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.

Sometimes, the total price of a cruise can be so tempting....

 

 

For those who wonder how I can consider interesting long distance trips and cruises, I suggest that they look at the above trip and how I would book it.  The January 28, 2023 trip above allows for a couple of nights in Honolulu before a 7 night cruise around the Hawaiian islands.  If I were to budget $500 for hotels, and another $100 for meals while in Honolulu, I'd be able to take this trip for approximately $3,300 before the cost of excursions.  Add on $700 for excursions I haven't taken in Hawaii, and I could take this bucket list trip again for $4,000 or so.  But it takes flexibility in thinking and of scheduling to do this.

RQS and I have fun looking at cruise prices and enjoy trying to figure out whether a specific trip makes sense.  Lately, I've been trying to come up with a way for us to take a Panama Canal cruise from Los Angeles, just to be an excuse to see my 90 y/o uncle.  There are trips (such as a Norwegian Fjord cruise) that we have had to put off for this year, so that we could take a cruise from LA and see my uncle.  And we have settled on a Princess cruise that goes to San Francisco, San Diego and Ensenada, MX.  It's not the ideal cruise for me.  But it is a cruise on which RQS could accompany me.  And that is the most important thing.

People traveling solo have many problems, as the tourist world is designed for couples and for families. The only reason that the above cruise came to mind is that the price has dropped and that there is no single supplement.  Couple this with affordable airfare, and I'd spend half as much as I did on my most recent cruise to take this vacation.  Hunting these bargains is a must if one wants to travel on a budget.

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Last year, RQS and I took a second New England/Canada cruise because the base price was too cheap to ignore.  Although we spent twice as much for the cruise than it was advertised for (ads in the United States market do not include taxes, port fees, or gratuities), it was still well worth taking at the time.  Shoulder season is a great time to cruise, as fewer people want to cruise these routes at the beginning or end of a cruise season.  

Bargain hunting shouldn't be limited to things like shoulder seasons.  For example, I took a cruise at the end of 2021 that seemed as if there was more crew than passengers.  I was willing to take the Covid-19 related risk, as I was fully vaccinated.  And it was a great cruise!  So I look for bargains from United States ports, and see if I can make the overall price of the cruise (including the cost of airfare, if needed) fit my budget.  If so, I'm ready to pack my bags and go!  If not, I'll keep scanning the lists to see if there is something worth tracking.

Right now, I occasionally look at cruises originating in the Tampa area.  I have a friend who lives there, and RQS has family in the area.  One of these days, we'll find a way to get there inexpensively, visit our friends and family, and take the cruise.  Until then, this trip will have to wait until the temptation is too much.

Second Cruise - Day 0: Travel to Queens.

 

Day 0: Travel to Queens.

Normally, I drive to RQS’s place and park my car in her neighborhood.  This week, it was not the case, as I couldn’t leave my car on a city street due to alternate side of the street parking that takes place during weekdays.  So, I called a cab to the station, and had a one way chat with a cabbie which had a bone to pick with Uber and Lyft for not having to follow any regulations for passenger rides.

When I arrived at Croton Harmon, I found that I had just missed a train to the city, and had to kill time before a local train arrived.  The train ride was uneventful, but I realized that I had nothing to eat before getting on the train. So I stopper into the food court at Grand Central to pick up a quick bite to eat, then hump my bag and CPAP machine onto the subway.  In the post-Covid Grand Central, there are few places to have a seat, even to eat something from one of the food vendors still open.  Everything is geared to standing up at a high table, to keep people from lingering.  Luckily, I found a ‘handicapped table’ which I used while quickly eating a sandwich.

Eating the sandwich was the smartest thing I could have done.  I took the subway to Bleeker street, where I could connect with the M train going out to Queens.  This was a big mistake, as there were no (or few) M trains running this afternoon.  (I had checked service outages before making this route decision.) So, after waiting more than 30 minutes, I bailed and went back to Union Square to catch another train to RQS’s neighborhood.

