MTJSR

I'm watching the Grand go around Alcatraz at this moment. 5 pm she has a tug boat following her webcam is frozen again. Visit http://WWW.webmarin.com to watch. I've never seen anything like this before. Hope the person is ok.

Ugh. We leave Friday. Is there a place to buy them without having them shipped?

 

 

I would try a local pharmacy, tell the Pharmacist your intentions and she/he can point you to something. Also hydrogen peroxide will kill noro and it is cheap by the bottle.

What can we do to protect ourselves other than washing hands. We are on the Crown In a couple of weeks and my wife is concerned and considering not going...:eek:

 

 

Hi, I typically take a container of Noro Cloth wipes with me on board. Being a kidney transplant patient and being on immune suppressant medications, I cannot afford to be careless. I wipe down the cabin surfaces typically touched and carry several in a plastic bag for public restroom or similar activities. Knock on wood, so far so good.

 

Here is just one of many available. I suggest you get some and then pay attention to surfaces touched while on board. Enjoy your cruise!

 

http://www.amazon.com/Clorox-Healthcare-Hydrogen-Peroxide-Disinfectant/dp/B00BFFGJ6S/ref=sr_1_2/176-4742240-0301464?ie=UTF8&qid=1397055271&sr=8-2&keywords=norovirus+wipes

 

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Final destination is Osaka Japan. Not sure what happens after that.

o Most shops were converted to luxury goods shops

o Most entertainment in main theater changed to not require undertanding any particular language or culturtal background(acrobatic acts, music based, no comedians).

o Buffet changed to have more Asian dishes

o Dining room menus updated for regional dishes

 

Interesting that at one time, ships would have been upgraded to include luxury goods for Americans when entering our market. Oh how things change!

 

I think I would enjoy the other items mentioned. Plus, Asian food choices are so vast it would be fun to have them in normal menu rotation anyway.

As my family boards the Sapphire Princess today for Osaka Japan, I cant help but reflect on what a wonderful ship and crew, I've enjoyed twice.

 

Now that she will be perma ported in the Asian market, I wonder just how different the Asian Princess product will be from the North American Princess. Also will the Diamond get the theme treatment as well. Will Sapphire still do Alaska seasons like the Diamond?

 

Are there other Asian themed large cruise ships serving this area of the world? (besides Diamond)

 

Can't wait for the first "Live From" threads to come from these new itineraries.

 

Sayonara Sapphire!

Woke up to whales, or dolphins, or both, having fun about a mile off the ship this morning. Even hard to see on the video screen at full magnification. Did not bring binoculars this time.

 

 

As always, another fantastic Live From review.

 

FYI, and I thought those were dolphins too however in Cabo they have an enormous Devil Ray population and they jump in mass like that out of the water.

 

There's a BBC documentary if you go to you tube, here is the link

 

Was on her over Christmas, had a fantastic time. As is normal protocol, these ships are floating cities and they try hard to hide maintenance and routine upkeep.

 

I would imagine, your enjoyment is still their highest priority. Remember passengers outnumber crew 2 to 1 :D

I'll be on her last sailing before she leaves. I sure hope my TV works by then! That must've been frustrating, Pam. Did they offer an OBC or apologize at least for it being out?

 

Hi Mark here, Christmas cruise just wasn't long enough was it? As you get off you will pass My mom and aunt who are taking the reposition to Japan. Must be nice!:D

Thanks Jackie! We may have the same laziness due to heat issue. It tends to zap the explorer right out of me too.

To the OP, I too am taking this cruise soon and would like to know about shore tours. Any recommendations from things you may of heard or did yourself?

 

Any special events on deck (food wise) that are a can't miss?

 

Thank you for any recommendations you may have.

I was looking thru some online pictures of the Sapphire Princess and I was shocked just how much of the ship I have never seen and I've sailed on her twice. :eek:

 

I suppose I should join my family who is sailing her to Japan in April. Guess two cruises is just not enough to experience everything onboard.

 

Hello DriveslikeMario, our neighbors on Caribe, Mexico cruise over Christmas.

 

Mark

So in summary, page 1 people disagree with me and page 2 people see merit in the idea. ;)

 

I like the pictures of the brunch in Palo on Disney. That is what I imagine when I think of a Princess brunch.

 

If indeed there is a waffle maker out by the pool, then that is crazy. What do you have to do, walk the ship to assemble a plate of breakfast? (not that it would hurt me)

 

and to the person who knows for sure the scrambled eggs are not powder, I will offer to help Princess crack and wisk eggs on my next cruise then. They are doing something wrong. I still think they are some strange manufactured egg product of some kind, too cake like in texture.

 

I find it interesting too that no one mentioned the Jamba Juice style smoothies thought. I guess, I can conclude that our age group is not in the JJ's demographics.

