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

[Red Hat Cruise Cat]

Did Princess offer a shore excursion for the Samba Parade in Sambadrome during Carnival in Rio?

If so, could you post a description and the cost?

[tequilasunrise]

Red Hat Cruise Cat---Obviously I'm not Pia--but you might find this helpful to learn about Princess excursions. If you go to Princess.com you can look up all their standard excursions. Some even have videos but they have helpful descriptions and estimated costs. Keep in mind costs may change.

[caribill]

Pia answered this earlier in this thread describing when they were in Rio. Read a couple of pages after the first answer as she had additional information

[Pia1913]

Good Morning from Manta, Ecuador. Ecuador, the Spanish word for Equator is aptly named, since once you open the balcony door you know it’s going to be HOT HOT HOT! Quito, the capital, is just 15 miles south of the Equator, yet even though days are hot and humid, nights can be comfortably cool requiring a light sweater. The reason for the disparity is The Andes, the most prominent mountain mass in South America and the longest continuous mountain chain on earth. The chain runs the length of the entire continent, rising from the Caribbean all the way just north of Antarctica.

Unfortunately Princess only offers two shorex in Manta, neither of which has any interest for us. They are both 4 hours (including transportation) and one goes to a museum and the other to a nut factory. Interestingly there is a blurb that there is no visit to the interior of the factory. So why go there? Quito was originally a choice tour, but all tours there were cancelled due to a transportation glitch. We are in this port 13 hours, but there would have been a problem returning to the ship in time. I have no other information. We’ve been here previously so not sure whether or not we will take the shuttle ($10/pp RT). I need to get more information as to where it goes, because if it’s just to the craft market it’s a ripoff. If in fact it takes us into the town of Montecristi, then we will go. This is the area that is considered the birthplace of the Panama hat.

So what does one do when the evening entertainment is a singer and a juggler? One stays outdoors and watches a James Bond film for 2 hours and 17 minutes. The night was beautiful, the seas were calm, there was no wind and we liked the movie. Dinner was a spring roll, fries and fruit. Love these extemporaneous meals.

　

Our choices if we stay aboard today will be the afternoon movie Lincoln (don’t want to see this one a second time) in the theater or Hitch on MUTS. That’s it. Tonight the tap dancers are back in the theater, MUTS is showing Snow White and the Huntsman and Vista has the movie Rust and Bone. Need to look that one up.

　

ANSWERS:

Tom: sorry to tell you that a cabin on Aloha from Caribe is considered a downgrade

LuvTahiti: You get a new setup on each leg whether or not you booked them all separately as we did, or as one 49 day.

　

COMMENTS: (about what you didn’t ask)

1. Announcement made at MT luncheon yesterday that we have 1040 Elites on board. Confirmed by corporate that this is the most ever. Also, the total number of days of the 40 attending the luncheon is 29,461, averaging 736.5 days per person.

　

2. I just came from the gym. Ankle seems to be ok. What a relief getting back there. I think it was about 10 days.

[luvtahiti]

Thank you Pia. !

Randy

[CRUZGAL53]

ANSWERS: (from Pia)

 

"Tom: sorry to tell you that a cabin on Aloha from Caribe is considered a downgrade"

 

 

 

Tom...this is NOT true...Upgrades are based on cabin location, not deck.

 

Your original cabin was a forward cabin on Caribe deck you were given a 3 category upgrade (BE-BB) to a mid-ship balcony on Aloha deck.

 

The cabins are the same and your balcony on Aloha will be smaller than Caribe, however your Aloha balcony is fully covered (which is nice for Alaska).

 

And being mid ship is much better than being forward.

 

So, enjoy the upgrade!! :)

[5326jan]

"Tom: sorry to tell you that a cabin on Aloha from Caribe is considered a downgrade"

 

 

Tom...this is NOT true...Upgrades aer based on cabin location, not deck.

 

Your original cabin was forward cabin on Caribe deck you were given a 3 category upgrade (BE-BB) to a mid-ship balcony on Aloha deck.

 

The cabins are the same and your balcony on Aloha will be smaller than Caribe, however your Aloha balcony is fully covered (which is nice for Alaska).

 

And being mid ship is much better than being forward.

 

So, enjoy the upgrade!! :)

 

Yes, Aloha midship is a higher category, but functionally Caribe deck balconies are more desirable because of the larger balconies. :)

[Kiwi Kruzer]

[Pia1913]

The port of Manta with its wonderful scents. A combination of heavy fuel and fish. YUK! We took the free shuttle to the gate where we found lots of standing water, filth, broken pavement and one table of Panama hats and postcards. I had spoken to Julio, the lecturer, and asked him if it was worth taking the $10 shuttle. He sort of twitched his nose and said there was not much there other than the Indian market, a bank and a good fish restaurant. Gotcha, Julio. Got the message.

There is some sort of cultural area down the road, but the problem is crossing the road. For me, OK. For Mike, next to impossible. This chicken really didn’t need to get to the other side.

　

So there you have it; our one hour off the ship. Then again, perhaps it was even less than that. Fortunately the sun was not out, so all you had to contend with was the humidity. I do adore my air conditioning.

