Day 7 - Hilo, Hawaii

We awoke early, to the sight of land in the distance.  Clearly, we were coming to Hilo, on the big island of Hawaii.  There was a Norwegian cruise ship already docked, and as we got closer, it got bigger.  We thought it was just there at the dock, but closer in, there was a long breakwater that we had to go around to get to the pier.  We then could see that he Norwegian ship was also inside the breakwater.

Our dock was at what looked to be the main docks in Hilo.  There was lots going on, with trucks moving things around, front end loaders, and lots of workers.  Their job was to direct the traffic, ensure the tourists didn't get run over, and make sure we didn't go where we weren't supposed to go (at least that's what it appeared to be).

Ship at the Pier

Shot Across the Bow

The docking process was fairly slow, but I guess you don't just park these big boats, in a hurry.  It took a good half hour to tie off the lines, get the walkway ready for disembarkation, and for the first of our crowd to get off the ship.

We hadn't booked any tours, so went for breakfast at 8:45.  The buffet was pretty quiet.  It appears that most people had decided to leave early, so not many were left to eat breakfast.  Once again, I had waffles, and once again, they were delicious.

Once we were finished, we decided to get off the ship.  There was a free shuttle to take us to a gift shop area (Hilo Hatti).  Apparently there is one on each of the islands, and here at least, they provide a free shuttle to their store and back.  We got a passport book, and if we get it stamped at at least 4 of the 6 shops, we will receive a free gift.  We went in, and purchased a few souvenirs, and got a free gift then, as well.  Interesting marketing plan.

Not wanting to walk around too much, we boarded the shuttle back to the ship.  It took a bit of time to get back through security, but it wasn't too bad, and then we were back on the ship.  It seemed quite hot in Hilo, so the air conditioning in our room was very nice.

We sat around in our room for a while, then decided to go up to the buffet to see what we could get to eat.  Well, enough to say that we ate more than we should have, even though it was only a salad and a few cookies.  Then back to the room.  I sat out on our deck (in the shade), reading my book and watching the goings on at the pier, and Dawn was inside catching a nap (or two or three).

Just before 4:00, the tugboat started up, so it was up to the railing to watch what was happening.  The crew was supposed to be on ship by 4:00 and all passengers by 4:30, so there was a pretty steady stream of people coming back aboard.  Some of the ship's crew were pulling in the walkway they had put out right below our room (and not used, from what we saw).  That took a while because they were having some trouble getting things to move to where they were supposed to be.

In the meantime, longshoremen were starting to loosen the ropes to the ship, and getting things ready for us to leave, from dockside.  By 4:30, most were aboard, but it appeared there were still a few to come as they had everything aboard except security and the main walkway. Finally, the last ones arrived, only about 5 minutes late, and we were about ready to start moving.  Boy, they sure get these big things going very smoothly.  I didn't feel it start to move, but the gap between the ship and the pier got wider and then the pier appeared to move away from us.

Within 15 minutes we were outside the breakwater, the pilot had disembarked, and we were on our way to the next island, Maui.

We went down to dinner at 5:45 and returned to our regular table.  Shortly afterward, Donna arrived, and then Marlene sat down.  We chatted, and ordered our dinners (they all had scallops, and I had Cowboy steak and tobacco onions).  The maitre'd came and asked if the others were coming, and we said that if they weren't there by then, we doubted they would show up tonight.  So he brought another woman who was regularly at the 2nd sitting, but she wanted to attend the 1st sitting this day.  Her name was Alaina, and she is from Washington, DC.

After dinner, we went back  to our room to pick up our sweaters and then off to the show.  It is cold in that room, and we have found that we always need to put something on to stay warm.  The show was the male singer we had not stayed for the other night.  He was singing soul music this night, so we thought it should be good.  Apart from his banter with the crowd (which we quickly tired of), the music was great.  He has a good voice, but needs to work on his audience demographics a bit.

After that, it was back to the room, and by 10, we were both in bed.

Day 6 at Sea - Sept 22

Got up a little earlier today.  Don't know why, but I was wide awake by about 6:30.  The ship was moving around a bit, so I thought it might be rougher out.  I could also hear what sounded like wind, but I wasn't sure.  Turns out the noise was our air conditioner, and the sun was shining, but there were some wave this morning, as opposed to the almost glass smooth waters of yesterday.

Breakfast was as usual.  Karen, you will be pleased to know that I had waffles again for breakfast, but this time with strawberries and whipped cream.  Yum, they tasted great.  However, I feel that I do like them with the syrup they serve here, so will likely continue tomorrow with them.

