CruiseChicks

Tuesday, April 14 - Ensenada, Mexico

2009-04-15T08:09:18Z

Tuesday 4/14/09 11:45pm PDT

Speed: 16.0 kts, Temp: 54.1 degrees, Humidity 63.1%

32 degrees 34’ N 117 degrees 32’ W

Sailed 49.49.9 nautical miles from LA

Sailed 82.2 miles from Ensenada, Mexico

67 nautical miles to LA

Seas: .3 – 1.5ft wavelets, wind: Force 9 Strong Gale

Sea temp 73.4 degrees

This morning we were greeted by barking and they weren’t dogs, sea lions in the waters in Ensenada, Mexico. The weather has held true, it’s overcast and cool, about 65 degrees, so much for having any type of suntan from this trip. We took a short bus ride into town and spent the afternoon soaking up the culture and shopping. We made our first stop at a Starbucks and Marlene said her treat. We all placed our order and the register showed a total due of $162.57 – wish you could have seen Marlene’s eyes pop as she turned to Kim and asked her what the heck she ordered. The total was in pesos (divide by 13), and Marlene relaxed just a little bit. There were two women in Starbucks who were starring at Kim’s ankle, we thought it was her turtle tattoo, but they were admiring her sandals. There was a discussion related to were they comfortable, what kind were they, where did you get them, and where can they be found. Kim referenced e-Bay and they both smiled! A universal techno geek understanding. There were lots of children and women up and down the sidewalk selling small trinkets and they really don’t take “no gracias” for an answer. Kathy stopped in a store, we all followed behind her. She started conversing in Spanish with the storekeeper. Marlene found a fleece jacket that she liked, and then the bargaining began. Kathy did a great job; we should remember to take her with us more often! Bonnie was telling the storekeeper assistant that Marlene was Mom and Kathy was sister, and the assistant asked Bonnie “you are?” Bonnie responded that she was the bad, Cinderella type sister. About then Marlene and Kathy made their purchases and as they walked to the exit, handed Bonnie the sack with the purchases. The assistant smiled “that” kind of smile as Bonnie followed the girls out of the store. We made our way up and down the street window shopping. We by passed the McDonald’s and Burger King and went to El Corralito for lunch. No one had a hamburger, rather choosing from the local foods and of course that included a few peach margaritas!! Kim had a celebration margarita and the rest supported her. A mariachi band came through the cantina and asked Kathy if they could play for us, Kathy responded in her perfect Spanish, that we would enjoy hearing their playing, but her Mother’s ears were broken and it would be very selfish if we were able to enjoy and she wasn’t. They smiled a little smile at Marlene and walked away. Kathy sure comes in handy!! After a “few” servings of fruit, and a few conversations with some of the locals thanks to Kathy, we needed to make our way down the street heading towards the ship. There are lots of liquor stores, pharmacies, souvenirs and then repeat that over again. A stop into a liquor store was on our list and we believe we picked the best. The storekeeper, Victor (yes, we are on a first name basis), was very wise and shared his knowledge regarding Agav (the tequila plant). He brought out four small shot glasses and filled them with a brand of tequila for us to try. Before we had completely finished, he had disappeared around the corner and came back with another bottle, opened it and filled the glasses again. This was a 5 year old cured tequila, and we raised our little shot glasses and toasted to Victor. That was all he needed, once again, back around the corner, and a silver and blue bottle was brought to the counter, this one would be very smooth, said Victor, as he filled up the glasses again. Please remember that we had already had each had at least a “cinco” (translated is 5) Margarita with a floater on top (for a total of 6 shots-5 too many). Marlene started talking in Spanish “bueno, mucho gracias”, Kim asked if there was another brand we should try, Kathy finally started to feel warm and Bonnie was ready for a nap. We saw a few other cruise ship folks and introduced them to our Mexican sommelier Victor. More shot glasses appeared and it started all over again (ever have a feeling of déjà vu?). Finally we made a decision on the type of tequila to purchase and both Victor and his partner sang us out the door, waving as we wobbled down the street. It was time to get to the ship. We boarded our return bus and were waiting for it to fill. The entertainment was a man with a guitar that also thought he was a comedian. He talked to Marlene and asked if she was married, she responded no, and then he said “Sugar Momma, for you, I work for green card”. Then Kathy was responding to him in Spanish and all we could make out was a few of his words, “Barbie”. After contributing to the comedy show, getting through security at the port and finally on board, we needed to pack. All of our suitcases needed to be outside in the hallway to be transported to the dock in San Pedro for us to pick up. We had to strategize what we need to carry off to ensure that everyone has their “necessities” (undies and makeup). After a couple hours doing the big pack, we had our last dinner with our favorite purring waitress and said our goodbyes. We took in the karaoke finals in the theater which is located at the very front of the ship. The ship is still bouncing around and it was a real challenge to walk down steps. Some trivia for you. What happened 90 years ago today? The Titanic sunk. What happened today in 1865? President Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth. What goes from aft to forward on the starboard side and forward to aft on the port side? This is of course one of Kim’s trivia questions – stumped us all. Did she stump you? The answer is the ship’s name. We heard the groan from here.

On a quick side note, one of the memories we have that was forgotten to blog about when it happened was a hot tub story. Kathy talked Bonnie into going to the top deck to one of the hot tubs late in the evening. No one would be around, it would be relaxing and finally talked Bonnie into going. They got there, got into the tub, and were enjoying the star filled sky, and noticed a technician working by the band stand area, then another. They were talking and it was fairly dark on the sides of the walk way, then the lights came up a bit and they noticed what had been empty chairs and tables were now filled with people and a full band was coming in to play. It seems that the deck area that Bonnie and Kathy were at was the site for late evening music and dancing. After another 30 minutes, Kathy was sitting on the edge of the tub and telling Bonnie that it smelled like something was cooking and it was Bonnie! Kathy wanted to go, Bonnie did not want to get out during a Beach Boys song or any other. Finally, about 45 minutes later, Kathy talked Bonnie into getting out, throwing her towel around her waist and running like mad down the hall to avoid being on the video tape.

We have had other great memories that we will cherish always. Time with family and close friends are special and one should always treasure those moments, tuck them away into the corner of your heart and keep them always. Until we travel again, aloha!!

Sat, Sun & Monday - April 11-13 - At Sea

2009-04-14T04:28:14Z

Saturday 4/11/09

We took this day as a rest and relax day. We had our lunch and then headed out to take in some of the boat activities. We went to Win, Cruise or Draw. Kim was a member of one team and she had to draw Pearl Harbor, she only had to draw a portion of the Arizona Memorial and it was guessed correctly. Her team, of course, won. The next stop was to take in Karaoke Power Hour. It’s always fun to listen to folks who really can sing and those who can’t. It was a quick dash to Lazy Day Trivia, we made it and managed to get about 11 out of 20 right, not bad! Of course, it was high tea time, and we must have our tea!! Back to the cabin, everyone got changed for dinner – a challenge all the time. When the clock struck midnight, we headed back to the room. The beds were turned down, and the bunk bed was down from the ceiling, so we were all set. A quick goodnight ended up in giggles. The ship is really tossing and rolling around a lot. We have seen so many folks that have been injured on the ship, a broken foot by a lady who mis-stepped, a crush injury to one of the officer’s foot by a lifeboat that was being lowered for Coast Guard inspection, a woman who has cracked ribs and bruises after tripping over the bedding her husband had kicked to the floor and the usual bruises from the railings as the ship moves suddenly in one direction. Lucky for us the only issue we have is that Kathy is still cold, we can not get her warm. We should have brought an electric blanket for her!!

Sunday 4/12/09

Happy Easter to everyone! We had a great day at sea, checking out the various boutiques, seeing the various displays that the chefs had put together. There must be about 30 giant eggs that are made of cake, that have been decorated. Some look like chickens, others look like birdhouses, some are rabbits, and others are covered in flowers. They are all very intricate and pretty. The pastry chefs had a display of various small desserts (mostly chocolate) that could be classified as artwork. We had our lunch and then split up. Kathy maintained a perimeter security at the cabin (in other words, she read and napped), Kim, Marlene and Bonnie went to the trivia gathering (sample question – which city is positioned the most north, Moscow or Copenhagen). We managed to get 10 out of 20 questions right, we are just a bit smarter. Did you pick Moscow? Then you’re right! We had to stop in for high tea, and then headed to Dicey Wooden Horse Racing in the Vista Lounge at the back of the ship. Kim was the only one who won, but we had a good time yelling for our horse to win! We stopped in to watch the ballroom rehearsal, these are the folks who have been at the dance lessons offered, and the best six couples were doing a “play off” for the best of the best later on in the evening. The rehearsal was fun to watch. It was tine to get to the cabin to change for dinner. There were many folks dressed up, including one sighting of a kilt!! After a photo or two to prove that we can clean up pretty nice, we went to dinner. It’s always amazing the amount of food they can produce and deliver with limited resources. After our entertaining dinner (we have a waitress who purrs when she comes to the side of the table, we think it’s because the older folks are a bit jumpy and this is like a warning that she has arrived), we made our last stop at the casino as they were closing it down to move it while in dry dock (when we return, the ship is scheduled for maintenance for 3 weeks prior to starting the summer cruises to Alaska) and they are trying to get ahead of schedule. The rumor is that it will be moved to the 15^th floor at the back of the ship. We started towards the bow of the ship to watch the magic show. It’s entertaining to walk down the hall while the ship is bouncing around; you meet the nicest people when you literally run into them. With the amount of wave action, this must have been a real challenge for both the magician and the assistant. The show was pretty good, and it was played to a full house. Lots of activities were going on this night; Kim took in the Ballroom Finals, as well as the Princess Pop Star (karaoke finals). The end of the day has gone by fast, and so has the cruise. We have two more full days and then we’ll be back in San Pedro disembarking. We have created some new and wonderful memories that will make us smile when we think back, and we have had some great giggle events too! For all of you who are holding down the fort for us, we appreciate you all, in fact we toast each and every one of you every night – our bar bill is outrageous!! Hugs to all!