The whole trip took 4 hours, for what would normally be a 2 hour trip.  I was both hungry and tired before I got to RQS’s place, and after a little rest, we went to eat.  Shortly after dinner, we went to bed early, in anticipation of the trip to come.

You'll likely think we're a little crazy.

 

I find it hard to believe that RQS is interested in taking another cruise so soon after our first cruise together.  As much as a late season cruise along the above route seems appealing, I'm not sure of whether this would be the best use of a second cruise together in a short time.  But at a rate of roughly $75/night pp, the price is almost too good to pass up.

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Most people would look at cruises in different regions at this time of year.  But this cruise was priced so low, that we didn't want to pass it up.  So we booked it, and will have taken a second Eastern Canada / New England cruise by the time you read this post.

If this cruise is offered again next year, I will strongly suggest that we go somewhere else.  One can easily get bored with a destination if one is there too often.  However, since this cruise goes to Newport, RI and Bar Harbor, ME, I feel that we will be able to explore new places when visiting these ports.  For example, Newport has a group of mansions that are worth visiting.  Bar Harbor has both good restaurants and a National Park.  I've been to both places before, and will enjoy visiting them again.

If it weren't for RQS's cats, we'd likely be taking a different cruise in a different region.  But, we can only do so much without imposing too much on our friends and family.  Until the last cat has passed away, we will only be able to go away for 7 days at a time.  This is a minor issue that we will need to deal with for a few years at most.

Day 07 - St. John, NB

 

St. John, NB. This is a port that I'd skip for St. Johns, NL. There are only two things worth seeing when in St. John, and one of them will almost always be unavailable to cruise ship passengers - a visit to a park on the Bay of Fundy, where one can walk on the ocean floor at low tide.

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Both of us found it hard to get moving when we woke up. But we were able to make it to one of the main dining rooms in time for breakfast, and sat with a couple from England. (This was RQS's first experience sharing a table with other cruiser for a meal.) We had a nice chat with this couple, and wouldn’t mind dining with them again.

After breakfast, it was out and about in St. John. Since I visited the place before, I knew that this wasn’t a place for shore excursions. Instead, we walked to a coffee shop for some free Wi-Fi, then to an empty shopping mall to see if we could find an electronic gizmo we could use to transfer photos from her camera to her Chromebook. Once we were done with the mall, we wnt across the street to the local farmer’s market. There was not really much to see here, so Sue and I went back to the ship to rest before having dinner at the ship’s French restaurant.

Given NCL's penchant for nickel-diming, we were surprised to find that the specialty restaurant staff did us a solid by not charging us for an extra appetizer. Once done with dinner, we went to get our pictures taken, and then back to our cabin to end the day.

Day 04 - An Unplanned Port

 

This was a day where we reached a port (Cornerbrook, Newfoundland) that met two requirements: First, it was a foreign port, which allowed the ship the luxury of scheduling extra sea days without worrying whether a return to the United States would violate the American Passenger Vessel Services Act, and allow the passengers to stretch their land legs for a change.

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We awoke around 9:00 am (8:00 an EDT) and slowly got moving to breakfast.  RQS went off to exercise, while I went to the cabin to relax. Even though we were not likely to need the ArriveCan app, we were glad to NOT have deleted it.  We could need to show the receipt we received it we encountered a troublesome customs agent when landing at a Canadian port. Before RQS went off to exercise, we had checked with the shore excursions desk, but they had no information available about the port.  (Too bad that I forgot about the whatsinport.com website, as it could lead me to information on what to do at this post.)

 

When the ship was finally docked and cleared to disgorge passengers, we decided to go out and try to contact people in the world outside the ship.  RQS was able to reach her friend who checked in on her cats.  I, on the other hand, checked in on my email - not much was going on at home.  Later in the day, it was off to another specialty dinner at Ocean Blu, NCL's seafood restaurant.  Again, the atmosphere was great, as was the food. We finished our dinner in time to see NCL’s production of Footloose.  (It’s not a show I’d pay to see on Broadway.  But then, I’m not a fan of musicals, nor am I a fan of the story.)  At least, the production was good, and RQS enjoyed the play.   .

