Carnival Spirit April 11 Hawaii review~

[mcgovernsandra]

Just got back from the April 11 Ensenada to Hawaii cruise on Carnival Spirit and had a blast. It was our first trip to Hawaii and we fell in love with most every island! My husband is 39 and I am 43, we live in CT. We have cruised mainly throughout the Caribbean and this was a new and exciting experience for us. This is my fourth Carnival cruise and my husband's second. We have also cruised together on Celebrity, NCL, RCL, and Princess. About 4 years ago we were seated with another 3 couples at dinner on the Celebrity Century and ended up hitting it off so well that we have been cruising together ever since! This cruise however, only one of the other couples was able to join us. I will preface my review by saying, that several months ago I picked up a lovely, brand new Hawaiian-themed journal at a local estate sale (I am also an Ebay seller and fanatic!!) and was so excited that I would be able to use it on our upcoming cruise. Needless to say, by day three of the cruise, the journal writing had stopped, so I am writing most of this review by sheer memory (which is somewhat lacking at times!) :) Anyway, here goes nothing! :

 

Friday evening, April 9: headed to La Quinta Hotel at Bradley Airport in Hartford for the night. Hotel was clean, efficient, and offered free early morning shuttle which we required in order to make our 6am flight.

 

Saturday April 10 : We were quite surprised to find that a wonderful expanded continental breakfast was set up at 4:30am in the hotel lobby! Perfect timing for our shuttle. Especially nice since our flights to San Diego both were "beverage service only"! We flew from Hartford to Washington DC (where we had a short 45 minute layover) and then onto San Diego. Both flights were smooth and uneventful.

 

Arrived in San Diego around 11:30am and caught a taxi to our hotel for the evening. We had booked Humphrey's Half Moon Inn on Shelter Island which was a true delight, and also gave us a view (albeit distant) of the Carnival Spirit docked the next day as well as several other ships.

 

 

here is photo of hotel exterior. Very tropical!

 

 

view from our balcony:

 

After we checked out hotel, we decided to grab some lunch and we caught a taxi to Old Town San Diego and had a great Mexican lunch at the Cafe Coyote. Walked around Old Town for a couple hours - shops, museums, etc. Also took a wonderful tour of the Whaley House, voted the most haunted house in America. Unfortunately, did not capture any ghosts on film!!

 

Old Town:

 

 

after we had our fill, we decided to walk a few blocks down to a local liquor store to stock up on wine and some other "goodies" for the cruise.

Headed back to the hotel where I sat by the pool for awhile, and waited for our friends to arrive (they live in Boston and were taking a late afternoon flight in). They arrived around 11 and we did some catching up over cocktails in the hotel lounge. Much anticipation to embark on our journey the next morning!!

[mcgovernsandra]

