APRIL 3-April 5
Rough seas again and cold weather. This is not what we expected and not what we signed on for. This afternoon we played bocce against the officers. There were a lot of teams playing against them and the first team to score 3 points won. We lost to them but we did score 2 points. It was lots of fun and Sue and Steve also participated. We went to the show which we had seen before but the singers and dancers are getting off the ship at the same time as us so it was their last performance and at the end some of them were crying. The audience went wild in sending them good wishes.
Other than that we had a fun day.
APRIL 4
Today was sad as we had to pack and say our goodbyes to all the friends we made along the way. I still can't believe that 52 days have gone by but I do know I could do much longer cruises if I could only afford it. Tonight as I was going to say goodbye to our first waiter another waiter turned around fast and accidently got his foot between mine and I went down like a ton of bricks and landed on both of my knees and luckily there was a chair that I grabbed onto so that stopped me from landing on my face. My knees had been hurting before this so that just added to the pain. They helped me up and I said I was okay but as I was walking back to our table I thought both my knees were bleeding. I saw Enid and said let's go to the bathroom now so she knew something was wrong. When I got my pants down I was shocked to see no blood but a scrape. Enid went to get some bandaids and Sue came into the bathroom also to find out what was wrong. You should've seen the look on peoples faces when the three of us walked out of the handicapped bathroom. Parts of my knees are turning black and blue and they are swollen but I was lucky that nothing happened to my knee replacement.
APRIL 5
Today we got up at 4:15 as we had to meet at 5:45 to get off the ship in Ensenada to be bussed across the border to go to San Diego. That was the start of a very long day. We were on the first bus out of 47 that were going to San Diego. It took us 1 1/2 hours to get to the border where we had to take all our hand luggage off the bus and walk across the border to hand in our customs declarations while the bus was being inspected by dogs looking for drugs and cuban cigars. Then we had to walk about 1 block to get back on the bus to finish the trip. We were hoping to get an earlier flight but when we got to the airport we found out that American Airlines had 110 planes damaged in a tornado 2 days before in Dallas. They had canceled over 300 flights today and there were some people ahead of us that couldn't get new flights until Saturday and American was not responsible for putting them up in hotels. People were not happy and there was nothing that could be done as American even tried other airlines but being Easter and Passover this weekend all flights were previously booked. We were very lucky that nothing had changed with our flights and of course we weren't able to get an earlier one. We were due to change planes in Dallas and that was still okay. Our next flight was due to land in Miami at 12:30 AM but our plane landed in Dallas late so that was delay number 1. They finally announced we were going to board in 10 minutes and then they announced there was some mechanical problems and they were fixing them so it would be another 20 minutes before we could leave. They did make up some time inflight and we laded at 12:45 but until we got our luggage and dropped my suitcases off at my house, went to Enid's and had a snack it was almost 3 before we went to sleep after setting the alarm for 8:30 AM as I had an appointment with the orthopedist. He said the bones are lined up perfectly but not completely healed so I am in another cast for 2 more weeks.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Although nervous about being away for so long we found out it was totally unfounded as the time flew by and I could've done more. We met wonderful people and had a marvelous time with a few drawbacks with illness but that could happen anywhere or anytime so you add it up to making it another adventure.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Monday, April 2, 2012
MARCH 31-APRIL 2
MARCH 31, APRIL 1 AND 2
We have had 3 sea days with 2 left and the fact this vacation is almost over is not sitting well with me. We have had 2 lei making sessions and we've bought some kukui nuts and sea shells to make our own designs so when my left hand is back to normal (hopefully by Christmas) I will be kept busy making different kinds of leis. I know for a fact that I'll be making a bracelet and an ankle bracelet also.
One of the evenings we saw a very funny comedian named Don Gavin and as I was laughing I was also coughing and thought I might choke. Last night they had Liar's Club and some of the words were "oxpecker, dikephobia, farctate and hawshole. If you can't find them in the dictionary you'll just have to wait till we come home. It would've been very funny but they used the same words on the last cruise and they gave the same lies for the definitions.
