Day 23: At Sea

Losing October 17, and changing the date on my iPhone totally disabled my ability to write and save blog posts on the BlogTouch app…and it took a day and night of thinking about it to figure out what was going on. I simultaneously began having issues logging into financial accounts and our Princess Captains Circle account. We are pretty remote, WiFi has gotten even slower than usual, and I first believed that was the reason.  But then I heard G streaming video last night and re-considered. It had to be something with the date change…

So when I opened my eyes this morning (Monday, October 19), I changed my iPhone clock back to my home time. That fixed it. I’m still perplexed as to why, but I can prepare posts again. My watch is not at all correct and this isn’t a viable long term solution (because it also puts my Apple Watch on our home time and there is no way to de-couple that), but it at least allows me to prepare and publish posts. Because you wouldn’t want to miss such a riveting account of our many days at sea. 😉

As a result, I’ll just say, when it came to our third day at sea:  DITTO. It was nearly the same as the day before that and the day before that. 

Our view at breakfast

Same breakfast, every single day. Greek yogurt, fruit and bran flakes. Boring but so good

The sea was so smooth today. I’ve only seen it like this one time before, and that was, interestingly, in this same part of the Pacific. Is it an equator thing? I’m not sure.

One minor difference is that, I guess because it was Sunday (or maybe because of the time change, it’s hard to know), they had a special brunch menu in the Botticelli Dining Room at lunch yesterday. Unfortunately, I wasn’t hungry and chose to instead use that time to practice ukulele in the cabin since G did go to lunch. However, he didn’t take pics of the menu. I will try to get some today.

Ukulele is creating stress. I don’t believe it’s supposed to do that. But I’ve found my person to stand by in the Hawaiian show next week. He sings and plays loudly and strongly…and with complete accuracy. He will cover for me. Australian Bill is my new hero. 

I spent the rest of the afternoon following college game upsets best as I could online. My guys were also keeping me posted via text. I think it’s fair to say I missed being home with three screens to watch simultaneously. What a day in college football!

I was very hungry by dinner, which is a good feeling, and chose the fish entree. Seafood with peppers, onions and olives is one of my favorite dishes to make at home, sans this was excellent. I don’t order dessert most nights. The Lavazza coffee is so strong and tasty that I’m happy with that…but always make an exception for key lime pie and pavlova. 

Tonight’s Princess Theater performance was production show British Invasion. Dated but still fun, and we get the same number of production shows in this long cruise that we would get on a shorter one, so we were looking forward to it. 

We ended our evening with Silent Disco in the Vista-less Lounge (a favorite activity) and fell into bed. CD Duvaul told us tonight that we will be crossing the equator about 3am tomorrow morning and the Crossing the Line ceremony will be held at 2pm tomorrow. I’m not sure I’ll be attending (ukulele is at 1pm, and it’s not my first crossing) but will try to, at a minimum, get some pics. 

We returned to our cabin tonight to find Crossing the Dateline certificates in our cabin. Nice. We’ll add them to our collection at home. Even if we didn’t know that we are in this part of the Pacific, intense heat and humidity give strong clues. We are so fortunate that our cabin thermostat keeps up with all we ask of it immediately and effectively. We rode an elevator tonight with a couple that can barely sleep in their cabin because it’s so hot. There is definitely an advantage to an inside cabin in this climate. 

And, finally, my shorts returned from their road trip this morning. I knew they would eventually, and wasn’t worried (I packed plenty of clothing!). But I’m particularly glad for steward Robert. He was relentless in the pursuit. He’s a good person. 

Day 22: At Sea

We enjoyed another sea day that followed yesterday’s pattern nearly exactly. I did change my water workout a bit. G had encouraged me to wear a life vest to try to stay afloat and cut down on the sea sickness I experienced yesterday. A bit awkward but it definitely worked a treat. It also allowed my to do a true deep water workout instead of constantly trying to find the pool’s bottom. A great idea!

Following breakfast, I did a core workout in the gym (a mighty popular place at that time of the morning) and returned to the cabin to finish up yesterday’s blog post. I do appreciate not feeling compelled to stay up late at night to do that. 

Ŵe had bright sunshine and hot, humid weather mixed with intermittent showers all day today. After I came in from the pool this morning I actually spent only limited time outside. I did get a kick out of watching the “claiming of the loungers” on the Terrace Deck beginning the second the chairs were set out (shortly after 6am most days). People have clips and covers and all sorts of paraphernalia to mark their territory. I hope they enjoy themselves, and that their place holders don’t mind getting wet. 

