Recent Hawaii "Island Princess'ers"?'s

[weluv2cruise]

Good Morning from California!

 

We're (finally!) packing for our cruise leaving next Saturday (11/20). We are quite excited to be returning to the Island, having sailed on her last November through the Panama Canal.

 

 

I have questions for recent cruisers:

 

1. Did you enjoy the Singers and Dancers on the ship? This is our preferred entertainment, and our 17-year-old daughter is a "wannabe" cruise ship entertainer. We wonder if Buck Hujabre (saw him on the Grand in 2000 and 2001) is still anywhere with Princess . . . ?

 

2. Who is the Cruise Director?

 

3. Was Kevin Hughes a featured performer? Loved him!

 

4. How early were you able to board the ship?

 

5. Any other good gossip/info?

 

Thank you!

[Podgieree]

Hi Kathy and John, I hope that you plan to meet the rest of the Cruise Critic Crew at the High Tea on the second day. We look forward to seeing you! I'd better get back to packing, Podge

[jsiegel]

My folks and my sister are currently onboard the Island Princess. My dad reported the following about boarding:

 

We arrived in LAX at about 9:00 and arrived at the ship site in San Pedro. Apparently several ships were in port at the same time, so we had to wait for about 2-3 hours before they started the boarding. Once aboard, everything was OK.

 

I believe they took a taxi to the pier, so probably were there about 10:00- 10:30 a.m. or so. I've asked them to report back about the cruise director and the entertainment.

 

Jackie

[weluv2cruise]

Good Morning, Podge. Yes, we will try to meet the group on the 2nd day. Just check the Patter for time and place? See you there!

 

Hi to Jackie. Thank you for your answer. Have your folks said anything about the weather or sea conditions?

 

Three more days . . . :) :) :)

[jsiegel]

 

Hi to Jackie. Thank you for your answer. Have your folks said anything about the weather or sea conditions?

 

Three more days . . . :) :) :)

They've lucked out with the weather. They had pretty calm seas going and it looks like close to dead calm on their return. I've been watching the bridge cam. Hope to hear more directly from the family tonight. My dad still has to take a look at the Princess Patter to see who the CD is. I guess they've been too busy to take a moment to sit down and email me details of the cruise. They are platinum members so get the Internet for free.

 

Have a great cruise. I'll post more if I hear from them.

 

Jackie

[Colo Cruiser]

Chris Nicholl is the CD on the Island Princess. He took over on September 21St for Richard Joseph who is now on vacation. :)

[Charlene]

Our Friends, are on this cruise and he emailed us and said the seas were very rough for the first couple of days coming home. Several people were sick..He also said they didn't set sail on the day they were leaving LA, until around 11:00pm because of the mess at the terminal, with NCL ships were sharing the same doc. He has sailed on Princess ships for 9 times and never ran into this big of a mess at the doc leaving out LA..I sure hope they get this all straigten out for the next cruiser's..

[joanne1]

Weluv2cruz, The shows are one of our favorite forms of entertainments as well. Okay, we might be a little bias because our youngest daughter (20) is a dancer with Princess and is currently on the Star. She was on the Island last contract and of course we had to go and visit her. You will love the Island, perfect size ship and my favorite so far . . .

 

My daughter has a friend who is currently dancing on the Island so here is the scoop - the shows are: Let's Rock, Curtain Up, Tribute, Piano Man. My favorite was Tribute but I have not seen Piano Man which is supposed to be good. You were wondering where Buck is . . . guess what, you will get to see him next week on the Island Princess.

 

I just talked to the mother of the dancer on the Island and she said that the CD is Paul ? - she can't remember is last night but he is supposed to be great. For those of you who are on the ship later Richard Joseph will be back for Christmas. We saw Kevin Hughes on the Island when we were on during May but he was off to the Sapphire so you will miss out on him. We really enjoyed the show !!

 

That's it for tidbits - tell your daughter good luck and to keep dancing :D . Being able to see all of the different parts of the world, meeting all of the great people that they get to meet, while doing what they love doing it great at this age. But mom, just a word of warning, don't expect an discounts for a long while. When your daughter get's hired you will have to pay to go visit her - just like everyone else. :rolleyes: :D

 

Have a great time - I still have 4 months !!!!!

[kking0002]

Hello Weluv2cruise:

 

We were just on the 10/21 sailing of the Island Princess. Initially the cruise director what Chris, but when we got to Hawaii he went to another ship (apparently the CD on that ship had a family emergency), so we ended up with Paul who was actually on vacation on the cruise. He was great, very funny.

