Quantum & Ovation Plus - 30 Day Live (hopefully)

[Sunshine3601]

7 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

Thanks Mark.  I've never had Hula Pie.  I just added Duke's to the list of places to go while there.  I'll be thinking of you and your family.

I never heard of Hula pie and just looked it up.   OMG, that looks crazy good.

[Sunshine3601]

I'm really excited for you and your wife.  This will be an amazing trip and happy to join you on your holiday thru this thread🤩

[BonTexasNY]

6 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Yea, Cut my heel, had to cruise on back home.......

 

Actually I didn't remember the lyrics,searched, and it immediately popped up.. 😳  😆 

Love that song!

6 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

She was named after her father's friend Michael.  She was supposed to be a boy.  Surprise!  When she ended up being a girl, they named her Micheline instead of Michael.  It's pronounced Michael followed by eeen, with a hard K sound for the ch.  Most people see the spelling and incorrectly think Mishel-eeen, like Michelle with an een on the end.  She has said a million times that she wishes her parents had spelled her name Michaelene.  More people would get it right on the first try that way.  Her friends just call her Mike.

Thanks for the head's up on the correct pronunciation of Micheline's name.  Like most, I always thought it was pronounced Misheleen.

 

Looking forward to reading about your wonderful cruise and land stays.  Smooth travels and sails to both of you.

[StanleyandGus]

Have a wonderful trip! It sounds very exciting!

[ShazM]

We are getting on in Honolulu when you get off. I was lucky to get a booking at Dukes for the night before and after seeing so many people talking about Hula Pie I am looking forward to trying it.

[ReneeFLL]

8 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

I saw a picture that you posted.  We might have the same kind of room...corner suite one queen?

Yes, it was a corner suite. We really liked the hotel. If y’all like flowers don’t forget to go down to the market in the morning for some. Great prices. We were in a GS and they looked beautiful on the bar area. I think I only paid about 26.00 for a huge bunch that I had them put together for me. The cabin attendant brought one of the big acrylic champagne buckets to put them in.

[Kathscof]

18 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

We are getting ready to leave for a 30 day trip centered around cruises onboard both the Quantum of the Seas and the Ovation of the Seas.  I plan to post about the trip as often as possible, and as close to live as possible.  Spotty Internet coverage may limit how often I can post, but I’ll try.  No promises that I won’t disappear for a few days.

 

I am Bob and my wife is Micheline.  We are retired and live on Amelia Island in NE Florida, near Jacksonville.  We’ve been on 13 cruises before so we’re not newbies, but also not the multiple cruises a year types either.  We’re Diamond on Royal and will turn D+ after our first cruise on this trip.  That will be important for both drinks and laundry on the second cruise.  More to come on that.  We travel from Jacksonville to Seattle tomorrow...Delta via Atlanta (of course).  

 

 

We’ll spend a couple of days in Seattle, staying at the Mayflower Park Hotel and doing many of the typical touristy things.  I've been there a few times on business trips but it will be Micheline's first visit.  We’ll then board Quantum of the Seas on September 19 for a 7-night Alaska cruise.  This will be our first Alaska cruise and I’ve yet to meet ANYONE who’s done an Alaska cruise before and didn’t have great things to say.  It will also be our first cruise on a Quantum Class ship. 

 

 

 

The itinerary originally included a stop at Icy Strait Point and an early morning cruise up Endicott Arm to see Dawes Glacier.  Because of current problems with Quantum’s engines that limits her speed, ISP was replaced with Ketchikan and Endicott Arm/Dawes Glacier was dropped.  No problem, we’ll have a great cruise anyway. When the ship returns to Seattle, we’ll make our way up to Vancouver. 

 

 

We’ll spend 4 days in Vancouver.  We’ll stay at the Pan Pacific Hotel right above the cruise port.  Lots to see and do in Vancouver.  I've also been to Vancouver on business and again, first time for Micheline.  We board Ovation on September 30 for the first half of her reposition from Alaska to Australia, stopping in Hawaii. 

 

 

 

This will be our first ocean crossing with so many days at sea.  I'm not sure if we will be totally relaxed or bored to tears.  I'm guessing the former.  We'll find out.  

