purple room vents: people people everywhere and NOT A PLACE TO SIT

Holy Doodle!!! Every time I have cruised on Princess (21 times) there has been maybe two or three walkers and even less wheelchairs. This trip is insane. There are probably 100 or more and there are many many scooters and wheelchairs. The longest line ups to get on the boat this time was the gibbled line. Thank Ohm I had Monte. We would just fold up the walker and take the escalator.

Last year when we cruised to Alaska it took almost three hours to embark, to get through from start to sitting on the ship. This year it was exactly one hour. Having a walker and the medallion method princess uses is worth its weight in gold. We went to the dining room for lunch. It was amazing. The best of all though were the crusty fresh buns. Reminded me of the book Heidi. She saved the rolls from their dinners for some reason or another and the description of them has always completely stuck in my head. Never mind the filet mignon and avocado shrimp appetizer etc...

We were to set sail at four and we didn't leave until 9:30 pm. That was tedious. We had no choice but to drink...many many drinks. So fun. It turned out that for whatever reason an inspection was sprung upon them. Clearly they had to do something to pass. Anywhooo we were on our way finally.

Our room is really nice. We got a mini suite this time. It just gives us a wee bit more room. Monte is sleeping on a pull out couch he claims is very comfortable. It's certainly bigger than the little not even twin size bed. He is over a ways in a sectioned off area which is nice. Our balcony is bigger too.

Well today is the 12th. I just finished breakfast in bed no less. Croissant, apricot preserves, yoghurt, fruit, fresh squeezed orange juice and coffee. That sounds amazing but....the croissants were tough, the orange juice strange, the apricot jam was thick and gloppy and the yoghurt was vanilla...I asked for plain. The coffee was okay but not hot...just in case you were thinking how awesome the whole breakfast in bed thing was.

Yesterday though Monte went up to the slop bucket and had a full on plus breakfast. He brought me down a plate....hashbrowns, eggs, tons of bacon, corned beef hash and sausages. Now that was an amazing breakfast in bed I tell ya!!!

I just can't bring myself to go to that buffet. We went the first full night we were here. Just imagine you are on a boat with three thousand people, 90% of them north of 80 pushing or riding on wheels. And I used to think that old people weren't usually fat, Not on this boat!

For the first time ever in all of my cruises there was a line up from the buffet start all the way through the room and out the entrance to the dining room. I thought it was because it was early in the cruise and people who normally go to the dining rooms wanted to check the buffet food out. It became evident quite quickly, people pushing wheels, one sort or another, are slow, really really slow and totally responsible for the long long line.

They put a plate on the seat of the wheeled thing, slowly move along and every time they choose something they have to bend down and pick up their plate, shakily grab the serving spoon and put the slop on their plate. And they want a little of each thing they look at. Oh My Ohm!!!! I super have to resist the urge to kick them in their fat saggy asses. This cruise is NOT for anyone under seventy years old who can still move and think. (shovel list!!!!!).

Given the optics of that first buffet dinner, I now leave my wheeled implement folded up in the corner of the stateroom. There have been a couple of times I maybe started to regret it, pain in the hip, but then I would be trying to get around a wheeled fat grey head and stop regretting my decision immediately.

I don't see much of Monte. He has his headphones on 100% of the time and wanders off for hours. The medallion app lets us locate each other. On our phones we go into the app and hit locate so and so and it immediately shows you a map of the deck he/she is on and x marks the spot...exactly where they are. It is pretty cool.

I was upstairs all afternoon yesterday in a big lounge called Skywalker's. It has a beautiful view of the ocean out the back of the boat...aft. It is the only lounge not playing awful musak and no open bar til five. Consequently it is pretty empty up there. I love it. While I was there I went on the app and made reservations at two of the speciality restaurants...you have to pay for them

So last night we went to Sabatini's,,,,,the Italian restaurant. The food and service was amazing. Six courses! Mind you each one is pretty small but I was so stuffed by the end I couldn't finish. I couldn't help but compare each course with the courses we were served at that super expensive Italian restaurant Bradley, Aryn and I went to in Kitsilano. As small as each course was last nite, each individual serving was bigger than that restaurant's serving size for three!!! And the tortellini was lobster, stuffed and bisque surrounding it.

Tonight I made reservations at a steakhouse called The Crown Grill. The menu is crazy outstanding!!! I shall maybe take some pics and put them on the next post.

Well our butler, the sweetest Filipino named Rudolpho, is wanting in to make beds and do a clean up. I love just sitting in the room here on my laptop, talking to you guys. I wouldn't leave at all if I had my way!!!

Til next time, I will take pics, TFL...TTYL

'Cruising: the only vacation where you only unpack one and you get to see the world.' Unknown