"Live" Emerald Princess, 16-Day Hawaii, July 6th to July 22nd

[LACruiser88]

 

This coming Thursday we will be boarding the Emerald Princess for a 16-day Hawaii voyage from the Port of San Pedro.  We will be traveling with our almost 9-yr old granddaughter and her parents (our DD and SIL).  This will be our 9th Hawaii cruise and 10th voyage on the Emerald Princess.  The Emerald is one of our favorite of the older Princess ships.

 

We have been to Hawaii many times as we vacationed on Maui every year during our kids summer vacations when they were young.  This will be the first time we cruise to Hawaii during the summer.  It will be interesting to see if there are weather differences leaving and returning to LA during the summer.  Usually the first couple of days and the last couple of days of the cruise have been cool to down-right cold. 

 

We are also expecting LOTS of kids on this cruise.  This cruise has been "unavailable" to book for quite some time, a clear sign that is has been sold out.

 

It is interesting to note that this will be our first 16-day Hawaii voyage.  All of our prior Hawaii cruises have been 15-day voyages.  Princess has added an additional sea day to some of their 2023 Hawaii itineraries.  I wonder why???

 

We live about an hour north of the port (our DD lives two miles from us), so we will be dropped off at the cruise terminal by a car service and picked up upon our return by the same car service.  Being able to drive to the port makes these Hawaii cruises so convenient!

 

We are booked in a Dolphin Deck, mid-aft mini-suite, with the Princess "50" Plus Package.  As much as we love spending sea days in the Sanctuary, there will be no Sanctuary time for us on this voyage because we will be spending pool time with our granddaughter.

 

Our daughter originally booked an Inside cabin on Plaza deck.  A few months ago, they received a free upgrade to an Outside cabin on Plaza deck.  After making final payment, they made an upgrade bid for a Balcony at $300 pp.

 

A couple of weeks ago, they were notified that their bid had been accepted and were assigned a mid-ship Balcony cabin on Aloha deck.  This cruise has been showing "unavailable" for quite some time now, so there were some empty cabins floating around or they had cancellations.  Either way, they are very happy with the upgrade!

 

We have not planned any excursions and will be DIY in all of the ports.  Our main focus will be beach time with our granddaughter.

 

We were sad to find out weeks ago that one of our favorite Maitre'd's (DRO), Rui Pereira, is going home the same day we board.  We always look forward to cruising with Rui, maybe next time.  Carlos Marques will be his replacement.

 

As I do on all of my "Live" blogs, I apologize in advance for not being as witty or eloquent as some other bloggers.  My DW says I'm a Sgt Joe Friday kind of guy, "Just the facts, ma'am."  I plead guilty to that charge!  I do try to be as informative as I can and try to answer all reasonable questions.  I will usually post the "Princess Event Listings" on the daily. 

 

To our fellow passengers, I encourage you to add your experiences and answer questions on this blog as we all have different perspectives and experiences.

 

Aloha!

  

Date	Port	Arrive	Depart
Thursday, July 6th 2023	Los Angeles, California		04:00 pm
Friday, July 7th 2023	At Sea
Saturday, July 8th 2023	At Sea
Sunday, July 9th 2023	At Sea
Monday, July 10th 2023	At Sea
Tuesday, July 11th 2023	At Sea
Wednesday, July 12th 2023	Hilo, Hawaii	08:00 am	05:00 pm
Thursday, July 13th 2023	Honolulu, Hawaii	07:00 am	11:00 pm
Friday, July 14th 2023	Maui (Lahaina)	07:00 am	06:00 pm
Saturday, July 15th 2023	Kauai (Nawiliwili), Hawaii	08:00 am	05:00 pm
Sunday, July 16th 2023	At Sea
Monday, July 17th 2023	At Sea
Tuesday, July 18th 2023	At Sea
Wednesday, July 19th 2023	At Sea
Thursday, July 20th 2023	At Sea
Friday, July 21st 2023	Ensenada, Mexico	08:00 am	05:00 pm
Saturday, July 22nd 2023	Los Angeles, California	06:15 am

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mikjr]

Aloha!!  we are also looking forward to this cruise!  I believe we have also cruised to Hawaii around 14 times, mostly Princess, but also HAL, Celebrity, and Queen Victoria.   We have friends and family on the Islands and will get to spend some time with them.  We were just there in March, but missed two ports, Kauai and Maui.  We've seen just about everything we want on the Islands over the years, so no excursions... but, we are renting a car on HILO, and other than that... we'll just see how it goes once we get there.  

I was also surprised at the extra SEA DAY, but gladly welcome it.  In years past, KONA was a 5th stop with a night cruise by the Volcano, but they seem to have stopped that a few years go.

This will be our FIRST time on the Emerald and are looking forward to the larger ship.  

[luvs to cruise]

We just did this cruise June 1st, really enjoyed the sea days.  This was our first Hawaii cruise, and we had a great time.  Enjoy!!!!

[konatyme]

We were also on the June 1 cruise. One of our favorite crew members on the ship was Ricky, who is a server in the Piazza (IC, Good Spirits, the rest of the Piazza). He was super! Also, the assistant cruise director Nick was so talented, funny, and friendly. Enjoy!

[szubieta]

Following to see when Formal Nights are.

 

Safe Travels & ENJOY!!!

