cruzin4us

Well, there is a table outside the door in the cabin next to mine.   It’s been there 2 days so I’m assuming they have Covid.   No proof, just putting two and two together.   I’ve not seen or heard of any other Covid cases onboard.    
 

Compared to my cruise in November, everyone seems to be healthy.  In November everyone was coughing like crazy.  
 

1 hour ago, KLM3164 said:

I don’t see this dessert on the menu. Was this an extra dessert for CC dining? 

 

What an amazing experience to see the whale breaching just outside your window. I’ve seen many whales over the years but never had the opportunity to see one actually breach. 

I take a snapshot of the menus in the morning and then post them with my food pics.   One of 2 things happened.   Either I grabbed the wrong photo when I uploaded them or the menu was different on the app than what was actually served that day.   Not sure which happened 

8 hours ago, lori.ki said:

How is the temperature in the pools?

I’m not sure…..the only pool I attempted to get into was the Terrace pool and it was way too cold for me.  I got up to my thighs and that was enough.   Maybe someone else knows?

Slept like a baby with gentle rocking of the ship.   I like being in a foreword, 

Spent the morning helping Brian and Rowena get some of their clothing unpacked and set up for their clothing sale tomorrow.  Had fun chatting and doing something productive 😁.    
 

Going to lunch in a bit because I skipped breakfast.   Today has been relaxing as have all the other days.   I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this cruise from the moment I set foot on the ship.   
 

oh, the Maitre’D asked if I wanted to go to Sterling Steakhouse which there are going to hold in Sabatini’s.   Up until now rumors were flying around that either the grill was broken or that they didn’t have enough staff to operate it.   Either way, I have a reservation for the 19th and I’m looking forward to a nice steak.  
 

more later 

7 hours ago, cruzin4us said:

I just asked out waiter on the Sun Deck and he checked on the rum and returned with a NO answer.  I’ll check one of the inside bars later.  Not all the bars have the same items 

asked a couple other bars about the Captain Morgan and the all sai they don’t have it.  

Was able to see the biggest whale of the day breach near my dining room window.  It was massive and putting on a show right next to my window.   Boy was I lucky.   Especially with the 500 people that all ran to the window.   Not really, it was quite cute listening to the “ohhhhh, ahhhhhh” every time it breach.  It must of breached 10-15 time’s giving us a show of our lifetime.    Something, I’ll never forget.  

Dinner for Tonight 

Cocktail of Bay Scallops, Calamari and Black Mussels - served well chilled and it was nice.  No complaints 

Poached Pear, Bleu Cheese Crumble (no pecans by choice) - This not my favorite. On of my pears was rock hard, the other was perfect.  The Bleu Cheese and pears combo didn’t work for me. 

Roast Pork Tenderloin, Lavender Fig Butter - Sent this one back.  It arrived hot but was tough as nails.    Decided to order the Steak Diane instead

Steak Diane - much, much better choice.  Arrived super hot and cooked perfectly. Glad I sent the other one back.    Meat was a little on the gristly side.    What I thought was a pear was actually potatoes.  Cute touch 

I didn’t eat all my dinner, so I indulged on 2 desserts:

Pineapple Cheesecake with Midori Liqueur - Cutely decorated plate - it was like all Princesses cheesecakes, it’s light and not real dense.   Didn’t taste much pineapple.   

Apricot Flambé - non remarkable 
 

tonight was not my favorite dinner and this would be a night if I was considering booking a Specialty Dinner, I’d do it.    But then again, maybe it was best dinner ever thanks to the whales!

 

Platinum/Elite Happy Hour - Had a few different items from what I’ve seen before 

fried fish, steak tartare and some kind of potato curry ball along the some ice the standard items (veggies, fruit, cheese, bread sticks)

Today was a wonderful day, I’m not joking when I say I saw 100+ whales sitting on deck 15.   They were spouting, tail flapping and I saw one massive one breach.  
 

I’ve cruised to Alaska, Hawaii and Mexico a lot and I’ve never seen this many whales in all the cruises combined.  I was truly blessed today 

1 hour ago, Cruisin Camper said:

Thanks so much for the delightful posts!  We too are sailing on the 29th.  Good info to have, kinda scared that we booked Sabatini's for one of our Specialty dinners.  First time on Princess, but long time cruiser on multiple lines.  Hoping to meet some great folks at our Meet & Greet.  Edit3d post to ask if you know if they have Captain Morgans Private Stock Rum onboard.  While their regular stuff is ok, we prefer the private stock.  If not, we shall just explore other options.

