Two in one day!!!

Well you lucky readers twopost...just finished an 8 hour car hire and we went to the penal colony in Port Worth worth a Google search.... It was a great tour includes a boat trip and a 45 minute guided tour...a very harsh and brutal history!!!
The new lap top is coming along I managed to download some apps but Windows 10 is all new to me but the techie on glad is a huge help but there is not so much he can help me with as there is no way to use the ships Internet... Anyway have to get back on board we were allowed to be off ship till 10.30pm a first.... Have a great weekend miss all my readers...
yashi Koshi!!

Me again!!!!

Now in Hobart for the day actually until 10pm.,trying to get the computer downloads done ....all is well back on the ship for two more Sea days and then New Zealand ...best wishes...
Yashi Koshi!!!

Got it!!!!!

OK have my new laptop is windows ten so  the lessons  I have been taking on the ship I'll help me learn. What I need...too,.,Melbourne is a beautiful place and I will enjoy my week here in January.... OK going to get the trolley back to the ship...next stop Hobart!!!
Yashi Kochi!!

Now in Melbourne!!!

Arrived in Melbourne those morning for the day and my mission is to get a new computer!!
Bad day at sea yesterday they had to close off all the outside decks much better today.
Tomorrow is two sea days before we arrive in Tasmania!!
Have a great day ....
Yashi Koshi!!!

All is well!!!!

Just a short post to say all is well except my computer died on me so will have to buy a new one.... Arrived in Sydney this morning for a few hours and we are moored right down town next to the beautiful opera house and bridge...I took a ferry to Manly headbands and a great walk around....27 days at sea has been great saw some amazing places....happy weekend to all my faithful readers....
Yashi Koshi!!!!

NEW UP DATE…..NEW UP DATE

I HAVE UPDATED ANOTHER 5 DAYS OF THE CRUISE BUT THIS TIME I MADE A MISTAKE AND DID THEM IN THE WRONG ORDER SO YOU NEED TO SCROLL DOWN TO CRUISE DAY 6 ASND COME BACK UP…..IN STARBUCKS IN HONOLULU…MY DAY WAS A DISASTER ,,BUT NO WORRIES WILL GO BACK ON BOARD AND THEN 6 FULL SEA DAYS BEFOE WE REACH SAMOA…BLESSINGS AND ALL MY READERS PLEASE TAKE CARE AND BE HAPPY

YASHI KOCHI!!!!

Friday 9th October 2015….Cruise day 11!!!!

It was good to see the first sight of land this morning after 6 sea days

We got off the ship and the little tour I had arranged with June a smashing English gal and an American wonderful couple Georgia and Walter we met Scott our tour guide at the bottom of the pier gang plank!!!!

Scott’s vehicle was an awesome huge pick up truck and we immediately all felt good about being together good chemistry….Scott was a font of local knowledge and we spent maybe 3 hours in Volcano national Park…please Google it and read all the interesting facts.

Join me in enjoying these photos!!!

Amazing that anything grows so to see these wild orchids was quite stunning!!!

Scott really knew so much about all of this area…

This steam felt so good…from right to left..June, Walter, Georgia and Scott!!!

Quite astounding to walk through this tunnel where molten lave had rushed!!

What amazed me was the fact that the shot above and the next couple below are of molten lava that flowed and destroyed everything in it’s path but I usually think of these kinds of events happening thousands of years ago except where we are now only took place in 1969!!!

Scott’s wheels!!!

This shows where the lava flowed and below when it flowed onto the ocean!!

We then toured an orchid nursery

and then a Macadamia nut farm and finished the tour with this!!!!

and a banyan tree the likes of which I have never seen before!!!

It was a wonderful time thanks Scott.

Back on board I walked my 12 laps whilst the ship left port and we dock in Honolulu tomorrow morning where I have a car hired for about 8 hours.

Had a nice dinner and watched the main show which was the piano man from a few days ago he is really good…but now 10 pm and I am tired and ready for bed…hope you enjoyed the day’s tour!!

Yashi kochi!!!

Thursday 8th October 2015..Cruise day10!!!

Wow this losing an hour each night is no fun but this is the last for a while till we cross the international date line and lose a day!!!

Still had a good sleep and cereal for breakfast before going to the first presentation an interview with the Hotel Manager and again a very informative and interesting time must be really hard to be in charge of such a vast operation!!!

I then went to a lesson on learning basic Hawaiian words and this I enjoyed…amazing the vowels sound and are pronounced almost exactly as in Spanish   and  only 13 letters in their alphabet…. I now can say hello and please and thank you and a few other words!!!

