Day One: Caribbean Princess Embarkation

Thankfully we were up early and the sun was beckoning for us to come out and enjoy the morning.  The Caribbean Princess was already docked in Terminal 2 so we could see the backside of the ship from our balcony.  We made a quick Starbucks run down the 17th Street Causeway.   Then we headed back to the hotel to eat a light breakfast.  

I needed at least two hours to sort and repack our luggage.  We had a combination of our cold winter clothes and warm FL clothes mixed together.  Most of the heavy batteries,  gadgets, and reading materials we carried in our backpacks for our flight were moved to our luggage.  Three bottles of wine went into Hubby’s backpack along with his GoPro and iPad.  I unfortunately could not remove too much from my bag as I was carrying my cameras and lens.  You know the important stuff.  

We managed to leave our gorgeous room prior to check out time (11am) and headed out to flag a taxi.  Our driver was from Haiti and he took us along a shortcut to get to the terminal.  We dropped our luggage with a porter and headed into the Terminal to check in.  After going through security, hubby’s backpack was flagged.  We acknowledged the $15 corkage fee for the third bottle of wine.  The first two we could bring onboard for free.  We gave the wine checker our third bottle of wine and he stamped all over the front label of our bottle of wine.  We were free to go.  :)

We proceeded to the check-in counter to get our cruise card and the Princess rep gave us a different “check-in” card.  So we went from a Blue 5 to a Black Group-C because we are Elite.  The Princess reps were directing us to a waiting room full of fellow cruisers.  I could not tell if we were with the general population or with fellow Elite and Platinum cruisers.  We were waiting in the lounge for 10 minutes and when the groups were called starting with the Black Groups B & C.  That’s us!  

We had our official cruise embarkation photo taken.  The photographer had to take two shots of us.  So, I’ll be looking forward to see what happened with the first shot.  No, it was not me who blinked.  

Once we were onboard the ship, our cruise card was scanned and we got our picture taken.  It took us about 35 minutes from the time we left the hotel until we got onboard.  Not bad at all.  This was the first time we’ve arrived at the terminal early and before boarding started.  Waiting in the lounge was not bad.  

As we made our way up the stairs we noticed the cabins were not ready.  They had closed the entrances into the cabin hallways.  That was a sign to get something to eat.  That was our clue to head up to Deck 15 (Lido) for some food.  

We enjoyed a leisure buffet lunch while sitting in the new Planks dining area (what used to be Caribe Cafe).  I also enjoyed seeing the new contemporary soft seatings around the new dining venues.  

Back in March of 2017, the Caribbean Princess went through an $8M renovation.  The Horizon Court buffet became the World Fresh Marketplace dining venue (still buffet, but updated and an improvement).  The Caribe Cafe became two separate dinner dining venues called Planks BBQ and the other called Steamers Seafood.  During the breakfast and lunch times, Planks and Steamers offers an extension of the Marketplace and it’s free.  During the dinner hour Planks and Steamers become a specialty dining venue for additional $.  

Also part of the renovation included upgrading all the cabin mattresses and bedding.  Our cabin has a new sofa.  All the wood framed pictures have been replaced with printed canvas panels.  The carpeting in our cabin is also new.  I also noticed all the cabin hallway carpeting has changed.  The color coded carpet has been replaced and now Hubby and I can’t tell which side is port or starboard.  

Sometime after 12:30pm, an announcement was made all the cabins were ready.  With no luggage in sight I left Hubby to enjoy our cabin and I took my camera to capture shots around the ship.  I started on Deck 15 (Lido) and worked my way up taking exterior pictures.  I stopped in the Lotus Spa and made a haircut appointment this evening.  

Our muster was scheduled to start around 3:15 and we ended up going down to our muster station on Deck 7 (Promenade) in the Princess Theater.  This was the first time we did not need to take our life jackets with us to the muster station.  Nice change Princess.  

Our luggage appeared after the muster presentation.  Then there was a ship-wide announcement that a good number of folks did not attend the safety presentation and were told to meet in the Wheelhouse Bar immediately.  Fifteen minutes later (4:15pm) our ship dropped her lines and we were sailing out of Port Everglades.   It was beautiful clear day.

After a quick dinner, I dropped Hubby off at MUTS so he could enjoy some football time on the large outdoor screen.  I had some errands to run including changing our complementary specialty dining time at Sabatinis and the most important hair appointment at the Lotus Spa salon.  

At the Spa, Anntonina from the Ukraine consulted with me and examined my hair.  Yes, I know it’s quite dry.  Yes, my Hubby’s barber does a so-so job with cutting my hair.  I ask “can you please wave your magic wand and make my hair look healthy and well…fabulous?”  All I can say is “WOW!”  Anntonina did a fabulous job cutting and styling my hair.  I thoroughly enjoyed the special attention and well my “me” time.  

