Another Day At Sea
As we are now
properly chilled out from our first day at sea, there is more chance to unwind
and explore our ocean-going ‘home’ for the next eight days with a second
successive sea day, en route to the Netherlands Antilles.
Coral Princess is certainly not a small ship, but
she is not gigantic by modern terms. At 90,000 tons and carrying around 2,000
passengers, she takes a fair bit of navigating but, once you get your bearings,
everything is fairly straightforward.
The central
Atrium is the core around which much of ship life radiates, with the four decks
from 5-8 housing most of the entertainment and dining choice. At the top are
the Card Room, Library and rather snazzy Internet Café, while the lower level
offers the Shore Excursions deck, Patisserie Bar, Hotel Front Desk and Bordeaux
dining room (for the Princess Anytime Dining option, which means you turn up
when you’re ready, not at one of the two ‘fixed’ seatings in more traditional
fashion, which is the case at the Provence Dining Room on Deck 6).
The full
array of decks 6 and 7 house the three main entertainment options of the
Princess Theatre, Universe Lounge (a surprisingly large, two-tiered second
show-lounge) and the Explorers Lounge; the alternative dining of the Bayou
Café, Sabatini’s and the International Café; and the other bar-lounges of the ultra-traditional
Wheelhouse Bar, Crooners piano bar, the Churchill Lounge (for cigar smokers)
and the Casino, as well as the neat array of shops (four of them) and the
Wedding Chapel.
Deck 7 is
also the Promenade Deck, with the chance to walk a full circuit of the ship and
enjoy ocean views from a proper steamer chair, which is something of a
Princess/P&O signature touch.
The rest of
decks 8-12 are given over to accommodations, with a high percentage of
staterooms boasting a balcony, which is pure bliss here in the Caribbean.
Finally, the top three decks are home to most of the ‘outdoor’ facilities, from
the sports deck and putting green to the main pool, covered area of the Lotus
Pool, the Lotus Spa, Fitness Center, adults-only retreat of The Sanctuary and
the buffet-style of the newly-refitted Horizon Court, Pizzeria and The Bar
& Grill.
Princess
pioneered the outdoor-film phenomenon several years ago with the introduction
of Caribbean Princess, complete with a huge LED video screen above the pool
deck that provided a genuine new entertainment offering that they call Movies
Under The Stars, and this is something we enjoy immensely as another great
source of cruise-going relaxation.
We have yet
to sample the Lotus Spa or the Sanctuary but, with two more sea days to enjoy
before the end of the cruise, there is a very good chance we will do that!
Our
stateroom, B423, is one of the many balcony versions, a spacious and
comfortable retreat on Deck 11 midships with that wonderful amenity of your own
private outdoor space in which to sit and watch the Caribbean go by; to soak up
some sun, read a book and enjoy breakfast on from time to time. Go back little
more than 15 years, and balcony cabins were a rarity; now they are almost de
rigueur.
If those are
the broad outlines of this cruise, the detail is pretty good, too. Service from
the mixture of East European and Filippino staff is smooth and well-grooved,
with a smattering of Brits in the hotel department (notably Cruise Director
Stuart and Hotel Manager Martin), an Italian Captain and engineering dept, and
American entertainers. It is a tried and trusted mix, and everything works
extremely well (so far), with
Given that
broad outline, our second sea day was, if anything, even more indulgently laid
back than the first. A late rising gave way to a light breakfast (coffee and
pastry) at the International Café, followed by some home-made arts and crafts
at the make-your-own-Panama-poster station just along on Deck 6.
After a quick
break to get today’s blog under way, we returned to the International Café for
a light early lunch (some tasty chicken paninis and Greek salad) as we wanted
to take in the 1pm showing the movie Argo at the Princess Theater, which proved
pretty popular. It is, as the Oscars would attest, a gripping film, but we
still think Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln is better.
Afternoon tea
in the Bordeaux dining room followed at 3.30, with a couple of turns around the
Promenade Deck afterwards to walk off some of the tea-time largesse! That was
then complemented by another few hours on the balcony in the grip of The Path
Between The Seas, which is quickly turning into a major book-reading event.
Startled by
our clock revealing it was now past 6.30, we made a quick assault on the
bathroom to freshen up for dinner, where a table for six was procured with
great alacrity and we enjoyed another memorable and convivial meal, with
tonight’s highlights being the excellent Corvina fish dish and the Crawfish
Crockpot. With dessert and coffee things were now progressing well past 9pm and
we had to decide whether to retire for a final few hours’ reading or visit one
of the entertainment lounges.
‘The Book’
won (again), on the basis that the comedian and magician will be on again later
in the cruise – and I’m keen to read as much as possible before the Canal…!
Tomorrow – Land Ahoy! Aruba.
For more info and bookings – in the
UK, call Princess Cruises on 0843
373 0333 or visit the expert cruise agents of
The Cruise Line Limited on this
link; in the US, call 1866
335 6379, or visit www.princess.com.
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