OK, I have to hurry and catch up since we are almost home. The interent cafe is full of people printing out their tickets to get home to Milwaukee or Iowa or Florida. They are getting off the boat so fast in the morning, but we are lucky and have a leisurely 9AM depature and a ride back to the hotel where we left our car. We loved staying at the Crowne Plaza, with a dining room, shuttle to the ship and parking deal. It was the best! If we ever do this again, we will stay there. I plan to go on Cruise Critic and tell everyone about the easy on and off if you stay there.
After our fun day tubing the ditch in Kuaia, (sp?) we went to Hil Hattie's again. They had a promotion giving you $50 if you went to all four. Janet was going for it, so every island had a quick stop for the same stuff over and over. She did get to all four; I missed one. She will order a shirt or something after we get home. We went back to the ship and planned our next visit to the dining room. More later on that. The next day we were in Maui, and we went on a walking tour or the small town. It was a little disappointing and we left the group after an hour to do our own walking around. Lots of little shops and history of the missionaries there in the downtown, and a huge banyon tree. The next day we were in Hilo and we took a tour of the volcanoes national park. It was a good one, and we learned lots about the volcano, as well as the area which has been washed away at least three times by tsunamis. In fact, we saw the demarkation line where people have to move in order to be safe. It didn't look safe to me, and the airport and all the port district with lots of gas and petrol areas all in the path. If a big tsnuami comes to Hilo, all transportation is lost. It rained the entire day in Hilo, and our guide told us it gets some amazing amount like 150 inches a year! We were not upset since it was warm, although we got a little wet. Our Tilly hats are amazing, wet or dry. I plan to get two more when we get home. Jim has worn his in the Galapagos and here and loves his, also.
Food---We introduced Janet and Mark to the dining room and created a monster. Now they know how nice it is to have someone serve you all your meals. Also, it is so civilized to have a table set for you and waiters on hand to get you whatever you request. We had Anytime dining, so we went in around 6 each evening and most often we had company at tables for 8. The people were interesting, and some have continued to say hello as we pass them in the hallways. We have had breakfast lunch and dinner in almost every dining room. One evening the main dining room was full and we had a 30 minute wait, so we went to Sabatinis, an Italian restaurant at $25 a person. It is amazing, with great appetisers, and entress, all with an Italian flair. The pasta course comes to you during the meal, and the chef has specially prepared that dish, changing it each night. Another night we celebrated mty birthday in the Crown Grill, a steak house which also costs $25 a person, BUT it is the real deal with the most tender steak I have ever had. We also ate on the Crown Grill in the Med and it was the same. What a steak. We had the filet, which was 8 oz, and cooked to perfection. Aong with that we had lobster and sides of scalloped potatoes, mashed red potatoes, asparagus, French fries, creamed corn, sauteed mushrooms and rolls and I can't remember what else. Oh, the black and blue onion soup is to die for! French onion soup with Blue cheese on top the crouton and then broiled. Oh, Wow! The dining room has been delightful with lots of options, and on Formal nights when we did not dress, we went to the buffet which has been great, also. One hightlight on every cruise is the bread served at every meal. The dining room and buffet have the most wonderful fresh rolls, French and whole wheat with seeds on top. They also serve breadsticks, and amazing sweet rolls. Mark and Jim sample every morning and know they are not getting the same thing when we get home. More later. Wine, drinks, snacks and dominoes.
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