Live From The Sapphire Princess October 15, 2023 R/T to Hawaii

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You were at the right spot and right time to take the picture 

[Steelers36]

20 hours ago, JF - retired RRT said:

There was a post a couple of years ago that told how to figure out where the beds would be...maybe @Essiesmom?

 

15 hours ago, kluv2cruz said:

Cruisedeckplans.com?

Use the deck plans on the Princess Medallion App.

[PacnGoNow]

4 hours ago, Woobstr112G said:

While at breakfast, we learned that Sabatinis would be open for lunch yesterday (same menu as dinner). Our waiter told us it was something new they were trying out.

Are they starting the lunch Sabatini’s on this cruise for everyone, or just suites?

TIA

[pamps2801]

I scratch my head on why it took your ship only 4 days to arrive in Hilo, when our cruise on the Sapphire, which starts right after yours finishes, will take 5 cruise days to arrive in Hilo....It's a mystery.....🤔

Edited October 20, 2023 by pamps2801

[theloo]

1 hour ago, pamps2801 said:

I scratch my head on why it took your ship only 4 days to arrive in Hilo, when our cruise on the Sapphire, which starts right after yours finishes, will take 5 cruise days to arrive in Hilo....It's a mystery.....🤔

I think it depends on scheduling needs, not actual distance.  On my RT Hawaii-LA, it was 5 days there and 5 days back.  On my upcoming RT Hawaii-SF, it's 4 days there, 5.5 days back to Ensenada, then 1 whole day back to SF.

[memoak]

2 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

Are they starting the lunch Sabatini’s on this cruise for everyone, or just suites?

TIA

On the Crown they did lunch one day. Same menu full price. I would not want a heavy dinner meal at lunch time  That is a $35 lunch per person

 

Edited October 20, 2023 by memoak

[arizonaperson]

1 hour ago, pamps2801 said:

I scratch my head on why it took your ship only 4 days to arrive in Hilo, when our cruise on the Sapphire, which starts right after yours finishes, will take 5 cruise days to arrive in Hilo....It's a mystery.....🤔

I guess it depends on how you count the days. …They left San Pedro on October 15 ( late afternoon/ early evening) and arrived in Hilo on the 20th.(5 days) So it’s 4 full Sea days.

[JustAPrincess]

Bob

 

Thanks so much for posting this thread!  Just wondering if Sapphire has been equipped with the "night lights" under the bedside cabinets and outside the bathroom?

 

Thanks!

[PacnGoNow]

56 minutes ago, JustAPrincess said:

Bob

 

Thanks so much for posting this thread!  Just wondering if Sapphire has been equipped with the "night lights" under the bedside cabinets and outside the bathroom?

 

Thanks!

No!!! Thank goodness!

 

[travelin.sisters]

10 hours ago, Woobstr112G said:

 

One of the coolest things I’ve ever seen (never have seen it before). A rainbow going all the way down to the water…..

 

Bob

looks so magical!

 

[travelin.sisters]

6 hours ago, memoak said:

On the Crown they did lunch one day. Same menu full price. I would not want a heavy dinner meal at lunch time  That is a $35 lunch per person

 

but if they just do it one or two days, it allows for those who don't like a heavy meal at night...I actually prefer going out for a later lunchtime "dinner" & then a light snack at dinner time. Growing up this was our Sunday meal plan "dinner" after church & then "supper" which was just a light meal in the evening...so this could be a nice way for different people to enjoy the specialty restaurants 

[Cruisintimer]

On 10/13/2023 at 9:20 PM, Woobstr112G said:

Good evening from San Pedro Ca. Holli & I are all settled in at the Doubletree. The drive getting hear was brutal (Once we got on the 91 Fwy). It was a virtual parking lot from the 60 until we got to the 110 fwy. Those of you familiar with So Cal freeways know what I’m talking about.For dinner tonight, we ate in the hotel restaurant. We both enjoyed our respective selections. service was also very good. 
 

As far as the Doubletree goes, it’s a nice hotel. We’ve stayed here before (last time was 2018). The rooms are a tad dated but I wouldn’t hesitate to stay here again or recommend it to someone looking for a nice pre cruise stay. The one thing they no longer have (post Covid) is room service. Our dinner waiter did tell us there are plans to bring room service back. 

