Live (or Live-ish) from the Crown Princess Holiday Hawaii sailing

[yummymummy11]

I’m really enjoying reading this. I’m undecided whether to book an 11 night Alaska cruise for next August for me and daughter age 8. I’ve read a lot of bad reports recently about engine failure and ports getting cancelled. Hopefully you’re not having that issue. Would you say it seems to be a family friendly ship? 

[ljhershey]

Thx for your ongoing update.  We are on the Jan 31 sailing.  We will be hoping for calmer seas.

[abbydancer2003]

CrownDecember Day 4

We woke up around 9:15, and took our time getting dressed.  Around 10, we headed to the IC.  On the way, we ran into Carol and Eric and made a tentative plan for tonight.

We got to the IC and got a table as people were leaving.  A server was there so we ordered coffee and then Glen got our morning rolls.  Soon after Eric came to modify the plans.  We ended up working out a modification to original plan and his plan that would work for all of us.

After Eric left we decided it was too crowded there, so we took our reading material, and my coffee up to Crooners, with a stop at guest services because there was a bogus charge of 150.00 or so for telephone usage.  (Carol reported the same thing).  The helpful gentleman said it would be taken care of later today.

 

There was plenty of room, but it looked like one of those spa presentations was starting, so we relocated to Skywalkers and read for about an hour or so.

 

About 12:50 we dropped our stuff in the room, watched the rest of Miss Congeniality,  and headed to lunch.  Today’s choices in the buffer were quite fish heavy, so I made a salad (all available dressings were white and creamy- I prefer French or balsamic, oh well.  I ended up going to Slices for pizza.  They had a 2 slices of pepperoni and a veggie one at the time I arrived.  They did tell me a cheese would be ready in two minutes so I waited.  I got a couple of slices, and went back to Glen.  We ate lunch and I left him there while I went to hula class.

 

I’d forgotten my phone, which is too bad because I wanted to record the dances to watch on the port days.  We learned the third dance.

 

After hula I decided to go get a latte. On the way, I saw the people who were playing Mah Jong yesterday, so I stopped by and let Phyllis (one of the players) know that my mom said she did know her cousin in high school.  

 

 While I was in the atrium, the egg drop competition started so I watched the beginning of that.  I then went back tot the room, where we did a FaceTime with our good friends Mike and Kathy.    That took us almost to 5pm, so we got dressed for the evening and went to the Elite Lounge.  They had beef tartar tonight, one of Carol’s favorites.  They soon joined us and we chatted over drinks until it was time to go to our first dance venue.  

 

We started in the Wheelhouse, where Cel & Tito were doing the ballroom dance tribute.  We stayed there until about 7:20, and then headed back to Fusion, where Voyager, the party band was going to play.  The played some ballroom (foxtrot and tango) as well as club and latin dances.  It was fun, but at 8 we decided to go dinner, as there was trivia we wanted to do at 9:45.  On our way out, there was a crew member there (not sure what she does) and somehow we ended up doing two line dances before we left.

 

Our original plan was to go to Da Vinci and see if it was faster to get in than to Botticelli, but we decided to check and there was no line, so we went there.  We were quickly seated, and service started promptly.  

 

Lida, who’s tag said she was the “assistant waiter” took care of everything.  The waiter pretty much filled our water glasses.

They had a Christmas menu:

 

Like last nights menu it was new.

I started with the melon medley

For entree, I had the turkey with asparagus instead of Brussel sprouts.  It was good, although both of us who ordered it asked for more gravy.

Carol ordered the ham and pronounced it good:

Glen ordered beef.

For dessert I have the gingerbread soufflé.  As usual the gingerbread taste was only a hint.  Glen said I should just call it the Princess Xmas soufflé.  It seemed to be in a smaller dish than it used to be.

After dinner, we made it to the trivia.  This was an Xmas version of the supply the next lyric.  We did surprisingly well, logically figuring out the next line of some of the songs.  They had 1 point and 2 point questions.  It turned out there was about a 5 team tie for first, including us (we missed one 2 point question).  They didn’t have enough prizes, so they took cabin numbers.  We’ll see what happens.

