Honolulu – Steps to Anywhere

Honolulu Day 2 and Maui

Posted on December 26, 2019 by Edward Thorpe

The weather on this 2019 Christmas day in Honolulu, Hawaii is overcast and drizzly with mist covering the hills down to the sea. The winds are strong. Strong enough that the ship’s lateral thrusters are being used to hold the ship on the berth and reduce the strain on mooring lines. Out beyond the breakwater waves are rolling ashore relentlessly, probably making west coast surfers overjoyed.

Everyone with whom I have spoken seems to have taken a positive view of the Captain’s decision to skip the Kauai call. I have been to the Port at Nawiliwili numerous times and the entry is difficult under good weather conditions. The harbour entry is narrow requiring a slow right turn into the breakwater opening followed immediately by a left turn and complex rotation of the ship to the berth. It would be nearly impossible to execute in high winds. This is compounded by the fact that the harbour can only be used during daylight hours. Honolulu is a much more desirable place to be marooned.

We spent our first morning in Honolulu by taking the free shuttle to Hilo Hatties at the Ala Moana centre. There was a half hearted search for a muumuu, which failed, followed by a quick trip to the nearby Walmart to pickup our first supply of macadamias and a few other items of opportunity. In past years only the shell lei provided on arrival at the centre was the only credential required to take the return shuttle. This time the lei was required to obtain a return trip ticket from the Hilo Hatties cashier. This assures that everyone actually visits the shop.

Our afternoon found us walking, for about an hour, to the Foster Botanical Garden where we walked for another hour or so. The majority of blooms were done for the season except for the conservatory greenhouse. There were, however, many species of shrubs and trees that aren’t seen in our home region.There were still a number of butterflies in one area of the garden and I managed to get one to pose briefly. Caterpillars were busy gorging on leaves in hopes of becoming butterflies someday. A tiny gecko also posed for us before we left the garden. During a stop at the gift shop we met a local couple and chatted for a while. We have always found locals very friendly. Upon learning that we planned to return to the ship by taxi the couple, Linn and Faye, offered to take us back the pier. I guess strangers are just friends you haven’t yet met.

We sailed on schedule, 17:00, after our extended stay in Honolulu as skies cleared and seas calmed. This morning found us in Maui harbour under sunny skies and nearly calm seas. We joined passengers on a ship’s tender for the trip from our anchorage to the port. It was a beautiful morning to walk the streets of the little village and enjoy the best day of the current trip. We had a tender all to ourselves for a late morning return to the Star Princess. We look forward to smooth seas for our trip and stop at Hilo tomorrow.

There are a few photos from the Foster Gardens in the sidebar.

And now for the rest of the story

Posted on December 25, 2019 by Edward Thorpe

Merry Christmas to all from Honolulu, not Nawiliwili.

This has been the most unique of Hawaii cruises. We have come to expect a bit of rough weather coming out of Los Angeles but this year the expected day or two became three days before we began to get smoother sailing. Well, today we were scheduled to arrive on the berth in Honolulu at 07:00 but because of continued poor sea conditions we were over an hour late. Since our scheduled departure was 23:00 the late arrival was of little consequence.

At noon the captain announced that we were not finished with stormy seas and that tomorrow’s Christmas Day stop in Kauai was cancelled. We are now staying overnight in Honolulu and departing for Mauai on the evening of December 25. Kauai is a daylight only harbour and requires some very precise maneuvering to reach the berth, something which factored into the Captain’s decision.

Now to speculate, Maui harbour is very shallow and we will be at anchor, not at a berth so bad weather could be a problem there. Speculating further, Hilo harbour is no joy to enter even in calm seas. Hmmm.

The long step at sea

Posted on December 24, 2019 by Edward Thorpe

We spent most of this morning waiting but it provided opportunity to chat with other travellers who were also waiting. While waiting for the porter to retrieve our large bags then waiting for our 11:45 bus to arrive at 12:30. All things worked out well and there was no wait at all to check-in and board the Star Princess. By 1:30 we were munching on our traditional boarding day lunch, cheese burgers, and by 3:00 PM all baggage had arrived, been emptied and we were sitting quietly on a hallway floor during the muster drill.

The first four or five days of this cruise are spent crossing a large part of the Pacific Ocean, which, contrary to its name, is not so peaceful. This time, each of the first three nights were progressively more bouncy, making us happy we again chose accommodation in the less affected midship area. Now, as we approach Hawaii, the weather and sea condition is improving minute by minute. I wouldn’t be surprised if the pools were open today, during the heavy weather they turn into wave pools and unsafe to use.

Thus far we have met a number of people with whom we have previously shared this trip. There are also many for whom this is a first experience and others who are experienced travellers. It is easy to meet people on the ship. We share tables with different passengers for each meal and conversation is generally good. We also meet folks in the lounges where the entertainment this time is quite enjoyable. Elua is a duo that perform Hawaiian theme music and drive the Hawaiian cultural experience by their music, teaching lei making, ukulele, and hula. The Gemstones Quartet has been performing very danceable music in the Wheelhouse Bar.

