Boarding the Emerald Princess - December 9

How exciting to wake up and see the Emerald Princess docked at Port Everglades! We took our time eating breakfast and then shuffled stuff around and re-packed the luggage. By 10:45 we were ready to go!

A hotel employee stopped us and suggested we take the hotel shuttle…only $8 per person…to the port. From my research I knew a cab would cost around $10 for two so I declined her offer. We had checked earlier to see if any taxi vans were available so the four of us could travel together and were told “no”…only cars, so we were prepared to take two cabs…one for each couple.

As we made our way outside to find a cab, she approached us again and made a new offer... “you can take the shuttle for $5 each…and have the shuttle to yourselves.” This seemed like a pretty good deal so we got our luggage loaded, got into the van, and then waited…and waited…as they proceeded to fill the van to capacity with other cruise passengers. At this point we didn’t feel like complaining about the misleading offer…and kept our mouths shut. We did confirm with the driver that we were being charged $5 and he agreed.

A few of the group were first dropped off at a Celebrity ship, and then the rest of us were taken to the Emerald Princess. From that point we pretty much kept moving…we handed over our luggage to the porters, went through security, filled out health forms, got checked in, and then found a seat to wait. 

We were in boarding group 8 and after about a half hour, our group was called. (Not sure, but it was probably close to noon by that point.) Can you tell by this smile that Bob was happy to be cruising?? 

Once on board, the elevator situation was a bit of a mess. Many of the elevators were “off limits” for use by staff hauling luggage and the few left didn’t seem to be working correctly. To add to the problem, the up/down buttons on each side worked independently of each other. So…everyone pushed both buttons which caused many elevators to stop needlessly. (The elevators continued to be a source of aggravation throughout the week!)

We finally made it to the location of our cabins...the Riviera Deck…deck 14…but technically deck 13. (Deck 13 had been skipped in the numbering.) Our inside cabins R724 and R728 were almost all the way aft and chosen because they were right by the door to the Terrace Pool. I figured since we didn’t want to pay for a balcony cabin, the location near the aft pool would be a good compromise. 

The downside to this plan…we discovered that the port side of the Terrace Pool was a designated smoking spot. That meant as we walked out the door and up the stairs to the pool we were usually met with a cloud of cigarette smoke. This was a convenient route to get to the buffet, but I found myself trying to hold my breath to get through. Eventually we found it was much better to just take the inside stairway by the elevators instead.

A Christmas decoration had been placed on the mailbox of every cabin on the ship. 

Thanks to my research before the cruise, I knew that one of the three main dining rooms would be open for lunch at embarkation and off we went. It took a little bit of hunting, but eventually we found the Michelangelo Dining room. We were seated with others at a large table and by the time we finished eating the dining room was empty. 

After lunch we explored the ship a bit and then gathered our life jackets for the muster drill. Our muster station was in Club Fusion (Deck 7 Aft). Being in the air conditioned lounge was nice. On previous cruises we always had to stand in the hot sun.

After the drill we made the guys run the life jackets back to the room and then we all met up for sail away. Heading out to sea has got to be the best feeling ever! 

Sailing along with us was the pilot boat...

and a Coast Guard boat.

My sister back in St. Louis watched the sail away online from the Port Everglades Webcam and she was able to pick us out of the crowd. Here is a photo that I “clipped” from the webcam video after we returned. That's us waving at the camera on the top deck!

We had a little fun taking some reflection photos in the windows of the ship.

The Carnival Freedom followed us out to sea and brought back many great memories. One of our favorite cruises was on the Freedom to Panama and Costa 

While Laurel and I unpacked and got ready for dinner, the guys went down to the Piazza to see Duo Push...two guys who were described as “an impressive display of strength and balance.” They came back raving about how awesome they were! Bob also enjoyed listening to “Playtoven”, a couple playing violin and cello who entertained in the Piazza most evenings before dinner.

Not only was this our first Princess cruise, but also the first time to NOT have the traditional assigned dining. We have always loved getting to know our wait staff, but chose Anytime Dining on this cruise to give us some flexibility. I was under the assumption that we could get a table for four on any night at any time. WRONG. The first night we showed up around 6:15 and were told it would be about a 30 minute wait unless we were willing to share a table. Not wanting to wait we agreed and were placed at a table for six with another couple. 

