September 23, 2018 Day One of our Pacific Adventure!
After a lot of planning, over-preparation, and a bit of anxiety, we flew out to Los Angeles to board the Golden Princess ship to cruise across the Pacific Ocean. Our ultimate destination was the island continent of Australia. On the way we would be stopping at Honolulu Oahu Hawaii, Kauaii Hawaii, Papeete Tahiti French Polynesia, Mo’orea French Polynesia, Pago Pago American Samoa, Auckland and several other ports in New Zealand.
This truly crazy plan was designed to be carried out in three phases just to avoid two long grueling 21-plus hour flights from JFK to Auckland or Sydney and return. So, here we are on a huge ship cruising southwest across the Pacific for 20 days to arrive in Auckland,New Zealand on October 14.
By the way, that’s NOT Jeff stretched out near the aft pool in the photo above! Our Home-Away-From-Home for twenty days is a comfortable “balcony mini-suite” on the 9th floor – Dolphin Deck – of the M.S. Golden Princess. After we boarded, we explored the ship, scoped out several comfortable corners, and settled in for our first long cruise of 4-days and 5-nights at sea. On the first night out of Los Angeles, the sea was a bit rough. However, for the rest of the journey to Honolulu, the Pacific Ocean lived up to its “pacifico” reputation. There were light breezes and gentle rolling waves under clear skies all the way to Hawaii.
September 28: We arrived early in Honolulu harbor as the sun rose behind the city towers and the extinct volcano called Diamond Head. It was a magnificent entrance.
The Golden Princess slowly entered the narrow channel and quietly slid alongside the dock. After the ship was secured, 2700 passengers disembarked and were dispersed into the warm humid capital. A gentle misty rain fell as we walked down the street among modern government buildings. We both had never been to Hawaii so we were curious about our 50th state. A few blocks from the pier, we reached the historic district and found the famous statue of the last reigning king of the Hawaiian islands: King Kamehameha.
The temperature was in the high 80s and the air was saturated with humidity, but the king welcomed us to his beautiful island. Just across the street was Iolani Palace which was the royal residence of the Kalakaua Dynasty from 1874 – 1893. Thankfully, the entire building was well air-conditioned so we could take a break from the heat and learn a little about Hawaiian history. We took a guided tour of the palace which was very informative.
Honolulu is the capital of the state of Hawaii and is located on the island of Oahu. Everywhere we looked there were palm trees, bright green grass, and a variety of tropical birds. We found a bus stop and after a few minutes, hopped on a very cold air-conditioned bus to the impressive Ala Moana Shopping Center in the middle of town. The fare was $2.75 each one-way or $5.50 for an all day pass.
We walked through the mall toward the main street along the beach. Eventually, we had lunch at a beachside restaurant then continued along the sand toward Waikiki Beach. A breeze blew off the light blue water and we felt a bit cooler as we explored. We walked out to the end of a jetty to have a great view of the famous beach. Crabs crawled across the black rocks near the breakwater and we saw a large sea turtle poke his head up through the water. It was a gloriously gorgeous day.
Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head:
We took another public bus back to the pier and boarded the Golden Princess for a relaxing evening. The ship left Honolulu and continued northwest toward the Hawaiian Island of Kauai – pronounced “ka-va-ee.” This was to be our next port-of-call tomorrow.
