Our spoiled lives aboard the Golden Princess- a detailed review

[serenity27]

I agree about there not being enough seats in the Piazza. Especially if you get a yummy treat in the IC and want to eat it immediately.

 

My hubby told me about the whole thing about the Diamond' date=' the Sapphire and the fire about the time we were waiting to go on the Sapphire just a few months after it started sailing. Apparently Princess wanted the Diamond name on the first of the two ships. So when it caught on fire at the shipyard, and they had to rebuild it, it was decided to switch the names.[/quote']

 

I never knew that! I love hearing Princess history!

[serenity27]

Your's is one of the best reviews I've ever seen. Keep them coming! :) What an adorable couple you are. :D

 

Thank you!! We're trying to hammer them out!:)

[serenity27]

Very entertaining, looking forward to the next installment.

 

Thank you! We're working on it.

[serenity27]

Okay, Friends,

 

We are so sorry for the LONG delay in finishing this review! We are fully aware that this is probably the longest time it has taken someone to finish a review. However, at the end of this review, I will explain why, and hope you all forgive me. We haven't forgotten about you at all. :) Now here's the remaining part of our review:

[serenity27]

This morning, we woke up around 7 AM to get ready for our snorkeling tour. We had booked the Na Pali Cruise and Snorkel and were supposed to meet the group at 8:20 AM. At 7:30 AM, the tour office called to say the tour was cancelled because of weather. I knew there was another snorkeling tour, and quickly asked Mr. Serenity if he wanted to do that one. We agreed it was a good idea and the tour office told us that we should meet the tour at 8:20 AM on the dock and they would have our tickets there. We never did figure out why we could do one snorkeling tour but not the other.

 

 

 

I thought we were tendering in Kaua’i, and was concerned because we were running late. Tendering takes time! We ran down to scarf down our breakfasts at the International Café, and ran to the gangway. It turned out that we were tendering in Maui, not Kaua’i.

 

 

 

We found our group, told the group leader that she should have our tickets, and she did. There were a few others on our group who also had the Na Pali tour booked. We all piled into the vans- between six and eight per van- and they took us to their main office. There, they fitted us with wetsuits, snorkels and fins. The wetsuits were to keep us floating. They warned us that without them, bad swimmers might sink. I wondered if that was a nice way of saying, “Cruisers! You have eaten SO much on the ship. We need to help you float.”

 

 

 

Once the entire group was ready to go (about 21 of us), we got into our vans and rode over to the beach. During the drive, the tour leader gave us a little history on the language of Hawaii, because Mr. Serenity asked him a question. Here’s the thing with Mr. Serenity. He’s incredibly intelligent (he married me—hahaha) and loves asking questions on tours. The best way to get the most out of any tour is by asking questions. The Hawaiian people love their culture and want to introduce us to it.

[serenity27]

Our driver/ tour guide then gave us snorkeling instructions, which essentially consisted of “If you don’t put your fins on correctly, you could start bleeding and will attract sharks and then die.” I love the honesty, but really- this doesn’t help anyone who has fears of the water!

 

 

 

At the beach, we put on our snorkel masks and then walked into the ocean to put on the fins there. It took me a few minutes to get used to the breathing situation of the snorkels. It has been a while since I snorkeled so I had forgotten how to properly breathe. Some people in the group chose to hang onto a surfboard. One of the other tour leaders was holding the surfboard throughout the excursion, and people could hold onto it if they were afraid of drowning. Our tour guide, Sali, was wearing bright yellow fins so we could spot him under water anywhere. He told us to stick with him for safety and also so he could point out the interesting things to see.

I finally got used to the mask and breathing into the tube, and started to relax. Mr. Serenity had the camera during the trip, as I knew he would handle it a lot better. He would dive a little deeper to get good pictures of interesting fish and other creatures.

 

 

 

One of the other tour guides in our excursion yelled to Sali that there was a large sea turtle. We all swam over to where she was and we were able to see it. Sali, who has permission from the island’s environmental agency, tried to take a fish hook out of the turtle’s mouth. The turtle was huge and very strong. Sali, who was also a huge and very strong guy, was not able to overpower the scared turtle. So, he let the poor guy go. He did say that the hook was in a non-fatal place on the side of his mouth, and within a few weeks, the turtle would lose the hook. He could still eat, which is the important thing.

 

 

 

 

 

We also saw an eel who would poke his head out once in a while to say “Hi,” and we saw other beautiful fish. Mr. Serenity took great pics of all of them, and he also took some nice pics of me underwater. So far, our under water protection for the camera is working out great.

The current was fairly strong, and when swimming with it, we had a very easy time of moving around. When swimming against it, we had to exert some serious energy. We have gotten plenty of exercise the past couple of days! No whale watching tours of us!

