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We too attended Chef’s Table on Royal on Sept 19 and I agree, it was not anything like it has been and was not at all worth the $130 usd cost. I convinced my friend to do it telling her how OTT amazing it would be and was embarrassed at how ridiculously underwhelming it was. Oysters Rockefeller were gritty and impossible to eat. We were offered veal or salmon. Other than a pretty potato decoration on the salmon it was no better than MDR salmon. Did not receive the cookbook (which is fine as although I like to cook, the recipes are not practical and the book is just very heavy to transport home.) Won’t be doing Chef’s Table again, but I have memories of many amazing experiences, including on the old Royal. Also did a $50 wine tasting in Sabatinis which was… strange. Not worth the cost. Included a small lunch.

Not sleeping at night because my bed is not gently rocking.

Shockers, they had soap upon request when I was on Sapphire end of September, but since COVID I’ve been told no, liquid only on ships and have started bringing my own, or recently I was on Royal and bought some before embarkation as I had a weight restricted flight to get to the ship. So I’d assume no, and bring some if it’s important.

Twas lovely… really nice music.

We were there in May and walked to Ala Moana (foof! Hot!) and then took an Uber back. That’s enough time in the sun!

If you haven’t already seen, and even if you have, highly recommend Leo Rossi. He’ll likely do 3-4 different presentations and they’re all great. Bought his book after seeing him on 2 different sailings. Stories in the book are similar but more elaborate than the ones he tells on stage. All fascinating. He seems to have guest/colleagues on stage with him too which is another layer of interesting! What restaurant is your food/martini from and what did you order? Thanks for posting!

Is it walkable? The one towards Chinatown has closed. There is still a Ross Dress for Less walkable from the ship towards Chinatown. Maybe at the shopping centre but that’s 3mi/5km.

WHAT! I bet the crew are not happy about that.

Yes, had many a vesper on Koningsdam!

Cruisedeckplans.com?

The crew like to walk to Ross Dress for Less! There are some Hawaiian themed items here. You’re walking distance to Chinatown which is very fun, albeit a bit edgey, to explore. BEAUTIFUL leis in a few Chinatown shops and you can watch them being made. Things shut down by 4ish in Chinatown on a weekday though.

The other side of the coin from those with negative thoughts… I have no experience with Equus, but have stayed at the Prince which is on the waterside in front of the Equus. It’s on the one hand a good location as you’re just a short walk across the bridge to the Ala Moana shopping Center which is also a major bus transit point. It’s also at the marina where “Gilligan set sail for the 3 hour tour” from! The Charthouse restaurant is nearby and is (relatively) reasonable and good. It’s not an unsafe neighborhood. BUT, it’s a longish walk, that gets old quick, to the busy hectic fun Waikiki beach area. Easy to get Ubers, Lyfts, cabs, buses here though. And as someone said, you’re right on Ala Moana Blvd at the entrance to Waikiki and EVERY car & bus & truck & motorcycle will go by here! But, it’s just busy in Waikiki! I do suggest you book a cancellable fare (which sounds like you’ve done), and just keep an eye on other deals at Equus and all other hotels. Every week or 3 have a look on whatever booking site you like, sort it in $ order and filter out what you don’t want. Your rate is good (if it includes tax and resort fee), so now you have a benchmark and something just in case nothing else is more attractive. I can say more if you want more input! I’ve stayed at a few different “sort of affordable” hotels in Waikiki as it’s (one of) my favourite cruise areas! But it is expensive to stay and to eat there.

Was just on a Princess ship in “Reserve Class” (formerly “Club Class”). The restaurant podium had a sign saying Reserve Class and MANY folks who had dinner reservations thought… oh, that must mean I stand over there, at “reserve class”. The staff were clearly counting to 10 and back again dealing with the grumpy frustrated confused non Reserve Class guests!

We discovered the “Windy” app on a recent Alaska cruise with cancelled ports due to wind. It’s fun/scary/ominous!

What did you end up doing? That’s a lot of OBC! Was it all non refundable?

And… if I have excess non refundable onboard credit, other than buying un-needed gift store items, how else can I get this $? Can I use in slot machines? Any other ideas?

Was just on the Sapphire. We really enjoyed it. We twice ordered the grilled cheese on multigrain bread (kids menu area of the app) with potato chips, and cole slaw, and Caesar salad with anchovies, a fruit side (small cup of diced fruit), and double wines each and it was a lovely, quick, predictable basic meal. I mention it in case you didn’t think to look at the kids menu. Enjoy, and thanks for posting!

Oh! This is my favourite topic! Have you been to Kaanapali Beach hotel lately? The beach bar and food hut are gone. Razed. Further out by the walkway is a fancy new building with a fancy restaurant. Underneath that is a take out grill and bar combination. This is what they sold in April 2023 as a maitai. In May I went again and it was a different juice type rum drink out of a can. Not good (the April one wasn’t bad and can be purchased at ABC stores!) The poke bowl was quite good. But no yummy fish sandwich. Dale, the bartender, had been there since 1970 when I last saw him a couple of years ago. He’s making maitais for folks in heaven now. Next time I’ll check out the westin Kaanapali pool bar. Thanks!

Thanks all.

HIA not available when we purchased.

Should we buy the signature (or maybe elite?) drink package before we board? Is it ever on sale? I’m Canadian and will be sailing October 2023 on a pacific US coastal. Thanks!

Can you explain how the slot tournament works? I’ve done the cruise critic ones where we all put an amount into a pot and all get a few pulls and we’ve always lost more than we’ve put in but they’re super fun. Was this a ship tournament? How did it not cost anything?

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We enjoyed that little car museum and the owner and his friends were very nice as you say! We also roasted marshmallows which I also thought was a nice thing to have at the market. We liked this port!