March 15, 2012—At Sea
It was raining when I woke up—a steady downpour that looked
like it would continue all day. But the
seas were calm and I could hardly feel the ship moving. I checked emails and Facebook while having my
morning coffee. One of the best
amenities of being in a suite was the complimentary internet service. We also took advantage of the free laundry
and had sent in all the clothes that we had worn on the long flight over.
At 9:00am, I headed for the Wheelhouse Lounge to set up for
the Cruise Critic Meet and Greet I had organized. For those who don’t know what that is….I’m a
member of Cruise Critic, an internet site where people share information
regarding cruises, ports, ask questions, post answers to other people’s
questions, etc. Reviews of cruises and
experiences are posted, as well as articles and news pertaining to the cruise
industry. One section of Cruise Critic’s
forum includes a roll call for each cruise (no matter what the cruise
line). Individuals who are on Cruise
Critic who have booked this cruise can get to know each other, make plans to
meet for tours, and exchange information such as Visa requirements, things to
see and do at the various ports, etc.
Someone on the various roll calls usually sets up a Meet and Greet to
allow all the folks who had been “talking” to each other on the website a chance
to actually meet on board. For this
cruise, I volunteered to set it up.
I had kept a spreadsheet listing the people who had signed
up to attend, printed out name tags for everyone so we could identify each
other, and coordinated with Princess headquarters for the meeting space and
date and time. I also obtained a list of
the senior officers on board and had sent them all invitations to attend. We had 124 people signed up and I was hoping
to have some of the officers show up as well, although that would depend on
their work schedules of course.
My parents went with me to the Meet and Greet; my Dad had
also joined Cruise Critic a few months ago.
They both helped me lay out the name tags alphabetically on a table to
make it easier for everyone entering to find theirs. There’s nothing like putting your parents to
work for you while on vacation (but I don’t think they minded).
Several of the officers did attend although neither the
captain nor the staff captain were able to be there (Paolo, the staff captain, had
told me yesterday that they would not be able to attend due to an exercise they
were conducting). The Cruise Director,
Assistant Cruise Director, Executive Chef, the Hotel Manager, Hotel Director,
Food and Beverage Manager, and a member of the engineering staff all showed
up. It was a great opportunity for folks
to meet them as well as each other. The
Meet and Greet went very well, and several folks made a point of telling me that
it was both the largest Meet and Greet and the best Meet and Greet they had
ever attended (and many of these folks have been to a lot of these). All in all, I think it was a huge
success!
Afterwards, my parents and I went up to the Lido Deck and
had lunch in the Horizon Court Buffet.
The specialty that day was sushi, but my mom said it wasn’t very good (she
should know since she’s Japanese, but I enjoyed it anyway).
Later that afternoon, we spent time relaxing in the cabin,
and the Bonners came over for a visit and tour of our suite.
Just as they arrived, room service delivered a plate of
chocolate covered strawberries compliments of the Casino Host. About a month before the cruise, I had
contacted the Ocean Players Club and asked them about any comps—Las Vegas
casinos provide comps to their players and since my parents and I had both been
on previous cruises and had visted the casino, I wanted to check to see if they
would provide any comps for this cruise.
After checking their records, they provided me with $50 in free slot
play, and provided my mother in $25 in free slot play; unfortunately, my Dad
didn’t get anything (that tells you who the gamblers are in the family). The card that came with the chocolate-covered
strawberries was from the on-board Casino Host and was addressed to both my
Mother and me, and welcomed us both on board and said that if we needed
anything to contact her.
We spent the next couple of hours with the Bonners. When they left, I got ready for dinner,
arranged to meet my parents outside the Pacific Moon Dining Room, and headed to
out for a pre-dinner cocktail.
Angelo, the bartender, and Jeoffrey, the bar steward, were
both there and welcomed me back. It was
only the second day, and already they knew me.
I ordered my usual amaretto and started to give them my cruise card, but
Jeoffrey said he already had my folio number (gee, just like on the Sapphire).
Our dinner reservations were for 7:30 that night—I had asked
for 7:00, but unfortunately, that time wasn’t available); I had also asked for
Table 453 so we could have the same waiter—Jerry. Unfortunately, our table wasn’t ready, but
David, the Pacific Moon headwaiter, put us at a table right next to 453 and in
Jerry’s station. He then went ahead and
made a reservation for us for the next night at 5:30 (we wanted to eat earlier
so we could attend the Captain’s Champaign Waterfall Reception the next
night). Normally, we would have to call
every morning for reservations, but David said he would take care of us and not
to bother calling, and set us up at Table 453.
I ordered the crab and melon appetizer, but couldn’t decide
what I wanted for the main course. Jerry
recommended the red snapper, but it was supposed to come with a Thai hot and
sour sauce, so I told Jerry I don’t really care for spicy food. He said he could have the sauce put on the
side and that it wasn’t very spicy, so I agreed. It was an excellent choice and the sauce
really turned out to be quite good. My
Dad had ordered two shrimp cocktails the previous night and when he ordered
shrimp cocktail again, Jerry immediately said “Double” and my Dad of course
agreed. It’s so nice to have a good
waiter who after just one night remembers our preferences. After the last two nights, I knew I could
trust his recommendations.
After dinner, it was time for an after dinner cocktail. I asked Angelo about making me an Island
Swizzler, the drink that Devenish had created for me on the Sapphire. He said he could, but that he wasn’t sure
what to charge for it. We had a
discussion about the different alcohol in the drink and he suggested that I try
an Almalfi Cooler. I agreed and it was
very good. I’m not entirely sure what’s
in it, but it does have amaretto and vodka.
I met a woman, Jutte, who is from Germany and is not really
a passenger and not really crew either.
She works for the Princess travel agency in Germany and her job is to take care
of the German passengers on board. She
had been on board the Diamond for six months.
She told me that some of her duties was to translate the Princess Patter
(the daily newsletter on board that lists the day’s activities and schedule of
events), and to translate the menus, as well as act as a translator and
intermediary for all the German passengers who had booked through the Princess
travel agency office. She said that on
the last cruise she had four cabins, but on this cruise she had 60 cabins. It was very interesting talking with her
about her job and the crew on board. She
had a passion for cruising, so we had much in common and spent the entire evening
talking. Jutte and I ended up closing
the bar and stayed even after Angelo had closed the bar.
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