By the time we woke on Sunday morning we had already docked in Honolulu. We had ordered breakfast to our cabin since we had an earlier tour booked.
In Honolulu everyone had to leave the ship regardless of whether they had planned on going ashore or not, crew included. This was to go through immigration clearance. They were well organized from the ship’s perspective as well as from the USA immigration. Those who weren’t staying on shore during the day were notified when last call was since there wasn’t really anywhere to sit and wait until everyone was cleared with immigration before they could reboard. We cleared quickly and got on a coach for a 4+ hour tour of the south and east shores.
This beach was just a few km from the ship and for 9:30 am it was already very busy. All the sand on this beach was brought in from New Zealand since the area was all lava rock!Diamond Head Beach
The bus driver took us up to Diamond Head where we were in the middle of the crater!
Formed about 300,000 years ago this volcano has been dormant for about 150 years. It’s a popular hiking spot. Halona Beach Cove is a famous site for movie scenes. It was the site of the love scene in From Here to Eternity. It has also been featured in movies like 50 First Dates and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
Come back next week when I’m able to finish our tour!
Leaving Fiji, we had 6 days to look forward to at sea before we could get off the ship again (in Honolulu). What would we do for all those days and without social media access? It’s very pricey to buy internet on the ship and we’re trying to make it without having to pay for some.
No worries, lots to do on the boat. After breakfast (which often turned into a 2 hr affair), there were lots of activities we could get involved in. Paul often made his way to the pickleball courts. There were lots of on board presentations throughout the day and if you missed one, most were recorded and available on line. I watched a couple about the history of the Cunard ships, one from Dr. Paul Scully-Power who was an astronaut on the Challenger (He made the trip just before the tragic accident on the Challenger.), another on women pirates and so many yet to watch. I also watched a couple of the ship’s chefs demo fruit and vegetable carving. It certainly takes some creativity!
Before we know it, it is time for lunch, then sometimes a trip to the gym or Paul would walk laps on the promenade deck. We have the early seating for dinner which starts at 5:30 and requires “smart attire” for dress which means no shorts and collared shirts for men. Our biggest challenge is often interpreting the menu – without internet to look things up! After that we usually head to the theatre for a show.
Most events in the theatre there is no audio or visual recording but we were able to come up and take a few pics after “The Sandman, Marcus Winter” finished his presentation. This was his final sand picture. He used paint for this drawing based on Lord of the Rings. This entertainer was amazing. He had the audience shout out random words and then made a poem with them. “Judge the Poet”
We’ve had a couple of interesting occasions on this trip. The first was crossing the international date line. We had Mar. 26th twice! The second was crossing the equator. This involved quite the activity. Those who were first timers, were invited to sign up for the event. We opted to watch instead. They had King and Queen Neptune and others dressed up and people had to “kiss the fish” and then get a couple of pitchers of ice water dumped on them. We were quite happy to be observers!
King and Queen Neptune and a couple of mermaids Time to pucker up!Burrrr
Sunday we arrived in Honolulu. See the next post for some views!
Following Joyce & Paul's Travels in Retirement 