Live from the Eclipse, Apr 19 - May 21, Sydney to Honolulu to Vancouver B3B in an Aqua Cabin

[mahdnc]

45 minutes ago, Pantheral said:

The Nene can be quite elusive. Best luck we've had in spotting them is on Maui in the uplands around Holi akala in the afternoon when there are less people around.

 

Yeah, many years ago when my wife and I were hiking out of the Haleakala crater we saw several of them.  

[mahdnc]

7 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

 

Day 24 - May 11 - Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii

 

 

 

 

 

Any idea what the tendering hours/frequency is for overnight?

[prmssk]

We also were a bit disappointed in that tour. Looks like we were only a few rows ahead of you on the bus. The temple was the nicest stop of the excursion. Although, we had forgotten this was part of this excursion (didn’t expect a stop so far south on the east coast for a North Shore tour) so we had already explored the temple on Sunday. Lighting was better though yesterday for my photos. 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 11, 2023 by prmssk

[Ken the cruiser]

6 hours ago, phabric said:

Dole - did you purchase any drink?

 

I was thinking on taking Dole tour, I wonder if the tour was worth it?

 

2 hours ago, zestyzorra said:

I'm not sure that Ken got to take the tour, but I have taken it before and the little train that goes around the property is a lot of fun. I'd highly recommend it, along with a Dole whip!

Our 30-minute “visit” to the Dole “gift shop” did not include any tours. We saw where you could purchase the train ride tickets. We also saw a sign on a big tractor across the street in front of the Dole factory where it advertised farm tours.
 

But we did spend 90-minutes walking around the stores at the North Shore just before going to the Dole Plantation, which was also became an unadvertised lunch stop, that we had not plan for. So, in our opinion unless you like to shop a lot, this tour except for visit to the Valley of the Temples, was not worth the $227 pp they were charging onboard for. Luckily, we only paid about $117 pp which was about right for a 6 hour bus tour of this quality.

[Ken the cruiser]

3 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 

Any idea what the tendering hours/frequency is for overnight?

I just checked and they will be tendering all day and night until 5:15 pm tomorrow, May 12. As far as the frequency in the early morning hours, I would imagine it would be based on demand. But that’s just a guess; otherwise it’s pretty much ongoing throughout the day and evening.

[Ken the cruiser]

24 minutes ago, prmssk said:

We also were a bit disappointed in that tour. Looks like we were only a few rows ahead of you on the bus. The temple was the nicest stop of the excursion. Although, we had forgotten this was part of this excursion (didn’t expect a stop so far south on the east coast for a North Shore tour) so we had already explored the temple on Sunday. Lighting was better though yesterday for my photos. 

 

That was a nice stop. After walking around the Temple, we headed out to the tall hill in the cemetery to take some of the pictures I posted.

[Ken the cruiser]

We have arrived in Lahaina for our 2-day stay here. Today we’re just going to walk around the part of town we didn’t see a few days ago, then back to the ship for lunch. 😁

 

This was taken around 6 am as we were approaching Maui off in the distance.

 

 

 

 
And once again the internet speeds are acceptable with our premium package.

 

 

[goofysmom99]

15 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We have arrived in Lahaina for our 2-day stay here. Today we’re just going to walk around the part of town we didn’t see a few days ago, then back to the ship for lunch. 😁

 

This was taken around 6 am as we were approaching Maui off in the distance.

 

 

 

 
And once again the internet speeds are acceptable with our premium package.

 

 

Just curious, do you turn on your phone when you're on land?  Or does your phone plan limit data? 

[Ken the cruiser]

2 minutes ago, goofysmom99 said:

Just curious, do you turn on your phone when you're on land?  Or does your phone plan limit data? 

No limits what so effort, as we’re in the US and have ATT. Well, other than the 2 GB data plan we have. 

[Ken the cruiser]

We had a fun morning walking around the rest of Lahaina and of course took some pictures. But now that we’ve walked around most of the town, it will be fun to go on a 6-hour excursion tomorrow as there really wasn’t all that much to do since we don’t shop or lay out on the beach. But at the same time I’ve been overhearing a lot of folks excited about going to a luau tonight!

 

Since we are Elite+, we once again gathered in Qsine and taken down to the forward gangway within 5 minutes of arriving.

 

 
Now for some wildlife and other interesting, but definitely not mind blowing, photos we saw on our walk.

