Sept. 21-23

Sept. 21

Sorry, no pictures with this blog entry. I am on ship's Internet, and it is painfully slow.

It is a beautiful second day at sea, the water is a gorgeous lapis blue. I have just finished a light lunch in the Windjammer cafeteria of a cold cut sandwich, pasta/veggie salad, and a couple small dessert slices with coffee. I am in the library on Deck 9 which offers comfy chairs/tables, and a reasonable degree of quiet. It was has been a wonderful cruise thus far. The at-sea routine thus far has been to wake at around 6:30 a.m., dress, then climb the 10 flights of stairs to Deck 12, location of the run/walk track. I then do 15-20 minutes of walking laps. I consider myself “in training” for the Sydney Bridge Harbor climb when we arrive in Australia. Next, a light breakfast in the Windjammer, Deck 11, of bran muffin, fresh cut fruit, a cup of yogurt and coffee. Then back to the stateroom on Deck 2 to change into swimsuit, then off to the Solarium back on Deck 11 (elevator this time). I am really loving having the Kindle along, as this has all my books on it. I have finished a Janet Evanovich mystery/thriller, and am now reading a nonfiction memoir.

 

But to back up a bit, I left off the blog at Sunday evening, Sept. 17. We awoke the next morning at 5 a.m. to get to the Lihue airport by 6 a.m. to return the Chevy Malibu, check our luggage, clear security, and get to our gate. All went without a hitch. We hung out at Starbucks for a while, where I got a free breakfast sandwich by virtue of accumulated loyalty points. Nice. Our plane took off promptly at 8:10 a.m., and touched down at Honolulu on time at 9 a.m. Julie’s cousin, Jeff, picked us up promptly at baggage claim in his extended cab pick-up, throwing the luggage in back. Julie rode shotgun while I squeezed into the jump seat in the rear. In about ½ hour, we were at the Arcadia Retirement Center, where Julie’s uncle Larry and wife Nancy live. We unloaded luggage and took everything to the guest apartment on the 12^th floor. Really nice facility. Fantastic city view from the balcony.


We then went to Larry/Nancy’s apartment on 4^th floor and chatted briefly before our departure to the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) where we had tickets waiting for us at the will-call window. (Julie's) cousin, Jeff, offered to drive us to PCC on the north side of the island, which saved us about a $60 Uber ride. Takes about 1.5 hours to get there. It was a long ride because all Jeff wanted to talk about was his computer business and how he’s the best. He sets up computer networks for various businesses all over the island (Oahu) and did I mention he says he's the best? Prior to this, he was a corporate event planner on the island, and he apparently was the BEST at this also. 9/11 forced him out of the tour business (too much red tape after this), and then he went into computers. It was also very boring to me, having “been there, done that” 30 years ago, but some people are just bound to define themselves entirely by their jobs. But I'm not complaining too much. Damn glad for the free ride.

We arrived at PCC at around 11:30, claimed our tickets at the will-call window, and grabbed a quick hot dog at one of the concessioners before hooking up with a guide on our “Ambassador” package. The package included guided tour (our group had 19 people in it), the luau, and the evening show called “Ha: Breath of Life.”  The escorted tour was totally worth it, because our guide knew exactly when to get us in to the “mini shows” put on by all the island countries represented at the Center, and got us good seats for the “Parade of Canoes” show. Hard to name a favorite, but if I had to choose, it would be Samoa. Very funny host/MC  with dry, witty sense of humor, fire dancers, and coconut tree climbers. How can you go wrong?

 

The luau was at 6 p.m., and was completely delicious. Holy cow, do they know how to handle a crowd. Three buffet lines running simultaneously. Two kinds of roasted pork … from the pit and shredded in a spiced au jus. Sweet potato slices, taro rolls (but no poi), broiled fish, all kinds of salads, and desserts, and a variety of soft drinks. The luau included a somewhat hokey floor show where they got people from the audience up on the stage and embarrassed the crap out of them ... I guess this schtick never gets old! After that was the evening show (Ha: Breath of Life) and we had fantastic seats, three rows from the stage, dead center. We could see the sweat glistening on the performers, that’s how close we were. The show was a fairly elaborate and choreographed story of the circle of life. There were about 50 performers in all, so it was quite the extravaganza.

