live from the Golden Princess Feb 28 to Mar 14

[Piperpals]

Glad you are having a good time. We are on the April 25 sailing, can't wait. I am wondering, Duck Duck said that they walked down to the pier with their luggage from the Crowne Plaza. What is your thoughts on that as you walked it after dropping your luggage off. We don't mind walking down with luggage (should be one suitcase and a carry on each) if it is possible, rather than scrambling for a shuttle. I know if it isn't far but just wondered what you think.

 

Thanks and Cheers!

[MTJSR]

Glad you are having a good time. We are on the April 25 sailing, can't wait. I am wondering, Duck Duck said that they walked down to the pier with their luggage from the Crowne Plaza. What is your thoughts on that as you walked it after dropping your luggage off. We don't mind walking down with luggage (should be one suitcase and a carry on each) if it is possible, rather than scrambling for a shuttle. I know if it isn't far but just wondered what you think.

 

Thanks and Cheers!

 

The champagne waterfall starts at 7:15 according to the patter.

 

I would say if the bag has wheels it would be fine. You have to walk to the furthermost gate closest to the green bridge to get in but it is not that bad. I would do it.

 

Tuesday, 1:00

 

We ate this morning in the Horizon Court. As we were sitting at a table against the window, we could see large rolling waves forming. We are now moving thru the water like a large porpose. The Captain informed us this would be the case with 10 feet of swells moving thru the area. When you look out the window from the casino area you would think we were going down hill then up hill rather steeply but nobody seems to be effected by it, especially me, I think it is kinda cool actually. An older man and his wife were soaked from the pool when the pool water came shooting out like a geyser. Temps today are pushing 70 degrees, very nice and sunny. We had our meet and greet slot pull this morning at 10am. Everyone put in 10 dollars and we all took turns, in the end everyone got back 11 dollars. We were hoping for the big jackpot, but not this time. At 11:30 we had our meeting with Angelo Balbiani, Maitre d'Hotel in the Canneletto dinning room for our Chefs Table event. It takes all of 5 minutes and is to stress the importance of the health and safety rules because of your entering the galley. He is a funny guy, been on this ship a very long time. One couple were onboard a year ago and remembered him. He of course did not remember them. I watched a Martini demonstration in the Piazza a bit ago and it was fun. The bartender, a young guy, did a pretty good juggling and liquor bottle tossing demonstration, very much like Tom Cruise in the movie “Cocktail” this event was followed by Dave and Leialoha selling handmade flower leis and playing music. The Hawaiian theme is pretty much everywhere. I noticed a lot of people playing card games today all along the promenade from the photo selling area all the way to the Piazza. Looked alot like a scene from an old folks home, people just waiting their number to be called. Deck 5 of the Piazza seems to be the hangout for anyone that has no intention of moving for 6 to 8 hours. Talk about chair hogs, oh my god. The AFT pool area is the place to be if you want to get away from everyone.

 

More later!

[flamomo]

Who is the onboard Hawaii Naturalist/Historian for your cruise?

I'd love for you to say it's Dr.Bob Basso, and that he will be staying on for the 3/14 cruise.

[MTJSR]

Who is the onboard Hawaii Naturalist/Historian for your cruise?

I'd love for you to say it's Dr.Bob Basso, and that he will be staying on for the 3/14 cruise.

 

I will check for you.

[cruisingready]

Thanks for the live posting. We'll be on April 10th so looking forward to reading your posts. Have a great cruise

[dennbr9]

Thanks for the live posting. We'll be on April 10th so looking forward to reading your posts. Have a great cruise

 

Cruisingready: I have you listed on our Roll Call for the 4/11 Cruise. Stop back by if you want, we have a lot of things planned. Also had a Cruisingready2 post with eight people. Any relation?

 

Stop on by and join in the fun. We have a Meet and Greet, a Sail Away, a Slot Pull tourney, etc planned.

 

Dennis

[Elua]

Bob Basso is not on this season, and the naturalist has been Ann Burgess for the last few months. She is leaving after this cruise, and truthfully, I'm not sure who will be taking her place.

 

Dave

Elua

[flamomo]

Thanks for the reply, Dave. I'm sorry Bob isn't on, because he did such an outstanding job in 2006, and I would have loved to hear him again. There was a female doing it in 2008 on the Diamond, but I don't remember her name..

