ENCHANTED PRINCESS-CELEBRATION OF LIFE-LAST NIGHT!

 Friday, April 8, 2022

At Sea

No stars, warm--9:16 p.m.

We have had a great 10 day cruise with great friends, celebrating how we met challenges in the last year! We are blessed.

The last day is always full of mixed feelings-we are anxious to be home with family but we will miss Donna and Lawrence, the warmth and sun, the islands, the palm trees, and so many crew members taking care of us!  We reminisced that we have cruised with Donna and Lawrence since 2009 with two trips to Las Vegas too. 

TK, Janie, Donna, and Lawrence

Capri Dining Room

Dinner was very good tonight-filet mignon and shrimp. Deep dish apple pie was not as good as TK and I make in a joint effort. 

Our bags to be checked at the airport are packed and out door, and already picked up by the crew. We made arrangements for the large bags to be sent directly to the airport and we won't see them again until we are back in Erie.  Fingers crossed!

While TK was finishing his packing I ran around the ship to take photos. There were not many people out as they were probably packing. We really did not explore too much and did not go to any shows.  This was our "comeback" cruise, but we have at least one more scheduled this year (Mediterannean and Transatlantic, but TK is considering another one in September.)

So enjoy this glimpse of other parts of the ship and we will be enjoying springtime in Erie, or cold and snow, by tomorrow!

The pool on Deck 17, photo taken from Deck 18

Another view of the pool on Deck 17

Pool on Deck 16, set up for tonight's movie

Movies Under The Stars--Deck 16

Deck 16 area where we sat and played euchre

The pool is to the right of the columns

There are several grills (pizza, burgers) in this area and 

diners eat  here too

Deck 16 Buffet

It seems empty at 9 p.m. but there are people eating here

There are four of these areas on Deck 16, plus the area for salads,

an area for breads, cheeses, grilled food, and so on

Deck 16-Buffet area

The Pastry Shop (there are two pastry shops)

Deck 16-Pastry Shop, closeup of a few choices

Key to decks on the elevator

There are three main elevator areas

Aft, Mid-Ship, Foreward

Each elevator area has at least 4 elevators, 

some have 6

Digital map of deck

Passengers can search for their shipmates 

on this map

Digital lock for our door

As we approach our room, the door unlocks

We can indicate our need for service or

privacy.  

TK's Takes:  The food does not seem as good as in the past, especially the dessert. I agree.  The seas have been quite calm. This brand new ship has good stabilizers. He said he had a great time.

LAZY SEA DAYS ON THE CARIBBEAN/ATLANTIC-AND YOUTUBE CELEBRITIES PARODEEJAY!

Friday, April 8, 2022

Aboard Enchanted Princess—At Sea

Warm and Sunny

 

Sea days are notoriously lazy—yesterday we sat for hours on Deck 7 overlooking the sea, flying fish entertaining us as we sailed along.  Reading by the sea is a great way to spend a day. I have finished three books:

Patricia Cornwell’s Blow Fly and All That Remains and Jeffery Deaver’s The Devil’s Teardrop.  TK is quite content to watch the ocean and observe the people.

Chairs on Deck 7-very comfortable

Our view of the Caribbean

After a modest lunch, Lawrence, Donna, TK, and I played euchre again—this time Lawrence and TK were partners and they won both games. Pure luck, I say.  At 3 p.m. TK was off to the Veterans’ Get Together where most of the veterans were Navy, mostly Vietnam timeframe. He was able to have a nice talk with the veteran who was in the U.S. Navy on the U.S.S. Columbus just after TK. 

 

Coincidentally, TK spotted a Navy ship that may have been a destroyer off the port side of our ship about 4 p.m. on Thursday.  That was a very rare site.  

U.S. Navy ship  

Last night’s formal dinner featured lobster tails and escargot. NO escargot for me but TK and Lawrence liked it.  At dinner every night we have enjoyed the great conversations with Donna and Lawrence—great stories, great humor, great company.

 

When we were almost finished with dinner, I spotted Dee and Jay, the YouTube celebrities on board.  Despite knowing this would be an intrusion, I approached them and asked for a photo. They were both so gracious and accommodating and after the selfie visited our table to say hello to their #1 fan, TK! Donna watches their videos too!  It seems they are enjoying their Princess cruise.  According to their website, they started their YouTube journey in 2013. (parodeejay.com) TK has been watching their channel since the two years of Covid.

