Puerto Vallarta

Posted on April 10, 2024 by JoeTourist

Wednesday, April 10, 2024 – Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico

Total Solar Eclipse & Mexican Riviera 10-day cruise aboard Discovery Princess – April 3-13, 2024

I disembark the ship this morning at 9AM, walking through the various shops setup at the cruise terminal, discovering Revolucion Artisanal Plata 35 tequila at US$220 which comes in a beautiful ceramic bottle! I find my way over to Oro Beach (see banner image above), which has public access and is adjacent to the cruise port. It’s a beautiful beach with lots of resorts along it, but I think the swimming in the open ocean would be a bit challenging.

Since Puerto Vallarta really doesn’t appeal to me, I spend the rest of the day aboard ship, taking photos of more birds: Brown Pelicans, Magnificent Frigatebirds and Laughing Gulls. My balcony is facing the harbour, so I watch all the party and excursion boats along with Seadoos coming and going. The 101m Attessa IV super yacht is docked across from our ship, providing some variety to this tourist city. This art deco-styled vessel with Gucci accents is owned by “shoe shiner turned billionaire” Dennis Washington, and is worth about $200 million.

Attessa IV super yacht docked in the harbour

I go to the late show in the Princess Theatre this evening: “Broadway” with Vancouver-based entertainer Lovena B. Fox. Her voice is wonderful…probably the show I enjoyed on the cruise the most.

Please scroll down to the flying frigatebird and pelican in the water to see the photos from this cruise. The top-most photos are from my cruise port call back in October 2023.

Puerto Vallarta

30 photos

Manzanillo

Posted on April 9, 2024 by JoeTourist

Tuesday, April 9, 2024 – Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico

Total Solar Eclipse & Mexican Riviera 10-day cruise aboard Discovery Princess – April 3-13, 2024

We take a walk along the harbour front Malacon near the pier after breakfast before it gets too hot. There are lots of big tugs in this busy freight harbour – Mexico’s largest as it turns out. The shops are as expected – t-shirts and trinkets, OTC medications from numerous pharmacies, restaurants and snack bars. My friend is looking for a gift to take home, but he finds nothing to his liking. The gift shops on the pier are actually the most appealing, but no sale from either of us.

We spend the rest of the day aboard ship. I take lots of photos of birds circling in the harbour, mainly Magnificent Frigatebirds and Laughing Gulls. I also explore the ship. The Promenade Deck is essentially not usable for walking, since it’s so narrow and it doesn’t go all the way around the ship. The harbour traffic provides me with lots of photo opportunities – in addition to the seabirds, there are lots of tugboats, pleasure craft, and other working boats to watch.

The Piazza is the 3-level atrium midship on Discovery Princess, which is very impressive with marble floors, brass and glass everywhere, and big chandeliers and staircases. Lots of activities and performances happen in the Piazza. The International Cafe, Gelato Dessert Cafe and various bars are located on the various levels. The problem is that it’s very noisy, otherwise I would spend more time here. We both have free access to the Gelato Dessert Cafe, so we sit down and have some ice cream, which is very good. They also serve amazing 12-layer cakes, and dessert concoctions that would put me to sleep, since they are huge and loaded with sugary treats.

Impressive multi-layer cakes in Gelato Dessert Cafe

We both have the curried fish in the International Marketplace on Lido for dinner, which is probably the best-tasting meal we’ve had on the cruise. I had the fish over coconut rice, which made it extra fine IMHO.

Manzanillo

26 photos

Depart San Pedro

Posted on April 3, 2024 by JoeTourist

Wednesday, April 3, 2024 – board Discovery Princess in San Pedro and leave port

Total Solar Eclipse & Mexican Riviera 10-day cruise aboard Discovery Princess – April 3-13, 2024

My friend and I wake up around 8am, having got about five hours sleep after our long-delayed flight. We have a nice breakfast in the Marriott Courtyard hotel, return to our room to pack, and ask the front desk call us a taxi. The Yellow Cab driver takes us to the cruise ship terminal in San Pedro – about a 20-minute drive, where we join the chaos for boarding the ship. Unfortunately, in the confusion we miss the baggage drop off, so have to wheel our bags onboard. My bag is selected by security since I travel with safety razors, which they insist I remove before boarding since they judge them to be “weapons.”

