Waimea'sMom

I have taken the Hawaii cruise with Elua many times, and Dave gave me my first ukulele lesson many years ago. I am now a moderator on the Ukulele Underground forum, and have written two books about ukuleles. All that being said, my recommendation is to wait and use the ship instrument first to ensure he wishes to play. Then you can get recommendations from Dave and other class members - there are always a handful of folks that bring their ukes onboard. I take mine on every trip I take, to Hawaii or anywhere else.

In Hawaii, there are a number of very good ukulele stores (the best in the world being Hawaii Music Supply on the North Shore of Oahu - their selection at all price points is unparalleled and their website is theukulelesite.com)

Just be sure to get to the first class early! On time is late if you want to guarantee an ukulele. I would suggest 15-30 minutes ahead of time.

Dave is a terrific teacher, you will probably have a great time!

I love Alfredo's, but I always base my Hawaii sailing decision on which ship Elua is on, so Star it is.

I sailed on the Star last month, and no basket there either. Too bad, I never finished it but sure loved having a couple of bites of it.

Ruby. We do this itinerary once or twice a year, and even though I live in LA, I would fly to SF if that was where Elua cruised from. Plus, airfare is probably cheaper for you to LA.

I doubt that because how can someone smuggle alcohol in a soda can? It's all about the dollar...

I have to say I kind of agree with you. I can see them prohibiting obvious alcohol, as they always have. I can even see the water and juice bottle prohibitions, although I wish they didn't as I prefer certain brands. But at least it is easy to see how someone could smuggle something in a bottle.

But cans is just ridiculous to me. I don't doubt devices exist, but for crying out loud, how many people - what percent - are smuggling things in cans of soda? You are inconveniencing a lot of people that like certain flavors, or caffeine-free, etc. to prohibit a teeny tiny amount of people? If I recall even Carnival didn't go that far, my apologies if I am mistaken.

It doesn't affect me, I like Diet Coke, and on three of my four upcoming Princess Cruises I have the Sip and Sail. On the other, I planned on bringing on a 12 pack to supplement my Elite bar setup, now I won't - no big deal. But where does it stop? Are they going to ban shampoo bottles and mouthwash because determined people will sneak stuff in that too? If someone wants to circumvent the policy, I don't doubt they could stuff plastic flasks in their pockets. Does that mean we will have pat downs or body scanners at embarkation? Oh great, I probably just gave some smugglers ideas and Princess ideas for future revenue by banning all containers of liquid.

I am usually on the side of Princess on most things, but the cans ban is absurd to me.

I've never had the AIBP but have it through the Sip and Sail promotion on three sailings next year. I am relieved we have it now that we will not be able to bring our own soda and water onboard anymore (side note: still don't understand why I can't bring cans, but oh well). I just wish I had it on my January sailing.

I apologize if this has been asked and answered already but are you allowed to take the drinks from the bar? I'm not asking because I want to "share" the package with anyone -- I just like to sometimes have wine or a drink in my cabin and it is my understanding that I cannot use room service with the AIBP for a drink to be included. I just don't want anyone assuming I am not drinking it if I want an unopened split of Korbel for tomorrow's breakfast on my balcony or a drink back in the cabin.

We would get the $150 OBC but the fare went up $100 each. It is still worth it, $50 is $50, but since it is nonrefundable, we probably won't make the change until right before our final payment is due in a couple of weeks (since the sale lasts past final payment date).

The way they determine which ones to put on sale is by going through my bookings and saying "Nope. Not that one." ;):p:D

Ditto. I have been hoping for a sale on my January Hawaii sailing, but my itinerary never makes the cut.

I was on that sailing with you. I'm sorry you had so many problems with the ship, but I have to admit, I feel a bit vindicated as folks can now see there are more than a couple of us less than enamored with that ship. I sailed on it in December as well and when I mentioned the quality of the food, hit and miss service and shoddy ship, I was told by people that some will find reasons to complain about everything.

To be honest, if we had not already made final payment on the February sailing, I would have cancelled it after the December one. I can honestly say I cannot imagine that I would ever sail the Grand again. The negatives were actually more evident to me after a perfect cruise on the Pacific that we took in January.

