Bucky3

Thanks so much for your daily blog! We did this cruise last summer on Grand Princess, but the Star is our favorite ship and the one we have spent the most time on. Enjoy!!

Really enjoyed this thread. Thanks to PunkiC and all who joined in. Would love to be able to go RT from SF to Vancouver on 2 short cruises, but I don't think there is such an itinerary!

That's wonderful news. I suppose you will be picking it up on the day you do another BVE? I'm sure the crew member will appreciate seeing/hearing from you. Have another great BVE and a happy reunion with your phone!

In reply to the OP question, I think some of us are just trying to add thoughts that may not have been considered.

I'm just trying to visualize a family of 5 with children ages 8,6, and 4, plus 3 scooters (and whatever else is necessary to carry for the day!) getting off and back on the ship, and I know that would not be for me even with the approval of Princess! What ports are you going to? Any tendering involved? Hope you have a wonderful family vacation whatever you decide to do.

That's a bummer! If all else fails, if you live in SF and the ship is coming back there, I'd make a reservation for another BVE on that turnaround day, and go back myself to check with lost and found on the ship. That should give you a day or so to turn in the new phone. Good Luck.

My family had one of those rooms a few years ago. What the picture does not show is that above each bed, there is a drop down bed. It does get a little tight when all four beds are in use, but at least this way the balcony door is not blocked. My younger daughters loved sleeping up in the bunks and it was much cheaper than buying two rooms. I would not get that room if there was just two of us. Again, with four it is a little tight, but being a little crowded is better than no cruise at all.

I agree that as a solo traveler or a couple that cabin would be unacceptable, but with boys the ages of the OP, I think it might be a better arrangement than a regular balcony. I don't think it would seem any more crowded than a regular balcony for four people. It must be the location that rates it as a BA.

Oh, my goodness - did he ever. We found it terribly humorous, and where killing ourselves laughing during some translations of what was short English statements to a 3 series novel translations in Japanese...:D

 

I did learn the Japanese for Club Fusion is "Club Fusion" and the Japanese for Explorers lounge is "Explorers lounge" during these long translations :D

LOL!!

Lanwood, thank you for starting this thread, and thanks to those who are adding their experience as well. This is a wonderful, educational, and humorous read, and what great information you are providing for those of us thinking about booking this cruise.

We look forward to more! Loving the details. David Cole has a reputation for being one of the very best CDs. I imagine this is a really difficult transition for him. Somewhere I believe that I read he'll be taking some (probably much needed and deserved) time off after his present contract!

Hope the information keeps coming - any little thing added that you remember most welcome!

We were on both ships last year. The closet/dressing areas in our Caribe Deck balcony cabin were different. Star has a bigger closet, the bathroom has more floor space on Grand. Alfredo's is on Grand, not on Star. These are the main differences we noticed in addition to no Skywalkers on Grand. We prefer Star Princess, but all cruises are great!

We have never cruised on Crown Princess, but we did this itinerary on Star Princess a year ago and are booked on the October cruise this year. Those beautiful islands keep calling us back!! We love the sea days, were never bored, and were not ready to get off even after the 8 sea days returning! Come join us this fall, and be sure to join our roll call in full swing right now!

We really wanted to do this itinerary in Spring of 2015 but don't see it listed, so we jumped on this fall's cruise.

I just checked "Search Cruises" on the Princess website, entered "Any" for destination and Ruby for "ship." For those of us thinking the Ruby might be doing the 28-day Hawaii/SP cruise in April of 2015, they have her doing a Mexico cruise and a Hawaii cruise in that time period. We booked the 2014 October Crown cruise for this itinerary about a month ago, because it doesn't look like it will be offered by Princess next year. We'll keep checking here to see what you all find out.

 

We always take our own large bar of soap. Here's a simple solution to the large soap bar: Get an extra washcloth from your steward' date=' fold it and lay your large soap bar on top of it in the small holder in the shower. Voila! No more bending over to pick of the soap. Caution - you may need to "train" your room steward not to remove the cloth each day!!

 

 

Love that your cup is half full - all the time! Good for you! Hope the rest of your cruise is as wonderful! Can't wait to hear the rest!

 

I agree! What a fun thread this is!

These chairs are also on Carnival ships. I take it is part of "consolidated purchasing power/savings amongst sister cruise lines".

A good move to make Princess more individual and special would be to replace that balcony furniture on the Princess ships!!

Thanks Bucky, thanks to you and the internet I retrieved the menu and

http://giovannisshrimptruck.com/menu.php

the recipe.

http://www.food.com/recipe/giovannis-shrimp-scampi-498331

They have a facebook page also.

Now I hope it is one of the stops in my excursion.

And, thanks to you for the links! Are you going on a ship excursion? The times we have stopped at Giovanni's we had a rental car. Two other times we took the ship's excursion to the North Shore and those times we went to Fumi's as part of the tour. Enjoy! Oh, unfortunately, I didn't see mai tais being served at either place, but our favorite place for them is the "House Without A Key" at the Halekulani Hotel on Waikiki - their mai tais are really good (but expensive!) with an appetizer of coconut shrimp! It's the way we always end our day on Oahu just about sunset time! Aloha!

'We also like Giovanni's garlic shrimp with butter sauce, but it is really messy to eat! The shrimp are cooked but not peeled, so you peel them yourself. When done we stop at the Turtle Bay Resort and use their lovely restroom to clean up!!

