March 30, 2026 – Monday – Depart Seattle
It’s time to cruise again! On this mostly sunny but cold morning, Daniel gave us and our luggage a ride uphill to the bus stop for our noon bus to the Lynnwood Transit Center. We caught the Light Rail a few minutes after getting there and arrived at the airport about 1:45. We printed our boarding passes, then there was a bit of a runaround to get to the security check-in which then took 20 minutes. We were seated at our boarding gate by about 2:15 where we noticed our flight departure time was now about an hour later than originally planned. The flight to San Francisco was short and uneventful. We ate sandwiches that we brought on board. Arrival in SF was about 8:00 and we headed straight to the United Club Lounge where they had a wide assortment of hot and cold food and drinks. Boarding time was 10:20 for our flight to Brisbane and we went to the gate a bit earlier than that. While waiting they called our name and they told us that they might need to change our seats, but it didn’t work out. We boarded and sat in our assigned seats and Laurie saw on the app that it appeared that there were changes to our assigned seats. While Laurie was checking it out, the boarding agent from the gate came on the plane and gave us new boarding passes – upgrading us to Polaris Business Class (complementary)! Our original seats remained vacant for the duration of the flight. We had wonderful fully reclining, lay-flat seats with pillows and blankets, slippers, a little toiletry bag of goodies, and fancy headphones. We also had business class menus for wonderful meals, snacks, and drinks – with everything being delicious. (Even tender beef short rib!) Despite the comfy seats/beds we were only able to sleep a in short bursts.
April 1, 2026 – Wednesday – Brisbane (Passover beings at sundown)
We lost Tuesday on the flight due to crossing the International Dateline. Our arrival was 6:15 am followed by going through immigration and customs which went quickly. It took a little while to get an Uber to pick us up but then it was only about a 25-minute drive to The Sebel Hotel where our Airbnb and was located. The owner, David, met us a few minutes later to give us access to the apartment, give us a quick tour, and then dispense an abundance of information about things to do and where to eat. After he left it was only 8:30 am. We unpacked to settle in, Laurie got his electronics hooked up, and Pat inventoried the kitchen to put together a grocery list. Late morning we went out exploring and checking out places to get laksa for dinner one day. We ended up at Woolworths a couple blocks away from our place to do grocery shopping. After relaxing in the afternoon, we went back to the mall to eat some delicious Japanese food (Chicken Karagage and Katsu Chicken Curry) before Passover started at sundown. We also picked up a few more items at Cole’s grocery store including ice cream which we enjoyed in the evening. We managed to stay awake until 8:00 then called it a day.
The Airbnb has everything we need, although a coffeemaker in additional to the electric kettle would have been nice. It is located in the heart of the Central Business District at the intersection of Charlotte and Albert Streets where they are building a train station, so it is very noisy in additional to the regular busy street noise when the balcony door is open. There are tons of places to get food, coffee, do grocery shopping, and do every other kind of shopping you can think of – all within two blocks. The Airbnb is located within The Sebel Hotel on the 7th floor and there is a restaurant off the lobby. We were surrounded by tall buildings and look over treetops on the street, so we only get direct sunlight for a short time later in the afternoon. The buildings tend to amplify sounds from the traffic, bird calls, and even loud voices down on the street. ($645 USD for 5 nights)
April 2, 2026 – Thursday – Brisbane
We both slept well and comfortably. We had scrambled eggs for breakfast. Late morning we decided to head out walking north on Albert Street. We first encountered King George Square, a large square where the Brisbane City Hall is located. The building is widely considered to be one of the most ornate and beautiful in Australia. It is topped with a majestic clock tower which you can take an elevator to the top of for city views with prior reservations. Within this building is the Museum of Brisbane which we found to be very small and not too interesting. Albert Street Congregation is an attractive older church also on the square. Next, we continued north to Roma Street Parkland – a huge, lush park with intricately designed flower gardens, interesting trees, green space, walking trails, water features, statues, and a children’s park. The park is inhabited by a lot of eastern water dragons (lizards) which can be found everywhere seemingly posing for pictures. The Australian White Ibis with its long, hooked beak were also throughout the park, as well as all around Brisbane. We returned to our apartment to rehydrate and rest after covering over three miles on an 80+, humid, mostly sunny day. For dinner we did the five-minute walk to the mall to get laksa from David’s Noodle & Hot Pot. You take a big bowl and use tongs to fill it with your desired ingredients from a wide range of vegetables, noodles, and proteins. Then they weight it ($4.98 AUD per 100 gr, 400 gr minimum – about $14 USD for our bowl that we split), you select your soup type (laksa for us), and spice level (mild for us). They cook it up in a few minutes and we did takeaway back to the apartment. We’ve had better but it still was pretty good.
