The Azamara Experience

In 2017, Donna and I took a 7-night cruise on the Azamara Quest from Rome to Barcelona. Below is an edited description of our experience.

The Ship

One thing that distinguishes luxury and upper premium cruise ships from the other lines is the space per guest ratio. The Azamara Quest offers an almost luxury feeling when it comes to space, but at a much lower price. Our cruise was fully booked, but rarely did we feel like we were in a crowd. Perhaps two or three times we saw full elevators. We rarely stood in line more than a couple minutes.

With only 350 cabins this small ship is like a boutique hotel. You are never far from anything. Our cabin was on Deck 6. The pool deck with the Windows Café and Spa were on Deck 9, so I always walked up. The Cabaret Lounge and Main Dining Room were just below us on Deck 5. The Cabaret Lounge was directly below our cabin, and it was possible to hear the show one night, but it was not loud and they were done before bedtime!

The ship dress code is resort casual.

Pulling into Monaco

Flamenco Dancer at White Nights in Palamos

Italian Night Antipasta Buffet

Captain Jose celebrates the crew

Boldoni Opera House in Livorno where we saw the Three Tenors

The Cabins

Unlike the most expensive luxury ships, the Azamara ship’s cabins were similar in size to large ships, but that is about the only similarity to a standard cruise ship. The king size bed was definitely a step above most cruise beds. The 40-inch TV is at the foot of the bed and visible from the couch. The bathroom was small, but workable.

Suites on the ship offer an upgrade which is comparable to luxury ships with specialty dining included, lots more floor space, larger balcony, a full size bath room and more storage. The Club Continent Suite is Azamara’s Junior Suite at about 320 square feet total. The Spa Suite has a Rain Shower, Jacuzzi tub and dual bathroom sinks along with lots of closet space in a total of over 450 square feet. At nearly 650 square feet, the Club Ocean Suite has a separate bedroom and balcony that is 173 square feet, a dining table and lots of open floor space and storage. Finally, the Owners Suite is almost 850 square feet with a balcony over 200 square feet.

Entertainment

The shows were surprisingly good considering the size of the ship. The entertainment staff included a small band (keyboards, bass, drums and four horns), four singer/dancers, two dancers, a guitarist/singer and a pianist/singer and one host. When the band played jazz and dance music, they were energetic and spot on. There were several excellent singers in the group, especially the Cruise Director Tony whose warm personality really set a tone for his staff.

We saw a few bingo, trivia and other audience participation events listed on the program, but we did not attend these. If you are going on a cruise for over-the-top entertainment, Azamara will be disappointing. The entertainment of the ship was less a central feature of the experience than an enhancement. And it was surprisingly good.

Cuisine

Oceania’s innovations as far as offering luxury cuisine on a less expensive cruise are closely matched by Azamara.

 The Window Café on the pool deck offered less variety than on a large ship, but I did not miss it. Each day at dinner there were ethnic themes such as Italian, Indian, Spanish and French providing a more casual alternative to the Main Dining Room. Because the main dining room offered such high quality, it was tempting not to bother with the specialty restaurants. The two specialty restaurants – Aqualina (Italian) and Prime C (steak house) are free to suite guests and a small extra fee for others. 24-hour room service is offered. Donna took advantage at breakfast when a wide variety of cold and hot options were available.

Naturally, special diets such as vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and other are accommodated.

Service

One of the things that makes vacationing more enjoyable and practical is having help with the little things we do for ourselves normally. It saves time and makes the experience more relaxing. The staff of the Quest, having fewer guests to serve were friendlier and less harried than on a larger ship.

Events

Azamara includes complementary special events on every cruise. There were two that were most memorable. Nearly every cruise has an “Azamazing Evening” which is a on shore happening to which every guest on the ship is invited. For our cruise, this was the Three Tenors of Florence at the Goldoni Opera House in Livorno. What could have been a logistical challenge was accomplished without a hitch. The entire ship was transported into town by bus and returned the same way. The timing and organization were impeccable. The performance by the three singers and pianist was impressive and a lot of fun. When we got back to the ship we had to wait to get back on board, but they had the ship band playing jazz while we were served hot chocolate (with a rum floater for those so inclined). A truly great evening!

The second event was what they called the White Nights partyon the pool deck. Guests are encouraged to wear white. The grill had lobster, beef and lamb cooking so the whole area smelled of a wonderful barbecue. Other memorable items were a seafood fry mixing calamari with sardines and shrimp. The entertainment was a local Flamenco group from Palamos. That was followed with the ship ensemble playing dance music. The dance floor was full most of the evening.

Itinerary

Azamara has distinguished themselves most with their itineraries. The small ships make it easier for them to add boutique ports and to dock at the most convenient berths at the ports. In addition, they overnight in many ports and stay late into the evening in others, offering a more extensive experience in many ports.

Conclusion

In its promotional materials, Azamara talks a lot about its focus on port, but in my opinion the ship experience was just as wonderful. The staff and cuisine and even the entertainment were better than you might expect. Azamara includes basic cocktails, wine and beer; daily gratuities; special cultural events and self-service laundry in their pricing – making a cruise on Azamara a special experience and an excellent value.

There is something to be said for large ships. But Azamara offers a reasonably priced alternative with the stress-free advantages of a sailing all-inclusive resort with a well-trained staff.

Rhapsody* – A Royal Caribbean Classic

Rhapsody in Dubrovnik

My last Royal Caribbean cruise was aboard the world’s largest ship, Royal Caribbean’s Symphony*. Rhapsody, one of the largest ships around when it first sailed in 1997, holds less than one-third of the passengers of the Symphony. So how does it compare to its giant sister?

And how does the 22-year-old ship look? While the décor still has a bit of the 90s in the less expensive cabins and some public areas such as the Schooner Bar and Theater, the overall maintenance is excellent. The large central atrium sparkles and the pool deck and spa areas are very modern. There is very limited evidence of the ship’s age. And it is fresh smelling.

String Duo in the Atrium

Cabins

Cabins range from small and inexpensive inside cabins to massive suites. We took an Oceanview cabin on the lowest public deck at about midship. (If you want to avoid rough waters this location is just about ideal since it is near the center of gravity for the ship.) It is nice to see out of a window when sailing, but if you like taking photos you won’t be doing it through the window. The salty sea air makes the view blurry and the windows impossible to keep clean. And like many Oceanview cabins, our headboard was below the window, so you’d have to kneel on the bed to take a picture. But the room was well laid out with good floor-space in the center making it easy for two people to move around. The bathroom was small but worked well. There were no USB ports but there were 3 plugs at the desk which was sufficient for us.

Bathroom

Oceanview Cabin set up with two beds

Desk

Common complaints for older ships are bathroom odors and a lack of hot water. We experienced none of that. The room always smelled fresh and I never had a problem taking a shower. Fitting your luggage under the bed was a bit of a challenge because the ship stored linens under there. The TV system was very disappointing with no US based news channels and no pay-per-view movies.

Service

Royal Caribbean has a solid reputation for service and the Rhapsody certainly more than met my expectations. The Dining Room staff was particularly accommodating. The Windjammer (buffet) sometimes had issues keeping up with needed supplies such as napkins and utensils, but there was always plenty of food. Our cabin steward Carlos was very helpful.

I did run into one staff member who was clearly having a bad day. When I asked if we could switch to anytime dining, the gentleman at the podium told me that would not be possible because the anytime diners were selfish and all came between 730pm and 800pm which made the job difficult for his staff. Oops!

Like most other cruise lines, Royal Caribbean adds a daily gratuity to your bill to distribute to the staff. Right now that gratuity is $14.50 per person per day. This is distributed not just to the staff you see, but to staff in other areas who are ensuring you have a wonderful experience. You and I may not like how this works, but the hardworking staff rely on it for their income. While you can opt out of this and determine your own tip, this will negatively impact those behind the scenes. I encourage you to pay the set cruise line tip through your onboard account and if you get exceptional service from staff members, give them an additional tip.

