Travel Day
After all the worrying about the Govt. shutdown, we are really on our way. We got to the airport via Tony, with only minor incident. Tone was trying to figure out which way to go and he accidentally ran a red light at Greg and I80.
The flight was good. We watched a movie with Mariette Hartley, which made the time fly by. We got to Dallas and parked at the gate at 11:11 AM on 11-11! How cool.
We walked off and found a transport to take us to our gate, which, according to the gate agent, was just around that corner. Thank God we had a ride because “just around the corner” was quite a long way.
At the gate, the driver helped Bill off the cart and turned to hop back into the drivers seat. Just then Bill fell, grabbing a handle on the rear of the cart. I kind man walking by, helped me to get him up, as I yelled to the driver not to drive away, because he hadn’t seen it. That was the only incident, and Bill is sore but alright, aside from a slightly bruised hand and a sore leg. I think we need a vacation.
We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale before our scheduled arrival time. We had Avery friendly helper, Cassandra, assigned to push Bill’s wheelchair. After retrieving our luggage in terminal one, she pushed him all the way to terminal 1, quite a distance away , so we could wait for Craig and Jackie at their baggage carousel. Their plane landed about 40 minutes after ours.
Well, something just had to go wrong. We had reserved, through Princess Promotions, a Best Western Plus, and we were assured that it was the only Plus, in Fort Lauderdale, on their hotel list. We met up with Craig and Jackie at their baggage carousel and, before we arranged for the Uber to take us to our hotel, we discovered that we weren’t staying in the same place. We figured that we would just accept the mistake and we went separately to our hotels. We got to the Best Western Hotel I95, and knew that there was a problem. We wanted a Best Western Plus, which is far superior to a regular Best Western and this hotel was not a plus.. We were tired after a long day, so we figured that we could live with it. How bad could it be?
Well, it is bad. This is the shabbiest place we have been to. Dirty air conditioner vents, filthy carpet, stains on the mattress cover, gouges in the walls and an icky bathroom fan, with dirt embedded so that we won’t even use it. Those are only a few of the things. Craig and Jackie had reserved the correct hotel, so we called them and found out that it is very nice there.
I called Princess Promotions, and spoke with Jared. I explained our situation. I told him that, because it is so late, we will stay here tonight, but we will go to the correct hotel tomorrow. He was so understanding. He said this is unexceptable. He started a claim, so that we can get our credits back, and he said to document everything with photos and any paperwork we get when we check out.
I reserved a room for tomorrow, with early check in, at the right hotel, so our vacation will officially begin tomorrow morning.
We had a soggy waffle and burned bacon for dinner at the Waffle House. Jackie texted that tomorrow we will start with a clean slate.
Day 2
This is more like it. The Best Western Plus Oceanside is an 8 out of 10 while the Best Western I95 is a 3 out of 10. We’re don’t have a room, yet, but Craig and Jackie do, so we have a place to hang out for the day.
The hotel is an 8 out of 10. Our run is clean and spacious with two queen beds. We are on the sundeck, just a few rooms from C & J. We spent the afternoon just talking at a table with a nice, big umbrella.
We’re trying something new tonight. Cuban food. The menu looks like we’re going to have a great meal.
Cruise Day 1 Ft. Lauderdale and Heading Out To Sea
Our first day started out perfectly. We met Craig and Jackie for a nice breakfast of eggs, English muffins, and fruit. We spent the rest of the morning on the sun deck just outside our rooms. The deadline for boarding was 2 and we were 2 miles from the ship. We wanted to be there at noon. I arranged for an Uber to arrive at 11:30. We were ready and waiting at 11:25 and the Uber was two minutes away. We kept getting updates that our ride was delayed. 9 minutes-11 minutes-15 minutes. We were a bit pissed but we understand about traffic. But, suddenly, at 12:00, I got a notice that our ride had been cancelled. Jackie wanted to take the hotel shuttle, but it was going to be $58.00 and the Uber was under $20. So I arranged for another Uber. The driver kept sending us updates but said there was heavy traffic. ETA was 12:30. We were starting to get worried. Then the driver said she was stuck in traffic. I was going to cancel the ride and take a taxi when I got notified that we had a new driver and our ride was arriving. So we got loaded and we were on our way at 12:20, only 50 minutes later than we had planned.