The seas have been very rough with winds in the 20-30 knots so sitting by the pool is out. Today Enid, Sue and Steve played baggo against the officers on the ship and Enid even made it to the finals but unfortunately didn't win. I forgot to tell you that last night I used my $20 certificate for roulette that I had won in a raffle and in 5 minutes I walked away with 43 dollars. Of course this afternoon I gave back 30 to the slots. Hope all is good with everyone and we'll be home in 3 days.
We have had 3 sea days with 2 left and the fact this vacation is almost over is not sitting well with me. We have had 2 lei making sessions and we've bought some kukui nuts and sea shells to make our own designs so when my left hand is back to normal (hopefully by Christmas) I will be kept busy making different kinds of leis. I know for a fact that I'll be making a bracelet and an ankle bracelet also.
One of the evenings we saw a very funny comedian named Don Gavin and as I was laughing I was also coughing and thought I might choke. Last night they had Liar's Club and some of the words were "oxpecker, dikephobia, farctate and hawshole. If you can't find them in the dictionary you'll just have to wait till we come home. It would've been very funny but they used the same words on the last cruise and they gave the same lies for the definitions.
The seas have been very rough with winds in the 20-30 knots so sitting by the pool is out. Today Enid, Sue and Steve played baggo against the officers on the ship and Enid even made it to the finals but unfortunately didn't win. I forgot to tell you that last night I used my $20 certificate for roulette that I had won in a raffle and in 5 minutes I walked away with 43 dollars. Of course this afternoon I gave back 30 to the slots. Hope all is good with everyone and we'll be home in 3 days.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
MARCH 30
MARCH 30 SEA DAY 1 OF 6
Today I had my free acupuncture session (that's the least she could do) and told her about my cold and my aversion to heat and how it's giving me panic attacks. She gave me 28 needles and told me it will definitely help my cold and my panic attacks. Now only time will tell. We spent the rest of the day sitting by the pool with glorious sunshine and a nice breeze so you didn't feel the heat so much. I am getting great color but for some reason my face got to a certain point and it's not getting any darker. Such is life.
We didn't go to the show as we've already seen it so we went to the casino and here I am finally doing the blog. Tomorrow we're taking up lei making.
Today I had my free acupuncture session (that's the least she could do) and told her about my cold and my aversion to heat and how it's giving me panic attacks. She gave me 28 needles and told me it will definitely help my cold and my panic attacks. Now only time will tell. We spent the rest of the day sitting by the pool with glorious sunshine and a nice breeze so you didn't feel the heat so much. I am getting great color but for some reason my face got to a certain point and it's not getting any darker. Such is life.
We didn't go to the show as we've already seen it so we went to the casino and here I am finally doing the blog. Tomorrow we're taking up lei making.
MARCH 29
MARCH 29 HILO, HAWAII
After breakfast I packed up my 29 inch suitcase with stuff I have bought and some clothes I won't be needing anymore as we only have 6 sea days left before we reach Ensenada and I have read that when we get to the border we all have to get off the bus and carry all our hand luggage across the border where we will get back on the bus. We'd like to catch an earlier flight so we can fly into West Palm Beach instead of landing in Miami at 12:30 AM. I have a 10AM doctor appointment for my wrist and it would make life so much easier for both of us. We have requested to get off as soon as people are allowed and they say the disembarkation will begin at 5:45AM so it will be a very early wakeup but hopefully means we'll sleep on the plane.
