March 13, 2026- Day # 68

 Honolulu and Pearl Harbor were a highlight of the cruise for Joan and me. We had visited Kaua’i about 20 years ago, but had never visited any other Hawaiian islands. As many of you know, Joan and I are both veterans of the US Navy and really wanted to get to Pearl Harbor. For this reason, months ago we scheduled a Pearl Harbor- Behind the Scenes tour. As we were traveling across the 5 sea days and getting closer to Hawaii we were hearing about forecasts for heavy rain. In fact when we got to Honolulu we found fog, gusting winds blowing heavy horizontal rain and flood warnings. Umbrellas were useless, so we wore water shoes and raincoats. 

We took a bus to Ford Island and Pearl Harbor. As you might expect, security was high, the bus was swept and NO bags were allowed. Photo IDs were required to enter the island. The first stop on the tour was to go up in a reconstructed aviation tower. We heard a lot about the area, but hard to get good pictures due to heavy rain and fog. Next we took a shuttle a few hundred yards to get to the aviation museum. We had a very knowledgeable tour guide who provided us with more information than I can remember, but it was very interesting seeing the aircraft used by both the US and Japan. In the museum, we had a wonderful Polynesian cuisine lunch before we boarded the bus to go to the USS Missouri. Of course, due to security we had to walk from the parking lot to the entrance, and were soaked when we got to the ship. It was recommended that because of the heavy rain we could tour to inner part of the ship first. It was interesting seeing the many quarters and areas inside the ship. When we finished this part of the tour we went outside where it was still pouring rain and were told we could not go to the deck where the US- Japan Treaty was signed because they were setting up for a private event. A highlight of the tour. They could have mentioned that 1 1/2 hours ago when we first arrived onboard. So with that part of the tour not available, we sloshed our way back to the bus. I did get a distance photo through the rain and fog of the Arizona, but we did not get close to this memorial, (another bummer). When getting our tour set up, we were so interested in Pearl, that we did not get a tour that included other sites of interest. And, our bus trip did not go past any of the famous beaches, Diamond Head, Iolani Palace (the only royal palace on US soil) or King Kamehameha Statue. Overall, a very disappointing day. 

Back on ship, a hot shower felt really good, and our soaked clothes went right to the laundromat. As we were getting ready for a good Polynesian dinner, the Captain came on the speaker to let us know that due to the weather we could not get into our next port of Kailua- Kona. He had tried to get us into any other port, or even stay on Honolulu for an extra day, none of which was available. To say we are disappointed is an understatement. It would have been good to get to see more of Honolulu, instead of an extra day at sea as we are now headed to French Polynesia.

I hope these pictures give you a sense of the solemnity of this place.