travelin.sisters

9 hours ago, nini said:

The produce at the Hilo Market looked fabulous! Imagine having a year round Farmer's Market... heavenly.

we have year-round farmer's markets in southern California, but not that variety of fruit & vegetables...it was wonderful, supposedly if you go Saturday or Wednesday it is even more extensive

8 hours ago, CruzinNoony said:

I'm wondering if you or if you heard about anyone going on the ho-ho in Honolulu.  Do you recall of there was a free shuttle from the pier to the Ala Moana Shopping area?  We are on the 19th sailing and you made the Hilo tour sound like so much fun that I just booked it!  I have mobility issues, so wondering if that would be a problem in the stops.  

I did not see a shuttle in Honolulu, they may return later as we are the first or there may have been shuttles & I did not see them...the only free shuttle I saw was Hilo Hattie which I am pretty sure was in Nawiliwili...a lot of the port stuff that we experienced in the past was not there (vendors at the ports, tour people right there offering tours etc) & I don't know when that will all return.

for the HIlo tour we took I don't think the stops would be too hard, but my sister was really hurting after getting in & out of that little bus/van & I don't think there was any place for mobility devices...I would definitely take any advice that Renee @cre8tiv1 has to share...she has been so gracious, informative & helpful

Iao Valley

welcome to Maui (1.12.22)

leaving Hilo

Richardson Beach 

rainbow falls

Hilo farmer's market

12 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

One of my favorite stops is the Queen Liliuokalani Gardens and Coconut Island.  This fascination goes back to when I was 10 (will spare you the years details/but over a half century).  

 

There are two kinds of banana favorites of islanders:  Apple Bananas and Finger Bananas.  Glad you found some at the Farmer's Market.  

 

Mahalo Nui Loa for taking so much of your time to share with us.

thank you for all your helpful input...it has added so much...the gardens were lovely & I can see how they would provide memories that last a lifetime, it is wonderful when we can revisit places that bring memories/feelings/experiences back to life from our childhoods...yesterday as I was taking endless photos at Iao Valley it made me smile thinking of being in Hawai'i (not quite half a century ago, but too close to matter) and my dad carefully rationing film for all the things he wanted to capture in photos.

i started this just to be a help as there was so much uncertainty going into our cruise & i hoped it would aleviate some of that for others...but i have found it a delightful way to solidify & capture my memories while they are fresh

flora & Liliuokalani Garden

starting our tour & Banyan Drive

hello Hilo

HILO & MAUI

Two more delightful days in Hawai’i!

We were pulling up to Hilo in time to see a lovely sunrise, this time our port side balcony was away from the island so not much to see until we went out. Our Princess excursion was Easy Hilo: Hilo Town Highlights & it was very enjoyable. We were in a mini bus with 10 passengers (capacity 15) & Auntie Karen was a delightful tour guide/driver. We visited Banyan Drive, Liliuokalani Garden & Hilo Farmer’s Market where I got Apple Bananas which I have wanted to try since my last visit (they are delicious). Next to Rainbow Falls where Auntie Karen showed us how hula dancers make their skirts out of ti leaves. We also visited (& shopped at) Big Island Candies & Richardson Beach where there were no sea turtles but it was lovely. Along the way we learned a lot of Hawai’ian history & culture & had a great time. Back to the ship to rest up for our last island stop in Maui. We were hot & tired so tried ordering room service from the medallion app, several tries later it was done & in a while (but not as fast as if we had just gone to get it) we had sandwiches (ok but nothing we will order again), fruit salad (good), soggy fries & delicious chocolate cake.

