Saturday, February 29, 2020

Special Event

We received this letter......









This is part of the Milestone program and we were given this opportunity because of our having sailed 500 days with Princess.
We were not to discuss this with our fellow passengers. 
However blogging it after we have left the ship is O Kay, we think.

It was really a unique experience. All navigational equipment was explained.



Captain Lewis welcomed us and left us in the hands of a junior officer. Here we are on the flying bridge. 
This shot shows our cabin from that bridge.





From here we could see the staff pool and hot tubs.




Busy officers 




The flags ready for signals etc.






This officer is on watch. I'll bet he is happy that they no longer have to be in the crow's nest.





This was a special treat for us. Thank you Princess!!!





Home Sweet Home!!

The entire day went like clock work. Princess as usual was so organized.
We had breakfast in the dining room at 6:30.
Went to the waiting area by 7:30
Were on the bus for our transfer by 8:30
We at the airport by 9:15
Had cleared customs and checked everything in and were people watching by 10:00

The plane actually left early.
We arrived 20 nminutes early but had to wait on the tarmack for flaggers

Marg and Dave picked us up and the ride home went so quickly because Marg and I chatted not stop.
Then we went to the Spaghetti Facory and had supper. It was another chatty evening.

Then we arrived home and turned on the heat and here I am at the computer!!

It was a grand cruise and even though we worried about the virus we arrived home healthy..

Next cruise is in May if we are not in the middle of a pandemic..

Friday, February 28, 2020

Last Full Day

This was our last full day at sea. The ship steamed at 23 knots over a quiet calm sea.

We spent most of the day packing, organizing and getting tips ready. But I did go to the culinary show.As usual it was a lot of fun.









Well a wonderful cruises comes to an end. We enjoyed it and enjoyed resting for 28 days did wonders for my sore shoulder.
But it will be good to get home. I am looking forward to getting my cataract surgery next week.


Last Formal night

Thursday night was our last formal night. Because we are Elite we got hor d'ouvers delivered to our room at four.






Mush to our surprise we also were delivered chocolate covered strawberries. I am going to miss this.!!





This was a special dinner because people were served 2 lobster tails instead of the usual one. There was also another Norman Love dessert.




The only sad thing is that I am not going to be allowed to take my flowers off on Saturday. They still look really fresh.



The show last night was Rock Opera. It was great but it was so loud that at times you did not know what the lyrics were. Even with your fingers in your ears it was too loud.
The costumes and sets were amazing.





Friday means we must pack!!!

Special announcement

On Wednesday afternoon while we were in the dining room Captain Lewis interrupted dinner to announce that there was a medical emergency on board. Someone was extremely ill and needed to get to a hospital asap. The nature of their illness was such that Helicopter transport was not an option.
We would be increasing our speed and heading to San Pedro as quickly as possible.
Projected time of arrival would be 8:00 on Friday evening and not Saturday morning as scheduled.
However because customs etc were not prepared we would not be able to disembark until Saturday morning as was originally scheduled.


There are a lot of people with coughs and in the back of everyone's mind is the fear that this is connected with the virus and we may not be able to disembark.

We have been avoiding being in large crowds and we move if someone near us begins to cough.
So far we are well with no signs of illness.

Keeping fingers crossed and hands washed!!!


Thursday, February 27, 2020

Special Lecture

Today we had a great lecture on the life of the Princess crew. It was great to see the quarters etc. There is another world under deck 5. There are dining rooms and rec facilities and stores and the list goes on. Our lectures Lisa has been with Princess for 30 years. She told us of the many reasons why people stay with Princess for decades. They are excellent employers.
I tried to take pictures of her slides and hopefully it will give you an idea of what we saw.


























This is formal night and we got our last Milestone gift....strawberries again.




Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Tuesday February 25th

This was another lazy day.
We had a late breakfast in the dining room.
We watched a lecture we had missed using our stateroom TV.
This was a Pub lunch day and we decided to take it in.









It seems that there are still lots of men who have forgotten what their mother taught the. They are still wearing hats to the table. Do you think I would get away with knocking their hats off??? Neither do I. LOL






In the afternoon I took advantage of state room on demand TV and I watched the movie "Rocket Man". It is good.