After that we went back to the Wheelhouse, where Cel & Tito were doing a Carpenter’s set.  We did a little dancing and then called it a night.

More The Good Fight, and then bed.

 

[dmcfad2]

@abbydancerIt sounds like you guys just go to dinner when you are ready, without a standing reservation. Is that true? We are on Crown next week and it is my first time on Princess. I am wondering how this dining system works. I made a standing reservation for 6, but we really like going when we are ready each night. Do you think that would work out? Thanks for this review!

[Woodside Lady]

We are on the Crown starting Friday and I am organizing the CC Book Club.  I’ve set the meeting(s) up for the Wheelhouse at 10am on two sea days.  Are there things going on in the Wheelhouse typically at that time?  If so could you suggest somewhere else that is less frequently in use?  Thx.  Safe travels cause it looks like you are bringing the “atmospheric river” back with you from Hawaii.  

[cr8tiv1]

I am not on the Crown, but they generally have morning activities. I’ve seen SPA related lectures (acupuncture, weight lose, foot stuff, etc).

 

You would be safer to hold it in Skywalkers, the back room (aft) of the buffet, or Crooners. 

[abbydancer2003]

On 1/2/2023 at 7:55 AM, dmcfad2 said:

@abbydancerIt sounds like you guys just go to dinner when you are ready, without a standing reservation. Is that true? We are on Crown next week and it is my first time on Princess. I am wondering how this dining system works. I made a standing reservation for 6, but we really like going when we are ready each night. Do you think that would work out? Thanks for this review!

The dining is interesting.  We have a standing 7:20 reservation.  We arrived there at that time on the 2nd day and stood in line for about 25 minutes, so didn't get in until after 7:30.  When we went at 8, there was no line, or just 1 or 2 ahead.  I asked about changing it to 8, but they said they couldn't do it.  So we just go when we want. Once we wanted to go at 7, so at about 6:50 we got in line, and when we got to the front they took us.  I think the usefulness is that we can stand in the reservation line, rather than the non reservation line.

 

Personally, I think Dine My Way is kind of a mess.

[abbydancer2003]

CrownDecember Day 5

 

We woke up to two of the Princess messenger bags on our door, I guess for the quiz last night.

 

Our last sea day before port days.  We slept in a bit, and as we were getting ready to go out, there was an announcement in the cabin.  (Never good when unexpected).  Yup, we are going to be late to Kauai.  Not entirely unexpected, since the ship has been moving quite a bit pretty constantly.  I rather like it, but some don’t.  Neither Glen nor I head it well, so we had no idea how late.  

 

As we were finishing up, I had Glen look at his folio.  The bogus phone charges were still there.  So I went to guest services.  There was no wait, and a couple of very nice crew members took my room number.  Once they brought it up, they asked if it was about the phone charges.  I said yes, and they explained that they were told yesterday that the system would go through and correct, but late last night they were told to do it.  So they removed the charges and printed a correct folio.

 

No sign of Glen yet, so I went to the casino and quickly lost 4.00.  I put the rest of the 10.00 I bet into my bank and went down and joined the line for coffee.  Glen soon joined me so I gave him my order and found a table.  We had our coffee and chatted with some of the people near us.  

 

The breakfast entrees were gone by this time, so he had a bacon quiche and I had a blueberry/cherry crumble.  Close enough.

 

After we ate, we decided to do a walk along the promenade deck.  It was open all the way around, so we stopped at the bow of the ship to watch the ship go up and down.

 

After that, we decided to head back to the room for a bit.  It hadn’t been made up yet, so we thought we’d stay until the steward came to make up the room.  At about 12:40, I turned on the service light, and our steward showed up, so we headed up to the buffet.  We weren’t quite ready for lunch, so we wandered around the top deck until just before 1.  We did see this:

 

 

Notice the pool is drained.  We’re not sure if it’s for safety reasons, or just to keep the bar near the pool dry.