Monday 4/13/09 7pm (1 hour earlier than PDT)

Speed: 20.6 kts, Temp: 57 degrees, Humidity 86.1%

30 degrees 18’ N 122 degrees 33’ W

Sailed 4592.1 nautical miles from LA

Sailed 1962.1 miles from Lahaina, Maui

290.7 nautical miles to Ensenade, Mexico

Seas: 4.0 – 7.5ft moderate, wind: Force 9 Strong Gale

Sea temp 73.4 degrees

Today we were greeted by snores. Everyone was snoring so much, that Kathy was woken up; she got up and went to an early breakfast. She was joined by a 92 year old woman who has been married 70 years. Kathy came back to the cabin and was our alarm clock. We managed to get to lunch without tipping over; today this seems to be a real challenge. We had a nice afternoon of playing cards, seems that lady luck is standing behind Kim and Kathy. Kim left us to attend the Navigation at Sea lecture and she came back even smarter than when she had left. She brought the answer to one of the trivia questions with her. What is the two word phrase for the lowest temperature? The answer is absolute zero. We made it to a new type of trivia, musical movie theme trivia. Kathy rocked on this one, and we did pretty well, the rest of us didn’t contribute much, but we had fun. We made it to the regular trivia, but had to wait while the junior talent contest wrapped up. The questions they come up with are amazing, what man made invention was the first to break the sound barrier? We got some right, more wrong than right, but again, it’s a good time. Did you guess the whip? Yep, the whip was the first invention to break the sound barrier, we guessed a jet engine. We grabbed a table along the walk way after trivia and played a couple rounds of hearts and then introduced spades to Kathy. The ship is really rocking and the wind has picked up. Watching folks try and walk is becoming a show in itself. Note: We are at force 9 winds, one notch down from hurricane force. Kathy just rolled her eyes. We are really rocking and when we open the door to outside and the “front” door of the cabin, anything that isn’t nailed down starts to blow! You can hear the wind as it makes it way through the ship. We should have a real challenge at dinner; try not to have anything spill. Do they make seatbelts for cruise ships’ beds??

Friday, April 10 - At Sea

2009-04-11T19:58:15Z

Friday 4/10/09 11:55pm HST (2 hours earlier than PDT)

Speed: 19.2 kts, Temp: 67.1 degrees, Humidity 72.6%

23 degrees 49’ N 146 degrees 56’ W

Sailed 3206.2 nautical miles from LA

Sailed 576.4 miles from Lahaina

1676.6 nautical miles to Ensenada, Mexico

Seas: 4.0 – 7.5ft moderate, wind: Force 4

Sea temp 75.2 degrees

Today is an at sea day that the Golden Princess has filled with activities. You can do anything from spa treatments, to paddle tennis, ceramics, ballroom dancing lessons, trivia challenges, ukulele lessons, various lectures, and so much more. We took our time getting up today; I think the four to five mile walk yesterday wore a bit of us out, but just a bit. We greeted the day, had an early lunch, and did some people watching, and we have seen this one lady before, and she should be shared, so you have got to hear about “Maxine”. She is about 75-80 years of age with the blackest shoulder length hair. She wears a very short skirt with black fishnets and large hoop earrings and about three quarters of pound of makeup. She was walking in high-heeled sandals with half of her foot shoved through the toe part of the sandal. She has become known as Maxine and our interest in her has continued through most of the trip. It was discovered later this evening at the Captain’s Cocktail Party, that she has a male counterpart. He is approximately the same age, does a wicked comb-over and was attired in a tuxedo that was complete with a white coat and peach colored shirt and the pants were peach colored too. They did some cha-cha dancing and other moves. But we digress, the afternoon was filled with some fun act ivies. There was a bit of casino time, a game of Kings Corners by the pool, afternoon high tea, art of napkin folding class and a bit of trivia throw in for good measure. We had a formal night and a cocktail party to get ready for and that always takes a bit of coordination to get everyone totally “done up” We did a great job, even with the ship still rolling a bit. The cocktail party was fun, hearing about people who in total have been on so many cruises that the time adds up to 3 years! Imagine the places those people have been. After a great dinner at the steakhouse and being entertained by the conversations in Spanish between our waitress (Wendy from Mexico), and Kathy, we made our way back to the cabin. Our cabin steward (Edwin), has been wonderful and our room was made up for the evening, this involves bringing down the bunk bed from the ceiling. We got ready for bed, got the blog done and turned out the lights. The door to the balcony stayed open and you can hear the waves crashing against the bow of the ship, and sometimes you feel the jerk of the ship as if it has run over a pothole in the sea. We are hoping for sunshine weather tomorrow, heard that the Seattle/Tacoma area has had some days that were 70 plus degrees! Will “talk” with you tomorrow…..good night John Boy!

Thursday, April 9 - Lahaina, Maui

2009-04-11T19:51:07Z

Thursday 4/9/09 11:45pm HST (3 hours earlier than PDT)

Speed: 18.6 kts, Temp: 69.3 degrees, Humidity 83.8%

21 degrees 32’ N 155 degrees 10’ W

Sailed 2735.1 nautical miles from LA

Sailed 105.3 miles from Lahaina, Maui

2147.8 to Ensenada, Mexico

Seas: 4.0 – 7.5ft moderate, wind: Force 5 Breeze

Sea temp 75.2 degrees

We woke up this morning and were greeted by overcast skies and thought for just a second that we had ported into Seattle! When we opened the sliding glass door to the balcony the warm and very tropical weather reminded us that we had reached Maui. The skies may be overcast, but it was still very warm outside. The humidity was about 65% and the temperature around 79 degrees. We did not have any formal excursions planned for Maui, more of a wander around the main downtown area and have a relaxing day. After being tendered in, we did a bit of sightseeing while walking around. Maui is the second largest of the Hawaiian Islands. Maui has more than 80 beaches and has more miles of swimmable beach than any other island, and due to the volcanic activity the sands on the beaches range from white, gold, black, green and garnet in color. We had ported in to Lahaina, a very popular resort area. As we were walking, we saw one of the largest banyon trees, it takes up a full city block. This type of tree sends out vines that when they reach the ground take root and begin supporting the branch that it came from, enabling the branch to continue to grow, some branches are over 40 feet in length and still growing. This tree gives the local artists a place to display their home made crafts and gives the locals a place to gather. We walked down Front Street which runs next to the ocean, and made a stop at Kimos for lunch to fortify ourselves for the rest of the day of sightseeing/shopping. There are lots of little specialty type shops along the way, some specializing in scrimshaw carvings, some in wood carvings, lots with clothing and some galleries of art work. Two galleries captured a few of us and we spent some time in amazement at the work. Valdimir Kush (I think that’s right) and Thomas Barbey were two that warranted a second look to ensure you saw everything, not your typical art. Check them out. We noticed a few drops of rain, then drizzle, and finally just plain old fashion rain began to come down. This group trooped on while the other tourists ran for umbrellas and cover ups, but not these hearty three from Washington (we did have let Kathy put on her windbreaker, she is from California after all…), we trooped on while getting just a wee bit soaked. Kim did some bargaining with one of the jewelry stores, Marlene found a treasure or two, Kathy snatched up some items for some good children that she knows (could that be Kato and Greg?). During the rain, we made a stop in for a late afternoon snack at Moose McGillicutties (spelling may not be right, but it sounds out right if you say it outloud). We watched folks dart in and out of the rain on the street as we were sitting upstairs with a window seat. It was time to talk about the trip so far, what our favorite parts were and start thinking about the real world. We have enjoyed being able to spend this much time together and know that it needs to be treasured. It was time to make our way back to the pick up point and catch the tender ship back to the Golden Princess. We had one more stop that had to be made, we had to get Marlene her shave ice (kind of like a snow cone but made with much finer ice, like snow). That feat was satisfactorily accomplished from the looks of the smile on Marlene’s face. We caught our tender, Kathy got dribbled on by water from the top deck, that caused a shriek of two from her (ok, maybe three or four). The weather was still overcast and rainy, but we had managed to have a great time off ship in spite of the rain. Dinner was a quick run through the buffet, grabbed some fruit, cheese and crackers and took them back to the room. A lot of walking up and down the waterfront street of Front Street (and side streets), gave us promise of a good night’s sleep. The boat was a bit bouncy (especially more so since our cabin is in the front of the ship, we are under the bridge), and it’s always a bit more of a challenge to walk down long hallways. We set our clocks forward one hour tonight, and are at sea tomorrow. We have seen so many things, laughed and tried to remember so we can share them with you, but I’m sure you’ll hear some that we may have not shared first hand when we return, just remember there are always two sides to each story!!

Wednesday, April 8 - Nawiliwili, Kauai

2009-04-09T19:36:32Z

Wednesday 4/8/09 11:45pm HST (3 hours earlier than PDT)

Speed: 18.6 kts, Temp: 71.8 degrees, Humidity 77.8%

21 degrees 12’ N 158 degrees 19’ W

Sailed 2525.6 nautical miles from LA

Sailed 73.2 miles from Nawiliwili, Kauai

104.3 nautical miles to Lahaina, Maui

Seas: 4.0 – 7.5ft moderate, wind: Force 6 strong breeze

Sea temp 75.2 degrees

Welcome to Nawiliwili!!! In the wee hours of the morning, we reached Kaua’i, which is also known as the Garden Isle. Waialeale is the wettest spot on the earth getting about 450 inches of rain a year, and we thought Washington got it bad. This area is so green and lush, everything that grows is huge! Kim woke up early and woke Bonnie up to go into town early, prior to the excursion at 11:50am. A quick into town and back was perfectly timed. Marlene and Kathy were up, breakfasted and ready to go….go where you ask? Why the entire group was going Mountain Tubing!!! We were outfitted with a helmet with headlight, gloves and we brought our own water socks. We were given instructions and then…you wondering yet? We were helped into our inner tubes that were already in the water. We were going to explore an old sugar cane plantations historic waterway system called flumes or ditches, which were used to float sugar cane down from the mountain side. These ditches were hand dug around 1870 by plantation workers and they dug through rock (yes, there are tunnels, five of them), and there are a couple of small waterfalls (well, maybe water drop is more appropriate) that you go over at a pretty fast pace. We went through the tunnels with our headlamps on and then the long one with lights off, a bit scary especially when someone is humming the “JAWS” theme song behind you! Marlene was bumping off the walls, Kim was spinning around and around with a huge smile, Kathy was torn between laughing and yelling at Bonnie to catch up, and Bonnie was at the back of the pack. If you ever get a chance to do it, you should, we all would do it again tomorrow! We were all wet, laughing and had a great time. It was about an hour long ride down. Next time, we’ll try and get Marlene up on the Zipline!! We had a brief break complete with snacks prior to making our way back to the ship. Marlene and Bonnie went onboard to get the showers started while Kim and Kathy headed in to town. When they got back, they brought back Starbucks for all!! We cleaned up and went to a late dinner. A fun day filled with adventure, laughter and fun people, gotta find a way to keep the fun going! We are all tired but it’s a good tired. Everyone is in bed, dreaming of fluming and sunny days. Tomorrow we will be in Maui….and our trip is half way over. We miss our family and friends, but are so grateful for this time together and are trying to make each day as memorable as possible to carry us through the days when we are apart.

