Thursday, September 4th, 2003: Waking up on a cruise ship, in my opinion is a very peaceful experience. You feel the gentle sway of the ship and with the lanai doors open and the sound of the waves and the smell of that sea air ...well words just can't describe. As our cruise began to wind down, I noted to myself that I would miss things like the lanai and the smell of the sea air, but I would happy to be on land again too. So it was rather a bitter sweet revelation but things are what they are and sometimes you just have to accept how you feel.

Our usual coffee and fruit arrived right on time and as we sailed toward Maui again, we lQQked forward to a day on the ship and all that was offered to us. Our friends eventually embraced the day on their lanais as we had and we all decided to once again have breakfast at Versailles.

So at 9:00 A.M. we met for breakfast at Versailles and had great conversations over coffee and juice. We truly have enjoyed this restaurant and it was decided we would have dinner there tonight as well. After breakfast some of us thought a walk around the Promenade deck was in order, the sky was the bluest of blues and could not be ignored.

I found it to be great fun to watch people on the ship this beautiful sunny day. People grooving on their activities and so oblivious to the world in which we find ourselves living today. I remember specifically thinking as I was watching a shuffle board game, if life could just stop in this moment as it seems to have done and give us all this peaceful moment to call upon anytime we needed it, wouldn't that be magical? A Dreamer? Maybe! A Realist? Always ! Life has a way of drawing you back in, even when on a magical voyage as we have had up to this point.

So being drawn back into life and having enjoyed our walk, we headed off toward the Photo Gallery and caught up with the rest of our group. The ship had taken some great pictures of us, not only as a group but as couples as well and had unique ways of displaying them for you to purchase. Of course I bought them all, I always do, but I felt they were quite reasonably priced, and since I buy so many pictures, I had something to compare to, that coupled with the fact that I am a sucker for any Kodak moment.

Once we all had all the pictures we wanted, we headed back to our cabins to drop off the pics and then we were gonna check out the Galleria for some great bargains. Since it was late in the cruise, they were discounting alot of the stock in their shops so we thought we would try and cash in on that.

The Galleria Shop on the ship was very well stocked with all kinds of things. You could buy anything from diamonds to Lladro. Lots of liqueur, brand name make up, clothes, picture frames, purses, kids stuff ...everything you can imagine. And most of it was at really great prices. I use Clinique makeup and they had a number of the things I use at about a 25% discount. Unfortunately for me I didn't need anything at the time so I had to pass that bargain up. But I still managed to find a few things to carry home with me. And since we did not go to Fanning Island, they extended the "Duty Free" advantage to us thru out the entire cruise. LET'S SHOP TILL WE DROP GIRLS !! I think we all walked away with some nice remembrances of the cruise!

By now it was time for some lunch and libations and a time to catch some rays. They were going to be having a B B Q up at the Oasis Pool on Deck 12 so definitely wanted to check that out. Not to mention the "Chocoholic Buffet" was later on as well. And who would want to miss that ??? No one I know !!! So we found "Our Table", settled in and we were ready for a few hours of sun and fun.

One of the things we really liked was the unique way the ship had a "Drink Of The Day" or a "Drink Special Of The Day". It was a few bucks cheaper and you could try different things. One of the things "My Better Half" and I did was we got the "Football Buckets of Beer", now if you are beer drinkers as we are, this was great, not only did we get 6 for the price of 5, we were able to bring the Football Helmet to the bar each time we went and they gave us the same deal, even if it wasn't a special that day. And after the cruise you have a "Football Helmet" planter when you get home, at least that is what I used mine for. No matter what, you always have a way to save a few bucks at the bar.

The B B Q was FANTASTIC !!! They had steaks, ribs, sausages, burgers and hot dogs all being grilled for you just as you want them prepared. There was two tables filled with salads, cheeses, fresh fruits, lunch meats, different types of bread ...it was just amazing. Norwegian Cruise Lines really know how to throw a B B Q. We ate and ate and ate. Thank goodness the "Chocoholic Buffet" was a few hours away. And until that began, we enjoyed the pool, the hot tubs, great conversations and some beautiful scenery as we sailed pass the Hawaiian Islands on the smooth Pacific.

We decided to go to the "Chocoholic Buffet" around 3 P.M., it was in the Versailles Restaurant on Deck 7, as we wanted to go to an early dinner and then catch the 7:30 P.M. show in the Stardust Theater. The "Chocoholic Buffet" was nothing less than spectacular. There were 4 sections of the buffet that you could visit, as well as two champagne stations that had a glass of champagne with chocolate around the lip of the glass as well as a chocolate covered strawberry. And as my "Left Coast" girl friend would say ... How Deca-tahnt !! Anything that could have been made into a chocolate sculpture ...it was. Any type of cookie, cake, and pudding that you might have wanted ...all there. It was amazing, fattening and oh soooooo deee-lish !!!

I guess the only negative thing I would add, and this was not the ships fault, it was the passengers that had eyes waaaaaay bigger than their stomaches. I can honestly say I have never seen such waste in my life. As we were leaving the buffet to go and find somewhere outside on the Promenade Deck to sit and enjoy, we saw far too many plates heaped high with only half eaten chocolate deserts and no one even sitting at that table. The waiters were just throwing it away. What a shame. Apparently the concept of going back for seconds never occurred to some of these folks, it was just easier to waste their firsts !!!!!

After the "Chocoholic Buffet" we were all stuffed, so we decided to take a little time to regenerate back in our cabins and meet at Versailles for dinner at 6 P.M.

Regenerated and ready for a wonderful meal, as we had found at breakfast as well as the other time we had been there for dinner, the food and service were superb at the Versailles. We had a great meal with great conversation and plenty of laughter. Not everyone in our group wanted to see the Illusionist in the Stardust Theater, so some of us went and some didn't. We all decided to meet up after the show at the Star Bar on Deck 13 after the show around 9 P.M.

The show in the Stardust Theater was an Illusionist Charles Bach. And while I do not remember any specific illusions he did, I remember enjoying the show. We were pretty tired by this time, as we had partied hard all day, complete with Chocolate, so I am sorry to say I cannot critic the performance other than to say that, and while I am sure we enjoyed it, I am equally as sure it was nothing all that special.

After the show we all met at the Star Bar for a night cap and to talk about our day in Lahaina on Maui. We were all very excited about our day in port as we all really loved Maui and Lahaina. We decided what we were gonna do once we got on shore while enjoying the music of the piano bar. Finally around 11 P.M. we bid each other a good nights rest and off we went to our cabins to enjoy a wonderful nights sleep with the lanai door open listening to those powerful waves crash and smell that sea air.

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