That being said, the cruise itself was fine, Elua (as always) were wonderful, and except for missing Kauai -- my favorite port -- I don't regret going on it. But I am so happy they are using the Ruby for this itinerary for the next season as I think I would pass on the LA-Hawaii cruise if it meant going on the Grand again.

After tears in the upholstery in the cabin, tons of leaks everywhere and the overall ship quality, barring a crazy price I'm done with that ship. We have done that sailing once or twice a year for many years now, but would skip it if it meant the Grand.

Thanks for the 'sulfur' info, I was trying to be polite and not say what it really smelled like! :eek:;)

 

As for additional salt content on my food, I'm really glad I took the opportunity to sample the unique offerings, something I don't get to do in my everyday life. I really enjoyed the Black Lava salt most of all.

 

:D

I'm with you, the black lava salt was amazing. And I never add salt to my food, though I make an exception for that when we go to there.

We have done the LA-Hawaii sailing a number of times (leaving to do it for our 12th time next week). It is easy for me to choose because I live in LA, so SF and Vancouver are less appealing itineraries for me -- though actually much nicer cities IMHO! :)

That being said, my deciding factor if geographical distance didn't matter is to pick the ship that Elua will be sailing with. David and Leialoha are wonderful musicians, terrific instructors (of hula, ukulele and lei making) and all around wonderful people. I probably would fly to SF just to be on the ship they were on -- though more times than not they are on the LA ship.

I got credit for our sailings on three Sitmar cruises but also had to submit proof. Luckily they allowed me to photocopy photos by the shipboard photographer.

I would get to San Pedro then have breakfast in the area. My choice would be the Omelette & Waffle Shop located at 1103 South Gaffey Street. It's under two miles away from the terminal.....:):):)

 

Bob

Yep, their waffles and bacon are quite good. Parking is often difficult to find but worth the effort.

We went to the Happy Hour onboard the Grand almost every day on our last sailing. Any drink you wanted was buy one get one free. We would often choose Korbel wine splits, as they would leave one bottle unopened and we could take it back to our cabin and enjoy it there. The Happy Hour on the Grand was at the Wheelhouse Bar every day from 3pm-4pm.

I lived in Pasadena for twelve years - right at the termination of the parade. They used to block off our streets for a few days, and stored the floats across the street from our house for a few days after the Parade. Every year I grumbled about the street closures, traffic, crowds and people camping on homeowners lawns - leaving behind trash and peeing in people's gardens.

I moved a little over a year ago and this is my second New Year's Day being away and now I am nostalgic for it. It was sort of nice in retrospect to have eyes of the world on your town. I remember once a Princess assistant waiter from Eastern Europe that asked where I was from, and when I said Pasadena, his eyes lit up and he shouted, "Rose Parade!"

Sailed Princess over 30 times and was always 6am unless they have changed.

I wish it was always the case on each ship -- unfortunately some don't open until 7am, which makes breakfast in the dining room almost impossible after a workout and shower. Like you I have sailed on Princess over 30 times, but I'd say it was 7am on 3 or 4 of those sailings.

Interestingly, this month the Grand's gym doors had a large sign that said it was open at 7am each day but the gym actually opened at 6am.

Thanks very much for your reports - I really enjoy reading them as we board the Pacific on January 7th. May I ask a question? Do they have the buy one get one free happy hour onboard the Pacific Princess? We really enjoyed it on the Grand and I am hoping the Pacific does it as well.

I just got off the Grand yesterday. The internet was (as always) pretty slow. I tend to get online either before 6am or after 8pm as it seemed faster then -- if nothing else less people were online so we were not fighting over the small bit of bandwith. I'm not sure why, but it did seem to get a bit speedier the last couple of days, perhaps people were just not getting online as much.

Yes, I was able to access the WIFI from my iPad whie in my cabin on Emerald deck just fine.

