Honolulu Day 2

Coffee and relaxing on the deck.... our usual morning start. We are headed to Pearl Harbor and the Arizona Memorial today so we are trying to figure out the best way to get there. Cab is about $35-$40 each way and 18 minutes, Bus is $5 each but takes 45 minutes.  We elected to cab it and hope to find someone else from the ship to split a cab.

Showers then breakfast and we headed out on the days adventure.

Once off the ship and through the terminal, we found several people promoting tours and shuttles to various venues. One fellow was offering a return trip to Pearl Harbor for $15 each so after considering the pickup times, we took it.  Worked out great!

Once at the Pearl Harbor Historical Sites Center we looked through the various museum sections that showed the lead up and attack of the military installations on the island.  We have signed up for an Arizona Tour that leaves at 12 pm so we loitered in the area until our time. A very nice 25 minute long video was shown that explained the attack and the resulting damage. In particular to the Arizona. It was very good.

Model of the Nakajima B2N2 "Kate" at the Museum

 We then boarded our transport boat and headed off to the memorial. Sadly the dock at the memorial was damaged so we were only able to do a few passes close by. We also cruised by the Battleship Missouri.  

Missouri panorama.. only way to get it all in!

Arizona Memorial

We returned to the center and walked the grounds. With time being a factor we wandered around and checked out the various naval displays. (Next time we visit we will take in the Aviation Display on Ford Island)

Arizona's anchor

40MM Quad Gun Assembly

USS Bowfin Submarine

We headed back to our shuttle pickup point and it arrived right on time at 14:45. Back on the ship at 15:04 we changed up and went for a walk about the town. A stop at King Kamehameha's Statue  

The King!

Burial place of King Kamehameha on the grounds of the Kawaiaha'o Church

Kawaiaha'o Church

Side of the Kawaiaha'o Church. Beautiful gardens

 We continued our walk along the waterfront past several beaches and sky scrapers. Some amazing architecture!

I had Kelly's fish mounted :-)

Stunning architecture. Poor glass cleaner!

 We eventually made it to Waikiki Beach and stopped for a much deserved drink and appitizer. It went down nicely. We enjoyed the beach then grabbed a cab back to the ship. Back on board at 18:00  we met up with the Orr's and before I could sit down for a drink, we were off to the show. The headliner was a comedian and we thought he was pretty funny. Older folks in the crowd were not impressed though as he took some digs at some "aging issues". Oh well win some, lose some.

After the show we headed back to the room to change and they announce that our departure was going to be delayed until 22:30 due to a problem with one of the propeller assemblies called an Azipod 

Dinner in the dinning room was good once again with great service from our wait staff Joseph and Rostan.  Cathy & Bryan disappeared on us so we went down to the helipad to watch our departure... and waited.. and waited. Ok not happening so we headed back to our cabin. At 11:48 the lines came off and we swung around in the harbor. We had a fantastic view from our deck of the entire city.
 

A great view of Aloha Tower and part of the city.

 Off to the rack as we cruise over to the island of Maui and our last stop on the cruise before Seattle.

Honolulu, Hawaii

I got up early this morning to watch us slip into port at Honolulu.  I took a few shots from the upper deck as we slowly came in. Cruise Ship Berth 2 will be our home for the next 36 hours.

Entering the harbor

Both us and the Orr's had a reservation for a rental car this morning so we planned to have Cathy & Bryan drive us over to the Alamo Office on Nimitz Way. With the earlier departure we hatched a plan to bypass the masses and get through Immigration as soon as possible.

We headed down to  Deck 5 and joined the throng of people in the same situation.  Excursions, rentals etc.  We queued up the length of the ship and after about one hour and twenty minutes we were processed. Quick and easy once we got to the officer. He was very nice to us.

Next a quick breakfast in the Jammer and then headed off the ship. We walked over to the Orr's rental car location... sort of an Air BnB for cars, which was 15 minutes away by foot. We also grabbed a geocache on the way.

Once in the rental Jeep, we headed over to the Alamo car rental to get our vehicle. With some Air miles points we managed to get a rental for 10 bucks for the day.  Not bad then she offered the usual upgrade... $20 extra for a nicer model. We took it and for $30 bucks drove of in a new Audi Q3. Nice vehicle although not as much power as our BMW in Ireland:-)

Our ride.

 Off we went with our first destination, the Dole Pineapple Plantation, which is on the way to the North Shore. We found a geocache there and also enjoyed a famous Dole Whip treat. Very good!

