XBGuy

Note to self: Make sure I’m not traveling with these people the next time I book a helicopter tour and we are asked our weights by the operator. 🤣🤣🤣

We did not see a TV in our cabin until we took our fourth cruise on Carnival in 1996. I don’t recall if there were TVs in any of the public venues. There were no TVs on our three previous cruises 1976 on NCL 1983 on Costa 1992 on Regent

Very cool that you were able to meet with them. I am. once again, envious of you, I don't know if you are aware, but Lagier Meredith released its last wines, from the 2021 vintage, in September. Carole and Steve are retiring. (As a man who is in his second decade of retirement, I completely endorse this move,) Future harvests from their vineyard will go to neighbor Aaron Pott for his label. I don't know if they will be single-vineyard bottlings, but that would be cool I don't know if you are aware, but Yes. m

Well. I am popping up, again, and you know what that means. I'm going to pontificate on wine. With apologies to @richwmn I am going to make a correction to the wine of the day. It should be 12 e mezzo Varvaglione primitivo puglia. While Italian word "primitivo" does translate to "primitive" in English. In this case, on a wine label it refers to the Primitivo grape which is widely planted in the Puglia Region of Italy. I am going to get much deeper now. For many years Zinfandel--sometimes referred to as an American grape or as a California grape--confounded wine historians. Nobody seemed to know where it came from. Even the history of the name was unclear. Carole Meredith, a geneticist at the University of California, Davis discovered that what was called Zinfandel in America and the Primitivo grape of Puglia were DNA identical. The obvious conclusion is that Primitivo cuttings were brought over by Italian immigrants and planted in California. When you look at the number of Italian families involved with California wineries and vineyards, this is easy to understand--e.g., Barghetto, Mancini, Martini, Montalfi, Mondavi, Pagani, Papera, Parducci, Pucini, Pucioni, Pedroncelli, Sebastiani, Seghesio, Teldeschi, Trentadue, Zichichi. So, Zinfandel lovers you might want to try an Italian Primitivo. Then the question arose, where did Primitivo come from. Meredith was contacted by two professors at the University of Zagreb asking if she would be interested in working with them on a project funded by the Croatian government to investigate the country’s traditional grapes. Years of additional research led to the conclusion that Primitivo found its way to Italy from Croatia, The Croatian grape known as Crljenak Kaštelanski was DNA identical to Primitivo. Happily for us Americans who have difficulty with certain non-English words, there is another name for the same grape that is much easier for us to pronounce--Tribidrag. Epilog: As a Doctoral student at UC Davis, Carole Meredith met fellow grad student and researcher, Steve Lagier whom she subsequently married. Lagier grew up in Napa Valley where his family was immersed in the wine industry. Rather that continuing in academia he returned to Napa Valley as a winemaker. The couple purchased property on Mount Veeder and planted grapes. Meredith commuted between Napa Valley and Davis until her retirement from the university in 2003. The couple made some excellent wines, particularly, Syrah, and were encourage to start their own label--Lagier Meredith. They have produced varietal wines made from Malbec, Mondeuse, Syrah and Zinfandel grapes grown at their Mount Veeder vineyard. I have to include this picture of a bottle of their Zinfandel.

I am a pretty liberal tipper, and I don't see that behavior changing in the future. I added this disclaimer to emphasize that the following is for humor purposes only. Not philosophies are implied. Not related, OK, very remotely related, is a sign I saw in the vet's office: Rambunctious children will be given a cup of Espresso and a puppy.

@HaveDogWillTravel, I read into your post that there is no discount on these packages if one signs up for the Plus or Premier pricing. Am I correct in that, or did I misunderstand? FWIW, the three-bottle Sparkling Wine package looks the most attractive to me.

It is always our first choice on San Francisco port stops. Regarding the cost, we feel that the return is commensurate with the investment. Our standard mid-day order is the Ceviche sampler, the Empanada sampler and a bottle of Albariño. 😋 I suppose we could look at a South American wine, but we both really enjoy Albariño.

Haddock? Swordfish? From a Marx Brothers movie.

There is no upcharge for the lobster entree at Crown Grill. They do have a "Surf 'n' Turf" offering (filet mignon and lobster tail) for which there is an additional $10 charge. My displeasure was the fact that there was no flavor, and it was chewy. I suspect that the latter problem (possibly the former, also) was caused by overcooking.

