Come sail with me on a virtual cruise to Hawaii on Ruby Princess

[ellie1145]

‘The Life of the Land is Perpetuated in Righteousness.’

Motto of King Kamehameha III.

 

 

We leave the tender and walk through Banyan Tree Park. The afternoon has turned out better than this morning, and it is hot and sunny.

 

We have been told that there is a beach within walking distance so we follow directions which lead us along Front Street, past the Court. I’m looking forward to swimming.

 

 

We are most interested to find ourselves outside a school, the King Kamehameha III School, which looks to be well cared for and beautifully landscaped. It has approximately 700 students.

 

 

 

 

 

As a teacher of young children myself I wholeheartedly support this sign, as encouraging good attendance is equally important in the UK as it is in Hawaii. 

 

 

Children are encouraged to arrive at school on time - and it’s an early start at 7.45 am, which I guess is because of the heat. 

 

 

The school is beautifully landscaped and absolutely pristine, with no litter to be seen. 

 

 

Another sign which encourages pupils to ‘build the habit of good attendance.’ I can echo the sentiment, ‘School Success Goes Hand in Hand With Good Attendance.’ Sadly, in the UK there are still many children whose parents don’t seem to realise the importance of punctuality,  both at the beginning and the end of the day!

 

 

 

A beautiful play area, which is, again, absolutely pristine. What fun the children must have here, especially in the sunshine. I wish we had had the opportunity to see round this lovely school. 

 

 

The king, after whom the school is named, was the third king of Hawaii from 1825-1854. He was the longest reigning monarch, ruling for over 29 years. Under his reign Hawaii changed from being an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy.

 

The King was determined to keep his nation intact whilst adopting western ways, a fine balancing act. He married and had two children who, sadly, died whilst babies. He also had twin illegitimate sons, one of whom died young.

 

The king wanted Hawaii to be the ‘Kingdom of Learning,’ so he set up schools thoughout the islands, and this school is over 100 years old and still thriving. 

 

 

King Kamehameha III died suddenly at the age of 40, probably from a stroke. He left a huge legacy which is important to this day. 

 

Edited May 21, 2021 by ellie1145

[ellie1145]

On 5/20/2021 at 11:55 PM, cr8tiv1 said:

 

I won't be on that cruise, but might be able to offer you my tour guide experience in Honolulu.  Still working on that trip.

 

Well we haven’t yet decided, cr8tiv1. We are not too sure about the numerous sea days, but I do want to visit Tahiti sooner rather than later. 
 

Your offer of help in Honolulu would be most welcome. We’d welcome any advice/suggestions about what we should see next time. Thank you.

[cr8tiv1]

22 minutes ago, ellie1145 said:

Well we haven’t yet decided, cr8tiv1. We are not too sure about the numerous sea days, but I do want to visit Tahiti sooner rather than later. 
 

Your offer of help in Honolulu would be most welcome. We’d welcome any advice/suggestions about what we should see next time. Thank you.

 

I do love sea days, but 9 on the return is a little much for me.  I had considered doing a cruise from LA to Australia, but that seems to be on the back burner now too.

 

Hope you captured my email address a while back.  

 

[Papa Yoda]

Interesting about the school pushing being on time, as there is a saying in the islands: "Me no late, me on Hawaii time".

[AF-1]

My wife told me she will do two sea days max; so no transatlantic or transpacific for us.  

[ellie1145]

On 5/22/2021 at 12:50 AM, cr8tiv1 said:

 

I do love sea days, but 9 on the return is a little much for me.  I had considered doing a cruise from LA to Australia, but that seems to be on the back burner now too.

 

Hope you captured my email address a while back.  

 

 

It is rather a lot of sea days - if we do this cruise we will disembark in Auckland and fly to Sydney so that we can spend time there. 

 

No, I must have missed that, cr8tiv1...... was it hidden? ☺️

[ellie1145]

On 5/22/2021 at 4:37 AM, Papa Yoda said:

Interesting about the school pushing being on time, as there is a saying in the islands: "Me no late, me on Hawaii time".

