Last day in Hawaiian paradise.

Day 17
Breakfast on the lanai.  Walked to the Hilton Hawaiian village.  Window shopped.  Found a minature orchid the size of a pea.  Beautiful.

Day 18
Spending the day with Bart and Ronette driving around the island.  Sunning and sight seeing.  Leave here tonight at 10 PM home tomorrow morning 6:30 AM.

What a WONDERFUL AND RELAXING TRIP!

Beautiful weather.

Day 15
Enjoying the dedicated elevator that takes us to our penthouse.  Partial views of the ocean, beachfront, mountains and pool.  Breakfast on the beach with Bart and Ronette.  Then a visit to the koi and turtle pond and the US army museum at Fort De Russy.

Day 16
Breakfast on the beach watching ships, surfers and parrots.  At noon, martinis at the Hyatt overlooking Waikiki Beach.  Lunch at Sr Frogs.  Dinner at the Outrigger.

Exploring Honolulu

Day 13
Dined with Bart and Ronette on the beach at Waikiki watching the sunset.  Cooked our own steask on the restaurant's BBQ.  Then drinks at the Tiki Bar listening to live Hawaiian performers.

Day 14
Quiet day on the beach and at the pool.  Lunched at the Hard Rock Cafe at Waikiki. Got some great pics of orchids and birds. 

Honolulu

Day 11

Arrived Honolulu.  Spent the day onboard swimming and sunning.  80 F.  Dined at Izumi (Japanese restaurant) onbard.  A must for any traveller on RCCL.  Drinks with Bart and Ronette. Packing to leave ship.

Day 12

Disembarked at Honolulu.  Went to our hotel and the Outrigger Reef on the beach at Waikiki.  Fabulous.  Attended the Hawaiin wedding of our friends along with their two sons.  Sunrise wedding on the beach at Waikiki.  Then brunch and a walking tour of the beach area.  Dinner on the lanai at the hotel surrounded by lighted torches and music. 

Maui and Kauai

Day 9
Swam in the salt water pools. Sunned.  Hot.  Quiet day in Lahaina.  A school of 100-200 porpoise frolicked around the ship.  Wonderful experience.

Day 10
Swam.  Arrived in Kaui.  Went orchid hunting in the town of Kapa'a.

Day 7 & 8

Day 7
Swam in the solarium pool. Spent the day onboard. Warm and sunny.

Day 8
Swam.  Tendered to Lahaina.  Spent the day at Lahaina and Kaanapali with Bart and Ronette.
Sunny and Hot.  Tonight outdoor movie

On our way Kona

Day 5

Exercised in the morning.  Spent the afternoon lounging and swimming in the solarium pool.  Received a complimentary bottle of champagne from our travel agency and RCCL.  Relished the fact that Roak won $200 at the casino the evening before. 

Day 6

Watched the hula dancers at noon at the pool deck.  Then a BBQ before swimming.  Tonight is another formal night.  Tomorrow, Kona!  

Days 3 and 4 At Sea

Day 3

Last night we dined at the Samba speciality restaurant. The delicious food is served Brazilian-style.

Using a colour selection panel, the table signals to the waiter(gaucho) who keeps the food flowing. All meats (chicken, lamb, and beef) are presented to the table on swords from which they are removed to the diner's plate. If you are travelling on RCL and a Samba restaurant is available TRY IT! It is a unique and fun dining experience.

Day 4

Spent the day by the pool and in the solarium. Had lunch on the aft deck watching the world go by. Sun came out and winds died down. Great sailing day! Tonight a reception by the Captain.

Hawaii ahoy!

Day 1

We board ship midday and spend the first few hours getting a feel for the ship. We meet Bart and Ronette at the pool deck wiling away the hours in the sunlight.

The ship's departure is delayed by two hours but by six p.m. we were on our way to Hawaii.

Day 2

Did fitness in the morning. Met Bart and Ronette for lunch. Tonight is the first formal night and we are celebrating Bart's birthday at the Samba Brazilian specialty restaurant.

All packed and ready to goooooo.....

Amber is off to stay with Bev.  Paul is taking care of the greenhouse.  And Don is taking care of other plants.  We are off tomorrow. 

Garden hibiscus

We were hoping that this plant would bloom before we left for vacation.  It did!

Radiance of the Seas recently in dry dock.

Radiance of the Seas Cruise Ship Dry Dock - Refurbishment ...

The Grand Canyon of the Pacific on Kauai

This is a "must see" for all travellers to Kaui.

Dining room onboard Radiance

Things to do on the Radiance of the Seas

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/experiencetypes/html.do?shipCode=RD

Big Island of Hawaii

On our last visit to Kona, Hawaii we visited the aqua farm where sea horses are raised in captivity for hobby aquariums so that the "wild" sea horses remain untouched.

