Okay! So when I left off, we were still in Honolulu. It is a little urban in the downtown part, but I want to go back there another time and spend a week or two. We didn’t get to see too much of it when we stopped there before our cruise. The next morning, we felt pretty disoriented! The time shift really kills you out there! Your body feels like it’s all out of kilter.

Anyhow, I felt in need of something low key to do after my shopping expedition the night before. We ended up taking a cab to the Lyon Arboretum, which was only about five miles from the hotel. We didn’t have a lot of time, so we went in the morning and enjoyed the gorgeous plants and flowers.

It was like walking into another world! I saw plants I’ve never seen outside of a florist shop actually growing and blooming outside! We have some nice tropical plants in Florida, don’t get me wrong, but Florida has nothing on Hawaii when it comes to flowers! There is even a waterfall, but we had to get back to the hotel to get our bags and get to the ship for the rest of our trip. I just saw enough of Hawaii to make me want to see a whole lot more!

Like I said, the ship was very close to the hotel, so we check out and got all the bags transferred. We didn’t lose a single piece of luggage! I worry when we have those layovers like we did in Chicago. I keep the necessities with me, but I didn’t want to lose my new gowns or all my great new cruise outfits!

Since the Aloha Tower is right by the pier, I strolled around the shops for an hour or two. Bob found a nice bench and “read” (actually napped!) while I put some shopping miles on my sneakers. Later that day, we headed over to the pier. It was so close we just strolled over. The weather was gorgeous, and we had all afternoon, so it was a nice walk.

Oh, I have to tell you about the Tahitian Princess! What a beautiful ship! It’s such a luxurious ship, with lots of beautiful wood, upholstery, and carpets. It’s not a super crowded, crazy ship, either. It seemed fully booked, but it wasn’t like we were in a crowd the whole time.

If you’re ever on the Tahitian Princess, see the library! It is really amazing! There’s a little fireplace (not a real one, of course!) and these amazing murals all over the ceilings! I think most of the shelves and other cabinetry is made of cherry, which is all very highly polished and well cared for. Just my kind of ship. Oh, and I must mention Sabatini’s – this is my kind of restaurant! It’s an Italian restaurant, but it’s the kind of place where you feel like someone’s mother is making sure you get enough to eat! We were good and only did their multi-course FEAST twice. What great food, and plenty of it!

Overall, I’d say the Tahitian Princess really is more for the older crowd. It’s not as trendy as other ships I’ve been on. There were lots of honeymooners, which was so sweet! It’s a classy ship and it makes you feel pampered, but it’s not a wild crowd and, though there were some children and some children’s activities, mostly the entertainment and public areas were for the grownups.

I had to do one spa treatment, since I felt so manhandled after the time shift and the long flight. I ended up picking something call thalassotherapy. If you’ve never heard of it before (I never had!) it’s where you soak in a pool of minerals and salts along with these amazing jets under the water. It is a terrific way to unwind! It gives you a chance to meet some of your fellow shipmates, too! They had this hot rock massage thing that just looked a little too adventurous for my state of mind. So, after the pool, I got my hair done instead!

Let me tell you next about the first place we visited - Port Allen, Kauai. We got there in the morning and had the whole day to spend there. Bob had already booked a tee time when we got there (lots of golf courses) so I spent the day on my own. I was feeling a lot better by then, so this was fine with me! It’s good to get a break, even from your spouse, from time to time! I wanted to get some air and sun so I actually ended up doing something a little athletic. I took a tour of the beach on horseback! I made sure the folks who ran the stable found me a VERY calm horse (I’m no jockey!) and we took a nice, leisurely ride along the beach and through some of the most marvelous trails! My horse was an older brown mare named Betty, and she suited me fine! If you ever visit Kauai, be sure to see the South Shore from horseback! These are probably the luckiest horses on the earth! There are no roads where they take you, no traffic. It is so quiet! If you want to see nature on Kauai, this is the way to do it!

Our next port of call (the next day) was Lahaina, Maui. Bob, surprisingly, didn’t go golfing! Instead, we just spent the day together, strolling around and exploring the town. The shops were much more for the younger crowd, and I had to resist buying a second round of souvenirs for all the grandkids! It was a nice, relaxing day, topped off with another great meal on the ship. I have to admit I was in a little pain from riding Betty the day before, so it was good for me to spend some time walking!

The next day, we arrived at Hilo. Our big event here was taking a tour of the volcano! We booked an air tour and got to see an actual live volcano from the air! You can even see the lava inside the cone when you fly over. The volcano actually had a HUGE eruption back in the early ‘90s, and you can even see where all these poor people had homes that were destroyed. You can even see where the lava is still flowing into the ocean, and there are these HUGE clouds of hydrogen sulfide that are still coming off of it. Whew, smells like the biggest pile of rotten eggs ever! The tour only takes about an hour, so Bob and I spent the rest of the day being a couple of beach bums. We grabbed a couple of books, bought some drinks, spread out some beach towels, and just listened to the waves. There is nothing more relaxing that listening to waves!

The next two days we spent at sea, so we just enjoyed the ship. Bob worked on his golf swing (of course!) while I read, tried to do a few miles on the treadmill and chatted with our shipmates. I love meeting people! Oh, the entertainment on the ship was pretty good, too – not super high quality performances or anything, but the jokes were clean and it was a lot of fun. There are a couple of shops on the ship, and, of course, I found a black pearl necklace that was so much better than the one I bought in Honolulu. Oh well, I’ll give the one from Honolulu to one of the girls!

Our next stop was Christmas Island! Before this cruise, I could not have found this place on the globe. You hear about it, but not many people seem to go there. And no wonder! It’s in the middle of the ocean, and there is NOTHING around it! It’s basically the top of a mountain that pokes up out of the ocean. There is actually not a lot to do here, but we didn’t want to be one of those people who don’t get off the ship, so Bob and I took off for the national park. Most of the island is a national park, so it’s not hard to find it! It was fascinating to see the birds and the crabs on the island. There are so many different kinds of crabs and birds! And, of course, more lush vegetation than has the right to be in any single place. We went on a hike that was about a mile, and we saw so many bizarre plants and flowers. And I thought Hawaii was lush! So, the lesson here is that you SHOULD get off the ship, even though Christmas Island doesn’t exactly have loads of shopping, golf courses or tourist attractions.