We had arranged shuttle transportation back to Waikiki, and we got off the bus at the first hotel, the Hyatt at Waikiki. We both used their lobby bathroom (thank you very much, Hyatt) and then hit the Uber button and our ride was there in about three minutes to take us back to Arcadia, arriving about 11 p.m., an hour earlier than I thought we would. Up to our apartment, and both Julie and I fell asleep in record time.

 

Tuesday Sept. 19

We set an alarm for 6 a.m., and awoke to get ready to have breakfast with Uncle Larry and wife Nancy. Served buffet style, it consisted of the usual scrambled eggs, a couple of breakfast meats, fruit, pancakes, and more. They also have eggs to order, but we were pressed for time. Uncle Larry is just a couple weeks shy of his 84^th birthday. When he walks, he is bent over at the waist at nearly a 90 degree angle from back deformity/injury. His last name is Weisner, so he is from Julie’s side of the family … a brother to Julie’s mom, Mary, who passed away last year. Larry is retired from the computer industry back in the days before the personal computer, but has been able to keep up with technology and operates a PC, email, and digital images. Nancy is Larry’s second wife, is about 10 years Larry’s junior, and is of Japanese ancestery. They met at a singles event at a local church. Larry has lived in Hawaii over 40 years, and fairly recently moved to Arcardia. It is one of those retirement places with comprehensive care from independent living to nursing home, and they don’t kick you out if you run out of money. Of course, there is a large initiation fee to get in, and that funds the endowment for those who run out of money. I have no idea of the monthly living fee, but I’m guessing around $6K.

 

So at 8 a.m. we must make a hasty exit from breakfast and Uber over to the Marriott Waikiki, which is our pickup point for the city and Pearl Harbor tour I arranged with one of the local companies. We had a very nice bus driver who was also our tour guide who took us to the Punch Bowl cemetery and palace and state capitol and regaled us with tales of Hawaiian culture. We arrived Pearl Harbor at about 10 a.m. and were given our timed tickets for a 10:45 boat ride over to the USS Arizona memorial, preceded by a 20-minute movie of the attack and events leading up to it. We only had about 15 minutes at the memorial, and then we were basically herded into a line for the boat ride back. I think you could stay longer, but to do so would have shortened our time at the other exhibits, so we boarded the boat back to the visitors’ center.

 

From there, we took a short bus ride over to Ford Island, to tour the USS Missouri, the battleship where the surrender between the United States and Japan was signed. Part of the ship, the command tower, was being sandblasted, and thus shrouded in canvas, but we still got to see all parts of the ship you would normally visit anyway, including the main deck, the second level deck where the articles of surrender were signed, and we got to go below decks to see the crew quarters and so forth. All very interesting, and the ship was recommissioned for a while under the Reagan administration, but then finally decommissioned and turned into the museum it is today. It is a mighty big ship, but obsolete in the nuclear age. Aircraft carriers and submarines are the new ultimate weapon of choice for the navy.

 Our tour bus dropped us back at the Marriott Waikiki, and we Ubered (is that a verb?) back to Arcadia for dinner with Uncle Larry and Nancy. Again, buffet style, and the entrees of choice that evening were Ono is a light curry sauce, or hamburger patties with onions and gravy.

You never really have to leave the facility; they feed you 3 meals a day, and have a large variety of activities and interest groups that meet for arts/crafts, etc. Just in the short amount of time, we got a good sense of the “vibe” there, including the grouchy residents, the picky ones, the more happy ones, etc. And they line up a half hour before dinner in a seating area just outside the dining room, and when the doors to the dining room open, a slow-motion stampede of the elderly, many with walkers, files in.