 

What can I say, pigeons and chickens on this cruise have been so much fun to take pictures of! 😂

 

 

 
But this is the first butterfly. Actually, there are two if you look closely. 😁

 

 
There was what looked to be large chunks of white coral all over this beach.

 

 
My DW saw this miniature Moai on the beach which reminded us of our cruise to Easter Island back in Jan 2020.
 

 
Never had seen this street sign before and wondered what they were?

 

 
Then we noticed this raised piece of asphalt about 10-15’ long; hence a Speed Table rather than a Speed Bump. 😂

 

 

 
Then we came across this sign. Sorry, I cannot even imagine anyone wanting to get married at this peson’s house! 😂

 

 
Just in case you were curious.

 

 
This is still an awesome Banyan tree in downtown Lahaina, regardless of how many times we look at it or from what direction. 😁
 

 
On our tender ride back to the ship, we were downstairs and saw this water surfer using an electric propeller on his surf board. Sorry for the poor picture, but thought it was still something unique we had never seen before, only heard about. 😁

 

 
On our way back to the ship at 11:45 am, it seems there were still plenty of folks wanting to go ashore and were being directed to the midship gangway. No offense, but I have to say that Elite perk for being able to board the tender ahead of the others is a nice one!
 

In fact we’re thinking on this cruise, and this is only a guess, the suite, excursion, and Elite and above guests are being routed to the tenders tied to the forward gangway, where as all of the other guests and crew members are being directed to the midship gangway (see below). The reason we’re thinking this is because they have two sets of tenders working, and we saw the tender that just left the forward gangway and it was definitely not fully loaded with guests. Again, this is only a guess. BTW I checked and there are 2800 passengers on this cruise!

 
And finally, it’s in the low 80s and definitely a pretty day to go sailing. That’s Molokai in the background

  

 
And this is Lanai in the background on this photo from our balcony.

 

 

 

Edited May 11, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

Tonight, Blu started opening again at 5:30 pm by popular demand and we were able to finish dinner, head up to the OVC for dessert, and take my sunset photo

 

 
as well as this photo on the opposite side of the ship near Lahaina

 

 
before heading to the theater to watch the local Drums of Polynesia show, which we also saw on the last leg of our cruise.
 

 

 
They even offered class instruction to some folks handpicked from the audience. 

 

 
Afterwards we headed to the Last Person Standing game show followed by the Pub Quiz. Then after a short break, we headed up to the Sky Lounge to get a good seat for Roxstar’s History of Rock n Roll trivia game show. 😁

 

Edited May 12, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

Day 25 - May 12 - Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii

  

 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Here’s the 6-hour excursion we’ll be going on tomorrow morning, which looks pretty cool if we do everything that’s listed! 😁

 

 

[cinlo]

If anyone likes snorkeling from shore, yesterday we took Maui bus #28, to Kapalua Beach Bay park. The fare is $2, $1 for seniors.  We got off at the Napili Kai resort exit, then walked to tje Kapalua coast trail down to the beach.  Snorkeling was like swimming in an aquarium! The bus trip takes about 45 minutes, with stops also at Whalers Village in Kaanapali.

[hcat]

10 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Tonight, Blu started opening again at 5:30 pm by popular demand and we were able to finish dinner, head up to the OVC for dessert, and take my sunset photo

 

 
as well as this photo on the opposite side of the ship near Lahaina

 

 
before heading to the theater to watch the local Drums of Polynesia show, which we also saw on the last leg of our cruise.
 

 

 
They even offered class instruction to some folks handpicked from the audience. 

 

 
Afterwards we headed to the Last Person Standing game show followed by the Pub Quiz. Then after a short break, we headed up to the Sky Lounge to get a good seat for Roxstar’s History of Rock n Roll trivia game show. 😁

 

what fun! 

on our Rt Hawaii cruise ( 5 days at sea 1 way?) we had  hula dance lessons.  At the end  of the cruise, our class  performed in the theater for  other guests, friends and family..we all bought Hawaii style dresses at the ports..  It was a fun thing to do..along with various craft activities. Had a great Hawaii Ambassador on the ship..Paki Allen.

[prmssk]

For those curious about internet speeds and a comparison between the basic and premium internet packages, these were taken from the MDR this evening at the same table from the same type of device (iPhone 14 pros). This was as we were leaving Lahaina, Maui. 

My husband has the basic package and I have the premium package. The premium package speeds have been more than adequate for what I need (social media including uploading photos and short videos, internet, etc.).  The basic package speeds don’t allow for much.