April 3, 2026 – Friday – Brisbane
Today begins the start of a 4-day Easter weekend here. Today is Good Friday and most everything is closed. There’s very little traffic and no construction. Some stores will be open Easter Sunday. Easter Saturday and Easter Monday stores will be open on reduced hours. It was mostly cloudy with off and on drizzle until about noon. We went out early afternoon for a walk along the Brisbane River to see the Story Bridge and Howard Smith Wharves under the bridge. We could also see Kangaroo Point Bridge and ferries traveling up and down the river. Dinner was turkey, ham, sliced cheese and potato chips. We actually miss matzah. We did enjoy vanilla ice cream and caramel syrup during the evening.
April 4, 2026 – Saturday – Brisbane
A pleasant 70 degrees to start the day heading up to 82 in the afternoon. We had a nice chat with M&D at 9:00 am Brisbane time. Afterwards we headed out – first stopping in front of The Brisbane Synagogue a couple blocks away which had two guards as well as a couple other men behind the locked gates. One man came over to chat and said unfortunately the security was a necessary precaution now. We asked if he knew where we could buy matzah. He gave a couple suggestions, but they’d probably be closed because of shabbat. He was kind enough to go into the synagogue to see if he could find any, but it had all been used already. From there we headed through the lush City Botanic Gardens to the pedestrian/bike only Goodwill Bridge so we could cross the Brisbane River to the South Bank area along the river. Highlights here included walking under the South Bank Grand Arbour, seeing Streets Beach which is a huge manmade pool with sand beaches along about half of its perimeter, and the Wheel of Brisbane offering rides for panoramic views. We crossed back over the river by way of the Neville Bonner Bridge, also only for pedestrians and bikes. We stopped at Cole’s for a few groceries then returned to our place to rest after covering about 3.5 miles. Late afternoon we picked up some wine for our cruises and picked up half a roasted chicken and fries from Red Rooster in the Uptown Mall for our dinner. Both items were delicious, but both could have been crispier.
April 5, 2026 – Sunday – Brisbane
Easter Sunday so a lot of businesses are closed. It was a mostly cloudy, windy day. We stayed in today to rest, catch up on computer stuff, read, do a couple loads of laundry, and eat up what we could of groceries we bought while here. We finished up our day with ice cream!
April 6, 2026 – Monday/Day 1 – Depart Brisbane 4:00 pm
A beautiful, sunny morning for our final hours in Brisbane. We relaxed and had our coffee and breakfast early before packing up and straightening up the apartment. By 11:00 am we were in an Uber and on our way to the port. For the first time on a cruise going through security was a hassle, at least for Laurie. They had him take apart his electronics bag to check stuff which was then a puzzle to get it all back in order in his duffle. In the meantime, they flagged his carryon, then went through it to take the blade out of his straight edge razor. After another pass through the x-ray they went into it again to take out the pack of extra blades. Now he’ll have to find some blades to use. Even with the runaround we were onboard before noon, had coffee in the Crown Lounge, and then in our cabin at 1:00 to settle in. We have a very nice front-facing, ocean-view cabin (cabin #7504) that overlooks the helicopter pad. We met our room steward Rolando who will take care of us on this cruise as well as the next for a total of 33 days. In the afternoon we went to check out our table in the dining room which Laurie once again managed to arrange a nice window table. Then we hung out in the Schooner Bar for a while before checking out the shops when they opened (Pat bought a Voyager magnet). Dinner was in the dining room with our waiter Bryan and assistant waiter Mark. Both seem very good. We were beat by the end of dinner and turned in to relax.