Fortunately our dinner companions were friendly and talkative, but getting served seemed to take forever. As we were eating I happened to notice Pescado Amarillo (that I mentioned earlier) and her husband in the dining room. They were spending the winter on the Emerald Princess and I had been following her daily blog about their adventures. Feeling a bit like a stalker, I walked over and introduced myself. She was very gracious in spite of me interrupting their dinner and I was so glad to finally have a chance to meet her! 

Dinner had taken so long that we were getting worried about making it to the Princess Theater for the Welcome Aboard Show so we opted to skip dessert. This gave us a good excuse (like we needed one!) to stop by the International Cafe following the show and sample some of the delicious goodies. The International Cafe was located in the Piazza and was a great place to grab a sandwich, dessert, etc. 

Coming up next...our day at Princess Cays!

Ft. Lauderdale - December 8

One of the perks of staying at the Embassy Suites is their extensive breakfast buffet in the atrium, including made to order omelets, bacon, sausage, potatoes, pancakes, French toast, etc. There was quite a crowd at breakfast but still empty tables available. 

After breakfast we walked around outdoors at the hotel, checking out the pool and surrounding area. There was a koi pond and it looked like the fish were also ready for their breakfast! 

While Kent & Bob were watching the fish, they happened to look up and saw a bright green iguana at the top of a tall palm tree. I snapped a photo with the new Canon SX-50 camera that I had purchased for the trip. When I examined the photo I had just taken, I realized what a really great zoom the camera had! I saw that there was not just one iguana...but two!

Our plan was to spend the day on the water taxi. I had a general idea of where to go, so we started walking down 17th Street to the Causeway Bridge. 

We crossed over to the left side and walked below the bridge to the Hilton Hotel and found the water taxi stop. This took about 15 minutes from the hotel. From here we had a good view of the cruise ships at Port Everglades…including the massive Royal Princess and Allure of the Seas. 

An all day pass on the water taxi cost $22 for an adult and can be purchased right on the boat using cash or credit cards. However there were several people getting on at the Hilton Marina and no one ever came around to take our money. 

Our sunhats are a dead give-away that we are tourists, but in December we had to protect our pasty-white skin!

We rode for awhile and then decided to get off at the Las Olas Blvd. stop and walk around a bit. We told the guy on the boat that we hadn’t bought a ticket and he just said…oh go ahead, you will have to buy one to get back anyway!

Las Olas Blvd. had some high end shops and outdoor cafes, but really didn’t have anything of interest to us so we went back to the stop and re-boarded the next taxi to come along. 

This time we did pay, but the guy was new and forgot to give us the ticket…we had to remind him later before we got off. We wanted the ticket because the pass was good for all day and we wanted to return later in the evening.

The boat captains give a running commentary on what you are seeing…who lives in what mansion, who owns which yacht, etc. Pretty interesting to us Midwesterners…the wealth in Ft. Lauderdale is mind boggling! 

By 1:30 we were getting hungry so got back off at the Hilton Marina and headed back towards the hotel. On the way we stopped for lunch at Shula Burger. Nothing special, but it filled our tummies.

After a short rest at the hotel, I logged into the Port Everglades webcam on my iPad. As each ship started to leave the port, I would run to the end of the hallway and watch in person! I had never paid much attention to the webcam so I was surprised to see how they zoomed in on the people on deck as the ships pulled out of port. 

After our late lunch, no one was ready for dinner just yet so we walked back to the Hilton Marina and boarded the water taxi again. We actually did some of the same route that we had done in the morning, but in the dark it was fun to see the homes decorated for the holidays. By the time we got off the boat, hunger had returned and we stopped at Carrabba’s Italian restaurant on the way back to the hotel.

The Trip Begins...Good-Bye Winter! (December 6 & 7)

When flying, our trips always begin a day early. This accomplishes two things...it keeps my stress level down by not trying to drive the three hours to Minneapolis on the day of our flight...and...it gives us the opportunity to visit grandkids! Getting a head start is even more important when traveling in winter due to the possibility of snow and bad driving conditions. And yep...we had snow that day. (The view looking out my door.)

