Live From The Grand - 3/5/14 - Mexico, CA and HI

[ccrain]

ccrain,

 

Can you please elaborate on the Mercado in Loreto? Is it easy to find? Did you get Mexican vanilla and fried pork rinds there (:D)?

 

Thanks so much for any info you can give~

 

We got the Mexican vanilla off the "walking path" area near the town hall.

 

If you take a left on the main drag down the waterfront, follow the crowds to the crossing guard with the restaurant on the corner, cross the street to the right, and go straight past the town hall and main square, past the hedge arches over the walking area and out into the city proper, the super market is just across that street. No more than 1/2 mile from the waterfront.

 

Its a standard market with all sorts of goodies. The chicharones in that market didn't look too good, so we passed on them.

 

We got our chicharones from wal mart in PV. needed salt though. Crew was bringing them back by the bag full.

[SeaGypsies]

Easter Services

 

Just got off the phone with Kelly (new Deputy CD). Princess does not sponsor an Easter Mass any more. If a qualified priest is on board, with a letter or some kind of paperwork, and wishes to volunteer and conduct such a mass, Princess will provide space and anything they can to make it happen, but they do not sponsor such events any more.

 

Oh, we are so disappointed with this news. But thank you so much for getting us an answer. Really appreciate your effort. Guess we will try to find a church in Maui for Easter services.

[Elua]

It will be interesting to see what immigration does in Hawaii. We’ve always stopped in Ensenada on the way back, not the way over.

Aloha Kakou,

The last time we did Ensenada first, on the Star, there was a ship wide immigration in the first port of Honolulu, held in the Vista Lounge. It was well organized and moved relatively quickly. I would say to try to get there as early as possible, as after you go, they will scan your cruise card and you can get off after that.

 

Have a great cruise!!

 

Aloha No,

Dave

(of Elua)

http://www.facebook.com/eluamusic

[IECalCruiser]

Wine Packages

 

 

 

Yes, the Grand has wine packages. The Silver package allows you to pre-pay for 7, 10 or 14 bottles of wine, can’t remember the prices, and select that number of bottles up to $29 each. The Gold package allows you to pre-pay for the 7, 10 or 14 bottles and select up to $45 each.

 

 

 

I couldn’t get the pricing from the guy – its on the little cards he carries, and we didn’t have a camera with us. If you need the actual pricing I can try and take a picture of the card.

 

 

 

I may have the exact numbers wrong, but they answer is yes, they do have such packages available.

Thanks for checking. They didn't offer on the 10 day Mexico cruise as they should have. Was told they would offer on the 15 day Hawaii cruise and just wanted to confirm.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[carqueen1]

ccrain,

Enjoying your posts! We are getting on the ship in 2 weeks for the California Coastal. Can you elaborate a bit about your weather experience on that leg of your trip? You mentioned your DW had to get some long pants, so I assume its still a bit chilly? Thank you!

[shawn1066]

FYI - A " First Stage Response" signals a serious fight in progress. This response occurred on Deck 2 during the March 15, CA Coastal cruise. A physical altercation occurred among two crew members. The same occurred in the Main Galley during the current HI cruise. This also required the ship-wide

signal

[southpawsdakota]

Thank you for posting regarding the two wine packages. We are very interested in that as opposed to the all you can drink package. If you do find out the prices for the different category that would be great if not we obviously will find out when we get one, just wanted to budget for it as I am pre-paying as a gift to ourselves prior to boarding. We are loving your updates and you are giving us a great idea as to what to expect. We have not been on the Grand Princess but this will be my 25th Princess cruise and DH hits his 15th.

[Cruisin Sal]

Charles,

It was great seeing Judy & you again. I am suffering from post cruise stress!

[IECalCruiser]

Thank you for posting regarding the two wine packages. We are very interested in that as opposed to the all you can drink package. If you do find out the prices for the different category that would be great if not we obviously will find out when we get one, just wanted to budget for it as I am pre-paying as a gift to ourselves prior to boarding. We are loving your updates and you are giving us a great idea as to what to expect. We have not been on the Grand Princess but this will be my 25th Princess cruise and DH hits his 15th.