Vegetarian Kitchen

Appetizer Kitchen

The staff had citizens of 62 different countries! The largest contingents were from India, Philippines and Indonesia. On my first cruise in the late 1980s most were from the Caribbean. About 10 years later that had changed to many from Eastern Europe. Both those regions still have representatives on cruise ships, but now the dominant groups are south Asia and southeast Asia. For the first time I recall, there were staff members from mainland China.

Entertainment

The massive Symphony of the Seas had amazing Broadway quality shows with eye-popping technical features. The much smaller Rhapsody had some entertaining guest entertainers. We enjoyed a comic magician and a comic string quartet. We saw the singers and dancers in one not very memorable show.

On the other hand, there were many entertaining onboard activities such as sexiest man contests, silly game shows, karaoke competitions and tons of trivia games (often 3 or 4 per day). The Cruise Director’s staff was extremely positive and energetic and made the goofiest activities fun.

Rhapsody (on the right) anchored with MSC and Windstar ships below Fira in Santorini, Greece

Cuisine

We ate at the buffet and in the main dining room but did not make it to the specialty restaurants which have an excellent reputation. The breakfast buffet had a wide variety of fare including an eggs-to-order station. The bacon was undercooked, and the bagels were often dried out from sitting under a heating lamp, but that is the challenge of all buffets.

At lunch time, the ship did not have the outdoor grill or the pizza oven running all the time as some comparable ships have, but they had the standard American lunch items along with nice representations of Indian and a few other ethnic cuisines. There were always nice salads and fruits available. The lettuce was not sufficiently spun dry.

Dinner had four or five choices of always available appetizers, entrees and desserts with five more featured specials each night. The vegetarian selections were interesting and often from various ethnic cuisines. I enjoyed all but one item. I mentioned this to the waiter because I believe in feedback and the assistant Maitre d’ was sent to make sure I was happy.

Items such as lobster and filet mignon were not served in the dining room gratis as they have been in the past. Part of the reason for this is the location. You are more likely to see these items on the menu in the Caribbean and Alaska, but in Europe they are much more expensive so they are offered only for an added fee.

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I took a tour of the kitchen followed by a brunch. It was impressive. The most interesting part was about the environmental rules and how they separate different types of waste.

Drinks and Internet

Unlike some of its competitors Royal Caribbean does not offer pricing which includes a drink package. So if you are a moderate to heavy drinker, and you do not purchase one of the optional drink packages, you final account may be a surprise if you don’t keep an eye on it. Royal Caribbean does not have a set price for their daily drink package. It varies from about $60 to $80 per day including gratuities. It is unclear why they don’t have a set price, but I suspect they have found a way to maximize revenue.

Solarium

Shall We Dance Lounge

Lounge in the Atrium

And if you get the package, both passengers in a cabin must get the package. So, for example, when one of our traveling companion and her son were considering this there were not any good choices. She is a light drinker and it would have made sense for him to buy the package.

During the cruise there were special offers. Three in our party purchased a 10 drink card which they shared, saving a few dollars per drink. Prices for drinks were comparable to nice resorts with beers in the $7 to $9 range, glasses of wine starting at about $9 and fcocktails often coming in over $10. After adding a gratuity, you can see that will add up.

Also not packaged with pricing is an internet package. I was hoping to keep an eye on my work email, but the only way to do that was to buy a daily package which for one device was about $25 per day. Instead I bought it midday on two days during the cruise and was able to look at my email 4 days. Royal Caribbean does not offer an internet package by the minute, which would have been helpful for me.

Drinks and internet can add significantly to your bill.

The atrium is 5 decks high and offers casual evening entertainment

Other Cruisers

Royal Caribbean markets to all segments: families, seniors, young people, honeymooners and singles. They also have a strong international following. On our cruise there were many from the UK, Canada, Korea and China. If you sail with them during school breaks you will see lots of families with all ages of children. If you are bringing children and want them to participate in the children’s or youth programs, you may need to sign them up as early in the cruise as possible because space can be limited.

Value

Royal Caribbean has a very loyal clientele, so their cruises tend to sell early and fill up. Ship quality, solid cuisine and accommodating service are the reasons for this. It also allows them to have higher prices and / or fewer added values. Loyal RC cruisers get some extra benefits, of course. What you will find is that pricing varies quite a bit with similar cruises on Royal Caribbean. Cabins for 4 during school breaks can be particularly pricey while cabins for two may be good values.

Rhapsody anchored in the Bay of Kotor

At Cruise Planners we often get a limited number of cabins with small to really big discounts. So if you are flexible with your dates, you can often get a great deal for your cruise, which is why we cruised on the date we picked.

But when considering your options you should also look at the cost of drinks and internet when comparing different lines. Celebrity and Norwegian offer extras in their prices, so they might have a better value for you. Other lines may have periodic promotions with drinks and onboard credit which might add more value.

But if you appreciate quality, Royal Caribbean is a great choice in its category.

 

*Royal Caribbean ends the names of all its ships with of the Seas. I have skipped that.

Hiking in Southeast Alaska

Observations from my cruise in Southeast Alaska on UnCruise Adventures Wilderness Discoverer, August 31 to September 7, 2019.

Lake Skelokum near Bailey Bay on Cleveland Peninsula

There are few trails, so often hiking is actually bushwacking. The good news is that there are few bugs and no snakes or poisonous plants. The tricky thing is what to wear. Mud boots are essential. You will step through streams and into mud. And you’ll need to be waterproof head to foot. If you start early you will need layers but if you continue until afternoon, you will regret the layers. So you’ll need a light backpack to carry the items you have taken off. A camera and video camera would be nice. Some people take a walking stick.

Our first hike was on day two of the cruise – an all day affair with a box lunch. We had left Misty Fjords and were in Tongass National Forest. This almost goes without saying, since nearly all of Southeast Alaska is in the National Forest. We entered Bailey Bay on the south side of the Cleveland Peninsula and anchored in the shallow water of the Bay. We took skiffs to the rocky shore and stepped into the shallow water. It was low tide so the trailhead sign for the Skelokum Lake trail was about 100 feet away. (On our return at the days end it was at the waters edge due to high tide. After a moderate incline of about half a mile we entered the deep wood and soon could hear a loud waterfall. Along the way, Christian hooted out Hay-ooh to make the bears aware of our presence. We saw plenty of evidence that they were around – scat and foot prints. She had been hiking along the same trail within the last 24 hours. Christian had his bear spray in hand for the entire hike. He assured us there had been no cases where groups of 5 or more people had been attacked.

The trail first followed a gorge where the lake drained into the Bay. There were boardwalks from decades before, worn down and slick with damp. We were told it was often safer to step in the mud. Rocks, too, could be slippery. A small rocky waterfall crossed the trail the mud was washed from our mudboots.

Along the rocky trail

The small waterfall near Lake Skelokum

After perhaps 1 1/2 miles of hiking we reached Lake Skelokum where a large waterfall cascades over rocks. The fall is much steeper than it looks in the picture below.

The next two miles were muddy, rockfall covered areas to a shelter and hot springs.

Mud can be deep! (Photo by the Wilderness Discoverer Staff)

Old Growth Trees

Hiking under a rock

Enjoying the Hot Springs (Photo by the Wilderness Discoverer Staff)

Lake Skelokum near Bailey Bay on Cleveland Peninsula

We took lunch and enjoyed the hot springs at the far end of the hike.

We hiked back as we’d come stopping briefly at the Falls. When I got back my 64 year old left knee was throbbing and I realized that you need to cut your toe nails before hiking that far in mudboots. (My knee was fine the next day.)

Our second hike was in the Rainforest on Robert and Crow Island near the confluence of Frederick Sound and Stephens Passage. Don’t try to find it on Google. All I can say is that it is near Robert Island. We arrived in the fog.

There was no trail so this was bushwacking.

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After 2 hours we emerged from the Jungle.

The ship staff also offered easier shore hikes. If you have a chance…do some hiking in Alaska!

