An Exhaustive Review of Our Exhausting Hawaiian Adventure

[kapoho2]

Actually, another great overlook into Halema'uma'u is from the observation area at the Jagger Museum. There are placards and signs explaining everything you are viewing. And, the park rangers usually have some scopes set up so you can get real close up views of the steam, etc. And, there are park rangers available for questions. Also, the museum is great. Nice restrooms here also ;)

[Umbarger]

I am so addicted to this review. Keep it coming.

[CruisingGoddess]

We picked up the rental car at 8:36am according to the time on the receipt. We stopped at a Shell station for drinks and additional snacks. Which reminds me -

 

TIP - Make SURE you get some Maui Style potato chips while in the islands. They are the best potato chips ever and I'm not even a big potato chip lover. They are sort of like Kettle chips, but there is something different about them. I like the onion flavor best.

 

We spent more time in the Shell station than planned. It didn't look like all that much from the outside, but they had some interesting things inside.

 

Did you rent from Thrifty in Maui and was this Shell station close to their office? I'd like to stop by and get these potato chips you mention!

 

Thanks also for the info about the lava sailby! Very helpful and I'm glad the photo shop sells pro photos of the lava! They look great!

[kwbound]

Thanks so much for your detailed awesome review!! I'm eating it up!!! I've been trying to catch up on reading this since you started the topic!! I'm still on the Volcano Sailby post but wanted to comment before I forget...

 

 

Any tips on which turn offs you did along Chain of Craters? Did you do them all? Don't want to spend too much time there but at the same time, I don't want to miss anything!

 

Hey Rebecca! I'm glad you are enjoying the review. I have a feeling you and I are kindred spirits when it comes to planning trips.

 

As for the Chain of Craters - Regrettably we did not take any of the turn offs along the Chain of Craters, but we did stop at a couple of the look outs that were right on the road, not only to see the views, but to walk to the different types of lava. It was drizzling rain for much of our drive down to the coast. We spent quite a bit of time (30-40 min?) at the end of the road. Honestly, if we had spent more time at VNP, we would not have gotten to see Richardson's Beach Park, and we were hoping to snorkel there. Unfortunately the surf was too high for us to be comfortable getting in the water, but we didn't know that until we got there.

[kwbound]

Actually, another great overlook into Halema'uma'u is from the observation area at the Jagger Museum. There are placards and signs explaining everything you are viewing. And, the park rangers usually have some scopes set up so you can get real close up views of the steam, etc. And, there are park rangers available for questions. Also, the museum is great. Nice restrooms here also ;)

 

The Jagger museum is very nice, as are the restrooms. On the day we were there it had gotten cloudy and hazy by the time we got to the museum. If you look at the Picasa album I posted a link to earlier, you will see what I mean. In that album there are several pictures of the placards and signs also. I think I enjoyed the Caldera Overlook more because there were so few people around. It was so quiet and peaceful...almost otherworldly. At the Jagger Museum, there were several tour groups and a lot of people, so even tho the view might have been great, it still would not have seemed as "natural" if that makes any sense.

[kwbound]

I am so addicted to this review. Keep it coming.

 

I'm sorry I didn't get to post another day today. Work and life got in the way. I did get part of Day 5 typed up. My plan is to get up early tomorrow, finish it and post it with the photos. If I am not able to, I promise to get it posted by tomorrow night. My goal is to have the entire thing finished by Sunday night. (Fingers crossed!)

 

Umbarger - I want to thank you for all the information you have shared on the boards. I think I'm trying to pay everyone back for their board generosity with this one review!

[kwbound]

Loving your review and photos. Thanks for taking the time to put it together and share it.

 

Thank you for your review and all the information you have shared in the last few months!

[kwbound]

Did you rent from Thrifty in Maui and was this Shell station close to their office? I'd like to stop by and get these potato chips you mention!

 

Thanks also for the info about the lava sailby! Very helpful and I'm glad the photo shop sells pro photos of the lava! They look great!