 

Looking forward to seeing Eula in a couple of weeks! Sure hope you will still be onboard. Maybe you can come to our Meet & Greet on the 15th!! ;-))

[MTJSR]

Bob Basso is not on this season, and the naturalist has been Ann Burgess for the last few months. She is leaving after this cruise, and truthfully, I'm not sure who will be taking her place.

 

Dave

Elua

 

Thanks for answering Dave, all I could find in the patter was Ann listed.

 

 

Wednesday, 7:30am

 

Last night was our first formal. The menu at dinner was ok, I had the cornish game hen and it was fine. At home I would have put more seasoning on it though. My new favorite desert is the love boat dream with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream. The two together are to die for. The champagne waterfall was last night. I would rate this event purely as a photo op, money making cattle herd. If that is your thing then you will have fun. Weather this morning is much better than yesterday afternoon. The ship was really rolling front to back. The captain said we was avoiding 20 foot swells and we were currently in 15 foot swells. Now before you go out and buy every drug or gimmick for sea sickness, I didn't see anyone looking or acting like it bothered them. There were however, barf bags hanging on all trash cans on the Promenade. They finally had to empty the pools last night. I played Texas Hold Em for the first time onboard late last night. There are lots of poker players this trip. FYI, when you add money to your cruise card at the poker table, that money can only be used at the poker table...not the slot machines. Apparently the “Poker Pro” table is owned by someone else and Princess only helps manage it. Be careful!

 

Yesterday we passed a fuel tanker in rough seas. I was watching it thru my binocs and it's bow was really digging in to the rolling swells and creating huge plums of water spraying in the air. The tanker said APL on the side but looked like the tanker from the movie “Water World”. It is a whole different world out here, vast open ocean really forces you to relax. A type A personalty would be going nuts by now. Fortunatly my group knows how to take advantage of this. I had my first International Cafe coffee and donut a few minutes ago. What a difference good coffee makes. The syrup stuff though drinkable has zero body/character it is just black water. The good stuff is still not Starbucks/Peets quality.

 

More later!

[Elua]

Aloha No Flamomo,

Yes, we will be onboard when you're here. Matter of fact, we're on every Hawai'i cruise for Princess....at least the ones that ar on the"primary" Hawaiian ship. By that, I mean the ship that does the full Hawai'ian season, not one offs or just a few. (The Golden this and next season)

If Leialoha and I are not working, we'd be happy to come to the meet and greet to say aloha and talk a little story. This will also be the cruise my Mom is on..so you'll see us around with her as well.

 

Malama Pono,

Dave Soreff

Elua

[Kreuser]

Aloha from Golden Princess! MTJSR told me to jump right in any time I felt like it. He has covered everything so well, I can only share some things from my perspective.

 

We are seated at the same table with him and his family. They are great dining companions and DH and I are enjoying them a lot!

 

We were booked in a mini-suite, and a few days before our sailing Princess emailed our TA and made us an offer we couldn't refuse. We upgraded to a full suite for an additional $700pp. One of the perks is free internet, and that alone may be worth the cost of upgrade! Heh heh :rolleyes:

 

We are enjoying our suite a lot and the perks are great. Almost makes it hard to leave our room since it's so comfortable. It's made of 2 cabins without the separating wall of course. The bathroom is a little larger than the 2 regular bathrooms. When you call room service, you received your order in about 15 minutes even during "rush hour". We have a DVD player and can order free movies to watch. It's a nice selection too.

 

I was growing tired of the choppy seas and it has calmed down just as it was starting to get on my last nerve! 2 days of that is more than enough for me. I agree fully with Mark, as I have not seen or heard of anyone getting sick so far. Thank God for stabilizers!

 

Vada :cool:

[Explorer]

We were booked in a mini-suite, and a few days before our sailing Princess emailed our TA and made us an offer we couldn't refuse. We upgraded to a full suite for an additional $700pp.

 

I wish my TA would get a call like that! We are on the 3/14 cruise - right after you..

[flamomo]

Thanks, Dave (EULA)

 

I'll be leaving an invitation for you and Leialoha at the Purser's desk.

[teachergal29]

Aloha from Golden Princess! MTJSR told me to jump right in any time I felt like it. He has covered everything so well, I can only share some things from my perspective.

 

We are seated at the same table with him and his family. They are great dining companions and DH and I are enjoying them a lot!