We are aboard and settled into our staterooms by 11:30am, and have some lunch from the Slice and Salty Dog Cafe beside the main pool. I have some time to quickly explore the ship, and discover the USS Ohio historic destroyer on display next to the cruise ship terminal behind our ship. We pass by the impressive US Coast Guard Station Los Angeles – Long Beach, as the Discovery Princess departs the harbour at 3pm by backing all the way out of the navigation channel to turn around inside the breakwater before sailing into open ocean.

I’m pleased to see there is already an Eclipse info sheet from the captain left in my stateroom. My friend and I have a very nice dinner in the World Fresh Market on Lido Deck 16, and then we have our first Martinis while enjoying the Ian Bacon Trio playing jazz classics in the Take Five Jazz Lounge this evening. It’s nice to finally relax and settle into the cruise after the stressful start with our flights to Los Angeles yesterday.

Rainforest Hike – Manoa Valley

Posted on October 18, 2023 by JoeTourist

2023 Vancouver-Hawai’i Cruise

Oct 18, 2023 – Day 2 in Honolulu – Rainforest Hike in the Manoa Valley

I have breakfast in the Main Dining Room this morning: cappuccino, Passion fruit parfait, and a smoked salmon omelet. Afterward, I grab my notebook computer and go to the Crow’s Nest to hang out there. At 9:30AM the Pacific Collector, a US Navy Auxiliary ship is pushed into an adjacent dock by two tugs. It doesn’t appear to be under power, and has two large white domes on the main cargo deck.

Pacific Collector being towed into the harbour and docked

I go on an excursion today: Tropical Rain Forest Nature Walk. It is leaves at 11:45AM, including a 45 minute hike through the Lyon Arboretum rain forest in the Valley of the Rainbows at the head of the beautiful Manoa Valley. I take lots of photos of the many plants, flowers and birds found in the rain forest. Our guide then drives us to the Pu’u Uala’kaa — the hill of the rolling sweet potatoes above the city at an elevation of 1,048 feet. We have great views of Diamond Head, Waikiki, Honolulu, and the harbour and airport, and our ship is visible from here. We also drive through Punchbowl Crater, which is a memorial graveyard for the US Armed Services.

We return to the ship just after 3PM, well before the 4:30 All Aboard time. After getting cleaned up, I decide to wear my new Aloha shirt from our port call in Kaua’i.

4:30PM Captain’s Report – We will sail between two low pressure systems on the return voyage to Vancouver. Waves are expected to be 10′ most of the way, as both systems are generating significant wave action. Koningsdam was scheduled to depart Honolulu at 5PM, but it looks like we will be delayed by an hour due to a medical disembarkation and some late-arriving passengers from an excursion.

Our delayed departure actually works out really well, since the ship sails out of the harbour entrance at sunset, giving us beautiful views along the coastline with some dramatic clouds, ships in the distance on the horizon, all making for some good photos. After looking closer at my sunset photos, I realize there are five mirages of ships and the city floating above the ocean!

Oahu South Coast

29 photos

Vancouver Departure

Posted on October 7, 2023 by JoeTourist

2023 Vancouver-Hawai’i Cruise

I have a coffee and a cereal bar in my hotel room before checking out and rolling my bag the few blocks down to Canada Place, stopping for a quick selfie before going inside. I am through the check-in at the cruise terminal shortly after my10:20AM boarding time, however it takes about an hour for the ship to start accepting passengers aboard. Since I roll my own bag aboard, I’m soon settled into my stateroom #5023.

I then head to the Grand Dutch Cafe for lunch: Beenam’s ham sandwich and a bowl of Dutch pea soup. The couple ordering ahead of me insist on loading up with two giant sized chocolate-covered cream puffs and two slices of Dutch apple pie each! The server and I have a chuckle about their greed. I take a cappuccino and a Perrier bottled water back to my stateroom.

