Terry&Elizabeth

We love to snorkel as well even though we lived on Maui for 20 years.  You would think we got our fill?  Having sailed on the PG  several times and also stayed in OWB's where you could literally snorkel to your hearts content, we say sail the PG.   To us the day on Motu Mahana is priceless.  You will have a great time kayaking, swimming and snorkeling around the motu.  The water is pristine.  As long as you avoid contacting the spiny urchins, we fell that you will fall in love with the South Pacific charm of this tiny island paradise.  Virtually every stop on the itinerary offers unique snorkeling opportunities.  We combine a handful of ship excursions with some car rental exploring and can assure you that every day will be memorable. 

25 minutes ago, 1emerald1 said:

Thanks for your great review, I board one week from today!  I just watched the Royal depart San Pedro and it looked to me that there were very few people up on deck.  On your cruise, was the sail away party moved indoors?  Just curious because it has been pretty windy here.  Or, maybe the quality of the you tube video isn't that clear.

We also watched the Royal back out from the pier at about 4:15 PDT on the LA Harbor Cam.   It looked to us that there was a ton of passengers on decks 16 & 17 watching the sailaway.  Pretty exciting to think that our wait is down to 7 days. 

Overall Cruise Rader gave the Royal an 8 out of 10 which is darn good.  Ok the people at the buffets were pigs but they are that way at the Bellagio and Caesar buffets in Vegas.     We have never tried Princess and our blast off is coming up next Saturday.  Frankly, we'll take an 8 and be pleased as punch.  This cruise is reasonably priced as it compares to other pricey gigs we've tried so honestly if the sun is shining and the temperatures are balmy, we will enjoy our week. 

40 minutes ago, 4cats4me said:

We know that suite on Celebrity. LOL  Our friends were right next door in the Royal suite and we peeked at that adjoining PH balcony with hot tub. On our sailing Kodak Corporation had the PH. Infinity was only 4 months old when we sailed.  Love Celebrity.  Best cruiseline ever.  

Yes, we hosted a sailaway party for 70 cruise critic buddies.  We put our butler through a "baptism of fire" and he came through with flying colors.  He managed to get us  72  jumbo shrimp cocktails to accompany about 30 bottles of champagne.  At the end of the party I asked him for my tab and he wrote out a receipt for zero dollars.  I was thinking about 2 grand and was flabbergasted that Celebrity picked up our tab.  Needless to say he was thrilled with his tip.  For the entire cruise he performed above and beyond our imagination.  Finally at debarkation he personally walked us to customs and carried our luggage on a cart.  It's that kind of personal service that really makes a cruise a very special treat.   When we opened our suitcases at home we found 2 lovely beach towels and 2 bath robes with the Celebrity logo.  This will be our first gig on Princess as we are joining friends from Orange County.  While we like Celebrity I know we will enjoy the Royal at bargain basement pricing.   

Hermosa Beach Cruiser mahalo for the descriptive and informative blog "live from the Royal Princess".  We enjoyed it immensely and, since it was so complete,  we might as well cancel our reservations for 4/27.  lol   You and Mom looked simply "maahvalous" on the formal nights.  Did the majority of the diners dress for the occasions?  

Thanks also for your evaluation of suites on NCL.  Have you ever sailed Celebrity?  They have a penthouse suite on the Infinity and Summit that is huge. We tried it for a trip to the Caribbean and have been spoiled ever since.   It includes a hot tub on the "mega" veranda which is half the stern on deck 6. Take a peek as it's not much more than the NCL https://www.celebritycruises.com/things-to-do-onboard/staterooms/suite-class/penthouse-suite 

Finally, off topic when I (Terry) was 8 years old I was swimming at Hermosa Beach and got caught in a rip tide.  I was at least 300 yards off the shoreline heading for Catalina before I was rescued by an alert lifeguard.  He saved my life.  Makes me shake again just thinking about it. 

Sounds like you have some future cruises stacked that sound awesome.  Thanks again Tiffany.

Aloha, Terry

On 4/7/2019 at 6:52 PM, chipz said:

Have been enjoying the thread. We leave on the 13th when you get back. Have you heard the Mariachi group? I saw your patter mentioned Los Brilllantes. They were on the Ruby, which we sailed 3 times to Mexico. They were great.

Have a great time, we can't wait to get aboard. 🥂

We love mariachi bands.  You mentioned Los Brilllantes.  Do they play mariachi music with all the brass?