Bermuda Cruise 2024 #2 - Sea Day # 2 (11/01/24)

 

 

2:00 am - All Aboard!

 

7:30 am - Already at Sea!

Technically, the ship was in port until 7 am this morning. However, all aboard time was 2 am, meaning that for all practical purposes, this was a sea day.

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RQS and I got up late enough to miss all vestiges of breakfast.  I took my time in getting moving, and we decided to go to one of the ship's casual dining venues, the American Diner, around 11:45 am.  When we got there, there were 20 people in line ahead of us.  While waiting, we bumped into our newfound friend and chatted for a while.  Luckily, the line started to move at noon (when service started), and we were politely able to end our conversation without further commitments to meet again.

This dining venue is in a sheltered area above the lido deck, but it still outdoor dining.  Given how busy the place is, we were glad to get there to be seated promptly.  But then we had to wait for service.  Eventually, someone took our beverage order, and then our food order.  Both beverages and food took a relatively long time to come to the table.  RQS and I had different opinions on our salads, as I had the Caesar Salad and she had the Greek Salad. I enjoyed the Chicken Chili, and she enjoyed her Nachos.  Eventually, the main course came - a Cheeseburger for me and Pulled Pork Sliders for her.  Even if the burgers were the same as from O'Sheehans downstairs, it tasted better for some reason.  As for the pork sliders, RQS enjoyed them, but couldn't eat all of them.  I tasted the one she didn't eat and i wasn't impressed - I guess I wasn't in the mood for any meat drenched in BBQ sauce.

After lunch we took our time in getting back to our rooms to take a nap.  I needed it, for again, I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep again.  On our way back to the room, we noticed that a larger than normal number of people (for this cruise) were outside sunning themselves by the pool area.  This would be the last warm day we'd likely have before reaching port, and I might have been soaking myself in the hot tubs had I brought my swimsuit and other falsies.

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After our nap, it was time to go to the photo gallery and look at the pictures taken of us dressed to the nines.  Most were OK, but I wish we had been on MSC for this cruise, as formal nights were truly formal nights.  On NCL, they only have "Glow" nights, where people may opt to dress nicer than usual.  Yet, we got a few nice pictures taken of us,   On the way there, we met a couple dressed to the nines - the gentleman was in his Marine Corps finest, while his wife was decked out in a beautiful gown.  I'd have loved to have seen their photo shoot!

Next stop was another one of the complimentary main dining rooms, the Manhattan room.  This restaurant is similar to the other 2 complimentary restaurants (Taste and Savor), save that it is larger and has space for people to dance if the background music causes a couple to leave their table to dance a bit.

Dancing wasn't in the cards for us this night, as we were both hungry and interested in what was on the menu.  I started with the Baked Brie Salad, followed by the Chicken & Shrimp Paella.  It was good, but not as good as I've had in a favorite Spanish restaurant that is long shuttered.  For dessert, it was a pair of eclairs.  They were tasty, but not exactly what I would have wanted to finish the meal.

At this point, we were getting tired, so we went back to the room and retired for the night.

 

 

California Vacation 2023 - Ensenada, Mexico

 

This was the obligatory foreign port stop for the cruise ship before returning to the United States. Since we had no interest in doing anything at this port, we decided to stay on the ship. So, I can still say that I’ve never set foot on Mexican soil.

As usual, we woke up late and missed breakfast in the dining room. We ended up at the buffet, walking all over the place to find a station that was still serving food. After eating a hearty breakfast, it was back to the room to rest and pack our bags for debarkation. And then, it was off to the Lido deck for Pizza and a dessert. The pizza was good, but nothing like a true New York pizza. Think of a pizza somewhere between a good NYC pizza and Pizza Hut. I wouldn’t go out of my way for the pizza, but I wouldn’t refuse to eat it if friends were going there to eat. The specialty desserts that RQS and I had were listed as $12 each. They weren’t bad, but they were not worth the list price. (We got them free as part of our package.)

Next, it was off to the portrait gallery to find out how much the photos taken of us the other day would cost. After a nice presentation, there was no way we were going to spend $1200 for 8 photos. However, we did feel comfortable spending $300 for 3 photos - especially, when I still had over $100 of on-board cruise credit to burn.

