Day 15 - At Sea Crossing The Atlantic
Ship: Princess Cruises’ Sun Princess
Itinerary: 16-Night Transatlantic - Southampton to Fort Lauderdale
To catch up on some news from yesterday, which occurred after we had posted yesterday’s blog: we were awakened at 3 am this morning with a shipwide broadcast over the PA from the Captain. That is not usually a good sign. The Captain was making a plea for blood donors for a critically ill guest. In 146 cruises, we have never heard a request for blood donors, and this was the second time this cruise that the Captain has made such a request.
Early this morning, I went to Guest Services to get my medallion replaced as the battery has died. It will no longer unlock our stateroom door and only works about half the time at the bars. It only took a few minutes to get a new medallion and, while I was there, I asked if we could get dinner reservations at Crown Grill for this evening. I knew the odds were against us, waiting until the last minute. The Guest Services rep called the Dine Line and was able to get us a 5:30pm reservation for dinner!
Princess Medallion
This morning, we attempted, once again, to find a place to sit in Princess Live! for trivia. We have decided that Princess Live! on this ship is simply too small. You should not have to arrive an hour early to get a seat to play trivia. We played standing up.
Is Princess Live! Too Small?
We entered Princess Arena (the main theater) for the final production show: Stage Struck, a full hour before the show was scheduled to begin at 1:00pm. This photo was taken at 12:30, so you can see how full the theater is 30 minutes before showtime.
This show was a little less impressive than the previous shows, but the dancers and singers still gave an impressive performance. This was the final performance of this cast of performers on Sun Princess.
The cast of Stage Struck
We arrived at Crown Grill in time for our 5:30pm reservation.
Crown Grill - Deck 7 Forward
The menu at Crown Grill is the same every evening, but there are so many good choices that you can go multiple times and always try something different. However, we tend to stick with what we know we like.
We are seated in a comfortable booth with a view of the ocean and near the open kitchen where you can watch your meal being prepared.
The Galley Team At Crown Grill
I, once again, ordered the 14 oz Rib Eye; however, I am pretty sure that the steak I was served was a NY Strip (below). I cook a LOT of Rib Eye and NY Strip steaks at home, and that was no Rib Eye. I mentioned it to our waiter and he assured me it was a Rib Eye. I am not one to argue, and besides, I like a good NY Strip, so I was okay with it. It was cooked perfectly Medium, as ordered.
Rib Eye or NY Strip?
After dinner, we received an announcement from the Captain informing us that, due to Hurricane Milton off the coast of Florida, Sun Princess would not be able to dock and disembark as scheduled on Wednesday morning. The US Coast Guard is not allowing any ships to dock at Fort Lauderdale or Miami until Friday!
We will remain at sea for two more days until the weather conditions, (and the US Coast Guard), allow us to dock. Of course, the first thought that goes through your mind is, “How will this affect our airline reservations?” In tomorrow’s blog, I will tell you how this all worked out, or at least, how we hope it will work out.
Tomorrow, we will remain at sea until Hurricane Milton passes.