Tuesday, April 7 - Honolulu

2009-04-09T19:29:31Z

Tuesday 4/7/09 11:00pm HST (3 hours earlier than PDT)

Speed: 0 kts – Docked, Temp: 72 degrees, Humidity 87.2%

20 degrees 17’ N 155 degrees 34’ W

Sailed 2353.0 nautical miles from LA

Sailed 211.4 miles from Hilo

99.5 nautical miles to Nawiliwili, Kauai

Seas: 4.0 – 7.5ft moderate, wind: Force 1 light breeze

We made our way into Honolulu guided by the first light of the day. The rays of sun outlined the coastline as the ship headed towards the pier. The skyline was gorgeous and held the promise of a wonderful day ahead. Honolulu is the capital of Hawaii, and on the island of Oahu and is home of the most famous beach in the world – Waikiki and also the infamous Pearl Harbor attack that took place on December 7, 1941. Honolulu is the biggest city in the world. It’s boundaries reach across 540,000 square miles of the Pacific, most of it is underwater. Kim was up early to watch the sun as it rose over Diamond Head. Marlene and Bonnie were up early getting ready for their excursion to the USS Arizona Memorial. Kathy and Kim had plans to spend most of the day at Waikiki Beach soaking up rays. The tour guide on the bus to the USS Arizona Memorial was well educated on the events surrounding Pearl Harbor. He provided a wealth of information as the bus made it’s way to the memorial. Once there, you are provided with a ticket that is time stamped for your entry into the actual memorial at the Arizona. We were there by 9:00 and our entry time was 11:15am. There are many exhibits you can walk through and plenty of history to read as you wait, as well as a bookstore that also had a couple of veterans who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor and available to answer questions. We were guided into a theater to watch a short documentary related to the events leading up to and the day of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. We were also counseled on what to expect once we were on the memorial. We boarded a small boat that took us out to the memorial that looked to be floating above the final resting place of the Arizona. Once there, the normal chit-chat noise has disappeared and is replaced by a silence of respect and reverence by all. We saw what was left above water of the Arizona and could see the shadows of the rest of the ship as it lay on the ground below us. At the end of the memorial is a marble wall that has the names of all who were lost during the attack. Looking across the water, the USS Missouri is berthed just a few hundred yards away. The Missouri is where the signing of the article of surrender by the Japanese took place. “Mighty Mo”, aka USS Missouri, was stationed in Bremerton for many years. The experience is something one takes into one’s heart and soul and remembers that it’s the actions of others that allow us to be where we are today, and hopefully, our children’s children as well. A moment of time to always remember. We headed out for a bit of a city tour taking in a visit to The Punchbowl, cemetery for WWII and Korean and Vietnam War soldiers. We took in the scenic view from Paili lookout that overlooked the windward side of the coast. We saw the Iolani Palace, the last residence of Hawaii’s monarchs. It was about 2:30pm when Marlene and Bonnie’s tour finished up and were back to the Golden Princess. Kim and Kathy had been at the beach enjoying the sun and the sights. Kim was in the water and out again. There was something about the 49^th wave that hit the beach and got both Kathy and Kim wet as well as their beachbags, but who ever heard of a 49^th wave, Uncle Harold? They finally stated to make their way back from the beach to meet up and then we were to go ashore for dinner on the beach. For good or bad, Kathy and Kim had their own little tour adventure by taking a public bus that passed right by the ship’s pier and headed on into town further and further away! They figured out how to get back and were ready to head out for dinner, but not on a public bus. We went to the Hula Grill for dinner, right on the beach and watched the people surfing and the sun start to set. It was a warm evening that was complete with tikki torches and ukulele music. A little of bit window shopping, a cab ride back to the pier and then, gelato for dessert made for a great day. We set sail around 10:30pm with the lights of Honolulu blinking saying “aloha for now, come back soon”.

Monday, April 6 - Hilo

2009-04-07T08:10:09Z

Monday 4/6/09 10:00pm HST (3 hours earlier than PDT)

Speed: 19.5 kts, Temp: 68.9 degrees, Humidity 87.2%

20 degrees 17’ N 155 degrees 34’ W

Sailed 2195.6 nautical miles from LA

Sailed 54 miles from Hilo

157.4 nautical miles to Honolulu

Seas: 5.0 – 7.5ft moderate, wind: Force 7 Gale (50 mph)

Sea temp 64.4 degrees

This morning around 6:30am our time, the Golden Princess made her arrival into the port of Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii. Hawaii is the largest of the Hawaiian Islands. Hilo is considered the flower capital of Hawaii and is also the gateway to Kilauea Volcano as well as the Volcanoes National Park. The goddess Pele is said to live in the heart of Kilauea Volcano, lucky for us we had no plans to visit the volcano so there would not be any offerings needed to appease Pele. The weather was mostly clear but you could see the dark thunderhead clouds bumping up against the mountains, they helped to bring the humidity up to 88% with a temp of 84 degrees. We had an early breakfast and Kim headed out to get the rental car while the rest of the team made a quick pit stop and then disembarked. We reserved a bouquet of local flowers to be picked up on the trip back, something to bring more of Hawaii into our cabin (adding it to the martini windsock that is hooked on the outside on the balcony, thanks to Kathy). A quick bit of history before you head out on our adventure in Hilo….Hilo is a very old port town but much of this area was besieged by a tsunami in 1960. It deposited fishing boats into the main streets as if they were cars being parked on the streets. Hilo is very tropical with beautiful gardens and has rampant jungle like growth of leafy tree ferns, and various flowers as well as Banyan trees. Now on to the adventure! Kim picked us up and we headed out to visit the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory. We drove south for about 5miles and turned down a road lined with trees, 2800 acres of Macadamia Nut tees, and no, that wasn’t a typo! We were able to look in from the outside of the factory and see the workings going on. There were videos setup along the way that helped explain the process (some of us process freaks really enjoyed this part). The air was filled with the smells of freshly baked Mac-Nut Cookies, it was amazing. We did our best to not to be enticed, but had to pick up a few cookies to nibble on. We headed out to do some sightseeing, driving down the scenic routes, looking into the jungle like vistas, passing waterfalls and just enjoying the scenery. We made a stop at a tropical garden area and took a look around, and Kim found a mongoose that was darting in and out of the foliage, but not fast enough to escape Kim’s photo talents. We were just wandering around the area, stopping here and there for better views and then saw a sign for Malasadas!! We had heard about them during our Hawaiian lecture the day before, so Kim did a quick maneuver and we found ourselves right in front of the store. Malasadas are a freshly cooked doughnut type of pastry. YUM was on everyone’s lips and a bit of sugar too! Kathy found a Starbucks, so we had to stop and get our “fixes”. We found a local farmers market down the road and spent some time looking and oohing and ahhing at all the fresh vegetables (so many different kinds) and fresh fruit – Paulette, they had papayas priced at 7 for a dollar! Everything smelled so good! There were many handcrafted items, items made out of ti leaves, shell items, koa carved items, lots and lots to see. The folks who were behind the “counters” were older and very happy to tell you all about their wares. This would be the place to buy all your grocery needs if you lived in Hilo! One of the most interesting things available for purchase was a frog purse made out of tanned skin of a genuine frog, complete with legs – hope it wasn’t Kermit. We made a stop at Rainbow Falls, watched the water for a while, Kim climbed up and down the pathways and the not so made pathways. Bonnie put her fanny pack on the back of the car while looking for something and then about ½ a mile down the road realized she didn’t have it!! Yep, it was a panic moment that flashed through her mind…but then her sister Kathy smiled and pulled the pack out from the back seat and said she had seen it had been left and made sure it made it into the car. Bonnie now calls Kathy, Saint Perfect Sister I’ll Do Anything For You Kathy! We stopped at a local place for lunch – called L and L Drive In BBQ. They are known for something called Plate Lunches. Plate Lunches are a combination of different cultures, Japanese, Philippino, Korean, Portuguese, Hawaiian, Maori and Puerto Rican to name just a few. During the early settling of the islands, while these groups of folks worked the sugar cane, they would bring their lunches and would share their foods, so the Plate Lunches ended up having a bit of everything. BBQ ribs, chicken, rice, mac salad (only and always made with
Best Foods mayo), fish, shrimp, Lau Lau (pork rolled in Ti leaves and steamed), kahlua pork are some of the main components. Kathy ventured out more than anyone and had the Lau Lau plate. She shared bites with everyone, so we were all exposed to more than just fried fish or bbq chicken, way to go Kathy!! A giggle fest erupted over lunch and the locals thought we’d been drinking too many mai tais! It was time to gather up our exhausted and sore rib bodies and do a bit of shopping before heading back to the ship. We accomplished all we needed to (trinkets, pants, pop to name a few), and it was a trip to the airport to drop off the car, catch the shuttle back to the ship and be onboard prior to the sail away. We had a great time in Hilo, enjoyed the time and the lack of rain (we really lucked out), and the giggles! Good time was had by all, and we are now sailing to Honolulu, so stay tuned for the continuing adventures of Marlene, Bonnie, Kathy and Kim.

