Monday March 30th, 2026 Queen Anne, Honolulu Hawaii, USA
- Neil Wylie
- Feb 9
- 8 min read
Updated: Apr 11
Before I review Honolulu, I’d like to cover a unique event that occurred on board Queen Anne on March 26, 2026. Ever since we left Southampton in England, we have been heading east and crossing time zones causing period adjustments to our clocks, moving forward in 1 hour increments every so often. By the time we were a few days out of Fiji we were 20 hours ahead of time back home in California. So as we crossed the International Date Line on March 26th, the ships clocks were set back a full 24 hours causing us to experience two 26ths of March. We went to bed on the evening of March 26 and got up on the morning of March 26, which was a very strange feeling. I have no idea how the ships’ IT systems handled this event.
Just a quick word on the International Date Line. Lines of longitude run from the north pole to the south pole and the line that runs through Greenwich in London is designated the zero line of longitude; Greenwich got this honor as it was the headquarters of the British navy at a time when “Brittania ruled the waves” – boy was that a long time ago? Anyway, progressing east from Greenwich additional lines of longitude are drawn and designated 1 through 180 and by the time you get to 180 you will be exactly halfway around the world; these lines are designated 1 degree east all the way out to 180 degrees east. Similarly if you travel in a westerly direction from Greenwich the lines are designated 1 degree west out to 180 degrees west. The 180 degree line is defined as the International Date Line, or IDL. However if you look at a detailed map of the world you might be surprised to find that the IDL does not in fact follow exactly along the 180 degree line; over time several countries successfully lobbied to have the IDL moved so that they could be on the side that most benefitted then either politically of economically. For example, the island nation of Kiribati is a major trading partner with Australia and New Zealand, but Kiribati used to lie on the eastern side of the IDL making trade difficult, so they lobbied to have the line moved so they could be on the western side – even though Kiribati is still in a slightly different time zone, at least it’s in the same day. Sorry, that wasn’t a “quick word”.
Now on to Honolulu…
Living in California for the past 40+ years has enabled us to be lucky enough to visit Hawaii several times and so Honolulu is a place where we feel very comfortable; we’ve visited most of the major attractions over the years and also had a good look all around the island of Oahu. Today was a good chance for us to revisit some of our favorite places in Waikiki and just take things slowly.
The Queen Anne docked at Pier 2 in Honolulu before 6 this morning and is not scheduled to leave until after 11:30 tonight; I think this extended port time is partly to offset the amount of time required for the entire ship to go through a face to face immigration check – with no one allowed to return to the ship until everyone has been checked, this is a unique requirement when entering a US port. I’m assuming there must be some exceptions to this requirement as I can’t imagine that the ship would be left without essential personnel on board. The instructions for passengers like us, not going on a ships’ excursion, was to go to the theater and be issued a numbered ticket and wait until called to go to immigration – this is similar to the process used for getting ashore on days when the ship is operating tenders. The start time for going to the theater was 7:15AM and so we sauntered downstairs at about 7:30AM, expecting to wait for a few hours before proceeding ashore. However, we were surprised to be met by ships’ personnel directing us straight ashore to the immigration desks where there was no line at all; we were in a taxi at 7:40AM heading to Waikiki – amazing.
The Honolulu Coffee Company is attached to the Moana Surf Rider Hotel, one of the oldest hotels on Waikiki beach, we’ve procured coffee and pastries here on many occasions and taken them to the verandah of the hotel to sit on the wooden rocking chairs and watch the world go bay; being creatures of habit, we followed protocol and were soon ensconced in the beautiful surroundings of the old hotel. Young Japanese newlyweds coming out for photos under the portico, groups of kids hurrying passed to get a good spot on the beach, guilty looking 20-somethings sneaking home after a night out and the never ending line of people going into the coffee shop – the people watching from the verandah was top notch.
The Moana Hotel is 125 years old and dates from a time when Waikiki was an almost deserted beach, it was the first hotel in the area and steamers would anchor offshore and bring guests to the hotel by small tender boat. From the verandah we walked through the hotel lobby, with its grand staircase, and out to the rear courtyard facing the ocean. The courtyard is dominated by a huge banyan tree that was planted in 1904; the tree, and its strange auxiliary trunks, offer essential shade to the bar located around its base. I walked out onto Waikiki Beach which, at this time in the morning, was relatively sparse of people. Early settlers staking their claim along with a few brave surfers trying to catch a wave and further out I caught a glimpse of a couple of large outrigger canoes – quintessential Waikiki. The view along the curve of the beach and out to the dormant Diamond Head peak was amazing, though I couldn’t help longing for the bygone era when this view would be absent the skyscraper hotels and all I’d see would be a few bungalows and the small hotel pier. Oh well such is progress.
