Live From The Grand - 3/5/14 - Mexico, CA and HI

[cr8tiv1]

Someone, somewhere is going to ask me to compare this HI sailing with one that has Elua and David Cole. The bottom line? So far neither one is better than the other. You are not going to go wrong with either itinerary. Not that may sound like a cop out, but it really isn’t.

 

We’ve sailed with Elua twice, once with David Cole and once with Kelvin Joy. The biggest difference? Leialoha sets up an heirloom lei shop in the wheelhouse daily for people to purchase heirloom lei kits and make absolutely gorgeous leis. Lokelina sells completed leis to order. Both Lokelina and Leialoha teach hula. Both are nuts and the nicest people you would ever want to meet. Dave and Kimo are so alike it’s scary. Laid back, funny, did I mention laid back, like way, way back? I wish I could get this laid back…Both he and Dave teach and play the Ukulele. Both he and Dave play music and sing with their wives. Peas in a pod.

 

The port lecturer on this cruise, not the shopping lecturer, is very good. Gary Shahan has been the best HI lecturer we’ve had, almost as good as Hutch was on the Asian cruise. For the ports, he concentrates on the DIY people and where the important things in life are like bathrooms and rental cars and ways to get around the island. Gary is doing the port lectures as well as the enrichment lectures about the Pacific, Eathquakes and Tsunamis, Pearl Harbor, etc. We also have a “technology” lecturer. Jason Rich. His forte is smartphone and tablet technology.

 

Our current CD is Gavin Chandler. While Kelvin is very special to us, Gavin is doing a good job. The schedule is flush with activities, and not just extra trivias like other CDs, who shall remain nameless, do. I like the repeating of the lectures on the TV, the morning show is enjoyable and current – no cheating by repeating other morning shows on tape, even the advertising is fun– we just love Tatiana in the morning with the drink of the day presentation – Kelly is still getting her feet underneath her with Gavin in the morning. Kelvin is Kelvin. Anyone who has sailed with him knows he is a complete goof ball. His morning shows are a must see. We sailed with David Cole once to HI, but it was back in 2009. I have read back into my archives and it was David Cole that set up this type of activity format with Elua way back when on the Island Princess. So you can consider Dave to be the father of the Princess cruise experience to HI. From what I can see comparing the Patters from 2009 to 2011 to this trip, they are still following the same format. Although there are a lot more lectures on this cruise than past cruises. This is a good thing…

 

The cruise staff on this cruise is comparable to the past cruises, except in number. There were more cruise staff on the 2009 Golden cruise, and without Miranda staying through to HI, they would really be short handed. We have Lexi, Jeff, Mike, Chelsea, Veronica, Miranda, Wacko (the Japanese Deputy CD in training for the Diamond cruises). We had six cruise staff on the Ruby T/A last December - two of which were juniors. Without Miranda on this cruise we would only have four ACDs, one junior and Wacko – who doesn’t speak a lot of English. When Miranda leaves in Honolulu, they are going to be run ragged on the way back to SF. The photo staff is doing a lot more events, as is the facets and shop staffs. Maybe that is another possible answer for Princess. Utilize the existing personnel from the photo gallery and shops to supplement activities that also end up promoting sales. We did not make it to the Go Pro seminar, but that is the general idea.

 

So which cruise would I take again? That’s the real question. Since we live in CO and have sailed out of LA and SF both, my criteria would not be based on Elua vs. Makani E, or Cole vs. any other CD, or for that matter which Grand class ship – star vs. golden vs. grand. It would probably be price only – the price of the cruise versus the price of the airfare. For those that live in SF or LA, the choice is easy as well. But for others who have not sailed under the Golden Gate, that is an experience as well.

 

In the winter of 2015, the Grand is doing LA to HI exclusively while the Star is doing SF to HI. For those of us who like B2B’s, the Star is also doing the Mexican Riviera including Loreto and La Paz – as well as coastals. That would definitely be an added incentive for us - like we did this year.

