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

[travelin.sisters]

2 interesting notices tonight: 

• a letter from the hotel manager that due to local regulations at Maui there will be no liquor service on the ship form 7AM to 6PM while we're in port
• notice in the patter: "Please be advised that our current directive does not require quests to be Covid-19Ag tested again upon return to Los Angeles. Please disregard the second set of dates of testing which were sent to your stateroom earlier on in the cruise."

Hmmm.....

[MishelleMcc]

4 hours ago, travelin.sisters said:

2 interesting notices tonight: 

• a letter from the hotel manager that due to local regulations at Maui there will be no liquor service on the ship form 7AM to 6PM while we're in port
• notice in the patter: "Please be advised that our current directive does not require quests to be Covid-19Ag tested again upon return to Los Angeles. Please disregard the second set of dates of testing which were sent to your stateroom earlier on in the cruise."

Hmmm.....

WOW!!!  Anyone know why (to both points)???

[HBCcruiser]

4 hours ago, travelin.sisters said:

there will be no liquor service on the ship form 7AM to 6PM

😳 I wonder why? I’ll have to remember to save a bottle of wine for drinking in our cabin if this is the same for our April cruise. Is this normal for Maui? 

[AZjohn]

Just saw this local Maui article about the Grand arriving today along with Residences at Sea's being in Lahaina on Saturday:

https://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2022/01/soon-return-of-cruise-ships-raises-concerns/

 

 

 

[MishelleMcc]

35 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

😳 I wonder why? I’ll have to remember to save a bottle of wine for drinking in our cabin if this is the same for our April cruise. Is this normal for Maui? 

I don't think so.  We did the Hawaii cruise December 3 2019 and I just check the Patter and the bars were open as usual...  I wonder if it has to do with the day of the week?  Some counties in the US are "dry" on a Sundays.  Are they in Maui on a Sunday?

[JF - retired RRT]

12 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

 

And there are wild chickens in Maui now but not nearly as many as there are in Kauai.  

Give it a little time. They breed like rats.

[azbirdmom]

5 hours ago, travelin.sisters said:

2 interesting notices tonight: 

• a letter from the hotel manager that due to local regulations at Maui there will be no liquor service on the ship form 7AM to 6PM while we're in port
• notice in the patter: "Please be advised that our current directive does not require quests to be Covid-19Ag tested again upon return to Los Angeles. Please disregard the second set of dates of testing which were sent to your stateroom earlier on in the cruise."

Hmmm.....

 

Maybe they thought that the test required by Hawaii was in addition to the one required for longer cruises?  And yes, I would definitely make sure I had my sailaway wine locked down.  The prohibition on liquor is odd unless it's more driven by staffing issues on the ship?

[CalLuvsCrusingToo]

7 hours ago, travelin.sisters said:

 

• notice in the patter: "Please be advised that our current directive does not require quests to be Covid-19Ag tested again upon return to Los Angeles. Please disregard the second set of dates of testing which were sent to your stateroom earlier on in the cruise."

Hmmm.....

 

I would be more concerned about THIS one.

And why would Princess do that?  🤨

[SteamboatWillie118]

Mahalo -Thank you so much @travelin.sisters for all your great info!

God willing, we will be on the 2/13/22 cruise on the Grand.

When you have a minute, perhaps you could comment on room service? We were in Mexico in Sep 2021, and ordered room service breakfast once.. it was abysmal. The breakfast sandwich was lukewarm and appeared to be from the night before. The only edible things were cereal (in the box).

On another day I ordered soup and a sandwich, equally terrible.

Normally we eat at the buffet; while not stellar, we find it pretty good.

I mentioned that on my survey and wonder if it's improved any at all?

Thanks again - have a wonderful trip back!😀

[CruzinNoony]

Is there a shuttle running from the pier in Kahului to the Queen Ka'ahumanu Shopping Center?

[Wife of Gert]

On 1/8/2022 at 10:38 AM, MishelleMcc said:

Absolutely!! ❤️

Interesting to see someone from Vale. We are from Nyssa.

[Astro Flyer]

8 hours ago, travelin.sisters said:

a letter from the hotel manager that due to local regulations at Maui there will be no liquor service on the ship form 7AM to 6PM while we're in port

 

I did a search & found that a Transient Vessel License to sell liquor onboard must be applied for at least 4 weeks in advance for each island so it’s possible that one wasn’t made for Maui.

 

https://www.mauicounty.gov/2005/Transient-Vessel-License

[redrocks07]

9 hours ago, travelin.sisters said:

2 interesting notices tonight: 

• a letter from the hotel manager that due to local regulations at Maui there will be no liquor service on the ship form 7AM to 6PM while we're in port
• notice in the patter: "Please be advised that our current directive does not require quests to be Covid-19Ag tested again upon return to Los Angeles. Please disregard the second set of dates of testing which were sent to your stateroom earlier on in the cruise."

Hmmm.....

 

1 hour ago, CalLuvsCrusingToo said:

 

I would be more concerned about THIS one.

And why would Princess do that?  🤨

With espect to liquor, do you think they would allow you to purchase liquor ashore and bring it on without confiscating due to this situation? Probably not but you could ask. We were on a Royal cruise to South America back in 2011 and the captain made a special allowance in Valparaiso to allow passengers to bring on a bottle of wine. There is a Whole Foods and Longs Drugs within walking distance of the ship.

