Caribbean Princess in St. Maarten, August 22

Hello from St. Maarten!

I thought yesterday was perfect. I was wrong. It was today that was perfect. But also a bit sad.

We hadn't been to St. Maarten since last year's hurricane. After today I can say the damage is pretty significant. 

We took a taxi over to Orient Beach and went to the Bikini Bar. Bikini Bar used to be a super busy place. Now it's the only place open on the beach. And pretty darn empty.

Here's a picture from a couple years back. It's hard to see, but in the picture are all kinds of bars and restaurants and huts and lounge chairs along Orient Beach.

Now here's a picture I took today from almost the same spot. The place is decimated. There is not one lounge chair, not one bar, not one restaurant left intact and operating from Bikini Bar on down.

But it's like the beach has been given a fresh start. The crowds are minimal, the sand (and sargassum) are in their natural states. Bikini Bar has brand new buildings and umbrellas and lounges. Comfy lounges. And food and drinks. The menu for the Bikini Bar can be found here.

And vendors bugging you on the beach. They even have a sign to warn you. Just say no and they move on.

It was such a perfect day. A bit of a breeze, nice warm ocean water, and plenty of space to spread out. The beach was not busy at all. Just the way we like it. It's a shame that more people aren't heading to the beach though. They need our tourist dollars. 

Not our drinks but it made for a good picture.

We'll be back to St. Maarten in a couple weeks and plan on spending more of our tourist dollars to help support the island. 

Now ship info...

Today's Patter can be found here.

Buffet info: For those buffet folks who are interested in the seating in the new World Fresh Marketplace, you'll find different types of chairs. The center seating looks a bit different from the window seating.

There are even some couches.

 There are also some tall chairs facing the windows.

 Planks, a bit farther back in the buffet has different seating.

 And Steamers seating is another different venue with another type of seating.

Medallion™ Update:
I've combined my updates to make the progression of the roll-out more clear. 
August 18-25 updates can be found here.
August 25-Sept 1 updates can found here. 
Sept 1-8 updates can be found here.

Encouraging Word Money Pocket: Today's was dropped off in the restroom at the Bikini Bar at Orient Beach. 

I do think I took my own advice.

Caribbean Princess in St. Thomas, August 21

We're often asked why we remain on the same ship week after week. Some people assume it's boring to go to the same ports, having the same foods to eat, and seeing the same shows and are sure they could never make it work for them.

Actually we don't mind it a bit. Stepping on a Princess cruise ship is like home to us. We feel comfortable here. And when we visit the same ports again and again, those begin to feel like home, too. But I think one of the biggest plusses for us in repeating the same itinerary is the flexibility.

When we hit a port just once we feel like we have to cram in as much into a day as humanly possible. We want to see it all. Which leads to exhaustion. Makes the vacation feel like work.

Take St. Thomas, for example. Today there are four cruise ships on the island, including the behemoth Harmony of the Seas with almost 7,000 passengers. Add that to the other three ships in and we've got around 17,000 cruise ship passengers filling the beaches and shops and restaurants.

We're docked in front of a Carnival ship.

While Coki beach would have been our go-to for today, the idea of people on top of people doesn't sound like a relaxing vacation. But we'll be here again in two weeks on a two ship 7,000 passenger day. Much more manageable. And much more stress-reducing. Isn't that what a vacation should be?

So today we called an audible and changed up our plans. We would just wander the port in search of food, and more importantly, drink. While hubby was finishing up in International Cafe I did a quick Internet search for "food and drinks Havensight" and The Smoking Rooster popped up. We decided to wander the port, look around, and stop at the The Smoking Rooster.

I didn't expect The Smoking Rooster to be that close. Down the sidewalk just outside the gate and BAM you're there. Heck, just forget looking around and plop down!

Here's the view from our table. Yep, that's the ship back there. (And a random couple, not us.)

I took a photo from our balcony when we  got back. Yep, close.

We had quite the day. A shared sampler platter of lots of tasty food.

Topped with a variety of sauces.

Accompanied by sangria and Mai Tais and Cock a Doodle Do drinks.

And a drop off of an encouraging words money pocket. 

While we didn't travel far from the ship, it was a perfect vacation day. Even as I'm typing this it's perfect. A nice evening on the balcony with music coming from somewhere onshore. I think it might even be from The Smoking Rooster. Go figure.