We went to lunch in the Michelangelo Dining Room right at noon so I could get to ukulele (1pm) a little early. Waiter Ernesto understood the assignment, and had me out of there right quick, a good thing, because I need all the pre-class practice I can get. Our Hawaiian entertainment session will take place on October 22, and it is as ambitious a program as I have ever seen done before. Kamaki has high expectations. I continue to count on standing near someone more skilled than me, which shouldn’t be hard to find. 

Following class I spent a couple of hours in the cabin trying to figure where we might cruise next winter. Actually, cruise decisions these days often come down to 1) a choice of MTG cocktail party v luncheon; 2) the number of cruises/ mini bar setups and 3) can we get the same cabin for multiple cruises in a row?  I booked 8 refundable cruises, am holding them with FCDs and don’t have to think about it again until sometime next year. Itinerary enthusiasm: 0/10. Ship enthusiasm: 5/10. Not being home when it snows enthusiasm: 11/10. 

Dinner tonight was excellent. I hadn’t had a soup on this ship that I haven’t loved, which is good, because I am nearly always chilly in the AC and have ordered a lot of soup. 

Our Princess Theater performer this evening was Australian Angie Narayan’s tribute to the ladies of Soul. Oh my. What a voice, the kind I felt in my sternum. The rural box was definitely jumping tonight. I enjoyed this show so much that I returned for her second show at 9pm. Tonight’s 80s deck party was relocated inside due to rain, and the second Princess Theater show held more appeal. 

And, finally, enjoy Saturday, October 17 for us. At midnight tonight we’ll move clocks ahead 24 hours. We’ve done this several times over the years, but every time we do I am reminded of our first westbound transpacific. We were cruising with a wonderful Australian couple, Ray and Mirella, and CD Alastair Greener and ACD Frankie. What a combo those two were! Anyway, that was in 2004 when the Morning Show was don’t miss entertainment. Alastair announced on the show following our skipped day that Ray and Mirella had lost a day…and gained a grandchild!  I’ve always loved that story. 

Day 21: At Sea

We have a routine on these sea days that works well for us. First, we’re up ridiculously early- 4:30am today- because of our many time changes (but, as predicted, can barely stay awake through the evening Princess Theater shows). G leaves the cabin early and scopes out the pool situation. He knows how important that is to me 🩵, and updates me via text. After being drained before our Honolulu arrival, the Calypso and Neptunes Reef pools were filling but still netted at 6am; the Terrace Pool was still empty. That allowed me to get a little more sleep…and spend some time worrying about McGee, who was finally having surgery to get that pesky injury (that had stolen his 2024 cross country season from him) repaired. 

G’s way of catching the sunrise…and telling me the Terrace Pool wasn’t open

I met G for breakfast in Sabatini’s where I’ve had the same thing every morning we’ve eaten there:  Greek yogurt, lots of fruit and some bran flakes cereal. I added a couple of cups of coffee and, when we had finished, decided to see what pools were open. 

By that time, they were all filled and unnetted, and friend John was already in the Terrace Pool. While I expected the water to be frigid, he said it was almost bath water temp. I quickly changed and grabbed my gear and joined him. It was very warm, but it was also very high. And a bit sloshy. The combination of those two things plus my recent breakfast, as light as it was, had me pretty seasick by the time I finished, but I did get in my workout. 

Luckily, once I was again on (relative) terra firma, I started feeling better. I worked on my Honolulu blog post before joining G for lunch in the Botticelli Dining Room. I had the Mongolian seafood stir fry and he had the enchilada and we both agreed that they were some of the best food items we’ve enjoyed on board. 

I took my ukulele to lunch, prepared to go directly to the Michelangelo Dining Room for our lesson at 1pm. Though we had a few drop outs early on, our group has been consistent and it was good to see so many people back after our Hawaiian ports. Kamaki is pushing us hard but makes it fun, and I’m always amazed at how much we have learned. And the most important thing I’ve learned is to sit next to someone who is much better than I am and who covers up my mistakes so well that not even I hear them. ‘Cause I sound pretty bad when I practice in our cabin!

I had a decision to make…ukulele v an enrichment lecture at 1:30m. A ukulele lesson missed is lost forever but I’m hoping I can watch the enrichment lecture on our cabin TV later. By the time I returned, G was watching Thursday night football (it’s so weird traveling this direction…I remember watching NFL games in the middle of the night when we cruised in Asia) on our TV and watching that was as productive as we were for the rest of the afternoon. We certainly didn’t need any more sun after our day in Honolulu yesterday.