 

We then headed to the buffet.  Choices were a bit better today, so I selected some things.  After my first go round I was a bit hungry,  I went back to the food line and noticed they were putting out sushi.  I asked if any was vegetarian.  They were just putting some out, so I asked if they could put a couple on my plate.  I got 5, so when I got back to the table I shared it with Glen.

 

After lunch, I headed down to club fusion for the end of line dance.  The guy teaching seemed to be teaching a dance to YMCA, that he seemed to be making up as he went along.  He followed that up with a dance that seems to be a variation of Elvira, that was in Spanish and long.  

 

That ended and I waited for the hula class.  We learned our last dance for the show, and reviewed the others.  I had my phone so recorded them for practice.  She also talked about costume, something tropical if you have it, and please no coconut bras and grass skirts (which are Tahitian anyway).  I have a bathing suit coverup that’s tropical but maybe I’ll find something in one of the port stops that would be better.

 

After hula, I’d agreed to meet Glen and Carol at Club Fusion to go to the wine tasting this afternoon.  Carol showed up, so I called our room.  Glen was just getting ready to go, so we decided to meet him there.

 

We went to Michealangelo dining room, and were quickly seated.  Glen arrived soon after, as well as a couple.  The tasting began with the Manager of Club Class speaking and the the Manager of Michaelangelo.    It was a pretty standard Princess wine tasting.

 

After that, we went back to the room to relax for a bit, and watched the first half of Fantastic Beasts - the Crimes of Grindenwald.  

 

At about 5:30 we headed to the Elite lounge, and were soon joined by Carol and Eric.  We stayed until they closed at 7, because there was no dance music at 6.  At about 7:15 we headed to Explorers for Beatles Trivia.  We did well, but on one song got half the title, so we marked it as wrong.  Several teams tied for first with perfect scores, so they had a tie breaker.  Afterwards, on the way to dinner, we thought maybe others had given themself credit for the partial answer, but we’ll never know.

 

After that we headed to dinner.  There was no line, and we were quickly escorted to a table in the center of the dining room, we decided it was too loud and asked for a quieter table.  They took us to a table in the same section we were at last night, but with the other wait team.  

 

My phone gave out midway through, but here are some pictures.  

 

Menu:  

 

 

 

 

 

Watermelon appetizer:

 

 

I had the above appetizer, plus a second of steamed asparagus with warm bacon dressing.  We all then had a veal scaloppine with a really good mushroom sauce. I finished with Cherries Jubilee.  There seemed to be nothing going on when we left,  so we walked around the promenade deck for a while.

 

At about 10 Glen and went to the Wheelhouse, and it turned out that Cel & Tito were leaving and the house band (aka the orchestra) were setting up.  When they started, it was loud, and seemed to be more jazz than dance music, so we decided to call it night.  We ran into Carol and Eric coming in, so we said good night and agreed to meet at the IC at 10am.

 

Back to the room and some TV.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ScotsLady]

4 hours ago, abbydancer said:

CrownDecember Day 5

 

We woke up to two of the Princess messenger bags on our door, I guess for the quiz last night.

 

Our last sea day before port days.  We slept in a bit, and as we were getting ready to go out, there was an announcement in the cabin.  (Never good when unexpected).  Yup, we are going to be late to Kauai.  Not entirely unexpected, since the ship has been moving quite a bit pretty constantly.  I rather like it, but some don’t.  Neither Glen nor I head it well, so we had no idea how late.  

 

As we were finishing up, I had Glen look at his folio.  The bogus phone charges were still there.  So I went to guest services.  There was no wait, and a couple of very nice crew members took my room number.  Once they brought it up, they asked if it was about the phone charges.  I said yes, and they explained that they were told yesterday that the system would go through and correct, but late last night they were told to do it.  So they removed the charges and printed a correct folio.

