Search the Community

My very first sea day! I was so excited to get up and explore this gorgeous ship some more. I woke up that first morning, though, to the strangest sensation. It felt like the bed was sliding across the floor…back and forth, back and forth. It took a few seconds before realization finally dawned on me, “Ohhhhhhh. Now I can feel it moving.” I remembered the itinerary map showed that the ship had to go out and around Vancouver Island after leaving Seattle, and now it was all making perfect sense. In fact, maybe this is why I was supposed to pack duct tape…to bind me to the bed to keep from rolling out? Thanking my lucky stars that I had taken a meclizine pill “just in case” before bed, and thrilled beyond belief that it appeared to be working, I decided to get up and go out on the balcony for a bit while I waited for Scott to wake up. How in the world Scott can stay asleep through this motion in the ocean was beyond me, as his head was literally being rolled side to side on the pillow, like he kept slowly shaking his head “no” at me over and over. Slipping out onto our balcony all alone that first morning was a moment I will never forget. The almost ethereal sights, the crashing wave sounds, even the briny smells were forever burned in my brain. I believe the Cruise Cupid’s arrow went a little deeper at that moment. I could see nothing but dark rolling ocean and misty grey skies clear to the horizon. The seas were clearly high out in the wide open Pacific, but it wasn’t bothering me a bit, and instead it was almost mesmerizing and the rocking sensation was oddly comforting. Our first ever day at sea couldn’t have gone any better, despite the almost twenty foot seas and drizzly conditions we experienced for over half of that first day. Scott talked me into treating myself to a spa appointment (I know, totally twist my arm), and after that we explored some more of the ship and then dropped a few bucks at the casino. Toward the afternoon, as the seas got calmer and the skies cleared, we sat out on deck and people watched while wrapped up in the thick blankets the staff was handing out. The beautiful coastline was visible on the starboard side, and small tree-filled islands were visible off the port side. We could see snow-capped mountains in the distance, and the colors the setting sun was painting across the sky were breathtaking. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that we of course ate our way across the ship, but that’s to be expected on a cruise…right? Here I was with not even twenty four hours of cruising experience under my already getting too tight belt, and I was officially in “Cruise Mode.” We chose Anytime Dining for this cruise and really enjoyed it. I admit I was intimidated of the large tables and sitting with strangers, and so we chose instead to eat by ourselves for dinner. This was to be our first ever formal night, and I honestly had no idea what to expect. Would the Dress Code Police be stationed outside of the dining room ready to turn me away if my dress didn’t meet the minimum requirement of sequins? Obviously that didn’t happen, and to be honest I hardly even noticed what everyone else was wearing because I was so distracted by how delicious my dinner was and also by the handsome fella in a suit that I was lucky enough to be sharing it with. It was a definite Pinch Me Now moment. Formal night on a cruise to Alaska….Wow! We excitedly talked about our first port city and what we had planned for Juneau after we arrived at noon the next day. I was almost MORE excited about the fact that early tomorrow morning we would be making the turn into the Inside Passage and I could only imagine what sights would greet me off my balcony early the next morning. To be cont'd...

You are probably wondering what happen to Day 8 – Sea Day. See previous Day 6. It was exactly the same with one added feature – re-packing, which is always a little sad and a little challenging – how to squeeze your all your stuff and the added souvenirs into your bags – but we made it work. As is the case with just about every vacation I take, my camera seems to take a holiday on the final day, and I return with basically no pictures of the final hours of our time away. Such was the case here. No pictures of the ship, no images of us packing, nothing at disembarkation, and nothing of the plane ride home. At the same time my camera disappears, I start thinking of home and all the tasks awaiting my return. The two seem to go hand in hand. Go figure. As with embarkation 8 days earlier, disembarkation in Dover was a breeze. We had breakfast in the buffet, vacated the cabin, and waited at the appropriate time and venue according to color code. In our case, we waited in the Cabaret Lounge for just a short time while Princess showed a video of the new Royal Princess features. We had already seen most of it, but the review was nice, as we are booked on Royal for next summer. Our group was called, we exited the ship, grabbed our luggage, and climbed directly aboard the Princess shuttle for the 2-hour ride to Heathrow, but not before one long, last look at the Ocean Princess as she awaited her next group of soon-to-arrive excited passengers. The process was all very well quick and well-organized. We have never used a Princess transfer before and would definitely consider it again, especially for a long or complicated journey from ship to airport or hotel. We arrived safely at the airport, with plenty of time to kill. Airline check-in, security, the flight and customs all went smoothly. A few final observations ~ This was a fantastic itinerary for an 8-day cruise, and we thoroughly enjoyed all the ports, except maybe for Waterford, which was our least favorite city on this sailing. I particularly thought the cooler climate was a nice change to the tropical waters of the Caribbean. The Ocean Princess is a very pretty ship, and the smaller size makes it easy to get to know the crew and fellow passengers. On more than one occasion, crew members addressed us by name, a pleasant personal touch not found on a ship of 3,000 passengers. With that said, however, we did sorely miss several big-ship features, particularly a real, wrap-around promenade deck and the International Cafe, found on the large Princess ships. The most wished-for item missing from the dining room menu was French Onion Soup. For the most part, the pool deck was unusable due to the climate, and I wish there had been a covered pool like that of some ships cruising colder waters. We are happy that the cabins and balconies are now smoke-free, but disappointed that the prettiest lounge on the ship, the Tahitian Lounge, allows smoking on one side of the room, making the room reek of tobacco at any time of day. Would we cruise Ocean Princess again? If it were me, absolutely! However, given that my husband still prefers the large ship experience and since he contributes the most money to the cruise piggy bank, I would have to give him a say. So the answer to whether or not we would cruise Ocean Princess again is probably more of a definite maybe! Alas, another summer vacation had come to an end. No fear, though, as I have already have my eyes set and my blog ready and awaiting next year’s vacations, as we have two more cruises in the pipeline: The new Royal Princess sailing the Mediterannean next July, and a short 4-day Caribbean cruise on Ruby Princess during Christmas break 2013. My pen won’t rest long. Stay tuned! Source

