3/5/14 Grand B2B2B Mexico Coastal Hawaii Patters and Review

[ccrain]

As Promised:

 

These are all pdf files. The patters are in color and large, which is why they are split into smaller bites. The largest is about 14MB.

 

If you have any trouble viewing or accessing, drop a reply.

 

Enjoy.

 

March 2014 Grand B2B2B Mexico, Coastal and Hawaii Review and Travelog

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4U_Mo-ITYDEcmNzbFkxT290WjA/edit?usp=sharing

 

03/05-09/2014 Grand Mexico Patters

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4U_Mo-ITYDEOUVRWUlZOFVzNlE/edit?usp=sharing

 

03/10-14/2014 Grand Mexico Patters

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4U_Mo-ITYDETkwxU2tjSnBEVzA/edit?usp=sharing

 

03/15-21/2014 Grand Coastal Patters

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4U_Mo-ITYDESUdzcjVITlIzbzA/edit?usp=sharing

 

03/22-24/2014 Grand Hawaii Patters

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4U_Mo-ITYDEejQ3S09ONjExNFU/edit?usp=sharing

 

03/25-27/2014 Grand Hawaii Patters

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4U_Mo-ITYDEeFEyLVBjM252SG8/edit?usp=sharing

 

03/27 to 04/01 Grand Hawaii Patters

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4U_Mo-ITYDEaVM0blNsSFF0d00/edit?usp=sharing

 

04/02-05/2014 Grand Hawaii Patters

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4U_Mo-ITYDEWmN6UlItVkU4MEE/edit?usp=sharing

[ccrain]

For those that cannot download the full version, here is the summary:

 

Summary of the Cruise

 

We took these three cruises to just simply cruise. No adventure type cruising to foreign lands, no spending fortunes on excursions. Just relax, eat, dance, drink, sleep, repeat. We wanted to be entertained, waited upon, fed good food and just chill for a few weeks. We had been to almost all the ports at least once before, with the exception of Loreto, La Paz, Santa Barbara and Long Beach, and were planning on mainly DIY walking off the ship and exploring the areas.

 

The cruise met all of our expectations. The bands were great (Retrospect, the Randy Heddon Quarter and Rhapsody) keep our feet tired and sore from all the dancing. (How much more can you ask than to wake up looking forward to another day and then collapsing in bed at the end of day, tired but thoroughly satisfied?) We watched MUTS with popcorn, Boudin’s sourdough bread, Mexican chicharrones, pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers, beer and drinks. We pigged out at Alfredo’s and the great pizza there. We walked tens of miles over unfamiliar and familiar streets, saw some great sights, ate some great food, enjoyed local shows. We saw some familiar comedians and some we hadn’t seen before, enjoyed them all, especially Doug Funk and Steve Moris. We met Makani-E, Kimo and Lokelina, who are the Elua equivalent on the Grand. They were great on the HI cruise and we thoroughly enjoyed visiting with them.

 

We ate what we wanted, when we wanted and how we wanted. Not one dinner in the Main Dining Room – and we didn’t miss it at all – one trip to Crown Grill which was fantastic, one trip to the new Crab Shack, which was also fantastic, several trips to the HC, but mainly dinners were very light snacks from the Elite Lounge in One5 or Vista. Lunches were mainly at the HC and varied, but were all quite tasty and if you didn’t like something, there was more than enough variety to choose from.

 