Dutch apple pie, Chocolate vanilla cake, bran, chocolate and blueberry muffins, giant-sized chocolate covered cream puff. Dutch pea soup, Beenam’s ham sandwich. Grand Dutch Cafe aboard Koningsdam

It’s a lovely sunny day in Vancouver as the ship pulls away from the dock at about 4:45pm, which is a bit late due to a passenger having to be taken off the ship at the last minute for medical reasons. I never get tired of being aboard a ship at it sails under Lion’s Gate Bridge, passing Stanley Park and the North Shore heading out into the Strait of Georgia. It is dark by the time we pass my home city of Victoria, so rather than spend time on deck, I have my first Martini on this voyage and enjoy the jazz, blues and rock on the Music Walk venues this evening.

Harbour Air seaplane taxiing to the dock in Coal Harbour with pleasure craft and Chevron fuel dock, Brockton Point, Stanley Park, Lion's Gate bridge and the North Shore mountains

San Diego

Posted on April 26, 2023 by JoeTourist

April 26, 2023 – Wednesday – San Diego, California, USA

2023 Panama Canal Cruise

I am up at 7AM and out on my balcony this morning as the ship enters the harbour. It is an overcast day to start, but the clouds clear off later. I go down to the Main Dining room for breakfast, since I’m in no rush to go ashore because I don’t have an excursion booked.

It is a frustrating morning once we dock in San Diego, since US Customs and Border Protection insist on clearing each and every passenger and crew in person this morning. So despite docking at 7:30AM, I’m not allowed off the ship until 10:30AM since I have a 10AM time slot to see the CBP officers. It appears passengers with shore excursions booked and those who are leaving the ship by rolling their own luggage ashore are first in line. Next are passengers debarking, and then those of us who are “in-transit”, followed by crew leaving the ship. There are nine CBP officers, but the lines of passengers extend most of the length of the ship.

Once that hassle is over, I disembark the ship and walk over to the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier, an historic US Navy warship docked close by. It is an interesting way to spend about three hours by both exploring the inside of the ship, as well as the flight deck, where many historic aircraft are displayed. There are lots of helpful and friendly volunteers around to ensure people don’t get lost, and also to give information about the amazing systems and historic equipment they are seeing. I photograph every detail of this warship, so view my photo album for those who want all the details!

Our sail away out of the harbour is interesting as we pass the airport, marinas, US Navy and Coast Guard facilities, Sea lions, and the city itself. I have dinner this evening in the main dining room, but we are moved upstairs since it’s so busy. I go to Guitarist Nester Santurio‘s late performance in the Main Stage, but walk out before he finishes since I can’t stand his cornball antics. I end up in the Ocean Bar to have my usual martini, since I think I need an attitude adjuster.

San Diego

15 photos

Arrival in Vancouver & home to Victoria

Posted on October 24, 2022 by JoeTourist

Oct 24, 2022 – Arrival in Vancouver, BC, Canada & flight home to Victoria

2022 Hawai’i Cruise

I’m awake as the ship passes English Bay and under the Lion’s Gate Bridge, sailing into Vancouver Harbour. The ship docks at Canada Place at 7:15AM – precisely as the captain predicted yesterday! I get dressed and go down to the Grand Dutch Cafe for my usual cappuccino, blueberry muffin and yogurt/fruit parfait. There is quite a line, so it takes about 20 minutes for Kaye to make my cappuccino, but I’m in no rush. After breakfast, I return to my stateroom and finish packing. By that time, the announcement is made that the ship is cleared and disembarkation is starting.

Since I’m a 4-star Mariner, I can disembark anytime I wish up to 9:30AM. It feels pretty good to be able to bypass all the passengers waiting for their group numbers to be called as I have my keycard scanned for the last time, and roll my bags down the gangway and into the terminal. The CBSA agent welcomes me to Canada after I give them my declaration. They don’t ask to see my passport, so I walk out the terminal and turn left onto Cordova Street to walk the block in the rain to the Skytrain terminal to board the Canada Line to the airport. I mistakenly get onto the train to Brighouse-Richmond instead of YVR, but no worries since I get off at Bridgeport and board the following train to YVR three minutes later.

