Live From the Golden...YVR...LA...HI

[Protirees]

Here is some information about Captain Calabrese I found online.

 

About the Captain: Captain David Calabrese was born in San Paolo, Brazil in 1954. At the age of six, together with his family, he moved back to South Italy where he spent his formative years. David came away to sea in 1972 and studies and graduated at Sorrento Nautical College. His first appointment as Captain was on the Fairstar in 1992, becoming one of the youngest Captains in the fleet at the age of 38. He has been in command of almost every Princess ship. David lives in the Gold Coast, Australia, with his wife and two children.

[ccrain]

:mad: :( :mad: :( :mad: :(

 

That sucks!!!!!!!

 

Is this Lee character really going to be that much different? We're pretty active people like ccrain. Are we going to be bored for lack of activities planned?

 

 

David has basically set the HI cruise activity schedule and most of the staff is staying. I'm pretty sure not much will change. You might see recorded port talks by David rather than live talks by Lee, that won't be a bad thing, but the majority of the activities should remain similar.

[ccrain]

I also heard that John Foster your Captain will be leaving and the Oct 11th cruise will have a different Captain...bummer....I loved Captain Foster. In fact, he perfprmed our 50th Anniversary vow renewal last year, and I was excited about getting to see him again. have you heard anthing about the new captain coming onboard?

 

I will ask around. The staff right now doesn't know.

 

CC scores again on the coconut wireless.

[ccrain]

CCrain

 

While following your “Live From” thread, I have been trying to keep track of the food themes each night. Some nights you mentioned were,

 

Day 1: Sail away Dinner

Day 2: Princess Dinner 1

Day 3:

Day 4: French Metropolitan

 

If you know some or all the other menu themes, that information would be very helpful in planning specialty restaurant schedules for my cruise. Thanks in advance!

 

I have been taking photos of the menus, hopefully I will get them all, and I will put a list up of the dinner schedule along with scanned patters and the cruise planner.

 

But that won't happen for at least a week or two after we get back. After 3 weeks away from home, I can't imagine the number of emails to wade through.

[ccrain]

Sigh. I'm so sorry to hear that David Cole will not be there on my 10/25 cruise. Is it possible to confirm this ccrain since you are still onboard? I thought you said he was leaving in November' date=' but now someone else says he gets off on 10/25.

 

I really enjoyed his Aloha spirit, he helped turn me onto the ukulele and I was really looking forward to seeing him for a third time. :([/quote']

 

They usually take a 2 month vacation. The staff expects him back on 1/17/10. so that would mean a November departure, but he might leave the prior cruise to do paperwork at home.

 

Everything is very fluid on personnel schedules. So plus or minus a cruise or two would not suprise me.

[HappyMe_]

Really appreciate the time you have given us here in CC with all that great info.

 

Looking forward to your menu, patters, whatever you can share.

 

We are on the November 8th sailing and your wonderful posts have really kicked up our enthusiasm a notch or two.

 

Thanks again.:)

[ccrain]

Overcast, choppy and a different shake to the ship on the way back. Temps in the mid-70's.

 

Last night was a late night. Tonight, with the 1 hour fall back, will be even later.

 

Because of the change in ship motion, Judy went back to bed. I think she will be fine today, just a matter of adapting to the different movements the ship makes going in this direction.

 

We did order room service, but the wind on the balcony and the motion of the ship made it near impossible to eat outside. Love those rear balconies.

 

So we did our ballroom dance class in the morning with Vian and Jane, rhumba, and Vian picked a perfect modern rhumba tune to dance to; the lyrics include ' a vertical expression of a horizontal desire...'.

 

Last night was Italian night, Caliente, the Love and Marriage Game Show and late night dancing. Full night, late night and sleep in this morning for sure.

 

Italian night is one of my favorites. Two Eggplant Parmesans, special pasta from Mario and the veal. Judy really only ate the special pasta and the fettucine alfredo. Her taste buds were still a little off from the morning's motion. Diana had the turbot saltimbocca and enjoyed it.

 

The star was Mario's pasta with red sauce and capers. Very nice. Our second favorite after the seafood pasta with shrimp, mussels, calamari and scallops sauteed in olive oil. I tried the lemoncello last night. Not one of my favorites. I probably should have just shot it, but I preferred to sip. Back to whiskey sours, yes I've changed over from Long Islands to whiskey sours. Variety is the spice of life.