 

 

 

After the snorkeling, the tour group gave us some snacks and drinks. They had Hawaiian grown fruits, oatmeal bars, soft drinks and specialty fruit juices (pineapple, mango, etc). Then, they drove us back to the dock, about an hour early. They wanted to take us to a snorkeling area, in the same beach where we were but a little further out, but the current was too strong.

[serenity27]

Here is the turtle and our guide trying to help him:

 

 

 

And the beautiful Hawaiian fish:

 

 

 

 

[serenity27]

We came back to the ship to change out of our wet bathing suits, and our room steward, Jose, was working on our room (around 11:30 AM). He left and just told us to leave the “Service Please” thing on our door so he would know when we left again. I took a quick shower to rinse off the sand and to warm up- the van back from the snorkeling was freezing!

 

 

 

Mr. Serenity and I then went out again, and took the free shuttle from the dock to Hilo Hattie’s. We decided to give that store one more try with the clothes. Unfortunately, they had the same selection of clothes. We did buy some food souvenirs- 100% kona coffee for Dad, wasabi macadamia nuts for Mom, and a coconut syrup made in Hawaii for Mom. When buying Kona Coffee, make sure that it says 100% Kona Coffee. It’s more expensive but definitely worth the extra money because it is pure.

 

 

While waiting for the return free shuttle to the dock, we met some more nice people from Toronto. I am totally convinced that they are the nicest, most unassuming people in the world. The shuttle eventually showed up and took us back to the dock. The joke amongst us is that the shuttle is very quick to pick us up from the dock, but slow taking us back.

[serenity27]

 

 

I'm pretty sure that this Hanalei is the one that is mentioned in "Puff the Magic Dragon" but please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

And here's the mama:

 

 

I think this sums up the feeling we got from Kauai:

 

 

Nawiliwili: So nice they named it twice.

[serenity27]

We then took another shuttle, a little outside trolley that looks like a San Francisco cable car, to another shopping area. We didn’t find anything at the shopping area, but it was a short walk back to the dock, and we decided to enjoy the walk. We passed a beautiful beach, and watched the people and the waves together.

 

 

 

We also saw several chickens! I just learned that Kauai has a big chicken population because they have no predators here. We saw some chickens crossing the road, and we created our own (stupid) joke: “Why did the chicken cross the road?” “We’re still trying to figure that out.” It was funny to us at the time. Now you see why we’re married. We understand each other and make each other laugh. A little while later, we saw a momma chicken with her baby chicks. They were very used to people, and we thought they were all adorable. I tried to take them back onto the ship, but they were turned away.

 

 

 

We passed an ABC store where it seemed that half our ship was, and we bought some aloe to put on our mildly sunburned noses. ABC is everywhere in Hawaii. It’s literally on every corner, and the prices are very reasonable. We then walked back to the ship, and a very nice older couple (probably from Toronto) offered to take our picture in front of the ship. We stood in the very long security line, as most people were returning to the ship at this time. It was about 4:00 PM, and we had to be on the ship by 4:30 PM.

David Cole came later, and he was by himself. I think the Cruise Directors like to spend time by themselves while in port, probably because they are constantly surrounded by people. We said hi to David and he asked us what we did. We told him about our snorkeling adventure, and David told us that he found a beach with a seal on it. I think the best Cruise Directors are those who share parts of their lives and experiences with passengers. David is one of those people. He has created a very family-feeling environment on the ship.

 

 

 

We came back to our room and it started to rain, as it was very humid . I guess that’s how the island stays so beautifully green. We could even hear the thunder. Luckily, on the Baja Deck, we had a covered balcony and were protected from the rain. The deck below us, Caribe, had a large balcony, but they couldn’t use it in the rain because it is partially uncovered and they will get wet.

 

 

 

There was a production show at 7:00 PM, but it was Motor City and I had seen that on our Australian/ New Zealand cruise. For dinner, we wanted to try the Sabatini’s specialty restaurant, the specialty Italian restaurant on board. I will just say that I hurt by the end of the meal. They served 18 courses, and while some are just samplers, each one takes up so much space in one’s little belly. The service was a little slow at first, as it took them several minutes to take our drink order or even bring over water. After that, however, they were very attentive and always around when we needed them. I had Chilean sea bass and Ryan had lobster. For dessert, Mr. Serenity had Tiramisu and I had crème brule. The Head Chef, Jeremy, came over to say hi to us. In addition to being an amazing chef, he really is so down to earth. We complimented him on everything we had tasted. Mr. Serenity is a “foodie.” He loves trying new foods and our date nights at home often consist of trying out new restaurants. He absolutely loved the food on this cruise, and really enjoyed Sabatini’s.

 

 

 

At the table next to us, there was a very quiet couple with a scooter. They had a little Chihuahua. We were fascinated by this dog. He was wearing a little vest that said “Service Dog.” We asked the wife about the dog, and she said that he knows when her diabetic husband’s blood sugar drops. The dog can sniff it out and then barks really loudly. If you don’t appreciate dogs before reading this, I think you will now. They really are amazing creatures.

