Another day at sea for me

Tuesday March 29th. At Sea

One of the niceties of small ship travel is that when you meet someone, you are very likely to see them around the ship from time to time. Unlike the modern day 3000 pax plus  vessels where you may meet someone and never see them again.

This morning there was no rush to get up so while Dorothy was out doing her laps and gym-nastics, I languished beneath the covers till 8.00am. Did what a mans gotta do then left her a note saying I'd be sipping on some hot water, honey and lemon, aft somewhere until she was ready for breakfast. My throat is even more scratchy today giving me my "radio voice" I'm feeling okay though except for the burning sensation in my shoulder and right arm :(

I sat down with Charleen and Ray who were with us on yesterdays tour, they hale from Falmouth Ma. We bent each others  ears for a bit, then Dorothy arrived and we had breakfast. Met up with Ruth and Clive from Grand Island NY. Went out and found a shady spot by the pool and read   until it was time for our CC meeting at 11.00 am.

Out of the group of 56, 45  showed up along with Peter our cruise director, and 3 officers whom I would name except that Dorothy has thrown out the list of "who's who at the zoo" Arturo, who's been at sea since before Sitmar was gobbled up by Princess, He is the hotel general manager, sings like a bird and loves it when the ladies say he looks like George Clooney. He was even part of last nights show, but I was up in our cabin pounding on the keys (computer) and losing Dorothy's photo's. As we were entering the cabaret lounge glad handing with the captain and his entourage, I commented to Arturo that yes, he did look like George Foreman, this went down well with his associates.

Everyone introduced themselves and because we're only 600 pax, we'd seen many faces out and about but didn't know they were a part of our group, but do now. It was great putting faces to computer names and finding out for instance why Ray's computer name is "AlldayRay" !!!

After a light lunch I went up for a nap and now it's 5.00pm. And time for a welcome aboard drink with Captain Jerman. I promised Dorothy I would "go to the show" I'm desperately doing my best to start building brownie points again after using them all up and then some by losing all her photos last night.

I have made a decision to forget about posting photos, it's been way to much frustration and we are here for fun in the sun, not stress. Sooooo, when we get home I will make a final post and include some photos then…

Dinner is done, again, I seem to have lost my appetite, our wait staff are so concerned that something is wrong and I have to emphasize that it's me not the food. I now have laryngitis, due I believe too really cool air conditioning in some parts of the ship, and too much heat in other parts, I don't feel ill, but my voice is shot, No karaoke for me tonight.

Hmmmm, I didn't stay long in the show lounge, way too hot for me, I slipped on up to the buffet and had some hot water with honey and lemon, very soothing for a sore throat. The laryngitis has really kicked in now, all I can get out is clicks and squeaks, much like dolphin and whale speak. I can't remember if I've had Laryngitis  ever, in Canada, It's lovely and cool in the cabin, so here I'll stay for the rest of the evening. I walked across pool deck earlier, it's hot and humid, a sure sign that we're heading South to the equator.

I shall put this away for today and continue tomorrow.

WEDNESDAY MARCH 30th. AT SEA.

Time is flying by, it's hard to believe we are into our 6th. Day already, that's mid cruise for many aboard. I beat Dorothy out of bed this morning, I'd had a restless night, with my froggy throat so read for much of the night, sucking on lozenges... She went off to the gym, I took my time getting ready to face the day which looks like a hot one.

Out of our whole group, only two are Pollywogs, meaning this will be their 1st. time crossing the equator. They're in for a fun time for us and a messy sticky time for themselves. King Neptune will board some time on Thursday, any and all Pollywogs will be summoned to appear before him to learn of their fate. 

After the court hearings, they will with out a doubt be found guilty and partake in a ceremony that goes back centuries. It involves lying on a table and having things dumped on them, things such as jelly, spaghetti, honey, eggs, flour and a plethora of other messy stuff. Then they'll be dumped in the pool. To the merriment of we Shellbacks who've had this treatment ourselves. It's a great spectator sport. I always feel bad for the staff who have to clean up the pool.

Captain Jerman's noon update from the bridge suggested that we will cross the equator at 8.00pm. Tomorrow evening., I'm thinking that the ceremony may be earlier or perhaps on Friday, we'll find out in the "Princess Patter" this evening.

