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

[hcat]

Great  pics...good memories of our RT cruise to Hawaii in Summit

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, dlh015 said:

Haven't looked up when you're leaving Honolulu...hopefully you get some night shots of the Aloha Tower?? I only managed a terrible still shot though I shot a great video...lol...

 

Thanks for the idea. I will try to give it my best shot with my single lens iPhone SE if we can see it from the ship, which I think we can. I’ll know better when I take my daily sunset photos on the port side this evening where the Aloha Tower should also be. At least it was on that side when we went for our walk today. 😁

[Ken the cruiser]

We definitely had a fun time on our self-guided walk to the Iolani Palace today which was about a 20 minute walk from the ship.
  

 

And we’re off!

 

  

 

 

  

 
It’s amazing how many birds one can attract when you have a few tidbits to share! 😂

 

 

 

 

 

 
There were quite a few of the elusive Honolulu pigeons roaming around, but I thought this one had a nice color pattern. 😁

 

  

 
Banyan trees right outside the Palace

 

The Palace is in the background. You enter in the back by the Banyan trees once you purchase your tickets in the building next to it (on the left side in the picture).

 

 

 

 

 

 
King Kamehameha’s statue which was across the street.

 

 

  
As you can tell I was having a blast today taking pictures of the bird life in the area! 😁

 

 

 

  
Especially this “check out my pretty colors on my chest” one. 😂

 

  

 

 
Of course, I had to take a picture of mom with her two teenage chicks, not ready just yet to make it on their own.

 

 
And dad wasn’t far away, just across the sidewalk. 😁

 

 
So if you have some time to go for a walk, the Palace is about a 20-minute walk with plenty to see along the way if you haven’t been to Honolulu in awhile, and the 1-hour self-guided Palace tour is about $27 pp.

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

6 hours ago, dlh015 said:

Haven't looked up when you're leaving Honolulu...hopefully you get some night shots of the Aloha Tower?? I only managed a terrible still shot though I shot a great video...lol...

 

I tried by best! It was red all this week in celebration of the 40th anniversary of National Travel and Tourism Week. BTW I used the hand rail on Deck 16 as a stability stand to get as clear of a picture as I could. Prior to using it, the pictures were a little more fuzzy. 😁

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Tonight, since it was the first night of our 12-leg cruise and because we have a new maitre d’, Blu didn’t open until 5:45 pm. On the last cruise they started opening at 5:30 pm on the second day. Hopefully, they’ll start opening early again so we can make the early show and folks that show up at 7 pm won’t have to wait in line like tonight for tables to be cleared before being seated. But if not, we’ll figure it out so we can continue to make the early show. 😁

 

But because we were eating later than usual, I was taking pictures of the sunset from our table again.

 

 
Afterwards, since there were no shows we wanted to see this evening, we walked around the upper decks and admired how beautiful Honolulu was after the sun goes down.

 

 

 

 

 
Then when we got back to the cabin, there was a summary of the ports were scheduled to visit on this cruise.

 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

 

Day 23 - May 10 - Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii

  

 

 

 

[Norwaylady]

Honolulu🌴 please take me back🤩😎

 

enjoy the islands☺️ we had a great time in October🥰 Looking forward to seeing them again by you🤩

 

we had double digits yesterday😁 So spring is on its way to northern Norway😉

we can see the snow melting in the mountains every day😎 it’s melted a lot since we arrived on Saturday. 

We have been fishing daily, love to be on the ocean. We have used fishing net. We need herring for bate to get bigger fishes, halibut😇 

 

It’s mostly herring and some good sized sea trouts (they are a big bonus in the net)😊 So we are not starving😋

 

yesterday we loaded the fish line. Put on pieces of herring and put in the ocean. So fingers crossed for a big halibut today😇 

[DaKahuna]

Ken,  Really glad you are enjoying your visit to Hawaii.  

 

Wish I could have caught you sooner, I'd advised you to hike up to the top of Diamond Head.  Not only is it a nice hike with great scenery but the view from the top, weather permitting, is fantastic. 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

2 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

Ken,  Really glad you are enjoying your visit to Hawaii.  

 

Wish I could have caught you sooner, I'd advised you to hike up to the top of Diamond Head.  Not only is it a nice hike with great scenery but the view from the top, weather permitting, is fantastic. 

 

Thanks We’ll be back again I’m pretty sure in the fall of 2025, so we’ll hopefully get to the top of Diamond Head on that cruise. 😁

[Ken the cruiser]

Good morning from day 2 in Honolulu!

