All Aboard

We were keen to leave Portofino and head off to Port Canaveral, but we managed a quick bocce game before we left. The trip south took about an hour and check in was smooth and efficient as expected. The boat is lovely, with Art Deco features throughout and high quality finishes. I spent the next seven days marvelling at the maintenance machine - an army of workers cleaned the ship through the day and overnight, including wiping ceilings, polishing handrails and cleaning windows. We had one maintenance problem with a washing machine and within 10 minutes there were two guys, pulling it apart to fix the problem.

The food has been excellent although I struggle with the junk food options at breakfast time. Our dinner rotation started with a fun night in Animator's Palette where Crush from Nemo talked to everyone. The technology is very well done and was used on another night to animate some drawings that we did. Josh has overdosed on chicken tenders as they are his go-to when he does not like the menu options. Brian and Flynn both had special cakes and happy birthday singing on their birthdays.

Entertainment options were a little thin but we loved the baby races and Cambo and I thought the hypnotist was fun. We also loved the 4D nightmare before Christmas singalong. I fit in a mixology class with Amanda and Richard. Mini golf, yoga, Disney trivia, shuffleboard etc kept us entertained. Flynn loved his club and was there whenever possible, but the other two boys were not really interested.

I thought we would spend time sitting on our verandah, but the weather is so hot and humid we have hardly opened the door. It is handy though to have an outdoor area to store the boys' shoes....Overall we enjoyed the boat but we all preferred the smaller ship we took last time, the Magic, over the huge Fantasy.

Universally fun

There were a few hiccups checking in, which proved to be consistent with the rest of our stay at Portofino. Room type, location, charges, housekeeping and club access were all problematic. Although the hotel was picturesque, we regretted not staying at the Hard Rock. 

Hotel problems aside, we enjoyed Universal. Our room was equipped with two bolster pillows. These should be banned from hotel decor if tween/teen boys will be resident. They were promptly deemed "jousting sticks" and used to smack each other at all opportunities. There was also a chair that I thought looked like three leaf clover but the boys called it the "Tri-bum"  and fought each other to sit on it. They christened the ducks in the bay "Howards" (not for me to reason why) and referred to them this way the whole trip. I think this will stick and expect the word duck to be unused in our household for the foreseeable future. 

The Harry Potter section has been expanded, with a few new rides and a version of Diagon Alley. It is extremely well done and we returned here a few times over the three days. Campbell surprised everyone by riding the Rip Ride Rockit roller coaster and I expect he has broken the fear barrier now and will be riding them all with the other two daredevils. We considered but rejected (on ethical grounds) claiming Josh was special needs so we could ride the pteranodon flyers, which looks fun but is for children only. The river raft ride completely drenched everyone unexpectedly and was the highlight of our ride experiences.

We had a few nice meals, with the standout being "Cow-Fish" a burger/sushi fusion restaurant with fun bento box meals for kids and very good (weird) burgers and shakes. A quick shopping trip was squeezed into the agenda but shoe shopping with teenage boys is a newly discovered nightmare. They don't WANT to shop but they have very definite ideas about what is or is not an acceptable shoe. The line between these options is mysterious as sometimes both acceptable and unacceptable look virtually the same to me.

Up up and awaaay

Up up and awaaay

A reduced Team Starrett set off Monday afternoon for our 2015 adventure. We are cruising in the Caribbean with Jason's parents (Brian & Annette) and his sister and her husband (Amanda & Richard). Jason himself is not coming - he had a taste of cruising back when we sailed the Mediterranean and is not a fan. 

My dad picked up the boys from school at lunchtime and I came home from work an hour later supposedly to find them ready and waiting to go. They didn't do too badly. On a final sweep I collected a few missing items (braces elastics, 1 hat, 1 pair of sunglasses) and we headed off. We flew down to Sydney with Fly Pelican on a little 19 seat plane, the first of a four flight transit plan.

We had booked a room at Rydges for the night and needed to catch the "t bus" to get there. I thought this was pronounced "tee bus" but the boys have informed me that "..we are not in Newcastle anymore and it is pronounced "t'bus". The process of getting the bus, regardless of pronunciation, was held up by a lady who took 10 minutes to buy a ticket from the machine and then lost the ticket by the time the bus arrived. There were a few giggles from those of us who had witnessed both episodes and some speculation about who would be unlucky enough to have her on their flight.

