Day 12 - Honolulu and Disembark the Ship

Didn't sleep very well at all.  I felt like I was awake for most of the night.  Perhaps it was because I knew we had to be awake early to get out of our room by 8:00, perhaps it was because the ship was rocking and rolling around on our trip to Honolulu, or perhaps I was excited.  Regardless, I was tired in the morning, and grew more tired as the day advanced.

The alarm went off at 6:15, and we were showered and ready to leave by 7:20.  Pretty quick for us, after the past 10 days.Up to the buffet for our final breakfast - no waffles for me today - just something light - fruit and a couple pastries.

Then we exercised our rights as Platinum card holders to go upstairs to the Pacific Lounge to wait for our call to get off the boat.  That came at 8:20, and we went down to deck 4 to get checked out and leave.  We had booked a shuttle bus to the airport so we could pick up a car there, so we collected our luggage, boarded the bus, and were finished with Princess.

At the airport, the test is to get to the car rental locations.  The bus driver gave us directions, but never having been here before, it is difficult to understand what someone is telling you.  Finally, we got to the location where we then had to call for a shuttle to take us to the rental location.  Everything worked out - our car was ready, we upgraded to a larger car so our bags would fit, and then had to figure out how to get out of the parking lot - another test of wills because event though we had our GPS, there was quite a bit of construction and the roads didn't necessarily run where GPS Jill wanted us to drive.

Finally we got out of the parking lot and onto the freeway.  We headed toward our hotel to see how to access it.  It took about 20 minutes to get there, and as we drove past, we now knew where to go (well the GPS did).  Then we found a place to stop and looked for something interesting to do.  I punched in Waikiki Beach, and had her take us there.  We went through a very expensive shopping area (Gucci, Louis Vutton, Victoria's Secret, etc) which is very close to our hotel, and then went to the beach, just a few blocks away.  It was beautiful to see, but there wasn't any place for us to park.

The Dole Plantation

So, on to plan B.  We punched in the Dole Pineapple Plantation, and went there to see it and to taste fresh pineapple.  That was about a 40 minute drive, towards the mountains and the rain that was clearly falling there.  When we arrived, it had stopped raining, and the sun was coming out.  There wasn't an admission charge, but it was pretty commercial inside the store.  We walked around, looking at the things that were for sale, and ended up by a booth where they were giving away free pineapple samples.  Boy was it delicious.

Growing Pineapples

Train Ride

Then we went outside and paid for a ride on the small train that took a short, 20 minute tour around the plantation.  It was quite interesting and took us through areas marked as sugar cane fields, pineapple fields, banana fields, and various parts of the gardens around the site.  It was interesting to learn about the red soil (decomposed volcanic ash that had lots of iron in it), how pineapples were planted, the growing process, and the harvesting process.

Our purchase to eat

Young Pineapples

At the end of the ride, we walked through a small garden area with various types of pineapple.  We were able to see some pineapples growing, and how they fall over when too heavy, and are ready for harvest.  Then we went back into the shop and purchased some pineapple to eat.  It was cold, and very sweet.  What a treat.

Garden in the Plantation

After that, it was back to the city.  We again tried to visit Waikiki beach, but it was just as busy, so we couldn't go. I was really tired, and needed to get back to the hotel for a rest.  Our hotel is only a few blocks from the beach so it didn't take long.  We went in, and rested for a while.  It was nice to get my shoes off and cool off my feet.  So we sat there and watched the rest of Sunday Night Football.  Boy, Dallas really hammered New Orleans.

Neither of us had eaten since breakfast and were starting to get a bit hungry.  We didn't know where any restaurants were near us, so I went down to look around the hotel to see if there was something.  The hotel itself has a Japanese restaurant, but I wasn't overly excited about the menu.  There is a Korean restaurant, around the corner and down the alley, but it looked pretty seedy to me.  There was a bar a half a block away, and it looked like it had some decent choices on the menu.  Across the street was another bar, this one Irish.  It also looked pretty good.

We decided to go to the bar on our side of the street.  The food was pretty good, and it was certainly much more than we needed, despite how hungry we were.

After that, it was back to the room to work on the computer before going to bed.  Got some emails read, wrote some of the blog for the day, and then couldn't take it any longer.  Sleep was calling and off I went.

Day 11 - Nawiliwili, Kauai

The night was very rough.  I woke up a number of times, and it felt like we were bouncing around a lot.  Finally things calmed down, and we were in port.  I wish I had been awake to see how he brought the ship in, because we we are in a very small area, and got there through a very tiny channel with lots of tight turns.  I will sure be watching to see how he takes us out.  This is an interesting port.

Out on our deck, it was already quite warm.  When the captain came on the PA at about 8:30, it was already 30 degrees C, and there were showers happening.  While sitting out on the deck, it started to rain, and just poured for about 10 minutes.  I'm sure happy that we were here, and not out walking somewhere.  Once it stopped raining, we got ready for breakfast, and went up to the buffet.