Our driver was friendly so we talked on the way. When we got to the street that leads to the port entrance, we waited to turn left through three light changes. Finally, we were first in line. The light changed for all ways except left. Frustrating but it happens. Then it happened two more times. The cars in the intersection were gridlocked this entire time so none of them were driving faster than a crawl. So, our driver very carefully crawled through at the next opportunity. Horns honked but he pushed on through. There were police cars everywhere in our route but luckily, there were none around at that time.
So, we got to the ship at 1 ish. The good thing about arriving later is that most of the people had already gone through the terminal so we walked on through and our cruise could begin.
We lost sight of Craig and Jackie but they are on a different floor so that wasn’t a problem. We were escorted to our cabin, met our steward, and unpacked. Our luggage had never been delivered so fast, and it was great to be able to unpack and get everything by put away before doing anything else. Our steward, Dede is very friendly and funny.
We had to meet at our muster station at 2 for emergency instructions. Because there are so many people, there are several meeting places throughout the ship. As we were going down the stairs to get to the Princess Theater, there were Craig and Jackie right in front of us. The muster, which was supposed to start promptly at 2, could not start until everyone who was assigned to that station, was in their seats. So, of course, the entitled ones, who don’t give a fig about other people, straggled in for the next several minutes. They showed us how to put on the life vests, what to take with us in case of an emergency and told us couple of other things. Muster was over at 2:30 and we were free to go.
We all went to the buffet and ordered our first cocktails. We usually go a deck outside for sailaway, but we were happy to watch from the window. We got a fruit and veggie plate to nibble on and we met our server, Komang. He delivered our drinks, chatted and joked with us for several minutes. He invited us to dine at his station in the Bordeaux dining room every evening. He said he would do everything he can to make us happy.
Of course, we know that the staff are friendly so that they can establish a good rapport in order to get more in tips, but it is still good to be treated as if we are special. We left C and J there and went to our cabin to rest for a few minutes. We changed for dinner and met them at the Bordeaux at 5.
Dinner was wonderful. We didn’t have anywhere we wanted to go afterward, so we just lingered at the table. Komang was still very effusive and he made us feel like we had always known him. J had lobster and Cesar salad, C had pork tenderloin, Cesar salad, and fettuccini Alfredo, Bill had salmon, fettuccini Alfredo, and coconut rum soup, and I had, mahi mahi, Cesar salad, fettuccini Alfredo and coconut rum soup. For dessert, we had assorted selections, of which we shared tastes.
We went our separate ways after dinner. Bill and I went up to deck 15, the top of the ship, and walked around it, making our way down the stairs to walk until, when we had finished with deck 12, Bill announced that his feet were finished. We went to our cabin and were in bed by 8.
Cruise Day 2 - At Sea
We had a wonderful day. I went to the International Cafe for coffee, fruit, an almond croissant, and a blueberry muffin. After breakfast we found J and C in the casino at a poker tournament. We contributed $20.00 to the ship and then went an to play games in the atrium. We had a club sandwich and a fruit plate delivered for lunch. Craig wrote to tell us that they were sitting near the Wheelhouse Bar. They had won’t$300.00 in the tournament! We joined them for some people watching for a little while. Then we played games until tea time. We met the Canadians that I had been communicating with on FB at tea. We were sorry that nobody wanted to take part in the Cabin Crawl. J went back to her cabin to rest and C went with us to sit in a hot tub.
We rested for an hour before playing Five Crowns in the Game Room. We had a very good dinner at the buffet and we all went to our rooms at 8:30.