So if the 3000+ poster was stating that the Grand was her least favorite ship and that her expectations for her upcoming cruise were not high...why didn't he/she book a different ship????? Weird comment if you ask me

Possibly for the same reason I did - this is a great itinerary, particularly if you live in LA, and the Grand just happens to be the ship assigned (where it used to be the Golden and will next be the Ruby).

Well, it's rather simple... whether you're actually ON the cruise ship or OFF of it -- like on these boards -- there will ALWAYS be folks that need to complain about something.

That is true - but it is also true that some people are easily pleased or are Princess aplogists. In 32 Princess cruises, this was the only time I ever gave a less than positive review. Every other cruise has been just fine and I have been complimentary. Indeed I did give a commendation to Elmer - an outstanding waiter, Elua, and my terrific room steward - here and in my Princess survey.

If you don't mind tears in the furniture and large brown stains on your bath towels, waiters that leave dirty plates in front of you for ten minutes and steak you can't even cut then great, I am happy for you. Better still, I hope that was not your experience - you had a great time and I am glad you did (no sarcasm, I genuinely mean that). But I have never had such poor service and food on a Princess cruise - it was an anomaly but true. And apparently it was not necessarily an aberration - it may not be a universal opinion of the Grand, but it is not an uncommon one.

Thank you so much for this live thread - I am embarking on the Pacific for Tahiti-LA in a couple of weeks and have never done a small ship so I really look forward to hearing about your experiences. Like you, I booked a balcony guarantee and am awaiting my cabin assignment. I will be sure to stock up on Bonine in case we are in a forward cabin as well. Thanks again for the info! :)

Thank you Waimea'sMom for your comments. I noticed that you are back on the Grand in February. Would that be the 2nd or the 17th? Hope to meet you.

 

Mike Witte was the CD on the Grand when I went to Mexico in November. I was hoping he would take a little more interest in the Hawaiiana program. I guess I am going to have to do mini-lectures for anyone who wants to hear about Hawaii. I would never claim to be as good as Dave Cole! He lives and breaths the island culture.

I agree David Cole is great. Luckily Elua are onboard to infuse Hawaiian culture and aloha spirit. I am on the cruise on the 2nd. :)

It's funny how two different passengers on the exact same cruise can have such differing opinions. My wife and I got off the exact same Grand Princess cruise today and I cannot agree with anything except the few positive things she had to say. BTW, the name of that cocktail waitress in the Wheelhouse had to be Kusum. There were MANY OTHER notable people by name that I've sent in the review for to Princess Cruises.

 

We thought the food was the best we've had on a cruise lately. And the New York last night was very tender. Diff'rent strokes.

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it. Different strokes indeed. Meanwhile we are hoping for a better experience in February. :)

NOTHING is wrong!

 

We boarded the grand on 11/19/14 and disembarked on 12/42014.

 

Could not have had a better trip.

 

Boarding was fast and efficient. Our cabin (an aft suite) was ready, and our room steward popped in as soon as we were there. Probably the best steward we’ve had.

 

Dinner the first night in the Crowne Grille certainly met or exceeded our expectations; filet was dome to perfection, as were the lobster tails. We passed on dessert, as we were full.

 

We had a two top each evening in Anytime Dining, always the same one per our request, so on the second night there, as the server saw us walking to the table she ordered iced tea for us as we had that the night before. Food in the main dining room was just fine, except beef items are not their strong point (except in the Crowne Grille). The Fettuccini Alfredo, was superb, as was the spaghetti carbonara, breads, appetizers, sides were all great. We kept away from desserts for most of the trip.

 

The ship is in great shape. The One-5 is a different from Skywalkers, but very nice, and more intimate. The Suite/Elite/Platinum cocktail hour was just fine.

 

The day before we got to Hilo a crew member stopped by to see what our plans were for the port, as they wanted to replace the carpeting in our suite. They were waiting to start work as we left, and we returned to the ship about 5 minutes before they had completed their work.

 

The crew was spectacular.

 

We were having breakfast in Sabatini’s the first morning and the Captain walked in and went table-by-table to say “Good Morning”

 

Entertainment is very subjective, some we liked more than other.

