Gaynors

Your sunset pictures are amazing.  Here's our view of Apia right now.

Just now, Jim_Iain said:

Awoke to beautiful blue skies in Apia.    It is 7:32 Am on 4/18 - tomorrow we cross the date line so will have a second Thursday.     I think we are just arriving as we have a tug starboard and I can see the thrusters churning away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for the beautiful pictures and the forecast.  I hope it's that way tomorrow.  We just had a brief shower here but now the sun is out.

6 minutes ago, Maui4us said:

@Gaynors

We have good friends on your ship! I hope you get to meet Jim and Cheryl 😁

Aloha from Maui 🌺Kelley & Dan 🌺 

I'll have to keep an eye out for them.  Amazing we've already been on the ship 12 days and we still keep seeing people we haven't seen before but also keep running into the same people too😂.

52 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

I think we will be sending you the forecast we are due tomorrow morning April 18th at 0800.  Followed by Pago Pago on April 18th-- (next day after going back in time by one day). 

Funny, we will be in Apia on the 19th and Pago Pago on the 19th.  Just a day behind you.

8 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

 

You will have to give us a weather prediction.    We are suppose to have light rain from the forecasts I'm seeing.

We are still one sea day away from apia but have had smooth seas, partly cloudy and very warm.  When they give the forecast it's been chance of rain every day but we haven't had any.  However, we are in the tropics so I think some showers are always possible.

Really enjoying all your photos and looking forward to seeing suva.  I've never been before but will be there soon.  I think we get to apia the day after you.  This is currently my view from the Sapphire princess.  Pacific is like a giant lake.

10 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

That's a pretty good chunk considering "Hawaii" wasn't even considered in the path.  Congrats.  Glad you were proactive in searching out the time.

I'm just glad I didn't listen to all the naysayers who said don't bother or you won't see anything.  I was definitely worth the effort.  But definitely kudos to princess for having glasses on board for everyone and making the announcements.

What is funny is I had found a website from the Navy called solar computer...I used the windy app to get our location... plugged it into the website and it gave me start time, peak time, and end time for the eclipse.  It was only a few minutes different than what they announced on the ship.  I hadn't found that website when I was searching before the cruise.

This is what we saw on the sapphire princess, pretty awesome.  It was definitely a nice bonus and not something any of us booked the cruise for 😁.

The clouds parted and we got some great views.  Even a partial eclipse is impressive.

If we can see it, based on our current location we should be at 28% coverage 

However... it's pretty cloudy.  Hopefully it'll break up a little for us by peak time.

Update!!  Live from the sapphire princess...8:30am ship time 

Nothing in the patter about the eclipse..

BUT. They just made an announcement with the estimated times AND they have eclipse glasses for free at guest services!

Way to go princess!!

4 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

The date line can really mess with your head.    When we flew home from Sydney in December we arrived before we left.   

 

The first TP I did, I found I had to go back and study Geography.    In my mind I always thought Tahiti was far west of Hawaii, only to learn it was actually Due South and a little to the east and was on the same timezone.... so no time zone changes.

Yes, I have studied the globe and maps to look at all the places we are going but what helped me most was adding all of our ports to the clock on my phone and seeing that French Polynesia is only 6 hours difference (as you say, same as Hawaii)  from east coast US.   Pago Pago is only 7 hrs.... but once you cross the date line... my mind starts getting confused again.   So Apia, Western Samoa is in the same time zone as Auckland but Suva, Fiji is another hour different...

We have 8 sea days to get back from Moorea to LA and only 3 time zones.

Wishing you safe travels and smooth seas...  will wave as we pass each other!

It looks like our ships will "pass in the night" or day 😊.  I'll be on the Sapphire Princess 32 day RT LA cruise sailing April 5th and we visit many of the same ports.  We'll be in Apia and Pago Pago on April 19th and Suva on the 22nd.  The whole thing of being in two different ports on the same day (same as you crossing the date line in between) is kind of mind boggling.  My mind has a lot of difficulty accepting that I have to book excursions on the same day for two different ports!

This cruise was the south pacific on training wheels for me... no long flights... just have to get to Los Angeles...and let the ship do the rest!   I really wish Celebrity would do something like this.

4 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

ALSO:  That early in the morning (Hawaiian Time), the sun will be very low on the horizon.  This morning, it was still "dark" at 6 AM HST.  Sunrise was at 6:30 AM this morning.

Yep, I was wondering about this... Agreed, from my guestimate of where we'll be, the sun should be up but low on the horizon.

22 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

It doesn't matter what time zone you're in - just turn on your stateroom TV. News channels will be covering it. Or your phone on social media or news. You don't need to know what exact time the ship is on when you see it it you do this. 