Tonight was an early lights out.  It was a long day for us and we could hardly keep our eyes open.   Zzzzzzzzz!

Another Day in Fort Lauderdale

We hit the sack early last night and had a well deserved night’s sleep, close to 10 hours.  We drew open the curtains in our room to find the sun shining.  It will be close to 80 degrees later today.  We decided to spend some time down at the beach before the expected showers would arrive in the late afternoon.  

While waiting to pick up the Trolley, we met a nice couple from Canada, Brent and Lorena.  They were carrying their chairs and heading down to the beach.  We happened to get off at the same stop and chatted with them as we walked along the beach area.  It was then we happened to find out that we were going to be on the same ship on Saturday.  A very nice couple indeed and I’m sure we’ll run into them on the ship.  

We parted ways and we went to find our regular breakfast cafe.  

A few years ago, Hubby go me hooked on Eggs Florentine.   Part of our intro into vacation mode is to enjoy this wonderful meal.  To keep with tradition, I’ve learned I can now order the same meals but without bread.  I now call this version my “Naked Eggs Florentine”.  

After an hour of shopping, we decide to hang out at the curved concrete boardwalk and do some people watching.  What a gorgeous day!

In the early afternoon, we head back to the hotel to take a quick nap and to enjoy our balcony time.  We are definitely enjoying our balcony time and well…the view!  It’s getting hot out there as well.  Love it!

There is only one ship in port today the Crown Princess.  You can tell that most of the FLL area including the 17th Street Causeway and on the beach does not feel crowded at all.  

While I’m reviewing pictures and getting a blog post ready, the clouds roll in.  Around 4pm, we watch the Crown Princess leave port.  You can’t miss it as you can hear her ship’s horn sound their departure across the port area.  The Coast Guard Patrol is busy chasing away sail boats and yachts to keep a safe distance from the ship.  

We are getting hungry again and in between the rain showers we make the mile hike west along the Causeway to a new Mexican restaurant.  

After dinner, we did our last shopping for necessities at Total Wine and Walgreens.  The 2nd packing and sorting of our luggage will take place early tomorrow morning (hopefully early).  

(I’m working through my 3rd party blog app & Google issues.  They are both not playing nicely together.  Late in the evening hours I sent an email to the blog app tech support folks not expecting to hear anything until early next week.  They responded around 1am with the cause (Google) and a possible solution.  After a few more email exchange with them, I might be able to get back on track.  Now, that’s a great company work with.)

Another Day in Fort Lauderdale

We hit the sack early last night and had a well deserved night’s sleep, close to 10 hours.  We drew open the curtains in our room to find the sun shining.  It will be close to 80 degrees later today.  We decided to spend some time down at the beach before the expected showers would arrive in the late afternoon.  

While waiting to pick up the Trolley, we met a nice couple from Canada, Brent and Lorena.  They were carrying their chairs and heading down to the beach.  We happened to get off at the same stop and chatted with them as we walked along the beach area.  It was then we happened to find out that we were going to be on the same ship on Saturday.  A very nice couple indeed and I’m sure we’ll run into them on the ship.  

We parted ways and we went to find our regular breakfast cafe.  

A few years ago, Hubby go me hooked on Eggs Florentine.   Part of our intro into vacation mode is to enjoy this wonderful meal.  To keep with tradition, I’ve learned I can now order the same meals but without bread.  I now call this version my “Naked Eggs Florentine”.  

After an hour of shopping, we decide to hang out at the curved concrete boardwalk and do some people watching.  What a gorgeous day!

In the early afternoon, we head back to the hotel to take a quick nap and to enjoy our balcony time.  We are definitely enjoying our balcony time and well…the view!  It’s getting hot out there as well.  Love it!

There is only one ship in port today the Crown Princess.  You can tell that most of the FLL area including the 17th Street Causeway and on the beach does not feel crowded at all.  

While I’m reviewing pictures and getting a blog post ready, the clouds roll in.  Around 4pm, we watch the Crown Princess leave port.  You can’t miss it as you can hear her ship’s horn sound their departure across the port area.  The Coast Guard Patrol is busy chasing away sail boats and yachts to keep a safe distance from the ship.  

We are getting hungry again and in between the rain showers we make the mile hike west along the Causeway to a new Mexican restaurant.  

After dinner, we did our last shopping for necessities at Total Wine and Walgreens.  The 2nd packing and sorting of our luggage will take place early tomorrow morning (hopefully early).  