Maui was a short trip form Hilo so we were docked before I woke up at 7. About 8 they told us there was some issue port side & later that they were waiting for shore side security. Having read the news articles about the people who were upset about cruise ships returning to Maui, I was wondering if there was going to be a problem getting off. Shortly thereafter we were cleared to depart (probably around 8:30) & we were able to go on our tour of the Iao Valley & Maui Tropical Plantation with Cousin Kama. The day was gorgeous & everyone I met seemed welcoming & glad cruising had resumed. The valley was so lush & green, but the steps to the overlook were a struggle especially since all the islands we have visited keep rocking (somehow, I seem to get my sea legs faster than I get my “land legs” back). I would have gladly spent another hour there but we had a schedule to keep. The tram tour at the Maui Tropical Plantation was very nice & we got a demonstration of how to husk a coconut (I personally enjoyed this more than the plantation train tour we did on Kauai on our last cruise). Cousin Kama was especially careful about assuring that passengers with mobility issues were well taken care of, which was impressive. He like all our tour guides on this voyage shared a lot of insight into Hawai’ian culture & history…each guide we had had something different to share. Back at the port we had to show our photo ID’s (each port had a slightly different protocol, on some they just stepped into the doorway of the bus & we held up our ID’s, others we showed both ID’s & medallions, but at each port it was smooth & easy).

After lunch from the International Café, I walked about 15 minutes to the Maui Mall (they have a Long’s Drugs, Whole Foods Market, some restaurants & not much else) where for the first time in 2 cruises I was able to find the Wasabi Macadamias that my BIL wanted. We left port shortly after 6 & it was interesting to see the tug boat help us turn & head out. The bridge crew warned us to expect rougher seas heading home & there was some side-to-side rocking throughout the night.

Aloha A Hiu Huo to the Islands of Hawai’i!

2 hours ago, montgomeryfamily said:

I'm really enjoying this review, especially the photos.  We are booked on two Alaska cruises in August on the Grand, and also find the onboard experiences interesting.

 

However, I'm am confused somewhat by the quarantine cabins noted so far in this thread.

It sounds like the entire Aloha deck is a quarantine area.  Is this correct?  Also someone mentioned being moved from the forward starboard Baja area next cruise.  Is that part of Baja a quarantine area now?  How long is the isolation period for new crew members?

 

Thank you.

Princess is not really giving out any of that information to the best of my knowledge. I was told by one person at the guest services desk (when I was sharing that, although I understand the need to have moved our cabins for isolation rooms, I did not appreciate that they did not actually notify me, I discovered it when printing our stuff for boarding...I feel like an email or notice to my TA would have been the least they could have done) that all of the Aloha deck is reserved for isolation.

I know there are some passengers in isolation, but only from passengers. There has been a lot of moving of crew which is unusual in my past experience...we have had 3 different headwaiters helping us preorder meals for allergies in the 9 days we have been sailing & our waiter has been assigned elsewhere for 5 days now with several others taking his place...I can only assume this is due to having to shuffle crew due to positive tests & subsequent isolation, but no one is saying that. 

Maybe someone else on this thread has more info but I mostly have conclusions & assumptions that may or may not be valid. I checked today on the CDC site & we are still yellow status.

4 minutes ago, Ragdollbd said:

Were the hot tubs open?

yes, I saw people in them

9 hours ago, san diego sue said:

Thanks for keeping us all up to date on happenings. Enjoy the rest of your cruise. We board next Wednesday.I noticed last night  on Princess they cancelled the whale watching tours in Honolulu , added other tours for Honolulu as well as  some of the other ports.

Also I see that they added a Lahaina on your own tour . With no shuttles at the pier in Maui, glad we have the option of doing things on our own.

 

 

they were still scheduling excursions as we sailed over here so may be adding some more between now & when you arrive in Honolulu...it is still very early in this new season of cruising Hawaii...I know they can't have too many busses loading at the same time & at least on Maui busses had to travel at 70% or less of normal capacity so it really is all making it up as it happens & the rules change...do your best to just go with the flow...they have taken good care of us but not always communicated in as timely a manner as we would have liked & things change that our out of our (as passengers) & Princess' control...have a wonderful cruise

11 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Ok, you peaked my curiosity.  I goggled Air Handler.  Why would this matter? What does it do?

