Live from the Sapphire Princess 14 Day R/T to Hawaii March 9, 2011

[Woobstr112G]

Good evening from the Sapphire Princess. We are getting ready to depart from Hilo after a wonderful day here. The weather was good to start off but as we got back to the ship, it started to rain lightly. We took a helicopter excursion, offered by Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, that was well worth the cost. We had an approximate 45 minute flight that was awesome. Our pilot showed us what seemed like everything to see. They had an HD camera setup on the helicopter that took a video of the flight from both inside and outside the ship. It was an extra $25.00 but well worth the price.

 

After we got back to the ship, we had a late lunch at Alfredo’s. The pizza was great however the bar service was rather slow. Not sure if we’ll eat in the MDR tonight as we ate lunch so late.

 

Today’s entertainment offerings were as follows. Paniolo O Hawaii was shown on MUTS at 10:00a; Mauna Kea was shown at MUTS at 11:30am; Janet Jackson in concert was shown at MUTS at 3:00pm; Lionel Ritchie in Concert on MUTS at 5:00pm; Robert & Frank will be on MUTS at 7:15pm & 10:00pm. Early even melodies in the Piazza are from 5:00pm to 9:00pm. The production show tonight is “Stardust” in the Princess theater. Show times are &:00pm, 8:15pm, and 10:15pm. The Wheelhouse bar had easy listening with the Pastime Duo between 6:15 and 7:00pm. The Randy Heddon Quartet is once again in the Wheelhouse from 9:00pm onwards.

 

Tomorrow is Honolulu. We are doing the Paradise Cove Luau which I am really looking forward to.

 

Well that’s all for now. Hope all are well…..:):):)

 

Bob

[poncho1965]

Great day in Hilo! Rain much of the day, but I could move here I think!

 

 

Mike

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Great shot of the volcano:D

 

Enjoying your live from and looking forward to the rest of the trip. Makes me want to go back!!!:D

[Woobstr112G]

Good morning from Honolulu Hawaii. Weather is beautiful today. We are doing the Paradise Cove Luau this evening. Not much on tap for this morning other than heading to a local Kinkos as I have to send American Express some paperwork regarding some misplaced travelers checks. When I'm done with that, we might do a little shopping and then rest up before the luau tonight,

 

Hope all are well.....:):):)

 

Bob

[Woobstr112G]

Good afternoon all. Just got back onboard after filling out/faxing paperwork regarding lost travelers checks. Very big hassle. Don't believe for a second what American Express says about friendly 24/7 customer service and easy replacement if lost/stolen. The terrible customer service and utter hassles are going to make me seriously think about canceling all my AMEX cards. I have never been so poorly treated. One thing is for certain, I'll never buy another travelers check as long as I live.

 

Going to rest up before heading out to the Luau later on.

 

Take Care All.....:):):)

 

Bob

[lovevacadays]

Good afternoon all. Just got back onboard after filling out/faxing paperwork regarding lost travelers checks. Very big hassle. Don't believe for a second what American Express says about friendly 24/7 customer service and easy replacement if lost/stolen. The terrible customer service and utter hassles are going to make me seriously think about canceling all my AMEX cards. I have never been so poorly treated. One thing is for certain, I'll never buy another travelers check as long as I live.

 

Going to rest up before heading out to the Luau later on.

 

Take Care All.....:):):)

 

Bob

 

Bummer! Sorry to hear it was such a hassle. I would never have thought it would be with American Express. Hopefully, you will have a wonderful time at the luau this evening.:)

[CruisinLow]

Good afternoon all. Just got back onboard after filling out/faxing paperwork regarding lost travelers checks. Very big hassle. Don't believe for a second what American Express says about friendly 24/7 customer service and easy replacement if lost/stolen. The terrible customer service and utter hassles are going to make me seriously think about canceling all my AMEX cards. I have never been so poorly treated. One thing is for certain, I'll never buy another travelers check as long as I live.

 

Going to rest up before heading out to the Luau later on.

