Kauai

          Wednesday, 26 Sep 2012 – We woke up to our alarm at 6:00 A.M., dressed, and headed for breakfast, where we dined at a table alone this time.  Usually before an excursion, we meet our tour group in one of the dining rooms, where we are given bus assignments.  However, this time we were instructed to meet on the pier at 8:20 A.M but had to wait first, standing in an extremely long line for more than 20 minutes to disembark.

Walmea Canyon

Our tour bus guide/driver, who called herself Aunty Alicia, was very talkative and shared lots of Hawaiian history with us.  She is not a native Hawaiian and referred to herself as formerly Mexican, but now “Hispanic.”  She is married to a Filipino who was born and raised in Hawaii.

On Wailua Riverboat

We first took a long drive to the Walmea Canyon, then made a brief shopping/restroom stop, then headed for lunch.  We enjoyed an excellent buffet lunch at Keoki’s Paradise, an outdoor, covered restaurant beside a small pond.  One of the entrees was roast pork and cabbage, a traditional luau dish.



Fern Gratto

After lunch, we drove to the coast to see the Spouting Horn.   Apparently, when the waves come into the shore, water enters underground lava tubes and spouts several feet up into the air.  The Sprouting Horn is the source of timeless Hawaiian legends about an angry lizard goddess called Kaikapu.  The loud sound made by the blowhole is said to be her angry roar.





Opaekaa Falls

Hawaiian Performers

We then proceeded to the Wailua River dock were we boarded a riverboat that took us to the Fern Grotto.  At the Grotto, we enjoyed a live performance of the Hawaiian Wedding Song.  On the trip back, we were entertained with live Hawaiian music and the traditional Hula dance.  The men in the audience were also given the opportunity to perform the Hula dance.  (Sally says that Jesse was very good!)  Then after making a brief stop at Opaekaa Falls, we headed back to the Sea Princess, arriving at our cabin at 4:30 P.M.  This was an interesting but very long day!

Matching Hawaiian Outfits



The Nexus

For dinner, we dressed in our matching Hawaiian outfits that Jesse had ordered online; however, none of our tablemates showed up for dinner.  It seems that a lot of the guests were too tired for a 5:30 dinner after a tiring day.  After dinner, we danced for a little while in the Wheelhouse Bar.  For a change, tonight the Tritones Duo played a Tango, which we really enjoyed.  Later, we went up on deck for the “Ultimate Deck Party,” where there was music by the Nexus.  The party was to last “from 9:00 P.M. until,” but they played only very fast songs to which we danced the swing, and we petered out by 10:00 PM. But it was great fun!   We started our cruise last Thursday, so one week of the cruise is already over.  Time flies when you’re having fun!

In case you haven’t noticed, we are combining our “at-sea” days for this cruise to save Internet minutes.  After reading the blog for our last cruise, the at-sea days seemed a little uneventful.  Following today we will have five at-sea days.



Honolulu

          Tuesday, 25 Sep 2012 – We woke up to our alarm at 5:00 A.M., dressed, and headed for breakfast.  We shared our table with Chris, from Knoxville, TN.  We also found out that Chris attended Iowa Wesleyan College in Mount Pleasant, IA.  We left the Princess for our excursion at 7:30 A.M.  On our bus, we sat next to Mike, who also happened to be from Knoxville, TN.  By coincidence, Mike turned out to be Chris’ husband!  (Chris had chosen to take a different excursion.) 

First, we toured the USS Missouri; then we toured the USS Arizona Memorial (after watching a 23-minute movie providing history), which we found both interesting and moving.  Afterward, we returned to our ship and enjoyed a late lunch with our new friends, Chris and Mike.

USS Arizona Memorial

Kissing Sailors

USS Missouri Memorial

Only three hours later we ate again, with dinner tonight being open seating.  Since our other table companions were all no-shows, we ended up joining Dave and Janice’s table – table companions from our last (December/January) cruise.  Later, we were joined by Jim and Carla, two of their regular table companions.



Sea Princess Orchestra

Dancing tonight started at 7:30, with music by the Sea Princess Orchestra.  We danced until 8:30 P.M., and then returned to our cabin to prepare for tomorrow’s excursion to Kauai, Hawaii.  We will be meeting on the pier at 8:20 A.M.

At Sea

Tritones Duo

            On Friday, 21 Sep 2012, we shared a table at breakfast with another friendly Australian couple, Ellie and Rolf, from the Brisbane area.  We had planned to attend a Tai Chi class after breakfast, but we were unable to find the class.  A little later, we had a very light lunch (probably the only time); however, by dinner, we were very hungry.  We danced to disco ballroom music before dinner; then we finally met the other three couples at our assigned table:  Toby (a woman) and Sue, Terry (Toby’s brother) and Mattie, all from Reno, Nevada; and Doris and Tom, from Pennsylvania near Gettysburg.  After dinner, we danced to the music of the Tritones Duo in the Wheelhouse Bar for about 45 minutes.

            We slept late on Saturday, and then we shared our breakfast table with a couple from Toronto, Canada, Jeanine and Robert.  By coincidence, Jeanine just happened to be the Tai Chi instructor, so after breakfast, we followed them to the deck where class was held.  Tai Chi was a new experience for us – not very strenuous, but very relaxing.  (On Cruise Critics, Jeanine had offered to lead a Tai Chi group, and by the third day, quite a few people were taking advantage of her offer.)  Afterwards, we attended the Cruise Critics “Meet and Greet,” where we were welcomed aboard by the ship’s Captain and senior officers; afterward, we joined the group for lunch in the dining room.  Saturday night was formal dinner night, so we dressed in our tuxedo and evening gown, respectively.  Before dinner, we danced a little, but since the Tritones Duo was on break after dinner, we decided to head back to our cabin for an early night.  We also set our clocks back an hour for the second time since leaving San Francisco.

