Honolulu, Hawaii

Hello from Honolulu! Somehow I was awake before sunrise as the ship made its way into port.

I’m not sure why I was up so early. Ed and I have been here plenty of times and have done a lot of the touristy things so I really had no need to do any of that today. But there was one place I hadn’t been to before, the outdoor, four level, open air Ala Moana Center Mall. 

I took the city bus to the mall ($3 cash) and made my way to a place I’ve been intending to go for the last couple years. Jollibee’s chicken. One regular and one spicy made me realize I will never choose spicy chicken there again. The spiciness of this spicy Filipino fried chicken was just too much for this gal.

There’s a reason there are flames on the little flag.
Heed the warning.

I also made a visit to See’s Candies. I didn’t actually go inside but just took pictures for my daughter who happened to start her new job at See’s at the very same moment. Not in Hawaii though. She might have a little shop envy because this location is at least four times (or more) as big as her mall location.

I did go inside Big Island Candies for their free samples, though. I wound up buying a small box of macadamia nut shortbread cookies dipped in milk chocolate. Oh my goodness, they are amazing! (Don’t tell my husband because they will probably be gone before I get home.)

A Rocky Road sample and a 
macadamia nut shortbread sample

I also stopped at the ABC store and Longs and picked up coffee for my husband and a new sticker and keychain for the scooter. Then I made my way to the back corner of Macy’s to visit Liliha Bakery.

So many choices, but I chose an apple malasada and a blueberry scone to save for tomorrow’s breakfast. Except I ate the malasada for dinner. Oops.

There must be more than a pound of filling in there.

I made my way up, down, in, out, and around the mall. That thing is huge! 

Glad they had pictures and not just words.

They’re starting to deck it out for Christmas, too.

Here’s an interesting concept for corn dogs. I passed on it.

I didn’t pass on trying to get a shave ice though. This one was more snow cone-ish so I’ll have to get my real shave ice tomorrow.

And you can’t come to Hawaii without having a Mai Tai or two. I had mine at Mai Tai’s on the fourth floor.

And I wasn’t done yet. Across the street from the Ala Moana Center is the Ala Moana Beach Park. It’s a quiet area, but the best part for me was it had a pathway I could drive my scooter on to get closer to the beach.

I sat there on my scooter quite a while just taking it all in.

I even saw a couple taking their wedding photos down the beach.

Another $3 bus ride had me back to the ship by late afternoon. It was such a fun day, and I’m so thankful I had my scooter to help make it happen.

We don’t leave here until late tonight, and with the bright full moon and warm temperatures it’s a great evening to sit on my balcony and watch and listen to the busyness of the city. 

Tomorrow we’re in Nawiliwili on the island of Kauai. See you there!

Sea Days

Hello from another round of sea days on the Ruby Princess!

These past few days have just flown by. With no set schedule I get up when I want, go to bed when I want, eat when I want, and do whatever I want whenever I want. I’ve long since lost track of what day it is. While the Princess Patter has plenty of activities on a sea day I’ve done none of them.

What would you choose?

Instead of all of these inside activities, I’ve spent the majority of my time outside. Whether out back near the Terrace Pool, or on my balcony, or on the Promenade Deck, or at Movies Under the Stars, I am getting my fill of ocean air. And it has felt amazing. 

I’ve made sure I’m on my balcony every night for the sunset. Even though we’re not in Hawaii yet there’s still something special about sunsets at sea.

I even made sure I ate all my meals outside. The only exception was the day when we had our most Traveled Guest Luncheon. No sea bass on the menu this time so surf and turf was my choice.

Guess who had no need for breakfast or dinner?

While my activities may seem boring to others they’re perfect for me. I can’t think of a better way to spend my days at sea, breathing in the fresh ocean air, listening to the calming waves, and soaking in the warm sunshine. But tomorrow there’ll be no sea day because we’ll be in Honolulu, Hawaii. See you there!

San Francisco

Hello from a dreary looking San Francisco!

Just a small portion of the Golden Gate Bridge can be seen out there. Barely.

This morning’s immigration was so quick and easy. A facial recognition station was set up at the dining room and we were processed long before all the disembarking passengers were off the ship. We’ve never seen that before!

We finished so early I was able to grab broccoli and cheese eggs bites afterwards and still be finished with breakfast long before 9:30.

With the weather not being warm and sunny I stayed onboard instead of being a tourist in San Francisco. I’m a fan of sitting up in Adagio on deck 16 on turnaround days so it’s where I spent my morning. Usually it’s so quiet but today the ship decided blasting Christmas music would be appropriate. 

From Jingle Bells to Little Town of Bethlehem

Christmas music on deck 16 and carved pumpkins in the Piazza on deck 5 and at the buffet on deck 15? Seems like the decks need to get coordinated!

The weather warmed up by lunch so I ate where I usually eat, back behind the buffet by the Terrace pool.

It was cold in the late afternoon as we sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge. Brrr! But the experience never gets old.

We’ve got several sea days - and some time changes - ahead of us. I’ll probably combine the upcoming sea days into one blog post in a few days.

See you then!

Sea Days

Hello from our last sea day as we make our way back to San Francisco.

The weather has been beautiful but cooler than Mexico. These last three days have been pretty much uneventful, which is probably a good thing when you’re on a ship in the ocean with thousands of other people.

I’ve spent a lot of time on my balcony. 

Now that we’re heading north and I’m on the starboard side of the ship I’m catching sunrises, too.

I’ve spent some time on the promenade deck. They have automatic doors to get outside so it makes for easy access with a scooter.

I’ve been watching the World Series outside on the big screen at Movies Under the Stars.

I tried out more of the pizza on deck special of the day. The four cheese was light and tasty.

I had a Bridge tour one day. I don’t know how I got on the list, but I’ll take it.

I reported - on multiple consecutive days - that an elevator wouldn’t go to deck 15. Every morning they said they were on it. By the next day, it wasn’t working again. I stopped taking a fresh picture and just kept showing them the same one again and again.

One thing I haven’t done these last three days is swim. The spa pool has been closed and a couple days I even found the terrace pool closed.

I guess one unusual thing did happen. On October 27 the ship decided to celebrate Halloween.

I watched a dad and his little kid push hard
on this cake until it broke. It’s fake, but still.

Tomorrow we’ll be back in San Francisco for another turnaround day. Immigration for in transits is being held on the ship and I haven’t yet decided if I’m going out and about for the day. 

See you tomorrow!