From their YouTube channel site--https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3uIzA5xowHSCIiu3LmPOeA

"We are Dee & Jay, a married couple who enjoys traveling the world, mostly by cruise ship. We also create travel tips, videos, parody songs, cover tunes, foodie videos, and a whole lot more. We love to share a smile whereever we go, and we hope you'll join us for some crazy, awesome adventures!"

Jay, Janie, and Dee

 After dinner we watched Man From U.N.C.L.E., a very entertaining movie.

Today will be more of the same, warmth, sun, wandering the ship, packing, and enjoying our last day before we arrive in Fort Lauderdale and fly home to Erie. What’s not to love about this life? 

About noon today  all four of us teamed up to have lunch at the Salty Dog restaurant on Deck 5, $18 per person fee.  TK was all about the Ernesto burger that had so much "stuff" on it--and only one thing on the menu appealed to me, a grilled cheese sandwich. Anyway I thought it was a grilled cheese sandwich. I should have remembered that cruise food bears little resemblance to how I cook.  

Isn't this a cute grilled cheese sandwich? 

It was grilled, and there was a razor thin slice of cheese inside.

Plus, it was tasty. Maybe this is the way I should eat.

They did not charge me for this--

TK's Takes:  It is amazing how many people are drinking heavily at 7 a.m. in the morning. more later---

ALLURING ARUBA IN APRIL!

 Wednesday, April 6, 2022

Aruba

86F, sunny and windy

 Aruba greeted us early this morning with lots of sun. This island is located about 14 miles from Venezuela in the mid-south Caribbean Sea. It is one of four countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands, including the Netherlands, Curacao, and Sint Maarten. The citizens of these countries are all Dutch nationals. Its capital is Oranjestad, which is where we are docked.

 

Unlike much of the Caribbean region, Aruba has a dry climate and an arid, cactus strewn landscape. The climate helps tourism because it is clear and sunny all year. The population is about 116,000 (2019).   I wonder how soon we can move to Aruba.

Right off ship!

We walked along the waterfront 

By 9 a.m. we were off the ship and walking to the city—about a mile.  We like the Renaissance Center – it has a Starbucks!  It also has some fine shops, like Tommy Bahamas, Lilly Pulitizer, Gucci, Prada, and so on, but our favorite is Aruba Aloe—skin care products made in Aruba. One year we took a tour of their acres of aloe and their factory.   We need to do that again.

The second floor of the Renaissance Center -- 

the Mariott Renaissance pool

 

We continued walking around along tree lined streets filled with shops. TK wanted to take the trolley that circles the area and fortunately there was room when it stopped near us. A couple years ago when we were here it had just been established and we were the only riders. Now tourists know about it and we were lucky to find a seat.

More fabulous shops

The trolley tracks

Believe it or not, the trolley stopped for a break by this darling shop

The driver said the trolleys were purchased from San Francisco!

 Someone on the street handed us two $15 vouchers for the Renaissance Casino, so got off the trolley at that stop and we headed that way. It took TK about a half hour to lose the $30 and that was the end of that!

 

Renaissance Center with the Casino on the 2nd floor

Along the waterfront was another marketplace and I kept seeing information for a Dutch Pancake House. The menu looked really good, 15 kinds of pancakes, other breakfast, lunch, and dinner items-----these were the sweet pancake options: pancakes

Peach on the beach - $ 13.75
Peaches, powdered sugar & Grand Marnier flambé

Brandied raisins - $ 13.25

Rum raisins & powdered sugar

​Picasso - $ 14.75

Various fresh fruits, ice-cream (vanilla, banana or strawberry), whipped cream & powdered sugar

​Strawberry fields - $ 15

Fresh strawberries, ice-cream (vanilla, banana or strawberry) & powdered sugar

​Blueberry hill - $ 15

Fresh blueberries, ice-cream (vanilla, banana or strawberry) & powdered sugar

​Tropical wave - $ 13.75

Peaches, pineapple, coconut flakes, ice-cream (vanilla, banana or strawberry) & powdered sugar
 

Fruit delight - $ 15.50
Fresh strawberries, blueberries, banana, whipped cream & powdered sugar

​Chocolate delight - $ 15.50

Fresh strawberries, banana, nutella, whipped cream & powdered sugar

Caribbean banana - $13.25

Banana, ice-cream (vanilla, banana or strawberry), piña colada mix & powdered sugar

​Shawn’s sweet special - $ 14.50

Banana, caramelized walnuts, honey & powdered sugar

More at https://www.thedutchpancakehouse.com/      I did notice that they had fake maple syrup available.