 

So just to emphasize the bottom line – I don’t think you can go wrong with either experience. Nice to have choices…

 

Thank you so much for this comparison. You nailed it with your specifics.

 

Now a suggestion for you....

 

If you are looking for new Hawaiian Shirts, go to the Jams Outlet store in Kalihi. Take a taxi to Nico's at Pier 39 for lunch then a taxi to the Jams Outlet store (and Surfline). Often (if you hit it just right), you will find these classic attire on sale for as much as 40%. Download a "Malama Card" and you will get an additional 10% off your purchase. Yes, these are the same people that made Jams outfits in the 1960's.

 

If you are renting a car in Honolulu, add these places to your list too: Liliha Bakery, Side Street Inn, Waiola Shave Ice, Zippys, Helena's, Gulick Deli. Eat your heart out!

 

Dispalced Local Girl

[Nancyquilts]

Charles - I can see having a 45 minute cocktail party for the most traveled on a 7 day cruise, but on a 15 day cruise with all those sea days, it's a bit of an insult to the passengers who qualify. Imho, that's the best perk Princess ever gives.

[Cruisin Sal]

Nancy,

I agree with yu. This happened to me last year - and Imade a complaint.

 

Charles,

Glad you made the cut.

 

Sally

[cr8tiv1]

I wish I could bring you greetings of fair weather and smooth seas. The entire state is under a flash flood watch until 6 AM Sunday.

 

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/20140328_Flood_advisory_posted_for_Windward_Oahu.html?id=252901131

 

"The National Weather Service said unstable weather conditions could produce slow-moving heavy showers and thunderstorms, starting Friday afternoon."

 

The good news is that the weather after a storm is generally beautiful. You might see nice rainbows too.

[ccrain]

Thanks for your comparison of the two cruises to Hawaii. It's a no brainer for us, considering we are 2 hrs from LA. It would be nice to do what you are doing next time and combine the Mexico and coastal cruises. We need to retire first! 15 days is about all we can take off at a time and still run our business.

 

How was the chilean sea bass? I've never tried it.

 

No kidding...google it

 

Marketing, marketing, marketing.

 

Its a cold water cod, tastes a lot like cod, white meat fish.

[ccrain]

Hello CCRAIN,

 

Thank you so much for the info on Spa and Gym. You said that steam room is by the pool. Does this mean that there is no steam or sauna inside the locker rooms? I read somewhere that there are no showers in the locker rooms either. Is this true? We don't care so much for the treatments, so it wouldn't matter how many treatment rooms there are. We mostly care about the steam / sauna facilities that we can use even on the cold days. Thanks again for all your comments. It's fund reading.

 

There is no thermal suite. The steam and sauna rooms, separate rooms for mens and womens, are by the Lotus pool with the wave machine.

 

The good news is that they are free. The showers are right next to the steam and sauna rooms. I don't know if they have a locker room or not. I will check the next time I am up there.

[ccrain]

Charles - I can see having a 45 minute cocktail party for the most traveled on a 7 day cruise, but on a 15 day cruise with all those sea days, it's a bit of an insult to the passengers who qualify. Imho, that's the best perk Princess ever gives.

 

We're just happy to finally get invited every now and then. The cocktail party is what they had on the 12 day Ruby last year as well.

 

I would actually be happy with a burger and fries in the crew mess! Or get invited to one of the crew parties. They apparently had one the other night and the morning crews looked pretty tired in the IC!

[ccrain]

Nancy,

I agree with yu. This happened to me last year - and Imade a complaint.

 

Charles,

Glad you made the cut.

 

Sally

 

Probably wouldn't have made the cut if you'd have stayed on board! (LOL!)

 

How's those post cruise blues doing?

[ccrain]

Thank you so much for this comparison. You nailed it with your specifics.

 

Now a suggestion for you....

 

If you are looking for new Hawaiian Shirts, go to the Jams Outlet store in Kalihi. Take a taxi to Nico's at Pier 39 for lunch then a taxi to the Jams Outlet store (and Surfline). Often (if you hit it just right), you will find these classic attire on sale for as much as 40%. Download a "Malama Card" and you will get an additional 10% off your purchase. Yes, these are the same people that made Jams outfits in the 1960's.

