"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report #13 Honolulu, Hawaii October 6, 2016 Thursday Partly sunny & 84 degrees Part #1 of 2 85 Pictures

The port of call today and tomorrow is Honolulu, on the island of Oahu. Honolulu has a population of almost a million people, and happens to be the capital of the state. Oahu residents own 600,000 vehicles, but only have 1500 miles of roads to travel. A popular destination for tourists, Waikiki Beach boasts 175 highrises with 33,000 guest rooms.

At 7am, the bow filled with guests who joined the staff for a welcome celebration for sailing into the Honolulu Harbor. The Hawaiian Troupe that has sailed with us since San Diego performed a chant and a traditional dance, while "Hawaiian" rolls (secretly Panama Rolls) orange juice , and coffee were served to all who got up that early. Have to admit, we watched the sail in on the TV instead, knowing we could ask for a few rolls in the dining room at breakfast.

The ship was docked by 8am at the Aloha Tower this time. HAL's Noordam was docked at the alternate pier, a little closer to town. This would work out well for us, because we had a dinner date tonight at the Aloha Tower.

Breakfast in the dining room began at 7:30am, as it always does on port days. There were not too many folks there, as many were on tours, we suspect. And just like we figured, they were able to round up a couple of delicious Hawaii rolls for us. We have cut back on the pastry consumption, but we do make an exception for these special rolls.

This morning was a good time to get some emailing done, because the speed was pretty good. We did not leave the ship until 10am.

Although we were here a year ago, it seems like it was yesterday. Not much has changed, with the exception of major construction happening along the way towards Waikiki. A series of highrise condos are going up near the Ward Center. That sure will increase the traffic in this already busy area of Honolulu. One good thing is that there are numerous local buses and trolleys transporting the folks to town and back.

Walking slowly, we estimate that it took 1 ½ hours to reach the Hawaiian Hilton Complex at Waikiki Beach. The lobby area was busy as usual, mostly with guests from Asia. The Japanese, for instance, think nothing of flying here simply to play golf for a long weekend. Or spend a leisurely day on the white sands of Waikiki Beach. It was not too crowded yet, since today was Thursday. By the weekend, we are certain all the lounges and beach toys will be in full swing.

It is always a pleasure taking in the landscaping at the Hilton as it is filled with meandering streams that are full of large koi carp. The staff works endlessly keeping the grounds free of leaf litter. We stayed here before a cruise many years ago, and really did enjoy our visit. The best part was that it is so centrally-located, we did not need a car to go anywhere.

Passing through Fort DeRussy Park and US Army Museum, we made our way to the Hard Rock Café. We were in need of ice cold sodas, even though the temperatures were not extremely high, it was warm and humid.

At the HRC, we shared a chicken salad and a tasty Margherita pizza. Sitting for an hour was priceless. Right next door to the HRC, is the new Tommy Bahama store and rooftop restaurant. We had hoped to see their menu, but it was not posted at the lower level. Too much trouble to find the way upstairs.

Usually we take a walk through the International Marketplace, but it is gone. Everything in this part of Honolulu is high-end, so the touristy market is gone. Not that we needed any souvenirs, it was always fun to look.

Passing through the Ala Moana Beach Park, we noticed that there still is a large population of homeless people. It's not uncommon to see them sleeping all day, leaving us to feel that they are up all night. If you did not know better, you might think they were campers. On the plus side, we did enjoy seeing the old baobab and banyan trees, as well as the numerous native birds such as the night heron, egrets, cardinals, doves, and pigeons. The canals are filled with hundreds of fish that swim up from the harbor during high tides. The night herons dine on those.

Working on photos kept us busy from 4 to 6pm. We had a special dinner date this evening with friends, Bill & Leta, whom we have known since 2002. We met on another Dam ship, the Volendam, on her Asia/Pacific Explorer Cruise. Since then, we have sailed on numerous grand voyages and have stayed in touch. We met at Gordon Biersch, and stayed until the place closed. Such nice people, we will reunite on the 2017 world cruise, a few months away now.

The good thing was that we were very close to the ship, with a short walk back. It had been a long day, and tomorrow will be another one for sure.

Bill & Mary Ann

Coming into Honolulu Harbor