  

 
Here’s the excursion we’re going on today! 😁

 

[Norwaylady]

Have a great day touring🤩🕺🏻😎

I can report that we had great luck 🍀 on our fishing line😁 Cod, Halibut, Catfish and tusk🐟🐟🐟🐟 so around 50kg/110 pounds🎣

 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Just now, Norwaylady said:

Have a great day touring🤩🕺🏻😎

I can report that we had great luck 🍀 on our fishing line😁 Cod, Halibut, Catfish and tusk🐟🐟🐟🐟 so around 50kg/110 pounds🎣

 

 

 

Wow!!! 😁

[hcat]

Amazing Photos....Great looking fish. So healthy in one's diet.

. I have fish for breakfast most days,.lox  ( smoked salmon), herring, sardines    

[hcat]

This was our favorite bird in Hawaii

 

What is a Nene bird?

The nene ( Branta sandvicensis ), also known as the nēnē or the Hawaiian goose, is a species of bird endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. The nene is exclusively found in the wild on the islands of Oahu, Maui, Kauaʻi, Molokai, and Hawaiʻi. In 1957, it was designated as the official state bird of the state of Hawaiʻi.  Stick phito..too lazy to look through mine!

[Redking]

3 hours ago, Norwaylady said:

Have a great day touring🤩🕺🏻😎

I can report that we had great luck 🍀 on our fishing line😁 Cod, Halibut, Catfish and tusk🐟🐟🐟🐟 so around 50kg/110 pounds🎣

 

 

 

😮

[Ken the cruiser]

5 hours ago, hcat said:

This was our favorite bird in Hawaii

 

What is a Nene bird?

The nene ( Branta sandvicensis ), also known as the nēnē or the Hawaiian goose, is a species of bird endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. The nene is exclusively found in the wild on the islands of Oahu, Maui, Kauaʻi, Molokai, and Hawaiʻi. In 1957, it was designated as the official state bird of the state of Hawaiʻi.  Stick phito..too lazy to look through mine!

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. 🤞

[DingoMom]

Hi Ken!

Really love taking this journey with you, and your photos are superb! Question about some of the sunset photos from Blu…do you have a blue filter on your camera, or is the window in Blu tinted Blue? They are so spectacular! Thanks, and enjoy every minute!!

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, DingoMom said:

Hi Ken!

Really love taking this journey with you, and your photos are superb! Question about some of the sunset photos from Blu…do you have a blue filter on your camera, or is the window in Blu tinted Blue? They are so spectacular! Thanks, and enjoy every minute!!

Thanks! The window in Blu is tinted. Unfortunately, there are also water spots on the windows as well, so please look past them! 😂

 

[Ken the cruiser]

14 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Good morning from day 2 in Honolulu!

  

 
Here’s the excursion we’re going on today! 😁

 

Our excursion to the North Shore didn’t exactly pan out as advertised. Basically, it turned out to be a shopping cruise at most of the stops, but the driver/tour guide was very informative and we still had a good time! 😁

 

Our bus was fully loaded with 48 passengers, and that was our bus driver/tour guide there standing up in the front.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Polynesian Cultural Center

 

 

 

 

 

 
Cows!

 

 
Horses!

 

 

 

 

 
We were supposed to stop at the turtle beach according to the itinerary details, but that wasn’t the case. This is the best shot I could get of the Hawaiian green turtle going 40 mph! 😂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
If you look close, there is a black crap in the center of the photo.

 

 

 

 
There was quite the large field of wind turbines off in the distance. We also saw a lot of solar panels on the roofs of the many of the newer houses we passed along the way.

 

 
We’re thinking these are macadamia nuts in different stages of ripening.

 

 

 

 

This little yellow bird was one of the highlights of our stop at the Dole Plantation was one of the highlights of the 30-minute stop, since there was no tour included. Just a stop for folks to buy stuff and go to the restroom.
  

 
A Dole pineapple!

 
The whipper pineapple ice cream cones weren’t cheap! 😂

 

 

 

Our driver told us this was one of the wilderness areas used in the original Avatar movie.

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

While dining at Blu, here are the phases we saw as they sun set.

 

 

 

 
After dinner we headed to the theater to listen to this evening’s singer, Alison Ward.

 

 
Then we were off to the sky Lounge to get a good seat for the 10 pm show, Reigning Rocks!

 

[Ken the cruiser]

 

Day 24 - May 11 - Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii

 

 

 

 

[phabric]

Dole - did you purchase any drink?

 

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

[hcat]

Outstanding photos of your excursion.. good mix of history and nature..plus liitle kitties!

 

Was the time worth it at the Cultural center and Dole?

One of our Hawaii excursions included a " Nut"  place..came home with quite a supply..

[Pantheral]

11 hours ago, 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. 🤞

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.

[zestyzorra]

3 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?

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!