20241230 Monday December 30, 2024; The Long Trip Home

20241230 Monday December 30, 2024; The Long Trip Home

Fort Lauderdale dock workers whisking off luggage.

Disembarkation from the ship went smoothly. John had to disembark by 7am to make his airport transfer.  

Everything packed and ready.

Last buffet breakfast.

John heads off for his flight to New Jersey.

The rest of us got out of our staterooms by 8am and hung out in the Take 5 Lounge for Elite disembarkations where they had pastries, coffee and tea.  We got the go ahead to head ashore at 9am. There was a bit of a wait in line clearing customs, but that was no more than 10 or 15 minutes to get through.  The bus transfer to the airport was also easy enough.  There were enough empty seats on the bus that we could spread out just a little bit.  Price and Ben got to have a row to themselves, but one of the very last ladies to come aboard squeezed in with Janet.  It looked like there was actually still one empty row further back in the bus when everyone was loaded on.

The biggest headache for us was getting to the airport at 10am, but not being able to check in our luggage until 2PM for our 6:40PM flight departure time.  The Fort Lauderdale airport was not set up for this because there are inadequate waiting areas on the ticketing side of the airport, and almost no services (restaurants and shops).  There was a bag storage service in one corner of the building that charged $10 per bag, which is pretty exorbitant.  

Ben had contemplated renting a small SUV so we could relax outside the airport and get something to eat while being able to store the bags in the car, but we ended up finding a couple of seats and snagged an abandoned luggage trolley to park our bags on. The airport did have wifi.  We took turns walking the terminal buildings which span nearly a mile from one end of Terminal 1 to the other end of Terminal 4 to get our steps in for the day.  

Once an announcement was made that people with 6PM flights could check their luggage, we made a beeline to the counter and got all our bags checked.  Janet and Ben could each check one free bag because they have the Delta Airlines American Express card, but because the flight was nearly full, they also allowed us to check all our carryon suitcases for free, including Price.  This made getting around the airport easier.  

The Fort Lauderdale airport has CT luggage scanners that can slice through luggage from top to bottom, allowing them to see through multiple layers of items in a bag. While this can detect more items, it is significantly slower than the conventional conveyor belt X-ray scanners.  Our TSA Pre-Check status allowed us to keep our shoes on and laptops did not have to be removed from our bags.  Janet’s TSA Pre-Check anomaly had been resolved on the outbound leg so she sailed through this time without a hitch.  

The terminal gates at Fort Lauderale seemed to be operating at near capacity.  We were eventually able to find seating and did manage to get some burgers, fries and shakes a the Shake Shack in the terminal.  There was a very limited selection of dining options. We were disappointed not to see a Burger King or McDonalds.  Besides the Shake Shack, there were two pizza/meatball sandwich places, a sushi bar, and a Starbucks.  There was also a general store with cold wrapped sandwiches and bottled drinks alongside overpriced souvenirs and travel essentials.

Our flight departed right on time and was pretty smooth sailing.  We booked in Premium Economy which gives enough leg room that it is possible to pick something up off the floor if you drop something.  Not nearly as nice as international business class, but bearable for the 6 hour flight.  There were meals available for purchase at the start of the flight.  Smart people had brought their own sandwiches on board.  We didn’t think to smuggle sandwiches out of the International Cafe for this purpose, but that would have been smart, and unlike in all the other ports of call, there was no prohibition to taking food off the ship.  We did see other families in the airport who had done that.  Next time.  

Because we were flying westbound, our flight arrival at 9:55PM theoretically wasn’t that late, but since we were essentially on Eastern Standard Time, it was 1AM for us.  By the time we got to the car with our luggage, it was 11:30PM and we found most of the fast food outlets around the airport drive to be close after passing a McDonalds that had a back up out onto highway 99.  We ended up stopping in Marysville where we found an open Burger King.  We were grateful for the food, although it definitely had been sitting under a heat lamp for many hours.  We topped off the gas tank at the Angel of the Winds Casino, but then drove straight home, arriving around 1am, which would be 4am EST.  We pretty much just dragged ourselves upstairs and collapsed into our beds.  

Invariably, we seem to need a vacation to recover from our vacations, but in retrospect we did have a very enjoyable Christmas trip with John and Price where we got to be spoiled by the Princess Cruises staff at every turn.  It’s hard to beat a Christmas cruise for putting together inclusive food, entertainment, travel and lodging with minimal fuss.  We look forward to doing it again next year, but with the entire family and Tom’s family as well.

