a few more days

Friday, May 3, 2013 continued

Just Carolyn and me for dinner in main dining room—J wanted to eat in the lido. So we were in and out fast.

Decided to wander the ship since we hadn't done that yet. Saw part of Antonio Salci's show in the theater. Then Carolyn wanted to check out the shops. Good, because you could hear the rest of the show in the shops!

Then we caught Ric Steel in Café al Bacio—he was great! Had everyone singing along and the waitresses and some of the customers dancing in the aisles.

We lose another hour tonight.

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Another 7:30 a.m. call saying our coffee is on its way. Except we haven't ordered coffee and it doesn't come. When I actually called the butler to bring my mocha and almond croissant, I asked him to find out who is calling us and get them to cease and desist.

Breakfast in Blu with Ida and her sister (didn't remember her name) who have been on since the Panama Canal cruise. They had Gene as a butler the last cruise.

Response on the who is calling us mystery is for me to look at the display and record what it says. Right. Like I'm gonna remember that when I'm woken out of a sound sleep. And don't have my reading glasses on.

Our other mystery is the source of the sewage smell that renders our lovely veranda pretty much useless. Had the guest relations director and the engineers up here. They called back and left a message that they've identified the source of the odor and taken steps to fix it. Odor is still there, although not as pronounced. Still cannot sit out on the veranda and enjoy the beautiful weather and the smooth crossing.

Carolyn slept most of the morning after being awakened by the 7:30 call. We went to lunch and got salads—not a huge line like the other day, but still hard to get the ingredients with the bar in the way. Much prefer the salad bar layout on the S class ships. Actually, the M class after their Solsticizations have acquired several dead ends. For somebody who is used to how it used to be, it's a bit disconcerting. Suppose we'll have it figured out by the end of the three cruises. But can't say it's an improvement.

Went to hear Ric Steel again this afternoon since he won't be playing tonight until 10:00 p.m. Met Marilyn, J, and Peggy there.

Carolyn and I are having the first of our complimentary meals in a specialty restaurant tonight—we're going to the SS United States.

Carolyn had lobster prepared table side and I had filet of sole Véronique. Nice meal. Not sure it would be worth the extra $45/pp. It came complimentary with our suite.

Back to the room to find out the odor still persists on our veranda. Down to Guest Relations, but David was not in. Told the whole sorry saga to his assistant, Antoinette.

Lost another hour. Sure hope someone is enjoying all our lost hours!

Sunday, May 5, 2013

No 7:30 a.m. wakeup call! Slept until 8:30. Bliss. Had to rush up to Blu to get there before 9:00.

Sat by the pool and read since we can't use our veranda. Also had to buy a t-shirt since we passed the sale table. Actually it was all Beth's and Carolyn's fault. I couldn't be the only one without a Celebrity t-shirt.

Another Cruise Critic lunch was scheduled for noon in the main dining room.

Came back to find a message from the guest relations manager that the engineers have decided to cease and desist from the activity which is causing the odor. Really? They couldn't have ceased when we first complained? Amazing. So we got to use the loungers on our veranda. One has a broken wheel. Maybe we can get that fixed by the time the cruise is over?

Carolyn has gone off to the thalasotherapy pool. I'm too lazy to change and walk there. Will just sit on the veranda instead. Am really into sloth mode. Our next two cruises are so port intensive, we will hardly have time to breathe. So this is the change to just veg out.

By the way, Domnik says his baby is due at the end of October and that he'll be home for the birth (for those of you who know Domnik). He's pretty excited to be having his first child.

Dinner in the MDR tonight. None of us ate much. We're all kind of tired of the food. Doesn't seem to keep us from having treats after dinner, though.

Then off to hear our favorite guitarist, Ric Steel again.

3 days in one while internet is up!

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Those of you who don't cruise, will probably find much of this boring, but those who do cruise will appreciate the detail. Take what you like and leave the rest.

