Hawaii – Honolulu and Accepting Change

Our next two stops were in Hawaii.  We have been to Hawaii many times, but we always look forward to it and would be glad to return again.  When we lived in the Seattle area, we went several times because it was a (relatively) short flight and was a good break from gray and wet winter.  We were fortunate to go one more time before this cruise, when I had a work conference on the Big Island; easy choice to pay for Kevin’s flight when my flight and accommodations were paid for, although we added an extra weekend since we were there.

Our first scheduled Hawaiian stop, Honolulu, was as planned from the time the itinerary for the cruise was announced.  Due to the devastating fires last year on Maui, and in Lahaina specifically, our originally planned stop in Lahaina was changed to Kailua-Kona.  There are a few other changes to the itinerary for this cruise, not the first time that has happened on cruises we have been on.  Sometimes the changes happen underway due to weather conditions or tides, or on a longer cruise like this, not surprisingly some can be because of a natural disaster or political situation affecting the area.  We take all of this in stride, trusting the Captain to make these decisions and only to bring us somewhere if it is safe to do so.

We learned this skill when we sailed on our own boat from 2004-2006, accepting that sometimes you don’t get to do what you planned in life, and that is okay.  We often did not go ashore or had to wait somewhere for a while until there was safe weather to continue, or skipped a planned stop because we would be arriving in the dark.  This is a great life skill that applies to many situations in life, not only boating-related situations.  I feel it served me well in my work life in particular; there were many situations that were unexpected and had to be dealt with, and I accepted them calmly and moved on.

Honolulu – the stop that went as planned

We had been to Honolulu several times and had seen many of the common sights (Waikiki, Diamond Head, Pearl Harbor) and some others (a great time at a local surfing competition called the “Buffalo Bash” being the best example).  We love Chinatowns and have been to many, but not the one in Honolulu, so we decided to start our day there.  We bought some tea in a Chinese grocery store, and a teacup (because when you make tea in the plastic cups on the ship, it tastes like coffee).  We ate a typical Chinese lunch at a restaurant where we were some of the few English speakers – a big plate of garlic greens, a big plate of shrimp chow fun (a noodle dish), and a pot of tea (although that was Lipton).

Next, we went shopping at the giant Ala Moana shopping mall.  It was much bigger than the last time we visited.   We both wanted to buy some aloha wear (a shirt for Kevin and a dress for me), some health and beauty aids and other items at Target, and Kevin also bought a teacup (because we only found one we liked in Chinatown).

After that we were tired and shopped and walked out, so we took a cab to the Honolulu Beerworks, for a simple dinner and some good and interesting beer before returning to the ship.

Kona – the stop that did not go as planned

The stop in Kona was a shorter stop, and the ship was anchored in the bay.  The ship organizes shuttle boats to bring the passengers that want to go ashore to the pier, and then back.  The shuttles were supposed to start around 9:00 am, but they did not start until around 10:30 am due to rough conditions (a large swell).  The crew asked us to be patient and wait because of the backlog, and we only had a short planned agenda (3-4 hours) so we waited until around 11:30 to get a shuttle ticket.  At that time we were given a ticket for group 90, and they were on group 45.  We knew that we might not end up going ashore, but we waited until around noon to monitor the situation.  When we realized we wouldn’t get off the ship until around 12:30, we decided not to go.  We had been to Kailua-Kona before, and it wasn’t worth it to us to go for only 1-2 hours and then come back.  We had been planning to see some art in a nearby hotel, eat lunch, and then go to a Tiki bar.  Instead, we probably would have looked at the art and then ate somewhere closer to the pier before returning.

So, we made the best of our day on board.  We had Mai Tais with lunch since we had plans for the Tiki Bar.  We toured one of the decks of the ship more thoroughly than usual, and discovered a museum within one of the bars that was dedicated to the historic P&O cruise line, complete with activity programs and dinner menus that were fun to look at.  And, at dinner I had a poke bowl, the same thing I had wanted to eat on shore for lunch, and they also had a lot of fun and unusual Hawaiian fruits that I had for dessert.  It was an enjoyable day.