Poa 05/08/10 - 05/15/10

[kadellis]

We went on a wonderful vacation the first part of May, and these boards were so helpful, I wanted to return the favor by posting what we did and some things that may prove helpful for others. I am going to be fairly brief in the description of the days, as a lot of it will be repeat from what I found on the boards.

First I want to let everyone know that there IS luggage storage at the cruise terminal! Yay! I was so pleasantly surprised to find that out since everyone was saying there wasn’t any. There is a room by the bathrooms (when you arrive at the terminal you will see it) that will hold your luggage for you until 6:00pm, but they tell you to be there by 5:30 pm. It costs $5 per bag. That was perfect for us, as we had 6 people, so carting around our luggage all day in the car was not a viable option. We rented a car after the cruise for the day and came back to pick up our bags about 5:15, went to dinner and then onto the airport to return the car and catch our 9:15pm flight. There is a good place to eat not far from the terminal towards the airport, Zippy’s (I think is the name). It’s like a local chain, reminds me a lot of Shoney’s w/out the buffet, but Hawaiian and Portuguese food. It was good, and pretty cheap. The guards at the terminal gate told us where to go.

Things that worked well

- http://hawaiidiscountrentacar.com – Reserved cars through here for every island and it worked great!

- We took our GPS and it was well worth it. It did get us lost a couple of times, but for the most part, it was definitely worth taking.

- If you book any cars through Thrifty, sign up for the Blue Chips, it helped tremendously, saved a lot of time.

- If anyone in your party has a Handicap parking pass, take it, it will come in handy.

- If anyone in your party is over 65, they can purchase a “Gold Card” for $10 at any National Park in the country and all of your admissions for the carload is free….forever…at any National Park, Monument, Camping sites, etc. in the country (Hawaii included). We didn’t realize this until the last day, but it would have saved a lot.

Honolulu/Oahu

We arrived on Wed before the cruise so we could explore Oahu, which was a great idea as it killed the jet lag before the cruise. Highly recommend http://hawaii23.com for transportation to and from airport/hotel/cruise terminal. The owner’s name is Mark. Super nice guy. Very reasonable rates!

We had a car reserved a car through Thrifty for Thursday and Friday, took the bus from the Hotel to the airport to pick up the car, and there was no one at the desk. We asked the agent at the National Rental Car desk if she knew anything about them and she offered us a Minivan for $88 for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We had reserved through Thrifty for $51.50/day for just Thursday and Friday. Much better deal. Took it!

We stayed at the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel. Very nice hotel for the price -- $129/night including a buffet breakfast which was mostly continental, but was substantial. They give you little coolers to fill up and take with you. It is at the east end of Waikiki, near the zoo. I was a little hesitant about being that far down, but very glad we were. It was pretty quiet, but only a 10 min walk to the International Marketplace. We found free parking overnight on the road that is along the zoo, and only about a block from our hotel. There is a great restaurant on the backside of our hotel too, upstairs above the Starbucks – Lulu’s. Kind of a sports bar type place, but good food and well priced. There were some good restaurants and bars the street behind the main strip too - more local type places.

Thursday we spent the day traveling up the East side of the Island to the North Shore, hiked Diamond Head (fantastic hike), had shave ice from the truck there – very yummy. Drove right up the coast stopping as we saw interesting places to stop. Found a great little local place to have lunch, about a mile past the Crouching Lions (or Tiger) restaurant – didn’t catch the name, but has a surfboard out front and is a red building. Very good local place – I can’t eat shrimp, but apparently the garlic shrimp is amazing. There was a guy there that drives from Waikiki just for that.

Friday we spent the day mostly in downtown and Central Oahu. The Royal Palace was pretty good to see, Punchbowl was very moving. We tried to go up the West Coast, but that was late afternoon, about 4:00…big mistake. H1 is a parking lot heading West that time of day. We ended up turning around and going back to Waikiki after it took us 20 min to go a mile.

Saturday we took our time getting up in the morning, returned the car and took the shuttle to the cruise terminal. Got on the ship just after 12:00 Noon, rooms not ready until after 2:00, so we had a drink, sat on the deck, then decided to go walk over to the Aloha Tower. Spent a little over an hour there --- not much there though. Mostly higher end boutique type shops, but in the back there are a couple little touristy kiosks. Found a couple trinkets there.