Sail away day has finally arrived! We left the hotel on the 11:00 shuttle, arrived at the port around 11:10, and were on board by 11:30. Longest wait was to wait for the shuttle driver to unload all the luggage from the shuttle van! We lucked out and got Terminal 18, which is way more efficient than Terminal 25. Also, Celebrity had sent e-mails out to lots of people telling them not to arrive before 12:30. Since I didn't get the e-mail, we went earlier. Those who arrived at 12:30 reported lines.

We checked right in and had just sat down in the suite lounge area when they announced they were boarding suites. At check in, we had both been given a long stemmed red rose and told that all sorts of wonderful things would happen on board because of these roses. Not. Officer at the top of the gangway did not direct us to the special lounge for the holders of said roses. I asked and was told, yes, that's where we should go. Had I not known about this “perk” for penthouse and royal suite guests, we would have missed out.

Had a great bartender in Michael's, José from Brazil, who kept us well supplied with champagne and orange juice until the cabins were ready. He is a waiter in one of the specialty restaurants, so we will probably see him again when we have dinner there.

We then proceeded to our first royal suite (due to a very reasonably priced upgrade). The suite is quite spacious—large living and dining area, good size bedroom, good bath with a Jacuzzi and a separate shower. Walk-in closet with not much hanging space (but there's another closet in the living room). TONS of cupboards and shelves throughout the cabin, but only 3 drawers in the closet. Strange. I'm just keeping my things I would normally put in drawers in their packing cubes on shelves. We also have a large veranda with another Jacuzzi, 2 loungers, and a table and 4 chairs. If the weather improves, we may spend some time out there.

No sign of the butler or cabin attendant. First time I've ever arrived on a Celebrity ship without being greeted by the cabin attendant within a few minutes of arrival.

Butler finally arrived shortly before muster drill. We have the head butler. Can't say I'm terribly impressed. He seems nice enough, but I get the impression that he feels our requests are an imposition. Luggage arrived just before muster drill, not good for suite “priority.”

Following muster drill, we went to the Sunset Bar for our sailaway party. By now, it's pouring rain, so that wasn't the greatest place to be because it's only partly covered, but we had arranged for a sailaway wave with the Ft. Lauderdale webcam folks and that was where we had told them we would be. In our pink boas and fedoras. By the time we actually sailed, the rain had pretty much stopped. So, not sure how the video turned out, but no doubt the friends and family who were watching will let us know. And we can see it when we get someplace with decent internet service. At sea with satellite service is not the place. Have been unable to connect yet.

Had a nice first night dinner with our friends Marilyn & J and then came back, unpacked, and crashed.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Woke up about 8:00 (we lost the first of the 6 hours we will lose on the crossing last night), took a quick shower, and headed up to breakfast in Blu. Met Mary who was on her own, so asked if she wanted to share a table. We were seated next to Tom and Phyllis from Greenville, SC. He's old Navy, so we shared memories of previous crossing on MSTS ships, a quite different experience.

And who should appear but Domnik, our wonderful waiter from the Alaska Girlfriends' Cruise! We had asked the maitre d' in the main dining room whether he was on the ship last night, but he said no. Different group, apparently. Anyway, was happy to see him. We had a lot of good laughs with him on that previous cruise. Mary says that you're not allowed to laugh in the dining room on Cunard cruises, so I guess that's not the cruise line for me! We like to have fun on our cruises. Plus you have to dress for dinner every night.

The Cruise Critic Connections party was at 11:00 a.m. No nametags. A few officers showed, but they weren't introduced. None of them were senior officers. Very different from other parties I've been to where all the senior officers show up, get introduced, and interact with the guests. This was the first cruise I hadn't brought along my own nametag—big mistake. Those really help.

Had lunch with Marilyn, J, Peggy, and Carolyn. Relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Tonight was the first formal night. Had a good dinner in spite of our waiter's getting the orders mixed up. Went to the show iBroadway—very high energy and good cast. Too loud as usual, but I guess that will never change.

