Party Time

We got up early this morning to make sure we could say Good Bye to Wendy. Ken made us a wonderful breakfast and then he delivered us to the ship. There were lots of passengers there already even though it was only 10:30. We checked in and got our room keys and then we were ushered to the Elite lounge to wait till it was time to board. Of course the VIP’s were boarded first.

We had to laugh when they announced that the Elite passengers would be boarded first. This ship holds 680 passengers and we heard that more than 400 are elite. The lounge had the usual array of juice and tea and coffee and goodies to keep the Elite happy until they were allowed to board. It was almost an hour before we were ushered onto the ship. No one seemed to be complaining and it all went very smoothly.

When we boarded I remembered how wonderful these ships are. Our cabin is beautiful!!!

 I took lots of pictures and then we went to lunch. The dining room was closed because all of the celebrities were occupying the dining room. We made our way to the buffet, using the stairs and had lunch there. We shared a table with a very pleasant couple from Australia. Ken had scallops for lunch which pleased him greatly.

After lunch we explored a little more and then I returned to the room hoping the luggage had arrived. It had not.

So that gave me time to BLOG

This is what greeted us on the front page of the Patter

Welcome aboard Pacific Princess

Welcome aboard this landmark sailing as we mark a historic milestone, the 50^th Anniversary of Princess Cruises!!

It was exactly 50 years ago today that the Princess Patricia set sail on Princess’ very first cruise in 1965 and now Princess has grown into the third largest cruise line in the world. Pacific Princess is recreating that very same inaugural cruise of course with some new touches and new ports.

In 1965 with a single ship cruising to Mexico, Princess quietly launched a revolution in travel. Over the next few years we added new ships as we expanded itineraries to the Panama Canal, Alaska and the Caribbean. Soon we were crossing the Atlantic!

The 1977 premier of The Love Boat helped to make Princess the most recognizable name in cruising. Today we take our guests to the world’s greatest destinations and introduce them to marvelous and unforgettable experiences.

We’ve planned an anniversary cruise filled with special events and surprises—from a Love Boat cast Q&A and deck parties, golden balloon drops, cultural festivities and musical tribute bands to commemorative menus featuring signature dishes from the past 50 years, exclusive Seawitch craft beer, anniversary pizzas, chocolate Journeys experience from renowned master chocolatier Norman Love!

All of us at Princess are delighted to have you as our guests for this historic sailing and look forward to toasting our 50^th anniversary with you.

Soon it was time to go to Muster and then we brought our PFD’s back to our cabin and then we headed for the sail away party. They had a champagne waterfall and a special performance by the Princess Dancers. Then Sammy Baker, the cruise director introduced The Love Boat cast. It was great , each one spoke for a few minutes.

 Then Jack Jones sang the theme from The Love Boat. All the while the champagne was flowing like water. They were passing and refilling and pouring. They were also passing out the Norman Love chocolate pops. I had one. They are chocolate truffles and they are soooooooooo wonderful.

 I resisted and had only one but I did have 3 glasses of champagne. Because I ate so very little for lunch I was feeling it for sure. During the music and the dancing and the drinking we were visiting with Michael and Jan and Craig and Barb. In the midst of all of this partying we looked and there was “Gopher “ from Love Boat. Shaking hands and posing for pictures. I was feeling no pain so I went over and had my picture taken with him.

This was the best sail-away party ever.

Next came dinner. We are at a table for eight which is disappointing. You can’t get to know people when there are so many at the table. They seem to be nice people. Stan and Karen; Phil and Lena; John and Ursula. We will learn more about them as the cruise progresses.

Dinner was very good as usual. We headed to the lounge as soon as dinner was over so we could take in the welcome show.

Then it was back here to unpack. When we arrived at the door there were wonderful Christmas stockings hung on the door with magnets. Our names were proudly embroidered on them. Barb made them for us. How thoughtful was that??

Romano, our room steward had brought us a vase so I could put my flowers in it.

Ken and I both had to complete our unpacking and it had been an early morning so it wasn’t long before we were all tucked in for the night.