Day 03 - Another planned Sea Day

 

Today, we found out about the ship's observation deck. It is a much nicer and quieter place to hang out than the library.  Only one problem - it gets crowded quickly, and it's often hard to find two seats together where a couple could chill and read their books while sipping a cup of coffee.

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RQS got up early to see a photography presentation, while it took me a while to get moving. Eventually, I ended up eating a leisurely breakfast, then headed down to the observation deck, forgetting about the photography presentation. I ended up getting to the photo area late, and decided to skip the rest of the presentation because I was 30 minutes late. So, I went back to room and started to read.

Later on, RQS and I went to Cagney’s (NCL's specialty onboard steakhouse) for a prime rib dinner. Sue was impressed by the restaurant. Unfortunately, our meal was slightly marred by an incident with my key card. First, the wine steward forgot to return my card after ordering a bottle of wine. Then, our departure from the restaurant was delayed while my card was processed for storing the wine and then for charging the meal. After dinner, if was off to the theater, where we saw a Taiwanese magician perform.

When we got back to our room, the captain made an announcement: We were no longer going to port in Charlottetown, PEI, as Hurricane Ian made it impossible to visit this port. Instead, we’d be visiting a port in Newfoundland, Corner Brook. This would my first time this far North on the Eastern side of Canada, and I was looking forward to the experience. Our only lingering questions were: Will other Canadian ports scheduled for our cruise have been affected by the hurricane? And, will other ports be substituted if these ports are unavailable? If so, which ports?

Day 02 - A planned Sea Day

 

This was the first of two consecutive sea days. When we got on the ship, we expected to follow Hurricane Ian on its way up the coast. Little did I know how this hurricane would affect this cruise at this time.

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After waking up, we had a hearty breakfast. From there, we explored the ship a little and went back to the library to read. On the way back from the library, we both needed to check on things at the internet cafe. Given how minor cell phone configuration issues can run up big bucks on marine phone charges, I needed to make sure my phone was set up properly. (I knew to keep Airplane Mode on for the trip. Yet, I was getting some Facebook notifications. So I turned off all Wi-Fi, which caused me problems using the NCL app.) The fellow at the internet cafe said my phone was set up correctly, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he was right. RQS's problem was simpler - she forgot to tip her Uber driver, and she needed to know how to tune her Wi-Fi on to give him his tip, then to turn it off afterwards. This was a simpler task to take care of.

After lunch, RQS and I were tired and needed to nap, We ended up going to an earlier dinner than planned, but missed the entertainment venues we wanted - a Beatles “tribute” band and a singer of Elton John songs. After a few minutes watching a couple of lounge singers do their thing in the atrium near “the Local”, we went back to the room and put the lights out for the evening.

Day 01 - Starting off on our cruise

 

Early this morning, RQS and I “rushed” to get showered and dressed. Sadly, this was not a cruise that I planned to take in Marian mode. But, for RQS's first cruise, I wanted to make it as pleasurable for her as possible.

Before calling an Uber, we decided to walk over to a local Wendy's and grab a breakfast sandwich. This was a big mistake. Wendy's does not do breakfast well, and we were disappointed with the quality of service, the quality of the "food" and the variety in their breakfast menu. (We should have known better when Wendy's does French Fries for breakfast, instead of doing a Hash Brown offering on their grill.) So we walked over to Dunkin Donuts for some coffee, then called an Uber.

The Uber arrived shortly after 11 and took us to the pier via the back roads. He didn't want to go into Manhattan via the Midtown Tunnel while the UN was in session, so he chose to go via the 59th street bridge and zig-zagged his way to the pier. When we arrived at the pier, the place was mobbed. There was a line stretching from pier 88 to pier 90 with people waiting to check in to our cruise. We were glad we got there early, as we were onboard by 1:30 pm because the on-boarding process went smoother than expected..

By the time night fell, we were exhausted and got to sleep early.