Sunday, April 5 - Last Day at Sea Before Arrival to the Islands

2009-04-06T09:08:22Z

Sunday 4/5/09 11:30pm (2 hours earlier than PDT)

Speed: 19.6 kts, Temp: 70.2 degrees, Humidity 74.3%

20 degrees 36’ N 153 degrees 1’ W

Sailed 2016.4 nautical miles from LA

125.2.0 nautical miles to Hilo

Seas: 4.0 – 7.5ft moderate

Sea temp 64.4 degrees

We all managed to shower, get ready for the day, (which isn’t as easy as it sounds when you have four women who are either doing hair, putting on makeup, showering, dressing, or picking up the room prior to heading out for the day), and had a relaxing breakfast by the pool around 10:00am. We were treated to a waffle table complete with all the fixings, and since we didn’t have to make them ourselves and they were hot off the griddle, they were exceptionally good. A quick note regarding last nights laundry adventure (bet you didn’t think doing laundry could be called an adventure, but it was). Kim and Bonnie had started two loads of laundry and figured the wash would take about 30minutes. When we went back to load the dryers, one washer was filling, figured it was for the rinse cycle. After about 15 minutes it was still filling, so we checked into it. We figured out that the washer was filling but at the same time emptying the water, a never ending battle. It would never fill, and to top it off, it had not even filled for the wash cycle. We transferred to a working washer. Bottom line was that a task that should have taken about 1.5 hours actually took us over 2.5 hours. We got things taken care of and finally got to bed after midnight.

Today brought us more sunshine and warmer weather. There were plenty of sun worshippers out on the loungers and some were slathered in suntan lotions, while others looked to be about medium rare already. We wandered to one of the dinning rooms for their “SALE”. Did a bit of looking and Kathy found a nice shawl for a decent price, but things had been pretty much picked over. After a “walk-a-bout” through the ship, we headed back to our room for some sun worshipping ourselves in the privacy of our balcony, and a time to chat about our trip so far and what we wanted to do at our first stop, Hilo. The skies were blue and the water even bluer with few whitecaps. The ship is making good time but it’s not rocking like it was on our first couple of days. We got our lazy buns up and headed for a quick lunch on deck. There were many folks participating in the various activities such as Survivor done Princess’ way. There were more people walking around with bright red backs and faces. Marlene headed to the salon for a haircut while the rest of us headed to loungers of our own to relax in the sun and wait for her return. She didn’t take long and the cut looked great. We gathered up our group and headed to lecture on the Hawaiian culture. We were glad we had made a point of going a few minutes early, because it became a standing room only situation. The couple who spoke were informative and gave us keypoints regarding some of the best places that the locals enjoy as well as a lesson in the Hawaiian language. We found out how to properly say some of the islands’ names and a host of other interesting and useful items. We finished up and made a beeline for our own loungers and cocktail hour prior to dinner. We enjoyed the day as it faded away into evening, watching the sky change from blue skies to a glorious sunset of bright pinks and orange. The weather was a bit balmy and finally feels tropical (Kathy still isn’t warm, but we’ll work on that). We had a late dinner” at our now favorite table and spent the time laughing and telling stories of our various memories of our childhood days. Laughter definitely was our “main course” and the evening was, as our travel companion from the transatlantic would say “delightful”. After dinner Kim headed to the Princess Theater to listen to a singer, must have been a fun time, because when Kim came back to the cabin to report she said everyone ended up on the stage singing. We have turned down the lights and are ready to call it a day. Tomorrow is Hilo and we have no official plans, other than to jump in a rental car and explore the area. It’s times like this you need a project manager extraordinaire like ET (sorry, for those of you not familiar with ET = evil task master, who actually is a wonderful woman that Kim and Bonnie are fortunate to know from work). We send our love and hugs to all of you and hope you are enjoying the trip along with us, you are thought of often as we toast each and every one of you with our glasses during cocktail hour! Aloha!!

Saturday April 4th - At Sea

2009-04-05T08:32:41Z

Saturday 4/4/09 7:00pm (2 hours earlier than PDT)

Speed: 19.5 kts, Temp: 65.1 degrees, Humidity 71.6%

24 degrees 12’ N 143 degrees 37’ W

Sailed 1450.6 nautical miles from LA

691.0 nautical miles to Hilo

Seas: 1.5 – 4ft slight

Sea temp 64.4 degrees

Continuation from Friday -- We left the “race track” and spent time exploring and headed back to the room for afternoon snacks. Kim brought a plate of chips and guacamole then Bonnie and Ahnna (aka Kathy), brought down a cheese and fruit tray. Watching the water and chatting and snacking was a nice relaxing afternoon. We decided to pass on the formal night dinner and wandered up to the buffet for a late dinner. While having our dinner, we noticed a small Chihuahua (small Mexican dog) sleeping in a large beach bag. The woman was playing cards and had brought her puppy on board. We ran into the cruise director in the elevator and learned that Princess was moving it’s ports from Vancouver to Seattle due to the cost of flights into Vancouver. The Vancouver area can expect to loose $10B worth of revenue. Seattle can expect a surge of jobs in the next 6 months. The waves had settled down a bit and made for a more relaxing night. Kim is sleeping under the bunk bed that comes down out of the ceiling, and Kathy is the brave one who climbs the ladder up and sleeps in the upper bunk. Marlene and Bonnie share the double bed. We turned the clocks back another hour and that should be all we need to do until the return. There has not been a lot of sun, mostly overcast, but we’re hopeful. A big aloha to our family and friends, until tomorrow!

Through out today we maintained a West Southwesterly track navigating in deep waters with a depth of 16,400 feet. We all know that the shortest distance from A to B is a straight line. This is true for flat surfaces but on a sphere such as the earth, a line that follows the curvature of the surface is the shortest distance. Straight line or “rhumb blind sailing” is acceptable for most navigation, especially coastal navigation, but when crossing vast distances like the Pacific Ocean as we are now, “Great Circle Sailing” is used. A “Great Circle” is defined as any line depicted on the surface of the Earth by a plane which passes through it’s center. When we follow a Great Circle track we are actually continually changing course to compensate for the curvature. This is the same type of navigation that airplanes use when you fly.

We were up and out of the room breakfasting by 11:00am. Then we toured down to the Plaza Deck to check out the library, and game room. We shopped at the boutiques and then were off to watch the karaoke in the Explorer’s Lounge. Marlene, Kathy and Bonnie went to Princess Theater to watch Benjamin Button while Kim participated in the Wii Boxing, she defeated three opponents to win her rounds. Kim had time to take in a Hula lesson and then we all hooked back to the room for afternoon cocktails. The sun has set and the group is ready to head out for dinner. It’s amazing how four woman can make great use of a small cabin, find space for all they have brought and not get in each other’s way. We manage to go through our morning routines and are ready to head out within 2-3 minutes of each other. Marlene is keeping us honest, Kathy is getting some reading time in while lounging, Kim is still trying to break the casino and Bonnie is not worrying about anything (most of the time).

Bonnie has officially taken over the blogging and K is very happy!

Dinner was fun. We lucked out by having the same waitperson that Kim had talked about from her previous cruise. Jeanine, from South Africa, was a delight. She remembered Kim and inquired about Sandy and Paulette (Kim’s travel partners in January). We had a fun time and enjoyed another great evening. Note to Stephanie – the cold soup was cucumber; always think about you when ever a cold soup is on the menu. We did some wandering about through the various piano bars, listened for a bit and called it an evening. We crossed the ½-way mark to the islands last night about midnight. The moon is out and casting shadows amongst the scattered clouds. The evening outside is comfortable enough to just sit without sweatshirts and relax. Side note - they have been showing a constant stream of various episodes oft The Love Boat, the original tv show was filmed using the Pacific Princess. We are doing a load of laundry, finishing the blog for posting and then calling it a night. Sending you hugs from somewhere in the Pacific Ocean!!

Oh, there was a humpback sighting off the port side of the ship this morning about 6am and double rainbows. None of us were up that early and we are on the starboard side, anyway.

We heard a small bit regarding the missle from N Korea landing out in the middle of the Pacific...HEY!!! We are out in the middle of the Pacific!! Was it a missle or a satellite?

Friday, April 3 - At Sea Sunshine

2009-04-03T23:07:27Z

Friday 4/3/09 3:00pm (1 hour earlier than PDT)

Speed: 19.9 kts , Temp: 69.1 degrees, Humidity: 69.4%

27 degrees 59’ N 133 degrees 28’ W

Sailed 861.4 nautical miles from LA

1280.1 nautical miles to Hilo

Seas: 4 – 7.5ft

Sea temp 64.4 degrees

Happy Birthday Greg!!!!!

Yet another leisurely sea day yesterday…up late and lounged around. In the afternoon, it was dicey wooden horse racing for M, B & K. Each won a race and we were quite pleased. Anna, one of the cruise directors, called the race and she is so fast we can get in three races. We enjoyed high tea in the dining room, but the people we sat with were kind of stuck on themselves…oh well, we enjoyed it despite their sourness. Went to Sabatini’s, one of the premium restaurants on board, and had a great Italian dinner. K remembered not to eat too much of the antipasto and the others followed her lead. A saw a man in a ship’s uniform and hollered out, “Hey Captain!” She was not intending him to hear her, but he laughed—especially since he was the Assistant Food and Beverage Manager. Expedia sent us a voucher for a free bottle of wine, so that was enjoyed, as well. A bit of shopping on board and some casino gaming was enjoyed and then we retired early. A decided to try the top bunk for the night with K sleeping on the bed below. It worked out well for everyone, it seems.

The ocean is relatively flat today and the sun is peeking out now that we are clear of that coastal stretch. We had a cargo ship sighting this morning in the distance, but it soon disappeared over the curvature of the earth.