I posted this after our cruise on the Island in January of 2013. Note that a 15% gratuity is added to the prices shown below which is the same if you order individual bottles. Also, it has not always been offered on 10 day cruises such as the 10 day Mexico cruise on March 5 that started Charles' B2B2B. We were on that cruise but missed this thread until we disembarked.

The Wine Bottle program can be purchased onboard at the beverage tables set up on embarkation day where they're selling all the packages (Ultimate Soda Packages, Coffee Cards, etc) or from any waiter in the main dining rooms, Horizon Court, alternative restaurants and during events such as the Pub Lunch.(The bar staff is unable to sell this program)

 

The program is offered on voyages that are 10 days or longer (with the exception of our ships based in Australia), however during our initial trial period we tried this concept on all itineraries and not just voyages 10 days or longer. There are odd occasions when the package has not been offered, such as when there is a logistical challenge and a beverage container is not delivered on time in a port.

 

Currently there are two different packages. (Prices are subject to change)

 

1.) Silver Tier (any bottle of wine up to and including $29 in retail value)

2.) Gold Tier (any bottle of wine up to and including $45 in retail value)

 

Silver Tier:

7 Pack - $161

10 Pack - $210

12 Pack - $240

 

Gold Tier:

7 Pack - $217

10 Pack - $290

12 Pack - $336

Depending upon the number of bottles in the package you pay $20-$23 for any bottle up to $29 with the silver package and you pay $28-$31 for any bottle up to $45 with the gold package. You can order any bottle on the wine list. On our last cruise we purchased a 10 bottle Silver Package. If we ordered a more expensive bottle, we were charged for that bottle and then credited for a $29 bottle. You can take a bottle back to your cabin, but you can only order from a dining venue. You can't order wine from a bar OR Vines.

[ccrain]

Lunch was really good again yesterday with a whole bunch of tasty tidbits from all over the world. The yellow curry chicken was especially spicy and tasty. The cold salads were good as well.

 

The highlight of the evening was Doug Funk. His improv show follows the same format, but with different people it goes in different directions and is typically funnier than all get out. Last night was no exception. He’s really clicking on this cruise. We have seen him bomb before, but not on this one. According to Kelly we are getting Steve Moris back in HI. That probably means Doug will be leaving. Miranda will also be leaving as well.

 

A couple of us spent a really delightful hour with Chelsea yesterday. Since Judy and I are going to NZ next year, and we have a 17 year granddaughter thinking about being on ships, we picked her brain. Since last night was formal night we got to see the results of her Ross shopping trip in San Fran. She did really good!

 

I had some time to read a review on the Grand from just this last cruise. Moisture in the cabin is not a good thing. However, it probably is not from a leak in the structure. Pipes all over the Grand are springing leaks. Over the past couple of weeks there have been dozens of pipes springing leaks here and there. Sprinkler pipes, water supply pipes, all mainly in the ceilings, and hard to fix or locate as the water can travel quite a ways. So there is a substantial issue with water supply pipe leakage all over the ship. And from the few I saw them fixing, its not at the joints, its in the body of the pipe, like the pipe has corroded. Even after 14 years, that shouldn’t be happening.

 

So let’s summarize today’s patter. We have Zumba this morning. Three enrichment lectures this morning: Oahu with Gary Shahan; Island Grindz – a Hawaiian food lecture by Lokalina; and a Pearl Harbor lecture by Gary Shahan. There is one class this afternoon on mobile blogging…I wonder if this is considered mobile blogging?

 

Lokalina also has Hula classes. Doug Funk has an improv workshop. The martini demo is today as well. Cha Cha is the ballroom class. Line dance is on as well, as is the Ukulele class. Pop choir is rehearsing. Texas holdem this afternoon. Captain Phillips is the afternoon movie. Ribbon lei making. The matre de wine club is this afternoon. (This is the expensive one.)

 

The Philadelphia Story, Billy Joel in concert, Top Gun and The Hobbit (Smaug) is on MUTS today and tonight, and there are several trivias today.

