Day 32: At Sea

Days keep getting slower and slower for us. Actually, a large part of it is simply that we are spending so many hours each day outside on the open decks to enjoy the warmer temps as long as we have them. In fact, though G is still going to breakfast in the Botticelli Dining Room, I go to the fitness center to bike or walk and then meet up with him on the Terrace Deck where he continues to have coffee and I enjoy bird seed patties (if I’ve made the side trip to the International Cafe, which, sometimes, is just too far to go after I’ve used the treadmill😉), or cereal from the World Fresh Marketplace.

And then we move around the Terrace Deck trying to avoid the sun as much as possible, until the lunch buffet is set up and we enjoy that and then, at 1pm, go to Club Fusion for our ukulele lesson, followed by a rest in the cabin. And that is as exciting as our days have been since we left Hawaii. 

Through it all, both yesterday and today, we have been talking about future cruises and booking future cruises and second guessing future cruises we have booked. This is fairly routine stuff for us, to spend sea days making cruise plans, but today, when we started second guessing everything that is in place for next winter, I wondered why we even try to plan ahead. 

I skipped the Elite Lounge today, because I just wasn’t hungry, and, once again, dinner was a wild mixed greens salad made dinner-sized with some extra shrimp. That was scrumptious. I need to do more dinner salads. I noticed just last night that my pants are fitting differently, and not in a good way.  Nip it nip it nip it!

Tonight’s scheduled entertainment was production show Magic To Do, but around 5pm I was walking down Lido Deck to go to dinner when I saw one of the male dancers heading to the buffet wearing a track suit. I asked him why he wasn’t getting ready for the show and he said it hadn’t yet been announced but there were technical issues (again) preventing them from performing it tonight. And right then CD Nathan made an announcement to that effect and said we’d be seeing Erik Bryan in Let Me Be Frank instead. It was fun to see that after we had chatted with Erik a couple of nights ago. 

We’ve been skipping coffee and dessert after dinner to get to the show, but tonight went up to enjoy coffee on the Terrace Deck. It’s obviously our favorite place on the ship. 

Day 31: At Sea

This was definitely a lazy day for us. We slept until 9am (with that one hour ahead thing), had breakfast on the Terrace Deck (two bird seed cookies for me), then used the pool and hot tub and generally chilled (I listened to an Audible book) until it was time to go to our ukulele lesson. I think we’ve forgotten more than we ever knew, but it still so much fun! After that, we rested in the cabin until we got cleaned up for our eleventy-seventh formal night of the winter. 

The evening was filled with the Elite Lounge (we go, not because we’re even a little hungry, but just to see chef Santiago who puts his heart and soul into the food taste and display) followed by dinner in the Michelangelo Dining Room (I had the Asian salad made dinner-sized and topped with chicken breast and i wish I could have that every night at this point) and then a show in the Princess Theater.  

The iced tea is every bit as bad as you’ve read it is

It was a particularly good show night: the Princess Theater performance was Jason O with an Elton John tribute. We saw him in October on the Regal Princess and I always love his show. Front row seats where I can see the keyboard and G can see the musicians and we’re both happy. 

But that was all we did this evening. I think we’re at that point in this streak of cruise days where a movie and book in the cabin feel like the perfect way to end a day. 

Day 30: Kahului, Maui

Oh Lahaina, you are sorely missed! Of course, the devastating Lahaina fire in August 2023 was not the cause of cruise ships now berthing in Kahului instead of tending into Lahaina, but the contrast between arriving in beautiful Lahaina by water shuttle and waking up to the Matson freight dock on Maui’s north side is marked. Kahului is truly the least cruiser-friendly port on itinerary. 