Sometimes I feel like I need to pinch myself to check if this life is really my life. How did I get here? Why am I one of the lucky ones who get to live a life like this one? Who gets to sit in a bar in St. Thomas drinking and eating good BBQ on a Tuesday? Sure, health wise the two of us have been through a lot in the last few years. (Thank goodness for the blog during those times - it's the only thing that got me up every morning. Remember where I started on that Day 1 post? I sure do.) But how did we get through it and others didn't? I often wonder about that.

One thing I don't wonder about is how lucky we really are. I know for sure we are blessed to have this life. These experiences. And I know each time we take a trip it may be our last. After some trips - and sometimes midway through some trips - I'm certain we are done. But by golly, we recover and regroup and find ourselves able to plug away one more day.

Medallion™ Update:
I've combined my updates to make the progression of the roll-out more clear. 
August 18-25 updates can be found here.
August 25-Sept 1 updates can found here. 
Sept 1-8 updates can be found here.

Patter: Today's Patter can be found right here. The nice thing about the Patter on this ship is that it is delivered early. Since there are no mailboxes they are printing super-early so the stewards can deliver them into the cabins during their evening service rounds.

We're off to St. Maarten tomorrow.

Life is good, isn't it?

As usual, if you have any questions or comments, please click on the envelope icon at the top right of this screen.

How to Sew Fabric Bowl Covers - Tutorial Tuesday

It's Tutorial Tuesday! Today we are going to whip up some fabric bowl covers. Keep your food covered with these reversible and washable covers!

For this project you will need:

• Fabric
• Elastic
• Pins or Clover Wonder Clips
• Iron
• Sewing machine
• Matching thread
• Rotary cutter
• Cutting ruler
• Cutting mat
• Scissors

Disclosure: Deb's Days is a participant in affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to affiliated sites. This means that, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. Your purchase helps support my work in bringing you new sewing and crafting content.

Written pattern available with step by step instructions and color photos!

Looking for something else? Check out some of my other kitchen sewing and crafting projects!

You can find the step by step how to tutorial for the homemade fabric bowl covers right here:

Caribbean Princess Sea Day, Aug 20

Today was a relaxing sea day, especially for me. Loading up with Tylenol PM tackled the hives but also tackled my energy level. I've been spending the day going between the balcony and the bed. No better place to recoup, for sure!

Hubby is pretty much out and about most of the time. He's got a spring in his step and plenty of coffee in his belly. He comes back ever so often and reports things to me. He has been pretty frustrated with the lack of service in the buffet and the lines at Coffee and Cones. But then again, hubby is, as he calls it, "passionate" about things. (I call it something different, but whatever.) He did feel sorry for the guy having to work both the coffee part and the ice cream part with about 15 people in line. Clearly they were understaffed.

I did make it out of the cabin for some lunch. There were good choices today at the buffet. Just look at all the different pre-made sandwich selections.

 Hubby said the Moroccan lamb leg stuffed with fruits, nuts, and quinoa was quite tasty.

I went with a warm Cuban Sandwich that was pretty darn good.

A few things about the buffet:

• You might as well grab your own drink before you sit down. Because if you are waiting for a server to take your order you're going to go thirsty. I timed it today and it was 20 minutes before I was approached about anything to drink. 
• The station set up is nice in that you aren't being forced to enter one side of the buffet and exit out the other. But it also creates some problems having to do with cleanliness. There is no longer anyone standing there requiring you to use hand sanitizer. There are sinks and hand sanitizers a little ways away, but many folks just stroll on by and walk into the buffet. Ick. I've gotten into the habit these last couple years of cleaning my hands before and after going through the buffet. I certainly don't need anyone else's tong germs! Without having anyone monitoring the entrance I saw two more things today that I found a bit, uh, gross... a guy was eating watermelon inside the buffet. He was even leaning over and letting it drip onto the floor as he was biting into it. Another ick. And two women in their swimsuits with no coverups. So I guess we're now ok with dirty hands, eating next to the food, and swimsuits in the buffet. It's time for me to work on my tunnel vision again. Or for someone to monitor the situation inside the buffet area.
• During breakfast and lunch, go to the back of the ship and eat in Planks or Steamers. In the evening there is a charge but not during the day. At breakfast Steamers has an omelette station and Planks has more buffet. At lunch today Steamers had ramen noodles and Planks Tex-Mex buffet. Plenty of empty seating back there as people assume they can't sit there. 