The ocean temp has cooled as we are in the deepest part of the ocean with a depth of about 16,400ft. We are currently passing over what are called ‘fracture zones’ which are characterized by rugged escarpments, great seamounts and very deep trenches which are created by friction when the tectonic plates move against each other. When these plates move apart, molten rock is forced upward creating submarine volcanos. Hopefully one doesn’t blow today!

One of the three formal nights is tonight, along with the Captain’s Gala Cocktail Party—Think free drinks! Yahoo! We also tip the clocks back an hour again so we will officially be on Hawaii time well in advance of our arrival in Hilo.

They offered a Pub lunch in the steakhouse today and we were given a choice of Bangers & Mash, Fish & Chips, Ploughman’s Lunch or traditional Cottage Pie. All seem to be fairly happy with their selections, although A had to pass on eating something that resembled a mix of spam and head cheese.

Mom-you will be happy as we put the water bottle to good use at lunch!

A is up by the pool soaking up some rays of sunshine. M had to get out of the sun as she felt as if she was burning. K is waiting for the sun to swing over to our side of the ship. Everybody is good and no seasickness or anything else.

Had a bunny rabbit towel animal last night which I think A slept with—it reminded her of Bob her cat.

Heard about the shootings in New York this morning…very tragic. It is amazing that we all just can’t get along.

Forgot to mention that B, along with her horse racing win on pony #5, also won an official Princess beach bag…it was her lucky day.

We hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

Thursday, April 2 - At Sea

2009-04-02T22:43:46Z

Thursday 4/2/09 2:10pm (1 hour earlier than PDT)

Speed: 18.5 kts , Temp: 69.7 degrees, Humidity: 93.6%

33 degrees 7’ N 119 degrees 12’ W

Sailed 160.7 nautical miles from LA

1980.9 nautical miles to LA

Seas: 6 – 8ft

Sea temp 66.2 degrees

We boarded the ship without incident about 1:30pm yesterday and sucked down Bellini’s at Bon Voyage! For those who have not been to Harry’s Bar in Venice, Italy, Bellini’s are a fantastic mix of peach juice and champagne and Harry’s made them famous. We downed three bottles of champagne and one bottle of peach juice and watched us sail off into the sunset as the California coast and Catalina Island disappeared into the distance. The ship was to depart at 4pm, but we actually did not push back until about 4:30pm. Seas were calm and we got ourselves unpacked and went up to the buffet for an early dinner as we all were tired. B&K spent about an hour in the casino and M&A(hnna) went to bed. K +$75. About 10pm, the wind kicked up as did the seas…we had 12-14ft waves and gale force winds at 65mph throughout the night. There was slamming of the hull of the ship against the water and cracking and all other sorts of unfamiliar noises. Our cabin is the third one back from the front of the ship and we normally are toward the rear so we are not used to this. We managed to get in a few broken hours of sleep, but are no worse for wear.

The Captain came over the loudspeaker and said the winds would be calming down and changing direction, providing a tailwind for us. The seas have already sat down a bit, as well. None of us are showing any signs of seasickness, but I have heard word about the ship that some are suffering.

We have my favorite cabin steward of all time, Edwin from the Philippines. He was the steward on our Mexican Riviera cruise a couple of years ago on this ship (Golden Princess). He is the master of the towel animals, and kept our cabin in a zoo for a week! We had a monkey, elephant, manta ray, bunny, dog, turtle, snake and several others keeping us company. I am hoping we can track down Jeanine, our favorite waitress from South Africa. She is very cool and has some great stories from her hometown. Much of what we experienced on the January cruise is the same, lots of familiar faces and familiar activities. In fact, it is nearly time for Dicey Wooden Horse Racing in the Vista Lounge, followed by high tea. A truly relaxing day at sea!

We hope everyone is well.

Snow Again??

2009-03-29T17:16:27Z

We are trying to pack sunscreen, shorts, swimsuits and tank tops and it was snowing outside yesterday afternoon and throughout last night. We ended up with 5 inches of the white stuff! This morning it is melting and is 42 degrees and sunny outside, but what a surprise! It seems we were targeted for this snowfall as others I have spoken to just got lots of rain, yesterday.

Photos of the snow are here.

The CruiseChicks Are Off Again!

2009-03-28T06:12:40Z

Hi to our friends and families! We have a new addition to the CruiseChicks family...meet Kathy, aka, Ahnna! She turned the big 5-0 this year and we are cruising from LA to Hawaii and back to celebrate. She is Bonnie's younger sister from So. Cal and Marlene's daughter (of course). Marlene, Bonnie & Kim are joining Kathy to celebrate the better half of her life. We promise to take lots of pictures of anything that sags...that reminds me, I had better pack an additional memory card!

K is already packed...she never unpacked from the last cruise which was this same, exact trip. A simple replenishment of the q-tips and rum should do the trick!

B will be proudly strutting around the ship with an palm tree-patterned arm-sling in hopes of curing her stress-induced, bursitis-ridden shoulder and arm.

M is just recovering from a root canal performed by her sexy dentist...it is her third one this month. I can already imagine folks around the ship complimenting her..., "Hey Marlene! Nice tooth!"

A is still looking in unmentionable places for her passport and will be picking us up from the aeroporto (hopefully!).

We leave San Pedro Cruiseport on Wednesday, April 1st - no this is not a joke! We will be at sea for 4.5 days and first arriving Monday in Hilo, Hawaii. Temperatures throughout the islands are expected to be right around 80 degrees. We are all looking forward to that!

We will be blogging along the way and, as always, love hearing from everyone back home!

-The CruiseChicks

More Photos Added...

2009-01-22T00:30:13Z

While I am bored waiting for my flight to leave Long Beach, I thought I would upload a few more photos. Hope you like them!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mzkatt/

Tuesday - Ensenada

2009-01-21T08:41:21Z

Tuesday 1/20/09 11:45pm PST

Speed: 13.5 kts , Temp: 59.7 degrees, Humidity: 87.6%

32 degrees 40’ N 117 degrees 36’ W

Sailed 4960.2 nautical miles from LA

73.7 nautical miles from Ensenada, Mexico

75.4 nautical miles to LA

Seas: wavelets .3 – 1.5ft

We were in Ensenada this morning, arriving into the harbor about 7:30am and were docked by 8am. The weather was very warm with the sun shining brightly. We were greeted by a huge flag of Mexico which hung over their soccer stadium. Since we arrived much earlier than anticipated, our tour was also earlier and left the dock at 10am. We elected to do a city tour with shopping. Our first stop was an old building from the roaring ‘20s which was a hotel and casino. It was in its heyday during Prohibition and was often frequented by movie stars since it was only accessible by helicopter or by sea. It was very beautiful. This was followed up by a margarita at 10:30 am. The next stop was a winery where we were sampling the best of the area by 11:30am. Needless to say, by the time we got dropped off in town for shopping, we were a little tired. We shopped for a bit and then grabbed a bite at a little place called El Corralita. Very good margaritas…in fact, the peach one I had had a full peach in it and was huge. Best I ever had. We strolled a bit after lunch and then headed back to the ship to pack. So sad—hard to believe it is almost over. We put everything we could into our suitcases and put them out in the hall. Hopefully we see them soon!

Had a very nice dinner with our favorite waitress and cashed out our winnings at the casino. I ended up about +$400…pretty good. I was happy enough.

We dock in LA at 7am in the morning, however we are the 2^nd to the last group to get off the ship so we can drag our feet a bit.

Off to bed!

Monday - At Sea

2009-01-20T09:11:32Z

Monday 1/19/09 7:15pm PST

Speed: 17.7 kts (25mph), Temp: 64.7 degrees, Humidity: 99.5%

30 degrees 51’ N 120 degrees 22’ W

Sailed 4688.2 nautical miles from LA

2053.9 nautical miles from Lahaina, Maui

198.1 nautical miles to Ensenada, Mexico

Seas: slight 1.5-4ft

All is great with us, nothing major to report. Hit big fog banks off and on today and the bridge was sounding the foghorn many, many times. It was really neat. Very calm seas and full sunlight all day today.

We strolled around and did various activities today—there are so many, it is hard sometimes to decide which ones to go to. They did the champagne waterfall tonight. I was up getting some fruit from the buffet tonight (for breakfast tomorrow) and there was a couple up there who was on the same 32-day Transatlantic cruise we were. They had met another man who was on it too. Guess the saying, ‘we will never see these people again’ may not hold true. I thought that was kinda neat.

Ensenada is in the morning, so we are prepping our backpacks. We get to spend about 13 hours onshore, so I hope it is worth seeing and that there is something entertaining to do.

I guess Adios is more appropriate than Aloha now.

Sunday - At Sea

2009-01-19T07:47:51Z

Sunday 1/18/09 11:15pm PST

Speed: 20.4 kts (25mph), Temp: 59.7 degrees, Humidity: 82.1%

29 degrees 4’ N 127 degrees 15’ W

Sailed 4317.4 nautical miles from LA

1683.1 nautical miles from Lahaina, Maui

568.9 nautical miles to Ensenada, Mexico

Seas: slight 1.5-4ft

Guess what…another day at sea with lots going around on the ship. It was mostly cloudy today, but more of the puffy-type clouds with a little sunlight rather than that solid Seattle gray that we get at home. S snuck out for a brief while to catch some rays. The rough seas have totally subsided making us forget we are even on a ship. We did a round of laundry today and we leave the door lock engaged so it keeps the door from closing completely and locking us out as we go between the Laundromat and the cabin. Apparently this was a mistake as some man just walked into the room and gave us a look like, ‘why are you in my room?’ He quickly apologized and headed down the hall.

P had her hair cut in the salon by a gal from South Africa…she did a really nice job—cute cut!

Can someone please tell me who the ‘Friends of Dr. Bob’ are? They have a daily meeting with the ‘Friends of Bill W.’—I know Bill W is for AA and I am thinking Dr. Bob maybe is related to drugs?