 

So we went to Caliente and sat with Paul, Elizabeth and her mother - Mom to the rest of us. They had previously seen Caliente and directed us to the best seats.

[ccrain]

So we sat center, row 3. Caliente was GREAT. Even more energetic than Cinematastic, with much more dancing, less singing, many more set changes...

 

And now, with our sitting in the front rows, its a whole different perspective. I swear, it seems like Vian and Jane are pointing us out and all the dancers and singers look straight at us and smile or wink at us during the whole show. It really changes the show dynamic and brings you into the show itself. You just have to try this once.

 

Caliente had a lot of latin music and dancing. Our favorite. Vian, as usual, was precise, energetic, graceful, but did keep his clothes on. Jane was gorgeous, as were all the girls. There is one girl with such a big smile, she literally lights up the stage. We are really enjoying the shows all over again from this new perspective.

 

Now all of you should now that Vian teaches ballroom, he is classically ballet trained, he does the silk rope thingy in cinematastic, with few clothes. ( A side note. Apparently as he walked on the stage a couple of days ago, and those of you who have seen cinematastic know that the walk to the silk ropes is done with a very stoic facial expression and a tense body posture, a little girl in the front row exclaims ' mommy, that man is naked' to which the mother replies ' no dear, he is wearing something'.) Vian claims he maintained a straight face.

 

So anyway, at the end of caliente, one person wears a puppet harness for a large oversized giant paper mache figure manuipulated via the harness and poles attached to the harness.

 

Yep, it was Vian. Apparently this guy can do it all.

[ccrain]

So after Caliente, we hotfooted down to the Vista lounge and signed up for the Love and Marriage show, and got on. We were the middle couple and the intent was to have fun, not win. (The couple married for 67 years whos first kiss, and first tryst, occurred on her mother's door step in august 1942 in london england won.)

 

It was a hoot. Unfortunately I am now called "tugboat" as I walk through the Horizon Court and Judy wants to use it as a nickname now.

 

This is not how I intended this to go.

 

So we went dancing after the show to the baby dolls music in explorers and finally packed it all in after midnight.

 

A long day, an entertaining evening and a good nights sleep.

 

Once again, today and tonight, there is a lot to do. The boat building finals, survivor final round, Gaetano the magician, a new comedian juggler, dancing...

 

Having a blast. E'ya later

 

'tugboat'

[GAPeachessweety]

David has basically set the HI cruise activity schedule and most of the staff is staying. I'm pretty sure not much will change. You might see recorded port talks by David rather than live talks by Lee, that won't be a bad thing, but the majority of the activities should remain similar.

 

I am so relieved to hear that. Thank you so much.

 

It was a hoot. Unfortunately I am now called "tugboat" as I walk through the Horizon Court and Judy wants to use it as a nickname now.

 

'tugboat'

 

 

I love it. Tugboat could be your "gangsta" name. Just a little fun we are having on a CC group cruise B2B. We have given everyone a gangsta name and are now known as The G Unit. :D

 

That's interesting about the difference in the motion on the way back. I'm thinking I need to buy extra bonine.

[mii]

I know your trip is not over yet but I want to thank you for giving such great information and chit-chatting about your cruise. I will be on the 10/25 cruise and so looking forward to it.

 

Again thank you very much.

 

Marilyn

[jlines]

do you know what "scraps" and supplies they give you for the boat building competition?

 

We actually won this on our Regal cruise so I will help a little bit. All I'm saying is that you have to be creative. They don't give you anything but you can use anything on the ship that won't get ruined. You not only have to design and build your ship, but one person from your team must also float it across the pool and back. This is one of the most fun activities we have ever done on a ship. I suppose because it was so unique.

 

I too want to thank you Ccrain for all of your wonderful info. We are about 95% sure we are doing this for our spring vacation so this will be great for planning!

[raydon]

What a great live thread. The RT Hawaii still remains one of our favorites and this makes us want to do it again.........thanks so much for the memories!

 

Donna

[JimnKaren]

I have a follow up question. You said that you hiked on lava (makes sense) and then you got onto some limestone, which felt different underfoot. I was under the impression that all of the islands were formed by volcanic activity. How did the limestone get there?

 

Jim

[horsefeathers75]

Hi CCrain,

 

Sounds like you are having a great time. What was the weather like in the islands? did you hear anyone talk about the Safarai excursion in Hilo or the Tubing excursion in Kauai or the Ride the Ducks in Honolulu?

