6 days at sea - an unlikely reacquaintance!!

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Today we technically start on our way home. Only just having been reunited with our suitcases!! I started the day by wearing a clean t-shirt…because I could!!

We breakfasted at 06:45. I said to Roisin that we needed to turn up early in order to get a seat. Roisin seems to think I only wanted to take this early opportunity to show other guests that I actually own more than one t-shirt!! By 07:15 the breakfast room was once again standing room only.

We paid our $6 each and at mid-day took the shuttle to the ship. There were three other ships in port, the Eurodam a Holland-America cruise ship and the rather oversized Royal Caribbean ships, the Harmony of the Seas and the Independence of the Seas. There were guests staying at our hotel that needed to be dropped at all four ships. The first stop was the Crown Princess so after personally overseeing our bags being loaded on to the bus last (last on – first off), we boarded the shuttle to ride the mile or so to the port entrance.

On retrieving our luggage from the shuttle we handed them straight to a quayside porter who had appeared alongside the bus. It is customary to slip them a small tip. If I had more time I would have preferred to interview the baggage handler; ensuring they have never worked for Delta, perhaps get them to make a small presentation on the logistics and analysis of ensuring passengers luggage arrived at their designated destination!! I was still smiling at this thought as we entered the departure hall where we were handed a health declaration which had to be completed and handed in at check-in. Despite the departures hall being a hive of activity, we were shown straight to a counter. Here it took only several minutes to process us. We were handed our cruise cards and told to proceed through security on our way to boarding the ship.

Roisin and I don't have a special preference for type of cabin. Different cruises dictate our type of cabin with many factors such as route, cost, location influencing our (Roisin's) decision!! For this particular cruise we had chosen an outside cabin. This doesn't mean (as I once thought) there is a door that leads onto the deck. It refers to the position of the cabin. An inside cabin is situated in the interior of a ship with no natural light, whereas an outside cabin has a window. There was not much difference in price. Balconies were a few hundred pounds more expensive and as ten of our fourteen days will be spent at sea, there is not much of a vista. Furthermore, we are crossing the Atlantic not the South Pacific so we're not expecting the weather to be 'Factor 50' requirements.

Our cabin is situated on deck 5 (Plaza Deck) next door to International café. This is an eatery in the Piazza that serves pastries, fresh hot or cold sandwiches, cakes biscuits and speciality coffee….24 hours a day!!

Coffee is available 24/7 from the Horizon Court buffet on deck 15 (free of charge) but I invested in a coffee card for $31. This gives you unlimited (brewed) coffee, tea or hot chocolate from International café and fifteen speciality coffees such as macchiato, latte, cappuccino etc.. or gelato ice cream.

There are 3,025 passengers on board making the Crown Princess a mid-size ship. Some of the larger ships such as Royal Caribbean carry upwards of 5,000 passengers and over 3,000 crew. The passengers on the Crown princess are represented by 25 countries. The top five being: Hong Kong – 9 passengers; Mexico – 25 passengers; UK – 230 passengers; Canada – 259 passengers and the USA with just under 2,486 passengers.

On departure it is customary to have a sail away party on the pool deck. This is usually led by the entertainments team and is a good excuse for the bars to push their cocktail of the day and other alcoholic beverages. We watched the sail way from a more subdued promenade deck 7. At least they didn't have a ship's horn that plays the sodding Love Boat theme. We shared this deck with only a handful of passengers with most sitting on the provided deck loungers either reading or catching forty winks!!

Those of you who are regular readers of the blog will know Mrs H and my penchant for trivia. I won't flood this blog with tales from the trivia table just to prove we are not one trick ponies but on our first trip to the trivia table we were heading down to the front of Explorers Lounge when Roisin who was a pace or so behind me said ‘Hello, remember us'. I turned to see who Rosin had spotted and there, sitting in their usual spot from when we last met them four years ago were John and Marina from Edinburgh, Scotland

John was the first to respond, ‘Yes, just remind me again where we met?' this was a polite way of saying ‘No, not really. I've not the foggiest idea who you are!!'

We first met John and Marina aboard the Star Princess on our South American cruise in 2013. On our first trivia session they were sat at opposite end of the lounge from us and they scored 20/20 of a very difficult trivia. Being suspicious I decided to sit behind them for the second trivia session to find out their secret. They beckoned us to join them and it turns out that they just had an incredible knowledge of everything. Without being offered we sat down with our new team members for the next fourteen days!!!

Despite scoring 20/20, we didn't get off to a good start only tying the first game and losing out on the tie break ‘In what year was David Bowie born?'

One of the questions: ‘Who was known as the legless pilot? We got right. The answer being Douglas Bader despite me offering up ‘'Long John Silver!!' OK, I thought the quiz master said: ‘Who was known as the legless pirate??!!'

There are three main dining rooms on board: Michelangelo, Da Vinci and Botticelli. Passengers can choose if they prefer fixed dining. There are two sittings 17:30 and 20:30. Alternatively you can choose ‘Anytime dining'. This gives flexibility to those who don't want to miss out on any of the ship's activities. Those who don't want to use the dining room because they can't be arsed to put on a clean shirt or pair of shoes can take meals in the buffet known as Horizon Court. We noticed on day one that the any timers were queuing up outside the restaurant at 16:50 when the doors don't open until 17:30. We found out later that these people are vying for tables for two. These are at a premium and usually the Maître ‘D' will furnish you with a pager providing you're prepared to wait upwards of an hour before a table becomes free. In the past Roisin and I have only insisted on a table for two, not because we're anti-social (not because we're ‘just' anti-social!!) but I always say you only get served as fast as your slowest eater!!! However, on this cruise we have decided to meet as many interesting and diverse people as possible. In the first 4 evenings we have definitely met some interesting characters, whether it be Hawaii or Hull, West Virginia or West Houghton everyone's got a story to tell. Unfortunately I have to stifle a yawn for most of them!!

