Aloha

NOTE: We are having difficulties placing pictures on the Blog. When we return home we will add pictures.

We arrived in Honolulu at around 4:30 PM yesterday afternoon. For those of you who are familiar with the area we were docked at Pier 10 and 11, which is opposite the Aloha Tower.

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the Main Dining Room. We had preordered the dinner with our Headwaiter the other evening. We enjoyed Caesar Salad which he prepared for us tableside. The entrée was Veal Zurichoisse which was just delicious. It is veal, which is served on top of Roesti Potatoes, topped with a delicious mushroom sauce. The Roesti are potatoes, which are grated with onions in the shape of a flat pancake. For those of you who are familiar with Potato Latkes the taste is quite similar. Not sure how healthy all of this was, but it was sure yummy!

After dinner, we walked off the ship and walked along the nearby area. We saw the Rabbi and his wife while ashore. While we were walking it started to rain so we headed back to the ship.

Crystal brought on board local entertainment who provided a nice show for the passenger’s. With only one stop on this voyage before we arrive to Hong Kong some passenger’s chose to dine in port and/or to take in a show or other activities on land.

While Anne Marie was doing much better during the day, she had a tough time sleeping last evening as she was coughing quite a bit so she was up for a good portion of the night. Keith did his morning workout and was up to the Fitness Center at the crack of dawn. ☺ He found a good program to watch so he had his longest workout of the voyage. We enjoyed a very nice breakfast in our room and spoke with our son Eric by cell phone.

In the morning, we went off the ship to walk around the area. We have been here a number of times on cruises and also on land vacations. We walked over to Waikiki to the Hilton Hawaiian Village where we first stayed twenty years ago this month. We last visited it three years ago while on a cruise. It is about a 45-minute walk each way from the Aloha Terminal. It was a sunny day. During our walk we spoke with our daughter, Jennifer, by phone.

A variety of shore excursions were offered including some that are new in 2009. Security is very good in this port of call as it was when we visited here last year. In addition to showing the local security our shipboard card each passenger was also asked to have in their possession a government photo identification card with them. Packages and other items such as purses were checked very carefully.

At Noon we met a couple that we brought on to the ship. We had made arrangements with Crystal a couple of months ago so that they could come onto the ship. Keith knows the man Pete from Cruise Critic. They live in Hawaii. Crystal is one of the few cruise lines that still allow guests to bring visitors on board the ship when in port. A special form must be provided to Crystal ahead of time. Keith made the arrangements back in Februarry. Last year when we visited this port on the Crystal Serenity we brought on board our friends, Joan and Mac onto the ship. and we enjoyed the afternoon with them. We really appreciate Crystal’s willingness to allow passengers to bring guests on board their ships. We had a wonderful time talking with Pete Leilani.

This evening we dined at Prego with the Rabbi and his lovely wife Gerri. We have been very fortunate to have cruised with them on the 2007 and 2008 World Cruises and on another sailing from New York City to Montreal. They are truly wonderful people who we are proud to have as our friends.

Keith & Anne Marie