brianlojeck

At my drunkest I don't think I drank $50/day...

I never get my money worth from the soda card either, but it's easier to say it's worth $5/day to not have a bunch of $2 charges and receipts... But that's a lot of cash...

Often, I can find my door by looking for the only UNdecorated door :)

Not the message I get from that link.

 

"If soap and water aren't available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. These alcohol-based products can quickly reduce the number of germs on hands in some situations, but they are not a substitute for washing with soap and water."

Which is a fair sight better than "Norovirus is immune to alcohol..."

You'll have to forgive me, but when "everybody knows" something, I always remember that many of "everybody" also think the world is 6000 years old and vaccines don't help prevent disease...

I've never been on the Star, but on other ships (that I've been on) the shakes are at the ice cream vendor, mocktails at the bars, and hot chocolate at the coffee shop...

Also, the CDC says hand gel works.

http://www.cdc.gov/features/norovirus/?mobile=nocontent

Remember, the most disease ridden things in most hotels are the exit knob to the restroom and the remote in your room.

As for the policies, they may seem silly, and I'm no great fan of big governmental agencies, but noro is transmitted by touch, so if you limit touching you limit the disease...

Here's the thing...

There is Norovirus on you right now. The cold, the flu, and more.

By sheer numbers, only 10% of the cells in your body are "you"... The rest are all kinds of bacteria, germs, and other tiny things. (Your cells win by mass, though.)

The same applies to every other passenger.

They do an excellent job of cleaning their ships, but you must always be cautious and, like in a boxing match, protect yourself at all times...

Don't know. I've gotten them when I asked. In fact at the end of the cruise in the Canal, I asked the MD for a set of menus to scan for here and he provided them.

It may be different at the end of the cruise vs at the start. At the very start of a cruise they have just taken on lots of supplies. The chef may not have planned all the meals yet

We usually do the grill or room service, but knowing we can hide in the crown grill... That policy may change.

I don't get woo'ed by salesmen, nor do I own my own restaurant. The MDR makes no sense to me either...

We're planning what nights to make which reservations, and we'll need to avoid the specialty places on those nights due to a strict no-ties-on-vacation policy...

Also, is there a dress code for the private balcony dining if we schedule that for one of the formal nights?

Ate at sabatini's on the Golden. The meal did take a while, but that's Italian eating for you. I did find the wait staff a bit overworked, but no complaints about the food at all.

The only thing that bothers me about that class of ship is the seem to place the speaker stack for the band next door right against the wall shared with sabatini's... Couldn't hear the waiter over the band.

As a younger man I spent some time at a nightclub that had a really dead corner. You couldn't see the band, it was far from the bar, nobody sat there.

The owner put up velvet ropes and a guard to keep people out of that section. Immediately people started trying to bribe their way in... in a month it was the VIP section.

whenever I hear about people trying to sneak into something like the Elite club, and whenever I hear people talking about how people "don't deserve" or "haven't earned" their way into such a club... I think of that dirty corner of a nightclub that nobody cared about...

I would ask you to only send out clothing for passengers actually occupying the suite.

Mike:)

I'll also avoid stealing from the casino and tossing people overboard... :rolleyes:

Thankfully, my wife and I don't wear delicate clothing. :D Thanks, all...

This is only the 2nd time in my life I've stayed in a full suite on a ship, and the first I'm planning on doing laundry on-board.

Is there anything to be wary of with the complementary laundry service on the Grand? is there a limit to the # of uses, or the amount of clothes you can have washed? A long latency for the service?

Many thanks...

Does the ultimate tour go into the engine room, by any chance?

A bridge is cool, but I've seen people work computers before. :-)

we've got some time, I figure drinks at Duke's won't take too long... and all I've had it L&L... any really great "Plate Lunch" places in walking distance of the cruise dock on Kauai?

As it turns out, the shark-tank people offer a shuttle service, so we're doubly good.

Thanks again, all...

Your best bet is to rent at one of the Waikiki Hotels that contain rental car agencies. We have rented at both Budget and Avis locations there and both offered the option of returning your car after hours with a key drop. You will need to take a taxi as they don't offer shuttle service, but in my estimation it's still a good deal as renting a car is the best way to get around outside of town and really see Oahu. I think we generally paid about $10 each way from the port to the hotel rental locations.

Silly main-lander that I am, I keep thinking Waikiki and Honolulu are different cities. :-)

The thrifty is only 3 miles from the dock, if I can't catch a cab I can walk. Many thanks!

5/4/14 (Sunday), 7:00am, we dock at Pier 2 in Honolulu on the Grand Princess.

If we can get our butts to the North Shore by 10:00am we can get into a shark cage. We'd be back around 1:30 or so.

Between the places closed on Sunday and the places that close at noon on Sunday (so I can't return the car), I can't find a place within walking distance of the port.

Am I out of luck? Is there a rental company that has a shuttle from the cruise dock that's dependable enough for me to not worry about getting left behind in the evening?

Any advice is appreciated...

I think that if someone can't tell the difference between a $3000 limited edition and a $300 knock-off, that they probably shouldn't be buying art in the first place. They would probably be just as happy with a framed poster.;)

Because the difference is so clear when you're looking at a 200 pixel tall image on a computer screen...

Could it be a work by Hans Josicch? He has many paintings of red dressed flamencos.

 

Mike:)

It's not, but I like this one a lot too: http://*******.com/lzm46n6

Is this the piece? https://www.fabianperez.com/painting/dancer-in-red-with-white . The artist would be Fabian Perez. I know that Princess sells his work.

Indeed! Many thanks....

Just be aware that the site linked is to "someone who paints like Perez"

Yeah, I posted too quickly...

Also, for the record:

1: I don't buy art as an investment, I buy it to hang on my wall. In all likelihood I'll buy a poster print and put it in a really nice frame.

2: I have witnessed Princess (and other ship's) art vendors telling people that the art is an investment, that the only place you can buy the stuff is right here right now, etc... I also know for a fact that at least one "painting" was just a photoshopped photograph, because the photograph is the background on my phone... so my opinon of their honesty ranks them slightly below used car salesmen.

3: call me crazy, but using the duty-free shop's liquor prices as a guide, I don't buy booze, art, or jewelry on ships or in tourist-ridden ports, unless it's a bottle of something that I've truly never seen for sale where I live...

By the way OP... the artist you are looking for is probably Fabian Perez.

Thank you!!!

http://www.mynewmaster.com/painting/Dancer_in_Red_688.html

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

I've been on two Princess cruises. They seem to sell the same "rare, one of a kind" art on each cruise.

There is one painting I really like: it's a coarsely painted (as in heavy brush strokes, almost impressionist?) picture of a black-haired female flamenco dancer in a red dress, viewed from behind.

Given that I recognize a lot of their "paintings" as Internet images run through a photoshop filter (that's not a tiger's face, it's three naked women in body paint on a painted floor), I suspect this isn't a painting, but it's still really impressed me...

It almost looks like it's by Pino

(http://pino-artist.com/pino-art-collections.html) but I can't find it online for sale, or on the website linked above.

Any advice? Anyone know the piece I mean?