Then changed up my walk routine and hit the deck before noon and did 15 laps 5 miles and then came home and showered and found a nice quiet area of the boat and did my planning for the day I rent the car in Honolulu on Saturday.

I then took advantage of the beautiful weather to sunbathe and then hit the hot tub and then watched a lovely sunset!!!

I enjoyed a slow and lovely dinner whilst finishing my second book this was an autobiography by John McEnroe, a good read!!!

The show tonight was a tribute band to the Beach Boys and they were entertaining and upbeat.

I am now going to get my stuff ready for tomorrow… first land in 6 days and I have pre booked a small 4 person private tour so we will see how it goes……thanks for the e mails sorry not always able to write back!!!

Yashi Kochi!!

Wednesday 7th October 2015..Cruise day9!!!

Well putting the clocks back hour did not seem to bother me I still was up at 8am but to stormy seas!!!

This door is normally locked but this morning it was open so I snook this photo!!!

I went for a light breakfast before going to the first lecture on what to do and see in Honolulu…I have booked a rental car there for the day and am making a plan of the things I want to see.

Straight to a lecture on the sun..these talks are given by very talented individuals!!!

Did some reading in the library before I started my visit on deck 3!!! Did 15 laps 5 miles today and then off to the hot tub to relax….more reading before I went for dinner..tonight is formal night and I do not have the right attire but on my way to dinner met some of my friends I have been hanging with and they wanted me to grab this and join them!!!!

I had a nice steak for dinner and then went to the main stage for a gentleman from Poland called Kuba and he was  amazing playing many instruments and one I have never heard of or seen…so hear is a trivia question what musical instrument do you play by not touching it at all?????

Not sure if I have this right Theremin but this is what it looks like

IT is two radio masts and he puts his hands in between and close to them and the sound is just wonderful and the song he played amazing!!!

So another good day and just found out we put the clocks back again another hour so now I forget I think 4 hours behind Vancouver….also forgot to tell you that when you come aboard they automatically charge you 13 dollars per person per day for gratuities which is then spread around all the staff as you know I am a big tipper but when I sat down and worked it out 13 dollars is 17 dollars Canadian times 39 is nearly 670 dollars and I am not prepared to pay that talking to other passengers you can fill a form and cancel it and pay the individuals as you wish so that is what I did…I cancelled that amount and I will pay my steward and a few others no reason for me to tip the wine steward the seating captain I don’t go in those places so I  will make sure my guys are taken care of….

So another day done and one more full day at sea before Hilo…we outran Hurricane Oho today and now all is well.

Yashi Kochi!!!!

Tuesday 6th October 2015….Cruise day8!!!

Beginning to sound like a broken record but slept well till just before 8am and then went and had a bit of a change for breakfast I indulged myself in the REAL English breakfast…you name it and it was on my plate!!!!

Then the first talk was about a well known hawaiin Princess that married her brother a tragic tale!!!!

Next was another of those one on one chats this time with the chief engineer who explained the inner running of the ship very informative!!!

Followed that with a travel presentation of our next port Hilo…after I needed a break so I have found this neat quiet spot where I carry a deck chair and sunbathed undisturbed so did that and some reading and then a light late lunch!!!!

The afternoon was a funny and interesting talk about is there life out there on other planets…..then to deck 3…this time I did 14 laps so almost 5 miles straight into the hot tub for a relaxing soak.

Changed and went with friends to a trivia competition we did not too bad and then dinner and the entertainment in the main lounge tonight was a great young local Hawaiian singer and he was really good.

We put the clocks back again tonight one more hour and at around 5am tomorrow morning we have to cross the path of Hurricane Oho but we are about 150 miles north of it and the Captain explained that it will rough for a while with swells of around 18 feet…I should sleep through it!!!

Wow I had a busy day!!!

Yashi Kochi!!!

Monday 5th October 2015…Cruise day7!!!!

Well the swells died down overnight but today woke up to cloudy skies which stayed most of the day…..

I had a light breakfast and then went to a wonderful lecture on the US history in the naval wars of 1812 with the British….I followed that with a little lunch and then some trip planning for the future ports of call before going to an afternoon lecture about is there life on other planets..this also was interesting and part 2 is tomorrow.

Next was the deck 3 visit….this time I did 14 laps and then into the hot tub which I enjoyed.

Back to the Lido buffet restaurant for dinner and tonight it was chicken and mashed potatoes and then I went to the gala show room and tonight it was a stand up comic and he was a seasoned professional and great with the crowd…a good time…

Cannot believe it is 11pm already a good day at sea!!!

