Saturday morning has dawned with a rather hazy sky, but nevertheless nice and warm and with a sea like glass. Quite a contrast to the last fill day at sea. More excitement (if that is the right word) occurred this morning as we were in the middle of the quiz. The ship slowed, the crew alarm signal sounded, and once again the captain had to announce that there was a fire in the engine room. (At least it was mid morning and not at 1am this time). All crew donned their lifejackets and went to their muster stations but thankfully the emergency only lasted for 15 minutes. So, never mind abandon ship, but it was a case of abandon trivia (and just when we were doing so well!).
We have also learned that the captain only joined the vessel in Southampton, so the voyage has been a bit of a baptism of fire (so's to speak) for the poor man.
The passengers.
We are on a table of 7 for our evening meals. Our companions are Sharon and Dennis (our age and on their first cruise) from Southampton and Jen and Keith (retired, well travelled and rather glamourous) from Kidderminster. Very good company they all are too. In fact, there seems to be a number of first time cruisers on this trip and those we have spoken to have said that thus far, it has definitely exceeded their expectations.
Around 80% of the passengers are British and the majority of the remainder American and Canadian. There are the usual assortment of "characters", including a couple of ladies with two tone hair colours who we have dubbed the Cruella Twins, a couple who look as if they would be more at home in a gypsy caravan than a luxury cruise ship, and a chap who must be 6'6'' and 25 stone wearing a tee shirt with Ronaldo on the back. Oh, the irony.
The ship.
Now that we have had time to explore the ship properly, IMHO it is very comfortable indeed. There are several quiet bars where one can retire for reading, several larger public rooms which are mainly used for functions and entertainment and of course the usual high end shops, three swimming pools, 10 or more jacuzzis, putting green basketball court and croquet lawn. The buffet also has seating outside at the back of the ship which gives more of a continental cafe flavour. The international cafe down on deck 5 serves all kinds of speciality teas and coffees and fancy sandwiches and cakes 24 hours a day. For the slightly less health conscious, pizza, hot dogs, burgers and fries are always available from the pool grill. And after having your heart attack on a plate, washed down with a choice of one of several international beers or lagers, why not finish off with a large helping of icecream.
The skywalkers lounge, from where I am composing this note, is high up at the back of the ship and affords a fabulous 360 degree panoramic view. I will try and attach a couple of pictures to this post.
The walkway around the promenade deck is somewhat narrow and thus only deck chairs rather than sun loungers are provided, but walkers can walk all the way around the ship from the stern to the very point of the bow. Once again, fabulous and very different views can be gained from that position.
The crew and staff are everything we have come to expect from Princess, being ever cheerful, helpful, friendly and efficient. I am not really in a position to comment too much on the entertainment provided at the moment, purely because we have not gone to the theatre to watch any of the artists or shows, but I have no doubt that will be rectified before too long. The resident four piece band are however, excellent.
More to follow once we have spent our day in Corsica tomorrow.
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