Day three in Honolulu began pretty much the same as the last two days. The temperature at 8am was 77 degrees with scattered clouds, some sun, and high humidity of 83%. It was apparent from the water on our veranda that it had rained once again during the evening. It did not help keep the temperatures down, because we have had some problems with the air conditioning in our room.
During breakfast we had a visitor, Nancy, who is a President's Club buddy of ours. It is always good to share information with each other. She was on her way to see our rep, Kumar, to see what could be done about her room heating up to over 80 degrees just like ours. Her room is located down the aft section of the ship, so this is not an isolated problem with either of us. Since we had just reported this to the guest relations gal at the front desk, we promised to let her know what they find out. Over the many years of sailing in these tropical waters, we have heard about every story of why the air conditioning does not work properly.
By the time we got back to our room, one of the staff members came to check the temperature of the air output. Yep, she admitted our room was very warm and promised to send a technician. Since we had some catching up to do, we stayed onboard with hopes of getting some thing fixed. Another problem we had was a loose strike plate on the cabin door. It was missing a screw, and someone came to fix that right away.
Then two pretty Delft tile vases were delivered for our President's Club every two-week amenity. Oh yeah, the TV still is acting up. But we better not report that, or we will never get off of the ship today. Leaving at 11:15am, we decided to take a slow walk back to the Ala Moana Center. The only thing on or minds was a nice lunch and a little window shopping. We hate to admit it, but the rising heat and high humidity really zaps our energy. And one of us is still trying to get over cold # 2 since leaving Alaska. Never ever get colds at home…..just on the ships.
One nice thing was spotting three more of the red-headed cardinals in the park. They must have been hiding yesterday, so that is a total of four we saw. Other than the usual birds in the park, there were very few walkers….just bikers on this stretch of walkway.
Lunch was at California Pizza Kitchen again at 12:30pm. Once again, the place was just as crowded as yesterday, but we were seated at the last booth like yesterday. We had a leisurely lunch of BBQ chicken chopped salad and a BBQ chicken pizza. One Coke Zero with a refill and another Sam Adams seasonal draft beer cooled us off. We relaxed for an hour or more, then decided we better head back. Once again we had intended on taking a different path through the Ward Center but changed our minds when we saw the taxi line in the garage of the mall. All aboard was 5:30pm, and we did not want to chance missing the ship due to possible heat stroke. Coming from the foothills of California, we are very used to high heat in the 100's, but with the added humidity here, it is a double-whammy.
We were dropped off at the terminal by 3pm, and went straight to our room. Even with the drapes closed and lights off, it was still in the high 70's. We were home only 10 minutes, when we had a knock on our door. It was the air-conditioning tech who tried to adjust the air temp as well as change the filter in the ceiling. However, even by 10pm, it had only dropping three or four degrees to 75F. We know from past experiences that the cooler air is directed to the lounges and the dining rooms. In fact, people are showing up with sweaters, long sleeve shirts and jackets to eat dinner. In the World Stage, it is not uncommon to see folks carrying the small blankets from their rooms to keep warm. Go figure???
And the TV was acting up again. Calling guest services, they were able to re-boot the TV remotely. But that lasted no more than 5 minutes, then it misbehaved once again. Another call from the front desk informed us that it was ship wide and it would be fixed. Heard that before….
The new Captain, Michiel Willems, announced he was back to take the helm and happy to be here on this particular legendary voyage. He said we would be ready to leave the dock by 6pm with the local pilot onboard. This pilot will stay here all the way to Hilo, which saves time. We are currently 200 nautical miles from the next port of Kahului, Maui and he expects good conditions for docking there. He did not give details on tomorrow's weather or the sunset or sunrise times.
We turned on the bow camera to see where the sun would be setting. But by the way he turned the ship, we could not see it. But watching from our portside veranda, we did catch the colors changing in the clouds and on the high rises in Honolulu's coastline. The opposite color of the sunset was most interesting and we were glad to be on this side for a change. When the setting sun hit the windows of the towers, it was like golden fire lighting up the waters like the sun always does. It only lasted a few moments before disappearing.
Then we had a call back from guest services informing us that the TV should be working again and was restored to everyone. Guess what? Now that the ship was moving, it began cutting in and out and pixelating as it does in open seas. We simple cannot win…..
Good thing it was time for dinner which did not sound really appealing tonight. There was an Hawaiian-themed dinner in the Lido celebrating the flavors of Hawaii, which drew many folks out of the dining room. Much to our surprise, we were able to try some new items like a beet salad with mixed greens and a skewered trio of BBQ shrimp. One Caesar salad was followed by a dish called porchetta with smashed potatoes , mango, and plums. Really good too. Keeping on the safe side, one of us had the everyday lasagna. One chocolate hazelnut cake and a scoop of mint chip ice cream finished the meal.
Entertainment was delivered by comedian and juggler Nick Nickolas. And it appears that the Hawaiian ambassadors have left the ship, and the Polynesian group should board soon.
Tomorrow we shall be in Kahului on the north side of Maui.
Bill & Mary Ann