See you tomorrow.

[caribill]

Unfortunately Princess only offers two shorex in Manta, neither of which has any interest for us. They are both 4 hours (including transportation) and one goes to a museum and the other to a nut factory. Interestingly there is a blurb that there is no visit to the interior of the factory.

 

We took the "factory" tour last year and enjoyed it as the factory was just a part of the excursion.

 

Under shelter outside of the factory we had a demonstration of how they take the ivory nut, prepare it for carving and the carving itself. Plenty for sale, but no pressure.

 

Then we went to an overlook of the city of Monticristi. Great view of the city, an interesting sun ray art sculpture, and a very inetersting mausoleum for a general who was a revolutionary hero.

 

Then to the town square area. Plenty of vendors of Panama hats of different qualities, a town firehouse that had an oldtime fire wagon on display, and the Monrtecristi Church with interesting art inside.

 

The tour was worth the time and the money to us.

[dmwnc1959]

Announcement made at MT luncheon yesterday that we have 1040 Elites on board. Confirmed by corporate that this is the most ever...

 

WOW!!! :eek:

[sonnenschein]

ANSWERS: (from Pia)

 

"Tom: sorry to tell you that a cabin on Aloha from Caribe is considered a downgrade"

 

 

 

Tom...this is NOT true...Upgrades are based on cabin location, not deck.

 

Your original cabin was a forward cabin on Caribe deck you were given a 3 category upgrade (BE-BB) to a mid-ship balcony on Aloha deck.

 

The cabins are the same and your balcony on Aloha will be smaller than Caribe, however your Aloha balcony is fully covered (which is nice for Alaska).

 

And being mid ship is much better than being forward.

 

So, enjoy the upgrade!! :)

midship is almost always better, but not when the deck above you is the pool deck. You will wake up very early in the morning to the scaping and banging of pool chairs and lounges as they get cleaned by the crew. Hope you are not a light sleeper. It is best to have a cabin deck below and above you.

[Pia1913]

Thursday morning March 7th at sea. It’s partly cloudy, but still early. Temp is expected to be in the mid 80’s. We had an exciting entertaining evening last night. Not! We chose to return to our cabin to watch the movie Toast. That lasted 10 minutes. We then sort of watched Here Comes the Boom. I think Mike stayed with it; I read. Really dumb movie.

　

Today’s morning stuff:

1. The Great Grand Princess Boat Building Contest. I’ve been on ships that have done this, but don’t know a thing about it. Nor will I attend the explanation, so if any of you know about (would expect Caribill to know) this please share with the others.

2. Destination lecture on San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua

3. Lecture: The Planet Mars

4. The famous “up to 75% off” sale for three hours only

5. Crossing the Line Ceremony - who’s gonna’ get slimed?

　

Afternoon starts with a pub lunch if you so desire, then a Maxtone-Graham repeat lecture. Also this afternoon is the movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower in the theater, learn the basic steps of Hula dancing, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding on MUTS.

　

Tonight’s entertainment is Do You Wanna Dance; again. And again, the violinist Vincenzo Gentile. I guess he’s here to stay. MUTS will be showing The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (we’ve seen it)

and Mike and I will probably watch Lincoln (we ’ve seen this one too) on TV.

Nothing more to say. Gym time completed; breakfast awaits.

[boblin]

Hi Pia: boblin (Linda) here. I read yr posts every morning without fail. As you know, I'm experiencing the Grand cruise vicariously thru everyone blogging and posting, as I had to cancel the cruise and wait tip next Jan's Golden sailing. Interested to hear Maxtone Graham is lecturing onboard. He was on a 30 day Star sailing from San F.- Sydney we did a few yrs ago. Best speaker I ever had the pleasure of hearing, bar none. He seems to be enjoying the longer cruises these days with his lovely wife, and why not? What a way to spend yr retirement! Enjoy the rest of yr cruise.

[mwvcruiser]

Hi Pia. With so many Elites on board, how is the laundry situation? Does it take a couple of days to get it back? Do they do laungry and dry cleaning? Thanks

[luvtahiti]

Hi Pia. With so many Elites on board, how is the laundry situation? Does it take a couple of days to get it back? Do they do laungry and dry cleaning? Thanks

 

Yes, laundry & dry cleaning are free perks for Elite. Usually if you put it out for the cabin steward in the morning it is back the next afternoon. Never waited more than two days for it to come back.

[IECalCruiser]

Yes, laundry & dry cleaning are free perks for Elite. Usually if you put it out for the cabin steward in the morning it is back the next afternoon. Never waited more than two days for it to come back.

The question is not whether the perk is available, but rather how well are they keeping up with the demand with so many Elites on a long cruise.

[Carolyn R]

Hi Pia, can you find out if Maxwell will be on the Royal TA with us?

[caribill]

Today’s morning stuff:

 

 

1. The Great Grand Princess Boat Building Contest. I’ve been on ships that have done this, but don’t know a thing about it. Nor will I attend the explanation, so if any of you know about this please share with the others.

