Sunday March 6, 2022
Sea Day evening routine of drinks at Ocean’s Bar to listen to the Dance Band.
Then we changed things up a bit by going to Sea View deck and watching the Hawaiian ambassadors perform some songs and dances in tribute to the sunset. Back to the routine of playing some slots before our dinner time.
Dinner at 7:00 and our streak continues as we were seated in a new section again tonight. Chuck ordered two appetizers and the short ribs. I ordered the turnip and mango salad. I got a Caesar salad. Oh well. It gave me a chance to try an anchovy. Never thought I would like one so I have always ordered my Caesars without it. I was right. Not a fan.
I did; however, really like the carrot and coconut soup. I was a little apprehensive about it especially after the anchovy incident, but the soup was excellent. For my main course, I had the Pacific Cod. It was light and flaky. It was a very large piece so I gave some to Chuck.
The Captain had announced earlier that he would be turning the lights off on Deck 10 so not to disorient any birds flying around at night. He warned everyone to be careful if they were walking up there but he also said that it would be a perfect place for viewing the stars.
We made our way up there at 8:30 but the lights were still on. We did see the star gazing group along with the speaker from the other day. The lights diminished the stars somewhat but he was able to show us the Big and Little Dippers, Polaris, and Orion’s Belt.
We were going to watch the Step One Dance Company on the mainstage at 9:30 but Ian announced that the main stage was having technical difficulties so they were going to show the movie Aloha instead. We took a pass on the movie and went to the BB King band’s first set.
Afterwards, Chuck went to three card poker. I went back to Deck 10. The lights were out by now and the stars were amazingly bright. I loved how they were all twinkling and I could pick out the Belt and the Dippers again. However, it soon started to feel creepy because of how pitch black it was and not being able to see the deck path past a couple of feet in front of me. Add that to the whooshing of the ocean and I had sufficiently spooked myself. I went back inside.
Today I had the alarm get me up at 6:30 because I wanted to see us sail into Honolulu. The last time we were here in 2018, we got to Honolulu so early that I missed it. Today, we were not docking until 10:00.
I noticed on the bathroom floor what looked like wine had splashed all over it. I never heard Chuck come in so I had no idea what had happened. I looked for a broken glass but the glass was fine.
I went on to the balcony that stretches along the front of the gym above the bow of the ship. It’s a great view and a good place for pictures if you don’t mind the wind. I was the only one up there for a while. Only a few people joined me. Either people don’t know you can access this spot from the gym or they weren’t interested in the view or the wind.
After I got several pictures of us getting closer and closer to Honolulu, I stopped by the Crow’s Nest for our coffees. They were serving the HAL powdered sugar puff pastries. HAL makes these particular pastries any time there is a special sail-in such as today or the Panama Canal. Each special occasion has its own unique cream filling. Today it was pineapple cream.
The pastries are very big. I thought about getting a picture or taking it back and sharing it with Chuck and then realized I was swallowing the last bite of it. Mmmm…so good.
If not sharing the pastry wasn’t bad enough, when I did hand Chuck his coffee, I somehow hooked the lid and it flipped off and coffee splashed on both our hands/arms. It was hot but luckily not scalding. Now we have coffee and wine stains on the floor. Tried cleaning it up best I could with tissues. The stewards are going to wonder what type of pigs they are dealing with in here.
Chuck said as he was putting the wine glass down last night, the ship lurched and it sloshed out of his glass all over the floor. That is his story and he is sticking to it.
After the coffee debacle, we went to the dining room for a leisurely breakfast. We were docked but the ship had not yet been cleared for passengers to come ashore. We watched the Coast Guard, complete with gunner at the ready with a mounted machine gun and the blue light flashing, come speeding up behind us. Idled there like they were taking down our license plate. Maybe someone didn’t pay his or her bar tab. They then sped off to around the side of the ship. Came back and then sped off again. I think they were just showing off to us old folks.
The Cruise Director announced a little after ten that the ship was cleared and all passengers could disembark at their leisure. We were docked at an industrial terminal right in the middle of the Business District.
We walked off the ship and were presented with the traditional Leis. Once we exited the terminal building where they didn’t check our health QR codes like the paperwork said they would, we were free to explore Honolulu.
When we were here in 2018, we hiked Diamond Head, snorkeled off Waikiki Beach, and visited the Aquarium.
Today, we went to Walmart.
We realized a few days ago that we were going to possibly run out of some of our essentials (a girl needs her hair products) and Honolulu would be the best place to restock. I googled stores and discovered that there was a Walmart only three-fourths of a mile from the dock. It was a pleasant walk there and back. In addition to the items, we had on the list, we purchased a couple of rolls of paper towels in case of any more mishaps.
After lunch at the salad bar, we had thought about walking back to Aloha Tower. Its observation tower is supposed to provide a spectacular view of Honolulu. The website said it was open today but some passengers who had walked down there said it was closed. I tried calling but only got a recording. We just decided to take advantage of an empty ship and enjoy the hot tubs and our choice of deck chairs.
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