Welcome Dinner

If you are new to cruising or Princess Cruises, this post will give you an idea of a typical evening in the main dining room.

Where's Dinner?

click images to enlarge

Among the decisions you make when booking a Princess cruise, is your choice for dining  - traditional or any-time.   There are other choices such as specialty dining and buffet, but we'll just focus on main dining in this post.

With traditional dining, you pick your table size and dining time, and the cruise line matches you with other passengers with similar requests.   We reserved early traditional dining (5:30 pm) for this cruise.  We actually prefer that to late seating (8:30 pm). Our assigned table was #65 in International Dining Room which is located on deck 6 aft.  Note that it is necessary to get there via deck 7 Promenade.

There are several dining rooms on Sapphire Princess. Your stateroom card contains information about your dining room, table number and dining time.  On the first night of the cruise, you present your stateroom card to the header waiter or Maître D' who then informs the waiting servers who escort you to your table.   Had we selected any-time dining, we would have been at one of the dining rooms and each night would be escorted to a different table and wait staff.  We enjoy having the wait staff and table mates get to know us, so traditional dining is our preferred choice.

We were escorted to our table, which was located in the rear of the dining room.  It was a nice location, and warmer than other parts of the dining room. The table was set for 8 people.  Another couple from Australia were already seated. We placed our dinner orders and shortly after that were joined by two other couples.They were continuing their voyage, having begun in Bali on December 30th.  They preferred to arrive at 6 pm and asked if we didn't mind doing that as well for the remainder of the cruise. The wait staff has several tables and that was OK with them.  We all agreed.  It was quite an enjoyable dinner as we got to know one another and exchanged travel stories.

Dinner is Served

For those that aren't familiar with Princess dining options in the main dining rooms, you are
presented with a menu that has Princess Favorites (available every night) and the evening's menu options (which change daily).   You select one or more starters and your main course.  Later, the waiter will bring the dessert menu.   Our choices:

Starters:
Crispy Hand-Rolled Vegetable Spring Rolls - hoisin-peanut dip, lemongrass, cilantro

Main:
Basa with Pineapple-Papaya Salsa - pan-seared filet, pea pods, bamboo shoots, daikon sprouts, potato cake.

Stir-Fried Beef with Scalliions - oyster and dark soy sauce.

Dessert:
Creme Brulet & Make your own sundae

Note that you typically pick one or two starters.  You have several options from either the favorites or daily menu, as well as appetizer size portions of one of main entrees (such as a  pasta dish).

We were finished with dinner about 7:15 pm which gave us time to get to the Princess Theater for the evening's show which started at 7:45 PM.  We found out that on production show nights, it was necessary to get to the theater early or it would be completely filled.

Click on the image to the left for more Blog posts about this trip.

Related Album:

Welcome Dinner

Additional photos can be found on our Southeast Asia Shutterfly page

View Our Other Shutterfly Share Pages

Follow Us On

Sign-up for Exclusive Email Offers

Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat 

Crown Princess Welcome Dinner

Welcome Aboard Dinner

click on images to enlarge

Our early seating dinner was scheduled for 5:45 PM in the Botticelli Dining Room on deck 6 aft. Due to the safety drill, we were running behind schedule.  A waiter escorted us to our assigned table (#39) for two, at the rear of the dining room.  There were a few more tables of two near us, as well as one larger table which was occupied by an extended family group. It was in a nice location, near a window, so we were content.

As usual, the assistant waiter helped seat us, gave us our menus, put the napkins on our laps and took our drink order.  We like ice tea with our meal and regular water.   This would be the last time we'd have to tell them since from then on, they remembered and had it waiting for us shortly after we were seated every night.  This is one of the things we love about traditional dining.

Tonight's Choices

Dining on a Princess cruise ship is equivalent to fine dining at home.  The daily menu consists of Starters, Soups & Salads, Signature Patas, Mains, Featured Beverages, and always available Princess Favorites.  Typically you select an item from Starters or Princess Favorites, a soup and /or salad and a Main entree.   It is possible to select one of the pasta as one of your starter choices as well.   Desserts are presented in a separate menu at the conclusion of the meal.  You can purchase alcoholic beverages and wines from your wait staff if desired.  There also was a nice selection of rolls and bread sticks on the table to complement your meal.

Our Selections included:  Crispy Hand-Rolled Vegetable Spring Rolls (peanut dip), Frozen Rum-Infused Pina Colada Soup (chilled), and Roasted Pork with Apricot Glaze (for me) Slow-Roasted Corn-Fed Prime Rib (husband).  See the menu for complete details and alternate choices.

We picked two different desserts as well:  Milky Chocolate-Hazelnut Souffle and French Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee.