I had waffles again, this time with strawberries and whipping cream.  I am getting tired of them, so will likely have something else tomorrow morning, for our last breakfast on board.  Once we were finished, we decided to go up to the Pacific Lounge on the 10th level.  We hadn't been there before, and were pleasantly surprised.  It was a large lounge at the bow of the ship, with views of where we had come from and the ocean waves - still blowing and very wavy out there.

Surfers Waiting for their Wave

Beautiful Beach

Beach Hotel

After about 20 minutes just sitting in those comfortable chairs, we went back to our cabin to get ready to go into town.  We caught a shuttle to a nearby shopping centre, and spent some time walking around, looking in shops and sitting by the beach.  Wow, it was beautiful.  There were some young kids near us, working with their wave boards, and out farther, there was a much larger group of older people, riding surfboards, paddleboards, and outrigger canoes.  They were waiting for many of the larger waves to ride, and it looked like a lot of fun.  This beach was right in front of the Marriott Hotel, so this would certainly be a nice place to visit.

We did some more walking around, looking in some more shops.  Then, we did our bit to help the economy, and after that, it was back to the ship.  We were back before lunch.  We had to start packing today, so that is likely what we will be spending the afternoon doing.

After we were packed, we hung around the room, waiting for dinner time to arrive.  For our last dinner, we had a really nice time.  Our whole table group showed up, and we spent some time chatting about what we had done.  It was Donna's birthday, and the bottle of champagne that Princess had given us, was broken open for everyone to sip.  She received a couple birthday cards and a small gift of a seahorse pendant (she really likes seahorses).  For dinner, many of us ordered the roast turkey with all the trimmings.  It was pretty good, and Ernesto, our head waiter, kept talking about it being Thanksgiving.  After dinner, the desert was special.  The chef and his staff had made Baked Alaska for everyone, and there was a parade with them showing off their wares to all of us.

Donna and Marlene

Steve and Margaret

We had never tried it before, and it was good.  The meringue was too sweet for me, but the cake and the ice cream were fantastic.  The pieces were pretty big, despite our plate having to feed 3 tables (18 people).

Scott and Kathy

After that, it was time for goodbyes and hugs all around.  Then back to our room.  We weren't interested in going to the final show, so we stayed in our room to watch TV, and try to use up our internet minutes (wasn't able to).  Then off to bed.

Kristina and Ernesto - Baked Alaska

Day 10 - Kahului, Maui

Awoke this morning after a fairly rough night.  the waves were pushing our ship around quite a bit, but when we woke up, we were pierside at Kaului.  One thing about the ports is that they aren't great places for tourists to sight-see.  We were beside a big barge that was being unloaded and then re-loaded with shipping containers.  It was interesting to watch that process over the day.  They use big forklifts to lift the containers, and it is amazing to watch those guys drive them.

Stern of our Ship

Starbucks in Kahulia

We went for breakfast at about 8:30.  Waffles again.  By the time we were finished, I was very full (and starting to get tired of waffles).  Back to our cabin to clean up (have to wash that syrup off my hands), and then down to deck 3 to disembark (a nautical term meaning "get off the boat" ;-)).We found a free shuttle to a shopping center, so took it.  It was about 5 miles from the ship, so it would have been a fairly long walk.

This place had a Sears and a Macys, but we weren't looking for stores like that.  We walked around the mall for a while, not seeing any stores that were of interest to us.  Within half an hour, we were ready to head back to the ship, so we waited for the shuttle outside a Starbucks.

Back at the ship, there wasn't much going on.  We were facing away from the pier so couldn't see much there, but that barge was still there, still being loaded.  Just as we arrived back at the ship, a barge that had been being loaded in front of our ship was just leaving.  This one had a big crane on it, which they used to load the containers.  It would have been interesting to watch that one.

I didn't feel much like doing anything, so went out on our deck to read.  The wind was blowing fairly hard, and there was now shade for our chairs, so it was quite pleasant.  Dawn went up to the pool deck to read and work on some crossword puzzles, so we had some "apart" time for much of the afternoon.  I was very sleepy, but in spite of that, I don't think I fell asleep.

Pushing on our Ship

About 4:30, we heard the big tug starting up, so went out on the deck to watch.  Turns out it was a woman who was driving that boat.  We were supposed to sail at 5:00, so I assume the purpose of the tug was to ensure that when they started throwing off the ropes, the ship wouldn't blow away.  She stayed very close, until almost 5:00, and then moved to just under our deck,, put her nose on our ship, and powered up.  It sure sounded like they were very powerful engines.

Guarding us From the wind 

She stayed that way for about 10 minutes, then backed off a bit, and then we were moving.  The tug moved with us as we moved out into the channel.  The wind was still blowing strong, and she stayed with us until we had cleared the channel, and then back to her dock she went.  We started bouncing along.  It was very rough, and we were starting to get some of the spray from the bow hitting into the waves.  

Rough Seas

Then it was time for supper, so down we went to the dining room.  We both had port roast.  It was the meal that we least liked, of all those we had this trip.  There was nothing wrong with it.  It just wasn't spectacular.

After dinner, we headed back down to the Cabaret room to watch the evening show.  This was another musical/dance show with the young singers and dancers.  The music was Motown, and the show was called Motor City.  They did a great job, showing lots of energy and excitement.  We very much enjoyed this show.