 

If you are renting a car in Honolulu, add these places to your list too: Liliha Bakery, Side Street Inn, Waiola Shave Ice, Zippys, Helena's, Gulick Deli. Eat your heart out!

 

Dispalced Local Girl

 

Nico's is the Triple D place that Guy was at? If so, its on my map.

 

I will map this out tomorrow in Hilo.

 

Thanks again...

[ccrain]

I wish I could bring you greetings of fair weather and smooth seas. The entire state is under a flash flood watch until 6 AM Sunday.

 

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/20140328_Flood_advisory_posted_for_Windward_Oahu.html?id=252901131

 

"The National Weather Service said unstable weather conditions could produce slow-moving heavy showers and thunderstorms, starting Friday afternoon."

 

The good news is that the weather after a storm is generally beautiful. You might see nice rainbows too.

 

makes me feel bad for the people who've planned for this to be their ultimate vacation. But since we are simply cruising to be cruising, I actually love thunderstorms at sea. Standing out on the balcony, under the covering of course, watching lightning, hearing the thunder and feeling the power of a thunderstorm just gets your blood pumping.

 

right now I am looking out of our balcony over a beautiful blue sea, thunderheads off in the distance, very little breeze, hardly no swell, great temperature...

 

Just love it.

[cr8tiv1]

makes me feel bad for the people who've planned for this to be their ultimate vacation. But since we are simply cruising to be cruising, I actually love thunderstorms at sea. Standing out on the balcony, under the covering of course, watching lightning, hearing the thunder and feeling the power of a thunderstorm just gets your blood pumping.

 

right now I am looking out of our balcony over a beautiful blue sea, thunderheads off in the distance, very little breeze, hardly no swell, great temperature...

 

Just love it.

 

So glad you are able to enjoy the wonders of weather. The bulk of the weather is north of the islands moving south. Thunderstorms over the ocean are spectacular.

 

What is a Triple D rating? Nico's has a Poke (Po-Key) bar next door. If you are brave, they will give you a sample or two. Poke is raw fish in a variety of combinations. I always order the Furikake Ahi / rare! Everything is so good. As fresh as you can get the fish since the boats are right there. "Nalo" are Waimanalo Greens (locally grown salad). AND dessert if you still have room.

 

You didn't mention renting a car. In the same vicinity (within 1.5 miles radius) you will find: Hilo Hattie (and the Hawaii 5-0 Shrimp truck in their parking lot), Costco for grazing and checking out local stuff, Nicos, Lion's Coffee Factory (you can take a free tour), Jam's Outlet, Zippys, Young's Fish Market for Hawaiian food, "Chicken and Waffles", and lots and lots of other off the beaten path places.

Edited March 29, 2014 by cr8tiv1

[carqueen1]

ccrain,

 

Just wanted to thank you for your information....enjoying cruising "with" you and looking forward to boarding the ship on April 6th.....

[ccrain]

So glad you are able to enjoy the wonders of weather. The bulk of the weather is north of the islands moving south. Thunderstorms over the ocean are spectacular.

 

What is a Triple D rating? Nico's has a Poke (Po-Key) bar next door. If you are brave, they will give you a sample or two. Poke is raw fish in a variety of combinations. I always order the Furikake Ahi / rare! Everything is so good. As fresh as you can get the fish since the boats are right there. "Nalo" are Waimanalo Greens (locally grown salad). AND dessert if you still have room.

 

You didn't mention renting a car. In the same vicinity (within 1.5 miles radius) you will find: Hilo Hattie (and the Hawaii 5-0 Shrimp truck in their parking lot), Costco for grazing and checking out local stuff, Nicos, Lion's Coffee Factory (you can take a free tour), Jam's Outlet, Zippys, Young's Fish Market for Hawaiian food, "Chicken and Waffles", and lots and lots of other off the beaten path places.