 

 

 

What’s really interesting, though, is that we saw another dog on board. The other dog did not appear to be a service dog, but I have learned not to judge a book by its cover.

 

 

 

After Sabatini’s, we went to see the comedian in the Princess Theatre. He was billed as “Head Writer of the Cosby Show,” so we were excited to see him. We sat in the second row of the Princess Theatre. We like sitting up close, but when it comes to comedians, it’s a little scary since so many pick on audience members.

 

 

 

There is a passenger on board who looked just like Santa Claus, and added to the image by always wearing red. He was sitting in the first row, and Mr. Serenity said, “You think we’ll get picked on with that guy sitting in front of us?”

The comedian (whose name I cannot remember for the life of me) came out, and had a very strong Bill Cosby essence about him. He performed the Dentist skit that Bill Cosby is known for, and then brought the lights up to talk to audience members. He talked to Santa Claus, and then came to Mr. Serenity and me. We always stood out as we were the young couple on board. He made a joke about our age. He was very entertaining and polished. We could tell that he was so comfortable talking to audience members and thinking off the top of his head. We liked him a lot. I think anybody associated with Bill Cosby is probably at the top of his or her game.

 

 

 

After this show, we came back to the room because we had to wake up at 6 AM to get ready for the snorkeling tour that we booked.

[serenity27]

We woke up at 6 AM to get ready for our all-day snorkeling tour, the Maui Snorkel Cruise. We were planning to grab some food from the International Café, but we read that the tour provided us with a continental breakfast, so we just got ready and left.

 

 

 

Our tour met in the Princess Theatre because Maui was a tender port. I think it’s nice to experience the tender process, but only once is enough. It’s such a pain and takes so much time (at least 20 minutes each way). So, we met our tour, and we were among the last to arrive. They ushered us out to the tenders, which were actually the Princess lifeboats and they fit 100 people. We got a crappy seat in the tender, but it didn’t matter because we knew we would have ample opportunity to have good views of our ship.

 

 

 

It took us to port, and they ushered us into the excursions area. Our snorkeling tour would begin on a boat. They gave us instructions while all of us (about 70 passengers) were together, and then we boarded the boat. Mr. Serenity and I both went to the top so we could get a view of the water, but it was packed. He sat down next to a couple, and I sat on the edge of the bench. The boat was super rocky, and when each person got up to get breakfast (they had muffins, fruit, juice and coffee), everybody else would have to hold on to them. When I went to get breakfast, the couple sitting next to us decided to go downstairs. I think the boat ride on the top was too rocky for them.

 

 

 

So, we had a bench all to ourselves, where we could sight see perfectly. The 75-minute boat ride was beautiful, but it would have been nice to get some narration as to what we were looking at. During the ride, they distributed our snorkels, masks and flippers. We first arrived at Molokini, where we saw coral reef and fish. There were several other snorkeling boats around us. Some people needed life vests to float, but I decided to try the water without one. I was glad I did. I’m a decent swimmer and felt fine without the vest. Mr. Serenity and I took several pictures under water of the fish. My mask was starting to hurt so I decided to ask for a new mask for our next location.

 

 

 

On the boat ride to the next location, our boat’s captain stopped several times because we started to see whales and dolphins. They served us a deli-style lunch of lunch meats, cheese, vegetables, salads and potato chips. We also received unlimited amounts of soft drinks and water. We then arrived at Olowalu’s Turtle Reef, and I went through four masks before I found an adequate one. I learned later that part of the problem was on the excursion the day before, our equipment was outstanding, and on this excursion, it was pretty crappy. My mask and snorkel would constantly get water in them. This was scary for me, but I finally decided to take the last mask, which was decent but not great, and just enjoy the last several minutes of snorkeling. We saw enormous turtles and these very friendly black fish.

 

 

 

The ocean was extremely jumpy, which was scary and exhilarating at the same time. While I hated my masks, I loved the jumpy water and just swimming out there in the ocean. They had several staff members in the water to make sure we were all okay.

 

 

 

On the boat ride back to the dock, we realized how much sun we had gotten. We were both a little red. We put on our normal clothes over our bathing suits and gathered up our belongings. We saw more whales on the way back. The boat’s captain would stop the boat several times so we could see the whales. I really appreciated this about him.

 

 

 

We arrived at the dock, and decided to walk around to look in the shops. We bought some coconut candies in one shop, and then went into an art shop. The artist was there, and as we were looking at his work, he offered to personalize anything we wanted. We chose a little picture of Molokini Bay, where we had just snorkeled, and at the bottom of it, the artist wrote, “Our Belated Hawaiian Honeymoon.” He was very nice and we were very excited about the painting.

