sparkle

Thank you kiwimum and startedwithamouse! I was getting worried...I don't think our insurance covers "cancellation because you can't smoke a cigar" :-). 

Hope everything is smooth sailing and fun on the islands for you all there! 

Aloha!  I see in post # 53 "There is no smoking anywhere indoors including the casino & the cigar lounge." 

My husband was dismayed to hear that, since he loved to go down and have cigars with his cronies at Churchill's or whatever Cigar Bar. If possible, can you find out where they will allow cigars? (Also so I will know where not to go).

Thank you so much for this thread and for the awesome pics and info. We are sailing 2/13 on the Grand. 

Hope everyone has a great time and no stress on all the Islands!

If you are concerned about rough seas,  I would recommend taking Meclizine. It is the medicine in non drowsy Bonine. You don't need a prescription for it anymore, but the pharmacist will have it behind the counter. (A lot Cheaper than buying Bonine, $10/16 tablets). I take it every  night, starting the night before the cruise. I have never been seasick, even in when it was rough enough to cancel the shows. In the 6 times we have done this cruise, once it was as calm as sailing in a bath tub going to Hawaii, and rough enough to cancel shows coming back, and every other time was a mix. We usually go in February. Bob voyage!

Although not for a show, we are due a refund from a company.  When we talked to the employee, he said since all the businesses are on mandatory shut down, no one could go into the shop to process refunds. He said he could answer phones from home, but not much else. Not sure if that helps, but at least know we are in the same boat as you are.

Stay well and keep thinking positive.

A little good news, you can watch a London cast performance of the Phantom of the Opera this weekend for free on Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Shows Must Go On You Tube Channel.

https://decider.com/2020/04/17/watch-phantom-of-the-opera-free/

GeeGee, we loved Book of Mormon but just to let you know  I think you really need a good sense of humor to enjoy it. Also has some Rough language. We were originally going to take my Sister and BIL, but they couldn't go when we were getting tix. We were SO glad they weren't with us at the show. Because of their personalities  (I am not judging, I'm just saying) they would not have enjoyed it and probably not made it through the show.  But we thought it was hilarious.  So different strokes! I just thought I would mention it.

Many good suggestions on this thread.

Enjoy your time in the city!

We really recommend this excursion! The Na Pali coast is beautiful! 

We went twice (2 different cruise) but both were in Feb. Prime whale season! Altho we did not get near any whales, the naturalist onboard put a mike(hydrophone) in the water and we heard them singing. 

First time was on the small "Zodiac type" boat. If you sit in the back it is (somewhat) less bumpy. The 2nd time was on a larger boat that had a canopy. We really enjoyed it. My husband is a snorkeler/diver and he went in both times and said he saw some fish but was mostly awed by the turtles. Since it's been several years since we've done this excursion, I don't know if the Na Pali Explorer company is still the company that does this, but we thought it was really cool. We would do it again!

When it's closer to your cruise,  see if you can contact folks on that itinerary a few cruises before yours to see if they can tell you what company does the excursion. Then you can see the type of boats they have on their website. With the Princess excursion they pick you up and bring you back. No hoping you make it back to the ship on time. We loved it!

Have fun! Aloha!

Duke's is a good recommendation,  and it is right there at Kalapaki Beach, a very nice beach. You can walk around the Marriott which has beautiful gardens, Koi ponds, plenty of benches to relax.

I believe many Broadway shows are filmed (probably several performances and edited together). Fathom Events shows these filmed shows in movie theaters for a one or two night event. I saw Bandstand like that last year. Noticed 42nd Street and George Takei's Allegiance had showings but could not make it to those.  They filmed a London (West End?) Production of Kinky Boots that PBS showed during their fall pledge drive.  I would have been surprised if Hamilton was not filmed. I think the only surprise would be the release date. I guess we'll just have to

Wait For It!

Of course, in the unlikely event demand for tickets to the actual show had waned, this will spark another wave. I'm sure it will still be playing 20+ years from now. Like Phantom. Or Lion King.

I bet Disney execs are celebrating this week. 

Thanks for the great review JennyB!  We will be sailing on the Royal in Feb. I am very happy to see that Nick Nash is the Captain, and hope he will still be,  next month as well. He married us in Feb 2009 aboard the Golden Princess. I am also happy to see they have Meiomi Pinot Noir, my favorite. I guess we will put the beverage package from TA to good use!

I am happy to hear pax still dress for formal night. Although DH can't fit his tux anymore (it must have shrunk at the cleaners😉), he likes to bring a suit or two. It's really our only chance to dress up all year. 

Thanks again!

Thanks MarkBear!! I will definitely get tickets for it. Most of DH's family knows when they come up to visit I will be taking them to some shows and/or to hear live music, but I really try to find things they all will enjoy. This sounds great, the tix are 1/3 the price of a touring production, and I get to support local theater. Can't beat that! Thanks again!