 

Guy Fieri, Food Network, does Diners, Drive Ins and Dives and featured Nico's on one of his shows. That's why its on our list.

 

Love Poke. Love sashimi.

 

won't be renting a car. Hate to drive. that's why we cruise. someone else drives.

[ccrain]

Nothing like whale watching from bed. We were greeted by at least two pods this morning coming into the harbor. (One whale decided to tail slap for us for a while. Quite rambunctious actually.) Cloudy weather and a bit of rain. So we are having breakfast on the lanai this morning overlooking the Hilo harbor.

 

Yesterday was a great day at sea with Zumba in the morning, followed by a swim in the lotus pool where we met Matt and his seeing eye dog Pete – a black lab. We miss our dogs so much, although we hear Judy’s dog Spook is being a pill and my dog, Bear, is being an angel. What a turn of events. Judy went to the afternoon movie showing of the 2nd hunger games movie. I just chilled.

 

Last night was dancing followed by the Most Traveled Party. It was a cocktail party format in One5 with a buffet of little tidbits and hot apps of various kinds being brought around by servers. Ronie, our server from Crab Shack was there. (BTW Sally, we only made the cut by 2 people.) The food was good highlighted by lobster and mango cubes on a stick with spicy thai chili sauce. That was mmmm mmmm good. In fact we started putting the thai chili sauce on everything. The ceviche, the tartar, the goat cheese, everything except the desserts. Most of the wait staff was wandering around with pre-made drinks, but not the Captain’s Circle watered down stuff. I snagged a rum punch and two ultimate coolers. Judy snagged and Ultimate cooler and then two shots of Irish crème on ice. That’s all you had time for in the 45 minutes. We talked to the Captain, the security officer, the hotel general manager, the head chef, Gavin, of course and the future cruise and captain’s circle lady.

 

We sat over by the buffet and watched as the party wound down the officers present descended on the buffet left overs like a bunch of cruise ship passengers in the horizon court on embarkation day. Apparently they don’t get good stuff like that in the crew mess. It was fun. Too bad we only had 45 minutes. We kinda stretched it another 30 minutes swapping tales with the captain’s circle lady.

 

After the party we headed to Explorer’s to see the Blankety Blank game show. That was a hoot. Who would have ever figured that jeff has better legs, lungs and hair than Miranda. Miranda was certainly shocked!

 

By the time the game show was over, the drinks from the party had taken their toll, so we just crashed.

 

So this morning we are in Hilo awaiting immigration. I suspect it will not go well, but I hope I am wrong. We shall see.

 

So off to Hilo. Catch you all up later…

[secretcastle]

ccrain- thank you again for taking us along on your journey. Your

Posts are so much fun to read, and informative, especially for those of us on an upcoming sailing.

Not sure if it is possible, but if you can, when you get back, we would love it if you could post Patters of the Hawaii cruise.

Have a wonderful rest of your holiday!!

Edited March 29, 2014 by secretcastle

[ccrain]

ccrain- thank you again for taking us along on your journey. Your

Posts are so much fun to read, and informative, especially for those of us on an upcoming sailing.

Not sure if it is possible, but if you can, when you get back, we would love it if you could post Patters of the Hawaii cruise.

Have a wonderful rest of your holiday!!

 

We get home late Sunday night and I have to be at work Monday morning, but we will try to scan and post them by the following weekend.

[secretcastle]

We get home late Sunday night and I have to be at work Monday morning, but we will try to scan and post them by the following weekend.

 

Thank you so much! We sail at the end of April, and are so excited. :D

[cruisincdns]

I had some time to read a review on the Grand from just this last cruise. Moisture in the cabin is not a good thing. However, it probably is not from a leak in the structure. Pipes all over the Grand are springing leaks. Over the past couple of weeks there have been dozens of pipes springing leaks here and there. Sprinkler pipes, water supply pipes, all mainly in the ceilings, and hard to fix or locate as the water can travel quite a ways. So there is a substantial issue with water supply pipe leakage all over the ship. And from the few I saw them fixing, its not at the joints, its in the body of the pipe, like the pipe has corroded. Even after 14 years, that shouldn’t be happening.