 

TK did not seem interested, so we walked along the water back to the ship.   Back on board we both had raspberry gelato and a grilled ham and cheese sandwich (for me) and TK had a mufaletto.   

Second page of tonight's menu--why did I not take a photo of the appetizers, salads, and soups??

For Friend A:

This looked really good at the cafe!

 

Culinary Take: The dessert at dinner was lemon meringue cheesecake! It was great, almost as good as Cheesecake Factory.

TK’s Takes: The coffee package leads to more people trying coffee drinks they never had which leads to more people at the café.  This leads to a big line in the morning. He also mentioned there was no port talk with suggestions of things to see and no shopping talks with suggestions of good places to shop. Fortunately, we have been on the islands enough that we know where to shop!

TK even took photos to accompany his Take today!

Gelato shop--no line

Six of the 12 gelato flavor choices. Raspberry is the best.

They make their waffle cones here.

Line for the cafe--this line is moderate 

compared to morning time

TK's Take #2:  He just started spouting off about the carrot cake he ordered for dessert tonight so I thought I would share.  It appeared to be a spicy bar cake with shredded carrot in orange Jello on top. Dried shredded carrots were on top of that for a sort of garnish. Now he is spouting off that he should have taken a photo of it. Classic TK. Fortunately I asked the waiter to bring another lemon meringue cheesecake for him because I wasn't sharing mine.

CRESCENT MOON OVER CURACAO

Curacao

Tuesday, April 5, 2022

85F, sunny and windy

 

Curaçao, in the southern Caribbean Sea, about 40 miles north of Venezuela, is a Dutch island with a population of about 158,000 (2019). We have been here many times and are always intrigued by the Dutch influence.  We were not scheduled to reach the port till noon with a 9 p.m. departure time. It is very rare to be on an island at night, but it does happen.

 

This morning we spent some time at the Skyview Pool—I have finished my second book. Available deck chairs are impossible to find, but we had a table that overlooked the sea.  Another sunny day, about 85F.

 

Curacao has revamped its port again and we were docked a little further away from Willemstad.  It was quite a walk into the city, about 2 miles. I am not in shape, the couple days a week at the Millcreek Mall are definitely not enough. TK is doing very well, thanks to his longer walks at the mall with his friend Jim.  

Welcome to Curacao!

 

Along the walkway to the city are many small shops and when one reaches Rif Fort, constructed in 1826 and outfitted with walls nearly a foot thick, 56 cannons, and 27 arches. Over the years it has also served as prison, a police headquarters prison, and a police headquarters.  Now it houses a museum and many shops and restaurants.

Outside Rif Fort

 

 I cannot really describe Willemstad as quaint, but it is truly charming with the vibrant painted buildings and homes. To reach the older city, one must cross over the Queen Emma Pontoon Bridge which regularly swings to the side for boats to pass through.

Queen Emma Pontoon Bridge

Photo taken on Queen Emma Pontoon Bridge-looking in the 

other direction

We walked along the city streets and many shops are still open. I was happy to see the shop that sells linens, the Dutch handiwork is great. Alas, no photos of that.  The market along the water was brimming with fresh fruits and vegetables—cucumbers, onions, ginger, potatoes, carrots, apples, grapes, bananas, plaintains. The fish boats were just coming in and we saw a table full of dolphin fish (not dolphins!)

 

Vegetable market

So colorful!

 

Temple Emanuel, which dates to the 1650s, 

is the oldest surviving synagogue in the Americas.

Wish I knew what this building was--another trip, another tour

TK in the street!

For Brother Bill:

The island of Curacao began to form within the past 145 million years, beginning in the Cretaceous period. Because the island was submerged for large parts of it history, reef environments formed atop thick layers of mafic volcanic rock, producing carbonate sedimentary rocks.  These photos are closeups of very large rocks that line the walkway to Willemstad from the ship—I should have taken a photo so you could see the size. Boulders!