The South Terminal shuttle is waiting right outside the pedestrian bridge at the US departures, so I’m checked in at Pacific Coastal Airways in short order. Now I wait five hours for my 3PM flight departure to Victoria. I settle in to work on my travel photos, but have a cappuccino from the Galiano Cafe first, and then an hour or so later I have some delicious seafood soup for lunch.

Bombardier Global 6000 executive jet taxiing at YVR

I spend an hour or so this afternoon plane spotting from the platform outside, taking photos of each aircraft as they takeoff and climb out. A Bombardier Global 6000 executive jet taxis past the platform to the private terminal next to South Terminal. Perhaps there is a VIP aboard? My flight is delayed 20 minutes but otherwise the flight goes smoothly. The pilot must have had a takeoff time slot booked, since he really hustles down the taxiway to the button, not even stopping at the stop line before taking off! The flight to Victoria was a bit bumpy, since we were flying at 2,000′ below the clouds. We fly a straight in approach over Sidney to Victoria International Airport, and roll onto the taxiway 15 minutes after our takeoff from Vancouver. There is an Air North Boeing 737 aircraft on the apron in Victoria, reminding me of my flight to Whitehorse back in May.

My family is waiting for me in the baggage claim area. My checked bag is one of the first to appear on the belt, so we are out of there in quick order, driving home in the rush hour traffic.

Oahu North Shore

Posted on October 17, 2022 by JoeTourist

Oct 17, 2022 – East & North Shore, Oahu, Hawai’i, USA

2022 Hawai’i cruise

The Holland America Grand Circle Island excursion is listed for US$149.95, but I got $20 off from my Have-It-All package, and then another $20 off since the the tour operator is no longer including lunch in the tour. As it turns out, this excursion doesn’t much resemble the description given at all. First, we drive around the island in the opposite direction, and secondly, we miss many of the stops, so it ends up being mainly a day of driving with only limited opportunities to get off the bus to either shop or see the sights on our own.

Joe at Halona Blow Hole with Wawanalu Beach behind, south shore of Oahu

We do not stop at Hanauma Bay Marine Preserve since it remains closed to visitors since COVID-19, so I have no opportunity to take photos, even from the top of the cliff. The lack of humans during the pandemic has allowed the ecosystem to recover, so only visitors with permits are allowed in now. We stop at the Halona Blow Hole so I have time for a selfie before we hit the road again. I appreciate the 20 minutes we have at the Byodo-In Temple, although it is full of visitors, so it’s very crowded.

We drive north along the beautiful east coast, passing by both the Polynesian Cultural Center (where we were originally to stop for lunch) and the Kualoa Ranch. We stop at a macademia nut farm to shop, but it is packed with people from other tourist buses. We are stuck in multiple construction zones along the way, which is certainly frustrating for all of us. We only drive by the famous north shore beaches: Makapu’u Point, Sandy Beach, Sunset Point Beach, and others – no stops.

A surfer girl with her surfboard on the Hale‘iwa strip

Our lunch stop is in the surfing town of Hale‘iwa on the North Shore, where we have 1.5 hours to eat, shop, or do what we wish. I have an exceedingly expensive cappuccino and then wander along the main street that is lined with surf shops, restaurants, and shave ice places. I find some very nice Men’s Holoholo shorts in the Kahala shop, and buy a pair despite the US$88 price! I forgot to pack shorts for this trip for some reason…

We visit the Dole Pineapple Pavilion, which I detest, but at least we have 20 minutes off the bus. We are running late, so we miss the Nuuanu Pali Lookout (which would have redeemed this excursion for me), and drive directly back to the ship on the freeway. Needless to say, I’m frustrated and tired after this ordeal. I should have stuck to my original plan for today: take a taxi to the Bishop Museum.

After showering and putting on fresh clothes, I have a vegetarian pizza and a beer for dinner on the Panorama deck. There is a beautiful sunset over Honolulu, and later the ship departs Honolulu harbour around 10PM, bound for Kaua’i.

