Live from Grand Princess, Roundtrip San Francisco, 14-24 August 2019

[The Mikado]

I think we missed Melissa's birthday in all the excitement so, Happy Birthday! Glad to have you as cruise-mates and it was very nice meeting you both!

[The Mikado]

1 hour ago, CruzinNoony said:

I am totally enjoying the "live from" from both of you!  Thanks so much for taking the time to do it, not to mention your internet minutes.  We just returned home from a B2B on the Island R/T Vancouver.  The weather was beautiful, so hope it is the same for your cruise.

Thank you!

[The Mikado]

1 hour ago, Retired Educator said:

Thank you Mikado for the response to my naturalist on board question.  Yes, they do plug many things as activities that are really sales pitches, but the good part is you can choose not to attend, or, if you realize your mistake, walk out.🤔

You're welcome. I haven't seen a mention of the Naturalist On Board since we got on.

[jbeth]

happy B day Melissa! Did you have a chance to talk to Giavonni? Thanks, Julie and Frank

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, The Mikado said:

I did see an older guy show up in shorts/t-shirt at dinner last night and they appeared glad to see him. Odd.

 

I am wearing my full tux tonight. I used to wear my old airline "formal" dress uniform but since I retired 10 years ago, it hasn't been out of the plastic.

 

I will report the attire as requested.

Thank you.

[live2skide]

3 hours ago, The Mikado said:

We got the robes resolved fairly quickly.

 

The dinner table...eh... we have a table for 2 and that's about all it's got going for it. It looks/feels like they moved 2 larger tables slightly to make room for it and it's about 3 feet from a bus/staging table so a lot of activity swirling around us.

 

The waitstaff has been outstanding.

Oh gosh...well that table could make or break you. Keep poking the Maitre'D-- perhaps $$ to urge him to find you a better seating situation.  Remind him your goal is a relaxing dinner with quiet conversation. They do want you to be happy after all!   If all else fails; bail on the designated table and show up for anytime dining....they won't send you away; but you may have to wait. You can "reserve" a table on the DINE line I believe. We have a "shared" table at 5 pm; and I really dislike the early dining. Thanks for your detailed posts; save your internet minutes!  :)  Enjoy those desserts! Good luck!! Enjoying your posts!!

[Belle]

On Princess ships most of the tables for two are close together. You choose if want to talk with others

or not.  I find one way not to get a table so close is to eat later when dining room has less people so

fewer tables are full.  The staging areas are all around. Can't really get to far from them if table for

two. That's how the Grand has it.

[The Mikado]

Patter, Day 1

[The Mikado]

Patter, Day 2.

 

Sorry the pages are out of order; it's a result of the internet on the ship being so miserably slow the photo upload failed a couple of times and things got wild.

Edited August 17, 2019 by The Mikado

[The Mikado]

5 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Thank you.

Survey says about 20% formal, 40% coat and tie, 40% slob.

[The Mikado]

4 hours ago, live2skide said:

Oh gosh...well that table could make or break you. Keep poking the Maitre'D-- perhaps $$ to urge him to find you a better seating situation.  Remind him your goal is a relaxing dinner with quiet conversation. They do want you to be happy after all!   If all else fails; bail on the designated table and show up for anytime dining....they won't send you away; but you may have to wait. You can "reserve" a table on the DINE line I believe. We have a "shared" table at 5 pm; and I really dislike the early dining. Thanks for your detailed posts; save your internet minutes! 🙂  Enjoy those desserts! Good luck!! Enjoying your posts!!

I think we're done screwing with it this trip. We might try the "anytime" deal next time as 17:00 is a bit early for us and 19:30 is too late. Of course, about 80% of the people on board probably think the same thing.

[The Mikado]

2 hours ago, Belle said:

On Princess ships most of the tables for two are close together. You choose if want to talk with others

or not.  I find one way not to get a table so close is to eat later when dining room has less people so

fewer tables are full.  The staging areas are all around. Can't really get to far from them if table for

two. That's how the Grand has it.

We did see a couple of tables for 2 that were in fairly good areas. I'm not sure what the pecking order is for those but I may get more involved in this pre-cruise next time. Except that everything was "confirmed" this time, too and we found it had the same meaning as a politician's promise.

[judyjudy56]

The formal night survey is pretty sad. We don’t dress totally formal but we look appropriate. My husband wears a suit but doesn’t do a tie any more. I wear evening pants and a glittery top. 

[The Mikado]

A couple of other observations:

 

The TV is awful. Not the programming, although it ain't all that good, either, but the picture quality is like 240 lines of resolution. Sorry, not an EE so I'm not sure of the lingo but the picture is terrible on all channels. I truly hope they don't intend to use this level of video presentation to carry their new Ocean Medallion endeavor.

 

And what's with the ice cream??? The soft-serve at Coffee and Cones is the usual soft-serve but the stuff in the dining room all tastes the same and has the consistency of mushy ice milk. My last cruise was many years ago on X and their ice cream was really nice.

 

The pizza at Alfredo's was very good.

