mini-live from the Grand Princess: first Hawaiian sailing post covid--Jan 4-19, 2022

[sparkle]

Thank you kiwimum and startedwithamouse! I was getting worried...I don't think our insurance covers "cancellation because you can't smoke a cigar" :-). 

 

Hope everything is smooth sailing and fun on the islands for you all there! 

 

[kiwimum]

56 minutes ago, sparkle said:

Thank you kiwimum and startedwithamouse! I was getting worried...I don't think our insurance covers "cancellation because you can't smoke a cigar" :-). 

 

Hope everything is smooth sailing and fun on the islands for you all there! 

 

A photo of the smoking area on deck 15.

[startedwithamouse]

What princess shows have been shown on this Hawaii cruise? Looks like many guest entertainers rather than crew dancers and singers.  Are they running low on performers?

[kiwimum]

17 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

What princess shows have been shown on this Hawaii cruise? Looks like many guest entertainers rather than crew dancers and singers.  Are they running low on performers?

The dancers and singers from what we have seen are in isolation.  A few are using the conference room on deck 15 as practice space, no more than 3 at a time.   
Entertainment is mediocre at best.   Several magicians and comedians.   We have only attended with Elton John pianist.   He is good.   Appears the entertainers are rotating between ships as we saw him on the Ruby in December.  Program was a little different. 

[cr8tiv1]

Someone should suggest to the ED that Tiki Dave should be in the Vista Lounge....every night!  He has enough material to do several shows.

[realstephanietanner]

I just want to say a big thank you to @travelin.sisters for this thread & to everyone who has contributed. We’re sailing to Hawaii for the first time 2/10 on the Ruby Princess and the info is invaluable. It’s also been a lot of fun to follow along on your adventures 😁

 

I hope everything continues to go (relatively) smoothly!🤞🏽 Obviously nothing is ever perfect but it sounds like things are going pretty well so far!

[Desert Cruisers]

We are on the January 19th sailing.  Would be interested in knowing if Walmart & other shopping malls are running shuttles in any ports. We use the shuttles to stock up on basics that we forgot or are running low on.  It's also a great way to get between the dock & the Ala Moana area in Honolulu.

[cr8tiv1]

1 minute ago, Desert Cruisers said:

We are on the January 19th sailing.  Would be interested in knowing if Walmart & other shopping malls are running shuttles in any ports. We use the shuttles to stock up on basics that we forgot or are running low on.  It's also a great way to get between the dock & the Ala Moana area in Honolulu.

in the past….Maui Divers ran a shuttle to their factory.  Up the street from Walmart.

 

da Bus is cheap if you have a Medicare care.  Will drop you off at Ala Moana Center.  For those who are handicapped/wheel chair, check out Handivan web site for Honolulu.  

[cr8tiv1]

Feast your eyes on this beautiful lady.  Honolulu Harbor at night.

 

[JF - retired RRT]

11 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

da Bus is cheap if you have a Medicare care.  Will drop you off at Ala Moana Center.  For those who are handicapped/wheel chair, check out Handivan web site for Honolulu.  

I second the vote for Da Bus. When @cr8tiv1said it's cheap, she wasn't kidding. Seniors can ride for 25 cents.

Plus Da Bus is bigger (potential for more safe spacing) than the vans that Maui Divers & Walmart usually use.

[Honolulu Blue]

15 hours ago, kiwimum said:

We have only attended with Elton John pianist.   He is good.  

 

Yes he is.  He's been belting out the tunes and selling out arenas for over 50 years.  It's kind of a comedown to see that he's performing on a ship like... wait, you're not talking about the REAL Elton John, are you? 🤪

[travelin.sisters]

19 hours ago, gracebest said:

We are also booked with a different cruise line in April, but one way to Honolulu.  So that would mess up flights and hotel plans if extending in Honolulu.  I guess time will tell!

it seems like everything is in flux...right up to boarding & even since we sailed things are all subject to change, I feel like Princess has done well at making things work for us but not necessarily really well at communicating what is happening...some examples:

1. with the itinerary change, our Polynesian Cultural Center excursion had to be canceled as they are closed on Sundays (which I knew would happen, but only because I know their schedule & actually chose this cruise over the Christmas one because it was not in Honolulu on a Sunday) & so they put us on a luau excursion, but did not notify us for several days when the tickets showed up in our room...it is hard to find out what excursions you are actually scheduled for...they do not show up on your medallion app or on the TV section which says it lists your shore excursion you have to go to grand.princess.com (if you remember that it exists) & look there...the shore excursion desk has not been open much considering how many changes there have been...they pretty much redid the whole schedule because of the late itinerary changes
2. when we docked in Honolulu they did not tell us anything about the procedure & they have not been good about letting people know that they need to take photo ID & vaccine card when they go out (I know they are trying to save paper but...they do announce it maybe once at each port but if you miss that announcement or don't understand what they are saying...maybe the wake show could remind people or a sign at the place where you get off the ship..one of our excursions we had to wait while people went back to get
3. just in general it seems like they aren't communicating well but they are taking good care of us...hopefully by the next cruise it will all be more routine

[travelin.sisters]

16 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

What princess shows have been shown on this Hawaii cruise? Looks like many guest entertainers rather than crew dancers and singers.  Are they running low on performers?

we have only gone to see the magician once, there are also musical acts & a comedian...no production shows yet but it looks like there are two scheduled on the way back

 

Tiki Dave & Leialoha have been in the Piazza each evening on the way out, but they are scheduled for the Explorer's Lounge tonight

[travelin.sisters]

15 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Someone should suggest to the ED that Tiki Dave should be in the Vista Lounge....every night!  He has enough material to do several shows.

they are in the Explorer's lounge tonight, I asked him if he was doing his jukebox of our lives show (he did on our last Hawai'i cruise) which is a big theater production & he said no, he hadn't been asked. Hopefully we will hear more from them on the way back although I have enjoyed listening to them in the Piazza every evening

 

[travelin.sisters]

13 hours ago, Desert Cruisers said:

We are on the January 19th sailing.  Would be interested in knowing if Walmart & other shopping malls are running shuttles in any ports. We use the shuttles to stock up on basics that we forgot or are running low on.  It's also a great way to get between the dock & the Ala Moana area in Honolulu.

I didn't see one in Honolulu...just walked to Walmart & then Aloha Tower in the morning; but I saw a Hilo Hattie shuttle in Nawiliwili...there may have been others that I didn't see as I wasn't really looking.

[travelin.sisters]

7 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Feast your eyes on this beautiful lady.  Honolulu Harbor at night.

 

thank you...she looks so elegant

[nini]

@travelin.sisters Can you comment on the "new" smoking area for the crew? This has recently become an issue on the Grand and Emerald. Their smoking area has been moved to the aft Promenade deck which really bothers those guests in the aft cabins.

Thanks and we appreciate your time!

[travelin.sisters]

HONOLULU & NAWILIWILI

 

Two lovely days in Hawai’I so far & two more to go.

 

 

Saturday, the day before Honolulu, it was finally warm enough to eat lunch out on our balcony…one of the wonderful joys of cruising!!

 

Honolulu was hot (up to 80), sunny & dry. I was up by 6 (side-effect of all the turning back of our clocks) & could see land about then as the sun began to rise. The pilot came aboard about 9:15 & we made our way into the harbor (lots of people out on their balconies excited to see Hawai’i & eager to get there. We were docked by about 10:15. Down in the Piazza they someone had hung the Hawaiian decorations overnight & people we waiting to go & wondering where we would disembark…another advantage of sailing with so few passengers were that it still was not crowded. About 11 (our announced arrival time) there was an announcement that we were still waiting for all the processing to be completed & by 11:30 I was ashore looking at the Grand.

 

Getting off was so easy…just place your medallion on the scanner & go…no one ashore to check any paperwork or ask any questions. I walked off & let Google maps direct me to Walmart for a couple of items & flower photos on the way & Aloha Tower then back to the ship. No one asked me for my ID while I was out but I did need to show it to get back into the terminal as Princess had not given security a scanner for our medallions.

 