After an uneventful night and a two hour SpongeBob SquarePants marathon we walked across the road to the airport and checked in.  The boys chowed down on the Qantas club offerings and then discovered that there was a gelato bar. 8am gelatos followed and they rolled on to our fairly full plane for a long flight.

We were picked up at the airport by our Vietnam Adventure friends Angela, Allen and Rose. They took us to a fun diner nearby, "Dinah's" for breakfast. Poor Flynn was sick and Cambo was practically falling asleep at the table but it was fun to catch up. They had some treats for us and shouted breakfast before dropping us back to the airport for the third flight. 

Flight delay, awesome pizza crust, flight delay, happy limo pick up, and at last we made it to our hotel, which is gorgeous. More tomorrow. 

Waikiki wandering

We crept out of our big island house in the dark to head down to the airport. The landscape in the early light was surreal - black lava everywhere, very little vegetation and no development.   After a short flight, we were collected by our driver and dropped at our Waikiki hotel - Hotel Renew. It was quite good for the price and the boys were taken with the free DVD rental machine in the foyer. Over the four days they watched quite a few movies. We headed down the main street along Waikiki Beach to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. Our meals would have fed 10 people, not 5 but they were very good and we rolled out of the restaurant to check out the shops. Waikiki reminds me of an American version of the Gold Coast. There seemed to be vast numbers of Aussies - I guess the cheap Jetstar flights make it an appealing destination. Dinner was at the Hard Rock Honolulu, with Flynn clocking his 14th Hard Rock worldwide. Jason and I had a cocktail each and we all enjoyed being with just our immediate small family. 

Over the next few days we indulged in Americana food and shopping, with visits to Denny's, IHOP, Chillis, California Pizza Kitchen and Ala Moana shopping centre. I was quite chuffed with my $13 Levis purchase for Campbell, and Jason bought up big at Barnes and Noble. A highlight for the boys was the all you can eat pancake offer at IHOP, although they did not actually eat that many. We fit in a swim at Waikiki Beach and a few nice nighttime walks along the shore. The rest of the family joined us in Honolulu for the last two days and we had a final family dinner at 'Cheeseburgers in Paradise' for the last night. I talked team Starrett into going on a whale watching cruise, which was a bit of a dud. Lots of watching, only one whale.

Our flight home was uneventful, although Jetstar will never again be my choice for international flights. Poor food, poor service and no ability to check our bags for the Newcastle flight on arrival in Brisbane. 2 hours before the flight only, despite the tickets being booked as one journey. As usual, it was lovely to get home, and we have a trip in September already booked to look forward to.

Josh vs the Volcano

A very early start this morning, with team Starrett and my parents setting off to view the active volcano, Mauna Loa. The sun was just rising when we stopped at Tex's, a roadside icon selling malasadas, a kind of Portuguese filled doughnut. You could choose various fillings - custard, apple, chocolate, jam and they were filled just before serving - hot, sugary and very tasty. The drive took us through Hilo and then further south to the Volcano National Park. Our first stop was at the guide centre, where we were given a superb run-down of the viewing options by a ranger. Then we headed off to the first stop, the steam vents. These were openings in the ground where steam had worked it's way up and through crevices to emerge into the air. From here you could stand at the edge of the cauldera and look out. It is difficult to describe the magnificence (and the scale) of the crater. We continued on to the Thurston lava tube, a cavelike path through the ground 'carved out' by the flow of lava. This had an Indiana Jones feeling about it, with dripping water, dim lights and that silence that seems to be a feature of caves. The boys had the giggles so the silence did not last for long. There were additional views of the crater here, and you could see ant size hikers way down on the crater floor. Our last stop was at the Jagger museum, which was right next to the steaming bit of the crater. The air had a strong sulfur smell here and Josh and I both were a little tight in the chest. The museum was nicely done, with stories about Pele, the goddess of Fire, photos, stories and some scientific information about volcanos. We didn't stay too long as I was worried about Josh's asthma. We ate a terrible lunch at Volcano house. It was a great location, with a huge window that looked out on the cauldera, but the food was overpriced and under delivered. After lunch we wandered through a small art gallery with pricy art before starting the drive home. Maria and the Welch crew had cooked up a Mexi feast for dinner and team Starrett said their goodbyes to the family group, as were were leaving early the next morning.