(This cruise has lot of families/kids and seems to mostly be Australians. Maybe there was a school break. At least there doesn’t appear to be too many chair hogs onboard.)
April 7-8, 2026 – Tuesday-Wednesday/Days 2-3 – At Sea
Tuesday: Back to our usual cruise routine with early coffee in the Crown Lounge, early breakfast in Windjammer, reading in the Solarium with an ocean view, and relaxing in our cabin for the afternoon to get away from the crowds and noise that started about mid-morning. We visit the Schooner Bar before having dinner in the dining room. (Tuesday night moved the clocks forward one hour. Now 16 hours ahead of home.)
Wednesday started the same as above, then we attended the Top Tier Event. Onboard are: 43 Pinnacle, 175 Diamond Plus, 162 Diamond, 92 Emerald, 142 Platinum, and 412 Gold. It was very windy and a bit rocky today. Similar afternoon and evening to above except we went to Windjammer for dinner.
April 9, 2026 – Thursday/Day 4 – Mystery Island Vanuatu 7:00AM-4:30PM – Tendered
The ship offered early tendering without needing tickets before 7:30 am so we did that. It was about 10 minutes from the ship to the pier but then it took a little while to unload everyone because of the swells in the water. There was a sand and crushed coral path around the island that we took to explore the area. The ship side of the island had coarse sand beaches and mild waves, while the other side as well as numerous areas out in the gorgeous turquoise water around the island had small to huge waves breaking due to coral reefs. There were small holes along the path occupied by very small crabs as we saw a couple during our walk. One was colored to blend in with the sand and the other almost looked like it has a crust of coral on it. We also saw a small hermit crab. The island is very rustic and is uninhabited with locals boating in from a nearby island to sell their wares and offer excursions. There were even outhouses scattered around. We saw how beautiful the island was then headed back to beat the crowds yet to arrive. (We had a tender all to ourselves!) We had breakfast then found various places to read and sip coffee before returning to our cabin in the afternoon. Today we went to a comedy/magic show in the theater at 7:00 – Jarred Fell. He was very good and had us laughing a lot – he was different than others we have seen. Our day ended with dinner in the Windjammer where we had a nice chat with Ruwayda who also takes omelet orders in the morning.
April 10, 2026 – Friday/Day5 – Noumea, New Caledonia 7:00 am-3:00 pm – Happy Birthday Laurie!
After our early Crown Lounge coffee we decided we’d be among the first to get off the ship. Our ship docked at Gare Maritime container terminal (rather than the cruise terminal in town) so free shuttles were provided for the 5-minute drive to the city center. Right near where we were let off was a large store called Auchan Ferry’s Quay which had everything – food (including a butcher), toiletries, clothes, footwear, gardening supplies, office supplies, toys, etc. Laurie was able to find some razor blades ($3.00 USD for 10 pack) to replace the blades that had been confiscated when we boarded in Brisbane. Then we walked around the town highlighted by Coconut Square which was a large park with walking paths, statues, a fountain, and a gazebo. It was very pleasant in the warm morning air. Some stores were open early on the side streets we wandered down, including some French bakeries which we’ll have to try next time (French is the main language in New Caledonia). Back onboard we had breakfast in Windjammer then read overlooking the promenade before moving to the Crown Lounge and then our cabin. A bottle of champagne had been delivered for Laurie’s birthday by the Crown Lounge Concierge which was nice of them. Before dinner we stopped in The Tavern to check it out. It was nice but the Schooner Bar has more comfortable chairs. Dinner in the dining room was delicious Italian fare.
April 11, 2026 – Saturday/Day 6 – Port Vila, Vanuatu 9:30AM-5:00PM – Tendered
During our morning coffee we decided to stay on the ship today. Between the hassle of the tenders, the heat and humidity, and the fact that there wasn’t anything that really appealed to us – helped us make that decision. We ate an early breakfast in the Windjammer to try to beat the crowds who would be getting off. Then we relaxed in the Solarium before walking around the upper deck to check out our surroundings and returned to our cabin. Later we went out to read overlooking the promenade, then spent some time in the Schooner Bar where Valington was a great waiter. Tonight, we had an outstanding BOGO dinner in Izumi. Our favorite was the Baked Snow Crab and Salmon Dynamite Roll followed by the Futomaki Roll, but everything was very tasty. We turned the clocks back one hour to be back on Brisbane time.