The last time we were on Oahu we went to Fumi's. It is also on the same north shore road. It is not a truck but a small stand with canvas covered picnic tables. There we had the coconut shrimp, and it was really good. Fumi's has quite a menu, not sure if Giovanni's has something other than shrimp.

Still don't see an itinerary on the Princess website for April of 2015 for the Ruby. Could she be doing the 28-day Hawaii & South Pacific Cruise? Wondering................

Here is my daughter's experience in summer of 2012. She booked a minisuite through a large agency, had the booking marked "no upgrade" (it showed on her copy of the booking). When she went to fill out the personalizer information, she saw a different cabin number. They had been assigned to a full suite, but it was facing aft on the ship, and for reasons of seasickness their original cabin was midship. She called me and together we went to the Princess website and discovered that there were several suites available midship in the same category as the suite they had been assigned. The next morning she called her booking agency, they called Princess, and she was assigned a midship suite. SO, it all turned out well for her......and now she's really spoiled!!! What we learned from this is if you are "upgraded," check the location and if not to your liking see if there is the same category as the upgrade available in a location of your choosing. Good Luck and Happy Cruising!

We have sailed on both Star and Grand. While we also enjoyed Alfredo's on Grand, I'd trade it any day for Skywalkers on Star. In fact, I'd say Star is our favorite ship. We've spent many days on her. Loved the big closet on Star and was surprised and really missed having that size closet on Grand. If Elua is onboard the Star when you sail, that's a real plus as well. Have a great cruise!

Thank you! I guess that I will wait until after the summer to call. My luck I'd call and get the money back and then find a great deal on Princess for a cruise. I'd be kicking myself for losing the OBC!

If they were good for 2 years, we were told you can call Princess and they will extend them for another 2 years. So, if you have any reason to think you might cruise again with Princess, it would be worth keeping them. As well as the OBC, It's really nice to be able to book and have your deposit already there!

I know he is setup directly with PG Cruises

Thank you. And thanks for all the great information you provide about these SP islands. We love Moorea for land excursions and Bora Bora for the motu picnics and the gorgeous views from a boat tour there.

In the past Patrick has always used a sliding scale. The more people in the group the less it will cost. I've paid as low as $125 and as much as $185 for the lagoon tour (no 4X4)

He is now connected with a few ships and if your on one you must book through the ship or charter a whole outrigger (12 people).

Email them ........

What ships is Patrick doing tours for? I am not aware that he books tours for the large Princess ships at least this was not true a year ago. We booked our Cruise Critic roll call group with him for the Star Princess cruise in April of 2013. Cost was $125 pp for the lagoon tour only, no 4x4. We booked more than a year in advance.

Contact him as early as possible. If you want others to join you, you might want to post your request on the roll call for your cruise. You may find that he has already been booked by someone on your roll call.

Have a wonderful day in Bora Bora.

But its just different, not really different like the Sun class compared to the grand class. it is a bigger shower and a larger bathroom, but smaller closet space and shelves.

the biggest issue the first night was walking into the bathroom door as it has the full length mirror on it and really screws up your depth perception in the middle of the night...

I agree! That was a big surprise to us when we cruised the Grand last summer. I REALLY missed the huge closet. I think they used the same space as on the other ships but just designed it differently. Now the bathroom takes up some of the closet space. It really just gives you more floor space in the bathroom. I didn't notice that the shower was any different. Needless to say, the design on the other grand class ships is better IMO.

"Live From" is the best thing next to "being there!" Thanks for taking us all along - so envious of your relaxing vacation. Enjoy!

I guess we were lucky. We brought our son and his friend on board for the BVE. At lunch all those that wanted, were served wine. Even my wife and I who were the cruisers. No signatures asked for. We did get our pictures at the picture galley. Our cabin was available so they were able to see our view of Treasure Island and the Bay Bridge.:D

It would be nice if this practice could be followed on all BVEs!

I booked the BVE today for my cabinmate's husband directly with Princess. The gal took my name & booking number, verified that there would be a BVE on this date, then transferred me to the BVE dept. I gave them DH name, email and I paid for the BVE. She read back the booking number and instructions. She linked our booking number to his, so that we can check-in and board early. He has a passport, but a state issued photo ID is acceptable and you'll need a credit card on the day of the BVE (just in case you want to buy anything [future cruise credit, maybe?] or drinks).... all in all... about 15 minutes. :)

We had the same experience in San Francisco last summer. There were 5 of us sailing and two guests for the BVE. My only complaint was that since those of us sailing DID NOT get a sticker, we were not served wine at lunch. That was a little awkward. I think Princess could afford to offer just one glass of wine to their sailing passengers who bring guests to introduce them to the ship! Each couple, even those sailing, DID get a picture.

We had 9 family members, all adults, on an anniversary cruise one time on HA, not Princess. They sat all of us at a table for 8 rather than a table for 10, and it was not a pleasant experience. We were elbow to elbow, and the table was just too crowded. We ended up having dinner there only on formal nights. On other nights we were all more comfortable in the buffet area with the exception of our anniverdary evening.

On the actual night of our anniversary, we had reservations for the specialty restaurant and there we were well taken care of with all of us at one table. It was very private and wonderful.

As has been suggested, two tables next to each other in the MDR makes more sense IMO both for comfort and conversation. Changing seats could add to the fun! Have a wonderful cruise. It's the best family vacation ever in our opinion!