Ovation Goes South to Hawaii Sept. 20, 2019

[twangster]

38 minutes ago, Andrew72681 said:

That’s my favorite part of football Sunday’s on Vegas trips. Wake up, get breakfast, head to the sports book to make a day of bets. Being on the east coast I normally have to wait till 1pm. 

Games start 7am this Sunday, followed by 10:25am.  Sleep in and you've missed most of it.  Might make spouses happier though.  Still lots of daylight for the honey-do list afterwards.

[PG Cruiser]

5 hours ago, twangster said:

That door is so big it covers the whole bed when closed.

I was gonna say that looks a lot like my cabinet on the Ovation, I forgot you were on the Ovation!

[Traveler]

11 hours ago, twangster said:

It's a work in progress.  One day I hope to no longer need to say that.  Any year now...

Do not worry , when this year will come they will announce on a new wonderful full of bugs application.

[MotleyCruiser]

19 hours ago, mrsb_p said:

what hard ciders are served onboard? Draft or can or bottle

They have Strongbow served by bottle only

[MotleyCruiser]

17 hours ago, twangster said:

That door is so big it covers the whole bed when closed.

I can't picture it.  What's it look like closed?

[twangster]

Day 5 - Sea Day

Invasion of the towel animals.

Enrichment talk continues.  More sea day activities.  Temperatures in the mid to high 70s.  Sunny pool day kind of sea day. 

Sunset in the Pacific

[twangster]

Day 6 - Sea Day

Sunrise in the Pacific

Captain's Corner and the next lecture in the on-going enrichment talk series later this morning.

Morning temperature 75°F.  Expected high today around 81°F.

[twangster]

Way back on day two while we were in Seattle Captain Henrick recorded a video that addresses our voyage information for our sea days over to Hawaii.  For those interested in this sort of stuff here it is:

 

[Mike P]

20 hours ago, twangster said:

Engines are out of their control, Boeing doesn't make engines.  Speaking of engines, they are the most expensive component on a wide body jet.  Know what the 2nd most expensive item is?

Still waiting.....what's the 2nd most expensive item????

[twangster]

1 minute ago, yzfmik said:

Still waiting.....what's the 2nd most expensive item????

Landing gear.  Kind of important too.  

[twangster]

Just noticed...  no kettle or coffee machine in my balcony cabin like there was in May on the first Alaskan voyage after Ovation came North.

I just saw crew carrying large bags full of the small black kettles down the hall.  I wonder if they plan to put them back into cabins for the upcoming Australian cruise season.   

[twangster]

Last of the enrichment talks today ended with a lecture on the history of Pearl Harbor.  This series of lectures has featured Quintinn Holi, a native Hawaiian as guest speaker.

The lectures have progressed through the history of Hawaii.  The original rulers of the Kingdom of Hawaii, the US occupation, statehood and finally Pearl Harbor.

Performing live for us was Gordon Freitas, a retired Navy Chief who has written songs such as BB-39 (Battleship Arizona) and Peaceful Arizona.     

[WAAAYTOOO]

I love 270.  Such a great venue

[rjac]

14 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I love 270.  Such a great venue

The Silent Disco is a blast! 

[monctonguy]

Silent disco is a blast anywhere.....looks like Harmony has it twice during their week cruises...cant wait for the "hush" party....

 

glad to see its becoming more of a thing with Royal cruises now..

[twangster]

Day 6 continued...

Forgot to mention Meal with an Officer yesterday.  With over 200 participants it was a big one.  The Grande dining room was very loud with so many conversations it was hard to hear anything.  Good meal though.

Few lines at the North Star. 

Later in the day there was a wedding party boarding North Star.  Wedding at Sea.

[twangster]

Day 7 - Sea Day / Cruising Napali Coast

Our progress so far...

The Captain estimates we should start seeing land sometime around 10am this morning.  The Napali coast is on the North West end of Kauai so we'll cruise the Napali coastline starting some time around noon then turn around Kauai and head East towards Lahaina, Maui for arrival tomorrow. 

[twangster]

Most recent Captain's briefing for Hawaii and tendering in Lahaina and Kona.

Record setting tendering operation that involves 110 crew and 6 tender boats.

Ovation is the largest cruise ship to visit Hawaii (and Alaska).  

[JLMoran]

Hope you got a great view of the Na Pali Coast! That was one of our favorite places to see when we honeymooned in Hawai'i. We had a slightly different perspective, though, since we sailed the coastline in a Zodiac! 

