Kailua Kona on the Big Island was our first Hawaiian stop. We had been here before and opted to take the trolley bus around the town to see the sights. Once off the trolley, we found a coffee shop that offered free wifi. The wifi was crap but the caramel coffee frappé was sensational! Luckily the hotel that the shop adjoined had really fast unlocked wifi and we happily caught up with family and friends back home.

Honolulu was our last port for this leg of the journey and we know it well. Ruthie was very excited to get to her favourite shops while I was more worried about how we were going to get all her new purchases home. All that eating aboard the ship would come in handy when I had to sit on the lid of the suitcase.

I’ve got to mention that during this journey, Ruthie has not caught the lift aboard the ship once. When you consider that the ship has 16 levels, that is pretty amazing and means a lot of stair climbing. I think she’s thinking of doing the firefighter high rise stair challenge next 😂 My excuse was my strained achilles tendon.

At the captains question and answer session we were advised that the ship had used US$2,000,000 in fuel for this transpacific crossing from Brisbane to Honolulu which was over 5,500 nautical miles.

Our first stop on our Honolulu to Vancouver leg was the beautiful island of Maui. We’ve also been here before and have done the road to Hana as well as snorkelling the Molinkini crater. We tendered to the shore and had a yummy pineapple waffle cone ice cream as well as trying the famous Kona coffee and yes, some more shopping. We had a beer at Fleetwoods on Front Street which is a Mick Fleetwood owned bar and restaurant. I didn’t realise he would be there personally but some other passengers had a selfie with him. Just off the pier is a spectacularly huge banyan tree which has 16 separate trunk offshoots into the ground creating 16 more banyan trees, all joined from the main tree. The main tree is over 60 feet tall and the whole configuration covers just under 1 acre, creating a natural covered outdoor theatre over 150 years old. Before we headed back to the ship we enjoyed a cooling beach swim.

That night we had the Drums of Polynesia show. As well as adult Hawaiian dancers they used very cute kids from the Children of Hawaii dance group, the youngest was 3. This was always going to be an audience winner. We learnt the simple greeting of Aloha also means love, affection, peace, compassion and mercy. For native Hawaiians it also means a force that holds together existence. One word brings such a smile along with their Shaka 🤙 greeting.

We have really noticed the change in dynamics and vibe on the ship going from a largely Australian passenger based cruise to a largely American, Canadian and Asian based cruise. There are no longer queues at the bars but you can’t get near the pizza for supper. Suddenly a lot more rule signs have appeared which says a lot! The prizes being given out they call drink Koozies. Us Aussies call them a stubby holder but for ever more they’ll be known as Koozies to us. Our cruise director, Mike has stopped saying g’day and hoo roo. We even got prime seats to the Maui under the moon party. We struggled to get seats to events like this on the previous leg.

The ship had stopped at Kona on our previous leg of the journey but we were back again on this leg as our final Hawaiian stop. We’ve also been to the Big Island before and done the trip to see the Volcano. This time we walked up the hill and found a large shopping precinct which made Ruthie very happy, but our best find was the Kona Brewing Company. It had been a warm walk and the tasters at the brewing company were mighty thirst quenching. Their saying is “Our beer is liquid Aloha!”

Our dinner table on this cruise was by a large window watching the sunset and was the envy of a lot of other passengers. One night we were lucky to see the largest pod of dolphins we have ever seen. We offered to sell seats at the table to highest bidder. When asked if we would like this table for the Alaskan leg of the cruise, we jumped at the opportunity.

I have brought a cheapish Ukulele with me on the trip. The idea is for me to retain my guitar playing calluses. So getting into the true Hawaiian spirit I try to have a bit of a play in the cabin each day. Every second person in Hawaii can play “The Rainbow Song” and my version is coming along nicely. I feel sorry for my neighbours if they’re trying to sleep but so far no complaints.

With 6 straight sea days before Vancouver, we immersed ourselves in the ships activities. I tried body boarding on the Flowrider which creates an artificial wave. Ruthie joined a slot pull competition and finished 1st in her heat but unfortunately her score wasn’t high enough to proceed to the next round. Other activities included dance fitness class, the choir, rock and roll dancing, table tennis, cards, cinema and of course the pool and spa with the obligatory cocktail. We were even improving at trivia, mainly because we had heard the questions and answers several times. We even won an afternoon trivia! One of the evening shows featured an Earth Harp which was a giant harp like structure which is the world’s longest stringed instrument. It was strung from the stage up to the 2nd level balcony. Only a few people in the world are trained to play it and it made some unique and amazing sounds.

Finally we could see land! It was on both sides of the ship. We were sailing along the Juan de Fuca Strait with Victoria Island Canada on one side and Washington State, USA, the other side. The excitement is mounting for our next adventure as we begin to see snow capped mountains and the ever faithful Melbourne uniform, the black puffer jacket, will be making a comeback while the shorts and T-shirts are packed away.

Next stop Vancouver.