There are, as expected, numerous children, mostly well behaved. Yesterday, with some help, they made a number of gingerbread houses. They are on display in the Atrium along with other Christmas decorations and there are decorated Christmas trees everywhere.

We are just arriving at Honolulu so I will post without photos and load them later.

Aloha Hawaii

Posted on April 9, 2018 by Ted Thorpe

The boarding passes showed a 7:15 pm departure but our actual departure was 8:20 pm because, they said, the airplane was late being delivered from maintenance. Now who, I ask, could complain about the airline wanting you to have a safe airplane? We were certainly not rushed at the airport. We arrived in the afternoon and discovered that Sydney Airport is essentially a large shopping mall with air service around three edges, road and rail services on the other side.

We did no buying other than food but I did manage to add a little excitement to the afternoon by walking away from a small case containing my laptop and Gail’s iPad. We were half way across the mall when the light went on as I glanced up to see a woman sitting at a table typing on her laptop.

We hurried back, hopefully, but when we looked at the last known location it was gone. There was a group of young men sitting in the area. We asked if they had noticed what happened to the case. They all said they had seen an airport employee pick it up and go that way (indicating by hand gesture). The first employee we saw wore a Qantas badge and we hit pay dirt. He escorted us across the mall to the security desk where he had earlier delivered the case with contents which were returned after I identified its contents to the satisfaction of the security staff. Time to restart heart.

The flight was uneventful, even the food wasn’t bad. We always have hopes of sleeping on a night flight which are only rarely realized. Perhaps one of the nine hours was actually sleep, most of the other eight were spent unsuccessfully trying to sleep. It was somewhat fortunate that the entertainment system offered a decent collection but it failed to create sleep like it does at home.

Our arrival in Honolulu was rather unusual. The airplane’s contents, nearly 300 people, were escorted to waiting busses and transported in groups of 40 per bus, to the customs hall where they joined other arriving international passengers. Our NEXUS/GLOBAL ENTRY status allow us to avoid the masses and arrived where our luggage had yet to be delivered. The carousel was far too small for the the load so there was staff offloading the carousel and placing it in rows beside. We were lucky enough to have our bags and get through inspection well before the majority of our flight. SpeediShuttle was waiting and a few minutes later we were at the Hawaiian Village. Although it was only noon the check-in desk at the Ali’l was able to find us a room. There was the bed and it was very tempting to just crash but we pressed on.

The air conditioning was not working in the room so that was quickly reported and we started our first lap around the resort. There are at least five hotel towers surrounding the resort. There are half a dozen pools nestled among the luscious tropical gardens with streams and pools populated with large koi and other species of smaller fish. There are lots of birds plus the usual doves, pigeons and gulls. Outdoor bars and restaurants abound along with clusters of shops and bistros offering a wide variety of food choices from asian to Italian to $150 steaks. After grabbing a couple of sandwiches that were far too big for either of us to eat, we returned to our room, poured a couple of glasses of wine then sat on the balcony. From there we got to watch the Aloha Friday Night Hawaiian music and hula performance around the Super Pool followed by a short but spectacular fireworks display from the beach. How we stayed awake this long we have no idea but we faded fast after the fireworks.

We awoke! It was light outside! It must be Saturday! It was!!!

Yesterday’s humid, hot, bright sun was replaced by less humid, warm, overcast with a forecast of flash flooding. Needing supplies for the next few days meant a walk to Walmart which took us through Ala Moana Mall. As we passed the food court I caught the aroma of a Cinnabon shop but we continued walking. With the Walmart stop complete and completely successful, we walked back through the Ala Moana centre again. It was near lunch time and Gail found some agreeable lunch time fare so once again I heard the Cinnabon call me. I swear I was only going to have a small one but then I saw the macadamia nuts and the caramel and it was too much. It was a total contrast. Gail with her healthy broccoli soup and orange salad; me with the macadamia, caramel Cinnabon and coffee.

We are officially spoiled. This afternoon we found ourselves walking in the beautiful lagoon, around the busy, glistening pools, along the beach sand, wading in the ocean and complaining. Well, not really complaining, just comparing. Here we find ourselves with thousands of people on a few hectares of beach compared with the Gold Coast with hundreds of people on thousands of hectares of beach; gritty, gravelly sand compared with silky fine sand; tiny, gentle waves bringing the tide up the beach compared with absolutely continuous one to two metre waves crashing onto the shore. We think it must be time to go home.

We first visited Hawaii in 1973. We have visited four of the islands on cruise ship visits numerous times and Honolulu about four times as a stopover point when flying between North America and Australia or New Zealand. On every visit we have passed the iconic Diamond Head, or Lē’ahi, but only today did we climb to the top. The trail is about 1.3 kilometres one way climbing 171 metres. From the top there is an expansive view of the shoreline from Honolulu to Kuamookane. That, I think pretty much puts an exclamation point on the trip and the journal posts.

The Climb

View toward Honolulu

View toward Kuamookane

We arrive home on April 12 and once the jet lag has subsided I will get the photos online. The final post of this tour will be to announce the final photos are on line.

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