Kalakaua Avenue runs the length of Waikiki Beach, and we set out for a gentle morning stroll, a few shops were open, and the people traffic was light. The hotel properties on the ocean side of the road soon ended and we could once again take in the beach views. The larger than life statue of Duke Kahanamoku provided an unmissable tourist photo opportunity. Duke (his given name) popularized surfing around the world and was a 5 time Olympic swimming medalist, he also served as Sheriff of Honolulu for many years and appeared in several movies – a rare talent indeed. Kapahulu Groin, a short pier, provided the opportunity to get a view back towards the beach and to smell the surf as waves crashed all around.
As soon as we found out the itinerary for our voyage was to include a stop in Hawaii, we made a reservation for lunch at The House Without a Key restaurant, we’ve been a few times before and it’s never disappointed. The restaurant is named for the first book in the Charlie Chan murder mystery series, set in the 1920s, by Earl Derr Biggers; the house called “House Without a Key” being the location of the murder. Incidentally, Biggers was staying at the Halekulani Hotel, where the restaurant is located, when he wrote the book. I love the Charlie Chan books. Our lunch was fantastic; we sat out in the shaded courtyard with views of the ocean and Diamond Head in the distance – naughty sparrows occasionally swooped in and attempted to steal our food. A cool breeze provided welcome ventilation, though compared to other visits to Hawaii the temperature was quite pleasant. I had the crab sandwich accompanied by a local beer and Sandra had a beautiful salad, everything was perfect. The coconut cake is a signature dish for this restaurant, and we’ve had it every time we’ve been here – one piece between the two of us was ample.
Given that the ship was not leaving until very late, we decided to head back to the ship for a bit of a rest before coming back to Waikiki for dinner. On the way back we stopped at the Ala Moana shopping center for a nose around the shops, it’s an open air mall and is anchored by Macys, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales and Neiman Markus – with assets totaling nearly $6B it is the most valuable mall in the US. Located about midway between Honolulu and Waikiki, the Moana Mall is a very popular destination; the ship was running a shuttle bus to this mall, and we could see several Cunarders as we strolled by the shops – easily identifiable by their ships’ ID hanging around their necks, some even trying to use said ID to make purchases. We didn’t stay long and tried to find the bus stop for the shuttle back to the ship, even with the directions provided by the most unhelpful mall information booth worker on the planet, we could find it, and in frustration ordered and Uber. I have to say I’m growing to really love Uber, it’s so convenient and easy to use; but one area I find it has trouble with is in multi-story parking structures. We followed the little map in the app to the designated pick up point, only to be messaged by the driver to say he was waiting for us on the next level up.
After resting onboard ship for a couple of hours we headed back out for dinner at about 6PM; this time as we exited the terminal there were no taxis waiting so we ordered an Uber, it arrived about two minutes later and we were on our way. It was a beautiful mild night, so different from our other visits to Oahu when, even in the evening, the temperature was very warm.
Taormina is a Sicilian restaurant in the heart of Waikiki, we discovered this place quite by accident a few years back when we were wandering around in a state of deep hunger and no dinner reservations – spotting this diminutive eatery we chanced our luck and were fortunate to get a table and we’ve been back on each of our Oahu visits (creatures of habit, again). On that first visit to Taormina there were only about 6 tables in the restaurant, but during Covid, like many places, they expanded with an outdoor eating area. The menu here is quite limited with a focus on producing only a few dishes but doing them exceptionally well. The service was very attentive, and the overall vibe was understated, quietly impressive. We shared an appetizer: A Taste of Italy with Napoli semi-dry tomato, Puglia Burrata and Prosciutto di San Daniele with arugula and EVOO – delicious and a perfect way to kick off the meal. For main courses Sandra opted for the Bolognese Moderna, spaghetti with a rich beefy meat sauce and a hint of balsamic vinegar, I had the Sarde e Finochetti which had spaghetti with sardines, anchovies, fennel and olives; both dishes were superb and the portions unfinishable. It’s rare that we would not share a dessert, but this was one of those occasions – we ordered one each: classic tiramisu for Sandra and an Affogato with a Frangelico hazelnut liqueur on the side for me, the perfect end to an amazing meal and fantastic day in Honolulu.
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