The game was ugly, but good, because the Broncos beat the Seahawks in overtime in Denver, and a win is a win, but also because it finished with perfect timing, allowing us to go to dinner with Libres and Sulton. Of course they both said how much they had missed us last night (when we had eaten burgers at sunset on the Terrace Deck) because that is what they do, make us feel like us being at dinner is the highlight of their day, when, in reality, us being at dinner is the highlight of OUR day. We love this Princess crew!!

My tummy was still feeling a little unsettled after literally bobbing around in the pool for an hour this morning, so I stuck with a bowl of minestrone, which I think is the best soup Princess serves, but G always has a hard time deciding between the lasagna and the chicken parmesan on Italian night. No dining room preparation of penne arrabbiata. I miss that!

We skipped dessert to get our favorite non-production show seats (what?  You don’t have favorite non-production show seats in the Princess Theater?) in what we call the “royal box”. We loved that seating area on the Golden and old Star Princess, too. It’s an easy exit and has us seated with only six other people, so our exposure to coughing germs is minimized. I’m not hearing too many…except for our next door neighbor. Good grief, she is still so sick…but at least she’s still with us. I feel badly for her. I’ve been there (too often) on cruises, and it’s not fun. 

Vocalist Nathan Foley was a Princess Entertainer of the Year. Maybe we expected too much..or maybe we had just hit our bed time. We were little underwhelmed. He was also Australian, as will be our entertainer tomorrow night. I think we not only cross the international date line and the equator on this cruise, we cross that imaginary line where the entertainers on one side come from North America and on the other from Australia. That seems to be the way it works. 😉

That reminds new of a <sea day sidebar incoming > our cruises out of Sydney when those of us from the US really were in the minority on board and we were in an elevator with a group of Australians, having just enjoyed an Australian comedian in the Princess Theater. One chatty man was talking and talking, but figured out we were two Americans. “Oh, I bet most of his humor was beyond you then”, to which G replied, “No, we thought he was great”. That man exited the elevator right then, and I added “But we have no idea when you were saying”. Out loud. Before I realized it. Thankfully, Australians have a great sense of humor, and those still in the elevator loved that. 

My filter hasn’t improved with age. I’m safest just communicating via blog. 

We returned to our cabin early this evening, just in time for a delivery of two bottles of MTG wine that have been floating around the ship. They had been delivered to the wrong cabin…but we let loyalty host Andre sort that out. We knew we’d get them eventually. Then Steward Robert delivered laundry. I received a very nice pair of shorts, but they were not my shorts. I returned them immediately to Robert and he is on the hunt. It’s really a matter of waiting until someone else figures out the grey shorts they received back are not the white shorts they sent. In all my years of sending laundry, I’ve only lost one pair of socks. I’ve gotten back shredded clothing and broken zippers, but things usually eventually turn up. 

🤞🏼

Oh, BTW, McGee is home at his parents’ house after surgery. Hopefully his night will go well. 

🤞🏼

Day 20: Honolulu

I was given a bit of an unwelcome reprieve this morning when G left the cabin to do his usual early morning walk around and texted me this pic showing that all the ship’s pools were emptied. 

Well, darn. It wasn’t so much that I was going to miss a workout. It was the thought that the warm pool water I enjoyed yesterday had been dumped somewhere in the open ocean, gone forever. I hope the fish enjoyed it! 🐠

Our day was fun but largely followed our usual Honolulu routine. After breakfast in Sabatini’s, we caught an Uber to visit a friend who is in senior living near the Ala Moana Mall. From there we walked down along the beach behind Hilton Hawaii Village to the Hale Koa Barefoot Bar. 

We have certainly passed this building 100 times over the years and never took note of it. A reverse Google look up told us it is the original Honolulu pumping station built in 1900 and is on the National Register of historic Places.

This kind feels like coming home. 🌴

We only lasted a few hours at the Hale Koa today. It was beastly hot and very sunny, and I’m not even drinking alcohol these days. Still, it was fun to see old friends who work there…and watch from a safe distance as this guy climbed palm trees to knock down coconuts before they fell on an unsuspecting guest. 

Around 5pm we were toast, and caught an Uber back to the ship. We suspected we would be better able to see tonight’s sunset from the Terrace Deck than the beach, and, boy, could we. I got burgers from the Lido grill and met up with G on the back there just in time to witness this spectacle. 

Dinner with a view

We stayed back there just until the ship sailed at 9pm, then returned to the cabin. I showered off eight layers of sunscreen and fell into bed. Days in the sun are wonderful but exhausting. 