More Pictures:  Welcome Dinner

Additional photos can be found on our South America Shutterfly page

View Our Other Shutterfly Share Pages

Note:  we will be adding to these albums as we continue our journey.

Click on the image to the right for more Blog posts about this trip.




Don’t want to miss a minute of "#foodtravelchat? 

Tweet “remind me” to @FoodTravelChat and we’ll remind you every week.

Thanks to our #foodtravelchat moderators @ant_kneee @ourtastytravels @s_poet82 @ChrisPappinMCC @always5star @BackpackBritts @The_Jenius @myvirtualvaca

 And thanks as always to #Foodtravelchat hosts @FoodTravelist @shreddel @dlaskaris @PoshPorts @FoodTravelChat

Follow us on Twitter: @ChrisPappinMCC  
Pinterest: CruiseWithChris Pappin 
and Facebook: CruiseWithChris Pappin Cruises Inc

Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat Follow us on Twitter: @ChrisPappinMCC  

If you like food and travel be sure to join us for a lively chat each Wednesday evening on #foodtravelchat

Crown Princess Embarkation

Boarding - Valparaiso, Chile

click images to enlarge

We've been cruising for over thirty years and on more than 50 cruises and we have never seen an embarkation like this before and probably never will again.

As our transfer bus pulled into the pier, we could see Crown Princess further in the distance, no where near where we were being dropped off.  There were porters there to collect any bags that passengers wished to check in.  Since we didn't have anything to check in, we proceeded into the terminal.  It was now 2 PM (we landed shortly after 10 AM in Santiago).  As usual, they checked our boarding passes and passports, gave us the health forms, and we were selected to turn in a control paper which showed the time we entered the building.

There was a long line that stretched the length of the terminal.  At the end of that line there were tables where you could fill out your health form.  The line fed into a maze like you'd find at an amusement park.  We thought we'd never see the front of the line, but after 50 minutes, we had finally gotten to an agent.   We turned in our boarding passes, presented our passports, along with the stamped piece of paper from immigration, completed health forms, and of course the credit card to be used for onboard spending.  Note:  they will keep your passports and give you a receipt.   It is a good idea to always travel with a photo copy of your passports.

So far, this doesn't sound too unique (other than the long wait and most cruises you keep your passport) but the next part is definitely unique.

Boarded a Bus

After completing embarkation paperwork and with cabin key in hand, we were directed to a bus for a short ride to the waiting ship.  We drove through the pier area where we passed by stack after stack of shipping containers and longshoremen working the yard.  We finally arrived at our ship.  I almost forgot ... the cruise line wouldn't miss an opportunity to get you to spend money, so prior to boarding the bus, they took embarkation photos.  Boarding the ship it was time for another photo (for security purposes) taken when we presented our cabin key at the gangway.  Phew, we were finally on the ship.

Hello Cabin

An advantage of getting on board so late in the day, there is no delay in getting to your cabin.  We dropped off our handbags, took a couple pictures of the cabin and headed off for a bite to eat.   We opted for a quick slice of pizza.  Our dinner would be at 5:45 PM as we had early dining for this cruise.



Related Albums:

Crown Princess Embarkation
Transfer to Valparaiso

Note:  we will be adding to these albums as we continue our journey.

Click on the image to the right for more Blog posts about this trip.

Additional photos can be found on our South America Shutterfly page

View Our Other Shutterfly Share Pages

Follow us on Twitter: @ChrisPappinMCC  

Pinterest: CruiseWithChris Pappin 
and Facebook: CruiseWithChris Pappin Cruises Inc

Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat 

Breisach Welcome Dinner

Click images to enlarge

Avalon Artistry II

Welcome Dinner

Our official welcome dinner was held on Tuesday evening following our first full day of excursions that took place in the Black Forest and Colmar, France.

Five Course Meal

Typically dinners consisted of four courses: starter, appetizer, main entree, and dessert.  On this special occasion, the chef had prepared a special treat as an extra course.

Unlike ocean cruising, despite it being a special dinner, it wasn't necessary to get dressed up, unless you cared to of course.  Dress code: comfortable smart casual (no shorts).


Evening Program

Our Cruise Director, Mark, held the daily Port Talk at 6:45 PM.  He told us about the next day's excursions.  Following the talk, the gala dinner was served in the dining room.  

We were treated to a spectacular sunset which we could enjoy from the comfort of our dinner table.  Live music by our musician followed dinner at 9 PM.

If you were still hungry, there was a late night snack, in the lounge, at 10:30 PM.

 
^{Additional photos can be found on our Rhine & Moselle Shutterfly page:}

Click on the image to the left for more Blog posts about this trip.