 

Teams form to build a small boat out of scrap items on the ship (cartons, empty cans, etc.). The teams then compete based on both design and ability to carry (being pushed by a swimmer) a case of beer across a swimming pool without sinking.

 

 

 

 

 

[Pia1913]

Internet yucky so quick answer about laundry. When we give it out at night, we've been getting it back the next night. When we give it out in the morning, instead of it being returned the following night, it comes back the day after in the morning. What I think happens is that the steward doesn't bring it down early enough. Doesn't really matter anyway.

Thanks Bill. I knew you would do it.

Bye until tomorrow.

[rv gypsy]

Yes, laundry & dry cleaning are free perks for Elite. Usually if you put it out for the cabin steward in the morning it is back the next afternoon. Never waited more than two days for it to come back.

 

Lat fall when we went on cruise to S Pacific there were so many elites that the ship told everyone that Princess no longer offered dry cleaning as a perk.

Humm Obliviously a little misinformation to keep the complaints down.

[K-Roo-Zers]

Lat fall when we went on cruise to S Pacific there were so many elites that the ship told everyone that Princess no longer offered dry cleaning as a perk.

Humm Obliviously a little misinformation to keep the complaints down.

 

On last years world cruise on the Sun Princess, our laundry was taking up to four days! They had a huge problem as well, due to so many Elites on board, and also Princess was updating the status of cruisers after each sector, thereby exacerbating the problem.

 

It didn't worry us, we just went with the flow. We only ever sent a couple of items at a time, and we were thankful for the free laundry.

 

Nicki

[caribill]

Lat fall when we went on cruise to S Pacific there were so many elites that the ship told everyone that Princess no longer offered dry cleaning as a perk.

 

Actually, Princess no longer offers "dry cleaning" to anybody.

 

They now offer "cleaning" which is a different process which does not use the chemicals that "dry cleaning" required.

[Impressionists]

Hi Pia: boblin (Linda) here. I read yr posts every morning without fail. As you know, I'm experiencing the Grand cruise vicariously thru everyone blogging and posting, as I had to cancel the cruise and wait tip next Jan's Golden sailing. Interested to hear Maxtone Graham is lecturing onboard. He was on a 30 day Star sailing from San F.- Sydney we did a few yrs ago. Best speaker I ever had the pleasure of hearing, bar none. He seems to be enjoying the longer cruises these days with his lovely wife, and why not? What a way to spend yr retirement! Enjoy the rest of yr cruise.

 

Hi Linda. Appears you crossed the Pacific in the Star as we did in 2009 SanFran to Syd. We also enjoyed Maxstone Graham's lectures. We also had to cancel the 49 dryer South American Grand Princess cruise that Pia has so expertly been narrating for us. I do hope you get the Golden next year. Happy cruising. (Sorry for the typos, fat finger syndrome when using my iPad). Lorri H.

[Pia1913]

Good morning from Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Inasmuch as we do the Panama Canal run quite frequently, we have visited this port many, many times. In fact, we were just here in November. Costa Rica in general has been one of our favorites and we spent 3 weeks in this country a few years ago. There’s not much we haven’t done or seen.

Just a small introduction:

　

Costa Rica was discovered by Columbus in 1502 and named Rich Coast, though Puntarenas was a little village until coffee production in the late 18th century transformed the Costa Rican economy. By the 1850’s, coffee had surpassed cacao, tobacco and sugar as the country’s number one export. Arenal is Costa Rica’s best known volcano which started erupting again (after being dormant for 400 years) in 1968. It has been resting again since 2010, but due to geothermal activity beneath Arenal, the area surrounding the volcano is home to a number of hot springs We visited this area and in fact stayed in a cute bungalow just beneath the volcano for two days. That was our one and only introduction to being monkeys; zip lining. Princess does offer a tour to this area, but it’s a long haul; 3 hours each way. The Poas volcano is a bit closer, and Princess also offers a shorex there. This is a great port with abundant choices.

　

I won’t bore you with places we stayed and things we saw, because most of them are not available to those on a cruise. A visit to a coffee plantation is always interesting, especially to those of us who have that specific addiction. I would also suggest the train ride and river cruise; 5 1/2 hours for very little money.

　

So what are we going to do today? Not much. There are a multitude of vendors when you walk into town. Town is not far and if you cannot walk there is a tram that runs back and forth. And it’s free. We need to go to the supermarket to buy Imperial Beer. Mike loves it and we know exactly where to buy it. I also need one more bottle of wine. ;)

　

Last night we opted to watch a Robert DeNiro and Bradley Cooper movie in our cabin. “Limitless.” Somewhat confusing and strange, but liked it. And then, because we were gaining an extra hour of sleep started to watch another one; Prometheus. I lasted 5 minutes; Mike hung in there for about 15.

　

Not a whole lot to do on board today. Morning has nothing and afternoon choices are two movies. Snow White and the Huntsman in the theater and Hunger Games on MUTS. Tonight the choices are Cabaeret Showtime “A Lil’ Night Music” in the theater (no additional explanation and we probably will skip it), a movie, The Scapegoat in Vista and the Ultimate Deck Party at Neptune Pool beginning at 9:45.

Sun is shining brightly and now I'm off to the gym. See you later.