Vacation Photos

Here are some of the better photos from our vacation.  They are store on Google Photos in separate albums. They were shot with our new Panasonic Lumix camera.  I definitely like the results.


Island of Kauai

Island of Oahu - Honolulu

Island of Oahu - Waikiki

Island of Maui

Big Island of Hawaii

On board the Emerald Princess

Our Time In Vancouver

Our Time on Vancouver Island

October 19 – Princess .vs. Celebrity

Now that we are back on dry land in Vancouver, it is the perfect time to compare our experience on the Emerald Princess against the Celebrity’s cruise ships which we have taken in the past.

Embarkation

The embarkation process for Princess was flawless. It was quick and trouble free.  Celebrity’s embarkation process is also very smooth.  Of course it could also be the terminal layout of Vancouver that made the Princess embarkation process slightly smoother.  Unfortunately Princess withheld Marg’s suitcase because they mistakenly thought she was trying to bring in more than one bottle of wine.

In the final analysis there is no significant difference in their embarkation process.

The Cabins

There is very little difference in the cabin décor and setup between the two ships.  The balcony on the Emerald is slightly bigger but we’ve noticed that the balconies on the 10^th floor are larger than the balconies on the other floors on the Emerald.

I think that there is slightly more storage space in the Emerald cabin than on the Infinity.

Both beds were extremely comfortable.

The in-room TV selection had more variety on the Celebrity ship.

In the final analysis Princess comes out on top for their storage space.

The Ship’s Officers

The Emerald’s captain seems to be very personable and compares favorably with some of the other outstanding captains we’ve had on Celebrity cruises in the way he communications with the passengers.  What I have noticed though is that officers on the Celebrity cruises and much more accessible than the officers on Emerald Princess.  It is not uncommon to see one the Celebrity officers walking among the passengers, whereas I don’t remember seeing an Emerald officer other than on the first formal dinner night.

In the final analysis Celebrities officers are superior for their accessibility.

The Ship’s Crew

Our cabin stewards have all been excellent.  They all have been friendly, efficient and thorough.  The same can be said about our wait staff in the dining room.  In many cases the wait staff have left such a favourable impression that we remember them long after the trip is over.

It seems to me that the bar and public restaurant staff are much more friendly on the Celebrity cruises.  The staff on the Emerald Princess are polite and quick but they just don’t seem to interact with the passengers as much as staff on the Celebrity cruises.

In the final analysis we think that Celebrity’s crew is better, which is not to say that Princess’s staff was not excellent.

Food

The food found in the main dining rooms on both cruise lines is excellent.  There is always a wide variety of delicious starters, entrees, and of course desserts. The food is accompanied by a good selection of wines of various varieties. We prefer the set sitting in the evening and usually go to the anytime dinning for lunch.

Where Princess fails miserably is in its buffet room, where you can get breakfast, lunch or dinner if you don’t feel like going to a restaurant type setting.  We tried the Horizon Court buffet a couple of times and found, especially for breakfast, that they served the same food each day, there was no variety in the daily dishes, it was not fresh and the setup of the buffet was disorganized. In comparison Celebrity’s buffet always had a minimum of three different styles of food, the menu changed daily. For lunch there was a pasta bar where you could get any type of freshly cooked pasta with any sauce you want.

Both ships have omelet stations, but it is rare to find anyone manning the station on the Princess Cruise.

Most people I heard talking about the coffee served on board stated that the coffee on Princess was terrible.

In the final analysis we think that Celebrity’s food service is far superior.

Bars

Each boat has numerous bars and lounges, some small and intimate and others large and lively.  You can get any type of drink, or brand of alcohol. Service is usually exceptional.

In the final analysis I don’t think there is much difference between the cruise lines to recommend one over the other.

Live Entertainment

Each cruise liner has a theatre where they stage Broadway type productions and other lounge acts. 

We’ve found that the Princess’s Broadway shows are better, both in the professionalism of the performers and the costumes.

We feel that the star performers that Celebrity brings on board are much better than the acts employed by Princess.