There was a presentation in the cabaret room this morning.  The Chef and the Maitre d'Hotel were doing a cooking presentation.  It was a lot of fun.  They had good senses of humour and made a lot of fun of each other, while creating a full course meal, including desert.  We wondered if that is what will be on the menu tonight, as it is formal night tonight, and we will be going to the Horizon Buffet, rather than the restaurant.

 We decided to attend, but didn't go on the tour of the galley because we were concerned about having to go down or climb stairs, which just wouldn't work for Dawn.  So it was back to our room to sit on the deck and read.  It was hot out there, but once the sun got off my legs, it wasn't too bad.  I brought the GPS out onto the balcony, and after a while, it finally was able to locate some satellites, and when I zoomed out far enough, I could see the Hawaiian Islands.  I guess we are about 250 miles away from Hilo, but that is just a guess, at this point.  We should arrive some time over night.

For the rest of the afternoon, we spent time in our cabin, reading.  I finished another book that will be donated to the ship's library, and began the 3rd of those we got from Stella.  It was very nice out on the deck.  With the sun having moved on so that our deck was in the shade, it was very pleasant out there.  There was a bit of a breeze, mostly from the ship moving ahead, but I think there was also some from the weather.  A couple of times, there were flocks of small birds that flew by.  They were quite noisy, which is what drew my attention, but I didn't see any of them land on the water.  I'm sure they must have at some time, but not while I could see them.  They sure seem to be a long way from land.

Finally, my rear end got too sore from sitting in the deck chair, so I went in to watch the Monday Night football game with Dawn.  We watched until the end of the 3rd quarter, and then went up to the Horizon Buffet for dinner.  Tonight is a formal night, and we didn't want to chance that we would be told we couldn't come in without formal clothes on (even though we were told that we could go anyhow).  Again, it was set up as a Bistro, which basically means that it was like a regular restaurant.  We had to be taken to a table to sit, we ordered from a menu, and they brought us our orders.  The menu wasn't on the scale nor order of the dining room, but it was pretty good.  We were certainly full by the time we were finished.

Then, it was back to our room to wait for the evening performance to begin (not until 8:45 tonight), which is a little late for us old folks.  The show was quite good and very energetic.  It was the last night of performances for this group who were moving on to another ship after they had some holidays.  They sang and danced to some oldies from the 50's and 60's  We quite enjoyed it.

Then back to our room, despite there being more things going on tonight.  We turn our clocks back another hour tonight, so that when we arrive in Hilo, we will be on Hawaiian time.  Apparently we dock at about 8:30 in the morning, and we will be there for the whole day.  Dawn and I don't have any tours planned, but we will likely get off the ship and spend some time on this island.

5th Sea Day - Sept 21

We both woke up early in the morning, although we didn't get out of bed until 7:00.  I had a difficult time sleeping, likely because we hadn't done anything very strenuous yesterday; but also did a lot of laying around.  I went out onto the balcony.  The sun was shining and the clouds were high.  It was a beautiful start to the day.

After showering and getting ready, we went up to the buffet for breakfast.  Waffles again, but I forgot to have them with Strawberries and whipped cream.  Oh well, maybe tomorrow.  We are getting much better about the size of our portions, and we didn't feel so full when we were finished.  The coffee is quite strong so Dawn finally took to ordering tea, and I didn't have more than one cup this morning.  Maybe later.

Of course, it was Sunday, and you know what happens on TV on Sundays.  Yup, football.  We got back to the room and turned on the TV for the 2nd half of the Green Bay - Detroit game.  Dawn stayed to watch that game, while I went down to a photography class.  I hadn't gone to the first one because it was introductory, but this one sounded like it would be good for review.

The class was supposed to begin at 10:00, but the fellow leading it was about 10 minutes late.  That meant he had to hurry through his lesson (powerpoint slides and discussion) so that the next group that were scheduled would be able to start on time.  I enjoyed the class.  It wasn't anything new, but it was good review of things that I had learned in the past, but had forgotten about.  As I said before, the next class was supposed to start (Making Martini's) and our instructor had to hurry through his last few slides so they wouldn't be too late.

I went out on deck to take a few pictures of the sea, trying out some of the things he talked about, adjust the f-stop and the shutter speed to get various depths of field.  I don't know how things worked out.  Perhaps you can see the differences in some of the photos.

[photos]

When I got back to the room, the football game was just over, and the post-game show began.  About 5 minutes into it, they switched over to the Seattle - Denver game, so that pretty much sealed the rest of our afternoon.  That game was a squeaker, getting us onto the edge of our seats as Denver came back from a large deficit in the 4th quarter to tie the game.  Fortunately for us (we cheer for Seattle), Denver elected to have Seattle receive the ball in overtime.  Seattle marched down the field (something they weren't able to do in the 4th quarter) and finally scored a touchdown, which meant they won the game - Wooo-Hooo!!