At 7:30 p.m., we summon an Uber ride to the cruise port and upon reaching our destination, wonder if we have arrived at the correct place. There is, literally, nobody here. We walk tentatively into the large building and are informed that the vast majority of passengers have already boarded, beginning at about 11:30 a.m. (for a 10 p.m. departure!). Even all the luggage porters have gone home for the day, and we are left to roll our own luggage aboard. We clear security and obtain our seaport passes in record time. We board the ship, and everyone is partying and having a good time. It seems we “missed the boat” on this one (ha ha!) by showing up late and missing all the pre-cruise festivities. But even in my error, we turned it around to a “victory” because we heard there was a huge computer glitch at about 1:30 in the midst of boarding of such magnitude, that Royal Caribbean reps actually told the crowd of people lined up to “disperse” and come back in about an hour! 

Anyway, we got the luggage to our stateroom and gave instructions to our attendant to separate the beds and bring ice every day, and an extra blanket for Julie because I keep the stateroom as low as the thermostat will go! Then we headed to the bar on the pool deck for a bon voyage drink of pina coladas. We did the muster drill at 9:30 p.m., then went to the theater to a short show where one of the headliners, singer Brian McCann, gave us a little tease of his performance, and the cruise director did a little song and dance and schtick about the upcoming activities. Back to our stateroom. Julie unpacked, but I was too tired and hit the sack.

 Wednesday Sept. 20 – first full day at sea.

We’re up at 6:30 a.m., and I’ve decided to join Julie in a morning exercise regimin I’m called “10/6” in preparation for the Sydney bridge climb. It consists of 10 flights of stairs up the walk/jog deck, and then 6 laps of walking around the ship's jog/walk track, which is supposed to be one mile. I’ve decided on a more conservative daily breakfast of two bran muffins, a plate of fresh cut fruit, and one container of yogurt, and of course coffee (and water to keep hydrated). After breakfast, we go back to our stateroom and change into swimwear and head for the Solarium (adults only). I finish “The Chase,” by Janet Evanovich, and start with “Everything that Remains,” a nonfiction to change things up a bit. It’s a memoir of sorts about two guys, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, late ‘20s, who change their lives from conspicuous consumption to something called “minimalism,” and it the process enriched their lives multifold by shifting their energies from the career ladder and cars and houses, to concentrating more on on the things which add true value to their lives … friendships, loved ones, passions, and “missions.” The book was written in 2012, so it’s a bit dated, but still relevant. Their perspectives are a little different from mine, with me being 61 years of age, but lots of good advice and points to ponder as I read the chapters. Did I mention how much I love my Kindle? It’s one of the few “gadget” things that I can truly say adds value to my life!

 

Speaking of gadgets, I decided to try the “At Sea” data connection offered by T-Mobile (my carrier) in cooperation with Royal Caribbean. I can send and receive texts for 50 cents per text. So I send a text to Dawn in Fort Myers (where it is later in the afternoon already) and voila!, it works! We have a brief but nice text exchange, and it is nice stay in touch with her. This is another tech improvement in cruising that actually works, unlike the wi-fi, which is still unbelievably slow and expensive to boot! Don’t quite know why they (the People in Charge) haven’t figured that one out yet!

After a little reading, I take a refreshing dip in the salt water pool, rinse off in the fresh water shower, and towel myself dry. I have a carved roast beef sandwich from the Park Café, inside the Solarium, but I need something more substantial, so I head to the windjammer for some cold salads, a cold cut sandwich on hard roll, and lemonade. For dessert, a chocolate mousse and a coffee.

More reading, and then Julie and I rendezvous in the stateroom to get changed for dinner, a formal night tonight, but as is our custom we dress casually, but nicely. I simply refuse to pack a suit and tie for a cruise! I have carved beef tenderloin, while Julie goes with the baked salmon.

We change back into shorts and casual tops, and I head to the casino where I proceeed to win 8 blackjack hands in row before losing one, and I leave the casino $42 ahead.