Sunday, December 29, 2024 Last Day at Sea

Sunday, December 29, 2024 Last Day at Sea

Our final day was a relaxed affair, although having to reorganize everything back into suitcases and figuring out what to leave out for our last night does require a bit of effort.  

We attended the last morning trivia and finished with a flourish, winning the session and getting Princess wine bottle stoppers.  The kids and Ben got in one last workout in the fitness center so we could pack away our work out clothes.  Smart travelers use a large ziplock bag to bring home stinky dirty laundry.  

Ben and Janet did a new game show called 10 in 60 which is a trivia where you have to list the top 10 items in a category according to Ranker.com. If you get all 10 before the 60 seconds are up, you stop the clock and have the opportunity to get 20 points.  If you get it wrong, the clock starts again, and then everyone tallies their points for the category.  The rules were a little confusing at first, but somehow we ended up winning and got a bottle of champagne to give to our room steward.

John purchased some St. Kitts local soft drinks called Ting so we had afternoon High Ting, sampling the grapefruit Ting, which was a bit like Fresca, and Pear, which was quite unique, tasting a bit like a very sweet wine.

We got together with Katherine and did the 4PM trivia but finished out of the top 3 who had a 3 way tie.  The tie breaker was to guess the host’s age, which was 27.  Katherine guessed it dead on.

Ben and Janet did finally get to the Elite lounge to check it out and they had a very nice selection of sushi, bigger than what we had received at the Ocean Terrace.  

Dinner featured braised lamb shank, Mahi Mahi and prime rib.  Ben was surprised to actually get a rare prime rib after ordering rare.  Being the last night of the cruise, there was a Baked Alaska parade through the dining room.

The Princess theater had a Farewell variety show featuring the saxophonist, Whitney Houston tribute singer, Vista lounge magician and an Uptown Funk You Up number by the production crew.  We were surprised they didn’t parade crew and staff on the stage for a final acknowledgement on this show.  

Ben and John hit the gelato stand on the way back to the rooms.  

We wound up the night with a last hurrah trivia at 10:30pm, which was a name the next lyric trivia.  We did surprisingly good, but there were at least 3 teams who all got perfect scores so the host was liberal with the prizes.  

Ben and John hit the International Cafe for one last soup and sandwich run and a moment of relaxation in the Piazza before retiring for the night.

We get an extra hour tonight as clocks go back an hour to get back on Eastern standard time.  John will have to disembark at 7am so we’ll be up early to see him off.

20241228 Saturday, December 28, 2024 At Sea

20241228 Saturday, December 28, 2024 At Sea

Even though this was a sea day, it is always a surprise when we awaken and pull back the black out drapes on the balcony to be blinded by the light.  The seas were churning with white caps and the skies were grey but it wasn’t raining.  We had just enough time to grab a quick breakfast in the buffet before the 10am trivia quiz.  

We managed to be in a 3 way tie for winning the morning trivia, but got our usual second place after the tie breaker, which was how high is the Taj Mahal.  FYI it is 240’.  The kids enjoyed free time on the pool deck and fitness center.  We got started on packing up our formal wear and excursion gear, as well as some of our extra clothes. 

There was a 2:15PM Destination trivia put on by the future cruises staff to highlight the diversity of destinations that you can reach on Princess.  They gave away prizes at random towards the end if you said the correct answer loud enough for the host to hear.  We got an Effy gift bag with a bunch of the freebie jewel bracelets that they frequently give away as door prizes to lure customers in the door.  Janet gave these away to little girls that she encountered.  

It is hard to believe that we haven’t hit afternoon tea until today but it has been a busy and eventful cruise.  So we did manage to indulge in scones with strawberry jam and cream, as well as finger sandwiches and cakes.  

Our afternoon trivia got us another second place finish behind a woman playing all by herself who had won at least one other trivia all by herself.  

Dinner in the dining room featured an Austrian braised beef dish, seafood stew, and Mahi Mahi.  

The Princess Theater featured a Production Show called Rock Opera.  This was a high energy show featuring several songs from The Greatest Show on Earth, and classic rock with a rock version of Carmina Burana.  They had a guest male singer to take on Freddy Mercury’s vocal range in The Show Must Go On and Aerosmith’s Dream On.  The singers and dancers pulled off another great show.  

Ben made his soup run before joining John and Price in one of the hot tubs they had discovered near the fitness center that was unoccupied.  