 

We were booked in a mini-suite, and a few days before our sailing Princess emailed our TA and made us an offer we couldn't refuse. We upgraded to a full suite for an additional $700pp. One of the perks is free internet, and that alone may be worth the cost of upgrade! Heh heh :rolleyes:

 

We are enjoying our suite a lot and the perks are great. Almost makes it hard to leave our room since it's so comfortable. It's made of 2 cabins without the separating wall of course. The bathroom is a little larger than the 2 regular bathrooms. When you call room service, you received your order in about 15 minutes even during "rush hour". We have a DVD player and can order free movies to watch. It's a nice selection too.

 

I was growing tired of the choppy seas and it has calmed down just as it was starting to get on my last nerve! 2 days of that is more than enough for me. I agree fully with Mark, as I have not seen or heard of anyone getting sick so far. Thank God for stabilizers!

 

Vada :cool:

 

Yes, I would also like a call like that.. Just cruious... What cabin are you in?? We were in the D736 VS for the Christmas '08 cruise. It was just heavenly!!!:) The suite perks are a real plus... I loved the free internet and the free laundry.. I also loved the aft balcony and watching the wake...

[cruisingready]

Hi dennbr9, Yes there will be 8 of us on the April 11th sailing and cruising ready 2 is my sister. Do you know how many formal nites are on this cruise? Were all starting to get really excited!!!!! We will see you there.

[MTJSR]

Hi dennbr9, Yes there will be 8 of us on the April 11th sailing and cruising ready 2 is my sister. Do you know how many formal nites are on this cruise? Were all starting to get really excited!!!!! We will see you there.

 

There are 3 on this length of cruise. The are also 2 chefs tables so far that I know of, tomorrow and the evening we are in Maui.

 

Vada (PTKREUSER) (SP) is right down the hall from us on Caribe. She and her husband Jerry are making are trip special too. They were also nice enough to show us their suite. My cabin will never do after seeing theirs.

 

Wednesday, 2pm

 

I watched the Ukelele class today given by Dave (ELUA) and it was fun. By the end, he had everyone playing Tiny Bubbles. I also saw the Cruise Directors (David Cole) presentation on Kauai. A must do, his port talks on anything Hawaii are very well done. Very knowledgeable! FYI, David is everywhere and it really makes a difference. If you are bored on this cruise you can't be entertained....period.

 

Prior to this cruise, all I heard was that the chicken salad from the International Cafe, was to die for. Well it is very good, but it does not come on a sandwich like I imagined a chicken salad would be served. It is a salad! With apple, cashews, chicken and lots of seasoned mayo. You cannot get it on bread. This weeks coke sticker color is green, last weeks color was red. If you are planning to reuse a coke sticker, beware they change colors. I saw enforcement in action. For those who love their slugs, tonight is the first appearance of Escargot on the menu. Tomorrow (Thur) lamb finally appears.

 

Tonight is the “Are You Smarter Than A Crew Member” game, also a Magishion and MUTS is “500 Days of Summer”

[kusscate]

We signed up for the chefs table after boarding (we had some onboard help getting on the list) the dine line was just a recording today. I will tell you a secret, be nice to everyone you meet onboard and you will be amazed at what nice things happen to and for you.

 

You sure have some GREAT tips! But can you be a little more specific on this one? We plan to arrive early at the ship, and one reason is becasue of the Chef's Table. Are you saying we can't just call the DINE line? Is there someplace else you went to sign up?

[MTJSR]

You sure have some GREAT tips! But can you be a little more specific on this one? We plan to arrive early at the ship, and one reason is becasue of the Chef's Table. Are you saying we can't just call the DINE line? Is there someplace else you went to sign up?

 

Well.......We found a member of the crew who was willing to help us get on the list. We simply asked him if he knew how to get on the list because the dine line was just a busy signal or voice mail. He reached into his pocket pulled out his phone book and made several calls and a staff member the dinning room came right down and took our names and cabin numbers. We were just nice to this guy and he pulled a favor for us. They said typically, call the dine line and leave your name and cabin number and they will get back to you. I think we didn't quite trust that enough we started asking around and found the right guy. He would probably not like me naming him by name as that would draw him too much attention. If you email me directly since we are neighbors I will tell you. MYJSR@Yahoo.com Mark

[grandmaa]

You sure have some GREAT tips! But can you be a little more specific on this one? We plan to arrive early at the ship, and one reason is becasue of the Chef's Table. Are you saying we can't just call the DINE line? Is there someplace else you went to sign up?