That left us with a couple hours before dinner, and because it was so nice outside, we decided to sit on our deck and read.  Our deck was in the shade by now, the sky was pretty much clear, and the sea was calm.  The water had taken on that turquoise colour we noticed in the Caribbean, and it was just quite nice.

 We went for dinner at our usual time.  This time, the new folks didn't arrive, so it was just Marlene, Donna, Dawn and me.  The menu looked interesting again, but we settled on prime rib, once again.  As usual, it was very good, and clearly we chose right.  Part way through the dinner, the captain came over the PA saying that an overturned boat had been reported and that we had to go back and check for signs of life.  The ship turned around and followed our route back a ways.  Then, we stopped, but we couldn't see anything outside the window in the restaurant.

The guitar playing comedian was playing again tonight, so we wanted to go to him.  We went back to our room after dinner for a few minutes, and I stepped out onto our deck.  There in the water, was the overturned boat.  It appeared to be a small, fishing boat, likely about 15 - 20 feet long.  We got right up close to it, and they were shining a light on it from the bridge.  There were no signs of life, nor anything to indicate that there had been anyone lost here.  We started to pull away, and the captain came back on saying that there was not sign of anyone, and that they had reported to boat to the authorities for a decision to be made by them.  The boat was about 400 miles from land, and about 200 miles outside US Territorial waters, so he wasn't sure if anyone would come looking for it. Then left at about 7:50 for the show.

It didn't begin until 8:30, but our experience is that the popular ones fill up quickly and there aren't many seats left if you get there after the first rush.  We wanted to sit in a place where we could easily see the stage, so had to make sure we were on time.

As expected the show was a lot of fun.  He was pretty funny and did a really good job of imitating the sounds of the older songs sung by groups, all by himself.  The show was only 45 minutes long, so we were out before 9:30 and back to our room by 9:40.

Then we read and watched TV, before heading to bed.  It is getting quite warm out now, so thank goodness for the air conditioning.

4th Day at Sea - Sept 20

As we woke up this morning, the ship was bucking around a bit.  Clearly there was more of a chop today, than there was yesterday.  I opened the curtains and it was cloudy, low overcast, and rain was approaching from the south.  Not a good start to the day.  I went out onto the deck and the wind was warm, but it was wet, so didn't stay there too long.

After showering and getting ourselves ready, we went up to breakfast.  This morning was the earliest we had been there, so we didn't know what to expect - would it be busy?  Well, it wasn't too bad.  We didn't wait long to get into line, and again, I ordered some waffles.  Dawn went outside to find us a table, after she had dished up her plate, while I had to wait for my waffles.  Syrup again, but I may go for Strawberries tomorrow (it will be Sunday, after all).

The fellow who sat with us at the Evacuation Drill in Vancouver, was giving presentations about Celestial navigation each day (so far).  We finished early enough that we could attend, so went down to the theater to listen to what he had to say.  He must have done his PhD on the topic because he clearly knows what he is talking about.  Today, he was talking about how the ancient Hawaiians used stars, swells, currents and weather to navigate thousands of miles across the ocean, and how this knowledge was disappearing.  There are some who are learning these skills now, and starting to pass them down to others so that this ancient knowledge will be around for a long time.

After that, it was back to our room for a while, and then up to the pool deck to sit and read, play cards, do crossword puzzles and work/play on the computer.

It was pretty slow, and after sitting and reading/playing solitaire/checking emails, our bums were tired of sitting, and we were in need of some quiet time.  Back to our cabin we went, and decided to watch a movie and lay around, possibly getting some sleep.  I can't say that we slept, but there is a good chance of it.

Dinner was at 5:45, so down we went at about 5:40.  All the table mates showed up, and we had another great meal.  Surf and Turf was on of the selections, and most of us ordered that - filet mignon and prawns.  Boy, was it good.  ?Cooked to order, and very tasty.  Again, the vegetables were cooked to our liking, and all of us plowed our ways through our plates.  For desert, we had a burnt rhubarb crisp - it wasn't crispy, but the top was like a wafer, and somewhat difficult to cut through.  It was very good, and came with some ice cream, so there is no way it could have been bad.

Dawn and I had decided to go to the evening show which was the first performance of a new dance group.  The show was dancing to and singing songs from movies.  It was very energetic and thoroughly enjoyable.  We are glad that we went to it.  The dancers and singers are young and did a very good job of their first show.

