RT 28 days LA to Hawaii/Tahiti/Samoa/Moorea/Bora Bora

[KruzPrincess]

I think Princess should constantly have a ship doing 12 nighters between Hawaii and Tahiti. We did this itinerary as a b2b aboard the Dawn in 2003 and loved it. The flights to and from Hawaii were easy and reasonably priced plus you don't have a massive 8 seas days at the end.

 

This sounds like a nice option. While I think I could do Hawaii flights, I'm not sure I can stand the flight to Australia.

[Woobstr112G]

I totally agree!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I sure miss Toto's posts as well. As far as this cruise is concerned, I really want to do it. Will have to wait after I retire in four years. 28 days away from work, even though I could get the time off, is a bit much. DW would also never let me leave our beloved Misha in the kennel for nearly a month. As far as the sea day issue, I live for them. 8 in a row at the end of he cruise is great. I'm ooking forward to the T/A next year on the Royal as the number of sea days at the end has increased from 6 to 7.....:):):)

 

Bob

[PescadoAmarillo]

On my Sydney to LA cruise some people complained that the only news channel available in the South Pacific was Fox News. The explanation was that it was a Fox satellite they used for Internet access and thus only the FNC was available.

One of my fondest memories of our first transpacific, with CD Alastair Greener (the BEST!) and DCD Frankie- what a team- was when we lost satellite news for several sea days in a row. Alastair and Frankie sat during the morning show reading a month old People magazine, page after page including commentary on the ads. It was hilarious...I remember almost falling off the treadmill as I watched it one morning.

 

I'm a tremendous news junkie, but that humor certainly eased my withdrawal pains.

[caribill]

On my Sydney to LA cruise some people complained that the only news channel available in the South Pacific was Fox News.

 

There is no 24-hour news network from the USA.

 

At least 50% of the time, Fox news has commentators, not news.

 

HLN now reports mostly crime and trials during the day and has commentators the rest of the time.

 

CNN also is 50% commentators.

[lgeisz]

I loved the cruise, that being said I think I mirror a lot of the same complaints others have.

 

The lack of tv reception for parts of the cruise (especially the last 10 -12 days) and the lack of correct tv show schedules (wrong shows or show times then what was advertise in the schedule book) was IMHO inexcusable. I do understand that below the equator the ship may not have been able to pick up stations but when we got back to the northern hemisphere they should have gotten the stations worked out.

 

CD was so so I was not impressed with him or his number 2 but I do not count on them to make my cruise.

 

That being said I loved the ports I liked the ship and would do it again...

 

Some suggestions for those taking this cruise...

 

If you are bringing a computer bring some movies to watch (it will help pass the sea days) or if you read bring some books (hint if you need to be connected to download books or movies the internet connection can be/often is spotty so pre plan)...

 

Pre planning for the sea days on this trip will make the trip a lot more enjoyable...

[caribill]

The lack of tv reception for parts of the cruise (especially the last 10 -12 days) and the lack of correct tv show schedules (wrong shows or show times then what was advertise in the schedule book) was IMHO inexcusable. I do understand that below the equator the ship may not have been able to pick up stations but when we got back to the northern hemisphere they should have gotten the stations worked out.

 

 

o Yes, the printed schedules in the cabin should have been accurate.

 

o TV signals do not magically appear when you cross the Equator. They come from satellites stationed above the Earth. It is not unusual to not have such a satellite over a largely uningabited part of the world. No satellite = no TV reception for the ships in those areas.

[west coast cruiser]

I was on the 2011 cruise also. I loved it. As others have said, the South Pacific is beautiful. I would probably go on it again, but I got very restless the last 3 days or so. The same old thing everday and I got tired of just laying around and was ready to get back to the real world. I read 7 books and I love to read so that was great.

I am glad I went and I would consider going again or maybe fly one way to Australia and try something from there.

The internet was sporadic so minutes were wasted trying to get online for the news. I am a "news freak" but I handled the lack of news better that I thought I would.

