" Except for Santa Barbara, there is no 'wine country' along the coast." I think it depends what someone considers as "along the coast". Our coasts are cool (delightfully so) and vineyards need to be a bit away from the immediate coast, typically just a range of hills away in valleys. It's less than an hour from Santa Barbara to the Santa Ynez Valley, the local wine area, and just a shade over an hour from San Francisco to Napa or Sonoma. Same is true for vineyards and wineries near Monterey, San Diego, etc., I think these areas are considered coastal because they're near the ocean and have weather influenced by it. Real "inland" means the Central Valley - good for growing table grapes but too hot otherwise and the site of only non-premium bulk wines like Two Buck Chuck, Franzia, Gallo's historical ops, etc.

Don't go too late in the year. We took HA on a small ship on the last day cruises were offered. HUGE mistake. Because HA has to go around the outside of Vancouver Island, rather than starting within the Strait @ Vancouver as the other cruise lines do, bad weather can be a real problem. It was the end of September, and we ran into a storm. Very impressive seeing 20-ft waves hit the ship, LOL. They had to turn the boat around so we ended up losing 2.5 days, having to backtrack around Vancouver Island and start all over again heading north through the Straits. The ship never made its final 2 stops, they had to cut it short before reaching Sitka :(( Note it can be rainy in summer, so check the weather forecasts regularly. There was absolutely NO insistence on formal dress even in the main dining room. Although many folks did dress up on the final evening dinner, a sizable number did not bother at all, coming in tee shirts and tennies at every meal. We personally thought the food was okay but not great. Lots of quantity but the quality was more on level with a chain steakhouse. The upscale extra-cost restaurant wasn't much better - we actually preferred the food in the main dining room. The service is always impeccable, everywhere. We found the cruise people push a lot of jewelry on the ship and the stores nearest the port seem to be 2/3 jewelry stores. A friend of ours picked up the most delightful pendant ever, a beautifully carved pendant of a tiny polar bear on a swing! Remember that peak season for whale-watching is May - October. We obviously had a bad-luck fairy on our Alaskan cruise, as the whale watching excursion was pretty much a waste of money. We did see an orca calf - did you know they are a pinkish-orange color? - but that and a few far-off spouts were about it. Ironically, there are a number of companies on Vancouver Island that offer whale-watching tours. Our friends flew in to meet us after we got off the cruise ship, and a week later we all drove to Victoria BC. This was their first visit ever to the Pacific NW so we wanted to show them around. I had reserved the half-day tour from a local company, as I knew they would enjoy the scenery and sea air even if we didn't see many whales. Wouldn't you know it - we saw whales every few minutes! They swam so near the boat we could count individual barnacles. They splashed out of the water and spyhopped as if they were posing for photos! More orcas, and some dolphins leaped by as well. We've been on 3 whale watching tours, but this was by far the luckiest. You can just never really tell if they're going to be around the surface when your boat is nearby. But it's thrilling when you're in the right place at the right time. Good luck on your cruise!

Our next port of call is Lahaina on the island of Maui. Arrival was at 8:00 and we were due to sail away at 6:00. Lahaina does not have a pier for cruise ships, the ships tenders are used to shuttle passengers back and forth. There were many people on our ship who used walkers and those folks managed to get ashore without too much of a problem. However, those in battery operated scooters just would not be able to make it. Rather than just turn loose all those who want to go ashore, there are tickets given out shortly after dropping anchor. The numbers on those tickets will determine when you go ashore. They also are working with passengers who have paid the ship for an official excursion (tour) and those get priority. Once again we rented a car. I headed for the small town of Makawao using as many side roads as possible. We went to Maui Hands, where we, once again, spent money. We ventured into a couple of other stores that offered art from local folks. Then, again, using side roads, we headed to the famed Hana Highway. We did not go to Hana, but aimed back toward the small town of Paia, where we went to the Maui Crafts Guild store. More local art. Lunch was at Thai Spice there in town. However, if you ever get to Paia, you must consider the Paia Fish Market restaurant! Communal dining with fresh, fresh fish! We took our time driving back to Lahaina to return the car. Free shuttle back to the ship was convenient. If you are ever on Maui, consider going to their aquarium, the Maui Ocean Center. A great place with two restaurants. Also on Maui is the shield volcano, Haleakala, a long drive away, but wonderful views and some good hiking to the top. That is a US National Park and some folks like to get there for sunrise (reservations recommended for that). There are some great stores in Lahaina, so if shopping is your thing, spend your money there. Back on the ship, Adagio performed in the Explorers Lounge (always called Adagio with different violist/pianist). The Ocean Quarter had the evening off, but Johnny held forth in the piano bar. The Lion King was shown a couple of times in the theater. In the Mainstage, Hyperion Knight (billed as a virtuoso pianist) had shows at 7:30 and 9:30. Since there was no live music in the Ocean Bar, at 8:30 and fun time was with Majority Rules Game, what a blast that one is. There were promotions throughout the ship for Rudi’s Sel de Mer dinner. Very French, with a menu of mostly fresh fish, inspired by Master Chef Rudi Sodamin. This is in the Pinnacle Grill and there is a $49 charge for this special event. Reservations required.

Thats funny! i looked real hard to see if it was fake and thought i saw flaws and it was in real, moist soil. Tricked me! Thanks Floral!