Monday, February 13th, 2023 Queen Victoria, Honolulu, Oahu, USA
Updated: Jun 22, 2023
Following a quite smooth sailing from Hilo, the Queen Victoria coasted into Honolulu harbor this morning under grey skies and the threat of rain. We’ve been to Hawaii a few times, but this is our first time arriving on a ship; adjacent to the Aloha Clock Tower and downtown Honolulu, the ship docked in a good location – we were greeted by a spectacular rainbow. Our plan for the day was to go into Waikiki, do a bit of shopping and get lunch at one of our favorite places – we were in Honolulu just last September and so did not feel the need to do a lot of the usual tourist things. Lots of taxis were available outside the cruise terminal and we were soon on our way; the driver turned out to be a bit of a foodie and insisted on showing me pictures of his favorite dishes as we passed restaurants along the way. I was starting to feel hungry already! At one time Honolulu was a city distinct from Waikiki, now they merge into each other in one continuous flow of high-rise hotels. The area can be extremely busy, but this time of year could perhaps be considered the “low season” – to the extent that Hawaii has one. One of our favorite people watching spots is on the verandah of the Moana Surfrider Hotel, sitting on rocking chairs and sipping on the excellent coffee from the Hawaii Coffee Company shop located adjacent to the lobby. With the overcast skies and occasional rain, the temperature was very mild for Hawaii – every time we come to Honolulu it’s always blisteringly hot, today was very pleasant. The Moana is one of the old original Waikiki hotels; built in 1901 it has been tastefully expanded over the years but still retains all of the original elegance. The shops were not very busy as we wandered along the Kalakaua Avenue with its mix of high-end shops, restaurants, and the obligatory ABC stores. On the beach side of the street the shops also extend under the hotels in a kind of interconnected warren which provides a nice break from the heat on most days and the showers today.
The House Without a Key is a restaurant located inside the Halekulani hotel right on Waikiki Beach; the hotel is of modern design and exudes a quiet ambiance – it’s great place to relax. The restaurant is named for the first in the Charlie Chan series of murder mystery books and refers to a time in Hawaii when things were so peaceful that no one ever locked their doors and therefore houses did not need keys. I read the book on the way out to Hawaii from San Francisco and found it very entertaining. Lunch was excellent, even if we had to keep shooing the small birds away from the table. The restaurant has an indoor-outdoor design and is steps from the beach; we ate under the covered section and from my seat I could see dormant volcano Diamond Head and the palm trees lining Waikiki Beach. The crab sandwich was the best I’ve ever had, and the signature coconut cake was as light as a feather. We returned to the ship in time to see a hula performance in the Royal Court Theater; a local hula dance group had been brought on to the ship to give this special performance. The show was one of the best performances we’ve seen on cruise ship; from the very young dancers to the older (but still young) dancers to the three adult singer musicians – they were all great. Sailing at dusk, the Queen Victoria steamed out of Honolulu harbor and then turned south for Fiji. From our balcony we could see the lights of Waikiki and the majestic Diamond Head – we had a great day in Honolulu.
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