Here I go again! I was only home from Spain for less than 12 hours before booking a new adventure leaving just 2 weeks later. I came across a deal in my emails that seemed too good to pass up: a month-long cruise to the South Pacific for a base rate well under $75/day. Truly a bucket list adventure for a bargain price. And I do love a good sale…

I’ve booked 2 cruises back-to-back on board NCL’s Jewel. My voyage commences in Hawaii and I’ll visit many exotic ports of French Polynesia such as the Marquesas, Tahiti & the Society Islands, Fiji, as well as American Samoa, New Caledonia, etc., before ending in Sydney, Australia.

I’ve only had 15 days(!) to plan and pack for this trip, a bit stressful for me as I usually spend months researching each adventure. Not that much can go wrong on a cruise as all my food, accommodation, and transportation is obviously provided for but many of the ports I’m going to are small and can be easily overwhelmed by the ~2000 cruise passengers on board so it’s best to reserve any shore excursions ahead of time.

So, after staring at the computer screen for 2 weeks solid, I’m pretty much organized. My first stops in Hawaii will be very laid back as my ankle is still recovering from Spain but I’ll be ready for snorkeling & diving and other island adventures once we reach the azure-colored waters!

Flying past Waikiki

Today I flew in to Honolulu and a pre-paid shuttle whisked me and 5 other happy passengers directly to the ship. Check-in was a bit slow but NCL had the party started with ukulele players and hula girls passing out leis and shell necklaces to all. By 1:30p I was having a light lunch in the main dining room, getting ready to find my cabin and explore the ship.

I think the Jewel has been recently renovated as everything is rather tasteful for a cruise ship, nothing like the gaudy turquoise and pink colored photos I found on the internet. My cabin is small; it’s impossible to imagine 3 people in here as the wall bunk bed suggests it could hold, but it’s perfect for just one. I’ve been upgraded to a window cabin so I’m very happy with the abundant natural light.

At 6p I went to the “Solo Cruisers Social” which had a very large turnout of ~40 people. Apparently there’s usually only 6-8 so the hostess was completely overwhelmed and a bit flummoxed about what to do with us all. In the end there was only time to introduce ourselves before the scheduled Trivia Game took over our spot, lol. I ended up having dinner in the casual O’Sheehans pub (get it? O-ce-an!) with a couple of them.

We set sail from our slip at 8p, unfortunately long past sunset but still a pretty departure with the lights of Honolulu glittering around us. Off to Maui!