 

Tonight is going to be a tough choice for us. If we go to the movie we miss R&R night. If we go to R&R night, we miss the movie, and the movie (The Hobbit part deux) is 2.5+ hours. Heather Sullivan, recording artist, is the headliner in the Princess Theater and there is Osage County in Vista in two showings.

 

Both Rhapsody and Retrospect are playing throughout the night.

 

Oh and crab shack is back tonight. Geez not a thing to do…

[ccrain]

Charles,

It was great seeing Judy & you again. I am suffering from post cruise stress!

 

You know that same thing happened to Judy as well. We got home, she put the little blue card on the door, and nothing happened!

[ccrain]

ccrain,

Enjoying your posts! We are getting on the ship in 2 weeks for the California Coastal. Can you elaborate a bit about your weather experience on that leg of your trip? You mentioned your DW had to get some long pants, so I assume its still a bit chilly? Thank you!

 

...so Judy only packed one pair of long pants. The rest shorts and dresses. Its been relatively chilly to her, my resident lizard, on everything except PV. I've been comfortable. So she had to get a couple of additional pairs of long pants at Ross in San Fran, as well as wear her hoodie quite a bit.

 

The coastal could go either way depending on the marine layer. If the marine layer is in, its chilly, if its sunshine, its probably pretty comfortable...

[ccrain]

FYI - A " First Stage Response" signals a serious fight in progress. This response occurred on Deck 2 during the March 15, CA Coastal cruise. A physical altercation occurred among two crew members. The same occurred in the Main Galley during the current HI cruise. This also required the ship-wide

signal

 

Something new to add to our cruising nomenclature...

[ccrain]

Big Swells this morning and last night, with a large period. Probably 15 feet high and 30-40 feet wavelength. The kind that really pitches the ship up and down. Must be a big storm far away. Weather is still cool. It was very cool at MUTS last night huddled under two blankets and a pool towel. We did not bring any heavy coats on this cruise.

 

We’ve danced Judy’s knees into submission so we opted for the movie last night. Probably won’t repeat so if we want to see it on MUTS we needed to act now. That was pretty much it for the night. It’s a good movie, very long and with minimal resemblance to the book, but it was the book that started D&D and played a lot of D&D in college. (Let’s see, hit the dragon with molten gold – that’ll be 30d6 damage…To bad Smaug has about a million hit points…)

 

Today’s big must do is the $10 holiday store. We’re going to get our grandson a cheap watch or two. Time for him to start getting used to the old way of telling time before they start imbedding digital time receptors in your cornea. Judy has practiced her paper airplane for that competition today. Kauai is the destination lecture and Volcanoes is the enrichment lecture. I’ve been watching the reruns on TV. Judy has Hual and Lei making this afternoon. Zumba is on this morning as well. They have a go-pro action camcorder seminar this afternoon. Vegetable carving. A pub lunch. $500 slot tournament for $20 entry and an interesting looking lecture on automating your home or vehicle without being tech savvy.

 

There is a Thomas Kinkade seminar and sale. The Hobbit Part Deux is on in the Princess theater this afternoon. There is a Mr Sexy Legs competition around the pool. Pop choir rehearsal. Swing/Jive is the ballroom class, line dance class is on as well. On The Town and The Devil Wears Prada is on MUTS today. Philomena is the MUTS movie tonight. Donny Ray Evans is in Vista tonight with two shows. Doug Funk is in the Theater with two shows as well.

 

That’s it from the Pacific Ocean...off to Zumba!

[Colo Cruiser]

[carqueen1]

ccrane,

 

can you tell me if any of the pools are heated?

[ccrain]

A little more pitching yesterday. It continued pretty much all day. Zumba and line dance were rather interesting. Its still pitching a bit this morning. The swells are supposed to calm a bit later, so we are tentatively planning a Crown Grill dinner. The crab shack is on Deck 14 and that might be a bit too high for Judy if the swells don’t calm a bit. But all that depends on whether or not she wants to go to the movie which is Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Another 2.5+ hour movie.

 

Because of the motion we ate lunch at Alfredo’s. Good pizza once again. Judy had the Zen and I had the Tarantina. (I am hooked on that clam and mussel pizza.)