Did anyone ever see Peter and the Starcatcher, on Bwy or elsewhere? A local theater is doing a production over the holidays, and we are thinking of taking visiting relatives. We are taking everyone to see the Lion King touring production that will be here, but this show caught my eye for another evening. Also, would it be suitable for a 12 yr old?

On 11/16/2019 at 7:28 PM, Got2Cruise said:

I want to recommend the shows now playing at New World Stages which technically considered off Broadway.

 

Jersey Boys, Rock of Ages, and The Play That Goes Wrong. There is not a bad seat in the house; the seats themselves are wide; and there are ample brand new bathrooms. 

 

You can most most likely get tickets at the TKTS booth for these shows. 

 

Just saw Rock of Ages which I thought was a lot of fun and had never seen on Broadway. 

Another show, Imbible, The History of Drinking is playing there as well. We saw it in August before a cruise and it was a good show and a fun time. You can get discount tix thru Playbill.com if you don't want to wait in line. They were the same price as we paid at TKTS.

A number of big Broadway shows have transferred here to New World Stages after their runs in the big theaters. We saw Rent and Avenue Q here, had better seats, and most of the casts were the same. This is a great complex!

The TKTS booth in Times Square  for same day discount tickets

Has anyone seen the Tina Turner show yet?

9 hours ago, andylibby said:

We're sailing on the Grand out of San Francisco on December 28, 2019.  I'm planning to take my ukulele as others on CC have mentioned it.  I'm amazed there isn't something on the Princes web site promoting the subject and advertising opportunities for lessons or other participation.  I would be further amazed if there aren't lessons and other planned events on board a cruise to Hawaii.

Princess has been having Hawaiian Ambassadors onboard their cruises to Hawaii for the past several years. Dave (Tiki Dave) and Leialoha developed the program. They usually sail the HI cruises out of LA, and Brian and Rowena had been doing the ones out of SF. I am not sure of the schedules for this season.  The Hawaiian Ambassadors give (free) ukulele, hula and lei making classes. I think there are more advanced classes in Hawaiian crafts that have a fee. They will give lectures about Hawaii, and play Hawaiian music in the atrium. Leialoha will do vocals and do the hula, and will invite her hula students to come and do the hula, which is alot of fun. At the end of the cruise the hula and ukulele students get to perform in a Hawaiian show onboard. Tiki Dave is a wealth of information about playing Ukulele (and the islands),  and can recommend a great place "Uncle Uke's'" in Hilo to pick up gear. The ship has a few dozen ukes to use for classes (Dave will tune them and teach you to tune them), but almost half our class either had their own (I brought mine) or bought one in Hilo.  I think there may be uke jam sessions for the advanced folks (I was not in that group) as well. If you don't bring your own, I recommend getting to the class 15 min early to make sure you can get one of theirs.  The classes start out with the basics and progress from there so it is hard to just "drop in".  We can't say enough good about this program!!  Before they developed this program (and possibly on other Hawaii itineraries) the cruise director's staff gave ukulele lessons. We had those, and they were fine, but it seemed like it was just another onboard activity.  (But at least you got to play!!) If you have the Hawaiian Ambassadors you " feel the Aloha" and really feel like it is a Hawaiian cruise. Not just " a cruise".  Our last Hawaiian cruise with Dave and Leialoha was in Feb 2018, we sincerely hope they are still running the program. Check earlier posts for their facebook pages. Aloha!

For the Come From Away fans (and future fans), NPR had a Tiny Desk Concert last month. Here is a link

: Watch Come From Away Play The Tiny Desk : NPR
https://www.npr.org/2019/09/11/758080813/come-from-away-tiny-desk-concert

She charges $70/hr and her van can take up to 7 people (we had 6), and the tip is not included. She toured us around for 4 hours. Because we thought the teens might get fidgety on a long tour, we asked for 4 hours.  However, if I knew it was just going to be adults, I would have asked for 6 or 7  hours.  We didn't get to any shops in Hamilton (not a big deal for most of the group), and we could have stopped for a nice lunch.  We did get to see the sights that are most popular.  If you book with her, please say The Davis Family says hi! 

Amscruiser, we got lobster tacos at a "food booth", not sure if that is the correct name, just west of the red steps in Times Square. They have tables and chairs out there too. Very interesting to sit and watch everyone.

You have a great plan to get tix. I used to do that when TKTS had a booth at the World Trade Center.

I am not much of a drinker. DH got me a glass of wine before the show and I gave him my drinks, except I did drink half of the Old Fashion, which was good. I agree, the History of Desserts sounds like a winner!

Congratulations ams cruiser on winning the lottery!

We saw Hamilton in NYC before our cruise, and I am reporting back. DH is a history buff and knew all the history,  so even tho he never heard any of the OBCR, he was not lost and LOVED it! I thought it was very good, but can't say I was totally blown away. Maybe not possible after all the hype. But I truly believe Lin Manuel Miranda is a genius,  fitting all that history into 2 and a half hours. And I love the music!