How much will the news and social media be actually covering it over the ocean?  I know it will be big news once it gets to land, but by then it will be too late for us.

12 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

If you do a quick google search:  Solar Eclipse 2024 Hawaii...you will pull up quite an assortment of links.  Here is just one example:

 

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/usa/honolulu?iso=20240408#:~:text=Eclipses visible in Honolulu%2C Hawaii,Apr 8%2C 2024 Solar Eclipse

 

Keep in mind that there will be a three hours difference between California PDT and Hawaii Standard Time.  You will be setting your clocks back an hour each day for 3 out of the 5 days (I think that's the correct direction).  

 

• In UTC-8: Pacific Standard Time (PST). It covers the western region of the country: California, Washington, part of Nevada, Oregon, and Idaho. This time zone also covers part of Mexico and Canada. It belongs to one of the four time zones in the contiguous United States. The reference city for PST is usually Los Angeles.
• In UTC-9: Alaska Standard Time (ALKS). This time zone is shared with the Gambier Islands of French Polynesia.
• In UTC-10: Hawaiian-Aleutian Standard Time (HAST), also known as Hawaii Standard Time (HST). 

 

And then you have to factor in DST

 

Give yourself a good buffer of time.  The one thing in your favor is that it doesn't happen quickly.  You might just hit it correctly.

 

These are some local news channels that my cover it:

KITV 4 

KHON 2

Hawaii News Now

The Star Advertiser

KGMB

 

I was on the Golden leaving San Francisco when I happened upon a partial solar eclipse.  It was SOOOOO cold on the Lido Deck.  Another passenger was prepared with a welder's glass.  We were the only two interested in the event.

 

Good Luck

 

 

 

 

 

 

The problem with the time zones is the cruise line can opt to change at their choice ( not necessarily at the actual time when we will physically cross into the next zone)... they just need to get us to the Hawaiian time by April 11th.

Part of the challenge.

17 hours ago, KreinKrunker said:

I believe that I read the eclipse will be moving 1500 miles an hour.  Figure out how far you will be from Hawaii to know how much earlier to start looking.  The partial is from about 6:30 am till 8:00 am HST.  Then you have to figure out what time zone you are in.  Oh my.

That's why I posted the original question.  Hopefully there will be some notification about the eclipse from the ship.  If not I'll do my best.  Luckily I do have the WiFi so I can plug my location into the prediction websites.

9 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Do check ahead to see if you are required to have a reservation for Haleakala. 

 

 

Guri Guri is island made.  While there. buy yourself a small bag of Maui Potato Chips.

 

It's a LONG walk out of the port, but the mall is close.  

Thanks.

It appears that you only need reservations between 3 am and 7 am for sunrise.  We won't be docked and in our rental car until well after that.

5 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

If you want to sample local wines, Maui Winery is located in Upcountry’s Ulapalakua area. Across the street is a quaint old market & grill if hungry…Ulapalakua Ranch Store. 😋

 

https://ulupalakuaranch.com/ranch-store-grill/

 

The earlier you can get to Haleakala the better because the summit area can get socked in with clouds around midday.

 

The ship arrives at 8 and we are picking up our rental by 8:30 then heading straight to Haleakala, hopefully we'll beat the clouds

3 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

Great…if you only walk to the nearby Maui Mall would highly recommend the long time family owned Tasaka Guri Guri…a frozen tasty treat (cash only) described as a combination between sherbert and soft ice cream which comes in either strawberry or pineapple…ono-licious! 😋

https://onolicioushawaii.com/tasaka-guri-guri/

 

Will do!

3 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

It does replace Lahaina which I expect the situation to be for at least 5 years.

 

There is no good places to visit within walking distance & only a few malls. There is a public bus system however think renting a car from the airport or Enterprise close to the port is a better option. If wanting to go to nice beaches, would recommend going to Wailea and if you have a rental car, you can drive to the south end of the road to see the most recent flow from the late 1700s. Or to drive Upcountry to visit that area halfway up Haleakala (we go to the Maui Winery when guests visit us) or to continue to the top to see the cinder cones & where I’ve read the lunar astronauts trained there because it resembles the surface of the moon.
 

Thank you for the tips!  We are renting a car from the Enterprise close to the port and are planning on going to Haleakala and maybe something else if time allows .

5 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

Wishing you the best of luck…you’re certainly doing your homework. 😊

 

Thanks…to me your destination is much mo bettah than mine. ☺️

If you dock in Kahului Maui hope you have a great day. 😎

Definitely looking forward to all our ports.

We do dock in Kahului Maui on April 12th.