EmmJays Travel Journal

January 2002

I was awake at 4am, January 20, 2002 as I had to get myself to Pearson International Airport in Toronto for a flight to Los Angeles, leaving at 8:45am. The airport is only a 30 minute drive from Pickering, but due to new security measures introduced after 911 (September 11, 2001 terrorist attack in New York), I had to allow 3 hours for U.S. immigration and luggage check in. The formalities took 2 hours and the flight was then delayed until 9:20am due to bad weather. I arrived in LA at 11:45am(PST) and boarded a stretch limo to the Port of Los Angeles where I endured another 3 hour security check so as to board the sleek ocean liner known as the Ms Amsterdam. Phew, made it!

I watched as other liners, packed with vacationers, left the port. Some of these were mega-ships with at least 3000 passengers on board all headed for Hawaii. The Ms Amsterdam had 500 guests on board and 600 crew, though it was originally booked with 1200 guests, most of whom had canceled at the last minute due to 911. All the ships, including ours, were boarded by U.S. Sea Marshals prior to departure. We were escorted out of the harbour by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Once underway I explored the ship bow to stern, port to starboard ... got the lingo down pretty quickly ... as pointy end versus blunt end and left and right was not appropriate sea jargon. There were one dozen red roses in my cabin. The cabin was quite roomy with a double bed, couch, bathroom, tub and shower, 2 closets, a dresser and of course a TV set.

The ship's dinning room was on two levels with a 6pm and 8pm meal seating. I had chosen 6pm and was placed at a table with Ann and John from West Virginia, Peggy and Jim from Colorado, Denise and Grace from California, and a Canadian from Toronto whose name I do not remember.

The Lido Deck was where we had breakfast and lunch every day. I always rose early and went to the gym before breakfast. The food was plentiful and nicely presented. It would be easy to over eat.

There was an ice cream bar, a pizza window and a place to get hamburgers made to order all afternoon. I tended to stay away from the fast food as the main meals were enough for me.

LA to Hawaii

It was a rough crossing from LA to Kona with a force 7 wind and wave heights of 12'. Many of the passengers got sea sick but I was OK. I ventured out on deck and walked 10 laps (3.5 laps equaled 1 mile) on the Promenade Deck in the gale force winds. I got wet with sea spray and loved every minute of it.

At sea for five days I enjoyed the ships amenities which included the sports bar that had a humongous TV screen. I watched some of the Australian Open Tennis Championships, did a crafts project, checked out the spa, took yoga classes, attended daily lectures from guest speakers and read my book by the indoor pool. The evening entertainment was very good and one evening Rita Morino, from WestSide Story fame, was the big ticket. The Captain hosted a cocktail party prior to dinner one evening which everybody attended. Got to shake his hand and get my picture taken with him. I bet he enjoyed that!

Kona, Hawaii

On day 6 we anchored in Kona, Hawaii. It was overcast with sunny breaks. At 7am I boarded a tender which took us to shore where I then boarded a bus that took me for a trip around the harbour. Six of us had booked a snorkeling excursion that started with boarding a catamaran in the harbour and sailing off to a sheltered location that was packed with coral, fish and rays. The 3 ½ hours went quickly and the snorkeling was superb. I later found out that Kona is known as the number one location in the world for shark attacks, but as I did not see any of these toothy fish it did not bother me. Yeah, sure! I saw two whales and two schools of dolphins in the harbour on the way back to the ship. We were back on board at 4pm and underway at 6pm.

Honolulu, Hawaii

An overnight sail from Kona and we were docked in Honolulu the next morning. I was off to Diamond Head Crater via Waikiki Beach. Inside the crater it was rocky and barren. There was a fabulous view of the south shore from outside the crater. I traveled along the coastline then up into the mountains to the location where the first Japanese zeros came in on their way to bomb Pearl Harbour in WWII. It was windy and misty on the mountain. As I ventured down to the coastline the weather was much warmer. The buses that leave by the docks go all around the island for just a few dollars. Peggy had a medical emergency while in Hawaii so she and Jim did not join us when we returned to the ship.

Hawaii to Venuatu

We were now headed south west toward Venuata. It would take six days to reach the island , so in that time I and my friends Margaret and Caroline got involved with the on-board activities. I took yoga and they did aerobics. We also took morning warm-up exercises and afternoon stretching. We signed up for the team competitions and competed everyday. These games included shuffle board, volleyball, tennis, ring toss, football throw, ping pong, basketball and golf. We entered the ladies pentathlon and I managed to win the golf chipping event ... Amazing as I hate golf! Margaret won the ping pong.

The seas were now moderate to calm and the humidity could be felt. I spent the day at the outdoor pool with Margaret after she had soundly beat me at a marathon game of ping pong. The crew performed the King Neptune Ceremony as we crossed the equator and we had a wonderful feast afterward. Margaret and I were the only people who used the outdoor pool so we named it the 'M and M' pool. Caroline sat on a deck chair and did some serious reading.

It was day 12 of our trip and life on board the ship was very luxurious. Within the preceding days I had met a lot of really lovely people. It was interesting to hear all about their adventures in life.

January 2002 had come to an end.