After another chance to rest, it was off to dinner. All was going well until the dining room started it’s cruise-end celebration with a Baked Alaska parade. This was very off putting, as the cruise director had the lights turned off, had loud party music turned on while the serving staff marched plates of Baked Alaska (with lit candles) around the dining room when we wanted a “quiet” leisurely meal. Thankfully, the parade ended after a few minutes, the lights were turned back on, and the dining experience rudely interrupted by the parade was allowed to start again. The last time we were at the restaurant, the waiter suggested (and delivered) appetizers and main courses in addition to what we ordered. This time was no different. I’ll hate to get back on the scales when I get home, as I know he was partially responsible for some of the weight I may have gained on this cruise.

We then proceed to the theater to watch a couple of comedians. Unfortunately, their humor was to neither of our tastes. So we went over to the lounge, where we met our friends for the last time on the cruise. It’s too bad that they live near LA, as these are the type of people we’d like to get together with as a couple.

All too soon it was time to go back to the room and go to sleep. Tomorrow will be an exhausting day….

California Vacation 2023 - Sea Day #1

 

Sea Day #1.  

This was a day to relax.  We had nothing to do and nowhere to go. So we stayed in bed and had a late breakfast.  After exploring the ship a little, it was time for lunch in the main dining room. And that is where we shared a table with two ladies who went to college together.

Often, it is quicker and easier to get a table in the main dining room when one is willing to share a table with others.  This is something I tend to do on most of my cruises, as it allows me to meet with new people and learn new things.  This time, RQS and I were able to share some of our Eastern Canada / New England cruise experiences with others who had an interest in the itinerary.

After lunch, we decided to rest a while before dressing up for dinner.  RQS made a stop at the ice cream station on the lido deck where she got a specialty dessert for us to split.  (Getting these desserts is a perk we are entitled to in our cruise package.) It was yummy, but not something I’d have every day.

Soon enough, it was time for us to get dressed for the evening. Unlike one extremely formal cruise line I want to take soon, I didn’t need a “Dinner Suit” for formal night.  Princess is happy when women get dressed in nice dresses, and the men get dressed in a blazer, shirt & tie with a pair of dress slacks.  This would be the first time we got dressed up since our last cruise, and we enjoyed it.

Dinner in the specialty dining restaurant (the steak house) was good.  But one thing marred it a little.  The place was understaffed, and it took a while for service to get started.  When it did, it was up to the level met by the complimentary restaurants on the ship.  RQS was impressed, as it was a consistently higher level of service than NCL has on its ships. Yet, both of us agreed that NCL’s steak house had the better quality steak.

So how would we rate the ship so far in this cruise?  Princess has better quality service.  There are not as many attempts to upsell the cruiser extra products and services to make money.  We both prefer NCL’s buffet, but prefer Princess’s main dining rooms.  We are not as happy with Princess’s Medallion experience as we’d like, as the App doesn’t carry all the information one might need from the daily Princess Patter (such as times restaurants are open), but it is something I’d like to see implemented on other cruise lines.  

After dinner, we met up with a couple of people at the lounge.  We had a nice chat, although the band was playing too loud for comfort.  I wonder - is the band playing loud because the older demographic of the cruisers imply hearing troubles?  Who knows?  But I’d have loved to have chatted in an area less noisy.  At least, I was able to use my louder male voice for conversation.

Second Cruise - Day 2: Newport, RI.

 

 

Day 2: Newport, RI.

I found it hard to believe that I awoke at 6 am, and didn’t fall back to sleep.  The motion sensor nightlight worked like a charm, and RQS was glad that I brought it along for the trip.  After showering and dressing, we had a quick breakfast and got on the tender boat to Newport.

It seemed to take forever to get to Newport, as there were more people trying to get to Newport than the tenders could deliver to the landing in a rapid manner. Once there, we decided not to go to the Breakers.  Instead, we decided to walk around town and go into a chocolate shop.  Yum!  Both of us picked up some stuff to spike our blood sugar levels later on.

Once we returned to the ship, we rested before dinner.  Tonight, it was the main dining room, where we were seated with other people.  It would have been nice to be able to chat with the older couple who were sitting next to us.  Unfortunately, the band playing in the background was too loud to shout over, and we had to make do with understanding snippets of chat around the table.

When dinner was done, we relaxed a little, and then went to a show in the main theater.  It was an NCL production of modern ballroom dancing that could be best described as random modern tunes organized for dancing without a meaningless plot from a Hollywood musical or Broadway play.  Would I have paid to see this performance?  No!  Although the performers did a great job, it is not the type of performance I’d gravitate to.  At least, Sue enjoyed this show more than she did watching Flashdance on our prior cruise.