(I’m working through my 3rd party blog app & Google issues.  They are both not playing nicely together.  Late in the evening hours I sent an email to the blog app tech support folks not expecting to hear anything until early next week.  They responded around 1am with the cause (Google) and a possible solution.  After a few more email exchange with them, I might be able to get back on track.  Now, that’s a great company work with.)

The Start of Another Cruising Adventure!

We had an early, early, early morning flight and arrived in sunny FL.  We are enjoying the warm weather with slight winds that are causing the palm tree leaves to sway.  Which is also causing our eyelids to get heavy.

After dumping our bags at the hotel, we set off to find some breakfast.  We came across Fresh First eatery next to and behind the Renaissance hotel.  This eatery turns out to be a "gluten free" or GF dining venue.  Hubby and I ordered the Eggs Benedict which was quite tasty and quite filling.  

Our next stop took us to our favorite dive shop Lauderdale Dive.  After checking out the gadgets and gear, I settle on a pair of swim goggles I had my eye on last year.  I've been wanting a pair to use while swimming in the ocean.  Also helps to see where I'm going and to watch the marine life below me.  Yes, I could have used a pair a few years ago in Antigua when the jellyfish grabbed my leg!

So we are lounging by the pool and waiting for our special room to be available.  When I checked in through the hotel's iPhone app, I was able to select a corner room that faced the waterway and most importantly the Port Everglades port.  We are looking forward to watching the ship's arrivals and departures from the comfort of our balcony.  

So we are now taking care of the important things at the pool like napping, people watching, napping, and blogging.  Not in any particular order.  

I will be updating my posts with pictures as soon as I have access to WiFi.  Until then think large palm trees, clear blue skies, and cool breezes.  Zzzzzzz!

Oh yeah, where are we going?  To the Caribbean of course!  Fourteen days and covering 9 ports of call (Eastern and Southern).  

Going Home!

(We’re not done yet.  I still have some cruising thoughts on my mind.  Things I forgot to post. Remember, when I’m in cruise mode, thoughts and ideas will get left behind in a hurry.  There’s a good possibility I might do a summary to finalize our cruising adventure).

It’s amazing that we do not hear any of the Bridge/Causeway evening into early morning traffic in our room.  I’m in a deep sleep when Hubby pokes me a few times and tells me it’s 5:30 and we need to get up.  I look over at the hotel room digital clock and it’s wrong.  I tap my dependable iPhone and it says 4:30am.  I flip my wrist and my FitBit says 4:30 as well.  Hubby apologizes for waking me up.  Apparently our room has thin walls as Hubby was listening to all the hallway foot traffic and conversations.  Folks must have been out late partying on a Saturday night into early Sunday morning.  Poor Hubby.

Getting up an hour earlier worked out for me as I still needed to do some final packing and weigh our luggage.  Yes, I found a neat portable luggage scale on Amazon.  I throw it in my suitcase when I travel.  No guessing and no stressing at the airline counter.  The three pieces of luggage:  44, 43, and 41 pounds.

Hubby and I are out on our balcony in time to see the Royal Princess come into Port Everglades:


Take note of the Princess sea witch logo on the front hull of the ship.  The Caribbean Princess will get one as well when it goes into dry dock next month.  Sweet!

We leave our room around 6am and head downstairs to check out.  We are stopped in our tracks as there is a line and one person handling check-ins and check-outs.  I am the fourth person in line and let’s just say it was slooooow moving.  I am getting anxious and did not plan on standing in line at 6am.  My mind is going a mile a minute and then I remember that Hilton has express checkout.  I grab a Hilton Marina Activities flyer off the counter and start scanning the paper.  I quickly text the hotel and within a minute I’m checked out and have a receipt on my iPhone.  Sweet!

As we head out of the hotel, there’s another line.  Really?  I see a lone cab sitting near the entrance to the hotel and I wave to him.  I start chatting with the folks in front of me to see if they are waiting for a cab.  They are not and I’m thinking they are waiting for their Uber/Lyft rides.  We load our luggage into the taxi and off we go to the airport.

Hubby and I have travelled in and out of FLL airport many times.  We prefer to take the first plane out before the throngs of cruisers disembark their ships (remember the picture above) and head to the airport to catch their flights.  For some reason, the airport is extremely busy for 6:15am.  Even more so inside Terminal #3.  There’s a long line for something and I immediately make note it’s not for our airline.  I tell Hubby to look for an open kiosk and he finds one after a few minutes.  Honestly, I know 6am is early for most folks, but i have no patience for folks hovering/congregating around kiosks they are not even using.  I bulk up my shoulders (thanks to my local gym) and make my way through.

