Day 07 - Downunder 2016 - Sun - 10/02/16 - At Sea to Hawaii 5

Today was our last sailing day to Hawaii and it was like most of the previous 4 days. Both lecture series concluded with the Space lecture being about ET and the improbability that we have visited by extra-terrestrial beings. The Hawaiian lecture series ended on an up note about Bernice Bishop, one of the last descendants of King Kamehameha. Her legacy was to endow the K-12 education of the Hawaiian children. The current value of the endowment is some 11 billion dollars which ranks it right up with the major Ivy League colleges.

In the Sunday Protestant service, I assisted by reading the Gospel passage and in serving communion. It was well attended.

More flying fish were spotted today, although they weren't in the quantities like yesterday. In the afternoon there was one final Hawaiian stage show performance featuring Hawaiian guitarists and a singer, hulas, a group ukulele performance by passengers as well as a passenger hula performance.

Hula ending.  My wife is 3rd from the left

The weather was overcast, but much warmer than the previous days in the high 70's Fahrenheit. The seas had high swells in the early part of the day, but those mellowed as the day progressed.

After another fine dinner in the MDR, we watched a variety show with the comedian, magician, and singer. Once again they were all very good. Rather than listen to pre-recorded ABBA music, we listened to Hawaiian music played by Van the Piano man.

The clocks are to be turned back once again tonight and we are due to dock in Honolulu at 7am. We have a tour to the Arizona and Airplane museum, but nothing else is planned.

After a week on the Maasdam, we really like the ship. It's in good repair, it's got a good feel to it, it's a nice size, the food service is prompt and tasty, and there are enough activities for our taste.