Sunday morning awoke bright and early and took a stroll down the street to get some coffee, etc. and try to get some nice sunrise pics. Our plan was to head down to the port of San Diego around 11 or so, in hopes of catching an early shuttle and getting on the ship nice and early to have a leisurely lunch, tour the ship, etc... NOT!!!! Carnival and the Port of Ensenada had other plans for us unfortunately. We did arrive at the port around 11:30 to find both the Carnival Spirit and Celebrity Infinity docked. We flew through check in, handed over our checked luggage, but were unfortunately told that shuttle service would not begin until atleast 3 or 4, since the Spirit was late getting in, and they were still loading provisions, etc. We were given a shuttle zone # (6) and were told each person would be issued a $15 credit on their Sign & Sail card since lunch obviously would not be served on that ship that day. So we walked the few blocks (instead of waiting in the huge line for the free shuttle bus) to Seaport Village where we enjoyed lunch at Busters Beach House and Longboard Bar. We browsed the shops for awhile and it just so happed that this particular day was the "The Busker's Festival" (never knew that busker was another name for "street performer"!) - so there were several semi-entertaining events going on to pass the time. Around 3 or so we headed back to the port and the shuttles still had not begun boarding. We ended up finally getting on a shuttle at around 5 or 5:30 and got settled in for the close to 3 hr drive to Ensenada. By this time we were all exhausted and eager to finally board the Spirit. Once we crossed the border in Tijuana, we noticed our entourage of buses had police escorts as well as several helicopters hovering above for the entire trip to Ensenada . At several points we noticed armed militia on the side of the road. Since we have never crossed the border on land, I do not know if this is standard, or just due to the recent series of events occuring around Mexico. Regardless, we FINALLY got to the port of Ensenada around 8 or so, and then we were kept onboard the buses (there were probably around 15 or more other shuttles also lined up in parking lot) for atleast another 1/2 hr with no explanation given. Needless to say, at this point, the majority of the people were visibly upset and some became irrate. This again was mainly due to the fact that no one really gave us any explanation as to what was going on and why we were not allowed to leave the buses. When we finally were allowed to get off the bus and board the ship, it was failry uneventful. No "Welcome Aboard" gala, no welcome drinks, etc. Basically it was just "find your cabin and head down to dinner" (all open seating that night) before they stop serving at 9:30. I was disappointed since I have never started off a cruise in this manner before. So we quickly found our cabin, freshened up a bit and headed down to the dining room. Food was delicious (as I feel has always been the case on Carnival) however at this point we were so ravenous that you could have fed us cow chips and we would have been happy.. (well, maybe not THAT ravenous!). Did not even realize that the ship started sailing while we were at dinner. again, no announcements or fanfare - somewhat of a disappointment. Headed off after dinner to one of my favorite places on the ship (unfortunately for my wallet!) - the casino! Got there just in time to hear the announcement that they were "trying out" a new computer system and it was not working, so all of the slots were turned off and would not be functioning for awhile. At this point, I was tired and cranky and decided to just call it a night and headed to bed. Hopefully tomorrow would be a better day!

 

[Crusin Karen]

ANYTHING that has to do with San Diego or CCL Spirit I JUMP on! We cruised the Mex Riv on the Spirit a few years ago. Realized when copying details for family members that we were flying to SD 2 days pre cruise and staying l day post and I went NUTS. To me it's all "about the cruise" and since we live so near the Manhattan cruise terminal it is not very often we have to fly to our destination. Went with 3 other couples and FUMED the whole plan ride out that we had to "waste" 2 days in SD. Well....the minute I stepped out of the airport I was IN LOVE with SD. Had such a nice pre cruise stay and just LOVE the Spirit, so much so that as soon as we got back home, with no exageration, I was on the computer ready to book the same cruise for the following year! Which we did...solo this time when our Giants were in the Super Bowl. This time we flew out 4 days pre cruise and stayed 2 days post and rented a car and REALLY went all over the SD area. LaJolla (even saw Tiger playing in a golf tourney!) etc. I am a CRUISER; cannot be bothered with ANY other type of vacation, but man....you had to pull me on the ship from SD and I couldn't wait to get back after the cruise! :cool: Can't afford to do this cruise/land trip anymore, but oh, I will enjoy living it vicariously thru you! Spirit to HI from SD would be a dream come true for me! :rolleyes: Can't wait to read more! :p

[mcgovernsandra]

ANYTHING that has to do with San Diego or CCL Spirit I JUMP on! We cruised the Mex Riv on the Spirit a few years ago. Realized when copying details for family members that we were flying to SD 2 days pre cruise and staying l day post and I went NUTS. To me it's all "about the cruise" and since we live so near the Manhattan cruise terminal it is not very often we have to fly to our destination. Went with 3 other couples and FUMED the whole plan ride out that we had to "waste" 2 days in SD. Well....the minute I stepped out of the airport I was IN LOVE with SD. Had such a nice pre cruise stay and just LOVE the Spirit, so much so that as soon as we got back home, with no exageration, I was on the computer ready to book the same cruise for the following year! Which we did...solo this time when our Giants were in the Super Bowl. This time we flew out 4 days pre cruise and stayed 2 days post and rented a car and REALLY went all over the SD area. LaJolla (even saw Tiger playing in a golf tourney!) etc. I am a CRUISER; cannot be bothered with ANY other type of vacation, but man....you had to pull me on the ship from SD and I couldn't wait to get back after the cruise! :cool: Can't afford to do this cruise/land trip anymore, but oh, I will enjoy living it vicariously thru you! Spirit to HI from SD would be a dream come true for me! :rolleyes: Can't wait to read more! :p

 

My husband was born in the Bronx and a MAJOR Yankees and Giants fan! The couple we traveled with are from Boston, so hence, love the Red Sox and Patriots... I thought you'd appreciate these 2 pics:

 

 

Brian's NY Yankees Aloha shirt!

