06/09/2019 to 08/09/2019 - Nadi / Viti Levu / Fiji

On September 6, it was time to say "Goodbye South Seas" and "Hello Hawaii". That was the plan. It rained all day, so we didn't do much until our departure at 5:25 PM. The landing in Honolulu was scheduled for 11:59 PM on September 5. We were supposed to experience September 6 again because we flew over the date line. After half of the flight, the captain informed us that we had to turn back because in case of an emergency on this route, we would have to land on Christmas Island, where the runway lights don't work. What emergency and why Christmas Island? We wanted to go to Hawaii. The flight attendant told us that there was no emergency but those were the regulations. What nonsense. If there is no emergency, why do we need a layover? Shortly before landing, once again, the captain spoke up in Apia, Samoa. "We will refuel the plane now and then fly to Nadi in Fiji." WHAT? In the end, we spent much longer than if we had flown directly to Honolulu and there was no more information about the connecting flight on the plane. At the Nadi airport, the Fiji Airways staff was very helpful but they couldn't tell us why we actually turned back, but they did provide us with our next flight option and the name of the hotel where we would be staying. We arrived at the hotel at 3 AM. At least it was a good hotel. Nice rooms, Wi-Fi, a rooftop pool, and a meal allowance that we could spend. Our departure didn't happen until 2 days later, on the evening of September 8. Of course, not as planned... We flew to Samoa first before finally landing in Honolulu at 3:45 AM on September 8.