 

We returned to the ship after a couple hours and ate at Gigi’s on Deck 7 – good reviews for pizza.

Later we went to Lido Deck for dinner with Donna and Lawrence because it was Bavarian night. Schnitzel (chicken or pork), spaetzle, sauerbraten, sauerkraut, sausages, pretzel bread, Black Forest cake and a pistachio roll (sugarfree) which was the best dessert so far for me. So much chocolate and chocolate is not my friend.

After dinner we all to Movies Under The Stars (MUTS)—the Lido deck. Lounge chairs are set up with blankets for our viewing pleasure. The crescent moon hovered over the ship as we watched Date Night with Will Carrell and Tina Fey—it was very funny! I love mistaken identity humor!

 

TK’s Takes: The pizza was not as good as everyone said. The ship is so clean it sparkles, probably because it has only been sailing since November.

 

 

SPICE IT UP IN GRENADA!

 Grenada

Monday, April 4, 2022

85F and sunny

According to Wikipedia, Grenada is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea.at the sosuthern end of the Grenadines island chain, located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela.   It is 134.6 sq miles and has an estimated population of 112,523 (2020).  Grenada is also known as the "Island of Spice" due to its production of nutmet and mace crops and more.

Before the arrival of the Europeans in the Americas. Grenada was inhabited by the indigenous peoples from South America. Christopher Columbus sighted Grenada in 1498 during his third voyage to the Americas. Following several unsuccessful attempts by Europeans to colonize the island due to resistance from resident Island Caribs. French settlement and colonization began in 1649 and continued for the next century. In 1763, Grenada was ceded to the British under the Treaty of Paris. British rule continued until 1974.  In 1974  independence was granted.

In March 1979, the Marxist-Leninist  movement overthrew the government in a bloodless coup d'etat and established the People's Revolutionary Government. The leader was later arrested and executed by members of the People's Revolutionary Army, prompting a U.S. led invasion October 1983. Since then, the island has returned to parliamentary representative democracy and has remained politically stable.

 

Today the island seemed quite peaceful, and I was happy to return because I like buying spices here.  We started looking for my favorite spice shop by the old port. Walking through the Sendall Tunnel is a bit of a challenge because there is no sidewalk. Thankfully the roadway is one way, but it is sort of narrow.   

Sendall Tunnel

History of the tunnel

As we reached the old port area in about 15 minutes, we did not see the shop. A taxi driver told us the owner had passed away two months ago and the shop was closed. 

Old port

 

We walked back to the new port area where there were plenty of vendors selling spices and I made multiple purchases-- nutmeg, ginger, whole cloves, ground cinnamon.

Enchanted Princess is on the right, Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas.

 

Back on board the ship we had a little lunch. The ship left Grenada at 1:30 p.m., a short stop.  We met up with Lawrence and Donna for euchre on the pool deck– things evened up a little and TK and Donna won two games. We started a third game, but two hours flew by and it was time to get ready for dinner. What could be better than a listening to a great band like “Static,” while playing Euchre and watching the island float by.

 

Tonight’s dinner was at Crown Grill, a steak house, the best meal so far: crab cake, shrimp bisque, ribeye, baked potato, and apple/rhubarb dumpling (my choices).

 

I will say this is way too much food for us.

 

TK’s Takes:  The island did not smell of spices when we disembarked [usually it does!]  Playing a lot of euchre. The ship’s casino was open while we were in port—never saw that before.  Saw a Navy veteran with a U.S.S. Columbus hat, TK's Navy ship. The first time that has happened in all the years since 1972.  [this man, who served a little after TK, was a machinist below deck, TK was a boiler tender below deck].

 

 

 

 

WHALES GREET US OFF THE COAST OF DOMINICA!

 Dominica

Sunday, April 3, 2022

85F and sunny

Today we arrived in Dominica, an island country of the Lesser Antilles in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It lies between the French islands of Guadeloupe and Marie-Galante to the north and Martinique to the south. The country has been a member of the British Commonwealth since independence in 1978.  The island is 29 miles long and has a maximum breadth of 16 miles. The capital and chief port is Roseau. It is an island that was created by volcanic action. Dominica has a number of active volcanoes, although eruptions are rare. 

