A quick couple decks walk down the stairs had us back at Chops where it was nice to no longer need to show our card. That kind of welcome really goes a long way with me. One of the other little pleasures that Dad even commented on near the end of our cruise was when you get such personalized attentive service in the suite breakfast venue that they remember your preferences. By the 2nd or 3rd morning on Princess, we'd be led to a table and a few moments later one of the waiters whisks away our undesired coffee cups and brings us the little glasses of orange juice we love in the mornings. I call it my morning shot glass only it's orange juice instead of a bloody mary or mimosa. Here, they still asked every time until around the 2nd to last day of the cruise when one of the lovely female waitresses brought our pastry tray and said "You want some orange juice again this morning?"
Today we had one of those waitresses by the name of Purvi. She was so on top of everything, poor Dmytro came rushing over at one point because he thought no one had waited on us yet. It was an interesting difference to find that this menu offered a pancake special of the day and today's was chocolate chip. If you ever sail Carnival and partake of their Sea Day Brunch, don't get their chocolate pancakes unless you want a pancake sundae. They pile up a stack of pancakes and drown them in chocolate syrup. On the other hand, I love the occasional pancake that is chocolate because the chocolate chips are in the batter. And thankfully, this was the case this morning. We'd both ordered sausage as well and Dad was concerned when it showed up looking so pale colored as if it wasn't cooked. I suggested it could be something like chicken sausage which is lighter but he didn't think I should even try it. Later on in the cruise when I did a drive by in the breakfast buffet, I noticed a separate tray labeled chicken sausage and he finally believed me. This morning they most likely ran out of pork sausage and substituted but any changes could have posed a food allergy/dietary restriction risk. A simple "Are chicken sausages okay?" would have avoided any issue.
It was a nice touch during these first mornings to see Carlington stop by Chops and chat with each table checking in to see if there were any concerns or things we needed to be done. I've only seen NCL bother to do that. I think this was specific to Carlington though because when we had Francis as our concierge, we only saw him if we went up to the lounge.
Once we were done eating, we took our newly diminished team of 2 over to now the South Pacific Lounge where our earlier trivia had been moved to. While we were waiting, we met a new friend named Bob who'd just learned of these trivia games and wanted to come check it out. He and later his wife became part of our new Made Up Team. Also a nice random moment while we were hanging out this morning was running into Katrina when she came to the South Pacific Lounge to repeat an evening show change announcement that had just been made over the intercom system. It turns out that the regular announcements don't come into the South Pacific Lounge so Katrina made a special trip each time to repeat it for all of us. She recognized us and another couple from previous cruises and soon John popped in so we had a mini reunion. If you ever want to have a long conversation with John, mention sports. Most cruise directors will take note of what sports team is from each city so they can make small talk with passengers but this guy could tell you what players were on what team and who got traded where and who had what stats etc. He admitted to being a Jets fan but joked that their only claim to fame is new uniforms this year. I watch my hometown games but I don't know even an 1/8th of what he remembers. I also think he needs a shirt that says "Ask Me About Voom" which is what RCL calls their onboard internet.
After a sideways jaunt to the Schooner Bar for the 10AM morning trivia, we headed straight upstairs to the Viking Crown Lounge for the suite guests cocktail party. In the past, they had the senior staff (including John and Katrina) introduce themselves and then mingle with the guests while drinks and finger foods were passed out to each table. It was really nice because the staff took the time to sit and chat with each group. We took the opportunity to share our unique experiences of traveling as a non couple and how tough it was to find higher level cabins that had separate beds. They would rotate to each table and we had meaningful conversations with everyone. This time, the foods were laid out on a buffet table and we helped ourselves before taking a seat.
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| Chocolate covered cherries were a bigger hit than chocolate covered strawberries |
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| Sushi and caviar |
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| Followed by chicken fingers and beef skewers |
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| Doesn't everyone dream of tiny caprese salads and tomato soup in a cup? |
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| Can you guess which was my choices? |
Bar waiters then came around to take drink orders but at least the drinks were still free. Dad got to try his favorite once in a blue moon Brandy Alexander but didn't like the one he was brought. Carlington hung out by the elevators (as they literally dumped you in front of the buffet table) and greeted me with a big hug as I'm hopefully assuming he did to all the ladies? He was certainly the most charismatic concierge we've ever had but also probably the only one we've gotten to interact with as much. The only senior staff to stop by our table was Zoe, the Hotel Director, and she simply commented on the weather before moving on. John made more of an effort to visit each table and we became a pseudo foursome when he joined a woman sitting alone next to us. He brought us into the conversation when she mentioned the Steelers and we chatted about the Ravens/Steelers rivalry. Once he left, she apologized for bringing it up but we laughed it off.
Dad and I tried to visit the Solarium for a chance to get veg out and relax but the place was packed! Instead we split up so Dad could go to the theater and see Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald. I headed to the Windjammer buffet to grab some lunch but it seemed like anyone who wasn't in the Solarium was in the buffet and/or the pool deck tables. I couldn't find a place to sit and eat my lunch for life!
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| As seen today on the pool deck: Why waste a towel, book, or flip flop when you can just save a lounger with your soda cup and water bottle? Or is it the new RCL game of spin the bottle to win the chair? |
Finally ended up heading back to the cabin and dining at the table on our balcony.
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| The buffet had a bin labeled "homemade burgers" and one next to it just labeled "hamburgers." Pictured above is a homemade burger. Didn't live up to its namesake. |
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| One of the things I love about RCL, they have single serving bags of chips that hit the spot when you need a mid afternoon pick me up. |
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| Our treat delivery for today in the cabin |
Up next...dinner and some body checking in the name of trivia
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