Love that, Papa Yoda! Maybe that is for adults only, children must do as they are told and get to school on time....😉

 

[ellie1145]

On 5/22/2021 at 2:56 PM, AF-1 said:

My wife told me she will do two sea days max; so no transatlantic or transpacific for us.  

 

Well what a bit of luck you are doing this cruise virtually, AF-1. You can tell her that she need not worry.

 

We are hoping to do a Caribbean cruise in April 2022, pandemic permitting.... don’t think there are lots of sea days on that one! 😉

[ellie1145]

A Quick Update....

 

After repeated eye pressure tests, and two visits to the hospital, the good news is that the pressure is down, and my field of vision test was good. So, at the moment, my consultant says he doesn’t think it’s glaucoma. Tests will be repeated in 3 months. We are very relieved. 

 

Little one has had his first immunisations - 9 of them in one go! Can’t believe that some people are unwilling to take one Covid vaccination! 🙈  He has been a bit off colour, and unsettled so we have spent some time with him. Any excuse for a cuddle, I’m afraid. Hence my being AWOL. Apologies..

 

Edited May 23, 2021 by ellie1145

[ellie1145]

I finally get to wear my itsy bitsy, teenie, weenie, yellow polka dot bikini.....

 

Well, actually, I don’t want to frighten the natives, so I opt for something a little less revealing.......

 

DH and I walk along past a beautiful church and find ourselves at the entrance to a beach. It is not busy and there is sand and blue sea, and best of all, our lovely ship anchored there on the horizon.

 

 

We find a shady spot and DH opts to look after our bags and my cameras, whilst I swim. It is a great sadness to me that poor DH is unable to swim, despite my attempts to teach him. He just seems unable to lift his feet off the ground. But he is fantastic at being the bag watcher, so it enables me to indulge my love of swimming.

 

 

A quick spritz of sun screen, and I whip my clothes off (no not all of them! ☺️) and walk across the soft sand to the water’s edge. 

 

The water is lovely, and I relax into it’s crystal clear depths, swimming gently up and down, occasionally waving to DH so he knows I haven’t drowned or been eaten by a shark.

 

It is so relaxing that I almost forget the time, but we must not miss the boat. So, reluctantly I drag myself out of the water, and rejoin DH. We gather up our belongings and make our way back to the harbour area. 

 

 

Looking back towards the mountains we see dark clouds rolling down. We hope it isn’t going to rain, but the rest of the sky is a beautiful azure blue, and it’s very hot.

 

 

 

[chipz]

Congratulations on the results of your eye tests!!!

I'm still tagging along, reliving this cruise we did on the Ruby a few years ago.

Brings back lovely cruising memories. 🚤🌴

[marden1970]

Hi Ellie, so to get to this beach, did you turn right on Front street?  How far down to the beach?  Is it the one in front of the Lahaina Shores Hotel?  I've seen one from the ship and was wondering how it was.  Last time there I turned left on Front Street, walked thru town and went to Baby Beach.  It was ok but a little far and not much shade.  We'll be back there on the 3/27/21 cruise and can't wait.  Thanks!

[ellie1145]

20 hours ago, chipz said:

Congratulations on the results of your eye tests!!!

I'm still tagging along, reliving this cruise we did on the Ruby a few years ago.

Brings back lovely cruising memories. 🚤🌴

 

Thank you, chipz. We are very relieved, although I have to be retested in 3 months time, so we have everything crossed (and mighty uncomfortable it is too!).😉

 

So glad you are still with us, and that it is bringing back happy memories. We certainly all need those at the moment!

 

[ellie1145]

6 hours ago, marden1970 said:

Hi Ellie, so to get to this beach, did you turn right on Front street?  How far down to the beach?  Is it the one in front of the Lahaina Shores Hotel?  I've seen one from the ship and was wondering how it was.  Last time there I turned left on Front Street, walked thru town and went to Baby Beach.  It was ok but a little far and not much shade.  We'll be back there on the 3/27/21 cruise and can't wait.  Thanks!

 

Hi marden1970. Yes, we turned right and just kept walking, past the school and past the church. It wasn’t very far, but I don’t remember it being in front of a hotel. Access was very visible from the road. There was some shade, and the water was lovely, so it’s certainly an option.