 

Thank you for your excellent "live" blog.

 

My DW and I will be sailing on the Grand for the first time for our 30th anniversary to Hawaii, return out of Vancouver, BC, from October 2-17. Are these leaky pipes primary in the public/common areas or are you hearing/seeing them in staterooms, or both? And yes, you would think that a ship so relatively "young" would not have these problems with leaky pipes, especially if the leak is in the main body of the pipe.

[ccrain]

Thank you for your excellent "live" blog.

 

My DW and I will be sailing on the Grand for the first time for our 30th anniversary to Hawaii, return out of Vancouver, BC, from October 2-17. Are these leaky pipes primary in the public/common areas or are you hearing/seeing them in staterooms, or both? And yes, you would think that a ship so relatively "young" would not have these problems with leaky pipes, especially if the leak is in the main body of the pipe.

 

There is another thread of someone who had "leaks" in their cabin, but they thought it might be a structural leak. Deck 6 and Deck 7 public area ceilings show evidence of numerous leaks, I'm looking up at at least three here in the IC. Buckets were very much in evidence the first couple of weeks, but that seems to have abated a bit.

 

Now to be fair, any pipe leak will run and could drip in multiple locations from just one leak. So equating each ceiling stain or bucket to a single leak is probably not correct.

 

but it is more than I have observed on other ships in the past.

[ccrain]

I was wrong about immigration and I am very glad about it. The Long Beach immigration was ridiculous and there was nothing Princess could do about it. Hours late, long lines, no organization, all due to the Customs and Border Protection management in Long Beach.

 

Immigration in Hilo was a piece of cake and we were through an hour early. This is a perfect example of how screwed up immigration can be (Long Beach) and how easy it can be when immigration and Princess cooperate. Letters were sent to each person with paper cards to be stamped. The captain docked an hour early. The lounge entry process was orchestrated by Princess personnel. We went through the Vista lounge, our letter was collected and collated, the officers looked at our passports, we got our cruise card beeped, then we got the immigration card stamped. In and out in minutes. Contrast that with the mess in Long Beach.

 

It was very cloudy and rainy in Hilo. Not sure how many of the helicopter tours got off the ground or were able to see much. The rain line was just above the town and moved down into the harbor as we left. A very nice warm drizzle, but would have ruined helicopter flight operations.

 

We hiked/walked to Wal Mart in Hilo to do all of our Hawaii shopping in one fell swoop. Caught the Wal Mart free shuttle bus back to the ship. We’ve made up about 35 little snack bags of chocolates to give out to the crew in the next few days. Picked up some chocolate easter bunnies for the cruise staff. Hawaiian shirts were on sale so we picked up two for me and two for Judy. The only thing we didn’t get was another six pack of water. Not enough room. We did get about 10# of chocolate macadamia nut kisses though. MMMM those are really good! She also got her cruise blister on this walk. So we had to take it easy in the evening.

 

Steve Moris was the headliner in the theater. Same show as the one on the Mexico cruise, but still good and the audience appeared to be a little more in tune with Steve’s comedy. It was a good time. We hit the hay early after just a few dances. Various game shows did not perk our interest so we headed to an early bed.

 

We are docked in Honolulu this morning at the clock tower complex. The sun is out, but the clouds are hovering around the mountains as usual. We built a building at Camp Smith several years ago. It rained on our construction site nearly every day. Not kidding. But 300 yards down the hill? No rain. It was like we were cursed. Today looks like rain in the hills. The rain line looks to be about the limit of Honolulu as the houses stretch up the ridges into the mountains.