But more than anything else we found a group of dedicated Princess employees who took very good care of us. From the bar staff team in One5, to Tatiana in the IC to Elaine in Explorer’s we always received water upon request (Elaine would bring us water as soon as we walked into Explorers to start dancing!), tasty and well-made drinks (no ice chunks in the Dirty Bananas!), great big smiles and welcomes that were not forced, as well as great conversation. The cruise staff was, as usual, phenomenal. Chelsea, the JACD, joined the ship on the day we did and we instantly adopted her. At only 22 she was seeing this part of the world for the first time – as well as shopping at Ross! Lexi and Miranda’s Zumba classes were great morning picker uppers and I only missed one. (I think Judy only made two or three!) Geof’s attitude was fantastic. I liked it when he made it a point to pick out the single older ladies to dance with and not just the young cute ones. Veronica was a real treat to see again. Her Spanglish was great! Wish her all the best in the future. Kez was another we’d sailed with before and she has great potential to make a really good CD – you hear that Princess! Sarah, on the first two cruises taught a mean line dance class, including the deck party dances, which was important and Kelly, the deputy CD on the HI cruise, continued that trend. The wake show was fantastic. Gavin DID NOT use as much canned advertisement segments as I’d seen on past cruises and it made the advertising seem less invasive and hard sell. Besides we looked forward to seeing Tatiana doing the drink of the day every morning.

 

And of course our room steward Alvin. Near perfection. Always asking if we needed anything, quick, friendly, thorough. Just absolutely fantastic.

Was this cruise fantastic like the last few we’ve taken? No, we didn’t take these cruises and expect them to be fantastic like visiting the Med or Asia on a once in a lifetime cruise. This cruise was just a getaway cruise and there it succeeded magnificently.

 

While these longer cruises are great in many ways, they do make it hard to part with people who have become a cherished part of your memories. In the end, for us, yes, we do remember the sites, the piles of ancient rocks, the buildings, but what really sticks with us are the people and our experiences with them. Ancient Greece would not have been the same without Constantina, Rome would not have been the same Rome without Valentina, Dalian would have been just a cheap version of LA without Winter and Allyson. The Diamond would have been just another ship with Kelvin and Kim. The Caribbean just another cruise without Michael, Paul, Elizabeth and Mom. The Ruby, a long trip without Dan, Colin, Eve, Catalina and the gang.

 

Likewise, on this cruise, our interactions with the staff and crew have made this cruise memorable. Chelsea for her bright eyed enthusiasm, sense of wonderment at all this new stuff and determination to do it all. Veronica, whom it was great to see again after 5 years! Lexi, Geof, Kez and Miranda. Gavin, Kelly and Mikey. Tatiana and Israel in the IC. Alvin who always had a cheery greeting for us. Ronie, who always came over to say hello when he saw us. Jeremy, who always had time to stop and talk to us. Doug Funk – one sharp and funny dude – both on-stage and off-stage. Taj, who we sailed with on the Diamond. The girls in One5, who just loved chocolate. Erin and the gang of Retrospect, who we just had a blast with. Kimo and Lokelina, who we could sit down and talk cruising with for hours on end.

 

That is what made this cruise special and memorable.

 

Ports

 

Cabo, Loreto, La Paz, PV for the 10 day Mexican Riviera

 

Loreto (tender) and La Paz were the two brand new ports for us on this cruise. We liked both. Think Cabo 20 years ago for Loreto. La Paz was more like Mazatlan. Loreto was a great place to walk around with a variety of shops and restaurants. They had a folkloric type show for us in the main town square. La Paz required a bus to the town center – but everything was walkable from there. Lots of shops. A short day in port, otherwise we would have taken a boat out to see whale sharks. Cabo (tender) is still Cabo. We did not even get off the ship. But it was a beautiful day. The new docks at PV put the ship right on the main drag and the street crossings have been improved tremendously. This was a Wal Mart stop for us to get Chicharrones!

 

San Diego, Ensenada, Long Beach, Santa Barbara for the 7 day Coastal

 

San Diego is one of our favorite ports. Lots of stuff to do within walking distance of the ship. Long Beach and Santa Barbara (tender) were new ports to us, but not new destinations. Both were excellent DIY walking ports with all kinds of shopping and restaurants within walking distance of the ship, along with interesting sights. San Diego had probably the best food stop for us on the cruises with a Mexican inspired burrito that was out of site!