I’m pressing the screen at our kiosk and I check the boxes for boarding passes and luggage tags.  Out spits our three long luggage tags and boarding passes.  I forget that in FLL and with our airline that we have to put the tags on ourselves.  I carefully read the instructions on the back of the tags (only 3 steps) and slip the tag through the top handle, peel off part of the backing (keep this as our receipt with baggage claim number), and match the ends and press,  Well, the first one came out wonky, but good enough to stay on the bag.  I got better by the third tag.  Go me!

After going through security, we head over to The Food Network restaurant to get some breakfast:  bagel and smoked salmon for Hubby and an egg and cheese croissant for me.  This will definitely tie us over until we get home.

We arrive at our destination with clear weather, but cold and no snow.

Back in Fort Lauderdale

We are up before 6am to find the Caribbean Princess sailing along the Florida coast.  We take some time to straighten our cabin and then head up to Lido deck 15 to have our last breakfast.  As we are are walking from forward to aft of the ship I glance out the windows to see that we are passing by the tall condos that sit along the side of the Port Everglades channel.  

After a quick breakfast, we are back in our cabin before 7am.  We still have another hour before we need to vacate our cabin for the last time.  We lounge around the best we can, but the anticipation of leaving the ship and ending our cruise is just a bit overwhelming.  We’ve had such a great time on this ship, we did not want to leave.  I have Hubby check all the storage areas around our cabin to make sure I did not leave anything behind.  I also have him check our safe.  It’s always best to have the person who did not do the packing to double-check and look around.  

We leave our cabin promptly at 8am (with feet dragging) and look for Hector.  We give him his gift and thank him for taking care of us and our needs.  

We are suppose to meet our disembarkation group at 8:55 in the Coral Dining Room.  Instead we find a quiet place in Vines and camp out until our disembarkation time.  I pull out my laptop and show Hubby the GoPro videos he made from our snorkeling adventure.  There are quite a few and some are lengthy.  I am glad I purchased the latest version with the two hour battery life.  Now, Hubby is not shy about video taping at great lengths.  

We mosey on over to the Coral Dining Room to find our group had already been called.  Looks like another early disembarkation process.  We have our cruise card “dinged” for the last time as we exit the ship.  So sad….

Down in the cruise terminal (#2) we locate our colored tags.  It takes awhile as others are hoarding and hovering over lots of suitcases.  I wish folks who are not looking for their luggage would just stand a few steps back and away and allow others to get their bags.  After a few minutes of elbowing folks out of the way, we find two of our three suitcases.  Mine is missing!  Great!  I narrow my eyes and focus on the folks standing close to me.  One old chap has my bag next to his.  What?!  I take no time and confiscate my bag.  Yes, I clearly “mark” my bags (as well as the other two) with bright colored luggage tags and bright color shoe strings.  Oh yeah, I wrap the bright color shoe strings around the luggage handle and tie a nice knot.  

Off we go to Immigration to show our passports and hand in our Immigration form.   The Immigration lady waves us on and we quickly leave the terminal to find a taxi.  In less than 5 minutes we are at the Hilton.  Much to our surprise a room was available for us to check in immediately.  Yeah team!  It is now 9:30am.  What a fast disembarkation time for us!

We are on the 11th floor with a balcony view of Port Everglades:

I’m taking pictures and enjoying the view when Hubby says “let’s go” and see the beach!

We drop our bags in the room.  Thank goodness!  I wasn’t too sure how on earth I was going to carry my 14lb backpack and my heavy shoulder bag all over Ft Lauderdale.  

We had plans to take the water taxi to Hollywood Beach (south of Ft Lauderdale).  It was chilly this morning in FLL and a water taxi ride did not appeal to us.  Think 50s or there about.  Also, we would have to wait for the service to start at 10am.  

Instead we hopped on the Sun Trolley and paid $3pp to ride all day.  We are given a bright color bracelet to wear.  Easy for the Trolley drivers to recognize us as we hop off and hop on all day.  The Sun Trolley is easy to to use.  Just look for a “bus stop” sign or even better, just wave when you see a Trolley approaching.  You can’t miss the Trolleys as they are bright yellow.  They will stop and allow you to get on.  For those “app nerds” like me, there’s a Sun Trolley app you can download to your iPhone.  It has maps of the different Trolley routes and shows where the Trolley locations are on the map.  How cool is that?!  

For those of you staying in and around the 17th Street Causeway (T and V), you can pick up the Sun Trolley where it begins it’s FLL Beach route in front of the Publix grocery store in the Harbor Shops shopping center.  

