Day 7: Kauai

We slept so hard last night. In my case, I’m sure the MaiTais played a role, but when I synced my Fitbit this morning, I couldn’t believe what I saw. For the first time since my surgery in June, I walked over (my usual minimum) 12000 steps in one day. I went for weeks when I really just wore my Fitbit for sleep tracking, not step tracking, since my daily steps were negligible. Then, once I got out of the cast and started going to PT and other medical appointments, I would maybe reach 3000-4000 steps a day. That’s gradually increased on the ship, but in Honolulu I hit it out of the park.  No wonder I was so wiped out that night. That’s 13000 steps on crutches. Also, it’s no surprise that my hands and wrists were as sore as that foot.

Kauai was one of those few ports where we had firm plans for the day.  We had a quick breakfast in the Horizon Court Buffet, watching as the Ruby Princess made the difficult “S” maneuver to enter the tricky port of Nawiliwili, Kauai.  This is the port that we missed altogether four years ago when we were on the Pacific Princess; the wind and rain made it too difficult to enter.  We were thrilled to see bright sunshine and blue skies this morning...not just for our ability to dock, but also because of our plans for the day. 

We met up with Paul and Marlene in the Piazza to walk off the ship when it was at its berth. I had rented an SUV from National Car Rental for the day, and we waited just a short time for their shuttle bus to arrive to take us to the nearby Lihue Airport to pick up our car. We were lucky; the shuttle was overloaded with people standing, but we were apparently the only ones with a firm reservation. We are members of National’s Emerald Club, so when we arrived at the off-site rental facility, we alone were instructed to go directly to the cars where a Dodge Durango was just pulling up for our rental. Everyone else had to enter the tiny building and stand in line, filling out paperwork and waiting for their car. Moral of the story:  join a frequent renter club and reserve a car ahead of time. We likely saved at least 30 minutes by doing that. 

I had one goal in mind for today: to see Waimea Canyon in the sun. All of us had previously visited Kauai, and all of us had already made the drive up to the Waimea Canyon only to see nothing. The entire canyon had been enshrouded in fog. Today, we were determined to change that. I drove the Durango, which had ample room for all of us (and my crutches) and we turned west on Hawaii 50. Kauai is not a large island, but Google Maps told us that, while the distance to the Waimea Canyon overlook was just 35 miles or so, the time required to get there was well over an hour. It was easy to see why. The highway was a busy, two lane road with lots of traffic lights and a low speed limit. When we finally got past the little towns, the speed limits still were low, between 25 and 50mph. But we saw that the day reminded sunny and were hopeful for some good views. 

Once we turned off Hawaii 50 to go north, the road became quite twisty-turns and very steep. Luckily, the Durango was up for the challenge. We went north on Hawaii 552, and the views of the coast and the Pacific Ocean were spectacular. G kept wanting to stop for photos, but I had my eye on one thing at first: getting to the canyon lookout while it was still sunny. We finally made it to the first lookout, Waimea Canyon State Park, and the views made my single-mindedness worthwhile. 

Waimea Canyon State Park is a dramatic scar, 10 miles long, and 3500 feet deep in western Kauai. The canyon has been carved over millions of year by the Waimea River and floods pounding down from the summit of Mt. Waialeale, considered one of the wettest places on earth. At the center of the canyon is the Waimea River.  Waimea means “red waters” and you can understand why when you see the amber tones of the surrounding canyon walls. 

The most popular lookout is the Puu Hinahina Lookout in Waimea Canyon State Park. It was definitely the busiest, but we were able to arrive before the buses did, and my handicap placard guaranteed us a good parking spot. 

Panorama photo still doesn’t capture the beauty 

Waipo’o Falls 

A native Hawaiian was dressed (or not) in traditional attire and told us the story about how the

canyon was formed and how Hawaii got its name.  

“Ha”, as in the term aloha,  means the breath of life. We were familiar with this concept from our earlier travels, but learned from the native Hawaiian speaker that “Wai”, pronounced “Vi”, mean fresh water. And “I”, pronounced “ee”, means the creator God, over all of the 400 other gods in Hawaiian culture. So the term Hawaii represents the three things Hawaiians considered vital for a sustainable life on their islands:  the breath of life, fresh water and a creator God. How many times have we been on the islands and didn’t know that?

From the Puu aka Pele lookout, we got a closer view of Waipo’o Falls...

...and view of the entire canyon.

The final lookout, nearly a mile above sea level, was the Puu O Kila Lookout Down the Kalalau Valley to the Pacific Ocean. This was the view we had come for, the one that you see in all the tourism photos, and, especially as we were in a steady rain at this point, we were lucky the sun was still shining on the valley. The Alakai swamp (which is the highest swamp in the world) coats everything in a thick sea of rich green.

Puu O Kila Lookout Over Kalalau Valley

One of the wettest spots on Earth is Waialeale, a tall mountain spire hidden in the clouds to the right in this photo.  

