Hawaii and more sea days

We are now in our second day at sea after visiting Hawaii.  It has turned cloudy and windy, too cold to be out for very long unless wrapped up.  Keith did well in the casino last night and as for me not so much.  Today we had our project runway event and my outfit did well.  It was voted on by the crowd and some think it sounded like it won but came in second.  I had fun making it and met some great ladies.  Kim

Hi All,

We are back on board the Sea Princess after visiting Maui today.  The weather continues to be perfect.  Today we had very nice breezes with a high of about 78.  I had never been too interested in visiting Hawaii, but I now understand why people love it here – the weather and the scenery!    

Our first appointment of the day in Honolulu was at the Embassy Suites.  A very nice property that is not on the beach, but very close.  The 2^nd property was the Outrigger.  They have two resorts within walking distance and we toured both.  Both of these properties had beach front and had great rooms.  These are locally owned properties and strive to maintain a more traditional experience.  They treated us to lunch and is was great – I had a fried pork dish with rice, tomatoes, onions.  They take the pulled pork and deep fry it till crispy.  Kim had fish and chips and it was the best that we have had so far on the trip.  We did visit the Sheraton, but they were not expecting us and we did not get to see their rooms, but they did give us access and a short visit to the club level.   The last property was the Halekulani (5 star resort) – one of the oldest resorts on the Island.  The room layouts were unique with nice touches, closets that could be accessed from the room and the bathroom with sliding doors on either side.  A foyer type entrance that can be closed off.  Very nice views of Diamond Head and the beaches.   Kim and I had cocktails at their outside restaurant named “A house without a Key” and watched the sunset with free local Hawaiian singers (a father and his adult daughters – they were very good)  and the Hula performed by a former Miss Hawaii (very easy on the eyes!).  The cocktails were a bit pricey at $13, but the free entertainment made up for the expense. 

Waikiki is for people looking for everything!  Night Life, Upscale Shopping, Beaches and Pools, Nice resorts and Fine Dining.  This is South Beach Miami without the heat, this is Vegas without the gambling but with beaches.  The areas between the resorts are really one giant outdoor upscale shopping areas with coffee shops and ABC stores.   (ABC stores are mini WalMarts that are on every block in Honolulu.  Very convenient and surprisingly affordable for this area.

We did not have to be back on the ship until 10:30PM so we had dinner off the ship.  We decided to do something familiar and went to PF Chang’s.   Honolulu is easy to get around with a very large bus system.  You can board for $2.50 and transfer to get anywhere on the Island.  We caught up with the local politics at the bus stop from a guy that moved to Hawaii many years ago.   We ran into some great young ROTC candidates on the bus that just arrived for active duty and trying to see at much as possible.  They were engineering college students from Rice, Duke and the dumbest (tongue in cheek) of the group was from Florida State.  As soon as we got back on the ship and sailed, we were asleep.

This morning we were off around 8:00AM and planned to catch the bus from Lahaina, Maui where we tendered, up to the resort area of Kaanapali Beach.  There was a long line waiting for the $1 bus ride, so we decided to avoid the pushing and grabbed a cab for $20 that included the tip.  We did not make any appointments in advance, but they did allow us to see rooms at the Westin Resort.  Very nice rooms and very typical Westin décor.  This is a great option, especially for those that are familiar with Westin and really like their predictable excellence.  It is very easy to move between the resorts here with a planned beach walk area that covers over 3 miles.   The 2^nd property was a condominium resort called Alli.  They have 1 and 2 bedroom condos that are well decorated with roomy living areas and separate bedrooms.  The manager was fantastic to take us around the property and show us the rooms without an appointment.  This is a great option for families or friends traveling together.  They have charging privileges at the Westin and Marriott (They are between the two) and they also provide room service.  Great pool area with BBQ grills for their guests.  (This was my favorite room option in Hawaii)  The online marketing is getting almost too good – some of our suppliers are sending us specials for the destination that we are visiting.  They must be tracing Kim’s location from her cell phone.  We received a 7^th night free offer for our customers staying at the Alli early this morning before we left the ship.  We had a great lunch and Mai Tais at the Whaler’s Village market at a nice restaurant on the beach (The Hula) with live local entertainment.  Then we ventured a little further to the Sheraton – a very large spread out property that is well maintained and a great beach and multiple pools and a lazy river.  We did not see any rooms, but made several pictures of the common areas.  This is all within an easy walk and probably 4 to 5 other resorts that I did not mention.

We are about to set sail for San Francisco.  We will be at sea for 4 days and arrive next Sunday.  We will continue to have our cell phone on while on the ship, but we will be fully available once we arrive in San Fran.