Hilo at least offers local tours that can be booked right at the terminal, but in Kahului, only ship tours and taxis are allowed to leave from the terminal area. Independent tours and Ubers must be picked up outside the port near Longs Drug Store, a hot, dusty 20 to 30 minute walk away. A sign at the taxi stand next to the terminal states that taxis are a flat rate $100 per hour (no haggling). For reference, Google Maps says Kaanapali is a 50-60 minute drive from the port, and the ship offers a shore excursion for $115pp called Kaanapali on Your Own, with about 4 hours of time in Kaanapali. 

In short, berthing in Kahului has made Hana easier, Kaanapali much, much harder. 

On the bright side, it was another bright and sunny day, and, after breakfast in the Botticelli Dining Room, we walked off the ship to scope out the opportunities for sightseeing, which, as we learned, are minimal and expensive. 

Lots of fruit at breakfast

One of our options for today had been to rent a car from Maui ECO Car Rental, which rents from a building within walking distance of the port instead of at the airport (OGG). We set out to walk there first.  It’s $150 a day for a gas-only powered Prius (don’t ask me) or a minivan. We got the application via email and this is an option for our next cruise. 

One of the reasons we were interested in a rental is because, though we’ve spent days on Maui with a rental car, we’ve never driven the road around the northwest part of the island. But then we heard it’s not all paved and can be very rough in parts, not exactly optimal for a Prius. If anyone has current information on the condition of that road, I’d appreciate it if you’d send it to me. 

We walked to the Longs Drug area where we got the information I shared earlier in this post, and then walked back to the ship. It was hot in the sun, and we didn’t feel compelled to leave the ship again today. Instead we enjoyed the views of the waves breaking on the reef and watched a car freighter loading and unloading behind the ship. This simple activity always entertains, and, 15 years later, we still talk about “lawn chair guy” in the freight yard in Aruba who apparently determined where everything was to be loaded and unloaded in that freight port. In Kahului, “lawn chair guy” is apparently called “golf cart guy”, but he’s the brains of the operation all the same. 

We actually napped a bit this afternoon, all the sun and walking of the past few days catching up with us. There are a LOT of sunburned guests on the ship right now, a sure sign that we’ve had great weather. Then it was the Elite Lounge in Skywalkers followed by dinner in the Michelangelo Dining Room for the first time in three nights and the production show Disco: Blame it on the Boogie in the Princess Theater. We took sweatshirts to wear in our first row seats but the theater didn’t seem as chilly tonight. Something tells me we’re looking as red as our fellow guests with a built in heater. 

Unfortunately, after waiting an hour for the show to begin, there were technical issues that cancelled the 7pm performance. Fortunately, vocalist Erik Bryan, who performs in his own show Let Me Be Frank, as well as the role of the magician in Magic To Do, sat next to us, and we recognized him immediately. We chatted through all the delays as they tried to get the production show re-started and that kept us highly entertained (and if he was sorry he sat next to two of the few people in the Princess Theater who could recognize him from his shows last cruise, he hid it well). It turns out that he grew up right down the road from us, and has had singing and acting roles in our community, though he lives in London now (and what a change that would be!). 

We were at a bit of a loss for what to do next and whether to try again for the 9pm show which we knew would be packed. We move clocks ahead an hour overnight, and I decided to call it a day, though, as of this writing, G is still sounding like he wants to go back out.  Stay tuned…

Day 29: Nawiliwili, Kaua’i

No big surprise, but I wasn’t bright-eyed and bushy-tailed first thing this morning. In fact, I discovered that I hadn’t properly plugged in my iPhone to charge last night, and it was at about 2%. So I plugged it in and went back sleep until about 9am. 

How I ever even fell asleep last night, all sweaty and salty and sticky from sweet drinks and greasy from sunscreen, is beyond me, but I guess I was just that tired. But a clean up was first in order this morning, and then I went to the International Cafe to pick up my favorite non-dining room breakfast food, nut and seed cakes that G calls bird food.  I then took them upstairs to join him on the Terrace Deck where I was met by this amazing view. 

What a place to have breakfast!