 

The plan for the day is to visit Wal Mart to see if they have any different shirts, pick up some more coffee for Judy’s sister, some more chocolate for us and some chocolate covered coffee beans. Oh, and some water to last us until we get home. We are also planning on visiting a Thai restaurant. There is a highly rated one near the Ala Moana mall and we also want to visit Hilo Hattie’s – just because. We’re arriving at 0700, but haven’t hear the all clear yet. Its Sunday, so nothing is open until 1000. The Honolulu Stadium swap meet is open today. When I worked here a few years ago we bought a lifetime’s worth of souvenirs, and we still have some, dirt cheap. Beach towels, t-shirts, luggage, carved knick knacks – you name it, they would have it – and we bought it. It’s a bargain shoppers paradise. My recommendation – take a cab and do all your souvenir shopping there. You will save a fortune.

 

All-aboard is 2230 tonight. But, the ultimate deck party is scheduled for 2130. Kind of weird. Not that we will be out late, but there are several excursions out late including the dinner cruise on the large catamaran. (Note – Because its Sunday, they are not offering the typical luau excursion at the Polynesian Cultural Center. Its closed on Sunday. There are several other luau’s in the area. Don’t know the exact details. We went to one year’s ago via a Camp smith morale pass ticket and it was a bargain. We got the executive package all inclusive.

 

Not much going on in the ship. Everyone will probably be ashore for most of the day. Tonight is the Halau Hula Olana show. It’s a great show to see if its like the one we saw in 2011. We will catch that before the deck party.

 

Interesting informational note. Got a shock when I pulled the bill the other day just to check to see if the credits were properly applied. They were. It cut my amount, as they roll the cruises forward, due in half! I thought it was a mistake! How could I owe x the last day of the last cruise and ½ x on this day! FCC, shareholder, elite and travel agent credits for a 15 day cruise add up in a hurry – that’s why. A little under $1k total OBCs for us on these three cruises. That pays the tips and part of the bar bill! With no excursions, minimal photos, small bar bills, our on board expenses are really, really reasonable. In fact we are spending more eating off the ship and buying little things for the crew than we are spending on-board.

 

Anyway, a little breakfast parfait and a bran muffin and we are off. Have to take it a little easy today as to not aggravate Judy’s blister too much.

 

We’ll update you all later.

[Colo Cruiser]

[cr8tiv1]

 

That's one of the most in focused ship cam photo I have seen in recent months. The weather looks promising and calling for scattered clouds and fair weather. The Grand lucked out in Honolulu for this voyage. Hope you had a good day. Sorry about the blister.

 

That's A LOT of mac Hersey Kisses! But they are not sold outside of Hawaii so I understand the need to stock up.

[Grammyluvs]

I am loving your review. I bet you would be a hoot to cruise with.

[cflutist]

ccrain,

 

Thank you so much for posting this review. Now I know what to expect when boarding the Grand a week from now for our CA Coastal. Sans Skywalker is no impact to us since we don't drink. The smaller closets are fine since we are doing this cruise with just 2 backpacks an a roll-aboard (Princess will do our laundry). We normally use about half the closet on the Star anyway.

 

I saved your information about LaPaz and Loreto since we are booked for a Mexican Riviera cruise Jan 3, 2015 aboard the Star and have not visited those ports before.

 

Thanks again and it sounds like you had a wonderful cruise.

[ccrain]

Now that’s an interesting name to wake up to. Kimo and Lokelina have a Hawaiian word of the day every morning on the wake show, but it would be interesting to know the history of that particular word.

 

Well yesterday was Honolulu, and we did not take it easy. A trip to Walmart, the Hawaiian shirts were on sale and a different style, some more chocolate, some more water, lunch at Phuket Thai, and a long hot walk with a heavy pack back. Because of the time changes and being 4 hours behind Colorado, Judy’s pedometer registered 15,000+ steps yesterday and 8,000+ steps so far today because of the deck party last night.

 

It was a sunny, warm/hot day in Hawaii. The sun can be intense – not as intense as Thailand and Singapore – by as Chelsea found out on Wakiki, you need lots and lots of sunscreen.

