Princess Hawaii Cruise - What to do?

I get so excited when we cruise, and love to brag about it to anyone who will listen. I get caught off guard when someone tells me they went on a cruise and there was "nothing to do." What the fiddle sticks is wrong with these people? Let's face it, there are perpetually unhappy people out there and no matter what you do, some are going to find fault. In my opinion, some try to leverage their unhappiness to get attention. That being said, I am almost  overwhelmed  reviewing my notes and copies of The Princess Patter to write this post. There are so many things I realize now, that I did not do because I made other choices. I am going to throw some ideas out there so when you do decide to cruise you can make wise choices.

Exercise! There are many ways to exercise on the Grand Princess. April loves Zumba and I like to walk. When she is in class, I walk the decks, although I admit on a couple of occasions I  laid in the sun instead. There are yoga classes and  a fitness center, line dance and hula lessons, so no excuses!

Zumba Class Grand Princess

Take a dip!  There are plenty of pools and hot tubs on board. Even if the weather is bad there are choices. On this cruise there was some rough seas and I watched one pool you could almost surf in! Take along some motion sickness meds if you need them. I should note that the pool was closed and emptied just after I got my photo.

Aft Pool Grand Princess

Lido Deck Pool Grand Princess

Lido Deck Pool Grand Princess Rough Seas

Take a photo!  Bring along your favorite camera. There are plenty of photo opportunities on board. I have taken some of the best photos of my life on cruise ships. If photo taking is not your "thing" don't worry, the ship has a bevy of photographers who will document your cruise memories.

Photo Op Grand Princess Hawaii Cruise

Photo Op Grand Princess

Watch a movie! You can either watch on the jumbo screen on Lido deck or in your cabin. There is mix of new releases and classic movies. One of our favorites was Dirty Dancing, "Nobody puts baby in the corner!"

Jumbo Screen Lido Deck Grand Princess

Read a book! Just give me a Tom Clancy novel and a comfortable chair and I'm good for hours. There is a  lending library on board,  but I purchased Clancy's  "Locked On" in the ship's store.  In case you don't read paper anymore, the Library will loan you a Kindle for free preloaded with a bunch of books. I'm still a paper guy for now. I'll let you in on a secret. Most of the ship's bars are available space for reading during the day. We hid away in the rear of the Wheelhouse Bar by the window.  Just remember to save us a spot.

Wheelhouse Bar Grand Princess

Stop and smell the flowers! The ship has plenty of fresh flowers and magnificent art work on board. Enjoy it!

Flowers Grand Princess

Get Educated! There are more classes on board than some high schools have. On our Hawaii cruise Gary Shanahan, a former teacher, talked about the culture of Hawaii and gave great tips on navigating the islands. Classes for photography, knitting or even how to play "Texas hold em." One of my favorites was the wine tasting class. Now that is my kind of education!

Wine Tasting on The Grand Princess

Be entertained! All day long there are entertainers and musicians playing in different venues. There are first class shows nightly featuring singers, dancers and a live orchestra. If you like comedy, you won't be disappointed. On one night there was  Mark Merchant, a ventriloquist whose puppet named Wing Tip Shu, made me laugh so hard I could not breath!   Be prepared to be amused!

Mark Merchant and Wing Tip Shu

Grand Princess Singers

Grand Princess Orchestra

I know it does not seem like it, but I've just scratched the surface of the fun stuff. I haven't even talked about food and drink. That will be in the next installment of Grand Princess Hawaii Cruise.