cr8tiv1

I am not as dependent on my CPAP as others might be. There are nights that I "rip" it off because I just can't deal with the mask. Of course, I do not get the quality of sleep that I would if I were diligent about using the machine. I am not a morning person and just don't want to deal with one more hassle. I also do this for anytime I travel. I always seem to have early morning flights. It has been suggested that I purchase a travel CPAP. Waiting for a few more months in hopes I can get a new machine compliments of Medicare. Then I can leave my current one in Honolulu. I don't like getting old, but prefer that to the alternative. My sister loved the wallet. I find many uses for it after the cruise. I would take the wallet over the blue bag any day.

I have done this in Club Class. Never tried it in MDR. I rushed out to a show then came back for dessert and coffee.

At Sea - Day 7 Sis did not go to her last Tai Chi class since we needed to go to breakfast earlier in order to attend the Culinary Demonstration at 10. It is always sad to say goodbye to the team at the Crown Grill. They do make your suite experience special. This morning, George was able to conjure up James Beard French Toast for me with a side order of crispy bacon. Lattes were promptly delivered. I have often ordered orange wedges, blueberries, and/or watermelon. Sis has enjoyed her berries and melons. No mimosas for either of us. Sometimes the Director of Restaurant Operations (aka Maitre’d) turns the show into a slapstick act. I, personally, think that downgrades the hard work the crew puts into making every meal great. The Executive Chef, Joel Directo, is Filipino. You don’t see many from his homeland make it that far up the chain. He does have a sense of humor. They both do. The parade of behind the scenes sous chefs and MDR staff was followed by a soloist on a guitar singing their goodbye. First time I’ve seen that happen. Then we made a mad dash to the “EFFY Final Sale: End of Cruise Clearance” for our last charm. Now what do I do? Give it incomplete to my very young grand-daughter or pick up the missing charms on my next cruise? I have been communicating with Customer Service. I delivered a note to Carla Freitas (Customer Service Director) on embarkation day. Her office is just outside of our hallway. The door was closed so I left my note wedged between the doorknob and the frame. I keep everything. Before the trip, I found stationary that used to be printed before Princess started to “cut back” suite perks. It has my name, cabin number, suite name, and date. The only thing that was different was the date. Thought that would give me a little bit of leverage. I had requested to see an unoccupied Ocean View cabin on Plaza Deck and a mini-suite (suites were sold out). I wanted to give my sister a chance to change her mind. We are booked in an Ocean View on Plaza Deck for our next cruise. The mini-suite would give her a better idea of location (higher floor/elevator) and what a balcony might look like. I was using Crew Chat to communicate any follow up with Customer Service. As it was nearing the end of the cruise, I put it in fast forward with a visit to the front desk. Charlene (the one that sent me the flowers) took charge. At my convenience, would I stop by the desk to let them know what time I would like to have the rooms available. I was issued the old fashioned key cards. We toured the cabins before lunch. I thought it was quite strange that we would have access to a forward accessible cabin D733. As we were walking the hall, there was a scooter parked outside a regular cabin (maybe just a balcony?). Sis saw enough to make the decision that she did not want to do elevators and that our Ocean View on Plaza Deck would be just fine. At lunch, I dropped off the rest of my mini-bar beer for my waiter, individual nacho chips for the entire CC crew, and Mac nuts for Ramil. I account for those distributions to free up space as I pack to leave the ship. I went back to the cabin to begin the nasty job of putting everything back into the suitcase. I always travel with a GAP canvas bag for overflow. In went the shoes, packing cubes, and things that I knew wouldn’t be missed or damaged. Remember the 5 pounds of salame? Sis went to the last Art Auction. I looked through the multiple laundry chits from this cruise. My sister must have sent out $100 worth of laundry (total credits were over $140). Don’t ask me what she sent out. Good thing we were in a suite and had same day service. I did remind her that on our next (longer) cruise, she would not have free laundry service. I asked Eric (steward) on the first day if he would please set up my CPAP using my adapter. It required him to work his way under the counter desk by the window to unplug the lamp and replug in everything. On the last sea day, I asked him to take everything apart. I just can’t get on the floor….and then get up again. There is no time on disembarkation morning to do any of this. For those of you who need to use a CPAP, you can go to your personalizer, click on check-in, and under dietary requests, order distilled water. I always feel so guilty that I barely use the entire gallon. I wonder what happens to the rest of the water? If it is not in your room when you arrive, your steward will deliver it before bedtime. You can also go through your Medallion Class app to request a shower stool or other in-cabin accessibility amenities. Start by clicking on “My Preferences” under Ocean Ready. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004SY5O5K?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_dp_PRP4T5XDBM51FJC1JRZC I did ask Eric at the end of the cruise if there were any blue bags to be had. He informed me that there were none on the ship. I didn’t need any more. I was able to give my sister a couple when we got back to my place. She was happy to get them. It is very interesting for me to compare what I am missing to what a newbie doesn’t know what they are missing. I forgot to mention that we were given these black wallet type holders at the beginning of the cruise. Also mini sewing kits showed up a day or two after the ship set sail. Packing for me was done with time to spare before getting ready for dinner. Sis still had a few more things to pack away. We managed to have the suitcases packed and locked before 5:30. They would go outside after dinner. I had to "educate" her about once the luggage is gone until disembarkation! You know the routine...don't pack your pajamas and toothbrush.

