Friday, December 28, 2018 – Hilo Hawaii – Sunny – 75F

Distance from San Francisco, CA to Hilo, Hawaii – 2,005 Nautical Miles – Speed 18.0 Knots

A picture perfect day in our first stop in Paradise. 

The island of Hawaii sports five volcanoes.  We are witnessing a rare phenomenon today as two of these volcanoes, Mauna Kea ("White Mountain)(with the Observatories on top) and Mauna Loa ("Long Mountain") are both cloud free today.  We usually are unable to see either volcano when we visit the Big Island.  Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano and is the tallest mountain on Earth (Over 10,000 meters from ocean floor to peak) and the tallest point in the Hawaiian Islands (13,803 ft above sea level).  It gets it name from the snow appearing on its upper elevations.  Mauna Loa is an active shield volcano and is the largest volcano (mass and volume) on the planet.  

The whole crew is touring today – “'Akaka Falls, Macadamia Nut Factory and Tropical Gardens”. The timing is good because we don’t have to be on the pier until 9:50 AM, which gives me enough time to run upstairs and get breakfast. When I got up there at 6:30 AM, the place was full – doesn’t anyone sleep in anymore. I found an interior table for two and was able to enjoy a quiet breakfast.

Still cannot talk so I started a Z Pack as a preventative measure – probably viral but just in case.

Our guide and driver, Earl, is interesting enough but he speaks in a slow monotone and he can put me to sleep pretty quickly. We’ve never been to our first stop ‘Akaka Falls. 

You can't see the falls from the entrance to the site - just luscious vegetation everywhere.  To get a close-up of the falls, you need to use the walkway and stairs, which will lead you to a lookout. 

The place was crowded but not packed so we got some nice pictures.

Our next stop was the Vayera Zoo and Tropical Forest. Not feeling so hot, I opted not to walk the grounds.  Everyone else checked out the animals and plants.

The bus then took us to the Lili'uokalani Park and Gardens in downtown Hilo.  The beautiful Japanese Garden themed park (the largest outside of Japan) was donated by Queen Lili'uokalani and built between 1917 and 1919.  It features ponds, bridges, statues, pagodas, and a Japanese Tea House.  We had some free time here to explore the gardens and take some great shots.

 

 

Our final stop was the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory, where we spent 45 minutes trying all flavors of nuts. We got our escort goody bags and Macie took her chances with the oysters and came away with two black pearls.

We rested in our room until dinner which was interesting tonight. We pre-ordered Kosher meals – 6 Prime Rib and one Salisbury Steak. We also got, but did not order, three orders of vegetarian stuffed cabbage. Everything came wrapped (airline meals).

Opening the packages was not as difficult as it generally is. I think everyone liked the meat and I made a hamburger out of the Salisbury steak and the challah the Maître D made for the table (two in fact). Fries with my burger and a starter of a salad with Thousand Island made for a pretty good meal. All in all, although the staff worked hard to smooth the process, overall satisfaction was low so I don’t think we will be going that route too often.

Showtime tonight was “The Alley Cats” – A Capella Quarter from Southern California. I'm pretty sure we have seen them before – maybe under a different name - but they were entertaining.

Back to the room to rest. Still can’t talk.

Thursday, December 27, 2018 – At Sea Pacific Ocean – Warmer and cloudy – 70s

The seas were rockier last night but manageable.  It is getting warmer outside and the skies are clearing in the afternoon.

I’m developing some kind of laryngitis – so speaking will need to be at a minimum today. I took in a little of Gloeta’s presentation on volcanoes. She showed lots of interesting NGS videos of the recent eruption of Kilauea and how the lava leaving the caldera caused its collapse and the formation of new rifts and lava rivers.

Lunch today was in Da Vinci Dining Room, where I had a Cesar Salad and Pasta Oglio along with Fish Tacos (as only a cruise ship can make them).

I joined Leo and his posse for ongoing trivia up in One5 and today we got nine out of ten right (missing the Rocky Movie theme).

I did some reading up on Deck 15 before heading to the Princess Theater for Talk 4 –“DNA Testing: A Genetic Eyewitness” at 2:30 PM. I am sucking on those restaurant mints to keep my sore throat at bay. The turnout in the theater was good – hard to estimate but the crowd would have been SRO in the Vista Lounge. The computer froze for the sixth time in a row – this time the PC shut itself down and rebooted. The tech disconnected the HMDI/VGA cable and reattached it and it didn’t freeze by the time I started. The talk went well and end up right on time. I talked to some people in the hall afterward. One thing about these cruises on Grand Princess is that people are telling me what a neat job I am doing on my PowerPoint Slides – not something I hear that often. Oh, yes, I just had enough voice left to finish the talk and answer a couple of questions.

Another round of trivia with Leo et al. – this time we were losers (8 out of 20) (e.g. capital of Armenia?).

Dinner was in the Michelangelo Dining Room – Tempura Sushi, double Cesar Salad, baked potato soup, salmon with a baked potato and veggie fried rice (made especially for us by the Asst. Maitre D for the table.