Medallion™ Update:
I've combined my updates to make the progression of the roll-out more clear. 
August 18-25 updates can be found here.
August 25-Sept 1 updates can found here. 
Sept 1-8 updates can be found here.

Encouraging Words Money Pockets:
Today it will be dropped off somewhere in the Piazza before the Champagne Waterfall. So if you're on the ship and you come across it you'll know who it came from!

Until tomorrow...in St. Thomas.

In the meantime here are a few seconds of evening bliss:

As usual, if you have any questions or comments, please click on the envelope icon at the top right of this screen.

Caribbean Princess in Princess Cays

Today should have been our walk to the end of Princess Cays so I could snorkel past the pavilion.

But hubby is a bit worried about walking so far and getting too tired and falling again. And I worry about going by myself because I don't have a snorkel buddy. He doesn't swim, he doesn't snorkel, but at least he is on shore and can alert anyone if I'm gone way, way too long. 

So we stayed on the ship today. And hung by the pool. Nice and quiet.

I got my swim on. But then I got something else.

Hives started on the inside of my arm. Went up my sides and down my legs. And they are itchy.

I haven't eaten anything I don't usually eat and haven't worn anything I don't usually wear. I figure it is from one of two things: the pool or the bathroom towels.

We have some new super-soft bathroom towels in the cabin. So new that the fuzz comes off on your body after showering. It could be there were still some latent chemicals in them that didn't yet wash out. Since I need some Benadryl, I guess I'll be using the Tylenol PM, too. (The PM kind has Benadryl in it.)

Not much else was accomplished today. I got myself dressed long enough to get to lunch and dinner but otherwise tending to my hives. I did run into a fellow blogger and her husband at lunch today and got to visit a bit. Her name is Vickie and you can find her blog full of posts about Princess cruises HERE. Hers is one of my go-tos when I want accurate information. (Side note on the buffet at dinner tonight - there was nothing at the carving station. Zip. Nada. Never seen that before.) 

Medallion™ Update:
I've combined my updates to make the progression of the roll-out more clear. 
August 18-25 updates can be found here.
August 25-Sept 1 updates can found here. 
Sept 1-8 updates can be found here.

Encouraging notes money pockets:

For the last several years I’ve been giving away dollar bills with notes of encouragement. (I did a tutorial on them last month. You can find that here, if you're interested.) I’ve left them in restrooms and airplane magazines and sugar containers. I’ve left them in windowsills and tip jars and hotel room drawers. I’ve left them on buses and taxis and trains. Sometimes I place one somewhere once a day and other days I drop them off multiple times.

Today's money pocket was dropped off in a sugar container in the buffet.

I was planning on posting menus, but they are no longer posted in the buffet area. I wasn't up to traipsing down to the dining room to snap photos today. Sorry about that.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something about today but my mind is more on scratching right now. If I think of something else I'll add it to the post later.

Tomorrow is a sea day and formal night.

As usual, if you have any questions or comments, please click on the envelope icon at the top right of this screen.

Medallion Class™ and Ocean Medallion™ Updates on the Caribbean Princess

If you're looking for Medallion Class™ and Ocean Medallion™ Updates on the Caribbean Princess for the week of August 18-August 25, here ya go!

August 24

It's super busy back in the photo gallery area (being the last day) and in the area around Club Fusion with Zumba wrapping up and the Scavenger Hunt getting ready to begin, but I did get a bit of a look at some Medallion construction on that part of the ship.

The sitting space between the photo gallery and Club Fusion right now looks like this:

But the sign nearby shows it will soon look like this. It looks like maybe it'll be part of the Casino thing you can play online or play on the screens? Not sure yet.

And the photo gallery wall opposite the outside windows will look like this:

But right now looks like this:

We have two more weeks on the ship so hopefully I'll be able to get a look behind those construction panels before I leave!

August 23

Nothing new on that front. I do know that when we no longer get the unlimited free Medallion.net™ (whenever that stops that for Elite and Platinum) we would definitely pay for it. $9.99 a day is a bargain for non-stop fast streaming Internet, especially with me needing to upload photos and videos.