 

 

 

We walked around some more, and then stood in the line to get a tender back to the ship. The line moved very quickly, and we were okay with where our seats were, as we had taken several pictures of our ship from the snorkeling cruise. We realized that the boat captain had returned our excursion about 45 minutes late, something that I greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

We arrived back at the room and took a nap. We were beyond tired from the excursion. It started to rain a little bit, but we didn’t care because we were on the ship at this point. We went down to dinner at 8 PM, and had a fantastic dinner. There was too much to choose from on this night.

 

 

 

Then, we debated about attending the 10:30 production show. It was a comedian/ variety show and variety shows are always hit or miss. We went to the cruise staff’s activity of “To tell the truth,” where three of the four assistant cruise directors make up a meaning of a word and the fourth one tells the true meaning. It was funny. The one Assistant Cruise Director who we both could see becoming a cruise director one day is Josh from Toronto. He has the personality that is required for such a difficult job.

 

 

 

After this game, we decided to go the variety show, and sat in the first row. We were reluctant, as we expected it to be terrible. We were so wrong! It was hilarious. By the time of the show, the seas were extremely jumpy, worse than they have been during the trip. It feels like a constant earthquake. It doesn’t bother us, but for anybody who gets sea sick or motion sick, it is a very rough time for them.

 

 

Anyway, the performer dropped his juggled items a few times, but it’s understandable considering the rockiness. He had a sarcastic sense of humor that we loved, and he wore this outrageous sequence top. He involved an audience member, Keith, who was from England, who was as hilarious as the performer. Keith had to wrap up the performer in a straight jacket, and Keith started grabbing him and touching him inappropriately (Keith’s wife was in the audience). We were crying from laughter, and told Keith after the show that we needed to get him his own show. We were very glad we went to the show.

 

 

 

On this ship, they usually do the shows three times (one night at 8:30 PM and 10:30 PM and the next night at 8:30 PM). This allows everybody to be able to see the show, and since most people on this ship eat dinner at 4:30 PM, the 8:30 show is most popular. The day after we saw this show, we saw a line around the ship for the second 8:30 show. I guess word had gotten out that this guy was hilarious.

 

 

 

After the show, we went to sleep as the day completely exhausted us.

[serenity27]

The ship as seen from our snorkeling boat:

 

 

 

Lots of beautiful fish:

 

 

 

 

 

The Golden Princess in the distance:

 

[serenity27]

A friendly turtle:

 

 

 

 

And there Goldie is again:

 

[serenity27]

Today, we woke up around 10 AM, as we had to set our clocks forward one hour to prepare to California time. We enjoyed getting the extra hour of sleep for three nights on the way to Hawaii, but are now feeling the consequences on the way back.

 

 

 

We started our ukulele classes again this morning at 11:15 AM, and we wanted to get there early to get good seats. We were running late, so Mr. Serenity went down to the International Café to get breakfast while I went to get us seats. I decided to just wait until lunch to eat, as I’m getting tired of eating doughnuts for breakfast. When I arrived at the Wheelhouse Lounge around 11:08 AM, the room was packed. I was able to find two seats on a couch next to the very nice Elite couple who wanted us to go for appetizers in the Skywalkers Lounge with all the other Elite and Platinum members. On this couch, we have a partially hidden view of David, but it’s close so we can see which fingers he is using for the uke. I had forgotten our music books in our room, but they had a box of the books for anybody to use. These little books have all of our songs in them, and they gave them to us as a souvenir.

 

 

 

This morning was the first time Mr. Serenity and I used our new ukes, and I was paranoid about hurting mine. I warmed up to it, though, and I started to get comfortable playing it. We learned how to tune our ukes today, which is very useful. Mr. Serenity and I have a tuner, though, so that will help us a lot. Then, we started to play the song, “Margaritaville.” This is challenging for me, and for the first time, I did not have the song down by the end of the lesson. We change the chords very quickly and my fingers just don’t have the muscle memory yet. With practice, I will be okay.

 

 

 

We left the lesson to go for lunch. In the Princess Patter, it was advertised that there was a fruit and smoothie station on the Lido Deck, and I thought I would get a smoothie for lunch. When we arrived, we saw that there was a charge for the smoothies, and that annoyed me. The fruit was free. You just had to pay for someone to blend it. I offered to blend it if I could do it for free. We passed on the smoothies and I just had some fruit and soup for lunch. There was some pineapple with little chilis on it, and I tried that. It was a strange taste, but I kind of liked it.

 

 

 

After lunch, we ran back down to the Wheelhouse Lounge because there was another Trivia game. This one was an individual event, so I went to support Mr. Serenity. If we had been able to work together, Mr. Serenity and I would have gotten all of the answers right (the things I knew were: Who said, “Come up and see me sometime.” I remembered that from when I was little- Mae West. Also, what sport did the Queen of Hearts play in Alice in Wonderland- croquet). Mr. Serenity did very well, but the older,people with more life experience beat him. He got 20 out of 25 answers right, and the winner got 23, and the second place winners got 21.

