Our Hawaiian Cruise 

September 15-30, 2022

We took a break from our full time RV trip to go away on a 15 day Journey cruise to Hawaii to celebrate our 48th anniversary. I had no idea that it would take me a whole week to get our Hawaiian blog posted. There was so much to see and do on this trip that I had taken over 600 photos which I then had to sort through and decide how many I could reasonably share. One of my favorite things to do at sea is to watch the sunrises and sunsets and I had close to 100 photos just of those. Here are just a few of how beautiful it is to be at sea and even a few on our first morning back in the Bay Area.

On September 14th we checked out of our campground. We had packed our suitcases and dropped our perishables at Frank’s sisters house before leaving our RV at Frank’s cousin’s farm for the duration of our cruise.

Frank’s sister took us to the Bart station in Pleasanton. Just over a half hour later we arrived at the Embarcadero station in San Francisco. We walked to a nearby hotel and caught a taxi to The Zephyr Hotel. This hotel was were we spent our anniversary. Beside interesting art they had fire pits and provided you with marshmallows, chocolate, graham crackers and sticks so you could make your own s’mores.https://www.hotelzephyrsf.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjwvsqZBhAlEiwAqAHElTKr_HFK2rXE0y7K0-Lz6oHqokPWRN7uvvbhIKgABdbPUsBnGxkyVxoCbpYQAvD_BwE

The hotel is right in the heart of Fisherman’s Wharf which allowed us to walk and explore the area. We had amazing views of the Bay Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island. We walked around the various shops and grabbed dinner at Hard Rock Cafe before heading back to the hotel for the night. https://www.pier39.com/shopping/

We had never taken a Journey cruise which has more sea days than port days and we were not sure how we would like being at sea for so many days. We were surprised to find how enjoyable the whole cruise was. Our cruise included a Naturalist who taught us about the ocean and the islands of Hawaii. It also had two native Hawaiians who taught how to about the culture of Hawaii. They showed us how to make leis, dance hulas and play a ukulele. There were games and shows and other activities to keep us from getting bored. Also it was a nice time to just relax, take naps, and read some books.On September 15th we were up earlier and on a shuttle to the Carnival ship at Pier 31. Boarding went smoothly and we were on board by 11:30 am. We had lunch and wandered around and got familiar with the ship. Due to the amount of luggage everyone had brought for this cruise the ship was not ready to leave port until 6 pm. We tried to find a great spot to watch as we went under the Golden Gate Bridge. The weather was cold and we hadn’t brought clothes for it so we hit the ship shops to pick up something warm. While there we ended up looking at jewelry and Frank bought me a diamond and sapphire anniversary ring. It is beautiful and I absolutely love it!

The crew on the ship were amazing. Our Cabin Stewart was always leaving us fun surprises in our room. Towel animals were seen throughout the ship along with hidden ducks. We never knew what we would find when we returned to our room each day. To make sure we could always find our room easily we decorated our door and enjoyed the decorations many others had used on their doors.

From September 16th to the 19th was four days at sea. Each morning we would start with a walk around the ship with the Naturalist. He always had an interesting subject to cover. He had us looking for flying fish and the second day at sea we began to pass the Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch. For two days we kept seeing just the  edge of all the garbage that had been dumping into the ocean. By the fourth day at sea we were starting to see migrating birds as we were getting closer to land. Midday he always had an interesting lecture with the first three being about the Hawaiian Islands and the last one about the volcanos of the islands. Each night our Naturalist would take us out to the front of the ship where there was the least amount of light so we could do some star gazing. https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/info/patch.html

During the day we hung out and got to know our fellow shipmates. We played games, went to comedy shows, dressed like Pirates and did all sorts of fun activities. We enjoyed the wonderful meals prepared for us, read and took some naps. We didn’t have anytime to feel bored. One day we got invited to be part of a cooking demonstration in their steak house.