Cruise Day 3 - Dominican Republic - Amber Cove
Really, I try not to have any drama, but sometimes things just happen. I’ve been struggling with an upset stomach since about midnight so I got very little sleep. We went to the buffet for a light breakfast at 8 so we would be ready for our excursion at 10:30. We came back to the cabin to get our swimsuits on and get our bag ready for our trip to Amber Cove’s Ocean World Adventure Park. I was getting ready in the bathroom when I got really hot. The next thing I knew, Bill was telling me to wake up because I had passed out on the bathroom floor. He dragged me, while I tried to crawl, to the bed. That took several minutes. He was able to get me up on the bed and, after a few minutes of wet towels on me, I was fine. But, I wasn’t fine enough to go on the excursion, so he called to find out if we could cancel it due to illness and get our credits back. They said that all we had to do was go to the medical center and have our tickets stamped. So we made out way down there. A person came out to the waiting room so see what we wanted. She said that they would stamp the tickets after I saw the doctor. I asked what the cost is for that. The minimum charge is $150.00. Yikes! I felt 95% normal. The excursion had cost $120.00 for the two of us so it would cost us $30.00 to get our money back. I said to never mind. She said I had to see the doctor. I said no I didn’t. We started to walk out and she asked for my cabin number. I said, “I don’t want not to tell you because I don’t want someone to come to get me.” We left and I was afraid to wait for the elevator in case they came looking for, so we wrnt up the stairs to the next floor to catch it. We are now on our balcony looking at the beauty of the Dominican Republic. We might try to walk in to the pier later just for something to do.
We spent a lazy morning playing Spite and Malice with C and J, and we drank lots of ice water. At 12:30, we went to the buffet for lunch of pulled pork, salad, pizza and roast beef. We left them at the buffet a went to get our books so we could read for a couple of hours. But the pull of the port was too strong. We got our small bag ready, sunscreened Bill, and walked to the edge of the pier, where we got a ride in a pedicab for $5.00. We walked around for about 40 minutes, looking in the shops and people watching. We took a few touristy pictures. We walked back to the ship and relaxed in our cabin until it was time to go to the Captain’s Reception.
These are some of the door decor that we have seen around the ship, including ours.
Cruise Day 4 - At sea
We spent a lazy morning playing Spite and Malice with C and J, and we drank lots of ice water. At 12:30, we went to the buffet for lunch of pulled pork, salad, pizza and roast beef. We left them at the buffet a went to get our books so we could read for a couple of hours. But the pull of the port was too strong. We got our small bag ready, sunscreened Bill, and walked to the edge of the pier, where we got a ride in a pedicab for $5.00. We walked around for about 40 minutes, looking in the shops and people watching. We took a few touristy pictures. We walked back to the ship and relaxed in our cabin until it was time to go to the Captain’s Reception at 4:30.
Craig and Jackie’s 34th anniversary.
Craig found a crocheted duck in their safe, and Jackie gave it to me to log and rehide. I’m planning on taking it on an Alaskan adventure next June. I will hide it on the Ruby Princess.
We wouldn’t have paid extra for a mini suite but we were given a free upgrade so, we are enjoying the extra roominess.
We have $440.00 in shipboard credit. We either have to use it on the cruise or lose it. We went to the ship jewelry store to see what I can get because we don’t want to buy clothes or other things we don’t really need. I told the first man who pounced on me that I had a very limited budget and i wanted something for $200 to $300. He asked me to find something I liked. I picked out a ring that I thought was beautiful and that I would enjoy wearing. After telling me the exact specifications and history of the sapphire and diamond ring, I finally got a price of $9,600.00 or only $400. per month for two years , interest free. What a deal! I had trouble passing it up, but I managed to tell him that I couldn’t afford it. He said that, just for me (while sneakily looking around) he could let me have it for only $7,800.00. I flately tefused his wonderful offer. After that, he tried to get me to pick out something less expensive. I looked him right in the eyes and said that I had $300.00 to spend. He told me that there was nothing in the store for that price.
I know, I know. I said we were going to skip dinner, but, after all, it was Italian night, so we had to go to dinner and see Komang. We all had Penne Arabiata perfectly prepared by Enrique (who, today only, is AKA Giovani.) Komang (AKA Bruno) was as fun as always.
We have a beach excursion at 8:30 tomorrow on St. Thomas so we’re off to bed now (8:45.)
