Post pandemic travel is an interesting affair. It used to be how much should I pack, do I have our passports and what shore excursions interest us. Now it’s do we have our shots, tests and masks.
For the Caribbean Princess, passengers must be fully vaccinated and have a negative Covid test two days prior to departure. We opted for a PCR test at CVS which is covered by insurance. Results are available in one to two days. When we went to bed the night before the cruise and still did not have test results, we planned to get a rapid test the next morning. Those can run up to $150 per test so we were hoping we’d get our results. They came in around 4 am. We were both negative.
We made it to the port early and had early boarding. One of the benefits of Covid was that we no longer had to do the life boat drill at the muster station. We watched a video in our cabin approximately 10 minutes long. Then Bruce and I proceeded to the muster station where we signed in using our medallions and that was it. Easy Peasy.
When I get on a ship, I immediately want to explore. I love all the wood finishing and colorful lighting. The Caribbean Princess was decorated for Christmas but that was a bit underwhelming. A tree here and there and some garland but not as much as I would have liked.
We stopped to have some water and a small bite to eat at the International Cafe
Our first night dining, it was my birthday. We had shrimp cocktail and ceviche, salmon, Mahi Mahi, and desserts. The waiters also brought me a small cake and sang Happy Birthday, off key.
We awoke the next morning to brilliant blue skies and the promise of a wonderful day on Princess Cay. We spent some time snorkeling which was great fun. The water was a bit chilly at first but as we snorkeled and saw all the beautiful fish, we quickly forgot the water temp
The little island had tiny cabins that you could rent for the day. Very colorful with the Bahamian feel, it felt like we were in paradise.
Now this being post-Covid, the Caribbean Princess was only 40% booked. That meant plenty of lounges and no waiting times.
After a fun day we headed back to the ship with one last photo of this lovely island.
One of the things I like to do on a cruise is sign up for a spa treatment and if they have a thermal suite, sign up for that. On the first day, I had a wonderful massage and Bruce and I used the thermal suite every day.
Bruce and I never seem to get bored on sea days. We usually sleep in a little, go to the gym, have breakfast and catch some entertainment. We also made some friends and had coffee with them in the afternoon.
For dinner, we usually eat with a table full of strangers who become friends. Afterwards there is some form of entertainment in the theatre. In past cruises we had to get there early for a good seat but this time, with limited passengers, we had plenty of seats and most often were not sitting next to other people.
Bruce of course loved to have his after dinner cigar.
On some ships the smoking area is really nice but not on this one. It was under a staircase, next to a bar with little ventilation. We didn’t spend much time there.
Princess gave me $300 in free play for the casino. So after the show, we’d go to the casino for a little while. We ended up leaving the ship with $400.
On Wednesday we went to St. Thomas. We didn’t plan a tour since we have been to this island. We walked around town and shopped very little. Bruce bought a mug for his tea.
We stayed in St. Thomas until 9pm. Some pretty awesome boats in the harbor.
We love sea days and we had quite a few. Our itinerary included St. Kitts but when we approached the island the Captain announced the waters were too rough and a storm was approaching. In actuality, it appeared that there were already three ships docked, two waiting and maybe not enough room for us.
We did get a nice view of the island. Hopefully I will get to St. Kitts on another trip.
We had coffee on our balcony every morning. It was a huge balcony.
Two of my favorite people were Max, the barista and Pavlo, the ice cream man.
On the Princess cruises, they now use medallions that open your doors, charge your accounts, hold bank money for the casino and even play onboard games. It makes everything a bit hands free and I loved that I didn’t have to unlock my door – it unlocked when I approached it.
It was a great little vacation and we loved being out on the water again. And as far as safety, Princess gets high marks for it health and safety protocols.
#princesscruises #covid #travel #testing #princesscay
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