Day One – fly out of PVD through EWR to SJU fairly uneventful arriving only 1.5 hours late. No big deal. We got our luggage and grabbed a cab to the cruise terminal. The terminal we were at was different than the previous time and we were only 2-3 blocks from Old San Juan. We dropped the luggage off with the porters at the entrance of the terminal and headed into Old San Juan. I had just been there in June, but my husband, Jim, had never been, so I gave him a quick tour of the sites. Stopped into The Cigar House for (duh) cigars, the Super Mart for a couple of six packs of Diet Coke and some snacks for the room and headed over to the ship. Picked up a bottle of Capt. Morgan and Mount Gay for the room in the Duty Free shop before checking in. The guys in the shop wrapped everything up in newspaper and we put them in the bottom of my tote bag I was carrying and we had no trouble getting them up to the room. There were no lines at check in and it went much smoother than I remembered from the last time. Took about 20 minutes total. We were in room R510 (Riveria Deck, midship). Luggage was waiting for us. Met our steward, Pol. Mixed up the first of many cocktails to be had out on the balcony and started our vacation. We choose Anytime Dining, so we could take our time before heading out to dinner. Sorry I can’t remember what we had the first night, but being up at 3:30 a.m. will have the effect on me.
Day Two – this is the at sea day. VERY windy and you can really feel the ship rocking. The Ship’s Log that is distributed at the end of the week indicated that there were Force 7 winds that day. We usually go to the buffet for breakfast – first stop being the coffee station. Even with all the selections, I stuck with my usual scrambled eggs and fruit. My husband loves the smoked salmon and had that every single morning with his eggs. Went back to the room to put on our swimsuits and grab our gear so we could find some lounge chairs before it got too busy. It was beautifully warm, but so windy that the letters kept getting blown off the Scrabble board. That got annoying pretty quickly, so we went back to reading the books we had also brought. Headed up to the gym around 1:00 and worked out and used the treadmills for about two hours. We belong to a gym at home and have a treadmill and we didn’t want to stray too far from our routine. Jogging on the treadmill was a little tricky with the boat rocking so much. Back to the room to sit out on the balcony with a cocktail and a fresh game of Scrabble. First formal night tonight and after we were dressed, decided to walk around the Piazza area and take a look into the shops. All the railings on the staircases were hung with garland and bows and there were decorated and lit Christmas trees on each level. Found the Crooner’s bar and that was instantly our favorite spot and we ended up there every night for the remainder of the week. The bartenders, Bonnie & Christopher, were just the best. By the second visit, they remembered our names, knew how we liked our drinks and were just so entertaining. We had dinner in the DaVinci dining room. Ordered a bottle of LaCrema Pinot Noir as we were both having the filet mignon. Two glasses left in the bottle, so we had it corked and took it back to the room.
Day Three – Barbados. We love Barbados. Last time we were there, we had taken a cab for a half day tour of the island, visited St. James Parish Church, went to Harrison’s Caves and shopped in Bridgetown. Today we wanted a beach. Grabbed a taxi and headed over to Payne’s Bay for the day. Tony, our cab driver, took us to the Blue Monkey Bar & Restaurant and agreed to come back to get us between 2:30 – 3:00. Rented chairs for $10.00 and let the sand gravity take effect. The beach did get a little crowded by noon, but it didn’t bother us. We took a walk down the beach and were rewarded with complete emptiness. Swam and lounged and decided we needed some liquid refreshments, so we headed back to our chairs and got some rum punches from the bar. Jim took out a jet ski for a half-hour or so and then we spent the rest of the time just relaxing in the sun. Tony returned right on time and took us back to the cruise terminal. We’re not big shoppers, but I was very pleased to find that Earthworks now had a shop in the terminal. I love their stuff, but the cost to ship it to the US was crazy. I bought some coffee mugs and a candle holder. I’m happy! Back to the ship and out to the balcony for our afternoon ritual of a cocktail, cigar and Scrabble. Down to Crooner’s and let Bonnie & Christopher mix their potions. Dinner in DaVinci again –Jim had the lamb shank and I had a pasta with red peppers and mussels. Jim is still talking about the lamb shank and how great it was.
Day Four – St. Lucia. We’ve been to St. Lucia on the last cruise and we took an excursion to the Diamond Botanical Garden/Rain Forest, Pitons & the volcano. The Botanical Garden was amazing, but we found nothing else appealing about that island. I had booked a massage for that afternoon with the plan that we would be staying on the ship, but we decided to give it another chance and got off the ship in Castries to walk around and browse the shops. Our opinion hasn’t changed. After about an hour of stepping around and over garbage, the smell becoming too much to stand, I had had enough and we went back to the ship. The day was a bit overcast but still very warm, so we put on our bathing suits and found the Terrace Pool and deck completely empty. Swam in the pool for awhile before it started to sprinkle, so I headed to the spa for the lime & ginger body scrub and full body massage I had an appointment for (heavenly) and Jim went to work out. An hour and half later, I dragged my nearly comatose body out to the Trident Bar to meet Jim, who was waiting for me with a margarita. Just what I needed, like I wasn’t relaxed enough already. Went back to the room for our daily Scrabble game (need to make sure the brain is still functioning with all the alcohol we’re imbibing). Down to see Bonnie & Christopher at Crooners and met another couple, Mike & Carmen from Wisconsin. We sat and chatted with them and decided to go have dinner together. Mike & I had the sea bass and Carmen & Jim had the Alaskan King Crab Legs. Another great meal. Back to Crooners for after dinner drinks before turning in.
