OK, while I still remember all the fun we had, it's a good time to put a few words down. One week of blue seas and warm winds! I wish I could say sunny skies, but it was overcast most of the week. I can think of a lot of good things to do in cloudy weather - and a cruise is at top of that list.
On Jan. 19, 2013 we set sail aboard the Crown Princess, leaving from Galveston. Our crew: Don & me, Charles & Lou Ellen, Zack & Andrea, Ernie & Belle. We were headed to Roatan (Honduras), Belize, and Cozumel.
I didn't take many photos. Some are out of focus. But I wanted to remember the fun so I threw them in anyway. Here's a little video:
This was our first trip on Princess. Some things were good, some need improving...it was a nice ship. Pretty decor, large dining rooms, clean and quiet staterooms - at least ours was.
Princess caters to an older demographic and everything is rather sedate. Sometimes sedate can be good. Not always.
Cabin: Our cabin was on the Caribe deck, which pretty much means we hit the jackpot. We had a large balcony (9x9) with 2 lounge chairs, a nice table, and a couple of foot stools. I had breakfast (room service) every morning on my balcony. Luxury, people!! If I wanted to relax or nap out there though, I ended up using pillows to make my chair comfortable.
Sadly, the love for our cabin ended with the balcony. The shower was teeny-tiny. In the end though...it's all about the bed, and the bed was no good. Pillows were worse. I'm picky but all of our beds on Carnival cruises have been outstanding. Perfect. And, after our plush towels and thick robes on Carnival, we assumed all cruises have the same. No. No, no and no. Princess has a lot of catching up to do in that area.
Food: We ate in the Michelangelo Dining Rm. It was kind of pretty and most nights we had our own super-star waiters, Zoran and Paolo. No kidding, they were awesome. Zoran is Serbian and we loved chatting with him. We made reservations each night just so we could get our table in his section. Some of the food was delicious. Many nights I ordered the Fettucini Chicken Alfredo. Yummy! Desserts were average (missed my Warm Melting Chocolate Cake!). The best thing I ate all week at dinner was Goat Cheese Souffle. It was excellent!!
Most of the time for lunch we ate in the International Cafe, a small place right near the Piazza. Good salads, small sandwiches, desserts. Everything included in the price except gelato, which was $1.50 for 3 scoops. We got some only one day...what were we thinking???
Our last night onboard we ate at The Crown Grill (specialty restaurant w/ upcharge). It was so delicious. They had a tray with fabulous cuts of meat available and all we had to do is choose! Don & I both picked the ribeye w/ a side of lobster. It was a grand meal and that's why I included the steak pictures on my video.
Fun: Laughing and storytelling, on steroids. Each night at dinner we'd have a topic (or two) and go around the table with it. Crazy ancestors, alcoholism, snakes (wait - it gets better!) church, testimony meeting, wills, hunting, kids, football, Lance Armstrong, in-laws, and of course - cruising!! Funny waiters + good storytellers + people who love to laugh = a good time was had by all.
We went to a couple of shows in the theatre. The highlight of the entertainment was the Princess Pop Star competition. Think of it as cruise ship meets American Idol...lasted several nights and ended with the finale. Some singers were good, a few were outstanding, some were awful and some were odd. Our favorite was a cowboy named Bobby (retired deputy) who sang "For the Good Times". We ended up meeting him, his wife and their friends several times during the week and we had an instant friendship. We sure enjoyed meeting those folks. They were from Cameron, TX. Another person of note in the Pop Star race was Matthew. He was different. His singing wasn't entirely bad. It wasn't entirely good either. He tried to connect with the crowd by weaving in and out of the audience. It looked like he was marching through a war camp, looking for deserters. Matthew had an eye for Diana, a blonde singer, and he set his cap for her. Oh, we watched the pursuit. Crash and burn.
One night late we played a round of Pirate's Dice. You know what they say...never trust a pirate. Fun!! Speaking of games, we were excited to try our luck at Princess Trivia. Lou Ellen and I had such a good record on our last Carnival Cruise that I was sure we were gonna mop the floor. That would be a no. For one thing, the people on Princess have no clue how to run trivia games. They allow too much time between questions. Please! And who knows what the winners got - there was no ship on a stick while they asked your name and did some jokes. It was sedate, that's what it was. And still...we did not win!!! For the record...Robert Palmer is dead and there are 206 bones in the human body.
OK, that's it for tonight. When I get to it, I'll do another post - Inauguration Day fun, our ports of call and may add a few photos. Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of...diet coke! ;)