On September 20th we arrived at our first port, Honolulu. We docked bright and earlier  and we were at the bow of the ship as it came into port. We had a tour planned for Pearl Harbor and the PunchBowl cemetery. We were a bit disappointed as our tour bus was not able to stop at the cemetery and only drove through. We saw a few sights from the bus but again without any stops it wasn’t very enjoyable. When we finally reached Pearl Harbor we found that the tour to both the submarine and the Arizona Memorial were closed. We were able to walk around a bit and very some displays and listen to videos recorded by survivors of Pearl Harbor. When we got back to the ship we took the local shuttle to shopping and picked up Hawaiian shirt for Frank but I wasn’t able to find a Hawaiian dress for me. https://www.nps.gov/perl/index.htm

September 21st we arrived in Maui. We were super excited as we had a day long excursion to travel the road to Hana, Hawaii. It is one of the most beautiful but also most dangerous roads. It is a two lane road with 600 curves, many hairpin curves and 54 bridges almost all of them only one lane. The drive took us 4 hours each way but was well worth the trip.

Our guide was very knowable on not only the best places to stop for the most amazing views. We went to a beach where we saw sea turtles.

Our guide was also very knowledgeable on the plants that we saw from Australian Eucalypti to flowers used in lei.

We saw lots of evidence of volcanic activity in the past and enjoyed walked through a lava tube.

We visited a black sand beach and saw a rare monkseal up close.

On the way back we saw the most amazing waterfalls along the way. And evidence of how the bridges we were taking looked like from underneath.It was hard not to post 100 pictures just from this excursion alone as it was so beautiful. https://roadtohana.com

Then in the evening they brought some of the locals including young children on board to preform a variety of dances for us.

The port we were suppose to visit on September 22nd had been changed to Kona, Hawaii. It was a tender port which meant we had to board the ships lifeboats in rough waters to get to shore. It was not a pleasant experience. We were knocked about in the lifeboat and thrown around trying to get on and off the lifeboat.

We had booked a tour on a glass bottom boat to see the coral reefs. But it took the crew so long to load the lifeboats and get us to shore our tour ended up being only 30 minutes long. So we barely got out to the reefs before we had to head back in. The best part of visiting Kona was finding a shaved ice stand and enjoying some shaved ice before heading back to the ship. https://www.gohawaii.com/islands/hawaii-big-island/regions/kona

Our last Hawaiian port on September 23rd was Hilo and it was a great day with a great guide and lots of things to do. Our guide was local and took us off the beaten path to show us some sights we might not have seen otherwise. We went to the lava fields and saw the changes the volcano had made to the island over the years.  

Beaches covered with lava, roads that now just end and house that had been destroyed. We also saw life coming back where everything had once been distroyed

We did visit a church that had been rescued and moved before the lava could destroy it.

After that he stopped where we could all get in the ocean and do some snorkeling before heading on to see Rainbow Falls and the back to the ships. It rained off and on throughout the day but it was warm and we were able to have an enjoyable time even with the rain. https://www.hawaii-guide.com/big-island/regions/hilo

September 24th to September 27th was another four days at sea as we traveled toward our last port of Ensenada, Mexico. Again we enjoyed our time with the Naturalist learning about Coral Reef and the life cycle of the sea. We also enjoyed a Captain’s dinner, fun entertainment with Chuck Wagoner, a Broadway star, who told his life story and sang Broadway hits, and few days of relaxing and taking it easy after our busy days in Hawaii. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6TlZQcAM6M

We spent most of September 28th at sea. We did not arrive in Ensenada, Mexico until late afternoon. When our ship pulled into port at 3 pm the seals were there to greet us with their noise.

Since we were only in port four hours we had not planned to get off ship but then decided since we were here we would go see the town. There was a bus which for $4 would take you into town, drop you off and later take you back to the ship. We wandered around for a bit and saw the town. Frank got in a bit of trouble but it was okay as I was able to break him loose.

We watched a street artist make beautiful creations with spray paint and metal. Tomorrow is the last day on board and then back to the road. https://www.lonelyplanet.com/mexico/baja-california/ensenada

We arrived back in port on September 30th. I was sound asleep when I heard someone hollering. I jumped up and looked out the cabin door as we went under the Golden Gate Bridge at 4:30 am.

It was an amazing trip but we are ready to get back on the road and explore once again.