Jasperdo

This is excellent news! Do you have any upcoming cruises booked? Can't wait to read your next one.

My wife and I took this cruise a few years ago and loved it. We've done the traditional Mexican Riviera many times, and liked how this went to some different ports. We especially enjoyed Loreto. It's a very laid back, authentic Mexican town. Very different from Cabo San Lucas. La Paz was nice too, but it's a larger city and the cruise port is quite a ways from town. If you're interested, I have a link to the photos I took on that trip below in my signature.

My wife and I took this tour a few years ago. You get some free time by the Cathedral, and there are vendors there. My wife bought a beautiful Mola here:

 

 

There were also some vendors a bit later in the walking tour as we walked through Esteban Huertas Promenade:

 

 

We also made a stop at a "recommended" store that had a lot of Panama items, and bathrooms! Have fun. We thought this was a great tour.

The Park Service is still providing the boat ride out to the Memorial. It's just not docking at the Memorial itself. Here's the full press release from the National Park Service:

 

"USS ARIZONA MEMORIAL CLOSURE UPDATE:

Due to a critical structural and safety issue impacting the USS Arizona Memorial dock and visitor loading ramp, the Memorial will remain closed to visitation for an undetermined period of time while repairs are made.

During the course of repairs, the free USS Arizona Memorial programs will proceed on schedule. Visitors will continue to see the 25 minute documentary film followed by a harbor tour of Battleship Row in close proximity to the USS Arizona Memorial. The National Park Service (NPS) will provide live or recorded commentary during tours to enhance our visitors’ experience to the greatest extent possible.

Following several weeks of analysis and continued consultation with structural engineers, the NPS has determined that what originally seemed to be a minor repair process, is in fact more significant than originally anticipated. The amount of time needed to implement the repairs is unknown, but the NPS will continue to provide information to the public as our team of specialists works together to restore access as soon as possible.

All other amenities within the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center remain open and accessible. Visitors are encouraged to visit our two free museums, shore side exhibits, bookstore, and virtual reality center. Likewise, our partners at the Battleship Missouri Memorial, the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park, and the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor are open and ready to welcome visitors.

As Memorial Day approaches, across the nation the National Park Service strives to honor our fallen veterans as well as those who continue to serve. We understand the unfortunate nature of the USS Arizona Memorial closure during this period and ask visitors to understand that their safety is our primary concern. We thank everyone for their understanding and patience."

Here are a couple of photos that show the layout of the drop off area at Pier 91. The drop off lanes are between the two sets of rain awnings. The left lanes are for cars and the right lanes for taxis. A previous poster said that Uber uses the car lanes, so that would be the further lanes in the photos. The terminal building is just to the left of the photos:

 

 

Here's a photo of the self serve drink station at the Horizon Court Buffet on the Ruby Princess, which is a sister ship of the Emerald. All the way to the right is the ice and cold water dispenser. Just to the left of that is a box with a selection of tea bags. To the left of that a tap for hot water, along with one for the ready made iced tea if you want to try it to see if you like it. Personally I enjoy the ship's iced tea from the tap. But I know a lot of people don't care for it.

 

Its got a glass sliding roof over the pool closer to the funnel but I have never known Princess to ever open the glass doors on their covered pools.

I've seen it happen once, docked in San Pedro on embarkation day:

 

 

 

Jasperdo! You are my kind of cruiser! I looked at your signature....Great variety

Thank you. My wife and I do like to vary things up when we can.

Here's a picture of the indoor pool on the Sapphire Princess:

 

 

There are also hot tubs by the outdoor pool...

 

 

...as well as at the aft of the ship:

 

Have never used International Cafe..not really sure why. Usually on higher decks, perhaps.

 

Are there any coffees / teas served there, that do not involve additional costs, please?

 

I know RCCL have Horizon Court type coffee , tea and iced water , free of charge, in their equivalent cafe.

 

Many thanks.

The International Cafe does not have a self serve drink station similar to Cafe Promenade on RCCL. I wish they did, I really enjoyed having one on RCCL.

Can I change all the photos to public once I import them or do I have to do it individually.

I might be able to help you with that. On Flickr, click on "Camera Roll", then select all the photos you want to change. At the bottom left you'll see a tab that says "Privacy". Click on that and change the photos to "Public". Hope this helps.

