Moorea, French Polynesia

28^th September 2014

Hi, today is our first chance to step on land after our five days at sea, and it was an early morning as we had to meet in the Aurora Theatre for our Moorea Island Tour.

We were on bus number 25, but it first meant a tender from the ship. And we were greeted by locals dressed in their traditional attire, before making our way to the bus. I think mum and I were some of the last on our bus, so didn’t have many seats to choose from. As it turned out crap seats, barely got to see the coastline and very few chances to stop for photos, so had to make the most of the 5 minutes allowed at each stop.

I’m sorry if I offend anyone, but by the time everyone got off the bus (mostly older people), it really only left five minutes to take any photos, and from what I have learnt on this holiday, to take any nice & usable photos you need more than 5 minutes. I could say it comes as part of the Cruise ship shore excursion package. Meh. I believe I was spoilt when we went to China.

I guess Moorea is a pretty place if you have a chance to explore or are allowed to spend more than 5 minutes at each stop, of which there was only 4 stops on our tour. So in hindsight, I should’ve chosen a better tour or looked at doing something independently.

After the tour mum and I made our way back to the ship, hopping on the next tender available and after dropping the bag back in the cabin, headed up to the Windjammer for lunch, sharing a table with our friends who also did the same tour but on a different bus. They seemed to enjoy it more than us, but as I said before, I think I have been spoiled for tour enjoyment by the fact I have had tours where we had time to explore and were never rushed and a lot less people on the tour.

It was a pretty restful afternoon, as there was not much organised on the ship, as there were still tours happening and perhaps the majority of passengers were ashore.

It wasn’t long before 5.30 arrived and we made our way to dinner at Cascades, and then onto the Headliner Showtime, Martin Lass a Violinist who was excellent, gave me goose bumps in one of the pieces he played. There was a standing ovation.

Mum and I checked out a few of the other venues, but discovered that the ship was pretty quiet. I guess the older generations and those with young families had retired for the night. The demographic of the passengers on board seem to be across the whole spectrum, families with young children and their grandparents and all the others in between, of which mum & I would fall into.

Next port: Papeete, French Polynesia

All Aboard

22^nd – 28^th September, 2014

I am so sorry that I haven’t written for the past week, 7 days on board the Radiance of the Seas.

It all started on Monday morning of the 22^nd when we were required to have our bags ready for collection by 10.30 am with our luggage tags for the ship attached. Mum had laminated ours. Although I hadn’t hole punched them, so off I went down to reception who happily did it for me.

We had breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant, which was included in our package for the entire stay. Oh my, do they serve big meals, we had a choice of five different breakfast meals there was one I didn’t try (the healthy one).

We went back to our room and waited for our bags to be collected and then went down to check out, painless and easy. The pain was waiting for our transfer along with a lot of other passengers that were also heading to the ship.

Finally the coach came and once our bags had been loaded into the undercarriage we hopped on board, but had to nurse our carryons, as they were too large for the overhead.

The driver got into his seat and we headed off, although he jokingly told us we were going to the airport, there were lots of NO, and we are going to the ship. He stopped and said he had forgotten to do a head count and collect the tickets. He told us it would be 15 Hawaiian minutes, and asked how long we thought that would be.

“As long as it takes”

It wasn’t long and we were at Pier 2, unloading our cases and standing in line in order to put them through the scanner and then customs before going inside to receive our Sea Pass and boarding the ship.

I will admit the rest of that first day went in a blur, even though it is my third cruise I still got excited. We did have lunch in the Windjammer (buffet style).

Mum and I also went to Headliner ShowTime which in our honest opinion was lacklustre and we did notice others leave.

Then came Tuesday and our first full day at sea of five, there was something for each of us to do and I won’t bore you with step by step details, but it did include food, wandering around and getting lost on the ship, and more food.

Mum and I have been going to the restaurant which is called Cascades and we have my time dining (which means anytime that suits us, usually between 5.30 – 6.00) Apart from the first night we have been at table 517 a table for 2 by the window. Our server is Elaenora and her assistant is Franc.

We have also been going to Headliner ShowTime each night, and the type of act has been different each night. I can honestly say I have enjoyed the majority of them.

The music in the Centrum and around the ship has been pretty good in general for our first week.

There is also an interview session held in the Centrum where the Cruise Director: Mike Hunnerup interviews a Manager of a department of the ship. It is called Behind the Stripes and I have found it to be very interesting. The following have been interviewed

Staff Captain – Wendy Williams

HR Manager – Laurence Chee

Captain – Goran Peterson

Hotel Director – Marios Georgiadis

On Friday we celebrated crossing the Equator with a ceremony, there were a lot of people pushing others to even get a view, I moved away but did get a glimpse of what was happening. I will say there was kissing of a fish, ewww. Eggs and Flour before spaghetti and what looked like pasta sauce.

There was also a wedding celebrated on board yesterday, with the veil flying off.