 

Hope you get to go on your cruise!  

[ellie1145]

 

 

We amble along Front St, past the church and the school.

 

 

 

 

We find ourselves at some little shops, and I spy a shop which sells pearl jewellery. Now I have a passion for pearls, and love necklaces and earrings, so we step inside and look around.

 

I spy a single string of pearls that appears to be very affordable and am thrilled when my DH says he will buy it for me. The lady wraps it up and we set off again towards the harbour. 

 

Little do we know what awaits us there! As we turn the corner we see a huge, and I mean HUGE queue of people waiting to board the tenders. It is barely moving, so we join the end and thus starts a long, long wait in the blistering heat. 

 

DH, bless him, stands in line, while I roam about taking photos. The line moves at a snail’s pace and we inch forward slowly. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To our great relief we finally reach the cool face cloths and gratefully accept one. It is so hot, and there is no shade. As we approach the tender there are cups of chilled water which we drink thirstily.

 

Then it’s back to the ship for a quick freshen up, and then, guess what........ we dash down to the restaurant for afternoon tea. Wow, are we predictable!?

 

A delicious scone, with jam and cream, a chocolate eclair, and a cup of tea from a large silver teapot. A feast for a king!

 

I have to admit that from time to time we notice a variety of ways in which people eat their scones. Some pile the jam straight on the top of the scone, and seem at a loss to know where to put the cream. Others use a knife and fork, and chop them up, whilst a few just munch on them, whole, with no accompaniments.

 

Me? Well, I cut the scone in two, add jam to the bottom section, topped by cream and then do the same for the remaining half.

 

But here in the UK there is a running debate on whether the jam should be first or the cream. Those who come from Cornwall decree that the jam should come first and then the cream, whilst those from Devon swear by putting the cream on first and then the jam. 

 

But if you really want to be decadent then you should spread butter on them first! 

 

[azbirdmom]

Thanks for the glimpses of the Banyan tree, Front Street, bougainvillea (which we have in our backyard but the Hawaiian variety just looks so much better), and the views of Molokai and Lanai.  I definitely have the bug to go back to Maui!  But first we will be cruising to Alaska with Princess in August!  If that cruise had gotten cancelled I had pretty much convinced my hubby to go to Maui instead.  Oh well, we will get back there again someday! 

[cnd crsr]

I enjoyed the walk along Front Street, Banyan Tree Park and the beach with you. And lucky you - a new string of pearls!  Last time we were in Maui, we swam there as well. Like you, when walking through different places we have visited, I am always stopping to have a look/see at the schools. Sometimes, I have even managed to be invited inside and meet some of the little ones Guess that is the teacher in us.

 

There certainly are several sea days sailing to Tahiti and Samoa -- but well worth  it for the experience. Although my DH is not keen on sea days, we have done the 28 day from LA, a few times. Both Bora Bora and  Moorea are absolutely breathtaking. In Samoa, we did a private tour which included a swim and barbecue at one of the most pristine beaches we have visited.

Gail

 

 

[ellie1145]

23 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

Thanks for the glimpses of the Banyan tree, Front Street, bougainvillea (which we have in our backyard but the Hawaiian variety just looks so much better), and the views of Molokai and Lanai.  I definitely have the bug to go back to Maui!  But first we will be cruising to Alaska with Princess in August!  If that cruise had gotten cancelled I had pretty much convinced my hubby to go to Maui instead.  Oh well, we will get back there again someday! 

Thank you, azbirdmom. The bougainvillea was just beautiful, almost like tissue paper. How wonderful to have it in your back yard!

 

I have everything crossed for your Alaska cruise. 🤞

 

 

[ellie1145]

11 hours ago, cnd crsr said:

I enjoyed the walk along Front Street, Banyan Tree Park and the beach with you. And lucky you - a new string of pearls!  Last time we were in Maui, we swam there as well. Like you, when walking through different places we have visited, I am always stopping to have a look/see at the schools. Sometimes, I have even managed to be invited inside and meet some of the little ones Guess that is the teacher in us.