So we go to get off the ship (thankfully it was docked so no tender) andthey stop us thinking we were not getting back on and to place a call to see if it was okay. When they said we could get off we found an information booth and asked where we could find a place that would pac and ship. She tried calling UPS (an 800 number) and they said they had boxes we could buy but souldn't giv her the local store phone number. I thought that was ridiculousand wanted somewhere else so she gave us a place in town and we got in a taxi and off we went. We asked if she would take us on a tour around the island and she said 75 and hour so we told her no since we know that is way too much. She finally found the store we wanted and the man inside was very nice and he found a box for Enid and she shipped 14 lbs. home. I, on the other hand, had a very big box and mine weighed 40 lbs. I am so thankful I did that as it will make my life much easier when I have to pack in 5 days. I was very close to the allowed weight on the way to Sydney so now I am worry free. It was very hot so we grabbed another cab and went back to the ship. Forgot to say that when we got back to the cabin after breakfast there was a call from guest services asking us to call them. They were doing some repair work to the cables on (of course) the liefboat under our floor and had repair people on the balconies on either side of us and one man was hanging off our balcony so for the inconvenience they were sending a bottle of wine to our cabin. By the time we got back from shipping our stuff we had it in our cabin. We finally went to a show tonight and watched an illusionist do card tricks. He kept on repeating the same thing over and over and was putting us to sleep. He was good but after a while we had enough. Had a good night in the casino afterward and am still playing wit the money I started with when I got on in Perth so I can't complain. Tomorrow we start our 1st sea day for the trip acros the Pacific.
After breakfast I packed up my 29 inch suitcase with stuff I have bought and some clothes I won't be needing anymore as we only have 6 sea days left before we reach Ensenada and I have read that when we get to the border we all have to get off the bus and carry all our hand luggage across the border where we will get back on the bus. We'd like to catch an earlier flight so we can fly into West Palm Beach instead of landing in Miami at 12:30 AM. I have a 10AM doctor appointment for my wrist and it would make life so much easier for both of us. We have requested to get off as soon as people are allowed and they say the disembarkation will begin at 5:45AM so it will be a very early wakeup but hopefully means we'll sleep on the plane.
So we go to get off the ship (thankfully it was docked so no tender) andthey stop us thinking we were not getting back on and to place a call to see if it was okay. When they said we could get off we found an information booth and asked where we could find a place that would pac and ship. She tried calling UPS (an 800 number) and they said they had boxes we could buy but souldn't giv her the local store phone number. I thought that was ridiculousand wanted somewhere else so she gave us a place in town and we got in a taxi and off we went. We asked if she would take us on a tour around the island and she said 75 and hour so we told her no since we know that is way too much. She finally found the store we wanted and the man inside was very nice and he found a box for Enid and she shipped 14 lbs. home. I, on the other hand, had a very big box and mine weighed 40 lbs. I am so thankful I did that as it will make my life much easier when I have to pack in 5 days. I was very close to the allowed weight on the way to Sydney so now I am worry free. It was very hot so we grabbed another cab and went back to the ship. Forgot to say that when we got back to the cabin after breakfast there was a call from guest services asking us to call them. They were doing some repair work to the cables on (of course) the liefboat under our floor and had repair people on the balconies on either side of us and one man was hanging off our balcony so for the inconvenience they were sending a bottle of wine to our cabin. By the time we got back from shipping our stuff we had it in our cabin. We finally went to a show tonight and watched an illusionist do card tricks. He kept on repeating the same thing over and over and was putting us to sleep. He was good but after a while we had enough. Had a good night in the casino afterward and am still playing wit the money I started with when I got on in Perth so I can't complain. Tomorrow we start our 1st sea day for the trip acros the Pacific.
MARCH 28
KONA, HAWAII MARCH 28
Today we were awakened about 7 AM when they lowered the lifeboat which is located on the floor below us. We went out on the balcony to watch and after it got in the water they pulled away from the ship to line up so they could start tendering passengers to shore.
As it got about 30 yards from the ship one of the crew that was standing outside of the tender on a little ledge he fell into the water. He was wearing a life vest but he started to holler at the driver as he was trying to swim fully clothed and with shoes so he really wasn't getting to far. The driver finally noticed and started to turn around but in the meantime someone on the tender platform threw him a life ring which really didn't help as we were watching him flounder around. They finally threw him a rope and 4 men pulled him in very fast. To hIm it must have seemed like an eternity.
That is another story no one on the ship is talking about. They only want people to know the good things and are very secretive when something goes wrong. After breakfast we took the tender into town and grabbed a free shutte to Walmart. It was wonderful because they had a huge Hawaii epartment where you could pick up anything you wanted there. We needed to replace some drugs we were running low on and the prices onboard are astronomical and the touristy places were also outrageous. Then we grabbed a shuttle back to the tender, had lnch and sat in the sun for a while but I had to go in as it got way too hot for me. My cold isn't getting any better and we were tired so we decided to have room service for dinner and of course some chicken soup to make me feel better. It was a very early night for us.