There has also been some shopping done, not very hard to do when you are on board a ship at Sea, especially when your cabin is forward and the restaurants/food at the Aft and you don’t necessarily want to walk down past all the cabins which can get boring.

A Helicopter Ride and...

Sunday 21st September 2014

 

Well, I must admit mum has been extremely busy crossing items off her wish list, first it was a swim with a Dolphin and now this morning it was her first ride in a Helicopter over and around Oahu, which she would’ve loved to repeat straight away. But she will have to wait (maybe when we come back and when I can join her).

And now to me, my morning was not as adventurous but more relaxation, which I enjoyed.

The rest of the afternoon after mum had returned extremely hungry so we revisited the Cheesecake Factory again.

We then went for a walk along Waikiki Beach only for a short distance, but it was sufficient to quench my curiosity.

I will openly admit that I didn’t even get to the biggest Shopping Complex in Hawaii. A case of too many tours, and a not enough time on this beautiful Island.

We will have to come back!!!!

As we will be boarding the ship tomorrow with excitement for the journey to come, through the South Pacific onwards to our home and sadness that our time here on the Island of Oahu is coming to an end.

Grand Circle Island Tour with Roberts Tours

Saturday 20^th September 2014

I thought early mornings were meant to be for work; today was another morning for which we would have to rise early and find our way to the pick-up point. This just happened to be a five minute walk and again we were early and our ride was late.

When booking this excursion our host told us to sit on the right side of the bus, as it would be the best side to see the coastline. But as we boarded the small bus, I noticed that all those seats had been taken. There was only two more stops to collect more passengers, there was a total of 17 Adults and 2 children. Only 2 of those adults were Americans, and the remainder of us were Australians who would be fellow passengers of the Radiance of the Seas cruise of the South Pacific including 2 stops in New Zealand ending in Sydney.

As we ventured around the island, I spotted the stops where I had taken photos on my photography tour, but this tour didn’t really stop at those, so even though I was recircling the island we were stopping at different areas.

Our guide was really good and was encouraging us to learn how to pronounce and speak the most popular words in the Hawaiian language and the meaning behind them.

On the way around we had come across road works, which would hold us up going to our next stop and also leaving and so our guide asked if it would be ok, if we were to miss that and continue onwards to our next stop the Byodo Temple. It was agreed to be all passengers, so in effect we were to be on time or early at the next stops and also to heading back into Waikiki, before the Main Street was closed to traffic for a Street Party/Festival. Which mum & I didn’t go to, but could hear the music and celebrations from our room.

Again it was an early night, I have been waking part way through the night, and maybe it is mum’s snoring that awakes me.

Pearl Harbor

Friday 19^th September 2014

It was our day to visit Pearl Harbor and I had booked an excursion (prior to leaving home) that would take us on a city tour and visit Pearl Harbor on a Double Decker Bus.

Our stop to meet the bus was less than a five minute walk from our hotel but of course I was to be there early, it meant we were too early and out in the sun, so inside we headed towards the shops where we found what we had been looking for. But as we weren’t allowed to take bags into the movie or over to the memorial site of Arizona, we asked them if we could put it on hold, till we returned after our excursion. Our request was granted and it was placed away to the side.

Once back out at the stop, we didn’t have much longer to wait. The guide hopped out and called me by my given name, as he was unsure of how to pronounce our last name.

So up we climbed to the top floor and chose our seats, silly me chose the left side which was away from the coastline, but also fortunate as we didn’t need to duck, duck, duck as much as those seated on the right side of the bus.

Duck, Duck, Duck was the call by our guide Jason to warn us that we needed to duck our heads in order not to receive injuries from the trees alongside the road. We headed out of Waikiki towards the coastline and around the base of Diamond Head and during the narration by Jason other landmarks were pointed out to us, and the history relayed in a fun and informative way.

It was a beautiful warm day and being up top on a double decker bus we had a natural form of Air Conditioning. Which liked to grab hold of my cap and fling it into the back of the bus, fortunately for me was caught by a gentleman a few rows back both times. I decided not to risk it a third time and secured it to my wrist, hence my red face by the end of the tour.

We made our way to Pearl Harbor and after some instructions from Jason on where we had to be and by what time he left us to decide how to fill that time in, restroom, food or shopping and not necessarily in that order.

Our tickets for the film were for 12.30, but we were to meet Jason at 12.20 up near the entrance to the theatre. We walked into the theatre and made our way to the second row from the front at the end, as I did not want to step over anyone already seated.

It was a moving and sombre experience watching the film and then to follow it up with a visit to the Arizona memorial. At times I find it hard to comprehend why there are some ______ fill in the blank (as I don’t know what to call them) feel the need or want to destroy things that do not belong to them. After our brief visit we were then to be back at our bus by 2.30pm, on our way out, I stopped by the gift shop and purchased some postcards & a book.