Alaska’s Whales and Bears

Fluke up close (photo by WD staff)

Orcas – Female and baby

Two cubs were curious about us (photo by WD staff)

Bears and whales, the largest land and sea creatures in Alaska are what many people want to see during their cruises or land trips. In my previous two trips there, riding trains and sailing on the big ships I saw one humpback, one orca and one black bear – all very briefly. I saw a baby black bear by chance from the Anchorage to Seward train in 2003. It was whoosh and gone. And on the last day or our Carnival cruise in 2003 in Canadian waters we saw on Orca fin nearby. On our Regent Seven Seas cruise in 2009 we saw a humpback whale show his tail. Amazingly I got a picture. But that was it.

When taking the big ships you can take a whale-watching excursion (usually from Juneau) on boats for a dozen to nearly 100 guests. The smaller the boat the higher the price and more likely you are to get close. Odds are you will see some whales on these excursions as the cruise season matches nicely with the whale season. Most likely you will see them blow, lots of humped backs and their tails when they dive. Breaches are rare in Alaska as is the practice of bubble-netting which culminates with several whales breaching together.

Seeing bears is less likely and often requires a more expensive excursion flying to eremote areas or taking a fast boat. Bear-viewing excursions are generally not offered by the cruise lines. Local companies buy the limited licenses for government sanctioned bear viewing sites. From Juneau and Ketchikan you can take these tours which include a float plane flight. You will get a couple hours of platform viewing. Some areas have black bears, some have brown bears and a few (like Anan on Wrangell Island) have both.

When you take a small ship that goes to more remote areas, your odds of seeing bears and whales are greatly increased, but never guaranteed. Sailing the first week of September, I was a bit worried that the whales would be scarcer and the bears would be done with the salmon eating which brings them to places tourists might see them. The prime bear viewing season is from late June to late August. Humpback whales are around from May to September, but prime season is June to August.

Bears

Here is Alaska.org information on Bear viewing. And here is Whale watching at Alaska.org. From Anchorage or one of the larger southeast Alaska ports, you will pay $600 to $900 per person to do bear viewing. From Wrangell it is closer so it will cost $250-300. Below a picture taken by the Wilderness Adventurer staff at Anan Wildlife Observatory where 60 viewing permits are issued per day. About 30 from our ship participated for a reduced price of $200. They seemed to love the experience.

Anan Bear-viewing (photo by Wilderness Discoverer staff)

I didn’t go because the day before when kayaking in Walker Cove (Misty Fjords National Monument), we saw a momma black bear and second year cubs feeding on salmon. This was my first kayaking expedition on the cruise and I only brought my phone (in a waterproof shell). I couldn’t get the phone to turn on, so the pictures below were taken by our guide Kelly. Here’s what happened. We were picking blueberries from the shoreside bushes when Kelly raised both her hands for everyone to be quiet. We saw something rustling through the underbrush and caught glimpses of bears. Finally the momma bear came down to the water (about 50-100 feet away from us) and grabbed a salmon from the water. Then she made two more trips to the water bringing her cubs. It was amazing.

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Whales

We saw humpback whales on 4 different occasions from the ship and orcas once. And some on our cruise saw them from skiffs (twice) and kayaks (once). We also saw two dolphins outside Wrangell and one porpoise in Frederick Sound.

(Our entire cruise was in the waters bordering the Tongass National Forest which covers much of Southeast Alaska. Maps for this desolate area often don’t have place names so even if I were to name the place, you would have difficulty finding it on a map. So I will mostly mention the general area.)

Under promise, over deliver. This is one of the most important principles of good customer service and when it comes to spotting wildlife, guides use this to ensure no one will be disappointed if it is a bad day (or week). During our orientation, our expedition manager, Ben, told us that we might not see many whales. As it turned out we saw them on 4 different days.

Right after we left Ketchikan, the crew spotted a group of humpback whales which we viewed as the sun was setting. Mostly we saw their backs and watched them blow. One of the incredible things about humpbacks is how the sound of their blows can be heard a mile or two away. The way you spot whales is the blows which can be spotted for miles.

After leaving Wrangell on day 3 of our cruise the captain sailed to several spots where the humpbacks were and we found a small group of humpbacks feeding. Unlike Orcas, humpbacks are generally solitary hunters. However, they do gather where there good feeding and sometimes cooperate in bubble net feeding (link explains bubble netting).

On day 4 we stopped at the Keku islands and many of us went kayaking. Those not on kayaks took skiffs out to find whales and they had some excellent close-up viewing. This was a lesson for us on the cruise. You are much more likely to get close to whales in a fast moving skiff than on a kayak. That afternoon we saw more humpbacks from the ship.

And then we saw some giant black fins. Orcas! At first there were two in the distance and then we sailed forward and were surrounded by a dozen or so of these black and white predators. Orcas do travel in pods, extended families that hunt together. Adult males and females are easy to distinguish because the male fin is much taller. We did not see a breach, but they danced around us for nearly an hour. We found out that there are two types of Orcas in Alaska – those who eat mammals such as seals and those who eat fish. While they are the same species, they have different habits which are passed down through pod behavior.

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On day 5 we hiked on Robert and Crow island in the morning. That afternoon we did kayaking and skiffing. The two kayaking groups went in different directions. We saw seals and sea lions. The other group headed toward the whales and along with the skiffs saw a group of whales up-close. Late afternoon we headed toward whales. At one point we could see possibly 100 whales blowing on 3 sides of the ship. This was near where Frederick Sound and Stephens Passage which are two large parts of the Inside Passage.

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Seeing all these whales felt like touching a mystery, but still not fully understanding. It was a rare connection with another species. It made me feel small with the desolate mountains, uninhabited islands and these giant travelers sharing a moment. They did not seem afraid, only reticent. They seemed to know they were faster than our ship. It would have been nice to see a breach or bubble netting, but I can see those things on the internet. For me, being among the water giants was a transcendent experience. My only regret was kayaking instead of taking a skiff on the days they got very close.

Kayaking near Stephens Passage (photo by WD staff)

Fluke up close (photo by WD staff)

 

It’s not a Cruise. It’s an UnCruise!

 

It’s the first week of September, so only 49 of the 76 passenger beds are filled on UnCruise’s Wilderness Discoverer. A surprising number of passengers have never taken a cruise before and find the idea of a big ship with shows and 24-hour room service unappealing. There are lots of campers and hikers and cyclists. There are a few otters out of water, of course. But they are good sports, watching the rest of us smile as we kayak rain or shine – this week it is mostly shine. Our group is perhaps two-thirds women. Excluding staff there are 8 passengers in their 20s. The average age is in the 50s. I’ve met a lawyer, two doctors, a retired commercial pilot, a carpet cleaning entrepreneur from England and college and grad students with their parents. They are a jolly group partying until nearly 1030pm at the bar before everyone collapses into bed.

What I saw…

There are no guarantees in nature, but here is a list of the things I saw – humpback whales (hundreds on 4 different occasions), orcas (dozens), sea lions, harbor seals, bald eagles, sockeye salmon, chum salmon, lots of other fish, krill, anenomes in lots of colors, sea stars, shellfish, lots of seabirds, otters, a momma bear with two cubs, voles, very few bugs, banana slugs, Dawes Glacier, snow and glacier topped mountains, lots of icebergs small to gigantic, narrow cliff-sided fjords, few other people, the Northern Lights and some Tlingit artifacts. (There will be several more posts – lots of pictures, fewer words – about the excursions and places we visited in the next week.)

The Ship

…or perhaps it is a boat. At 683 tonnes and 177 feet length, it is on a far different scale from the average Alaska cruise ship such as the Ruby Princess (113,000 tonnes, 987 feet). Built in 1992 the ship has mostly tiny cabins (my guess – 125 square feet) with 4 larger suites on the top deck. These small cabins are well-designed with twin / queen beds, a window that can be opened, a tiny bathroom with shower and toilet, a sink in the room, a small closet with shelves, a TV / DVR (no television available except for the bow camera and slide shows about the ship and ads for other UnCruise voyages), a large night stand and many hooks to hang your clothes. The mattress was good and with the window slightly ajar, I slept like a baby after very active days.

