March 10 to 14, 2019

March 10

   This was the first day of five sea days cruising to Honolulu. Over the next 28 days we cruised from San Diego for two places on the Hawaiian Islands, then another two sea days, crossing the International Dateline to visit Tabuaeran, one of many atolls and islands of the Republic of Kiribati. Next the ship cruises south crossing the Equator and back over the International Dateline during a day of cruising to spend a week visiting five islands of French Polynesia. Then, after a day at sea, visiting the final French Polynesian stop in the Marquesas Islands. It will take six sea days to return to San Diego. 

    Our French Polynesian ports for the seven days in a row are Bora Bora, Raiatea, Moorea, Tahiti, and Tuamotu. 

     Today the predicted high temperature was 15°C, the sun was in and out of the clouds, there was a bit of wind and the gentle sea swells were about two meters high. There were no white caps or waves. 

    The passengers on this cruise have an average age much higher than our January 7 day Caribbean voyage, there is only one child on the ship, compared to several hundred. The sign posted on the Sea View pool deck says that only passengers over 18 years of age are allowed beyond this point., which seems redundant on this cruise.  We looked in to the elevators and each has a removable section of carpet which is changed daily so that passengers will know which day it is.  The elevator doors on the main elevator bank at midship on Decks 2, 3 & 9 are beautifully carved silver and bronze coloured panels.

    We ate breakfast in the main dining room with Mike and Joy from Florida and Sharon and Tom from The Bronx, New York. We went to the promenade deck, Deck 3, to walk where three circuits equaled one mile. We tried to get the Navigator app to work, but were unsuccessful.  It would give us all the information in the daily “When & Where” schedule and help us get around the ship. Then we joined over 100 Cruise Critic forum members to put faces to the names of the people contributing to the 3,100 posts relating to this cruise. The last morning activity was to attend the talk “Hula, from Ancient to Present Day-part 1” by the “Hawaiian Ambassadors”.  We learned about the Hawaiian culture.  During the day we walked on the Promenade Deck 3 several times.   Steps 5,493

    At lunch, we joined an American couple and Jane and Merrill from Fredericton, New Brunswick, before getting our Five Crowns card game to take to the Half Moon meeting room where a Cruise Critic member had reserved, on all of the sea days, the place for cards and games in the afternoons.  We participated in the board game of “Sequence” with Barb, Dianne, Maidy and Neal. Then played Five Crowns with Barb and Dianne, when Maidy and Neal went to Afternoon Tea in the main dining room.    Steps  9.981

   Sea Day activities on the ship include trivia games, well attended Bingo games, Afternoon Tea in the Dining room and a current movie presented in the theater.

    Only Dennis and Carol joined us at the same dining room table as last evening. We had an enjoyable dinner with them.  Then we went to the 8 p.m. show featuring Australian singer, Annie Frances.  Annie gave a great performance of some hit songs of the 70s. The ship was rolling a bit more as the ocean got rougher with waves reaching to three-meter waves or higher.

    Today’s news reported that another Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed as it took off, today, in Ethiopia. The same type of plane crashed shortly after takeoff in Indonesia last fall.

    The steward left a towel sting ray creation on the bed this evening along with tomorrow’s “When & Where” daily schedule, a chocolate each and a note to turn back clocks an hour.

     Total steps 14,425

March 11

    This was the second of five sea days cruising to Honolulu. The ocean iwa a lot rougher today.  You could see whitecaps on the 3.5 to four meter waves. The sky was  mostly cloudy with 80 kilometer per hour winds with the midday temperature only 15°C.  The  roof covering the larger pool was still closed but the water in the pool was sloshing from side to side. After breakfast we walked the interior decks from deck 2 to 7. 

   The deck 3 Promenade Deck was roped off due to the dangerous conditions - high wind and a wet deck. We decided to walk the halls of each deck on both the port and starboard sides.  We got to deck 8 but climbed back down because there was just too much swaying from side to side. When we returned down to deck 1, we picked up some future cruise information to browse. I gave in and took a Gravol and my queasiness disappeared.

