"Embarking on NCL Crown" Philadelphia Travelogue by grandmaR

Left Sunday about 8:00. It was sunny and cool, and it was a very peaceful drive up through Croom to US 301. We went through the Harbor Tunnel ($2) a little after 9:30, crossed the Susquehanna and got to the toll on I-95 ($5) about 10:10 (114 miles). Then there was another $3 toll in Delaware. We were listening to NPR on the way up.

Our original plan was to drop the bags off at the cruise ship (and maybe me with them) and then to get gas in the car and turn it in at the airport and just get a taxi from there. I have new black bag with wheels that the kids gave me for Xmas, and Bob has my big old American Tourister bag. I've also got a skinny yellow bag with my fins in it, and the wheeled computer bag that came with my new black bag, my big fanny pack and a Camelbak. Bob also has his green carry-on.

FIRST GLITCH.--- NPR said the exit to Broad Street we were going to be using was closed, and that the traffic was backed up because of the Eagles game. We'd just processed that information when we came to the backup. It has taken us just 3 hours to get to this point and we've been 167 miles

After sitting in the backup for several minutes, inching forward over the Schuykill River bridge at 6 mph we got out of line and went to get off at the next exit. Bob said we didn't want to get off there though because it was posted I-76. But as we went past, I saw that it was the airport exit going the other way and there was an Exxon station there with gas at $3.67. So we got off and the exit after that one and found ourselves someplace in Philadelphia without much of a map, and also no gas stations and hordes of Philadelphia Eagle fans going to the game. Eventually we found a BP station with gas at $2.71 - on the other side of the road natch. He gave us directions to go back to the airport.

Dock as it looked from the ship

SECOND GLITCH -- We got to the airport OK, but we could not find the rental car turn-in location. We went by a sign which said Terminal (arrow to right), and then a line and underneath of that "Rental Car Return", and then at the bottom an orange sign taped on saying "Parking" with another arrow to the right. So we went right, and went past the whole departure area. Went around again and tried it another way, and went through the whole arrivals area. So we went around again - this time we really looked at the sign, and realized we were supposed to go straight instead to the right.

Then the Hertz was having some construction and we had to go through that to find our way in. We checked the car in (it was $73.40 of which $23 was the Collision Damage Waiver which Bob took because he said "We are going to Philadelphia!" ) after 188 miles (21 miles since we were stopped by the backup, and 14 miles from the gas station)

Then we dragged our luggage over to the bus. We could walk, although it was difficult. Bob clipped the American Tourister bag to the large black suitcase and I pulled them both and carried my fanny pack and Camelbak and my coat, and Bob carried the yellow bag and his green bag and the little black computer bag and his coat. and they said we shouldn't ride that bus because they were going to departures and we wanted arrivals. Another bus came and they brought us to Arrivals and offloaded us and told us that we'd have to walk across to the taxis - he couldn't take us over there and the taxis couldn't come over here.

So I walked over there and they said I couldn't even get into a cab and take it over to Bob. So we took the luggage across and put it into the cab. It was now about 12:30. All the traffic was gone. We got to the terminal location in only 15 minutes but then there were traffic directors directing us over the hills and through the woods to the ship. The taxi ride was $17.60 plus $2.00 for the bags. Bob gave him $22.00

We gave our luggage to the baggage people (and I turned in all my luggage even though it had my medications in them because if it got lost between here and the ship things would really be bad), but Bob kept his green bag with his medications. We didn't get any special treatment for being Latitude members, but we were walking on board by 1:15 (less than half an hour)

Cabin on the Crown

We got to our cabin (6026) about 11:25. In some ways this is a better cabin than the one we had before up on deck 9. It has two pull-down bunks so theoretically 4 people could sleep here. There are 4 closets with mirrors on the front, one of which has drawers.

Then there's a desk with a TV and 8 drawers (4 on each side and a little glass table and another chair. Bob's bunk is across the narrow end of the cabin and it is right next to a table with the controls for the lights and the speaker system and also 4 more drawers. Then my bunk on the long side opposite the desk. This means that the 110 outlet is across the room from my bunk, which is a disadvantage for plugging in the computer.

Then opposite the closets is the bathroom. The bathroom has the sink next to the toilet, which is convenient to supplies. Also behind the toilet are 4 shelves with fiddle on them, and a shelf under the counter beside the sink. The other bathroom had the toilet next to the shower, so I could sit on the toilet and stick my head into the shower and wash my hair while sitting down, and I can't do that here.

