Go-Bucks!

One time I got a few Euros from my local bank before I went to Europe, but usually I just get some from European ATM's - they're everywhere over there. I now bring some Euros or Pounds (or other currency) back home with me so that I will always have some cash with me when I return overseas.

I also got a Charles Schwab checking acct with debit card so I won't have any ATM fees or foreign transactions fees - really nice! And it's a chip and pin card too. That checking acct is where I keep my "vacation money." :)

I've been on the Reflection (larger) and the Infinity (smaller) ships. I loved them both, but enjoyed the more intimate feel of Infinity. It was plenty big enough to have things to do but had less walking involved. It was beautiful and elegant. If you get mid-ship cabins then your parents will be closer to most places on the ship. Good luck! :)

My DW and I've been on 3 Carnival cruises, but my parents have never been on a cruise or the Caribbean, there in their 60s, my dad has walking trouble. I'm just wondering if you can help me out, would this be a good ship for them and us, I think a cruise is better for them rather than a behemoth like Oasis. Or if this isn't a good ship can you recommend one or what inteneary would be good, eastern, western or Southern, my DW and I've done all three.

I can't see where you mention the name of the ship you're asking about. Celebrity has many ships of different sizes and styles. Which one are you inquiring about?

Princess doesn't have butlers. I was in a Celebrity suite and we had a butler - I think NCL does too.

Grand Princess

Feb 2-April 21, 2015

Dave,

Since you have been on the Grand for awhile now, what do you think about the condition of the ship? People have been posting that it's in terrible shape, water leaks all over with buckets underneath, mold/mildew smells, and blowers trying to keep carpets dry.

Has this been your observation too? We're hoping this is not true or at least exaggerated.

Aloha Kakou,

I just went and checked their website, and according to the information in there, Makani E, Jim and Rozz will be working on this cruise. They are a couple who have been with Princess since last season, and are currently on the Star Princess.

 

Yes, schedules can change, but since it's on their website, I would say it's a pretty sure thing. NO matter who you end up having, I'm sure you'll have a great time...hey, it's a cruise and you're going to Hawai'i...how can you not?:)

 

Aloha No,

Dave

(of Elua)

www.facebook.com/eluamusic

Thank you so much for your answer, Dave!! I know we'll have a wonderful time no matter who is on our ship. You guys just have such a great reputation for making the cruise a real Hawaiian immersion. I'm sure Makani E, Jim and Rozz will do a good job too. :D

There's no way of knowing so far in advance.

Really?? Elua is scheduled through the end of 2015. Why wouldn't the other ship's Hawaiian enrichment be scheduled too??

Rebook your cruise for mid November out of LA (I think Ruby). ELUA will be on that voyage.

As I said in my original post, we cannot change the date because of a work conflict. My friend and I are college instructors and the semester isn't over until the date we're going.

Can you answer my questions, though? Since we won't get Elua and David Cole, who will provide the entertainment/enrichment for OUR Hawaiian cruise??? :confused:

Celebrity starts out at a reasonable price and (for our cruises so far) only go up. So we also book early.

Not necessarily. We booked our next Celebrity cruise nearly 2 years in advance and I just got a price drop. And it's filling up quickly. Our roll call already has 69 members and 307 posts with 16 months still to go! So, luckily, Celebrity does give price drops. :D

Unfortunately, our Nov. 25, 2015 Hawaiian cruise on the Grand Princess will not have Elua. :( I've also read that David Cole CD is a great addition to the cruise, but haven't seen anything about who our CD will be.

So, does anyone know who we will have and if they will be as good as Elua seems to be? I'm really disappointed about this, but cannot switch cruises because of a work conflict. Any info is appreciated! :)

We'll be on the Grand in a Dolphin deck Vista suite in November (going to Hawaii) and sure hope all is well. Seems like the recent reports have been saying that there are leaks all over the ship with buckets collecting drips, blowers drying carpet and mold/mildew growing. Sounds nasty - I'm hoping it's exaggerated and/or Princess will get these issues fixed soon. :confused:

I would think that every cruise line uses the furnishings including balcony furniture as a differentiation. Suites sure would look funny if they had the same furniture as an inside cabin.

IMO it would be really silly to have even the same balcony furniture on a much larger and more expensive suite.

 

No one would expect the furniture of a full suite (loungers, chairs with footstools, a large table and 4 chairs, which was on our last suite balcony) to be on a small veranda balcony, but the addition of a couple small footstools to a regular balcony isn't asking much. I want to be comfortable on my balcony since I've paid thousands to enjoy my time out there.

