Diamond - Hawaii Jan 6-22, 2023. Semi Live

[cruzin4us]

I will do my best to do a live report, wi-fi willing. 
16 Day Hawaiian Islands and a brief stop in Ensenada on the way home. 
Cruise embarkation in San Diego was a bit of a cluster.   The Disney Wonder is also in port and it’s a small cruise terminal and the lines were long.   At least the weather was nice today because it was horrible weather yesterday.   
My room is D115 far forward.   I chose it because I like the rock and roll movement of the ship and since I’m cruising as a solo, I can do as I please.   
I arrived at 10:00 and was on the ship at 11:30.   It’s now 2:15 and the line is still extremely long for those waiting to board.  
I headed right to my cabin to drop off my carry-on luggage.  The elevator door opened and I was hit by the dreaded sewer smell.  The air was also off making it doubly bad.   Man, it’s hard to forget that smell.  
Met my room steward Hector. Dropped of my bag and got the heck out of there before I got sick.  The gag reflux was hitting me.   I snapped a couple pics of part of the bathroom first.   
I’m in a mini suite which has a full bath and bidet.   Ok, curiosity made me try it before I skiddattled out of there.   Interesting but not unpleasant.   I’ll investigate this further after the smell vacates.  
Headed to Good Spirits Bar to get my long awaited Sandia en Fuego but they don’t offer the Good Spirits cocktails until after 5:00.  Disappoint filled my heart.  The Ruby and the Discovery didn’t have this restriction.  Wahhhh

For those of you wondering about the International Cafe, you can order the full coffee menu at Good Spirits but there is no food.   At least I found I can a great cup of cappuccino.  
Then I headed to the International dining room, mouth salivating for the shrimp salad appetizer and salmon.   Nope, not to be had….what?  Really?   There’s a very small menu on embarkation day.   I ordered the crawfish and salmon appetizer and the trout.    I won’t order the appetizer again, it was a bit fishy tasting.  The trout was pretty good.  It wasn’t the salmon but it was still good.  
Was able to get a set table for 5:20 every night.  Yay!!!   I’m near a window and not in a bench seat so score one for me!

The ship has a comfy feel to it with a lot of wood paneling.   
Wandered to the aft of the ship and checked out the Izumi pool area.  It’s beautiful aft view makes it very tempting.

Going to go see if my luggage has arrived but I pray that stench is gone.   


 

[LACruiser88]

Enjoy your cruise!  Hopefully, they do something with that smell.🤭

[miagirl]

12 minutes ago, cruzin4us said:

Then I headed to the International dining room, mouth salivating for the shrimp salad appetizer and salmon.   Nope, not to be had….what?  Really?   There’s a very small menu on embarkation day.   I ordered the crawfish and salmon appetizer and the trout.    I won’t order the appetizer again, it was a bit fishy tasting.  The trout was pretty good.  It wasn’t the salmon but it was still good.  

Oh NO!!!  thanks for the warning.  I board on the 29th with a friend.  Now I know not to carry on about how good the salmon is...BUMMER.

[cruzin4us]

Got back to my room.....the air was back on and the smell was 97% better.   Also, my luggage had arrived at some point and was in my closet.   I wouldn't have even noticed it had I not been covering the light sensors with duct tape....ha.    So, at 3:15 pm, I'm all unpacked, in a cool room virtually stink free.

 

The balcony is quite large and I was pleasantly surprised.  

  

I'm glad I brought some towel clips, because my drapes don't want to close completely....and if the sun is even coming thru even 1 cm, I'm awake.   I've always been that way......go to bed and wake with the roosters.    If only the drapes were 2" longer......

  

Anyway, I'm quite comfortable in my new digs for 16 more days.  

  

San Diego turned out to be such a beautiful clear day.....I'm happy for those who've never been here to SD.    She's shining in her finest right now.

  

Plans for the evening???   Dunno.....I really have no plans other than maybe throw a few dollars away in the casino.

  

This ship is unique in it has a sushi/Japanese restaurant called Kai Sushi.   It's open for lunch on sea days and for dinner every night beginning at 5:00 (I think).....yes, I know I could look it up on the patter, but I'm lazy at the moment.

  

Did make a reservation at Sabatini's....the venue is quite nice looking, so reservation was made.   I'm judging the book by its cover 🙂

  

The speaker for the hallway is right outside my room.....hope I don't hate Hawaiian music after 16 days....lol

  

My mini bar was set up and my room steward switched out the Beefeater Gin, Sky Vodka, and some kind of Scotch forCourvoisier.....mostly because the bottles are kind of cool looking.   One of the perks of the Elite loyalty status.

  

The ship is sailing with about 2600 people, so it's pretty much full.   For a small ship, there are nooks and crannies full of bars that I didn't even know existed until I stumbled upon them.   Well, I kind of knew about them, but they are nicer than I thought they'd be....like the Wheelhouse bar.   