After dinner we went to the production show. It is called Magic to Go.
There were amazing sets and costumes. It was performed twice and will be performed at two tomorrow afternoon.









This was Shrove Tuesday and there was not a sign of Carnival. I was expecting some acknowledging of the day.:-(




Another sea day tomorrow.

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Sunday Feb 23 and Monday Feb 24

These 2 day were sea days and for us that means lazy days. There are a lot of things to do listed in the Patter but we have done all or many several times so for us it is time to just relax, read, watch television and eat.
The evening show featured Gary Delena. He was a comedian and a musician. He was really very funny. What he did was change the words to make a joke while he sang.
Lots of fun.




We had a special event today but I will report on that as the last post for this trip. I will keep you in suspense.


Monday was also relaxing for us. We went to a lecture by Sharon Faff. The topic was Trouble in Paradise, Natural disasters of the Pacific.
As usual it was informative interesting and well attended.








The entertainment was a dynamite performance by Ross Hunter. He sang popular rock songs and classics like the theme from Les Mis.

WE enjoyed the show very much but just before it began we changed our seat. The man sitting next to me was coughing. It sounded like the bad cough I have gotten before. So far we are both well. I think that is because we are making a concerted effort to avoid sick people and to make sure we are following all of the rules about hand washing etc. Only have to stay well for 4 more days till we get back home.
Keeping fingers crossed.

Monday, February 24, 2020

Formal Night number 3

We had our special breakfast in the morning. We also had it for lunch and we also had it for breakfast the next morning. So much food.

Formal night was fun. I got to wear my new dress.



This was the formal night that served lobster... Yeah. Jose did a great job for us.





See how pretty Al and Jan looked.



Tonight we had my favorite Norman Love dessert. I broke the rules and had one. Yummy








We went bake to the cabin after dinner to wait for time to go to the show. Much to our surprise and pleasure there were chocolate covered strawberries. I guess the plate of strawberries is part of the special treatment you receive on the occasion of having 500 days with Princess. Always appreciated.



After dinner we went to the show. It was Soul Music. The singers and dancers continue to amaze with their skill and their energy.



A special day comes to an end.

Saturday, February 22, 2020

lazy sea days

Yesterday was the first of 8 sea days and we did nothing but rest and relax.

But late afternoon the sea began to roll or something. Whatever you call it the motion was different enough that I began to feel ill. I took a Gravol and went down to the dining room. I was there less than 2 minutes when I knew that was a mistake. I returned to the cabin and laid down. The sea was still strange but the Gravol did the trick. Around 9 or so we went upstairs so I could get a roll and some cheese and milk. I needed to take my meds and I had a very empty stomach.

I slept well and this morning I was back to normal.
We sleep with the drapes open so when the sun comes up it wakes us. This morning the sun rise was magnificent.




I closed the drapes and went back to sleep for awhile. 5:40 is entirely too early to get up.

We received a bon Voyage gift of the Champagne breakfast from Kim our TA. To book it it must inform room service at least 24 hours in advance. So we decided to take a chance and order that for today. You just can't guarantee the weather ot the state of the sea that far ahead. We lucked out. It was and is a beautiful morning. Just ideal. This balcony is only medium sized and the table out there is like an end table. But on deck 10 there is a large table and a lot more room. Our next cruise will be on a deck ten large balcony. We will do the breakfast again then.

Today was as perfect as it could be. Here is a copy of the menu for those who have not done this.



We ordered it for eight and sure enough the waiter arrived to set up the table, complete with a table cloth and linen . There are trays and trays of food and the champagne of course.






We decided that the first course would be the quiche and bacon etc.




I couldn't finish it all, but Ken helped.

Next we had the fruit course. This had melon and blueberries and strawberries and sweetened cream. YUMMY!!!








There are 2 more courses that we have not even touched. Those we will enjoy for lunch.


Smoked Salmon and pastries.







We drank some of the champagne  and some of the juice and took our coffee outside to the balcony.




Thank you Kim , your gift was thoroughly enjoyed.