Sunday, November 20, to Monday, December 5: The Cruise to Hawaii and Back

Paul Basile drove Barbara and Becky to the Princess Cruise Terminal in San Pedro.  It was a rainy day.  So different from the usual Los Angeles weather! 

 

The mini suite was ideally located near the elevators/stairs.  When this trip was booked, Richard was still alive.  There was always sensitivity as to how far a walk was required.  Barbara had contacted Alan Buckelew prior to the cruise.  Alan was kind enough to put the two of them on VIP status.  Fresh flowers, a bottle of champagne, and hors d’oeurvres. 

The usual Muster Station exercise was rolled out.  Safety is always first. 

Barbara had fun as the ship left San Pedro --- bubbles, bubbles, bubbles.



The first day at sea began with Becky’s spinning class, instructor Joel’s Zumba class, and a cruise critic meeting.  Becky and Barbara enjoyed meeting some of the fellow passengers.  Andrew, the cruise director, also stopped by the cruise critic meeting. 

Several cruise critic members like Chuck from Grass Valley and Bob from Arroyo Grande became members of Barbara’s Trivia team.
 
Sea day two was Becky’s first attempt at the TRX class.  There were only two people signed up --- Becky and Tom from Minnesota.  It was a challenge for Becky to learn all of the moves. 

Later that evening was the first formal night.  As VIPs, Becky and Barbara had their own table set aside in the Portofino dining room. 



While watching the Captain’s champagne waterfall demonstration, Becky and Barbara met two fun people --- John and Gilly Foy.  John and Gilly have a condo near Puerto Vallarta and a boat in San Pedro.  They spend the winters in Mexico and the summers traveling in their boat.

Sea day three was Becky’s spinning class, Barbara’s morning trivia, and a visit to the Penny Slot machines in the Grand Casino. 

That afternoon, Becky and Barbara also attended the Maitre D’Hotel Wine Club event.  While the two of them were impressed with Romeo --- as far his knowledge of fine wines – Becky and Barbara decided that they didn’t need to attend another one.

Both Becky and Barbara signed up for two guest events.  The Runway at Sea fashion show and the Pop Choir.  The performance of these two events would not take place until the sea days after Hawaii.  But, Becky and Barbara attended daily “sea day” pop choir rehearsals.

Sea day four was Thanksgiving.  The entire ship was decked out in Thanksgiving decorations.  Barbara and Becky met up with John and Gilly Foy in the 3-4pm Wheelhouse music and drink special hour.  It was “buy one drink and get a second one for $1.00.”  John and Gilly were savy to ways to save money.

 
First stop in Hawaii was Hilo.  Becky loves it when the cute tug boats come out to the ship and help guide her into the harbor. 

Barbara had rented a car.  Both Becky and Barbara had been to Hilo before, but it was time to spread some of Richard’s ashes.  Before heading to Rainbow Falls, there were two stops --- Starbucks to load up on free wifi and lunch at Pineapples Restaurant in old town Hilo. 

Rainbow Falls  is very close to the Hilo city center.  It was a little drizzly in the afternoon, but Becky found a great location to share the falls with Richard. 

That evening, Becky and Barbara enjoyed the VIP perk of going to Skywalkers between 5-7pm for $5.00 drink specials and an nice assortment of canapés, cheeses, and dips.  This perk is usually only awarded to suite guests, platinum card holders, and elite card holders.  Barbara is a platinum card holder, but not recognized with the “Friends and Family” designation.  Of course, John and Gilly were there at Skywalkers --- taking advantage of any bargains.

 

The second stop was Honolulu.  Barbara has Coad family members who live there.  After getting a shuttle to Waikiki and renting a car, Becky and Barbara met up with Barbara’s two first cousins --- Michael and Sheila.  Michael lives in Honolulu with his wife Sharon.  Their daughter Miley was visiting with her two children.  Miley and her family live in Portland, Oregon.  Sheila was also visiting.  She lives in Connecticut. 

After attending a Christmas craft fair, the group headed out to a restaurant called Nico’s.  Becky’s GPS gave incorrect directions, so Becky and Barbara arrived late.  Fortunately, it was a casual restaurant and they could play catch-up.  After lunch, Cousin Michael drove around to the windward side of the island.  Becky and Barbara followed him.  Michael knew a nice beach that would be a perfect place to spread some of Richard’s ashes.  The beach location was Waimanalo Beach.  Gorgeous!

After the beach, Becky and Barbara returned the car to Waikiki and took an uber drive to Haleiwa Joe’s Restaurant.  This was Becky’s first uber ride ever!