 

The shows were pretty good, and Buck is still on the Island. We really enjoyed them.

[critterchick]

I drive by the San Pedro cruise ship terminal every morning. On Fridays, RCCL's Monarch is always there. Two Fridays ago, the NCL Star AND the Island were there, and the terminal simply isn't set up to handle three ships. Traffic was a nightmare, with a ton of tour busses going into the lot. The Star has an 8-day itinerary, so she won't be there this Friday, just two ships, one terminal each, which should really help things move along.

[Podgieree]

Good Morning, Podge. Yes, we will try to meet the group on the 2nd day. Just check the Patter for time and place? See you there!

 

Three more days . . . :) :) :)

 

Check the Patter for High Tea. I'll try to wear my black Hawaiian shirt with white flowers. See you then! -Podge

[jsiegel]

Just heard from my dad, currently onboard the Island Princess as it returns to LA from Hawaii. He reports that the cruise director is Paul Becque.

 

He also reports that on day three of their return at sea "The temperature here is mild but the wind on deck is too strong to be comfortable" and "The sea has calmed down significantly and is now very smooth." (that's very wordy for him as he's a two finger typist, hope it helps)

 

I probably won't hear more from them until they are back home, and then you'll be experiencing it for yourselves. Enjoy.

 

Jackie

[jjssitters]

HI WE JUST CAME HOME NOV.5TH .YOU WILL LOVE THE ISLAND PRINCESS WHAT A BEAUTIFUL SHIP .THIS SHIP HAD ABSOLUTLY THE BEST IN CRUISE DIRECTORS.SAM,JEREMY AND THE OTHERS WERE GREAT.THEY WERNT LIKE CREW WITH PASSENGERS THEY WERE MORE LIKE FRIENDS.SAM IS JUST ADORABLE AND SHE MAKES YOU HAVE SO MUCH FUN SHE EVEN GOT MY GROUP TO GO INTO THE LIPSINC SHOW WE REALLY HAD SO MUCH FUN ON THIS SHIP AND IT WAS BECAUSE OF THE CRUISES DIRECTORS.THEY HAD A WAY OF MAKING EVERYONE JOIN IN.THE ENTERTAINMENT WAS REALLY GOOD.THE SHIP BEAUTIFUL.THE STAFF WENT OUT OF THIER WAY FOR YOU SO SERVICE WAS EXCELLENT.THE SHIP IS IMMACULATE.WE JUST LOVED IT.

THE CRUISE RIGHT AFTER WE DISEMBARKED DIDNT GET ON FOR SEVERAL HOURS I THINK THIS WAS DUE TO A BOMB SCARE THEY HAD AT LAX AND AN EXPLOSION AT THE HARBOR THAT MORNING.SECURITY WAS TIGHTEND.WE HOWEVER WERE ON BOARD BY ELEVEN ON THE 21ST OF OCT.

IT IS ALSO VERY NICE SAILING BACK TO LA AFTER THE FIVE DAYS IN PORT TO RELAX AND ENJOY THE SEA DAYS.YOU WILL REALLY ENJOY THIS CRUISE i CANT SAY ENOUGH ABOUT IT :)

[weluv2cruise]

Good morning everyone! Thank you so much for your responses to my questions. Our group of 6 plans on arriving around 10:30 or 11 am so we can board asap. One of my favorites days is arrival, so we can show the rest of the group (new to this ship) around the beautiful Island Princess.

 

I am a little concerned about the sea conditions, but hey, you know what they say: Any day at sea is better than . . . :)

 

I am also very excited to see the shows, and to again see Buck performing. What a coincidence - we saw him in successive back to back cruises on the Grand in 2000 and 2001.

 

We're obviously hooked on Princess - just a reminder: everyone should do the on-board (future) booking, as the deposit amount is so low and the shipboard credits can match your payment.

 

Oh yeah, and it's Hawaii, too! Even though we live in California, we have always traveled east to the Caribbean, and have never been to Hawaii (or Alaska, for that matter), so this is exciting also.

 

I wonder if there will many kids (under 18)? Probably not.

 

Ok, enough of my crazy thoughts . . .

 

Happy cruising to all,

[cdnguy]

Hi. I'm on the Island Princess right now, two days out of LA for our disembarkation on Sat. 20th

 

1. Singers and Dancers were very good, but not as good as they were last Feb. when we were on the Island. Buck Hujabre was on the ship. Ddn't particularly care for his act. Just our opinion.

