Our day at sea was very uneventful… We had lunch in the Coral dining room which was great. We sat with a couple from NJ and another family from NY. I would say that 80% of this ship is from NY or NJ. They were nice and lunch was awesome, we had appetizers, lunch, dessert, etc. Then we split up for a while. I watched the movie Invictus while sitting by the pool. This was great just wish the movie was better. One thing about this ship is I guess it is the largest Princess ship and there is WAY more people than we are used to. Some of our new friends complained about that too. It hadn’t really bothered me until I went to find a pool chair. The mass of people was amazing. I found that if you go up after2pm it is easier. The pool water was cold too…just the way I like it.
On our way to dinner we stopped by the photo wall and picked up a couple more photos. We then took another set on the way to dinner. Tonight despite the scary menu, we ate in the Coral dining room. When I say scary I just mean that there wasn’t a lot of items we would normally choose. We once again sat with a couple from NY and another from Long Island. One couple had been on the Disney ships and loved them so we had a lot to talk about. For dinner I stuck with the filet medallions which I really didn’t care for. Chris tried the beef and sausage jambalaya. We had escargot for appetizer and French onion soup too. This was the French Mediterranean dinner. Chris split the frog legs with one of our table mates just to try them. I couldn’t even look at them.
After dinner we headed to the bars for all the game shows. First it was Liar’s Club in which you had to pick which panelist was telling the truth and then we went to the Passengers Feud. They were fun to watch. At 10:30pm we had to go have our piece of pizza. We couldn’t let the day go by without having some. We also picked up some popcorn at the movie. We went back down to watch the karaoke and lip sync shows and finished up with watching the band for a while. Overall nice quiet day at sea. Today we will arrive in San Juan at 1:30pm. We are going to meet up with Bill and Pat to go explore the forts. Bill thinks we can use his senior discount to get in free. Chris warned them already that this is a photo opportunity for him and I am just glad I will have someone to talk to while he is taking pictures. Also at some point last night we hit the humidity line. Up until now the air has been very dry and cool. Now you can really feel the heat.

One of the things when booking this trip that we were concerned about was all the money we would spend. We figured with the casino and such we would be broke. However most of our money has been spent on pictures. Princess does an awesome job with the portrait photography. We have really had a hard time choosing. We decided that we want some nice pictures of us and by buying some of the pictures we will even be able to add them to our picture book that we are making after the cruise. We have spent very little money in the casino. They do have non smoking night every other night which is nice but it is really not our thing. We have spent some money on drinks but they do have the “power hour” which had pina coladas and Singapore slings for 2.99.

Last night we decided we didn’t like the menu for the regular dining room so we figured we would give Sabatini’s a try. This is the other “cover charge” restaurant. It was unbelievable. I think there were at least 10 different courses brought out and new silverware and plates for each one. I would hate to be the dishwasher in this place. It is an Italian themed restaurant and you start with cold appetizers, then hot appetizers, then salad/soup, pasta, dinner, dessert. Get my drift?? You cannot possibly eat all of this food. My favorites were the artichoke hearts, fried zucchini, and tiramisu. Chris had langostinos and they looked at me the entire time. Overall the service was outstanding. Very attentive. We really enjoyed this place.

After dinner we decided to do MUTS (movies under the stars). Although rather cold we went to see the Blind Side. I had already seen this movie but Chris hadn’t and with the football talk I thought he would enjoy. Don’t ask me how we did it after dinner, but we did partake in the popcorn. Princess really knows how to show movies at sea. The sound is awesome, clear picture, blankets, popcorn, etc. Loved it.

Today we are at sea and the weather is beautiful. Sunny, blue skies, great temperature, no humidity. The pools areas are packed. We had breakfast at our usual, Caribe Café and then headed to our formal meet and greet with the Cruise Critic friends. They held this in the Skywalker’s lounge on deck 18. It was great to see our friends and hear what everyone has been up to. The cruise director, Dan even made an appearance. After the meet we went to the International Café for some frozen coffee drinks and chilled in the piazza listening to a guitar player. I love that this ship has so much live music. This afternoon we are going to just hang out a bit and relax. Maybe swim, read a book, or see an outdoor movie.

