Day 12 - Crossing the Golden Line

Today, at noon, we crossed the Golden Line. That is the point where the International Date Line crosses the Equator. From midnight to noon it was Friday, Jan. 30, and from noon to midnight it is Saturday, Jan. 31. I took a picture at noon and you can almost see the dotted lines in the water. (Ha) Glenda enjoyed the Golden Line drink that they gave everyone. After our time around the pool, we went down and entered the slot tournament where I made the finals in second place. In the finals I came in fifth (out of 6), but we all got t-shirts and key chains for making the finals. The winner got $117. Next we went to bingo and I won the second game in a 2 way split and received $18 and Glenda won the third game in a 3 way split and won $15. It looked like our lucky day. After dinner we went to the casino and quickly donated our money. So much for our lucky day. The last two pictures are one's I took of pictures that the ship's photographers took.

Day 10 - At Sea

Today was another hot (81) sunny day until around noon when it started to rain.  We went back to the cabin and sat on the verandah and read until bingo time.  I managed to win another game but had to split the pot again.  I won $14 on my $10 card.  Tonight was the the Black and White formal night and the dining room was decorated with (what else?) black and white balls.  After dinner was the dance and prizes.  I danced with the guest relations manager and Glenda danced with her husband, the hotel manager.  After the dance, we went up to the Crow's Nest and ran into Peter Wallis, the purser, and he bought us 2 rounds of drinks.  A bit later, the electrical officer, MacKenzie and his better half stopped and talked with us and bought another round.  We made it to 1am but we set our clocks back another hour.  We are now 12 hours behind Dallas.  We got 2 world clocks/USB hubs as presents tonight.

Day 9 - At Sea

We haven't had much to report for a few days. We spend the day after breakfast around the pool, play bingo in the afternoon, and go to dinner. Occasionally, we stop by the casino after dinner and contribute some $s to their cause. The attached picture of the aft pool shows where we spend the majority of our time. It continues to get hotter each day as we approach the equator. Our room is located one deck below the bottom of the stairway in the picture, so the trek is minimal. Last night the casino had a Hawaiian Night party and we won $10 with our match play cards on the roulette table. We then managed to give it back along with some of our $s on the slots. They held drawings for prizes and a free slot machine tournament, but we did not win anything.

Day 7 - Honolulu

Today when we got up, we had a very nice full rainbow in the sky outside our room.  This must be the rainbow cruise.  After breakfast, we went out and wandered around town past Our Lady of Peace chapel and back to the Aloha Tower shops.  We docked right next door to the tower.  This was Chinese New Year week-end and they put on some lion dance shows and fireworks.  Then we went to Hilo Hattie's and did some more shopping.  When we returned, we went to Gordon Biersch for some calamari and beer.  We did a little more shopping in the mall and came back to the ship.  They had a Hawaiian BBQ around the Lido pool, but we decided to have dinner in the dining room.  We will now be at sea for seven days, so there might be days missing if there is nothing exciting going on.

Day 6 - Hilo, Hawaii

When we arrived, the weather looked ominous with dark clouds and rain in the distance.  But then, a partial rainbow appeared and we knew that all would be OK.  We had ordered breakfast to be delivered to the room at 7:30 and our tour wasn't until 10, so we got to ease into it.  Our first stop was at the Tsunami Center in old downtown Hilo.  After a very interesting multi-media presentation, we headed up to the 420 foot tall Akaka Waterfalls.  It was a very scenic drive with a couple of quick stops for photos and the falls were great, except for the climb back up to the parking lot.  We both made it.  Next was the gold statue of King Kamahamaha and then on to the Big Island Candy Store where we bought macadamia nut shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate for munchies in the room.  After getting back to the ship, we unloaded things in the room and went on the shuttle bus to Hilo Hattie's, Safeway, and the drug store for supplies we might need for the rest of the cruise.

We went up to the Crow's Nest for a drink before dinner and sat beside Vicki Lawrence and her husband Al.  We chatted with them for about 25 minutes about cruising and Al's boat.

Day 4 - At Sea

Every day gets warmer and sunnier. We spent most of the day by the pool sunning and reading. Tonight was our first formal evening and the Captain's Reception. We got to meet the officers and got free drinks and snacks before a wonderful dinner. Vicki Lawrence put on a great show, especially when she changed to Moma. We went to the Crow's Nest bar after the show and Peter, the Purser, bought a round of drinks. When we returned to the cabin, we had another gift. A pair of leather business card wallets with the cruise theme on them. We also gained another hour.

Day 3 - At Sea

Today was partly cloudy, but warmer. Spent most of the day around the pool and on the verandah in our room. Glenda got some sun and I read on my book (Marley and Me). We got notice that there would be a free tour/dinner in Sydney for all suite guests (including us in the mini-suites). Glad we hadn't booked anything there. We aslo changed our tour in Semarang, Indonesia from the bus to the train. Tonight's show was Europa by the ship's singers and dancers, but we didn't make it. Tomorrow night will be Vicki Lawrence of the Carol Burnet Show and Momma's House. We will definitely go to that. No pictures today.

Day 2- At Sea

Today was cloudy and chilly so we spent most of the day wandering around the ship. We entered the slot tournament in the casino and Glenda made it to the finals. She came in 4th and got a T-shirt and a $5 match play card. We then played bingo and I won the blackout round along with another passenger and had to split the pot. I won a whopping $13 on a $10 dollar card. While in the Ocean Bar before dinner, we met the entertainer for the evening show, Rick Star, a comedian, but we didn't make it to the show. After dinner, we made a quick donation the the slot machines and turned in early again. We had to set our watches back an hour as we entered another time zone. The picture is of another display in the ship.

Departure from LA

We got to LA early and the driver was waiting for us. Once onboard , we started running into people we knew from previous cruises. The first day we already knew 3 passengers and 15-20 crew members. The pictures are of Jeff the tan man who we were on the Asia/Pacific Cruise in 2007, Henke the Hotel Manager and Ness our favorite bartender as well as some art work around the ship. We got all of our 5 bags of luggage and managed to unpack them all and put everything away before dinner. We may never find anything. Glenda was really glad that our dining table assignment was exactly what she had requested from the Dining Room Manager Tom, who was on our last cruise and is also on this one. We have 5 days at sea before we get to Hilo, HI on Saturday. We are having problems with the internet connection due to overcast skies.