Tomorrow we'll be in Hilo but as of now the only thing we have planned is to find a pack and ship place so we can lighten our load going home. It's either pay overweight charges to the airlines or pay it tomorrow.
Today we were awakened about 7 AM when they lowered the lifeboat which is located on the floor below us. We went out on the balcony to watch and after it got in the water they pulled away from the ship to line up so they could start tendering passengers to shore.
As it got about 30 yards from the ship one of the crew that was standing outside of the tender on a little ledge he fell into the water. He was wearing a life vest but he started to holler at the driver as he was trying to swim fully clothed and with shoes so he really wasn't getting to far. The driver finally noticed and started to turn around but in the meantime someone on the tender platform threw him a life ring which really didn't help as we were watching him flounder around. They finally threw him a rope and 4 men pulled him in very fast. To hIm it must have seemed like an eternity.
That is another story no one on the ship is talking about. They only want people to know the good things and are very secretive when something goes wrong. After breakfast we took the tender into town and grabbed a free shutte to Walmart. It was wonderful because they had a huge Hawaii epartment where you could pick up anything you wanted there. We needed to replace some drugs we were running low on and the prices onboard are astronomical and the touristy places were also outrageous. Then we grabbed a shuttle back to the tender, had lnch and sat in the sun for a while but I had to go in as it got way too hot for me. My cold isn't getting any better and we were tired so we decided to have room service for dinner and of course some chicken soup to make me feel better. It was a very early night for us.
Tomorrow we'll be in Hilo but as of now the only thing we have planned is to find a pack and ship place so we can lighten our load going home. It's either pay overweight charges to the airlines or pay it tomorrow.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
DAY 2 MAUI
MARCH 27 MAUI DAY 2
Today we went whale watching where they guarantee whale sightings so we kidded each other it would either be a stuffed whale or a human wearing a whale costume. When we boarded the boat we decided to sit upstairs in the sun where we thought we would also get a better view. After about 20 minutes I said I wasn't feeling good (I think it was the heat-not the rocking) and went downstairs to be in the shade.
Enid had given me a ziplock bag (just in case) and Sue followed me down. I sat down for about 1 minute before giving up everything I had eaten for dinner last night and breakfast this morning. One of the girls working on the boat brought over a small pail (just in case) and a cup of ice cold water to rinse my mouth. After I was finished I felt better but not great. While all this was going on everyone else was busy watching whales breaching, chin slapping and tail slapping. There was a baby whale (it was less than a week old)and mommy was teaching it how to breach and the baby was doing it after momma. When I finally was able to focus again I saw a whale (I think the mom) jump higher than I ever saw. The people on the ship were oohing and aahing and it was a great experience. When we got off I said I'd like to have some ice cream and then go back to the ship and lie down. I'm finally getting the cold that has been going around the ship for the last 3 cruises and am stuffy and headachey (how do you like that word) so we had room service for dinner and stayed in the room for the rest of the evening. You have to know I'm sick if I didn't
go to the casino.
Tomorrow we'll be in Lailua, Kona and have no tours planned so we will probably try to get a taxi and have them take us to a few interesting places to see.
By the way I know this computer is not getting all the letter as I type so please excuse the errors. I really do know how to spell.
Today we went whale watching where they guarantee whale sightings so we kidded each other it would either be a stuffed whale or a human wearing a whale costume. When we boarded the boat we decided to sit upstairs in the sun where we thought we would also get a better view. After about 20 minutes I said I wasn't feeling good (I think it was the heat-not the rocking) and went downstairs to be in the shade.
