Tricia’s Travelogue

There’s no time change today, so we’re still four hours ahead of Houston Time.  We slept until 7:00, late for us!   I didn’t get to the gym today, but Mr. Dutiful did.  Morning Trivia was fun, though we didn’t do especially well.  Our team didn’t know which country has the most pyramids, nor Queen Victoria’s first name at birth (among other questions). We did know the word for a sailor who hasn’t yet crossed the equator! I’ve been meaning to post about the amazing floral arrangements that are everywhere on the ship. The video gives you a quick glimpse of the amazing peacock arrangement that greeted us as we boarded the ship, and the next photo shows the arrangement that replaced it.   This one was at the entrance to the Princess Grill where we have our meals. All of the two-tops have sprigs of white orchids, and the round tables for six have centerpieces with multiple blooms. I wish they offered a tour of their conservatory or flower workshop! I also learned yes...

The sun is rising very early now, so we’ve begun closing our curtains at bedtime so we can sleep a bit later.  We went to the gym, which was much less busy than on the first day.  To continue our apparent routine, we met Al and Carol for Morning Trivia and enjoyed that, though we didn’t win. We really need a Brit and an Aussie on our team, as the questions always include some only they’d know. Charlie showed me the small casino on Deck 2, where the waves look much fiercer than on Deck 10. Then we went to check out the photos taken on the first night aboard and on Gala Night. There are a couple of good ones, so I’m sure we’ll buy some after the next Gala Night. Lunch was pretty good, starting with cheese grits-stuffed jalapenos.  I thought that was a clever pairing! Delicious! We each had a fairly pedestrian salad, but we needed some greenery.  Charlie had roast lamb with potatoes and Thai mint sauce, which he said was flavorful but not very tender.  I opted for ...

We had a leisurely morning before Charlie dutifully headed to the gym.  I opted to skip exercise to finish the blog post for yesterday. (You’re welcome.). At 10:00 we returned to the Carinthia Lounge for Morning Trivia, again joining Al and Carol.  They told us they were both retired middle school teachers, bless them.  And their granddaughter is also in a biomedical engineering masters program, at Georgia Tech!  We didn’t do as well today, and we wished we could have phoned Rob for the name of the tenth Doctor.   Just before noon (and another time change), the captain announced we’ve traveled 550 nautical miles with about 2200 to go. He also noted that we’ll pass the resting place of the Titanic at 10:30 p.m. tonight, while assuring us that we’re staying well south of any icebergs.  For lunch in the Princess Grill, I started with a vegetable antipasti that included some really good mozzarella, with mushrooms, olives, and peppers. Charlie had sweet potato-c...

As of noon today, we are two hours ahead of Central time. The ship is really moving at 23 knots. The outside temperature is 51, but with the wind, it feels a lot colder. Here’s a pic (of random strangers) showing the wind’s impact.  This morning, after wrestling with the coffee machine in our stateroom and being disappointed with the results, Charlie went to the buffet and brought back some coffee. It was hot, if much weaker than we prefer. We then went to the gym to exercise before getting ready for the day.  We went to Morning Trivia, where a nice couple invited us to team up. Carol and Al are living in Florida, but formerly lived in Houston. We made a good team, with each of us contributing answers, though we didn’t win. Still, 14 out of 20 wasn’t bad. They want us to meet again tomorrow. They are Cunard veterans and were on an 111-day cruise when the pandemic hit. Only one passenger contracted Covid, though it was before anyone knew what it was. In Perth, many people got o...

We enjoyed our complimentary champagne on our balcony as the ship left Brooklyn. (The balcony chairs are very comfortable!). Here are some pics as we headed out. Passing beneath the Verrazano Bridge was fun to see from our balcony. (Or maybe we’re just easily amused.) We donned the requested “smart attire” and headed to the Grills Lounge, which was almost empty at 6:00. I was surprised by how my gin and tonic was presented, but it was excellent! I was impressed that the maître d’ in the Princess Grill recognized us when we arrived for dinner. We enjoyed our menu selections. In the first photo, I was apparently so excited to try my cheddar and spring onion croquette that I had a bite before remembering to take a pic. We both chose the same salad and entree.  Beet salad  Wild halibut with potatoes and broccolini Mille feuille with berries and ice cream Chocolate cake (Charlie) After dinner we went to the theatre to listen to Katie Clarke, a young English pianist who was fabulous...

I’ve edited the video I took yesterday so will try to post it in two parts. 

We flew to Newark yesterday, which went smoothly after an hour+ delay waiting for a flight attendant arriving on another delayed plane. Oddly, the meal in first class (served at 11:30) was breakfast. Oh, well. We claimed our luggage, then took a taxi to an Embassy Suites nearby.  We had a nice suite on the top floor with a great view of the departures. After checking the menu downstairs (and claiming our free drinks), we opted to walk to the Ruby Tuesday just across the street for dinner. We had a leisurely morning, with breakfast in the hotel, then a car picked us up at 11:00 to drive to the Brooklyn Terminal.  Check-in was swift, and we were seated with the others in Princess class.  I chatted with a couple from England who had just spent 8 days in NYC.  Lots of different British accents surrounded us!  We began boarding about 12:30. Heading to the escalator  Loading the bags Just a glimpse of the iconic bellboy uniform  We reported to our muster sta...