Bird food 😉

Our weather was simply stellar, start to finish today. In fact, except for a couple of hours of rain yesterday morning, it’s been gorgeous since we left home December 29. 

We know how lucky we are. 

We packed for the day (more sunscreen, towels, etc) and walked off the ship and over to the ABC Store closest to the ship (a 10-minute walk or so) for beverages and then continued on to the Royal Sonesta Resort where we settled in on their beach, rented an umbrella and loungers ($65) and spent a few hours alternating between there and the beach bar. 

Poultry just outside the ABC Store

Our first trip to Kauai was in 1995, less than 3 years after Hurricane Iniki and the roosters and chickens were taking over the island after roaming free after the storm. 

You can see how close it is to the ship

We returned to the ship about 3:30pm, showered and got dressed in shorts and T’s and decamped to the Terrace Deck, where lunch/dinner became a movable feast, starting with a little afternoon tea, followed by some buffet dinner and then going up to Skywalkers for the last of the Elite Lounge. There was a guitarist on the Terrace Deck playing instrumental music for sail away (exceptionally nice) and we were treated to spouting whales in every direction as we sailed out of the harbor. 

Whale watching from the Terrace Deck

Sunset occurred while we were in Skywalkers and was so beautiful that, after taking photos through the glass, I ran down the stairs to Deck 17 to photograph the end of it. 

Through the window in Skywalkers

From Deck 17

We made a last minute decision to go to the Princess Theater for tonight’s performance, The Company Men, back singing a Motown Mashup and More. I’m really glad we did. They were even better tonight (dstsnding O). Their collective vocal range is unbelievable.  And then we went to the 80s party on the open deck, because it was literally just down the hall from our cabin. 

Captain McBain said, in his welcome back on board announcement this afternoon that tomorrow’s weather in Maui should be equally beautiful. We are definitely on a roll here, and the weather has certainly helped make this one of our favorite cruises in years. And we still have one more to look forward to!

Life is good. :-)

Day 28: Honolulu

We awoke to a rainy morning, really the first rain we’ve seen since we boarded the Emerald Princess on December 30, nearly a month ago. That’s kind of remarkable. 

After breakfast in the Botticelli Dining Room, we dressed up just a bit, intending to return to the ship to change at some point in time, and took an Uber to visit a friend in a senior living community near Ala Moana Mall. It was wonderful to see him and, after we visited for a while, we stayed for lunch out on the terrace where he lives. Great food, friendly service and a companionable visit. It was a good morning. 

A red crested cardinal 

As predicted, the day started clearing around 10am and the sun came out in force while we were enjoying our lunch. We then decided to stay dressed as we were and walk (about 45 minutes) to the Hale Koa Military Resort on Waikiki Beach, our favorite place to enjoy some drinks and watch the sunset. I’m glad we got that bit of exercise, because after we got to the Barefoot Bar at the Hale Koa around 2pm, we drank and drank and ate and drank and saw familiar faces and reminisced until sunset. Every time another round was ordered, I made G promise to get me off the beach and up to an Uber to get back to the ship. It’s a good thing I don’t drink…very often!

We’ll be here on a Friday on the next cruise!

The Hale Koa has the nicest, most peaceful park area in Waikiki

We were reminiscing about the Hawaii emergency alert (remember that?), the golf tournaments, the parades we’ve marched in, the Great Aloha Runs, and the time we flew from Shanghai after traveling around the world, got into our hotel room at the Hale Koa and slept for a week. I’m not sure we could keep up that pace these days!

Sunset was beautiful, as it almost always is in Honolulu, and we walked through the Hale Koa up to street level and caught an Uber back to the ship (at Pier 2 today). We thought we might go to the buffet (and the dining room was also open seating since the all on board time isn’t until 10:30pm), but I can already predict we won’t be leaving the cabin again tonight. 

Unbelievably, it was a bit of a green flash night!

We’ve only ever seen them here on Waikiki Beach