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

[ccrain]

Does Gavin have a trivia question and draw for winners on the Wake Show?:cool:

 

This mornings winners were from the same cabin celebrating their 50th anniversary, and the draw was legit from what we could see!

[ccrain]

Love your "Live". We will be on an April 15 day and on Caribe. We have been on other Princess ships with Caribe but as you mentioned this room is a little different. Can you let me know if the layout in many of the Caribe balcony rooms are similiar. We will be forward in the 200's. Thanks so much for doing all this work.

 

But its just different, not really different like the Sun class compared to the grand class. it is a bigger shower and a larger bathroom, but smaller closet space and shelves.

 

the biggest issue the first night was walking into the bathroom door as it has the full length mirror on it and really screws up your depth perception in the middle of the night...

[TorontoTL]

Enjoying your live from so far! Thanks for taking us along.

[Bucky3]

But its just different, not really different like the Sun class compared to the grand class. it is a bigger shower and a larger bathroom, but smaller closet space and shelves.

the biggest issue the first night was walking into the bathroom door as it has the full length mirror on it and really screws up your depth perception in the middle of the night...

 

I agree! That was a big surprise to us when we cruised the Grand last summer. I REALLY missed the huge closet. I think they used the same space as on the other ships but just designed it differently. Now the bathroom takes up some of the closet space. It really just gives you more floor space in the bathroom. I didn't notice that the shower was any different. Needless to say, the design on the other grand class ships is better IMO.

[Bimmer09]

Charles-great to see you cruising and writing again! I will be following along. I like your breezy conversational style and the focus of the cruise-to just relax and go with the flow- is right up my street.

 

Enjoy to the max!

 

Norris

[ccrain]

03/09/2014 – Loreto

 

Yesterday was the day we got into the swing of this cruise. It was a gorgeous blue sky, blue water, not too hot, beautiful day in Cabo – and almost everyone got off the ship except us – so we had the run of the ship. Coffee in the IC in the morning, followed by a nice workout in the gym, a lot of relaxin and reading (finished one book, on to another). A nice salad with that fantastic balsamic dressing again. They have all kinds of veggies to build your salad with and yesterday they had capers and anchovies. Nice salty flavor. Ran into Kes at lunch. I really hate to bother the staff when they are eating because they have such little time to themselves, but she tolerated us bothering her for a few minutes. She’s very sweet, does a great morning show and will be a fantastic cruise director some day. Colin, the deputy on the Ruby in December, now will be the CD on the Ruby. Kes should not be too far behind.

 

As usual, and as with the last couple of CDs, Gavin has promised to show up at Zumba. So far he has chickened out, as did Dan Styne and Kelvin on the Ruby and Diamond respectively. Come on Gavin – man up and stand out! It’ll only hurt for a little while and you’ll never see these people again!

 

We met Sally (Crusin Sal) for drinks at the elite lounge yesterday. I finally broke down and called the purser’s desk to contact her. We hadn’t seen her on a cruise for over 6 years. So it was good to catch up. So much for our invite to the most traveled party. She’s #15 on the list and she has over 600 days! Our little measly 300 and some odd days just aren’t going to cut it!

 

We tried to get reservations for the Crab Shack, but they were already booked until 1930. Too late as we had a movie date with Gravity at MUTS. We did stop by at 1800 and there looked like plenty of room for walk ins. They menu had steamer pots, STEAMERS!, crab, clams, mussels, appetizers, sort of a Louisiana theme. We will definitely try this the next time it comes up, which is tomorrow actually!

 

Gravity was a good movie. My gauge for good movies is how long they seem to be. Gravity seemed to be a very short movie. It held our interest without a lot of overwhelming action scenes. I had heard that they kept pretty close to science reality, but there were a few scenes that caused me to wince. But overall we both enjoyed it very much.

 

After the movie it was time to dance. It was Rock and Roll night and no game shows, just straight dancing. We had a blast and the Randy Heddon Quartet provided the music. And they were great! Usually the Explorer’s band, in this case Retrospect, is the part band. And the wheelhouse band, in this case the Quartet, is the somber, jazzy, ballroom band. Not in this case. The sax player was great, getting out in the dance crowd, pumping up the atmosphere. Lots of people dancing, the cruise staff was hopping and we just went all out for 45 minutes. Good times…

 

The problem with great dance parties like that is it takes us a couple of hours to come down in order to sleep, so we decided to catch John Bressler’s show. He’s a raspy voiced composer, piano player and comedian/entertainer. A good show. He can sure play a piano and he channels Rod Stewart perfectly. But once again, he’s getting off in PV. It looks like everyone is getting off in PV! Don’t know what the deal is on that?