Churchill's Cigar Lounge is also nicer than other ships (especially Discovery's).    It's comfortable with lots of TV's and it has it's own bar.   

  

Sail away begins in 15 min, so I'm gonna get movin'.

[cruzin4us]

The Captain just came on the speaker and said we will be having rough weather for at least the first couple of days.    Looks like my wish came true for some rocking’ and a rollin’

 

we will also be departing about 1 hr late because we are still waiting on luggage to be loaded.   It’s piled up on the pier.  
 

 

[Rick&Jeannie]

Happy cruising!

[cr8tiv1]

Thank you for taking the Diamond to Hawaii and back (AND reporting when possible).  Enjoy your cruise.  I will be following your entries.  If you want to know anything about the islands, ask away.  Will you have Hawaiian Cultural Ambassadors on this ship?

 

Aloha.

[stevec999]

The air in our cabin was out too, seems to be working now.  We were in line 2.5 hours to get on the ship. ☹️

[cruzin4us]

We just pulled out of port at about 6:00 pm - 2 hours late.  No biggie for me, just reporting the facts….only the facts

 

I walked right in to my table.   Another happy moment.   The menu didn’t appear to have changed yet as reported on other ships.  The standbys are still there:  Fettuccine, shrimp cocktail, salmon, kale salad, French onion soup and chicken 

 

Dinner started on a real positive note.   My cold dishes came out cold, my hot dinners hot.   Oh, boy.  I was thrilled beyond belief.    Hopefully this is a good sign of things to come!

 

I had the Wahoo Ceviche which I have ordered on the Discovery and the Ruby.   This blew their out of the park.  Could have eaten 5 more.   Next up was the linguine with clams.   It was piping hot and delish.   There was only 1 clam in the shell but there were many others tucked away.   Again, very happy.   For my entree I ordered the Mahi Mahi, and it too was hot!    It was a bit on the fishy side but not too bad and maybe just a tad overcooked but not by much.   

My asst waiter Mohammed said it was his 1st cruise ever and his very first day.  He’s as nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof.     So, cute.    There are some very nice people in my sitting area all of which have been welcoming to him.   
 

No room For dessert.    At another hard delicious crunchy roll instead.   And yes, I have crumbs everywhere 

[cruzin4us]

2 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Thank you for taking the Diamond to Hawaii and back (AND reporting when possible).  Enjoy your cruise.  I will be following your entries.  If you want to know anything about the islands, ask away.  Will you have Hawaiian Cultural Ambassadors on this ship?

 

Aloha.

Brian and Rowena are the Hawaiian Ambassadors.  
 

here’s a pic of Brian, my bud

[sunviking90]

Thanks for doing this trip report! I’ll be following along. 

[cruzin4us]

Random stuff 

 

the dinner Lin at 6:30

 

deck 7 promenade 

 

San Diego 

 

tonights comedian 

[AZjohn]

4 hours ago, cruzin4us said:

I’m in a mini suite which has a full bath and bidet.   Ok, curiosity made me try it before I skiddattled out of there.   Interesting but not unpleasant.   I’ll investigate this further after the smell vacates.  
 

 

 

 

 

 

I like your writing style and look forward to following along with your cruise to Hawaii.

 

I did get a chuckle about your first experience with a bidet 🙂 

Those of us that had that “first” experience know exactly what your feelings were. Trust me, after a couple more times you will likely become very attracted to that umm…. fresh/clean feeling and kind of wonder why this hasn’t caught on to the American culture (we installed them in our home after our first trip to Japan).

 

Happy cruising and enjoy your rock and roll motion the next few nights!

[Rick&Jeannie]

The bread crumbs just seem to spread out ALL OVER our table...we're almost embarrassed because it looks like a table of kindergartners was eating there!

 

Following along...especially interested in how good/bad the internet is.  Did you post the pics up to this point via shore service or did you go through the ship?

 

Edited January 7, 2023 by Rick&Jeannie

[cruzin4us]

5 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

The bread crumbs just seem to spread out ALL OVER our table...we're almost embarrassed because it looks like a table of kindergartners was eating there!

 

Following along...especially interested in how good/bad the internet is.  Did you post the pics up to this point via shore service or did you go through the ship?

 

Thus far I’ve been posting using the ships Wi-Fi.    On the Ruby in November we had good service the entire trip so hopefully this will be the same

 

 

 

[cruzin4us]

Boy are we a rockin’.  I’m happy but the casino cleared out really early.   The Captain said we can expect more of the same tomorrow.    I was walking into walls trying to get back to my cabin.   He also said he was going to head on a more southerly route to try and avoid some of the storm.  
 