Tomorrow is our last sea day.  We’ll have to have our suitcases out at dinner time for pick up.  This cruise is quickly coming to a close.

20241227 Friday, December 27, 2024. St Thomas American Virgin Islands

20241227 Friday, December 27, 2024. St Thomas American Virgin Islands

The Norwegian Breakaway and Holland America Eurodam were already tied up at the dock in St Thomas when our ship arrived and backed into its spot at the end of the cruise ship dock.  One nice thing about this itinerary is that we were able to get cellular phone service at Puerto Rico and also St Thomas since both are considered domestic US service for most American cellular phone plans.  

The American Virgin Islands were purchased from Denmark in 1917 by the US because of concerns of the threats of German U-Boats on American shipping through the Panama Canal.  St. John and St. Croix complete the American Virgin Islands.  

The cruise ship dock is adjacent to a large shopping area.  There is a gondola ride that goes to the top of a nearby mountain within a short walk from the cruise pier.  There is a nice waterfront esplanade in front of the old town center which is about 2 miles from the end of the cruise pier, but you have to negotiate traffic and narrow side walks for about 1 mile before getting to the esplanade.  

Oddly enough, although this is an American territory, and motor vehicles have their steering wheels on the left side, they drive on the left side of the street here, like in a British colonial possession.  

We had an early breakfast in the buffet and then sent John and Price off on their introduction to SCUBA excursion.  They had a fun and exciting experience. After their 30-40 minute SCUBA experience, they also got to do snorkeling and free diving.  They did get to see some interesting fish and a ship wreck.  

Ben and Janet walked into the old town and saw Fort Christian, which was actually more of a prison than an important military installation on St Thomas.  It was tiny compared to the fortresses of San Juan Puerto Rico, but being painted brick red, it is a nice landmark.  

Charlotte Amalie is the capital of the American Virgin islands and hosts the local legislature in a waterfront building.  The old town forms a charming shopping district with lots of restaurants and shops.  

American Virgin Island Legislature

One curious thing about the fancy esplanade in front of Charlotte Amalie are the number of wrecked sail boats resting against the esplanade.  We counted at least 4 partially sunken or laying on their side sailboats on the esplanade or shore in front of the town.  There are apparently left over from Hurricanes where the owners simply abandon the boats after getting their insurance checks. 

 

The ship brought aboard a woman and her collection of parrots for an enrichment program in the Piazza.  She had trained crested cockatoo, two macaws, and a pair of cockatiels.  She gave an educational program on what it takes to raise parrots as pets and had many stories of her experiences with these birds.  It sounded a bit like Netflix could do a show on her, but it was an interesting presentation. 

Ben and Janet got together with Katherine for the 4PM trivia, and as has been our usual style, we came in second place.  

John and Price went back ashore after returning from their SCUBA excursion and explored the Pirate Museum, which they thought was most notable for all the artifacts from the piracy era.  They did make it back on the ship before she shoved off.  

Dinner in the Capri dining room featured oxtail soup, beef Wellington and rack of lamb, all of which were delicious.

After dinner we did a Queen trivia which combined name that tune, what’s the next lyric, and Queen general trivia.  We did well, but came in second again.  

We dropped in on the last part of a new magician Nelson Lugo in the Vista Lounge. He did a combination of sleight of hand and mentalist tricks.  The more intimate setting of the Vista Lounge seemed to work well.  There was nothing new or astounding but it was a perfectly average solo magic performance.  

From there, we hiked all the way to the opposite end of the ship for the last Princess Theater performance which was saxophonist Tommy Proulx, who put on a good show, but we were tired and ready for bed.  

That is after a brief stop at the International Cafe where we had a bowl of delicious creamy potato soup while watching people doing country western line dancing in the Piazza.  

The sad reality of receiving luggage tags and disembarkation instructions arrived this afternoon.  Tomorrow is the first of two sea days before we disembark in Fort Lauderdale.  We’ll start packing away our formal clothes as soon as we get them back from the laundry, as well as our excursion clothing and gear.

20241226 Thursday, December 26, 2024. St Kitts Carnival and Beaches

20241226 Thursday, December 26, 2024. St Kitts Carnival and Beaches

Ben was awakened by a rhythmic drumming and scraping sound so he went to the balcony to see if the ship was crashing into the dock.  The ship was backing into the slip, but the cacophony was coming from shore.  It sounded as if everyone in the town with a sound system had it pointing at the ship and were simultaneously playing a dozen unrelated club band rave songs.  It was truly an awful racket, drowning out all the normal noises of huge cruise ships.  