Mum admitted afterwards that she was not overly interested before going to Pearl Harbor and that she was only tagging along with me, but was so glad that she had come.

We got back to the bus and were waiting for a while for two young girls who Jason went to find.

We eventually returned to Waikiki and the shop that was holding the items mum wanted to purchase.

Sea Life Park

18^th September 2014

Well today was a special day for mum, my friend and her cousin, they got to swim with a Dolphin called Adella at Sea Life Park.

It was a dream for each of them, that they could cross off their list.

I was to take photos, but as we were on the opposite side of the pool and the official photographers were there to take three shots of different poses.

Mum looked something in her bathers (not sure what) but at least the dolphin didn’t mind.  Adella showed us her tricks then they got into the water with her.  They each got towed by her, she was on her back and they held onto her flippers while she towed them to the side of the pool which was fantastic mum said.  Photo showed mum’s mouth open and eyes closed (she said it was the photographers fault) ha ha!  Had a photo kissing and cuddling the dolphin then they all snorkelled with her and she swam around them.  Mum was over the moon about it and loved every minute of it.

We just looked at what else was there and waited for the bus to bring us back with smiles on our faces.

Sunrise on Oahu

17^th September, 2014

It was an early morning for me on Wednesday as I was to be collected at twenty past five by Oahu Photography Tours.

It might be that I was worried that I would sleep in, as I found myself awake at 3.30am, a half hour before my alarm was set for. I tried my hardest not to wake mum but she woke up as I was getting ready to leave.

So I made my way down to the front of the hotel to wait, it was surreal and not before long the van pulled in, and Chris introduced himself. I decided to take the back seat and when Chris collected the remaining 3 participants. So off we set for our first location, the van was full of discussion about cameras, lenses, settings on our cameras, and it was nice to be amongst other enthusiasts/photographers.

We arrived at our first spot, whilst it was still dusk, and seeing that the terrain was a little uneven to what would’ve been the ultimate position to get a certain picture, I erred on the side of caution and settled partway down on a path. Chris came and changed the settings on my camera to ensure the best outcome, and stated that I had picked a good spot. I witnessed a local attempting to fish off the rocks, and I am hoping that there is a usable photo of him, as I had not turned off the Auto Bracketing that I had been trying before coming to Honolulu. So my camera was taking three shots at different exposures, not a good idea when you are trying to capture a sunrise.

When the sun had completely risen it was time to move onto our breakfast stop at a little deli, which I must admit have lovely food. I ordered a Turkey & Cranberry Sandwich which was so yummy and fresh. It was then on to our next stop. Chris’s goal and the goal of the tour was ‘to go where the light was best’ for fantastic photos and pretty much to beat the normal tourist groups. Sorry, I am writing this from memory I believe we made 6 stops in total each very special, the last being where the Turtles are known to come up on the beach in warm water, but unfortunately for us there was only one that was out in the water/surf and not easily visible. Chris then lead us back to the van, where another driver had blocked him in, but they were still in their vehicle and was willing to reverse out to allow us to leave, leaving a whole line of traffic waiting. We then headed back to Waikiki and the end of our tour, which I thoroughly enjoyed and gained more photography skills and knowledge thanks to Chris and my fellow photographers on the tour.

I will post again shortly, as I am playing catch up.

Aloha from Honolulu

16^th September 2014

We have arrived after a long wait in Sydney for our flight to Honolulu with Hawaiian Airlines which departed on time. It was an uneventful flight which mum told me I slept, but I beg to differ.  The food was quite nice and not what I expected (perhaps I shouldn’t have relied too heavily on the airlines Website). Our seats were row 14, classed as Comfort Seating just behind the galley and you know what. It was fine, we had extra legroom.

After arriving into Honolulu we experienced a long wait to go through immigration as another international flight arrived at the same time. But once through we were greeted with Lei’s for each of us.

It was then another wait for our transfer bus which took us to our hotel the Holiday Inn Waikiki Beachcomber Resort, a lovely room awaited for us with a view of the water. It was time to freshen up before we ventured out and explored our immediate surroundings, well who am I lying too, we went straight across the road to the Cheesecake Factory which impressed mum with the display of cakes available. We were seated and the lovely waitress explained that the meals were huge, but there are some available in a small serving.

We needed extra time to decide so we put in a drink order, then when they came I had settled on the Rocky Road Sundae. We waited and waited, then it came and oh my, what did we get ourselves into, should’ve just ordered the one and shared it. I put a huge dent into mine, but thought if I continued it would make me feel unwell. Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed it and it was yummy.

We waddled back over the road and found ourselves in Macys, where we happened to meet our friends, I believe everyone else bought stuff, but nothing tempted me to buy. We wandered and explored some more shops before our friends decided it was time for Dinner, checking the menus outside of the restaurants, we found ourselves at Atlantis. I was still feeling a touch full so chose a bowl of Clam Chowder.

As we were heading back we noticed a market which of course we had to visit and spend a little.