We were able to get seats for the 7:45 PM show starring Comedian Johnny Cardinale. This show, funnier than his first show, was an absolute hoot.

After dessert with Dova and Danny, we went back to the room (I could no longer talk).

Clocks turn back one hour tonight to put us on Hawaii Time.

Wednesday, December 26, 2018 – At Sea Pacific Ocean – Windier – Mild – mid 60s

The seas are calmer but there is still a little chop.  It's a gray and bleak day as we sail toward Hawaii.

I was up in Horizon Court for another early and quiet breakfast.  Because of the unavailability of both cottage cheese and sour cream, I have a new paradigm for breakfast – pancakes and an egg (along with the mandatory oatmeal). I did try the Mueslix this morning and it was good but too sweet.

I went to Gloeta’s talk on Jellyfish and Corals this morning.  Her attendance numbers continue to reflect either the early hour or the passenger demographic.  I introduced myself to Gloeta after her talk and told her we are in her old room.  She seems personable enough.

This afternoon, I am once again in the Vista Lounge for my third talk – “Forensics and History: Mystery of the Romanovs”. This time the theater was more than 90 percent full with only a few seats over by the windows unoccupied (can't see the slides from there).  My computer froze twice (very annoying and requiring a reboot) and I ran five minutes over. The freezing up must have something to do with the Princess AV system since freeze-ups don't happen with my laptop and other systems.  I answered some questions out in the hallway as the theater was being used for a rehearsal.

Dova and crew had dinner in the Dining Room while the two of us had dinner up in the buffet – the walnut ravioli was very good and my homemade Cesar Salad (I tossed the Romaine and dressing myself) was also good.

We finished dinner pretty quickly so we went to hear Johnny Cardinale, Comedian and Guitarist, in the Vista Lounge. I thought he was pretty funny and his show was longer than most Princess shows. 

We went from there to the Princess Theater to hear Elena Bosworth, Rock Cellist. Hard to describe her show – she was decked out in Goth Rock/Superstar gear and her Cello was a narrow space age thing that looked more like a blaster than an instrument. She had a huge light show on the back screen and the orchestra supplied a big time rock beat. She is from Ukraine so she is a little hard to understand but we stayed long enough to catch a terrific version of “Hallelujah” during which she sported angel wings (seriously). 

The rest of the evening was spent with Steven in Crooners Bar.

Tuesday, December 25, 2018 – At Sea Pacific Ocean – Warmer and Sunnier – mid 60s

The sea has finally calmed down and it is warmer outside.

After breakfast, I went to hear Naturalist, Gloeta Massie, in the Princess Theater talk about birds and dinosaurs. She is very glib and entertaining but I thought a bit technical at times. The crowd was not large (150 plus) but the early time – 9:30 AM – was certainly a factor. She has this thing where she asks the audience a question and asks them to discuss before answering (like the SNL Skit with faux Barbra). Gloeta must be a regular on the Hawaii run (like Gary) because we are in the room she had on the last run to the islands.

The big event of the morning was the gift giving with Santa and his helpers in the atrium.  There are a lot of kids on board so it's a perfect holiday event for them.

I played Science Trivia with Leo and his friends in One5 before lunch, which was in the Buffet Pool Area – Salad and quesadillas today (Mexican Buffet Lunch).  The food was pretty good and the pool area is a good place to eat if you have a lot of people and need a big table.  Also, it's always warm in there.

The rest of the early afternoon was spent up on a now warmer and comfortable Deck 15 Aft.  

This gave me a chance to make some progress on my book.  Mostly, though, I like watching the ocean go by.

My second talk – “DNA Testing: Cold Cases Solved” was at 3:30 PM in the Vista Lounge.  There was a significant improvement in attendance over yesterday – about 80 percent full (about 400 passengers).  Danny and Dova were in attendance.

We had dinner in the dining room - our head waiter continues to make sure we are happy campers.  He is amenable to bringing us some special items if we request them ahead of time.  This should be interesting.  We also had some fun with puzzles during dinner.

After dinner, we listened to the music of Ami and Finesse in the Atrium.

The show tonight is a Christmas Themed item called “Around the Fire” with Cruise Director Steve Campbell. We opted not to go and instead spent the evening in the Crooners Bar.

Clocks went back an hour tonight.

Monday, December 24, 2018 – At Sea – “Pacific” Ocean – Cloudy – 60s

The captain was indeed telling the truth – the ship was being tossed all night. Booms and large movements. Slept off and on.  The sea is definitely angry.

Had breakfast up in the Horizon Court – still on same regime – oatmeal (brown sugar and raisins), pancakes with one fried egg, and biscuits. The ship’s motion did not keep people from getting up there early for breakfast. Breakfast is again the best meal of the day - the biscuits are especially good.