Day 19: Lihue, Kauai

We had reserved a car through National today, and so didn’t dawdle at our Sabatini’s breakfast this morning. We had heard access to Waimea Canyon was limited, but that was fine with us. We had driven there the last time we rented a car in Kauai and therefore planned to go to Hanalei today. 

Things went a bit awry right from the start. There was a line of least 35 people waiting for a rental car shuttle just outside the port terminal building…and waiting…and waiting. G left me in line to hold our place and went to investigate. When he talked to the security guard and was told there had not been even one rental car shuttle in days, G walked outside the gate and talked a taxi driver (who really wanted to give island tours) into running us over to the airport rental car area for $20. I quickly shared the news that we couldn’t expect a shuttle to ever arrive with the waiting line of fellow guests, recruited another couple to split the cost and we were off. 

We always use National car rental, and book an Emerald Aisle car when available. That saves a lot of time in the pick up and also gives us a choice of cars. We had a choice of four vehicles today, one of them a sexy, low, sporty-looking thing. I wanted that one badly,  very badly, but G vetoed that choice. He anticipated us driving over rough, storm-damaged road. He was right (but I’m not admitting that to him). Instead, I drove us away in a Chevy TrailBlazer with AWD. 

That little car was calling my name

<Port day sidebar- We are definitely a Chevy family. My current ride is a nearly 27-year-old Blazer with fewer than 90K miles. My guys call it the NeeNee mobile.  Every night I pray that it lasts as long as I do. I adore that vehicle. >

We really weren’t certain about how much damage from Hurricane Lowell (Category 2, landfall on Kauai September 8) we’d encounter. Nearly 90% of the island had been without power and, fact, on the north side where we were today, they went without power for 18 days. 

The damage around Lihue was noticeable and there were sections where power line and tree work was taking place, slowing traffic. But after we passed the Kilauea Lighthouse Wildlife Sanctuary (closed today), the damage was heartbreaking. We encountered a lot of construction flag men and one lane and stopped traffic.  Still, the island remains beautiful despite its many downed and de-nuded trees. 

We definitely drove across roads that had only recently been underwater and that were covered with sand, downed tree debris and even some mildly flowing water.  We had stayed on Kauai 31 years ago, and wanted to return to some of the places we’d explored then. We drove as far as we could, which was the natural pools just beyond Hā’ena Beach, then spent some time walking along Hā’ena Beach and exploring the Maniniholo Dry Cave, all places we had been 31 years ago. 

Taken through the windshield

The following pics were taken north of the Kilauea Lighthouse, around Princeville and Hanalei

 

Lots of traffic backups today

The life guard on duty (to stop anyone from swimming as the swell was so bad) told us the water had covered the guard tower during the storm

Hā’ena Beach

The end of the road for us (residents only sign posted here)

Maniniholo Dry Cave

Leaving ourselves extra time for traffic stoppages, we started back to Lihue, stopping at a few of the beaches on the east side of the island (we had stayed in that area when we had been here). We returned the car to National and took their shuttle for the two minute ride to the airport terminal. While we were waiting for our Lyft pickup there, we were told by other cruisers also waiting that, when they had complained to Avis about there being no shuttles to the cruise terminal, they got 50% back on their rental. Hmmmm…

When I received a survey text before we even got back to the ship, I complained about being assured two weeks ago there would be a shuttle for us when, in fact, there wasn’t. And was immediately also given a 50% discount. If this was a local business struggling after the hurricane I would never have raised the issue, but given that this is a national rental car agency and I had asked in advance about this plus lost time this morning waiting in vain, I felt this was quite fair. 

We had planned to have lunch at a local restaurant on the north shore, but when traffic was so delayed, decided we needed to start back early. So when we got on the ship, we were hungry. Luckily, dinner tonight was really good. G had already left to get us front row seats in the Princess Theater for tonight’s show after dinner when some gallery crew came around to the Michelangelo Dining Room tables. I told them that my Callaloo soup and Mongolian seafood were excellent and the crew that had prepared my dinner gave me huge smiles. 

Forgot to take dinner menu pic, sorry!

I love a man who cooks!

The Modern Gentlemen were back with a second show tonight. I wanted a front-row seat to get a good photo of my brother’s former classmate. 

I’m sharing this one with my shaved head linebacker of a brother, to show him what almost 60 can look like. Because that’s what sisters do.🤭

Tomorrow is a long day in Honolulu, so we returned to the cabin afterward for some sleep. Our neighbor is already coughing as I type this, so I’m hoping we get some. Luckily, we haven’t had so much as a sniffle in our cabin. .

🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