Wettest spot on Earth sign shrouded in a cloud :-)

We were soaked by the time we returned to the Durango (the padding on my crutches was still wet last night), but made our way back to the coast via Hawaii 550, a road just as twisty-turny and steep as Hawaii 552. Luckily, Paul told me how to use the paddle shifters on the steering wheel and I was able to downshift to second gear quite a bit to help hold back the vehicle. When we reached Hawaii 50 and the coast, it was brightly sunny again. 

We turned west, toward The Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) on the very western side of Kauai, just a short distance from the turn off to Waimea Canyon. We have long heard about cabins available here for rental by active duty and retired military, and wanted to check them out. Greg’s military ID got us on to the naval base, and we stopped to get directions to the cabin (and also made a quick trip into the NEX to use the bathrooms and buy a few souvenirs). The cabins are gorgeous.  Three bedrooms, one bath, some of them directly on the long stretch of beach, for just $100 a night. I could definitely enjoy staying in them for a week or two.  We’d have to rent a car, but could explore the entire island even more thoroughly than we had during our stay in 1995. 

By then it was just after 1:30pm, and we had already decided to start making our way back to Lihue and the rental car return by that time. We had seen a tremendous amount of traffic backed up going east this morning, but, fortunately, we didn’t encounter much traffic on our return. We stopped and gassed up at Costco on the way and turned the Durango in just before 3pm. National asked if there was anything they could have done to improve our rental experience. Not one darn thing; it was perfect. We took a shuttle back to the ship, cleaned up just a bit and went to the buffet for a small meal to tide us over until the Elite Lounge at 4:30pm and dinner at 5:00pm. 

I had not been in the dining room last night to be able to pre-order tonight’s dinner (headwaiter Mehai was so funny.  “I haven’t seen you in forever!” Actually, it was just one day, but that does seem like forever in “ship time”).  I had no trouble finding a few things I could eat on the menu, and we watched sail away from our window as the Ruby Princess repeated the “S” turn and slowly left the harbor. 

Day 7 dinner menu, page 1

Day 7 dinner menu, page 2

(Sorry, we skipped dessert and I didn’t get a photo of that menu)

Fresh fruit, passion fruit and Reisling jello

Tossed greens with cucumber and pumpkin seeds

Wok-flashed shrimp with Lehua honey and black bean sauce

We made it to the Princess Theater in time for the 6:30pm performance of vocalist Donnie Ray Evans singing the songs of Nat King Cole. It was a wonderful show, and he’ll be performing again in Club Fusion before he leaves the ship in Tahiti. 

Since we had skipped dessert, G thought he needed soft serve ice cream from the Lido Deck, and while he was getting his cone, I happened to notice, at the pizza counter next door, several new items on their menu. The California Toast can be made vegan by skipping the cheese and bacon...I must try that one day soon, maybe as a late breakfast. 

New items available at Slice, the pizza counter on the Lido Deck

It was Tropical Deck Party night on the pool deck, but I was done for the day. I had only driven 107 miles today, but many of them were either in traffic or on twisty-turny roads.  And, while most of the lookouts were handicap accessible, I walked up and down some pretty steep ramps today. I wanted nothing more than to return to the cabin to get my blog post written. As it turned out, I fell asleep before it was finished, but my unlimited WiFi meant that wasn’t the tragedy it would have been had my minutes been ticking away. I guess I really was pretty tired. 

Next up: five days at sea. How we cope during this time will determine, in large part, when and where we start our 11th season of cruising (“God willing and the creek don’t rise,” quoting my husband from the South).

Day 7 Prince Patter, page 1

Day 7 Princess Patter, page 2

Day 7 Princess Patter, page 3

Day 7 Princess Patter, page 4

Day 9: Not Nawiliwili; however, Honolulu

I was asleep well before 10pm last night, and so was naturally awake shortly after 5:30 this morning. I'm getting smarter now about laying out clothing, iPhone and ship's card the night before, because, with these really early mornings, it's still dark in the cabin and difficult to find things by feel. Sunrise was going to be at 6:14am, but I could see as soon as I went up on the open deck that a misty rain was falling and we appeared to be socked in by clouds.

I had coffee with Douglas Pearson (already in the Panorama Buffet before I arrived, he asked if I had slept in this morning ;-)) and then we made our way to the front of the ship. Sadly, the stairs to Deck 11 were roped off due to high winds...this was not a good sign. And, though the sky to the east grew lighter, there was no sunrise to photograph this morning. Several of us adjourned to the Pacific Lounge to view our arrival in the port of Nawiliwili, Kauai through its floor to ceiling windows overlooking the bow of the ship. 

We could eventually make out the lighthouse at the end of the runway of the Lihui, Kauai airport, and were enjoying the views as the mountains to its west grew larger; however, we did not see the Nawiliwili pilot making his way out to the Pacific Princess to guide her into port. We ardent 'arrival-watchers' knew this was not a good sign. Sure enough, as we continued to watch, the Pacific Princess began a 180 degree turn away from the island. 

Well...shoot. 

