Great start! Love the updates I’m doing the low carb thing now so keep those pictures coming too!
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Great start! Love the updates I’m doing the low carb thing now so keep those pictures coming too!
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We relaxed like crazy on the first 2 sea days. Did a few ships activities but not much. I went to the casino the first night and really didn’t like it. Too crowded and not big enough. Only want back once for a cigarette on Monday. It’s saving me money!
We have a decent table in the dining room with very nice servers. We’re pretty antisocial so it’s a table for two ha ha.
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Yes, I know there are carbs in wine. I don’t care. I signed up for the seven bottle wine package which is suiting me quite well since FRAnk doesn’t drink. The first night I behaved. The second night a drink the whole bottle and then an after dinner drink. Next morning I did have a hangover. I didn’t like it.
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Yummy shrimp with a dipping sauce. It came with nice crusty bread which I removed.
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I had a nice Caesar salad and then prime rib without the baked potato or the corn on the cob. Our dude was kind enough to sub steamed vegetables. It was good
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We have been starting our day off at the buffet. My go to is an omelette. This one was bacon Swiss and tomato I think and quite delicious. Then I throw some other stuff on the plate and pick it all of it. Breakfast is the best meal of the day when you are trying to avoid carbs.
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I don’t do sushi but they had a lovely set up one day at the buffet.
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I just had stuff that day. Like all the fajita fixings without the tortilla and it was good.
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View of the atrium
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This was a surprisingly tasty fish stew I had for dinner the other night. It was basically a water based broth but my dude added olive oil and cracked pepper and it was very good. Shrimp scallops grouper and little bitty clams. And again, I did not eat the beautiful crusty bread that would have been perfect to sop everything up with
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Another lunch of stuff from the buffet. My favorite part of this was roasted pumpkin and it had no sweeteners but it was still very comforting. I miss my carbs
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Last night was the captain’s gala. Yada yada yada
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Smoked Duck breast. So so good!
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Is that French onion soup you ask? Yes it is. (I got most of the crouton out of there) but I could not resist and it was absolutely decadently delicious.
I had tenderloin medallions for my entrée and I forgot to take a picture but they were very good with summer vegetables.
Today is Aruba. We took a tour.
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Where the Natural Bridge used to be.
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Now they have a baby Bridge.
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If you want comfort of any kind, Do Not Take This Tour Bus.
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Luckily we ended the tour at Arashi Beach where we swam and snorkeled. I may have had a beer ( but it was a baby beer). It is a lovely spot.
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Oh, I almost forgot to mention just another of my transportation glitches. When we boarded our tour bus to leave the port today, we were advised there was a mini strike due to friction between the independent tour operators and either the government or the big operators. I’m pretty sure it was due to bribes & protection money not getting where it needed to go. So, in typical nhcris fashion, my tour was delayed!!
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Looks like a fantastic trip! Love all of the pics.
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Great recaps. Sounds like an excellent trip so far. I admire your no carb resolve. It looks like your still having plenty of delicious food.
Looking like a good trip so far. Enjoy and thanks for the pics.
Great pictures! Aruba is on my bucket list!
Love your updates Nhcris! Looks like everything is fabulous, except for that bus.
Thanks for the updates, looks like so much fun, I wish I was there!!
So if a casino gives you the cruise and you don't play in the casino, don't you get in trouble or double secret probation or something?
Keep having a great trip!
I am loving your report! I will especially be interested in hearing about St. Thomas. I have been there many times, and am anxious to hear about it after the hurricanes. Have a great time. Thanks for sharing your trip with us.
I expect I’ll be suspended but hopefully not expelled. Truthfully, I’m not sure how it will affect me. If Palazzo Continues to use carnival, I don’t want another cruise from them anyway.
Bottom line is, most of these ccruiseswould be cheaper to pay for than what I’m spending gambling and gambling is losing its luster.
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Bonaire
Best snorkeling ever. @CTslotters. I have never seen so many varied fish and all we did was pick a spot and go in from shore. I saw my first moray eel up close & personal! He was breath taking! Can’t wait to return & snorkel off shore!
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Great way to explore the island.
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Docked next to the Dutch Navy.
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Never drove a golf cart before. Took her right out in traffic like a pro HHH
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So jealous!
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Thank you for a lovely day Bonaire!
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Aww, Chris, looks like such a great time, especially away from the cold weather. Even in GA today, nasty, rainy and cold! I am wearing socks!! Thanks for the pics and keep having fun!
Love, Love, Love to snorkel! Enjoying your posts and glad your having a good time. Thanks for sharing.
Last night was cheat night. Dinner was at Sabatini’s, the Italian specialty restaurant.
We were started off with an antipasto of prosciutto with pecorino & olives which I scarfed down pre-photo. It was a nice start.
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Had a lovely Toscana which was just right for the meal.
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Burrata with tomatoes & really good balsamic
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Short rib penne was oh my freaking lord delicious. So worth every carb.
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Chicken stuffed with eggplant & sun dried tomatoes and topped with a beautiful light Marsala. It was excellent and actual marsala, @tab.
Then came dessert and I went all. The. Way.
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Inside that chocolate box is decadent tiramisu, and yes , you see espresso gelato and chocolate straws & swirls. It was marvelous.
