February 13

This was a usual morning. We went to the dining room for breakfast and it was very pleasant. Ken had pancakes and I had porridge.
There was no lecture mid morning as has become usual. The Hula group and the Ukulele group performed. But I wrote our story. There is a contest for writing the best  and most inspirational love story. We decided we should enter. The prize is dinner for 2 at the Crown Grill. So I composed the story and then went to the internet cafe to print it. I decided that long hand with my handwriting would not be good enough.

We decided to enter on our way to lunch in the international cafe . At noon here they have great entertainment. Marius Beatica plays the piano and then plays the violin. He is a master at both.  we had quiche and tea and a cookie.

The main event for the day was the Crossing the Equator ceremony. People who have never sailed across the equator must be approved by King Neptune. Before you cross you are a polliwog and afterwards you are a shell-back. Polliwogs are charged with offences and the shell-back decide if they are worthy to cross. It involves a lot of fun and a lot of messy food.

Polliwogs are dressed in white sheets

Polliwogs are given instructions.

King Neptune is getting ready to make his appearance ( It really is Captain Lewis)



Lots of pictures of the festivities.

It was really hard to get a picture, there were so many people watching the fun.


Dinner had prime rib on the menu. As usual the size of the serving was eye popping.

After dinner it was movie time.On the Emerald Princess they have Movies On Demand. I missed the Downton Abbey movie when it was in Abbotsford but tonight was the night. I enjoyed it so much.

A perfect way to end the day.

Wednesday February 12th

This is another relaxing sea day and we began it as usual with a relaxing breakfast in the dining room. We ssat with 2 other Canadian couples, one from Kingston and one from Montreal. Apparently there are 630 Canadians on board. I had the fruit plate and it was the best ever. The fruit is at the perfect state of ripeness, so sweet and so soft, I was in my glory.

Next we went to the Princess Theatre. Dr Faff was giving a lecture on the dances and music of the various islands.It was very interesting and she had many wonderful pictures. I tried to get pictures of her slides. Some were more successful than others.

Next I checked out the outlet sale. I was looking for a particular tank top but I did not find it.

Today we decided to take in the Pub Lunch. We usually do this at least once a cruise. Usually there is a line at the start but it thins out later. We decided to go at one to avoid the crowd. As usual it was good. I had the shrimp and Ken had the fish. We were sat at a table for 2 so we did not meet any new people. We did speak to the people next to us, they were from Illinois.

The wine tasting was this afternoon at three. This is a perk of the Elite status. They give us a tasting of 5 different wines and it includes some cheese and crackers. It was very well attended.

This was our Captains Circle party night. It was smart casual and not a formal night which is the norm. There are over 1800 Platinum and Elite members which has made it necessary to have 6 parties. There will be 2 on each of three nights.

It was well attended and we learned these numbers

There are 3107 passengers on board

Blue cards.. first timers.....504

Gold Cards.....450

Ruby cards....334

Platinum cards....954

Elite ..black cards....865

The most traveled passenger.....1591

2nd most traveled.....1495

3rd most traveled....1250

Six of us were acknowledged for a milestone of 500 days with Princess

Two were acknowledged for a milestone of 750 days

One passenger was acknowledged for 1250 days

We had a good seat and we were served our requested Ultimate Mai Tai.

There were lots of canapes but we were too full from dinner to partake.

Captain Lewis was very personable. He had his children with him and he allowed the children to draw the names of the winners of  the champagne. It is a nice change to see the family man behind the stripes.

We ended our evening by going to the show. The star was Rob McVeigh. He spotlighted the music

of Andrew Lloyd Webber. He did a very good job. His voice is very powerful and he has a great stage presence

A wonderful day came to a close . Tomorrow we cross the equator and have another great sea day.

Tuesday February 11

This was a sea day and after 5 port days in a row we were more that willing to just relax.
We went to the dining room for breakfast, Eggs Benedict was the special today.
After breakfast I came back here to work on the blog. I needed 2 hours at least.