We’ll disembark in Hawaii after 9 nights and head to Kauai. We’ll spend 5 nights at the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa.  

 

 

 

We love Maui and Oahu but have never been to Kauai before.  We'll spend 5 short days on Kauai and pack in as much as we can...beaches, waterfalls, canyons, boats, helicopters.  After 5 nights, we’ll reluctantly board a Delta flight from Honolulu back to Jacksonville.

 

I’ll talk more about our specific plans at each location as we get closer to actually being there.  Covid testing you ask?  Yeah, that’s still a thing for us because…Canada (hello to my Canadian friends 😊).  We’ll be doing eMed testing in Seattle and in Vancouver before boarding the ships.  My worst nightmare is getting Covid during our Alaska cruise and testing positive in Vancouver such that we can’t board Ovation to Hawaii.  That would REALLY suck.  Insurance would cover the costs but missing out on the rest of this trip would be extremely depressing.  Let’s hope for the power of positive thinking, and social distancing where possible.

More to come...

 

 

Yay! So exciting! Looking forward to following along!

 

I’m from Fernandina too! (My parents are still there, but I am in Atlanta now haha)

 

packing sounds....not fun haha 

[Jimbo]

15 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

 

 

Bob, since you have been to Seattle before, maybe skip the crowds at the Space Needle and go up in this building. It's the taller then the Space Needle and is the tallest building in Seattle. The views are really the best from this building. Possibly you have all ready been up in? I'm sure your Wife would enjoy it.

 

https://skyviewobservatory.com/

 

Columbia Center at 700 4th Avenue, Seattle WA 98104.

 

https://skyviewobservatory.com/faq/

 

 

 

 

Edited September 16, 2022 by Jimbo

[bobmacliberty]

48 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

 

Bob, since you have been to Seattle before, maybe skip the crowds at the Space Needle and go up in this building. It's the taller then the Space Needle and is the tallest building in Seattle. The views are really the best from this building. Possibly you have all ready been up in? I'm sure your Wife would enjoy it.

 

https://skyviewobservatory.com/

 

Columbia Center at 700 4th Avenue, Seattle WA 98104.

 

https://skyviewobservatory.com/faq/

 

 

 

 

Thought about that but Micheline’s never been to the Space Needle and we’re going to Chihuly Gardens. 

[bobmacliberty]

Sitting at the JAX airport gate waiting to board.  With everything going on with airline travel, I decided to buy some Apple Air Tags and put them in our suitcases. I will be obsessively tracking them as we go…not because I’m worried about losing our luggage, but because I’m a tech geek. 

[Jimbo]

14 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

Thought about that but Micheline’s never been to the Space Needle and we’re going to Chihuly Gardens. 

We never been to the Space Needle either, we hired a tour guy for our stop in Seattle and he highly suggested the Columbia Building and skip the Space Needle.  We feel we really didn't miss anything by not seeing the Space Needle...........Looking down and across from the Columbia Building  past the 2 stadiums then the Space Needle  looked so low and tiny in comparison to the building we were in.

 

We were very happy we picked the Columbia Building over the Space Needle.

Edited September 16, 2022 by Jimbo

[jmh2006]

@bobmaclibertyWow, what an exciting 30 day adventure for you and your DW!  I wish you smooth sailing and a ton of fun!

[DaKahuna]

@bobmacliberty I think you are going to have a wonderful cruise. Expect to have to deal with a lot of moisture, e.g. rain, mist, etc.. in the mornings in Alaska.  We were fortunate to have great weather in Seattle and Victorica as well as most afternoons on our recent Alaska adventures.

 

Kauai is much more laid back than Maui or Oahu.  Unfortunately, I was only able to get there once in all my years of living in Hawaii and that was on a golf outing where we played 36-holes a day for two days. 

Some things to try in the food department in addition to Hulu pie are:

 

Huli-huli chicken

Macadamia nut pie

kalua pig

manapua 

tako poki (or salmon, ahi, etc...) 

loco moco 

spam masubi 

"plate lunch" - my favorite is the mixed (kalbi, bulbogi, and chicken) 

 

p.s.  Please tell Romana (Suite Concierge) and Margaarette (Coastal Kitchen Ass't Maitre'd) that Toshiko and John said hello!  They are both fabulous ladies. 

