2014 Cruise to Hawaii
This was the first sight of the Star Princess, our new "home" for the next 15 days. A most excellent adventure! About 12:30 pm Thursday March 20, 2014.
The Star Princess as we walked in from the parking lot.
The fuel barge has done its job and is pulling away. Hopefully that means we will also be underway soon.
Ah, the inevitable "selfie." Too excited and happy to be heading to lunch.
They are ready on the bridge. Zoomed way out on my 24 mm to 1200 mm Canon PowerShot SX50 HS. Image Stabilization is incredible in the new digital cameras.
An interesting view of the USS Iowa on the way out of LA harbor.
And the LA City Fire Department put on quite a show for us. They hailed us to say "Bon Voyage" and at the mouth of the harbor showed off their water canons. Video is impressive.
Here's a still shot of their "Good bye" show.
Sunset on Thursday night at sea.
Sunrise, Friday morning. My intention is to take a shot like this each day simply to show the weather conditions. I know that will be a bit boring, but it will remind us later as memories dim.
And so here's our home for the next couple of weeks. We elected to spring for a mini-suite so that we had plenty of room. Downtime, away from people when we want it!
A most excellent sanctuary with a fine balcony when the weather permits.
One of the best parts of cruising is that we get to unpack and settle in right away. No living out of suite cases. Delightful.
Plenty of room in the "head." Shower was quite nice. Penny made me use it.
I found the bed to be very comfortable and I heard no complaints from my roommate either.
The photography books say you must, must, must have a tripod. So I brought mine as well as a unipod for convenience. A toast to us. It's Friday afternoon before breakfast - oh, I mean dinner.
Saturday morning dawns and I'm on my way down for morning cappuccino in the piazza.
And here's the piazza mid morning. This spans three decks and has lots of shops (of course) and bars both for liquor and coffee.
Of course there's also an internet cafe. The prices are outrageous so I chose not to bother. Shut the phone off. Found being off the grid was just fine. I drank the money I saved.
Ah yes, the casino. We passed through and spend zero time there. Our travel mates each played a bit and won. They quite as soon as they were ahead. Smart people, Prince Cruise Lines must hate us.
An awesome theater. I think they use the sound system to propel the boat. I don't know why people have to have the sound so loud that it's painful.
Penny found a crafts group early on and so here she is, Saturday morning, with the ladies. The crowed grew as people found out about the fun time these folks had. It became a highlight of Penny's day.
Another lounge and theater - The Vista Lounge. We attended several events here. Very nice for an evening's entertainment and nightcap.
Of course there's a promenade on deck 7 that goes around the whole ship. It's fun to watch as people get to the bow and turn around because the wind is too much.