Need to head to bed because tomorrow is a busy day. Fortunately, we do not lose an hour tonight.

Friday, May 3, 2013

Started off with a phone call at 7:30 a.m. informing us that our coffee was on the way. Except that we hadn't ordered any coffee. That was an effective alarm clock. Went to Blu and had breakfast with our favorite waiter, Domnik, Carolyn, and Jennifer & Don Furlong. They're going hiking in Spain after this cruise. They're from Seattle. I like having breakfast in Blu. You get a table for 2 right next to another table for 2 and it's a great way to meet other cruisers.

We had the cabin crawl at 10:00 a.m. For you non cruisers, that's when people volunteer to show their cabins so others can get an idea of what the different categories of cabins look like. They ended up in our cabin since that was the highest category on offer. Everybody thinks we should have a hot tub party on our veranda. Problem is, on a good day, our hot tub will only hold two people! Then we all went to lunch together in the main dining room.

This afternoon was the slot pull. We all put in $15 and got 5 pulls on a slot machine. We actually broke even, so we got our money back. Of course the group thinks we should do it again!

Now back in the cabin getting ready for dinner and trying to access the internet. To date, it has been nonfunctional on this cruise. While it's up (?), will try to post to the blog with one entry. Will see if that works.

Glad to be in Ft. Lauderdale today!  It's supposed to snow in Minnesota.  Happy May Day, Minnesota!!!

Had uneventful trip down yesterday.  Carolyn and I arrived about the same time, so took the shuttle to the hotel together.  My sister Beth had called while I was at the gate in Minneapolis and said she would drive over and join us for dinner.  So we got together with our friends Marilyn and J and went out for a delightful dinner.

Carolyn ran into a colleague from work at breakfast this morning--she and her husband are also sailing on the Infinity with us.  Small world.  Yesterday on the plane from Minneapolis were two people who are also sailing with us.

Now just need to go down to the lobby and catch the shuttle to the port and the great adventure will begin!  This is my first time on this particular ship and my first time in a royal suite, so it should be interesting.  The pricing was just too good to pass up and we'll have time to enjoy the butler and all the room with all those lovely sea days.

If you're into webcams, check out the Ft. Lauderdale webcam around 4:30 p.m. and watch us sail away.  We'll be the crazy group in the pink boas--hard to miss.  We're on the Celebrity Infinity.

Getting ready to leave...

'Twas the night before travel
and all through the house
were scattered lots of things
that once seemed essential
but now won't fit in the suitcases!
Some inappropriate language has
been heard from time to time.
Whatever!
I'm outta here in the morning
with whatever landed in the suitcases!

Have I said before that I hate packing?  Just want to be clear about that.  I HATE packing!  Need to figure out the beam me up Scotty trick for stuff to take on a trip.

Sad to learn this morning that our friends Karen and JR won't be able to join us--was so looking forward to seeing them again.  Must be disappointing for them to have to cancel as well.

trip prep

All the snow from our latest snowstorms is melting.  I think we're going straight from winter to summer.  Now that I'm back from North Carolina, I have to get serious about packing for Europe.  Have decided to add more warm weather clothes to the mix--we are leaving from Florida, after all.  I love to travel, but I really hate packing.

March 27, 2013

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, the snow is melting, went for a walk with just a fleece on instead of a down jacket.  Maybe we will get spring after all!

Got an order from Chico's today.  Liked one of the tops especially well, so went online to see if they might have more.  BIG MISTAKE.  No, they didn't have any more, but they seemed to have acquired quite a few more things that just leaped into my shopping basket.  When I get into cruise prep mode, I seem to get carried away.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Actually saw my first robin this morning while out on my walk.  She looked totally confused by the giant piles of snow.  Have been hearing birds for some time.  I'll bet they're freezing!

Five more weeks to prep for our marathon European adventure.  Trying to decide on a balance of clothes for warm weather and less warm weather.