Window opens to the deck

Bathroom on left

Beside three outside decks, the only common area was the dining room / lounge / library where we also saw presentations by the expedition staff and gathered for the muster drill before moving the aft deck to try on our life vests. Furniture was not fancy but comfortable, just as in the cabins.

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On the top (4^th ) deck was the exercise area, and a storage area for the pontoon skiffs and kayaks. This is where we did our yoga and stretching in the morning which was well attended by the older passengers. On our deck (3^rd) there was a smaller aft area with the smoking area, two large hot-tubs, lockers and a stair to the flytail on Deck 2 where we boarded kayaks, skiffs and paddle boards. The staff launches kayaks off rollers on a platform from the aft of the ship which makes it easy and dry. A boarding platform makes getting in the skiffs simple with a little help from the staff. You don’t have to be athletic at all for this process…just have decent balance and be able to make two slightly longer than normal steps.

Deck 4 with Mick

The walkway outside our cabin

The Food and Drink

Each dinner offered 3 options – Sea, Land and Vegetarian. The entrees were excellent in each area. Seafood was locally sourced. I ate mostly the seafood – halibut, salmon, cod, Dungeness crab and shrimp. The vegetarian options were very popular and looked wonderful and imaginative. No steamed vegetables here. Breakfast and lunch were buffet style and had good options – nicely prepared. There were nice happy hours each day at 530pm offering nice cheese platters, hummus, chips, dip and other appealing options. While I would not call the cuisine gourmet, it was solid and carefully prepared.

Lunch Buffet

Breakfast

As a non-drinker, I only observed the bar facilities. I did partake of a nice ginger beer and blue berry concoction that was nicely tart. There were 5 or so craft beers on tap, a small variety of wines by the glass and a creative bartender whose daily specials were very popular. Open until… the bar was an evening hang out, but only got a bit raucous one night after the captain’s dinner and the team trivia contest.

Our barender, Terra

The Staff

Unlike on a large ship, you really got to know the staff (except for those in the kitchen). And many participated in activities on their afternoons off. The wait staff also took care of the cabins. The technical staff (captain’s staff) manned the skiffs, so we saw them regularly. They were a friendly group who clearly loved being on the water in Alaska.

The Bridge is open during daylight hours

The five on the expedition staff were incredibly qualified and enthusiastic. Ted works in Alaska in the Summer and spends the rest of his year in Africa or Southeast looking for rarely photographed species. Kelly and Christian head down to Baja in Winter to swim with sea creatures and sail. They pull Latin plant and animal names out of their hats. I suspect they are making them up but cannot prove it. Dani is an Art History major who finds the water’s edge to be source of endless fascination. Their leader was Ben who let his staff be the stars.

Christian, one of our Expedition Guides

Each evening a staff member took turns talking about different aspects of Southeast Alaska. Ted talked about bears. Kelly enthused about otters, harbor seals and sea lions. Dani talked about Tlingit art. Ted came back and share pointers about nature photography and his adventures around the world. And Kelly hosted the cruise trivia contest. Christian conducted the morning stretches which got the day going with humor and optimism. On the last night Dani presented the staff slide show of our adventure which will be sent to us by email.

How to Dress for an Alaskan Adventure Cruise

For me the outdoor stuff was the whole point of the trip. But I hate getting cold and wet, so I needed to be prepared. In mid-Summer the normal range of temperatures averages are 50 to 63 F and September 45 to 56 F. Our weather was more like the Summer average. Also, in Southwest Alaska morning fog and misting rain are very common. We only had a light rain on one day. Good for us, bad for Alaska.

Boots and jackets in the Hall

Nonetheless, I packed with cold, wet weather in mind. Mud boots are essential. The Alaskan standard are XtraTufs which are commonly known as Alaskan sneakers because of their ubiquity. I bought Mucks which are probably not as durable but work well. I also brought a light rain/wind breaker, a heavier one, a puffy jacket, several sweatshirts, t shirts, several pairs of top and bottom first layers (long johns), waterproof pants, wicking socks plus heavy wool and cotton socks. I also had hiking boats and actual sneakers for around the ship. I used it all and was glad I had it. I never got chilly. And I only took one false step into deep mud which barely got into my boots.

The Adventures in Brief

I will write and share more on a couple more posts in the next week or so. But here is a quick summary.

Nearly every day we could chose one morning and one afternoon activity

Hikes – You always need mudboots! But on a light hike, these are mainly for getting of the skiff at the shore and for wet sandy areas. Beside light beach walks there are two other kinds of hikes – trail hikes and bushwacking. Trails are very rare in Alaska, but it is nice to have a well-worn route to travel. Still climbing over rock falls and muddy areas are common. Bushwacking didn’t sound that appealing for someone from places with poison ivy, biting insects and poisonous snakes. But fortunately none of these hazards inhabit Alaska. And once you are in the center of the Tongass National Forest you understand why it is called a Rain Forest! Most hikes are a couple hours long.

Skiff tours – While I really enjoy the more physical activities, it was a mistake not to take the skiff tours more. Those who did got to see the whales much closer than I did from the ship. On the downside, skiff tours are the coldest of all activities because of the wind. The skiffs are used to approach glaciers and navigate through icebergs.

Getting ready for activities

Kayaking – I did this more than anything else. They use two person kayaks with a foot controlled rudder which makes steering easier when there is a current. From the kayak I saw 3 bears, hundreds of seals, two sea lions and lots of the shore creatures like sea stars and anenomes. On our route, the kayaking started out short distances and increased as the week went on which was helpful.

Snorkeling – Yes, snorkeling. They have extra thick wetsuits. This is the only activity offered by the cruise line that has an extra charge…wetsuit rental is $35. Normally it is cold and dark. My nephew did this and said it wasn’t that cold. And it was luckily a sunny day so they saw a lot underwater.

Bear Viewing – This is not a UnCruise excursion but was offered for only $200 through another company. Most passengers went to the Anan Bear Viewing area on Wrangell Island and saw both Brown and Black Bears enjoying their favorite meal – salmon.

Do you need to be an outdoor adventurer to enjoy this cruise? The answer is no. Every day you can take a skiff tour and / or an easy hike and have a wonderful time taking impressive pictures. Having the right clothes is the key. We had one or two indoor lovers in our midst and they also had a great time. I asked one woman about her feelings after a very cool, wet skiff ride. She had a pinched look at one point when the mist and cool were a bit intense. She said it was her own fault for wearing the wrong clothes that day, but she still enjoyed it.

Conclusions and Comments

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My opinion – Everyone who can afford it should do this cruise. I took over 2000 pictures with about 400 of whales and about 100 of glaciers and icebergs. You are all invited to my house to see them. It will only take 4 hours. Just kidding.

UnCruise in Alaska is not cheap but considering what is included is an excellent value. Drinks and excursions are included. Gratuities are not included. They recommend $20 to $30 per person per day. Considering the personalized service and the inclusion of small group daily activities, those recommendations did not seem excessive to anyone I spoke with.

Being in such a desolate and scenic place is a once in a lifetime experience. (Well, maybe twice for me.) If you want to see and feel the power of nature, this cruise is ideal. It was overwhelming!

Here is UnCruise on the iCruise website.

Symphony: Resort at Sea

Sorry Royal Caribbean – I’m not going along with your unnecessarily long ship names. I’m just going to call it Symphony. What’s next? Riverboats named “[enter name here] of the Rivers.”

Despite their insistence on long ship names, Royal Caribbean has a reputation for doing things well. I have many clients who stick with the line and are happy to pay a bit more than they would for the direct competitors such as Norwegian and Carnival. They are indeed Loyal to Royal.