And here it is. We are getting near the end. Thanks for staying with me.

Here lies the problem. You need to pick up the tickets an hour before the start of the 20 minute movie. The launch leaves shortly after the movie ends. It’s another 20 minutes out to the memorial. You stay on the memorial (20 minutes) until the next launch arrives. Factor in wait times….that’s at least a window of 2 hours and 20 minutes. Will the tour take you to the USS Missouri? To the Pacific Aviation Museum? Do not cancel the excursion until you have arranged for your own tickets and transportation,

You used to be able to do that with the Bon Voyage Experience. It's too bad that Princess did away with that program. Great way to convince people to drop you off at the port. Me, I'm not so much a buffet person.

There was a major water break in and around Pearl Harbor. The base in on a boil water alert. This may be one of the reasons for the change in your tour. https://www.kitv.com/news/local/navy-announces-water-main-breaks-to-be-fixed-by-next-week-as-daycare-centers-restaurants/article_082ab6a6-4f7d-11ed-bdc3-1b9fe09852fe.html

Yes,, yes, yes. And I forgot about the lighthouses.

So much to do and so little time. My first priority would be the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I am a charter member and never get up there anymore, but have watched it grow. You could spend the whole day there. I would skip the 17 mile drive since there is an entry fee and "all" you see is water and the lone Cypress Tree. You would walk through old town Monterey with the jail and what used to be the Capitol of California. Carmel is several miles south but a nice place to shop. Renting a car is nice but parking is expensive. Hopefully a free shuttle will be running. My favorite place to eat is the "First Awakenings". Just above that is a quaint town called Pacific Grove. If the monarch butterflies are in town, that is a marvelous sight to see.

Late to the party so am not sure if anyone has commented on "old" cruise cards. I just returned from a cruise on the Grand Princess. I had requested to see a couple of cabins (not important). Customer Service issued me two cruise cards for the day. I had no trouble opening the cabin doors. In fact, stewards use cruise cards to access their cabins for cleaning. You can also just tell them your cabin number when ordering. They can pull up your account that way. As for leaving the ship, I didn't try using the cards since it was a sea day, but I don't see why that would be a problem?

wow...an index/appendix/table of contents. However you label your posts is amazing. I am having trouble remembering what I posted yesterday. Yes, definitely the biggest hint for doing anything long and sequential is to do it in a word document and then cut and paste. I am doing mine for my sister. Eventually, I am hoping to be able to print it out in a booklike format. That will take an enormous amount of editing. I am learning from the best (too many to give kudos to, but you know who you are). Mahalo Nui Loa for all the time and effort you invested in your wonderful journey.

Meet me for coffee and I will provide the Peanut Butter Cookies.

Thank you for starting this thread. I was looking in the wrong place until I did a google search. Hawaii was also very late in opening up passenger ships back to the islands. Much later than air arrivals. I can see all the concerns of the Japanese population. I did not know they had something similar to the PVSA. Interesting.

Always glad to lend an assist. I actually took it for a vegan friend who was not with me. The IC did have some new items on the Grand. Notice the smoothies under the beets. BUT...BUT...they no longer offer the tiramisu in the little round glasses. Also found these to be interesting. Too healthy for me. I will stay with the Peanut Butter cookies...full of protein. HA!

What a novel and practical solution to the long Elite wait times for free laundry service. Thanks..

You mean this wonderful new addition? Yum !

I'd like to know if Princess has added back Monterey. According to the city's information, they stopped ships from arriving into Monterey during covid. It looks like the Discovery will return in March 2023. https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/monterey-ca-port-1025 To answer your question, yes, Fisherman's Wharf.

Thanks for letting me know you could see the video. The process to upload a movie drove me crazy. It took forever with an archaic internet provider to upload. Then I couldn't delete the second attachment. I kept losing the post. Finally gave up. The Captain always backs the Grand in so that I can see the tops of the towers from my window. To get a better advantage point, I have to go up to the Lido Deck (didn't do it this time). We should have walked back from Seaport Village to get a better view, but didn't do that either. My sister walked me to death early on and my poor legs just said "enough is enough". I am out of condition! Hope you had a Window Suite on the USS Midway. (sarcasm @ Sheldon).

Did you try to use a screen shot capture (picture of vax card)? That could have been the problem with the upload. Not saying that the app may have problems, but there have been several other applications that don't like screen shots.