Maui, Kahului - Sun - Mon

Sunday got the shuttle to the car rental place (Thrifty). FYI – here they don’t ask or check you off on a list to go p/u your car rental, and all the rental places are in the same location, so you could technically take any shuttle over instead of waiting for your particular one. Drove to Haleakala Crater. Definitely worth seeing – amazing. Didn’t take as long as I expected, so we had a good portion of the day left. We drove over to Lahaina early and roamed around a bit, as we had reservations to go to the Old Lahaina Luau on Sunday night. It was fantastic. I have never been to a Luau, so I don’t have anything to compare it to, but it was not disappointing at all. The food was so-so, but the location and the show were great. Parking was a bit of an issue. There is limited parking at the ship, and around the corner at the sea wall there is quite a bit, but we got back late and most of it was taken. There are a few spots at the ship you can park from 10pm-6am, and we were back about 9:30, so we parked in one of those and just sat there w/ the car until 10:00pm. Then, we saw some Handicap parking inside the fenced area, and asked if we could park there, as we had one of our members of our party had a Handicap parking pass. Sure enough, they let us park in there. That worked out nicely.

Monday we did the Road to Hana. We took the chance we wouldn’t have any problems, and we didn’t. We got on the road about 7:30 a.m. Drove straight to Hana, with the exception of a couple quick stops we weren’t sure we would re-spot on the way back, and a bathroom stop. Took us about 2 ½ hours. We only passed a few cars, and there were only a couple other cars on the road heading the way we were. Very peaceful drive, which was nice as the road has many blind curves. We didn’t take the gamble to go all the way to the 7 sacred pools – that would have added another 2 hours to the day and it would have cut it too close. We did find the Red Sand Beach, which was pretty cool – very small, and quite a hike down the side of the hill. It is very hidden, so if you would like to go there, follow the main road in all the way to the baseball field, and park on the road just past it by the Community Center. Keep walking down the road (there is a little snack shack there on the right), just as you are about to enter the Hotel property, you will see a big yellow gate on your left – go “through” the gate and to the second light pole. The path is right there – although it doesn’t look like much of a path. We then headed back after having some homemade cookies and shave ice at the snack shack. Things are not real well marked on this road, it helped tremendously that I had a list of points of interest noted by the MM they were close to. I have included it below in the event anyone is interested in using it. Wainapanapa State Park in my opinion, is a don’t miss. It is beautiful! We ended up back around the ship area about 2:30pm.

(First Half Road to Hana – 5 hrs round trip)

• MM 2 – Twin Falls. (Couldn’t find)
  
• MM 3 – Kaulanapueo Church
  
• MM 6 – Trail leading to 4 falls. Cool, but long, tedious hike
  
• PAIA TOWN - Turn right off Hwy 380 onto Hwy 36 E. Windsurfing capital of the world. Colorful old plantation town: shops, restaurants, crafts guild, art galleries, operating sugar mill. Picnics to go. Buddhist temple, the Maui Dharma Center - 81 Baldwin Avenue in PaiaNote: last stop for gas and food. Restrooms. Momma’s Fish House,
  
• HOOKIPA OVERLOOK – mile marker 9 - Spectacular view-great picnic area. Board surfing and international windsurfing site
  
• WAIKAMOI RIDGE - Hwy 36 becomes Hwy 360 and mile markers start again at zero.) Go short way (0.5 mile) past Mile Marker 9 to wide unmarked dirt pull-off (right side) A 30 minute loop hike through magnificent rain forest to an overlook of bamboo groves. Take left uphill path and stay to left at "Quiet, Trees at Work" sign. Picnic area.
  
• MM 10 – Waikamoi Stream
  
• MM 10 – Nearly at the end of the mile, there’s a trail on the ocean side near a telephone pole. Couple minute hike to a large waterfall – Lower Puohokamoa Falls.
  
• MM 11 – Small parking area on far side of bridge… trail leads to Haipua’ena Falls. Short hike. Don’t continue trail to next falls.
  KAUMAHINA STATE PARK - Continue to Kaumahina State Wayside (right side, a short distance beyond Mile Marker 12). A half mile past MM 12, wonderful overlook of Keanae Peninsula and village, but nowhere to pull off. Go ¼ mile further to pull-off to see view. Note: Picnic area. Restrooms
  
• MM 13 – Punalau Falls. Cool, but long hike.
  
• MM 14 – 4/10 of a mile past MM 14, excellent parking pull-off with great views… another pull-off 2/10ths later is better. It’s 1/10th of a mile past some old wooden benches buried in overgrown ferns. Excellent view at the benches.
  