Lauren's birthday!

Baby pineapple... so cute:-)

Mindanao Gum Trees

Kelly loved the big tourist shop as it had everything you could possibly imagine! After dragging her out of the fabric section... yes that had one, we headed towards the North Shore.

Into to some shops at Haliewa to browse some art work Kelly had wanted to see then we set off northward. More fabric shops as well!

With no real plans past this point we went up towards Waimea Bay and the famous Pipe Line surfing area. We stopped for lunch at one of the many food trucks along the beach area and enjoy a great prawn feast.

Garlic Butter Prawns!

We decided to just keep driving around the island and enjoyed many great views.  The only issue we had was the direction we were traveling did not allow for convenient photo stops. From Kawela Bay we traveled eastward through Kahaluu, Waimanio Beach, through Koko Head District Park and around to Diamond Head and the city.  

View towards Diamond Head and city center from Koko Head Park.

We drove around Diamond Head and then a stop along Waikiki Beach for some items.  Back to the rental car drop off after topping the tank ($16) and we cabbed it back to the ship.

Kelly booked Chops Grill last minute and after hanging by the pool chatting with fellow cruisers, headed for dinner. It was very quiet and peaceful and probably the best dinner I have experienced this trip. Some drama at one of the tables when some passengers started to argue.. lol so much entertainment at times.

A walk through the promenade and we headed to bed.   I blogged a bit but faded fast. Kelly can now say she has been to Hawaii... :-)

Sea Day #9

Our last full day of sailing before we arrive in Honolulu tomorrow morning.

Kelly was up early, as usual, and back from getting coffee before I even awoke. Yes I am enjoying the sleep ins! Great to reach over and have a hot coffee on my bedside table!

I finished off yesterday's blog then we headed to the Forensic lecture in the Palace Theater for today's topic on "Autopsy". Not too gory really but a good explanation of the reasons for having one in an effort to determine cause of death.

After the lecture we wandered around the promenade and did a little people watching. Lots of folks were looking at the various watch, purse and clothing sales that seem to never end on a ship!

At 11am we headed for our "Bottomless Bubbly Galley Tour" and assembled into groups of about 25 people or so. Each group headed off to view sections of the kitchen but we seemed to run into another group every time we moved. We also had difficulty hearing our guide as he spoke lightly and in a heavy Russian accent. With so many people it was impossible for everyone in our group to hear him. Throw in a bunch of kitchen noise and I was glad we had done these tours previously on other ships. Following the kitchen tour,we were treated to a buffet brunch with endless champagne.  (Clearly way too many people IMHO as 150 plus people went through)

Lots of dishes in the prep area.

Kitchen Line

Bread anyone?

Chopping pineapple.

Brunch with the Orr's.

We went looking for the hockey game in the sports bar but it was just basketball at this point so we grabbed some fresh towels and a drink and headed to our deck for some R & R.  The rains hit after 45 minutes so we headed in to watch the Preds & Winnipeg play on TV.

 A short nap and thenwe prepped for our Headliner Show tonight. He was a comedian juggler magician and was excellent. Kept the whole theater in stitches with his comic routine. We gave him a standing ovation when he was done.

Dinner was the usual crew but we had two couples missing tonight... maybe off to a specialty restaurant??

A quick stop by the casino to see an older lady pocket 8,000 bucks on a slot machine! Lots of cheering ensued.

We headed back to our room to prepare for our day trip in Honolulu in the morning. 

Sea Day #8

After our late night and huge meal we slept in this morning.  The usual coffee run by Kelly and then showers.

We headed upstairs for a look around the promenade and the Jewelry Shops. We are looking for a replacement watch for Kelly. Her's has self destructed so "time" for a replacement:-) She found a nice Citizen similar to her previous one and bought it. It needed sizing so we left it with the staff and will pick it up later.

We went to lunch in the dinning room today and had Cathy and Bryan join us when they arrived. A good conversation about last nights dinner ensued. 

Next was the Blackjack Tournament in which I manged to get top score to get into the final table. (This is the one you actually play for money)  In the end, I tied another lady so we split the winning pot of $250 bucks!  Nice little bonus for the day!

The ship has a small skating rink for Ice Shows and they opened it up for guests to use. Kelly passed but the three of us gave it a whirl. It was fun but the skates were pretty dull and ill fitting... We can now say we skated on the Pacific Ocean!

