LIVE from the Grand Princess - 49 days from FLL thru South America to SFO

[MilliesMom]

Breakfast over. Immigration cleared. Mobs of people waiting down there. I am still in my cabin thanks to a great steward. We managed to get late Princess transport which is not until after 11, so have lots of time to hang out. Needed to say another goodbye to you all with the remaining minutes. And, internet still NG.

 

Will check in for a final time at home, but that won't be until some time Sunday afternoon EST.

 

BYE

 

Safe journey home .... thanks for the live review. Enjoy it. Can't wait to be on the Grand in May.

[WendyG]

Pia is like Kevin Costner. She has a following :)

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

[tequilasunrise]

Thanks for the thread; it's been fun!

[jnc411]

Thank You Pia for shareing your travels with us .

Cori

[treesah]

Pia, thank you for sharing your journey. I admire your unjaundiced eye and fresh perspective. You're a talented writer. Have a safe trip home. I'm looking forward to your future adventures. How are you going to survive the next six months, making your own bed, etc.?

[hokiefans]

Hi Pia!

Brian and I are thrilled to have been able to share this journey with you and Mike! Many thanks for the time and effort you gave us. I can't believe that it went by so quickly. We are looking forward to see you both in Barcelona in September and sharing a glass (or two) of wine! :p

Your friends,

denise and brian

[spingal]

Pia, I loved your "Live" thread!! Thanks for taking the time to write it!!

 

Safe travels home. :D

[madjohn]

Thanks.

[waltd]

Pia great trip. But good thing you are going home. I was running out of popcorn, wine and clean cloths. Now I will be ready for your next trip.

Safe journey home

Joe

[Kiwi Kruzer]

 

Thanks for taking us all with you .

Been another great cruise:):)

Safe journey home.

 

 

[Pia1913]

So, what's as good as being on a ship? Free wifi at SFO. I didn't expect it. Could be because Jet Blue is situated in the International Terminal. We are comfortably seated in the food court close to where we have to check in. Check in will not be until 6 PM, but our luggage is on a trolley and we can move around if we so desire. Right now sitting here, having coffee and reading (Mike), is good enough.

Joe: go do laundry

Treesah: bed making is Mike's job. :)

Wendy: Kevin Costner? :confused:

Signing off again. Nice to have speedy internet for a change

[westendgirl]

Safe travels and hope you and Mike catch some shut-eye on the red-eye. As always, I read your blog every day and the cruise brought back many happy memories of exactly one year ago (RIO to SF). Yours went by almost as quickly as mine did. I want to echo what many others have said: THANK YOU for taking your valuable time and minutes to bring us all along. Over 104,000 hits. I would say you have a following!:D

[fairsky1984]

What am I going to do each morning to jump-start my day? The 49 days are done :(. I'll add my thanks for sharing your cruise with us and hope you met or know our friends who sailed the 49 with you, Jan and Tom. Safe travels!

[TERESAh]

Thanks for all of your posts; I really enjoyed them. I just wanted to make sure none of the engines broke down as we are sailing on the Grand at the end of next month to Hawaii. About 10 years ago we were on the Grand in the Med and two engines broke down so we had to limp back to port and missed out two stops in Turkey. Again, thanks

[Wadsy]

Thanks Pia, for the all the good information and updates each day on this cruise. Although I was able to do the first 19 days of this cruise on the Grand, I feel like I was able to continue it through your blog. Thanks again and I hope to meet you in future cruises.

[HRPro]

Pia, I have enjoyed your live from--as so many have said, you are an excellent writer and have a gift for making the day to day activities of cruising come alive for all of us traveling along with you. I hope you have safe travels home and that I get to meet you on the Royal in October.

[Pia1913]

Home Sweet Home. Now I look forward to opening more than 7 weeks of mail. Back to the real life. I only hope my bed recognizes me tonight. :)

 

Thanks again y'all.

[oma16]

:)Pia & Mike ,,,hope by now your home safe & sound .Often did the red:rolleyes:

EYE ,seems 2 be the only way 2 fly from one coast 2 another .Our sincere thank's again 4 your wonderful report of the adventure S.A. Grand live cruise.

So much info we'll use next year on our S.A. cruise with the Golden P. Wishing you both a great summer , till we meet again ...:) Dick& Renate Kempinski

[Dietemann]

Welcome back, Pia. Really enjoyed experiencing the trip through your postings. Looking forward to your "Live from" from the Royal!

[Shoalwater]

Didn't want to jump on Pia's LF posting during the voyage, and as a matter of fact didn't read the internet much at all. A few recollections in hindsight about a great cruise.

 

1. This voyage redefined the term "Cruise line", starting with the 2+ hrs it took most of us to embark in FLL way back in January and ending with the long traffic lines in SFO the Super Shuttle got enmeshed in caused by the closing of streets for the St. Patrick's Day parade. We were picked up at Pier 35 at 1030 hrs as planned, and nearly 1.5 hrs later were still snaking our way through traffic and still downtown. To be fair, the mindless driver they sent had no clue where or how to get beyond the closed Market Street.

 

2. CBP immigration proceedings were as slick as greased owl droppings (at least for Americans, can't say for those from other countries). The whole disembarkation went well, no complaints. Sure we had to wait a bit, but it was fine.

