In trying to give new insights on a destination that I've written about several times, I seem to be painting a much less joyful picture than our vacation reality.
Like everyone else I've known who's gone to Hawaii, we LOVED our entire experience.
We were blessed with outstanding weather throughout our journey, but even when weather is less than ideal, it's still a happy experience.
We were blessed with outstanding weather throughout our journey, but even when weather is less than ideal, it's still a happy experience.
That's the great joy of Hawaii: the Aloha Spirit is truly WONDERFUL.
After spending a kind of "Hang Loose" day in Honolulu, our ship's late departure allowed time to enjoy an authentic Hawaiian dinner or world-class nightclubs on shore, but we returned to our floating resort for the evening.
We planned to simply eat another delicious meal in Portofino Dining Room followed by listening to intriguing performers in assorted venues around the ship, including Canadian self-taught guitarist Danny Shamess.
We wanted to spend a good chunk of the evening in Crooner's Lounge, the regular venue for Scottish pianist David Moore, whose combination of jazz and comedic stories drew us in nightly as we walked past Crooner's after the big production shows in the Princess Theater. I don't want to give away his material, but ask him to play a song by Billy Joel or Andrew Lloyd Webber for a hearty laugh.
Moore does an amazing version of Norwegian Wood that is like a musical version of Picasso doing a cubist reconstruction of the Beatles' classic, but there's no trace of that song, Scott Joplin rags, Frank Sinatra or any of the other material from his eclectic act on the internet.
Moore does an amazing version of Norwegian Wood that is like a musical version of Picasso doing a cubist reconstruction of the Beatles' classic, but there's no trace of that song, Scott Joplin rags, Frank Sinatra or any of the other material from his eclectic act on the internet.
Before his usual 8:30 start time, we decided to head to the Princess Theater to see if the guest performers from a local dance school could hold our attention. The hula show turned out to be truly outstanding. (Sorry, no photos or video to share.)
I've mentioned that on sea days, some of us learned to play the ukulele while others learned to hula, but I have to say this hula revue deserved their spontaneous standing ovation far more than we did. Perhaps it was our class experiences learning about Hawaiian music and hula that made us appreciate the skill of the young dancers and their gifted accompanists.
Our ukulele teacher, Tiki Dave, is also an awesome multi-instrumentalist who performed regularly throughout the ship with his wife, the ship's hula teacher Leialoha, but I only heard him once, when he played in the atrium before dinner.
He seemed to know all the island favorites, but I especially liked his rendition of Sleepwalk.
He seemed to know all the island favorites, but I especially liked his rendition of Sleepwalk.
Tiki Dave put on a great show, sharing interesting tidbits about his adopted homeland, such as the fact that Blue Hawaii was made famous by Bing Crosby 24 years before the Elvis movie.
It turns out Bing Crosby released a lot of Hawaii-themed songs long before Elvis discovered his love for what had recently became our 50th state.
Other performers often included a taste of the islands or Elvis in their sets, but music on board covered the full spectrum.
The Moonlight Duo comprised of two beautiful and talented performers, Natalya Vershinina and Nastassia Karpenka, played a combination of classical music and show tunes.
We heard them pretty often in the atrium around dinner time, but they had one featured performance in the Vista Lounge, where they dazzled the audience with their virtuosity and sweetly-told stories about their very different childhoods in Siberia and Belarus.
There were other touches of Hawaiian culture on board, like a lei-making class, but there were also seminars about rum and tequila, where everyone got to taste several varieties so that they ordered plenty in the special sale at the end of class. We ordered a Diet Coke from the classroom's bar that acted as a mixer for the rum samples rather than drinking the shots. At the end of the class, we bought a bottle of Captain Morgan's which would be delivered to our room on the last evening of the cruise.
What do you want from a vacation?
You'll find it on a Hawaii cruise.
Plus the Aloha Spirit.
"Better service leads to better trips!"
Other performers often included a taste of the islands or Elvis in their sets, but music on board covered the full spectrum.
The Moonlight Duo comprised of two beautiful and talented performers, Natalya Vershinina and Nastassia Karpenka, played a combination of classical music and show tunes.
We heard them pretty often in the atrium around dinner time, but they had one featured performance in the Vista Lounge, where they dazzled the audience with their virtuosity and sweetly-told stories about their very different childhoods in Siberia and Belarus.
There were other touches of Hawaiian culture on board, like a lei-making class, but there were also seminars about rum and tequila, where everyone got to taste several varieties so that they ordered plenty in the special sale at the end of class. We ordered a Diet Coke from the classroom's bar that acted as a mixer for the rum samples rather than drinking the shots. At the end of the class, we bought a bottle of Captain Morgan's which would be delivered to our room on the last evening of the cruise.
What do you want from a vacation?
You'll find it on a Hawaii cruise.
Plus the Aloha Spirit.
"Better service leads to better trips!"
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