 

I rented from Thrifty in all he ports except Kona where we didn't rent a car. I was extremely pleased with their service at all locations. I should have written down the address of the Shell station....actually let me see if I can find a receipt....

 

The address of the Shell station is...(drum roll)...

 

370 Dairy Rd

Kahului, HI 96723

 

Google the address. It is very near the airport car rental agencies. Regardless of where you are going, you will almost have to pass by it after you pick up your car.

 

But if you are just stopping there for the potato chips - we found those chips all over the islands. Both of the snorkel excursions we did served those chips. I googled them to see if they are available on the mainland. It seems that Frito Lay has bought them out, but they are not available anywhere near me. I'm thinking about ordering some from ABC Stores. :)

 

I think I read before that you said you don't drink, but here is a tip that might interest others: The Shell station had leis made out of silk flowers and little airplane size bottles of liquor. They had Jose Cuervo, Barcadi, Jagermeister (sp), Jack Daniels and maybe a couple of others. BFW bought one as a gift and security let her back on the ship with it. So if anyone is looking for a way to get liquor back on, this may be an option. The leis were $20-$25 and had 5 little bottles. Not that I would encourage that sort of thing.:rolleyes:

 

The Shell station also had the rice/spam items made to look like sushi. We saw them on a Travel Network show once. DFH tried one...I don't think he finished it, if that says anything.

[kwbound]

I should have mentioned that tonight on the buffet they had prime rib and we were all happy with it. If you wanted medium well or well done, they would carve a slice from the medium roast and finish it off on the grill. DH got his medium well and he was happy with the way it was done. Personally on days the ship is in port I think they should keep the buffet open later than 9pm. By the time we got back to the ship around we had to rush to the buffet and they were shutting down before we finished, so no ice cream for us.

 

Regarding housekeeping today - When we got back to the room the bed was made and we even had a towel animal and the Freestyle Daily for the next day. But once again I had to set the breakfast dishes out in the hallway. And the one towel DH had left on the bathroom floor to be replaced, was still laying on the bathroom floor.:mad:

[kwbound]

Our originally scheduled itinerary:

Tuesday, October 12 – Maui

7:30am Depart ship for Wailea

8:30am Check in at Beach Activity Hut at Makena Beach and Golf Resort, 5400 Makena Alanui, Makena, HI 96753

9am-1pm Deluxe snorkel trip to Molokini Crater and Turtle Town on Kai Kanani catamaran. $103/pp. Includes continental breakfast, deli lunch, beers and mai tais. http://www.kaikanani.com/molokinisnorkel.asp

1pm-2pm Drive to Lahaina

2pm-4pm Explore Lahaina, buy a pin at Hard Rock, explore shops/galleries, do a walking tour http://www.frommers.com/destinations/maui/0015010008.html http://www.frommers.com/images/destinations/maps/jpg-2006/15_walkingtour:historiclahaina.jpg According to Frommers, the walking tour takes about an hour.

4p-5pm Return to Kahului and return rental car, with a detour to the Ioa Needle if we have time

6pm Ship sails

 

Thrifty Rental Car

935 E. Mokuea Pl

Kahului, HI 96732

877-283-0898

 

 

What we actually did:

We were excited about today because this is our first opportunity to snorkel, and we love to snorkel. We didn’t have to make a picnic lunch this morning this morning or even go to breakfast because both were provided on the excursion. We left the ship as scheduled at 7:30am. It was an easy drive to the Makena Beach & Golf Resort in Wailea. The resort is beautiful.We were there at least 20 minutes before they started checking everyone in. Prior to boarding the boat everyone had to sign a release form and check in. Then one of the naturalist from the crew gave a talk about the kinds of marine life we would likely encounter. She would be video taping the excursion and editing it with music and stock shots on the way back in. Anyone wanting a copy of the video was to let her know and she would make sure those were the participants she focused on. We didn’t do that. It is a “barefoot cruise” so before boarding everyone puts their shoes in large storage buckets. When you return, all the shoes are laying out on the grass to be retrieved. The catamaran had been out on an early morning excursion and we could see it coming back in. It pulls directly onto the sand and you board via a double staircase in the center front of the boat. The boat itself very nice with plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. There are restrooms but I didn’t use them so I can’t comment, but I’m sure they were fine. There were places behind the seats to store your bag, or could leave on your seat to save your place. Here are some photos from the Makena Beach and of the boat:

 

Molokini Crater seen from Makena Beach. It didn't take any time to get there.