Before I forget, remember I mentioned the FLL Water Taxis?  Well they have an app for iOS as well.  It’s called the “Water Taxi” by TSO Mobile.  It also shows a map and you can track the different water taxi routes.  You can also see the route numbers and the name of the stop/place.  So, the Hilton hotel we are staying at is considered stop is #6 and called Hilton Marina.  For those of you staying in and around 17th Street Causeway (T and V), this is the stop you want to pick up the water taxi.  Just head to the Hilton property and look under the bridge for a white concrete gazebo and you’ll see a small dock with a fence/gate.  There is typically someone there after 10am to help get where you need to go.  When you get on the Ft Lauderdale water taxi and go north along the Stranahan River the stop number increases.  There are two main routes:  Fort Lauderdale and vicinity and Hollywood Beach (to the south).  

Okay, back to our Sun Trolley adventure.  

Traveling on the Sun Trolley this early in the morning is a breeze.  There’s hardly any traffic to compete with and we were wondering where everyone was.  Hubby kept thinking it was Sunday and that got me all turned around.  That’s what happens when you cruise as long as we have.  You stop keeping track of time.  No schedules.  No rushing around.  Just plain fun and relaxation.  Now that we are off the ship, we have to keep track of time.  Eventually, we figure out it’s Saturday.  Still, it’s really quiet here on the beach:  

After walking for several blocks along the beach, we head back and decide to have “second breakfast”.  We end up at Cafe Del Mar on the main drag of Ft Lauderdale Beach Blvd:  

We order some coffee and we were in for a nice surprise:  

We are people watching from our outdoor table:  

Yes!  This is my second breakfast, because I need all the protein I can get for the rest of the day.  I know I just go off the ship, but this was sooooo delicious!  Three-egg veggie omelet:  

Feeling very energized and awake, Hubby and I decide to take the Las Olas Trolley.  From Cafe Del Mar we head towards Las Olas Blvd and walk one block west towards Seabreeze Blvd.  We find a “bus stop” sign on Las Olas Blvd and wait.  Fifteen minutes later the Las Olas Trolley turns the corner and picks us up.  

We are not sure where we want to stop and decide to just sit and ride and see what looks appealing to us.  In Las Olas, there are plenty of shops and restaurants here and old cars:  

Lots of outdoor dining venues:  

Lunch anyone?

Along the way, Hubby and I see some signs about an art show.  We ride by and make a mental note to stop here when the Trolley turns around:  

We hop off and immediately walk around the art show tents.  The first one displayed beautiful underwater photography shots of sea turtle (Tortuga!), fish, coral, etc.  We continue walking and end up at another tent where Samuel was painting beautiful koi.  I enjoy watching him paint and notice he was painting his subjects all the way out to the matted area of paper.  He made it look effortlessly.  Hubby is looking through Samuel’s portfolio and then he stumbles across a turtle painting/print of Tortuga!  Yes, I love little Tortugas!  I hug that print while Hubby continues to look.  I grab a palm tree painting/print and by now we are looking for a third painting to complement what we have.   We keep looking and decide on a simple koi painting with similar colors to the other two I’m holding close to me.  

Samuel is enjoying our company so much he stops painting and starts chatting with us.  We make our purchase and thank him for his time with us.  As we leave, I’m still thinking of another painting/print he has.  It was the first koi painting/print I saw when I stepped into Samuel’s tent.  It took my breath away.  It’s a much smaller print and did not go with the three we already purchased.  We continue to roam around the tents.

We end up in Samuel’s tent again.  I have the “take my breath away” koi print and getting ready to pay for it when Samuel asks if I would be interested in a recent painting he completed this weekend…a signed original.  I said Yes!  He came out with two originals and I immediately picked one that had three koi’s (because odd numbers are better in photography).  Hubby did not wait and purchased the painting.  What a special find!  We also have a new friend we’ll keep in touch with.  

From the art show, we walk back into the Las Olas area.  We find a “bus stop” sign and I check my iOS Trolley app to see where the next Trolley is and when it will arrive. Got to love technology!

Once we are back on the Trolley and heading out of Las Olas, we see lots of yachts along the waterways:  

We also see a water taxi approaching a bridge:  

We are back on the beach and enjoying the weather.  It’s still a bit cooler than the last two weekends and not many people are out today:  

Watching people dine at Bubba Gump’s:  

More people watching:

I check my Sun Trolley app and see a Trolley is heading our way.  We flag her down and by this time it’s getting closer to 3pm.  I’m hoping to be back at the Hilton in time to see the cruise ships leave port.  Traffic is bad and lots of people are using the Trolley today.  We make it back to our room in time.  

