We were back at the pier by 1PM so we had plenty of time to accomplish our next mission for this port. One of my food obsessions is donuts and most of the time I don't get to indulge except on cruise ship breakfast buffets. We asked about donuts in Cagney's one day and one of the white uniformed crew members explained that it was due to the lack of frying machines on board. They have to make so many other fried foods, fries especially, that they don't have the capacity to include extra for donuts. To have any more than they do would be a safety hazard he explained. To help, he told us about a donut shop in Kona that all the crew love called Holy Donuts. Now on the pier, we asked the woman manning the information table where to find the bakery and she directed us to head down to a church we could see a few blocks from the pier, then it would be a few blocks past that and a turn into the back alley. It's all paved sidewalk but it was quite the walk ending in a steep hill once you turn into the back alley so those with walking limitations may want to take a cab part of the way. We did stop along the way and reconsider the effort but amused ourselves by popping into the various souvenir stores and picking up some water bottles from another ABC store.
Once we found the street sign letting us know when to turn, it was literally like a light shining from above giving us a sign.
What we found at the top of the hill was a cute little bakery featuring a variety of flavored donuts. Most of the donuts were the same base but featured everything from a smores donut to one named after Girl Scout cookie flavors. And yes, there was one known as the Homer Simpson donut. The woman at the shop offered us a deal that if we bought four donuts, she'd give us 3 malasada style donuts for free. While she packaged our 4 choices - Cookies 'n Cream and a powdered sugar crème filled for me and 2 Bavarian cream filled topped with Ghirardelli chocolate for Dad and the 3 malasada in its own box, we chatted with a mother and daughter who were also cruising on this ship. The two were splitting a donut as we both commiserated on the food quality on board. It was very nice chatting with you both! I hope you got to enjoy the rest of your first cruise and are fortunate enough to take many more together.
Our walk back to the pier was now even more effort because I got to carry the two bakery boxes worth of precious cargo while Dad walked half a block ahead only having to hold our water bottles. Once we made it back to the tender boats, it was funny to watch the crews reaction to the recognizable boxes. They made a big deal about safely passing the boxes over onto the tender for us just as much as they cared about our safe passage on and off. One of us would get on, then they'd pass over the box, and the other would follow. When they had to repeat the process getting back onto the ship it was funny to hear all the oooo's as we passed crew members on the way back to our cabin. I was concerned that they'd go stale since we didn't plan to eat them right away and suggested putting them in our cabin fridge. The drawback of that is that the Bavarian cream inside got so cold it was nearly solid.
We decided to run over to Cagney's and give their lunch menu another try. This time I finally bothered to bring one of our soda cans from the cabin with me like I'd intended to do at dinner all along. We ended up with the same waiter as we'd had the first day. He offered to get me a glass of ice for my soda and when it was brought, he asked if I needed him to open the can for me too. Hmm, do people really ask their waiters to open soda cans for them? Already having tried the brie burger, I decided to try the Seafood Fritto Misto because it included Fried Calamari in the description. It also listed mussels, shrimp, scallops, sea bass, onions, and zucchini with garlic marinara sauce. Despite the fact that I don't like mussels, clams, or oysters, it sounded appetizing. Unfortunately, like looks, descriptions can be just as deceiving. The onions and zucchini were essentially there for garnish and next to the small pile of calamari was one grilled shrimp, one scallop that somehow seemed caramelized like crème brulee, and one mussel that was so dried out I couldn't even get it out of the shell to try it.
What was lacking in quantity on my appetizer plate was made up for on our entrée as Dad and I both ordered the French Dip. This dish was described as Thinly-Sliced Slow Roasted Beef Au Jus with Horseradish Sauce on a French Roll. What we got was what looked like a whole pre-packaged lunch meat tub's worth of cold roast beef stuck onto each sandwich. The bread was tasty because it was warm and somewhat soft. The meat however tasted like it had just been pulled from the back of the fridge and was such a horrible contrast to the warm bread. Not to mention never having been a fan of still pink beef even if conceptually I know it's still safely cooked. We both gave a valiant effort to one half of our sandwiches before giving up. The fries were nicely cooked and surprisingly tasty dipped in the horseradish meant for the sandwich. Our waiter didn't improve much on his service level today either but at least he kept his "jokes" to himself. When we decided to walk out, he came rushing over to make sure we didn't want dessert. No thanks, we had much better dessert to look forward to later.
We reconnected with Adam and Amy out by the pool where Amy and I ventured off to try the soft serve ice cream. Dad sought out a much bigger treat with an overflowing waffle cone at the gelato stand (which does cost extra) and Adam opted to indulge from the mixed drink category with a lava flow. We watched them come set up the "Water Volleyball with your Cruise Staff" equipment by dragging a net across the pool in front of us. A couple guys were already enjoying the pool so they batted the ball back and forth to each other before bailing. After several minutes pass with no one else wanting to play, the one cruise staff member monitoring the game decided to pull it. Another guy walked up right then asking to play but was told no because no one was playing so he's taking it down. Amy wanted me to tag along for a return to the cupcakes for an extra cost she and Adam had previously enjoyed at the John Adams coffee bar but I opted against it.
