Advertisement
Blog 34
Honolulu, Hawai’i, April 28 ,2018 – Weather forecast: partly cloudy skies; humidity 85%, temperature 24°C, wind 8kts (3 Beaufort) – evening temperature 20°C, light clouds, moderate winds
After five days at sea we docked in Honolulu Harbour right beside the historic landmark of the Aloha Tower. At this port of call we underwent a full inspection by the US Customs and Border Protection agents who came on board to see all the passengers and crew before we were allowed ashore. Five hundred guest have opted to leave the ship and fly home from here and five hundred are joining the ship to visit two other Hawai’ian islands before sailing on to Vancouver. So, this morning’s adventure with the inspection was a critical exercise. According to the instructions provided by the ship we had to be up early for our visit with the officials; but our early rising was for naught as it was delayed by over an hour. Unfortunately, the ship’s personnel did not handle the process efficiently and there was a great deal of confusion, leading to a higher than necessary level of frustration among those passengers who are continuing on with
2
Lighthouse & palmthe voyage.
Once ashore there were a number of “free” (read – we will take you to a specific shopping location) shuttle services. We opted to take the one to the Maui Divers of Hawai’i location where we had an informative video and tour of their facility followed by a stroll through their showroom where we made a minor jewelry purchase. Exiting the building we asked the staff where one might find free Wi-Fi and they recommended a nearby McDonalds so we ventured down the Street, purchased a coffee and enjoyed an hour of catching up on emails and updating our electronic equipment. For the first time in two weeks my Fitbit is once again syncing with my iPhone. Will it last until Vancouver?
Our shore excursion for today took us 35 miles to the northwest corner of the island to enjoy a traditional Hawaiian luau. Once at the beachfront location we were greeted with the traditional shell lei. The beachfront location afforded us a great location for catching a beautiful sunset over the ocean. The luau organizers used the occasion to provide us with some of the historical and cultural background into the
3
Torch lighting traditional Hawaiian way of life. After lighting the torches surrounding the imu oven the roasted pig was extracted from ground and prepared to be part of our buffet dinner. We did try the poi, let’s just say it is an acquired taste, and neither of us acquired it! Throughout dinner singers and musicians provided background music. Following dinner, we were entertained by the singers and dancers performing the Polynesian Review highlighting the songs and dances from the native peoples the Polynesia, ending with the Samoan Fire Knife Dancer.
As this was a later excursion, (all aboard was 10:30pm and we were one of the last groups to return) we were driven right back to the ship with no last-minute shopping stops on the way. We were processed once again by security before we could board. Once all the crew and passengers were accounted for we set sail for Lahaina at 11:00pm. The Aloha Tower was all lit up in blue and served as a beautiful farewell as we edged away from the dock.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.155s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 7; qc: 44; dbt: 0.079s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
