LIVE from the EURODAM - CIRCLE HAWAII

[cccole]

You might like the Hulihe'e Palace.  It was the summer palace of Hawaiian Royalty and has a beautiful history.  It is open on Sundays from 10-3.  The Iolani Palace in Honolulu is the most well known palace of Hawaiian royalty.  Cherie

[Jimbo59]

At Kona pier, there is the Kona Trolley. $2.00 per person to ride all around - Shopping centers, beaches, etc. The full loop takes about two hours. There is no narration, however.

[sansterre]

Here are some photos of Hulihe'e Palace that Cherie mentioned above.

Admission is $8.  It is a short walk from the Kona tender pier, just turn right along the water.  We admired the Palace from the road and visited the gift shop.  In retrospect, I wish we had stopped right there and spent our time ashore going through the Palace.

 

 

 

Edited March 8, 2020 by sansterre

[sansterre]

Instead, we walked further - much further to see the market.  We hoped to find a live lei, or at least some tropical flowers for our room.  While there was a lot of merchandise nothing really excited either of us and much of it was made in the Philippines.  (There were lots of flowers but they were plastic and the leis were made of silk flowers)  After returning to town, we purchased some Kona coffee and a few postcards to send to family back home.  It was interesting walk, but a bit too long for me and it was hot and humid as well.  I would suggest taking the $2 trolley or the free shuttle to Hilo Hatties if you want to see more of Kona..........or just enjoy the Hulihe'e Palace mentioned above............or take one of the excursions out of town.  For others who swim and/or snorkel, there was a beach right at the tender pier.  There is also whale watching off  Kona as well as interesting excursions out of town.  

 

 

Edited March 8, 2020 by sansterre

[sansterre]

Here is the Eurodam off the coast of Kona.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Wonderful report.

 

Love your pictures.

[awhcruiser]

Love this.  We are doing a Circle Hawaii cruise in April!  

[waynee]

We are on the Eurodam on the 15th .  This is a 52nd anniversary trip for us.  We are elderly as they say but in good health.  Is anyone showing symptoms on the March 1 trip.

    We had to cancel this same trip last April due a relative with serious illness.  So any info would be appreciated!  Or should we just consider ourselves cursed?

    Wayne and jody Havlin

[sansterre]

1 hour ago, waynee said:

We are on the Eurodam on the 15th .  This is a 52nd anniversary trip for us.  We are elderly as they say but in good health.  Is anyone showing symptoms on the March 1 trip.

    We had to cancel this same trip last April due a relative with serious illness.  So any info would be appreciated!  Or should we just consider ourselves cursed?

    Wayne and jody Havlin

We don't know of any illness on the Eurodam.  But there could be.  Captain Eric reminded us to wash our hands, etc. last night as we sailed away from Kona.  But in general people are having a good time on the cruise and not thinking about the coronavirus.  

Me, I carry hand sanitizer with me and use it after touching anything - an elevator button, the salt and pepper, the railings, the chairs, etc.  I wash my hands as soon as I come into the cabin and then spray the doorknobs with my travel lysol spray.  It is best to avoid public restrooms on the ship as they don't usually have hot water to wash hands.  Call me extra-cautious, but I tend to get colds easily and I especially don't want to coronavirus!  I have not see anyone else using hand sanitizer.

Since we are visiting the same ports as the Grand Princess, it is possible someone will have it by the time we return to mainland US.  We hope not, but we realistically a quarantine is possible.  A quarantine doesn't bother me, but getting the virus is concerning.

I say go on your cruise, be smart, and enjoy!

[Krazy Kruizers]

I pray that your ship stays germ free.

 

Glad you are enjoying yourselves.

[LocoLoco1]

Q: What is the HAL protocol as regards HandSanitizer, taking Temperatures and such? Are many passengers wearing masks etc. etc.?? We head of on a 48-day cruise on March 15. LocoLoco1

[sansterre]

Lei making way back on March 2 - the first day at sea!

(sorry, unable to download these photos until yesterday)

The flowers are a kind of orchid. I took one for my hair and it is still alive in a glass with a little water in our bathroom - so pretty!  The lei only lasted two days.  I wore it to dinner two nights, then it wilted.  Later, I realized I put it on a wet towel at night;  instead, I should have put the lei on a damp towel at night.

 

Edited March 8, 2020 by sansterre

[Jomurbie]

3 hours ago, awhcruiser said:

Love this.  We are doing a Circle Hawaii cruise in April!  

Very pretty!

Edited March 8, 2020 by Jomurbie
Didn't fill

[puppycanducruise]

Pretty flowers.

Hope everyone stays healthy.

[sansterre]

1 hour ago, LocoLoco1 said:

Q: What is the HAL protocol as regards HandSanitizer, taking Temperatures and such? Are many passengers wearing masks etc. etc.?? We head of on a 48-day cruise on March 15. LocoLoco1

I have not seen anyone wearing masks.  But I did see one couple wearing gloves;  I think they were fabric gloves but not sure.  

There are Hand Sanitizer machines at the entrance to the Lido and both Main Dining Rooms.  This morning there was also a staff person at MDR 2 with hand sanitizer bottle.  I asked if his was better stuff than what was in the machine.  He said "yes!" but I think it was the same.

We did not have temperatures taken when boarding the ship, nor have I seen or heard anything about taking temperatures.  