I just love the entire Sabatini's experience, No particular favorite, and I have never been disappointed with anything. We dine often in Crown Grill. I like the Beef Tartare (warning, it is slightly seared) and the Shrimp Bisque. The beef entrees are fine (I often order them.) but no better than something I buy at a local market and grill in my back yard. I have enjoyed the Sea Bass, but I would strongly suggest that you avoid the Lobster Tails. Mrs. XBGuy's go-to favorite is the Mussel Pot. She also orders the Garlic Fries as her appetizer. Invariably, the server gives her a double take, but her fries appear along with my appetizer course.

OP's question regarding check-in seems to be that the check-in date (Dec. 9) is not the same as the cruise date (Dec. 10). That sure sounds like a mistake.

Here is an update to my previous post. My coffee shop buddy is leaving next Monday on the Los Angles-Hawaii round tripper on the Discovery Princess. The Discovery Princess is a Royal Class ship. So, it is very similar to the Royal Princess. He told me that his cruise does not stop at Kauai because the ship is to big to negotiate the rather small harbor at Nawiliwili. Apparently, they cannot tender there, either. So, if you are, in fact, considering the Royal Princess, and if visiting Kauai is important, you'd best verify the itinerary.

I am a bit surprised that nobody has responded to your quest for information on the Princess ships. Most Princess cruisers are happy to pontificate on their favorite line, and I cannot exclude myself from that description. Also, I have a lot of time on my hands today. So, let the pontification begin. I have cruised on each of the three Princess ships that you identified--the Grand Princess, the Ruby Princess and the Royal Princess. In three Hawaii cruises, I have never taken one of these three, but I think I can offer some insights. Not knowing exactly what kind of information you are seeking, I'll just ramble. Of the three, the Grand Princess and the Ruby Princess are pretty similar. The Grand Princess is a bit older than the Ruby Princess. While the Ruby Princess is similar to the Grand Princess, it has an additional deck. So, it can carry a few more passengers. The Royal Princess is the newest of the three, and is the largest--accommodating a few hundred more passengers that the other two. You can go to the Princess web site and see details on things like capacity. Both the Grand Princess and the Ruby Princess feature a promenade deck that wraps completely around the ship. This is terrific for walkers. The Royal Princess does not have this feature, and that really bothers many. I am a walker. I will put in a couple hours every day, and while the Royal Princess does not have the wraparound promenade deck, I have had no problem getting in 15,000 steps a day. One significant (to some) difference between the Grand Princess and the Ruby Princess is that the Grand Princess does not have the Skywalkers Nightclub at the rear of the ship. Skywalkers has a very panoramic view and is, I have to admit, darned cool. All three ships have three dining rooms. A portion of one of the dining rooms is accessible only to passengers who book a Full Suite or a Reserve Mini Suite. Princess has done away with the traditional fixed-time fixed-table dining. However, you can make reservations for the dining room, Theoretically, you can make dinner reservations for the same time every evening and work with the dining room managers to get the same table. Personally, we do not have many (if any) dinners there. So, I can't speak to how well that all works. Each of the three ships has two extra charge Specialty Restaurants--Sabatini's, which features Italian fare, and Crown Grill which features steak and chops, although they also have some excellent seafood options. You can find the current menus for these restaurants at the Princess web site. Each of these ships has a buffet that opens early in the morning (6:00?) and stays open until about 11:00 pm. The Royal Princess buffet is much larger that those on the Grand Princess or the Ruby Princess. Many people rave about the larger buffet on the Royal Princess. Each of the ships has what Princess is now calling "Casual Restaurants." These restaurants offer lighter fare for a modest charge unless you opt for "Princess Plus" or "Princess Premier" pricing options. Each ship has a nice venue called the International Cafe. It is located in the Piazza and offers pastries, salads and sandwiches. Adjacent to the International Cafe is a station where specialty coffees can be ordered. A modest room service menu is available from from early morning until, I think, 2:00 am. It is not clear what kind of cabin you prefer, but the balconies port/starboard cabins on the Royal Princess are much smaller than those on the other two ships. Also, on the Grand Princess and the Ruby Princess, the balconies on the Aloha and Baja decks are noticeably smaller than those on lower decks. However, even those Aloha/Baja deck balconies are much larger than those on the Royal Princess. All ships have a large outdoor screen over one of the pools--Movies Under The Stars (MUTS)--where something is always showing. During the football season they might have a Sunday game. Often, there will be a recorded concert performance, Mostly, though, as you might guess from the name, they show movies; All ships will have lots of activities--especially, on sea days--Trivia Contests, Bingo, Karaoke, music in the Piazza, various passenger activities/games. All Hawaii cruises will have "Hawaii Ambassadors." This is a couple who offer things like Hula and Ukulele lessons (which culminate in a passenger show in the Princess Theater towards the end of the cruise), Lei Making Classes, Port Talks, Hawaiian Culture Presentations, Musical and Hula Performances in various venues. It seems to me that these are among the hardest working people on the cruise. @jeh10641, the above was, mostly stream-of consciousness rambling. If I did not hit on something that is of particular interest to you, please come back with specific questions, and I will try to clarify.