Dominica has a pleasant climate, particularly during the cooler months from December to March. Summer temperatures reach an average high of 90 °F. Winter temperatures are not much lower, the average high being anywhere from 84 to 86 °F.

The population is mainly of African descent, with some Europeans, people from the Indian subcontinent, and Caribs. Dominica is the only island with a relatively large and distinctive group of Carib Indians, descendants of the people who inhabited the island before European colonization.  Population is about 71,991 (2020).   https://www.britannica.com/place/Dominica

TK and Donna booked a whale watching tour through Princess because the island government is basically only accepting passengers ashore for Princess tours or tours approved by the island—because of Covid.

We were on the whale boat by 9:30 a.m., headed out further into the Caribbean. The captain explained safety protocol and told us there were no guarantees.  By the time we reached the area where whales might be, we were experiencing 10-12 ft. waves. That means heavy seas! Fortunately TK and I have Bonine in our “tool box” and we were OK. The whaleboat crew offered ginger hard candy.  Some passengers were queasy-but we were OK.

Of course the whales appeared on the other side of the boat, but after awhile the captain took off for another area and we saw whales on our side. These were sperm whales. Donna caught a photo of a spout. I kept thinking of the book I read, The Perfect Storm.

Our whale watch boat for the day

TK and Janie on the whale watch boat

Donna snapped a good photo!

Sperm whale blow--starboard side

Donna's photo

Sperm whale breech-starboard side

Donna's photo

Two sperm whales -- port side

Janie's photo

 Lawrence said he was never going on a small boat again, but we all survived and returned to shore.  Shopping was very limited because of the strict island policy, but there were several vendors and Donna and I spotted some homemade items to purchase that truly reflected the island’s beauty.

After Dinner-

We have been spending at least two hours at dinner which is much better than the 10 minutes we usually spend. That might be a little exaggeration but not by much.

Tonight I had the potato gnocchi with tomato sauce as my entree, the best meal so far for me.  As I have mentioned many times before, plainer food is best for me. TK has modified his eating, but tonight it seemed like he and Lawrence had one appetizer after another. Shrimp cocktail, Cobb salad, and bay scallop cocktail for TK. Portions are not huge, but that seemed to take hours.

Dessert choices tonight included sea salted caramel pot de crème, floating islands  in vanilla sauce(actually meringue), sugar free coconut cake, and mignardises (small assorted cookies). On part of the menu offered every night there was Princess Love Boat Dream (chocolate mousse on brownie), chocoholic cheesecake, French vanilla bean crème brulee, create your own sundae, brie and gouda cheese, and sweet & nutritious fruits.  I had the crème brulee. TK had the pot de crème.

Other things about the ship

The Medallion App—we installed the Medallion app on each of our phones. Since TK had uploaded our passports, vax cards, and so on, that was used for boarding the ship.

Janie's Medallion

(The actual medallion is the circle part. Mine is encased in a

 plastic case we received on our last cruise in 2020--then I paid $3 for the 

Caribbean "frame" to place around it)

Instead of a plastic key card, we have a “medallion” to wear around our neck (or buy a clip or a wrist band). As soon as we approach our stateroom, the door unlocks and the lights inside are turned on. We can use our phone to order our Diet Coke (we purchased the soda package) from anywhere on the ship and it is delivered to us.  The server knows who to look for and where.  

We can check the dinner menu and the daily schedule on our phone app.  I can locate TK anywhere on the ship (and vice versa of course) through the phone app. I can also hit “guide me there” and the phone app will guide me to where TK is. No hiding!  Since we and Donna and Lawrence allowed each other to share, we can find them too.

We must use the medallions as we leave the ship and board again, just as we did with the plastic key. The ship personnel needs to know when one leaves or reboards.  There is still a security conveyer belt that scans our bags as we reembark.

If I did not say this before, everyone boarding the ship in Fort Lauderdale had to be Covid vaccinated- and everyone also had to take a rapid Covid test with negative results  3 days before boarding the ship. Masks must be worn inside the ship, but not on the outside decks. However, passengers do seem to be lax about this. All crew members are wearing masks all the time.

So far, TK   is tired after dinner, but I always have a book and my laptop!