On board there are many other acts that range from classical music to dance music.  They perform at the lounges and poolside bars on regular basis.  I would have to say that the Princess house band known as Pinnacle is the best we’ve seen. The other acts are all good with no noticeable difference in their professionalism.

Both cruise lines show movies under the stars on a huge screen.  The projection system is for Princess is far superior.

Of course both cruise lines offer audience participation sessions with trivia being one of the most popular things to do during sea days.  Both Princess and Celebrity do this very well.

In the final analysis, it would depend on the style of entertainment you like. Our preference would be Celebrity.

Recreational Facilities

Both cruise lines have similar setups for their swimming pool decks.  Each has two sets of swimming pools with two hot tubs associated with each pool in the middle of ship. They both have a pool and hot tub located in the bow of the ship. The major difference is that on Princess both are outdoor pools, whereas on Celebrity one of the pools is enclosed.  This comes in handy on cruises to Alaska or fall cruises north of the Caribbean, when it can get a bit cool.

We can’t compare the Spa or Gym on these ships because we’ve never been to either.

In the final analysis we give the edge to Celebrity for the covered pool.

Internet Services

On the Celebrity Infinity the internet service ranged from slow to OK.  On the Emerald Princess you would not be incorrect to say it ranged from totally ineffectively to non-existent.  Princess needs to fire their network IT shop and replace it with qualified engineers and pour a lot more money into the service.  The internet has become a daily fixture in most people’s lives and needs to be treated as such with sufficient capacity to meet the demand.

In the final analysis we think that Celebrity’s internet service is far superior and the service provided by Princess is an insult.

Local Culture

When you are going to a different culture it is nice to have educational seminars and culinary experiences that reflect the culture of the destination.  Both provide great seminars but Princess is better at providing local food in their fine dining areas.

In the final analysis, Princess comes out ahead based on their locally themed meals in the dining room.

Shore Excursions

As the shore excursions are run independently of the cruise line, it is up to the cruise line to vet the excursions to ensure that they meet their standards.  For most part the excursions we have been on are informative and interesting.

Unfortunately Princess seems to believe that shore excursions must also include shopping.  They employ a high pressure sales pitch at each port, trying to get you to go the local jewelry shop or souvenir stand.  They actually employ someone who has hour long seminars to tell you what to buy in each port.  After awhile it become annoying.

Interestingly enough I just received an email from Princess telling us about a change to the tour to Pearl Harbor.  Hello Princess we took the tour five days ago. 

In the final analysis Celebrity offers a better shore experience because you are not harassed by some stupid barker from the ship.

Décor

Princess’s décor is usually brown with dark rich wood in many of the lounges and restaurants. It gives the ship a classy sophisticate feeling. Celebrity on the other hand deploys a more modern flashy look in most of their bars and restaurants.

In the final analysis both are excellent and it would be a matter of personal preference, if it mattered at all.

As you can see it boils down to what you want in a cruise.  For our personal preference we would usually select Celebrity.

October 18 – The Last Day of the Cruise

Today was the last day of our cruise. Early tomorrow morning we will disembark in Vancouver.  Rocky and Joan will be leaving for Toronto on Saturday, but we will be staying in Vancouver until Monday.

During the day we went to final of “The Voice of the Ocean”.  This is a passenger talent show based on the popular TV show “The Voice”  It is professional done with the graphics, the orchestration, and the turning chairs for the coaches.  The six finalists all had great voices and the eventual winner could easily sing with a professional Country and Western band in any bar in North America.

As is the tradition on a cruise, the last dinner includes a parade of the kitchen staff carrying trays of flaming Baked Alaska.  For safety reasons the flame has been replaced with a red LED light bulb

Our wait staff has been great.  Our food was also delivered quickly and our glasses never went empty.  Our head waitress was a Peruvian named Daisy and her assistance was an East Indian named Wellington.

After dinner we went to our last trivia contest.  This one was different because the questions came from the audience and staff had to answer the questions.

October 17 – Second Last Day of the Cruise

This has been a great cruise.  I would guess that two thirds of the passengers are from Canada, mostly from Vancouver and the southern mainland of BC.  It makes it very easy to talk to our fellow passengers during lunch or other informal gathering as we all have a shared experience.   Surprising enough the one couple who did know where Port Stanley was, were from Seattle.   It turns out that they had lived in Cleveland and had a boat. They had crossed into Canada through Port Stanley many times.