The C.D. was very bad as others have said. A good one could have made a big difference on a cruise like that.

Toto was really abused and people did treat her like she was their personal tour director.

She was very helpful in getting us all off together in the tenders for one of our tours. I am sure her lack of privacy was very uncomfortable for her.

You should take this cruise. It was a wonderful experience/adventure and I want to get back down to the South Pacific again.

WCC

[west coast cruiser]

I think Princess should constantly have a ship doing 12 nighters between Hawaii and Tahiti. We did this itinerary as a b2b aboard the Dawn in 2003 and loved it. The flights to and from Hawaii were easy and reasonably priced plus you don't have a massive 8 seas days at the end.

 

That is a great idea. I would take that cruise in a minute.

WCC

[KruzPrincess]

Maybe they should do something to beef up the movies and TV entertainment for a cruise like this. I don't know if that's possible, but it sounds like it would be nice if they could do a better rotation of movies. I'd probably bring a portable DVD player or something. And my Kindle fully loaded.

[bandmp]

:)We would happily repeat this cruise. The ports were wonderful.

The CD was below par, and wondered why he was placed on a 28 day cruise.

Yes, there were "issues" - however we quickly learned which passengers to avoid. There were many delightful passengers that we chose to spend time with.

We had a mini-suite with a balcony, and loved the space it provided.

Mary and Bill

[Cruiserkenn]

Does anyone know why some thought it was OK to abuse Toto?

 

I remember reading, at the time, that some routinely knocked on her door and routinely called her room. Why did some not have a sense of space or boundaries? This was and is mystifying to me. Perhaps my question is just naive, but I find it baffling.

 

Anyone?

[compozer]

We are booked on March 2013 cruise and I am a little worried about my dh on the 8 sea days. We usually don't do any of the ships activities but I was thinking we should on those last sea days. Hopefully we will get a better CD. We have always loved sea days but there are only so many things you can do everyday without getting bored. We usually read and watch alot of movies and just relax but their DVD selection doesn't seem to have changed in years. We are cruising 21 days this fall so we will see how he does but then again there aren't 8 sea days.

[happytalk44]

Does anyone know why some thought it was OK to abuse Toto?

 

I remember reading' date=' at the time, that some routinely knocked on her door and routinely called her room. Why did some not have a sense of space or boundaries? This was and is mystifying to me. Perhaps my question is just naive, but I find it baffling.

 

Anyone?[/quote']

It was and is baffling. It seems like some adults just have no sense of personal responsibility and wanted Toto to be in charge of their lives. They acted more like the needed a"mommy" than a TA. Folks actually called her and knocked on her door to ask her what time they were supposed to be somewhere. I kid you not!

[KruzPrincess]

Does anyone know why some thought it was OK to abuse Toto?

 

I remember reading' date=' at the time, that some routinely knocked on her door and routinely called her room. Why did some not have a sense of space or boundaries? This was and is mystifying to me. Perhaps my question is just naive, but I find it baffling.

 

Anyone?[/quote']

 

I wasn't on the cruise nor did I read the roll call, so this is simply speculation. Toto is a very experienced cruiser and I suspect that she organized some plans on the roll call. Perhaps she set herself up as a leader in some people's eyes. I'm sure that wasn't her intention, but I suspect less experienced cruisers saw her as someone offering her help and experience. Perhaps she should have been more aloof. I don't know. There were other issues that she had that were more unsettling to me like people with memory issues that maybe shouldn't have been on a cruise by themselves. It was an unsettling review and it made me have second thoughts about if I'd want to do this voyage. OTOH, I know myself and, while I enjoy roll call chit chat, I'm not that much of a joiner in activities. Maybe it was just that cruise where unfortunate things came together. I respect Toto's wealth of knowledge that she was generous to share and hope she comes back.