Kahalui Coast

After 45 minutes (which went by very quickly), it was over and we returned to our room.  I read some more (I'm really enjoying the book), and then it was time for bed.  With the ship rocking and rolling, it was likely going to be a rough night.  We'll see.

Day 9 - Kona, Hawaii

We arrived early again.  About 6:15, there was quite a bit of noise as the tenders were lowered.  Didn't feel much like getting out of bed, but we finally did, about 7:00.

Breakfast as usual.  No waffles today - I thought I would change things up a bit.  We spent about an hour eating and having coffee, and then returned to our room to get ready to go ashore.  When we were ready, it was down to deck 3 to board the tender.  Then off to shore and some more shopping.

View From the Ship

A Shop in Kona

Beautiful Flower

Hotel on the Beach

It was mostly overcast, but still hot - the temperature was forecast to be 28 today, and it felt like it.  It was also very humid.  We caught the shuttle to Hilo Hatties, walked around the store for a while, and then left to walk back toward the ship, and look at other stores that were around.  We looked at a few other stores, and found one we liked, closer to the dock.  Once again, we added to the local economy a bit, and then walked back to the tender, to return to the ship.

Excursion Boat

Once aboard, we got out our laundry to give it a washing.  It was fairly easy to do because the laundry was about 3 doors down the hallway.  We could use our ship card to purchase tokens for the washer and dryer, so we got enough to do a couple loads.  That took about an hour and a half, and we were done.

We lay around the ship for much of the rest of the afternoon, mostly reading and perhaps getting some sleep, too.  We are getting more and more lazy, and it is hard to keep our eyes open.  It is warm and humid outside, so we pretty much stick to the cabin, although I do enjoy sitting on our deck to read, if the sun isn't beating down on me.

Dinner was great again.  It is going to be tough to get home and have to do all the cooking and serving ourselves.  Of course, I always will cook and serve my queen, but she does get somewhat picky and sometimes won't let me in the kitchen (alright, my nose is getting longer, so I have to take some of that sentence back).

There wasn't a show in the lounge this night.  Instead, they were showing some movies.  We weren't interested in going, so went back to our cabin.  We were both very tired, and went to bed to watch TV and read.  Well, I couldn't keep my eyes open so closed my book and thought I would listen to the TV - not even a great show.  Dawn was a little testy the next morning because she had to turn the TV off herself.  I was sound asleep.

Day 8 - Lahaina, Maui

View from Ship

Our day began fairly early with the noise of the tenders being launched.  We were already in the Lahaina Harbour, and they were preparing for the guests to go ashore.  We didn't have any tours, so we weren't in any hurry.  We showered and went to the buffet for breakfast.  Waffles again, but this time with syrup rather than strawberries and whipping cream.

Downtown Lahaina

Once we were finished, it was back to our cabin to pick up our things to go ashore.  Any rush was over, so there was a brief wait to board the tender, and off we went for a 15 minute ride.  About 10 minutes in, I realized I had forgotten my wallet, so Dawn waited ashore while I returned on the same tender to get my wallet.  Then, back onto the same tender for the ride back to shore.  The crew thought it pretty funny that I was riding back and forth.

Once ashore, we didn't really want to go anywhere, so we just walked around the block and a bit, looking in various shops.  Of course, we had to purchase some things, just to help the economy.  Then we walked around a bit more, but it was quite hot, so back to the ship we went

Pacific Princess from shore

Park

Once on board, there was a bit of shade on our balcony, so we sat our there for a while, watching the boats, para-sailors, and other activities.  As the ship shifted in the wind, we kept turning so that the sun was shining on the deck. Finally we went inside to get cool.

I decided to go to a lecture/lesson on the Internet.  I wanted to see how they do this on the ship.  I figure, maybe I can get a cruise or two by applying to give demonstrations.  He showed how to set up webmail (Gmail), Facebook and Twitter, and a Blog.  All things that I already do, even though I don't use them much.  Pretty simple, and not necessarily good teaching practices.  The fellow giving it is the Internet guy, so he was quite knowledgeable about this topic.  Tomorrow, he is doing another presentation, this time on smartphones.  I'll have to wait until the Patter comes out to see if it is of interest.

Then it was back to the room and wait until dinner.  Dawn was watching a movie (Philomena and then a Jack Ryan movie - pretty much through her eyelids), and I worked on my blog and sort of watched the movie.

Flower Dawn got when arriving

Then dinner time arrived and we went to the restaurant.   It was Italian night, so the menu was full of Italian fare.  I had spaghetti and meatballs, while Dawn had Veal something or other.  Very tasty.  Desert for her was tiramasu. and I had a selection of 3 flavours of gelatto.  Wow, was it good.

Then we went back to our room to collect our warm sweaters, and proceeded to the cabaret lounge for the comedian performance.  We had enjoyed him the last time, and thought it would be fun to go again.  His show was different, and even though we were tired, we did a lot of laughing.

After that, it was back to the room to get ready for bed.  For some reason, we are pretty tired.

Parasailing

Tender arriving

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.