I know things change and evolve, nothing stays as it was and so it is with dress codes aboard ships. There was a time when formal meant what it said, gradually though, over the years it has come to mean tux or suit and tie, still a special evening but a little more relaxed I succumbed to wearing a suit this trip, as most of our CC group had discussed this for a few weeks before we left and due to luggage restrictions, most were going to leave their formal wear at home.

Last night I noted less formal wear and more suits and ties, as the first part is a 12 day cruise  I was not too surprised at this. What did surprise me was that people were admitted to the dining room in the shorts and shirts  they'd been wearing all day, not cool IMO but who am I say. It is a shame though that some folk had gone to so much trouble to look glamorous for the evening and some didn't give a rats rear end!

Another lazy day at sea tomorrow:) see you all then.

Land of volcanos

March 28th. Hilo Hawaii

Greetings friends and family, we slipped into our berth at the port of Hilo this morning after a smooth night. At least I heard no one complaining of rough seas or "mal de mer" we feel the least motion being mid ships, it's amazing the difference it makes compared to those ensconced in the aft and pointy end quarters.

Weather was good for arrival with temp in the high 20's Celsius. I had set a wake up call for 6.45am as we had a tour arranged by Fran, one of our CC group leaving the pier at 8.30am. I was awake and up at 6.00 so was up on deck 9 having hot water honey and lemon due to a scratchy throat.

The 10 in our tour group met on time at the rendezvous arranged by "Ricky's tours" we all fit into his van nicely and were soon on our way. Among the places we visited were the Rainbow Falls, the Orchid growing facility, then up 3000 ft. to Mt. Kilauea and Mauna Loa, not a lot of action but lots of steam rising, it rains a lot and was very cool at that elevation, we were glad we wore long pants and took our jackets.

We also walked through a lava tube which was interesting but very wet. The tour was about 6 hours and we arrived back at the quay side tired and hungry but in all a most enjoyable time.

Because of our late lunch we weren’t very hungry at early seating, I enjoyed the escargot but that was all I could handle, Dorothy opted for the show, I slunk up to our cabin to blog, and down load

Dorothy's photo's from today, something went badly wrong and I lost them, I shall be in her bad books without a doubt.

We sailed away on time and now have 5 days at sea before our next port of call Bora Bora. The French Polynesian Immigration officers are aboard and over the next few days, those of us who are not citizens of the EU, will have to present ourselves with  passports at their desk for perusal and official FP admittance stamp. (nice work if you can get it).

We were hoping to see lava flow from Kilauea as we sailed past at 8.15 this eve but there was nothing happening. In 08 the last time we were here we saw a spectacular display of fire and magma oozing it's way down into the sea.

Lahaina Maui

March 27th. Day 3 Lahaina

Stunning landscapes is only one of many accolades bestowed upon the Island of Maui, it's been a favorite for many years and a popular destination to residents of Western North America for decades. The great warrior King Kamehameha, who united the Islands under his rule, chose Lahaina as his capital,  a good choice in my opinion. She has superb beaches and the dormant volcano Mt.Haleakala rising  a spectacular 10,000 ft. above the Pacific ocean adds drama and inspires awe to  visitors, whether visiting for the 1st. time or returning for umpteenth time. There are a number of terrific golf courses too, the icing on the cake for many.

Lahaina  boasts no pier for today's cruise ships, it's a great port to tender into though it's the time of year when Humpback whales inhabit the waters, they were in evidence all around us and a joy to watch them frolic. The main square where the vendors ply their trade in the shade of what is probably the biggest and oldest Banyan tree in the Islands, so big with huge branches held up by many stakes the thickness of telephone poles, it covers the whole square.

We checked out the merchandise, then rode the bus up to Whalers village, and walked the ocean front. On one side the many condos and cafes, the other Ka'anapali beach. The economy is hurting here too judging by the lower prices for just about everything.

I did not sleep well and was awake reading till after 3am. I still woke up at 7.30 so donned some clothes and went up top for some coffee while Dorothy got herself ship shape. We purchased day bus passes for the princely sum of $2 each, with the  intention of returning to Lahaina and going in the opposite direction to Ma'alaea bay. I was nodding off on the bus, and when we arrived at Lahaina, decided to tender back to the ship while Dorothy carried on. She enjoyed it and woke me to tell me all I had missed but I at least felt a little more human after my nap.