August 22

They've added Aloha deck this cruise. Baja is scheduled for next week. But really, it's still just a cabin key. I asked when disembarking (and embarking) at ports if I could have them scan it instead and it was a no. While those of us with Medallions can use them to pay at the shops and pay for drinks, we still need our cards to get on and off the ship. A bit disappointing.

August 21

My Medallion works to open the door! Yay! Now I see what hubby was so excited about. I also noticed if I put my Medallion up to the blue sensors on the screens near the elevators the sensor turns from blue to green.

But that's it. The screen doesn't change a bit. I'm totally okay with that. I don't need my name broadcast to all those grumpy people pushing in the elevators.

The Internet really is awesome. We each have our own account so we can both be streaming at the same time. I use two devices and when I log into one it bumps me out of the other. (It asks me first if I want to log off of the other.) It's easy to go back and forth between the two devices.

August 20

First, thank you to the person who got me the ™ I could copy. Otherwise, no new updates. Still a glorified cabin key. I talked to the steward about whether he could tell if we were in or out of the cabin based on where our Medallion was. He said they will be getting tablets at some point in the future and he'd be able to know that. As of now, the steward has nothing to do with the Medallion. Other than helping folks trying to get into their cabins.

Ocean View, the new on demand TV system is pretty nice. For someone who doesn't watch TV or go to the movies back home, it's nice for me to have so many choices to watch. And the Movies Under the Stars movie pops up the next day on the in-cabin system. While I didn't take photos of each of the movies and TV shows available, I did snap photos of each of the screens. Just in case you're interested.

August 19

My hubby has decided he loves the Medallion because he can keep it in his pocket and it'll unlock the door for him. Still not for me. He checked out how to use it in the casino. At the cage there is a pad you can place the Medallion on a pad instead of swiping your card. At the slot machines you can either place your cruise card or Medallion up again the blue sensor instead of inserting it into the card reader. He said the cruise card was ready quickly but it took it a while to recognize the Medallion.

My take on the Medallion at this point? It's a glorified room key. 

Unfortunately our mailboxes outside the door are gone because of the Medallion screens. Cabin stewards are having to put the papers in the door handle or slide them under the door. I knew about this ahead of time so the day before we left home I whipped up a super quick little magnetic mailbox holder for our cabin door. I had started with pretty fabrics but then realized if it looked too good someone might take it. (Door decorations are known to disappear.) I went with something without visual appeal. It works and that's all that's important. The cabin steward seemed pleased to be able to just drop papers in it instead of having to balance them in door handle.

The Medallion Internet: 

MedallionNet is amazingly fast. I did a speed test and came up with some great numbers, especially for a cruise ship.

Best thing to come along on a ship since I don't know when.

August 18

We received our Medallions at check in.

 

 We also received some paperwork specific to the Medallion.

 And had a 2:00 meeting with John Padgett who is heading up the project. We watched a video and one of the staff stayed afterwards for some questions which was helpful.  

Some things to know:

*This week Lido and Riviera decks are Medallion Class cabins. Next week (or even later this week) they will be adding Aloha and then Baja. The plan is for this ship to be the first one for full deployment.

*I've heard the term Ocean Medallion plenty, but they haven't used that word on this cruise so far. They are just using the term Medallion Class.

*There are 7,000-8,000 sensors around the ship.

*Medallions are completely optional. If you want to only use your cruise card it's completely fine.

*Your card can also be used in places the Medallion is used. For example, the shops have a machine you tap to pay. You can tap your Medallion or your card. Same for the casino. There are no longer spots to insert your cruise card in the slots.

We haven't ordered any drinks so I don't know if the bartender can call us by name before we ever order. We might check that out another day. Actually, the Medallions haven't done much for us yet. Here's a video of how it works (and doesn't work) when trying to get into our cabin.

Other things to know:

*MedallionNet is awesome. Fast and free for Platinum and Elite passengers (at least for now). 

*If you're not Platinum or Elite there is a Voyage package you can purchase. You have to buy it for the entire cruise and it evens out to $9.99 a day. If you need to purchase just a single day it is $19.99. Everyone who pre-purchased plans this week had to go to the Internet Cafe to get it added to their account. 

*Free wifi on Princess Cays for everyone. We will be there tomorrow so I'll check it ou