FReeps Ahoy 4 - Caribbean Cruise - Thread II

Cruise Coordinator - Bahama Mama | 03/05/2006 | DoughtyOne

[DoughtyOne]

  

Ahoy all FReepers!  Join the Fun!
  

FReeps Ahoy 4
      
  A fun-filled, Sun-Filled Caribbean Cruise!
  May 13 - 20, 2006

[MinuteGal]

Thanks for the usual great job of posting photos for these threads, D1.

We early birds really have nice digs (exterior pictured above) reserved for us.....and at a great price.

Friday, we'll meet and greet in the lobby or the attractive conference room. It'll be a nice pre-cruise "getting-to-know-ya" before our Saturday sailing.

A hot breakfast will await us Saturday AM in the above dining area so we can stoke up before the Inn's van whisks us and our luggage to the Princess dock terminal.

Freepers arriving by air should go to the airport luggage pickup area, look for the Hampton Inn courtesy phone, and notify the clerk you're waiting for a pickup.

Since there are two Ft. Lauderdale Hamptons, be sure to specify on the phone that you're going to the 12th Avenue one. It's also known as the Airport North Hampton Inn.

Keep your eyes peeled for the kitchy flamingos perched on top of a van (visible above). These will let you know your tropical transportation has arrived to start you off on our great seagoing adventure.

Bahama Mama

[Full Court]

ask your doctor to prescribe some water pills for you to take with. They'll pretty much do the trick and are harmless for most people.

Just eat plenty of bananas, water pills deplete potassium pretty fast, which will make you very fatigued. :-)

[MinuteGal]

Water pills are routinely prescribed for those whose ankles swell on cruises from the heat and a lot of walking if the cruiser requests them from a doctor. They are not at all harmful on short cruises such as ours.....and they do the trick. I bring them with whenever I cruise in case I need them to get into shoes.

Of course, everyone should ask their doc in case he/she is the one in a million that shouldn't take 'em. However, they are prescription capsules, so they have to ask their doc anyhow.

Now please pass a banana, I love 'em.

Bahama Mama

[Full Court]

It's not the one in a million that gets potassium depleted, it's everyone who takes them. And it happens very fast, which is why people who take such meds like lasix are given potassium supplements.

:-)

But bananas will work for short term use.

[MinuteGal]

BITES AND PIECES

(Add things that catch your eye onto that list you're supposed to be making, LOL.)

The Caribe Cafe (the buffet behind the Horizon Court) offers totally delicious lobster, shrimp, crab and sushi which can be used as appetizers as you make your way to our evening dinners. Eat all you want, mmmmm, but save at least a little room for din-din.

There's always fresh pizza available on board. I hear it's excellent. You'll see the ship's officers walking by and sneaking a piece. And they are ITALIANS so it must be good!

MAKE A NOTE: There's a delightful pay ice cream bar on board, but a sleuth told me there's a freebie ice cream bar almost hidden away in the closed side of the Horizon Court buffet. This freebie bar is open every afternoon between 3:30 and 4:30. Yummy ice cream with lots of toppings 'n stuff.

You can bring wine and champagne on in your carry-ons. Some folks bring a case of sealed water bottles, stick a luggage tag on it, give it to the Red Cap at the curb, and it'll be delivered to your cabin along with your luggage after boarding. Remember, everyone has a little fridge. If you're not interested, tell your room steward to remove the pop and all those beverages in the fridge that the ship hopes you'll buy.

To the early-birds coming on Friday, you can buy water bottles across the street from the Hampton Inn. This way you don't have to bring them on the plane.

Ladies, we must investigate the high tea held every afternoon. I hear tell it's loads of fun .....and the fresh-baked scones, tartlets, tea sandwiches and cookies are yummie!

Ah, high tea on the high seas. So poetic.

You'd be surprised at the number of men that attend the high tea. Why not? Elegant fare and service, quiet atmosphere conducive to intelligent conversation with other freepers, all with a magnificent and serene panoramic view of the sea. Maybe a harp or string trio. Very British and classy, old chaps!.

I almost forgot, you can stop by the Cafe Caribe and pick up some big plates of cold shrimp and crab legs (w/sauces) to munch on while viewing the evening "Movies Under the Stars".

The ship's bakery may not make them for every breakfast or lunch, but watch for the chocolate croissants. It is said they are to die for. So if you see some, POUNCE! They disappear fast! They may even be better than the chocolate martinis.

Speaking of chocolate, don't forget to order the ship's signature "Love Boat Chocolate Dessert" at least once. It's supposed to be simply fabulous and a chocoholic's nirvanah.

~Bon Apetit~

Bahama Mama

[MinuteGal]

In answer to a freepmail question.....yes, there is a nightly piano bar with requests acknowledged and great sing-alongs. Where and when will be listed on the schedule in your daily Princess Patter.

"You must remember this
A kiss is still a kiss
A sigh is just a sigh
The fundamental things apply
As time goes by"

....(ah, SO good.......play it again, Sam)

Bahama Mama

[MinuteGal]

On a scale from one to ten
Our cruise food will be perf
Imagine dining on rack of lamb
Prime rib and surf 'n turf

Order double lobster tails
Order two desserts
As the ship smoothly sails
Eat until it hurts

Don't worry 'bout about your tummies
You'll be so much on the go
That all ingested yummies
Will never ever show

(trust me.......)

Bahama Mama

[Graybeard58]

yes, there is a nightly piano bar with requests acknowledged and great sing-alongs.

WARNING:

If Graybeard starts to sing, head for the exits!

[MinuteGal]

If Bahama Mama starts to sing, head for the head!