Our dinner companions have been wonderful.  Lorne is a Baptist minister and his wife Sig works with autistic young adults in the Vancouver area.  We have had many interesting conversations with them.  It had dispelled the myth that the art of conversation is dead.

During the day we went to the hula dancing presentation.  Marg bowed out because she had missed one class and didn’t know one of the dances they were going to perform.  To the uneducated eye they all seemed the same.

After high tea in the afternoon, we went and heard Sig and her choir sing a few songs.  They were very good for only two weeks practice.

We had Rocky and Joan over for drinks before dinner tonight.  Rocky has come down with a sore throat and has cut back on his wine consumption.  We hope it gets better before he leaves for home on Saturday.

Tonight was another formal dinner night.  Marg had lobster and quail and I had two lobster tails.  We both are stuffed.

Unfortunately we went to the Marriage game show but it was packed with not a seat to be had. I don't know why they don't schedule these popular shows in the theater but I'm sure they have their reasons.  Tomorrow we are going to try to see the finals of Voice competition.  It should be lots of fun.

The captain has opened up all the engines and we have made up the time lost when we airlifted the passenger to Honolulu.  So we should arrive on schedule in Vancouver On Friday morning.

October 16 - British Invasion Trivia

We Won !

We Won !

We won the British Invasion Trivia with a score of 37 out of 43.  No one else was even close.  My goodness Rocky, Joan, Marg and myself are good!

October 15 - Sad Day on Board

We found out today that gentleman who was airlifted to Honolulu did not make it.  Our condolences go out to his wife and family.

October 14 - Medical Evacuation At Sea

Today we saw the true definition of teamwork. Last night one of the passengers suffered a severe stroke and he needed immediate hospitalization. The boat having left Kauai yesterday in the late afternoon was well past the point where a helicopter could make a safe round trip.  So the boat turned around and headed back to Oahu.  The ship needed to be within 150 miles of Honolulu for the American Navy to be able to send a helicopter for the medical evacuation.

In order to prepare a safe evacuation site, the captain closed down the forward pool area.  The staff then went about the task of securing this site.  The pool and the hot tubes were drained.  All the deck chairs were removed, the bars were shuttered, the overhead lighting cables disassembled and anything that could possibly be blown about by the wind of the helicopter secured.  Then all the cabins below this secured area were evacuated because there was a possibility that the chopper might crash into the boat while attempting the rescue.

We next saw a US Navy C130 plane circle the boat multiple times.  The plane was measuring wind speeds and directions at various points around the boat in order to determine the safest approach to the evacuation site.

When the helicopter arrived it made one pass over the ship and then circled around and hovered over the evacuation site. You could tell the pilot was an expert as he kept the chopper basically level with boat despite the rolling of the ship caused by the ocean waves.  Then one of the navy rescue team members repealed down to the deck, followed by the cradle for the transportation of the passenger. You could tell that the wind was causing havoc as the cradle was spinning widely as it descended to the deck. I was told that it had wrapped itself around some poles on the ship during its descent.

The chopper then disengaged itself from the cradle and left the area.  During this time the patient was secured in the cradle.  The helicopter then returned and lowered a cable that was attached to the cradle.  Again it was amazing to watch as the pilot made multiple adjustments in order keep the chopper as steady as possible in relation to the ship.  The passenger was then hoisted up to the helicopter which I would estimate to be at least 50 feet in the air. It went very smoothly and the patient was secured inside the chopper.

The chopper then left to very loud applause from the passengers and circled around, came back and picked up the navy officer who had repealed onto the ship.  All in all it took about 30 minutes for evacuation to be completed.  Our captain was outstanding as he clearly communicated what was going to happen and informing passengers of their responsibilities during the evacuation.

Unfortunately the wife of the patient was not allowed to travel with her husband on the chopper.  She will have to wait until we dock in Vancouver on Friday and then return to Honolulu.  From what we’ve heard he may not make it that long, but here is praying that he does make a recovery.