More pics of the underwater helmet dive....

Last night was Formal night. We dressed appropriately and then proceeded to 5 or 6 of the picture taking stations. We hooked up with some other of our CC friends and decided to meet for dinner at 8pm. We watched the champagne waterfall and then had dinner in the Island dining room. It was just ok for me. The service and company were good but my food was so-so. My dessert was good though.
After dinner we all headed to Explorers Lounge for the comedian show, Troy Thirdgill. He was really funny. To end the night we watched the band Exotique play in the Piazza.
Today we arrived in Bermuda. After our 6am wake up call we headed to the Caribe Café for the continental breakfast. This was perfect for us. They had French toast and fruit, cereal, bagels, etc. We don’t need an omelet station. Our meeting time for Hartley’s Helmet dive was 8:35am. We met at the end of the pier. It was very windy. Greg Hartley showed up and escorted us to the boat. We headed out into the choppy waters and anchored at their usual location. During the trip Greg talked about the dive and fish that we would see. He split us into groups and luckily we got group 2. This gave us a chance to see what group one does and we don’t have to sit and wait for an hour. Each group was provided with wetsuits and dived for approximately 30 minutes. I was nervous but by the time we got to go Chris was looking a little green. He was really seasick now. See, he feels the Bonine makes him drowsy so he decided yesterday to stop taking it without thinking about this boat ride. On top of that it was EXTREMELY choppy on the water. I almost thought he was going to chicken out and I was going to do it alone. But we both made it and loved it. We got to touch the fish and coral all while breathing normally. It is really an amazing experience.
After we arrived back at the ship we had pizza for lunch and showered and then headed back out to explore the area. Not much in this area, The Royal Naval Dockyard. We could have taken the bus to Hamilton where all the shops are but we didn’t think we would have enough time. We did go to the Glassworks Factory and watch a demonstration. Not much else happening here so we headed back onto the ship.

More pics

Some pictures of NYC and our meet with CC friends

First full day at sea

We slept in this morning mostly because the rocking of the ship and the comfort of egg crate bed made everything peaceful. After getting ready we headed up for breakfast. It seems everyone had the same idea. The one thing we did not like is the setup of the Horizon Buffet for breakfast. They put the toaster in the middle of the action so it was very crowded. The sun is shining today but it is VERY windy and cool. Lots of people are in their swimsuits soaking up the sun but no one in the pools. It is amazing how many people are around the ship. I keep forgetting how big the ship is compared to Disney. After we ate some fruit, French toast, and bacon we headed down to the Piazza for some fancy coffee drinks at the International Café. We stopped for a bit to talk with some of our Cruise Critic friends and then headed to see what all the fuss was about at the Shopping Talk. The theater was packed and tons of information. I hope that maybe I can get this beautiful blue diamond ring they featured. I think that would make an awesome anniversary gift, don’t you??
One of the things we heard about when researching this cruise was the pub lunch. It is only featured on sea days and it was being held today at the Crown Grill. About 1:00pm we headed there. We sat next to a nice couple from NJ and enjoyed the best fish and chips Chris has ever eaten. One thing I can say so far is that the food on this ship is not only in more abundance than Disney but the quality is fantastic. Of course even though we were full we had to check out the buffets to see what else was offered. While walking through Caribe Café buffet, Chris spotted the fried shrimp so we had to eat again. Needless to say we will not go hungry here. The other side of the buffet, Horizon court even had different items.
Tonight is formal night. They are offering 10 different locations to get your pictures taken and the captain will make his speech and there is a champagne waterfall toast. We will be dressing up tonight but I am hoping I can convince Chris to skip the next formal night. I am really enjoying the anytime dining option. The buffets are really nice and we haven’t even seen the two dining rooms yet. That’s all for now… off to walk off some of this food in preparation of dinner.