 

No sign of Glen yet, so I went to the casino and quickly lost 4.00.  I put the rest of the 10.00 I bet into my bank and went down and joined the line for coffee.  Glen soon joined me so I gave him my order and found a table.  We had our coffee and chatted with some of the people near us.  

 

The breakfast entrees were gone by this time, so he had a bacon quiche and I had a blueberry/cherry crumble.  Close enough.

 

After we ate, we decided to do a walk along the promenade deck.  It was open all the way around, so we stopped at the bow of the ship to watch the ship go up and down.

 

After that, we decided to head back to the room for a bit.  It hadn’t been made up yet, so we thought we’d stay until the steward came to make up the room.  At about 12:40, I turned on the service light, and our steward showed up, so we headed up to the buffet.  We weren’t quite ready for lunch, so we wandered around the top deck until just before 1.  We did see this:

 

 

Notice the pool is drained.  We’re not sure if it’s for safety reasons, or just to keep the bar near the pool dry.

 

We then headed to the buffet.  Choices were a bit better today, so I selected some things.  After my first go round I was a bit hungry,  I went back to the food line and noticed they were putting out sushi.  I asked if any was vegetarian.  They were just putting some out, so I asked if they could put a couple on my plate.  I got 5, so when I got back to the table I shared it with Glen.

 

After lunch, I headed down to club fusion for the end of line dance.  The guy teaching seemed to be teaching a dance to YMCA, that he seemed to be making up as he went along.  He followed that up with a dance that seems to be a variation of Elvira, that was in Spanish and long.  

 

That ended and I waited for the hula class.  We learned our last dance for the show, and reviewed the others.  I had my phone so recorded them for practice.  She also talked about costume, something tropical if you have it, and please no coconut bras and grass skirts (which are Tahitian anyway).  I have a bathing suit coverup that’s tropical but maybe I’ll find something in one of the port stops that would be better.

 

After hula, I’d agreed to meet Glen and Carol at Club Fusion to go to the wine tasting this afternoon.  Carol showed up, so I called our room.  Glen was just getting ready to go, so we decided to meet him there.

 

We went to Michealangelo dining room, and were quickly seated.  Glen arrived soon after, as well as a couple.  The tasting began with the Manager of Club Class speaking and the the Manager of Michaelangelo.    It was a pretty standard Princess wine tasting.

 

After that, we went back to the room to relax for a bit, and watched the first half of Fantastic Beasts - the Crimes of Grindenwald.  

 

At about 5:30 we headed to the Elite lounge, and were soon joined by Carol and Eric.  We stayed until they closed at 7, because there was no dance music at 6.  At about 7:15 we headed to Explorers for Beatles Trivia.  We did well, but on one song got half the title, so we marked it as wrong.  Several teams tied for first with perfect scores, so they had a tie breaker.  Afterwards, on the way to dinner, we thought maybe others had given themself credit for the partial answer, but we’ll never know.

 

After that we headed to dinner.  There was no line, and we were quickly escorted to a table in the center of the dining room, we decided it was too loud and asked for a quieter table.  They took us to a table in the same section we were at last night, but with the other wait team.  

 

My phone gave out midway through, but here are some pictures.  

 

Menu:  

 

 

 

 

 

Watermelon appetizer:

 

 

I had the above appetizer, plus a second of steamed asparagus with warm bacon dressing.  We all then had a veal scaloppine with a really good mushroom sauce. I finished with Cherries Jubilee.  There seemed to be nothing going on when we left,  so we walked around the promenade deck for a while.

 

At about 10 Glen and went to the Wheelhouse, and it turned out that Cel & Tito were leaving and the house band (aka the orchestra) were setting up.  When they started, it was loud, and seemed to be more jazz than dance music, so we decided to call it night.  We ran into Carol and Eric coming in, so we said good night and agreed to meet at the IC at 10am.

 

Back to the room and some TV.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi , just come across your blog and read with interest .

we are doing this cruise in April, first time with Princess after about 20 with Celebrity and anxious we will like the ship, we are so used to Celebrity .