Follow us on Twitter: @ChrisPappinMCC  Pinterest: CruiseWithChris Pappin and Facebook: CruiseWithChris Pappin Cruises Inc

Artistry II Embarkation Evening

click on images to enlarge

Schedule at a Glance

Besides the printed schedule that was on our bed in the cabin, the computer monitor in the lobby had the day's events posted. You could also pull up the schedule, as well as other information, on the TV in your cabin.

It is very easy to find out about the schedule.

Safety Exercise

All passengers assembled on the sky deck at 6:15 PM where they were provided with a life jacket. Unlike large ocean cruise ships, the life jackets are stored in compartments on the open top deck. Instructions were given on how to put on the vests and after everyone was accounted for, we returned them and headed to the lounge for the actual safety briefing.

Welcome Aboard

Our Cruise Director (CD), Mark, introduced the First Captain who welcomed us onboard and introduced the rest of the crew.  This was followed by a champagne toast (the crew had ginger ale).

Mark then took over and provided the safety briefing.   In the event of an emergency, we would assemble on the sky deck where we'd be given life preservers like we were in the exercise.


Port Talk

Prior to dinner every evening, our CD held a briefing about the next day's activities.  On this first evening, he gave an overview of the first few days by showing us a presentation.   Most days started with an included excursion in the morning, followed by lunch, and one or more optional excursions in the afternoon.  There were some days where we'd have an afternoon sailing to our next destination.  Some days included overnight stays, where we could explore on our own in the evening if desired.

Following the talk, there were sign-up sheets for those passengers that had pre-booked included and optional excursions or for those that might have changed their minds after hearing more about the ports.  Then it was time to head for the dining room for our Embarkation Dinner.

^{Additional photos can be found on our Rhine & Moselle Shutterfly page}

Basel - Embarkation
Artistry2 - Embarkation Evening

Click on the image to the left for more Blog posts about this trip.

Follow us on Twitter: @ChrisPappinMCC  Pinterest: CruiseWithChris Pappin and Facebook: CruiseWithChris Pappin Cruises Inc

Artistry II Embarkation Basel

click on images to enlarge

Embarkation Process

If you've been on ocean cruises before, and not on a river cruise, you'd notice several differences upon arrival at the embarkation port.

You'll probably first notice it's a much smaller ship with not as many people.  Perhaps one of the most dramatic, and welcome differences, was how easy the embarkation process is. 

As our motor coach approached, we got our first glance at the ship.   Within minutes, we were onboard the ship, with just our hand luggage.  There were no porters greeting us, since our checked bags would be handled by the crew.   We walked up the gangway and were directed to the lounge.

Checking In

Once everyone was in the lounge, one of the crew members directed each family to the reception desk.  We turned in our passports and were given our cabin "keys" (plastic cards with a magnetic strip keyed for your cabin).   One of the crew members then escorted us to our cabin.  That was the entire embarkation process.   We'd pick up our passports the next day and could provide our credit card information, for the onboard account, at any time during the cruise - no hassle.

Embarkation Day Information

Once we were inside our cabin, we found welcome aboard information about the schedule for the rest of the evening.  We had some time before the mandatory safety drill, so we went up on the sky deck to start checking out the ship.

It's time to freshen up a bit before the evening program, so we'll take a break and continue with the rest of the story in our next post.

^{Additional photos can be found on our Rhine & Moselle Shutterfly page}

 
Click on the image to the left for more Blog posts about this trip.

Follow us on Twitter: @ChrisPappinMCC  Pinterest: CruiseWithChris Pappin and Facebook: CruiseWithChris Pappin Cruises Inc

Cloud 9 on Carnival Breeze

Just Onboard Carnival Breeze
 What to Do

Sunday August 24th we began our seminar at sea onboard Carnival Breeze out of Miami, Florida. Since we had priority boarding, it wasn't long after completing the embarkation process that we were on our way to our cabin. Most ships wouldn't have the cabins ready that early, but starting around 12:30 PM, you could go to your cabin and drop off your bags.

As usual, we had some lunch, which in our case was one of Guy's Burgers. We'll write about those in another post because we want to skip ahead to the relaxing part of the day.

After having our burger, we headed to Cloud 9 Spa for a tour of the facility.  After all, it was #SpaSunday, so we needed to get some images for our Twitter followers.   That was a good excuse don't you think?

One of the therapists, pictured above, demonstrated the hot stones technique on our arms.  This is by far our favorite treatment, so it didn't take much convincing that we should start our cruise out right.

Couples Hot Stones Massage

Pictured here is one of the couples treatment rooms that we saw on our spa tour.   At the conclusion of the tour we booked the hot stones treatment for right after the mandatory safety drill.