• Keanae Park - between Mile Markers 16 & 17
  
• KEANAE PENINSULA - Keanae's spectacular shoreline drive past lava pinnacles, taro patches, old Hawaiian village, church (1856). Great spot for picnic. Restrooms
  
• drive as far as Keanae at the 16 mile marker (Hana is at the 38 mile marker). Keanae is a beautiful Hawaiian town with seascapes, a church, taro fields, waterfalls and a great arboretum.
  
• Keanae Park is a peaceful stop with a ruggedly beautiful lava rock beach, banana bread stand, and restrooms.
  
• WAIANU FRUITSTAND – Mile marker 17
  
• MM 17 – Bridge & pull-off. Ching’s Pond… neat looking area… 75’ path.
  MM 17 ½ - Stand “Halfway to Hana.” Sells snacks and whatnot. Look for pig heads behind stand.
  
• MM 18 – Community of Wailua.
  

(2nd half Road to Hana)

• Three Bears Falls - between 19 & 20 mile markers (best to stop at on the way to Hana)
  
• WAILUA OVERLOOK - Continue to sign for "St. Gabriel's Church" at paved overlook (left side) - Breathtaking view of an old Hawaiian village: "Our Lady of Fatima" shrine. Taro patches
  
• Waikani Falls (Wai Kane Falls) - is also called Three Bears Falls (Papa, Mama, and Baby falls - like the bears!) because the three falls are different sizes (Note: like all the waterfalls on the Hana highway, there may be 'no falls' if water volume is low; or 'one fall' if the water volume is so high that one giant waterfall is created).
  
• MM 21 – Wailua Iki waterfall. Probably skip this.
  
• Puaa Kaa Falls - near mile marker 22.7- From the Hwy 360/365 junction (mile marker 0), drive east on Hwy 360 (Hana Hwy) for 22.7 miles to the turnout at Pua'a Ka'a State Park. Park in the turnout along the side of the road at this popular little park. Cross the road, and head up the easy path to the first small waterfall and pool.
  
• MM 23 – Lava tubes
  
• MM 24 – Hanawi Falls. Supposed to be nice.
  
• Nahiku Cove - Mile Marker 25 (lengthy stop, may want to skip)Nahiku Cove provides a cool green break at an isolated cove. This area is best known as home to famous people such as the late Beatle George Harrison. The high rainfall encourages a lot of greenery - the three mile drive to the cove is like driving through a jungle.
  
• MM 25 – Next to falls, take Nahiku Road 2 ½ miles. Amazing view of shoreline back to Ke’anae.
  
• MM 25 – Makapipip Falls. Check it out from above the bridge if it’s not dry.
  
• MM 31 – Kahanu Garden
  
• Black Sand Beach - just past Mile Marker 32 - Wainapanapa State Park - In Hana at end of Wai‘anapanapa Road off Hana Highway (Highway 360) Wai'anapanapa State Park has a black sand beach, a freshwater spring fed pool in a lava cave for swimming, and restrooms.
  
• Hana Beach Park – Hana - Hana Bay is a good family beach on Maui with snorkeling and light wave action. Hana Bay Beach Park includes Tutu's Snack Shop, one of the few places in Hana to eat. We enjoy their simple burgers at the outdoor picnic tables near the beach.
  
• Red Sand Beach – Hana- Just south of Hana Bay is Kaihalulu, a Maui red sand beach. This beach can only be reached via a primitive and slippery path.
  
• Hamoa Beach – Hana - Hamoa Beach, rated as the 6th best beach in America in 2006, is just a few minutes drive south from Hana on Maui. The famous author James Michener described it as the most beautiful beach in the Pacific.
  

Hilo – Big Island of Hawaii - Tuesday

Got off the ship to go to the shuttle for the car rental (Thrifty) and this time they were checking names off the list for the rentals, and you could only take two people to go get the car. So, the rest of the group waited at the ship and we went back to get them after getting the car.

Drove to Volcano National Park this day. Was a short drive there, and didn’t take but a couple of hours to go through it. We skipped the Chain of Craters Road because some people in our party wanted to do shopping, and we wouldn’t have had time to do both. You can’t drive the whole crater rim, as they have 4 miles of it closed off due to steam vents. We went to the Lava tube, steam vents, Jaggar Museum. We made a couple of misc. stops on the way back: Coconut Island, Banyan Drive, Akaka Falls and Kahuna Falls, Rainbow Falls, Pe'e Pe'e Falls, a beautiful, Big Island Candies Factory. Shopped in a few stores there in town – beware, a lot of the “Island items” are made in Philippines and Mexico. No authentic Tikkis here. There was a neat little Farmer’s Market that I got some local Honey and jewelry from – real cheap.