Good fun at sea.

Following this skating "workout" we headed upstairs for a cold Corona at the Tavern Bar then it was off to get ready for tonight's Headliner show.

The show featured three singers doing their imitation of the Rat Pack (Sammy, Frank and Dean) and they were very entertaining.  Bryan was a bit down on himself as he lost his drink punch card at the Tavern Bar... it had nine drinks left on it!

After the show they went to the Guest Services counter to inquire if anyone had turned it in and low and behold it was there! With faith in humanity restored, Bryan returned to his usual self :-)

Dinner with our usual crowd in the dinning lounge and then it was off to the 70's & 80's dance party in the main promenade.  Disco.. YMCA etc...

Off to bed... another tough day at sea.

Sea Day #7

Kelly was up and out the door for our morning coffee before I even awoke. She can be stealthy! I jumped in the shower quickly as we are off to our Sushi making class this morning. Another busy day at sea as our schedule is filling up with various lectures, blackjack tournaments, belly flop competition, shows, dinners.... and the inevitable "conflict" where two events are scheduled at the same time! This is one of the few difficult situations on a cruise!

Off we went to our first planned event at Izumi specialty restaurant with our Sushi making class. Something I have always wanted to do! There were approximately 22 folks learning to assemble and create our own meal.  We stood at our stations and after a ceremonial toast of Saki we started by following the head chef's instructions. With the tools and supplies they provided,  we created a Crab Roll, then a Spicy Tuna Roll .  Next was an Ebi or Shrimp Nagiri and finally we practiced folding a piece of Seaweed paper and created a Flower Cone.

 It was all sliced up and we then ate our creations. It was fun, educational and relatively easy as we didn't really have to prepare anything. I believe a Sushi dinner will take place when we get home!

 We strolled around the deck and ended up at the bridge viewing station. We could see down into the control area and realized that no one was steering the ship!! Well there were a couple guys walking around out of frame:-)

Bridge - Control Station.. hope the autopilot is ON!

 We also went down to the helipad to check out the view from there. Kelly loves this spot as it reminds her of Jack & Rose of Titanic fame... not sure if I am allowed to say Titanic on here!!

Kelly at the bow.

We continued to wander around and ended up in the Palace Theater where a group of people had been getting a back stage tour. We sat down and listened in from the top balcony for ten minutes or so.

Bryan had a plan to watch the hockey game but all they had in the Sports Bar was basketball :-(

I headed off and attended the Lecture: "Cruising with the Comets and Meteors" which actually morphed into a 50 minute talk about the history of telescopes . Very informative.

So my first dilemma today was....  do I attend the Lecture: "Forensic Entomology" which talks about how the time of death of a victim can be determined by the bugs and insects on the body... or the Blackjack Tournament (with Kelly)? 

The blackjack won out as I can watch the repeat of the forensic show on the ship's TV.  I did manage to make it to the final table again with a great second round score but the cards cooled off and I missed out on any cash prize. Oh well it was fun and we get one more chance tomorrow afternoon.

The weather has turned rather ugly with moderate rain and a rolling sea! Fortunately the Winnipeg/Nashville hockey game was on live in the sports bar so I sat and watched the last half of the game while Kelly chatted with some Face Book cruiser friends. 

Back to the cabin to get ready for dinner. We have a special event tonight as we head to the "Chef's Table"  for a five course meal with wine pairings... o'la-la.  Kelly is showered up, primped and looking fantastic!

Dinner was fabulous and we met some very nice people at the Chef's Table. Raj was our Chef and Gilbert our  head waiter tonight. Excellent wines served with several courses of very good food. My favorite was the lobster... simply amazing!!

Avocado!!

Lobster Appy - fantastico!

Private dinning area in Chops Grill

Our dinner went so late with talking that we all missed the Headliner show. Oh well next time.

Short walk around the ship then off to the rack... exhausted again!

Sea Day #6 Crossing the Equator!

A solid sleep last night even though I have had some stomach issue the last 12 hours. Kelly was off to get coffee and upon her return, assumed her morning position on the balcony.

It's shaping up to be a very busy day for us with numerous activities squeezed together. Due to scheduling we may even have to forgo some of them.

We had breakfast in the dinning room this morning then headed upstairs to the Star Lounge for Trivia. We met up with Cathy & Bryan but they arrived too late to save our game :-)  We got a few answers but it was a bust.

