Aloha! We were very excited to board the Sapphire Princess to begin our two week cruise to Hawaii for Christmas. First we dropped off our luggage in our room, then headed up to check out the Kids Club for Cecily. Then Cecily and Richard played some chess and miniature golf before our muster drill. We watched the sunset as we sailed away from San Pedro. After enjoying our first dinner and show, Cecily got her first little gift from Grandma Lynn's stockings. Her favorite part of the day was sleeping on the bunk bed.
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Our first day at sea, Cecily made lots of crafts in the Kids Club and joined us to make Christmas cards in Club Fusion. We ate at the pub lunch and had afternoon tea. After getting her daily treat from Grandma Lynn's stockings, Cecily went swimming with Caren at the indoor pool.
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Day two at sea, Cecily started to get a little seasick. She started wearing the sea bands and took some dramimine in the morning then was fine for the rest of the day. We had afternoon tea while Cecily was in the Kids Club, then we went swimming before we got all dressed up for our first formal night. Our tenth anniversary was in August, so we celebrated on board with a Princess cake and candle. We watched Grandma Lynn and Granpda Otto join in on the champagne waterfall in the atrium. Later that night, we watched the show and checked out the Princess Pop Star competition.
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The third sea day was relaxing with Kids Club, Bingo, pub lunch, afternoon tea, and trivia. Cecily made a friend at Kids Club named Mika. We discovered that Mika's family was in the cabin right next door to us and that they were from Irvine. What a small world!
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We had a fun day at sea our fourth day with trivia, Grandpa Otto winning a game of Bingo, building a gingerbread house, and swimming.
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Today was our first port of Hilo, Hawaii. Grandpa Otto rented a car so we could do our own excursions. First we headed to Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden. It was funny to watch older people being driven down and up the steep path through the gardens in a golf cart. Cecily loved finding a frog on a rock by the waterfall and seeing the parrots in the birdhouse. We saw amazing flowers and plants, but Cecily's favorite part was being able to take an ivory nut back to the ship. While at the botanical garden, Caren was eaten by several mosquitoes and spent the rest of the cruise itching like crazy. After stopping briefly for a snack at What's Shakin, we headed to Akaka Falls. It rained on us for a bit, but once it stopped we dried off quickly. On the way back to the ship, we stopped by the King Kamehameha statue and drove through the Liliuokalani Gardens. We even managed to sneak in a quick trip to Walmart. At dinner that night, we celebrated Richard's birthday belatedly with a Princess cake.
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Our second port was Honolulu, Oahu. While walking to the bus stop, we saw the Iolani Palace and King Kamehameha statue. Then we took the bus to Diamond Head. Grandma Lynn was worried she wouldn't make it all the way to the top, but we all did and enjoyed the beautiful view from the top. After getting back down, we took the bus into Waikiki. We stopped at the ABC store to get Cecily her musubi (spam sushi) that we promised, and then we went and had lunch at Cheeseburger in Paradise with a view of Waikiki Beach. After lunch, we walked down to the water and went to the International Market Place to grab some shaved ice. We took the bus back to the port to catch another bus to take us to the Paradise Cove Luau. The Luau was next door to the new Disney resort, but we didn't have a chance to go over to check it out. Once at Paradise Cove, Cecily made a coconut leaf headpiece and flower bracelet, got a dolphin tattoo on her face, played some games, and watched the luau pig being dug up for dinner. She had yet to make it through a whole luau as she fell asleep halfway through. She did wake up at the end for a photo op with the luau performers.
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We were supposed to be in Nawiliwili, Kauai but due to high winds and big waves, the captain couldn't pull into the harbor to dock the ship. Instead, he sailed around the coast for scenic cruising. Cecily had fun making crafts in the Kids Club, while the adults relaxed in Skywalkers, learned how to make gift boxes from paper, and enjoyed afternoon tea. We decorated our cabin with the felt Christmas tree and fireplace that Richard made. That night, the captain read "The Night Before Christmas" and led the Christmas caroling in the atrium where it also "snowed." Cecily even left out cookies and milk for Santa, and she couldn't wait to see what Santa brought in her stocking the next day.