I can't say we were too surprised. Certainly the weather was wet and gusty. Even worse, the sea swells were growing. The entrance to Nawiliwili harbor is notoriously tricky, a bit like threading a needle with a cruise ship. We might have hoped (I definitely did hope) that the Pacific Princess would substitute a slow cruise west and north along the spectacular Na Pali coast of Kauai (Google it for pics), but I think we knew that was a pipe dream. Instead, Captain D eventually came on the loudspeaker to acknowledge what we already knew to be fact:  we would be missing the island of Kauai today. While conditions were not good this morning, Captain D said it really came down to the fact that they were expected to further deteriorate throughout the day. And turnaround day tomorrow in Honolulu left no margin for error; we had to be able to leave Kauai this evening. 

Captain D also said that phone calls were being made and he would be back to update us on our day when things were in place. Eventually he told us that we would be heading southeast out of the weather and arriving in Honolulu at 5pm today, overnighting in port. 

And a cheer went up from the crew. (Not really. But they were silently cheering. An overnight in a major port...these are the rare opportunities they live for).

When these things happen, it's impressive to see how quickly alternative plans are put in place. The Pacific Princess cannot just show up in Honolulu Harbor and ask a bystander on the pier to catch our lines so we can dock. An empty berth, an available harbor pilot, local authorities to clear the ship, dockworkers and terminal workers and all night security...everything has to fall into place on a moment's notice. 

Cruise Director Maraschal and his entertainment staff quickly put together a new list of activities for our unexpected sea day, but, for G and I, the highest priority was breakfast in the Club Restaurant. There we were told that tomorrow's embarkation day lunch was going to be served for today's lunch, as the Club Restaurant was not prepared to offer anything else given the short notice that today was a sea day and lunch would be served there. Yay!  Embarkation day lunch vs. a rainy, windy day on Kauai. That's a good trade off in our minds. 

Captain D had warned that we'd experience an uncomfortable few hours as we made our way back out of the weather system, and he was right. The Promenade Deck was closed off, and, though we eventually sailed into sun, the sea remained very choppy. I attempted to sit through Douglas' impromptu lecture on Hawaii history through time travel, but only lasted 45 minutes in the Cabaret Lounge at the very front of the ship. Though several fun activities around the ship were being announced, I returned to the relative calm of our low, midship cabin, took the opportunity to give myself a manicure, and read until lunch. 

We enjoyed a delicious lunch with a new bottle of Reisling and then de-camped to the Promenade Deck to watch as we cruised south along the west coast of Oahu. What an amazing view, and one we've never seen before, as all our previous cruise arrivals to Oahu were before dawn. When was the last time we did something for the first time?  This afternoon, and it kept us highly entertained.

As you can see, by then the weather had cleared up and the sea had calmed and, just as Captain D promised, we were enjoying a more comfortable ride. 

Source: mappery.com

We were about where the red dot is on the map when I took the photo just above, and spent a highly enjoyable couple of hours on the Promenade watching the high rises of Honolulu come into view. 

G left at 4pm to take the raffle tickets we had received for purchasing wine and drinks up to the Pacific Lounge for an end-of-cruise drawing. Wouldn't you know...he won one of the two 'grand' prizes, a Princess cookbook. Now, we will not have space to take this home, but it will make a fantastic gift for a friend in Tahiti. Go G!!

Diamond Head and Waikiki Beach as seen from the arriving Pacific Princess

The Aloha Tower was the tallest building in Hawaii when it was built in 1926. 

The Pacific Princess may have touched its berth at Pier 10, the Aloha Tower at 5pm, but it took until after 5:30pm before the ship was cleared and we could walk off. This put an end to our tentative plans for the evening...I had phoned from the Promenade Deck earlier in the day (we had cell service around most of the coast of Oahu) to inquire about a sunset sail from Waikiki Beach. It was leaving at 5:30pm, and we had initially been hopeful that we might make it, but it was not to be. Maybe, in the end, it was for the best as we walked off the ship into a light rain. 

Instead, we walked down to the closest bus stop and caught a bus to the Ala Moana Mall, where we transferred to a Waikiki Bus. We finally ended up at our intended destination of the Hale Koa Hotel on Waikiki Beach. The Hale Koa is the military resort next to the Hilton Hawaiian Village on the west end of Waikiki. We spent a pleasant few hours having dinner and drinks on the beach (luckily, the rain had temporarily stopped) and listening to an acoustic guitarist. We left shortly before 8:30pm and walked along the beach back to the Ala Moana Mall where we caught a bus back to the Aloha Tower and the cruise ship.

Sunset on Waikiki Beach

The Rainbow Tower at the Hilton Hawaiian Village 

Unfortunately, just as we stepped off the bus, the skies opened and a torrential rain fell. We walked back to the Pacific Princess through ankle-deep puddles and were drenched by the time we arrived. After hot showers, we are tucked into bed by 10pm. Late night party animals we are not, but we made the most out of our unexpected evening in Honolulu.