Nitemare, we both thought Daniel Beaker was awesome, and it's hard to imagine that he was not every bit as good as Leslie Odom Jr.  (we have only seen clips of him). DH wants to see it again, and we probably will, but unless we win the lottery, it will probably when the prices calm down.  But now we want to go to Chicago and see Hamilton The Exhibition. 

We got in town the night before, and thought we would see Jersey Boys (playing on 50th st at New World Stages). However, we got in at late due to traffic at 6:45 and really didn't want to rush to TKTS, then try to make a 7pm curtain. So we saw another show there, Imbible, The History of Drinking (8pm), which we really enjoyed. The Bartender explained the history of beer, wine, distilling, spirits, etc and the Bar Backs illustrated everything with costumes, acting, singing and dancing. If you like 3 and 4 part harmonies you will love them. The show comes with 3 drinks (beer, an Old Fashioned, and a gin and tonic) and you can buy drinks (full bar) before the show starts if you like. Tix at TKTS were $47, so you get to see a show and drink for about the price of 3 drinks in NYC. I would recommend it if you have an extra day and want to see an entertaining show.

We were in Times Square having some Lobster tacos Friday about 5pm on Aug 23 and saw the TKTS board had discount tix for

Ain't Too Proud, Beautiful, and Come From Away. If you are on your way into the city, you can go online to TDF.org, ticket booth section, and select "TKTS Live" to see what tickets are available (or while you are standing in line if you can't see the boards) it goes live at 3pm for the evening shows.

Our family traveled on the Anthem of the Seas and were in Bermuda for 2 days.  The first day I had pre-arranged a tour with Ms. Brandi Stone and we were so glad we did.  I emailed her one evening 3 months in advance and she answered my email promptly.  She asked if we had any places in particular we wanted to see, but since we had never been to Bermuda before, we deferred to her experience.  Originally we thought we would have 2 teenagers, and asked her to take us to places that might interest them, but it ended up 6 adults going, and her clean, air conditioned van was very comfortable for all of us.  We saw all the main sights, The Gibbs Hill Lighthouse (declined to walk up), Somerset Bridge, Fort St. Catherine, St Peter's Church, and many beautiful beaches.  We stopped at Warwick Long Bay Beach for a quick run into the water.  It was NOT crowded, and the water was beautiful! She had towels and shower curtains for us to sit on, since we were all pretty wet.  At the end of the tour, half our group got out at Horseshoe Bay Beach (we paused for a photo stop at the top of the hill, overlooking Horseshoe Bay on the way out) for some serious beach time, and caught a shuttle back.  She timed it so that we could see the re-enactment at St. George town square.  She recommended several restaurants we might like to go to later or on our 2nd day.  She gave us so much history and answered all our questions.  We fell in love with Bermuda, and look forward to going back.  Her email is brandistone29@gmail.com.  Her cell # is 441-703-5180.

22 minutes ago, Sheltieluv said:

Not to mention our beloved Coach Mac, Ernie Davis, and others who called Syracuse "home"......

But I live about 40 miles from Syracuse,  in the country, so I am a self-proclaimed bumpkin!😁

We do, however,  bleed orange.

If you want to see Lion King, the Touring production will be in Rochester Dec 19 through Jan 5.

I have the OCR (I realize I should say OBCR) of Hamilton.  A couple years ago before a show we went into the bookstore in Shubert Alley. I found a book that had the annotated script (Lin's orig. notes) and pics and got it for a wedding present for my brother and his wife. Also got them the CD OBCR. Once I got home I realized I wanted that book so I kept it ( and the CD) and ordered them one online.

Besides Hamilton, I have the OBCRs of Rent, Lion King, Wicked, Spamilton and the soundtrack of The Greatest Showman that I play alot. I have individual songs downloaded on my phone (two of my favs are "Me and the Sky" (Jenn Colallo/Come From Away) and "Welcome To the Rock".

We actually did sit front row Mezz at the Gershwin and were happy with the seats, but if you have kids or are short, the railing will be in the way. We are not that long legged so we can't speak to that aspect.  When we take kids, we usually get 2nd row mezz. One time I got DH and grandaughter (10 yrs old,)  front row orchestra but she had to look up onto the the stage (even with a booster seat). The stage is raked so she still could see but I wouldn't do that with a grandkid again.

6 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

If you're not going to be in NYC, for a specific performance of a specific show, you'll need to buy online. Always check the show's own web page, in this case it's https://wickedthemusical.com/. There's a link to tickets which will take you to Ticketmaster. The first 3-5 hits on Google are typically to resellers. Even buying direct, you'll have fees, but they should be better than the resell sites. That Saturday matinee currently has good availability. For instance, the first row of the Mezzanine is available for $100/ticket plus fees. Hopefully someone's been in that seat, but the front of the Mezz is frequently better than middle or further back of the orchestra.