Which brings me to our recent 4 night cruise to the Bahamas from Miami on the Symphony. Sister to the Oasis ships  – Oasis, Allure and Harmony, Symphony is a bit larger with new and upgraded features. This was a friends and family cruise for us, which included my 95 year old father-in-law. We booked 5 cabins in the Central Park and Boardwalk Balcony categories. Some people only want to look at the sea which makes sense, but for those of us who live near the beach, looking at the waves of the Caribbean might be less appealing that a bit of people gazing. Central Park is offers trees and quiet eateries and bars. The Boardwalk offers views of the carousel and the Aquatheater and sideways views of the ocean. iCruise.com had great prices for these cabins and our group seemed to enjoy these inward facing balcony cabins.

Central Park from Above

Central Park

The Ultimate Abyss and AquaTheater

Boardwalk

The seas were smooth for our late May sailing and having the inside balcony on the massive ship it was easy to forget you were on the ocean. It was like I was staying at a large tropical resort with dozens of fun activities, performances and places to eat and snack.

Getting Around

Symphony, like its sisters has 4 banks of 6 elevators. It is not a lot when you consider that the ship might hold 7000 passengers. Two banks are mid-aft and two are forward in the ship. Healthy walks are unavoidable, but not as bad as I suspected they might be. We were about 10 cabins away for the mid-elevators which might be about the perfect location. The larger the ship, the longer it takes to get the lay of the ship and I there were still some areas I missed exploring after 4 days.

My father-in-law gets around pretty well for short hikes, but we were right to bring along his folding wheelchair which we used a lot. But it could create a challenge at peak traffic times. Sometimes we had to wait for an elevator with sufficient space resulting in a five or even ten minute wait. And on the day of disembarkation, we nearly gave up. There were two elevators stuck on the Suites floor and the other 4 were so full we couldn’t get the chair on them. After waiting 20 minutes we had him stand in the elevator while I carried the wheelchair up two flights of stairs.

Food & Beverage

The Symphony has an amazing number of dining options and many are included. We stuck with the free options on our short cruise.

Just after boarding we headed to the Windjammer for a casual lunch. The buffet was arranged with a few side buffets for some hot items and drinks, but most foods were served from buffet islands which offer more efficient access. I tried several stir-fry choices on the day of embarkation and the meat was well trimmed, the vegetable still a bit crispy and the sauce tasty and not too oily. The french bread rolls were good, but not as crispy as you would like. For a bread-lover, the options were limited.

In the main dining room the first night the 10 of us enjoyed an excellent meal. Royal Caribbean showed what I remember from past cruises. Their food is better than the other lines in the same family category. As is common now with cruise lines there were a few items (lobster, surf and turf) on the menu that had an extra charge.

Breakfasts did not stand out, but were solid – plenty of the savory treats I favor – bacon and smoked salmon.

We had two specialty lunches at El Loco Fresh up on the pool deck and at Park Cafe in Central Park. These were not as well-managed as the larger restaurants. The taco bar at El Loco was hard to navigate and not arranged in logical order. At Park Cafe the pre-made mozzarella sandwich I ate had soggy bread. My father-in-law’s made to order sandwich took more than 10 minutes to arrive.

Our second and fourth nights eight of us ate at the complimentary Solarium Cafe, specializing in Greek and a few seafood specialties. Twin lobster tails were an additional $15 and I had them twice – wonderful! The appetizers buffet had lots of options and the dessert including baklava were excellent.

Outside Solarium Cafe

The third night we ate at the buffet. It was surprisingly crowded. The food was good, with a nice variety of options, but I would not do that again because of the mass of people there.

I can’t attest personally to the quality of the beverages, but our group seemed to enjoy them. There were some unique items like a smoking martini in Wonderland bar on deck 12. Most got the beverage plan and were able to get anything they wanted. I did have a virgin Pina Colada on CocoCay and it was refreshing and cool on a hot day.

Service

Since I’m in the cruise business, I sometimes get to go on cruises I could not otherwise afford. And we get spoiled. A small ship almost always offers the kind of personal service that we all wish for. And a large ship cannot compete with that.

Long before the cruise, we attempted to make a reservation for 10 in the main dining room for our first night. One call center agent said it was done. A few weeks later we discovered there was no reservation. The second call center agent said there were no tables for 10 in the dining room, but said he had made a reservation for 8pm. When we arrived at the dining room just before 8, they told us that there was no reservation, but they managed to get us seated (we had the open dining plan) at a table for 10. There were 4 other tables for 10 nearby. Clearly there is an issue, but it was more with the call center, not the ship.

Royal Promenade

Veterans Get-together

Entering the Abyss

Once we were on the ship the staff was extreme accommodating and friendly. Our cabin steward was not available until about 6pm the first night, but once he arrived he made sure everything was the way we wanted separating the beds for my sister-in-law and father-in-law and opening the panel between our balconies. He continued to show the same kind of diligence for the entire cruise.

The dining staff in the sit-down restaurants were not fast, but got everything right. And all the staff members were concerned that we be happy with their service. Clearly Royal Caribbean has high expectations of the service staff and the service workers know it. A few seemed almost desperate that we report their good service. Overall, I was very impressed with how helpful the crew was.

Shows

Beside the amazing vessel, the entertainment was the area where the Symphony experience stood out most. I am not a big fan of shipboard entertainment, but this was in a class of its own. We saw three shows and peaked into another. The first show we saw was FLIGHT, a silly musical extravaganza, with amazing affects and fine singers and dancers. The history of flight was told in reverse starting with space travel and ending with the Wright Brothers. The stage and props were world class and we got a hint of the excellent singers and dancers featured in Hairspray. There were two set pieces that stick in my mind. First there were two astronauts floating around in the Space Station to music. At first, I thought it was a video, but as they moved the capsule closer to the front of the stage I realized it was live. Amazing. Even more stunning was a half-size Wright Brothers flight that took the bi-plane out over the audience. A great show for kids of all ages.

Before the Watershow

Parade in the Royal Promenade

Just before we went into Hairspray we snuck into the ice show. I was truly sorry we didn’t see the whole thing. The story was a mystery set in London is 1977. The skating was very impressive and at one point in the show there are 48 synchronized drones flying above the ice.

Hairspray was the highlight. It was a slightly shortened version of the Broadway musical. My wife’s cousin who goes frequently to Broadway and directs community theater productions of musicals in New Jersey said it was Broadway quality. I’d seen bits and pieces of the movie, but really didn’t know the whole story. What made it better than the other shipboard productions was the story and the fact that it was about 90 minutes long. Most ship shows limit themselves to about 45 minutes and don’t really have a message. The performers displayed not only world-class talent, but also passion and commitment to the show’s message. Everyone in our group loved it.

Finally we saw the Aquatheater production of Hiro, a series of set pieces with vaguely Japanese themes and costumes. Featured were high dives, dancing in water, stylized battles, high wire, acrobatics and lots of loud, percussive music. It was fun and heart-stopping at times. If you sit in the front few rows you will get wet. Don’t miss it!

One last entertainment event was the parade in the Royal Promenade on Deck 5. At lunchtime during our day at sea the entertainment staff put on a parade with boats, sailors and pirates and more. Great for kids and goofy fun for adults. Prior to the parade, I’d taken my father-in-law (who is a World War II Marine veteran) to a Veterans Get-together. A staff member who had served in the British military in Afghanistan did a wonderful job hosting. Each of the about 10 vets who showed up spoke for a few minutes about his or her experience. It was touching and they all honored my father-in-law. And afterward our host had my father-in-law serve as Grand Marshall of the parade – before the pirates.

Onboard recreation

Lots of options and I won’t do it justice in this description. Three impressive water slides..I went down one and Donna slide down a couple of them. An even bigger slide is the Ultimate Abyss slide (no water) that takes you down 10 floors. There are two flow-rider surfing areas, an incredible kids water playground, very cool mini golf and much, much more. It is truly a family resort at sea, offering many more options than most resorts offer. And the waits were not bad to get on the slides or surf on the flow-rider.