 

Ensenada, Hilo, Honolulu, Nawiliwili, Lahaina for the 15 day Hawaii

 

All of the HI ports are great DIY ports. Probably the best way to get around is to rent a car – although watch out for Oahu traffic – but with the ship leaving port late you probably won’t miss it. Hilo is a great walking port as well, but things are a bit far away. In Honolulu the ship docks at the Aloha clock tower, right downtown. Almost everything desired is within walking distance. Cabs are plentiful as well as shuttles and trolleys. Nawiliwili has beaches, restaurants and shops just a short walk away from the ship, although Kauai is one island you really should tour around on at least once. Lahaina (tender) is a very touristy port for walking around in.

 

Service

 

Bar service ranged from very good to excellent.

 

Coffee and tea service in the IC was not up to Michael’s standard on the Ruby. (Michael was one of the IC service supervisors.) We almost never had to ask for service on the Ruby or had to get our own coffee. Getting your own coffee and refills on the Grand was the norm for the IC. Just a different management style. Only Israel in the morning was really on the ball. When he was on duty, no one had to serve themselves. He was constantly filling coffee cups, checking on everyone, getting coffee, lattes, pastries.

 

HC service was excellent. No issues, always a smile. Alfredos, Crown Grill and the Crab Shack were great as well.

 

Food

 

Overall food was very good. We didn’t make it to the dining room for dinner once and didn’t miss it at all. The HC, Alfredos or the IC always had something tasty to eat. We did not get to Chef’s Table – still a bit expensive for us, but the Crown Grill and Crab Shack were worth every penny.

 

Entertainment

 

Doug Funk was the highlight of the trip for entertainment. We saw all 6 of his shows, never tired of them, laughed until it hurt in all of them. Steve Moris was also very good, as was the Hula show in Oahu and the International Crew show. All of them are not to be missed.

The bands were great. Retrospect was the Rock and Roll band in explorers. For the first cruise, the Randy Heddon Quartet was in wheelhouse, but had to leave due to an emergency. Rhapsody took over and there were also a quartet, but a great general purpose band as well.

[Jasperdo]

Excellent job. Thank you for scanning the Patters. I was especially interested in the Hawaii segment, since my wife and I were on the Star Princess last month. It was fun to compare the activities on the two ships.

[Grammyluvs]

I loved your review. We got off when you got on. We just did the 15 day HI trip but I thought it was one of our better cruises. To me the food was better, the entertainment was better and the staff was friendlier. I know there have been critics of the shape the Grand is in. Maybe we are just having too much fun to notice, but for me, considering her age I was impressed.

However, I am not the kind to go looking for problems. We enjoyed our cruise on her so much, it has kind of hurt my feelings when people point out her flaws. LOL

[lovevacadays]

Fantastic review. Thank you. Your cruise sounds like perfection to me. Do tell where you ate that burrito in San Diego. I go to San Diego on a regular basis and lived there for 5 years. I'm always looking for great Mexican food restaurants. :):):)

[ccrain]

Fantastic review. Thank you. Your cruise sounds like perfection to me. Do tell where you ate that burrito in San Diego. I go to San Diego on a regular basis and lived there for 5 years. I'm always looking for great Mexican food restaurants. :):):)

 

In the Gas Lamp district. I had the Viva Mexico burrito. It was from the modern menu, Mexican inspired, not traditional, but boy was it tasty! Best I've ever had anywhere and the margaritas, while smaller, were top shelf and VERY dangerous...

 

Judy had their "street tacos" and they were good, but paled in comparison to my burrito..

[ccrain]

I loved your review. We got off when you got on. We just did the 15 day HI trip but I thought it was one of our better cruises. To me the food was better, the entertainment was better and the staff was friendlier. I know there have been critics of the shape the Grand is in. Maybe we are just having too much fun to notice, but for me, considering her age I was impressed.

However, I am not the kind to go looking for problems. We enjoyed our cruise on her so much, it has kind of hurt my feelings when people point out her flaws. LOL

 

This is the attitude we take. Oh we could nitpick things to death and there were things that we could have 'complained' about, but nothing or nobody is ever perfect and we prefer to take life one day at a time.

 

Besides the worst day cruising, for us, is better than the best day working...

[secretcastle]

Thank you again for all your wonderful positive reviews. I just wish you were traveling with us on our Hawaii cruise next week!