Hawaii, Day 2; boarding the ship

I've never seen a cruise ship up close (until now, that is) so I was pretty excited to see the ship, get onboard, etc. We got up and went to get some breakfast, got ready and packed up what we'd used, and headed out. If we'd had enough time we would have hiked up Diamondhead but we realized we really didn't. That was a bummer but next time we'll do it for sure! (I'm already counting on a "next time"!) I thought I'd see the whole ship but only saw the stack, the pier was in the way. If we'd been on the other side of the harbor we'd see the whole ship. This picture below is actually from where we ate dinner a week later before heading to the airport to fly home, but this is the other side~ We were literally one of the first people there, we were maybe 20th in line and had to wait for security to open up and let us board. I think we were excited!! Once you pass security (the first time, they had several security stations), you wait in another line to get your ship card that acts as your room key. It's also the way you charge things to your room because it's linked to your credit card. It's also how you check in and out of the ship in port so they know if they have everyone onboard or not, so the card is pretty important. After we got our cards we waited in yet another line to get up the escalators and onto the ship. We were given fresh coconut while waiting in line...nice touch! This ship is about 74,000 tons-not the biggest out there for a cruise ship, but still really big! This is the reception desk and seal of the U.S. in the welcoming area-the ship was built specifically for use in Hawaii but celebrates all the states. Opposite the reception desk is a beautiful split stairway, a replica of the Washginton Monument, and glass elevators. These are just some examples of the ship because apparently it's a bit different from others. The rooms weren't ready (we were reeeeeally early) so we went to have lunch at the cafe, then checked out the ship. It was so fun exploring and getting to know what would be our home away from home over the next week. We finally got to our room and this is what it looked like. If you've never cruised before and are planning to go, please don't think you don't need to pay more for a balcony...ocean view is just a window but there's nothing like sitting out on the balcony watching the world go by. It was AWESOME!

That evening we had dinner in the East Meets West dining room and we had Teppanyaki. The word "teppanyaki" is derived from teppan (鉄板), which means iron plate, and yaki (焼き), which means fried or broiled. (Thanks, Wikipedia) This was our chef, Lucky: I love this food, it just has to be healthy! Really! We ate with some people from Florida, Dale and Barb Ericson. Hey guys!! We'd see them over the week and have some great fun with them. Meeting people is just so fun on a cruise!
We went out on the deck around 8 pm to leave Honolulu Harbor. It was really exciting to get underway! In Hawaii, hula dancers used to line the shores of the harbor and sing and dance for sailors going out to sea. That's a really neat tradition...however, ships are now constantly going in and out, they'd never get to go home! I wish I'd been able to see something like that.
Later we went to see the welcome show at the theater. Some of the cruise director's staff put on a short, silly luau type of show;

Tomorrow...Hilo and a black sand beach!!