If you ever get a chance to go back to Kaua'i, try and get a tour that takes you to the Kalalau Valley area. If you do, and the weather cooperates, you get a stunning view from up high looking downward to the ocean on that same coastline! Completely different perspective and utterly gorgeous. I shot an entire roll of film that day just getting pictures of that and Waimea Canyon to scan and stitch together into panoramas on my computer.

[heffy2]

I worked onboard the Pride of America at guest services for two years, the Hawaiian Islands may be my favorite itinerary of all time, even though I was working everyday. I can't wait to see your pictures.

[rjac]

1 hour ago, monctonguy said:

the "hush" party.

???

[monctonguy]

that's what they call it on Harmony for some reason..."hush" party

[JLMoran]

16 minutes ago, monctonguy said:

that's what they call it on Harmony for some reason..."hush" party

I guess they're really big fans of Deep Purple. 

[rjac]

6 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

I guess they're really big fans of Deep Purple. 

Or it goes along with the saying "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas". What happens at the hush party stays at the hush party. 

 

[twangster]

Pictures to come, here is a time lapse of our 360° turn at Na Pali Coast.

 

[ellcee]

That's effing amazing!

[MotleyCruiser]

On ‎9‎/‎26‎/‎2019 at 1:35 PM, heffy2 said:

I worked onboard the Pride of America at guest services for two years, the Hawaiian Islands may be my favorite itinerary of all time, even though I was working everyday. I can't wait to see your pictures.

I have PoA booked for April 2022. Any insight or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[twangster]

Nor for our roughly four hours at the Na Pali Coast.

Approaching Kauai and the first land we've seen in almost 6 days.

As noted above the Captain spun the ship in a 360° turn so that both sides we able to see the coast.

It's hard to capture in pictures or words so I'll just dump a bunch of photos in here and try through pictures.

With that it was time to sail on and away toward Maui.

Top tier event after we left the Na Pali coast.

Platinum 477, Emerald 315, Diamond 700, Diamond Plus 415, 40 Pinnacle.

 

[twangster]

Day 7 Night

As we make our way along the chain of Hawaiian Islands towards Maui the North Star was empty and they were begging for participants to justify the ride.  Minimum 6-7 was being requested.  So... why not?

Later on my balcony I spotted an old friend... the Milky Way.  We've come far enough South that it's still visible.   It's hard when shooting off the side of the ship given the ship's forward motion so I had to crank up the ISO and shorten the exposure.

[WAAAYTOOO]

Are they doing the upcharge NorthStar (like they did for the Alaska glaciers) when viewing the island shores ?

[twangster]

33 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Are they doing the upcharge NorthStar (like they did for the Alaska glaciers) when viewing the island shores ?

I’m just jumping on when I feel like it.  No upcharge North Star on this sailing.  All rides are regular North Star rides.  

[Auto]

Those pics are amazing! I was just in Kauai in July and took a dinner cruise along the Na Pali coast and thought it was some of the most breathtaking scenery I have ever seen.

[Big Tule]

Thank you for those beautiful  views

[JLMoran]

23 hours ago, twangster said:

23 hours ago, twangster said:

Almost 22 years since I've been there, and I still recognized this instantly. This is the Kalalau Valley I mentioned earlier. Those clouds hanging over it are almost always there, and it's very hard on the land tours to get a view from above. Just as stunning and beautiful all these years later!

[twangster]

Quick update.

I've been busy and it will take some time to process my pictures and post them, but for now here is a tease from nearly 10,000' above sea level from a dormant volcano on Maui.

 

[Susie]

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[twangster]

I haven't forgotten about this thread.  

With three ports days in a row with long excursions each day followed by disembarking in Honolulu this morning there hasn't been time to post.  I'll finish this off from the comfort of my living room back home.

[Lovetocruise2002]

11 minutes ago, twangster said:

I haven't forgotten about this thread.  

With three ports days in a row with long excursions each day followed by disembarking in Honolulu this morning there hasn't been time to post.  I'll finish this off from the comfort of my living room back home.

What?!  You got off already.  That was way too fast.  Have a safe flight home.  

[JLMoran]

3 hours ago, twangster said:

I haven't forgotten about this thread.  

With three ports days in a row with long excursions each day followed by disembarking in Honolulu this morning there hasn't been time to post.  I'll finish this off from the comfort of my living room back home.

What?! You got off already and haven't boarded another cruise?!?! I was sure you were going to surprise us all with the announcement that you were now on the transpacific to Australia!

You're falling off your "A" game, dude. 

 

 

Hope you had a safe flight home and that all's well. Can't wait to see the remaining pics!

[The Cruise Junkie]

Have A Safe Flight Home @twangster