn and lunch at a local hotel. 

Lava rock formations - despite the greenery, the landscape still looked barren

Lunch was very nice but the guy at our table who went to get a second helping of salmon from the platter on our table *with the fork he'd been using to eat with sort of put me off getting another portion as well (*just how yukky was that?) and we left soon after 'cos I'd lost my appetite!

(During our time here, one of the passengers either fell or collapsed just as we got into the hotel foyer - an ambulance was called for him and he was taken to hospital.  I'm still trying to find out if he made it back to the ship.....I spoke to him about half an hour after his fall - as he was waiting for the ambulance - he seemed more shaken than injured so, hopefully, he did get back on board.)

Our final stop was Godafoss Waterfall - not big in the scheme of things......it wouldn't give Niagara Falls a run for its money but it was lovely and it was probably the prettiest scenery we saw all day - the rest of the landscape WAS beautiful but it wasn't pretty (if that makes sense).

Don't know why we didn't take a double selfie but we didn't so, here's 2 separate shots of us on a bridge!!

We arrived back on the ship and checked out the menu in the MDR.  We liked what we saw so got ready and were seated by 7:50. 

It was good & not so good!!

Our merlot arrived looking like it had been mixed with washing up liquid, there were huge bubbles all around the inside of the glass.....it also tasted like it had actually washed some dirty dishes so, needless to say, we had it replaced.  The food was lovely, however, the service was so-o-o-o slow that both T & I AND the couple on the next table thought our waiters had gone strike - there's always a silver lining though.... we got a chance to have a chat with more lovely people 😊

Be careful on deck?, we couldn't
even get out on deck, ha ha 

By early evening the ship started to rock and roll again.....the captain had warned us earlier that we were going to hit some rough seas and had given us the standard safety instructions (hold on to rails, be careful on deck etc). 

The real rock & roll journey started during dinner, carried on when we were in the Explorers Lounge and then hit its peak during our final stop in Crooners. 

Around 11pm, the ship rolled, made a huge banging noise and then everything started to shake - it was that bad, even one of the bartenders looked totally shocked......his startled face was a picture.

Within a few seconds all the staff were in the bar, the cling film (plastic food wrap) was out, the glasses were covered, bottles were moved to a safe place and the bar was closed 😢.

Kelvin putting cling film around all the glasses

T & I started for home but got waylaid in the casino - not for too long though.  One 25c spin netted us a $35 win so we cashed out and shimmied & shook our way back to the cabin.

A good day was had by all.

11/09

Cruise - Day 007 - At Sea

Morning everyone

I'm going to start today off with a warning........

Never, ever, ever, ever order Huevos Rancheros in the MDR for breakfast - it's just all kinds of urggghhhhhh - if I'd been served it in the UK, I'd have taken it home to use as putty for the windows. Dreadful stuff.

After we'd eaten (or not eaten) breakfast, I decided we needed to wash some clothes.

Everyone else had had the same idea.

The laundromat was packed out but within a minute of walking in, someone's wash finished & I got a machine - yayyyy, lucky me 😏.  While the wash was on I did some ironing.  I also jumped out of my skin at one point.

And it was because of LAUNDRY-GATE

There was a disagreement between a couple of guys over a dryer then the guy who'd felt wronged bashed the top of one washing machine very aggressively & stormed out.  Bashy's wife came in a few minutes later saying she'd heard all about and started the 'disagreement' all over again.  It made for a very uncomfortable atmosphere and I got out as soon as I could.    

We went to the morning quiz (equal 3rd) then had our first ever main dining room lunch.  T didn't feel like much cos he'd had a big brekky but I was starving so five spice chicken wings followed by a fabulous pasta and meatball dish certainly helped fill the gap.  I must say though that unless there was a not to be missed menu, I don't think I'd go to the MDR for lunch again.......takes too much time out of your day but it was a nice 'one-off'.

The past couple of days have been really rough with the ship tossing and rolling all over the place.  Yesterday, the captain warned everyone to hold on to rails when we were moving throughout the ships, the pools were emptied and most of the hot tubs were netted over & couldn't be used. 

It's been fun - we both felt like we were walking through jelly (jell-o) and finding yourself going in a different direction to what you intended has been a hoot.

We've never seen or experienced weather like it so we took advantage & spent a lot of yesteday afternoon walking around on deck - it was amazing at times....especially watching the waves.  Some of the bigger swells turned into huge white-caps and if they caught the sun just right, it produced a rainbow.  Sadly, too quick to take a pic but the memory is there......you've gotta love nature.

We tried to catch a 'wave rainbow' but they appeared/disappeared far too quickly

We went to the HC for a very early dinner then spent the rest of the evening in the Explorers lounge.  We took part in a trivia quiz (we were awful) then we sat with L and C to watch Xcite (the resident 'pop' group) and we also teamed up with them to play the Majority Rules Quiz.  We weren't brilliant at that either but it's such fun to play.......ask a general question about anything at all and the most popular answer is the winner. I hope they do another one before the end of the cruise

After the quiz, Xcite came back on stage for their final set of the evening but by then we were ready for bed.
N'night 😴😴