TIP:   If you plan on having a massage or other spa treatment during your  cruise, go to the spa tour and book your appointments.  If you can, take advantage of embarkation day specials as well.

Feeling Like We're on Cloud 9

When we were done with our 75 minutes of the full body massage with hot stones, we certainly felt like we were no longer on a ship, but floating on Cloud 9.  We headed back to our cabin after the massage.

This wouldn't be our final visit to the spa.  In fact it was just the beginning because we also booked the couples pass to the thermal suite which we'll describe in another article.  Welcome aboard Carnival Breeze - visit us again to continue the journey.

Welcome to our Updated Facebook Fan Page

Explore the World of Cruise Vacationing

If you've ever thought about going on your first cruise, October is the time to begin that journey.  Our Facebook Fan Page is a great resource to help you get started on your cruise planning. If you "like" us, you won't miss any special announcements or new material postings. 

Timeline


This is the default landing page when you first connect to our Facebook Fan page. We feature an image from one of our cruises - currently we are featuring Venice, Italy as our cover photo.

With the introduction of Facebook's Timeline page, it is necessary for you to manually visit our custom pages.   You can easily view our current and past posts as well.   We typically feature industry news, photos, and special offers here.

Click On The Following Images & Bookmark the Pages

Welcome Page

On this page you can learn more about us and how we got started cruising and later turned our love for cruising into a business.

We have links to this blog and also to our website. Be sure to "Like Us"...

Includes Fan Only Content 

 

You can click on the images or links to sign up for our weekly eNewletter, watch our featured video, explore the Cruise Help, or learn about our featured deals and destinations. The popular "Where is Chris" link is your key to those destinations.

Featured Deals

On our Welcome page, we feature one special cruise or land vacation deal, and link to our Featured Deals page which has additional offers.

That's right folks, we specialize in cruises, but for those trips where you want to do something different, like an all inclusive, we can offer our advice on that also.


In most cases, you'll be directed to our main website for complete details about the offers.  From time to time, we'll have exclusive offers that you won't find anywhere else.


  Virtual Tour of Cruise Destinations
As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, so we have plenty of photos on our fan page. In addition to the photo albums, we have two in-depth tabs featuring destinations.

One tab covers Alaska and the other is the WhereIsChris tab, which has short descriptions about some of our favorite destinations.

Where Would You Like to Go We Can Help You Plan

Cruise Help

Whether you are a first-time cruiser or a well-seasoned traveler, there is something for you on our Cruise Help page. Here you will find links to various resources to help you plan and also answer all those burning questions about cruise vacations.

This is just the tip of the iceberg so to speak. On our website, you'll find even more information including 360 views of cabins, ships, and public areas on the ship. There's deck layouts, facts about each ship, and itineraries to get you started with your investigation.

We highly recommend that you give us a call because all this information can be overwhelming. As CLIA Master Cruise Counselors, we are certified to bring you the advice you need to plan the perfect cruise vacation. Please visit often during National Cruise Vacation Month - we will be posting much more information, sharing our knowledge about   Cruising ... Today’s Vacation of Choice

So You've Just Gotten Onboard - What to Do

 You Just Boarded 

Allure of the Seas^SM

So What Do You Do?

Well, if you are like us, you probably got to the pier around mid-day so the cabins aren't ready for occupancy yet.  We had a light breakfast at the hotel because we knew that once we got onboard, there would be several venues open for us to grab a snack.

Boardwalk Dog House, Sorrento's Pizza

The gangway of Allure of the Seas is on Deck 5 which is the Royal Promenade.   Here you'll find Sorrento's and Cafe Promenade which have extended hours and offer snacks.   A slice of pizza at Sorrento's was our choice for something quick.  After pizza we stayed awhile people watching, one of our favorite things to do onboard the ship.

Unlimited Coca Cola 

For those that like to drink Coca Cola products with their meals or while lounging by the pool, you may want to consider purchasing the "Coke Fountain Sticker" which entitles you to as many fountain drinks as you like throughout the cruise.  The cost is $6.90 per person per day plus tip and includes a limited edition Royal Caribbean Coke bottle which can be refilled at any bar or restaurant on the ship or on Labadee, the private island.  These can be purchased on the first day of the cruise on the Royal Promenade.

On the Boardwalk

We stopped for a sausage at Boardwalk Dog House before heading to our cabin.  Passengers were getting their first glimpse of all that the Allure of the Seas has to offer on the Boardwalk.   Go for a ride on the carrousel or enjoy some refreshments in one of the dining venues.  

We would reassemble here before we sailed for the mandatory safety drill.  It is not necessary to bring life jackets with you to the drill.   In a real emergency, life jackets would be provided by the crew at the muster stations.