 

 

 

 

After the trivia, two of the Assistant Cruise Directors came in to do another kind of trivia- “Where in the world am I?” We decided to play with some cruisers sitting next to us. The game worked like this: They would give us three clues about a location. If you guessed the right answer on the first clue, you would get 30 points. If you guessed it wrong, you were out of the round. If you didn’t answer and waited until clue number two, and answered it right, you would get 20 points, etc. We would often doubt ourselves, and wait until clue number two. We didn’t win, but we had fun. They were a nice group.

 

 

 

After trivia, David Cole asked me to be on his morning show (cruise directors tape the shows the evening before). For those who don't know me, I was a child actress and cruisers can often see me in shows that are played on Princess ships. It's always a little nervewracking to be on vacation and see myself from so many years ago. But I am grateful to have had those experiences growing up and enjoy talking about my unique childhood.

 

 

 

David Cole's little five year old niece, sister and brother-in-law are visiting him on the ship, and he wanted his niece to make a special appearance. His niece looks like a five year old version of me, and we joked that first she would come out, and then the grown up version of her would come out.

 

 

When the filming started, Bingo got out from the Vista Lounge, which is just around the corner from the photo gallery, so a large crowd came out and decided to watch the taping.

 

 

 

After the taping, we went to have pizza because we had some yesterday and it was delicious. Then, we came back to the room to nap before dinner. Today was also the Captain’s Circle Cocktail Party, but only I got an invitation. They had somehow forgotten to invite Mr. Serenity. I never had time to go talk to the Captain’s Circle Rep, so I just skipped it. We went to dinner and said hi to Maitre D Don Luigi on the way in.

 

 

 

During dinner, the food was so-so. There was a French onion soup which was good, not great, a sorbet which is used to cleanse the palate, lamb chops and a butter toffee dessert. Last night, I had the fettucine alfredo, which comes in a cheese basket, and it was amazing. Mr. Serenity and I both plan to order that again as it’s always on the menu.

 

 

 

We skipped out of dinner quickly because at 9:30 PM, there was a “Love and Marriage” game show- kind of like the Newlywed Game, but they have three different categories- newlyweds, the middle of the road (married between five and 25 years ) and the long-timers. We knew we would have to sign up by 9:15 PM, but they were going to randomly pick the couples if more than one signed up. We had some tough competition (one guy actually showed up in a military uniform), but we were picked as the newlywed couple.

 

 

 

After introducing us, they kept the guys on stage and escorted the three women to the Promenade Bar in the Piazza area. They gave us glasses of champagne and the three of us chatted. The middle lady was in her late 40s, early 50s, and the other lady had been married for 52 years.

 

 

 

They brought us back into the Explorer’s Lounge, which was packed with audience members, after they asked the guys questions. Then, they escorted the guys out while they asked us questions. The 52- year married couple got every question right and won the game, but they gave us all the same prizes- a bottle of champagne and box of chocolates. These were the nicest gifts they have given out to anybody during any game show.

 

 

 

People stopped us after the show to congratulate us. This has truly been a honeymoon for us with all of the congratulations we are getting.

 

 

 

After this show, we sneaked into “Caliente,” the production show going on in the Princess Theatre. It’s all about latin and Caribbean music and we found a couple seats together. I thought I had seen this show, but I hadn’t. It was cute, and they had a fake waterfall, which were very cool. Princess definitely has the most elaborate shows of any cruise line.

 

 

 

We went back to the room to sleep and prepare for the next day's uke lessons.

[serenity27]

By the way, it was formal night so we decided to take a pic with our waitress and assistant waiter, Natalie and Gene:

 

[serenity27]

Mr. Serenity woke up this morning around 9 AM to go to the gym. I slept through it. I woke up around 10 AM to get ready for our day, which would start with the ukulele lesson at 11:15 AM. We got ready to go and arrived at the Wheelhouse Bar at a little after 11 AM, only to find no seats available. We stood for a few minutes, but then the heirloom lei class got out and a few seats opened up in the back of the bar. So, we grabbed them and sat down.

 

 

 

In class, we tuned our ukes and practiced our scales. Then, we attempted to play “Margaritaville” and moved onto “Aloha Oe.” We will be playing this song in the final night’s show. It is hard! There are a lot of chord changes and other things that I don’t yet understand. We saw one of the women from our cruise critic group after the class, and she said she just stays on the “C” chord- which is really easy- and waits for the class to come back to it.

 

 

 

After the class, we went up to the Lido deck to have lunch. We both wanted to try the grill, where they make hot dogs, hamburgers and veggie burgers. Mr. Serenity ordered a hot dog and burger, and I ordered a veggie burger. They come with fries, tomatoes, lettuce and pickles. My veggie burger took about 10 minutes, and then we sat down to eat. The veggie burger had a weird taste. This was shocking considering the food on the ship has been outstanding. I ate my fries and veggies, and then we went to get ice cream.

