Here we are at Deborah's place, doing Jo's Visa Waiver application on line. Jo's had an email from Cindy Hansen with an update on the cruise. There's lots of new exciting stuff happening.
We had to let the travel agent know how many suitcases we're taking on the cruise, and had a serious debate about how many we need vs how many we can carry. We concluded two each would be just about enough --- and if Jo needs more she can fill one of mine. The plan is to take at least one empty suitcase to Honolulu and then shop!
We have three songs to learn (off the paper!) before we embark. They are: That'll Be The Day (arranged by Tom Gentry); Lida Rose/Will I Ever Tell You (arranged by Mo Rector and Nancy Bergman as an 8 part for men and women) and - ONE WE KNOW! - Lazy Day (arranged by David Wright). We've printed out the sheet music and downloaded our learning tracks.
We rehearse during the cruise and then put on a show in the 850 seat theatre on Thursday, 13th November. Costume is white pants or skirts, coloured shirt (according to section, so Jo's wearing red and Deborah's in blue), and white shoes. No all-in-ones! but 'heavy street style makeup' on our newly tanned skin (the guys don't have to wear makeup unless they choose too - so unfair!).
We tried to order our cruise shirts on line but have had to email Cindy for help with the delivery address.
We've now had another serious discussion about what to pack, given the costume requirements. Jo has to buy new swimmers (the last time she wore them was a few years ago and she had a wardrobe malfunction, much to the disgust of her younger daughter). We've heard the shopping in the US is great, and we have a free day the day we arrive, so we will shop until we drop ...
That's it for now - more soon.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Passports and visas
Deborah thought she had better find out about whether the USA requires a visa for our holiday in Hawaii.
From http://canberra.usembassy.gov/consular/visas/index.html (the website of the US Consular Service in Australia):
Most Australians traveling on business or tourism for less than 90 days do not require a visa. For information regarding visa-free travel, see the details of the Visa Waiver Program.
The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) enables nationals of certain countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa.
Luckily Australia is one of the VWP countries.
From 1 August 2008, travelers using the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) may voluntarily provide their information electronically to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) before traveling to the United States.
Deborah did this today and received her travel authorization within minutes of applying. Interestingly, the authorization is for two years from date of application - she didn't have to specify what dates she was travelling.
One of the requirements for the VWP is a machine-readable passport.
A machine-readable passport has certain biographical data entered on the data page in accordance with international standards. A key feature is the two lines of printed machine-readable data that appear at the bottom of the page. Australian passports issued in Australia from 2006 onwards comply with requirements for biometric passports.
Deborah's was issued in 2003 and is machine-readable. Because it was issued before 2005 it doesn't need a digitized photo or integrated chip.
So that's one more item ticked off the To Do list.
Now we're starting to think about the serious business of What to Pack.
From http://canberra.usembassy.gov/consular/visas/index.html (the website of the US Consular Service in Australia):
Most Australians traveling on business or tourism for less than 90 days do not require a visa. For information regarding visa-free travel, see the details of the Visa Waiver Program.
The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) enables nationals of certain countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa.
Luckily Australia is one of the VWP countries.
From 1 August 2008, travelers using the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) may voluntarily provide their information electronically to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) before traveling to the United States.
Deborah did this today and received her travel authorization within minutes of applying. Interestingly, the authorization is for two years from date of application - she didn't have to specify what dates she was travelling.
One of the requirements for the VWP is a machine-readable passport.
A machine-readable passport has certain biographical data entered on the data page in accordance with international standards. A key feature is the two lines of printed machine-readable data that appear at the bottom of the page. Australian passports issued in Australia from 2006 onwards comply with requirements for biometric passports.
Deborah's was issued in 2003 and is machine-readable. Because it was issued before 2005 it doesn't need a digitized photo or integrated chip.
So that's one more item ticked off the To Do list.
Now we're starting to think about the serious business of What to Pack.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Planning shore excursions
Witte Travel are doing a great job of keeping us informed as we prepare for our Harmony in Hawaii cruise.
We have have our reservation numbers and have pre-registered with NCL (Norwegian Cruise Line) to make check-in easier. We've also signed up for our shore excursions, as they're 'first come, first served'. We were able to do all the bookings on-line via the NCL website, which made it really easy. Some of the excursions we were interested in weren't available for our cruise, but we found alternatives. Here's what we decided.
Saturday, 8th November:
- our cruise departs Oahu at 8 pm.
Sunday, 9th November:
- we arrive at Maui at 8 am
- at 8:15 am we take the Haleakala Crater tour for four hours. 'This scenic journey takes you through upcountry Maui to the top fo the world's largest, dormant volcano - Haleakala. The views from the top at 10,032 feet above sea level are magnificent!'.
- our cruise stays at Maui overnight
Monday, 10th November:
- at 8:20 am we take the Molokini Crater Snorkel tour for 5 hours. ' Molokini, declared a marine preserve and one of the top ten snorkel sites in the world, is home to more than 250 species of fish. Take part in an exclusive guided tour led by marine naturalists.'
- our cruise departs Maui at 2 pm (I hope they'll wait for us if we get back late from the tour!)
Tuesday, 11th November:
- we arrive at Hilo at 8 am
- at 10:00 am we take the Circle of Fire Helicopter tour for 2 1/2 hours. 'Fly on a thrilling 45 minute helicopter ride over Kilauea, the earth's most active volcano.'