 

The volcano seen from Makena Beach.

 

Can I live here??

 

Coming in to pick us up.

 

Coming up...Snorkeling at Molokini....

Edited October 28, 2010 by kwbound

[smrtypnts]

Can't say enough great things about your review

Edited October 28, 2010 by smrtypnts

[smrtypnts]

Great review so far. My DW and I are considering a 20th anniversary cruise in 2012 so I am interested in your review. Thanks.

I booked in Feb 2009 for a cruise in July 2011--I HIGHLY recommend booking now for your anniversary. What's the worst that will happen?--you'll have to cancel and get a refund! The price difference between booking and now is astronomical! Good luck.

[kwbound]

I will say it again your review is wonderful- really appreicate the GPS info. hope you'll continue to do that. I need to some how print off just your review and take them with us-is that possible without also printing off everyone else's comments? We are going with another couple who are close friends of ours, I keep emailing my friend your review to read as you add to it! We have cruised the Caribbean a few times and it seemed it was so much easier planning those trips, but this cruise, is different-there's just so much to do and see. So it's really good to read reviews like yours to really help us sort out what we what to do. Again thank you!

 

Kim - I have figured out a relatively easy way to print out the review. Under "Thread Tools", go to "Printable Version" (As Homer would say "Doh!";) ) Hit Ctrl/A to copy everything on that page. Go to Word or some other word processing programming and paste it there. In Word it comes over as text in tables, a separate one for each post. Just delete the posts you don't want and then print it.

 

I'm so glad I figured this out. It won't be so hard now for me to condense it down once I'm finished and reprint it in the Reviews section. So actually, since I'm going to post it in reviews anyway, I guess you could wait until I do that and copy it from there.

 

Now, can someone please tell me how to reference multiple quotes in one post. I can't seem to figure that out. And also, how to make a word be a link, like riofrio does in her posts. That's much cooler than the way I do it which is just posting an entire link.

 

Mahalo & Aloha!

Edited October 28, 2010 by kwbound

[vbmom87]

Kim - I have figured out a relatively easy way to print out the review. Under "Thread Tools", go to "Printable Version" (As Homer would say "Doh!";) ) Hit Ctrl/A to copy everything on that page. Go to Word or some other word processing programming and paste it there. In Word it comes over as text in tables, a separate one for each post. Just delete the posts you don't want and then print it.

 

I'm so glad I figured this out. It won't be so hard now for me to condense it down once I'm finished and reprint it in the Reviews section. So actually, since I'm going to post it in reviews anyway, I guess you could wait until I do that and copy it from there.

 

Now, can someone please tell me how to reference multiple quotes in one post. I can't seem to figure that out. And also, how to make a word be a link, like riofrio does in her posts. That's much cooler than the way I do it which is just posting an entire link.

 

Mahalo & Aloha!

 

Can't help with the word link, as I need to learn how to do that myself. I can help with the mulitiple quote though.

 

At the bottom right of each post you will see three links. You click the "quote" link if you want to reply to just that post. However, if you want to reply to multiply posts, click the link with the quotation marks on it which is next to the quote link. Click this link on each and every post you wish to reply to within one post. You will see an orange background when you click on the quotation mark link. Once you have clicked all the "quotation mark" links you want, then simply click on "post reply."

Edited October 28, 2010 by vbmom87

[kwbound]

Can't help with the word link, as I need to learn how to do that myself. I can help with the mulitiple quote though.

 

At the bottom right of each post you will see three links. You click the "quote" link if you want to reply to just that post. However, if you want to reply to multiply posts, click the link with the quotation marks on it which is next to the quote link. Click this link on each and every post you wish to reply to within one post. You will see an orange background when you click on the quotation mark link. Once you have clicked all the "quotation mark" links you want, then simply click on "post reply."

