XBGuy

A roundtrip itinerary from Los Angeles that stopped at Vancouver instead of Victoria would not necessarily have to be "funky." Passengers can clear U.S. Customs & Immigration in Vancouver which will allow them to visit additional U.S, ports prior to the disembarkation port. This is how passengers on cruises from Vancouver are cleared to visit Alaska ports. You mentioned a roundtrip cruise that you took from Vancouver to various California ports. Did you have to clear customs in San Francisco? Over the yrears I have taken a couple 7-day California Coastal round cruises out of Los Angeles. Typically, we would make a port stop in San Diego, then visit Ensenada before returning to Los Angeles. For some reason on one of those cruises we visited Ensenade before San Diego. As a result on the morning that we visited San Diego all passengers had to go to one of the lounges and present our passports to CBP personnel who came onboard. It was no big deal. Interestingly, when we disembarked in Los Angeles the next day, we still had to go through the regular CBP routine.

Well, I just missed. We went to a terrific Italian restaurant (Vestaio) in DTLA yesterday, and she did order a couple glasses of Sonoma Cutrer Chardonnay. I'm making supper, tonight. Is that an acceptable sustitute? And, yes, there are three bottles of Chardonnay in the fridge for her to pick from. 😁

My blonde wife was a Brownie. Is there a special salute I am supposed to give her, today?

Little help, here. That looks like a HUGE HUNK O' BEEF. What is it?

The OP proposed a R/T cruise out of Los Angeles that would include a stop in Canada. That would comply with PVSA rules. The Los Angeles-Alaska R/Ts that have been referenced in some of the above posts included stops in either Vancouver or Victoria to comply with the PVSA. Personally, I think it's a great idea. I also suspect that many who regularly cruise out of Los Angeles would view an itinerary that did not include Mexico as a nice change of pace. The big question is whether Princess could sell enough cabins.

A consequence of all the rains, no doubt.

Yes the Pachamanca lunch was a lot of fun. Sadly, quite a few of our fellow cruisers whined about the Peruvian corn. It is not as sweet as Americans are used to and it is quite starchy. You're right, they did serve wine. I had forgotten about that. I wore shorts that day, and some local bugs feasted on my legs. I did not notice anything until I rubbed my calf and found blood on my fingers. Multiple rivulets of blood were dripping from me. The next couple of days my legs were itching like crazy. It was pretty distracting.

In 2004 on a South America West Coast/Panama Canal cruise we made a port stop to Lima, and I'm pretty sure we visited that same hacienda. If you were to ask Mrs. XBGuy what her all-time top cruise experience was, my guess is that she would say that she was able to ride one of those Paso Horses at the hacienda.

On our last two HI cruises, Mrs. XBGuy has not tendered to shore at Lahaina. She has been happy sitting on our balcony with binoculars watching for whales.

What was the verdict on the Mussel Pot? That is Mrs. XBGuy's Crown Grill favorite. I appreciate the fact that, apparently, other people order it, and, so, it stays on the menu.

A couple years ago I was chatting with the headwaiter in a Sabatini's, and I asked him if anybody had ever purchased a bottle of the Petrus. Only once. A group ordered multiple bottles. In answer to your question, I'm going to decline.

Yes, those juice glasses are pretty small. I often ask for two (or three). I was disappointed to read about your Sabatini's experience. (OK, probably not as disappointed as you were.) However, it was reassuring to hear that the dining room manager was interested in your opinion and doubly reassuring that she offered you a "make up."

cOP, you definitely have to try it for yourself. Over our Princess cruising experience we have probably visited Crown Grill a couple dozen times. There have been hits and there have been misses. I would characterize the misses as "disappointments," not "rubbish." I really don't think the steaks I have had at Crown Grill are better than steaks I buy at the local store and grill in my backyard. My biggest problem is getting beef (or lamb) prepared to my specification. I like it rare. It often comes to me pink. I have learned that when the server asks how I would like my steak prepared, I first noticeably pause, and look him/her in the eye. When I feel that I have his/her complete attention, I'll respond, "Rare. Blood rare." This technique seems to work better. A couple of the previous posters have mentioned the Sea Bass. I am inclined to agree with them that this is a very reliable choice. My wife loves the Mussel Pot. (I have never seen any comment here on Cruise Critic about that dish, but, happily, it stays on the menu.) That is usually her choice on our first Crown Grill visit on any given cruise.