Kona (Tender off ship to town) –Wednesday

This day was the easiest rental car pick-up, as the hotel is right across the street from the tender pier. Drove up a little North of Kona to Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park. It was okay. Just a short stop. We then headed South to Puuhonau O Honaunau National Historical Park – definitely worth going to. We had some really nice snorkeling here. Headed back North stopping at a few misc places including St. Peter’s Catholic Church.

Kaui - Thursday, Friday

Took shuttle to the airport again to retrieve rental car (Thrifty). Again, they were checking names off the list and only two people could go to get the car. No parking at the ship area. The only parking we saw close was the Aloha Market Place for $20 which is just around the corner from the pier--you need to get a parking pass as soon as you get your car because parking is limited and they only sell enough passes for parking spaces. They don’t have many spaces. We went ahead and bought a pass on the way back to the ship to pick of the rest of our party so we wouldn’t have to worry about it later. Not sure if anyone else has any tips on where else to park here.

Thursday we drove to Waimai Canyon. I think it was about an hour from the ship. Nice drive. The canyon is amazing, even if you have been to the Badlands, desert in Arizona or Nevada, or the Grand Canyon, this is definitely worth seeing. We drove all the way up to PUU HINAHINA LOOKOUT, but it was too foggy up there to see anything. Could barely see right in front of you. Don’t miss driving on the Waimea Canyon Drive (Hwy 550), it is a great drive. We went up another road, per the GPS, but came back down that road, and it was beautiful. We stopped in Hanapepe Town and got a great lunch from a lunch truck there. Amazing hamburgers, yes, a little hamburger, but it was very good. Fish tacos excellent as well. Cute little town, not much there. Drove back and stopped at WAILUA FALLS OVERLOOK (Fantasy Island Falls), OPAEKAA FALLS LOOKOUT (Jurasic Park Falls), Coco Palms Grove – drove past.

Friday morning we got up early and hit the road about 7:30am to head to the North Shore. We drove all the way to Ke'e Beach, and attempted the Kalalau Trail. Well, as we had discovered on other “trails” in Hawaii, this was extremely rocky, very difficult climb. We only made it about ¼ of a mile as we were on limited time, and it was pretty challenging climb. We went far enough up to get a nice clearing for some really pretty pictures of the beach below, but not far enough to see any of the Napali Coast. There are a couple of neat caves there to see also. Stopped at the lighthouse on the way back, and Lydgate State Park – good swimming and okay snorkeling. Knowing what I know now about the drive to the North Shore, I would probably skip it and just do a nice relaxing beach day, as we had to be back on the ship at 1:30pm for early sail away.

Oahu - Saturday, flight home

After getting off the ship, checking luggage into holding area, getting shuttle to rental car agency, and getting back to ship terminal to pick up the rest of our party, we headed out for the day, about 10:00am. We went to the falls by the University and hiked the trail to the falls. Well, again, not a super easy hike, and muddy since it had just rained that morning pretty hard. It is a tall falls, but not very substantial. Probably wouldn’t have bothered if I knew that was all it was. Took a couple of hours. There was a craft festival at the park by the zoo, walked around that, found some lunch, then headed down to the International Marketplace to buy a couple of authentic Tikkis and a mask to bring home. There are two booths there, kind of in the center, where the gentlemen are carving the Tikkis and masks right there. Very nice work. Went to the cactus display at the entrance of the Community College – was nice. It was time to go get the luggage, find dinner and head to the airport.

I would be happy to answer any questions anyone has. Thank you again to everyone who contributes to this site -- it was extremely helpful in planning a "see-all-you-can" trip to Hawaii.

[bronxite]

Wonderful Review....love hearing what other travelers choose to do...makes looking forward to my trip in April 2011 even more exciting. What room did you have on the Ship and did you have any pro/cons about the shop.:)

[pspercy]

Thanks for the fine report, can't wait for next year:)

 

One minor correction, the Nat'l Parks senior pass is from age 62 not 65 - I've got one & I'm not 65 !

http://www.nps.gov/fees_passes.htm

[kadellis]

Wonderful Review....love hearing what other travelers choose to do...makes looking forward to my trip in April 2011 even more exciting. What room did you have on the Ship and did you have any pro/cons about the shop.:)

 

 

We stayed in 7076, window room. We had a hard time deciding between the balcony or window, as we usually cruise balcony. Decided for the $1000 difference we wouldn't be in the room enough since very day was a port day. We made a good choice. Not noisy, didn't hear anyone below or above us, no nightclub noise, etc. The rooms are small, but we maximized space by unpacking everything, and putting our suitecases under the bed. The only time it would have been nice to have the balcony was at the lava sail-by, which was spectacular. It seemed like our ship was only half full, so we didn't have any problems getting a spot for viewing. Overall I thought the food was good, I liked the decor, but I favor dark, rich woods, which is plentiful on this ship. The service was overall pretty good, but as others have mentioned, it is not quite as good as the international ships. Have a great time!

