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.
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!!
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.
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.