We were told by the Captain today that since we missed our port of call in Maui that we would be arriving in Ensenada at 7am instead of 1pm. This will give us about 12 hours in port.

P & S are still playing cards as I type…S is still winning the games by the sounds of it, too. I can no longer stand the beatings, so I blog…

Lots of activities tomorrow and we hope to also have some pool time in the sun. The barometer is rising, so our weather should be improving.

I was able to watch most of both football games today…can someone please provide an update as to the status of the injured player? The only news we are getting is CNN International and they have been covering Obama and the Latino community all day…I realize we are on our way to Mexico, but I really would welcome some other sort of real news that I actually care about. I could go another 15 years without seeing Geraldo Riviera’s mustache…

Take care all and have a good week!

Saturday - At Sea

2009-01-18T09:46:25Z

Saturday 1/17/09 11:26pm (1 hours earlier than PST)

Speed: 20.6 kts (25mph), Temp: 64.2 degrees, Humidity: 85.6%

27 degrees 2’ N 135 degrees 00’ W

Sailed 3889.6 nautical miles from LA

1255.5 nautical miles from Lahaina, Maui

996.5 nautical miles to Ensenada, Mexico

Seas: moderate 4ft

We sure had a great day at sea today…the waves and swell have mostly subsided and we have moderate seas with 4-7 ft waves---just barely noticeable. We slept in again and went to the casino for a wee bit after lunch. K +$425 for today. Apparently Bank of America has once again put a hold on my credit card for suspected fraudulent activity as Princess left a nasti-gram on my door notifying me that I need to give them another card to cover shipboard expenses. They have a ‘Purser’s Hold’ on my cruise card, too…makes for interesting times trying to get in my room. I had to scale three balconies nine stories above the ocean just to get in the room tonight. Unacceptable!

Mostly overcast all day today, but very humid.

We went to dicey wooden horse racing and P finally won her first race…a whopping $10! Then off to the Princess Pop Star finals and a gal from Columbia (South America) won. She really had a lot of stage presence and did very well, especially when English was not her primary language. She was very gracious and happened to be on her honeymoon.

We roll forward another hour tonight so we will be back on Pacific time tomorrow.

On this ship, they have added an additional poolside buffet which has had different themes each day. They have had sushi, Hawaiian, international and tomorrow they will have a Mexican taco bar. It is nice to have a touch of ethnic food.

K & S went up to Skywalker’s, a bar and dance floor 18 stories above the water and listened to 50s & 60s music tonight, as well, while P was in the Explorer’s Lounge drinking chardonnay and listening to country music.

There is a photo contest tomorrow and I have three entries to submit. Hopefully I can submit all three because I like them all equally well. Camera still will not come to life which is surprising considering I have thrown it across the stateroom multiple times. Hopefully Nikon will fix or replace it without trouble.

S is destroying us at cards…we have taught her a couple new games and she pretends she doesn’t know quite what she is doing and then goes in for the kill.

Not much else we are willing to report at this time.

Friday - At Sea

2009-01-17T09:47:43Z

Friday 1/16/09 11:25pm (1 hours earlier than PST)

Speed: 20.2 kts (25mph), Temp: 72.6 degrees, Humidity: 90.1%

24 degrees 45’ N 143 degrees 30’ W

Sailed 3405.7 nautical miles from LA

771.4 nautical miles from Lahaina, Maui

1480.6 nautical miles to Ensenada, Mexico

Seas: rough 20ft swell with 6-8ft waves

Wind: Force 8 Gale, from the south, broadsiding our deck on the Starboard side

All is fine with us today. S went to her final computer class at 10:30 this morning and we just had a leisurely day today. I slept in for the first time today. The ship is like a roller coaster and has been since we left Nawiliwili, Kauai. We are getting the normal rocking from stem to stern coupled with 45mph sustained winds and 60mph gusts coming from the south. Amazingly enough, the Dramamine and wristbands are working very well for P & S, neither of whom is the least bit affected (other than walking like drunks down the halls). We did hit one rain squall, but it passed quickly and was overcast the rest of the day.

We skipped formal night and just chilled out. I lost $62 in the casino and P & S played some cards. My new camera also has decided to stop working which makes me almost as unhappy as missing the port in Lahaina…good thing it is still under warranty.

Nothing much more to report from this end. Enjoy your weekend!

Thursday - Addendum

2009-01-16T10:07:56Z

Ship is bouncing around like a ball tonight. We are having extreme difficulty walking the halls and everyone looks like they are drunk. P & S are doing okay as they have wristbands on and are taking Dramamine for the motion sickness. No problems.

Thursday - Lahaina, Maui

2009-01-16T10:04:48Z

Thursday 1/15/09 11:34pm HST (2 hours earlier than PST)

Speed: 20.2 kts, Temp: 74.7 degrees at 7:35pm, Humidity: 90.7%

22 degrees 20’ N 152 degrees 16’ W

Sailed 2906.1 nautical miles from LA

272 nautical miles from Lahaina, Maui

1980 nautical miles to Ensenada, Mexico

Seas: rough 12ft swell

Winds: Force 7 Gale

We had semi-rough seas last night and monsoon rain for several hours during our route to Maui but arrived in Lahaina (one of my avorite places) about 30 minutes ahead of schedule. They dropped four tenders as there is no berth for the ship to pull into. Shortly after that the Captain came across the PA and said the weather was too poor to safely tender passengers to shore at that time and that the weather was expected to further deteriorate throughout the day. The winds were blowing from the sea, inland, instead of the other way around which was the problem. So, instead of 4.5 days at sea…we will have 5.5. It wasn’t raining or cloudy, just windy with high surf. This really put a damper on scheduled events—not so much for us as we were just going to hang loose, but other folks were scheduled with car rentals, helicopter tours not scheduled through the ship and many wanted to meet people or were waiting until this port to buy trinkets to take home. Guess all will get trinkets from Mexico if we are lucky. We were all very disappointed…I am still not over it.

We were anchored in Lahaina bay for about two hours until we got clearance…something to do with Lahaina being the last US port before an international port. Sounds somewhat strange to me.

We finally pulled up anchor and said, ‘Aloha’ to Maui from afar…it was like she was teasing us the entire time. The humpback whales were breaching on both the port and starboard sides almost escorting the ship thru the proper channels. Several breached very, very close to the ship…it is hard to determine distance with a big ship and the vast ocean, but if I had to guess I would say the closest were about 500ft away. It was impressive and all were awestruck.

The change in schedule caused many of the crew to go into full scramble mode. The Cruise Director had to quickly put a full schedule of events together to keep everyone entertained.

It was a very hot day today, too, someone said the temp was 83 degrees. While that is not an earth-shattering temperature, it is very humid and the sun is extremely powerful this close to the equator. I sat out by the pool for 20 minutes and it felt like my skin was frying.

All of us pretty much kicked back all day. We played a bit in the casino and I am up $22 for the day. (Jason: the +/- is per day, not cumulative). We sat by the pool in the sun and on our balcony and then saw a master illusionist named Gaetano. We saw him about a year-and-a-half ago when we were on this ship (Golden Princess) which did the Mexican Riviera. Regardless of having seen him before, I was still very much entertained.

Well, it is already midnight and we have to roll our clocks forward one hour tonight so we will only be one hour ahead of PST tomorrow.

S has her last computer class in the morning at 10:30. I haven’t read the schedule of events for tomorrow yet, but it will likely involve pool time, casino time, and trying to avoid the buffet,

I hope everyone is well.

Wednesday - Nawiliwili, Kauai

2009-01-15T08:53:07Z

Wednesday 1/14/09 10:18pm HST (2 hours earlier than PST)

Speed: 13.5 kts, Temp: 77.2 degrees at 4:30pm, Humidity: 71.5%

21 degrees 57’ N 159 degrees 21’W

Sailed 2456.8 nautical miles from LA

99.5 nautical miles from Honolulu

177.5 nautical miles to Lahaina

Sandy and I were up early again to catch our van up to the Hanamaulu Ditch to go flumin’. The ditch was used to move sugar cane from the fields to the processing plant and was engineered and hand dug in 1912. Our adventure started at the headwaters of the 4-mile long ditch system. We were picked up at the cruise dock and taken to a large warehouse where all the equipment was stored. There were 17 on the tour and we were all given helmets with headlamps and gloves. Those folks who didn’t have aquasocks were also given some to wear. S & I had them already, as P & I picked a pair up for S yesterday from the ABC store in Honolulu. The driver hooked up a trailer full of inner tubes and whisked us up the mountain on red dirt trails to where we would start our adventure. We drove past where the movie Tropic Thunder was filmed. We lucked out again with the weather as it was nearly 80 degrees and warm today—NO RAIN!! YAYAYAYA! The water in the ditch system was 68 degrees as it comes down from the mountain which is about 5300ft tall. We got in our inner tubes and started down the ditch. Keep in mind, one has no directional control over their tube at all while in transit down the canal. We hit rock walls, spun around and rammed other folks over and over. Great fun! We did have one guy on one of the tubes who was petrified and was determined to not have any fun. Oh well, I just stuck my foot on his tube and pushed off—it was unfortunate that he couldn’t swim…

We went down a couple of waterfalls and through 5 tunnels…one with out headlamps off so it was really neat! I pushed off the walls and other tubes and spun unmercifully. S & I got separated right off the bat, but she caught up with me about milepost 1. It was a fantastic trip and one I would recommend to anyone!

After returning from flumin’, I went out to explore the city via the free shuttles into town. P & S hung out on the ship and got some sun time.

As we departed Nawiliwili, several humpback whales gave us quite a show. They were breaching and blowing all over the place—it was quite a sight.

The Captain came on and said we are expecting a lot of movement on the ship tonight due to extremely high winds. Said for folks who are sensitive to seasickness to take the Dramamine now. P & S have popped their pills and have some queued up for the middle of the night.

Douglas: S says to be sure and feed the birds.

G’nite all!