Met Ruth, another of our CC group, who was telling me that another CC member had fallen ill in Honolulu and was hospitalized, so missed the ship :(  They were hoping he'd be out and joining us in Hilo tomorrow, such a shame to come all this way for that to happen.

Dinner was a pleasant affair, Bev & Tony, Bill and Joan, Kiwi's, Dorothy and moi, from the Great White North, conversation was lively and I told a joke! The oyster dish I had for a starter was tasty, the chilled strawberry soup was yummy, the blackened cod was tres bon and I opted for the fruit plate :)

Stopped by the karaoke for a listen, there was some talent, then there were others, it was fun though. No show for us tonight, we have an early wake up for a tour with 6 of our CC members. We'll dock in Hilo on the big Island at around 8.00am. Tonight we met some more of our CC group so we should have met most before the M&G on the 29th.

I shall now have another go at uploading some photos, do not hold your breath.

Nah, tried every which way but can't get it up-loaded. :(

Nawiliwili Hawaii

Nawilwili The Garden Isle of Kaua'i

Pristine beaches, peaceful valleys, steep cliffs and lush greenery, we docked at 6.15ish and by 8.00am. The tour busses were loading their pax and heading out to witness all the above that this island has to offer.

Much more like the Hawaii of peoples imaginations and nothing like the concrete jungle and 1,700,000 population of Honolulu. Kaua'i is the fourth largest of the Hawaiian chain. Created by a long extinct volcano, with Mt.Waialeale standing tall and lush in the center, the only remnant of a violent  eruption that thrust Kaua'i up out of the ocean way before I was born.

Darn it, I fell up the stairs yesterday, cutting my finger and bleeding like a stuck pig, on what I'm still trying to figure out.  Dorothy says she can't take me anywhere.

We've both been using the stairs and to this point have no intention of using the elevators, we'll leave them for the aged and infirm.

Haven't accomplished much today, we were up at 7.30am. had breakfast at the buffet,  took the shuttle bus and went for a wander round, then back to the ship in time for lunch. For such a small ship she has a great library, larger than on most of the larger ships and we spent some quiet time reading our e-readers. The readers by the way are great travelling and especially  when travelling light, we usually bring at least a half dozen books, which take up room. Dorothy has 21 books in her reader I have 15.

Had an awesome snooze this aft. And hoping I'm all caught up sleep wise now. I just may go to the show tonight, "wonders shall never cease"!!! I've heard a good deal of French spoken among the passengers and by chance I was speaking with their tour guide, he has a large group from Quebec, and he's the only one who speaks English. He has a great sense of humor and it was interesting chatting with some of his clients with he interpreting.

Dinner tonight was my first at our table for 6. I missed the 1st last night due to having trouble logging off after I posted the blog. The sat. signal is weak and slow, I used up 32 minutes total from pasting the blog, sending and logging off, the circle was slowly going round and round, extremely frustrating but that's the joy of internet at sea.

Our table mates are from New Zealand and easy to get along with,  one couple came to the show with us, (yes I did go) the show was Old & new movie songs with the Royal Princess dancers, the ship is a bit wobbly and they really did a fine job, though they did have to modify some of the dance steps.

I sure wish I had their energy.

We've met only one couple so far from our Cruise Critic group, we were sitting by the pool and

they recognized Dorothy from our photo. The informal M&G yesterday was a bust, it was too busy with unpacking, General emergency stations (life boat drill) etc. We'll have our official M&G on the 1st. sea day which is Tuesday I believe.

The captain announced that the seas have been very heavy between the Hawaiian Islands and French Polynesia for the last 3 cruises he expects more of the same and being a small ship., she does move around much more than the larger vessels.

It's 10pm. at this longitude, 6pm. In Calgary so time for this "ropey old dodge pot" to climb the wooden hill (so to speak) I shall now attempt to upload some photos!!! 

Sorry, Photo's won't upload, double GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Aboard the Royal Princess

y 1 Calgary to Honolulu

Tim, bless his little cotton socks picked us up and had us at the

airport in good time. We found the Honolulu check in, and joined the

line up that snaked it's way to the counter. It all went quite smoothly,

our bags were weighed and tagged, both under the limit.

