Snorkel Bob's on Maui

I know, you think the pretty girl above caught my eye but it was really the name on the magazine cover we saw in Makawao, Maui: Snorkel Bob's. It turns out Snorkel Bob has locations on Maui, Kauai, Oahu, and the big island.

We didn't use his services, but I'm sure Snorkel Bob would have given me a discount. We Bobs must stick together.

Beautiful Matinee

After church yesterday the lovely Robin and I headed to Cincinnati's Aronoff Center for a matinee performance of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. And everything about it was beautiful: my seatmate (especially), the music, the performances, and the nostalgia.

Julia Knitel and Liam Tobin performed beautifully as Carole King and Gerry Goffin. Understudy Aashley Morgan (that's not a typo) turned in a stellar performance as Cynthia Weil. Ben Fankhauser was excellent as Barry Mann. And everyone else, from the Drifters to the Shirelles and beyond, delighted the crowd. Julia Knitel's vocals reflected Carole King without duplicating her, and while I knew much of the story I still learned a lot and loved the Mann/Weil compositions in the show, which I hadn't expected. The only slight disappointment was the sound quality, at least what reached the first balcony, where Robin and I sat; I've never heard a problem at the Aronoff, so I suspect it wasn't our location but something in the sound design that produced over-modulation and muddiness at times. Except for that, the whole experience was memorable, delightful, and...yes, beautiful.

Maui and Haleakala Crater

On the morning of Friday, April 28, the Grand Princess arrived at Lahaina, Maui. I watched from our balcony as we sailed into the harbor.

We took a tender to Lahaina, and then boarded a bus for our excursion to Haleakala Crater, a dormant volcano.

Our entertaining guide introduced us to the "silversword" plant (above), or Haleakala silversword, a rare plant that is part of the daisy family Asteraceae. The silversword in general is referred to as ʻāhinahina in Hawaiian. A threatened species due to excessive grazing by cattle and goats and vandalism by people, it was once near extinction but is now protected, though threats remain. The silversword is found only on Maui and on the western slope of Mauna Kea on the Big Island.

After a two-hour bus ride, we reached the crater, but clouds covered much of it. So disappointing.

I waited, however, and after fifteen minutes or so, the clouds cleared momentarily, allowing the above view of some of the crater, which is seven miles long and three miles wide. Stupendous colors. The volcano last erupted in 1790, so it's due. We left without any rumblings. Except from my tummy.

We stopped for lunch at Casanova Ristorante and Bar in Makawao, an adorable upcountry village.

Our hosts were expecting us and soon had a pasta buffet ready.

Robin and I finished our lunch and still had a few minutes to browse the inviting shops in Makawao. One of our few regrets about our trip is that we didn't buy anything in Sherri Reeve's Gallery and Gifts. We loved everything she had to offer.

More Fun at Sea

On the fifth day of our cruise, the lovely Robin took a class in making "heirloom leis" (above), like the kind worn by Hawaiian royalty (she was apparently a little sleepy when I took the photo above, which is understandable since we had to turn our clocks back three hours on the journey across the Pacific). Beautiful, huh? The lei, too.

At midday we watched the "King Kamehameha Festival" where hula students and unsuspecting passengers were persuaded to compete in a hip-shaking contest. Robin declined. I was eliminated in the first round. Apparently the ship can only take on so much vibration.

In the evening we thoroughly enjoyed the "Motor City" show, featuring the ship's singers, dancers, and orchestra. Wow. So much fun. So much funk. So many bell bottoms.

The Princess@Sea "app"

One of the many enjoyable and helpful aspects of my recent fortieth anniversary cruise with the lovely Robin was something we didn't have on our four previous cruises: the Princess@Sea app. 

It wasn't an app we downloaded to our phone, but it was a free, mobile-friendly web tool. We were able to plan our day's events and activities, review the ship's itinerary and port guides, browse restaurant menus, and access our stateroom account using the ship's wifi (for this use only; we didn't buy a wifi plan). It was really helpful. For example, at one point, I logged in to our stateroom account and saw a charge for drinks we hadn't made. I went to the service desk and it was corrected in minutes. Princess@Sea made it easy.

Dining on the Grand Princess

I mentioned in an earlier post that our recent fortieth anniversary cruise to Hawaii was our fifth cruise (our first Princess Cruise). This time we really hit our stride when it came to eating. With two exceptions, I think, we ordered room service breakfast every morning, so I could eat when I was ready and Robin could sleep a little longer and eat when she was ready. I know the above spread looks like breakfast for two or three people, but all that was for just me. Mmm mmm good.

Our meals in the dining room were outstanding. We expected gourmet dining, of course, and were still surprised at the amazingness of the food, from the appetizers (crab cake, above)....

...to the entrees (short ribs, vegetables, and mashed potatoes, above, and steak, potatoes, and carrots, below)...

...to the desserts (below).

Robin fell in love with a soufflé and I enjoyed multiple servings of pineapple brûlée (below).

Our waiters, Alex and David, were the finest we've ever had, and our table mates were thoroughly enjoyable company. The whole experience was memorable. Thanks, Grand Princess!

Day 3 on Our Anniversary Cruise

It took no time at all for me to get used to our daily routine of leisure and enjoyment on the Grand Princess for my fortieth anniversary cruise with the lovely Robin. Leisurely breakfast. Exercise in the fitness center. Ukulele class. At noon, Robin went to a "Ladies Pampering Session" in the spa, after which we had an "English Pub Lunch" in the Crown Grill.

Robin attended another hula class, and we also enjoyed a short program of Hawaiian melodies by her hula instructor, Rowena, and our ukulele instructor, Brian (above). We napped. I took in some piano playing in the Wheelhouse Bar before dinner.

The evening entertainment, in the Princess Theater, was "Stardust"--singing and dancing by the excellent ship orchestra and cast of singers and dancers. This was our fifth cruise (first on Princess Cruise Line), but we've never been this impressed by a ship's entertainment. First rate.