 

So yesterday was a great day and a great night cruising. Today is dawning beautiful and clear as well. We are anchoring quite a ways out from Loreto, so it will be a long tender ride to shore. Hopefully the breeze doesn’t come up too much.

 

For those who stay on board, there is a couple of trivias, The Hobbit in the Princess Theater, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and The Devil Wears Prada on MUTS. Not a lot going on.

 

Tonight looks pretty laid back. Doug Funk is the headliner in the Theater. We saw him on the CB in April. He bombed completely with this scripted show, but then turned it completely around during the improv portion of the show. We have to go see which Doug Funk will show up tonight.

 

They are having a special R rated showing of Dallas Buyer’s Club in the Theater late tonight as well. The Quartet is having a Sinatra set in wheelhouse, retrospect is doing their thing in Explorer’s.

 

We are headed ashore to check out Loreto and possibly score some lunch. At the very least we need to get our fridge magnet for Loreto.

 

Have a great day…we plan to…

[AE_Collector]

Here is a picture from shore of you arriving in Loretto on the ships tender. Even the Sea Gulls are cooperating today.

 

Terry

Edited March 9, 2014 by AE_Collector

[ccrain]

3/9/14 – Loreto Evening Update

 

Now that was a great little town. Absolutely nothing like Cabo. The locals were descended upon by the thundering herds of blue bag and backpack carrying touristas. It was so unique to them, locals were driving by taking pictures of us taking pictures of them. The crossing guard was so busy, he didn’t know what to do with himself – and I think he broke his whistle – but he was smiling the whole day. The Mexican Marine Corps was present, weapons and all, and spent the day posing with us for pictures. Not one, absolutely not one person begging or hard selling. It was so cool. So refreshing. One of those places I would love to come back to and stay a few days.

 

The town put on a little show for us with a variety of dancers. Kids of all ages doing Polynesian, Hawaiian and Mexican dances. It was great. We scored some Mexican vanilla, water and a really good lunch at a great price. After being in Europe the last cruise, paying $24 for 3 beers, a big plate of nachos, some guacamole and some fish tacos – all freshly made – was an absolute bargain. And it was fun watching the world go by. I think the whole local province turned out to drive by and see the ship full of gringos.

 

We almost got several bags of real pig skins, but we just couldn’t bring ourselves to bring that many more calories on board. Prices in the Mercado were actually reasonable. The town is not yet commercialized and I had no cell service at all. Neither did anyone I talked to that had global phones. We saw a cell tower, looked like a Picasso interpretation of a palm tree, but no connection whatsoever.

 

After drinks at the Elite lounge we decided on a nice pot of ginger tea in the IC prior to seeing Doug Funk’s show. Now Doug’s regular scripted comedy show bombed big time on the CB in April 2013, but he redeemed himself with his improv. This time he started on his improv and it was a really good show. He apparently is not getting off in PV, so he should be around for a while. Good show.

 

Tonight was a slow night, and only half a day in La Paz tomorrow. After Doug’s show it was dancing and then off to bed. We really, really enjoyed Loreto today. So glad Princess has decided to try something new as a more quiet peaceful alternative to Cabo and PV.

[ccrain]

03/10/2014 – La Paz

 

Another unknown town, but only for half a day. All aboard is 1230, so we probably won’t do lunch, and we survived yesterday’s lunch with no issues – except the side effects of good frijoles. Not much going on for a half a day ashore. They are replaying Dallas Buyers Club in the theater, Baggo Bean Toss is in the Piazza. Alaska future cruise overviews. Water volleyball.

 

The crab shack is back on tonight and we are going to do that, if we can get reservations. Now you see me is on at MUTS. It’s a pretty good movie we saw on the Ruby – several times. Pete Thompson is doing a full piano show in the theater tonight – bigger stage than Crooners. Liars Club is on tonight and we have to make that. It’s always a lot of fun. Other than that, looks like a dance night with Retrospect and the Quartet. Not too bad.