I downloaded the Princess app and booked dining for 740 each night but glad to see we might not be stuck with this time . I also booked the Italian for one night and was a bit annoyed they took the money there and then instead of putting it on our onboard account. 
Would you say the food is as good as celebrity?

Irene

 

[MTNestr]

How has the internet speed been so far on your cruise?

[Cruise frenzy]

Anyone know the top 3 most traveled passenger numbers?  Thanks

[nini]

18 hours ago, ScotsLady said:

Hi , just come across your blog and read with interest .

we are doing this cruise in April, first time with Princess after about 20 with Celebrity and anxious we will like the ship, we are so used to Celebrity .

I downloaded the Princess app and booked dining for 740 each night but glad to see we might not be stuck with this time . I also booked the Italian for one night and was a bit annoyed they took the money there and then instead of putting it on our onboard account. 
Would you say the food is as good as celebrity?

Irene

 

It is standard practice that the younger charged for the booking at Sabatini'x. When you are onboard the charge may be reversed and the few deducted from your OBC. We learned that OBC is only for when you are actually onboard with the exception of booking a shore excursion.

[pebbles99]

Can you please advise if e730-e731 still have the oversized balconies. These 2 cabins are

on both sides of the Crown aft, also on Dolphin deck but not a covered balcony in this case.

Thank you for your time and bon voyage

[h20cruzer]

Do you by chance have an cabin photos you could post.  Also what is the approx size of your TV?

Thanks

[Coral]

5 hours ago, pebbles99 said:

Can you please advise if e730-e731 still have the oversized balconies. These 2 cabins are

on both sides of the Crown aft, also on Dolphin deck but not a covered balcony in this case.

Thank you for your time and bon voyage

They are still on the Emerald Princess. I can't see how they could change with out massive retrofitting which I haven't heard of. Emerald deck mini suites are covered.

Edited January 6, 2023 by Coral

[pebbles99]

Thanks Coral, the crown had a retrofitting and doesn't show the larger balcony on its deck plans.

The only ships on Princess site that shows the larger balcony are the Sapphire and the Diamond.

I need a very resent photo of Emerald Deck after the refit, thanks for your help.

[milogurd]

2 hours ago, pebbles99 said:

Thanks Coral, the crown had a retrofitting and doesn't show the larger balcony on its deck plans.

The only ships on Princess site that shows the larger balcony are the Sapphire and the Diamond.

I need a very resent photo of Emerald Deck after the refit, thanks for your help.

Is this what you are looking for?

https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/deckbydeck.php?ship=Crown-Princess&deck=8

[nini]

14 hours ago, pebbles99 said:

Can you please advise if e730-e731 still have the oversized balconies. These 2 cabins are

on both sides of the Crown aft, also on Dolphin deck but not a covered balcony in this case.

Thank you for your time and bon voyage

Those are large covered balconies. I looked them up on the Princess website deck plans and also on "images" in an online search.

[pebbles99]

Thank you to Milogurd and Nini for your time much appreciated.

I was just  on Princess website it does not show the larger balcony any longer, on the Crown, it use to.

Only the Diamond and Sapphire still show the larger balcony on the Princess.

Not sure if they were removed during the resent refitting.

Thanks again

[abbydancer2003]

CrownDecember Day 6

 

Today we reached Hawaii, albeit two hours late (someone on Facebook said we went south to avoid the worst of the storm, but to me it seems that would make it more than 2 hours late.  But what do I know).

 

We awoke to the sail in:  

 

And soon (around 9:30 were approaching the dock:

 

 

We headed to meet C & E at the International Cafe at about 10.  We got down there, and it was a zoo.  Everyone, it seemed was hanging out there waiting to get off the ship.  At about 10:20, they were ready to start so everyone lined up.  The line went from the gangway at the mid stairs (down to deck 4) back through the entire photo gallery, and then back to the atrium.  We decided to wait until it died down, since our only plans were to take a walk, maybe rent a chair at the beach and then go back.