After it was over, we went out on deck and watched the sea go by.  The wind was blowing a bit, but the temperature has certainly warmed up.  It was quite pleasant, but we were tired (I don't know how we can be so tired all the time - we don't do much during the day), so we headed back to our room for the night.

We started watching another movie with Colin Farrell and Russell Crowe.  It wasn't bad, and we watched as long as we could, laying in bed.  Just after 11, I finally turned it off and tried to  go to sleep.

3rd Day at Sea - Sept 19

Well, it was a pretty uneventful day.  We were up at about 7:30, and off to breakfast at about 9:00.  Another couple of waffles to start the day.  It is great.  They make them when you ask for them, so they are always fresh and hot.;  I could have them with strawberries and whipping cream, but I prefer syrup, so that is what I have stuck to so far.  Dawn had her usual, fruit salad and scrambled eggs.  It's nice to be able to have what you want and the size proportions that you want.  I've been getting better, but still am eating too much.

After breakfast, we went down to the shops deck.  They were having their $10 watch sale, and that is something Dawn just can't ignore.  She managed to elbow her way through the crowds to get the 3 that she wanted.  She ended up in good shape, but there were a few of the "old" folks strewn around the on the floor behind her.  She doesn't know what happened to them ;-).

Then we went back to our room for a while.at about 11:30, we decided to go and sit on the pool deck.  The sun was shining, the winds were good, and the seas were mostly calm with just the big rollers that are always there.  We found a table in the shade, off in a corner, and we started reading.  I've begun another of the books from Stella.  This one is called Inferno  by Dan Brown.  It is the next one he wrote after The Da Vinci Code.  At first, I thought I had already read it - same main character, similar locations, and similar beginning.  However, as I got into it, I found that I had not yet read it, and got into the adventure.  It is a scary thought, and one that may end up coming true, but not in our lifetime, I hope.

After about 2 hours, I went back to our room to get Dawn's crossword book, and the computers.  Dawn wanted to  write some emails, and that was the easiest way to do this and still enjoy to fresh air.  We could have sat on our deck and done the same thing, but working at the table was just easier.  Plus, there was way more to watch and view, by the pool.  One of the things we have noticed is that there are no little kids on the ship.  We haven't seen one child (so far).

About 2:00, I thought I would give the barbecue a try and went to get a hot dog.  It came with fries, and was good.  Dawn decided shortly after that to get some fries, so we both had something to eat, even though we weren't really hungry.  We'll likely pay for this at supper time, but that didn't hod us back.

We stayed there until about 4:00, and then went back to our room.  We watched a Liam Neeson movie before dinner.  Then it was off to the dining room.  We were the first at our table tonight.  Donna and Marlene came next, and then 4 new folks arrived.  They were supposed to be our table mates, but this is the first time they have come to the dining room.

The mother and father - Margaret and Steven - were two who were on our shuttle bus when we boarded at the hotel.  They are the ones from Anchorage, Alaska,  Their son and his wife from Puyallup were with them - Scott and Kathy.  We went through the introductions again, and got to know each other before Enricho came to take our orders.  Dawn and I both had Roast Beef and Yorkshire pudding.  When they came, they were both excellent - well worth the wait.  For desert, we both had Praline Pecan Tort.  Wow!! was it good.  A fantastic presentation on the plate, but my stomach didn't know that part - only that it was good.

There was a comedian at the presentation, so we went there shortly before it began.  We got pretty good seats.  He was fun - from New York - and a good variety of humour, none of it offensive.  There were a few times when we burst out laughing, so he must have been pretty good.

After that, it was back to our room, sit around for a while, and then off to bed.  The clocks had to be set back an hour overnight, so again, Dawn set her clock to reflect that before we went to sleep.  Both of us lay in bed watching TV, but before long, I took off my glasses and decided to close my eyes.  I know Dawn turned the TV off because she asked me if I was watching it.  Then, it was all dark.

2nd Day at Sea - Sept 18

Overnight, the time changed.  We had to set our clocks back 1 hour before we went to bed.  Good thing Dawn did it with her clock because I couldn't remember if I had done so or not.

I got up about 7:30 and headed into the shower.  While Dawn was showering, I went out onto our deck, and there were patches of blue sky, off in the distance in the direction we were travelling - things were looking up. There was still a line of clouds to the south, but within half an hour, the sky was pretty much clear with just patches of cloud.

At breakfast (Karen, I had fresh cooked waffles), we again sat outside, but this time it was with sunshine.   What a difference it makes.

It was a pretty slow day.  We didn't have anything planned to do.  The watch sale was on, so of course we had to go to that (Dawn needs more watches, don't you know), but I didn't find anything that interested me.We wandered around the ship for a while, but then went back to our room.  We read, watched TV, played some solitaire, and basically lay around.