 

Not much on tap for tomorrow. I’ll probably get up early and walk around the Marina taking a bunch of pictures. After breakfast, I need to make a CVS run to pick up a prescription that Holli forgot to pack. Our dinner plans will be dining at our favorite local restaurant (22nd Street Landing). 
 

That’s all for now as the drive did me in and I’m pretty tired. 
 

Hope all are well…..

 

Bob

We just stayed at Doubletree, San Pedro a couple weeks ago.  Their park and sail is a great package and the shuttle to the ship seals the deal.

 

Hope your cruise is fantastic.

[Woobstr112G]

A very early good morning from the Sapphire Princess. It is only 0417 (ship's time) as I begin to type this. Another early morning rise for me. There is only me and one other passenger in the IC as I begin this post. Seas are fairly calm right now. They were fairly smooth during the night as I had no problems sleeping. 

 

Yesterday in Hilo we did not have anything planned. I got off the ship for about an hour or so and just walked around a bit. Holli stayed onboard to rest her back in preparation for our excursion today. There really isn't much to do right around the port. It is a somewhat industrial area. The town of Hilo and Walmart are about two miles from the dock. I'm actually glad I didn't go to Walmart as i heard from several different sources that it was a total zoo. Besides a cruise ship being in port, yesterday was sort of a grand reopening for the store as they had finished up some remodeling. A local was actually the first to warn me about going there. He told me it was packed and they had a multitude of food trucks in the parking lot to help celebrate the reopening festivities.

 

Today in Honolulu we are scheduled to arrive at 0700 with a 2230 all aboard. Holli & I have a dinner cruise planned for a little after 1600. I booked it privately through "Star of Honolulu." We've done the dinner cruise previously and are looking forward to doing it again. The reason I booked it privately is Princess was only offering a Sunset Cocktail Cruise while we wanted to do the full dinner cruise.  As far as this morning goes, we are hoping to once again enjoy our suite perk of breakfast in Sabatinis. After that, I'll probably work on touching up pictures I have taken for eventual upload to my Flickr page when we get back home.

 

For entertainment options today, there will be a College Football triple header shown in the Explorers Lounge. First up is Penn State vs Ohio State at 0600. The second game will be the Texas Longhorns vs the Houston Cougars at 1000.  The third game at 1400 will be Utah vs the USC Trojans. Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie will be screened on MUTS at 1230. Musician Janusz Bator will perform in Crooners at 1700 & 1930. Moondance Duo will be in the Wheelhouse Bar at 1815 & 1915. A featured Folkloric Performance with Halau-Lilia Kamanoe will be in the Princess Theater at 1845 & 2045. Pianist/Vocalist Andy Morris will be in Crooners from 2015 onwards. The house band will be playing two jazz sets in the Wheelhouse bar at 2115 and 2215. 

 

Well that's all for now. Hope all are well.....

Bob

 

[Woobstr112G]

8 hours ago, Cruisintimer said:

We just stayed at Doubletree, San Pedro a couple weeks ago.  Their park and sail is a great package and the shuttle to the ship seals the deal.

 

Hope your cruise is fantastic.

Thanks for the good wishes. Just out of curiosity, how long was your cruise? When we checked in last Friday, I was told the max park and sail days was 10. I had to pay for the additional five days.....

 

Bob

[JF - retired RRT]

6 hours ago, Woobstr112G said:

Thanks for the good wishes. Just out of curiosity, how long was your cruise? When we checked in last Friday, I was told the max park and sail days was 10. I had to pay for the additional five days.....

 

Bob

That's interesting. Several years ago was did a B2B (Hawaii and So. Pacific), we parked there for 43 days. Maybe, we broke the system.🤣

When we got back, our car's battery was dead. The hotel "jumped" it for us.

[PacnGoNow]

Watch out for Honolulu customs at Aloha Tower cruise port, today at pier 10.  One bottle of wine and they confiscated it.  Really?  
No PCL alcohol desk.  
 