We pushed the buggy to an eatery, where we had a tasty chili and salad

lunch. It was now time to go through US customs and immigration, the

officer was very pleasant asking all the usual questions, then we had

our bags loaded onto the conveyer belt and joined another longer line up

that snaked it's way to xray, and screening.

Dorothy, due to her pacemaker assumed the position for the pat down, I

chose the regular wand scan rather than the new body scanner,got through

without a beep so no pat down for me, easy peasy for a change.

We had to wait for a late connecting flight, so after sitting on the

apron  waiting, the plane had to be de iced, this takes about 20 or so

minutes and by the time we joined the line up for take off, we were an

hour late, oh the joy of flying.

By my reckoning we are about 60 minutes out of Honolulu where we're

told the temp. is 26c. I like that a lot :)

The past six hours has flown by no pun intended, the plane

a Boeing B767 300 though old is reasonably comfortable, the lay out is

2 aisle 3 aisle 2, we're in a 2 which always seems more comfortable to

me. there's barely three inches knee room but still not too bad for a

short fellow like me. Tim and Grant would no doubt have a different

opinion.

I'll put this away for now but you know I'll be back later.

THURSDAY EVENING MARCH 24th.

ALOHA, we arrived at 6.15pm/10.15pm Calgary time and as the pilot made a left turn, we had an awesome view of Waikiki, the beach, hotels and  Diamond head crater,

 it would have made for a spectacular photo had I had my camera handy. By the time our bags were off the carousel and put onto the shuttle it was 7.00pm There were  7

Pax  on the bus staying at three different hotels. Ours was last call and we dragged our

Weary butts to the reception desk and were pleased to learn that we had a room overlooking the ocean on the 20th floor,  very spacious with all mod cons, the toilet has a bum washer and dryer which I've yet to try, Dorothy loves it, oops, TMI. :)

The International Market place is opposite the hotel, we were feeling peckish so went for some sushi then a look round. It was not awfully busy and after chatting to  a

few vendors it seems they are really feeling the pinch of the economic melt down, Dorothy picked up a few "do dads" just to help the economy, then feeling tired we headed for bed. Except I am sitting here composing the blog, it's 2.00am in Calgary, a

Four hour difference because of our clocks going forward a few weeks ago.

Time to say goodnight before I fall off the chair.  I'll be back..

FRIDAY AM MARCH 25th.

Mahalo and good morning, after a great nights sleep I awoke at 6.30am/10.30am Calgary time, truth be told I could have used another hour but we've plenty of time over the next 38 days to catch up on that.

I left Dorothy up on the lanai looking down on the surfers while I went in search of some free wi fi. The nearest is Starbucks It's just up Kalakaua Ave. but as I had a large cup of Kona in the room,  I'll pass and this may have to wait till we board the Royal.

The Moana surfrider is a top of the heap property celebrating it's 110th birthday beautifully decorated right on the beach. I'm sitting here in the open lobby as the trade winds gently cool, it's very peaceful and I'm nodding off, better get up to the room and see if Mrs. L is ready for something to eat.

=

12.30pm. Friday March 25th.

Sitting in the lobby waiting for transportation to the ship, I feel slightly over dressed for the weather, blazer and pants no tie though TG, no room in my suitcase as you will recall that we're abiding by our one piece of luggage rule. So far it's working well but we've done our best not open the cases too much. We had to really put some thought into this, making sure that anything we needed at the hotel was on top.

4.15pm.

Here we are aboard the Royal Princess, she's a graceful  vessel much like the ships of the 70/80s very easy to navigate our way, It's a shame she's moving to P&O after our voyage, but huge ships are the way the industry has been going for a number of years, as the Royal holds less than 700 pax, she is not a large enough profit center.

Must get ready for muster stations so until tomorrow or maybe the next day or perhaps later! Aloha.

Grrrrrr can't upload photos sorry

The time has come the walrus said,

Good morning all, it was not a good night, tossed and turned, Bet I'm the only one who does that? Yeah right. the last numbers I saw on the clock were 4:5am. I had taken a sleeping pill too. Dorothy "rudely awoke" me at 9:00am I leaped out of bed like I was shot from a gun and promptly wondered where in the world I was.