Here’s the water taxi coming into stop #6-Hilton Marina:

Lots of boats today:  

Can see the water taxi under the bridge (lower right):

A beautiful megayacht owned by a famous film director.  Can you guess?  

Watching the 17th Street Causeway bridge open up:  

There goes a Sun Trolley as the Caribbean Princess prepares to move away from the port:  

Too bad Hubby and I are not sailing with her back to the ABC islands:  

Day 9: Ft Lauderdale - Turnaround/In-Transit

After having two calm sea days, we arrive quietly into Port Everglades.  We are awake just after 6am and find the Caribbean Princess backing into Terminal 21.  My favorite ship the Regal Princess is already docked at Terminal 2.  Since the Caribbean Princess is using a different terminal today versus Terminal 2 at the start of our cruise, Princess is providing free shuttle service between the two terminals for those who are parked near Terminal 2.  Princess uses these two terminals as well as Terminal 4.

We docking near a HAL ship and across from a Royal Caribbean ship.  It’s amazing to see these ships up close and with their lights on..

We catch an early breakfast before the buffet gets too crowded.  Even though we are part of the “in-transit” group, we still have to leave our cabin by 8am.  This will allow the cabin stewards to turn over the cabins:  Change out bed sheets and covers, scrub down the bathrooms and cabins, rearrange bed configurations (from twins to queens or vice versa), and basically get the cabins back to normal.  I think of it as “reset” or “default” setting.  The cabin stewards have a lot to do in 3 hours and it’s quite impressive when you think about the number of cabins that are under their care.  I think Sandy has 12 cabins to tend to.

BTW, we are getting a new cabin steward.  Sandy has finished his 9-month contract and is going home for 3 months.  He will be back on the Caribbean Princess to work for several months.  Maybe we will see him again.

We grab our necessities, iPad, laptop, and cell phones and head up to the Lido deck to enjoy the warm weather in Ft Lauderdale.  We meet up with D and M and hang out with them until they have to disembark at their appointed time.  We say our goodbyes and wish they were sailing with us on our next adventure.

We eventually hear an announcement that disembarkation is running early and all in-transit passengers should proceed to the designated venue.  Hubby and I meet our group in the Princess Theater.  Since we are part of a large group (550), Princess will be bringing Immigration onboard to process us.  Yeah, team!  We get to stay on the ship!  We are “officially" back onboard around 11:15am.  It’s amazing how fast 550 fellow cruisers can disappear on this ship.  We stop by our cabin and it’s ready for the new week.  I drop my bag and take my camera to go on a photog adventure around the ship. For about an hour, I almost had the whole ship to myself.  There were no “chair hogs” by the pool.  Come to think of it, I only saw a handful of fellow cruisers lounging around the two main pools.

Did I mention it was a beautiful day in Ft Lauderdale?

By 1pm, I notice the hum of my fellow cruisers and they are starting to mill around.  My ship is getting crowded.  I head back to the cabin to check on Hubby.  He is sitting out on our balcony and enjoying the weather as well.

I am using my time wisely while in Ft Lauderdale:  checking emails, texting with D (by this time took the trolley to FLL beach), and texting with my friend T (who will be cruising with his wife V real soon) to let him know I see his ship the Celebrity Silhouette next door.  Did I mention there were 5 ships in port today?

We are not rushing around today and for some reason…it feels like a looooooong day.  Probably because we had an early turnaround day, the cabins were refreshed quickly, and most important we were already in cruise mode.  I get a chance to settle in at our desk (in our cabin) and update my blog and quickly review a few hundred pictures.

At some point we meet our new cabin steward, Hector, from Mexico.  He is all smiles and wanting to know to make sure we have everything we need for the next adventure.  He brings us our complementary champagne and disappears as he has 12 other cabins to tend to.

We hear the announcement for muster.  Since we went through muster last week, we are not obligated to attend this week.  So we hunker down outside on our balcony and enjoy our view.

We set sail around 4pm.  I am waiting for the “battle of the horns” between the Caribbean Princess and the Regal Princess.  I mostly want hear the Regal’s horn play “The Love Boat”.  We hear nothing.  So hubby does his best imitation of the Regal’s horn.  That appeases me and one day I will get that on video.

I forgot to mention that there are Italian contractors onboard our ship.  They are doing the prep work for laying out the miles and miles of cables on this ship.  Have you seen the Princess ads for the new technology called the “Medallion”?  Well, Caribbean Princess will be one of first three ships to undergo the transition and have this new technology in 2018.  Our ship will be going into dry dock in a couple of weeks and will be fitted with this new technology.  Great planning on Princess’ part for getting everything in place, testing it out, and then flipping the switch in 2018.