After dinner we watched Wonder Woman at Movies under the Stars. It wasn’t awful & I love being out there on deck curled in a blanket enjoying a movie.
So ends our day of shame.
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If only we could all be so shameful everyday! I am enjoying all of your trip posts, can't wait until I book my next cruise!
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That day sounds fabulous!! ❤️
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Love that dinner!!
Looks like y'all are having a great time ...Enjoy ! ...thanks for sharing
I’m so glad to see you having such a great time! Well deserved. Your photos are making me miss that ship. We really did have a fantastic cruise with Princess. I’m booked for a 7 day in February and can’t wait. My husband threw a fit when I booked out last one which was 10 days. He thought he would be miserable and hate it, but he absolutely loved the cruise. So now we plan on going at least once every year and with V/P handing out 2-3 15 day free cruises a year....I say why the hell not???? Thanks so much for sharing and getting my anticipation up for our next cruise.
Yikes, I’m falling behind. Will try to get a quick post off before we leave the island today.
Yesterday was Martinique & I loved it! The history is amazing and the mixture of French and Caribbean flavor makes it unique in our experience. We took a tour with Thomas and he was ooh la la.
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I forget the name of this church but it’s an exact replica of a famous one in France but 1/5 the size.
Can’t seem to upload pictures. Will try again later.
Still having a blast but carbs have been sneaking in to our diet HHH
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Just catching up and all I can say is WOW! The pics of all of the ports and meals have been stunning. I love to see that smile, so I know you are having a ball.
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I LOVE THIS REPORT!!!! You are making me so anxious for our cruise later this month! The Italian dinner looked amazing, as did the smoked duck breast. I always order duck on cruises and am usually disappointed because it tends to be some overcooked mess, but that looked delicious and not overdone in sauce, yay! Thanks for all the water/snorkel updates too, I'm excited to feel the sun and warm water again!
Thanks to everyone that followed along. The internet was acting up so I couldn't continue the report on the ship, and yesterday I was running around doing errands and crap. But I'll try to wrap it up now.
I will continue with Martinique, which was my favorite island. The church in the previous photo was called Sacre Couer and is a replica of the one in Paris. It was lovely. Attachment 5960
OK, back to Tapatalk since the main site wants to post my picture sideways. We continued our tour in Martinique with a beautiful botanical garden another rum distillery, and the ruins of mount Pelee.
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The peak of the volcano was obscured all day by the clouds but it was still pretty impressive. When this volcano erupted , instead of the typical lava spewing from the top, it completely exploded killing 28,000 people in two minutes. Even people in the harbor on ships died from the gases. The only survivor was a drunk that have been thrown in jail the night before. Saint Pierre, the capital, was completely destroyed. It really is an amazing story.
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A church stood here prior to the Eruption.
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This is what remains of a beautiful theater.
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DePaz rum is damn good.
Then we went to a black sand beach where I swam
And had a yummy local beer.
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By then it was time to return to the ship where I had to say Au revoir to the charming Thomas.
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The next day we stopped in Saint Thomas. FRAnk went out and took a tour of the hurricane damage but I remained onboard. I’m really not sure where the day went but it was nice and relaxing. This time I have made good friends with a crazy group of smokers, and we spent hours just laughing and Sharon stupid stories. Considering the average age of the princess passenger, I was lucky to find this band of misfits that ranged everywhere from a 26-year-old drag queen With his somewhat older pilot husband,to a pair of thirtysomething stoner newlyweds to A handful of Random folks from all over the country. We laughed and laughed and laughed.
Here are a few views from the ship and apparently I took some food porn.
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As you get close so you could see many many blue tarps were roofs are still gone and FRAnk said there were powerlines down everywhere with people still needing power food and water. It was sad.
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This beautiful hotel suffered severe damage.
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Delicious chicken of some
Sort.
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The next day was a sea day, And other than making one final donation to the casino, I have no idea what I did. I just knew I liked it.
Our last day was spent at Princess Cay, their private island. The day started out pretty ominous, with dark clouds and showers but we got our asses on a tender by 8 AM and settled into a clamshell shortly there after. It was a good thing because the rain came down and I took a lovely nap :-)
Eventually the rain stopped, the Winds calmed a bit and it turned out to be a beautiful day. I alternated between lounging in the sun, lounging in the shade, and floating in my Aqua chair.
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FRAnk had a lovely sail.
Although not the best of the private islands I’ve been to, it was quite lovely and I would not hesitate to return.
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Nice beach bar
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After this beautiful last day in paradise, it was back to the ship to pack up and get ready to return to reality. We went to the dining room for one last dinner, and I went for the turkey which was a pretty good carb failure but I couldn’t resist
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ADELIN, our server, took excellent care of us, Putting up with my ridiculous requests and incessant questions with a lovely smile on his face. I wish I could’ve put him in my suitcase.
After dinner, I still had one full bottle of wine I had to knock off so up to the smoking deco I went For a final night of Raucous laughter and inappropriate conversation. We popped down to karaoke for a final listen to the tone deaf and vocally challenged regulars and after final nightcap and hugs all around, it was off to bed.
Next morning we were up at 6:30, at the airport by nine and on our on time flight at 11:50. After a short stop at Baltimore, we made it to Manchester around five and picked up the pups and got home about 630. Absolutely no travel delays woo hoo!
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