- our cruise departs Hilo at 6 pm.
Wednesday, 12th November:
- we arrive at Kona at 7 am
- at 7:45 am we take the Captain Zodiac Raft, Snorkel & Dolphin Adventure for 3 1/2 hours. 'Your raft adventure takes you to explore sea caves, lava tubes, and Kealakekua Bay; swim and snorkel in the protected waters of this marine sanctuary'.
- our cruise departs Kona at 6 pm.
Thursday, 13th November:
- we arrive at Kauai at 8 am.
- at 8:01 am (this is really cutting it fine!) we take the Tubing the Ditch Expedition for 3 hours. 'An exclusive experience as you tube historic waterways along the flumes and ditches on the old Lihue Plantation'.
- then at 3:45 pm we do the Kilohana Manor House & Kalamaku Show for 4 1/2 hours. 'Begin with a ride on the Kauai Plantation Railway to Gaylord's, a perfectly restored manor house at Kilohana, for an exquisitely prepared Hawaiian dinner. After dinner, you will be escorted to the Kalamaku show and your preferred perfomrance seating. This is the story of a family journey across the vast blue waters of the Pacific with the spirit of the Ocean as their guide. The story climaxes with a fantastic fire dream featuring fire poi balls and traditional fire knife dancing.'
- the cruise stays in Kauai overnight.
Friday, 14th November:
- at 8:30 am we take the Wailua River & Fern Grotto tour for 3 1/2 hours. 'Visit a 30-acre riverfront botanical and cultural garden offering flimpse of exotic foliage, rare birds, fruit orchards and tropical lagoons. Then board a flat bottom motor launch for a journey up the Wailua River and a stop at Opaeka'a Falls.'
- the cruise departs Kauai at 12 pm.
Saturday, 15th November:
- we arrive in Honolulu at 7 am
- we are going to the luau at Germaine's Luau on Saturday night.
And then we fly home on Sunday.
We have have our reservation numbers and have pre-registered with NCL (Norwegian Cruise Line) to make check-in easier. We've also signed up for our shore excursions, as they're 'first come, first served'. We were able to do all the bookings on-line via the NCL website, which made it really easy. Some of the excursions we were interested in weren't available for our cruise, but we found alternatives. Here's what we decided.
Saturday, 8th November:
- our cruise departs Oahu at 8 pm.
Sunday, 9th November:
- we arrive at Maui at 8 am
- at 8:15 am we take the Haleakala Crater tour for four hours. 'This scenic journey takes you through upcountry Maui to the top fo the world's largest, dormant volcano - Haleakala. The views from the top at 10,032 feet above sea level are magnificent!'.
- our cruise stays at Maui overnight
Monday, 10th November:
- at 8:20 am we take the Molokini Crater Snorkel tour for 5 hours. ' Molokini, declared a marine preserve and one of the top ten snorkel sites in the world, is home to more than 250 species of fish. Take part in an exclusive guided tour led by marine naturalists.'
- our cruise departs Maui at 2 pm (I hope they'll wait for us if we get back late from the tour!)
Tuesday, 11th November:
- we arrive at Hilo at 8 am
- at 10:00 am we take the Circle of Fire Helicopter tour for 2 1/2 hours. 'Fly on a thrilling 45 minute helicopter ride over Kilauea, the earth's most active volcano.'
- our cruise departs Hilo at 6 pm.
Wednesday, 12th November:
- we arrive at Kona at 7 am
- at 7:45 am we take the Captain Zodiac Raft, Snorkel & Dolphin Adventure for 3 1/2 hours. 'Your raft adventure takes you to explore sea caves, lava tubes, and Kealakekua Bay; swim and snorkel in the protected waters of this marine sanctuary'.
- our cruise departs Kona at 6 pm.
Thursday, 13th November:
- we arrive at Kauai at 8 am.
- at 8:01 am (this is really cutting it fine!) we take the Tubing the Ditch Expedition for 3 hours. 'An exclusive experience as you tube historic waterways along the flumes and ditches on the old Lihue Plantation'.
- then at 3:45 pm we do the Kilohana Manor House & Kalamaku Show for 4 1/2 hours. 'Begin with a ride on the Kauai Plantation Railway to Gaylord's, a perfectly restored manor house at Kilohana, for an exquisitely prepared Hawaiian dinner. After dinner, you will be escorted to the Kalamaku show and your preferred perfomrance seating. This is the story of a family journey across the vast blue waters of the Pacific with the spirit of the Ocean as their guide. The story climaxes with a fantastic fire dream featuring fire poi balls and traditional fire knife dancing.'
- the cruise stays in Kauai overnight.
Friday, 14th November:
- at 8:30 am we take the Wailua River & Fern Grotto tour for 3 1/2 hours. 'Visit a 30-acre riverfront botanical and cultural garden offering flimpse of exotic foliage, rare birds, fruit orchards and tropical lagoons. Then board a flat bottom motor launch for a journey up the Wailua River and a stop at Opaeka'a Falls.'
- the cruise departs Kauai at 12 pm.
Saturday, 15th November:
- we arrive in Honolulu at 7 am
- we are going to the luau at Germaine's Luau on Saturday night.
And then we fly home on Sunday.
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