[zelker]

1 hour ago, LocoLoco1 said:

Q: What is the HAL protocol as regards HandSanitizer, taking Temperatures and such? Are many passengers wearing masks etc. etc.?? We head of on a 48-day cruise on March 15. LocoLoco1

 

No protocol per se, just the usual reminders to wash your hands for 20 seconds, use hand sanitizer if washing hands not available, cough or sneeze into your elbow, contact the infirmary if you’re sick, the usual.  Haven’t seen anyone wearing a mask since we boarded 3 weeks ago nor heard or seen of any temperatures taken pre-embarkation or while onboard.

 

There seem to be a lot of West Coast travelers onboard and pray that we’re not living in a Petrie dish.  Unlike someone else posted, we ARE concerned that we could face quarantine when we arrive back to San Diego on the 18th.  There are a LOT of older people on this cruise, more so than on any of our previous HAL cruises, (and we have sailed going on 200 days with HAL), so are certainly concerned for them if not for ourselves.  Praying that all of us onboard continue to remain Coronavirus-free.

[sansterre]

Day 8 (I think Day 7 was in Kona)

From our veranda, I watched our arrival as we approached Honolulu before sunrise this morning.  The pilot boat came alongside the Eurodam at exactly 6 am.

Today we are going to Pearl Harbor.  Tickets to the movie and Arizona memorial are free on the US Parks website.  Our tickets are for 2:30 so we will leave at noon to be sure we are there in plenty of time.

More later.............. 

 

[cccole]

Sansterre, I am loving your "live" review. It looks like you are having great weather.  My son said that last week there was a lot of wind and rain.  The first thing I do when arriving in Hawaii is purchase fresh tropicals.  It's really too bad that you weren't able to get any for your cabin.   In Honolulu the flower shops in Chinatown have fresh flowers and leis.  You can even order them ahead.  I love the late tour time at Pearl Harbor.  Most of the crowds have gone and a beautiful quiet makes it seem so peaceful.  Thanks for letting us cruise with you.  Cherie

Edited March 8, 2020 by cccole

[sansterre]

On 3/7/2020 at 8:00 AM, Jomurbie said:

Awesome! The classes sound fun. I hope to make a lei, also. What is your itinerary? It sounds a little different from our loup on the 18th.

If I remember right, your cruise is one day longer and has an additional port day in Kaui. We overnight in Honolulu tonight, then go to Lahaina, then our final port, Hilo.

[awhcruiser]

 

 

The Lt. Governor of Hawaii(Josh Green) has sent a formal request to the White House
asking that cruise ships be immediately disallowed from docking at Hawaiian ports.

This would be a temporary resolve to the Covid 19 situation. 

A decision is expected by Wednesday.

If this comes to pass, I doubt that HAL would initiate the cruise

[PamKB]

On 3/4/2020 at 10:38 PM, sansterre said:

Day 4  - We gained an hour, and an extra hour of sleep last night.  So breakfast in the Main Dining Room was busier than usual.  Service was a bit slow but we had no place to go so it was fine with us.  

At 10:00 I attended a session about Lahaina by EXC.  The talk was by the cruise director so I think we can assume that she is also the EXC representative.  

 

 

Forgive me - I'm a first-time HAL cruiser - what does EXC stand for?  

We are also on this cruise.  I was presently surprised that I suffered no sea-sickness during those rough patches!  This is somewhat of a test for me - until now I'd only done a river cruise and a cruise on the Inside Passage to Alaska - so no open water.

Like you, I've also been concerned about touching salt & pepper shakers, etc.  The staff are doing an excellent job of cleaning every railing, etc. but we have bee using the Purell dispensers and our own hand sanitizers repeatedly.  

Today upon our return from the beach in Honolulu we received noticed that our itinerary has been changed due to forecasted weather conditions in Lahaina.  We'll be calling at Kahului instead.  I'm disappointed to miss the whale watching excursion with the Pacific Whale Foundation that we'd booked, but the seas might be too rough for that as well.  We DID spot a whale spouting and slapping its tail from our veranda in Kona yesterday - that was a thrill!

Pam from Sunnyvale

[Xaintrix]

50 minutes ago, PamKB said:

Forgive me - I'm a first-time HAL cruiser - what does EXC stand for?  

*snip*
Pam from Sunnyvale

EXC stands for Explorations Central.  Their branded programming for destination and travel related events and talks.

You can see their boilerplate on it here: https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/onboard-activities/cruise-activities/explorations-central.html

 

Hope you're having a great time!

[PamKB]

Thanks!  I should have searched for it - that makes perfect sense.  Up until now when I've seen EXC I assumed it meant "extra charge!"  😀

 

We are enjoying the cruise. We've spent most of our time on board reading and walking, with most dinners in the MDR.  I like to linger when we pass BB King's and Billboard Onboard, hubby isn't into seeing shows or dancing.  It is what it is - perhaps I'll save that for a girlfriends cruise!

 

[Xaintrix]

1 minute ago, PamKB said:

Thanks!  I should have searched for it - that makes perfect sense.  Up until now when I've seen EXC I assumed it meant "extra charge!"  😀

 

We are enjoying the cruise. We've spent most of our time on board reading and walking, with most dinners in the MDR.  I like to linger when we pass BB King's and Billboard Onboard, hubby isn't into seeing shows or dancing.  It is what it is - perhaps I'll save that for a girlfriends cruise!

 

You have better things to do than do google searches like living it up on the cruise!  Now you can take another look at that programming and maybe find something you like without worrying about racking up the bill. 

 

Also my friend recently did the girlfriend cruise - it TOTALLY works. : )   

[zelker]

Deleted post, found the answer.

Edited March 9, 2020 by zelker