 

There certainly are several sea days sailing to Tahiti and Samoa -- but well worth  it for the experience. Although my DH is not keen on sea days, we have done the 28 day from LA, a few times. Both Bora Bora and  Moorea are absolutely breathtaking. In Samoa, we did a private tour which included a swim and barbecue at one of the most pristine beaches we have visited.

Gail

 

 

 

Glad you enjoyed your walk, Gail. It was nice to have a swimming companion as DH was on bag watch.  😉

 

It is fascinating to see school systems in other places. 

 

Wow, Gail, now you have truly whetted my appetite. Those places sound fantastic. What ship did you sail on? 

 

If we manage to get to Samoa I shall be asking your advice about a private tour. It sounds idyllic.

 

 

[cnd crsr]

14 hours ago, ellie1145 said:

 

Glad you enjoyed your walk, Gail. It was nice to have a swimming companion as DH was on bag watch.  😉

 

It is fascinating to see school systems in other places. 

 

Wow, Gail, now you have truly whetted my appetite. Those places sound fantastic. What ship did you sail on? 

 

If we manage to get to Samoa I shall be asking your advice about a private tour. It sounds idyllic.

 

 

We sailed on both the Crown and Emerald Princess to visit these islands.

The beach in Samoa is Lalonmanu and somewhere I remember reading it is considered one of the best beaches. in the world,

[JF - retired RRT]

On 5/26/2021 at 3:41 AM, cnd crsr said:

In Samoa, we did a private tour which included a swim and barbecue at one of the most pristine beaches we have visited.

Gail

Do you have the name/contact info for the tour people? We're on the 28 day in '23.

TIA 🥰

[ellie1145]

1 hour ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Do you have the name/contact info for the tour people? We're on the 28 day in '23.

TIA 🥰

what date is that JF - retired RRT? 

[TeaBag]

Love the pictures of Front Street.  They make me wish for another trip to Hawaii sooner.  We love the bougainvillea too.  I wish we could grow it here.

We do the scone the same way, Ellie.  So good.  Is there any other way?   I'm always surprised at how few people know about afternoon tea on the ship.

I'm so glad you don't have glaucoma as it interferes with a lot of medications.  I have macular degeneration and it's being watched carefully.

[cnd crsr]

3 hours ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Do you have the name/contact info for the tour people? We're on the 28 day in '23.

TIA 🥰

The company was Samoa Scenic.They were easy to work with and we had no problem customizing.

 

This was a few years ago now and I do recall when reading the tour info on their website, another beach was named. One of our party had been to the mentioned beach and really wanted to go to Lalomanu beach so we asked to customize  (so glad we did as Lalomanu was pristine and aside from our busload of 15 deserted).

The guide was very good, we had 2 stops before the beach - a park with a waterfall and then Sua Ocean Trench (another gorgeous park with fantastic views). I think 3 from our bus had a swim here as well. The water was very cold and the staircase down was steep so I skipped this part. Next stop was Lalomanu (white sand and clear turquoise water)  The barbecue meal consisted of chicken, tuna that had been marinated in coconut milk, can't remember what was in the salad. Then tropical fruits. We took a different route back to the ship.

 

Wish I was there NOW!

 

[JF - retired RRT]

1 hour ago, cnd crsr said:

The company was Samoa Scenic.They were easy to work with and we had no problem customizing.

 

This was a few years ago now and I do recall when reading the tour info on their website, another beach was named. One of our party had been to the mentioned beach and really wanted to go to Lalomanu beach so we asked to customize  (so glad we did as Lalomanu was pristine and aside from our busload of 15 deserted).

The guide was very good, we had 2 stops before the beach - a park with a waterfall and then Sua Ocean Trench (another gorgeous park with fantastic views). I think 3 from our bus had a swim here as well. The water was very cold and the staircase down was steep so I skipped this part. Next stop was Lalomanu (white sand and clear turquoise water)  The barbecue meal consisted of chicken, tuna that had been marinated in coconut milk, can't remember what was in the salad. Then tropical fruits. We took a different route back to the ship.

 

Wish I was there NOW!

 

Wow!! I want to do that one!

Thanks for the info.

 

OK, Ellie back to the cruise. 😁