Hi Jasperdo, I looked at your pics of your Hawaii cruise on the Star. They are great! Can you tell me if you took ship excursions and which ones? I would like to know what days were the formal nights? I'm taking the Ruby out of LA to Hawaii in April 2019 and I'm so excited! I'm thinking about taking my ukulele with me so I can participate in the lessons. Do they have several onboard or should I go ahead and bring mine? I'm looking forward to the sea days and the activities!

Thank you so much!

 

Lynn

Thank you for the compliment. Glad you liked the photos. We didn't take any ship excursions on either trip. We took the local bus both times in Honolulu. It goes to Pearl Harbor and Waikiki Beach. We also just walked around downtown Honolulu. In Hilo we rented a car both times. The first trip we went to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The second time we headed north to Akaka Falls and sightseeing around Hilo. Both Lahaina and Kauai were skipped the first cruise due to bad weather. The second time around we rented a car on Kauai and went north to Hanalei and Kilauea Lighthouse. In Lahaina we took the city bus up to Whalers Village for awhile, then explored downtown Lahaina on foot.

 

As for formal nights, they were on the second sea day going to the islands, and the first and fourth sea day on the way back. But this is subject to change, so double check the Patters onboard to be sure. The ship provides ukuleke's for the lessons, but you're always welcome to bring your own.

My wife and I have done the round trip out of Los Angeles twice. We enjoyed it a lot. It's a nice mix of relaxing sea days, coupled with a sampling of the four main Hawaiian Islands. Princess has a very good Hawaiian cultural program during sea days. There will be hula lessons, ukulele classes, Hawaiian music, etc. The cruises out of LA usually have the husband and wife team Elua onboard. They are wonderful musicians and excellent ambassadors for Hawaii. If you're interested, I have the photos I took on both sailings below in my signature, along with the daily "Patters", which will give you an idea what to expect onboard.

The back page of the Patter doesn't always say which dining room is open for embarkation day lunch. I went back and checked my last Star Princess cruise, and it doesn't show lunch in any dining room. My guess would be the Portofino Dining Room on Deck 6 mid-ship, since that's where breakfast and lunch were served other days. Here's what the last page of the embarkation Patter on the Star Princess looked like:

This year had just too much going on in our lives that we pushed it off a year, despite pining for the Fjords.

Don't forget to take your Parrot Polly with you to the Fjords.

 

And now for something completely different... Your latest review was another joy to read. And the photos are terrific as always. I've already put your Azamara cruise up on my calendar to remind me to go searching for it. I'm especially interested in that one. Cuba has been a destination I've wanted to go to for the longest time. Can't wait to hear about it through your eyes, and lens.

 

 

 

 

Here are a few photos of some of the shops on the Ruby Princess:

 

Meridian Bay

 

Essence

 

Calypso Cove

 

Calypso Cove

My favorite public restroom on the ship in the morning is by the Princess Theater, starboard side. It gets little traffic in the morning and I'm usually the first person to sign that visitor book pinned to the back of the door.

I've used that same restroom a few times myself. Have you noticed that the same guy signs the visitor book every hour all day long? I think he needs to see a doctor about that.

The captain didn’t give us your consolation prize which we hoped to experience. Instead he repeatedly sailed the ship back & forth slowly along the south Kauai coastline which was much less beautiful than the Na Pali coast.

That's too bad. Even though I was disappointed in not docking in Kauai, I really enjoyed the sail around the island.

We cruised the Na Pali Coast on the Golden Princess back in 2011. Unfortunately that was because we couldn't dock at Nawilliwilli harbor due to high winds, and the Captain did a circle cruise of Kauai as a consolation prize:

 

It was going to be either that or one of the turrets from the local White Castle- half a dozen sliders and an order of crinkle cut fries is one of my guilty pleasures.

I grew up in Brooklyn, NY, and White Castle was one of my favorite places to go. I still seek one out whenever we take a road trip back east.

 

Anyone know what the white tower is?

Excellent photos from the Queen Juliana Bridge.

I am out of the review writing game - this was my last one. It was fun while it lasted and thanks for following along.

Sorry to hear that, but I can totally understand. It was always a treat to find one of Sailor Jack's masterpieces. Thank you so much for all the laughs through the years, and happy sailing on all your future cruises.

This was something we enjoyed and if you are wondering if it is wheelchair accessible-yes it is as there is a small elevator on the port side of Tradewinds that only goes from 16 to 17. They use it to ferry towels and the Afternoon Tea up to the Sanctuary.

Here's a photo I took of that elevator of the Ruby Princess: