We sailed on the Grand Princess leaving from SF to Hawaii and were supposed to return on Dec 7, 2016. On the return trip, the ship suffered damage to the tender platform and the captain made the decision to return to Honolulu to ensure the safety of the passengers and crew. I can honestly say I have never seen such a professional response to coordinate 2600 passengers back to the mainland compounded by the 75th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor being held at the same time. Within two days, most passengers had their itineraries and commitment to reimburse half of the current cruise cost and the credit of half of this cruise toward a future sailing! In spite of what I call the "whiners" and chronic complainers, I felt Princess did an outstanding job in attempting to accommodate each passenger! I would not hesitate to book another cruise! Thank you Princess!

As far as the ship, we thought the service, the food, and the shows were absolutely outstanding. We are not novice cruisers and that is not said lightly! Live music is everywhere on the ship! Kudos to Princess for not cheapening their cruises with recorded music!! My husband enjoyed taking ukulele lessons on the ship from Brian and Rowena. We loved their live performances as well! There was a great variety of singers, comedians, and other performers including Brendan and James, Bobbi Wilson, and too many to mention!!

We took several tours on our own.In Hilo, we recommend Mary Lou's Big Island Tours. We only had two couples in the minivan so we were able to get around the big tour buses and saw more sights. It was a thrill to see the lava bubbling up at the Volcano National Park, Hilo Coffee Farm where we also enjoyed an authentic Hawaiian plate lunch, Mauna Kea, black sand beach, and giant sea turtles. thank you Mary Lou! Read more