Yeah, I remember that Western Airlines had an animated spokesbird. I don’t recall any distinguishing features that would identify it as any specific type of bird—just a generic bird.

Western Airlines. I am one of the older Cruise Critics. Also, I know the dardest things--like what QANTAS stands for. For the longest time I wondered why there was no "u" behind the "q."

This is an excellent workaround. Good for you. There are numerous restaurants within easy walking distance from San Francisco's Pier 27. There are, of course, a number of eateries in the Pier 39 area, but right across the Embarcadero is Fog City Diner. La Mar at Pier 2 is outstanding, and there are numerous other places at the Ferry Building.

I always chuckle at posts that ask, "Is <fill in the blank> 'worth it?'" or opine whether or not "<fill in the blank> is or is not 'worth it.'" Here is the universal answer to that question. Yes, it is worth it. Presumably, the questioner has not experienced the subject event. Is not one of the purposes of travel to expand your experience? Well, this is what that means. If you experience it and find the experience pleasant, or useful, then you have learned something. That makes it worth it. If you experience something and, for whatever reason, that you do not find it pleasant or useful, then you have learned something, That makes it worth it. We have not tried the 360 Experience. For well-known reasons and for one personal reason we have not cruised since 2020. We are, in fact, food and wine buffs. To be honest, however, there are things about the 360 Experience that do not sound attractive to me at all. That being said, when we return to cruising, we will be trying it at our first opportunity. I am not going to rely on Cruise Critic reports to make the decision for me,

It appears that multiple posters have covered the Princess offerings. HAL does regularly offer San Diego-Hawaii roundtrips. I think Carnival offers round trips out of Long Beach, but the frequency is nowhere near that of Princess or HAL. I'm know that Celebrity has offered round trips (out of San DIego?), but I am not sure if they still do. Mrs. XBGuy and I really enjoy the Los Angeles-Hawaii round trips, but we absolutely love sea days. On a round trip from the West Coast you are probably going to get nine or ten sea days. If sea days are not your thing, I think NCL is still offering a 7-day inter-island cruise out of Honolulu. So. you can avoid all the sea days crossing the Pacific by flying to Honolulu.

WOW. Did you bring that, or does the ship still have the 2006 vintage. I pre-ordered Dom for our balcony sailaway 8 or 9 years ago and they delivered 2006.

I confess to being a California wine bigot. However, there is nothing--not a thing--on that wine list that appeals to me. I will bring my own wine the next time I visit Crown Grill. I used to be able to find things on the CG list that I liked. Mrs. XBGuy could usually find a white--including nice white Burgundies--that she could enjoy with the Mussel Pot. That list that you are showing, now, is pathetic. Somebody on another "Live From" posted the wine list from Sabatini's, and that one was much better. I could actually find some wines that I would enjoy on that list.

Oh absolutely. I don't think many celebs really get their hands dirty. One exception might be Scott Pruett who seems to be very involved in the growing and the vinification. I think another exception that I think I read about was Tom Seaver.

Please report back. Celeb wines are rarely distinguished, but this won seems to have garnered some respect.

I think first timers are blue.

I think my odds are better taking my money (not sure I understand what “extra money” is) to Sabatini’s where my historical percentage of having a great dinner is 100%. 😃

Grand Cru Chablis. Très bien.