 

Take Care All.....:):):)

 

Bob

 

I too am sorry that you had hassles with Amex. I have always had great customer service. But there are always reps who are having a really bad day. You are in Hawaii. Keep having fun and forget about why happened for now

[caribill]

Good afternoon all. Just got back onboard after filling out/faxing paperwork regarding lost travelers checks. Very big hassle. Don't believe for a second what American Express says about friendly 24/7 customer service and easy replacement if lost/stolen. The terrible customer service and utter hassles are going to make me seriously think about canceling all my AMEX cards. I have never been so poorly treated. One thing is for certain, I'll never buy another travelers check as long as I live.

 

 

It has been a while, but two times in the past I have had lost TC and I had no hassle either time getting a refund.

 

I had to provide a copy of the receipt for the TC and indicate what the numbers were on the mssing checks.

 

Travelers' Checks of any brand are becoming obsolete. It is getting hard to find them. Many places which formerly sold them now sell pre-paid debit cards instead. Also, fewer and fewer merchants and banks overseas are willing to accept them.

[Woobstr112G]

It has been a while, but two times in the past I have had lost TC and I had no hassle either time getting a refund.

 

I had to provide a copy of the receipt for the TC and indicate what the numbers were on the mssing checks.

 

Travelers' Checks of any brand are becoming obsolete. It is getting hard to find them. Many places which formerly sold them now sell pre-paid debit cards instead. Also, fewer and fewer merchants and banks overseas are willing to accept them.

 

Even thought I consider myself old school, I think this will be the last time I ever purchase TC's.....

 

Bob

[Woobstr112G]

 

Good morning from beautiful Kaui. We just tied up at the dock. Today we are heading to the Grand Canyon. I'd rather Holli take a break for today, but being the trooper she is, she wants to go. We had a great time at the Luau last night. I'll post more later on that.

Hope All Are Well.....:):):)

 

Bob

[casavaha]

Bob: Just a reminder, if you could ask one of the servers in the Wheelhouse, how long

the Randy Heddon Quartet will be on the ship.

Thanks much,

Greg

[pedirn]

Bob.... not happy to hear about your difficulties with the travelers checks. We still use them frequently for travel. And we always keep some in the house during hurricane season....never know when power will be out. Found out years ago about no power which means no ATM's or banks. Enjoy you cruise. We did this cruise in Nov on the Sapphire and really enjoyed it.

Chris

[Woobstr112G]

Bob: Just a reminder, if you could ask one of the servers in the Wheelhouse, how long

the Randy Heddon Quartet will be on the ship.

Thanks much,

Greg

 

Greg;

 

I will do my best tonight to ask personally.....:):):)

 

Bob

[Mom33]

 

Good morning from beautiful Kaui. We just tied up at the dock. Today we are heading to the Grand Canyon. I'd rather Holli take a break for today, but being the trooper she is, she wants to go. We had a great time at the Luau last night. I'll post more later on that.

Hope All Are Well.....:):):)

 

Bob

 

Beautiful sunrise! You are having wonderful weather.:)

[FritzG]

Our bank will still give us tc without a charge so we get some before a cruise. We keep them in the cabin safe and cash them at the purser's office so we can avoid searching for an ATM onshore, but that's the only time we use them.

[Northender]

Bob, thanks for that gorgeous sunrise. Looking forward to hearing about the Luau:):)

[caribill]

Our bank will still give us tc without a charge so we get some before a cruise. We keep them in the cabin safe and cash them at the purser's office so we can avoid searching for an ATM onshore, but that's the only time we use them.

 

 

That works well when you want US$.

 

But if you need a foreign currency, doing that at the purser's desk (or currency exchange machine onboard) will involve a very poor exchange rate as well as a service fee.

[mikjr]

Good morning from Honolulu Hawaii. Weather is beautiful today. We are doing the Paradise Cove Luau this evening. Not much on tap for this morning other than heading to a local Kinkos as I have to send American Express some paperwork regarding some misplaced travelers checks. When I'm done with that, we might do a little shopping and then rest up before the luau tonight,

 

Hope all are well.....:):):)

 

Bob

 

Bob... couldn't you have gotten the TCs replaced at the American Express office in Honolulu??