 

I think the layout of the cabins, at least on Caribe, are similar to ours. It’s hard to get an answer to a question that is so hard to phrase correctly. Yep, all the bathrooms have sinks, toilets and mirrors. Nope, not the right question. Does it face this way? Sometimes yes and sometimes its on the other side of the ship and faces the other way.

 

La Paz here we come…

[ccrain]

Here is a picture from shore of you arriving in Loretto on the ships tender. Even the Sea Gulls are cooperating today.

 

Terry

 

Weather was great. Loreto gets 340 days of sunshine a year..

 

And it has huge pelicans!

[tjcletsgo]

3/9/14 – Loreto Evening Update

 

Now that was a great little town. Absolutely nothing like Cabo. The locals were descended upon by the thundering herds of blue bag and backpack carrying touristas. It was so unique to them, locals were driving by taking pictures of us taking pictures of them. The crossing guard was so busy, he didn’t know what to do with himself – and I think he broke his whistle – but he was smiling the whole day. The Mexican Marine Corps was present, weapons and all, and spent the day posing with us for pictures. Not one, absolutely not one person begging or hard selling. It was so cool. So refreshing. One of those places I would love to come back to and stay a few days.

 

The town put on a little show for us with a variety of dancers. Kids of all ages doing Polynesian, Hawaiian and Mexican dances. It was great. We scored some Mexican vanilla, water and a really good lunch at a great price. After being in Europe the last cruise, paying $24 for 3 beers, a big plate of nachos, some guacamole and some fish tacos – all freshly made – was an absolute bargain. And it was fun watching the world go by. I think the whole local province turned out to drive by and see the ship full of gringos.

 

We almost got several bags of real pig skins, but we just couldn’t bring ourselves to bring that many more calories on board. Prices in the Mercado were actually reasonable. The town is not yet commercialized and I had no cell service at all. Neither did anyone I talked to that had global phones. We saw a cell tower, looked like a Picasso interpretation of a palm tree, but no connection whatsoever.

 

After drinks at the Elite lounge we decided on a nice pot of ginger tea in the IC prior to seeing Doug Funk’s show. Now Doug’s regular scripted comedy show bombed big time on the CB in April 2013, but he redeemed himself with his improv. This time he started on his improv and it was a really good show. He apparently is not getting off in PV, so he should be around for a while. Good show.

 

Tonight was a slow night, and only half a day in La Paz tomorrow. After Doug’s show it was dancing and then off to bed. We really, really enjoyed Loreto today. So glad Princess has decided to try something new as a more quiet peaceful alternative to Cabo and PV.

 

We will be in Loreto in November. Do you remember the name of the place where you had lunch?

 

Thanks so much!

[shastatroy]

I have a suggestion for you in Santa Barbara, the Urban Wine Trail. It is a short walk from the tender dock and you can visit some fantastic tasting rooms. We found Riverbench and Kunin were very good. Maps of the trail and tasting rooms are available when you get off the tenders, or you can goggle it prior. I love Santa Barbara as an addition to the coastal cruises, have fun.

[melody hounddog]

Wonderful "Live from". Thanks so much for taking the time.

[bmench]

So glad you are enjoying your cruise,wish we were there, by the way have you been able to find out if the singer Bobby Brooks Wilson will be one of the entertainers on the next cruise March 15. Thanks

[Cruzmama]

How is the temperature on the ship? Is it freezing in the dining room or any other area?

[mariakitty]

What an enjoyable thread! We will be on the Grand on the 15th. I was vey excited to hear Crab Shack is now on the Grand. Is the pub lunch being served on sea days? My husband would love fish & chips with a pint of Guinness. :)

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[scanditaly]

Thanks for doing this. really like your point of view

 

 

Lisa

[ccrain]

03/10/14 – La Paz Update

 

La Paz was interesting. A very long and worthwhile malecon to stroll along the sea shore. Lots of shops and restaurants. Too bad we only had half a day. A lot more city and touristy than Loreto, but I actually prefer it to Cabo. It’s got a lot of Mexican character. Once again, no beggars, no hard sell. A lot of cops, and I mean a lot of cops everywhere. Not sure if it was for our benefit or not. They picked up one guy, looked like a local, and whisked him off in the back of a police truck in about 5 minutes. Not sure what he did wrong.