Day 6: San Diego (8 AM to 10 PM) Normal morning with breakfast followed by getting ready to meet with friends for a nice lunch in Del Mar. You meet the nicest people on a cruise. I happened to meet this passenger while on my solo voyage earlier this year. We hit it off so well. Her cabin mate also cancelled at the last moment. It was nice to meet someone who is like minded. I entertained them when they came to Honolulu. It was nice to be on her turf. The weather was lovely and a bit warm. Southern California was coming out of another heat wave. All of our port stops were picture perfect advertising for California (including Astoria and Vancouver). My sister and I both took a home Rapid Antigen Test before being picked up; out of respect for my friends’ health concerns. We had been traveling for about a week now with many different crowded interactions. Both of us tested negative and felt as secure as home security systems (they are not as secure as we would like them to be). We listened to the crew drill shortly after arriving in San Diego. Lucky we pay attention to these events….not. That night, there was a call for action in the galley. It was over and resolved within minutes. After the Captain announced the location, it was followed by “This is not a drill”. Shortly after that there was the “Stand Down” announcement. We were picked up and driven to the Cabrillo National Monument at Point Loma. I love lighthouses and this is one of my favorite things to do when in San Diego. The views are fabulous as we watched a cargo plane (maybe a C-17) come in for a landing at the Naval Air Strip. I had planned ahead and had my Golden Passport Card with me for free admission. IMG_1934.MOV IMG_1934.MOV My apologies if the video doesn't upload properly. Adding a movie is new to me. I am having so much trouble with this one post today. So many issues and problems. User error, I'm afraid. This is what you should see moving. On our way to the restaurant, we just made it to the guard crossing and was “forced” to stop for the Coaster. I love trains. Guess growing up in Hawaii without passenger trains created a fascination for me. Sugar cane trains really don’t count. This is the view from our corner table. To the right is the Life Guard house. Not the tiny shack that rises above the sand. They have an apartment with large glass windows and a fire pole. We saw a variety of life guards slide down the pole. I did observe them surfing. They need a lot more practice. These waves were not very big. Look at all those big boy toys. We had a lovely lunch before returning to Seaport Village. I wanted to pick up some things from Del Sol. Before venturing deeper into the Village, I walked over to the Duck Boat Kiosk to ask about a free shuttle back to the ship since previous cruises had a pick up nearby . I could not find that information on their website nor did anyone answer my calls/emails. A very nice lady used her insider information and called around. Seems like the last shuttle was at 3 PM and we had just missed it. I must have looked bedraggled, because she made another call. We were told to wait for a little while because the hop on/hop on bus was making a last run to Old Town and would come back for us. Shhhh…only for us. The driver was a young thing who was a San Diego native. He gave us a narrated tour back to the ship. We were greeted with a lovely floral arrangement upon arrival back to our cabin. The card was not specific as to why we were the recipients. It could have been that I filled out a first impression survey when we embarked (first time I ever saw that form). Or because I have been in contact with Customer Service (more about this on our last sea day). All I could think of was how could I get that off the ship when we disembark in a few days. Sadly, it remained in my cabin and hopefully the next voyager could enjoy its freshness. Today must have been gift day. There was a duck taped to my door. I’ve heard of this random act of kindness where someone hides ducks in public areas around the ship. This is my first duck. I would like to thank Lynn & Doyle (if they are checking in here) for finding our hidden Window Suites hallway. I tried to notify them via Facebook, but didn’t want to add another group to my friends' list. 6:30 rolled around and we were not very hungry for our Crown Grill dinner. We made our way and fortunately was seated at the last open booth to enjoy the changing hues of sunset and see the lights of the skyline slowly awaken. We could see the Star of India, planes landing, and an assortment of other evening views. Our server was a hoot who was so enthusiastic. This is the first time I ever had a tour of the menu. Did you know there is a “recommended” steak of the night? I had plans on ordering my lamb again. But he talked me into a ribeye steak. The last time I had it was awful. This time it was so tender and flavorful. But much too much to eat in one meal. Let’s just say that I enjoyed it a few nights later. Hint…bring ziplock bags. Sister loves her Chilean Sea Bass and could not be swayed to try something else. Dessert at the Crown Grill leaves a lot to be desired. They look pretty, but I wish they would bring back the lemon meringue dish. Phill Tag (from the first night) was in the Vista Lounge. “A Tribute to Elton John with Vocalist Jeffrey Allen” was in the Princess Theater. We skipped both. The Art Gallery was hosting 2 special events that I glossed over until I looked at the Patter while working on this report. Wow…are we relaxed. With no stores open, no casino, and no EFFY raffles, we retired to the room to carefully dissect the floral arrangement. My sister is quite the plant expert. She was once in a Magnum PI episode as the “Plant Lady”. But her 5 seconds of fame was left on the cutting room floor. Except for checking on weather and ship location, we haven’t turned on the television for any movies. This is the LIFE.