April 12-13, 2026 – Sunday-Monday/Day 7-8 – At Sea
Morning coffee in the lounge, Windjammer breakfast, reading in the Solarium, afternoons relaxing our cabin, and sunny weather both days. On Sunday there were seagulls flying around the front of the ship often looking like they were doing acrobatics right outside our window. We had our dinners in the dining room both evenings. Other cruisers had to pack for their departure tomorrow, but we just had our usual relaxing evening.
April 14, 2026 – Tuesday/Day 9 – Arrive Brisbane @ 6:30 am – Depart Brisbane @ 4:30 pm
It was a mostly cloudy start to the day in port with some sun streaming through the clouds. There were many different birds flying around the ship to entertain us with the cutest being little swallows zipping around, sometimes very close to our window. We had our coffee in the Crown Lounge about 5:30 am, then went to our cabin to wait for our turnaround meeting in the Star Lounge at 8:45 am. The turnaround process including immigration was multi-step taking 2 hours and 15 minutes! One of the longest ones we’ve done. There were over 200 consecutive cruisers. Once cleared and back onboard we went to the consecutive cruisers lunch which was very good but service was extremely slow. It turned into a sunny, pleasant afternoon. The Solarium was being set up for an event, so we found chairs overlooking the promenade to read, then it was back to our cabin to have a wonderful phone call with M&D and relax. We finished our day with Schooner Bar (Lemuel “Lemmy” was a good waiter) and dinner in the dining room. Our waiter for this cruise will be Deepak, and Rafael our assistant waiter. Gordon, the Head Waiter from our first cruise, stopped by to make sure everything was good.
April 15-20, 2026 – Wednesday-Monday/Days 2-7 – At Sea
Our days were very similar: early Crown Lounge coffee, breakfast in Windjammer, Solarium (or other areas) to read, afternoon relaxing in the cabin, and dinner was either in the dining room or Windjammer depending on what was being served. Weather was generally a mix of sun and clouds with the temperature in the 70’s and always windy, but we did venture outside to walk, sit, or lounge occasionally. As we got close to Tahiti it warmed up to the low 80s and became more humid. We passed the International Dateline, so we got to enjoy two Saturdays!
Day 3 we sat in on the first few minutes of the Top Tier Event to get the following figures: Pinnacle 114, Diamond+ 589 (us), Diamond 560, Emerald 171, Platinum 261, Gold 461. We found out there are about 3,100 people onboard which is quite a bit less than usual. They said it’s because of the length of the cruise. There was a “Pirate” Pub Crawl in the afternoon, so the ship was full of boisterous pirates roaming from bar to bar all afternoon. Looked like they were having fun but not our thing. Retreated to the quiet of our cabin.
One evening we watched the end of a show by James Bustar, a comedian and juggler, and were glad we hadn’t gotten there sooner. We think we’ve seen too many if this type of show before.
April 21, 2026 – Tuesday/Day 8 – Papeete, Tahiti 7:00 am-11:59 pm
During our morning coffee we decided we’d go ashore early and have breakfast when we returned. We are parked next to a huge, gorgeous yacht called “Octopus” that used to be owned by Paul Allen from Microsoft. Soon after 8:00 we were walking the promenade along the water, going through lush park areas with handsome roosters strutting about. Then our walk took us inland a bit to the Papeete Municipal Market with its large area of produce, meat, and fish for sale. Another area had lots of craft items and jewelry. Pearls are also a big thing here. Upstairs are more shops. We stopped in a couple stores looking for sunscreen, but it cost about $35.00 USD for a bottle! The weather was mostly sunny, in the upper 80’s, and very humid, even at 9:00 in the morning. Back onboard we had breakfast in Windjammer and saw a large turtle swimming around next to the ship to entertain us. Out on deck we took a few pictures then headed in to relax in chairs at the end of the promenade to wait for a crew drill to be over so we could take more pictures from the helicopter pad on the front of the ship. That accomplished, we got specialty coffees and sat in the quiet of the Crown Lounge. When people began trickling in, we went back to our cabin. We tried the Pig and Whistle British-style pub before dinner in Windjammer.