 

 

[boaterette]

Oh more please. I am enjoying your review very much. Thank you for taking the time to write it.

[Crusin Karen]

My husband was born in the Bronx and a MAJOR Yankees and Giants fan! The couple we traveled with are from Boston, so hence, love the Red Sox and Patriots... I thought you'd appreciate these 2 pics:

 

 

Brian's NY Yankees Aloha shirt!

 

 

OH, that is GREAT. My BF'sF, since I was little are BoSox fans. I have been a NYY fan since I was able to walk. My dad used to take me to the old stadium to see the Mick play. DH was born in the Bronx too!!! VERY small world!!! LOVE the shirt, and yea, we are Giants fans too. Live not too far from the Meadowlands!

[mcgovernsandra]

So here was my plan for the next five sea days - wake up bright and early, grab my book, sunglasses & sunscreen, head up to the deck for early morning fruit and coffee, plop my butt down on a lounge chair in the sun (hopefully really close to the pool so I can take quick "cool down" dips!), pausing periodically throughout the day to eat lunch, order a mojito, etc. Maybe duck inside once or twice to get out of the beating sun..... but nay, nay.....That was just a mere fantasy..perhaps even a scene from the next Carnival TV commercial. Reality was this - 4 days of cool, windy, cloudy, overcast, drizzly, "unbalmy" weather with one "so-so" semi-sunny day thrown in at the end for good measure. Was this Carnival's fault - no. Did it ruin my cruise - hell no! But it was a disappointment, and something that as we all know, cannot be controlled.

 

So, I had to look for alternate plans. This being a somewhat older crowd (I would put most passengers in the 50-80 yr old range), there wasn't a plethora of "crazy" activites planned during the day. Not that I am a wild and crazy person, but I WAS seeking some kind of activity to capture my attention. There were games/contest daily by the pool for about an hour or so at 1pm that were somewhat amusing to watch (I am more a watcher than a participant), but other than that, there were not a whole lot of activities that appealed to me. Now before fellow passengers read this and go into a rampage, let me just say this - "Everyone's opinions and interests are different!". Yes, there were lots of daily activities printed in the Capers. Art auctions, afternoon tea, on board naturalist lectures, teeth whitening seminars, arts/crafts, trivia contests, bingo, talent show tryouts (eek!), cellulite control talks, blah, blah. Anyway, enough said. I will sum up my routine for the next five days : got up, went to gym, went up on deck to make sure the weather did not change from the day before (highly unlikely!), ate breakfast, waited for casino to open at 8:30 (some days I waited until 9 or so, just to convince myself that I do not have a problem), lost some money, ordered some cocktails around 11:30 (somedays waited until noon just to convince myself that I do not have a problem), go to the buffet (loved the Oriental station..my husband is more of a grill, deli & pizza guy), brisk after-lunch walk on deck (I guess windburn is better than no burn at all!), sometimes a quick dip in hot tub to warm up, back to to room for mid-afternoon nap (sometimes in order to get back to my cabin, there were detour signs posted so I had to use the casino route.. go figure??), get ready for dinner, pre-dinner cocktails, dinner, after-dinner drinks, casino, bed. And I loved every minute of it!

 

Going back for a minute to the Ensenada embarkation escapade. Carnival did send a letter to everyone's cabin the next morning apologizing for the delay in embarking, and inviting everyone to free cocktail hour that evening to help compensate for the inconvenience. Well Giddy-Up! My husband and I penciled that activity into our schedule for the day! It was lovely, and drinks were free-flowing and not watered down in my opinion. In all seriousness, Carnival did their best to make up for this unfortunate circumstance , and to hear people complaining and whining about it STILL on the second to last day of the cruise is infuriating to me. People, get over it! Move on and enjoy the rest of your cruise. It was not the end of the world. Anyway, next segment I will give more updates on the ship itself - food, etc. Stay tuned!