 

The technology lecture was interesting, but pretty much passé. It wasn’t anything new you didn’t know about from the web or Wired or half a dozen other sources. It was Apple centric, so how mature the Android technology integration is a good question. Basically the message I took was wait a year or two and everything will settle down in price and features.

 

Last night was Doug Funk’s, most likely, final performance on this cruise as Steve Moris is supposed to be getting on in HI. It was good and he had good participation. It was the same general format as his previous 2 stand up shows, but the improv depends on the people he selects and he selected some good ones last night. Laughed until the back of the head hurt.

 

We did catch the new Piazza Vignette of David Aiken: The checkerboard guy. Last night was basically a juggling/crowd interaction act that was a lot of fun. He really got the crowd going and worked with several audience members. Those are the best parts when done well, and they were done very well.

 

Afterwards we danced to Retrospect in Explorer’s for a set. Time was back an hour so we stayed up little later but successfully managed to stay away from a late night snack in the HC – but it was touch and go there for a while.

 

So the Patter for Day. Zumba is at 0915 this morning. We have a Maui destination lecture. And Earthquakes and Tsunami lecture, and another lecture on Saving Money with Apps on your Smartphone.

 

We have Forrest Gump, Coldplay in concert, Mamma Mia and The Hunger Games on MUTS today and tonight. Hula, shuffleboard, egg drop challenge, the 2015 Northern Europe, Scandinavia and British Isles presentation. Rhumba, no line dance, carpet bowling, Ukulele, a Texas hold em tournament, ribbon lei and Bingo.

 

Tonight is Do You Wanna Dance in the theater, with Heather Sullivan in Vista.

 

That’s it for now. E’ya all later…

[ccrain]

ccrane,

 

can you tell me if any of the pools are heated?

 

All the pools are heated and fresh water. Although because of the pitching, they had all the pools closed except for the covered pool area.

[Maksim]

Thank you for all the detailed comments. This helps as we are planning on the Hawaiian cruise from L.A. in December. A few questions: are those Zumba classes free, or there is a fee? If so, how much does it cost? Also, what time are they offered at? Another thing I am interested in is the spa area. I read some negative comments about it and would like to know more. We are the spa goers, especially when there are so many days at sea. One more thing: since you mentioned cool weather, are the pool areas covered? My recollection is that at least one pool area is covered. I would assume since they are heated, they are usable even if it's cool outside. Thank you again.

[ccrain]

Thank you for all the detailed comments. This helps as we are planning on the Hawaiian cruise from L.A. in December. A few questions: are those Zumba classes free, or there is a fee? If so, how much does it cost? Also, what time are they offered at? Another thing I am interested in is the spa area. I read some negative comments about it and would like to know more. We are the spa goers, especially when there are so many days at sea. One more thing: since you mentioned cool weather, are the pool areas covered? My recollection is that at least one pool area is covered. I would assume since they are heated, they are usable even if it's cool outside. Thank you again.

 

Zumba classes are free. All of these classes so far have been on at 0900 or 0915, but we have had ships have classes between 1500 and 1700 as well, or both.

 

One pool is completely covered and all are heated.

 

The spa area? On the Grand the steam rooms are free and next to the forward pool. The Sanctuary has only taken over the deck above the pool and forward. The gym area is laid out well and fully equipped. The spa itself is a large number of individual treatment and massage rooms. There is no thermal suite as on the Ruby, Crown or Emerald.

 

Nope this helps...

[ccrain]

Someone, somewhere is going to ask me to compare this HI sailing with one that has Elua and David Cole. The bottom line? So far neither one is better than the other. You are not going to go wrong with either itinerary. Not that may sound like a cop out, but it really isn’t.

 

We’ve sailed with Elua twice, once with David Cole and once with Kelvin Joy. The biggest difference? Leialoha sets up an heirloom lei shop in the wheelhouse daily for people to purchase heirloom lei kits and make absolutely gorgeous leis. Lokelina sells completed leis to order. Both Lokelina and Leialoha teach hula. Both are nuts and the nicest people you would ever want to meet. Dave and Kimo are so alike it’s scary. Laid back, funny, did I mention laid back, like way, way back? I wish I could get this laid back…Both he and Dave teach and play the Ukulele. Both he and Dave play music and sing with their wives. Peas in a pod.