[1emerald1]

I love to follow your "Lives" and I love Hawaii so am anxiously waiting for you to board!

[cruzinfamilyof4]

I look forward to your Live blog, I'll be doing this cruise later this summer. We've never been to Hawaii so I'm really looking forward to seeing. Oh and all the sea days. Word for the 16 days will be relaxation. Have fun!!

[LawDog61]

looking forward to following along as we are on the Aug 5 Hawaii run on the Emerald.   We just got off the 7 day coastal and Emerald is a fine ship.  Yes, Princess usually doesn’t do summer cruises to Hawaii,  in fact I am not seeing anything for 2024.

[ghgeckos]

Looking forward to your “Live” review, my mom keeps talking about doing this cruise.

[cruzinfamilyof4]

12 hours ago, LawDog61 said:

looking forward to following along as we are on the Aug 5 Hawaii run on the Emerald.   We just got off the 7 day coastal and Emerald is a fine ship.  Yes, Princess usually doesn’t do summer cruises to Hawaii,  in fact I am not seeing anything for 2024.

Hello LawDog61, we too will be on the Aug. 5 sailing. And I can't wait!!

[sunviking90]

Looking forward to your review. We loved the Emerald Princess and her crew last November and we’ll be on her again in August for 19 days.

[CruzinNoony]

LA Cruiser 88, We are also on this Hawaii cruise along with several friends. Plus, my daughter and a girlfriend will be sailing with us.  We are planning on renting a car with them in each port and just driving around to see the islands. We were just on this itinerary in January, but are celebrating birthdays in July, so are going again.  Hoping to meet you, maybe at the meet & greet.  Meredith and Bob

[LACruiser88]

@CruzinNoony  Happy Birthdays!!!  I hope to meet you too.  We no longer attend M&G's but will be in Vines nightly before dinner and usually the Wheelhouse after dinner.

 

Debbie & Rafael

[richsea]

Looking forward to following along on your sailing! We’re on Emerald’s 11 night repo out of NYC in November. Our last Emerald sailing was in 2011.

Edited July 1, 2023 by richsea

[XBGuy]

On 6/30/2023 at 6:37 AM, LACruiser88 said:

 

Princess has added an additional sea day to some of their 2023 Hawaii itineraries.  I wonder why???

 

 

Save on fuel by reducing speed?

 

[LACruiser88]

1 hour ago, XBGuy said:

 

Save on fuel by reducing speed?

 

That's a possibility?  🤷‍♂️

[cr8tiv1]

Thanks for taking. us along.  I always love following cruisers to Hawaii.  Let me know if there is anything you want to know.  I'm sure you are a seasoned visitors.  

 

The Halema`uma`u Crater eruption recently ended.  

 

The Skyline "rail" in Honolulu is finally up and running.  Cost is the same as a bus fare (I think).  News channels are reporting that it has beautiful views of Pearl Harbor.  It only cost BILLIONs for 11 miles and still not finished.  Takes about 20 minutes to go from Halawa Stadium to Kapolei.  

 

I always wondered why Princess didn't sail to Hawaii in the summer.  Glad they are doing it this year.

 

Malama Pono

 

[LACruiser88]

 @cr8tiv1 Mahalo!

[Justpackingmybags]

Following. This is one of my bucket list destinations, but it’s a looong way from the UK 🇬🇧 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

12 hours ago, CruzinNoony said:

We are planning on renting a car with them in each port and just driving around to see the islands. We were just on this itinerary in January, but are celebrating birthdays in July, so are going again.

 

Looking forward to hearing how the car rental goes in each port. It is an oft asked question here.

 

2 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Thanks for taking. us along.  I always love following cruisers to Hawaii.  Let me know if there is anything you want to know.  I'm sure you are a seasoned visitors. 

 

I always wondered why Princess didn't sail to Hawaii in the summer.  Glad they are doing it this year.

 

They always seemed to be in that "Alaska in Summer, Mexico in Winter" mode. Now they are going to Hawaii and doing California Coast itineraries, which is great.

[CruzinNoony]

10 hours ago, scottca075 said:

 

Looking forward to hearing how the car rental goes in each port. It is an oft asked question here.

 

 

They always seemed to be in that "Alaska in Summer, Mexico in Winter" mode. Now they are going to Hawaii and doing California Coast itineraries, which is great.

My daughter has reservations in all 4 ports for a car.  The trouble is that she and my DH will have to get to the car rental place to pick it up and then later to drop it off.

[SaltwaterDaffy]

Hello everyone 

We're onboard now. The ship is full and there are lines for the Dinning  room.  Be patient. The terminal was crowded at 11am but seemed to ease up after 12:30 or so. See you next week. 

[LACruiser88]

@SaltwaterDaffy  Thank you for the update!

[OccasionalSanta]

On 6/30/2023 at 6:51 AM, mikjr said:

We were just there in March, but missed two ports, Kauai and Maui.

 

We were also there in March on the Crown, probably right there with you. We were celebrating our 40th Anniversary. We had honeymooned on Maui and Kauai so were disappointed that we missed both of those ports.

 

We're giving it another go on the August 5 departure on the Emerald and hoping we don't miss those ports again.

[GoDucksNation]

If you follow any cruise vloggers, I just heard that Parodeejay will also be on this cruise to Hawaii.