[actresslp]

My husband and I are booked on the April 10th Spirit to Hawaii cruise for next year. We'll be 31 and 28 when we set sail....I hope we're not the only young ones. Please tell me you did see some people around our age...lol.

 

Regardless...I plan on having a BLAST!

 

Can't wait to read more of your review.

[mcgovernsandra]

This segment I like to call "Cruising Faux Pas", also known as "Sandra's personal cruising pet peeves".

 

I have decided to divert from the cruise review for a minute or so. As I was sitting here reminiscing and collecting some thoughs for the review, several unwanted memories popped into my head. Images I have been trying to erase for the past ferw days but cannot seem to. I will share a few with you. Once again, everyone's opinions, likes/dislikes are different. I am just sharing mine with you. Everyone is entitled to their opinion..Do not shoot the messenger. On that note, here goes:

 

1) If you own a grey soiled Hanes sweatsuit, a shirt that says "You Can't Fix Stupid", " or a "Photo of my Cock" t-shirt (showing a picture of a rooster underneath) - these items do not, I repeat "do not" qualify as cruise casual attire for dinner. (yes, I kid you not!).

 

2) If the line for the grill consists of more than 20 people who have been waiting in line for an average of 20-30 minutes, the fact that you are 75+ years old does not entitle you to force your luncheon-plate between persons # 5 and 6 and yell "I'll take a burger!".

 

3) you standing within 6 inches of my back while I am at a slot machine will not make me play any faster or get up any sooner. I will play slower, pausing between pressing the button in order to sip my drip, glance around the room, etc. I know you are not wishing me luck, but are hoping that I lose all my money quickly so you can sit your butt down. There are plenty of machines for everyone. Do not be a slot stalker. move on.

 

5) In my opionion, 20 pieces of ANYTHING dipped in chocolate is too much for one person to consume in one sitting. The buffet is not going anywhere people. And dinner is only 2 hrs away. I think you probably can hold out.

 

6) actual question that a woman asked my husband in the elevator nearing the last day of the cruise - "How do you get to Deck one?" (heeeere's your sign!)

 

7) the breakfast buffet lines have the same layout EVERY day of the cruise. You got your omelettes, then your scrambled eggs, some type of inedible looking porridge/oatmeal conglomerate, pancakes or french toast, sausage, hash brown potato, ham, bacon. Towards the end you will encounter the condiments - jelly, jam, butter, etc. Directly across is the fruit line - fruit cocktail, grapefruit segments, orange segments, cantaloupe, pineapple, honeydew, prunes. There are no surprises. I can close my eyes and see it all laid out in front of me now. So why, oh why, do you stand there morning after morning with a line of 50 people accumulating behind you, with a bewildered look on your face?? I know what's there. You know what's there. So pick up the serving spoon, load up your plate and move on.

 

OK, in order to not offend anyone else, I will move on myself now. Just wanted to get a few things off my chest!

Review to be continued.....

[mcgovernsandra]

My husband and I are booked on the April 10th Spirit to Hawaii cruise for next year. We'll be 31 and 28 when we set sail....I hope we're not the only young ones. Please tell me you did see some people around our age...lol.

 

Regardless...I plan on having a BLAST!

 

Can't wait to read more of your review.

 

there will be some, but few and far between if it is anything like this one. You will definitely have a blast though - I can guarantee!

[Sargent_Schultz]

How could you miss the biscuits at breakfast? They were good! :D

[chachi]

looking forward to reading the rest of your review.

[mcgovernsandra]

How could you miss the biscuits at breakfast? They were good! :D

 

yes, you are right. biscuits and gravy. Forgot about them. Hey, YOU were the one holding up that line, weren't you??! Slowwwwwly piling on the 4 ladles of gravy onto that one lonely biscuit! :D

[Sargent_Schultz]

yes, you are right. biscuits and gravy. Forgot about them. Hey, YOU were the one holding up that line, weren't you??! Slowwwwwly piling on the 4 ladles of gravy onto that one lonely biscuit! :D

 

Nope. Nothing but real buttah on my brace of biscuits. :)

[mcgovernsandra]

After over 5 days at sea, we finally arrive in Hilo!