Lunch

This time they handed us the Freestyle Daily as we boarded which we didn't get before. So before we didn't know that lunch was being served at the Yacht Club (which is the name of the buffet restaurant) until it was too late. We went up and ate lunch while we were waiting for our luggage

Lunch in the Yacht club - rolls and cold cuts, hot dogs, hamburgers, tilipia, chicken, fries and pan fried potatoes, asparagus salad, artichoke salad, tossed salad, Caesar salad, pineapple slices and various other things - the ripe olives were on the other side of the line so Bob reached all the way across and got some for me. He had to go back to get the ice tea. There was a Welcome Aboard cake, but I had an apricot tart and Bob had chocolate cake for dessert.

Admiral Perry Way from the ship

About 2 o'clock, I went out on deck and took some pictures.

They announced a ship tour at 2:30, and Bob asked if I wanted to do that, but I didn't so I went back to the cabin. He came back and said they weren't going up on the bridge or down to the engine room - all they did was go to the restaurants and up to the exercise area. While Bob took the ship tour, I walked up to the computer center to see if I could log in without the computer, but he said I had to bring it up there. We got all our bags except my big black one and unpacked a little bit. We saw some of the Steelers game while we were unpacking, and the beginning of the Baltimore game.
My big black bag came last.

At 4:30 we had the lifeboat drill. We went to our lifeboat station in the Starlight Lounge which is WAY better than from our former room's location which was out on the stern deck by the pool. We could sit down and listen to the presentation instead of standing. The people in back of us were from Canada they said they came in early to visit Philadelphia for which they were grateful because they had to wait 45 minutes for a pilot to get there that was qualified to fly the plane (Air Canada).

We were back in our room by 4:50, and the boat started to cast off the lines. I wanted to take some pictures, so I left Bob in the cabin and went out on deck. This year I wore my winter coat, so I wasn't cold, although it was windy

Round Building

. I took pictures of the shoreline as we pulled away from the dock - Bob said the wind was from a direction that would blow the stern around in the direction the captain would want it to go. I saw a building on shore that looked like it was some kind of roundhouse.

Planes were coming in low overhead as we went down the river. Saw one AA and a SW and a couple USAir. There was a guy with his new wife who worked for Temple Un. that I talked to a little bit. I picked out a fort on the shore but I couldn't remember the name that I'd seen on the sign. The guy said that he'd led field trips to various forts but he couldn't remember the names. I asked Bob later and he said it might be Fort Mifflin. When I looked it up later, that was it.

Then I went out on the bow where there was a father and son. I had my Philadelphia map that I picked up at the car rental place (it certainly would have been nice to have one before we got there) and the son complained that the ship hadn't given THEM a map. So his dad explained that since they lived in Philadelphia, they didn't rent a car and I hadn't gotten it from the ship.

I saw a sailboat right in front of us - they had a piece of the main up, but I can't imagine that they were sailing, since the wind was directly towards us. They appeared to be going back to a big marina I saw on the starboard side.

LPG Tanker

After we passed the airport, a LPG ship named Queen Zenobia with her associated tugs and the little red RIB (inflatable) with the flashing light on the top (CG or Harbor Police?) I went in after about 40 minutes before we went under the bridge. When I got back to the cabin I downloaded my pictures.

Bob was ready to go to dinner, so I hung up my coat, and we went and got in line. It was before 6 p.m. and the dining room was fairly empty We were seated at a table with two other couples. One couple was from Portland (his name was Bob). He was 78 and has recently taken a motorcycle trip down Route 1 along the coast to San Diego. He has two children and she has two children. The other couple was from Pittsburgh and her name was Roseanne - he now does TV commercials and also acts in local musical comedies. They have 2 sons, one of whom does martial arts for stage fights and the other is an art photographer in LA.

Chocolate pecan cream cake with whiskey carmel fud

I had the grapefruit sections with Bloody Mary mix appetizer (i.e. tomato juice) and Bob had the shrimp. I had corn soup as a 2nd course, and Bob had the chilled cream of banana and mango soup. I had the crawfish etouffee with rice as a main dish, and Bob had the prime rib with Yorkshire pudding. The computer ate my picture of my etouffee. We heard that some people still had not gotten their luggage so they were allowed in the restaurant in more casual clothing than would otherwise have been allowed (i.e. jeans).

I ordered crepe suzettes for dessert and the waiter said that was the wrong menu. Everyone at our table had the wrong menu. Eventually they got us the right menus and I got the creme brulee and Bob got black forest coupe. Some of the others got the chocolate pecan cream cake with whiskey carmel fudge sauce. It looked very interesting - one of them let me take a picture of it.

We had coffee (or in my case tea), and I guess we eventually left the table after 7:30. There was a line by now for seating.

I took my computer up and logged on to the internet and got mail but didn't bother to read it. There's no place to plug the computer in up there - you have to go to the game room.

I was tired and my feet and back hurt, and Bob got undressed and went to bed, so I went to bed too about 10 pm which is early for me.

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