Simultaneously, we also saw another Princess cruise ship heading into the adjacent slip just minutes behind us.  It was our old friend, the Island Princess.  We had spent 60 days on her going around South America.  She tied up across the pier from us.  The Viking Sea, which had been tied up across from us in San Juan, Puerto Rico, was on the next pier over along with Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas.  

John contacted his college roommate Dan and learned that the cacophony was actually St. Kitts celebration of Carnival.  There were 6 parades occurring in Basseterre, the capital city of St. Kitt and Nevis.  After a quick breakfast, we headed ashore to meet Dan and his wife Kayla, who is a St. Kitts Native.  There is a large shopping district at the cruise ship port which Kayla said is where people do most of their shopping, but when cruise ships are in town, it gets incredibly busy.  There are the usual Diamonds International and other tourist stores as well as a large variety of restaurants, gift shops, bars and a local crafts market.  

One thing that was very noticeable was the taxi drivers were extremely aggressive and seemed to come at us from every possible direction, even with Dan and Kayla fending them off for us.  Some of them followed us hundreds of feet as we tried to get out of their primary kill zone to where we could exchange pleasantries and properly greet each other.  

We could not avoid the Carnival parades which had pretty much consumed the main streets and squares of Basseterre.  The music was so loud it shook your guts and rattled your brain.  The streets were filthy with trash, and the crowds were half rowdy and half in a semi zombie state.  Kayla explained that the parade had started at 4am, and that these people were partying full throttle since then.  What was most visually striking was the number of full bootied women clad in fishnet stockings or pantyhose barely covered by thong styled swim tops.  Many wore cowboy hats and had bandanas tied to a thigh, and a lot of people had been splashed with paint at some point.  

The parade and dancing was pretty loosely organized and seemed pretty chaotic.  It was quite unlike the very glitzy and tightly choreographed Samba Parade at the center of Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival celebrations.  We frequently caught a whiff of marijuana in the crowds.  It was extremely intense and too much for us to really appreciate.  We eventually circled around to the taxi station where Dan, Kayla, John and Price would depart to go to a nearby beach  and do some sightseeing.   

Ben and Janet explored some of the town including its independence park and Catholic Church before heading back to the ship. 

They ended up having to work their way through the Carnival parade again to get back to the ship. 

Dan and Kayla did provide narration for their scenic trip to Cockleshell Bay Beach where the kids could all relax on beach chairs, and saw lots of giant conch shells and lobsters while swimming.  John and Price clocked over 2km in swimming for their day’s workout.  They also had lunch on the beach and a relaxing island afternoon.  

Meanwhile, Ben and Janet did enjoy the ship’s creature comforts with much less crowding since most people were gone on shore excursions.  

Ben and Janet did an afternoon trivia with Katherine from Montreal, coming in second place again. 

The kids made it back to the ship after their beach excursion.  We had dinner at O’Malley’s Pub, which is a casual dining venue that has a cover charge that is included in the plus package.  The sushi meal we had earlier was a similar set up. Since our package included two of these casual dining venues, we wanted to make sure to take advantage of them.  

O'Malley's Irish Pub casual dining venue

Irish Whiskey infused brownie

Apple Irish soda bread cake

The pub food was good, and better than the usual free Princess Pub Lunch that used to be featured on most itineraries.  They featured a Guiness Killarney stew, Mussels, and chicken wings.  They also had Irish themed desserts with a whiskey infused dark chocolate brownie, Bailey’s cheesecake and Guiness chocolate cream cake.  This was also the only ship’s venue where you could get Guiness stout and several Irish themed cocktails. 

After dinner, Price was played out and headed up to bed early.  The rest of us went to the Princess Theater where Nina Skyy did a Whitney Houston tribute. 

Janet said she enjoyed the show while Ben and John both spent a significant part of the show resting their eyes.  Price had chosen wisely to rest his eyes in the comfort of his bed.  After the show Janet retired directly to bed while Ben and John hit the Gelato stand before turning in.  

Tomorrow is our last port of call, St. Thomas in the American Virgin Islands.  John and Price will have to get up very early for their introduction to scuba excursion. The ship arrives at 7:15am and leaves at 4:30pm.  Ben and Janet will explore the town on their own since they didn’t get to do that during their last visit to St. Thomas.  They had done the same introduction to scuba, but Janet managed to rupture her ear drum on that excursion, so no more scuba for us old folk.