I think (but don't know) it is to eliminate the concern of introducing the air from isolation rooms into the general heating/ac system...but I could be wrong

11 hours ago, MishelleMcc said:

First 2-3 chilly....  here is what we experienced in 2019"

 

Here were the temps per the Patters:

SF embarkation:  54 f

Sea Days:  61, 61, 63, 72

Honolulu:  77

Kauai:   75

Maui:   79

Hilo:  79

Sea Days:   75, 73, 68, 63,

Ensenada:   64

SF:  63

I think the question about too chilly depends on where you are from...if you are coming from midwest winter you will react differently than if you are coming from southern CA...this cruise it was fairly bumpy the first couple of days & the pools were closed anyway, it wasn't (for me) so much cold as it was windy...we didn't eat out on our balcony until the last sea day before Hawai'i but I didn't need a sweater/jacket wandering around the ship or outside

12 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

Maybe that’s the reason although it’s been my experience that the Maui liquor commission can make bizarre rules. A couple of years ago they mandated sellers to check all IDs to ensure the buyer was over 21 years old. Their lack of common sense resulted in requiring even senior citizens to show ID…ridiculous! After a lot of pushback they were forced to use common sense & to not require those who were obviously over 21 to show ID.

well I think everyone survived the day & things are back to normal

12 hours ago, Wife of Gert said:

We are actually on the next cruise, fly to LA on Tuesday. My husband has been following this one. He taught in Vale for years. Good time for you to cruise!

oh I think maye we were set to go on the same Hawai'i, Tahiti, Samoa cruise that got canceled by the shut down ...hope you have a lovely cruise as well

13 hours ago, Bgwest said:

We haven’t left the ship yet but are not going to be surprised to have to run the gauntlet of protesters. 

I didn't see any protesters; everyone I spoke to seemed happy to have us there...but after the news reports I would not have been surprised either

14 hours ago, CruzinNoony said:

Is there a shuttle running from the pier in Kahului to the Queen Ka'ahumanu Shopping Center?

I did not see any shuttles, & when I asked the shore excursion person in the terminal he said there were none, also our tour person only suggested walking (about 15 min) to the Maui Mall if we wanted to do extra shopping. There were taxis waiting around the terminal. During his port talk Tiki Dave mentioned taking a taxi to that shopping center to get the buses so I am pretty sure the answer is No.

14 hours ago, SteamboatWillie118 said:

Mahalo -Thank you so much @travelin.sisters for all your great info!

God willing, we will be on the 2/13/22 cruise on the Grand.

When you have a minute, perhaps you could comment on room service? We were in Mexico in Sep 2021, and ordered room service breakfast once.. it was abysmal. The breakfast sandwich was lukewarm and appeared to be from the night before. The only edible things were cereal (in the box).

On another day I ordered soup and a sandwich, equally terrible.

Normally we eat at the buffet; while not stellar, we find it pretty good.

I mentioned that on my survey and wonder if it's improved any at all?

Thanks again - have a wonderful trip back!😀

we only did the room service once (yesterday in Hilo) & have never tried it on previous cruises...ordered 2 sandwiches, fries, fruit salad & chocolate cake...the cake was amazing, fries were limp like the ones in the dining room (the only crispy ones have been directly from the salty dog grill on the Lido deck), fruit salad was good, sandwiches were ok but not good enough that we would repeat...buffet has been fine but either Salty Dog Grill or International Cafe have better/fresher sandwich options in my opinion. 

17 hours ago, AZjohn said:

Just saw this local Maui article about the Grand arriving today along with Residences at Sea's being in Lahaina on Saturday:

https://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2022/01/soon-return-of-cruise-ships-raises-concerns/

 

 

 

I only met people who were glad to have us back, or at least pleasant about it

15 hours ago, CalLuvsCrusingToo said:

 

I would be more concerned about THIS one.

And why would Princess do that?  🤨

we are not happy, were counting on that second test on the way home so we would only have to retest 5 days after disembarking...I am guessing it is due to the CDC making the conditional sail order voluntary? or if LA has loosened requirements while we have been gone?