After the required 4:30pm muster drill, we headed to the deck for the sailaway party. We had our first cocktails and then went to Outrigger’s Bar to meet our Cruise critic friends. It was fun. They are a great bunch and I look forward to meeting them throughout the ship. We started sailing away from NYC and it got COLD! We soon headed inside to get ready for dinner.
Our first night was great. We had a wonderful dinner at the Crown Grill. This is one of the two specialty restaurants on board. I had filet mingion and Chris had a veal chop. Because it was our anniversary they brought us a chocolate cake and sang a happy anniversary. One thing I will mention is my appetizer was scallops which were good and something else I tried but did not know what it was. I made the mistake of asking the waiter. He replied it was “goose liver”. That explains why I did not like it.
After dinner we headed out to the night life. This was short lived because we were exhausted. We did see my new favorite band Exotique. They are fantastic. We also breezed through the casino without stopping and are anxiously awaiting the no smoking night tonight. We went to the welcome aboard show and the best part of that was the cruise director, Dan Styne. He is hysterical and not what I am used to for cruise directors. He is on the TV every morning on a funny news show he created. When we got back to our room we had our chocolate on the pillow and our Princess Patter with all of tomorrow’s activities. All in all great first day!

View from our balcony

On our way...

We made it on board the Caribbean Princess! So far all I can say is AWESOME! We left this morning at 8am and headed to pick up Kate and Glen in Cromwell, our new Cruise Critic board friends. They, like us have not been on a Princess Cruise. After a bit of traffic we arrived onboard the ship at 12 noon, which we soon found out was the perfect time. We breezed right through the terminal and check in. Actually it was almost too fast, no time to take it all in. Our room was ready which is a HUGE plus above the Disney cruise line. We have an awesome balcony. Chris already said he will be spending a lot of time out there. We then headed out to explore the ship. First stop was the purser’s desk to make reservations for the Ultimate ship tour. Although expensive we heard great things about this. We got a reservation and the tour will take place on our last full day. Then we found our way to the buffet. This buffet is great. Not only does the entire buffet have glass windows but they actually get your drink for you. The food choices were ok. Chris loved the fried scallops.
We spent the next two hours exploring the ship. I actually feel like I am getting jipped on the Disney cruise. That cruise costs as much if not more for less days and I would say there is only about a third of the stuff there is on this ship. So many bars, food choices, pools, etc. Most bars are not open while in port but I am really looking forward to the evening activities. We stopped by the pizza counter and got a few slices and once again AWESOME! The MUTS area is great and you cannot hear the movies from other areas. The Sanctuary is nice but I still don’t think it is worth paying for.
The only thing that would make today better would be if the sun would come out. Very cloudy here. At least it is not raining. We have met our room steward who asked to be called Ronnie and all of our luggage was at the room by 3pm. We also bought our soda card and landyards. So far all I can say is WOW! I am so looking forward to the cruise getting underway. This ship is very exciting and I am glad our itinerary calls for 4 days at sea. This is our plan for the week:
Friday- at sea; Saturday-Bermuda (fingers crossed); Sunday-at sea; Monday –San Juan, PR; Tuesday-St Thomas; Wednesday – Grand Turk; Thursdy & Friday- at sea
Keep watching for updates!

New vacation, new look

Two days and counting until our next vacation so I decided to change it up a bit. On Thursday May 27th we will not only be celebrating our 15yr anniversary but we will be going on vacation somewhere other than Disney. I know... you can't believe it. But it is true. We will be taking a 9-day cruise on Princess Cruise Line to the Caribbean from NYC. As you can see by the name we did think of Disney when planning...(Princess). We are doing our last minute cleaning so all will be well for grandpa Jimmy who will be staying with the four legged children for the week. Then one more day of work and home to pack. Keep watching for updates along the way.