Hawaii trip - final sea day

Today is our last sea day and, while we’re looking forward to getting to Hawaii and seeing the sights, it’s sad to know that the truly relaxing part of the trip is almost over. We did make it to the passenger talent show last night, and even went to watch karaoke before- hand. Andrew was horrified that I knew all the words to every song the over-60 crowd got up to sing; including a three-song tribute to Loretta Lynn. “It’ll be over my dead body, so get out while you can. ‘Cause you ain’t woman enough to take my man.”

After the show ended we did what seemed completely rational at the time – headed up to the Lido deck for a cheeseburger at 11:30 at night. That was likely a mistake in many regards. Not only did I sleep terribly, but I continued the punishment by doing an extra two miles on the elliptical this morning!

We did a couple of loads of laundry first thing this morning. Laundry seemed to be on the agenda of every other passenger on the ship so I would recommend to others that you not wait until the last sea day before a long string of ports. The laundry room is just outside of our cabin and there was a line of at least 2 people pretty much all day long.

There was a period of a few hours today that were finally warm enough to sit out on the balcony in shorts and a t-shirt – hooray! However, as the day progressed the sky darkened and the wind reappeared; gusting to over 30 knots by late afternoon. As I type this, the waves are probably 15 feet plus. They must have put out the stabilizers though, as there is not as much rocking as the first few days when the waves were closer to 12 feet.

Just before dinner we had a visit from a lovely couple that Andrew has been talking about on Cruise Critic. They were celebrating their 50th anniversary and were interested to see our suite and aft-wrap balcony so Andrew invited them down for a tour. They were very sweet and brought us a “Happy 40th” sign for our cabin door, as well as a little bag of treats. Andrew has become quite the celebrity on Cruise Critic – known by “Gar” for his user name “Gargoyle”. He spends a lot of time researching cruises and reading the cruise boards so is able to answer a lot of questions and others have begun to look to him as a fledgling “expert”.

Ok, off to dinner. More tomorrow after our first port day in Hilo!

Hawaii trip - third and fourth sea days

We obviously missed posting anything yesterday. Yesterday and today were pretty much the same as the first and second sea days – a lot of reading and relaxing interspersed by a nap or two, trips to the gym and meals. We did go to a show last night – a trumpet player who played covers of big band songs with a 10-piece orchestra.

Unfortunately, the weather has been less than ideal up to this point. The top temperature has been 74 Fahrenheit and we’ve had a lot of clouds and strong winds. Despite this, there are still many die-hard folks huddled under beach towels on the main decks. We have not spent as much time out as we would have liked. It did finally warm up a bit this afternoon so was warm enough to sit out – although we had to be in hoodies to do it!

Tonight is the past-guest reception - a little cocktail party for people who have sailed Carnival before with free drinks and canapés. We went on our last cruise and had a nice time so will go again tonight after dinner. Then we’ll head off to my favorite show of the whole cruise – the passenger talent (or often, lack thereof) show! Tonight we gain an extra hour of sleep (that will make 5 hours we’ve gained since we left home…a definite bonus) and tomorrow will be our last sea day. It will be nice to get to Hawaii and see the sights, but it’s also been enjoyable to just relax on the ship!

Second sea day

Another early start to the day. Because of the large waves (still 10+ feet today) my 2 mile run on the treadmill was more like 1.5 miles forward and ½ mile to either side to keep from falling off! This morning we had scheduled a behind the scenes tour of the ship, which took us to the bridge, the galley, the laundry and the crew areas. It was interesting to see how everything comes together to work so smoothly for the passengers. According to the captain, we are about 700 nautical miles from the Mexican coast and still have about 1200 left before we hit our first port of Hilo on Saturday.

Tonight was our first “Elegant Night”, which means dressing for dinner. Andrew had lobster tail and I had Spaghetti Carbonara – all delicious, as usual. Nothing else to report tonight and we didn’t take one photos. Cameras were not allowed on the behind the scenes tour due to “security reasons”. Once again we’re looking forward to warmer weather tomorrow so we can finally enjoy the balcony!