 

We called the "Dine Line" ext.3463 when we got to our cabin and left a message. We received a letter in our outside the door box on Monday telling us to come to the Canelleto

dining room to meet the maitre'd Angelo Balbiani. I believe he is leaving the ship on March 14 for vacation and Luigi is taking his place. On the cruise 2/14-28 there were 3 Chef's Dinners. It might make a difference as to how many they have by the number of people who call. Chef's Table info is listed in the Patter in your cabin on the first day. Just do as it says and you should have a positive response. Good Luck..it is a most wonderful experience!! Wishing you smooth seas and blue skies..

Anita

[Murrah Miss]

For those who love their slugs, tonight is the first appearance of Escargot on the menu. Tomorrow (Thur) lamb finally appears.

 

 

Are/is escargot on the 'official' menu? I've read lately that you have to request it. :o

[dennbr9]

Hi dennbr9, Yes there will be 8 of us on the April 11th sailing and cruising ready 2 is my sister. Do you know how many formal nites are on this cruise? Were all starting to get really excited!!!!! We will see you there.

 

As was said, three Formal Nights. Should be the 13th, 20th, and 23rd on our Cruise. Stop by the Roll Call if you have any interest in our Meet and Greet, etc.

[MTJSR]

Are/is escargot on the 'official' menu? I've read lately that you have to request it. :o

 

Yes they are on the menu and they ask how many servings you would like. I guess they have lots.

 

 

Wednesday, 10pm

 

I did the afternoon tea, the waiters come around with trays and serve you finger sandwiches and desert items. I thought beforehand it was self service. My suggestion would be to hold out for the scones, clotted cream and jam. The early offerings are just kinda ho hum. Todays “Junk For Sale” is T-shirts, Hooker purses and really gaudy jewlry. Tonight's dinner was the French & Mediteranian Dinner. Now as a Princess lover this is hard for me to say.......Run For Your Lives!, Eat somewhere else. The only thing I found to eat, was the cordon bleu style veal scalapini. After asking the waiter for more sauce, it was pretty good. Otherwise the drizzle of sauce on the plate couldn't overcome the dryness of the coating on it. They also had frog legs, and slugs on the menu.

 

After dinner was a magician in the Princess Theatre called “Gaetano”. His show was pretty good. Something you would expect to see in Vegas, way down at the far end of the strip. The final trick was a switch-aroo where David Cole replaced Gaetano onstage and Gaetano appeared in the crowd. My eyes are quick and I didn't catch it.

 

The water is much more calm. We are smooth sailing right now. It's 10 oclock and the balcony is the place to be, it's getting warmer. There was a slot machine in the casino that had crime scene tape around it and the area surrounding. The sign read, “This are has been sanatized” I saw crew carrying red plastic hazard bags away from the area. My guess is someone with some kind of bug was in the area and they swooped in and steralized it. Earlier I also saw 2 crew members wearing masks in Caribe hallway with a cart and spray bottles the kind you spray weed killer out of. I have not heard of any norovirus going around, so maybe they have control of whatever it was.

[mikjr]

There was a slot machine in the casino that had crime scene tape around it and the area surrounding. The sign read, “This are has been sanatized” I saw crew carrying red plastic hazard bags away from the area. My guess is someone with some kind of bug was in the area and they swooped in and steralized it. Earlier I also saw 2 crew members wearing masks in Caribe hallway with a cart and spray bottles the kind you spray weed killer out of. I have not heard of any norovirus going around, so maybe they have control of whatever it was.

 

Probably not the virus... Might just be a few people getting sea sick. we were on a cruise with some rough water and a few got sick. That was pretty much the standard way of handling the issue...

[flamomo]

Anita,

 

Interesting that you say Maitre'd Angelo will not be onboard for the 3/14 cruise. About a month ago, I got one of those pre-cruise emails with info about certain ship's staff and welcoming me to the cruise, and Angelo was one of those staff members.

 

However, everyone deserves a vacation, so if it's Luigi for our sailing, so be it.

 

A favor, if you have time. Could you please try to find out what Luigi's last name is, so I can address an invitation to our Meet & Greet to him.

 

Thanks,

Mary Lou

[Kreuser]

We gained another hour and are now on Hawaii time. Sooooo, I woke up @ 5:30AM - as in wide awake! 7:30 CA time, so I got up and looked out the window just in time to see the sun just barely coming over the western horizon. To the east was a very bright 3/4 moon in the sky! I took photos, and hopefully they will turn out OK.

 

I understand a rogue wave hit a cruise ship in Europe with loss of life. A fellow cruiser informed me of that via Facebook. Hey, thanks a lot! :( We cannot get either CNN or Fox News this AM. Maybe that's for the best. (?)

 

Looking forward to our 4th day at sea.

 

Vada