Tuesday - Honolulu

2009-01-14T08:26:24Z

Tuesday 1/13/09 9:51pm HST (2 hours earlier than PST)

Speed: DOCKED kts, Temp: 74.7 degrees right now, Humidity: 82.8%

21 degrees 18’ N 157 degrees 52’W

Sailed 2357.3 nautical miles from LA

211.4 nautical miles from Hilo

99.5 nautical miles to Honolulu

It is nearly 10pm and I am sitting on the balcony typing this up. I am looking south which puts Diamond Head to my left and Pearl Harbor to my right. It is warm and humid with an intermittent breeze. There are small boats coming in and out of the harbor every 10 minutes or so and an occasional aircraft buzzing overhead to and from Honolulu International Airport. The ship is extremely and unusually quiet tonight…I think folks must be tired and retired early from their various excursions.

Before I forget to mention it, I thought yesterday’s sparseness of people at the volcano was attributed to it being a Monday and the high sulfur levels…this likely was not the case. Honolulu wasn’t quite like a ghost town, but for Honolulu it was quiet. The streets were easy to navigate and not crowded with people and in many of the stores on the main drag through Waikiki, we were the only patrons. It is clear the down economy has had a huge impact here as well.

Regardless, Sandy was the first up and out for her adventure at the Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. She hooked up with an older lady and they stuck together for the entire tour. She had tears in her eyes even prior to arriving at the Memorial and said that it was wonderful to finally see. Her tour also included an island tour where they saw various sights around Oahu, including Punchbowl and the mansions where the royalty lives.

P & K headed out together on their own to Waikiki for shopping and a little beach time. Maui Divers had a free shuttle into town if you went to a 20 minute video and got dumped into their store. The video presentation was actually very interesting and we did get our ride into Waikiki…not before Paulette had to buy a new chocolate pearl ring, however. I think a taxi ride would have been cheaper! We bought some aquasocks for Sandy at the ABC Store so she will have them for the flumin’ ride we are doing tomorrow in Nawiliwili, Kauai—more details tomorrow on that. We then grabbed some sushi for lunch and then went and shopped around the International Marketplace. The vendors are very hungry there. We then decided we would catch the free Hilo Hattie shuttle to Hilo Hattie’s and then take a free shuttle from there back to the ship to catch up with S. Since the shuttle was not there, I headed for the beach and into the water. Water was very warm (and saltier than in WA) and the sand even warmer. After the water, I picked up P, who was on high ground, and headed for the bus stop. We people-watched while the sand dried between my toes and my shorts dried. Soon thereafter, the bus showed up and we were off to HH. P actually made her first trip to HH without buying anything…truly a miracle! We caught the shuttle and were back to the ship without incident. S was in the room when we arrived. We then set up bar and had several cocktails and decided we would head out again for dinner at Sam Choy’s. We had plenty of time as the ship does not leave until 11pm tonight.

Dinner was great and I had crab-stuffed ono, which is a light whitefish. Very good and not always available. P was able to have her poke, a raw ahi dish which was also very good. S opted for the steak and chicken…the chicken breast was the size of a large pancake. She said it was very good.

We got back to the ship and reminisced about our good day and I went up to the top deck to see if there was any action going on. It was very quiet and peaceful with few others around.

I am going to wrap this up now as I need to get things ready for tomorrow.

Good day all!

More Photos...

2009-01-14T07:07:50Z

More photos have been uploaded to http://www.flickr.com/photos/mzkatt/ per requests. Enjoy!

Monday - Hilo, Hawaii

2009-01-13T09:19:15Z

Monday 1/12/09 10:43pm HST (2 hours earlier than PST)

Speed: 19.5 kts, Temp: 73 degrees right now, Humidity: 83.3%

20 degrees 22’ N 155 degrees 45’W

Moderate seas 4-7.5ft

Sailed 2207.5 nautical miles from LA

61.8 nautical miles from Hilo

149.6 nautical miles to Honolulu

Up and off the ship about 8am for our first day on land in 5 days. The final approach into Hilo this morning was simply magnificent! The view of Mauna Kea and the observatory was so clear. There was snow on the mountain (great skiing I hear) and the full moon hung just over the mountain…it was unbelievable. No rain in Hilo when we arrived, however in the night the rain (monsoon) woke up both P & K from a dead sleep. We sleep with the balcony door open to try and get acclimated to the tropical humidity. According to the locals, there was a waterspout on the other side of the island in Kailua-Kona yesterday and that they have had two weeks of rain in Hilo. I guess we just lucked out with the weather today.

K boarded the car rental shuttle van from the cruise port and headed to go pick up the car. S & P couldn’t go as there was not room in the van. K ended up with a minivan instead of the Dodge Charger—guess I looked too much like hell on wheels. The minivan was likely a good choice as we whizzed by the police officer on the way to the volcano without incident. YAYAYAYAY!

Once we arrived at the volcano, we paid the $10 state park fee and took note of the elevated sulfur levels and that some of the roads were closed. We were advised to leave the car windows closed and to remain in the vehicle in areas where it was most hazy. It was very hazy around the crater road and we did not get a good view inside the crater due to the smog-like conditions. We were, however, able to see a new huge steam vent that I had not seen before in all my trips to the volcano. As soon as we left the Jagger Musem lookout, the skies cleared up and revealed the blueness we all love. We then headed to the lava tube and then on to the chain of craters road. The skies were clear and the huge plume of steam was easily visible where the molten hot lava enters the ocean. S & K took the beautiful walk to where the lava flowed over the road. We were one of only two vehicles there at the time…I have never seen it so sparse, especially when a cruise ship is in town. I suspect that the buses were not running all the way into the park due to the elevated sulfur levels. K was also able to snap some beautiful photos and two will be entered into the photography contest.

After the volcano, we headed for lunch and ended up eating at L&L Drive in—a favorite of the locals. The BBQ plate lunch was fantastic and S & P liked their lunches too! Since lunch was right around the corner from Wally World, we dropped in and picked up a few souvenirs and Diet Pepsi. After that, we did the obligatory stop at Hilo Hatties and then K mentioned she wanted a shaved ice and for all to keep there eyes open. We were admiring the beauty of the ship from the side of the road, when P spotted a shaved ice mobile truck parked on the beach just off of Hilo Bay. K took a hard right and the minivan was soon parked on the same beach. Shaved ice for all – coconut, pineapple and passion fruit for K & P, S had pineapple, pina colada and passion fruit. The passion fruit was the best tasting one. We ate them while parked on the beach and watched as one gal was photographing another under a banyan tree. The unique thing about this is the gal being photographed was wearing a white mask—a Phantom of the Opera-type and had some white, feathery wings on. The photographer gal was also shooting the photos with a very old box-type camera on an old tripod. I snapped a photo of them admiring their photos. It was cool.

We returned the car (once we found the return shack) and headed back to the ship. They had a fair number of vendors within the cruise port building selling plants, jewelry and leis.

The ship has the Hawaiian luau tonight, poolside, and karaoke in the Explorer’s lounge.

Aloha all!

Sunday - At sea

2009-01-12T09:00:37Z

Sunday 1/11/09 10:46pm HST (2 hours earlier than PST)

Speed: 17.5 kts, Temp: 71 degrees right now, Humidity: 89.3%

20 degrees 36’ N 153 degrees 2’W

Moderate seas 4-7.5ft

Sailed 2018.5 nautical miles from LA

127.3 nautical miles to Hilo

Sandy was up again early for our last sea day prior to arrival in Hilo in the morning. She attended yet another computer class and is really into it and most excited. Kim attended the last of the photography sessions on photo composition. Great instructor—he is so excited about photography and it is so contagious! P played in the casino while K & S were in class, but won nothing. K is down $100 for the day, too. We all went to dicey wooden horse racing and S won $9 and K won $10. Ate at the special restaurant called Sabatini’s for dinner and then went to the sock hop and listened to some nice music.

Sorry for the short update to the blog tonight, but I want to get to bed as we have an early morning in Hilo tomorrow. We have rented a car and will drive up to the Volcano tomorrow, for sure…the rest we will just play by ear. The weather is expected to be in the upper 70s…not sure if we will be able to avoid rain—I will cross my fingers.

Saturday - At sea

2009-01-11T21:05:51Z

Saturday 1/10/09 11:55pm (1 hour earlier than PST)

Speed: 22 kts, Temp: 68.4 degrees, Humidity: 79%

23 degrees 18’ N 145 degrees 59’W

Moderate seas 4-7.5ft

Sailed 1595.7 nautical miles from LA

550.1 nautical miles to Hilo

We rolled the clocks back one hour last night and will roll back another on Sunday night to get to Hawaii Standard Time. It is sure a lot easier gaining those hours rather then losing them like we did on our transatlantic cruise. We had a knock at our door about 9:30am and it was a flower delivery of some beautiful island flowers. Kim had ordered them for the room with her casino winnings. P answered the door and said, ‘I think you have the wrong room’…then she saw the card which said it was for the CruiseChicks. Sandy was up first, once again, to be the first one in her Advanced Computer Forensics course. She has mastered all she has been taught and there now is substantial fighting over who gets to play with Ks laptop first. K has had to lock it to the desk for safety! Sandy is now a computer addict, clearly! Kim went to photography class again and is now the leading photographer of male models on the Golden Princess and selling her photos at the art auctions at record-breaking prices. Paulette attended a gem stone seminar on pearls and now is much wiser. Apparently there is a new pearl hitting the market called a chocolate pearl. Although it is a real Tahitian pearl it is artificially dyed to create this new color. She will likely need one to add to her small collection of every color, size, shape and smell she already has. After our classes, we met at the casino as it gives us something to do while waiting for the others. K saved the life of a lost old lady who was looking for the Princess Theater to attend the port talk on Lahaina. She was completely turned around and K practically had to carry her up the stairs as she was having trouble talking and carrying her cane, never mind walking. She wanted K to sit down next to her during the port talk. K did, but excused herself after about 10 minutes as her “mother was waiting for her”. Good deeds get rewarded as K had another stellar day--+$800. Sandy needs to win enough $$ to buy Ks laptop. P & S have now joined the many others who hate going to the casino with K…here’s why: P & S are playing (losing) on a penny machine and K walks up and asks if they were done and if they won anything. They both responded, “No”. She puts in her $$ and about 3 spins later 18,138 pennies…she cashes out and we all go to lunch. K has not yet played Kathy’s $40—still waiting for just the right time. Ps comment: As if her daily (hourly) winnings weren’t enough.