Becky and Barbara met up with her two Coad first cousins and Barbara’s aunt Joan.  It was a great dinner and nice family reunion.
 
Stop number three was Nawiliwilli harbor on Kauai.  Becky’s high school classmate – Laura Furnas Hawks --- moved to Kauai a little over two years ago.  The ironic thing was that Laura and her family vacationed in Northern Arizona this past March.  Richard and Becky met the Hawks family at Red Raven Restaurant.  So, Becky and Laura had seen each other twice in one year!

Laura and her husband Brett picked up Becky and Barbara near the harbor and drove them to Lihui and Poipu Beach.  There was a nice open air mall near Koloa Town.  Becky and Barbara each purchased high-end Aloha shirts at Blue Ginger.  The original plan was to have lunch at Gaylord’s Restaurant.  But, their Sunday brunch option was an all you can eat buffet.  It was decided to go to the local Tip Top Restaurant in Lihui.  It was a funky place with an interesting menu.

 

After lunch, the foursome returned to the Koloa Rum Company plantation.  There was a nice anchor awaiting Richard’s ashes.  They also enjoyed a rum tasting before being dropped off at the port.

Barbara had been trying to get VIP permission to have breakfast at Sabatini’s.  This dining room is usually reserved for suite only guests.  Barbara worked her magic.  Now, we were accepted into Sabatini’s.  Thanks for your perseverance, Barbara.

 

The last Hawaiian stop was Maui.  The ship is too big to harbor in Lahaina, so tenders were used to take passengers to and from the harbor.  Thanks to Princess VIP status, we had a priority pass for the tenders.

After taking a shuttle to Kaanapali, Barbara signed the paperwork for a rental car.  Becky had some of her dad’s ashes.  He had been an avid golfer and loved the golf course at the Kaanapali Beach Resort.  So naturally, Bill needed to be place there. 

It was already determined that Haleakala National Park was where Richard’s ashes should be spread.  It was Barbara’s first time to the crater.  The weather was exceptional.  When Becky and Richard has been there 2 ½ years ago, visibility was limited.

 

Richard had several great places where his ashes were spread.

Becky and Barbara returned the rental car to Kaanapali.  They were shuttled back to Lahaina.  A nice adult beverage was enjoyed at KOA’s Seaside Grill.  The queues for getting the tenders back to the ship were long.  Oh, well, it was a beautiful sunny day.

 

Sea day five was back to our routine.  Becky signed up for three more spinning classes.  She decided to drop the TRX classes.  So, spinning, daily Zumba, morning trivia, and Pop Choir practice.  Barbara also attended the afternoon trivia.  Becky is not a big trivia fan, so she usually showed up to cheer the team on.

Sea day six had a highlight of the Chef’s dinner.  John and Gilly Foy were added to the event.  Becky took her camera and took a lot of photos.  It was only the next day, that Becky realized she had accidentally deleted all of the photos taken at the Chef’s dinner.  Aargh!!!!

Sea day seven was the Runway at Sea Fashion Show.  Becky and Barbara were given outfits to where.  They were model number 6 and 7 --- out of 12 models.  It was a nice event. 

Neither Becky or Barbara had ever volunteered for something like that!  It was Italian night in the dining rooms.  Head waiter, Eugene, made his legendary Arrabiata.  That used to be one of Richard’s favorites.  Barbara had the Arrabiata and Becky had a Pesto Pasta dish.  Both were yummy!!

On Sea day eight, Becky and Barbara found out that the Pop Choir performance was the next day.  Somehow, it was thought that it would be on Sea day ten.  So, Pop Choir practice became a focus.

Sea day nine was the Pop Choir performance in the Atrium.  The choir met at 4:25pm.  Dress was black, white, or a combination.  The performance turned out well.  There were five songs --- ending with Sweet Caroline. 

That day, Becky and Barbara received an invitation from the Captain to join him for dinner in the Capri dining room on Sea day ten.  This was a first type of invitation for either Becky or Barbara.  Becky has only been on four prior Princess cruises.  Barbara has been on twelve Princess cruises.  We felt to special!  And, it was the last formal night!  We didn't snap a photo that evening, so asked the Captain for a make-up photo the next day.

 

Sea day ten was the last spinning class and the last Zumba class.  Becky and Barbara gave an envelope to Joel --- a terrific Zumba instructor! 

Becky and Barbara also prepared additional envelopes for other crew members who made their stay great --- Jayson, Felix, and Eugene in the Portofino dining room --- David, Juan, and Jose in the Sabatini dining room, etc.