Lots of time for ablutions,  Tim won't be here till 10:30, coffee a banana and yogurt is all I need, Out with the garbage turn down the heat, set the water heater to vacation, voila. Our neighbor Bev will check on our apartment while we're away, alls well.

Printed our boarding passes yesterday that is so handy, all we need do now is check our underweight baggage go through the joys of USA immigration, well it's better than doing it in Honolulu. Hope my ostomy equipment
causes no grief, Oh and we have to buy something for dinner on the plane, has anyone tried the airline offerings for purchase ?

No snow today hip hip hooray, close this down and we're on our way :)

To be continued

One more sleep

Surprise surprise it's still snowing, supposed to clear up this aft. We'll see, oh me of little faith. We're all packed and ready for our pick up tomorrow. Dorothy is away getting her nails done and her eyebrows plucked, I'm not going to bother with any of that this time , though I may get my eyebrows plaited.

I just clicked on the ships web and there she is heading in the right direction one more port of call for her, then Honolulu.

We were out for dinner with neighbors last night and I was laughing so hard that I'm paying for it now with
shoulder pain, I do so hope the new meds kick in quicker than the 4 to 6 weeks their supposed to take.

I feel a nap coming on, we both had a bad night and were rudely awoken at 6.30 by some idiot from the East doing a survey, good job Dorothy answered the phone. We're on the do not call list but they seem to have found a way around it as we've been getting a few calls lately.

At least for the next 5 weeks our calls will be from fellow pax :)

2 more sleeps

Well how unusual for Calgary (not) another dump of snow last night. but the weather folk have said Thursday
(should) be sunny,  forgive my skepticism but I'll believe it when I see it.

Yesterday Dorothy packed our bags, with a little help from me :) she prefers me not to be around when she's packing, which cuts me to the quick but I've learned over the years to beat a hasty retreat when I see the glint in her eye.
I must say she did a fantastic job, reaching our goal of ONE case each for a five week cruise, I applaud her.

We'll miss Hailey's birthday this year, our grand daughter who will be 15 years young, where does the time go! We'll also miss our grandson Aidan's birthday again too as we'll be at sea on his birthday in October. BUT he'll be at sea too as Jolene, Tim and Aidan are cruising at that time so Aidan will be on board for his birthday, he'll love that.

Tim has kindly offered to drive us to the airport Thursday morning, after rush hour is over though it seems these days it's perpetual rush hour.

Let's hope we'll see plenty of these over the next few weeks.

Three more sleeps

 We awoke to this, this morning, but it gives us so much incentive to take a break. The forecast for Thursday is not too bad so hopefully the plane will not need deicing. I recalculated our flight time to Honolulu and it's 7 hours not 6, still not too bad as we do not enjoy flying any more.

The bags are up from the basement but that's as far as we've got, no rush there's still a couple of days to go.

Jennie, it's great to see that you've picked up the thread, we look forward to seeing you and Peter when you board in Papeete. How long is your flight from Melbourne to Papeete?

Can you blame us for leaving this behind 






and trading it for this>

Four more sleeps

Monday we start packing, I'm too lazy to look back so don't recall if I mentioned that we are traveling light, that means ONE suitcase each, for five weeks on the ship? Tomorrow the fun will begin, we will manage come hell or high water.

I have been known to wax poetic once in a while, Dorothy is out collecting Jolene, we're having a family dinner before we leave so I'm sitting at the computer and this popped out, from whence I do not know.

SOME PRE CRUISE PONDERINGS

The snow blows wintery through the street, ice still frozen on the weir
but I care not it brings a smile, in four days time we're out of here
Far, far away from frozen lands, pot holes, plug ins, ice cold hands
south where the trade winds softly blow,  clear blue water, golden sands.

The land of aloha beckons loud, we shed our northern furs and boots
stroll the sands of Waikiki, sunshine laughter shrieks and hoots,
No snow to shovel way down here,a fruity drink an ice cold beer
lotions sun hats flesh galore, is this enough? no, that's quite clear.

For we await, our ship comes in, the Royal Princess neat and trim
looking regal long and slim, birthed at the tower proud and prim,
The sea witch stencilled on her stack welcoming, calling many back
Her polished brass her awesome crew, no worry for us they have the knack.