Here we go on our next adventure…to the Western Caribbean!

Day 1 - Caribbean Princess (Part 2)

We are hungry.  Again?!  Yes, but we had a light breakfast, remember?  We head up to Horizon Court for lunch.  They have a decent selection of food.  We know not to fill our plates.  I pick up a piece of fish, some potatoes (carbs!), spicy wings, cooked carrots (yeah team!), and some fried rice.  We find a table for 4 in the back of the ship hoping that D and M will catch up with us.  We finish our plates and since Princess has been nice enough to leave placards on the table telling us “to leave the table when we’re done eating so that others may use the table".  That was my cue to get up and get another plate of something.  Two more wings?  Sure.  How about a slice of pineapple? Way cool.  Is that a chocolate chip cookie that jumped onto my plate?  No problem.

By this time, D and M join us at the table.  It so nice to see first time Princess cruisers eat hearty.  Remember, it will take another few days before the novelty will wear off and normal eating habits will resume.  For Hubby and me, that will be the first two days and we’ll be back to normal.  Each person is different will have various adverse reactions to all the food displayed/presented.

After lunch we go our separate ways.  I know D and M will go exploring and will continue exploring for the next several days.  Hubby and I head across the ship to check out the gym.  The gym will be my third home for the duration of the cruise.  I have done so well to get my metabolism back (after all these years) that I don’t want to get off the bandwagon.  There’s enough machines to keep me active.  I just need to figure out when it’s not too busy.  Normally the first few days the gym will be packed.  Once we have our first port stop, people seem to stop going afterwards.

As we walk down the hallway that leads to our cabin, we see our three pieces of luggage sitting outside our door.  It takes us about 40 minutes to unpack “everything” and place things in their proper locations.

During our unpacking adventure our cabin steward, Sandy, arrives to greet us and to see how we are doing.  He gives me the health briefing that contains information on frequent hand washing and preventing norovirus and also information on Zika.  On his second trip back to our cabin, Sandy provides us with welcome aboard libations.  Around mid-afternoon we get the announcement that Muster will take place at 3:30pm.  We wait for the signal and grab our life vests in the closet and head down to the Princess Theater.  A princess rep is there to greet us and scans our cards.  If anyone misses this muster session, they will have to go to a make up one which is held during sailaway.  This event takes about 15 minutes and we’re back in our cabin storing our vests in our closet.

We are the first ship out of the four in port to set sail around 4pm.  The folks who live on the waterfront condos are waving and in response the Captain of the Caribbean Princess is blowing the ship’s horn which is music to my ears.  Sure enough Hubby is imitating the “Love Boat” theme that we heard on the Regal Princess last year.



Can you see the large hand waving at us?  Enjoy sailing out of Port Everglades.


  


Many of the boats and sailing vessels that go by wave to us:



Including this fishing boat:



As we head out to sea, we notice the water is a bit rough and so the ships is rolling a bit.  Too cool!  This rolling and swaying continues into the night.

Hubby and I venture out for the evening.  We have an invitation to the Platinum and Elite Lounge at 5pm (every night during our cruise) where we can dine on light fare and $5 libations.  Tonight is guacamole and chips along with three different cheese, crackers, olives, and a veggie platter:



Enjoyed seeing the fruit carvings.  Princess has really improved in the setup of this PEL event.  It’s normally held in Skywalker’s (the top of the shopping bag handle…back of the ship), but tonight it was held in Club Fusion on deck 7.  This light fare or appetizers was the first part of our dinner.   Our next stop was to the upper deck to watch football:  Seahawks and Falcons.

Day 1 - It's Here! Caribbean Princess (Part 1)

I am up early in anticipation of today’s events.  First things first, I must keep up with my blog and post lots of pictures for those of you following along with us.  As some of you already know, D and M are sailing with us for the first week of our adventure.  

We are going to miss our balcony at the Hilton.  There is always something going on in and around the marina.  Since it’s the start of the weekend, we have a sailing class that’s about to get started:



Some are being pulled along.  They will get their feet wet out along the coast on the Atlantic.  When you see them farther away in the ocean, they look like “tiny pups” on the water.  So cute that I want to take one home with me!



Hubby and I head out for a quick coffee run and simple breakfast and want to get back to enjoy a quick view of our ship, Caribbean Princess which is docked at Terminal #2:



She pulled in versus backing up into the dock area and so we were pleasantly surprised to see her facing us.  What could we do but just smile at her beauty.

Back at the hotel, we finished some packing.  D and M came for a quick visit to see our room with a view.  Since there were four ships in port today, we were not allowed to do a late checkout at 12 noon. We said goodbye to our balcony and waited for what seemed like eons for an elevator to arrive.  Two of the three elevators were working.