Congratulations to the US Navy rescue squad and the crew of the Princess Emerald for an amazing display of teamwork.

On a brighter note, tonight was the second of three formal dinner night.  We both had chateaubriand and Marg also had a lobster tail. As usual it was delicious.  After dinner we sent to the lounge and saw Dan Horn who is a ventriloquist. It was one of the funniest shows I’ve ever seen on a cruise.

October 13 - Kauai

Today we landed on the island of Kauai in the port of Nawiliwili.  Yes you read that right, it is pronounced as Na Wili Wili.  The Hawaiian language is the most difficult language to read and pronounced. It seems that each word is a dozen syllables long.  The language has only 12 letters.

Kauai is noted as the garden island because of its lush rainforests.  I think it should be called the golf course island as there are many immaculate maintained courses.  On our entry to the Nawiliwili we passed a gorgeous course with the ocean cliffs defining the out of bounds.  During our tour of the island we noted several more professional quality golf courses.  The price of some of these courses exceed $180 US / round.

In early the morning there were many surfers in the harbor. At the end of bay was beautiful white beach.  Looking towards the interior of the island we could see sharp volcanic ridges that define the mountains and valleys.

Kauai has been used in several popular movies such as Jurassic Park and Raiders of the Lost Ark , where many of the jungle scenes were shot.

We took a tour to the National Tropical Botanical Garden.  The gardens were created and are currently partly funded by two millionaire families, the McBryde’s and the Allerton’s.  They have created two protected tropical paradises.  The gardens are located In the Lawai Valley and they claim to have several thousand different plants and trees.  The canopy from the trees makes it very pleasant to walk around in the rainforest and the colours and shapes of the flowers are amazing.

If you remember in the film Jurassic Park, there were scenes where the humans jumped into the root systems of big trees to hide from the dinosaurs.  We walked past these trees and the above ground root system is enormous. 

At one point in our walk through the gardens there was a loud shotgun blasts. Our guide assured us that noise was made by a falling coconut hitting the ground.  He said that many people are injured or killed by falling coconuts every year in Hawaii.

On our way back to the boat we stopped at Spouting Horn.  This is a lava tube that is on the coast line.  As it fills with sea water, the hot lava in this tube turns to water into steam and shoots it into the air making for a continual geyser.

October 12 - Honolulu / Waikiki

Today we arrived on the island of Oahu and the port of Honolulu. The sunrise was spectacular as we arrived as the sun rose above Diamond Head.  Honolulu is the state capital with a population of about one million.  Annually there are about four and a half million tourist.  Of course for most people of our generation this is the location for Hawaii 5-0.

Honolulu is where King Kamehameha was in residence when Captain Cook arrived in the Hawaiian Islands. Later the royal family built their Iolani Palace in the city. It had electricity before Buckingham Palace and the White House. Of course it is the only royal residence in the USA.  The Iolani Palace is still open to visitors.

Honolulu is the military headquarters for the Pacific Operations. The Pentagon is the second largest employer on Oahu.  On December 7^th 1941, Japan launched a surprised attack on Pearl Harbor.  The attack was devastating as most of the battleships and cruisers in the Pacific Fleet were destroyed. The attack resulted in the single greatest loss of life in a single battle in American history.

We went to Pearl Harbor to view the memorials and honour the dead.  It would be an understatement to say it was very crowded.  During the visit we went onboard the Missouri battleship and later went to the museum which chronicled the events leading up to attack and the attack itself. There are many other memorials devoted to the different ships that were sunk that day. 

The Missouri did not see active service until 1944, but is noted for being the site of signing of the surrender documents by Japan in 1945.  There is a plaque on the deck and display cabinet to mark the spot where the signing took place.  Our guide told us many interesting stories about the Missouri, but the one that I will remember is about the effort of ship’s officers to find the family of a Japanese kamikaze pilot, who had crashed into the boat, and to let them know he had been buried at sea with full military honours. 

