Author: Kristine MacNeill

Aloha From Honolulu!

January 24, 2023


The ship is just docking in Honolulu and passengers are excitedly getting ready for their excursions. Brian and I had booked a ship’s excursion to Pearl Harbor, but, when we boarded, we were told that “due to operational difficulties” the visit to the USS Arizona Memorial was no longer included. Since the Memorial was one place had Brian really wanted to visit, we decided to cancel and just visit Honolulu on our own. Our only plan for today is to head to Walmart to pick up some items that we think will make our cabin more efficient along with some snacks that are not available on the ship (I’m looking at you, Cheetos!). There is a shuttle that runs from the port to the store, so we’ll do that sometime today. Otherwise, I think we’ll just walk around and enjoy our visit.

Yesterday was much the same as before, except the motion of the ocean came back in a big way. According to the captain, we have some 25 foot swells. I am so glad we don’t get seasick! I avoided the upper decks because the rocking and rolling was pretty dramatic. I read a book, Brian played his guitar and the day drifted away.

What Day Is It?


This was my view for some of the day yesterday and I lay on a lounge and read. Not bad duty!

Our day started with a self-administered Covid test. Brian and I were negative and, after showing the results to our room steward, we were free to begin our day of doing not much of anything. There is a real laid back feel to this cruise in contrast to others we’ve been on. The trip is long and it feels like we have all the time in the world. We have to remind ourselves what day it is and it doesn’t help that, on each of the last two nights, we’ve turned the clock back an hour! The weather is warming and the seas aren’t bad.

Below are the scheduled activities for the day. In fine print, I see we are no longer required to wear masks except at our discretion. There is a lot to do, if one was so inclined to be busy. I have choir practice but, beyond that, who knows? Brian walks, reads and finds a quiet place to play his guitar. There is a lot of music around the ship and it is fun to sit and listen.

Settling In

January 21, 2023


Yesterday was our first full day on board Island Princess. We were able to find places for everything we brought and decorated our door to remind us of home.


Our wall of hats made possible by the use of magnetic hooks.

The first night and some of the next day, we got to enjoy the motion of the ocean. Sleeping that night was like trying to nap on a roller coaster! It took some care to walk around the ship. Luckily, neither Brian nor I suffer from seasickness (although I did pack some medication just in case—you never know!).


The weather was cool and the pools were closed, so the outside decks were basically deserted. We sat outside for a bit while Brian used a hot tub that was more of a warm tub. I wrapped myself in towels and read. We did some more exploring and I joined the Pop Choir directed by David Crathorne who is one of the ship’s entertainers. There was a turnout of 108 people, so not a small group. We will do a concert each segment of the world cruise and out first concert will be before our first port in New Zealand. Evidently, there is a crack of dawn concert as we pull into Sydney, Australia and sail by the Opera House. You can do that performance in your bathrobe!

During our first dinner onboard, we were seated randomly at a table with 3 other couples and, we enjoyed each other’s company so much, we decided to eat together each night. We will eat at the same table and, hopefully, have the same wait staff.

There is a mask mandate on the ship. Everyone must wear a mask indoors except when you’re eating or drinking or in your cabin or in a large crowd outdoors. Most people are complying. Today everyone is taking a self administered Covid test between 8 and 11 am. Depending on the results, the mask mandate may go away. One can hope!

When I woke up this morning and looked out the balcony door, I saw a whale spout. The ocean is so smooth, there is no doubt that was what it was. Life is good!

Happily On Board

January 19, 2023


Brian and I are sitting in our cabin waiting for our two last pieces of luggage to arrive. We are going to have to do a lot of organization to be able to put everything away in our small area. There are also an extremely limited amount of outlets, so we’re going to have to work out a system to be able to charge all our devices. That’s one disadvantage to sailing on an older ship.

Here are a few pictures of our cabin before we unpacked anything.


Use Brian as a reference for the size of the shower!

We’re off now to have a pre-dinner drink and then to the dining room. It has been a great day!

It’s Good To Be Negative!


All the hoops have been jumped through and we are ready to go!

We drove north to Tacoma yesterday with a full car. We had some precious cargo in the back.


There was a good omen as we drove along the coast.


We had our fingers crossed that there was a World Cruise at the end of that rainbow.

We are sitting at my brother’s house doing a little day drinking to celebrate. We have to keep in practice for when we’re on board and using our drinks package! Tomorrow our journey south commences with a noon flight from Seattle to Los Angeles. We are pretty darn excited!

So, I’m a Worrier

I’m sitting on my couch tonight, the day before we start our big adventure, worrying about our Covid test on Tuesday. We are so excited about our trip, but we are tempering our excitement. There is one more hurdle to be jumped, and I’m the type of person who is certain that whatever can go wrong, will. We’re heading north tomorrow early and taking our Covid test on Tuesday. Brian and I have had so many trips cancelled over the last few years. We’ve had trips planned to Alaska, Ireland, Arizona and a trans-Atlantic cruise cancelled.

This is my anxiety talking and I know that the odds are in our favor that our test will be negative. How do you handle your anxiety? I’d be interested to know. Leave a comment if you can give me any advice.

It’s Almost Here!

Meet our dog Charlie. He is 16 years old and beginning to show his age. My brother and sister-in-law in Tacoma have invited him to stay with them while we’re gone. There is no better place for him to be than with them and their pets. He loves it there and, frankly, he may not want to come home with us when we return! It takes special people to offer to take care of a very elderly dog and all that goes with that. We know that he will be loved and coddled and that eases our minds.

We are driving up to Tacoma on Monday, taking our Covid test Tuesday, and, if all goes well, flying to Los Angeles on Wednesday. We’ll board the ship on Thursday and head towards Hawaii.

Over that last few days, we’ve been in a waiting mode. Everything is packed except for the last minute items. Yesterday, we took Charlie to get groomed so that he won’t be stinky for Don and Laura. Today, we’re cleaning the refrigerator out and I’m getting my hair cut and colored. The color will last through the trip but I’m going to have to get very expensive haircuts while we’re on board. We do have some generous shipboard credit from our travel agent to use for items like this.

Tomorrow evening, we are going to a gathering of a small group of friends to celebrate the first soak. That is the day all the commercial crab boats go out, three days before Dungeness crab season opens, to drop their traps. Unfortunately, crab season opened very late this year and we are going to miss the fresh Dungeness! When you look at the ocean at night, you see all the boats lit up like a string of jewels. In order to make our get together as safe as can possibly be, our friends are all taking Covid tests before they attend.

We will miss our friends while we’re gone. We’re lucky to have so many great people nearby. We do love where we live!

The Key(s) to the Kingdom


Yesterday, we received our Princess Medallions in the mail. These little pieces of technology are what we’ll use for everything on the Island Princess. Brian and I will wear the medallions on a lanyard or wristband. They are what allow us to board the ship. The medallions will unlock our stateroom door as we walk up to it. We will scan them whenever we want to purchase anything on board and the cost will be charged to our shipboard account or our drinks package.

It was exciting to get them in the mail as a tangible indication of our upcoming adventure. Our window project is still having ups and downs. While the windows aren’t leaking anymore, the project is nowhere near done. Dear friends have offered to oversee the ongoing saga while Brian and I are away. We can’t thank them enough!

We are 90% packed and ready to go!