Must be that JP guy who is gathering pennies by eliminating blue bags, chocolates, and a sundry of other coveted take aways.

@harryfat1 It finally dawned on me that you were on the Majestic with Neville. It's been a long time since I've cruised with him. By any chance, did you run into an Assistant Manager by the name of Prashant Chimbaikar from India? He was on the Majestic earlier this year. I watched him move up from being a waiter, to a server in the specialty restaurants, to Head Waiter in the Piazza/Buffet, and finally to a MRD Assistant Manager. Thank you for a most fun trip review and for taking us along on your adventure. Mahalo Nui Loa from the land of Aloha.

Of course, they made all of the changes on my March cruise to Hawaii: Dropped embarkation day testing Dropped 2-3 day onboard testing Dropped no smoking in the casino to smoking every day in the casino Dropped masks required (only recommended) for passengers Allowed crew to go ashore in PV and then all Hawaii ports (I understand the need for this one) I still remained covid free, but there were numerous cases on my cruise.

Oops....canapés

Second Sea Day: Day 5 / Formal Night Without hesitations, sister woke up and went to Tai Chi. I think we are finally settling into life on a cruise ship. We met for breakfast. Mandatory events today were EFFY Auction Preview/free charm, Art Auction registration/free print, but did miss the Time Traveler Watch Seminar. Anish was moved from the Calypso Shop on my March/April cruise to this store. He did mention that he thought he remembered me. I filled in the guess the jewels in the expensive watch, but wasn’t present to find out that I lost. We spent a few passing minutes in the casino, but there was still a sea day after San Diego to cash out, so it was a brief visit. Sister loaded her remaining $25 obc. I can’t find my notes that we loaded the first $50 of her OBC to her casino account on the first sea day. The casino does have a small section of slots machines in a no smoking area (along with table games). Princess used to have “no smoking on formal nights”. This is gone post pandemic. I have not spent as much time in the casino as I have in the past. Part of the reason is for the late ports. It took a long time to open the casino after it left Vancouver. The long trek through the San Juan Islands meant the casino would not open until after 10 PM. Then we were approaching Astoria by noon. Casino was already being shut down. San Francisco and San Diego would be long stays and the casino would not open until well after we left those ports at 10 PM. There wasn’t much that interested us today. We just wandered and enjoyed the ship. Sis did mention that she enjoyed the brief musical performances in the Piazza. We never stayed and actively listened. It was more of a stop for a minute to hear the violinist, pianist, or other instrumentalist. We spent some time on the Promenade Deck watching the world/ocean go by. The aft section was closed on at least 2 occasions. I am not sure if that was for maintenance or crew smoking. My room steward said that there were other open areas of the ship that crew could smoke, but not being a smoker, he didn't know if this was actually happening. Lunch was light. I had pre-ordered guacamole, salsa, and chips. Princess does not know how to do small. All I wanted was a small cup of each. Instead, it was presented in cereal bowls. Sister wanted a Waldorf salad. I don’t know what she was served, but it was soon changed out. Decided that today would be my banana split day. Got to trade off calories one way or the other. Ice cream is only served at lunch. Gelato is served at dinner. I had ordered canopies the night before. Since it was going to be formal night, I requested 4 profiteroles but added chocolate covered strawberries, if they had any at no additional cost. If I had known, I would not have quantified the profiteroles. They included 2 (4 + 2) strawberries. That was fine with me. I don’t eat strawberries and sis enjoyed them both. When the canopies were delivered, I offered chocolates (and a tip) to the runner. She gently took one until I told her she could have more than one. She took one of each. They are so polite. Dinner was escargot and lobster. We were each served two (that’s how they came on the dinner plate). Love having someone remove the meat from the shell. More impressed with that than the lobster itself. Creme Brûlée for dessert. I do have my favorites although I missed my tiramisu while we were in San Diego (tomorrow). Purposely skipped “Sweet Soul Music” but did catch another Dave Rave Juggling Performance in the Piazza. Here’s my good deed of the evening. I was picking up my freshly baked cookies from Karan at the International Cafe when two women came up behind me. I mentioned that I was there to get my Peanut Butter Cookies…still warm. They had not known of this option and was delighted to also request “my” cookies. The IC does display the other cookies. I feel that Peanut Butter cookies are a well guarded secret like the hidden doors on the Coral Princess. With fresh cookies and tea in hand, I returned to our stateroom for a nightcap. More helpful information: Be sure to bring a container to store your cookies in. I am a hunter and gatherer. Not all of these cookies were consumed onboard. I am savoring a treat now and then to remind me of my cruises. I go to sleep with a smile on my face when I am home. My air fryer does a good job of refreshing my frozen cookies.