April 22, 2026 Wednesday/Day 9 – Moorea, French Polynesia 7:00 am-8:00 pm – Tendered
We were on the helicopter pad about 6:00 am to see our arrival in Opunohu Bay at the break of day. The area surrounding the bay is craggy, lushly covered mountains covered in endless shades of green, constantly changing as the sun moved across the sky. The water was also a multitude of changing shades of blues and greens, with waves crashing on nearby coral reefs. It seemed there was a narrow chanel cut through the reefs to allow larger ships into the bay. Every direction from the ship was gorgeous. Although there was not much room for the ship to move around the bay, the Captain very, very slowly spun the ship in place so we had views of the total surrounding area while sitting in one place. Tenders took passengers over to a drop-off area where there was a local craft market and you could try to find an excursion but that was it. You really needed to book something ahead of time. We had been to the market before so we chose to stay on the ship eating breakfast, checking out the Viking Lounge on Deck 14, relaxing in the Solarium, and filling up on coffee and pizza at the promenade before returning to our cabin. We visited the Pig and Whistle again and had a Chinese-themed dinner in Windjammer.
April 23-27, 2026 – Thursday-Monday/Days 10-14 – At Sea
Back to our sea day routine: early coffee, early breakfast in Windjammer, reading in the Solarium (or other areas), relaxing in our cabin, and dinner. Weather was mixed sun, clouds, and a few showers – hot and humid.
One evening we saw the show in the Royal Theater – Susannah Mirana: Tribute to Olivia Newton John. It was a fantastic show. She had an outstanding voice, was high energy, and connected with the audience.
Day 13 we used one of our BOGOs at Giovanni’s. Our dinner started with a meat and cheese board as well as fried calamari. Both were delicious. Entrees were a filet and garlic shrimp which we split. They were good but better the previous times we had the filet. We finished up with chocolate hazelnut cake and cannoli.
April 28-29, 2026 – Tuesday-Wednesday/Days 15-16 – Honolulu, HI
Tuesday: After coffee and a breakfast sandwich, we headed to the immigration processing area which opened just as we got there at 6:30 am. It went very quick and we returned to our cabin to pack up for our time off the ship. Greg picked us up mid-morning and drove us back to Hawaii Kai for a happy reunion with Mom and Dad. We spent the day catching up with each other. Dad had been having some issues catching his breath, so we spent time discussing a plan to deal with that. Laurie did some odds and ends around the condo to help, and Pat did a couple loads of laundry. Greg was in and out and we got to see Kyron and Mochi. Kyron is adorable, very smart, and a lot of fun. We had spicy poke for dinner. Since the ship was docked in Honolulu overnight, we were able to sleep over on M&D’s sofa bed.
Wednesday: We were all up early and spent more time chatting. Greg came over with Kyron. Dad had a 1:30 appointment with his regular doctor, who recommended him to a respiratory specialist for his breathing issue. He also prescribed some medications to help him out in the meantime. We had a short time together after that before we had to say good-bye, give hugs and kisses, and return to the ship. Greg was kind enough to transport us once again. It was a wonderful visit! Back in our cabin about 4:00 we settled back in. After a visit to the Schooner Bar, we had dinner in the Windjammer (Tex Mex) and turned in early as we were both tired.
April 30, 2026 – Thursday/Day 17 – Napali Coast (cruising) 8:00 am-1:00 pm
As usual, we were in the Crown Lounge early for coffee. There’s a somewhat-hard-to-understand Australian man who always says good morning and greets us when we see him throughout the ship. Today he sat down for a short chat. After some reading, we headed up to the Solarium where we got good chairs for today’s viewing. We stepped away briefly for breakfast. It took about 2.5 hours to slowly cruise the Napali Coast of Kauai, then the ship turned around and retraced the route going back the way it came. Unfortunately, it was mostly cloudy around the mountains, so we only got a hint of the magnificent scenery there. With better conditions we’d see dramatic peaks, verdant valleys, secluded beaches, waves crashing along the base of the mountains, and even get a glimpse of a waterfall. It still was interesting and a relaxing morning. We were in the cabin before having dinner in the dining room to finish up our day.
May 1, 2026 – Friday/Day 18 – Kailua Kona, HI 8:00 am-7:00 pm – Tendered
Today’s port is on the island of Hawaii (commonly known as the “Big Island”). We’ve been here before, so we stayed on the ship to enjoy the peace and quiet while most people went ashore. Had our coffee and breakfast, chatted with M&D, and had a relaxing afternoon. Dinner in Windjammer was Asian night, and they had something we’ve never seen before – a laksa bar! There was a wide assortment of veggies, mixed seafood, and chicken to put in your bowl, then they ladled in laksa. It was delicious! At bedtime we set the clocks ahead one hour so now we’ll only be two hours behind home.
May 2-6, 2026 – Saturday-Wednesday/Days 19-23 – At Sea
The next five days are at sea, so we are on our usual drill. The weather is getting a little cooler (low 70s decreasing to about 50ish) as we head north. We even had a rocky day when some of the pools and hot tubs were closed, but we also had a couple smooth as glass days. We finally found a good server as our cruise winds down, Vergelo, who works in the Schooner Bar in the afternoon and the Crown Lounge during Happy Hour.
Day 19 we had dinner in Izumi to use our second BOGO and it was all delicious as usual.
Day 20 we had to start finding indoor seating rather than sitting in the Solarium because the weather has turned too chilly and windy. Since we’re early risers, we can have breakfast and be in the two seats at the front of the promenade on Deck 7 by 7:30 am – before most others are out and about. Our cabin is a short distance away for bathroom visits. We moved the clocks forward another hour – now only 1 hour behind home.
Day 22 we had a delicious Fisherman’s Platter dinner in the dining room consisting of a small lobster tail and 4 large shrimp. Overnight we made the last time change and we are now on Seattle time.
Day 23 we watched most of a show by The Las Vegas Tenors, three guys who sang very well, before heading to Windjammer for a wide variety of Indian food.
May 7, 2026 – Thursday/Day 24 – Victoria, BC – 8:00 am-6:00 pm
Today we covered a little over four miles walking around Victoria. It was cloudy and low 50s when we were out from about 9:00 am to noon, but it turned mostly sunny and 58 in the afternoon. Victoria is a beautiful, clean city with lots of gorgeous, packed flower beds and lots of other plants in bloom including rhododendrons and flowering trees. The wide front walkway leading up to the famous Fairmont Empress Hotel had wide swaths of colorful flowers on either side. We also saw the mammoth Parliament Buildings with impressive architecture which was designed by a 25-year-old architect 128 years ago. The buildings are fronted by a huge lawn with a fountain, and a totem pole off in one corner. We walked north to Chinatown which is the oldest Chinatown in Canada. Except for a beautiful entrance there wasn’t much to see. We walked through Fisherman’s Wharf which is a colorful touristy area of places to eat with some quaint floating homes along several docks. After what seemed like a long walk back to the ship, we stopped at the cabin and then headed to the Windjammer for iced tea and lunch, then positioned ourselves in the two chairs overlooking the promenade where we often sit to read. Eventually Pat decided it was time to pack, with Laurie putting it off until the evening. We had dinner in Windjammer where Gordon stopped by to check in on us and say good-bye before he headed down to the dining room for the 7:30 seating.
May 8, 2026 – Friday/Day 25 – Arrive Seattle 6:00 am
We had our early coffee in the Crown Lounge where we chatted with Rodel (the morning person who sets up the small buffet) one last time. Pat picked up a breakfast sandwich, and we returned to the room to finish up packing. By 6:45 we were able to get off the ship. Our travel route was: walk the 1/2 mile to catch Bus 33 at Elliott and Gator, get off at 3rd and Pike, walk two blocks to the Symphony Light Rail Station, take it to Lynnwood City Center, catch Bus 103, get off at the stop near Endeavour, and walk the two blocks home. We were greeted by Daniel about 9:20. We were so happy to see him and to be home!