 

 

 

We decided to walk and eat with the ice cream, and on the stairs, I spilled some chocolate ice cream on my white dress. So, we went back to the room for me to change. Jose, the room steward was there. He’s always there when we go back to our room in the middle of the day. So, I changed and we went down to do ribbon lei making class. They gave us ribbons and taught us how to tie them into leis. Mr. Serenity sat with me helping with mine, and it turned out okay. Tomorrow’s should be better.

 

 

 

After lei class, we went to Passenger Feud, which is like Family Feud. Unlike the last time I played this, where they divided us into teams of five, they divided the room into men and women. Mr. Serenity and I were disappointed because we wanted to be on the same time, but I think this is a genius way to get everybody involved who wants to be. Mr. Serenity was selected as his team captain and my team looked to me to be captain. They all knew us from the Love and Marriage game last night. I was hoping that someone else would become our team captain, as there are some cranky women on our cruise and I didn’t want them to hold me responsible for wrong answers.

 

 

 

Fortunately, another lady took on the responsibility. I was right- some women gave her a hard time whenever something was wrong.

Eric, the Deputy Cruise Director (DCD), hosted the game, and commented how Ryan and I were in last night’s game show. He would call one guy and one girl up, like they do on Family Feud. I was the second girl to go up. Our question? “Name a famous cowboy!” Ummm...what?? I buzzed in first and said “John Wayne,” and this was the #2 answer. The guy said Roy Rogers, and that was #1. The men, led by Mr. Serenity, dominated the game the entire time. Eric tried very hard to give us chances to come back, by doubling and tripling points. We won a few rounds, but in the end, the guys won. They gave all participants medals- the guys got gold medals and the girls got silver medals. They’re cute- they say “Princess Cruises Second (or First) Place.”

 

 

 

After the Feud, we stayed in the Explorer’s Lounge for Lazy Day Trivia. We joined our new friends, a couple who reminded us of my parents (who are truly wonderful people!) and their friends. In the end, we got 16 out of 20 correct, but one team, the team that wins all trivia on board, got 20. It’s getting a little frustrating.

 

 

 

We came back to the room after trivia to relax, and Zara, the Art Director, had left a zip drive with all of Martiros’ and the Hawaiian artist’s pictures on it. She also left a message for us. We’ll figure out the artwork later.

 

 

 

Now, I mentioned earlier that I have a lot of experience with buying artwork on cruises. My parents are part of the Princess Connoisseur's program, which means that they have purchased a lot of artwork on Princess and get invited on free cruises. On these cruises (I went on one), they wine and dine us in an effort to get us to buy more artwork. There is a ton of controversy about buying art on cruises. Some of the deals are very good. Some are horrendous. My advice to all of you who are considering it: Do your research. If you see a piece you like, talk to the art director about the reserve and details of the piece (if an original, serigraph, etc.). Then, look it up online if you can. Mostly, if you like a piece and it makes you feel something wonderful (and it fits within your budget), buy it. It's a souvenir from what is hopefully a nice vacation for you. If it's something you are not sure about, don't get it and either go to the art auctions or avoid them. Before you leave on a cruise, if you think you might like to buy artwork, do some research on the company that runs the art auctions for that cruiseline (Park West does most cruise lines). I can tell you that I have a house full of artwork that I love, some of which I probably paid too much for and some of which I got good deals on.

 

 

 

And back to our cruise. We went to the 7 PM show and got decent seats. We are convinced that some passengers camp out in the theatres all day just to get seats for the shows. We have literally seen some passengers sleeping in the theatres and lounges in preparation for the future shows.

 

 

 

Others bring their books to read so they can reserve seats. It’s crazy.

The production show was “Words and Music,” which is all about Broadway shows. I have seen this show before and liked it. They cover songs from “Les Mis,” “Gypsy” “Guys and Dolls” and some Cole Porter shows. It’s very good. I was happy to show Mr. Serenity the “Gypsy” songs that I sing so often for him (I was fortunate enough to have been in the Broadway production) and he was excited to see the numbers from “Les Mis.”

 

 

 

After the show, we had dinner. Dinner was decent that night, but we are both totally in love with Fettucine Alfredo, which they serve in a cheese basket. It’s insanely good. We have started ordering one dinner each, and then we have the Fettucine in the middle for us to snack on. I would be shocked if we didn’t gain a couple pounds on this cruise. I am going on an all-salad diet after this. Gene, our Assistant Waiter, often does magic tricks for us. We know he loves doing it for us, and we like the entertainment during dinner.

 

 

 

After dinner, we walked over to the Princess Theatre to see the musician, Craig Richards. The theatre was half empty, as people aren’t interested in someone who only plays instruments. We debated about it, but we just decided to watch it. It’s only 45 minutes of our time. He was really talented- he’s great on the saxophone and very good on other instruments. He also sings. He covers all types of different songs, and his grand finale was covering Michael Jackson

 

 

After this show, we went to bed because we were setting the clocks forward one hour, which disrupts our sleep.