 

 

 

Edited September 16, 2022 by DaKahuna

[bobmacliberty]

16 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

@bobmacliberty I think you are going to have a wonderful cruise. Expect to have to deal with a lot of moisture, e.g. rain, mist, etc.. in the mornings in Alaska.  We were fortunate to have great weather in Seattle and Victorica as well as most afternoons on our recent Alaska adventures.

 

Kauai is much more laid back than Maui or Oahu.  Unfortunately, I was only able to get there once in all my years of living in Hawaii and that was on a golf outing where we played 36-holes a day for two days. 

Some things to try in the food department in addition to Hulu pie are:

 

Huli-huli chicken

Macadamia nut pie

kalua pig

manapua 

tako poki (or salmon, ahi, etc...) 

loco moco 

spam masubi 

"plate lunch" - my favorite is the mixed (kalbi, bulbogi, and chicken) 

 

p.s.  Please tell Romana (Suite Concierge) and Margaarette (Coastal Kitchen Ass't Maitre'd) that Toshiko and John said hello!  They are both fabulous ladies. 

 

 

 

Thanks John. I’ll tell Romana and Margaret’s that you said hi. And thanks for your thread last week. It really helped us get excited for our Alaska cruise. 

[h20skibum]

13 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

Some things to try in the food department in addition to Hulu pie are:

 

Huli-huli chicken

Macadamia nut pie

kalua pig

manapua 

tako poki (or salmon, ahi, etc...) 

loco moco 

spam masubi 

"plate lunch" - my favorite is the mixed (kalbi, bulbogi, and chicken) 

I second that suggestion for Kailua pig. I loved that. 
 

As for the spam, I know that it is a big thing in Hawaii.  I sampled several flavors, but given the other choices, spam would not be  on my list. 
 

And Bob, stay away from the poi.  I never could acquire a taste for it. 

[DaKahuna]

13 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

 

And Bob, stay away from the poi.  I never could acquire a taste for it. 

 

 Agree 100%.  The first time I tried it at a luau it reminded me of paste. 

 

 If you do want to try it for the experience, I hear that mixing small cubes of tuna (ahi) into it helps improves the flavor.  Did not work for me but YMMV.

 

[kernow]

Look forward to reading this, especially the 2nd cruise as we will be flying to Sydney in Nov for a b2b on Ovation. We'll also be away for a month so will be following how you get on. 

[bobmacliberty]

Well…just informed of another itinerary change for Quantum Alaska cruise.  Due to forecasted high winds, and the need to tender at Skagway due to the previous rock slides, we’re no longer going to Skagway. ISP is back on the agenda instead. Not real happy about that but…ship happens. 
 

I hope that’s the worst that we see from Typhoon Merbok:

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/alaska-storm-potentially-historical-flooding-typhoon-merbok-remnants/
 

[Sea Dog]

3 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:I decided to buy some Apple Air Tags and put them in our suitcases. I will be obsessively tracking them as we go…not because I’m worried about losing our luggage, but because I’m a tech geek. 

We are using them too for the first time they showed up together departing Kansas City but I was getting some funky locations in Atlanta.

 

 

 

[CanuckCruizer]

bobmacliberty - Looking forward to your review before our upcoming Hawaii cruise on the Quantum.  Sorry to hear that your itinerary is being altered and hope the weather is good for you.

 

Cheers,

Canuck

[bobmacliberty]

Boarded in ATL. Next stop Seattle. 

[Tree_skier]

On 9/15/2022 at 9:15 AM, bobmacliberty said:

 

We are getting ready to leave for a 30 day trip centered around cruises onboard both the Quantum of the Seas and the Ovation of the Seas.  I plan to post about the trip as often as possible, and as close to live as possible.  Spotty Internet coverage may limit how often I can post, but I’ll try.  No promises that I won’t disappear for a few days.

 

I am Bob and my wife is Micheline.  We are retired and live on Amelia Island in NE Florida, near Jacksonville.  We’ve been on 13 cruises before so we’re not newbies, but also not the multiple cruises a year types either.  We’re Diamond on Royal and will turn D+ after our first cruise on this trip.  That will be important for both drinks and laundry on the second cruise.  More to come on that.  We travel from Jacksonville to Seattle tomorrow...Delta via Atlanta (of course).  