Waterslides onboard

Pool Deck

Kids Pool

CocoCay

Royal Caribbean re-opened their private-island in the Bahamas, CocoCay in May and we had the opportunity to visit the massive outdoor recreation facility that they built. Most of the space on the island is complimentary beach and pool areas to enjoy the sun and the water. There seemed to be plenty of free umbrellas and chairs. And snack bars and restaurants dotted the island. They offered the typical barbecue options with the typical inconveniences of carrying the food to your chair on paper plates. I had an excellent Greek salad in a soggy recycled paper box. It has been the same on all the private islands I’ve visited.

Perfect Day at CocoCay

They offered water recreation equipment for small rental fees. The main pool is said to be the largest in the Caribbean.

The water park with it’s massive array of water slides and other fun stuff for all ages had a small admission fee – $39. They also offered a zip line and a hot air balloon ride. The prices for those seemed a bit high to me. The balloon ride was $79. The zip line was more than that.

We had a great time on CocoCay, except for the hour that my father-in-law was lost. No worries, we found him with 8 of us fanning out across the island. The Royal Caribbean staff was helpful.

Cabins

Symphony has dozens of cabin categories from small inside cabins at the front of the ship to two-story suites on the top decks. There are a good number of family cabins with bedding for more than 4. Our group enjoyed our inside facing balconies above Central Park and the Boardwalk. They are a good value for your money costing not that much more than an Oceanview cabin. Relatively small, the space is well-designed with a larger than average shower and more than enough storage except in the bathroom where they could have done a better job with the vanity space.

Conclusions

Symphony doesn’t feel much like the other cruise ships I have sailed on. It really strikes me as an urban resort or a massive summer camp with high-rise apartments. When the Oasis came out in 2009 they advertised that you never had to leave the ship if you didn’t want to. They Symphony lives up to the hype. We didn’t feel the need to get off in Nassau.

If you are sailing to see a new place every day, this may not be the ship for you. But if you just want to relax and have lots of recreational options, or if you have a family with all ages and different needs, Symphony might be just what you are looking for.

While I have been picky about a few things in this review, those small annoyances did not keep us from really appreciating the Symphony experience. I would do it again. Of course, I still prefer a small ship.

Seabourn: Simply Luxurious

Seabourn Odyssey from Fort Napoleon in Terre de Haut Guadeloupe

Along with Regent Seven Seas, Crystal and Silversea, Seabourn rounds out the Big 4 in the luxury ocean cruise business. The defining features of these lines are inclusiveness (drinks, specialty dining and service charges are included), more space per passenger (both cabin and public spaces) and more service (staff to guest ratios are lower). Nearly all luxury ships have fewer than 1000 passengers which makes embarkation and disembarkation a far more pleasant experience. In fact, waiting in line is an uncommon experience. Wherever you go for a meal, there is likely a table waiting.

What makes Seabourn different from the others? The ships are somewhat smaller than Regent and Crystal. Wifi is not included. I suspect this will change as all the others include it or have announced it will be included shortly. Unlike Regent, no shore excursions are included. Like Regent and Silversea the ships are all suite and nearly all balcony.

First impressions

Seabourn, Carnival Corporation’s luxury brand, started as the Yachts of Seabourn but 10 years ago began premiering three modern mid-sized ships holding 450 passengers. Odyssey was the first of these ships and the ship still looks and smells fresh, though it is scheduled for a dry-dock in May. The last refurbishment was in 2017. Personally, I find the décor a bit bland, but it is classic and well put together. All the public rooms on the ship have generic names as well. I would suggest they use a little imagination to come up with more memorable monikers.

Seabourn Square

We waited about 10 minutes to check in…sitting in comfortable chairs in Seabourn Square on Deck 7 which offers the coffee bar, public computers, the library and the customer service area. Once we were done we walked up one deck to our V6 suite which is identical to the V1 to V5 suites except for location. We were greeted within a few minutes by Alvi our cabin attendant who made sure we knew that she was there to help. A bottle of champagne and a fruit plate awaited us.

Our Suite

The large bathroom featured two sinks, a bath tub and a shower. Convenient storage space was a bit disappointing and the shower could have been a bit larger with a better layout. There was a roomy walk-in closet with a safe and several drawers. The bedroom also had generous storage space. The suite could be divided in two with a blackout curtain. The queen bed had a variety of pillows to chose from, a LED reading spot and night stand with sufficient drawers and shelving. The TV was very small, but the entertainment and informational choices were many, including very recent movies – all complimentary. There was a small table, two club chairs and a love seat. The balcony had two adjustable chairs with ottomans, a side table and a small dining height table. Talking with one couple we heard that there were some technical issues with their suite so they were moved, but we heard of no other issues.

Our Greeting in the Suite

Comfortable Suite

Dual Sinks in the Bathroom

Dining

One of the differences that we found with Seabourn from other cruise lines including the luxury and premium lines is more limited dining hours. While room service is available 24 hours, the public dining and beverage venues have limited hours. My first reaction was to be annoyed that I could not get coffee until 615am and had to wait until 7am to get the full breakfast unless we ordered the night before. (Strangely they have no automated coffee machines.) On the other hand, the limited hours allowed the service to be concentrated so that the service staff could offer better attention. Also, limited dining hours likely avoided excessive waste, especially for buffets. For the most part meals are served during two-hour blocks – 7 to 9 for breakfast, noon to 2 for lunch and 7 to 9 for dinner.

The Grill by Thomas Keller

Lobster and a Hotdog at St. Kitts

Lobster and Ribs

The Restaurant

There are 4 dining venues on the ship – The Colonnade, The Restaurant, The Grill by Thomas Keller and the Patio (called Earth & Ocean at dinner time). Continental Breakfast is available in Seabourn Square and the Observation Bar. Full Breakfast (buffet and table service) is offered in The Colonnade. Lunch is available on the Patio and the Colonnade (buffet and table service). Dinner is offered at all 4 venues with table service only.

Like most main dining rooms, The Restaurant has some standard items available plus four daily featured entrees and four starters. Earth and Ocean was our favorite venue because of the beautiful weather and some inventive menu options. It was open six of the seven nights and offered 3 unique entrees, 3 starters and 3 desserts. The Colonnade has themed dinners. The Grill by Thomas Keller offered classic American cuisine inspired by the 50s and 60s, when most guests were children.

I should mention the special barbeque lunch we had on St. Kitts at Carambola Beach. As an appetizer they served caviar and champagne from a surf board floating in the water. It was silly and fun. Then they had a big tent with a buffet featuring grilled lobster, ribs, hot dogs and much more. Very enjoyable!

Champagne and Caviar served from a surfboard!

Without going into detail, we found the food consistently well-prepared and imaginative. For those who are not adventurous, Earth and Ocean and the Colonnade may not have appealing choices at dinner. In fact, choices were more limited than on any of the other ships we’ve sailed on, but I’m not sure that is a such a bad thing. The ship published daily dinner menus delivered to the cabin the night before.

Entertainment

The Odyssey had the most enjoyable entertainment of any small ship we had sailed on. If you like big hits and broadway retrospectives, you may not enjoy it as much as we did. The 3 productions shows featured 4 fine singers and two athletic and graceful dancers. While each show offered a few familiar songs, most were new to me. The theme were Italia, Tim Rice and Latin Rhythms. The 5 piece band were solid and unfortunately backed by pre-recorded tracks for some numbers. The singers were very versatile offering everything from pop opera to soul. And their harmonies were excellent…to me that is the rarest thing.

The ship had a bluesy female singer who performed with a trio, but we saw her only once. There were some fun pool deck shows during the week. They had a singer / comedian and a magician sailing with us as well. Many guests enjoyed their performances. There was also a guest lecturer with us who talked about the history of the Caribbean, Columbus and Pirates. We enjoyed his presentations.