Yashi Kochi!!

Sunday 4th October 2015 …Cruise day6!!!!

We had to put the clocks back one hour last night before we went to bed but did not effect my sleep but woke up around 8am to rolling seas and even for a huge ship there was plenty of sway….

I went upstairs and had a light breakfast before I went to my first meeting of the day at 9am where the cruise director did a one on one question and answer period with the ship’s captain who is Dutch…..it was very informative and well attended.

From there it was time for my morning cup of tea and to  read the small newspaper they print each day before I went to the 10.30am tour of the kitchen……this really was a bit of  a flop and they just walked us part of the kitchen and out we were done in 2 minutes but they did hand out a fact sheet!!!

They do offer a tour of the kitchen, bridge and engine room but wait for it…the cost is 150 dollars…after the amount of money I paid for the cruise this is I think just plain out old fashioned greed!!!!

Spent some time reading and it was fairly quiet as I think a lot of people stayed in their rooms because of the seas…..

I did my 12 laps which was a little harder because of the motion and the hot tubs were also closed because of the swell …you cannot really see it in these shots!!

I do like the back end of the boat the best!!

Our next stop on Friday is in Hilo, Hawaii and here I booked before I left a private 4 person tour with a man who came well recommended and I did communicate with him and he offers a small 6 hour tour of Volcano National park, some waterfalls, hike and really anything else I wanted the cost was 360 dollars and I went ahead and paid for it all hoping that on board I could find 3 others to join me…and I have….a fun English lady and a couple from New Zealand and I suggested we had dinner together so I could just let them know what the tour was and that it would be 90 dollars each and they all want to go..so that is good news for me.

Then I went to the main lounge where they had yet another wonderful act called the Uncertain Boys who did a take off of all Frankie Vallie hits, they were very entertaining……..now time for bed it is 11.30pm!!!

Yashi Kochi!!!

UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I AM IN STARBUCKS IN SAN DIEGO WITH SOME TIME AND INTERNET SO I HAVE POSTED FOR THE FIRST 5 DAYS SO SCROLL DOWN STARTING WITH DAY ONE TILL YOU GET RIGHT UP TO DATE……WILL NOW NOT POST TILL NEW ZEALAND…BEST WISHES AND BLESSINGS TO ALL MY READERS!!!!

YASHI KOCHI!!!!

Tuesday 29th September 2015….Cruise day 1!!!!!

Had a good last sleep on the “Bank” I feel OK my eyes are just a bit blood shot…….said goodbye to Kirby he is heading away to work and Heather, bless her, finished my packing and then said good bye to Ben and Alex and Heather drove me down to the sea plane terminal for my 1.15pm departure to Vancouver.

I am travelling with my new suitcase and a new back pack and so far all is well with those.

I had options getting to the cruise ship terminal but the only one that made sense to me was to take the float plane, a 20 minute flight and it lands right next door to my ship so after 30 minutes leaving Nanaimo I was in line for check in…..everything was very smooth and easy and I was aboard by 2pm and came straight to my room….

You are not allowed candles in your room or incense but I do have a nice lavender spray and when I opened my suitcase Heather had left me some goodies including these great imitation candles that have a remote control how sweet thank you!!!

It was easy putting all my stuff away lots of cupboard and hanging space, also a safe and a small fridge which is stocked but I shall not use any of the items too expensive but nice to have a fridge in the room.

The room is small but really what else do I need a comfortable bed, a table, a desk and nice sitting chair and the shower is great!!!

I took a while before we set sail to familiarize myself with the ship

The above is the only place I will not venture into it is the only place on the ship where you can smoke!!!

No tennis court!!!

 

 

  I have found the walking deck and asked and three times around is one mile so I shall start there in the morning.

Next stop was to go to the hot tub

I had a nice soak and then came back and showered and changed and went to the buffet restaurant and had a really nice chicken dinner with rice and veggies

 

 

 

…I am determined not to gain weight on this trip in fact I hope to loose a few pounds and I will be tough with myself about exercise and limit my food especially the sweet stuff!!!

I then walked the decks to see what was happening…I liked this art work it is called bull in a china shop!!!

Looks to me like the back end of an elephant though!!!

A wonderful library!!

These ladies were very talented and playing light classical music shall spend some time here as the days go by.

Our first stop tomorrow Astoria!!!

At 10pm I went to the big show lounge where a Vegas type act was showing and again top notch performers…..so now ready for bed after a great start to my cruise on Big Bluey!!!!

Yashi Kochi!!!!