About 2:00, we decided to go up onto the top deck to sit in the sun for a bit.  It was beautiful up there.  I went up to deck 10 (the sun deck) just to see what it was like and take a couple photos on my phone.  Dawn didn't go because the stairs were the only access, and she didn't want to try them.  There were a few people up there, sunning themselves, but apart from that, there wasn't much going on.

I had finished one book that we got from Stella, so we had gone to the ship's library to drop it off.  That was another few minutes taken up.  So, back down we went, and decided to go to the restaurant to look at tonight's menu.  It looked really good again, with some things that we hadn't heard of, but they sounded good. We figured we would try to get to the restaurant early; once again.

Then, back to the room for more reading and sitting around. For some reason, we got talking about formal nights, and neither of us could remember when they were.  We had to find our original "Princess Patter" to look up the date.  Wouldn't you know it, tonight was the night, so I guess we aren't going to the restaurant for dinner after all.

Around 6:30, we decided to go up to the buffet to eat.  Well, that was all changed around too.  It was set up as a Bistro (we didn't know what that meant, either) so we grabbed a piece of pizza from the Pizzeria, and went out on the back deck to eat it.  We both picked up some soup and salad, but that was pretty much it.  It appeared that the Bistro part was like a regular restaurant; getting seated at a table, and then ordering from a menu.  Perhaps that is what we will do for the next formal night.

After eating, it was back to our room to watch TV and wait for the evening show to begin.  It started quite late for us (8:45 for the first show), and was a singing/dancing/acting performance.  The longer we lay there watching TV, the less we wanted to go out again, so rather than go to the show, we finally turned in at about 9:30.  I was worried I wouldn't sleep through the night, but apparently both of us did.

1st Day at Sea - Sept 17

Woke up very late.  We both had been awake at various times throughout the night, but in the morning, slept quite well.  It was 8:44 when I got up and went into the shower.  By the time we both had finished, it was almost 10:00.

We went up to the buffet for some breakfast.  There were big, rolling waves, so the ship was rolling around a bit, making it difficult to walk.  Dawn was a little unsteady, so I held onto her, so she would feel more comfortable while walking.  I dished up her plate while she sat at a table, outside at the stern of the ship.  Then I went and picked up my plate - french toast, lots of bacon, a couple sausages, and some scrambled eggs.  Too much, but it was our first breakfast ;-).

After that we walked around a bit, then went back to our room.  Dawn had booked a pedicure for 12:45, so we stayed in our room until about 12:30, and then I walked up with her to the Spa.

I dropped her off, and then went on a walk myself.  As I said, it is a small ship, and it didn't take me long to case out all the spots.  There isn't a lot to find, but I did see the Captain's Circle area, and the place where tours can be booked. I walked up to each floor, exploring if there was something of interest.  Then, back to my room while I waited for Dawn to finish.

When I went to pick her up, she asked me to get her some Gravol - the rocking and rolling at the bow of the ship was upsetting her stomach.  I went and got some, and then waited for her to be finished, just outside the Spa in the Card Room.  She was about 15 minutes longer.

When she came out, she didn't look too healthy, so we went back to the room and she got into bed and slept.  After a couple hours she woke up, and said she was feeling much better.

About 5:30, we left for the restaurant, arriving before the doors opened.  In a few minutes, they let us in, and we went to our table (we wanted to get there early enough to get the same chairs as earlier, not wanting to end up sitting on the couch that was for 2 people and was facing away from the window.  It would have been very difficult for Dawn to get into and out of.

Our friends from yesterday arrived (Marlene and Donna), and we talked about the day.  Donna had not felt well either, and had also had some gravol.  Just after we ordered, the waiter brought another gentleman (Jim) to sit at our table.  Jim's wife (Lois) was not feeling well also, and she stayed in their room.  They are from Pennsylvania.

Had a nice dinner.  Dawn had beef medallions, and I had spicy rubbed roast beef.  Both were great.  We really enjoyed the vegetables - not cooked too long.  Desert was a double fudge cookie and ice cream for me, and key lime pie for Dawn.  We were very full when it was over.

From there, we went to the show.  We were a little late arriving, so didn't get great seats, but they also weren't too close to the stage..  The act was a young male singer who sang Sinatra and Buble songs.  He was pretty good, but it wasn't overly interesting to us so we left after about half an hour.

Then it was back to our room to read and watch TV, and then off to bed.  A quiet day, but one with fairly rough seas, and overcast skies with rain every now and then.  There is not a speck of land in sight.  At the last sign on the TV, we were over 400 miles from Vancouver heading Southwest toward Hawaii.