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Live From the Grand Holiday Cruise 12-20-13 to 1-4-14

trbarton

By trbarton,
in Princess Cruises

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sonnenschein

sonnenschein

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Hi Tom, thank you for your postings,we will be on the Grand again in late March. Last November our balcony mats were gone and I did not liked stepping on the cold and sometimes slippery metal floor. Since you have a balcony could you just send us a short posting letting us know if the mats have been returned.There are a whole bunch of us who would like to know, THANKS

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Gimer

Gimer

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Hi Tom, Keep it coming and I can't wait to see all your photographs. We sailed on Grand to Alaska last year in May together. You ran the Meet & Greet and the Slot Pull and we all had a great time. I'm booked on Grand for Feb. 18. Would like to know how the Hawaiian Cultural Program is on board? Like the Hula, Ukulele classes, Lei making and the Hawaiian Lectures? My wife belongs to a Hula group in Rossmoor and wanted to know who's doing the program? Looks like Grand is pulling into Honolulu in the morning. If you have time and like Prime Rib, we usually go with our friends to Ray's Cafe at 2033 N. King St. It's a real Hole-In-The-Wall place and not very pretty, but all the Locals go there for large portions and great prices. His Prime Rib is about 2 inches thick and covers the plate. Once I was there, local firemen picked up 5 Prime Ribs lunches to go. He also makes the best Fried Chicken. I'm ready for your continuing reviews. Stan

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Elua

Elua

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Would like to know how the Hawaiian Cultural Program is on board? Like the Hula, Ukulele classes, Lei making and the Hawaiian Lectures? My wife belongs to a Hula group in Rossmoor and wanted to know who's doing the program? Stan

 

Aloha Kakou,

This is David from the group Elua...we are the Cultural Ambassadors/Hawaiian Musicians currently on the Star Princess running the Hawaiian Cultural Program, but I know that there is the group Makani E currently on the Grand teaching classes for Hawaiian culture...Lokelina is the name of the woman who takes care of the hula. I'm not sure what she is teaching, whether it is all au'ana or if she also teaches kahiko. Usually you will find uke lessons on board, as well as a Hawaiian naturalist for lectures. Lei making is usually offered with orchid lei as well. Hope this helps a little.

 

Malama Pono,

Dave

(of Elua)

http://www.facebook.com/eluamusic

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Grammyluvs

Grammyluvs

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Aloha Kakou,

This is David from the group Elua...we are the Cultural Ambassadors/Hawaiian Musicians currently on the Star Princess running the Hawaiian Cultural Program, but I know that there is the group Makani E currently on the Grand teaching classes for Hawaiian culture...Lokelina is the name of the woman who takes care of the hula. I'm not sure what she is teaching, whether it is all au'ana or if she also teaches kahiko. Usually you will find uke lessons on board, as well as a Hawaiian naturalist for lectures. Lei making is usually offered with orchid lei as well. Hope this helps a little.

 

Malama Pono,

Dave

(of Elua)

http://www.facebook.com/eluamusic

 

Sounds like a good program. Is this group going to be on the Grand starting Feb. 18th? So looking forward to learning the Hawaiian culture.

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secretcastle

secretcastle

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I am also wondering if they will still be on for the final Hawaiian cruise of the Spring 2014 season, leaving April 28? So looking forward to the Hawaiian program they have developed:)

Tom, I hope you (and everyone else there) is having a fantastic time! We are so excited to hear your news and updates :)

Julia

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Gimer

Gimer

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Aloha Dave, Much have been written about "Elua" and how wonderful your Hawaiian Program is. It has a very large following because of your Aloha Spirit you two share so effortlessly. Thanks kindly for the info about Grand Princess's Hawaiian Program. My wife dances with a group of 20 seniors here at Rossmoor and they are called "Na Kupuna O Kealoha". Their teacher, Auntie Lea is 80 years young and still performs with her Halau, Ka 'Ohi Nani o Mana'olana. Last year on Star Princess, the Hawaiian Program was kind of sparse. A band member taught Ukulele and a Cruise Director Staff member from the Baltic, taught the Hula. We are looking forward to our February 18 cruise on Grand with "Makani E", Lokelina and Kimo.

Mahalo nui loa, Stan (Gimer)

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trbarton "Live from...." Rare

trbarton

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Thu, 12/26/13 At Sea

 

This morning I had a balcony champagne breakfast. Excellent meal but the weather got real warm so I moved the table inside.

 

As always, excellent shows. Always something to do and plenty of dance spots.

 

Went to the One5 Disco and found many nights there was nobody there, unlike my Alaska cruise in May where it was busy every night.

 

Tomorrow Hilo....Until then,

 

Tom

 

Fri, 12/27/13 Hilo, Hawaii

 

Warning.....Since this is the the first US port that we have been to since San Francisco we were required to go through a custom's inspection showing our passport & cruise card thus a very long line at 6:30 AM so allow extra time when planing your time to leave the ship. I rushed through a small breakfast in order to meet my 8:30 am tour. Started with lots of rain so be sure and pack an umbrella.

 

We took a private tour with "Big Island Aina Tours" on the "Volcano National Park Deluxe Tour". Our tour guide and part owner Gil with only 6 people, took us to many places as well as the National Park. I remarked that I had never gotten in and out of a vehicle as many times as we did in our 7 hrs. tour, so you can see we made many stops. Gil can be reached at anitours.com. Our tour was $95 plus $10 to enter the park. Make sure that you mention "Tom" from Cruise Critic who recommend him.