 

The Wal Mart in Honolulu is a couple of blocks inward from the Ala Moana shopping mall. It was packed, but was a rather large store with lots of souvenirs, trinkets and shirts. There is a Sam’s club right next door. I had pre-selected a Thai restaurant from Tripadvisor and Google. (I’m slowly learning to use Google+ and the new maps app. With a good digital connection it is very fast and convenient. We were able to locate everything quite easily.)

 

We asked for Thai spicy and they did not disappoint. Judy’s tofu soup was excellent and spicy. I had the papaya salad. A bit too strong on the shrimp on top, but once I mixed it up with the dressing and toned down the shrimp taste, it wasn’t too bad. We ordered the appetizer platter and it was excellent. A very fresh and bright spring roll, a fried roll, a fish cake and a shrimp/chicken/veggie kabob thingy. But the star was the green curry scallops. We, unfortunately, did not get to eat Thai food in Thailand. (Princess fed us mashed potatoes instead.) But we have had fantastic meals at CoCo’s Thai restaurant in Fort Lauderdale just off 17th street. Their green curry is to die for. Phucket’s food was not as good, but it was good. No disappointment there. The only downer was they do not have a liquor license so we couldn’t get a mai tai with lunch. Probably a good thing as we did walk back to the ship.

 

We hit the elite lounge for the drink of the day and some chips and guacamole before we watched the Halau Hula Olana show in the theater. It was a good show if you like hula. I’m not a big hula fan, but you just have to give the little girls credit for the job they did. It takes years of hard work to be that expressive. Hula looks like an easy dance, but the subtleties in the hands and body movements take years to perfect and to make it look easy – and I do appreciate the art – Judy loves it. They did things a bit different from the last time we saw the show. The girls danced out into the audience, which was a big hit with everyone. Anyway, it’s a don’t miss in Honolulu.

 

Just before the show Chelsea bounded down the stairs to chat with us. Oh to be 22 years old again and on a cruise ship sailing the world. She was bubbling with excitement and in severe pain as she had spent the day at Waikiki and had gotten the most common Hawaiian souvenir – the sunburn. 30+ SPF just doesn’t cut it when you are fair skinned! (Chelsea is the newbie JACD that got on board with us on the 5th of March.) She has the perfect demeanor and drive to be part of the cruise staff. I wish my granddaughters had half of her drive and energy!

 

After the show we actually participated in our first “trivia” of the cruise. A “where in the world” based on pictures. A visual trivia. We almost actually won with 15 right out of 26 possible. The winners had 16. It was neat to be able to say that we’ve actually been to most of the places pictured – like Elephant Island in the Antarctic, Gibraltor and St Peters square.

 

After the “trivia” we went to the Ultimate Deck Party. Not as well attended as the one during the 10 day Mexican Riviera, but a whole lot hotter as the ship was not moving, the breeze was not blowing and it was still in the low 70’s. The ship’s dance troupe joined in with the crowd for most of the line dances and for the 8+ minute ultimate deck party line dance. Geez that thing is long!

 

We met our newest cruise staff member to harass. Toby. Have not sailed with him before, but he’s taking Miranda’s place. We got a chance to harass Geof about his legs, hair and lungs (?) being better than Miranda’s!

 

It was safe to say that everyone enjoyed Honolulu immensely.

 

So what’s on tap for Nawilliwilli?

 

We do not plan to go to Wal Mart. Or Kmart. Or Hilo Hatties. We are going to walk, slowly, up to Duke’s to get some shaved ice for lunch. We’ve never wandered around that area of Kauai before. Been all over the island and in town, but not in the port area. Docking is 0800 with all aboard at 1630. I wish they would arrange overnights in Hawaii. Overnights, or at least late sailings, would be wonderful to be able to enjoy the islands more. Especially the luaus.

 

For tonight MUTS has Jobs on the screen. Crescenzo is in vista with a lounge act. Tony Pace is on in the theater. I gather he is an impressionist. Rhapsody is in wheelhouse, retrospect is in Explorers. Mikey is hosting a magical movie moments trivia in Explorers. Another visual trivia.

 

I guess that’s about it from Nawilliwilli…E’ya all later!