Hawaii '09 - Day 1

Day 1 - Embarkation

After a restless night and a room service breakfast at the Wyland, I arranged to have our bags stored at the hotel while we enjoyed a tour of the North Shore of Oahu. We were picked up at 9:00 by DiscoverHiddenHawaii Tours and delivered to our tour guide for the day, 'Cowboy'. What followed was an entertaining and informative 6-hour tour of the 'windy' side of Oahu, with stops at several beaches to watch the waves and check out the surfers. We were taken past the 'Valley of the Dinosaurs' from the movie Jurassic Park, shown the point over which the planes came in to 'Fantasy Island' (de plane, boss, de plane!!) and got out to sink our toes in the sand at Sunset Bay Beach, site of 'Baywatch'. We stopped for delicious samples of machadamia nuts and Kona coffee at Tropical Farms (and bought 2 flavours of nuts and 2 bags of coffee to bring home), and for some souvenir shopping at the Dole Pineapple Plantation. Our tour wrapped up with a lunch of local cuisine at Honey's, a restaurant founded by Honey Ho, mother of Hawaiian singing legend Don Ho.

Arriving back at the Wyland, we gathered our bags and called a cab to take us to the ship. Check-in was quick and easy, with no lineups since it was 4:30 in the afternoon. As we boarded the Millenium, we were met with a fresh flower lei for me and a shell lei for Ian, and handed a Mimosa as we entered the foyer. We were personally escorted to our cabin, a very nice service that Celebrity provides, and after meeting our stateroom attendant Leo, we set out to explore and
take photos of the ship.

Just a note for those interested, Celebrity allows passengers to bring 2 bottles of wine per stateroom on to the ship at embarkation, so Ian and I had made a quick stop at an ABC store for a Reisling and a Sauvignon Blanc, which we brought onboard in my backpack. The security guards were much more interested in the coffee and nuts in my carryon than the 2 bottles of wine, and had to ensure that the packaged food had not been opened before we were allowed to proceed.

The Millenium itself is a pleasent surprise.While not sleek and glass-encased on the exterior, like the ships of Royal Caribbean, the inside decor of the ship is absolutely beautiful! It truly made me think of a luxury hotel with its flowers, sofas, intimate clubs and spacious seating areas. The cabin is not huge but comfortable with a good-sized balcony for room service breakfasts. Robes and toiletries are provided, and the shower is nearly full-sized. Plenty of storage, and the mini-bar actually has mini bottles of alcohol in it, something unheard of with Royal Caribbean.

Our first dinner aboard the Millenium was enjoyable, with good tablemates from Vancouver, Texas and Sydney, Australia. The food is a little upscale , small portions and exotic appetizers as well as standard cruise ship fare. We stayed and chatted for 2 hours with our new friends, then went back to the cabin as the time difference once again caught up with us.

Tomorrow : Diamond Head Crater Adventure and Sailaway from Honolulu.