 

Do they have a sports bar on board that you can watch the football game, my group are big Raven Fans and need their football fix and how much is beer aboard.

 

Sounds like you had fun with the love & marriage game, I couldn't do it because my dh is afraid they will ask which one of my friends would he be interested in if I wasn't around.

 

Thanks for all your posts, I have really enjoyed them. Does it feel like you have been on the ship for 11 nights. Will you need a vacation from this vacation?

 

Thanks again.

Blessings.

 

Debi

[DougandEric]

I have a follow up question. You said that you hiked on lava (makes sense) and then you got onto some limestone, which felt different underfoot. I was under the impression that all of the islands were formed by volcanic activity. How did the limestone get there?

 

Jim

 

Hi Jim,

 

We did this tour in 2007. Here's a link to an article about the cave http://www.anthropology.hawaii.edu/Field%20Schools/Kauai/Publications/Publication%209.pdf. They are indeed limestone - very unique in volcanic islands.

[ccrain]

I have a follow up question. You said that you hiked on lava (makes sense) and then you got onto some limestone, which felt different underfoot. I was under the impression that all of the islands were formed by volcanic activity. How did the limestone get there?

 

Jim

 

 

The answer was that this was an "anomaly". Our guide was not a geologist, but I am going to look this up when I get back home. It sure intrigued me!

[ccrain]

We actually won this on our Regal cruise so I will help a little bit. All I'm saying is that you have to be creative. They don't give you anything but you can use anything on the ship that won't get ruined. You not only have to design and build your ship, but one person from your team must also float it across the pool and back. This is one of the most fun activities we have ever done on a ship. I suppose because it was so unique.

 

I too want to thank you Ccrain for all of your wonderful info. We are about 95% sure we are doing this for our spring vacation so this will be great for planning!

 

The winner used empty aluminum beer "bottles" to form a raft, with a few extra bells and whistles.

 

My favorite was a model of the golden, complete with wine cork skywalkers, but it was all out of clear water bottles and lacked the color of the Al bottles.

 

I still think a HI dual outrigger with sail would be neat. Half used push power across the pool, half used dental floss to pull across the pool. One person used and engine, but the prop wouldn't spin right and he had no rudder to keep it straight.

 

Besides looks, I thing motive power has the most room for creativity.

[ccrain]

Hi CCrain,

 

Sounds like you are having a great time. What was the weather like in the islands? did you hear anyone talk about the Safarai excursion in Hilo or the Tubing excursion in Kauai or the Ride the Ducks in Honolulu?

 

Do they have a sports bar on board that you can watch the football game, my group are big Raven Fans and need their football fix and how much is beer aboard.

 

Sounds like you had fun with the love & marriage game, I couldn't do it because my dh is afraid they will ask which one of my friends would he be interested in if I wasn't around.

 

Thanks for all your posts, I have really enjoyed them. Does it feel like you have been on the ship for 11 nights. Will you need a vacation from this vacation?

 

Thanks again.

Blessings.

 

Debi

 

No feedback on any of those tours. A lot of people did their own thing on all the islands.

 

There is a sports bar up front. Players. They do show some of the football games, Monday night, on MUTS if they get the satellite feed. I will check on the beer price. The best deal is the 5 for 4. 5 in a bucket for the price of 4.

 

Judy just came back from the bar. Bucket of beer for $19.

 

Oh they do ask about his second wife. To which the guy married for 67 years replied, 'Blanche, who is sitting in the front row with her husband...'. When asked upon her return, the wife also pointed to the poor red faced lady in the front row and said 'Blanche'...

 

We've actually been on board since 9/27 in Vancouver. Its the longest time we've been on a ship. We are not ready to go home and if possible we would do it again next week. Unfortunately, the amount of work piled up at home will require another vacation in about 3 weeks, but nope, we won't need a vacation from this one.

 

That's the real beauty of cruising. Unpack once, or in our case twice, for a 3 week cruise in which your hardest decision is what to eat, when to eat, what to go see or what dance to dance.

 

This cruise will be in our top 5 cruises for sure.

[ccrain]

The cruise has had pretty much overcast the entire time. Not any rough water, in fact, a lot less than I feared for our first big water cruise. (Judy is fine by the way. She got a little nauseous in the shower yesterday, but otherwise, her sea legs are back.)