 

By about 11 it was clear so we headed out.  We walked from the port towards the Marriott/Royal Senestra complex.  We got there and decided to keep walking towards the lighthouse in the distance.  We walked out of the hotel complex and up a hill toward the lighthouse.  Along the way, we saw lots of chickens, which apparently are wild here

 

We walked along the shore for a while, with some striking views

 

We ran into some people heading back, and we discussed how close the lighthouse was.  They said it seemed too far to walk, but Carol wanted to go for it.  We got about halfway there, I got a picture

 

 

Eric and I wanted to head back, but Glen and Carol wanted to go for it.  We agreed to meet at the bar at the hotel, and went our separate ways.  It took about 30 minutes to walk to the hotel.  I went over to the bar, and wanted a snack or drink, but Eric wanted to go to the beach.  So I grabbled a table and he went off to the beach.  About then, Glen texted that they’d got to the lighthouse, and would start back.

 

Note:  It was very hot and humid by this time, so I was sort of done walking.

 

I sat down at the table, and a server soon approached.  I ordered a glass of water and a menu.  (Also asked for a Coke, but they are Pepsi).  Eventually I ordered spring rolls.  As I was enjoying them, I followed Glen’s progress on the Find My app.  It looked like they did not take the road to the back of the parking lot, and instead went around the hotel.  Eventually though, they arrived, and Glen and I finished the spring rolls.  Eric came back and we had a sort of lunch.  They split a burger, and we split a quesadilla.  

 

After that, they wanted to go to the beach and splash around in the water.  I  didn’t want to, so Glen and I headed to the ship.  It was an uneventful and pleasant walk back.  Security was handled in the terminal, so not on the ship.  We went straight back to the room, where I spent about an hour relaxing.  

 

I decided that, since our room was on the dock side, I would watch sailaway,  I first went to the IC to get a latte and some water for us.  There were quite a few people there, and it would have been hard  to get a seat if I”d wanted one.

 

I then took the latte to the balcony and watched.  All aboard was at 4:30.  At 4:30 there were still people coming.  At 4:56 (4 minutes before we were supposed to leave I saw (you can see the people running between the poles in the middle):

 

 

About then, there was a request for some passenger to call guest services.  And at about 5:05, with one gangway still down (other was up) there was another set of people running down the street.  They were lucky the ship waited for them.  They did receive some applause from people on the balconies.  I wonder if it will show up on You Tube?

 

After that, they raised the last gangplank, released the lines, an away we went towards Hilo.  We’ll pass Oahu  and Maui on our way.  Not sure why - maybe to open the casino, but I didn’t check.

 

After watching the pier runners and the sail out, we changed for dinner and headed to the Elite lounge.  We’re going to Sabattini’s tonight, so are not planning to eat much (I had a wonton and 4 tortilla chips) because it will be a big dinner.

 

Soon we we were joined by C & E, and we stayed until it was time for dinner.  We headed up,  and waited just a few minutes and were then seated (I think it was the same table we were at when we went to the Suite breakfast with my mom in September.

 

Our server Kim from the Philippines, came by and we ordered dinner.  I started with with Grande Padano Cheese Fondue, also known as cheese soup.

 

Next course was antipasto ie appetizers.  I had Burrata and tomatoes.  It was as tasty as it was gorgeous

 

 

Eric had the lamb skewer, very pretty

 

 

Next was the pasta course, I had the mushroom risotto and it was very good.

 

For mains, Carol and I had the veal marsala, as was recommended by our waiter.  It did not disappoint.

 

 

Glen opted for the chicken

 

 

And Eric had the pork

 

 

Last course was dessert.

 

C & E split their chocolate Journey.  

 

I had the zabaglione, which was about the best zabaglione I’ve ever had.

 

 

Glen had the panda cotta, which was quite pretty and he said it was great. 

 

 

Sorry they're sideways, Glen sent the pictures to me from his phone and something happened.