[Molokai-Chuck]

Thanks for a really good review.... My question is about food....

 

Was there a cookout/BBQ offered on sailaway night from Honolulu on the aft area of the outdoor buffet? And maybe offered again on sailaway from Kauai?

 

Thanks,

 

Chuck and Mary

[riofriotex]

Was there a cookout/BBQ offered on sailaway night from Honolulu on the aft area of the outdoor buffet? And maybe offered again on sailaway from Kauai?

 

Yes to both, the first was 5:30-7:30 and the last was 12:30 to 2:30.

[vbmom87]

Great Review!! Thanks for sharing.

 

One correction: You need to be 62, not 65 to get the lifetime National Park Pass for $10.

[kadellis]

Thanks for a really good review.... My question is about food....

 

Was there a cookout/BBQ offered on sailaway night from Honolulu on the aft area of the outdoor buffet? And maybe offered again on sailaway from Kauai?

 

Thanks,

 

Chuck and Mary

 

 

Yes, there was a "cook-out" on the the sail away on the first day. I don't really know about Kauai day, as we went to the Cadillac Diner. I say "cook-out" as it it was just the grill offering BBQ items, the buffet dining room also had all of the BBQ, along with a slew of other options too. If you get a chance, you should eat in the Cadillac Diner -- fun Soda Shop throwback, and the food was great, and it's included in the dining options w/out an additional fee.

[Coolcruise02]

Great review.......thanks for all the info!

[annecolorgreen]

Thanks!

[CruisingGoddess]

Saturday we took our time getting up in the morning, returned the car and took the shuttle to the cruise terminal. Got on the ship just after 12:00 Noon, rooms not ready until after 2:00, so we had a drink, sat on the deck, then decided to go walk over to the Aloha Tower. Spent a little over an hour there --- not much there though. Mostly higher end boutique type shops, but in the back there are a couple little touristy kiosks. Found a couple trinkets there.

 

Great review! One question: How far is the walk to Aloha Tower from the ship?

[Tucker in Texas]

Enjoyed your review. We'll be there in July.

 

Tucker in Texas

[riofriotex]

We stayed in 7076, window room. We had a hard time deciding between the balcony or window, as we usually cruise balcony. Decided for the $1000 difference we wouldn't be in the room enough since very day was a port day. We made a good choice. Not noisy, didn't hear anyone below or above us, no nightclub noise, etc. The rooms are small, but we maximized space by unpacking everything, and putting our suitecases under the bed. The only time it would have been nice to have the balcony was at the lava sail-by, which was spectacular. It seemed like our ship was only half full, so we didn't have any problems getting a spot for viewing. Overall I thought the food was good, I liked the decor, but I favor dark, rich woods, which is plentiful on this ship. The service was overall pretty good, but as others have mentioned, it is not quite as good as the international ships.

 

I do think this is a cruise where you could save by foregoing a balcony. I loves having one though because we'd always open the door to it at night while at sea, as we enjoyed the sounds of the waves and the fresh air. I specifically chose starboard side for the lava flow sail-by, and I chose a cabin with a large balcony (foreward) so we could share it with my dad, who had an inside cabin.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Thank you for the good review. The more I read the more is slowly sinking in, LOL! We are booked on the POA for next May.:)

[smrtypnts]

Thanks for the review. Some great info provided.:)

[born2cruize]

Great review! One question: How far is the walk to Aloha Tower from the ship?

 

If you go to my web site and select Hawaii there is a link to Honolulu/Waikiki 2010. From Deck 13 I took a picture of P&O Arcadia at the Aloha Tower, literally a stone throw away.

[CruisingGoddess]

If you go to my web site and select Hawaii there is a link to Honolulu/Waikiki 2010. From Deck 13 I took a picture of P&O Arcadia at the Aloha Tower, literally a stone throw away.

 

Found it! Thanks!!

[sue402001]

Thanks for posting your review, can't wait to see the sights myself!