Next we went to Pali Lookout where we had a great view of the city.  After that went to Punchbowl National Cemetery where over 50,000 American servicemen and servicewomen, from many wars, are buried. The flag at half mast when we arrived indicating that a burial was taking place.

We concluded our trip with a visit to the old section of downtown.  Here we saw the royal palace and many older government buildings

Our tour driver was very funny and personable.  He would rate in the top five tour guides we have ever had in during our troubles.  He kept referring to us as his cousins.

Tonight we decided to go ashore and eat and partake of the nightlife in the town of Waikiki.  This is an amazing nightlife area, with many great bars and restaurants, a beautiful beach and expensive stores.  The area is dynamic with crowds of people just out to have a good time.  We at Duke’s, which found out later was one of the top restaurant/bar in the town.  After dinner we stop at a pearl store where we bought Marg a pearl pendent. We are definitely glad we went.

October 11 - Maui

Maui is the second largest island in the Hawaiian Island chain and has a population of 160,000.  The average winter temperature is 20 to 25 degrees.  Maui has been voted as the best Hawaiian island for more than 20 years in a row.

When we arrived in the port of Lahaina, where we were immediately impressed with the lush green landscapes and the jagged mountains. More than 75 percent of the island is inaccessible due to the dense rainforest and extreme terrain of these mountains

Surfing is a big recreational sport on the island.  The beaches we saw had moderate waves with plenty of surfers riding these waves.  This is area to be if you want to watch the humpback whales as this becomes their breeding ground in the winter.  Unfortunately we arrived too early.

Whaling was the primary industry in the 19^th century in Lahaina.  Of course with this many sailors working in the area, it developed a reputation for a rather lively lifestyle.

We booked a tour that took us to the Maui Tropical Plantation and the Maui Ocean Center. Our tour bus driver had an Interesting commentary, which was informative and sometimes funny.  He even sang to us on our return trip to boat. He did have an annoying habit of saying yes after ever sentence

The Maui Tropical Plantation is a 60-acre working plantation featuring 14 of Hawaii's most important fruit and flower crops.  There were pineapples, bananas, coconuts, papaya, macadamia nuts, coffee, mango and guava and jackfruits.

The Maui Ocean Center is considered one of the top ten aquariums in the world.  It is relatively small in comparison to Vancouver’s Aquarium but it was very informative.  They are exhibits of coral reefs and the fish that inhabit these reefs. There is a glass enclosed walkway, where you can see sting rays and sharks swimming above, below and beside you.

When we got back to Lahaina we went shopping in old downtown.  There were many souvenir shops, restaurants and tour operators. It was crowed as you would expect with the cruise ship unloading most of its passengers.

During the evening we went to an ABBA trivia contest.  We could only identify six songs correctly out of twenty questions. I feel ashamed to admit that we actually know six Abba songs

In Lahaina we had to board a tender boat to get from the boat to the shore.  Princess tendering process was terrible.  They did not have enough boats to transport the number of people who wanted to go ashore. On our return we had to wait an hour wait in hot sun to board one of the tenders.  There was no water offered to us during this wait, towels that we were given at the end of queue were only damp and not cold.  On Celebrity you were greeted with an ice cold wet cloth to cool you down when you entered the ship from an excursion.

The tenders had trouble docking because Emerald Princess was not in the proper position to receive the boats. I’m surprised no one got hurt trying to get onboard the ship from the tender.  Score another point for Celebrity for better tendering experience.

October 10 - Big Island Of Hawaii

Today we arrived at our first Hawaiian island. Our port of call was Hilo on the big island of Hawaii.  The weather has turned from early Canadian fall into steamy hot tropical summer in the space of a day.  I'm sure that temperature must be in excess of 30 degrees with very high humidex. Hilo is one of the wettest cities in the world with an average of 127 inches of rain per year.

The big island of Hawaii was the last of the Hawaiian Islands to be conquered by Kamehameha the Great and added to the Hawaiian federation.  Kamehameha the Great died in 1819 and many think he is buried on this island.  But according to the Hawaiian custom of that time, the location of his grave is not known. With the arrival of the missionaries on the island sugar became the major crop and money maker for the island.  Sugar is no longer grown on the island due to cheaper crops in other parts of the world. 