 

The port lecturer on this cruise, not the shopping lecturer, is very good. Gary Shahan has been the best HI lecturer we’ve had, almost as good as Hutch was on the Asian cruise. For the ports, he concentrates on the DIY people and where the important things in life are like bathrooms and rental cars and ways to get around the island. Gary is doing the port lectures as well as the enrichment lectures about the Pacific, Eathquakes and Tsunamis, Pearl Harbor, etc. We also have a “technology” lecturer. Jason Rich. His forte is smartphone and tablet technology.

 

Our current CD is Gavin Chandler. While Kelvin is very special to us, Gavin is doing a good job. The schedule is flush with activities, and not just extra trivias like other CDs, who shall remain nameless, do. I like the repeating of the lectures on the TV, the morning show is enjoyable and current – no cheating by repeating other morning shows on tape, even the advertising is fun– we just love Tatiana in the morning with the drink of the day presentation – Kelly is still getting her feet underneath her with Gavin in the morning. Kelvin is Kelvin. Anyone who has sailed with him knows he is a complete goof ball. His morning shows are a must see. We sailed with David Cole once to HI, but it was back in 2009. I have read back into my archives and it was David Cole that set up this type of activity format with Elua way back when on the Island Princess. So you can consider Dave to be the father of the Princess cruise experience to HI. From what I can see comparing the Patters from 2009 to 2011 to this trip, they are still following the same format. Although there are a lot more lectures on this cruise than past cruises. This is a good thing…

 

The cruise staff on this cruise is comparable to the past cruises, except in number. There were more cruise staff on the 2009 Golden cruise, and without Miranda staying through to HI, they would really be short handed. We have Lexi, Jeff, Mike, Chelsea, Veronica, Miranda, Wacko (the Japanese Deputy CD in training for the Diamond cruises). We had six cruise staff on the Ruby T/A last December - two of which were juniors. Without Miranda on this cruise we would only have four ACDs, one junior and Wacko – who doesn’t speak a lot of English. When Miranda leaves in Honolulu, they are going to be run ragged on the way back to SF. The photo staff is doing a lot more events, as is the facets and shop staffs. Maybe that is another possible answer for Princess. Utilize the existing personnel from the photo gallery and shops to supplement activities that also end up promoting sales. We did not make it to the Go Pro seminar, but that is the general idea.

 

So which cruise would I take again? That’s the real question. Since we live in CO and have sailed out of LA and SF both, my criteria would not be based on Elua vs. Makani E, or Cole vs. any other CD, or for that matter which Grand class ship – star vs. golden vs. grand. It would probably be price only – the price of the cruise versus the price of the airfare. For those that live in SF or LA, the choice is easy as well. But for others who have not sailed under the Golden Gate, that is an experience as well.

 

In the winter of 2015, the Grand is doing LA to HI exclusively while the Star is doing SF to HI. For those of us who like B2B’s, the Star is also doing the Mexican Riviera including Loreto and La Paz – as well as coastals. That would definitely be an added incentive for us - like we did this year.

 

So just to emphasize the bottom line – I don’t think you can go wrong with either experience. Nice to have choices…

[ccrain]

My prediction – hold onto your hats. We got our paperwork for immigration inspections in Hilo on Saturday. Full inspection on board in Vista. Staggered per excursion or by deck. No independents scheduled before 0900, and we dock at 0800. The last decks scheduled for 1040 to 1100 and you know it will run longer unless the immigration service only does a quick paperwork check. There is no way they can scan all the passports and confirm identity unless they have a lot of officers doing it.

 

But since it will be in Vista, I’m sure it’s just a cursory check without the scan of the passports in the readers. Even so, I can hear the complaints starting already. We are scheduled for 1000 to 1020. That gives us time for breakfast, coffee, blog updating, sleep late, etc.