 

 

We’ll spend a couple of days in Seattle, staying at the Mayflower Park Hotel and doing many of the typical touristy things.  I've been there a few times on business trips but it will be Micheline's first visit.  We’ll then board Quantum of the Seas on September 19 for a 7-night Alaska cruise.  This will be our first Alaska cruise and I’ve yet to meet ANYONE who’s done an Alaska cruise before and didn’t have great things to say.  It will also be our first cruise on a Quantum Class ship. 

 

 

 

The itinerary originally included a stop at Icy Strait Point and an early morning cruise up Endicott Arm to see Dawes Glacier.  Because of current problems with Quantum’s engines that limits her speed, ISP was replaced with Ketchikan and Endicott Arm/Dawes Glacier was dropped.  No problem, we’ll have a great cruise anyway. When the ship returns to Seattle, we’ll make our way up to Vancouver. 

 

 

We’ll spend 4 days in Vancouver.  We’ll stay at the Pan Pacific Hotel right above the cruise port.  Lots to see and do in Vancouver.  I've also been to Vancouver on business and again, first time for Micheline.  We board Ovation on September 30 for the first half of her reposition from Alaska to Australia, stopping in Hawaii. 

 

 

 

This will be our first ocean crossing with so many days at sea.  I'm not sure if we will be totally relaxed or bored to tears.  I'm guessing the former.  We'll find out.  

We’ll disembark in Hawaii after 9 nights and head to Kauai. We’ll spend 5 nights at the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa.  

 

 

 

We love Maui and Oahu but have never been to Kauai before.  We'll spend 5 short days on Kauai and pack in as much as we can...beaches, waterfalls, canyons, boats, helicopters.  After 5 nights, we’ll reluctantly board a Delta flight from Honolulu back to Jacksonville.

 

I’ll talk more about our specific plans at each location as we get closer to actually being there.  Covid testing you ask?  Yeah, that’s still a thing for us because…Canada (hello to my Canadian friends 😊).  We’ll be doing eMed testing in Seattle and in Vancouver before boarding the ships.  My worst nightmare is getting Covid during our Alaska cruise and testing positive in Vancouver such that we can’t board Ovation to Hawaii.  That would REALLY suck.  Insurance would cover the costs but missing out on the rest of this trip would be extremely depressing.  Let’s hope for the power of positive thinking, and social distancing where possible.

More to come...

 

 

Absolutely love this and will be following along. I'd love to do the same thing.  

 

As a former Vancouver guy (Almost 50 years) if you want any info about your few days there be sure to ask.

[Lionesss]

Bob

 

Safe travels

 

Heard on the news chance of snow in some parts of Alaska with this storm, do not know if that is in your forecast.

 

Be safe

 

Had Hula Pie in Waikiki at Dukes on their lanai, patio, deck, whatever they call it at sunset.

It was awesome

Which amazed my how early sunset is because of location in the time zone.

When we were there one August it was before 7pm.

 

Also, I remember the town folks seem get home early, since the majority of their jobs are in tourism.

Difficult time finding a bar open past 11pm

I am sure that could have changed in the last few years.

 

 

 

 

Also when we were there last time there is a way that all the Islanders know you are not local.

 

Yeserie Bob, all the rental cars were red white or blue.

The islanders stay away from those colors.

 

Be safe

Take care

 

 

[Kathscof]

10 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

Well…just informed of another itinerary change for Quantum Alaska cruise.  Due to forecasted high winds, and the need to tender at Skagway due to the previous rock slides, we’re no longer going to Skagway. ISP is back on the agenda instead. Not real happy about that but…ship happens. 
 

I hope that’s the worst that we see from Typhoon Merbok:

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/alaska-storm-potentially-historical-flooding-typhoon-merbok-remnants/
 

Well, ISP is pretty neat too! Just no train.....

[Ozark_Kid]

13 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

and we’re going to Chihuly Gardens

Have you been before?  Knowing how much you like to shoot pics get ready.  Although I enjoyed the Market Place I believe Chihuly Gardens was my favorite place we visited in Seattle.