Friday, February 27, 2026
7:00 am to 6:00 pm
For the first time we (Michelle, Bob and I) found a table by a window in the buffet. Not by the main buffet...but in the Cafe Caribe in the very back of the ship. Jon didn't show up. He was working on the final details for an extended trip to Europe that begins just 2 1/2 weeks after this cruise ends and wanted to take advantage of cell service while we were in port.
When we walked into the buffet there were several people standing at the window and I wondered if they had seen whales. We kept an eye out while eating but never saw anything.
I saw a breakfast pizza on the buffet that looked interesting and took a slice. It was ice cold. Yuck. As we were eating, a guy and gal with name tags from dining services stopped by our table. They were questioning passengers on their opinions of the food being served on the ship. My first comment was that the food was often cold. They responded that many others had said the same (so obviously they are aware of the problem.) I also mentioned that I wished they had poached eggs on the buffet (which I usually had every morning on HAL cruises.) The man said that they WERE available and I just had to order them from the omelet station. They would take my room number and then deliver them to my table by tracking my medallion. I will give it a try, but if it takes as long as the omelet that Jon ordered a couple of days ago, it isn't worth the hassle.
Once the ship had been cleared, the guys left ahead of Michelle and I to walk to the Enterprise car rental agency. Just getting out of the port area in Kahului requires about a half mile walk. I had been dreading the hike so as we were leaving to start the long walk, I asked the lady working at the gate if it would be OK if we were dropped off near the ship at the end of the day. She said "yes" and if we wanted, the guys could drive in and pick us up right by the ship now! Hallelujah! I phoned Bob and told him we would be waiting there.
We sat and visited with another couple who were waiting to be picked up for a private excursion. It took a long time, but finally the port guard got a call on his walkie talkie announcing a ride for my last name. We jumped up and were ready, but the car that pulled in wasn't Jon and Bob...but someone else with the same last name! The guys did come eventually but they were in a Jeep Wrangler, not the small SUV that I had reserved. I am so short and with my weak knee I couldn't get into the high vehicle! Jon gave me a bit of a boost (how embarrassing!) and we were on our way.
Our destination was the summit of Haleakala, but Michelle first wanted to stop at Starbucks to see if she could find a souvenir mug from Maui. Jon also jumped out of the car and ran into the grocery store next door. Michelle scored with her mug and Jon returned with macadamia nuts, two donuts, a poke bowl and a case of bottled water. Since Jon had missed breakfast he ate the poke bowl and donuts. (Breakfast of champions!) 😂 The case of water was to be my step stool for the rest of the day. 😄
We lucked out and had a beautiful sunny day in Maui. The Guide Along app narrated as we drove from sea level to the summit of Haleakala at over 10,000 feet. Unfortunately, both of the visitor centers were closed for renovations.
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| Headed to Haleakala. Biking DOWN the mountain is popular. |
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| Lots of hairpin turns on the drive. |
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| At the summit. |
The view looking down into the crater was very "moon-like".
At the upper visitor's center, Michelle and I waited while Bob and Jon walked down part of the Sliding Sands Trail down into the crater. Even doing a just a portion of the hike was strenuous which Jon realized as they were coming back UP out of the crater!
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| Easy going down... |
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| ...not so easy coming up. Rest time. |
Michelle and I walked around taking photos and then sat on a bench just enjoying the beautiful day. As we were sitting there, a lady slipped and fell near us. A nice man helped her up, but she was in a lot of pain in her shoulder. Her husband was changing a flat tire in the parking lot and they were still there when the guys returned. Bob is a retired paramedic so he checked on her and helped make a sling out of her jacket to immobilize her arm. Hopefully her injury wasn't too serious.
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| Haleakalā silverswords live between 3 and 90 years or more. They flower once, sending up a spectacular flowering stalk, and then die soon afterward, scattering drying seeds to the wind. |
By the time we drove down the mountain, the clouds were rolling in. Stopping at one of the overlooks on the way, the clouds stretched out like a blanket below us.
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| Walking on the clouds! |
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| Photo Bombed! |
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| Driving down into the clouds. |
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| Going through the clouds. |
The next stop on my planned itinerary was Ho'okipa Beach. Jon wanted to stop somewhere for lunch so we changed our route to go through Paia. BIG mistake. We should have learned from our experience two years ago, but the same thing happened...we got stuck in a major traffic jam. We were creeping along at such a slow pace that Jon hopped out of the Jeep and walked ahead to a little store where he bought some sandwiches for he and Michelle and a bowl of macaroni salad for Bob. I had plenty of snacks in the car so was content. He was just coming out of the store as we got there.
We drove on to the Ho'okipa Beach overlook and they had a little picnic with their food. I walked over to where I could watch the surfers and also realized the beach was full of turtles! At first I thought they were just rocks, but a lady with a small souvenir stand in the back of her van told me to take a photo and then zoom in. So many turtles!! Michelle joined me and then we started noticing whales off in the distance! Mostly we just saw the spouts, but we did see a few come to the surface and even watched one breach!
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| Looking down at the rocky beach... |
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| ...but most of the rocks were actually turtles! |
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| Surfers enjoying the big waves. |
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| Wipe Out! |
The last stop of the day was to get some shave ice at Uluani's in Kahului. Our bill for two small (child size) shave ices was over $20. It was good, but seemed expensive for frozen water with a little flavored syrup!
The case of water had been a blessing each time I used it as a step stool, but a pain when we got back to port. Jon took the bottles out of the packaging and divided them up between everyone's backpack. Poor Michelle ended up with the majority of the bottles since we were being dropped off at the gate and didn't have to walk as far.
At the beginning of the day, the captain had announced that because we were a little late to dock, he was giving us an extra hour in port. All aboard time had been moved back to 6:30 pm. Later in the day another announcement was made saying that due to barge traffic, we would be staying in port until 11 pm.
After four consecutive port days we all were tired and didn't feel like going to dinner in the MDR. We were relaxing on the balcony enjoying our few extra hours of cell service when I saw a Facebook post that the itinerary for our upcoming Mexican cruise had been changed due to the violence in Puerto Vallarta. That port and Manzanillo had both been dropped, La Paz had been added along with an overnight stay in Cabo San Lucas.
The only tour that we had booked was in Mazatlán and now the date that we were to be there was changed. We decided to cancel and get our money back. Jon sent an email right away and got the notification that the money had already been refunded in less than an hour.
We went to dinner at the buffet but I was still full from the late afternoon shave ice so just got a bowl of clam chowder. As I was eating I started to feel a little "crampy" so I excused myself to go back to our room. I was counting my blessings that our cabin was just four decks below the buffet and only a quick elevator ride away. I made it back just in time...almost. I was still in the bathroom when Bob returned to our cabin quite some time later.
As I sat on the throne, so many thoughts were going through my head...
- Why don't I feel sick? Or has it just not hit yet?
- I washed my hands a million times...should I have gone for 1,000,001?
- Thank goodness this didn't hit when I was climbing in and out of that giant jeep!
- So glad I didn't sample the raw fish in Jon's poke bowl when he offered. (But at least that could have been blamed as a culprit if I had.)
- Am I going to need to quarantine all the way back to the mainland?
- And finally...I wonder if the medical center performs colonoscopies since I already have the prep taken care of. 😄
Really all I felt was tired but that was probably just as much from our four continuous days of touring. Bob was starting to feel a cold coming on so the rest of the evening was spent in our cabin watching TV. I fell asleep around 8:30 pm in spite of Bob watching some loud action movie and wondered what the next day would bring. Thank goodness it was a sea day.