 

The locals had a free shuttle bus from the ship to town and to the local beaches, which is a good thing as the town center is about 10 miles from the ship. You ain’t walking this one for sure. It is dry here and I mean dry, dry, dry. The sucharo cactus was even pretty scrawny. But I counted four different geologies on the way to town along the roadside cuts. It’s a place that could be interesting to visit. Lots of condos for sale on the way in to town, the water looked amazing with both white sand, rock and pebble beaches.

 

We didn’t go into a lot of shops, but did get our magnet. US dollars and Pesos accepted. All of the ATMs we heard about were Peso only, but there was an exchange booth next to the bus stop building where they dropped us off.

 

Lots of Norte Americanos around. Not sure if they are ex-pats, visiting or retired, but a lot of dogs with them, so I suspect they are at least semi-permanent here. Watching one dog chase out into the water after the pelicans was fun. We could have taken a boat to see whale sharks, but we just didn’t have the time. That’s probably why we felt pretty safe here. No one seemed overly concerned about anything. It’s funny, after being all over the Med just last year, Mexico almost feels like home! Definitely felt safer than some places in Italy and Greece.

 

There was a lot of shopping right off the ship in a flea market type atmosphere. Mainly arts and crafts. I just love the plates and ceramics. Gorgeous and local, at least to Mexico. Vanilla, a lot of silver jewelry, handcrafts of all types.

 

Overall, we preferred Loreto’s atmosphere, but La Paz would be very interesting to spend more than a few hours in walking the downtown area and sampling the food. Tomorrow is PV and that will be a whole nother country, but I am glad that Princess is going to these different places. Loreto and La Paz are definitely worthwhile to see and we liked both of them…

 

On the down side, we are going to miss Italian night. For those of you familiar with our travels, you know we enjoy our Italian dinners in the MDR. (Come to think of it, we have yet to dine in the MDR this cruise!) But tonight we have reservations at the Crab Shack, so I will definitely have to check that out…

[ccrain]

03/11/2014 – Puerto Vallarta

 

Too much food and wine last night. Wow. Judy picked out a white wine from Alfredo’s, she can’t drink any red because of the tannins, that was stainless cured, no barrels. No barrel aftertaste either. It was really good with the crab shack food. So good we drank the whole bottle. Now we both have morning after wine headaches and food overload.

 

The crab shack is a great concept and it was worth every penny. ($20 cover charge each, plus the wine, plus a tip for Ronie.) Appetizers are hush puppies and tempura fried shrimp. They are not popcorn shrimp like the menu says, they are larger than average shrimp perfectly tempura battered and fried. The hush puppies are ok. Not like my mom’s, but ok. (Hush puppies are very regional – I like em with green onions.)

 

Soup was a Manhattan style clam chowder. It was very good. And it reacted with the wine perfectly creating one of those aha moments.

 

You have a selection of four main courses. Judy had the Grand Steamer which has king crab, snow crab, mussels, clams, shrimp, potatoes and corn on the cob in a boil. I had the clam and mussels pot, cooked in a light wine sauce with potatoes and corn on the cob. Garlic toast was provided on the side. For those of you from Seattle or Vancouver, the clams and mussels are a little on the small side and not nearly as flavorful as those fantastic pacific northwest clams and mussels, but I tell you, I’ve not had many better steamer pots than this one. It was far better than Joe’s Crab Shack fare and dipping the garlic toast into the ju was just icing on the cake.

 

Dessert was a choice of 6 different cakes. Judy had the coffee chocolate cake and I had the apricot jam crustada. Both were good. Nothing special that fit the Crab Shack theme, but good nonetheless.

 

Service was fantastic and the place filled up quickly. The table covers of butcher paper and the crab shack logo was a nice touch and the bibs were large cloth aprons with the crab shack logo as well. Fingerbowls were provided as well as a whole host of surgical instruments to get the food out of the shell.

 

This is a great idea and very good execution. Just a couple of thoughts. They need to give the staff their own identity like Sabatini’s and Crown Grill. Even if it’s just T-shirts with the crab shack logo. Right now the staff is wearing the Italian night green and red striped shirts. They need a couple of crab shack themed desserts. A sorbet would be a great ending to the meal, or key lime pie, lemon meringue, or something similar. Light is the key after that kind of a meal.