I just asked out waiter on the Sun Deck and he checked on the rum and returned with a NO answer.  I’ll check one of the inside bars later.  Not all the bars have the same items 

47 minutes ago, vivian02 said:

You have a really good review going here for Hawaii. Our first cruise to Hawaii back in 2003 I got up early on the morning we were to arrive in Kona. My wife will usually sleep in but on this particular day my wife found out what the anchor room was all about. It was about 7:30 am when the anchor was dropped. Sleeping in a cabin next to the anchor room meant you would hear each link of the anchor chain hit that last piece of metal after being dropped. Once I made it bac to the cabin, I got chewed out for booking a cabin next door to the anchor room. I at least have an idea of what you heard while getting out of bed. For those who book a cruise in the front of the ship just know what ports you will tender in. Make sure to get up before the anchor is dropped. There is nothing worse than to be on a cruise and have your whole morning rattled. Keep up the good work I am really enjoying this reading on the Diamond. Tim

Right about the anchor, you hear every link of the chain and the room does rattle…a.lot!   I’m an early bird so normally that wouldn’t have scared me.   lesson learned on this cabin!

Today I headed to the buffet for lunch.  Got there when they first opened.   Again, it reminded me of why I don’t eat there.  The food all looked pretty good but everything was lukewarm at best.    I wasted a bunch of food which bugs me to no end.   I did make a salad which saved the day.   There are a variety of items to choose from and the romaine was nice and cold (and crisp).  I piled on, eggs, carrots, squash seeds, Bleu cheese, chicken, raisins, corn, garbanzo beans, tortilla strips, sunflower seeds and bacon.  There is probably more but I don’t recall.    Salad bar was excellent.    No more hot food for me from the buffet.  
 

On port days the MDR is closed for lunch.  

Yay, I saw a whale!!!   I’m one of those that is always a few seconds to late.   I snapped only 1 pic but I managed to get the tail smacking the water.  
 

I ditched the idea of getting off the ship.  As soon as I walked out in the sun my sunburned shoulders screamed at me.   And, now I know I can see whales from the ship, I’m going to find some shade and go on whale watch.  

Wow. I woke to a start today.   Since I always book an aft cabin I was completely unaware of what the anchor sounded like when being dropped.  I flew out of bed ran to the door and looked at the door.  I swear I thought we’d hit something.    Didn’t realize it was that noisy and would rock my room.  

The sun is just coming up and it should be a beautiful day in Lahaina.    No sun bathing today.   Still deciding if I want to Duke’s with credit card in tow so I can get me a Hula Pie and the more expensive Mai Tai that was on the menu.   
 

coffee first before I can make any life long decisions 
 

It’s amazing how hungry you get after sitting in the sun.  
 

Got to dinner at 5:20 and walked right to my table.   I couldn’t decide what to order tonight so I crossed my fingers and I’m hoping I made the right choice.   I wanted the veal scaloppine but I was afraid to order it after Sabatini’s being like shoe leather.   
 

opted for the following:

Steamed Green Asparagus - I thought I should eat some veggies since I’ve been lacking in this dept lately.  It justifies my next order.    Probably backfired because there was lots of crispy bacon and some caramelized onions.  Asparagus cooked perfectly. Bacon kind of overpowered the dish.   The onions left a really overpowering taste in my mouth for a long time.  But I ate it all anyway.   It was good, but I’d order the shrimp x2 next time.  

Coconut shrimp with Pineapple Cocktail Sauce - Really good and the pineapple cocktail sauce was delicious, had a pineapple/horseradish flavor - could have ordered for a main course and I’d have been happy 

Ravioli de Ricotta con Crema do Nici - This comes with a walnut cream sauce so I was hesitant to order it seeing as I’m allergic to walnuts.   Not deathly allergic but they usually make my mouth raw like eating too many strawberries or too much dark chocolate (that’s the best way I can describe it).    Anyway, the walnuts didn’t bother me in the sauce and I picked off the walnuts from the top.  Arrived nice and hot and cooked Al dente.  Really rich and good.  

Macadamia & Panko Crusted Mahi Mahi - not sure why I ordered this since I had the same thing at Duke’s earlier.   - Well it wasn’t Duke’s, it was actually moister but the crust was much more soggy.   It was served hot and has an excellent flavor.  Veggies cooked perfectly again 

Cherries Jubilee - I always except it to be the same….small cherries with half melted vanilla ice cream.  Ok, there can be a difference.  The cherries were massive and the vanilla ice cream wasn’t melted.   Best I’ve had in a long time!

10 minutes ago, AZjohn said:

Freakin hilarious!

 

Thank you for reminding me to not take my physical limits serious as I’m getting older.

It wasn’t that many years ago we would do shore dives off the beach in Kaanapali all the time. The last time I tried a couple years ago I’m crawling on all fours trying to come out on shore after the dive, huffing and puffing, throwing my weights off and tank because I couldn’t even stand up anymore…

 

Yes, getting older is a very humbling experience that I don’t think you really understand until you start going through it. I got to remember to have your humor outlook about it instead of getting pissed about it. It’s just part of the deal with living a full life 🙂 
 

Yup, it’s very humbling and it happens so quickly.  I don’t remember when, just woke up one day and WHAM, I became old.   My mind doesn’t feel old, I think I’m still young at heart but dang, my body doesn’t cooperate like it used to.  
 

That is one of the nice things about cruising, it really is nice for us the older we get.    
 

I remember looking at excursions and I always picked the ones that were listed as strenuous.   Then one day I thought

maybe “moderate” might be more realistic.   Now “easy” is looking more and more appealing 😁

I was so grateful to remember I had a cold beer in the fridge.   Downed that quickly I was so hot.  
 