 

got off the ship around 8am or so, and headed to Hilo Airport to pick up rental car from Dollar. Quick, efficient and painless, as it was in all the other islands also. Unfortunately we had a convertible rented, and weather in the morning was cool and overcast so we did not get much use out of it! I had brought along my Garmin GPS which was a godsend! Everything in Hawaii was easily programmable. We started off on our journey to Volcano National Park which I would say was about an hour or so away. We lucked out when we arrival and received free park admission since it was National Park Week (or month??). Anyway, saved like $10 I believe. Spent probably around 1-1/2 hrs or so at the park - saw the steam vents, scenic overlooks, Jager Museum (sp?), Thurston Lava tubes and visitors center. We saw rows and rows of large tour buses parked, and we were so glad that we decided to do this on our own. For anyone who has any apprehensions about this, please don't! We had no problems whatsoever in any of the islands, and they were all easily navigable. Since we split the cost of the rentals with the other couple we were traveling with, we saved a HUGE amount of money not having to booked private tours daily. I would guess-timate that the total price for renting a car for 4 days (Hilo, Kauai, and 2 days in Maui) was around $120 per couple (including gas). Quite reasonable in my opinion. Anyway, here are some pics of our visit to VNP:

 

thurston lava tube entrance

 

After we left VNP (the clouds had cleared up at this point and it was sunny and much nicer), we decided to head to the Black Sand Beach at Punaluu'u. I believe it was around 30 minutes or so (road is almost desolate, no traffic problems at all). Great beach for photo taking, mostly a local hangout. Certainly not touristy in my opinion, nor somewhere where you'd want to throw down a towel and stay for a few hours. But glad we got to see it. Well worth the travel time. Pics:

 

 

next stop, lunch!!!!

[mcgovernsandra]

Left Punalu'u beach and we were starving. Typed in "nearby restaurants" in the GPS and not much popped up! Needless to say, it is not a heavily populated, touristy area so we decided to wing it, and headed to the "Shaka Resaurant" becausw the name sounded interesting. It was about a 10 minute or less drive from the beach. Very scenic. Anyway, we were pleasantly surprise to find great local food! Here is link if interested:

http://www.shakarestaurant.com/

 

They had some great luncheon specials (which are not posted in the menu on the link). I had the kalua pork and cabbage plate lunch, and my husband had ribs with a Korean barbecue sauce. Great local beers also. Highly recommend this place.

 

 

 

after lunch headed back towards Hilo (approx 1-1/4 hr or so) and hit Rainbow Falls. Nice scenic stop for photos. 20 minutes at the most.

 

 

Took some pics then headed to Hilo Hatties for some browsing, and stopped in Safeway (local supermarket right behind Hilo Hatties) to pick up some liquor and mixers, and my friend ran in Walmart (also in same plaza) to pick up some bronzer which she had forgotten to pack! Back to the Airport with plenty of time to spare and made it back to ship by 5 or so. All in all, a good day.

[tjwcs]

I am loving this review. We are thinking of taking this cruise next year.:)

[cjkumbaya]

Well you really have my attention and I can't wait for more. Thanks so much for sharing your cruise and wonderful photos.

[LSEA]

This segment I like to call "Cruising Faux Pas", also known as "Sandra's personal cruising pet peeves".

 

I have decided to divert from the cruise review for a minute or so. As I was sitting here reminiscing and collecting some thoughs for the review, several unwanted memories popped into my head. Images I have been trying to erase for the past ferw days but cannot seem to. I will share a few with you. Once again, everyone's opinions, likes/dislikes are different. I am just sharing mine with you. Everyone is entitled to their opinion..Do not shoot the messenger. On that note, here goes:

 

1) If you own a grey soiled Hanes sweatsuit, a shirt that says "You Can't Fix Stupid", " or a "Photo of my Cock" t-shirt (showing a picture of a rooster underneath) - these items do not, I repeat "do not" qualify as cruise casual attire for dinner. (yes, I kid you not!).