 

With respect to not testing again, the last think Princess once to discover is more positive Covid cases. Not sure which thread but someone indicated that the whole Aloha deck was being set up for isolation - maybe the 1/19 cruise which we are on? There lack of transparency regarding infections is disappointing to us and probably everyone else. If people knew that there were very few or, possibly, many it might have an affect on how the passengers take care of themselves.

Edited January 12, 2022 by redrocks07

[MishelleMcc]

25 minutes ago, Wife of Gert said:

Interesting to see someone from Vale. We are from Nyssa.

Fancy meeting you here!!  Ha!  Hope you are enjoying your cruise!  We love the Hawaiian cruise!!!  ...all the Sea days....  the islands.... just heaven on earth!!!  We don't know anyone locally that cruises so nice to have a "neighbor" cruiser around!  We are Sue & Mishelle that manage Bully Creek Park!  Stop by and say hi sometime!! 

 

We will cross paths on the ocean.... Sailing the Ruby Princess to Hawaii on Jan 16.  Flying into SF tomorrow!  So excited!!

[travelin.sisters]

1 hour ago, CruzinNoony said:

Is there a shuttle running from the pier in Kahului to the Queen Ka'ahumanu Shopping Center?

I have seen your posts, but will not be able to answer until we have been off the ship...then I will let you know if I see any

 

[travelin.sisters]

39 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

 

I did a search & found that a Transient Vessel License to sell liquor onboard must be applied for at least 4 weeks in advance for each island so it’s possible that one wasn’t made for Maui.

 

https://www.mauicounty.gov/2005/Transient-Vessel-License

maybe because they change our port order at the last minute? So it was not longer the correct info?

[travelin.sisters]

23 minutes ago, redrocks07 said:

 

With espect to liquor, do you think they would allow you to purchase liquor ashore and bring it on without confiscating due to this situation? Probably not but you could ask. We were on a Royal cruise to South America back in 2011 and the captain made a special allowance in Valparaiso to allow passengers to bring on a bottle of wine. There is a Whole Foods and Longs Drugs within walking distance of the ship.

 

With respect to not testing again, the last think Princess once to discover is more positive Covid cases. Not sure which thread but someone indicated that the whole Aloha deck was being set up for isolation - maybe the 1/19 cruise which we are on? There lack of transparency regarding infections is disappointing to us and probably everyone else. If people knew that there were very few or, possibly, many it might have an affect on how the passengers take care of themselves.

I was told by guest services that all of Aloha deck was reserved for isolation...we are not happy that they are not retesting on the way home as that would give us more assurance that we did not contract anything on the first part of our trip or ashore, but it is what it is.

[travelin.sisters]

It's 8:30, arrival time was scheduled for 7...we are sitting at the pier & we are told that shoreside security has not yet arrived so we can't go anywhere! sigh! our tour is scheduled for 9;30 so hopefully they will get this sorted soonish...

[travelin.sisters]

8:50 they just announced that we are cleared to get off the ship! Maui here we come!

[Bgwest]

We haven’t left the ship yet but are not going to be surprised to have to run the gauntlet of protesters. 

[mousefan73]

10 hours ago, travelin.sisters said:

if she is a real swimmer, I don't know that she would consider it big enough to swim (like laps) in, but if she just wants in the water...

She swims well but not real laps. She’s got that old lady, can’t get my hair wet stroke. That pool is perfect. Thanks everyone! 

[Wife of Gert]

57 minutes ago, MishelleMcc said:

Fancy meeting you here!!  Ha!  Hope you are enjoying your cruise!  We love the Hawaiian cruise!!!  ...all the Sea days....  the islands.... just heaven on earth!!!  We don't know anyone locally that cruises so nice to have a "neighbor" cruiser around!  We are Sue & Mishelle that manage Bully Creek Park!  Stop by and say hi sometime!! 

 

We will cross paths on the ocean.... Sailing the Ruby Princess to Hawaii on Jan 16.  Flying into SF tomorrow!  So excited!!

We are actually on the next cruise, fly to LA on Tuesday. My husband has been following this one. He taught in Vale for years. Good time for you to cruise!

[JF - retired RRT]

1 hour ago, redrocks07 said:

Not sure which thread but someone indicated that the whole Aloha deck was being set up for isolation - maybe the 1/19 cruise which we are on? 

Maybe, they're prepping to accept a lot of new crew members. Don't forget...crew/passengers in isolation are one to a cabin (assuming not married) and they're (so far) avoiding the use of inside cabins.

[Astro Flyer]

1 hour ago, travelin.sisters said:

maybe because they change our port order at the last minute? So it was not longer the correct info?

Maybe that’s the reason although it’s been my experience that the Maui liquor commission can make bizarre rules. A couple of years ago they mandated sellers to check all IDs to ensure the buyer was over 21 years old. Their lack of common sense resulted in requiring even senior citizens to show ID…ridiculous! After a lot of pushback they were forced to use common sense & to not require those who were obviously over 21 to show ID.

[kiwimum]

28 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Maybe, they're prepping to accept a lot of new crew members. Don't forget...crew/passengers in isolation are one to a cabin (assuming not married) and they're (so far) avoiding the use of inside cabins.

Aloha deck has had additional air handlers installed in the balcony cabins used for quarantine.