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Service & Staff

We found the service to be the area where Seabourn exceeded expectations most. They anticipated your needs, especially in cabin service. All the staff were extremely professional and personable, often taking the time to share life experiences. This is only possible with a low staff to guest ratio.

One story will illustrate the high level of service. Good quality fruit sometimes hides secrets. It is unavoidable. Donna found a raspberry with a worm that must have died during refrigeration. It was on the fresh fruit plate left in the suite on the second day. We left that berry on a napkin before leaving for dinner. When we got back to the suite, there was a letter of apology, a bottle of red wine, chocolate covered strawberries and a chocolate high-heeled boot. Now that is service!

We were invited to two dinners with staff members and a tour of the bridge with the captain. In addition, at the farewell event we spent a good amount of time with the Hotel Manager. This was not because we are travel agents. Apparently, everyone is invited to the dinners and tours. Our dinners were with the Staff Captain (from Bulgaria) and with the Destination Manager (South Africa) and his assistant (the US!). There were two or three other couples at the tables as well. The primary purpose of these dinners was for the staff to ensure that we were having a good time. Everyone on the staff wanted to know if we had any issues and had a positive attitude if we brought something up. What struck me was their confidence that whatever problems we had, they would be able to solve them. Meeting the Hotel Manager on the last night we found out why. He was from Austria and had worked at the Ritz Carlton. He was very proud of his staff and supportive. Excellent service starts at the top. A staff that is treated well passes their positive attitude on to the guests.

Other Services

Next to the Sea Cloud in Antigua

We mostly relaxed on this cruise. Living near a beach, the Caribbean has limited appeal to us. So the only shore excursion we did was the transfer-tour in Barbados before our late afternoon flight. It was very enjoyable and a good value. Otherwise, we wandered around on our own.

The casino was small with perhaps a dozen machines and three tables. On our cruise which stopped at different islands every day, hours of operation were very limited.

One of our new friends had a spa treatment (a special offer that was not as expensive as I would expect) and said she really enjoyed it. I used the workout room several times which were nicely appointed. They offered cardio events and yoga.

We participated in daily trivia with friends which was hosted by the Cruise Director and his assistant. The daily schedule was what you would expect on a luxury ship – not a lot of guest participation games. I was not disappointed!

Conclusions

One thing we especially enjoyed were the new friends we met. Many were Seabourn loyalists. They seemed to have long standing relationships with some members of the staff. While we took the 7-night one-way cruise, most people we talked to seemed to be doing 14-night round-trips.

The dress code in the evening applied to all public venues and was what they called smart casual – which meant no blue jeans or shorts. My tan jeans and any collared shirt were acceptable. There was one formal night, but there were some guests who dressed up for dinner on other nights. I wore my suit twice but had forgotten to bring a tie…it wasn’t an issue.

Seabourn is a bit different from the other luxury and premium lines I have sailed on. They focus on the fundamentals of service and quality. And they plan activities in a way that ensures they have the staff to do everything exceptionally well. Mostly they keep things simple. Other lines are more ambitious perhaps, but the Seabourn approach works exceptionally well.

Oahu – The Meeting Place

Our cruise began and ended in Honolulu which is the only city of significant size in the state of Hawaii. We spent one night before the cruise and one night afterward at Hotel Renew which is one half block from Waikiki Beach just behind the Aston and across the street from the Marriott Resort. This boutique hotel features a continental breakfast, excellent service and newly renovated rooms.

The Royal Hawaiian aka Pink Palace on Waikiki (photo by Donna)

Waikiki is a small arc of beach on the south side of Oahu that offers small waves, classic hotels, international shopping, parks and the zoo. Our hotel was one block from the Zoo and Sans Souci State Park (see the banner of the sunset from the park above) on the beach. It is about 3 blocks from the major shopping offered along Kalakaua Avenue which is the main road along the beach. Walking across the street to the beach and facing right (northwest) we saw the Royal Hawaiian Hotel (Pink Palace) and the Moana Surfrider, the first two hotels built in the area. Looking to the left (south) we saw Diamond Head, an extinct volcanic crater. And behind us were the urban canyons of Waikiki.

Diamond Head Crater

Inside the Royal Hawaiian (Photo by Donna)

View of Honolulu from the ship (photo by Donna)

Waikiki is a small part of the Honolulu, a metropolitan area of almost one million that stretches from Pearl Harbor, the massive lagoon in the west to the eastern slope of Diamond Head. We came in early December which is a slow season when prices are lower and the beaches are less crowded. I am not a lover of urban sprawl, but Waikiki was nice for a short visit with it’s cultural mix and mountainous backdrop.

We enjoyed some time people watching on the beach at sunset on two nights. We did some shopping. We had a nice Japanese noodle bowl for lunch one day in the Yokocho Gourmet Alley, next to Victoria’s Secret on Kalakaua Avenue. There were more than a dozen Japanese eateries in the small mall.

Cemetery of the Pacific (photo by Donna)

Iolani Palace (photo by Donna)

The Bowfin at Pearl Harbor

Arizona Memorial with wreaths on December 8, 2018 (photo by Donna)

We took the city tour with a stop at Pearl Harbor on our first full day in the islands with Roberts of Hawaii, an employee owned company that is one of the state’s largest tour operators. (On Maui we booked through Shore Excursions Group and toured with Roberts and on Kauai we booked with Norwegian and were on a Roberts tour.) The personalities of the Roberts staff are front and center which can be bad or good and often both. Our guide in Honolulu was interesting and extremely knowledgeable. However, his main theme seemed to be how hard it was to make a living on the expensive island of Oahu. It is understandable, since so many people fail to tip their guides. (We generally offer $10 per person for a full day tour and $5 for a half day. Of course, it depends on the quality of the guide and the type of tour.)

The rainy morning was spent driving by monuments and historical building in and around central Honolulu. The sites we saw were National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, the State Capitol, the Iolani Palace and other places in historic district of the city. It was hard to appreciate in the rain, but it cleared by the time we got to Pearl Harbor. Still it was windy so we were not able to take the boat over to the Arizona Memorial. The highlight of our visit was the short film describing the attack. There were two small museums, memorials and more in the park which made the trip worthwhile.

After our week long cruise, we checked back into the hotel and enjoyed the day window shopping, looking at the hotels and watching our second sunset on the beach. We saw three hotels that are right on the beach. The Royal Hawaiian, the Moana Surfrider and the Hilton Hawaiian Village. If you want a big resort, the Hilton is an amazing facility. The other two are the classic Waikiki hotels which have been purchased by large chains and nicely maintained.

We rented a car at a downtown rental agency and drove up to the Diamond Head park without sufficient planning. We hoped to have a view of the city, but the hike out of the crater takes about 2 or more hours. So we got to see the crater (with it’s small military base). Outside the tunnel entrance is a great viewing point for seeing the eastern suburbs of Honolulu.

East Honolulu from Diamond Head

Our plan was to follow the route of the Circle Island tours on our own. A key to doing this sort of thing is good planning and we could have done better in that regard. Nonetheless we had a fun ride. The most scenic shoreline was during our morning drive up the east coast of Oahu. Between Kahala just east of Honolulu and Kailua the mountainous and rocky coast offers great vistas and isolated sand beaches below volcanic rock cliffs. The road turns inland at Kaneohe before a long more isolated stretch of coastal highway leading to the north point. The Polynesian Cultural Center, a popular theme park, is in the small town of Laie.

Near Blowing Hole on the Eastern shore of Oahu

One thing we noticed throughout the islands is the proliferation of food trucks and near the north tip of Oahu are some of the most popular, offering fresh garlic shrimp. Since we arrived too early we did not stop for lunch, but there were lines waiting at most of the trucks. After a southwestward turn at Turtle Bay resort area, we entered the coastal area world-renowned for big waves. And shear luck found us there on the day of the Billabong Pipe Competition. And even luckier, a car pulled out of a parking spot only a short walk from the Banzai Pipe Beach area.