After our coffee run, I made a last minute reservation for shuttle service.  This was a first for us.  Normally, we would use the Princess transfer to get on and off the ship.  We decided to do this on our own.  There’s a company, Quick & Easy, that mans a temporary desk in the lobby and offers shuttle services to the cruise port.  They only take cash and I made arrangements for a 12 noon pickup for a party of 4.  We all checked out of our rooms by 11am and settled in around the bar and pool area with our luggage.   No need to have Concierge hold the luggage for a short amount of time.  Save some $.

Around 11:45, I checked to see if a shuttle would be on time.  Much to my surprise, they were waiting for us.  We all hopped into a van with 5 suitcases and 4 bodies and were on way to Port Everglades.  It was at most a 10 minute ride and we were dropped off in the luggage drop off area.  A porter immediately took our luggage.  Since we are Elite, we were able to get D and M to board with us.  We quickly went through security and then through a quick line at the counter to get our cruise cards.  It took about an hour from the time we left the hotel to the time we arrived on the ship.  This was the fastest and hassle-free boarding we have done in our history of cruising.  Another first in our adventure.

I help direct D and M to their cabin on Emerald deck.  They have an obstructed-view window cabin.  On this ship, Princess has done a great job with arranging the furniture and bed in this cabin.  Makes it easier to get into bed from the sides.  Other variations, you would have to get into bed by crawling from the end.  Their view is between two of the ship’s tenders.  Good view.

I head up one deck to Dolphin to our mini-suite/balcony cabin to look for Hubby.  He is relaxing and already in cruise mode.  It didn’t take long for him.

I survey our room and make mental notes or things to do to get our room “functional”.  Last year, we were cruising on Princess’ newer ship, the Regal Princess.  We also had a mini-suite, but the configuration was slightly different and the cubby holes/drawers were much larger and well just more abundant in that cabin.  For example on the Caribbean Princess we have tiny desk drawers, where on other ships we would have shelves behind a door.  Just little differences in where I store things and then trying to remember what’s where.

Fort Lauderdale: A Mini Cruise of the Rich and Famous

We were invited to go on a mini cruise to see some magnificent yachts and beautiful homes.  Okay, so it was actually a water taxi that we hopped on and off along the Stranahan River.  It did feel like we were cruising.  We were able to pick up the taxi close to the Hilton property.  A short walk to the water’s edge and underneath the 17th St Causeway bridge.  This is known as stop #6.

While waiting for the taxi (in beautiful weather I might add), we were able to watch the bridge/road open up for the sail boats with their tall masts to pass through.  We would normally be on top of the bridge and see all the traffic stop and watch the road raise up.  It was fascinating to see all this activity underneath.  It was amazing to see this perspective.

The water taxi service starts around 10am.  The first taxi to arrive was heading to Hollywood Beach.  A few minutes later another one arrived and would take us to FLL Beach and areas north.  We hopped on:



About 15 mins later we hopped off at stop #8, Beach Place (on Cortez St).    We walked two blocks east and landed on the beach between Beach Place (shops & restaurants) and the Drunken Taco restaurant.  OMG!  The beach was unusually beautiful today.  It was a windy day and the waves were really large and tall.  I wasn’t about to get in the water to see how tall.

We did most of our shopping for Hubby in Beach Place where you will find my favorite shop, Maui Nix.  The have an extensive line of clothes for the beach, boarding, and casual wear.  They also had a few GoPros and accessories.  One was a mouth piece.  That was weird.  The other was a short hand held pole with a trigger on the side.  Now that was cool!

The beach was calling us and so we sat on the short curved wall and enjoyed the scenery:



Did I mention it was a beautiful day?!



Eventually, our stomachs started to growl a bit.  We walked back to stop #8 and hopped on another water taxi going north and ended up at Bokamper’s Bar & Grill:



Yes, we sat at a table on the deck.  We dined and watched boats and yachts go by.  This a huge restaurant with both indoor and outdoor dining.  I think I counted 3 large bars…to give you an idea.  We had a wonderful dining experience here.  Good food and wonderful ambience.

Here’s more pictures from our water taxi adventure.  Lots of beautiful and EXPENSIVE waterfront homes and HUGE yachts.  Note:  these are the “backs” or “backyards” of the homes you will see:









Plain and simple, but expensive house:














This one has a “sold” sign:




Can you say Wendy”s?  Yes, the owner of Wendy’s owns this home:



This is one home.  Incredible:



This is a “hybrid” yacht.  Looks very military to me in the front:



Definitely looks like a yacht towards the back:





And let’s not forget the critters: