Ocean Voyage Hawaii April 2012

April 5th early evening we boarded the Celebrity Century for our cruise to Hawaii. We departed San Diego at midnight for the voyage.

Taken from bow of ship, San Diego Harbor

Downtown San Diego from ship

April 6th we experienced very rough seas. It was too cold and windy to be outside much. According to the Captain, we experienced 14-17 ft waves. A lot of passengers reported to sick bay. Saturday the 7th we had calm seas - thank goodness as I wasn't sure how I was going to handle 5 days of rough seas. We have not seen another ship nor any planes as we continue our cruise. We felt like we were all alone in the world. We did spot a school of dolphins playing around in the wake of the ship as we stood at the rail looking out and enjoying the ocean.

Easter Sunday was a beautiful day. We were able to lay out in the sun on the back deck. Beautiful blue seas. The wind did pick up as the day progressed.

King of the World

Enjoying a beverage on the back deck

So far the food has been excellent and we have some interesting dinner companions - 3 other couples. One couple in their 70's was from central CA; one couple about our age was from Columbus, OH; and the other couple, a little younger than us was from Ontario, Canada.

We had excellent service in the dining room. Mudiana was from Indonesia and his assistant, Marina was from Russia. They were both very friendly and had a great sense of humor. Marina was on the first six months of her first time at sea, she was very homesick but having a great time.

Marina from Russia

Mudiana from Indonesia

April 9th and 10th were great days at sea, we were again able to lay out on the back deck. It wasn't nearly as crowded on the back deck and it was far less windy than in other locations. We just enjoyed the relaxation of doing nothing. While on board we experienced three time changes as we crossed the ocean - all back an hour.

The morning of the 11th dawned bright and beautiful with a temperature of 81F in Honolulu - more later on Honolulu.

The 12th was a bit of an overcast day with a temperature of 72F for our arrival in Lahaina, Maui - more later on Lahaina.

The 13th was another overcast day with a temperature of 75F for our arrival in Kailua Kona - more later on Kona.

Our last port on the 14th was again overcast with a temperature of 79F on Hilo - more later on Hilo.

Please note that although several days were overcast and threatened rain, it never rained and we had beautiful days in Hawaii. The vegetation and flowers on Hawaii are spectacular - hundreds of varieties and the people are very friendly.

After our visit to Hilo we departed in early evening for Ensenada, Mexico. The next 5 days at sea were more of the same. Some days you could lay out and others it was just too windy or cold. On this return trip we also had to give back the 3 hours we got on our trip to Hawaii. Due to rough seas we didn't arrive in Ensenada until around 8 pm on the night of April 19th. We chose not to get off the ship. We departed for San Diego around midnight.

Ensenada, Mexico

The crew provided many entertaining activities throughout our voyage to keep us busy. They had tons of seminars you could attend: jewelry, health, fitness, art, etc. They also had the casino and bingo if you were so inclined. We did do a few seminars, I attempted to learn to hula but it was a 3-day process and I just wasn't that interested. We mostly loafed around the ship, either on deck or near a window where we could read and look out. We did attend several of the Captain's Club events like special cocktail parties and luncheons - it was always a lot of fun.

Pool Deck

Afternoon brunch one day

The entertainment was OK, but not great. We did find this one group we loved. They were the A Capella Group - On Point. Four young men with great voices. We found every opportunity to sit and listen to them sing. Jerome has family in Murfreesboro, TN and visits often. We gave him and Dennis our contact info and next time they are in town we are going to meet them for lunch.

Cory and Shawn (lead singer)

Jerome, Cory, Shawn and Dennis

We arrived back in San Diego early AM on April 20th.

Our cabin was located on Deck 4 and we experienced several noisy nights - the kitchen staff was moving (dragging) tables. We spoke to guest relations and they handled the situation. They also provided us with complimentary chocolates. One day on the return voyage, we were invited on a tour of the Navigational Bridge - this was very impressive and exciting. All in all we had a spectacular trip to Hawaii. I am thrilled that I was finally able to get there.