 

All in all though, it’s a great addition to the dining options on the ship. I hope its successful and they continue this type of variety dining.

 

Now needless to say, after a whole bottle of wine and food galore, we did not go dancing afterwards. Collapsed in a state of food overload is more like it.

 

So this morning is Puerto Vallarta. We haven’t been here since 2007 or 2008, so it will be interesting to see if they finished the docks they were working on the last time we were here. I wonder if they’ve made it any easier to cross the street to Wal-Mart. Although after crossing the streets of Rome last year, without a nun in tow, this should be a piece of cake. So getting off is optional. We are arriving about 1100 and sailing at 2000.

 

Just looked at the Patter and realized we are going to miss a Zumba class this morning. Sorry Lexie, but coffee has priority this morning. But there is a party line dance class at 1015 in prep for tonight’s ultimate deck party that we should try and make. The hobbit is the afternoon movie in Vista with Dirty Dancing on MUTS. Water volleyball and a couple of trivias.

 

Tonight’s entertainment revolves around the Deck Party. Maybe we can even make this one! Looks like tonight is one of dance after dance. The orchestra is playing in Explorers. Warmup for the party starts at 2100 with the party at 2130. Tomorrow is the first of three sea days back to San Francisco, so there is no need to get up early. Although they will have a Zumba class in the morning most likely.

 

The weather continues to be really good. Not too hot, not cold at all. Blue skies, no seas to talk about. Pretty much perfect cruising weather. Should be nice for the deck party tonight.

 

A couple of other things. On the Ruby, the videographers are gone for Reflections, but they are continuing to customize the reflections video using their still cameras in video mode. Maybe that’s why they got rid of the videographers, they just use video from the photographers. Judy ended up staring in the Reflections cut of Rock and Roll night – and that was shot entirely from the photographers still camera (Canon or Nikon) in video mode. I guess with today’s technology you just don’t need separate video from a video camera. So anyway, the Reflections is pretty customized for this trip.

[ccrain]

We will be in Loreto in November. Do you remember the name of the place where you had lunch?

 

Thanks so much!

 

I had three locations marked in Tripadvisor, but without cell service it doesn't work. So we asked for recommendations and the shop keeper recommended one that was closed, so we ended up at the one on the corner right across the street from the malecon and the solel crossing guard.

 

Just go south from the tender dock, follow everyone across the street into the main walking area and its the one right on the corner.

[ccrain]

So glad you are enjoying your cruise,wish we were there, by the way have you been able to find out if the singer Bobby Brooks Wilson will be one of the entertainers on the next cruise March 15. Thanks

 

None of the ACDs know that entertainment line up for next cruise and I haven't had a chance to catch Kes or Gavin to ask them.

 

I will keep trying...

[ccrain]

How is the temperature on the ship? Is it freezing in the dining room or any other area?

 

However, Judy bringing only one pair of slacks was a mistake so far. Its not been that warm outside, topping in the upper 70's. So MUTS is cool at night. We might have to wal mart a couple of additional pairs of slacks during the trip.

 

Our cabin must be the first one in the air handler chain as we've had the temp gauge above the halfway point the whole cruise - other wise its like a meat locker.

 

Interior temperatures range on the cooler side. With outdoor temps below 80, the ship's temp is cooler, which is good for active dancing. All in all, much better than the Ruby last year as they heated up the interior quite a bit.

[ccrain]

What an enjoyable thread! We will be on the Grand on the 15th. I was vey excited to hear Crab Shack is now on the Grand. Is the pub lunch being served on sea days? My husband would love fish & chips with a pint of Guinness. :)

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

Only on select sea days in Crown Grill.

[ccrain]

I have a suggestion for you in Santa Barbara, the Urban Wine Trail. It is a short walk from the tender dock and you can visit some fantastic tasting rooms. We found Riverbench and Kunin were very good. Maps of the trail and tasting rooms are available when you get off the tenders, or you can goggle it prior. I love Santa Barbara as an addition to the coastal cruises, have fun.

 

We will take a look!

[Colo Cruiser]