Bahama Mama

[seenenuf]

OK, that's it! I gained 5 pounds just reading this thread.
Somebody tell me about the great gym, spa and art auctions.

[dixie sass]

Leni, no singing! Well, you can if you do it under your breathe - just teasing!

[dixie sass]

My mouth is just watering thinking about all of the wonderful food y'all will have along with the fantastic wines.

I wonder if they've learned to fix grits yet?

[MinuteGal]

Gee, I don't know, Dixie. The ship's officers, crew and staff (kitchen staff and head chef, etc.) are mostly Italian. Is there an Italian equivalent of grits?

Hmmm, I guess I'll have to ping our own freeper professional, Chef Carlo!

I was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs and never knew what grits tasted like till I started to go through the deep south on vacations. Actually, I love them for breakfast. When I'm on the road, I order them when I stop at Cracker Barrels. I love Cracker Barrels, too, LOL. Good soul food when traveling.

Bahama Mama

[carlo3b]

Polenta, is the Italian equivalent of grits. Grits and polenta are not exactly the same thing, though they both they are from corn. Polenta is usually yellow and is really nothing more than boiled corn meal. Grits I believe are made by drying white corn and treating it with certain chemicals before grinding.

Polenta, is a real favorite of the Italy's northeastern corner, it has been known to be chosen over pasta (GASP) to many in the Northern Italian population. It's probably those fake blue eyed Italians (excluding Frank Sinatra of course).. :)

[MinuteGal]

CODS AND BENDS

Cruisers, bring you cameras or videos to the dining room on formal nights for some good shots when we're all spiffied up!

Pack a couple of folded-up lightweight shopping bags into one of your suitcases. Use them for ship or shore treasures you've purchased unexpectedly. You can carry off by hand. You'll be happy you brought them.

Good news! It used to be that you got the nauseous CNN only on cruise ships, besides the closed-circuitry ship stations. Thankfully, our cabins have remote-controlled TV with CNN, TNT, CNBC, Discovery, plus travelogues and special-interest lectures and interviews sponsored by the cruise line's own network.

What to Do Onboard and Offboard (a blurb from the Princess Line):

"24-hour dining buffet - Ice Cream Bars - Wine and Caviar Bar - Coffee Bar - Outdoor Grill - Island Night Deck Party - Country and Western Night - Rock 'n Roll Party - Sports Bar - High Tech Disco - Three Unique Show Lounges - One Full Day at Princess Cay, a real fantasy island.....a private tropical paradise with lounges and hammocks. Enjoy all this as well as the spectacular islands of St. Maartens and St. Thomas/St. John.

"Taller than the Statue of Liberty, longer than 3 football fields (faster than a speeding bullet, oops) the Caribbean Princess features an unprecedented design with some of the most innovative amenities ever found on a cruise ship."

Wow!...I am SO ready for this voyage!

Bahama Mama

[MinuteGal]

(Back by popular request).......

SEA FEVER
(by freeper John Masefield)

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sails shaking
And a gray mist on the sea's face, and a gray dawn breaking

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life
To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a fellow freeper-rover
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the freeper cruise is over

Bahama Mama

[Bizzy Bugz]

Leni, I am so ready for this trip also. However I am going to Atlanta to visit grandchildren this coming week. Will be back just in time to pack for the cruise. Sometimes it seems as if I am trying to pack it all in before I get too old to move. LOL.
Well it is nice while it lasts.

[MinuteGal]

If you are like me and want to sleep a little later in the mornings, order cabin service and enjoy a breakfast on your balcony.....hot coffee, the gentle role of the Caribe, the warm morning sun, the little newspaper, the balmy breeze, the occasional sea gull........

Nothing could be finah
Than to be a breakfast dinah
As you sit on your verandah
Your cares are left on land-ah
Nibble on your toast or Danish
Forget Bill and Her Heinous
Feel your cabin fever vanish
As you dine on your verandah
And take a gandah at the sea

Bahama Mama

[poobear]

"Grits I believe are made by drying white corn and treating it with certain chemicals before grinding."

As you are probably the food expert, I on the other hand am from the south. While there may have been chemicals used at one time or another, traditionally on the farms, white homony (sp)corn was grown for the farmers and the field corn for the stock. Of course sweet corn is another thing.

Stone grinding fresh white homony corn then set to dry along with the bran and germ (noticeably the black specs) is the traditional staple grits known to most southerners. Yellow grits, (and the color of most polenta)processed the same way are quite good (and cheap) but most southerners prefer the lighter shade for reasons unknown. (Probably so it wouldn't look like they were eating common animal feed)

Shrimp grits are my favorite! Care for a recipe?

[carlo3b]

"Grits I believe are made by drying white corn and treating it with certain chemicals before grinding."

Wow, I have never been asked a question about grits, even though I have lived in Texas 30 somethin years, so I looked it up.. :) Here is what it says, in Romwell's Glossary of foodstuff:

Usually a breakfast item in the US Southern region. Made from the kernel of corn. When corn has been soaked in lye and the casing has been removed it becomes Hominy. The lye is rinsed out very well and the corn is left to harden. Then the swollen hominy is ground up to the texture of tiny pellets. When boiled with water, milk and butter it becomes a cereal similar to cream of wheat. It's used as a side dish for a good old fashioned Southern breakfast. ...As I see it you were right on target, except maybe for the LYE..YIKES!

I have a confession, I have never finished eating a plate of grits, and I don't think I am getting any closer to accomplishing that task, anytime soon.. But yes indeed, thank you for asking, I would love to see a great recipe for your shrimp grits, that may be something I might want to tackle.. :)