Astro Flyer

If you’re asking about the Lahaina Cannery Mall Safeway…it is open. The mall was not damaged nor was the Lahaina Gateway center. Businesses makai of LCM also survived including the Old Lahaina Luau which has reopened. The Feast at Lele (505 Front Street) owned by the same company was destroyed by the firestorm.

Discussions are ongoing about how Lahaina will be rebuilt. I agree with ‘teechur’ that Lahaina won’t be ready for ships for 5-10 years…and any tourism might take just as long. Whatever is built it might be impossible to recreate the charm of historical Old Lahaina Town. Maybe it’ll be a facade of Old Lahaina Town but in my opinion it will never be the same for me & my ohana…memories that will never be forgotten & are impossible to replace. 😢 As others have written there are other good places to visit in South Maui, Upcountry and along the windward coast. The closest I can think about that is somewhat similar to Old Lahaina Town might be Paia or Makawao…but neither are Lahaina. In my opinion, Lahaina will be rebuilt however it will never be the same as historical Old Lahaina Town…the one time capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii and the whaling capital of the world.

The roundtrip shuttle is included with their park & stay cruise package. We took the first shuttle to the ship & after the cruise I walked the short distance to the CP & returned in our car to pickup my wife & our luggage. For us that was better than waiting for the shuttle to load bags & go to the hotel.

It was an amazing cruise & agree with all of the comments made by others about the things we experienced. Captain Tony was great & under his leadership there was a happy crew that provided great service. We sailed Discovery’s inaugural & second cruises in Spring 2022 & the ship was good as new. We dined at Sabatini’s on the last night & asked the restaurant manager (headwaiter) about the swap of locations that the Catch chef told us was planned but not when. The Sabatini’s RM said that the swap in venues would happen in 10 days which would be on 4/22 if everything goes as planned.

We’ve never requested any changes but once mentioned that one of our favorites (Twice Baked Goat Cheese Soufflé) was on the MDR menu that night. They offered to include it with the UBD however we declined their offer because we enjoy the standard menu…and we didn’t need another course to be even more full. ☺️

From today’s email: Reservable and Walk-in Anytime Dining will be combined into a single Main Dining Room location aboard Coral Princess and Island Princess.

The UBD increased from $100 to $110 so for us the price is still good. Now that specialty restaurants add an 18% service charge a dinner for 2 at the Crown Grill is now $92…no cocktails, champagne nor flowers included. And having great service on your balcony it’s a better location for us & to have flowers for our cabin. You could confirm that a photo is included when room service calls to go over the menu.

Previously they’d take several photos & we got one for free & would have to pay for additional photos. We always just got a free photo but based on PacnGoNow & my experiences it might now be upon request. Their website’s description does not show the included half bottle of champagne (have sometimes changed it to a 750ml bottle of wine that cost the same or less) and flowers (type varies from a few roses like this time to a small bouquet)…all were provided. Unlike in past years where cards with things ordered (TA gifts, etc) were in the cabin on embarkation day none were in our cabin this cruise. Since preordering the UBD only allows selecting a date, I called room service on embarkation day to request our 5:30 time. In the past there was a nightly UBD limit of 2 early & 2 later time slots. Room service calls your cabin a few days before the UBD so if you want to keep it a secret answer any phone calls. ☺️ They’ll ask about any food allergies & you can make changes which we’ve only done once.

Was that recently? None came last week on Discovery but that was okay as the waiters used our iPhone to take photos.

We recently enjoyed another UBD in early evening while overnight in Cabo. We have enjoyed them several times during evenings in ports & during sailaways. Once in December sailing from Santorini the weather was inclement so we enjoyed it from inside our cabin looking out from the sliding glass door. Lots of tasty food 😋

Here’s that new system…it returns the twice nightly traditional dining at the same time at the same table with the same waitstaff. Princess Dining.pdf

Thanks…after delays of several days getting our minibar exchanged & receiving our sailaway chocolate strawberries our TA ordered on day 3, everything else was great! 😃

We purchased Future Cruise Credits two years ago which had to be used within 2 years. That was down from 4 years many years ago & now they have to be used within 1 year. The booking can be for a cruise several years in advance but the booking must now be made within only a year. Since we’re not booking another Princess cruise within a year, we’ll decide next year during a Princess cruise whether to purchase more FCDs or not…this change is very disappointing for us.

Unfortunately we never met you & yes Nerwin was wonderful. Too bad at the M&G no brief introductions were made from those there. I talked to billco walking down the hall who was also nearby & mthomp5 at the M&G in addition to others we’ve sailed with previously. Would have enjoyed finally meeting after reading so many of your helpful posts throughout the years.

We got lucky to enjoy the eclipse from our starboard deck 8 midship balcony having a 90° view up. Our thermometer in the shade on the table got as high as 93° before the total eclipse but forget to check it during totality which was noticeably cooler. We’d view the progress then go inside to cool off & with the ship just drifting there was no cooling breeze. Based on the direction of the exhaust from the stacks what wind there was came from the portside. Below our balcony a few passengers found a great location to comfortably view the eclipse sitting on Gigi’s outdoor chairs with some shade if they briefly wanted it. Captain Tony Ruggero & his crew were amazing to create an atmosphere to make a great event even better. 😎☀️👏