 

Now this is clearly explained in the letter we got. And we were told to bring our passports, and we were told all of us had to go through it. There is a whole segment on the wake show as well. But I predict we will hear around the ship a tumult from people who “didn’t know” they had to show up, “forgot” their passport and in general want their free cruise/muffin to make up for their pain and anguish…

 

Remember, this requirement is from the people who protected the US cruise ship building industry by requiring us to dock at a “foreign” port between US ports. (No non-US flagged vessel can carry passengers R/T from a US port without stopping at a foreign port – hence Ensenada on HI cruises and Victoria/Vancouver on Alaska cruises. No non-US flagged vessel can carry passengers from one US port to another US port without stopping at a “distant foreign port” – hence Aruba on Panama Canal Cruises from LA to FLL.) Princess, in an attempt to speed the process, organizes the letters, prints the cards that will be stamped to show you’ve been through immigration and will probably scan your cruise card so they know who to track down in the final minutes of immigration.

 

It will be what it will be and there is not a single thing I can do about it, so I’m going to quit worrying about it and take it easy on Saturday morning.

[ccrain]

After Zumba I went up to run on an elliptical in the gym. Almost no one around. Couldn’t find one available the morning after Ensenada, but the last two days have been piece of cake. 30 minute run and a Zumba class should take care of the major activity requirement for the cruise.

 

We did make it to the lecture on saving money via your smartphone. Most of the tips we already use everyday. Some of the apps were new to us, but most of the processes were well known to us with OCPD as OCPD typically stems from a basic shopping compulsion to begin with. The main problem I have with apps is the small screen and the data cost when you are off wifi – and most of the apps are not as fully featured as their non-mobile counterparts.

 

Last night was Crown Grill night. We’ve both been craving steak and we got it. And actually the bottle of champoo wasn’t too bad either. Omar, our waiter, was funny, charming, playful, and fast. Unfortunately there was just the two of us. Some of our best Crown Grill experiences were with a lot of friends like Paul and Elizabeth, Ken and Merrily on the last cruise on the Ruby. Or Paul and Elizabeth’s family, and Mom, on the CB last April.

 

Judy had the Chilean Sea Bass and prawns, with half of my ribeye. The garlic fries are to die for and we always enjoy the creamed spinach. She had the bisque and I had the French onion soup. We had the molten cake with vanilla ice cream for dessert. It was a good meal. There would be no dancing afterwards and it was a slow night for shows. We’d seen all of them before so it was a good night to just chill and enjoy the food.

 

So now for today’s patter:

 

Our last Zumba class with Miranda is this morning. There is the outlet sale in the dining room. A shopping lecture, art auction and bingo.

 

There is a Hawaii nature lecture and a promote your business via social networking lecture. There are wet and wacky pool games, yes the weather has finally warmed up enough, scattegories, hula class, ribbon lei making the final class, pop choir rehearsal, the afternoon movie is Catching Fire and MUTS has Forrest Gump.

 

Tonight we have the most traveled party. Thought we were never going to make it on this cruise. It’s a cocktail party in One5 from 1930 to 2015. Only the second one we’ve been to in the past 7 cruises. (Hey Sally – you were right!)

 

For dancing, rhapsody appears to have the night off until 2030, so they have stuffed the orchestra into the wheelhouse. Dumb idea. Place is small enough as it is without stuffing extra guys into that small area. Tonight is a new “Fill In the Blanks” game show. The shows are Vocalist David Austen and Hypnotist Kellie Karl.

 

Looks like a night of dancing and the most traveled party for us.

 

E’ya all later…

[melody hounddog]

Thanks for your comparison of the two cruises to Hawaii. It's a no brainer for us, considering we are 2 hrs from LA. It would be nice to do what you are doing next time and combine the Mexico and coastal cruises. We need to retire first! 15 days is about all we can take off at a time and still run our business.

 

How was the chilean sea bass? I've never tried it.

[Maksim]

Hello CCRAIN,

 

Thank you so much for the info on Spa and Gym. You said that steam room is by the pool. Does this mean that there is no steam or sauna inside the locker rooms? I read somewhere that there are no showers in the locker rooms either. Is this true? We don't care so much for the treatments, so it wouldn't matter how many treatment rooms there are. We mostly care about the steam / sauna facilities that we can use even on the cold days. Thanks again for all your comments. It's fund reading.