I spent some of the morning in the International Cafe working on my first presentation and having a decaf iced mocha latte from New Grounds.  I have to constantly check the charges for coffee since there is a lot of variability in how the baristas put in the bill.  The desk always corrects the bill if needed.  That said, the coffee is really good and there are small tables near power cords at the side of the seating area.


We all had lunch in the Da Vinci Dining Room. I had the James Beard French Toast and ham free Eggs Benedict.  The food was good but I don't really like to wait that long for the food to arrive.  That's OK for dinner but not for lunch.

Mike explained that there would be no afternoon Bingo (wonder why?) on this cruise so that left the Vista Lounge open for lectures. My first talk – “The CSI Phenomenon: Forensics onTelevision” was at 2:30 PM (a lot more convenient, at least for me, than the 9:30 AM slot). The Vista Lounge was about 70 percent full (approximately 250 -300 people according to Mike) – a good start. I need to come up with a better wrap up for this talk–it goes out with a whimper.

I looked up the seating capacities for the various venues on ship (to estimate attendance):

Princess Theater – 748 (seems low) (explains the crowding that occurs for shows)

Vista Lounge - 457

Explorers Lounge -274.

The Pacific Ocean became more pacific in the afternoon.

We had dinner in Alfredo’s Pizzeria – everyone had their own pizzas. I was disappointed that there were no sun dried tomatoes available for the Vegetariana Pizza. Still, it was quiet and peaceful or the opposite of the Dining Rooms.

We went to “Stardust”, the first Production Show on this trip. When we got close to the theater, we noticed an overwhelming bilge smell. In the theater, the smell was almost intolerable. There were no announcements and we did not smell anything on our floor. I hope they took care of it. I smelled something like this before years ago on the Golden Princess and no one said anything about it then.  By the way, the show was, as always, entertaining (even though we have see it several times).

Sunday, December 23, 2018, San Francisco, CA – Partly Cloudy 60F

Embarkation/In-Transit

  

The ship arrived very early in San Francisco.  


I was up in Horizon Court for an early breakfast and so glad that we are not getting off.  Breakfast was not rushed (at least for me).  The second cruise is special because our kids and grandkids are sailing with us.  The plan is to meet them later and we'll both board the ship together around noon.

I went out on the deck to get a picture of the sunrise over the bay.  It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day in San Francisco.

Armed with our in-transit cards, we disembarked, took some shots of the pier area,

and met the family at a hotel near the pier.  They had to return the rental car and there was an rental office near the hotel.  The hotel was also where we were going to meet our cousins, Mark and Adele.  We found a table in the hotel and we were able to chat for quite a while - no one from the hotel came by to check on us (I guess they thought we were guests).

The plan was to walk back to the ship and check out the shops along the way.  Because the area was so touristic, everything was open, even on a Sunday.  

Boarding and check-in was relatively straight forward and soon our entire party was on Grand Princess.

We had a nice lunch in Horizon Court, which, for some reason, was not as chaotic as it usually is on embarkation day.

The captain, in his introductory announcements during the lifeboat drill, indicated that it would be rough seas for the next two days. Something to look forward to.  The sail out was after sunset so we did not see anything except the lights on the Golden Gate Bridge (viewed from the comfort of the ship's lounges). As soon as Grand Princess sailed beyond the Golden Gate Bridge, the seas began to rock.

We all had dinner at 6:30 PM in the Michelangelo Dining Room at a great able for seven. We introduced ourselves to the head waiter who would be taking care of us for the next 15 days.  Leo and Amelia were trying to deal with the ship’s motion and didn't eat a lot at dinner.  I thought the dinner was very good and the service was excellent.

We did not attend the Welcome Aboard Show with Bobby Brooks Wilson.

The seas continued to be unfriendly at night.  We are in the forward section of the ship - usually a good place to be in nasty seas.  The bed seemed to moving in a circle and the booms caused by waves hitting the ship sounded like cannons.  The rest of our crew was in the midships area, where the motion should be less of an issue.

Seas are NOT smooth.

Saturday, December 22, 2018 - At Sea - Pacific Ocean - Chillier - 60s

It is getting noticeably cooler as we head up the Pacific Coast.

Another early morning and another wonderful sunrise.


I have one more presentation to do on this cruise - "Forensic Detectives: Identifying the Famous and Infamous".  The turnout has been very consistent this whole trip and clearly due to the unique demographic aboard.  No issue as far as I'm concerned - a small but with-it crowd is always a good thing.

It wasn't that warm out on the deck but I did want to get a picture of the ocean - just a wee bit of chop.

I ordered a banana daiquiri (the afternoon two for one deal) and it was huge - more like a snow cone than a mixed drink - it was good.

After dinner, we watched the Desperado Trio perform in the Atrium.  Their highlighted dancer went all out tonight.  She was all over the floor showing off her signature moves.

The best thing is that we don't have to pack as we are in transit passengers.  That is the nicest thing when you are cruising - back to backs and no packing for the first leg.  Otherwise, that last night is really hectic.

Seas are smooth.