Sunset over Honolulu harbour with the ship's stack and an aircraft climbing out — Sunset over Honolulu harbour with the ship’s stack and an aircraft climbing out

Hilo & Volcano

Posted on October 15, 2022 by JoeTourist

Oct 15, 2022 – Hilo & Volcano, Big Island of Hawai’i, USA

2022 Hawai’i cruise

The ship arrives in Hilo harbour this morning in the rain, not unexpected on this wet, tropical side of the Big Island of Hawai’i. Once we are docked and I have breakfast in the Grand Dutch Cafe (cappuccino, smoked salmon, raisin bun, fruit parfait), I call my friend to let her know we are docked.

The Koningsdam docked in Hilo harbour as we approach

She drives from her home in Waimea to Hilo Harbour to pick me up around 11AM. We catch up with each other’s lives while she drives, and then have some lunch with her 90 year old friend, who lives in the little community of Volcano, near Volcano National Park. Cafe Ono is part of Volcano Garden Arts – a lovely tropical garden, gift shop offering original art, and a popular restaurant. I have a delightful day ashore with a good friend.

I fasten my GoPro camera to the rail on my verandah and take a time lapse video as the ship leaves the dock at 5:45PM, swings around in the tight harbour area, and heads out of Hilo Bay at sunset.

Volcano

8 photos

Pesto panini, salad and chunky tomato soup

Departure from Vancouver

Posted on October 8, 2022 by JoeTourist

Oct 8, 2022 – Departing Vancouver aboard the Koningsdam – heading for Hawai’i

2022 Hawai’i cruise

I have a coffee in my hotel room this morning before I repack my big bag and check out of the Metropolitan Hotel, walking 10 minutes downhill to the nearby Canada Place cruise ship terminal, arriving at 10:30AM. I pre-clear US Customs and Immigration, and then wind my way through the various Holland America check-in procedures. This is the first time I’ve used Priority Boarding, since I’m now a 4-star Mariner, but we end up waiting in the terminal for almost an hour before boarding commences. I must have missed the bag drop earlier, so I wheel my big bag up the gangway, all the way onto the ship and to my stateroom, arriving at Noon.

After a quick lunch in the Lido, I wander around the various venues, since the Koningsdam is my first Pinnacle-class ship. I have a martini in the Crow’s Nest Lounge, hanging out there for awhile admiring the view of beautiful Vancouver harbour on a sunny afternoon. Later this afternoon, I meet some friends on the Sun Deck 11 as we watch our departure from Vancouver. I have my GoPro action camera fastened to my verandah rail shooting a time lapse video of the ship’s beautiful evening departure, while I’m elsewhere on the ship observing and photographing our departure using my Canon R5 mirrorless camera.

Once we are clear of Vancouver, heading south through Georgia Strait, I finish unpacking and get dressed for dinner. I head for the Main Dining Room by 6:15PM, but is very busy on this first evening of the cruise, with huge lines of people waiting. I decide to have dinner at Canaletto (an Italian specialty restaurant), where I drop-in. There’s hardly anyone up there this evening, and I’m fine with paying the US$12.92 charge (discounted from the regular $18 since I’m a 4* Mariner) in order to have a quiet place to eat with excellent service. The food is very tasty: Canaletto salad to start (green salad with candied pecans and vinaigrette), Grilled prawns with rice pilaf as the main, and I have an Affogado for desert and a cappuccino to finish.

BC Pilot leaving the Koningsdam offshore from Victoria

I attend this evening’s presentation in the Main Stage – The Origin Story: Holland America Line. Jayme the Cruise Director tells the 300-year story of Holland America Line, which is quite interesting and a well-done multimedia presentation. He even mentions more recent history, where in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic was declared, Holland America worked hard to get their guests home, and to later repatriate all their crew to their home countries.

The Koningsdam is offshore from my home town of Victoria, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island around 9:30PM, where the BC pilot leaves the ship. My stateroom is right above where he transfers to the boat to take him ashore, so I get a great view of the action.