I forgot to mention the sheer number of pillows we have in the room. We have a total of 11 standard size bed pillows…everywhere we turn, there they are.

We had a nice sunny, bright day today. There was a beautiful rainbow off the stern of the ship for the majority of the day. We saw it as we walked around the Promenade deck in our feeble attempt to work off the food on the USS Buffet. After lunch, we went to hula lessons in the Explorer’s Lounge. S & K shook their booties and have mastered the island dance without any problems. After hula, we stuck around for karaoke…K did not sing this time as she did not want to put the rest of the singers :::koff, koff::: to shame.

Sandy (who doesn’t like fish) had it yet again for dinner tonight. We figured she wouldn’t be up for it after having it for breakfast and going back for seconds. Yes, I am serious…breakfast! Soon, Princess will need to think seriously about how to replenish the whitefish supply. She is also hooked on the prawn cocktail…good thing Connie is not on board as we would have a competition on who could consume the most. I had to smile when dessert was served this evening—cherries jubilee. A definite favorite of mine!

More great activities are planned for tomorrow, our last full day at sea before we arrive in Hilo.

Hope everyone is well.

Aloha!

Photos Available...

2009-01-10T08:19:10Z

I have uploaded two photos to http://www.flickr.com/photos/mzkatt/

Friday - At Sea

2009-01-10T07:58:16Z

Friday 1/9/09 11:39pm

Speed: 20.1 kts, Temp: 64.6 degrees, Humidity: 83%

26 degrees 33’ N 137 degrees 21’W

Moderate seas 4-7.5ft

Sailed 1086.7 nautical miles from LA

1059.2 nautical miles to Hilo—just past halfway there!

Last night we had calm seas and the threat of seasickness has disappeared. Sandy was up first as she had her computer class at 10:30am. K was up next for the photography class at 10:45am. I am surprised at how technical the photography class is, but that is great. There were only 7 people in the class, so we got hands-on attention to our cameras. We all have Nikon digital SLRs too, not a Canon in the bunch. The instructor is the senior photographer for Princess and he is from England. He reminds me of a skinny Captain Kangaroo with an accent! The classes are about an hour in length and are $25. I am pleased so far. Apparently Paulette dropped another $20 in the slots while we were in class. Since we had granola bars in the room for breakfast, we were hungry (K wasn’t) for lunch and decided to hit the dining room for a light lunch. Greek salads and a piece of whitefish (which none of us can remember the name of…likely Charlie Tuna) for all. Oh, P just remembered…flounder. After lunch, we went to the art auction. K made P sit on her hands the entire time, so no purchases were made. P did have her eye on a Goofy lithograph she spotted on the way out. S snoozed off and on throughout the auction. After the auction, P headed to the room for a nap, S did a walk around the deck and K headed to the casino. +$1200…a good day, even without the lucky shirt. No jackpot, either so no taxes! We still have two more full days at sea, but nobody seems to be restless as of yet. P is concerned we won’t get all booze consumed, so she is kicking it into high gear. Hung out, did a load of laundry and played cards in the room for a bit before dinner and then got dressed for our first of three formal nights. K & S also went down to the Captain’s Circle desk and got stickers for everyone’s Princess Passports. We have witnessed a noticeable increase in both the humidity and temperature, although it was mostly overcast again today. They have the pools heated to 82 & 84 (Deck 14 Oasis Pools), spa pool (86) and adults-only pool (85). We went to the late show in the Princess Theater. It was called Words & Music and was song and dance from the Rogers & Hammerstein musicals. Very entertaining and great music. All of us love musicals, anyhow, so we were very pleased. The chilled fruit soup of the evening was pina colada, our friend Stephanie’s favorite! +$1370 for the day for K. I hope that continues. The Hawaiian-themed activities continue tomorrow: lei-making, ukulele (K is a pro at this), many talks about Pearl Harbor, tying the Hawaiian sarong and hula class (P will be brushing up on her skills). Lots of Hawaiian shirts buzzing around the ship and lots of folks giving everyone the ‘hang loose’ sign. Off to bed!

Aloha!

Thursday - At Sea

2009-01-09T07:40:44Z

Thursday 1/8/09 11:00pm

Speed: 20 kts, Temp: 57.6 degrees, Humidity: 97.3%

29 degrees 44’ N 128 degrees 36’W

Slight seas

The waves were flat last night, but we had a huge swell and 60mph wind gusts which made for rough sailing. For some reason, they couldn’t put out the stabilizers until this morning. The wind was broad siding us the entire night and whistles and creaks could be heard all night. Had a late breakfast/lunch about 10:30/11:00—it was sushi day. Paulette & Sandy went off to computer class afterward and Kim went off to photography class. K’s class was over before the computer class, so K headed over to check on P & S. No sign of P in the class. Ditching again—old habits die hard! K looked around and spotted P snoozing in the back corner of the room. She apparently got a bit of seasickness from the side-to-side rocking motion as she stared at the computer screen. Sandy was spotted instructing the lady next to her on how to correctly operate the mouse. I got P a Sprite to settle her tummy and she started to feel better. By the time S was out of her class, she was seasick! S headed to the cabin to lie down and take Dramamine. Since P felt better, she and K headed for dicey wooden horse racing in the Vista lounge. No wins at the track, but P won a consolation prize which was some strange drink served in a martini glass with a slice of curled orange peel. She thinks it was a citrus martini. We then went back to the room to check on S. She was like a new person and was ready to hit the trail, once again. She went and signed up for a second beginner’s computer class—I think it is called Advanced Troubleshooting of Routers and Remote Access Services or something simple like that. We are proud of Sandy for taking these classes…even though the most challenging part is working the right-handed mouse for a lefty. K was finally able to get Internet connectivity and posted to the blog. We read aloud all the comments and enjoyed hearing from all who posted. We made dinner reservations at the steakhouse. S had a ribeye and P & K had filet mignons which turned out to be the size of softballs. Yikes!! The extra $15 charge for the fancier restaurant is definitely worth it. The atmosphere is much better and it is such a quiet place with DELIGHTFUL cuisine. -$60 at the casino…darn Little Green Men! I can tell I will need to put on my lucky shirt very soon. We are looking forward to several great events tomorrow like the Princess Pop Star, lei-making, ukulele lessons and beaded fish luggage tags. I am pleasantly surprised at the number of activities geared around the islands. They have some beautiful flowers for sale just off the main atrium, too. Hibiscus, bird of paradise, red ginger, antheriums and orchids were abundant and absolutely gorgeous. Until I win my first grand, no flowers for anyone! Sandy is warning others on the ship about her skills at the ping-pong table…we’ll see how she does in the competition. Hawaii time is two hours behind Seattle time, so we will be rolling our clocks back one hour tomorrow night and another the next night. I love travelling westward as you gain so much time…it is tough when you start losing time. It was overcast most of the day and we had a spritz of rain earlier this evening. The Captain is assuring us within 12 hours from now we will be in a lot warmer and nicer weather.

We have sailed 585.3 nautical miles from LA and have 1560.5 to go until we reach Hilo. All of us are feeling great tonight and doing well. P is having a hard time at the casino and has resorted to folding her $20 bills into paper airplanes and flying them off the Promenade deck. We are going to bed now and will be watching Elvis in Blue Hawaii as we close our eyes and dream of warm climates.

Embarkation...

2009-01-09T00:32:09Z

Wednesday 1/7/09 11:40pm

Speed: 19.5 kts, Temp: 50.9 degrees, Humidity: 96.4%

32 degrees 44’ N 120 degrees 9’W

Wavelets, partly cloudy

I actually wrote this at the above time, but we have had no connectivity to anything as of yet.

Boarded the ship without incident, except for Paulette had to get wanded at the ship’s security. Thanks to Kim’s new Platinum status with Princess, we zipped to the front of every line-both to check in and at security. We were quite pleased. At the muster drill, we passed muster mostly—Sandy had to be slapped for attempting to unravel her lifevest too early. Had a nice sailaway (the sunset was spectacular) and played briefly in the casino before dinner. +$300. J Sat with 4 people @ dinner—Billie & her husband Mike and his elderly parents. Very fun folks. Kim had the room steward pull down the overhead bunk so she could check it out and take a photo in anticipation of the next cruise in April when four of us will be sharing a stateroom. Oh, and for those concerned, all the booze made it safely. We are mostly unpacked and can’t tell you how far we have sailed as the TV is saying we just left Ensenada heading for LA—that will come soon enough. Paulette and Sandy have their seasick bands on hoping to prevent the inevitable

Will post again tonight if I can.

CruiseChicks

Tuesday, April 14 - Ensenada, Mexico

Sat, Sun & Monday - April 11-13 - At Sea

Friday, April 10 - At Sea

Thursday, April 9 - Lahaina, Maui

Wednesday, April 8 - Nawiliwili, Kauai

Tuesday, April 7 - Honolulu

Monday, April 6 - Hilo

Sunday, April 5 - Last Day at Sea Before Arrival to the Islands

Saturday April 4th - At Sea

Friday, April 3 - At Sea **Sunshine**

Thursday, April 2 - At Sea

Snow Again??

The CruiseChicks Are Off Again!

More Photos Added...

Tuesday - Ensenada

Monday - At Sea

Sunday - At Sea

Saturday - At Sea

Friday - At Sea

Thursday - Addendum

Thursday - Lahaina, Maui

Wednesday - Nawiliwili, Kauai

Tuesday - Honolulu

More Photos...

Monday - Hilo, Hawaii

Sunday - At sea

Saturday - At sea

Photos Available...

Friday - At Sea

Thursday - At Sea

Embarkation...

Friday, April 3 - At Sea Sunshine