PCL reps told her, you don’t have to confiscate wine, just hard liquor.  But, she insisted she had to confiscate and fill out papers.  Never seen this before. 

 

Also, they require original Gov. Photo ID’s to get back on the ship.  No copies.  
Strict…IMO

 

 

 

Edited October 21, 2023 by PacnGoNow

[XBGuy]

29 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

Watch out for Honolulu customs at Aloha Tower cruise port, today at pier 10.  One bottle of wine and they confiscated it.  Really?  

 

 

That could just be a case of being unfortunate case of getting an agent on the first day of the job.  I have brought wine onboard more that once in Honolulu with no problem, at all.  I am sure that @PacnGoNow is accurately reporting actual experience, but, again, it might very well be the luck of the draw,

[PacnGoNow]

17 minutes ago, XBGuy said:

 

That could just be a case of being unfortunate case of getting an agent on the first day of the job.  I have brought wine onboard more that once in Honolulu with no problem, at all.  I am sure that @PacnGoNow is accurately reporting actual experience, but, again, it might very well be the luck of the draw,

Never had a problem at Pier 2 (larger terminal), but this is a Saturday, so we had to use Pier 10/11 Aloha Tower.

 

NCL Pride gets Pier 2 today.

 

I should have asked her if she was new, but didn’t. 
 

Just more of a heads up for others on this cruise.

 

 

Edited October 21, 2023 by PacnGoNow

[memoak]

1 hour ago, PacnGoNow said:

Watch out for Honolulu customs at Aloha Tower cruise port, today at pier 10.  One bottle of wine and they confiscated it.  Really?  
No PCL alcohol desk.  
 

PCL reps told her, you don’t have to confiscate wine, just hard liquor.  But, she insisted she had to confiscate and fill out papers.  Never seen this before. 

 

Also, they require original Gov. Photo ID’s to get back on the ship.  No copies.  
Strict…IMO

 

 

 

Aloha tower in the toughest. The actually took as wooden letter opener from us. And yes you must have photo id or you will not get back on

[PacnGoNow]

21 minutes ago, memoak said:

Aloha tower in the toughest. The actually took as wooden letter opener from us. And yes you must have photo id or you will not get back on

I know airport security is really tough, as they should be, because of all the drug traffic.

 

I’m so used to pier 2.  Been here many times.

 

But, a bottle of wine? Anyway, just a heads up.  

[PacnGoNow]

28 minutes ago, memoak said:

Aloha tower in the toughest. The actually took as wooden letter opener from us. And yes you must have photo id or you will not get back on

Did you notice Kona or Kauai as this strict lately?  We had no issues last year.

I wonder if part of this is due to heightened security all over, due to the 2 wars?

[cr8tiv1]

Pier 10/11 - Aloha Towers is a more historic terminal with beautiful murals.  It’s too bad that the state sold the land to a college. 
 

Pier 2 was actually built by NCL for her supposedly 3 cruise ships around the island.  So she has first dibs.  Funny how she was parked/moored at Pier 10 for the entire pandemic shut down.

 

[jwattle]

2 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

Never had a problem at Pier 2 (larger terminal), but this is a Saturday, so we had to use Pier 10/11 Aloha Tower.

 

NCL Pride gets Pier 2 today.

 

I should have asked her if she was new, but didn’t. 
 

Just more of a heads up for others on this cruise.

 

 

That may have gained you some "unwanted" attention, of a very up close sort.

[Purplsmurf]

3 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

Watch out for Honolulu customs at Aloha Tower cruise port, today at pier 10.  One bottle of wine and they confiscated it.  Really?  
No PCL alcohol desk.  
 

PCL reps told her, you don’t have to confiscate wine, just hard liquor.  But, she insisted she had to confiscate and fill out papers.  Never seen this before. 

 

Also, they require original Gov. Photo ID’s to get back on the ship.  No copies.  
Strict…IMO

 

 

 

We just got back on the ship and our ID was not asked for by anyone, only medallion. We are leaving again in a couple of hours. We will see what happens then.

[PacnGoNow]

8 minutes ago, jwattle said:

That may have gained you some "unwanted" attention, of a very up close sort.

Yes, I would never ask anyway. 🥴