Counting down

Take a virtual tour of Radiance of the Seas.  http://www.royalcaribbean.com/multimedia/virtualTour/ship.do?shipClassCode=RD

Sailing to Hawaii

We are sailing from Vancouver to Hawaii and touring the Hawaiian Islands for a few days.  Then staying in Honolulu for another few days.

Some helpful travel hints for the Canadian Traveller

Travel hints

Day 10

We started the day with a walk in the sun and then spent some time by the pool. While having lunch with friends we saw a pod of about 200 dolphins racing alongside the ship. Whales were also seen.

Last night Roak won $100 at the casino and tonight we hope to repeat it again.

This will be our last entry for this trip.

Day 9

This morning we anchored off of CSL. Tenders began taking people ashore early in the morning.

We spent another quiet day onboard. We did our fitness after breakfast. Then we spent time reading by the pool. The pool is filled with warm salt water and feels therapeutic.

Next to us today, the QEII anchored alongside and on the other side of us was the Norwegian Star.

Tonight a mariachi band will be performing for us before we depart at 10:00 PM heading back to San Diego.

Day 8 Loreto

We had a wonderful experience in Loreto. We took the tender into the town and explored the wonderful small town of Loreto.

We returned to the ship and met fabulous crew members from Indonesia. We will be travelling there in 2012.

We attended a wine/cheese party arranged by friends. Then off to dinner in the Aquilina dining room-two hours of pampered bliss.

Then dancing to AbbA on the Looking Glass deck in the evening.

Days 6 & 7

Topolobampo and Guaymas

Yesterday we stopped in Topolobampo. Some of the shore excursions to the city were cancelled due to an early morning police action in the area of the town square.

We stayed on the ship as planned and had a great time walking our mile in the sun and then spending some time in the pool.

Later in the evening the ship hosted a fabulous Mexican buffet and brought local performers onboard who entertained us for over 1.5 hours.

Azamara has provided the best entertainment that we have experienced during our many voyages.

Guaymas

Today we docked mid-morning in Guaymas. A local band and majorette troupe entertained us during the docking.

We spent another leisurely day onboard. The salt water pool is kept at about 90 deg Fahrenheit. What a treat.

Tonight we sail for Loreto.

Day 5 La Paz

Last night we went to the show-Broadway tunes. It was great!

Today, we have had beautiful sunny weather. We walked for over a mile on the deck and then took a dip in the salt water pool. Spent the rest of the day in the sun.

The food and service on Azamara is unsurpassed by anything that we have experienced. Tonight we are dining in one of the two specialty restaurants.

We will be in the steak house, in our tuxedos as we depart from La Paz and watch the armed federal police circling the ship as we depart.

Day 4 Mazatlan

We spent a quiet day on board watching the world go by. We did our fitness in the morning and Roak clocked in over 3000+ steps on his pedometer. Then, we lazed by the pool under the hot sun and had a light lunch on the pool deck.

Yesterday we say whales, dolphins and sharks.

Today we saw pelicans and frigate birds flying over us against the clear blue sky.

Our friends have won over $1200 on the slots. We have not! :)

We set sail in about 1 hour heading to our next stop-La Paz.

 

Day 2 AT SEA

We met some great group of people at dinner last night and will be spending more time with all them during the remainder of the cruise. We got to talking and we discovered that we have a mutual acquaintance in Vancouver. It's a small world.

We spent the day at the Officer's BBQ and lazed by the pool in glorious sunshine. Tomorrow we reach Mazatlan.

Good Surprises

Yesterday we headed South to San Diego and then the surprises started. To our wonder, we were welcomed by representatives of Azamara and escorted to our ship.

Then the other surprises began.

First, we were greeted by a champagne reception that provided us with a beautiful view of our ship.

Then we did a a tour of the vessel. You get the feeling that you are travelling in a beautifully appointed living room. Dental cornices everywhere complemented by pillars and picture windows.

Our stateroom is gorgeous. All white with contrasting dark wood cabinetry and furniture. Our deck has a teak table and two chairs as well as a chaise lounge. In fact, Roak is out there as I write this entry. Our suite is situated at aft the ship and when we leave the door open we hear the rushing of the sea as we sail.

Today, day 2, we are at sea. We started the day with light breakfast and then went off to cooking class where we made seared scallops.

We enjoyed a delicious lunch on the aft deck watching Mexico sail by. To our surprise we caught sight a feeding shark. Scary.

Tonight we will be experiencing the casino and the formal dining room.

Off to the Sea of Cortez

We are off to the Baja for a number of days.  Sun and relaxation.  Travelling on the Azamara Line that is owned by Royal Carribean.  Here is a picture of the ship.