 

 

I do not get a good connection from our interior stateroom on deck 9 but opening the door helps some and a short walk down the hall makes a huge difference.  I also can’t get a good connection in the theater which was a bit frustrating this morning while waiting for our shore excursion.

 

Basic Package

Premium Package

[Ken the cruiser]

What a difference a day and an island makes! We had a great time today! We were 10 people in a 12 passenger van with a very energetic driver/tour guide, went to some great stops, saw a bunch of birds, turtles, a few Nene Hawaiian geese, and even a gecko! 😁

 
After tendering over to Lahaina,

 

 

we met our tour guide and off we went! Our first stop was the Maui Tropical Plantation.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Hawaiian Nene geese!

 

 

 

 

 
Just kicking back soaking up the rays between his toes! 😂

 

 

 
Then it was off to Ho’okipa Beach Park to check out the surfers and the huge bale of large green turtles! But first we drove past this huge field of sunflowers!

 

 

  

 
Large bale of green turtles! 😁

 

 

 

 

 
And yes I was able to take a photo of some elusive Maui pigeons to keep my streak going! 😂

 

 

 
Then we were off to the Hoolawa Valley to sample some local fruit, check out the flora and fauna, and look at the waterfall there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
After about 45-minutes there, we headed to Makawao Town for a simple lunch outside and about 30-minutes free time afterwards to check out the small town. 
 

Here’s where we had lunch, which was basically, chips, a sandwich and a drink.

 

 
While my DW was in The Maui Cookie Lady store buying an awesome tasting huge gluten-free chocolate cookie, I sat outside and met a new friend! 😂

 

 

 
And yes there were a lot of “free range” chickens in the town. So I had to ask the question. Do the locals eat them? The answer is no. The reason is their meat is tough and not very tasty as they live pretty much off the trash food they find. But our guide did say the eggs are tasty!
 

That explains why we’ve seen so many on this cruise. But I will say the coloring on many of them is very unique. Maybe that’s why I find them so fascinating, or maybe I’m just easily amused! 😂

 

  

 

 

 

 
And then there was this little friend we met while waiting for the tour guide to come pick us up! 😁

 

 

 
Then it was time to head back to the ship.

 

 

Edited May 13, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

Duplicate

Edited May 13, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

Tonight while dining in Blu we set sail for Kailua Kona, Hawaii.

  

 
Then after dinner before heading to the show, we experienced another pretty sunset. 😁

 

 
The production show this evening was Topper

 

 

 
followed by the Guess It Game Show in the Entertainment Court. 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Day 26 - May 13 - Kailua Kona, Hawaii

  

 

 

 
Here’s our current location at 10:25 pm heading towards Kailua Kona, Hawaii, our last tender port! 😁

 

 

[DaKahuna]

On 5/10/2023 at 10:45 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

I didn’t see it yesterday or today in Oahu. But I’ll keep an eye out for it as we’ll be back on Maui for the next 2 days as well as on the Big Island for the 2 days after that. 🤞

 

Sightings are quite rare but hopefully you'll see one live!  

 

[Ken the cruiser]

4 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

Sightings are quite rare but hopefully you'll see one live!  

 

We got lucky as there were a few at the Maui Tropical Plantation we visited on our excursion yesterday, along with a bunch of other cool looking birds! 😁

 

 

[wingatesl]

@Ken the cruiser, is there a European power outlet under the bed in the aqua class rooms? We are boarding in 3 weeks and are questioning getting an extra charging adapter to use in that spot. I have seen them many times on royal. This will be our first celebrity trip!

[Ken the cruiser]

We have arrived at Kailua on the Big Island of Hawaii!

 

  

 

 
Here’s what we’re doing today! 😁

  

 
As far as the Starlink internet service goes, it’s been pretty reliable this entire cruise so far. I just hope one day soon, Celebrity will get rid of their useless Basic service and give everyone who pays the All Included price the Premium service.

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

9 minutes ago, wingatesl said:

@Ken the cruiser, is there a European power outlet under the bed in the aqua class rooms? We are boarding in 3 weeks and are questioning getting an extra charging adapter to use in that spot. I have seen them many times on royal. This will be our first celebrity trip!

There are no power outlets anywhere near the bed. Besides the 110v outlet in the bathroom, these are the only outlets in the cabin and they are next to the desk.