Getting from Arizona to Hawaii

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Tour Day 1-7, Cruise Day – 1-7, Phoenix, Arizona to Hilo Hawaii – The flight to San Diego was just over an hour and totally humdrum. Retrieving my luggage and getting the shuttle to the hotel was routine. Breakfast at the hotel and the shuttle to the cruise port was uneventful. Upon arrival at the cruise terminal, I realized the luggage tags supplied by Holland America (complete with the wrong cabin number) were for a different ship departing San Diego in 2024. The baggage handler reacted as though I wasn’t the first person to queue at the Holland America incompetency line and promptly got me a new set of tags so my baggage would get to MY cabin THIS year. Half way through the boarding process, we were told the facial recognition function of the computer system was down and we would have to wait for boarding until the system was up and running again. If not the absolute worst, Holland America’s computer system is definitely one of the worst internet experiences I have had in the last 30 years. For example, during my booking of several shore excursions and while entering the credit card information, the form accepted everything except the month of the card’s expiration. Totally aggravating. I aborted my effort that day and, after WASTING an hour of my life a few days later, successfully booked the excursions.

While waiting for the computer system to end its work stoppage, I chatted with a couple from Berlin, Germany. They had some interesting trivia to share about pre-unification, the dismantling of the wall and some of the sights I had visited in Summer 2022. Finally aboard ship, I found my cabin (I’m not sure if a cabin becomes a stateroom because of square footage or the inclusion of a window or a balcony, but I have a CHEAP, windowless, interior cabin). With my luggage not yet delivered, I made an orientation tour of the vessel and landed at the buffet to kill some time with a cup of coffee while waiting for the delivery of my luggage. I asked a couple to join them and learned they were from Newcastle, Australia and had flown to America to take the cruise back home. Fly first and cruise back home or cruise first and fly back home – just a different way to skin the same feline! In due course, I made my way to my cabin and unpacked ONCE for the entire voyage – a definite advantage of cruising vs. land tours.

Monday was our first full day at sea so I did some more exploring and, since Australia has a strong British linkage, went to the afternoon tea for a crash course in what might be an Aussie custom. I joined a couple from the Liverpool area of England. After chatting for a bit, I had to ask, “Just what is a crumpet anyway?” We had an enjoyable conversation about the British monarchy (I had noted that I was in London when the Queen had died), the Beatles, the state of world affairs and world travel in general.

Tuesday’s breakfast table was shared with a German couple who spoke much more English than I spoke German; however, …. I had enjoyed the afternoon tea enough to return on Tuesday, only to share the table with four Aussies, two Brits and an American man travelling solo. Today, the primary topic was world affairs, most notably immigration and youngsters having to keep up with their friends who have virtually every toy known to mankind! The dialogue reaffirmed my delight in not having children and grandchildren to provide me with more drama than any retired person deserves. Earlier in the day, I had attended an interesting presentation about the climate and geography of Hawaii, and along the way I watched some hula and ukulele lessons, portions of some of the trivia contests and some of the onboard entertainment. From time to time, I made my way to the casino to for a go at the now-armless bandits. Oh, for the days of inserting coins and pulling a lever – my money didn’t disappear quite as quickly back then!

Dinner on Wednesday was shared with a retired Navy nurse. All that common background led to some interesting conversation. He was dining alone as his wife, also a retired Navy nurse, wasn’t hungry and was involved in an online seminar of some sort, so dinner it was while she was busy on the computer. The remainder of the cruise to Hawaii was more of the same with the addition of my 6 PM attendance at the “Singles & Solo Travelers Meetup.” A dozen or so folks attend quite regularly, enjoy some conversation and a cocktail and then head off for dinner in the formal dining room about 7 PM. I’ve tried the formal dining thingy, and it’s a whole lot of to-dos about nothing in my opinion. Given that I usually can’t even pronounce the names of the menu items, and, generally, I have no notion of what they would taste like, I’d much rather have a look at what I’m going to eat beforehand. Besides, on the rare occasion my eyeballs have really deceived me, I can go get another option.

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Photos

Aboard ms Noordam
This Cabin Is Totally Adequate but Not as Nice as Was the ms Volendam Earlier This Year – I Did Have a Sofa and Coffee Table

Aboard ms Noordam
My Desk Had Drawers

Aboard ms Noordam
The Bathroom Is Pretty Much the Same

Aboard ms Noordam
A View of San Diego Before We Left Dock

Aboard ms Noordam
The Refueling Barge Escorted by a Tug …

Aboard ms Noordam
… With the Same Name, Same Spelling as My Niece

Aboard ms Noordam
A View of San Diego Leaving Port