maui – The Veranda Life

Our second cruise on this itinerary. 15 Day round trip from Los Angeles. November, 2015 on Ruby Princess. Our first time on Ruby. No Cuz, but Paul and Jody decided to join us.

Another “Princess Plus”. Princess offers a program they call the “Bon Voyage Experience”. This is available on select itineraries and allows guests to board the ship with you. It’s $39.00 per person and includes a photo, lunch in either the Main Dining Room or Buffet, and an optional tour of the ship with the Future Cruise Director. (the $39 dollars will be credited to a future cruise if booked within a certain time frame. BVE guests get to hang out until about an hour prior to setting sail.

Since we were going out of our home port, we asked Suzi’s BFF to drive us to the ship. In return, we would pay for her BVE. The best part of BVE is… As soon as In-Transit passengers board (Back to Back passengers are last to leave the ship but first to board), the BVE people get to board. So even if our designated boarding time is, say 1:00 PM, we get to board at 11:00 AM. SCORE!

After a nice lunch and tour of the ship BFF departed and we unpacked and prepared for the lifeboat drill! BTW, we had booked our favorite balcony stateroom, Lido 214.

We set sail at about 5:00 PM and at about 6:00 PM, the Captain made the following announcement. “We are expecting some rough seas ahead, so if you brought anything to help with seasickness, I would suggest using them now”. Comforting.

Fortunately, Suzi and I haven’t been affected by seasickness. I was a little queasy the first two cruises but never sick. Since then, we have encountered some pretty rough seas without issues. Well, it did get rough. During the night, the ship was making groaning noises like we’ve never heard. We were on a good roller coaster. The next morning, when we headed to the Buffet, we saw that the crew had taped seasickness bags all along the hallways. We didn’t think it was that rough. At least not now. Then we got to Horizon Court and there weren’t a lot of people there. The rough seas lasted 2 1/2 days…

First port, Hilo. Suzi and I took the tour to the Botanical Gardens. This truly was a photographers paradise.

The next port was Honolulu. All four of us booked the Scenic Drive of Pali Coast. We drove around Diamond Head, then up to the Pali Coast Lookout before heading back to the ship and downtown Honolulu.

Next stop was Kauai. Of all the port locations in Hawaii, Nawiliwili is my favorite because of the warehouse on top of the hill.

Suzi and I booked the Wailua River and Fern Grotto excursion.

Next port was Lahaina, Maui. Suzi, Paul and I did a walking tour that I found online. They offered 28 points of interest. We didn’t get to all but did get to quite a few including the old jail. This old jalopy was sitting in front.

And we’re on our way back for 5 relaxing days to Ensenada. Never got off the ship. Next day, home (after a stop at the Future Cruise Desk where we made our next deposit…)

In closing, the Ruby Princess became our favorite class of ship. Although we liked the separate desert areas in Horizon Court on Star Princess, the Main Dining Room on Ruby had restrooms and four elevators. Oh, it also had a Gelato Bar!!!!! 3 scoops for $1.50!

Our first Hawaiian Cruise. 15 Day Round trip from Los Angeles, December, 2013 on the Star Princess. The Three Musketeers, however, being 15 days and feeling a bit cramped in a Mini Suite on the Island Princess, Cuz got his own stateroom. We were on Lido 214 and Jerry, right next door in Lido 210. We enjoyed this Stateroom so much, we book it whenever it’s available.

I’ve always admired this class of the Princess line with Skywalker’s Lounge over the stern with the angled walkway.

We were all prepared for our next 5 days at sea.

We always choose traditional late seating. Reasons? More time in port and we like to build relationships with the staff, especially the ones that feed you…

We ate in the Amafi Dining Room, located on Deck 6 Aft. I would not recommend Amalfi for mobility-challenged passengers for two reasons. There are no restrooms in or near the dining room. You must go upstairs. For those with challenges, there are only two elevators that service Deck 6.

Being this cruise was in early December and heading towards Hawaii, there were a lot of WWII Vets on board. Unfortunately, there were 4 less passengers by the end of the cruise. Very sad but I guess if it’s your time, no better place than during a cruise.

First Port was Honolulu, Oahu. Never having been to Hawaii, Pearl Harbor was a must, especially at this time of year, December 10th. Jerry had been several times so opted to grab a cab and go into Waikiki Beach. Suzi and I booked the USS Arizona Memorial and City Drive excursion. You can’t not get choked up going to the USS Arizona.

After getting back to the port, we went to the top of the Aloha tower and grabbed this shot of the ship.

Next port was Nawiliwili, Kauai. All three of us booked the tour for Wiamea Canyon with a stop at Spouting Horn. Suzi and I grabbed a seat on the bus together while Jerry found a seat next to a single gentleman. By the time we reached our first stop at Spouting Horn, the two were best friends (Jerry could start a conversation with anyone…) Jerry introduced us to “Paul”. Paul was on the cruise with his wife, “Jody” but she opted to stay on the ship.

It turns out Paul and Jody live 5 miles away from us. Since this cruise, we have remained close and get together for dinner once a month. We have also been on 3 additional cruises with them. Small world. Here is a short clip from Spouting Horn.

Next stop was Waimea Canyon. When they said it’s the Grand Canyon of Hawaii, they weren’t kidding. Not as breathtaking but much more lush. Kauai ended up being our favorite island.

Next stop, Lahaina, Maui, which was a tender port. The three of us booked a whale watching excursion. On the plus side, the tour boat picked us up from the tender pontoon of the ship. On the minus side, it’s really early for whale watching, so we saw one younger whale that was way out in the distance. Even with a 300mm telephoto, nothing. Here is a shot near the harbor

Next Port was Hilo on the big island. We all went on the excursion to Volcano National Park. (Photos still not processed. Will update soon!)

Time for another 5 day journey, this time to Ensenada (Thank you Jones Act). Along the way we had a pretty good deck party.

We arrived in Ensenada. I booked all three of us on a tour to “The oldest Winery in Ensenada”. Princess mis-advertised. The tour went to the retail outlet downtown for “The oldest Winery in Ensenada”… I made sure to let Princess know about this and they have since corrected the information.

And…. Time to book the next cruise and take advantage of a Future Cruise Deposit.

Tag: maui

Cruise #11 – Hawaii 2015

Cruise #9 – Hawaii 2013