 

Mahalo!!

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Thank you for the continuing review. It is so great.:D

 

One question - which snorkel; company did you use for Molokini? We are looking for one to book a snorkel cruise with.

[kwbound]

Thank you for the continuing review. It is so great.:D

 

One question - which snorkel; company did you use for Molokini? We are looking for one to book a snorkel cruise with.

 

9am-1pm Deluxe snorkel trip to Molokini Crater and Turtle Town on Kai Kanani catamaran. $103/pp. Includes continental breakfast, deli lunch, beers and mai tais. http://www.kaikanani.com/molokinisnorkel.asp

 

We picked them because they are so close to Molokini they don't have to leave as early to get there, so there is less transit time on the boat, and we didn't have to get up as early to make the trip as we would have for any of the others. If I had to do it again, I would just spend the rest of the afternoon at their beach once we got back.

[Jasperdo]

This has been an outstanding review. Thanks for taking the time to be so detailed and including all those wonderful photos. Even though my wife and I will be on the Golden Princess instead of the POA, your review has been very helpful. I am especially interested in your rental car experiences in Hilo and Kauai. We have rental cars reserved through Thrifty as well. It sounds like it worked flawlessly for you. That's good to hear. I do have one quick question about the Thrifty shuttles in Hilo and Kauai. Is there a line to stand in if the shuttle isn't there? Or is it a free for all with everyone trying to scramble onto the shuttle when it arrives at the dock? And is there a sign letting you know where to catch the shuttle?

[FloatYourBoatSince2003]

Kim - I have figured out a relatively easy way to print out the review. Under "Thread Tools", go to "Printable Version" (As Homer would say "Doh!";) ) Hit Ctrl/A to copy everything on that page. Go to Word or some other word processing programming and paste it there. In Word it comes over as text in tables, a separate one for each post.

 

Wow thanks. Learn something new every day!

 

Just wanted to say the "what we planned" and "what we did" is a great idea for those of us doing our own planning... :)

 

Margaret

[CruisingGoddess]

I rented from Thrifty in all he ports except Kona where we didn't rent a car. I was extremely pleased with their service at all locations. I should have written down the address of the Shell station....actually let me see if I can find a receipt....

 

The address of the Shell station is...(drum roll)...

 

370 Dairy Rd

Kahului, HI 96723

 

Google the address. It is very near the airport car rental agencies. Regardless of where you are going, you will almost have to pass by it after you pick up your car.

 

But if you are just stopping there for the potato chips - we found those chips all over the islands. Both of the snorkel excursions we did served those chips. I googled them to see if they are available on the mainland. It seems that Frito Lay has bought them out, but they are not available anywhere near me. I'm thinking about ordering some from ABC Stores. :)

 

I think I read before that you said you don't drink, but here is a tip that might interest others: The Shell station had leis made out of silk flowers and little airplane size bottles of liquor. They had Jose Cuervo, Barcadi, Jagermeister (sp), Jack Daniels and maybe a couple of others. BFW bought one as a gift and security let her back on the ship with it. So if anyone is looking for a way to get liquor back on, this may be an option. The leis were $20-$25 and had 5 little bottles. Not that I would encourage that sort of thing.:rolleyes:

 

The Shell station also had the rice/spam items made to look like sushi. We saw them on a Travel Network show once. DFH tried one...I don't think he finished it, if that says anything.

 

Thanks for digging out the receipt and finding the address!! The spam sushi is called spam musubi and we love it!!! I'll drop in to get some of that too!

 

Regarding housekeeping today - When we got back to the room the bed was made and we even had a towel animal and the Freestyle Daily for the next day. But once again I had to set the breakfast dishes out in the hallway. And the one towel DH had left on the bathroom floor to be replaced, was still laying on the bathroom floor.:mad:

 

Ugh. That's horrible and no excuse for that. When I leave towels on the floor, I expect them to be replaced. I really hope the lack of service doesn't get to me. I've already prepped DH to make me calm down if stuff like this happens. I know everyone calls POA a floating hotel but even at a hotel, they replace towels that you leave on the floor!!