 

After dessert, we headed to the promenade deck to walk for a little while.  Following a couple of laps we headed to the room for the night.  Tomorrow is Hilo, and we have a walk to Longs drugs and then to a waterfall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 9, 2023 by abbydancer

[nini]

On 1/7/2023 at 7:22 AM, pebbles99 said:

Thank you to Milogurd and Nini for your time much appreciated.

I was just  on Princess website it does not show the larger balcony any longer, on the Crown, it use to.

Only the Diamond and Sapphire still show the larger balcony on the Princess.

Not sure if they were removed during the resent refitting.

Thanks again

The Princess website shows no changes.

[Jemnibabe]

Are there any close (within walking distance) of getting off ship in Hawaii ports, that we can take advantage of without buying expensive tours?  Are tours readily available when we get off the ship?  Thanks for any ideas you can offer.

 

Judy from SW Florida

[XBGuy]

18 hours ago, abbydancer said:

 

 

We walked out of the hotel complex and up a hill toward the lighthouse.  Along the way, we saw lots of chickens, which apparently are wild here

 

 

We walked along the shore for a while, with some striking views

 

We ran into some people heading back, and we discussed how close the lighthouse was.  They said it seemed too far to walk, but Carol wanted to go for it.  We got about halfway there, I got a picture

 

 

Eric and I wanted to head back, but Glen and Carol wanted to go for it.  We agreed to meet at the bar at the hotel, and went our separate ways.  It took about 30 minutes to walk to the hotel.  I went over to the bar, and wanted a snack or drink, but Eric wanted to go to the beach.  So I grabbled a table and he went off to the beach.  About then, Glen texted that they’d got to the lighthouse, and would start back.

 

Note:  It was very hot and humid by this time, so I was sort of done walking.

 

 

 

 

In the late 1990s, I made my first visit to Kauai for business.  While on the van to pick up the rental car I noticed chickens walking around.  I don't know if this is true, but the story that I heard is hilarious.  In 1992 (?) Kauai was hit by a pretty serious hurricane--Iniki.  The hurricane blew apart numerous hen houses, and, so, now, these chickens were running free.  Since there are no predators, the liberated ones that could not be recaptured were able to thrive.

 

Again, I don't know if that story is true, but I really get a kick out of it.

 

Also, I re-oriented your pictures.  The problem occrurs intermittenly with pictures captured by iOS systems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cboyle]

On 1/2/2023 at 5:10 AM, abbydancer said:

After Eric left we decided it was too crowded there, so we took our reading material, and my coffee up to Crooners, with a stop at guest services because there was a bogus charge of 150.00 or so for telephone usage.  (Carol reported the same thing).  The helpful gentleman said it would be taken care of later today.

 

We were also on this cruise and hundreds of dollars of spurious phone charges repeatedly appeared on our accounts. Guest Services said this was a "computer glitch" and that they would disappear by the next day.

 

On disembarkation morning, I checked our accounts and all was in order. However, another "Telephone charge" was added later and I was charged for it on my final statement. I have an inquiry filed with Princess, but It will probably take months to get the refund.

 

We had plenty of other problems with our onboard accounts. For example, one night the assistant waiter brought the wrong wine to the table; we were charged for both that bottle and the correct bottle. Also, my son and DIL were double-charged for drinks (we all had the Plus package). There were some other problems as well.

Edited January 9, 2023 by cboyle
clarification

[cboyle]

On 1/5/2023 at 7:07 AM, ScotsLady said:

I downloaded the Princess app and booked dining for 740 each night but glad to see we might not be stuck with this time . I also booked the Italian for one night and was a bit annoyed they took the money there and then instead of putting it on our onboard account. 
Would you say the food is as good as celebrity?

Irene

 

Irene, I had booked the Crown Grill for our party of 6 on the first night and, like you, had prepaid. Nevertheless, 6 cover charges were posted to my account. When I contacted Guest Services, they said they had no record of my prepayment--they would have to email the Head Office to verify my payment. After another day, they confirmed that I had already paid and the charges were removed.