We love sea days, and with 9 of 15 days at sea, this cruise was perfect for us. Plus, as Bay Area residents, sailing round trip from SF is ideal.

The Grand is showing her age, but aren't we all? She is still a Great Lady. Most activities take place in the aft of the ship, so it is easy to plan your day. The traditional dining room, the Boticelli, and decks 15 through 17 have an odd set-up (they are reachable from the aft elevators, far left and far right ONLY). However, once you figure this out, you deal with it. And for those with no mobility issues, stairs are also an option, either down from 7 or up from 14.

The four main islands in Hawaii were beautiful: Hawaii, Oahu, Maui and Kauai. There was plenty of time in Honolulu to see what you might want to see, as we were there from early morning until about 11:00 at night. The other islands also offered lots of time for sight seeing. There was less than 4 hours in Ensenada, but as we have been there many times, we did not even disembark. (It is my least favorite port of all time. Dirty, hot and smelly.) Read more