Edited October 28, 2010 by CruisingGoddess

[ohmandy99]

I would hang my towels daily with the exception of the bath mat towel and our towels would be replaced daily and I even felt guilty about it since I was trying to conserve water and reuse. Funny how experiences can be so different. I know I was lucky, we had an awesome room steward!

[kwbound]

This has been an outstanding review. Thanks for taking the time to be so detailed and including all those wonderful photos. Even though my wife and I will be on the Golden Princess instead of the POA, your review has been very helpful. I am especially interested in your rental car experiences in Hilo and Kauai. We have rental cars reserved through Thrifty as well. It sounds like it worked flawlessly for you. That's good to hear. I do have one quick question about the Thrifty shuttles in Hilo and Kauai. Is there a line to stand in if the shuttle isn't there? Or is it a free for all with everyone trying to scramble onto the shuttle when it arrives at the dock? And is there a sign letting you know where to catch the shuttle?

 

Jasperdo - Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you are enjoying the review. We never had to wait in line for the Thrifty Shuttle. There was either one waiting there or one was pulling up as we came out of the terminal. We are the types that like to get off the boat asap, so I'm not sure if there would have been lines if we had waited a little later. Thrifty and Dollar share shuttle buses. In every port there are signs telling you where to go to catch a shuttle, taxi, excursion bus, etc. We never had any problem figuring out where to go. Make sure you join Thrifty's Blue Chip program. It will save you from waiting in line at the counter. There may still be 1 or 2 people in front of you, but not nearly as many as in the regular line. When you get on the bus, sit as close to the front of the bus as possible. That way you will be one of the first ones off and to the counter first. We never had a full bus either going to or coming from the car rental location. Hope this helps.

Edited October 28, 2010 by kwbound

[Jasperdo]

Jasperdo - Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you are enjoying the review. We never had to wait in line for the Thrifty Shuttle. There was either one waiting there or one was pulling up as we came out of the terminal. We are the types that like to get off the boat asap, so I'm not sure if there would have been lines if we had waited a little later. Thrifty and Dollar share shuttle buses. In every port there are signs telling you where to go to catch a shuttle, taxi, excursion bus, etc. We never had any problem figuring out where to go. Make sure you join Thrifty's Blue Chip program. It will save you from waiting in line at the counter. There may still be 1 or 2 people in front of you, but not nearly as many as in the regular line. When you get on the bus, sit as close to the front of the bus as possible. That way you will be one of the first ones off and to the counter first. We never had a full bus either going to or coming from the car rental location. Hope this helps.

Thank you for that advice. It certainly helps a lot. We plan on getting off the ship ASAP on those two days. I have already enrolled in Thrifty's Blue Chip program. We plan on exploring VNP and want to get as early a start as possible.

[riofriotex]

how to make a word be a link, like riofrio does in her posts. That's much cooler than the way I do it which is just posting an entire link.

 

Select the word or words by highlighting it/them, then click the link symbol in the tools just above the message box, then enter your URL in the box that appears. I usually have another window open with the page I'm linking to, so I can just copy the URL from there and paste it in to the box.

 

For example, here are photos from the first half of our Hawaii cruise.

[kwbound]

Can't help with the word link, as I need to learn how to do that myself. I can help with the mulitiple quote though.

 

At the bottom right of each post you will see three links. You click the "quote" link if you want to reply to just that post. However, if you want to reply to multiply posts, click the link with the quotation marks on it which is next to the quote link. Click this link on each and every post you wish to reply to within one post. You will see an orange background when you click on the quotation mark link. Once you have clicked all the "quotation mark" links you want, then simply click on "post reply."

 

Select the word or words by highlighting it/them, then click the link symbol in the tools just above the message box, then enter your URL in the box that appears. I usually have another window open with the page I'm linking to, so I can just copy the URL from there and paste it in to the box.

 

For example, here are photos from the first half of our Hawaii cruise.

 

 

Thanks for the technical assistance!