I rendezvous with Julie at the Aurora theater for a show titled “Piano Man” with Brian McCann singing to piano classics by Billy Joel, Elton John, Barry Manilow, Stevie Wonder, and others. A few production numbers by the RC Singers and Dancers are thrown in for good measure. A very pleasant show. My favorite was “Tiny Dancer” by Elton John, which featured one of the RC Dancers schooled in ballet doing a beautiful solo ballet on a darkened stage with a spotlight on her while the McCann and RC Orchestra performed the music. Simply beautiful.

Off to bed.

 Thursday Sept. 21

 

Basically, a repeat of Sept. 20 with a few minor twists. Dinner tonight was a bit of an adventure with veal Osso Buco. Very delicious, sort of like a pot roast. (Had it been a lamb Osso Buco, I would have declined; not a fan of lamb). Served on a bed of polenta, with some green beans. Crab cake for appetizer, and something called “Jaffa Cake” for dessert. Yellow sponge cake with a chocolate mousse middle filling, and an orange icing on top. Very good. We sat a table with about six Aussies, and could only catch about every fourth word they said. A lot of what I was doing was simply nodding, smiling, and says “yes.” There was a lot of ambient noise in the dining room, and the Aussie accents were thick. I think Julie and I are going to request a table for two from now one. We love to be social, but it’s very frustrating not being able to hear and/or understand, especially when you consider the language is English! The show tonight was comedian Dennis Blair, who was mildly entertaining. A PG-rated show in deference to the kiddies in the audience, but I guess Blair will have a “blue” show later in the cruise (and later in the evening). Lost $48 in the casino tonight, wiping out the $42 in winnings the night before. Back to the stateroom and off to bed.

 

Friday Sept. 22

 Changed things up a bit today. Same 10/6 exercise program, and same breakfast or “brekkie” as the Aussies call it. But then attended a lecture about “Gizmos and Gadgets” in the Aurora theater. All very interesting, but much of runs counter to my “keeping things simple” philosophy. Glad for the Internet, and my smart phone has truly added value to my life. But that’s as far as I need to go for now. I don’t think I need a “smart home.” I don’t mind turning on and off the lights and adjusting the thermostat and turning on my TV myself. But cool to know that this stuff is out there, and evolving.

We are crossing the equator later today. There was a silly ceremony on the pool deck to mark the occasion. I didn’t go because this really isn’t my cup of tea on humor. Just another excuse for everyone to buy $12 cocktails and make a lot of noise. My first time in the southern hemisphere and all I know this is the the seasons are opposite ours, and that the water swirls in the opposite direction when going down the drain or toilet!

 

Delicious lunch in the Windjammer of cold cut sandwich and variety salads. For dessert, a slice of peach torte, chocolate square, and a little squirt of vanilla ice-cream-like substance from the machine. Nice little nap in the afternoon, followed by a shower and a shave. Dinner tonight was an AWESOME pork loin rolled with dried fruits in the center and savory gravy, served with potato patty and green beans. Chocolate mousse cake and coffee for dessert.’

Quick trip to the casino where I pick up $57. I am back in the black, to the tune of about $53. The show tonight is Brian McCann, who performs his headline act, singing rock n roll standards, and also musical numbers from Les Miserables and Phantom. Very fine voice, backed up by live 9-piece orchestra, including an outstanding piano player.

Back to the stateroom and off to bed.

Saturday Sept. 23

Today, I must fix a small snafu with travel visas for Julie and I to visit Australia. I thought U.S. citizens were exempt, but apparently not. We get a call from the guest services desks that there is no record of our visas, and to come to the desk to straighten this out. Panic. Have I done all this planning only to be denied entry into Australia  over a bureaucratic fuck-up on my part? But the issue is quickly solved, and RC even handled the online application form for the two of us. Cost was AUS$20 apiece. Kudos to RC for handling this problem, which wasn't even their fault. I bought a "day pass" on the Internet to check our email confirmation from the Australian gov't that everything is in order, and it is. Getting on the Internet for the day also allows me to send you all this blog update!

That is all for now,

Bruce