[Woobstr112G]

Paradise Cove Luau

Paradise Cove Luau

Waimea Canyon

Good evening from the Sapphire Princess. We are in the process of departing Nawiliwili Kauai. Today we visited Waimea Canyon. It was a very nice excursion with some spectacular views. Only bad thing was it started to rain soon after we arrived. All in all, it was a great day. Once back on the ship, Holli once again enjoyed lunch in Alfredo’s. I’ve really taken a fancy to the place. They really make some great pizzas. We are resting up a bit before going to the show before dinner. Tomorrow we are in Maui and are doing a private whale watching excursion. I’m really looking forward to that as we will be in a smaller boat which will make picture taking easier and more fun.

 

Yesterday we attended the Paradise Cove Luau. I had booked the deluxe package so we were seated right next to the stage. The food was excellent and the show was great. I would highly recommend this excursion for anyone looking to do a luau.

 

Today’s shipboard entertainment offerings are/were as follows. Waikiki (MUTS) at 10:30am; Dances of Life (MUTS) at 1:00pm, the silent movie Metropolis (MUTS) at 3:00pm, Skyfall (MUTS) at 7:15pm & 10:00pm. There was an in-port cultural presentation of The Art of Hula in the piazza at 2:30pm. Easy listening melodies in the piazza are from 5:00pm to 9:00pm. The Wheelhouse Bar has the Pastime Duo from 6:15pm to 7:00pm and as always, The Randy Heddon quartet from 9:00pm onwards. In Crooners bar, Eric Stone will be on the piano from 9:15pm onwards.

 

Hope All Are Well…..

 

Bob

[Woobstr112G]

Bob... couldn't you have gotten the TCs replaced at the American Express office in Honolulu??

 

Unfortunetely no. They are asking me to jump through tons of hoops before they will refund them. I had to fax them all sorts of paperwork from Honolulu.

Bob

[trikeman]

Bob,

Did you do a ships tour for Waimea Canyon or a private one? I haven't been there yet and would like to see it. DW says she really liked it when she went there. Thanks

[Woobstr112G]

Bob,

Did you do a ships tour for Waimea Canyon or a private one? I haven't been there yet and would like to see it. DW says she really liked it when she went there. Thanks

 

It was a ship based excursion.....:):):)

 

Bob

[granny49]

Hi Bob, I am really enjoying your review. We are going on the Star on Mar. 26th for the 28 day. I have a question about Paradise Cove. How far is it from the ship and was there enough time to get back to the ship?

The pictures look beautiful.

[tequilasunrise]

Thanks for the "Live"! I just discovered this, and have caught up :)

 

Having sailed Sapphire several times, from her maiden Alaskan voyage to a recent Hawaiin, this is my favorite ship. It's been fun to watch her metamorphosis through the years. The only thing I miss from the original designs are the Asian artwork in Club Fusion (it was beautiful), and the air hockey table in what was once the game room. I am not a big fan of MUTS, either, but love Alfredos and IC being in the Piazza. Much nicer than just the Patissiere.

 

I am happy you also seem to be enjoying her.

 

Glad you are having a good time, hope Holli's health only continues to improve, and that the rest of your voyage is fun and relaxing.

[Woobstr112G]

Hi Bob, I am really enjoying your review. We are going on the Star on Mar. 26th for the 28 day. I have a question about Paradise Cove. How far is it from the ship and was there enough time to get back to the ship?

The pictures look beautiful.

 

It's a bit of a drive from the Aloha pier. Was a little longer in traffic. We booked it privately. We took a short cab ride to the Ala Mona Hotel which is where the shuttle picked us up from. It was a Friday night so there was a little traffic. It took over an hour to get there. The guide assured us we'd be back to the ship with plenty of time to spare. The company's private bus shuttle will drop you off at the port. We got back a little before 10:00pm with an 11:00pm sailaway. One more thing. Pay extra and get the Deluxe Luau package. You are closer to the stage and you get table service instead of having to stand in the buffet line.....:):):)

 

Bob