CRUISE to Hawaii

 

Here is my evaluation of the cruise. Just back from a 15 day cruise to Hawaii on the Princess Royal, a pretentious appellation. March 25-April 11, 2023. Here’s my review.

Got off the boat last Tuesday. On embarking on our journey to Hawaii, We noticed all these old people….and their parents. Many appeared to be very well fed indeed.

The Princess Royal ship (not boat) is 16 decks high. It looked like two giant apartment building afloat. Three thousand passengers joined us every night for dinner. The Captain and is staff were all Italian. The wait staff and stewards were all Philippine and gloriously friendly, efficient and proficient.

The guests we met at meals were friendly and pleasant. I had a short conversation with a doctor about abortion. We agreed.

One man pointed out that the basic work of the voyage is to make the passengers comfortable and happy. I agree that this is what happened.

The worst event of the voyage was breakfast one morning with a very large couple from Kentucky. They spoke in loud and shrill voices that dominated all conversation muting the other three couple at the table. Charley posited that he went shooting his guns for recreation. He was happy that he gave his son his first rife when he turned six, and taught him how to use it. He looked forward to giving his wife a new rifle for her birthday next month. She said hey were prepared, if anyone threatened their home. Charley bragged that he has been a member of the gun lobby, National Rifle Association since he was 14. They showed no sense of the damage that the proliferation of guns has on our culture and behaviour. We do not often people with the values those kind of people.

We met a charming couple from British Columbia. Our waiter was Vanessa from the Philippines, as were Myrna and Joe.

The trip was in fact very enjoyable. I had plenty of rest and reading. I read Sally Rooney’s Normal People(again) and the Beautiful World Where are you? I also read Toni Morrison’s Tar Baby and re-read Sula.

Re-reading two books was new for me. I seldom read a book for the second time. Re-reading I got below the plot to some of the underlying values and points of view of the authors.

Ann was wonderful supporting me by her arm when walking as even this enormous ship gave a wobbly feeling of the Pacific Ocean. Ann did excursions on Kona, Honolulu and Maui. I lazed in our stateroom reading and napping. I never got off the ship once.

I found the ship to be very noisy. Loud music, dance and exercise lessons, raffles and contests ere played displayed with very loud amplified sour on the roof deck and the Piazza inside. There was no public quiet place for reading or enjoying a cocktail from the many bars on four decks overlooking the central Piazza.

I like that we could order second or third helpings of any meal.

There was no deck for long walks. Then at the top the ship was too wide for me/us to enjoy walking.

The ship was very solid and secure and immaculately clean.

The food was imaginative and served in small portions. Starters, salads, mains and dessert at every lunch and dinner. I wanted more spices and herbs to deepen the flavours. On a scale o 1-10. Ten being the highest, I would give it an eight. The wait service at all meals was excellent.

More on the cruise. Lots of fun and games for the populi. Karaoke Singing, Bingo, Raffles, Full Casino, Hula Dance lessons, exercise classes and cocktail piano and Jazz. Daily forty five minutes on The Sea, Hawaii, Kona, Maui, sharks, Dolphins, Plant Life and Conservation and some more. Two or three dreadful movies every day, we did not attend. Musical shows, we did not attend. We were disappointed that there was little intellectual or thoughtful events planned. For instance ten years ago on the Queen Mary, the Royal Shakespeare Company put on plays and conducted us in theatre classes and in short plays and skits.(Not that I’m a snob.)

Happily home again We had to adjust to two three hour time changes while aboard. We seem to have survived.