No Go Day

Wednesday, Feb. 11, we woke up so excited to finally get to stop at our first island. Antigua's reputation is that they have 365 beaches - one for every day of the year! We had noticed during the night that the ship was really rocking and rolling more than it had been but it never crossed our minds that there was a possibility the rough seas would affect docking at any ports. We dressed and as we were packing our bag with our snorkel equipment the Captain came on the public address system and announced that due to unexpected and unpredicted rough seas we would not be able to get into Antigua and would be continuing on. There were gale force winds of up to 55mph in port so it was far too dangerous not only for passengers and crew but the Emerald Princess as well. It was so upsetting but we knew Princess had no control over Mother Nature. The cruise director came on and said they were getting a new Patter printed up with a revised schedule with more daytime activities now that we would have a 3rd sea day.

About an hour later it was delivered to our room and we once again circled things we were interested in doing - but not with the same enthusiasm we had had the first two days!

While deciding we went out on our balcony and did get to see several beautiful rainbows.

Notice how choppy the sea is!

The weather remained very windy and cool all day with only peeps of the sun. The pools were emptied of water as it was just sloshing out and onto the deck making them wet and slippery. We played Bingo which is $10. each for 3 cards. It was a lot of fun and very crowded! We had read another art auction had been added for that day so we attended that again with our newest friends. It was just as enjoyable as the first time and we started wishing we had known ahead of time to save up to purchase art. It's very tempting to raise your hand when you really love a painting and know how good the price is. All of them come matted and framed beautifully and in many cases the frame alone was worth the price.

After the auction we wandered back down to the International Cafe and I had some delicious chunky chicken salad with cashews. David meanwhile wandered over to the Vines Cafe where he ordered freshly made sushi:

There is a charge of $1. per piece but he said it was very good and didn't mind paying for it. Most of these small charges here and there aren't as bad if you know ahead of time. I think if we hadn't read online that certain things had additional charges we would really have been mad.

Alcohol was definitely overcharged - $5. per beer! Even knowing ahead of time that did make David crazy!

As the day wore on we passed islands in the distance:

Towards the end of the day the sun came out and it made it even harder as we wanted to stop at one of those islands!

That night we didn't feel like changing for dinner so we wandered down to the Caribe Cafe buffet where I had grilled shrimp kebobs, rice, salad, and of course a plate of yummy desserts.

Twice during the cruise they had smoke free nights in the casino and since this was one of them we wandered down there. It was a really good size and we played slots for a little while. They have it set up where you can just put your cruise card in the machine so no cash is necessary.

(Of course that makes it easier to lose track of just how much money you spend!)

We went to bed with high hopes that we wouldn't miss any more islands!

Sea Day #2

The night before we had had to move our clocks forward one hour due to the time zone and we ended up lazing around the following morning. We decided against a big breakfast and just took our time getting ready for the day. After a stroll we decided to have an early lunch in one of the dining rooms.. At lunchtime, just as with anytime dining in the evening, you can tell the hostess if you want a table for two or will sit with others. We ended up at a table for 8 and after every one introduced each other we began chatting. At about the same time both Becki and I realized we had both been on the Cruise Critic message board for our "Roll Call" and we began to laugh at what a coincidence it was on a ship full of 3,000 people we would be seated together! Lunch was very similar to the way things worked for dinner and we had lots of yummy choices from the menu. I had a vegetarian stuffed pepper which was excellent. I can't remember what David had - it's hard enough to try to remember my choices!

After almost every meal David and I walked around as we always left the table so stuffed and we did that once again. This time we walked around on Deck 7 which has the Promenade outside.Though the seas were still pretty choppy the sun was out and the water was a beautiful shade of turquoise.

David had grabbed his cell phone as we had had some signal that morning and Brian called from work as we were walking. This is the typical picture of David while on vacation!

There didn't seem to be a whole lot of rhyme or reason as to when our Verizon cell phone worked and when it didn't. We never could pick up our messages the entire trip. Our primary dependable way of staying in touch was the internet. On the first day we boarded they had been running a special at the Internet Cafe and we got the package for $55. which if I remember correctly was for 75 minutes. They had lots of computers and we never had any trouble finding one open when we wanted to sit down in there. While connections were slower than at home, and we did hear a few people complaining that minutes were wasted during the log on time, we were just glad to have service in the middle of the ocean! The only thing that bothered me was that we couldn't both be on at the same time and we each had to wait while the other one checked their mail. Yes I'm a computer addict as anyone who knows me is aware!

I had been staying in touch thru the cabin phones with Alicia and knew that they were all going to the ship's art auction that afternoon. Since we really hadn't hooked up much up until then we decided to meet everyone there. David and Helaine, (another couple I had met on line who are retired in Florida), Alicia and Chuck, and Cheryl and Kelley, were all sitting in the Explorer's Lounge waiting for the auction to start. During the evening the Explorer's is a night club but it's also used for the auctions. Lots of art work was lined up all around the club and in the middle of the dance floor was the dealer, Mitch, who was getting ready with his microphone. There were many people helping him and what they would do is put up several easels to display each artist's works as they came up for sale. Now we had at first thought this was something we would never want to do being of the very wrong opinion that it was just cheesy art. Instead there were all kinds of artists and Mitch gave lots of great history about each one presented and what the paintings and prints would go for if you went to buy one in an art gallery. Over the course of the cruise we really learned alot. We found ourselves watching the cabin TV where one of the channels highlighted different artists each day with their histories and interviews which were really interesting. It is a very easy going atmosphere without the crazy fast bidding or anything like we imagined. We were there for several hours and had a very good time!

Afterwards we decided to get a snack from the International Cafe which I had read alot about.
In the morning they have tempting freshly baked pastries, lunch time salads and pannini's, and afternoon assorted snacks, and in the evening it's a tapas bar. We loved the all edible displays.

Now these weren't displays but dipped apples with anything you could think of on them! These were an extra cost, as was the hand dipped Gelato. But at $3. for three scoops of Gelato we didn't think that was much. It can be annoying to know some things cost extra when you expect once you pay your fare you ought to have everything included, just like land based resorts, but it's not as bad when you know ahead of time and are prepared. You either decide it's okay or just don't get the extras!

We didn't go to the dining room until about 8 and decided we felt like some good conversation so told the hostess we would sit where ever we could get in fastest. She led us to a table for 10. We had great conversations as everyone was talkative and interesting. Couples were from Seattle, NJ, Canada, and Jersey Island which is near the French Coast. I had a Caesar Salad, a cold fruited soup, and an always offered Fettuccine Alfredo. The Alfredo is served in a crisp Parmesan shell and was by far my favorite dinner - which I indulged in several nights! I can't remember dessert but I do know that everything I ate was delicious every night. Twice I had a souffle that was served warm and the waiter would come and poke a hole in the top and fill it with delicious sauces - I think one night was an orange Grand Mariner. Mmmmm! I don't think either of us ever had any complaints about food. Being in the catering business we like to think we know food so it wasn't that we are just easy to please! Our conversation was so good before we knew it it was after 10 and we were pretty much closing the dining room down. I can't see ever going back to traditional as the options with anytime are perfect for us - eat alone, eat with others, and no commitment to make it to the table at a certain time or guilt if we decide we'd rather go to the buffet.

We went to bed looking forward to the next morning when we would get to visit the beautiful island of Antigua. We had pre arranged a tour with David & Helaine and Alicia & Chuck and were looking forward to being with them again as well.