I’m putting all three days’ worth of at-sea info into just this one post so apologies for the random smattering of thoughts…
These three sea days have gone by fast. As the ship is heading east we are flying through the time zones. Three times we’ve moved the clock forward in the last three days. Whew. If you’re keeping track we’ve now moved the clock forward eight times in the past month for a total of seven (7!) hours lost. For those thinking of this itinerary, consider doing it in reverse so you gain seven hours instead.
As predicted, since the Internet was switched to the southern satellite, service has been sloooowww. I have a slew of emails I can’t even get to load and most websites, including the blog, won’t show anything but a blank screen. I’ve tried logging in several times a day, but there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason as to when things finally do go through. I’ve read five emails, sent three, and listened to two voicemails. Internet minutes used to do those few things? Almost 100. I contemplated going the Internet manager to get minutes reinstated but at this point it really doesn’t matter.
Of course, one of the emails that did load was from the Jury Commission reminding me jury service starts Monday. Yes, I know. I’ll be leaving Singapore late Saturday afternoon, arriving for a late night connection in Taipei, cross more multiple time zones until we get to our overnight stay in Seattle and arrive home in time to make it to jury duty. Thanks for the reality check.
The other night the cabin right next to us had a flood. They moved the passengers out so the crew could spend the night sucking up all the water. It was quite a loud night with the machines running, crew yelling over each other while they were doing it, and the blowers trying to dry things out. By the next morning they gave up on the sucking machine and pulled up all the carpet in the cabin. They need to do the same for the hallway as the flood also made its way to the hallway and the carpet is squishy and splashy. They still have the blowers running on it. Right outside our cabin. While the noise is bothersome, it’s nothing compared to the noise we had in our original cabin on the ship so there will be no complaints from me.
One thing I may have mentioned during this cruise but is worth mentioning again is the Sterling Steakhouse’s availability. It’s closed a lot. Since it shares space with the back part of the buffet, it’s closed during the busy buffet times. Embarkation day, port days, and Crab Shack days are those days on this ship.
Today was our very last day at sea. Sad. I knew I loved sea days, but now I realize I really love sea days when the weather is warm. I got to swim every day, work on my tan every day, and swim some more. My left knee isn’t happy about all the swimming and neither is my right shoulder. But the rest of my joints have been just fine with it. I’ve also certainly enjoyed all the Movies Under the Stars options during my pool time. With this being a super-long cruise we are getting plenty of choices we don’t usually see on other cruises like Pride and Prejudice, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, World’s Fastest Indian, Big, and so many, many more. All of the movies go to the on-demand system on the TV the next day and as of today we have 62 extra movies that have been added.
Last week (or was it the week before?) I mentioned there were no chair hogs on this cruise. Well, I found them this week. They’ve been in the covered pool area. We had one stormy sea day when I couldn’t get to the outdoor pool (it’s monsoon season here) and found it was difficult to get a good seat at the indoor pool at 9:45 in the morning because of the chair hogs. I even found someone had placed their cane over two lounge chairs to hold them. Hmm…guess someone doesn’t need a cane that bad.
We received our passports back today with several new stamps. This trip has been the most passport-filling trip of our cruising history. Cruise to Canada, Mexico, the islands of the Caribbean, or around Europe (at least at the ports we’ve visited before) and you don’t get one stamp. The only time you even show your passport is during cruise check in or at the airport from your international flight. But at the ports on this itinerary? Immigration is serious business here.
Most Traveled Guest for this cruise has 1,503 days with Princess.
Like I said, random thoughts here!
Tomorrow we are in Port Kelang, Malaysia. It’s the port where we’ll take a Princess excursion to Kuala Lumpur, our last stop of the cruise before Singapore. Sad.
These three sea days have gone by fast. As the ship is heading east we are flying through the time zones. Three times we’ve moved the clock forward in the last three days. Whew. If you’re keeping track we’ve now moved the clock forward eight times in the past month for a total of seven (7!) hours lost. For those thinking of this itinerary, consider doing it in reverse so you gain seven hours instead.
As predicted, since the Internet was switched to the southern satellite, service has been sloooowww. I have a slew of emails I can’t even get to load and most websites, including the blog, won’t show anything but a blank screen. I’ve tried logging in several times a day, but there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason as to when things finally do go through. I’ve read five emails, sent three, and listened to two voicemails. Internet minutes used to do those few things? Almost 100. I contemplated going the Internet manager to get minutes reinstated but at this point it really doesn’t matter.
Of course, one of the emails that did load was from the Jury Commission reminding me jury service starts Monday. Yes, I know. I’ll be leaving Singapore late Saturday afternoon, arriving for a late night connection in Taipei, cross more multiple time zones until we get to our overnight stay in Seattle and arrive home in time to make it to jury duty. Thanks for the reality check.
The other night the cabin right next to us had a flood. They moved the passengers out so the crew could spend the night sucking up all the water. It was quite a loud night with the machines running, crew yelling over each other while they were doing it, and the blowers trying to dry things out. By the next morning they gave up on the sucking machine and pulled up all the carpet in the cabin. They need to do the same for the hallway as the flood also made its way to the hallway and the carpet is squishy and splashy. They still have the blowers running on it. Right outside our cabin. While the noise is bothersome, it’s nothing compared to the noise we had in our original cabin on the ship so there will be no complaints from me.
One thing I may have mentioned during this cruise but is worth mentioning again is the Sterling Steakhouse’s availability. It’s closed a lot. Since it shares space with the back part of the buffet, it’s closed during the busy buffet times. Embarkation day, port days, and Crab Shack days are those days on this ship.
Today was our very last day at sea. Sad. I knew I loved sea days, but now I realize I really love sea days when the weather is warm. I got to swim every day, work on my tan every day, and swim some more. My left knee isn’t happy about all the swimming and neither is my right shoulder. But the rest of my joints have been just fine with it. I’ve also certainly enjoyed all the Movies Under the Stars options during my pool time. With this being a super-long cruise we are getting plenty of choices we don’t usually see on other cruises like Pride and Prejudice, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, World’s Fastest Indian, Big, and so many, many more. All of the movies go to the on-demand system on the TV the next day and as of today we have 62 extra movies that have been added.
Last week (or was it the week before?) I mentioned there were no chair hogs on this cruise. Well, I found them this week. They’ve been in the covered pool area. We had one stormy sea day when I couldn’t get to the outdoor pool (it’s monsoon season here) and found it was difficult to get a good seat at the indoor pool at 9:45 in the morning because of the chair hogs. I even found someone had placed their cane over two lounge chairs to hold them. Hmm…guess someone doesn’t need a cane that bad.
We received our passports back today with several new stamps. This trip has been the most passport-filling trip of our cruising history. Cruise to Canada, Mexico, the islands of the Caribbean, or around Europe (at least at the ports we’ve visited before) and you don’t get one stamp. The only time you even show your passport is during cruise check in or at the airport from your international flight. But at the ports on this itinerary? Immigration is serious business here.
 |
| Some stamps are on top of stamps on top of stamps. |
Like I said, random thoughts here!
Tomorrow we are in Port Kelang, Malaysia. It’s the port where we’ll take a Princess excursion to Kuala Lumpur, our last stop of the cruise before Singapore. Sad.