 

The absolutely worst part of the cruise were some of the guess who were just obnoxious. (not too many!)

 

Would I take a cruise on the Grand again? YES!

I am glad you had a great experience...unfortunately I did not. We also just disembarked from the Grand today. The weather was very good - not cold at all, although we did get a lot of rain on Hilo day. Elua were, as always, wonderful. Lots of great music from them, and the ukulele and hula classes were well attended. This was our 11th time on this itinerary, so we do like the ports and Hawaiian Cultural program very much. We also loved the Happy Hour - two for one drinks are great, but the Wheelhouse filled up fast!

But while I don't want to be a downer, we actually were sort of disappointed with this cruise. The food (to us) was not as good as it usually is on Princess (good for my waistline bad for my tastebuds) and the service was very hit and miss (we had a terrific room steward but a terrible waitress at traditional dining). We usually love the soups, breads and pizza on deck - but soups were watery, breads were dense and the pizza upstairs was inedible. Alfredo's pizza was great, and for the first half of the cruise they let us get pepperoni, but stopped that halfway - then you could only get pepperoni on deck. The best dishes were the pastas - spaghetti e oglio in particular. I could hardly cut my NY steak last night.

Only one waiter at breakfast/lunch was great and we loved the very sweet cocktail waitress at the Wheelhouse. Unfortunately he disembarks in January, fingers crossed that she is still there. The ship itself is a little rough around the edges - the couch in our mini suite was torn, bath towels had lots of stains on them, etc.

As for the cruise staff, I usually don't care what CD it is - unless it is David Cole (wonderful!) or Lee Childers (terrible!) but this guy was pretty bad - never around the ship, and he had no interest in the Hawaiian activities or culture. Not once did he mention the uke and hula classes (both of which had about 60 or so participants) - he seemed disinterested at best. The other cruise staff was good though, Ramon and Ben in particular were fun at trivia.

But it could just be us. Most folks seemed to enjoy the food at the Horizon Court - the line at dinner was usually to the elevators since only one side seemed to be open. I am a little less enthused about sailing this cruise again on the Grand in February, but my fingers are crossed that the food and service will be better then.

We also just disembarked from the Grand today. The weather was very good - not cold at all, although we did get a lot of rain on Hilo day. Elua were, as always, wonderful. Lots of great music from them, and the ukulele and hula classes were well attended. This was our 11th time on this itinerary, so we do like the ports and Hawaiian Cultural program very much. We also loved the Happy Hour - two for one drinks are great, but the Wheelhouse filled up fast!

But while I don't want to be a downer, I agree with the OP - we actually were sort of disappointed with this cruise. The food (to us) was not as good as it usually is on Princess (good for my waistline bad for my tastebuds) and the service was very hit and miss (we had a terrific room steward but a terrible waitress at traditional dining). We usually love the soups, breads and pizza on deck - but soups were watery, breads were dense and the pizza upstairs was inedible. Alfredo's pizza was great, and for the first half of the cruise they let us get pepperoni, but stopped that halfway - then you could only get pepperoni on deck. The best dishes were the pastas - spaghetti e oglio in particular. Like you, I could hardly cut my NY steak last night.

Only one waiter at breakfast/lunch was great and we loved the very sweet cocktail waitress at the Wheelhouse. Unfortunately he disembarks in January, fingers crossed that she is still there. The ship itself is a little rough around the edges - the couch in our mini suite was torn, bath towels had lots of stains on them, etc.

As for the cruise staff, I usually don't care what CD it is - unless it is David Cole (wonderful!) or Lee Childers (terrible!) but this guy was pretty bad - never around the ship, and he had no interest in the Hawaiian activities or culture. Not once did he mention the uke and hula classes (both of which had about 60 or so participants) - he seemed disinterested at best. The other cruise staff was good though, Ramon and Ben in particular were fun at trivia.

But it could just be us. Most folks seemed to enjoy the food at the Horizon Court - the line at dinner was usually to the elevators since only one side seemed to be open. I am a little less enthused about sailing this cruise again on the Grand in February, but my fingers are crossed that the food and service will be better then.