            On Sunday, 23 Sep 2012, as we started to our Tai Chi class, we happened to meet a couple, David & Janice, who had shared our dinner table for 30 days on our transatlantic cruise last December and January.  They had decided on this cruise at the last moment.  After Tai Chi, we sat and visited with our Australian friends, Gail and Jim, for a while.  Sally checked out a book from the ship library; even though we have Internet access, of course we can’t spend as much time on it as at home.  In the evening, we danced in the Wheelhouse Bar again, before and after dinner.

Cha-Cha Dance Class



In Wheelhouse Bar

            On Monday morning, we wondered why we have been sleeping so much and so well.  Is it possibly caused by the gentle rocking of our bed at night?  Even though by this morning the clock read four hours earlier than at home, we had been asleep soon after 10:00 PM the past two nights.  At breakfast, we shared our table with an Asian couple (originally from Hong Kong, now living in the L.A. area), Chip and Grace.  Then was Tai Chi class, and then we attended our first dance class.  Cha-Cha was taught this time, and we were glad that we went because we learned a new step.  At lunch, we sat with a couple, Roland & Debra, originally from Chile, but now living in Vancouver, Canada.  We discussed subjects ranging from our experiences in Chile in January to the U.S. political scene.  We danced in the Wheelhouse, again, before and after dinner, practicing our new Cha-Cha dance step.  Afterward, we went for a short swim in a small, round, heated swim pool that we had all to ourselves, followed by a lovely soak in a hot tub.  Only Doris and Tom showed up for dinner tonight, which gave us the opportunity to get to know them a little better.  We will be meeting in the Princess Theater by 7:20 A.M. for our Honolulu shore excursion, so there won’t be any late night TV tonight!  (But we also turn back our clock for the third time!)

Embarkation

Thursday, 20 Sep 2012 – After starting the day with the hotel’s continental breakfast, packing up, and checking out, we took a short taxi ride to Pier 35 to the Sea Princess.  Since we arrived about an hour before the scheduled boarding time, there was no line for check-in.  Although usually early boarding would have already started, for some unknown reason this time we and others had to sit and wait in a holding area for almost an hour.

Our Cabin

On board the ship, we found our cabin (D208), an “ocean view” this time (not a balcony) near the front of the ship.  After relaxing for a few minutes, we went to the buffet (Horizon Court) for a quick snack; however, we ran into our Australian friends, Gail and Jim, and ended up visiting for an hour or so.  When we returned to the cabin, our luggage had been delivered, so we unpacked our luggage and stowed everything away in our new home for the next 27 days.  Our cabin is quite a bit smaller than the one on our last cruise, so it was somewhat challenging to fit everything in. (Of course, we always bring too much!)

We participated in a lifeboat drill at 3:15 PM.  This is a change from our previous cruises.  After the Costa Cruise disaster, lifeboat drills must be conducted PRIOR to sailing.  We tried to take the drill seriously this time; however, Jesse still ended up sleeping through half of it.  We were scheduled to set sail at 4:00 PM; however, the ship’s captain announced that our departure would be delayed for at least two hours until they completed loading all of the ships supplies and unloading the garbage from the previous cruise.

Golden Gate Bridge

We were scheduled for dinner at 5:30 PM; however, we decided to skip dinner until later so that we could watch our departure from the deck.  So, we stood on the deck from 6 – 7 PM, braving the cold and wind.  The view was SPECTACULAR as we sailed past Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate Bridge, but we nearly froze.   Afterward, we went to dinner at the Horizon Court.  We were much too tired for further activities tonight.  Already we were instructed to set our clock back one hour (so that give us even more time for sleeping).

San Francisco

Wednesday, 19 Sep 2012 – Yes, we have departed for ANOTHER cruise.  This time, we’ll be sailing on the Sea Princess from San Francisco, CA, to Sydney, Australia, with stops in Hawaii, Tahiti, Bora Bora, Pago Pago, and New Zealand. 

We left home a little after 8 AM yesterday, & flew from Peoria to Detroit and then on to San Francisco.   Last night and tonight we’re staying at Hotel Beresford in downtown San Francisco, not far from Union Square.  We’ll be staying here again tonight, and tomorrow we’ll head to the Star Princess for the start of our cruise.

We arrived at the hotel around 7 PM; then we enjoyed a very elegant dinner at the Cesario’s Restaurant, about three doors from the hotel.  Ordinarily, we wouldn’t have chosen such an expensive restaurant, but we did not feel comfortable wandering around downtown San Francisco after dark.

This morning we met up with a couple that lives in Australia.  She (Gail) and Sally met online through a cruising website, and found that she and her husband (Jim) were staying at the same hotel as we are in San Francisco.  They came a few days early to the U.S. to see sights before the cruise.  Anyway, we four rode on the cable car and then walked, ending up at Fisherman’s Wharf.  We walked around there, & then sat on a bench having a snack while gulls and pigeons eyed us from a rail about 3 feet in front of us. 

At Union Square

After a substantial rest there, we hopped on a tourist bus, which we rode along the piers and back up to within about 6 blocks of our hotel. Not being very exciting people ourselves, it’s been enjoyable to have another couple to pal around with.  Also, there’s less chance of getting lost when there are 4 of us, which is an important consideration for us!  Tonight, we four ate at Lori's Diner, similar to a Denny’s but with a 1950’s décor, including a car of that vintage in the middle of the restaurant.

At Lori's

 

After breakfast tomorrow morning we will take a taxi to the Sea Princess, where we will board and get settled into our cabin, soon to start enjoying the four at-sea days en route to Hawaii – and all those following days until our flight back home on October 22.