 

Tomorrow Honolulu

 

Tom

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Cruisin' Chick

Cruisin' Chick

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Fri, 12/27/13 Hilo, Hawaii

 

Warning.....Since this is the the first US port that we have been to since San Francisco we were required to go through a custom's inspection showing our passport & cruise card thus a very long line at 6:30 AM so allow extra time when planing your time to leave the ship. I rushed through a small breakfast in order to meet my 8:30 am tour. Started with lots of rain so be sure and pack an umbrella.

 

Tom

 

We've been on the LA-Hawaii cruise three times and never had a custom's check until disembarkation in San Pedro.

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Cruisin' Chick

Cruisin' Chick

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We're never had an inspection in

Hilo before on any of our cruises there.

 

Why they did, I think is because they

stopped in Mexico first stop instead

of last..as usuall.

 

That would make more sense than. It's been a while since we've taken a cruise that had a foreign stop first before an American port.

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trbarton "Live from...." Rare

trbarton

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Fri, 12/27/13 Hilo, Hawaii

 

Warning.....Since this is the the first US port that we have been to since San Francisco we were required to go through a custom's inspection showing our passport & cruise card thus a very long line at 6:30 AM so allow extra time when planing your time to leave the ship. I rushed through a small breakfast in order to meet my 8:30 am tour. Started with lots of rain so be sure and pack an umbrella.

 

We took a private tour with "Big Island Aina Tours" on the "Volcano National Park Deluxe Tour". Our tour guide and part owner Gil with only 6 people, took us to many places as well as the National Park. I remarked that I had never gotten in and out of a vehicle as many times as we did in our 7 hrs. tour, so you can see we made many stops. Gil can be reached at anitours.com. Our tour was $95 plus $10 to enter the park. Make sure that you mention "Tom" from Cruise Critic who recommend him.

 

Tomorrow Honolulu

 

Tom

 

Sat, 12/28/13 Honolulu, Hawaii

 

I decided to use public transportation and purchase my own ticket to visit the US Arizona. Although the ships tour cost more it saves a lot of time. Just the local bus time excluding the wait time was around 1 hr. So a lot of time was spent using public transportation plus another bus to reach Hilo Hattie. The Arizona Memorial is a must see and moving for me as a Viet Nam Navy Veteran.

 

There is a FREE shuttle to Hilo Hattie to get back to the ship plus the tour bus will drop you off there. If your hungry there is a good coffee/fast food restaurant across the street. Hilo Hattie has the worlds largest shirt, 400x. There was a good sale of shirts at $9.95 each.

 

The evening show in the Princess Theatre was a group of young girls from a hula school who put on an excellent show. For me a highlight of the cruise.

 

Tomorrow we visit Kauai.

 

Internet willing I will post more soon.

 

Someone asked about the dry dock in Canada but I couldn't tell you exactly what they did. There is blue matts on the balcony decks.

 

Yes the custom inspection because we came from a foreign port, Ensenada, to another US port.

 

Tom:)

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trbarton "Live from...." Rare

trbarton

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Sun, 12/29/13 Kauai (Nawiliwili), Hawaii

Kauai had excellent weather. I took a tour to the river cruise to the fern grotto plus a stop to visit a large waterfall. Back to the ship and took the shuttle to Hilo Hattie again to look at more $9.95 shirts.

Mon, 12/30/13 Maui (Lahaina), Hawaii

Beautiful weather. This is a tender port. I went on a walking tour with a native Hawaiian. Lots of information plus he used different chanting styles. Be aware that there is a lot of standing on this tour and not a lot of places to sit down. He is a part of an organization to preserve part of Maui especially where people were buried before with the help of some grant money. Lots of shops that are easy to walk to.

Had a good excellent lunch before returning to the ship.

There have been questions about if there will be any Hawaiian activities onboard. Yes there are plenty of Hawaiian activities with Lokelina & Kimo, hula dance class, ukulele, and other classes. You will also see them in the Piazza proving music so please check them out. I have met them personally so I can highly recommend both of them.

Tomorrow New Years which should be fun.

Tom
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trbarton "Live from...." Rare

trbarton

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Tue, 12/31/13 At Sea

We had another M & G this morning with a small turnout. Perhaps it was because we lost one hour last night. One officer there was the chief engineer who talked with us. Every few years it is necessary to go into dry dock to do things that cannot be done while at sea like painting the bottom of the ship and checking out all of the systems. They also do other things like replacing carpet that cannot be done with passengers on board. Going to Canada was a decision made by the main office and had nothing to do with where the workers were from the engineer explained.

We had a short visit from Sammi who was off to another appointment.

With our small group we did a gift exchange. Thanks to all who attended.

I will post pictures when I return, especially from our first M & G and from today's gift exchange.
Formal Night/New Years Eve....Lobster served in the MDR. Many options to celebrate New Year's Eve. Lots of people to countdown the clock. Good by to 2013.

Tom

Wed, 01/01/14 At Sea

Relaxing day at sea.

Great afternoon show with hula dancers and ukulele players from the classes taught by Lokelina & Kimo.

A good ice carving demonstration by two men from the Philippines.

Show in Princess Theatre was with David Klinkenberg, fiddler, who put on a excellent show. He was also on PBS.

Tomorrow another pop choir performance.

Later,

Tom

Gimmer......I'll ask about Sammie's replacement and report what I hear.
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sally885

sally885

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Thanks for your updates. Any thoughts/opinion on the library? I plan on doing lots of reading, but unsure how many of my own books to read vs theirs.

Also, how cold was the water? Warm enough for a wimpy cold water person to get in?

thanks.
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