 

Also I do not think most cruise line balconies have footstools as standard items.

 

I can only speak for Princess, but they do have footstools on their balconies.

 

IMO the standard balcony on the S class ships are superior to the ones on the newer Princess ships.

I've been on 5 Princess ships (not the Royal or Regal) and 2 Celebrity ships, but the standard balcony rooms are not the same. Celebrity's are long and very thin; Princess' are more square shaped. Neither are very spacious and the Celebrity cabins have very small closets. Always pros and cons when comparing different cruiselines but I'd hardly call Celebrity's cabins "superior." ;)

We enjoyed Germaine's Luau.

Website is: http://www.germainesluau.com/.

The luau is located at:

91-119 Olai Street Kapolei,Hawaii 96707

• Take the H-1 Freeway West. Follow signs to Waianae.
  
• Leave Freeway on Exit #1 (Campbell Industrial Park),which loops over the freeway and proceed towards ocean on Kalaeloa Blvd. to the very end.
  
• Turn right on Olai Street and continue until the endof the road, ending in the Germaine's Luau Parking Lot. Park, lock, & proceed to Welcome Hale to check in.
  
• Approximate travel time from Waikiki is 45 minutes to 1 hour.
  
• Reservations are needed.
  

• Adults (21 years & older) $88.00
  
• Juniors (14 – 20 years) $78.00
  
• Children (6 – 13 years) $68.00
  
• Children 5 years & under free
  

• Unlimited soft drinks, coffee & tea
  
• An all-you-can eat buffet dinner
  
• 3 complimentary alcoholic drink coupons
  for those 21 years & older
  
• an Imu ceremony
  
• an exciting Polynesian show
  
• Complimentary round-trip transportation from designated pick up locations throughout the Waikiki area
  
• Luau begins at approximately 6:00PM
  and ends at approximately 8:45PM
  

Hawaiian American Buffet

Kalua Pig (Roasted Pig)Poi (Taro Potato)Sweet Dinner RollsChicken Long RiceLomilomi SalmonHaupia (Coconut Pudding)Island FishRiceFresh PineappleTeriyaki BeefPineapple ColeslawVanilla Coconut CakePulehu ChickenFresh FruitsChocolate CakeTossed Green SaladPotato Macaroni Salad

Main Bar BeveragesMai TaiGermaine's SpecialBlue Hawai`iStandard Bar DrinksPina ColadaPremium BarChi ChiDomestic & Import BeersLava Flow Wine

A variety of Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic Tropical, Blended and Specialty Beverages are available

Complimentary Soft Drinks,

Hot Coffee and Hot Tea

Cold BeveragesHot BeveragesPepsi Cola Kona CoffeeDiet Pepsi ColaDecaffeinated Coffee7 UpHot TeaFruit Punch

Root Beer Mountain Dew Raspberry Iced Tea

I also had a 1A extra large balcony on the Reflection and took a beach ball, as suggested here on CC. Totally ridiculous that I pay thousands of dollars to Celebrity and can't even get a stinkin' footstool! I've always had a footstool on my Princess cruises. Wonder if there's any chance that Celebrity will have them by my next cruise in a 1A extra large balcony in Aug, 2016?? :rolleyes:

I have also sailed Princess because Celebrity does not sail from the West coast and I think Celebrity is a much better product. On the two Princess ships (Golden and Crown) I've sailed, in mini-suites, I have found the staff to be incredibly disinterested. I felt they behaved as if I was lucky to be on the ship and should take what ever subpar service they provided. One example was an audible sigh when I asked a server if a salad contained nuts followed by singing in a different language. I've read other posts comparing Celebrity to a W hotel, if one were to follow that analogy then Princess would be a Holiday Inn.

This post shows how people can have totally different expectations and experiences with the same cruiselines. :o

I've sailed on both Celebrity and Princess. Each have their own pros and cons, but overall both give good service, food, cabins, etc. Both have excellent workers and sometimes workers who are not the most friendly or customer service oriented. But that certainly can't ruin my vacation and I've enjoyed both lines. I have one more scheduled on each.

I recommend you try Princess once and see what you think. They are much more similar than different.

My friend and I are also on the August, 2016 Silhouette British Isles cruise and the roll call is great! It's been a very active roll call for months now.

We had originally booked the same cruise in 2015, but it went to the British Open and we aren't golfers. Then we changed our booking to the August, 2016 specifically to go to the Military Tattoo and to see more of Scotland.