While there had been Hawaiian dance classes and lei making throughout the week, I was most intrigued by the ribbon lei making class that was held today since I really admired the double woven leis the cruise staff wears. In talking with various crew members, I learned that the leis they wear are required as part of their uniform but the design is up to their discretion. One waiter told me that he went with the darker kukui nut lei so he could be different from everyone else. Dad wasn't interested so I headed down on my own. We didn't get to make the double woven leis for time and simplicity sake but they gave us a red and yellow ribbon for free (Hawaii's royal colors) and showed us how to weave a single woven lei. The class was led by the on board Hawaiian expert, Kaulana, and he enlisted the help of the fellow cruise staff member who was so funny at the Kona tender to be the hand model who did each step at a table under the view of the camera so that we could all see the steps demonstrated on the big screen. Both guys were full of laughs and kept the mood lighthearted as they patiently worked with all the people having trouble. When it came time to pull anchor for our departure, it sounded horrendously loud in the theater. The guys joked that we'd hit an iceberg. Anyone who wanted other colors and more ribbons to use could buy strands at the back table for $3 each. The table was mobbed at the end of the session.
Tonight's dinner was at East Meets West. This Asian themed restaurant does not have a cover charge but if you order drinks or sushi, it costs extra. They do recommend you make a reservation though as it is quite popular. We had Spencer make a reservation for the four of us and when we arrived slightly early, they insisted we wait in the few chairs in the entrance. Once we were seated, our waiter ended up being the same guy with the matching name from our first night in Teppanyaki. He recognized us but couldn't remember why we seemed familiar until we remembered about the other night. On a funny twist, I ended up having some of the best calamari on this ship as my appetizer in this restaurant.
Adam and Amy got fried and steamed dumplings respectively and Amy loved hers so much she said she could have made a whole meal out of multiple bowls of dumplings. Dad asked about being able to get the "Special Fried Rice" without shrimp but they said they couldn't make changes. Dad braved the Kung Pao chicken after being assured it wasn't too spicy and I got the fried rice along with the Orange Peel Beef.
The portions could have been split to make small amounts for two so if you're going with a group that wants to try a little of everything, it would be easy to do that here. It was definitely one of the best dinners we had on the ship.
After dinner, we headed down to the Close-Up Magic Show with Charles Bach in the Mardi Gras lounge. Getting there first, Dad and I picked out four seats in the front around a small table before Dad stepped away to use the restroom. While he was gone, a couple people came to join the rest of their group already sitting next to us and the woman taking the seat next to us made a big effort of turning her seat around so that it was not only blocking our view but also pinned our chairs in leaving no room for Dad to sit back down. I had been holding my hand out on Dad's chair to make sure no one else sat in it. My face must have said it all because she soon pulled her chair over about an inch so Dad had space to come back to his seat then proceeded to chuckle at me and ask "There, is that better now?"
When Adam and Amy joined us, the bar waiters came around offering drinks and Dad asked about getting the whole can of soda. (Note that here, since he was ordering a soda and not using one from our cabin fridge, it was an extra cost). The bar waitress refused to bring the can and covered by claiming that the amount the glass holds is equal to the can's contents. Anyone who's poured a 12 oz can of soda into a glass with ice knows that isn't true but he handed over his card to pay for sodas for everyone anyway.
Charles Bach put on a nice show where not only did he show the simple tricks in the smaller setting but he showed you how he did a couple of them. They projected his act on the screen at the back of the stage so everyone could see what he was doing on the small table in front of him. I think it was also shown on the cabin TV's for the rest of the cruise. Dad was all smiles at being included in the toothpick in a napkin trick as Charles moved through the audience for each step of the trick.
Once the show was over I was really looking forward to returning to the cabin and enjoying our donuts. Spencer always advised us to call him should we want to order room service but when we only wanted glasses of milk, we didn't think it worth the bother and called regular room service. Thank goodness the delivery charge is waived for suites because we could have milked our own cow by the time they bothered to show up. We couldn't believe it when they told us upon ordering that it would be 30-40 minutes and then it ended up being almost over an hour. The wait was all that much worse because we were tired and wanting to get ready for bed but had to stay ready to answer the door. In preparation, Dad had broke out our two provided plates and set out one of our donut choices on each. When the young lady finally arrived, she spotted our donuts on the table and remarked with a big smile "Oh you guys went to Holy Donuts!" Perhaps she'd visited the same place to retrieve our glasses of milk and that's why it took so long. Can only imagine how long it would have taken if we'd ordered food too. Lesson learned - you've paid for the perk, use that butler for everything he or she offers! Except for packing and unpacking - that seems too weird to me.
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