When one cruise ends, another begins … that’s my motto! Our Ireland & Scotland Interlude was not yet complete, when we were already thinking of our next cruise. Actually, we were not yet sure of the destination, we just knew it would be a cruise on Princess. Therefore, as is the custom, we took advantage of the Future Cruise Desk while on board the Ocean Princess and earned future cruise credits and on-board credits by booking a future cruise, to be taken on any ship at any time within the next four years. Hey, why waste time! Immediately, on returning home, we booked our next cruise, a 12-day cruise to the Mediterranean. Ahhh … but as is typical with me, our next summer cruise booking is never written in stone. In the next weeks and months, it can transform into a different ship, a different destination, a land vacation or … horrors! … no vacation at all. We realized our one-way voyage from Venice to Barcelona was not going to be a cheap one, and the more I looked into hotels, excursions and air fare, the further and further the ship sailed away from us until it was just a black speck on the horizon. That's when my dear husband uttered the words I have so longed to hear ... "what about Alaska?" What? Did I hear you correctly or is that wax buildup in my ear? Did he just say “Alaska” or was that “I’ll ask her”? He’s never wanted to see Alaska. Oh, joy … oh rapture! He DID say Alaska! Well, I wonder what brought this on, I immediately thought to myself, as I would not dare utter these words out loud in fear of his changing his mind. Two words – Grand Princess. You see, the Grand Princess was the ship which carried us on our first cruise 10 years ago to the Caribbean, so it holds fond memories for us. Two more words: San Francisco – sealed the deal. A round trip, 10-day cruise from a city we’ve always thought about visiting, 4 full days at sea on a ship which has been re-fitted with a covered dome over the pool, a sailing up the inside passage of America’s Last Frontier to Glacier Bay National Park … what’s not to like? If he was going to cruise to Alaska, he said, this was the only way. After all, he has always been drawn to tropical heat and oppressive humidity over the “ice and cold” of Alaska, and it would take something really awesome to swing him around. Okay, I said, let’s do it – before he re-thinks the idea. I immediately fired up the computer and changed that cruise from the Mediterranean to Alaska faster than you can say “my Alaska dream cruise”. I am now on a new mission and have new purpose in my life! With a plan to spend three days pre-cruise in San Francisco, I am exploring the city, hotels, the sites and Alcatraz, of course! Air fare to San Francisco is refreshingly more reasonable than flying to Europe, and I have fare alerts arriving in my mailbox daily in the hopes of finding that perfect rate. What’s more, David has been researching the ports and has even made suggestions about excursions – which means, yes, he IS excited about Alaska. Shhh ... don't tell anyone!

Princess Cruises: Captain’s Circle As of: 15/April/2013 #Cruises or Cruise Days {CD} Gold: # 1 — 3 Cruises or CD ≤ 30 Cruise Days Medallion #4 — 5 Cruises or 31 ≤ 50 Cruise Days Platinum: # 6 — 15 Cruises or 51 — 150 Cruise Days Elite: # 16 ≥ Cruises or CD ≥ 151 Cruise Days {Benefits after 1st Cruise} *One Person in a Room Pays Double Fare Receives 2×Cuise Days or 2×Cruise Points **Book & Sail in a Full Suite 2×Cuise Days or 2×Cruise Points

Anybody interested in an interactive Mystery Cruise?