Later,

Keith Q.

Hi all,

Today we are in the French Polynesian Island of Moorea and yesterday (and last night) we were in Papeete on the island of Tahiti.  We are back on board and will be leaving these islands and headed for Hawaii.  We are onboard for the next 5 nights sailing to Honolulu.

It was very nice to have an extended stay in Papeete.  We visited the Radisson Resort and the Sofitel Hotel.  Both properties with beaches, but more like city hotels than island resorts.  Both of these properties have a number of guests that do pre and post cruises as well as guests that fly in internationally and stay over before traveling on to one of the outer islands such as Bora Bora or Moorea.  Kim and I were off the ship for dinner and enjoyed eating from street vendors cooking food from their trucks in a park like area next to the ship.  More locals hanging out there than folks off the cruise ship.  This takes place most nights.  Papeete is a medium size city with very good bus service and lots of shopping areas and an international airport.  We have been getting a few calls and emails from customers and working on their requests while on shore.  For those of you wanting to travel to Australia – We found a great price ($100 a night) to break up a long flight to Australia by stopping over in Tahiti.  The flights can be cheaper too.

Moorea is a real jewel of an island.  It is 51 sq. miles with a population of about 15,000.  It is only 15 miles from Papeete and a short inexpensive ferry boat ride.  A very rural feel and is very clean and well kept.  One of our taxi drivers called it Switzerland of French Polynesia and this is very good description.  Moorea is a mountainous volcanic island with beautiful waters and views from every angle.  I think Moorea might edge out Bora Bora as far as a place that I would want to come back and stay (it is still expensive, but less than Bora Bora).   The Hilton in Moorea is a picture perfect property with over the water bungalows that takes your breath away.  We were shown around by the hotel general manager (French) and he was excited to have us visit and very proud of his hotel.  Pictures will be posted to Facebook once we get to Hawaii and a faster internet connection.  We also visited Legends – a very nice villas resort that is more economical than most resorts with full kitchens and two and three bedrooms.  They have a private beach with free boat service for their guests.  The villas are up on the mountain with spectacular views.  (I’m running out of adjectives!)  This would be a great family option for Moorea.

The last two nights in the Casino have not been as good.  Nothing serious but Kim and I agreed to stay out for a few days and attend some shows.  The casino gets a little boring to me without a craps table.  Maybe this will change our luck.  I expect the casino staff will be sending us “get well soon” cards when we don’t show up.

That is all for now.  Probably less news during the next 5 sea days.

Keith Q.

Bora Bora

Bora Bora, French Polynesia

This is a very small island, 15 square miles, with a population of 7,395.  They speak French and Tahitian and English is widely spoken in tourist areas.  Mount Otemanu has an elevation of 2,390 at the highest area.  Currency is the Central Pacific Franc and the exchange rate is 80 to 1 so for our $200 we received 16,000 CPF’s.  We paid 5000 for 2 T-shirts.  Time zone is GMT -10. 

Hi All,

We just left Bora Bora, Tahiti and headed back out to sea.  Bora Bora is described by many as the most beautiful island in the world.  It is by far the most beautiful place that I have ever visited.  It was a little cloudy and rainy, but it did not stop us.  Tomorrow we will be in Papeete, Tahiti from 8:00AM till 3:30AM the next day – this will give us more time to explore resorts and see more of the sights.

Today we visited the Sofitel Resort and Spa Bora Bora.  As the picture shows, it is a resort with bungalows over the water.  (It was tough selecting one picture – those of you with facebook can see others at Kim’s Travel Deals)  We were treated magnificently with tours of the various bungalows, a lunch that was fantastic (including Lobster) and offers to use their facilities for snorkeling and internet.  They have a private Island out on the reef with their best bungalows and restaurant.  When we arrived on the Island we were met with a native blowing a conch shell to announce our arrival.  This is a moderately priced property for this area of the world – about 1/3 the cost of a Four Seasons or a St. Regis.  Getting around the Island was easy, the road circles the island with large volcanic mountains in the center.

Still about the same in the Casino – we continue to hold our own (which is very good!)

Take Care

Keith Q.

Our lunch was GREAT – we started off with local beer and some white wine for me, served with chips, sweet pepper sauce and black olives.  Our first course was fresh tuna tar tar after which we were given 3 large scallops in a local black pearl oyster shell and then we were presented with a small amount of cherry sorbet to cleanse our palates.   Our entrée was Native lobster which was flambéed at the table with coconut rum.  (Yum O)  For dessert we were each offered a plate with vanilla Ice cream, white layer cake and Crème Bruele.