First sea day

Our first do-nothing day on the ship. Despite that, we were up our usual 5:30 am! I headed to the gym and Andrew lounged in the cabin. Afterwards, we showered and headed up for breakfast in the dining room. Tried to spend some time on our beautiful balcony, but it’s only about 60 Fahrenheit today with fairly strong winds and 10 foot waves. Even with coats it was too chilly with the wind to stay out long. Spent much of the morning and early afternoon wandering around the ship and reading. Planned to go to a Hawaii naturalist presentation in the afternoon, but I was quite sea sick due to the rough seas so stayed in the cabin instead.

After some medication and a little nap, I was feeling much better so we went to the on-board steakhouse for dinner. The steakhouse is an “alternative” dining venue, and you pay a per-person surcharge to go there. The meal is well worth it! Their lobster bisque is one of the most delicious things I have ever had in my life, and the rest of the food is just as good. Andrew had lobster tail and I had a prime rib chop. Photos show some of the courses; as well as our beautiful aft-wrap balcony.

Now, back in the room to digest and unwind from our hard day of relaxing. Let’s hope for warmer weather and calmer seas tomorrow!

Hawaii Trip - Day 3

Another leisurely morning at the hotel on Coronado. I went for a walk down the beach and watched the triathalon swimmers start. They had some big waves to get through at the start but relatively smooth water after the first 50 yards or so. The announcer said that the water temperature was about 65 degrees, so they were all suited up in thick wetsuits – better them than me in the cold ocean at 7 am on a Sunday morning!

We packed up and headed out about 10 am to return the rental car and were at the cruise port by 11:30 am. There are laws about foreign-flagged ships (the Spirit is a Panama vessel) hitting at least one non-US port, so we need to start our cruise in Ensenada, Mexico. We checked in and then wandered down the boardwalk to Sea Port Village to eat lunch (lovely fresh fish and seafood!) and kill a couple of hours watching the street performers’ fair that was going on. The shuttle buses to Ensenada started leaving San Diego about 4 pm; there were a few small glitches so we got to Ensenada a little later than was expected. Because Carnival only does this particular route once a year, I guess that leaves room for little problems to creep up! One consolation is that we are booked in a suite so have VIP status – translates in to preferential boarding privileges.

Once we were on board we were able to go straight to our cabin, drop off our carry-on bags and head right to dinner. Andrew had duck and I had steak – both were really good! Now we’re back in the cabin and pooped! Attached are a few photos of our suite. Photos of the balcony tomorrow!

Hawaii Trip - Day 2

We started off day 2 of our trip with a 4.4 magnitude earthquake about 2 am – translated for us in to about 15 seconds of bed shaking. Neither one of us have ever experienced an earthquake before – so this baby one was a nice way to lose our earthquake virginity.

We opted for a leisurely morning, and breakfast in the room consisting of fruit and croissant that we bought at a local grocery store last night. Our hotel is really lovely. Our balcony looks out over the bay and the water is less than 50 yards away. The main feature on Coronado is the Hotel del Coronado, which was built in 1888. It is reported to be haunted but rooms start at about $400/night so we opted to wander around the public areas and take a photo of the famous red spired roof.

Headed out after breakfast to the Wild Animal Park – about a 40-mile drive from our hotel. The park is gorgeous with very natural exhibits for the animals. We saw lions, giraffes, gorillas, elephants, and birds. Andrew’s favorite was feeding the deer and the lorikeets; my favorite was the baby elephant who was so tiny next to his mother.

We had dinner tonight in Old Town San Diego at a fantastic Mexican restaurant. Andrew had a lobster burrito that was really great. They also had wonderful fresh-made tortillas! Now we’re back at the hotel for the evening. Tomorrow around noon we check in for our cruise!

Hawaii Trip - Day 1

Today was our first day of a 2-week trip. We flew to San Diego and met Rob, DeAnn and the kids at the zoo. Spent about 6 hours there - we were all pooped by the end! Back to our lovely hotel on Coronado Island to relax. Tomorrow it's off to the Wild Animal Park!