Our first stop on the tour was a placed called Rainbow Waterfalls.  This was a small waterfall but it did allows to see many different types of vegetation including a Banyan tree which is a massive multi trunked tree that can cover large areas and provide great shade.

Next we traveled to the summit of Mauna Kea, which is the tallest mountain in the USA, if you count the 15,000 feet under the ocean.  It reaches over 14,000 feet above sea level and is the only place in Hawaii where it snows. The landscape surrounding the mountain is desolate.  It has been used to simulate Mars.

On the summit there are many huge telescopes, as this is considered to be one the best places on earth for unobstructed viewing stars.  At the Keck Telescope Control Center on the summit Canada and France share one these telescopes.  The mirrors in these telescopes have to be flawless and their position adjusted continually buy micro pistons.  We stopped two thirds of the way up the mountain to get accustom to the thin air.  Even with this acclimatization you really did feel light headed and faint when walking around the summit.  

At this visitors centre they recently found a thought to be extinct plant which looks like someone sprayed painted it silver.

Mythology about Mauna Kea says that in the creation Father Earth and Mother Sky were always able to hold each other.  But when the earth and sky separated, they built Mauna Kea so that earth could reach up and touch the sky by extending well beyond the cloud cover.

On our return to Hilo we went to Liliuckalani Park.  This is a Japanese rock garden, with beautiful green lush landscaping.

One of the first things you think about when you think about Hawaii is their volcanoes.  On the big island of Hawaii is the Volcano National Park.  Up until recently there was an active volcano, called the Kilauea Volcano, on the island.  In the 1960’s it produced enough lava on the island to pave an eight land highway four times around the world.  But as you may remember in the summer of 2018 there was another major eruption that destroyed many homes along what is known as Fissure 8.  This seemed to put the Kilauea Volcano into a dormant state.  Even though the large volcano is dormant the park is just now beginning to reopen.

Our tour guide told us that she was escorting a tour of the Volcano National Park when Fissure 8 erupted.  First there was a 5.9 earthquake that happened while her group was is an old crater.  She got them to safety but the tour group thought this experience was cool and not dangerous.  Only a little bit later, when they were having lunch did the major eruption happen which was prefaced with a 6.5 magnitude earthquake. Our guide said you could see real fear in their eyes when the cars in the parking lot were swaying and the road was buckling.  Our guide told us that some of her friends lost their homes in this eruption.

We went to a musical production called “I’ve Got the Music”.  I will admit that the singers and dancers in the Princess production company are better than what can be found on Celebrity.  Marg also says that costumes are more elegant.  

October 9 - Approaching Hawaii

Today is our last sea day before we reach the Hawaiian Islands.  Our first stop will be the port of  Hilo on the big island of Hawaii.

During the afternoon I watched a Michael Buble on a huge screen by the pool deck.  The clarity of the screen was amazing.  They show concerts and movies on the screen at any time of day.  It much better than screen on the Celebrity cruises.  Score a point for Princess.

Early in the evening Marg and her dance partners performed their Hula dance for a large crowd of interested spectators.  It was a fun time for all.  Somehow she was able to trick me into also performing. I'll post the video when we get back home with a decent internet speed.

The social activities that are on board, I think are better than what I've found on Celebrity cruises.  So score another point for Princess.

October 8 - Day 4 On The Pacific

Today is Thanksgiving and Princess has gone all out to celebrate the occasion.  The main piazza has been decorated with red and white balloons and Canadian flags.  This is only fitting as the large majority of passengers seem to be Canadian.

Marg went to her hula dancing class in the afternoon. She says it is hard to coordinate all the different movements with hands, arms, torso, hips and legs. Tomorrow they will be putting on a demonstration,  That should be fun to watch.

I went to the third lecture on Hawaiian history and geography by Dr. Gary Fuller.  The lecture was supposed to about Captain Cook and his last voyage that resulted in his death in Hawaii.  Instead a good portion of the lecture was about the division of property in Hawaii. Apparently nineteen entities own eighty five percent of the land on the Hawaiian Islands.  The largest entity, the Bishop Trust, funds private education schools for any student who can prove they are native Hawaiian.  He also talked about genetic differences between the different Polynesian tribes, such as Hawaiians and Samoans. I find his talks to be extremely interesting.