 

2. CD is Paul Becque but I'm told this is his last cruise. He's very good but he's going to England this month to be an onstage comedian in the UK. Don't know who will be the next CD. Deputy CD is Susan Rawlings.

 

3. Kevin Hughes not on the ship. These people move around. Saw him on the Island last Feb.

 

4. As my friend Charlene in a previous posting here has mentioned, there was a huge delay in San Pedro when we boarded. Waited at the pier almost 3 hours to board. Three ships in harbor and this was too many for this port to handle. Also an Immigration problem beyond Princess control. Didn't get on board until about 2PM.

 

5. First cruise we have been on that we have not heard one complaint. I'm sure there were some but we didn't hear them. Also, everyone is happy, which is a pleasant change. Hope it continues like this for you.

Biggest disappointment was the weather but that's not a controllable item. Of eight sea days so far, probably about 3, maybe four, we were able to get out in the sun or around the pool. Weather in Hawaii was fabulous. Two days ago it was so rough, all pools had to be drained and closed for a day and a half.

 

Must go. Island is a beautiful ship. 8' longer than the Grand, Star and Golden. You will have a good time on this ship.

[Franknca]

Hi. I'm on the Island Princess right now, two days out of LA for our disembarkation on Sat. 20th

 

 

Looks like they fixed the problem of accessing this site from on board.

 

I have a question that you will have the answer to soon but others may know about too. We are on the 12/20 cruise and when I checked my personalizer, I see that the touch and go at Ensenada has been increased from 1 to 4 hours. We now arrive at 4 PM, with boarding at 7:30 PM and sailing at 8 PM. Do they really allow people to disembark? Can that many get off and on in that short time? Just wondering.....

Frank-in-CA

[cruisingfreak]

Looks like they fixed the problem of accessing this site from on board.

 

I have a question that you will have the answer to soon but others may know about too. We are on the 12/20 cruise and when I checked my personalizer, I see that the touch and go at Ensenada has been increased from 1 to 4 hours. We now arrive at 4 PM, with boarding at 7:30 PM and sailing at 8 PM. Do they really allow people to disembark? Can that many get off and on in that short time? Just wondering.....

Frank-in-CA

 

 

I was thinking the same thing Frank.

 

 

Minette

[kking0002]

We were on the 10/21 sailing and they let us get off in Ensenada. There's not much there, so we got off and walked through the shopping area at the pier. But, we did see people getting into little busses, I'm assuming for city tours.

[Franknca]

I was thinking the same thing Frank.

 

 

Minette

 

I'll be posting on our topic but my TA confirmed we will have time to get off the ship.

 

Frank

[cruisingfreak]

Does anyone who's been on this cruise, remember when the Captain's Circle Party was? Did they have it on a Formal or Casual nite?

 

 

Minette

[jsiegel]

Does anyone who's been on this cruise, remember when the Captain's Circle Party was? Did they have it on a Formal or Casual nite?

 

 

Minette

From the pictures my sister took on the November 5-20th cruise, it looks like it was on a formal night, at least enough men were wearing tuxedos to give that impression. She's out of town right now or I'd ask her directly.

 

Jackie

[TM]

The Captains Circle Party for repeat cruisers is definitely on a formal night although I can't remember whether it was the 2nd or 3rd formal night. I think it was the 3rd but can't be sure.

 

Tom

[cruisingfreak]

The Captains Circle Party for repeat cruisers is definitely on a formal night although I can't remember whether it was the 2nd or 3rd formal night. I think it was the 3rd but can't be sure.

 

Tom

 

 

If it's on the 3rd Formal nite for our cruise, that would be New Year's Eve. I doubt they would have it then. I figure we'll have Formal nites the 2nd nite, Xmas Eve & New Year's Eve. That's why I was thinking they could have it on a casual nite. I could be wrong.

 

 

Minette

[Franknca]

If it's on the 3rd Formal nite for our cruise, that would be New Year's Eve. I doubt they would have it then. I figure we'll have Formal nites the 2nd nite, Xmas Eve & New Year's Eve. That's why I was thinking they could have it on a casual nite. I could be wrong.

 

 

Minette

 

I expect there will be some differences for our holiday cruise due to the holidays themselves. Hopefully we'll get something for the higher prices we are paying. (G)

Frank-in-CA