Pics are of Kai Sushi restaurant 

Explorer’s Lounge

model ship in the gift shop

Edited January 7, 2023 by cruzin4us

[LouChamp]

Aloha. Thank you for taking the time to post.  Needless to say, we love Hawaii as you can see from my background lol. We love Princess also and their mini suites.  Enjoy your style of writing and of course as I often post…food pictures.  Enjoy the cruise and yes, having taken several pacific cruises including South pacific the water can be a little topsy turvey. For some reason I enjoy sailing in rough waters including the drake passage and bay of biscay. Makes cruising seem authentic. Enjoy!

[cruzin4us]

Well that was definitely a rough night.   It’s currently 8:30 am and there are still very few people out and about.  

Just a word of warning, if you have mobility issues, you probably don’t want to get a room with a tub (at least my mini suite).   It is one gigantic step to get in and out of the tub/shower.  I’m 5’11” and I was like Holy Cow, am I going to be able to do this?   There are grab bars but it’s a very high step to get in (and out) of the tub.    The ceiling is quit low (I’m guessing just a tad over 6’).  I think I’d rather have just a shower.   Good note however, the shower curtain isn’t clingy 

 

I headed down to Good Spirits and got my 4 shots of espresso in a small flat white.   The coffee and menu are the same as in the international cafe

 

Today we have the meet and greet at Skywalkers, so I’ll take some pics of it later

 

The weather is still chilly but it’s kinda sunny.   
 

Tonight is our first formal night so I’m not going to stuff myself all day so food pics will be after dinner

 

Pics are of:

 

coffee menu

piazza

handicap bathroom - notice it has a private sink and plenty of room to maneuver - nice touch

Edited January 7, 2023 by cruzin4us

[Coolmama_1]

Thanks for sharing your cruise. My brother and sister in law are on this cruise with you 

[cruzin4us]

Just a note:   I’m posting using my iPhone and my fat fingers make mistakes that I don’t catch.   Punctuation is off, words misspelled, etc.   please forgive the errors.    Normally I use a laptop and I’m much better catching my errors.   It’s just a pain to transfer pictures from one device to the other.   
 

oh, I was able to stream Netflix last night with no buffering.  Took a little bit of time to load, but I watched a movie with no problem 

[cruzin4us]

The busiest place on the ship is Guest Services.   For the life of me, I don’t know why people just don’t go later in the evening when it’s not so busy.    It is the only place where people congregate with bad ju ju.    I know not all people are up there complaining, but heck we haven’t even been on board 24 hours yet.   Unless my toilet is overflowing or my air conditioner doesn’t work, that’s the last place I want to spend my vacay.   Me just ranting 

[cruzin4us]

The casino:   The starboard side is smoking, port side and table games are non smoking.  Drink service was abundant.    The casino is fairly small compared to other Princess ships but it’s adequate.    I haven’t heard of any tournaments but I haven’t asked if there will be any.   Last night for me:  casino 1, Laurie (me) 0.

the theater:   Starboard side, deck 6 has stairs, so if you are in a mobility scooter, don’t go this route 

[cruzin4us]

Kai Sushi for lunch:

 

I cuddled up to the sushi bar and the sushi chef made me a great dish.  Yellowtail Carpaccio.  It’s a bit on the spicy side but I loved it    I wasn’t going to eat as much as I did, but formal night can’t be as good as Sushi, surely…..right?

 

It’s a good thing I sat at the bar my myself because I moaned with delight as I ate every bite.   

 

Miso soup (complementary)

sake

Poke

yellowtail carpaccio (not on the menu).   The kind of stuff I dream about at night.  If it wasn’t formal night, I’d have ordered more.  
Sextent Sashimi:   Scallops, shrimp, calamari, salmon, yellowtail and tuna - very good but the Yellowtail Carpaccio was my favorite 
 

Kai Sushi is more expensive than the sushi on the Discovery, but it’s a different experience.  Much nicer venue.  Both are good.  On the Discovery you are sitting out in the Piazza, here is more formal.   As a sushi/sashimi lover I’m in heaven.  
Every item was beautifully platted.   The little itty shrimp are from Japan and the sweetest I’ve ever eaten.   I laughed at the size but shut up after I tasted them.  Oh, so sweet!

2 orders of sake and my sashimi and they pretty much had to roll me out of here…..I will be back

 

[cruzin4us]

Sorry about the duplicate pics…..I was trying to post while I ate and the sake probably had something to do with it.  
 

Here’s what I spent which I justified as I ate for two and would have probably dumped it in the casino.    No, I’m not pregnant, I just ate like my husband was with me.
 

my belly is full and I’m one happy camper

Edited January 7, 2023 by cruzin4us

[sunviking90]

18 hours ago, cruzin4us said:

Random stuff 

 

the dinner Lin at 6:30

 

deck 7 promenade 

 

San Diego 

 

tonights comedian 

Love the shot of the promenade with the steamer chairs!