 

 

 

By the way, the weather on the way back from Hawaii has been a little chilly. The seas have been choppy, but they are either calming down, or we are getting used to it with our sea legs. We’re okay with the weather, though. We spent so much time in the sun so now we’re keeping in doors.

That’s all for now.

[serenity27]

Just enjoying our time together at dinner:

 

 

 

Showing off our medals from Passenger Feud:

 

[serenity27]

Today we woke up to get ready for our daily uke lesson. We always turn the TV on to watch the Wake Show with David and Eric while we’re getting ready.

 

 

 

We ran down to the lesson, and once again, the room was packed. It was David Cole’s last time working with us, which was kind of sad. He told us a great story about how he had a couple on board who took his uke lessons, and he kept in touch with them. Six months later, they sent him a picture- the guy in a tux and the girl in her wedding gown, both holding ukuleles serenading each other. We all cried a little bit.

 

 

 

Even though the two Davids differ as teachers, we look forward to these lessons every day, regardless of who is teaching. It’s been a nice bonding time for Mr. Serenity and me.

 

 

 

In this lesson, we went over chords, tuning, a little advanced stuff like where to get good advanced sheet music, and then we practiced our two songs that we will be doing for the show- “Tiny Bubbles” and “Aloha Oe.” Tiny Bubbles is really easy for us. Aloha Oe is not. I think I’ll be able to fake my way through the performance.

 

 

 

After class, we went up to the pizza parlor (they call it “Prego Pizzeria,” which I think is a terrible name because everybody who eats there eventually looks like they are prego). Then, we sat around because we had our Cruise Critic Cabin Crawl planned. This is an opportunity for everybody in our group to see the different stateroom categories- inside, partially obstructed view, obstructed view, ocean view, balcony, mini suite and suite. We volunteered our balcony room and I want to tell you all why. I have a story for you.

 

 

 

When I was six, my parents, older brother and I went on a cruise. My brother (we'll call him Bro Serenity) and I met a girl who was staying in her room with her siblings and nanny across the hall from us. We immediately became great friends with her (I kept in touch with her throughout high school!). One day, the three of us decided to plan a party in our rooms for anybody on the ship who wanted to come say, "Hi!" We talked to the room steward who gathered up water and crackers for us and we posted signs throughout the ship asking for people to sign up for the party. The problem? None of us told our parents and they were at the pool for the entire day.

 

 

 

So, my parents, after spending a relaxing day at the pool, got off the elevator on our deck only to find the hallways completely packed with people. As they walked in the direction of our cabins, they found it more and more difficult to get around the wall-to-wall people. Much to their surprise, our rooms were packed with complete strangers. I honestly don't remember what happened then, or if my parents or my friend's parents punished any of us, but I do love when my parents tell people the story.

 

 

 

So, now it has become a tradition that I host a party in my cabin in every cruise I take.

 

 

 

Anyway, I thought the cabin crawl was at 1 PM and we were all meeting at the Ice Cream parlor. After a few minutes, we saw someone from our group, who informed us that it was at 3 PM. Oops!

 

 

 

So, we went down to the Vista Lounge, where David Cole and other ship officers were doing a “Life at Sea- What’s it really like?” Q&A session. They discussed everything but salaries and security practices. It was interesting to hear about crew quarters, how they’re hired, and why the ship does certain things. It was such a great idea that David had come up with, and we were riveted by it. After this, I ran over to the art auction, while Mr. Serenity stayed behind to ask David a question.

 

 

 

In our uke class, David told us that he thought he was Hawaiian in another life, because his heart and soul are with the Hawaiian Islands. So, Mr. Serenity asked him how big a say he gets in his itinerary, since he is such a master of this one. He said that he usually gets to request this because it is something that he has so personally designed.

 

 

 

At a little before 3 PM, we had to go back to the ice cream parlor to meet with the Cruise Critics. We started in our room, where everybody just walked through to see our balcony. It was fast and fun. Then, we moved onto the others, including the suite, which is really nice. At some point (I think it was the third room), a couple random women joined us and toured the obstructed view cabin. One of the men asked them to leave as they were not part of our group. There were about 30-40 of us touring the rooms, and it was really interesting. Unfortunately, ours was, by far, the messiest, but as the youngest in the group, I think that’s okay. It was hilarious to see such a large group of us following each other in the hallways and on the stairs.

 

One of the men in the group, Mark, organized it all so we started at the top deck (which was ours- Baja), and then we worked our way down to Caribe, Dolphin and then Emerald. It was a great idea and something I recommend for other cruise critic groups who like each other as much as our group has.

 

At 4:30, we met up with our trivia friends in the Explorer’s lounge to Lazy Day Trivia. Lazy Day Trivia is always at 4:30 in the Explorer’s Lounge, so at 4:45, we were very confused. I checked my Princess Patter, and saw that it was in the Vista Lounge at 4:45! So, we decided that Mr. Serenity and I would run ahead. When we arrived, they had already read the first three questions, but they always repeat at the end so we weren’t worried.