 

3. This was our 7th sailing aboard the Grand, and it did have it's share of mechanicals, especially the forward elevator bank which rarely had more than 3 working elevators. There were more than an expected amount of water leaks, including the drip coming out of the light fixture in Explorers. We decided to not whine or let these bother us.

 

4. The seas were magnificent. So calm all the way. This made for a memorable sail around Cape horn.

 

5. Overall the food was excellent, with most nights having a nice selection. Sure, we could nit pick here or there, but hey, it's 49 days and I enjoyed more variety on the ship than we have at home, so no complaints from me here.

 

6. The crew were again collectively great and very helpful. The staff were the same, and we'll let the little dust up that happened early on about private tours float away in the wake and not detract from their honest effort to be the "consumate host".

 

7. Sammi Baker was IMHO an outstanding Cruise Director. Her vibrance and energy transferred to her staff (which sailed short a few personnel) and they too perfored magnificently. Sammi was always out and about, readily available to passengers and at times seemed omnipresent! She was realistic, and helped to bridge over the few bumps with her positive, upbeat attitude. Overall, I think most passengers "bonded' with the staff and crew, and a familiarity emerged that you won't see on a shorter sailing.

 

8. The South American ports were better than expected, but it was hard to not try and compare them with those on the Med, Baltic or British voyages. My wife and I were especially impressed at how hard the Peruvians tried to make our visit enjoyable and to put the best face on their country. Their national pride showed through stronger than in most other ports of call.

 

So, 49 days of water under the keel. New cruise friends made, images on a card to process and make into an album, mail to sort through and taxes to prepare. Life goes on, but we had a special interlude, enriched by so many passengers we met at table, a crew and staff that cared for us, and so many new places and experiences to process.

 

So, the best close is penned by Rick Steves "Keep traveling.".

[HRPro]

Thanks for an excellent exclamation point to Pia's live from. It sounds like an overall wonderful cruise. I'd love to take a 49 day cruise someday.:)

[trbarton]

Didn't want to jump on Pia's LF posting during the voyage, and as a matter of fact didn't read the internet much at all. A few recollections in hindsight about a great cruise.

 

1. This voyage redefined the term "Cruise line", starting with the 2+ hrs it took most of us to embark in FLL way back in January and ending with the long traffic lines in SFO the Super Shuttle got enmeshed in caused by the closing of streets for the St. Patrick's Day parade. We were picked up at Pier 35 at 1030 hrs as planned, and nearly 1.5 hrs later were still snaking our way through traffic and still downtown. To be fair, the mindless driver they sent had no clue where or how to get beyond the closed Market Street.

 

2. CBP immigration proceedings were as slick as greased owl droppings (at least for Americans, can't say for those from other countries). The whole disembarkation went well, no complaints. Sure we had to wait a bit, but it was fine.

 

3. This was our 7th sailing aboard the Grand, and it did have it's share of mechanicals, especially the forward elevator bank which rarely had more than 3 working elevators. There were more than an expected amount of water leaks, including the drip coming out of the light fixture in Explorers. We decided to not whine or let these bother us.

 

4. The seas were magnificent. So calm all the way. This made for a memorable sail around Cape horn.

 

5. Overall the food was excellent, with most nights having a nice selection. Sure, we could nit pick here or there, but hey, it's 49 days and I enjoyed more variety on the ship than we have at home, so no complaints from me here.

 

6. The crew were again collectively great and very helpful. The staff were the same, and we'll let the little dust up that happened early on about private tours float away in the wake and not detract from their honest effort to be the "consumate host".

 

7. Sammi Baker was IMHO an outstanding Cruise Director. Her vibrance and energy transferred to her staff (which sailed short a few personnel) and they too perfored magnificently. Sammi was always out and about, readily available to passengers and at times seemed omnipresent! She was realistic, and helped to bridge over the few bumps with her positive, upbeat attitude. Overall, I think most passengers "bonded' with the staff and crew, and a familiarity emerged that you won't see on a shorter sailing.

 

8. The South American ports were better than expected, but it was hard to not try and compare them with those on the Med, Baltic or British voyages. My wife and I were especially impressed at how hard the Peruvians tried to make our visit enjoyable and to put the best face on their country. Their national pride showed through stronger than in most other ports of call.

 

So, 49 days of water under the keel. New cruise friends made, images on a card to process and make into an album, mail to sort through and taxes to prepare. Life goes on, but we had a special interlude, enriched by so many passengers we met at table, a crew and staff that cared for us, and so many new places and experiences to process.

 

So, the best close is penned by Rick Steves "Keep traveling.".

 

Thanks for your review. I was moved by what you wrote. I'm on the Grand on May 10 to Alaska so when things aren't just right I'll remember what you wrote. I hope that you will post this on Cruise Critic where their are reviews of cruises.

 

Tom:)

[Shadavi]

Pia, just got to say thanks. Loved sharing your journey and will go back to it before our trip on the Crown next year. Glad to hear you arrived home safely.

SharonW

[lizzy77]

Thanks Pia for sharing your cruise with us. I really enjoyed it.

 

We were on the Star Princess wth you guys 2 years ago and it sounds like we need to go back to SA and do the Valparasio - LA leg.

[Pia1913]

Thanks Pia for sharing your cruise with us. I really enjoyed it.

 

We were on the Star Princess wth you guys 2 years ago and it sounds like we need to go back to SA and do the Valparasio - LA leg.

 

Hi Liz:

 

It's waiting for you in 2014. :D