Sorry, but have to laugh (not at you) at this since apparently, more and more Princess cruisers want a hamburger, meat loaf or Mac 'n cheese for dinner. Expectations have lowered rather than gone up. Most nights, the waitstaff are dressed better than the passengers. :(

 

Oh Pam, that is so true. I remember on Sitmar every night felt like a formal night. I think some would be happy coming in shorts and tank tops.

 

I took a chefs course in Jr college. I love to cook and know how easy it is to make delicious fresh food. I also know how cheap an egg is and those nasty powered eggs just burn me to no end. lol

 

I like fancy offerings and I can appreciate homey once in awhile too. Problem is, I pay and cruise for the fancier offerings. I get homey at home.

I love breakfast and can get a wonderful breakfast at some restaurants in town but I really don't expect Princess to match what I can get at my favorite breakfast places.:rolleyes:

 

Your neighborhood restaurant will make you a wonderful breakfast for lets say 10 dollars? and there's probably no highly skilled chefs in the kitchen. But paying maybe thousands to Princess and their 5 star chefs, you wouldn't expect as much? :D:eek:

Food is very subjective but I enjoy my breakfasts on Princess and wouldn't pay extra. After all, there's always the dining room if I want better quality. I could even have eggs Benedict every day if I did. All included at no extra charge.

 

That said, in the buffet, I enjoy getting some cottage cheese and fresh fruit, maybe a cooked-to-order omelet, some crispy bacon, maybe a well-done sausage and I'm good to go. I would never get waffles or pancakes since they don't have real maple syrup. Just maple-flavored corn syrup that tastes nothing like maple syrup. Yuck. :(

 

Thanks Pam, (and I agree there is always the dinning room), however you do see buffet items in dinning room too. Id even be happy with changes in the the buffet, cause Im not all the impressed with powered scrambled eggs, sticky plastic sausage and broken oily bacon. I go to the buffet for the view, but shouldn't have to endure mediocre food as a penalty for not eating in the dinning room. Mark

Not sure if this idea has been discussed before, but I was thinking about breakfast on Princess. I doubt I am alone, but breakfast is one of my favorite meals of the day. I would rather splurge at breakfast and nibble at dinner.

 

For me, breakfast is the weakest, least creative of all meals on the ship. The powdered scrambled eggs, oily dripping bacon, plastic coated sausage, freezer flower shaped waffles and so on. I would be first in line if there was an upgraded breakfast venue, like the Crown Grill.

 

Imagine a 5 star style brunch with traditional “fresh” offerings, a Jamba Juice styled menu included, maybe a bakery too and of course, table side crepes etc. As princess keeps offering longer cruises, the breakfast offerings need to get more exciting in my opinion. Any thoughts?

Is there an Elton John impersonator/show currently on The Royal Princess?

 

HOPE SO!

 

That would be fun (if he was good) but it sure sounds more like Carnival or even Royal Caribbean.

 

I think Princess would lean more towards someone impersonating a Lounge Singer.;)

I sailed the Star to Hawaii and to be honest, there were times the food failed for me. However, the other hundred good things are my memory of what was a spectacular cruise.

I hope you had only a small blip and the rest of your cruise made up for it. Looking reading your review.

I was looking forward to a review of the tour, was there anything worth mentioning?

What a fantastic and fair review. Your pictures are awesome. I was on the Sapphire over Christmas and even thou is was my second time sailing her, you still saw more of the ship than I did. I agree with you on breakfast being the weakest meal at Horizon. I prefer eating higher protein meals and those sticky waxy sausages were weird, the powered scrambled eggs were inexcusable and the broken up bacon pieces, well what can you do. Look forward to your next review.

I think everyone is saying the same thing but a bit differently, typically a California Coastal that originates in San Pedro does not go around the corner and visit Long Beach. A California Coastal that originates outside of San Pedro may make a port stop/visit in Long Beach, which the Grand Princess has done. See my link on earlier post above for October 2013 Long Beach Cruise Ship schedule.

As I had remembered, the Grand was indeed berthed at Long Beach on October 22nd, California coastal.

 

Here is a link to the 2013 Long Beach Cruise ship schedule

 

http://www.sanpedrocalendar.com/scripts/calcium40.pl?CalendarName=longbeachcruiseship&Op=ShowIt&Amount=Month&NavType=Absolute&Type=Block&Date=2013%2F10%2F1

To my surprise, this year and I think it may have been the Grand also, a coastal actually stopped at Long Beach, not San Pedro. I saw its position thru Live Ship Maps and the bow cam visual and typed position confirmed it. I thought I was seeing an error, but it was actually there.

Gambee, thank you for taking the time to post those great pictures. Love em!