Day one

We checked into our hotel and before we knew it we were ready for bed. The trip was not bad but we were tired none the less. The bed is very comfortable and they have very nice pillows. I love fluffy pillows. I woke up around five and had to force myself to stay in bed. The 2 hours made my body think it was time to get up. Anyway we finally got up around 7:30. Ken had a shower and a chat with Joan and soon we were on our way to breakfast. It was quite nice. I had a hard boiled egg and lots of fresh pineapple. We visited with a young couple from China. They were very pleasant and it made for an interesting breakfast. We went to the conseirge and found out where to meet our Hop On Hop Off bus. We gathered our things and away we went. It seemed gray at first but soon the sun appeared and I was sorry that I brought a jacket. The tour was great and the staff was very pleasant. we saw lots of the island and we made it to see the Diamond Head light. Unfortunately you can't visit it. But we took that bus route twice and got good pictures as we drove past it. I got too much sun and was looking quite red by one o'clock. I stayed out of the sun for the rest of the day.We saw amazing scenery and I even managed to get a picture of a local cardinal. On the way back from the bus we stopped at a ABC store. We picked up a 1.5 liter of our favorite Zinfadell for 8.99. Amazing price. We will enjoy that on our balcony tomorrow. I just called and arranged for a taxi to take us to the pier tomorrow. The Sapphire Princess is in port today. Tomorrow we board The Ocean Princess. We will go out for dinner this evening. On the way back here we passed what looked like a nice little place only a couple of blocks away.

Let the Vacation Begin!!!

We are on board flight 487 on our way to Honolulu. We got away from home right on schedule and had no trouble at the border. Susan fed us a fine lunch and then we were off to the airport It was a little crowded but we had no problems at all and before we knew it we were on board. Right away I knew we were headed to Hawaii. The Stewart was dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and wearing a shell necklace. The cabin smelled of tropical flowers. On each seat was a card with the schedule for the flight and it was scented… what a nice touch. We are experiencing a bit of turbulence which is not a problem. The plane is really quite full. I am aware of only one empty seat. About an hour into the flight we were offered meals so Ken and I opted to have to hot special which was aloha Pork. It was chunks of pork in a teriyaki sauce with rice. I can’t say it was great but it was not bad. One thing different,,, usually there are screens located overhead in the plane and you rent earphones for two dollars or use your own to hear what is being played. One other plane had small screens located on the back of the seat in front of you. But for this flight you are given a chance to rent what looks like a personal DVD player and on that you could watch many many movies or news or sports etc. That rental was priced at 10.00. For families flying with children it is great because cartoons are among the choices. Near the end of the flight the steward announced they would be coming by with the Aloha drink cart. Why was it Aloha? Because they were serving complimentary Mai Tais Let the vacation begin!!!

Only a Few More Days

It is only a few more days until we are ready to leave. The suitcases are out and the check list is getting completed. It never gets easier to decide what to take and what to leave at home. One of the things we had to do for this adventure is acquire some different currencies. We needed Australian and New Zealand dollars which were pretty regular . But we also needed Indonesian Rupiah.. They are pretty amazing. Ten thousand Rupiah are equal to about ONE dollar Canadian. It sure looks as if you are wealthy when you have several 50,000 Rupiah notes in your purse.

The round Australia Cruise is aboard The Dawn Princess She is huge with all of the extras and she carries over 3000 passengers. Because of coming back across the date line we will have April 28th twice. So strange!!

The first cruise is on The Ocean Princess. It is a small ship, only 680 passengers

Cruise number three, We change ships and begin a circumnavigation of the continent of Australia! Before that we will spend 2 days in Sydney, and at the end we will spend 3 days in Honolulu. We leave home on February 27 and we return on May 2nd Follow us as we go.

Cruise number two, Same ship, same room, going across the date line and on to Sydney Australia. For us there will not be a March 18th.

This is a map showing cruise number one from Honolulu to Tahiti

Well the time is getting closer. I have been busy finalizing shore excursions and printing schedules etc. We head out in 16 days. here is the itinerary showing where and when. I tried to space this better but it wants to bunch up Sorry that makes it hard to read. Hawaii to Tahiti Cruise, March 1 to March 12/2013 February 27…..flight to Honolulu February 28,, Relax at Coconut Waikii March 1…. Board the Ocean Princess March 2nd…Kauai (Nawiliwili) Princess tour to Waimea Canyon 8:30 – 1:00 March 3rd…Maui( Lahaina) Princess tour to IAO Valley & tropical plantation 8:30-1:00 March 4th Hilo, Princess tour to Summit of Maunakea 8:30 – 2:30 March 5, 6, 7, 8,&9….. AT SEA March 10th…Bora Bora, French Polynesia, Cruise Critic sponsored Lagoon tour and Snorkeling. 11:00am March 11th… Moorea, French Polynesia. Princess tour to Moorea by 4WD 8:30 – 12:30 March 12th… Tahiti End of first cruise Tahiti to Sydney Cruise, March 12 to March 29/2013 March 12 … Tahiti (Papete) French Polynesia, Princess Tour , Undiscovered Tahiti,8:00 – 12:30 March 13 …Moorea ,French Polynesia. Cruise critic sponsored tour March 14…Bora Bora, French Polynesia, Princess Tour , Island drive ,9:00 -11:30 March 15 and March 16 AT SEA March 17 Pago Pago , American Samoa, Princess tour, Island Drive and Ava Ceremony 10:30 – 1:30 March 18 , Cross the International Date line Lost Day March 19 …APIA, Western Somoa.Princess Tour, Island Drive 9:00 -3:00 March 20…AT SEA March 21…Nukualofa,Tonga, Princess Tour Scenic Island Drive, 8:45-12:15 March 22 and 23 …AT SEA March 24…Auckland New Zealand, Hop on Hop Off bus for the day. March 25…Tauranga, New Zealand, Princess Tour , Maori Cultural Highlights,8:45 -12:45 March 26 and ,27 and, 28,…AT SEA March 29, Sydney Australia, Barangaroo Wharf 5 Cruise ends, disembark the Ocean Princess. Round Australia Cruise, March 31 to April 28th March 31 Board the Dawn Princess April 1…At Sea April 2…Brisbane, 8:00 t0 6:00 Kuola Santuary, with Millers April 3…At SEA April 4…Airlie Beach April 5 AtSea April 6 Port Douglas Princess tour ..Scenic train, Skyrail,and Tjapuki Cultural Center 7:30 to 4:30 April 7&8 At Sea April 9 Darwin Princess tour,?? April 10 & 11 At Sea April 12 Lombok, Indonesia…Princess tour Lingsar Temple, Mayura Water Palace & Craft Village 8;00-3:00 April 13,14,and 15… At Sea April 16, Fremantle Triple tour with the Millers April 17 Bunbury April 18 Albany Princess tour Royal Fortress and Torndirrup National Park 9:30-1:30 April 19-20 At Sea April 21 Adelaide, meet Kim April 22 At Sea April 23 Melbourne, Princess tour Warrock homestead and Puffin Billy Train 8:45 – 4:45 April 24 Burnie Tasmania Tablehead Light house tour 10:30-1:30 April 25 and 26 Hobbart, Princess tour City Drive and Botanical Gardens 1:00 - 4:00 April 27 At Sea April 28 Sydney Australia, Barangaroo Wharf 5 fly to Honolulu April 28th.to May 1st Honolulu May 2nd... HOME