Day 24: No Nawiliwili for Us

Sunday, 29 January 2017
At Sea — Pacific Ocean

Stats @ Ship’s Time 8:45p (HAST) … UTC 6:45a (30 January)
Temp: 73.6F (23.1C)
Position: 18.44.41N / 159.16.91W

Traveling tends to magnify all human emotions.
~ Peter Hoeg ~

We came oh so close.  But as they say, close only counts in horseshoes.  Our third port cancellation of the cruise happened today when we skipped Nawiliwili, Kauai … our third and final call in Hawaii.  I can’t say that it came as a surprise.  Strong winds + a narrow entry channel into a protected harbor is generally not a good equation for a ship.  And that proved true today.  C’est la Vie!

We were up at 6:00a, and it looked downright ugly out there.  Even on our mostly-protected veranda, the wind was very strong.  Our certainty that we would be taking a pass at Nawiliwili grew when we went up to the outside deck at the Terrace Café for breakfast.  By this time, we were in view of the port entrance, but there was no movement on the part of Insignia to enter the harbor.  Seven Seas Navigator was similarly positioned nearby … seemingly indecisive about entering the port as well.

A few minutes later, we saw the small boat that ferries the pilot from shore to ship bumping along on the choppy ocean.  “Maybe,” I thought to myself … “just maybe we’ll make it in.”  No can do … the boat was taking the pilot away, not bringing him aboard.  Almost at the same instant Insignia started pivoting, putting her stern to the port.  The movement away from the island was slow, the engines turning with low RPMs … almost as though Captain B did not want to alert the passengers to what Mui and I had already surmised for ourselves — we were skipping this port.

Bye, bye Kauai … this is later after the strong wind cleared the overcast.  If you look to the left on the horizon, you can make out Seven Seas Navigator also turning tail and leaving Nawiliwili.

The official announcement that the port was canceled didn’t happen until 8:00a — our scheduled time for arriving in Nawiliwili.  Why the delay?  No idea.  The captain’s explanation of the 40-45 knot crosswinds and the fact that the decision to cancel our visit was made in consultation with the port authorities did little to smooth the ruffled feathers of some of the passengers.

I certainly understand their point of view — this is our third canceled port, after all — but I don’t share it.  Is it because we are on for the long haul?  Perhaps.  Is it because we don’t mind days at sea?  Perhaps.  But it also has to do with the experience we have gained over 17+ years of cruising.  Experience that allows us to recognize conditions that are truly unsuitable for tendering to or docking in a port.  Later in the afternoon, I heard back from both the Kauai tour operator and my cousin … and both confirmed that it was a truly, truly windy day.  Not that I needed any justification for the captain’s decision … but I had it anyway.

All that said about understanding the decision to skip a port, I do have a bone to pick with O.  Port fees are collected in advance — wrapped up in the fare we pay … regardless of whether the amounts are broken out separately.  When a port is missed, some cruise lines refund these fees since they have not had to pay them out to the port authorities.  Celebrity does so; and someone who is more familiar with NCL, which is under the same parent company as O, said that NCL also refunds the fees.  O does not.  We are not talking big amounts here, but it just doesn’t seem right that they should keep the fees.  I’ve seen these small refunds bring a smile to the face of many-a grumbling passenger.  Perhaps if O were to do that — or add a hosted happy hour the day a port is missed, or even get to the next port early and maybe add an overnight stay — there wouldn’t be so many ruffled feathers aboard today.

So here we are, on another sea day, making headway on the 2,172 nautical miles to our next port — Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas.  Once we put some distance between Kauai and ourselves, the weather turned very nice … a bit cool, but sunny.  And though there was quite a bit of motion of the ocean, it ended up being a decent day to be at sea.  I spent it on the veranda — you wouldn’t expect otherwise, would you?

When I finally pulled myself away from the veranda, it was to get dressed and join the Zs and the Hoffmans for dinner at the Terrace Café.  We were all a bit windblown, but had a nice meal to celebrate the Zs 40th anniversary.  The chef had been to the fresh fish market in Honolulu (I think) and the highlight of the meal was “al fresco grilled fish” … in this instance something called a moon fish.  Chef Jörg, when he stopped by our table to chat, explained that it is a fish found in central Pacific waters … mild tasting without being bland.

Moon fish display at the Terrace Café – it was served grilled, not as sushi.

Tomorrow is another sea day.  The motion of the ocean should continue until tomorrow evening according to Captain B’s noon announcement.  In short … more of the same face the Pacific has been showing us for the most part since leaving the US mainland on the 21st.

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