Nuka Hiva to San Diego

Sunday, October 23, 2011

The day started out sunny and warm, with a strong breeze from the east, which generated a beam swell that rattled the ship occasionally.  Today is a traditional Rijstaffell lunch in the Pinnacle Dining Room for those of us in Suites.  Today is also the “Walk for the Cure”, a 5KM walk to raise money for breast cancer research.

Monday, October 24, 2011

The strong breeze from the SE persists, with mostly sunny skies as we re-cross the equator headed north to San Diego. We are in the “doldrums”, but the wind and waves would say otherwise.   Today is the “Mariner Society” luncheon and the next to last formal night.  Passengers are apparently getting tired of formal nights since many people do not come to the dining rooms and there were lots of shorts at the show.  Shorts are discouraged by the dress code on board, but ignored by many people.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

The ship is in the so-called “doldrums” marked by overcast skies, heavy rain at times and a fresh breeze from the SE at 17-24 knots.  By this evening we will be north of the Tropic of Cancer.  The weather is still warm and very humid.  The skies cleared about 1400 and by 1700 the wind had finally decreased to 10 knots or less.  By 2200 we were at 11 degrees North latitude and the seas were nearly calm, just a low swell.  We still have some 1500 nautical miles to go before we arrive in San Diego.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

The wind and seas increased overnight, with the wind now 25 knots from the east with overcast skies.   There were brief periods of rain in the morning.  The seas are rough enough that the ship is once again creaking and groaning as we continue to head towards San Diego, just under 1200 nautical miles away at noon.  Miriam and I had dinner at the Pinnacle this evening before the farewell variety show, followed by the “Black & White Ball” with the ship’s officers.  The ball started at 10:30 PM and we finally got back to the cabin about 1:00 AM.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

At noon today we are still 750 nautical miles from San Diego, with the wind from the NE at 21 knots.  The skies are partly cloudy with the sun peeking through.  The air temperature has cooled considerably, now only 72 degrees, but with the wind feels even cooler.  The cruise is winding down, with repeats on the evening entertainment and the dinner menus are starting to look the same.  Berries have disappeared from the breakfast fruit selections, but there is still lettuce.

Friday, October 28, 2011

The seas calmed down overnight, with winds of less than 10 knots.  The temperature in the morning was only 64 degrees, but should climb during the day.  Today is packing day, and also time to review the charges, which came in as expected.  There is a repeat performer this evening and we need to have our bags in the hallway before we retire for the evening.  In the morning when we arrive are the US Customs and Immigration formalities before we disembark.  We have been told that we should be off the ship about 10 AM.

New news, this evening we had an impromptu didgeridoo demonstration in our cabin by Sean Patrick Ryan, one of the Koomurri Musicians that performed between Tahiti and Nuka Hiva.  It was a real experience!

October 29, 2011

We disembarked about 11:00 and took a taxi to the Hyatt Regency hotel.  After sighseeing, including a tour of the USS Midway (an aircraft carrier museum on the waterfront) we met our friends from the transatlantic cruise several years ago at the "C Level" restaurant on Harbor Island.  They are all leaving in the morning on the Zaandam for a 25 day cruise to Sydney and then another 14 days to New Zealand.