The Avid Cruiser - Fall 2007 - (Page 40)

Two Years With A Princess Celebrating the holidays and bringing in the new year on a ship. By Geoff Edwards daughter’s anniversary, a grandson’s birthday, my brother’s birthday, and, oh yes, Chanukah and Christmas. And then looms the dreadfulness of putting together some sort of New Year’s celebration. Suddenly we snapped, and, slightly worse for the wear, Menorah on the mantel, Christmas Tree still standing, we fled to Princess Cruises’ Island Princess for a round trip New Year’s cruise to Hawaii. It was a 15-day cruise, but even so, last-minute packing was not a huge chore. The pre-cruise brochure from Princess assured us there were only two dress codes; smart casual and formal. So, Hawaiian shirts in one bag, tux in another — and off we went. Check in at San Pedro cruise terminal was quick thanks to Princess’ electronic processing. Just moments after we got settled in our cabin, a knock at the door introduced Rosalie, our stewardess, with a glass of champagne in hand for each of us (I’m still trying to figure out how she knocked.) We had a comfortable and roomy mini-suite equipped 0 Avid Cruiser FALL 2007 H oliday time for our family is a mélange of events; my wife Michael’s birthday, my visiting with two televisions; one facing the sleeping area, and the other facing the couch and desk. While we waited for our bags, I watched the news, and Michael watched an old movie. This worked great, as most of what Michael likes has subtitles and doesn’t tussle with my TV’s sound. There were a lot of holiday escapees on Island Princess, so it wasn’t a big surprise that two of our three bags didn’t show up until after dinner. We always make it a point to be sure our “boarding” clothes will be acceptable for dinner on sailing night. Out To Sea The first night, the seas were a bit rough. The ship seemed to handle the swells well, and my bed was slightly concave so, nestled as I was, I escaped a lot of the roll. One sign as to how the other passengers got through the bouncy bounce was the room service phone line in the morning. It was constantly busy; the recorded voice asking if you want to “camp on.” Deciphered into “ ‘merican” talk, it means “hold.” A hint: If room service is busy, dial 9000, you’ll get right through. Photo courtesy of Michael Edwards

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Avid Cruiser - Fall 2007

The Avid Cruiser - Fall 2007 Contents The Poop Deck Cruising, Back to Back At The Piazza SeaDream Yacht Club Regent’s Seven Seas Voyager The ‘New’ Crystal Symphony Bay of FUNdy Long Weekend Getaway Silversea Cruises: Silver Whisper Cruising Southeast Asia ‘Awesome’ Alaska Sacred Moments In South Georgia Two Years With A Princess Of Days Gone By

The Avid Cruiser - Fall 2007

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.