At eleven was an enrichment lecture on the first comedy tv shows. They features special skits for I love Lucy and Carol Burnet and Abbot and Costello. We laughed for almost the entire 45 minutes.

We went to the International cafe for lunch. This was our first time there since the cruise began. We has ham and cheese croissants and a special coffee. This was our first coffee as well.

After lunch we stopped to tell Abigail when we would be at the Captains Circle reception. She told us that there are 6 of those parties scheduled to accommodate the 1800 platinum and Elite members.
She also told us that there are 11 couples celebrating Milestones on this cruise.

I had a quick 45 minute nap .
Then I sat in the sun on the balcony for a half hour.
Then I showered and got ready for dinner.

Dinner was great and as usual we were almost the last couple to leave the dining room. We laughed and visited for the entire time. These are such nice people.

The show tonight is a Frank Sinatra impersonator so we are not going to attend.

Tomorrow is another sea day.. YEAH!!!

Lava Flows!!!

February 10,
We are in Hilo today and we have chosen to do a ship's excursion called the Land of |Frozen Fire..
This is what they told us.

Experience the land of frozen fire,firsthand, on this half day excursion.Your journey begins as you board your air conditioned mini bus and set out to discover the duality of the Volcano Goddess Pele.
Learn how volcanoes like Kilauea can both destroy and create. a phenomenon spectacularly on display in the lower east rift zone that experienced the 2014  and the 2018 eruptions firsthand. Pass through Pahoa town, a unique place full of resilient people who truly know how to "Go With The Flow". See the island's newest black sand beach and learn the story behind its creation. Along the way stop at some of Puna's iconic landmarks, such as the nearly inundated county transfer station., sea arch and painted church. See the famous rainbow falls, an 80 foot marvel where the Wailuku River plunges 100 feet into a turquoise pool.
 Finish your tour with a chance to stop in charming downtown Hilo and the chance to treat yourself to Hawaii's favorite treat a refreshing shave ice.



We went to the Princess Theatre to wait for time to go to our tour transport. It was a small mini bus and our guide's name was Dave.

Before long we were underway and the first stop was at REED's Bay. This was mainly a photo stop as we were not far from the ship. This is a popular beach for the locals especially people with small children. I was fascinated by the fact that the Ban Yan trees were trimmed but not allowed to spread our all over the park.

Next we drove to the lava Flows. Sometimes we were on previous flows and there were times when we were on the new rowd that was just built over the 2018 flow. On the new road the lava was piled high on either side of the road. It was absolutely awesome, and unimaginable.

Dave told us many stories of what it was like during the eruptions. He told of how the lave stopped within just a feet of the county transfer station. So he took us to see the lava at the dump.

Next we went to the new land that was created when the lava plunged into the sea. Dave said that hundreds of new land has been created. The site of the walls of black lave ending at the blue of the sea is striking.  Here when the hot lave hit the cold water the lave exploded and in the process fine black sand was creaded. Because of the motion of the sea the sand was then carried inland to what was a beautiful place to swim and launch boats or picnic for the day. Now the pond is completly blocked and filled with the black sand. We were able to walk on the sand and see the new coast.

Where the lava stopped!!!

The waters edge and the black sand.

This map shows in pink the area that has ben covered in lava during the 2018 eruptions.

Our next stop was the painted church. Dave told us that the church has been moved twice and this is its third location. Inside it is strikingly beautiful . The walls and ceilings have all been painted with religious scenes.

From there Dave took us to Rainbow falls.

Our last stop was at the farmers Market in HILO. Ken got a shaved ice and I got a coconut ice cream. There were no floral umbrellas :-(

Dave returned us to the pier because our wonderful tour had come to an end.. It was 5 hours well spent indeed.

We went to the buffet and got some fruit

We rested till dinner and after dinner we went to the theatre where we enjoyed the talents of 

ventriloquist, Dan Horn. We had seen him on a previous cruise but he was still funny.

Then we soon called it a night. There was lightning and we enjoyed watching that from the balcony.