    We met Jane and Merrill for lunch and were joined by Karen and Marcia, from Wisconsin. They are here with 75 other knitters for the cruise. Tim Clavert’s 2 p.m. lecture was about Christopher Columbus’ four voyages to the new world. Larry played a game of 65 rummy and showed Linda & Mike how to play Five Crowns with himself, Barb & Dianne. The waves seemed to be only three meters high by dinner time.    

    Tonight was Gala attire for dinner, which now means men wear at least long pants and long sleeve buttoned front shirts, or as dressed up to formal tuxedoes. Women wear long pants with a fancy top or as dressed up as cocktail dresses and gowns. There was a special Gala Night menu but it was just Dennis, Carol and us at our dining room table of six to enjoy the meal.

   Today’s news reported that many countries including the E.U. have banned the Boeing 737 Max 8 airplanes from their air space until the software problem, when the autopilot is engaged just after take-off, is fixed. The software is causing the plane’s nose to turn down.  Boeing has known about the glitch for six months, but the five week U.S. government shut down in December and January caused delays in the FAA approval of a correction to add more than one sensor to the auto-pilot detector.

  After dinner, we listened to the Trivia game on our way to the mainstage for the ship’s Captain’s Welcome Toast, followed by the show, “Humanity” by Step One Dance Company of modern dancers and light show.  Then it was time to watch the action at the Casino tables.

    Steps 7,713

March 12

    Our third Sea Day meant we were half way to Honolulu. The waves today were weaker at about two meters high.

    We fell into our usual routine - breakfast in the Deck 2 dining room, walking outside on the Promenade Deck before going to morning lectures. Today Misha (from Slovenia) from the shore excursion staff spoke about our third port, the coral atoll of Tabuaeran, (Fanning Island) in the Republic of Kiribati.  This was followed by the 11 a.m. lecture “Hula, from Ancient to Present Day-part 2” by the “Hawaiian Ambassadors”. It was a brief history of the past 300 years of Hawaiian history and explained that a group of Hawaiian businessmen with ties to the United States decided that the Americans should come and displace the Hawaiian monarchy in the late 1890s. After the take-over by American armed forces and the imprisonment of the Hawaiian queen, the culture of the islands was suppressed and the language forbidden. An event that President Bill Clinton apologized for in the 1990s.

    We met Jane and Merrill for lunch and were joined by a Californian couple. A few dozen Cruise Critic members organized a tour of the different staterooms that members occupy on the ship.  There was also the regular time for Cruise Critic members in the Half Moon meeting room for playing cards and boards games. 

     The roof covering the larger pool on Deck 9 was open about a meter this afternoon as the temperature was warmer at 20°C. There were a few people swimming in the smaller pool at the back of Deck 9. The temperature was pleasant enough to sit and read without a jacket.

    There were the same four of us at our dining room table this evening. The maître d’ had phoned Ron and Jackie to see if they plan to come to our table for dinner again, but they did not respond to his message. The waves were not as high this evening.

    On the way to the mainstage theater, we stopped to listen to a trio play classical favorites for violin and piano. Then we walked to the Billboard Onboard venue to hear the answers to the evening’s trivia questions.  The entertainer this evening was comic magician, Jeff Peterson. He performed a very amazing with some audience participation.  After the show, we stopped at B.B. King Blues Club which has a dance area, to listen to the band.

    Total steps 12,088

March 13

    This was the fourth sea day in a row cruising from San Diego to Honolulu. There was some rain overnight and the Promenade Deck was wet in places.

   We followed our routine except we ate breakfast on the Lido Deck which has the buffet of different food stations including made to order omelets. We were able to change an excursion for next week by getting to the Shore Excursions desk when it opened and only had one person ahead of us in line.

    The sky was cloudy to start and the water was a mixture of waves and swells of about one meter, showing an occasional white cap. The temperature was 22°C by noon.