The weather has gotten warmer today and the sun has come out on occasion. We had a beautiful sunset.

During the evening we went to see a singer named Doony Ray Evins.  He had show where he sang songs by Nat King Cole.  He had a great voice and an easy manner with the audience. It was thoroughly enjoyable show.

For dinner we had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with turkey and pumpkin pie.  The only thing that was missing was mashed potatoes. 

Rocky, Marg and myself went to a musical quiz after dinner, where they would stop a song and you had to guess the next line of the lyrics.  We didn't fare very well with only about a half the songs answered correctly.

October 7 - Day 3 on the Pacific

I can't believe that I'm paying premium dollars to access the Internet on the Emerald Princess.  This is without a doubt the worst service I've encountered in the last two decades.  At least seventy five percent of the pages that I try to load will time out.  Joan has told us that it takes her ten minutes to access her inbox. Semaphore would be faster.  Score one more point for Celebrity over Princess Cruise lines.

Believe it or not on the Emerald Princess, if you want to get to the bow of the ship on the 6th deck from the stern, you can't do it without taking major detours.  There is no passageway on the 6th deck that extends from stern to bow...  You must go to the 7th deck and even though there are 4 passageways only the two passageways on the starboard side go to the Piazza that would then allow you to descend to the 6th deck and continue to the bow of the boat, The main theater is located in the bow on deck 6, so it’s not like it is not a common destination. Subtract a half point from Princess for the inconvenience.

At the theater there was a Broadway musical combined with a magic show called Magic To Do.  The magic portion of the show was as Marg described it "hokey".  With distraction being to key to most magic tricks, it is easy to distract the audience with multiple dancers moving about the stage. The musical was composed by Stephen Schwartz, who also wrote the music for Wicked.  There were a couple tunes that were memorable and the singers were very good.  The costumes were very imaginative and the choreography was lively.  So we'd give Princess a point over Celebritie's musical productions.

October 6 - Day 2 on the Pacific

The ocean has calmed down and the waves are only 2.5m now.  It was a little rough but nothing too serious.  Most of today has been shrouded in a dense fog and the temperature has not improved.

After lunch there was a demonstration of martini mixing by the bar tenders. The finale was amazing.  The bar tender flipped a cocktail shaker and had it land sideways on his forearm.  Next he placed a long skinny bottle on the side of the cocktail shaker.  On top of the bottle he next placed a platform and on the platform he placed a cocktail glass.  He then added two more layers of platforms and glasses.  Through it all he did not spill a drop. It would be amazing if the floor was steady but the waves were rocking boat enough that you could feel it.

During the afternoon Marg went to a hula dancing lesson, In the dance each movement has a distinct meaning.  Marg really enjoyed this activity. 

While Marg was dancing, I attended a lecture on how the Pacific Islands were settled, long before Cook discovered them for Europeans.  Contrary to Thor Heyerdahl's theory, migration did not go from South America to the islands to the west.  Instead it was a migration from Taiwan to the east and the south.

Later in the afternoon we attended a wine tasting with Rocky.  The wine was good but it came from their top of the line selections with the prices to match.  I wonder why do the hosts for wine tasting all talk at 100 mph with thick eastern European accents.

The evening’s stage show was to be a magic and dance spectacular but the movement of the boat made it too dangerous.  Instead they presented a comedian named Richie Minervini.  He had roles in a couple of Adam Sandler movies, but we didn't hold that against him. He was funny but not memorable.  He did tell one very funny joke.

Two men were out walking their dogs.  One had doberman pinscher and the other gentleman had a chihuahua.  They decided that they would go to a nearby restaurant for lunch but the sign outside said "No dogs allowed"  So the first gentleman said to his friend "Follow my lead".  He then proceeded to the front door of the restaurant where the doorman said there were no dogs allowed.  "But I'm blind and this is my service dog" exclaimed the first gentleman. "Doberman pinschers are very smart and I need him to get around".  "OK you can go in with your dog" said the doorman.  The second gentleman approached the restaurant where he was confronted by the doorman.  "I'm blind and this is my service dog" said the second gentleman.  "A chihuahua is a service dog?" asked the doorman.  To which the second gentleman replied "What they gave a chihuahua?".