[flamomo]

I have to say that I think our October/November 2011 cruise was the guinea pig, since it was the first time Princess offered this itinerary. Hopefully Princess will have read the threads relating to it and learn something from them ....... such as needing to staff long cruises with an active and innovative CD staff, especially when there is a long run of consecutive sea days. The CD's offerings on the way back to LA from Papeete were pretty slim pickings.The lack of appealing CD programming was disappointing. We'd read the Patter every night and end up saying "nothing interesting there again!".

 

Also I would like to see them offer more frequent relatively recent movies that would be appealing to adults (there were only 7 kids on our cruise) in the theater in the afternoons on sea days. In hot tropical climates, a lot of people don't want to watch MUTS in the middle of the day.

 

Thank goodness for technology and devices like the Kindle. I had loaded mine with 12 books, and finished all but one by the time we got back to LA. I also brought myself a supply of crossword puzzles to work on. I am accustomed to amusing myself, so it was not as difficult for me as I imagine it was for some.

 

Still, I'd love to do this itinerary again!!!

[dchip]

We were on this cruise also. The biggest problem I had was once we left Tahiti, the cruise was over in many passengers eyes and even the crew. That left a LONG 8 days home. Personally I enjoyed the sea days but not the feeling that the cruise was over.

 

I made a suggestion to both the Captain's Circle and Princess that the cruise could be arranged differently.

 

The 8 sea days could be first when everyone is excited about everything, then Tahiti, Bora Bora & Moorea, 2 sea days and the Samaos (which we loved) then 4 sea days and Hawaii, then 4 sea days home. This makes sense to me to spread out the ports on the way back.

 

Some folks have told me this won't work because the last port is US. But that doesn't hold water since our recent Star Cruise, San Diego was our last port before coming home to San Francisco.

 

Would I do this cruise again? Probably not because I really wanted to spend more time in the South Pacific. HAL goes to more islands on its 30 day cruise but I'm not even sure I would do it again. Ideally, for me, would be for the Hawaii/Tahiti/Hawaii cruises to be reinstated. I would book them in a NY minute.

 

Here are some links to my pics, one day the entire cruise might be done :D

 

http://www.pbase.com/dchip/american_samoa

http://www.pbase.com/dchip/bora_bora

http://www.pbase.com/dchip/moorea

 

Cheers, Denise

[PescadoAmarillo]

I made a suggestion to both the Captain's Circle and Princess that the cruise could be arranged differently.

 

The 8 sea days could be first when everyone is excited about everything, then Tahiti, Bora Bora & Moorea, 2 sea days and the Samaos (which we loved) then 4 sea days and Hawaii, then 4 sea days home.

 

I agree. They could even add a short stop in Ensenada the evening before arriving in CA. Sea days are not created equally...much more tolerable at the beginning of a cruise than the end. On our eastbound transpacific, even the 4 sea days at the end after Hawaii got to be a bit much, though, because, as you said, people feel the cruise is over after the last port. but 4 are better than 8. We even had people willingly disembarking in Honolulu and flying home. I'm more willing to give up 4 cruise days than 8, so that's a possibility too.

[compozer]

One reason that we usually do not join in the activities (on past cruises) is that there is usually a large group of passengers who kind of take over all the activities and others just have to sit back and watch. Maybe we have never had a good CD.

[Cruiserkenn]

I wasn't on the cruise nor did I read the roll call, so this is simply speculation. Toto is a very experienced cruiser and I suspect that she organized some plans on the roll call. Perhaps she set herself up as a leader in some people's eyes. I'm sure that wasn't her intention, but I suspect less experienced cruisers saw her as someone offering her help and experience. Perhaps she should have been more aloof. I don't know. There were other issues that she had that were more unsettling to me like people with memory issues that maybe shouldn't have been on a cruise by themselves. It was an unsettling review and it made me have second thoughts about if I'd want to do this voyage. OTOH, I know myself and, while I enjoy roll call chit chat, I'm not that much of a joiner in activities. Maybe it was just that cruise where unfortunate things came together. I respect Toto's wealth of knowledge that she was generous to share and hope she comes back.