Fortunately the roads were great and the fresh snow made the drive a little more scenic.

The next morning the temperature was 17º below zero (with a MUCH lower windchill) as we drove from our son's house to MSP. I’ll admit that I was just a little nervous that we would return to find a car that wouldn’t start. 

Check in at MSP was a breeze and the flight…with a layover in Atlanta…went smoothly. 

We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale around 6 pm and when we stepped out of the terminal to get a taxi it was almost a 100º increase from what we left in Minneapolis. Ahhhhhh…wonderful!

By being Hilton Honors members, we were able to get what I considered a pretty good deal on the Embassy Suites hotel on 17th Street...our home for the next two nights. 

When we checked into the hotel, I waited maybe 2 minutes at the most, but yet the gal at the desk apologized over and over for making me wait. For my “trouble” she gave me a gift bag containing bottled waters and several snacks PLUS a code for free internet (normally $10/day.) The daily free manager’s reception was still in progress so she offered to keep our bags while we grabbed some snacks and a drink. The snacks were just that…goldfish crackers, chips, salsa, etc. and the drink of the day was a Bahama Mama. Not enough to call it a meal, but hey…it was free!

Kent and Laurel had arrived earlier that afternoon and we joined them in their suite and watched a little football. The two-room suites were nice and provided plenty of room for the four of us to hang out together.

Our rooms were on the 11th floor and from the tiny balcony off the bedroom you could get a partial view of the port although it wasn't large enough for any furniture. There was also a door at the end of the hallway that lead outdoors to a concrete “balcony” where we could go to get a better view of the ships in port. 

Although we hadn't eaten dinner, none of us really felt like going to a restaurant, so instead we walked across the street to the Harbor Shops and grabbed a frozen sandwich from the Publix grocery store and took it back to the hotel. The suite had both a refrigerator and microwave…and even a Keurig coffee maker (although the K-cups were still hotel quality coffee.) After leaving the frigid cold temps of Minnesota I can’t tell you how wonderful it was to enjoy a walk in the warm evening air.

Southern Caribbean Cruise on the Emerald Princess--The Prologue

The posts covering this cruise were orignally written as a review on the Cruise Critic forums online. In an effort to consolidate the memories from our cruises into one place, I've transferred the narrative and photos from Cruise Critic onto this blog. Hope you enjoy!

Our crew on this cruise consisted of myself and my husband, Bob, from Minnesota, along with our friends, Kent and Laurel, from Illinois. Our friendship dates back to the mid 1970’s when Laurel and I were college roommates…and Bob and Kent were roommates. Over the 35+ years since we have stayed close (in friendship…but not geographically) and have vacationed together a few times. A cruise to the southern Caribbean was first discussed back in 2009, but due to some health issues and a huge storm that sent three huge trees crashing through Kent and Laurel’s roof, those plans were abandoned. The money they had saved for the cruise was spent on rebuilding parts of their house instead.  Kent actually carved a huge giraffe out of one of the tree stumps that was left in their yard and it is named, Aruba, in memory of the cruise that never happened. 

As it does, life got in the way and it wasn't until spring of 2013 that we once again started talking about sharing a cruise. All of our previous six cruises had been on Carnival. Kent and Laurel's only cruise was with us on the Carnival Paradise back in 2004 (when it was still a non-smoking ship.) We had visited many of the Caribbean islands on our cruises, but Dominica was one island still on our bucket list so I started looking for cruises that visited this island. 

I discovered the 10 day Emerald Princess Southern Caribbean Medley…and at about the same time also ran across Pescado Amarillo's Blog. I read…and then re-read every post and decided this itinerary was ideal. This wonderful couple had spent several winters at sea on the Emerald Princess…and she faithfully blogged about each and every day. 

Initially we chose the February 7th sailing, but ended up switching to the cheaper December 7th cruise instead. In searching for airfare, we found lower rates going two days early…enough that the savings would pretty much cover the cost of an extra night in a hotel. As the days and weeks passed, we were able to take advantage of some price drops in both the airfare on Southwest and also on the cruise fare as well. I really liked the idea of doing a Southern Caribbean cruise out of Florida. Our last cruise on the Carnival Victory left from San Juan and the airfare was a killer!