After our five days in Waikiki,
Honolulu, HI we embarked on the next stage of our 2012/2013 adventure. We
boarded The Celebrity Millennium November 2, 2012 and sailed into the sunset.
We had a beautiful stateroom and large balcony. We were in an
Aquaclass stateroom and had our own special dining room reserved only for
Aquaclass guests called "Blu". It was truly magnificent. We ate
there most evenings with the exception of one night in the main dining room and
Jim's birthday when we went to the Olympic Room. The panelling in the
foyer of that restaurant was salvaged from "The Olympic" sister ship
to the "Titanic".
We stopped the next day in Hilo,
Hawaii and walked into town and back. When we left Hilo we cruised past
the volcano and saw Pele's Fire, the lava flowing into the ocean. She was
putting on quite a show that evening. We then spent five days at sea,
weather was glorious, sun every day around 28C. We crossed the equator on
November 6th, 2012. November 9th we docked in Pago Pago pronounced Pango
Pango, American Samoa. Not really impressed, lots of garbage and derelict
buildings and got absolutely soaking wet with a tropical deluge. Took
refuge back on board in The Persian Garden (Spa and Turkish Bath etc)
Departed at 4pm to continue on our way. Our next point of interest
was not on land or sea but encountering the International Dateline? We
went to bed on Saturday night and woke up Monday morning. We lost a day
and hard as we looked we couldn't find it anywhere. Suva, Fuiji was our
next port of call. Little India, beautiful Saris and getting ready for
Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights. We did not have much time here as
the ship was due to leave at 1pm and it was raining again. It seemed that
when we were at sea the weather was warm and sunny and in port it rained.
I think that it was a ploy to make you go into the shops. Probably
someone on the roof with a bucket of water. We spent the next three days
on the ship at sea interspersed by "The Total Eclipse of the Sun".
There were many astronomers and scientists on board and more telescopes
than we have ever seen in our lives. The hype grew by the minute with all
the disciples praying for calm seas and clear skies. Their prayers were
answered and the conditions were perfect. The ship was kept still for
around 3 1/2 hours and even the uninitiated were caught up in the magnitude of
the event. It was truly amazing.
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| Eclipse Fever Onboard The Millennium |
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| Who says the Brits are not still shipping convicts to Oz? |
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| Jim - Mt Mauganui |
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| Mt. Mauganui |
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| Jim's Birthday Cake |
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| Leaving Honolulu |
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| Our Balcony Onboard The Millennium |
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| Crossing The Equator |
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| The Total Eclipse - Diamond Ring |
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| Jim's Birthday Dinner |
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| Leaving Honolulu |
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| Leaving Honolulu |
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| Leaving Honolulu |
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| Pago Pago - American Samoa |
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| Suva - Fiji |
Our next stop was Tauranga but the
port is actually Maunganui. This port was delightful, clean, sunny, quiet
and peaceful. We hiked Mt. Maunganui, twice. The first time we went
without the camera as it was overcast. Then the sun came out and the
views were phenomenal. We walked along the seafront and back through
town, went back to the ship for a quick lunch and then hiked Mt Maunganui
again. We needed the exercise after all the rich food we had ingested.
From Tauranga we sailed to Auckland and spent the day on the Hop on Hop
off bus and two hours at the museum. Yet again it was raining!!! We
found the hotel where we will stay next weekend and were able to decide what we
would like to see while we are there, weather permitting. Back on board
we went for Jim's b'day dinner and prepared for disembarkation the next
morning. We had our last breakfast on November 18th, 2012, said our
goodbyes and left the ship to sail on to Australia without us. We took a
taxi from the ship to the airport and began our drive north to Paihia, The Bay
of Islands - tune in for the next episode……..