 

2) If the line for the grill consists of more than 20 people who have been waiting in line for an average of 20-30 minutes, the fact that you are 75+ years old does not entitle you to force your luncheon-plate between persons # 5 and 6 and yell "I'll take a burger!".

 

3) you standing within 6 inches of my back while I am at a slot machine will not make me play any faster or get up any sooner. I will play slower, pausing between pressing the button in order to sip my drip, glance around the room, etc. I know you are not wishing me luck, but are hoping that I lose all my money quickly so you can sit your butt down. There are plenty of machines for everyone. Do not be a slot stalker. move on.

 

5) In my opionion, 20 pieces of ANYTHING dipped in chocolate is too much for one person to consume in one sitting. The buffet is not going anywhere people. And dinner is only 2 hrs away. I think you probably can hold out.

 

6) actual question that a woman asked my husband in the elevator nearing the last day of the cruise - "How do you get to Deck one?" (heeeere's your sign!)

 

7) the breakfast buffet lines have the same layout EVERY day of the cruise. You got your omelettes, then your scrambled eggs, some type of inedible looking porridge/oatmeal conglomerate, pancakes or french toast, sausage, hash brown potato, ham, bacon. Towards the end you will encounter the condiments - jelly, jam, butter, etc. Directly across is the fruit line - fruit cocktail, grapefruit segments, orange segments, cantaloupe, pineapple, honeydew, prunes. There are no surprises. I can close my eyes and see it all laid out in front of me now. So why, oh why, do you stand there morning after morning with a line of 50 people accumulating behind you, with a bewildered look on your face?? I know what's there. You know what's there. So pick up the serving spoon, load up your plate and move on.

 

OK, in order to not offend anyone else, I will move on myself now. Just wanted to get a few things off my chest!

Review to be continued.....

 

 

Right on! Kindred spirits.

[mcgovernsandra]

Sunday's stop was Kona. This was a tender port and

I was worried about getting off the ship early enough to make our scheduled tour with Captian Zodiac. I booked tour on my own as opposed to booking through the cruise line. Getting off ship on time was not a problem but you need to be PROACTIVE about it! If you sit quietly waiting for announcements to be made regarding tenter tickets, or wait for someone to knock on your cabin door and personally escort you to your own pribate tender, IT WILL NOT HAPPEN! There were minimal announcements, and the ones that we did hear were very vague. Very disorganized in my opinion, but needless to say, we made our way to the gangway and somehow made it off on one of the first boats. Enough said.

 

We were off the tender and there was a Capt Zodiac rep right at the pier. We checked in and waited about 1/2 hr or so before everyone arrived and was set to go. The days that the ships are in dock, Capt Zodiac transports their rafts right down to the pier for embarkation to make it easier for cruise passengers. Anyway, had a wonderful excursion with Capt Zodiac and highly recommend this tour. Yes, it is a fast ride and you need to hold on. It is not for the faint of heart, or those with back problems, expecting a child within the next few days, people wearing neck braces, those who have water/boat phobias, or if you've had an erection lasting more than four hours (oops, sorry...wrong commercial!!)..Anyway, you get my drift. This is clearly posted on their website and reiterated once you board the zodiac raft. People who choose do to this tour and then proceed to write negative reviews stating that "their lives were put in jeaopardy', "ride was unsafe", "captain drove too fast", blah, blah, blah.... should be forced to walk the plank. I knew what to expect and there were no surprises. At no time did we feel unsafe on this trip. Captain and first mate were very friendly and knowledgeable. Saw a HUGE pod of dophins on way to snorkel site. Great snorkeling at Capt Cook Monument site, lovely sea caves, etc. All in all an exciting trip and well worth the money.

 

Capt cook Monument

 

dolphin next to our raft:

 

 

the excursion ended around noonish or so, and we decided to walk around the port area of Kona. We happened to be there on the third SUnday of the month where they have a huge street fair which runs about 1/4 - 1/2 mile or so, with entertainment, street performers, vendors selling food, artwork, souvenirs, etc. Also had a wonderful 20 minute chair massage! Stopped at the Farmers Market and bought some small souvenirs and a fresh lei for $4!