Hope you guys can join us!! :D

Would any of you who experienced "buckets everywhere, leaking ceilings, and mold/mildew", please post pictures and/or videos so that we can see what it looked like. Also, please post how many of these leaking issues were going on at the same time. I'm not saying that I don't believe the OP and others, but I guess I'm having a hard time picturing Princess letting the ship look like a floating piece of Swiss cheese.

Princess is a business and they're not going to make money when passengers have water, mold and smells all over the ship. I can't imagine the captain, the head of maintanence and housekeeping just putting buckets all over the ship and not dealing with the problem.

I'm still planning to go on the Grand in November, but will monitor these posts.

It is an amazing SS (cabin 6145)! Larger than the others on the ship, it is also decorated in the same style as the penthouse.

 

Totally agree! We had this cabin on the Infinity in Oct., 2014 and it was fantastic.

 

The balcony is covered.

 

Yes, covered balcony on the Infinity.

 

(Balcony) is huge with full size table & 3 chairs and reclining chairs with footstools.

 

We asked for 2 loungers, which we were given. Also had the 2 chairs with footstools, a large table and 4 chairs. This large balcony held all that furniture and still had room to walk around it.

 

Double sinks, marble tile everywhere, shower & full size tub....and lots of storage.

 

Fantastic bathroom!

 

The closet is smaller but you have an actual hallway/entry area where we left most of our shoes. You didn't see them from the room so it didn't spoil the ambiance. There are plenty of drawers throughout the room.

 

Closet held clothing for 2 of us for a 2 week cruise in cool and warm weather. We put all foldable things in the many drawers (yes, there are many drawers and shelves) and only hung up things that couldn't be folded.

Great suite - we'll try to get it again is we sail on an M-class ship. BTW, we heard absolutely nothing from the Penthouse Suite next door. :)

Pick the RS closest to 6145...the butler Tagu is amazing and awesome and wonderful! You will NOT be disappointed!!

We found Teguh to be friendly, but only did the minimum. We are very low maintenance so we saw very little of him. When we asked for a couple of things, he acted sort of put out. Teguh even told us an untruth. He said that if we would try to eat at Blu then they would charge us a hefty fee for each meal. He repeated the warning a couple times. But when we asked the hostess if we would be charged a fee, she said "of course not - you're in a suite." We ate every breakfast and dinner there and no fees were charged.

Our asst. steward, Henry, was the most helpful and worked the hardest so we gave him the largest extra tip. The steward Neves was good but Henry was a quiet but sweet man who put a smile on my face whenever he was in the cabin.

Glad you had a good experience with Teguh - maybe he's improved since we had him in Oct., 2014.

SHIP: Infinity

CABIN #: 6145

DECK #: 6

CLASS: Sky Suite 1

AREA: Last cabin at the aft end of the port side of the ship

BED NEAR: Bath; bed/s face the balcony.

QUIET?: Very! Felt like we were the only ones on the ship.

BALCONY VIEW: Excellent. Looks down to the sea.

BALCONY SIZE: Huge! We had 2 loungers, 2 chairs with footstools, and large table with 4 chairs on the balcony with room to walk around.

WIND A PROBLEM?: Not at all.

SOOT A PROBLEM?: None.

PROBLEMS/COMMENTS: Balcony is covered by canvas and has a regular door instead of a sliding glass door - not a problem. Room and bathroom are huge and gorgeous. Wonderfully quiet and enjoyed having a butler. Would love to have this cabin again. Will post photos in next post.

I understand that Princess has times allotted as to when to board. Is this true?

 

We usually show up between 11a-12p. No one can board before the rooms are all ready, so you will be able to go directly to your cabin instead of waiting somewhere on the ship like Celebrity makes it's passengers do.

 

Is there a specialty dining room, instead of the cafeteria, where we can have lunch?

 

You can eat lunch at the Horizon Court buffet (it's not a "cafeteria", those are in elementary schools) or in the Main Dining Room between 12-1:30p.

I sail on both Princess and Celebrity. Both have their pros and cons. Hope you'll enjoy your cruise. :)

Lunch at Bubba Gump's and a walk up and down the beach sounds nice to me. :D

So happy for you! Have a wonderful 3 days. :D

Thx Flamomo. I rarely book ship tours but I have a ton of OBC for the next cruise so thought I'd look at the Princess excursions and see if any look good. What you said seems logical about repetitive cruises having them available earlier compared with more unusual itineraries.