 

As everyone has said, the first 2 days out and the last 2 days back with not be shorts weather on the decks - especially later in the year.

 

I feel for the people with helicopter tours this cruise. The weather in Hilo was terrible, overcast and rainy all day, but great for hiking. Kuai'i was ok, but there was an overcast layer there as well, and rain clouds were abundent in the morning, but blue skyed in the afternoon. Probably too late for much flightseeing.

 

One of the excursions taped for the Reflections DVD on Maui was a helicopter tour. If you liked clouds, it was great, but much of anything else. A few waterfall shots, but clouds were everywhere and they had to go in under the ceiling.

 

On the other hand, I have liked the weather a lot. Not too hot like a Caribbean cruise or my time on Oahu in August. I like cool.

[ccrain]

These 4-5 days at sea are really nice. The time changes really suck going this way. Last night an hour, tonight another hour. So when we finally dragged off to bed after midnight, it instantly became after 1am. So that 7am wide awake for me this morning was way too early.

 

So yesterday there was so much to do, we had to skip ballroom and line dance. Had to sample the other stuff at least once. Watched the survivor finals - an older guy who got voted out the first day won over the younger crowd - experience triumphs again! The boat building finals - someone needs to design a submarine with a motor. That would be unique.

 

Judy went to a Lei demo class, while I puttered around the wheelhouse.

 

Passenger feud was fun - just like family feud, sort of. Judy and Diana were on the girl's team. When I left they were behind and still came back to win.

 

Last night was the Cosmopolitan Dinner, I think. Didn't matter. Mario whipped out the anti-pasta. Grilled asparagus joined the peppers, zuchinni and eggplant. The ham, salami and sausages were delicious - especially when joined with the cheese plate cheeses. Yummy!

 

Everyone had the fettucine alfredo. Good stuff. The barley soup was ok, but too much like oatmeal for breakfast. I had lamb, good, judy had the home style cuisine Dutch Ribs, also good. Diana and keith had the surf and turf, which they also enjoyed.

 

Dessert was cherries jubilee. One of our favorites - with vanilla ice cream.

 

Peter Sasso, a juggling comedian, was in the Vista. After he warmed the crowd up, it got very funny. Tonight he has a different show, one liners only.

 

We danced prior to dinner, after dinner, before the show and after the show. Mainly to Equinox in the wheelhouse. The Golden Princess band did latin tunes in Explorer's from 1030 on, but they covered the whole range and we don't know how to Mambo or Samba. About 1130, we headed over to the wheelhouse for a night cap with Paul and Elizabeth. So I wanted to try a shooter. Monica and Olga came up with a Woo-Woo. Cranberry, vodka and triple sec. Very dangerous drink. Tasted like watered down fruit juice. Light, not too sweet, did not taste the vodka. She must have used the good stuff.

 

Slept like a baby...

 

Tonight is another busy, busy night. But boy will be need a power nap today.

 

See ya!

[LarryL]

ccrain, thanks so much for posting your experiences. Although we are a long way from our cruise, you have provided me a lot to look forward to when we are finally under way ourselves. I am most looking forward to the sea days. We have been lucky enough to get C752 and I am already anticipating the the sunrises going and sunsets returning from our balcony. It's also nice to know there are so many choices of things to do every day. As the snow is gently coming down on the Front Range I am imagining how nice it would be right now laying by the pool sipping something good or taking in games or entertainment. I also have time to practice my shipbuilding skills (lol).

 

Larry

[maplo]

Thank you so much for this live thread. I have really enjoyed it. My DH and I will soon be doing this trip.

I have a question for you. Did you notice how much the pictures are such as formal,embarkation, port pictures, etc?

I always spend too much on pictures and with this being our first trip to Hawaii as well as first time on Princess, well, probably gonna want the pictures.

I really have to pinch myself that in just over 2 weeks, I will be on this ship going to Hawaii.

Thanks again for taking time to do this live post.

Pam

[SFParrtHd]

Have to add one more thank you for your great "live" updates. We'll be on 10/25 and so looking forward to it. You have been so nice as to find out everyone's questions and requests. So sad that David Cole will probably not be the CD on our cruise, but we'll manage to cope anyway :D

[horsefeathers75]

Thanks CCrain for all that you have shared. Now I need to go pack for my 10/11 cruise.

 

Thanks again.

 

Debi