Thanks so much for your thoughts and insights on this matter.

[Pam in CA]

One reason that we usually do not join in the activities (on past cruises) is that there is usually a large group of passengers who kind of take over all the activities and others just have to sit back and watch. Maybe we have never had a good CD.

I've said for years that a good CD is not one who can sing, dance or tell funny stories the best. They need to be planners, organizers, and leaders who are creative and don't depend on the same old "formula" activities. Many years ago, a CD (Chris Nichols) on my first cruise to/from HI organized "dune races": he had a couple of large remote-controlled dune buggies from Radio Shack and small pylons set up on the dance floor. People of all ages had a ball, taking turns racing these around the floor with maybe 100 people watching and cheering them on. Very small $ investment that was very entertaining. Some CDs whine about their budget; I think it's only their imagination that's small.

 

As for the itinerary, I wonder if it would be possible to break up the eight sea days by stopping in HI both going and returning, going to different ports there. A stop in Ensenada is not required for this itinerary since the ship goes to a "far" foreign port.

[Cruiserkenn]

It was and is baffling. It seems like some adults just have no sense of personal responsibility and wanted Toto to be in charge of their lives. They acted more like the needed a"mommy" than a TA. Folks actually called her and knocked on her door to ask her what time they were supposed to be somewhere. I kid you not!

 

Thanks for your thoughts. I appreciate.

[KruzPrincess]

We were on this cruise also. The biggest problem I had was once we left Tahiti, the cruise was over in many passengers eyes and even the crew. That left a LONG 8 days home. Personally I enjoyed the sea days but not the feeling that the cruise was over.

 

I made a suggestion to both the Captain's Circle and Princess that the cruise could be arranged differently.

 

The 8 sea days could be first when everyone is excited about everything, then Tahiti, Bora Bora & Moorea, 2 sea days and the Samaos (which we loved) then 4 sea days and Hawaii, then 4 sea days home. This makes sense to me to spread out the ports on the way back.

 

Some folks have told me this won't work because the last port is US. But that doesn't hold water since our recent Star Cruise, San Diego was our last port before coming home to San Francisco.

 

Would I do this cruise again? Probably not because I really wanted to spend more time in the South Pacific. HAL goes to more islands on its 30 day cruise but I'm not even sure I would do it again. Ideally, for me, would be for the Hawaii/Tahiti/Hawaii cruises to be reinstated. I would book them in a NY minute.

 

Here are some links to my pics, one day the entire cruise might be done :D

 

http://www.pbase.com/dchip/american_samoa

http://www.pbase.com/dchip/bora_bora

http://www.pbase.com/dchip/moorea

 

Cheers, Denise

 

I love the idea of flipping the itinerary. I wonder why they can't do that? It seems so simple.

[Bucky3]

I love the idea of flipping the itinerary. I wonder why they can't do that? It seems so simple.

 

We agree. Maybe Princess will see these posts and make a change! We can hope so.

[Phyljim]

We agree. Maybe Princess will see these posts and make a change! We can hope so.

 

Unfortunately it would be too late for our March 2013 cruise. We enjoy sea days, we enjoy all those sea days when you do a TA after a Med cruise. 6 or 7 days, so what is 1 more?;)

[dchip]

Unfortunately it would be too late for our March 2013 cruise. We enjoy sea days, we enjoy all those sea days when you do a TA after a Med cruise. 6 or 7 days, so what is 1 more?;)

 

The sea days were wonderful. It was the fact that everyone acted liked the cruise was over. They even removed all the flowers on the tables in the main dining room and all over the ship. Said they would get more in LA. We were just in Tahiti....they couldn't have gotten more flowers?? :rolleyes: Sometimes it is the little things that make you crazy.

 

If you like TV or the Internet this is NOT the cruise for you :eek: That being said, if you got on very, very early in the morning, or late at night you had some connectivity on the net. Forget about TV.

 

Cheers, Denise