Tonight was formal night in the dining room.  There will be three formal nights during this cruise. The captain held a reception which included a Champaign Waterfall.  It was very busy, so we decided to skip it and go to the dining room.  

For dinner we both had beef tenderloin.  It was excellent.

After dinner went we to one of the lounges to watch a mentalist. After his performance the house band, named Pinnacle, performed.  They have wide variety of musical styles, ranging from 50’s to today.

October 5 - On The Pacific

As we left the BC coast the ocean turned rough with swells that rocked the boat.  On an unofficial scale of 1 - 10 with 10 being the roughest seas that have ever encountered this would probably rank as a 7.  The temperature has been unseasonable cool, with the daytime maximum only reaching 16. Because of this most of our activities have been indoors.

For dinner tonight I selected a shellfish casserole which was very tasty. Rocky and Joan had lamb.  Unfortunately Marg had a touch of seasickness yesterday, so she passed on dinner.  

Marg was feeling better later in the evening and joined us for a Beatles trivia contest.  We scored 20 out of 25 which was about average for the audience.

Our thoughts and prayers are with our good friend Dave from London who is not feeling 100%.

October 4 - Embarkation

Today we boarded the Emerald Princess for our cruise to Hawaii and back to Vancouver. Now is as good a time as any to compare our first impressions of Princess against Celebrity cruise lines.

Embarkation onto the ship was very smooth. It took less than thirty minutes from the time we arrived until we were on board the boat. This included going thru American customs and getting our ship pass card.  Usually this can take close to an hour to complete.  Score a point for Princess.

Because we arrived before our room was ready we were sent to the buffet restaurant to eat and wait.    Although the food was was excellent there was not the variety of food that you would find in the Celebrity liners. Score a point for Celebrity.

Marg's suitcase was late in arriving.  It was held up becuase they thought she has brough too much wine on board.  In truth it was me that had brought too much wine on board. Score another point for Celebrity.

The Internet didn't work.  I had to go down to their technical support and rearrange my laptop configuration so that the domain service worked properly and I could login to their Internet service.  Score another point for Celebrity.

The welcoming party was great. The house band was a very high energy group and very entertaining.  Score one point for Princess.

The dinner dining room is a bit more cozy than the large halls found on Celebrity.  The wait staff consists of our head waiter, Daisy, and her assistant Wellington. Both were very friendly and efficient.  The menu selection was good and food was delicious. Marg had beef bourguignon and I had tilapia. Score this even between Princess and Celebrity.

After dinner we participated in a trivia contest about 60's music.  I think we scored 29 out of 42, which was not bad but not great.

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October 3 - Vancouver

We arrived in Vancouver yesterday and have had a wonderful two days in this wonderful city.  Having been to Vancouver many times, when Kari lived here, it all seems to be very familiar. We are staying in an apartment / hotel just a block away from False Creek.  We are on two minute walk from the ferry that takes us to Granville Island. 

We had a wonderful dinner at Sandbar restaurant.  This is one the top restaurants that we have been to during our visits to Vancouver.

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October 1 - Prelude

We are heading out for a 15 day trip cruise to Hawaii.  We are exciting to be going to a new area of the world that we have never been to before.  We expect that the culture will be very different from what we have experienced before.

We are cruising on the Emerald Princess with our good friends Joan & Ken Rockburne.  It will take 5 days to sail from Vancouver to the Hawaiian Islands.  We then have 4 days in the islands.  Following this it will be another relaxing 5 days to return to Vancouver.  Once in Vancouver we will be meeting up with Coleen and Ron, who we meet on our South American trip earlier this year.

We decided to take this cruise on our South American trip last spring.  We both enjoy cruising and joining Joan and Rocky seemed like the ideal way to spend three weeks.

Because there are so many sea days on this trip I doubt that there will be a daily blog.