Next up was the scavenger Hunt and we were given a sheet with about 15 items to obtain... in 15 minutes!! Well between the four of us we managed to get almost everything except one item so we ended up tying another team for first. Kelly is very competitive!!!

Next up... yes a busy day alright...  was the Equator ceremony up on Deck 11 Pool side.  A huge crowd gathered and after winding our clocks ahead one hour at noon, the event started. First was a flash mob by a bunch of cruisers whom obviously practiced a lot! Looked good from our vantage .

Flash Mob as the start of the ceremony.

 Now crossing the Equator for most people, especially for flight crew, can be a regular occurrence but for maritime folks it has a special significance the first time. Tradition dictates that a Pollywog, someone who has not crossed over yet, must go through a "ceremony" welcoming them to the other side. Variations of the actual ceremony can exist with some rather disgusting treatment of the Pollywogs takes place. Once completed you become a Shellback for your next crossing.  The details are explained much better here.

King Neptune and his entourage!

Things get ugly!

Lets just say I was happy not to have to undergo the humiliation of having to do crazy things in front of a huge crowd.... unlike several unlucky people!!

Lots of spectators!

The Cruise Critic gang have organized a Cabin Crawl today. This is an opportunity to look at various cabin layouts and locations that you would otherwise never get to see. Kelly offered ours up so we are part of today's "showing". We met up on Deck 12 and proceeded to go to various cabins for a look see. The Grand Suite was amazing!  We also showed ours to the group.

Forensic Lecture in the Star Lounge - Once again another interesting lecture of Forensic Science and police work. This one was about Crime Scenes and it was a bit dry... no pun intended. 

At 18:15 the captain came over the PA and advised us that the ship was about to officially cross the Equator so there might be a slight bump... then he jogged the ship a bit and it was done!

Kelly snapped a pic of our ship's wake as the "jump over the line" was made.

 Sunset once again was very pretty. We are blessed with a great view from our deck every night!

Tonight's sunset... a bit obscured but still stunning.

Pre-dinner drinks at Dizzy's then dinner with our group in the main dining lounge. This was followed by a quick casino visit but it was mostly spent watching some high rolling guys betting incredible sums of money on roulette. They lost a lot... we didn't :-)  Off to bed.

Sea Day #5

Today is our "do over" day. As we are crossing the International Date Line everything went back 24 hrs so we are having May 1st all over.  Kind of weird but we will survive!

Kelly was up early for a coffee run... pretty much our first order of business each morning. :-)

We relaxed on our deck and planned out the day with the cruise compass and highlighter pen. This is a throw back to our previous cruises that did not have the Royal IQ iPhone app.

My afternoon view.

Quick bite of breakfast then we attended the shore excursion show for Honolulu and Maui that is presented by the sales staff. We already have plans for both places but it just helped to get a picture of the possibilities available.

We then split up with Kelly heading through the shops and I went off to the lecture on "Cruising through the Cosmos". I took a side trip to the bridge viewing area up on Deck 11. Just wanted to have a look at the operation. I'll try and get a picture next time!

The Cosmos lecture was excellent and showed everyone how infinitesimal we truly are in relation to other planets and solar systems.

Back to the cabin to meet up with Kelly and relax before our next event, the Blackjack Tournament. I managed to squeeze into the final table and ended up in second place today! Won $95 bucks!

Really enjoying our deck!

Now back on our deck, we invited the Orr's over for a visit. They brought a bottle of nice Pino with them so we enjoyed a glass as we cruised along. Bryan seemed to enjoy the comforts of the lounger!

Room to entertain the Orr's... especially when they bring wine!

Sun heading down.

Next up was the headliner show at 18:30. He was Simon Palomares, an Australian comedian and he did a good job of entertaining everyone about raising teenagers these days. He spoke rather quickly at first and it took me some time to understand what he was actually saying. Even our Aussie friends at dinner said they couldn't keep up so it wasn't just me! Still a funny show!

Dinner with our Table #420 group and the usual buoyant conversation about today's activity.  We also took a group picture that I hope to get at some point.

A short stop at the casino to try our luck and we once again escaped with a few extra dollars in our pockets. Our luck has been pretty good this trip. We also watched a few guys spending huge sums of money at the roulette wheel easily betting six to seven hundred bucks a spin! Fun to watch but one wonders where this bankroll originated?

Grabbed some waters and headed for bed. A busy day is on tap tomorrow as we cross the Equator.