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.

Princess Hawaii Cruise Escape Completely

Princess Cruises, as a part of their logo, has  the  trademarked slogan "escape completely." I had pretty much dismissed this as marketing hype but after one day on board the Grand Princess;  I really had escaped. The hardest decision I have to make is what to eat.  I can do whatever I want when I want. Love it!

Travel Photography - Epiphany

  I have been shooting photos from many years, starting originally with film and  now digital. I own a collection of cameras that would put me into the pro category.  I've hauled many pounds of gear on trains and ships when I traveled,  capturing some great shots. On recent trips I have relied more and more on my point and shoot that I carry in a small case on my belt. It is always handy and is very stealth. In many situations you don't want to draw attention to your expensive gear. A few weeks before this cruise I dropped it and the screen shattered. I knew I needed a replacement so I searched for "travel cameras."  I selected the Panasonic Lumix ZS 25 on sale at Costco for under $200. I brought it on board and loved it instantly.  It is smarter and quicker than me,  making exposure decisions in a heart beat. I had a photo epiphany of sorts, you don't have to carry many pounds of camera stuff to get great pictures. My aching back thanks you! Another escape, I no longer need to be a pack mule.

We are up early to photograph the sunrise and eat some breakfast.

Sunrise from The Grand Princess Hawaii Cruise

Sunrise Grand Princess Nov. 2013

This next photo reminds me of a scene from the movie 'City of Angels' when the angels turn toward the setting sun.

Passengers on The Grand Princess Hawaii Cruise watch the sunrise

My Breakfast selection - Grand Princess Horizon Court Buffet

Let me show you a few more photos taken with  my new stealth travel camera.

Alfredo's  Pizza Grand Princess

Passing Storm

Waterfall Fun Hawaii

Princess Hawaii Cruise Packing and Boarding

One of the questions we get asked about our cruises is "what do you pack? " As a rule, I would preach that less is more, but there are so many variables and individual styles that fit into what one packs. In theory, one could throw some t-shirts and shorts in a bag and be happy. We are both a bit more sartorial so we bring  a number of mix and match outfits. On this Hawaii cruise you need both warm weather and cool weather clothes. The weather was warm and sunny in Hawaii but on the way there and back we had  a of  number of "jacket" days. On this fifteen day cruise there were three "formal" nights in the dining rooms. You see some tuxedos and gowns, but I wear a black suit and Avril a black dress and we are normally in the more dressed up group. If you don't want to dress up on those nights you eat at the informal buffet on Lido deck or order room service.  Avril and I carry 21 inch rolling "carry-on" bags from eBags. Here is the link to the latest incarnation of our bags. You can cram a bunch of clothing in these bags but they are still easy to manage. On this cruise, because of the length, we also carried sport duffel bags that hooked on top of our rollers giving us more capacity. Laundry and cleaning are available on the ship but I carry enough clothes so I can avoid that chore while on vacation. In addition, I carry a photo backpack with cameras, lenses, computer and tons of cords and accessories. There are some changes coming in the photo department, more on that in my next post. While this much equipment and clothing seem excessive our bags pale in comparison to some coming on board. I think someone packed a small car in one huge bag. As they say, 'whatever floats your boat.'

After all the packing, planning and preparation it was time to get on board!  We arrived at the port at our prescribed time and were amazed at how fast we went through the process. We were on board in our cabin in an amazing 20 minutes! The fastest boarding time ever, good job Princess! I could feel the stress relief already.

Our Interior Cabin Grand Princess

 Our cabin attendant, Jimmy, introduced himself  and gave us a briefing on upcoming events.  We marched upstairs for some lunch. We were housed on deck 10 Caribe and walked up three flights to deck 14 Lido (no deck 13.) We were headed into an eating frenzy and taking the stairs helped work up an appetite. I chowed down on small portions of roast beef, fish, scallops and mashed potatoes. I had to pace myself because it was only a few hours until dinner. We took some photos of San Francisco from the sports deck 15. Sorry to leave you San Fran, but not to worry we will return in fifteen days!

San Francisco taken from The Grand Princess

We attended the mandatory safety drill and unpacked before dinner. We had the early seating in the DaVinci Dining room and at promptly 5:30 pm we found our requested table for two. We enjoyed some wine and ordered a feast. There was a watercress and radish salad for me and Red Snapper Mojito salad for Avril. We both had the prime rib for our entree. and split a cheese and fruit plate for dessert. We met some fellow cruisers at adjacent tables who seemed to just as happy as us to be on the way to Hawaii.

Dinner Day one DaVinci Dining room Grand Princess

After dinner we attended the introductory show in the Princess Theater. What a lovely way to start a vacation.