kluv2cruz

9 hours ago, terrydtx said:

My wife had the salmon dish, and it was cooked the way she likes, medium rare, and I had the chef’s special Peruvian Chicken, it was delicious, not over cooked, and one of the best chicken dishes on any cruise.  I found that the CO dining room has some other items not on the MDR menu. For a starter there is seared Tuna and asparagus salad that was delicious and for the entrees they have Beecher’s Mac and Cheese every night. I will have that Tuna starter again.

Isn’t the tuna fantastic? And, every day the dining room is open for lunch, the catch of the day is served how your wife likes her salmon- medium rare, and hot. The Beechers Mac and cheese in CO is creamy, hot and yummy. Ordered it at lunch in main dining room and not worth having - not hot, not creamy, and dried out. Enjoy!

On 9/3/2023 at 10:12 PM, echoshipmate said:

We were on the Royal for 3 b2b's in July/August. We also attended the Chef's Table and it was horrible! I think our group was the guinea pigs for a new menu, nothing like the former menu. All good theater, lousy food. Biggest waste of $130 each. Made our opinion known to the DRO, nicely, to no avail. Was thinking maybe drop 1 of our covers, very disappointed in the attitude and the experience. Never again and this was probably the 5th or 6th we have attended.

Doug

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.

29 minutes ago, LRCruzr said:

Not on Caribbean Princess...But I think a bar of Dove will fit in your LUGGAGE ???

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.

8 hours ago, 9tee2Sea said:

make sure to visit Take 5 in the evening.  It's a Jazz club with a very good trio. Located adjacent to the Casino.

Twas lovely… really nice music.

4 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

Update:  The Honolulu WM that was close to Ala Moana shopping center is closed.

They moved the location, not really close to the Pier.  We went to Ala Moana shopping center to Longs/CVS and an ABC store instead.

 

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!

13 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

No, they are not happy.  But, Honolulu Walmart is walkable for the young crew members.

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. 

1 hour ago, PacnGoNow said:

No more walmart free shuttle bus at Hilo port.

 

Walmart stopped the Roberts Hawaii bus.  We were here today.  Taxi about $10 to get to Walmart.

 

There is a free shuttle to the Marketplace in Hilo town.

 

Not anywhere near Walmart though.

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

On 10/18/2023 at 8:46 PM, Hobar said:

Will be a HAL first timer.  Can I order off the drink menu list, such as a Vesper?

Yes, had many a vesper on Koningsdam! 

5 hours ago, JF - retired RRT said:

There was a post a couple of years ago that told how to figure out where the beds would be...maybe @Essiesmom?

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.

13 hours ago, MrsTocko said:

I have booked our pre cruise hotel for our POA Thanksgiving 2024 cruise.  I booked at the Equus.  Haven’t really seen much if anything regarding this hotel.  We get that we are going to have to figure out a few transportation logistics (well, I will).  Given the time of year we are going, and the location I think I got a pretty good rate (approx 150-175 per night). Hotel looks decent.  Doesn’t look like I will be afraid to walk barefoot on the carpet, or other safety concerns.  Im a responsible adult, that pays attention to my surroundings.  We are only there for 2 nights, so we can put up with a lot if we need to.

 

does anyone have any direct experience at the equus?  I would rather spend money on the cruise and experiences than the hotel.  It is prepaid, but refundable, if I am making a horrible mistake, I will try to find something else.  We typically are a Hilton garden inn/towneplace by marriott - middle of the road type hotel.

 

 

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.

1 hour ago, DaveOKC said:

They had a podium attached to the regular one on the Volendam but no separate line and no banner sign (unlike on the larger ships) directing CLub Orange guests to use it.  When I went up to the podium and there was a line, people were not too happy with me as they thought I was line cutting.

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!

On 2/18/2023 at 9:29 PM, Longwood50 said:

I am on a Holland America cruise and have about $2900 in on board credits. More than what I will possibly use for dining or shore excursions.

 

I have read where people said you could go to casino use the credits to gamble then cash in. 

 

My Navigator account says non refundable and can not be used in casino

 

Has anyone been on a recent HAL cruise or is this just a scare to keep people from going into the casino with onboard credits.

 

I am a cynic and have learned to ask and verify. 

 

Thank You

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?

2 hours ago, Woobstr112G said:

We are going to skip going out for dinner tonight. We’ll probably order something delivered as Holli’s back is not cooperating so I want her to rest up. 
 

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!

6 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

If we expand beyond Honolulu the Mai Tai at The Kaanapali Beach Hotel is strong and very faithful to the original-- consistently excellent over the years. Current favorite is at the Westin, also on Kaanapali. The bartender at the pool bar named Junior has his own riff on it called the No Ka 'Oi Mai Tai. Its heaven (if you like orgeat). 

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.

7 hours ago, crystalspin said:

If HIA is available to Canadians, you should buy it instead. Currently in US$, HIA is $50pppd, with SBP more than that by itself! So it's sort of on sale when it is bundled...

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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