That evening we did Germaine’s luau (they substituted this for our Polynesian Cultural Center excursion). Cousin Ben was a great driver & kept us entertained on the ride there & back. Fortunately, he reminded us that we needed our ID & vaccine cards to get into the luau as two guests did not have theirs & had to run back to their rooms to get them. Roads were not crowded & we still arrived early. There was music & time to take photos & watch the sun set on the beach as we enjoyed an appetizer plate (fruit, a slice of taro, coleslaw, green salad) & our drinks (each person got 2 drink tickets for alcoholic drinks & soda, juice & punch were complementary). Some people had bought the VIP package (kokui nut lei rather than shell one, reserved seating, special section to get your drinks) …as uncrowded as it was, I don’t know if it would have been worth the extra cost. Once everyone had arrived, they invited us to the imu (roasting pit) area where they lit the torches & uncovered the pig. The luau was maybe half full or less but was very enjoyable—way too much good food & a very nice show. Dinner was served buffet style with staff serving the food onto your plate & there was the opportunity to go back for more (we were unable to eat all the food in our first serving so had to skip having seconds). There was: sweet rolls & butter, lomi lomi salmon, poi, white sticky rice, macaroni & potato salad, teriyaki beef, kaluha pork, fried fish, huli huli chicken, white cake & haupia. Before the meal they described the dishes so that you could choose what you wanted to try. Seating is at picnic tables so it can get a little long sitting om hard wooden benches with no backs if & the ground is loose sand. We were back in plenty of time before the ship was ready to go & off to Kauai.

 

We had been told in the port talk that watching the ship sail into Nawiliwili harbor is not to be missed so we were up early to watch as the Grand turned her way in an S pattern into port (that pilot certainly earns his/her wages)! Since it was an early port day with lots of early excursions, the breakfast buffet was slightly crowded for the first time this sailing. After breakfast we made our way to the Princess Theater where there was no effort to encourage social distancing & it was quite full (relative to this cruise, not to a normal sailing) with 8 or so tour groups all gathered together.

 

We were soon on our way to our tour bus where Jonna was our driver/guide. We chose the Waimea Canyon tour which was a little disappointing because of the weather but still enjoyable. The morning was cloudy & ranged from sprinkles to drizzles to light rain (definitely needed my rain poncho). We started out on the way to the canyon through town & then out into very green countryside. Our guide shared about plants & history as we went & despite some intermittent problems with the PA system it was very good. We made an (unscheduled) stop to see the Hanapepe Valley where they shot part of the 1st Jurassic Park. Some of us got out in the drizzle to take photos & we were on our way to Fort Elizabeth, an unfinished Russian fort. From there we continued on to Waimea Canyon. Unfortunately the cloud cover was so thick that we were unable to see across or into the canyon. Next we headed to Spouting Horn where we had better luck, enjoying the blowhole & even seeing a sea turtle. Along the way I was able to get lots of photos of Kauai chickens, which were not a thing the first time I came to Kauai & we barely saw last time. We also saw a Hawaiian rainbow on the tour. Back to the port & easily on to the ship to rest up for Hilo!

[travelin.sisters]

Arriving at Honolulu

[travelin.sisters]

they decorated overnight

[travelin.sisters]

Honolulu docked & waiting

[CruzinNoony]

About your stop in Maui, I am very interested to know if there will be a shuttle running from the port in Kahului to the Queen Ka'ahumanu Shopping Center where the Maui Ocean Center is.  We are on the 19th sailing, and haven't been able to find out so far.  Please help!!!!

[cr8tiv1]

22 minutes ago, CruzinNoony said:

About your stop in Maui, I am very interested to know if there will be a shuttle running from the port in Kahului to the Queen Ka'ahumanu Shopping Center where the Maui Ocean Center is.  We are on the 19th sailing, and haven't been able to find out so far.  Please help!!!!

I believe the poster meant to ask if there is/will be a shuttle to the mall to catch a bus to the Maui Ocean Center.

[Astro Flyer]

22 minutes ago, CruzinNoony said:

About your stop in Maui, I am very interested to know if there will be a shuttle running from the port in Kahului to the Queen Ka'ahumanu Shopping Center where the Maui Ocean Center is.  We are on the 19th sailing, and haven't been able to find out so far.  Please help!!!!

Guessing that you made a typo because the Maui Ocean Center is located in Ma’alaea Harbor & not Queen Ka’ahumanu SC.

[cr8tiv1]

4 hours ago, JF - retired RRT said:

I second the vote for Da Bus. When @cr8tiv1said it's cheap, she wasn't kidding. Seniors can ride for 25 cents.

Plus Da Bus is bigger (potential for more safe spacing) than the vans that Maui Divers & Walmart usually use.

Inflation has hit the islands. $1.00 with Medicare card.  I was just thinking how long ago I actually rode da bus….thank you Mayor Frank Fasi.

 

Here is a link to Handivan for visitors. 
https://www.honolulu.gov/transportation/divisions/mobility/thehandi-van.html

 

I would not rely on the service to get you from one point to another expeditiously.  But useful in a pinch.  

Edited January 11, 2022 by cr8tiv1