Decided to go watch the Charger game on the big screen on deck 15.   Found an empty lounge char in the full sun.  Lasted about 10 min.  My front side was starting to tell me to get out of the sun.  Kauai was beautifully today and super hot on deck with no breeze.  Ordered a dirty banana and hightailed it out of the sun.  
 

Glad I got off the ship today even though I didn’t do a whole lot.  Gonna head back to my room and find the aloe Vera.   
 

We set sail at 5:00 and will be in Maui tomorrow.   
 

After lunch and my Mai Tai I headed down to the beach.  Not really expecting to lie in the sun, I saw Rowena and she asked me if I would like to join her.   
 

About 20 things popped in my head all at once as to why I shouldn’t.   Oh God, will I be able to even get on the ground?   Will I be able to get up?     I slowly took out my beach towel and flapped it expertly in the breeze (some things you never forget) and it was perfectly laid out on the sand. Now for the tricky part (so I thought).  Taking off my shorts without holding on to the wall.  It’s funny how the older you get, you just take things like walls for granted.   Ok, mission accomplished.  Now to lie down gracefully on my towel. Heck, I forgot I just had a second knee replacement and I don’t do the ground anymore.   Crap, now what?   
 

I just started to kneel and my knees just laughed and I pretty much face planted on to my towel.   Lord, I hope no one watched that.    Laid in the sun for a while realizing I was not going to flip over on the towel fit for my 5 year old granddaughter.  
 

The inevitable had to happen, I eventually had to get up…..I’d have rather walked on hot coals in a fire.    Not sure if you know what a stink bug is, but it’s a black shiny beetle that sticks it’s butt in the air (google it).   Well, that was me trying to get up only my backside is very white.      I hope to h…l no one got that on film.    
You know those videos of women trying to get out of a floaty in a pool or the lake?  Yup, me in a nutshell. 
 

By now, I’m hot, sweaty and covered in sand.  What the heck was I thinking?  Do you guys have any idea how nice that recliner was at the Terrace Pool?    
 

I gathered up my stuff and walked back after thanking Rowena for letting me join her.   
 

The walk back to the ship isn’t extremely far unless it’s hot, humid and you got sand in your bathing suit and in between your toes rubbing against the flip flops.   My the time I got back to my room I was hating everything about sand.   
 

Finally starting to cool off after taking a cool shower

Think my beach days are over unless I have a chair and an umbrella 😎

This isn’t the ships Mai Tai that’s for sure.   Wandered into Duke’s and ordered a Mai Tai and Mac Nut & Herb Crusted Mahi Mahi.   Only brought $48 with me and I squeaked by with just enough plus a tip.   Didn’t bring by credit card because I really didn’t plan on buying anything.   Wish I would have because I could have polished off 10 Mai Tai’s no problem.   
Fish was good and hit the spot

Well, I got off the ship and walked towards Anchor Cove and stopped at the park which was shaded by palm trees and had lots of chickens roaming around.   It was peaceful and a perfect place to veg for a while.    Just saw a mother hen with some baby chicks, maybe just a few days old.   It’s the little things that make me smile 

Good Morning from Kauai.   As usual I have no plan and I’m making one until I get my quad shot Flat White Coffee.   First Things first.  
 

Feel asleep before we left Honolulu and woke up as we were pulling into Nawiliwili.  It looks like another beautiful day!

Now for a fun post.   This is Kona in 1978…..a whopping 45 years ago.   That’s me on the left holding the Mahi Mahi.   Our tunas weighed in at 153 and 158.   I caught the 153 and was never so tired in my life reeling that one in. Had to straddle the side of the ship while my uncle was in the chair since we hooked them at the same time.   I drew the lucky straw that day 😁

36 minutes ago, AZjohn said:

Well, I personally have really enjoyed your thread and writing style. Likely because you write in my kind of language and have a great sense of humor 🙂 

 

Now as far as food pics, you are correct. Your either really into them or not at all (kind of like the Dallas Cowboys). My wife does it all the time so I just learned over the years it’s what makes her happy so I’m cool with that. So, you continue doing what you enjoy girl 🙂 
 

Cheers,

John

thanks John!   It’s funny, I hated writing in school because I was never grammatically correct, I put a lot of …..’s after sentences, my punctuation is always off and spell check messes with my posts.   Thanks for making my day!

Another aim and shoot photo that turned out kinda cool.    
 

Honolulu at night with the Diamond Princess on the right 

Cute little succulents in the woman’s restroom.   In case you are wondering, it’s not real.    Yes, I had to check 

It’s a shame there isn’t a Kai Sushi on more ships.  This restaurant is rarely busy which is surprising to me.  Maybe it’s the cost?   I just think it’s better than Sabatini’s and Crown Grill.   The sashimi/sushi far exceeded my expectations for a cruise ship.   Maybe it’s the demographics of the ship?  Dunno, but people are missing out 😁

I won’t bore you with the same pics of sushi.   

Fresh water eel