Our cabin A323 on the Grand Princess was very nice with a starboard balcony. Loved the elevator when it announced our floor “Aloha!” Enjoyed the near instant circulating water for perfect shower temperatures. Our cabin steward Fernando Vivero kept our room neat, clean, and replenished and even kept my ice bag filled after I broke my toe. The bed and pillows were very comfortable. I am paranoid about picking up bed bugs when we travel. Thankfully it has not happened but without extreme diligence by all parties involved it will and bed bugs are near impossible in a cluttered home environment to eliminate. My research indicates that heat of 140 degrees F with full heat penetration of all objects for at least 30 minutes is necessary. I put a Mouse & Insect Glue Board under the bed to assure myself there were no bed bugs after checking the mattress, etc. Princess you passed with flying colors!

The first two of our four ports were at times pouring rain and therefore disappointing. We still went on and enjoyed our excursions but were grateful we wore our hiking rain coats. The weather for the Blue Kawaiian Helicopter tour of Kauai and the van tour on the Road to Hana on Maui made up for it.

The band Finesse was our favorite dance music. The Born to Dance production was the best dance show on any ship. Gloeta and Rowena were the two best education and cultural ambassadors we ever experienced on any cruise. Gloeta was hilarious in her descriptions of the mating practices of marine life. We wouldn’t miss a single one of Gloeta’s lectures. I plan to check out her Facebook page “Naturalist Gloeta”. We learned so much about amazing and complex sea creatures and how closely all life on Earth depends on and benefits each other. And we so appreciate hearing Rowena’s historical stories from the Hawaiian people’s perspective, getting to make lava jewelry, tie sarongs, and learn to hula. Now when we see the pinky finger and thumb-up greetings we know that was from the time when sugar cane was grown on the islands and workers’ fingers were cut off by the saw-edged cane. Rowena has the most beautiful and loving smile and hug; she truly embodies the Aloha message and spirit. Read more