MTJSR

My very recent renewal (btw, took picture at costco = cheap) took 2 weeks as well. Fast!!

Wow those are fantastic pictures. I have been to Hawaii at least 10 times and never get photos like that. I better learn my new Canon 70d before returning to Hawaii this April.

Is this the adapter being talked about here?

 

They put in hand washing stations in the buffet. Washing with soap and water is better than the sanitizer stations. The problem was that passengers were bypassing the washing station in droves and going right into the buffet line handling the utinsils.

And rest assured, those people will be the first to complain that Princess does nothing to prevent NoroVirus outbreaks onboard.:eek:

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Seems Cheryl Q got some of the attention she wanted!

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Real Cuban cigars have been available online for years and years. The cigars ship plain with no labels and the "rings" labels come a week later. FYI

Just got off the 1st cruise after dry dock, they were still painting when we were alongside in mazatlan. And varnishing the railings as well.

 

 

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Anyone onboard say there was more to do or anything not done due to lack of time? Any word on the platform that fell open at sea?

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Beaches are a walk, not completely out of the question, but you will have to walk. Check mapquest (or some other way to see the area) to get an idea of how far the walk is.

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There is a smaller beach right next to Hamburgers In Paradise on Front street, to the left in this picture. You can also see two tenders at the dock in this pic with the big Banyan Tree in the middle.

While in the Cartagena cruise terminal, there were quite a few Blue and Gold Macaws sitting on the fence. I being a former B&G owner and trainer stuck my hand up to one and he hopped on. I quickly became somewhat of a spokes-mouth on how to handle these birds as next thing you know I'm answering questions to a group of people. A terminal staff person came out to make sure I knew the risks:eek: of these powerful animals.

Also for those going to Cartagena, be aware the Cuban cigars sold by vendors in the old city are all fakes. As told by my cab driver.

Also with all due respect: I'm trying to imagine a mechanical malfunction that would send appreciable quantities of bunker diesel into the water supply.

We had a small hallway meeting with 2 staterooms and two room stewards also trying to figure out why the tap water smelled like fuel. Princess never reported back to me, even after I expressed my personal health concern.

My intent was only to report the situation on my Caribe midship cabin The blank expression at Passenger Services gave me the impression this has been reported before.

While on my Island Princess Panama trip, one day the water coming out of the faucet in the bathroom smelled like fuel. I bottled some up and took it the passengers services desk and had them smell it. I was told they would report it, but I never heard a thing back.

I am living on a kidney transplant and cannot afford to be cavalier with the water I put thru it. For me there is no question which water I am going to drink while at sea, for personal safety reasons.

After smelling a strong fuel smell in the ships water, I could care less how safe others feel it is :eek:

(with all due respect)

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Since some paint was applied (i.e. logo and company name) I would assume then that only the critical wear zones were touched up to minimize weather exposure and scheduling.

Side note, I have sailed twice on the Grand and both times I thought the detail paint work was done by someone blindfolded :eek:. Does anyone ever (dry dock or otherwise) remove paint off windows and trim?

I was on treasure island today and took these pics of the Grand in San Francisco. I am aware of the whole platform collapse issue and it's late dry dock arrival, but it sure looks like the hull missed getting fresh paint. The new bow logo and midship name are there but was that it?.

The platform that originally broke looks like its being worked on. Anyone know further details? Sailing on it in April and curious!

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Whether cruising from SF or LA both cruises are 15 days.

 

Hmm, ok but that was not always the case, as I have done 2 Star roundtrips and 1 Golden. The extra day up to SFO was the climb north out of Ensenada.

Living 40 miles away from San Francisco makes my choice easy, but other reasons include the sailaway from SF is prettier and the cruise from SF is one day longer.

I remember someone trying to get a lunch reserved on one ship (can't remember if it was Princess or another line) maybe four or five years ago....and many suggested it might not be the best venue to have a meet and greet as it could inconvenience other passengers (just think' date=' if you decide to eat in the MDR that is open for lunch just to be told that some big group reserved many tables so eat elsewhere or come back in an hour...).[/quote']

 

Sailing from the west coast, specifically San Francisco. It is likely you will see a large group onboard, all sailing under a (Sacramento travel agency's-name withheld) coordination. They set up a table near the passenger services desk and hand out daily group gifts, all part of that group tour. They will also sometimes eat in large groups. So the bottom line, it is done when Princess wants to. I have seen it!

It's always good to dream.... :)

 

IMHO... Why would a cruise line pay someone to post in a forum when anonymous cruisers will do it for free? Doesn't matter if it's accurate information or not when no one is accountable. ;) :)

 

Besides.... According to one statistical website there are over 20 million people who cruise every year where the vast majority of them have never heard of CC.

Because cruise critic members cruise. Free feedback from a cruise specific forum like this, would be insane to ignore. This is where big ole blabber mouths like me vent or praise the current conditions onboard.

To some other comments, I of course know Princess monitors this board as they did when the balcony furniture was swapped for less desirable offerings. But, I was suggesting Princess could pick up where the 3 x 5 cards end and actually catch and control an issue posted here by offering a direct email to maybe get resolution.

I have not witnessed a Princess rep reaching out to someone here yet!

I think Princess have ways of monitoring issues and concerns raised here that they find worthy of considering.

And that is my reason for wondering this in the first place. Princess may or may not have a system in place to catch and cure real issues before many are affected.

The cost to acquire new customers is large, but taking care of the one's you have is cheaper. This forum wouldn't have the challenging threads it has if cruise lines kept a person capable of making fixes/change, in the forum.

I think you are optimistic to think most customers are on this boad

I certainly never assumed that!

Not everyone has a Facebook or Internet service or or or but somehow word of mouth gets around and having attended 7 plus Meet & Greet's I know just how many people likely know of this site. But not everyone knows about the roll calls!

As one tool in the social media world, I still think Princess could resolve small problems here and/or help the confused traveler understand.

What better way to sell a cruise or heal a small wound than by real time corporate participation. I can dream can't I :D

In the world of companies using social media etc etc, to reach the largest group of customers and potential customers. I am surprised cruise lines like Princess don't have staff monitoring boards like Cruise Critic. What a great place to handle/correct (in a very public place) cruise issues or problems. Not to mention, support positive experiences with a big corporate thumbs up.

I would think this forum just might have more impact than a 3x5 card dropped in a barrel. Just a thought!

I noticed while onboard that these hydraulic tender platforms are just above sea level, so maybe it is leaking real bad in choppy seas??

This may help?

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=783099

What cord is everyone talking about? My Resmed Airsense just plugs into a standard 110 2 prong plug. If you mean a 12 VDC cigarette lighter adapter, my 7-11 sells those.

Like others have said and While I was in Cartagena Columbia, our taxi driver told us the "cuban" cigars for sale on the streets were all fake.

I wonder which dock they will tie up at. Of the three, I prefer the top left thats on the military? base. Easy access to the mall, Sams Club and Walmart. If those are on your hit list.