    The morning lectures were 10  a.m. Discovering Vaitape, Bora Bora, then Bruce Petty’s presentation was called “The Pacific War for Beginners”. In between, I took our old iPhone to Guest Services for assistance in getting the Navigator app to work so that we can check our onboard account, make ship reservations, see which shore excursions we have chosen for what day and see what the day’s schedule shows.  

    Lunch in the dining room was with two couples, one from the Maples, Richard & Maggie and the other from St. James, Victor & Bevanne, whom we had first met at Vancouver airport waiting for the flight to San Diego.   Steps 10,375

     The Hawaiian Ambassadors gave a demonstration of tying Pareo Sarongs and advising that the most versatile length to buy is 2 or 2.5 yards either 45 or 60 inches wide. Rayon is a good wash & wear material and can be put in a dryer but the hand dyed thin cotton should be hand washed and air dried.  Sarongs can even be used as curtains.

     The afternoon lecturer was Tim Clavert, who showed his slides of a previous trip to our first three ports - Oahu, Hawaii & Fanning Island. After Larry went to the play cards with the Cruise Critic gang, I opened my Kindle e-book to read.

    The four of us shared the table at dinner with Jeff and Susan from Oklahoma, After dinner Larry helped to be assigned to this table for the rest of the cruise. Jeff and Susan are snorkeling enthusiasts like Carol and Dennis.  The selections of starters, entrées and desserts were appetizing as usual. IT was hard to decide on the items.

   After dinner we listened to the 45-minute performance at the Lincoln Center Stage where quintet played selections of Bach’s music, before continuing to the Main Stage theater to listen to tonight’s performer, Matthew Fagan, who performed classical guitar, flamenco and popular tunes.

    Larry stopped by the Casino for a while.  I noticed a tiny ache on the inside muscles of my right wrist, when I typed. 

    There was a reminder to set back the clocks by an hour to get to Hawaii time beside the nightly chocolate and next day’s events schedule “When &* Where”.  

    Total steps 13,522

March 14

    Just one more day at sea before arriving at the first port, Honolulu, Hawaii.  The clocks are set to Hawaii time for at least the next two weeks, not counting crossing the International Dateline.  There was a light east wind with a mostly sunny sky and a morning temperature of 22°C. Still a slight twinge in my right wrist this morning.

   We changed our morning routine a bit to attend the PolyFit (Polynesian Fitness) class led by all four of the “Hawaiian Ambassadors”. The class was like a line dance class.  We learned several hand, hip and foot movements that were danced to Hawaiian music. Steps 10,284

   In the morning, the excursions staff member presented information about Raiatea, then Bruce Perry gave a lecture about Pearl Harbour and Tim Calvert’s afternoon lecture was titled “Nautical Terms & Other Nonsense”.  We had lunch at the Lido Market with Marylou and Ken. After Tim’s talk, Larry played Five Crowns at the Cruise Critic Games Room while I walked outside on Deck 3 enjoying the warm 31°C air and watching the 1.5 meter gentle swells and a few sea birds.  The Navigator app for information of activities on board is working well.  We can see the daily events for the rest of the voyage

    Jeff and Susan joined us and Carol and Dennis completing our table of 6. After dinner we listened to the Quintet play 4 movements of a Brahms score. Then went to the Main Stage for a show featuring comedian, Martin Beaumont, who we missed, regrettably, on embarkation evening  and Australian singer, Annie Frances.        

   Today’s world news reported a terror attack in Christchurch, New Zealand. Three  men & a woman opened fire on worshippers in two mosques having 

planted explosives in cars nearby. Over 40 people were killed and more than 40 were in  hospital with 20 people in serious condition. The gunmen are in custody and reports are that one of them was live streaming the attack. The Bangladesh cricket team who were playing a series of tests matches against New Zealand, arrived late to the service and were not in the mosque at the time of the attack.

      Total steps 16,691