I have always espoused drinking the wine you like to drink with the food you like to eat, but the wines being paired with the entree options on this menu surprise me a bit. Typically, red wines are paired with red meat and white wines are paired with fish. (A notable exception to the latter occurs in the movie "From Russia with Love" when the evil Mr. Grant orders Chianti, the red kind, with his fish.) I have to believe that the wine pairings in the above menu--Chardonnay with Rib Eye Fillet and Cabernet Sauvignon with Sole and Shrimp--were accidentally reversed in the preparation of the printed menu.

They're just trying to make a buck. You declined, and they moved on. What is egregious about that? A couple weeks ago I was following a "Live From" thread on a HAL cruise. When they stopped at Cabo San Lucas there were two other cruise ships anchored with them. (Sound familiar?) Their ship could only use its tenders, and, so, the process was quite lengthy. A HAL board regular, who, as a former HAL officer is very knowledgeable, posted that the "Cabo Tenders" are faster than the ship's rescue craft and speculated that those faster local craft had all been engaged by the other two cruise ships that were in port. As a result, the HAL ship had to rely on its slower rescue craft. I have taken those Cabo Tenders in the past. If I'm not mistaken there is a sign at the forward end of the cabin that says, "No tipping." I am positive that sign is there to keep the cruise lines happy. I never had a crewman refuse a tip as I was leaving. Who knows? Maybe Princess will take your criticism to heart and discontinue use of these temders. Problem solved.

🤣 Was it the first full moon of March?

In the late 1990s, I made my first visit to Kauai for business. While on the van to pick up the rental car I noticed chickens walking around. I don't know if this is true, but the story that I heard is hilarious. In 1992 (?) Kauai was hit by a pretty serious hurricane--Iniki. The hurricane blew apart numerous hen houses, and, so, now, these chickens were running free. Since there are no predators, the liberated ones that could not be recaptured were able to thrive. Again, I don't know if that story is true, but I really get a kick out of it. Also, I re-oriented your pictures. The problem occrurs intermittenly with pictures captured by iOS systems.

I'm listening to "Medea" as I'm composing at the keyboard. So, I am on the same page as Herr Nietzsche. Just the name, Roasted Balsamic Chicken With Cranberries, won me over. I have sent all three of @dfish's links over to Mrs. XBGuy for her consideration. Thank you. We have made a few port stops at Ensenada. I don't know if anybody else has noticed this, but as I have walked around town, it seems to me that drivers show extraordinary courtesy to pedestrians.

This may or may not work for you, but is easy to try. On our last cruise on the Grand Princess we visited Vines fairly often. At first we would just sit at the bar and banter with the bartenders. One evening the bar was filled up and, so, we sat at one of the tables--in fact, it was the large Stammtisch table, but that is of no consequence. Before being served I wandered around the room and looked more carefully at the bottles that were displayed around the perimeter. I noticed a couple wines that were not on their printed list. When the server came over to take our order, I asked about those bottles, and he told me that I could order them. Over the course of the cruise I bought all those bottles--3 X Chappellet Merlot and 1 X Seghesio Old Vine Zinfandel.

DONE!!! I bumped it up, a bit, and sent $50 to Jose Andres' World Central Kitchen. 😁

Very good plan.

Arguably, the most popular jazz recording ever made; Take Five. If you would like to see Morello earn his pay, here is a video of a performance.

A shout-out to @marshhawk for the interesting discussion on the quotation. Thank you. My 11th grade U.S. History teacher, Mr. Burns, often cited Jose Ortega y Gasset during lectures.

Oh, what the heck? That was pretty good. Post it again. 🤣

There is a fairly recent post with postitive comments on Ocean Terrace in this thread reporting on a Sea of Cortez cruise on the Discovery Princess--Post #87 on Page 4. It includes pictures of menus; Live From Discovery New Year's Cruise 12/28 - 1/7/22 10 day Sea of Cortez and Mexican Riviera My wife and I visited the Ocean Terrace on the Royal Princess in 2019. It is a nice venue, and it does seem to fill up. The menu was a bit different, then. So, I can't offer you an meaningful informed opinion.