 

The Horizon buffet is about what we expected but it's had some nice hits, too.

 

Pub lunch was good  enough to go back again and try some of the other offerings.

 

Botticelli's MDR: great, great waitstaff but they seem to have a food temp issue. Other than the chicken and leek pot pie last night (which was excellent), everything has been on the cool side of lukewarm.

 

Since we aren't really interested in getting to the theater 60 minutes prior to the curtain to see a cruise ship show, we haven't availed ourselves of the nightly entertainment. We arrived last night to see the "comedy magician" about 20 minutes prior to showtime and there wasn't a seat to be had.

 

Ketchikan tomorrow morning at 06:00.

[grapau27]

43 minutes ago, The Mikado said:

Survey says about 20% formal, 40% coat and tie, 40% slob.

Thank you very much for your feedback.

[Belle]

I know there is a few good ones that's why said most.  One reason what table they give you

is how many tables your waiter has at the time.  Plus whatever!  Least your wait staff is good.

Not right you were confirmed for table for 2 and got a bigger table.

Hope your enjoying your cruise and not letting this spoil it.

 

Use to have late set dining but enjoy anytime now.  Go anytime I want,anywhere I want. Don't

have to tell anyone if not going to the dining room.

[The Mikado]

2 minutes ago, judyjudy56 said:

The formal night survey is pretty sad. We don’t dress totally formal but we look appropriate. My husband wears a suit but doesn’t do a tie any more. I wear evening pants and a glittery top. 

You would have been overdressed according to my completely unscientific observations.

 

I saw a few guys with polo shirts, jeans, and clip on suspenders. I think the suspenders were their nod to the formal ambiance of the evening.

 

I looked like Cary Grant, of course, and several people asked if my wife was THE Grace Kelly.

[The Mikado]

1 minute ago, Belle said:

I know there is a few good ones that's why said most.  One reason what table they give you

is how many tables your waiter has at the time.  Plus whatever!  Least your wait staff is good.

Not right you were confirmed for table for 2 and got a bigger table.

Hope your enjoying your cruise and not letting this spoil it.

 

Use to have late set dining but enjoy anytime now.  Go anytime I want,anywhere I want. Don't

have to tell anyone if not going to the dining room.

Nope. We are having a great time.

 

This is a breakthrough for my wife who was deathly afraid she'd be horribly seasick. She's really enjoying it now that she knows she's going to be OK. Even got her pitchure took with the Captain. (She's a Texican).

[judyjudy56]

I’m sure you both looked fabulous. I’ve never seen suspenders. Must be a stupid new fashion trend. 

[The Mikado]

1 minute ago, judyjudy56 said:

I’m sure you both looked fabulous. I’ve never seen suspenders. Must be a stupid new fashion trend. 

Hahaha! Well, my wife did, anyway.

 

I think the suspenders were because the guys we saw couldn't possible get a belt around it.

[rocklinmom]

Thanks for the photos of the Patters! Like you I also bring a highlighter to mark important things on them. Now if they would just make the font bigger for those of us with middle-aged eyes! I can hardly read them anymore without reader glasses. 

[cougaraz]

9 hours ago, The Mikado said:

Survey says about 20% formal, 40% coat and tie, 40% slob.

Agreed. 

 

Saw some great tuxedos and gowns last night though. 

[cougaraz]

Arriving in Ketchikan. 

Edited August 17, 2019 by cougaraz

[cougaraz]

I haven't seen The Mikado since the meet and greet, but loving his contributions. Photos are coming, but probably not quite so live as the internet is weak sauce. 

[Theoldguy]

17 hours ago, The Mikado said:

I want to thank Cougar for his amazingly-detailed and informative posts. I suggest a travel-writing career when the Navy is done with him. He has a really good eye for the details of what his readers want to know.

 

I promised to only put my oar in (naval-humor) to add things I thought he missed or if my impression/opinion was significantly different than his on an issue of potential importance.

 

That said, the internet is AWFUL. It has been lapped by snails... several times. It's not a satellite issue, it's a ship-board issue because when only connected to the ships intranet, it runs with the speed of a sloth in molasses. It ran fine for about the first 12 hours, then slowed dramatically and has been super-slow for the last 24 hours, at least. After I get my fill of liquid courage at the Maitre d' Wine Tasting, I'm going to complain to the Internet Cafe guys.

 

I continue to be impressed by the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff in all categories. And those memories will last longer than the memory of a less-than-perfect meal.

 

The internet speed... that I'm going to remember.

I would like to remind all internet users...there is only so much bandwidth available...and if 1000 passengers are all trying to use it at the same time the speed will drop significantly no matter what service package you buy...the best times to get decent speed is early morning, late evening, during dinner and during major shows that will draw folks away from their electronics...and once you hit the inside passage connections will not be consistent...and non existent when viewing the glaciers...also due to steel and cables running through the ship...some locations are not good for connections...the better connections are upper deck outside...No matter what the advertising....internet speed on a shop at sea will rarely match the speed you get at home...so just brace yourself with an adult distilled beverage and 🤞🏿 when you use it