Day Five – Antigua. This is another one of our favorite islands. Off the ship and found a cab driver, Louis, and he took us over to Turner’s Beach. Rented chairs & umbrella from the Blue Heron resort for $10.00 and we were good for the day. What a beautiful beach. Swam and napped in the sun. Perfect! Louis picked us up at 3:00 as promised. I wanted to do some shopping. I had bought a beaded bracelet in RastaPastaOneLove on our last trip and it is still one of my favorites. That was my sole destination. I got two more bracelets, a choker and bracelet/earring sets for my two daughters and my son’s girlfriend. We begin our usual evening activities. Ate dinner in the Michelangelo dining room tonight. Jim had a veal chop and I simply cannot remember what I had, so it must not have been that memorable. Back to the room early tonight as we have a big day planned tomorrow.
Day Six – Tortola. The day I’ve been waiting for all week. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Banana.gif" alt="" /> This is the only island we have not been to and I have been so looking forward to. I have wanted to do a vacation to the BVI, either staying on Tortola or VG, but Jim was hesitant as we had never been there before, what if we didn’t like it, etc. This was going to be the perfect way for me to give him a chance to “test the waters” so to speak. I booked us on a day sail with White Squall II, a TTOL sponsor. I can’t say enough good things about the entire day! Capt. Chris, mate Deb and Jeff (Capt. Chris’ brother) were attentive, friendly and so much fun. We sailed to Norman Island and our first snorkeling stop was Privateer Bay. Simply amazing. I love to snorkel, but Jim can usually take it or leave it. He couldn’t get enough of it. After an hour and half, we headed over to the Bight and Pirates Bight Bar & Restaurant. The men all swam in to shore and the women took the dinghy while Capt. Chris & crew got lunch ready. Browsed in the gift shop and lounged in the sun before heading back for a great lunch. Loved the curried rice salad with the mango chutney so much, I got the recipe and made it for Xmas day dinner buffet. After lunch, we headed over to Soldier’s Bay for some more snorkeling. Back on the boat and we started back. Now that we were done snorkeling, we took Deb up on her offer of rum punch. Got back into the marina by 4:00. Walked around town a little and poked into some of the shops (mostly the ones I recognized the names of from the BVI forum) and headed back to the ship. What a great day! Sat out on the balcony with cocktails while we pulled out of port and my plan had worked – Jim wants to go back and see more of Tortola and the other neighboring islands. Second formal night tonight, so we get cleaned up and decked out again and head down to meet Mike & Carmen at Crooners. Dinner tonight was lobster tail for Jim and beef Wellington for me. We still don’t order dessert – the waiter, Lorenzo, seems genuinely disappointed.
Day Seven – St. Thomas. Been here before and not having any interest in shopping, we decided to sleep in and have breakfast a bit later. After breakfast we were able to find whole decks of empty loungers so we took our pick and settled in for a few hours of reading and the last few hours of sun. A couple of margaritas, some time in the pool and hot tub and we were ready to head back to the room. Need to start packing up some of the dirty clothes and items we don’t need and were able to put out one suitcase before going to dinner. Stop in Crooners for one last round with Bonnie & Christopher. When we get there, Bonnie is working on something that looks like origami with colored paper – it’s a long stem rose which he gives me – what a sweetheart. Even though we know the tips are built in, we gave them each an additional cash tip. They deserved every penny. Dinner tonight in DaVinci again. I had the prime rib and Jim had the beef tournedos – again perfectly done. We appeased Lorenzo tonight and ordered dessert – black cherry sorbet. Back to the room to finish packing up.
Last Day – San Juan. Up and out of the room for 8:00 and down to breakfast. This always the worst part of the trip. Our flight wasn’t until 2:45. Disembarkation wasn’t too painful. We waited in the Explorers Lounge and were off the ship by 9:30. I had the pier to airport transfers so we were to the airport, checked in and through security by 11:00. Still a long wait at the airport, but we had books with us to pass the time. Flight was about 10 minutes late departing. Got into EWR about 6:30 but our flight out of EWR to PVD wasn’t until 8:45. We really weren’t that hungry, but both needed coffee badly. Found the Dunkin’ Donuts and settled down for some more waiting. 8:45 became 9:15, which became 9:30, which became 10:00. We’ve long since finished our books and are trying not to doze off, becoming more aggravated by the minute. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cloud.gif" alt="" /> We finally board our last leg at 11:00 p.m. only to have to wait on the plane while one of the engines was jumped started!! Pilot came on and apologized for delay and indicated that he had informed the airport about this problem before he landed and they should have been waiting with the part/equipment needed. Finally take off 11:40. Only a 35 minute flight to PVD. Find our luggage, call for our car pick up and we are in our car heading home by 12.50. At that time of night and no traffic, we are able to drive home in 25 minutes.
We've cruised with Princess before. The Crown Princess is a beautiful ship and we were thoroughly pleased with the service and attention we received from all the staff we encountered. We always go with the balcony room (it truly is the only way to go)and Anytime Dining. I think the only complaints we had was one: take St. Lucia off the itinerary and two: there seemed to be more kids than on our previous cruises. Perhaps it was due to Christmas/school vacation. There is a whole area on the ship with two pools and a hot tub for kids and yet we never saw a single child in them.
http://www.photoshow.com/watch/JE6Av7cWKelly <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" />