On the first evening one lady was sat at our dinner table with her ten year old daughter. They had booked excursions in each of the ports including the £289.95 (children: $219.95) trip to Paris from Le Havre. They will also be staying for a few days in London before heading back to Alberta, Canada. It was either a shopping trip to New York or this cruise. The daughter chose this cruise as her tenth birthday present!! How times have changed. All I got for my tenth birthday was ker-plunk and an etch-a-sketch!!

During this meal, an announcement was made: ‘This is the bridge. First response team to the incinerator room, deck 4, sector 3. I repeat…..' The captain then took the mic ten minutes later explaining that there was a small fire which was now under control and there was nothing to worry about. Call me old fashioned but I don't prefer my unplanned fires to be ‘under control'. I prefer them to be extinguished altogether!!! (just to be on the safe side!!)

On the second evening the First Stage response crew were called in to action once again. This time to contain a fire in the galley on deck 14. The Captain explained the situation as a dodgy chip pan and no need for alarm. At least the guests could expect crispy chips tonight!!

Our cabin, deck 5 is just adjacent to the Art gallery. Throughout Princess cruises, art auctions are held. These are usually fast paced affairs with events preceded by a complimentary glass of cheap ship champagne. Peter Max is an artist all the ships in the fleet try to promote. There are so many Peter Max paintings in circulation that some could argue mass production, even a franchise!! There is, however, a biography of Peter Max in one of the art publications but then again Richard and Maurice McDonald started out as back street restauranteurs in 1940 and now they are one of the biggest global franchises the world has ever seen!! That said, there are at least two Peter Max paintings that have been sold on this voyage so there is still a market. Something is only worth as much as someone is willing to pay and if an excellent marketing strategy convinces that a painting is worth a lot of money but the seller is willing to accept slightly less, certain people treat this as a bargain. There are prize draws and free raffles throughout the ship whether it be in the jewellery department, the Lotus spa or the Art gallery. John related a story from a previous cruise. They won a Peter Max painting some years ago. The painting was slightly smaller than A3 size. It was beautifully framed. The prize was for the canvas only but had to be shipped to your home. This was for a cost of $66. When asked if it could be rolled up and placed in to a tube to be carried off, the organisers said ‘no' but if you let us frame it for you we will ship it for free. Framing started at $199!!! Whatever your views on Art, I recommend a few tips: 1) Buy a piece of art because it pleases you and not for some future investment and 2) Have a price in mind that you are willing to pay and do not exceed this. I tried this tactic once but found the price in my head didn't even make the reserve price (by at least three zeros!!!)

At the quiz on Sunday we were greeted by a very excitable Marina: ‘Lewis Hamilton won the Chinese Grand Prix'. Everyone seemed to be talking at once. I was trying to talk to Jack, another member of our team. 'Lewis Hamilton won the Chinese Grand Prix', she kept repeating. I turned to her and muttered: ‘Does it look like a give a f**k?'

‘What did you say?' she asked. From Marina's tone it was obvious she hadn't heard me properly above the din. I leaned over and, raising my voice slightly to be heard above the background noise said, ‘I heard he had a lot of luck!!'

Everyday at noon, the officer of the watch makes an announcement as to our progress across the Atlantic: speed, weather conditions etc.. It never ceases to amaze me when the depth under the keel is mentioned. The deepest part of the Atlantic we have sailed across so far is 6,500m or 21,125feet. This is still pretty shallow compared to the deepest part of the Atlantic at over 8,000m but I still wouldn't like to drop my phone overboard and have to dive in after it!!

In the six days it has taken to traverse the Atlantic we have crossed four time zones. After the third time change, I was asked by a fellow diner if I had suffered from jet lag during this trip.

‘No', I assured him.

‘Wow!', he exclaimed showing a genuine look of surprise. ‘What's your secret?'

‘Perhaps the fact that we're not on a Jet and we're travelling an average speed of 19 knots per hour may have something to do with it!!' I replied with a hint of sarcasm that was completely lost in translation!!

On Princess they enjoy having ‘themed' nights. Roisin has attended a craft class to make a Mardi Gras mask so one can only assume that with a few Brazilians in the entertainments Team, some sort of carnival is not far away. Several nights ago the theme was 70s revival. Now if I had bought the kaftan, and with the number of cakes and puddings I've consumed so far, I may have passed for a waif-like Demis Roussos!! The evening was launched by a 70s disco show in the Princess Theatre. I found it strange that an announcement was made as the show was about to commence stating that the performance MAY contain strobe lighting and pyrotechnics. Why ‘MAY contain…??' Surely it either does or doesn't!! If the production team haven't decided at this point then the First Stage response team better be on standby!!! After an Abba hour in the Explorers lounge, DJ Pedro grooved to the disco beat in the nightclub, Skywalkers, until the early hours. We gave this a miss as such establishments can be daunting for the rhythmically challenged such as myself!!

Being on deck 5, we are not that far above the water line. The weather had taken a turn for the worse on the evening of our 4^th day at sea. The ship, with the help of its stabilisers was holding reasonably steady but the breakers and the swell of the ocean as it crashed against the hull of the ship resulted in loud crashes that reverberated through our cabin. I tried to explain it is only the sea letting the ship know who's boss. Roisin was awake until 04:30am whereas for me, nothing some ear plugs and half a bottle of wine couldn't cure!!

Every Princess cruise the forty most travelled guests get to have lunch with the Captain. Roisin and I don't even make the top 1000 although John and Marina got the invite as, according to John, they have sailed approximately 2,326 days with Princess…but who's counting??!

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Comments

[Snarko' Polo]

Treble top, Chris - you know you want to!