Off to the islands to visit a few then sailing south Tahiti bound
glorious sea days new friends found, plenty to do or just laze around,
A couple of days in turquoise seas swimming, paddling, seeing sights
The joy of a cruise relax, go wild, fun filled days, starry nights.

Eastward we turn to more primitive places, Pitcairn, Easter Island too
onward  we sail as in days of yore nothing but ocean, we reach Peru,
Equador Panama through the canal, San Blas to Limon our last port of call
a few days at sea to ready our minds for hassles at airports, we've all had a ball.

Some of our CC board members have seen it there, some were emailed, don't panic, I won't give up my day job.

Hawaiian Islands

I've been receiving e mails concerning the effect, if any, of the tsunami and our Island ports of call.


One of our CC group lives in Hawaii and reported this yesterday.


Hiflyingrn


Quote We live in Waimea which is at 2600ft elevation so we were all good! Kona got hit pretty good! Hualalai resort got it too!! I'm was holding my breath about it hitting Honolulu hard!!! It certainly could've been worse! Quote.



We board in Honolulu which could have had a huge effect but seems to have been spared. Whether we'll make our Kona call remains to be seen. I'm hearing that Japan is concerned about another tsunami so stay tuned.


Oh silly me, we're not calling at Kona it's Hilo

Our 1st. visit to Hawaii January 1978

12 more sleeps but who's counting! the Royal Princess leaves Papeete tomorrow March 13th. bound for Honolulu where we will board on March 25th. The chatter on Cruise Critic has picked up of late on a board that's been really busy all along.

 It appears to be a fun group of seasoned cruisers, mostly from the USA, Canada, Australia and the UK. Our CC group totals 56 pax, the Royal holds just under 700 and we've arranged an informal get together on the evening of the 25th. where we'll get to meet the folks we've been chatting to for the best part of a year. 

One of our group made a spread sheet with all our info including photos we sent him, they'll have no trouble recognizing Dorothy and me :)

Yep, we look exactly the same as we did 32 years ago," dontcha think"?

Tsunamis

Oh dear, another earthquake and mother nature flexes her muscles again, this is so reminiscent of last March, it's uncanny and time will tell. I feel for those people around the rim who are left guessing  just how serious will the tsunami be!

To be continued

Counting Down, 14 days to go.

  Trying to remember how to upload photos, practice makes perfect I guess and I'm still not sure how I did it! This is a couple of Peruvian cowboys taken in 2005, on our last visit to South America.

We are getting some fabulous feedback from folks who are aboard the Royal Princess as I type, so we know we're in for a treat. A group of us have booked a private tour in Bora Bora, snorkeling and swimming with Stingrays and Sharks, the reports we are getting are fantastic and I'm glad we decided to do this.

 I had not been in the water since the urostomy surgery in 07 until I was persuaded to swim with the dolphins last December, I'm so glad I pushed myself to do that and my fears of malfunctions proved groundless.

Royal Princess South Seas and Andes Explorer march 25 2011

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18 days until we leave for Honolulu, and for a change no crazy flight times. leaving Calgary at 2;10pm on March 24th arriving at  Honolulu 5:15pm, perfect. We'll overnight at the Westin Surf Rider and board the Royal at the Aloha Tower around 11am next day on March 25th.

This will be the final voyage of the Royal Princess for at the end of our 38 day voyage she will sail for Southampton and don the P & O Logo sailing under their banner for the UK market. It is actually two cruises, 12 day Hawaii/Tahiti and 26 day Tahiti/Ft. Lauderdale., Here are the itinerary links

.http://www.princess.com/find/itineraryDetails.do?voyageCode=1109&tourCode=&date=0311&noOfPax=2&resType=C&definition_name=&bID=PCPB&itinPort=&tourIds=

http://www.princess.com/find/itineraryDetails.do?voyageCode=1110N&tourCode=&date=0411&noOfPax=2&resType=C&definition_name=

It had been my intention not to blog this voyage, but here I go again, it may not be as comprehensive as in the past but time will tell. It will be great to get away to some warmth and to visit with old friends from around the world who we've sailed with before.

Tony