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Mele Kalikimaka! Christmas morning we arrived in Lahaina, Maui. We had a lazy morning opening stockings and having breakfast in the dining room. Then we tendered into Lahaina. We walked through downtown, browsed through Hilo Hatties where we ran into Mika, and attempted to take the sugar train to Kaanapali (the resort area). But because it was Christmas, the sugar train wasn't running. So we ended up meeting Richard's parents for lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe after they finished their whale watching excursion. Cecily called Grandma and Papa to tell them Merry Christmas at lunch. After we ate, we headed to the beach to snorkel. Richard took Cecily snorkeling, and Caren played on the beach with her. Then we tendered back to the ship to see Santa, who was on the tender boat right after ours. We didn't have enough time to shower and change, so sandy Cecily sat on Santa's lap. Santa gave out a present (stuffed dog) to every child on board. We enjoyed some champagne at dinner to celebrate the holiday, and Cecily got to open presents from Grandma Lynn and Grandpa Otto after we ate. We ended our evening swimming at the indoor pool.
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The day after Christmas was a relaxing sea day. Cecily made more crafts in the Kids Club, and we had a good time at the Family Fun Fair. Cecily played games, had her hand painted, ate cookies, did crafts, and made pin buttons. We also met the captain's wife and son while waiting to get Cecily's hand painted. It was our second formal night, and we attended the Captain's Cocktail Party where we had our picture taken with the captain.
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Another relaxing sea day filled with trivia and eating. The highlight of the day was being able to take a free bridge tour with the Kids Club.
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Our next day was more eating: breakfast, pub lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner. We loved eating in the dining rooms and only picked up snacks in the buffet for Cecily. We loved having her read the menus by herself and order off the adult menu, enjoying the beef filet medallions medium rare almost every night. After dinner, the Kids Club had their pirate night. Cecily loved getting her face painted, making a sword and bandana, and going on the pirate parade with her friend Mika.
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Today we watched a Culinary Arts demonstration and took a tour of the theater. It was fun to see the backstage area and the dressing room. Cecily even got to take her picture with one of the dancers. We attempted to swim in the outdoor pool, but it was too cold so we ended up back at the indoor pool. That evening was our third and final formal night and lobster night. We got a great family photo with our own camera at Richard's favorite Wheelhouse Bar (he loved the wood paneled decor in there).
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Our last day on board was also our last port day in Ensenada, Mexico. We played our usual daily trivia, and Grandpa Otto tried to win the jackpot Bingo. We were surprised to enjoy relatively good guacamole from the buffet as a snack. Cecily joined us in our last afternoon tea (her first and only time). As we were in Ensenada for only 4 hours (and it was during our dinner time), we opted not to get off the ship. We had a lovely last dinner which included king crab legs (YUM!), and Cecily went to the pajama party in the Kids Club.
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And our trip came to an end as we disembarked in San Pedro on New Year's eve. Can't wait for the next cruise!
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We returned from our Christmas cruise on New Year's eve. Christina's family had house-sat for us while we were gone, so Cecily was excited to see her cousins when we got home. We celebrated Christmas with them, and the kids loved opening their presents. Then we had a kid-friendly evening and counted down the new year for them on east coast time. The kids went to bed while the adults stayed up. Christina and Doug didn't make it to midnight. We did, but we went to bed as soon as the ball dropped on Times Square.
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New Year's day, we had lunch with Richard's family before heading up to Pasadena to celebrate the new year and a belated Christmas with Caren's family. Cecily was happy to see her great-grandparents, great-uncle Danny, cousin Catherine, Aunt Cindy, and cousin Brendan. We took a family photo, opened some presents, then had a Chinese banquet dinner to celebrate the new year.
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