Surfer

The Tube

We didn’t stay that long because of time constraints but it was pretty incredible to see the waves and the crowd. We got better pictures of the coastal drama at Waimea Beach Park. We stopped for lunch at the laid back town of Haleiwa which was not so laid back that day because of an invasion of uniformed Asian teenagers. I had shrimp and grits (actually polenta) and the shrimp was the tenderest I’ve ever tasted. From Haleiwa we could see the western mountains of Oahu and headed south through the central valley. This was the homeland of Dole pineapple which offers tours but no longer exports local pineapples because of labor and shipping costs.

Waimea Beach

Waimae Beach

Waimae Beach

Dole Pineapples in the Central Valley

The central valley highway splits near Pearl Harbor. Instead of going back to Honolulu in the east we headed west and visited the quiet west side of the island. The waves here were not like in the north, but were still impressive. This was the poorest area we visited. We were surprised to see homeless people living on the windy beach. The encampments looked like they had been there a while. As on Kauai and the Big Island, the windward (western) side of the island was semi-arid and less verdant than the eastern leeward side. We turned around at Ma’ili Point and drove back to Waikiki to pick up our luggage for the flight home.

Ma’ili Point on the western (windward shore)

Homeless encampment on the western shore of Oahu

 

Kaua’i – The Garden Isle

With only 7 consonants and 5 vowels, the Hawaiian language is filled with vowel heavy words, such as the name of the smallest of Hawai’i’s big four islands. The name contains two important features which make the limited alphabet versatile – the dipthong and the glottal stop. As is common in English, the A and U merge into one dipthong of AH-OO or OW as in cow. Then the second AH. That apostrophe which often left out represents the glottal stop or full break between vowel sounds. I is pronounced EE so the proper pronunciation is KOW-AH-(break)-EE. It takes some practice.

Entering Nawiliwili Bay

Nawiliwili Harbor

We had two wonderful days on Kaua’i and saw a lot of the shoreline and some parts of the interior. Our first day I surprised Donna by renting a Mustang convertible as part of our 30th Anniversary celebration. It was a great place to have the top down! The ship docked just after sunrise in Nawiliwili, a small bay with a dramatic ridge line to the south. It is only a few miles from the local airport and the major car rental companies offer shuttles.

Blowing Hole

Donna in the Mustang

Po’ipu Beach

We first headed to Po’ipu on the southern coast of the island. This volcanic coast is relatively flat, but with small volcanic hills which were the site of the island’s most recent volcanic activity (now extinct). This is one of the most popular beach and vacation areas offering somewhat calmer waters and dramatic beaches including the famous Blowing Hole State Park. The drive into town includes the Tree Tunnel of Eucalyptus, the old Sugar Mill in the middle of what were once fields of sugarcane and some mysterious small structures made of volcanic rocks by pre-historic Hawaiians. The locals often say these were built by the Menehune, a legendary group of pre-Polynesians who were said to be small in stature. There is no physical evidence that they actually existed. Beside several nice state parks on the coast, the area has impressive vacation homes and beach front resorts and golf clubs.

Driving further west the foliage changed fairly quickly from jungle to semi-arid as we moved toward the windward west side of the island. Along the coast is a large coffee plantation and the remains of a Russian fort which was part of that nation’s effort to colonize the islands in the early 19th century. There were fields of grasses and some large empty beaches near the southwest corner of the island. In the distance is Hawai’i’s seventh largest island, Ni’ihau (population 130) which is closed to tourism.

We turned around at Kekaha because we wanted to make sure we had enough time to make it to the north part of the island.  The road continues along the sparsely populated western coast.

The most popular tourist area on the island is the eastern coast. This was also where the pre-US native population was centered along a large coastal plain that is still one of largest agricultural areas of the Hawaii islands. The rocky coast offers many sandy beaches with significant waves. On our way back to the ship we had dinner in Ka’apa at one of the island’s top rated restaurants, JO2 Natural Cuisine. No island views, but the food was wonderful.

Yum! (Photo by Donna)

Wailua River

Wailua Falls

Beach near Ka’apa

 

The North coast is has some of the most exclusive and remote resorts such as Princeville which is next to the dramatic Hanalei Bay. I will just offer pictures of this area, since I think they do it more justice than I can with words.

Mountains behind Hanalei Bay

Hanalei Church

Hanalei Beach

Hanalei Beach (Photo by Donna)

Rice fields near Princeville

The second day we took a cruise line shore excursion to the Waimea Canyon which appropriately nicknamed the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. The tour was worth the cost and comfortable. Again pictures say all that needs to be said.

Both Donna and I liked Kauai best of the four islands we visited.

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Chickens and Trees

Kauai is famous for it’s feral chicken with the colorful and ubiquitous roosters. They are everywhere, including on Kauai t-shirts.

The fast-growing and invasive Albazia trees have taken over certain parts of the island. They are so striking it is hard to regret them. (sorry no pictures!)

Attractions we missed:

Fern Grotto – Since flooding in the 90s and and an earthquake in the 00s it has been less accessible with viewing only available from a viewing platform. There are still companies offering boats on the Wailua River to the cavern.

Na Pali Shores – Kauai’s most iconic view can only be seen by boat or by air. For some reason, recent cruises on Pride of America have not sailed to the north side of the island to see this view. Seen in many movies including South Pacific and Six Days Seven Nights with Harrison Ford.

Jurassic Park – An inland area accessible by helicopter where some of the movie was filmed. It is a jungle area near what is considered the wettest place on early with over 400 inches of annual rain.

 

Hawai’i – Big Island

The island of Hawaii has 63% of the state’s land mass and 13% of it’s population. It was also where King Kamehameha started his campaign to unite the islands in the 18th century. And it is the location of nearly all current volcanic activity including Kilauea which has been continuously erupting since 1983 and recently had major eruptions which destroyed roads and buildings and rolled into the Pacific expanding the size of the island. When we arrived in early December, the Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park had recently reopened to visitors though tours were not going near the areas of recent activity.

For that reason we decided not to do the Volcano tour and instead stayed in Hilo, a rustic town on the leeward (east) side of the island and the most populous city with about one-third of the island’s population.

In both Hilo and Kona local companies offer hop-on, hop-off tours that go to local attractions, beaches and shopping areas. The driver gives a basic explanation of what you see along the way. At $20 a per person, these are a good value for getting a basic introduction and an inexpensive way to get to and from the ship and spend time in the areas you want.

After our long day on Maui riding down Haleakala, Donna and I took it easy in Hilo. We just did the tour. The highlights were Rainbow Falls on the edge of town, the King Kamehameha statue which is a duplicate of the one in the Capitol in Washington and the two mongooses we saw from the bus. They looked like ferrets. (Mongoose were brought to the islands to help control the rat population. It didn’t help because mongoose are active during the day and rats come out at night. So now Hawai’i has both.)

Rainbow Falls in Hilo

The city has a wonderful Farmer’s Market near the center of town and several small museums including an interesting one dedicated to tsunamis which have had an out-sized impact on Hawaii. (We did not visit these attractions on our lazy day. )

Sunset in Hilo

After a day in Hilo, we sailed around the north coast of the island to make our way to Kona on the windward (west) side. Kona is actually the district where the ship anchored. The name of the small city where we tendered is Kailua-Kona. It is at the center of the most popular resort area on the island. It is also the most historic city with the oldest church (Mokuaikaua Church) and the local palace (Hulihee Palace).

Mokuaikaua Church

Hulihe’e Palace

The volcanic beaches in the area were very scenic and quiet. (Late Fall is a short slow season for the islands.)

Plumeria (source of some leie flowers)

Lava Beach near Kona

From both Hilo and Kona gradual slopes lead up to the rounded peaks of Mauna Kea from Hilo and Hualalai from Kona. As is typical on the islands, the windward side has semi-arid scrub terrain, while the leeward side is more tropical. Looking at the grassy slopes in Kona, you understand why this is the location of Parker Ranch, one of the US’s largest cattle ranches.

Hawaii had a lot that we missed on our two days there. We’ll have to go back.