Enid had given me a ziplock bag (just in case) and Sue followed me down. I sat down for about 1 minute before giving up everything I had eaten for dinner last night and breakfast this morning. One of the girls working on the boat brought over a small pail (just in case) and a cup of ice cold water to rinse my mouth. After I was finished I felt better but not great. While all this was going on everyone else was busy watching whales breaching, chin slapping and tail slapping. There was a baby whale (it was less than a week old)and mommy was teaching it how to breach and the baby was doing it after momma. When I finally was able to focus again I saw a whale (I think the mom) jump higher than I ever saw. The people on the ship were oohing and aahing and it was a great experience. When we got off I said I'd like to have some ice cream and then go back to the ship and lie down. I'm finally getting the cold that has been going around the ship for the last 3 cruises and am stuffy and headachey (how do you like that word) so we had room service for dinner and stayed in the room for the rest of the evening. You have to know I'm sick if I didn't
go to the casino.
Tomorrow we'll be in Lailua, Kona and have no tours planned so we will probably try to get a taxi and have them take us to a few interesting places to see.
By the way I know this computer is not getting all the letter as I type so please excuse the errors. I really do know how to spell.
MARCH 26
MARCH 26 LAHAINA, MAUI---DAY 1
Got up 6:20 (once again not sure you can call this vacation) to be ready for 7:45 where we have to meet the other 45 people that are taking 4 vans "To the Road to Hana" which we heard was a magnificent tour to take as long as you can take lots of twists and turns along high roads with only guardrails on very narrow roadways. It turned out to be wonderful and we all enjoyed it tremendously. We had been looking forward to swimming under waterfalls for about 1 year but when we got to where we were supposed to swim we couldn't go in the water because the rangers closed the pool. The area (which is in a rainforest) had 27 inches of rain in 1 day and the waters were raging and it would not be safe. We had put on bathing suits
before we left the ship so we essentially wore them for nothing until 9 PM when we got back to the ship. The ride was a little under 200 miles but about 15 of those miles were on totally unpaved roads that were broken into 3 different sections. The driver warned us that it was like baby bear, mama bear and papa bear and believe me when I tell you we were bouncing around like Spaulding balls. We had lunch at a flower farm that sends the most beautiful arrangements around the world. They also gave each of us a beautiful flower. Forgot to mention when we got to the waterfall park one of the rangers gave Enid and I roses that he had made out of some kind of leaf and we asked him for one for Sue (she went walking one of the trails)
and he gave us one that he said was a bird. I thought it looked like a grasshopper, Sue thought something else and when she thanked the ranger he said it was a teradactyl so we all laughed. When we got off the van at the end we decided to walk around town and find a place for dinner which we did and the food was okay, not great but edible. At least this time we had a good tender ride with no surprises.
I was so exhausted I fell asleep before Enid even got out of the shower.
Got up 6:20 (once again not sure you can call this vacation) to be ready for 7:45 where we have to meet the other 45 people that are taking 4 vans "To the Road to Hana" which we heard was a magnificent tour to take as long as you can take lots of twists and turns along high roads with only guardrails on very narrow roadways. It turned out to be wonderful and we all enjoyed it tremendously. We had been looking forward to swimming under waterfalls for about 1 year but when we got to where we were supposed to swim we couldn't go in the water because the rangers closed the pool. The area (which is in a rainforest) had 27 inches of rain in 1 day and the waters were raging and it would not be safe. We had put on bathing suits
before we left the ship so we essentially wore them for nothing until 9 PM when we got back to the ship. The ride was a little under 200 miles but about 15 of those miles were on totally unpaved roads that were broken into 3 different sections. The driver warned us that it was like baby bear, mama bear and papa bear and believe me when I tell you we were bouncing around like Spaulding balls. We had lunch at a flower farm that sends the most beautiful arrangements around the world. They also gave each of us a beautiful flower. Forgot to mention when we got to the waterfall park one of the rangers gave Enid and I roses that he had made out of some kind of leaf and we asked him for one for Sue (she went walking one of the trails)
and he gave us one that he said was a bird. I thought it looked like a grasshopper, Sue thought something else and when she thanked the ranger he said it was a teradactyl so we all laughed. When we got off the van at the end we decided to walk around town and find a place for dinner which we did and the food was okay, not great but edible. At least this time we had a good tender ride with no surprises.
I was so exhausted I fell asleep before Enid even got out of the shower.
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