I couldn’t believe that twice in one day, we had the wrong place and/or time for an event.

 

 

 

Once again with the Trivia, we came very close to winning, but we didn’t. It’s getting very frustrating. We are hoping to convince the ACD to give us winning magnets anyway.

 

 

 

After Trivia, we went to see the art director, and we bought a Walfrido painting of Diamond Head, one that we really love.

 

 

 

We ended up getting seats next to our Trivia friends, so we chatted with them a little bit. This show was Steve Bayner, a Master Hypnotist, so we were interested to see it. He had about 25-30 chairs on stage, and invited people up to get hypnotized. He filled every single chair. Mr. Serenity and I stayed in the audience. This was one show I was totally okay with watching. There were several people who were clearly not in it, but a few who seemed to really be hypnotized. It was fascinating to see it. There was standing room only for the show, so I was happy that Mr. Serenity got there early.

 

 

 

After this, we went down for dinner. By now, Natalie and Gene always have our drinks ready (iced tea and diet coke) when we arrive. They like to bring us extra food, of course. The table next to us is filled with fun British people, so we often banter with them. Alburquerque, the Head Waiter, always comes over to talk to us. We don’t understand him half the time, but we laugh when he does.

 

 

 

After dinner, we ran over to the Princess Theatre, the location for the International crew Show. I remembered this show from a few years before and knew it was going to be packed. We got there around 9:30 for a 10:15 show, and the upper deck/ balcony was already packed. We like to sit in front, so we grabbed two good seats there. By 10 PM, it was standing room only. David and Eric both hosted the event, and several crew members sang and danced (we didn’t know any of them). Then, the cruise director’s staff came out to do “If I Were Not Upon the Sea,” a cruising tradition.

 

 

 

David came out in a ballet leotard and tutu, and did a completely ridiculous skit. He said, “If you remember one thing about me during this cruise, please let this not be it.” He saw me filming him, which is encouraged, and jokingly said, “Lady! Turn your camera off!” He knew I would take it in good fun. He makes a very ugly woman/ ballet dancer but is such a great cruise director.

 

 

 

It was a fun show, and I filmed a lot of it for our memories.

 

 

 

After this show, we went to bed as we had an early Dress Rehearsal for our big uke show. e He

[serenity27]

Also, there was a huge dessert display that day. These desserts are truly pieces of art:

 

e He

 

 

 

 

 

[Cruisin' Chick]

So glad you were able to come back and belately finish your review (hopefully the reason you were away isn't bad news).

 

I believe that Hanalei on Kauai is the town in "Puff the Magic Dragon." On our third Hawaiian RT (could you tell we love this itinerary?:)) last December we did the Hollywood and Waterfalls tour which traveled all the way to Hanalei and we had lunch at the diner featured in "The Descendants."

 

It was interesting to read a description of your meal in Sabatinis. We ate there once on that last cruise and you select your items, just as in the MDR, as opposed to a sampling type of meal. But I'm guessing you can still try more than one item for each course, or share with others at your table.

[serenity27]

Okay, that's all for tonight but I will post the remainder of the review later this week. Happy Reading and good night!

[Sheetmetalcruise]

Great review! I really want to take this cruise now. I just recently did my first cruise to Alaska with princess. And yes those noodles in the bowl are amazing

[Northender]

Okay, that's all for tonight but I will post the remainder of the review later this week. Happy Reading and good night!

 

Thanks for this great and fun review. I am enjoying all the pictures.

Wonderful work.:)

[serenity27]

So glad you were able to come back and belately finish your review (hopefully the reason you were away isn't bad news).

 

It is very' date=' very good news. That's all I'm going to say now. :)[/color']

 

I believe that Hanalei on Kauai is the town in "Puff the Magic Dragon." On our third Hawaiian RT (could you tell we love this itinerary?:)) last December we did the Hollywood and Waterfalls tour which traveled all the way to Hanalei and we had lunch at the diner featured in "The Descendants."

 

It really is such a great itinerary. We can't wait to take this cruise again! I'm curious if you cruised with David Cole or other CDs and what you thought of them.

 

It was interesting to read a description of your meal in Sabatinis. We ate there once on that last cruise and you select your items, just as in the MDR, as opposed to a sampling type of meal. But I'm guessing you can still try more than one item for each course, or share with others at your table.

 

We usually sample a lot, even in the MDR, but this was specifically a sampling of literally 18 courses. I wonder if they changed it since we cruised.

[serenity27]

Great review! I really want to take this cruise now. I just recently did my first cruise to Alaska with princess. And yes those noodles in the bowl are amazing

 

Thank you! You will love this cruise! I'll post a pic later of the Fettucine Alfredo. I still crave it. :)