 

next stop, lunch!!

[mcgovernsandra]

Decided to stop for a bite to eat, and ended up at a wonderful restaurant right on the main drag. It was called the Kona Canoe Club. Sat overlooking the water with a great view of the Spirit to our right. Great drinks and food. I had the barbecued pork sandwich and it was deelish! Loved my drink with fresh flower also:

 

Walked aroud a little more, took some silly pics, and headed back to boat. Loved Kona!!!

 

 

next stop, Kauai!!!!!!

[boaterette]

Loved your commercial. lol

[bobzeke]

We were also on this cruise. So far, everything you say is dead on....especially the Ensenada fiasco.

[flyingb]

This segment I like to call "Cruising Faux Pas", also known as "Sandra's personal cruising pet peeves".

 

I have decided to divert from the cruise review for a minute or so. As I was sitting here reminiscing and collecting some thoughs for the review, several unwanted memories popped into my head. Images I have been trying to erase for the past ferw days but cannot seem to. I will share a few with you. Once again, everyone's opinions, likes/dislikes are different. I am just sharing mine with you. Everyone is entitled to their opinion..Do not shoot the messenger. On that note, here goes:

 

1) If you own a grey soiled Hanes sweatsuit, a shirt that says "You Can't Fix Stupid", " or a "Photo of my Cock" t-shirt (showing a picture of a rooster underneath) - these items do not, I repeat "do not" qualify as cruise casual attire for dinner. (yes, I kid you not!).

 

2) If the line for the grill consists of more than 20 people who have been waiting in line for an average of 20-30 minutes, the fact that you are 75+ years old does not entitle you to force your luncheon-plate between persons # 5 and 6 and yell "I'll take a burger!".

 

3) you standing within 6 inches of my back while I am at a slot machine will not make me play any faster or get up any sooner. I will play slower, pausing between pressing the button in order to sip my drip, glance around the room, etc. I know you are not wishing me luck, but are hoping that I lose all my money quickly so you can sit your butt down. There are plenty of machines for everyone. Do not be a slot stalker. move on.

 

5) In my opionion, 20 pieces of ANYTHING dipped in chocolate is too much for one person to consume in one sitting. The buffet is not going anywhere people. And dinner is only 2 hrs away. I think you probably can hold out.

 

6) actual question that a woman asked my husband in the elevator nearing the last day of the cruise - "How do you get to Deck one?" (heeeere's your sign!)

 

7) the breakfast buffet lines have the same layout EVERY day of the cruise. You got your omelettes, then your scrambled eggs, some type of inedible looking porridge/oatmeal conglomerate, pancakes or french toast, sausage, hash brown potato, ham, bacon. Towards the end you will encounter the condiments - jelly, jam, butter, etc. Directly across is the fruit line - fruit cocktail, grapefruit segments, orange segments, cantaloupe, pineapple, honeydew, prunes. There are no surprises. I can close my eyes and see it all laid out in front of me now. So why, oh why, do you stand there morning after morning with a line of 50 people accumulating behind you, with a bewildered look on your face?? I know what's there. You know what's there. So pick up the serving spoon, load up your plate and move on.

 

OK, in order to not offend anyone else, I will move on myself now. Just wanted to get a few things off my chest!

Review to be continued.....

 

Old folks of which I am one, :) and you be also if you are fortunate enough to live that long. Please don't 'bunch' all elderly folks together. I've seen a lot of very rude 'young folks'. :rolleyes: Seems that respecting your elders has gone out of style.

Mid-seventies and still polite and of a sound mind! ;)

Luv's Crusin'

[MrPete]

Enjoying the read (more paragraphs will be helpful :))

 

Year after year, I read people expecting it to be warmer for the crossing. I wished we had brought a light jacket along. It definately is NOT lay out weather. But we never had to look far for something to do.

 

And it certainly is an older crowd, eh?

 

Also disappointed they made Hilo the first port of call. Ours was Kauai, and we fell in love with that island. Can't wait to return.