Day 5 - St. Thomas
We had a great sleep last night. Just after I got up at 6:50, our breakfast arrived. Twice in a row, they brought me some sort of brown, flavorless flakes instead of the shredded wheat I ordered. We had some banana and pineapple and Bill had fruit yogurt with no fruit. We left the ship in St.Thomas at 8:30 and hopped on the shuttle to go to Coral World Beach Park. We walked through for a half hour looking at lorikeets, turtles, iguanas and fish. Then we made our way to the beautiful beach. There were only about 30 people there so it was quiet and peaceful. We had a wonderful swim in the Caribbean Sea, finally! We couldn’t get any chairs because we hadn’t taken any money with us, so we spread our towels on the sand and enjoyed two hours of relaxing and swimming.
We returned to the ship at noon and jumped into the empty pool for more swimming. Craig and Jackie found us so we talked for a while and then we went to have a light lunch at the buffet.
We went to our cabin for showers and a rest. Jackie texted to invite us to play Hand and Foot so we’re in the card room now.
Dinner was disappointing this evening. We got to the restaurant just as it was opening but our table wasn’t available. My Facebook posts have made Komang a celebrity, so his tables were reserved way before the restaurant even opened! We had a lovely table right by a window so we were able to see outside as we sailed away. The service was very good and so was the food but without the camaraderie between Enrique, Komang and his co-server(who’s name escapes me for the moment) it just wasn’t fun and entertaining. It was just dinner.
After we left the restaurant, we stopped by Calypso Cove, the clothing and accessory shop, and I found two rings that I like. They aren’t sapphire and diamonds but they won’t make me feel guilty every time I wear them.
We’re are in the Universe Lounge waiting for a comedy show that will start at 8:30, so I have time to write for a few minutes.
The comedian, Carlos Oscar, was very funny, and clean, which was a bonus. We hope to catch his second show tonight.
Vruise Dsy 6 - St. Kitts
After a light breakfast at the Horizon Court, we are ready to walk to the town. We had planned an excursion on a motor coach that takes people to several spots for photo opps, but Bill thought the stops were too short, so canceled. We are on the hunt for sunglasses for Bill because his broke a couple of days ago. We’re going to just see what we can find when we reach the town. It is 82 degrees with the humidity at 76% so it is already too hot for us. We will go until we can’t and then will come back to swim.
This is the latest on our day at St. Kitts. We walked to the port town, only about half a mile. We found Del Sol, the store that Craig recommended for Bill to buy sunglasses. He found some that he liked right away so we headed to the Effy jewelry store to see about buying a sapphire and diamond ring with our shipboard credits. Effy is well known everywhere so we had no reservations about shopping there. The Princess medallion was displayed on the door so we went in to find a very helpful young man, named Jack, who was eager to make his first sale of the day (so he said.) I picked out a ring that was a little bit similar (but much smaller) to the one I had seen on to the ship. After the usual haggling, my price went from $880.00 to $500.00. It had a lifetime warranty. He was even going to add a special gift for me. I said we wanted to pay with our medallions. He said no problem. I tapped the medallion on his payment screen. He said our account wasn’t linked to a credit card and that would be necessary to complete the transaction. No problem. Then, we found out that we couldn’t use our credits, but, for buying the jewelry they would give us even more onboard credit, about $30.00. No! We already had more credit than were knew what to do with. The manager got involved. I said I wanted to cancel the whole thing. Jack tried to persuade me to take it . They kept delaying, possibly thinking that we would give up and buy the darn thing after all. They called Princess to help and a Princess representative from our ship arrived shortly after that. She was lovely, and asked if we remembered which person told us we could use our medallions in the port shops to pay for our purchases. She explained that we had been given the wrong information and she apologized profusely. After a total of thirty minutes in the store, we walked out with the receipt showing that it was canceled. What a hassle.
And we still have $580.00 left to spend!
We came back to the ship and changed for the pool. We just had a club sandwich, hot dog, and fruit plate for lunch.
Cruise Day 7 - St. Maartin
We decided to spend $80.00 of our credit to spend the whole day in the Sanctuary. We had breakfast delivered to our cabin. I asked for shredded wheat for the third time but got brown, flavorless, stale flakes that I couldn’t get identify.
We got two chairs under a roof so they would be in the shade for most of the day, we hoped. We could have been in a cabana for the same price but we thought the cabana chairs didn’t look as comfortable. We have been enjoying just relaxing, reading, browsing on our phones and swimming in our own private pool.
