An Exhaustive Review of Our Exhausting Hawaiian Adventure

[riofriotex]

We drove back to the Anchor Cover shopping center and paid $20 to park for the night, and then we waited for the ships shuttle, and waited, and waited…

 

This part really cracked me up, because y'all are obviously in good shape and it's a very easy walk from Anchor Cove back to the ship. :D

[kwbound]

This part really cracked me up, because y'all are obviously in good shape and it's a very easy walk from Anchor Cove back to the ship. :D

 

Yes - Without a doubt normally we would have walked back without batting an eye, but BFH shattered his heel a few weeks ago and is still recovering from surgery that included pin placement in his heel. That's why he didn't try the Kalalau Trail at all. He used a walking stick to help get around every day. He was game to try anything and never complained, but by the end of each day, his foot and ankle would be terribly swollen. So in deference to his injury, we tried to limit the walking when we could. And since we weren't sure how much standing or walking would be involved at the luau, we wanted to take the shuttle, which we were told several times would be there "any minute"...any minute just took a while.

[Browezilla]

Thanks for the fast response Donna. In my earlier post I didn't want to give away that I did the trip "almost" to Hana about 3 years ago. It was such a busy day. We went to Haleakula, then one other stop (I don't recall what it was now), then to RTH. It was incredibly exhausting. We started before daylight and didn't get back to the ship until sometime between 10-11pm. My wife hasn't been on RTH, so I've been wondering if I should take her to experience it. You feel about it like I do, that it's nice, but hard to dedicate most of one of our 2 days to it.

 

Three years ago I was on Pride of Hawaii. The food was good, when you could get it! The first 3 nights we spent no less than 2 hours at dinner, with most of that time waiting for our food. One night it was just under 3 hours, and we finally walked out waiting for our dessert. After that, we gave up on the dining rooms and ate at the buffet. If you had it to do over again, what would you do for dinner?

[kwbound]

Three years ago I was on Pride of Hawaii. The food was good, when you could get it! The first 3 nights we spent no less than 2 hours at dinner, with most of that time waiting for our food. One night it was just under 3 hours, and we finally walked out waiting for our dessert. After that, we gave up on the dining rooms and ate at the buffet. If you had it to do over again, what would you do for dinner?

 

We only had dinner at the Skyline dining room and in the buffet. Between the two of those the buffet definitely won, hands down. The food was better, there were more options, and you most definitely finished the meal quicker. I would say that the buffet, both breakfast and dinner, was the best of any of our cruises. So that makes it surprising that the Skyline dining room was the worst dining room of any or our cruises. But that's what we thought.

[Raison]

I am also really enjoying your review and have picked up several great bits of info! I will be cutting and pasting when it is finished so I can print it out for us to use:)

 

I have a question regarding the partial hike of Kalalau trail that you did....how long did it take you to do the hike?

 

We are also planning to do the first bit if the weather and timing cooperate.

[kwbound]

I am also really enjoying your review and have picked up several great bits of info! I will be cutting and pasting when it is finished so I can print it out for us to use:)

 

I have a question regarding the partial hike of Kalalau trail that you did....how long did it take you to do the hike?

 

We are also planning to do the first bit if the weather and timing cooperate.

 

According to the timestamps on the pictures it was less than 40 minutes from the time we started up the trail to the time were back at the bottom, and that included a lot of picture taking along the way and at the lookout. So it is a quick little hike.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

We are also planning the Smith Family Luau. I am so glad you liked it so much! Now I know it is the right choice for us.:D

[kwbound]

We are also planning the Smith Family Luau. I am so glad you liked it so much! Now I know it is the right choice for us.:D

 

Ginny -

 

The seats were unreserved in the dining pavilion unless you had so many in your group. Then they said you could call ahead and reserve a table together. I don't remember how many people they said had to be in your party. I think it was 6. But if anyone has a large group, you might try and have a table reserved instead of trying to find seats all together. The night we were there, a local high school class of 1960 was there celebrating their 50th high school reunion and there was an entire section reserved for them.

 

I'm sure you will love the luau.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Thanks! There are 6 of us, so I will check it out.:)

[Browezilla]

Thanks Donna,

 

After my last response last night I did some Google image searches. We're going to forego RTH and instead do Iao Valley and then head straight to Oheo Gulch. On the return, time permitting, we'll catch the sunset on Haleakala. The second day will be whale watching (we're going in Jan) and Lahaina.

 

On dinner, your echo my sentiments in that unless we happen to catch a very uncrowded dinner time, we're probably going to do the buffet every night.

 

Thanks again for the excellent write-up. I'm looking forward to your "suggestions" post.

[sceptic]

browe, unless you are driving the southern route through Kaupo, the way to Oheo Gulch IS the Road to Hana. Granted, the southern route to Oheo gulch is faster than RTH, but be aware that some of it is dirt (and some rental agencies forbid driving on parts of it.)

 

the return via the southern route to catch the sunset on Haleakala is considerably faster because that route ends up in the upcountry, near the Haleakala route.

 

Just be aware that what you stated means you're driving the south route twice.

[Umbarger]

On dinner, your echo my sentiments in that unless we happen to catch a very uncrowded dinner time, we're probably going to do the buffet every night.

 

.

 

On the POA the only time we went to the dining room was when everyone was gone to the Luau one night. Dinner still took a long time. I think that is just the custom on board ships. We also ate at the buffet mostly every meal just because it is so much quicker. We never had a problem with finding something to eat.

[Browezilla]

On the POA the only time we went to the dining room was when everyone was gone to the Luau one night. Dinner still took a long time. I think that is just the custom on board ships.

Hi. No, on this ship the service is very very slow. I've been on over 20 cruises on 6 lines, and this service at dinnner was the slowest I've seen. I heard others say they tried it on Luau night. I think NCL-A gives some of the staff time off that night expecting a lighter crowd. However, on this cruise, it's the itinerary, not the cruise experience that's important, so I think we'll hit the buffet each night. Of course, I'm saying this out of earshot of my wife :-)

[Browezilla]

browe, unless you are driving the southern route through Kaupo, the way to Oheo Gulch IS the Road to Hana. Granted, the southern route to Oheo gulch is faster than RTH, but be aware that some of it is dirt (and some rental agencies forbid driving on parts of it.)

 

the return via the southern route to catch the sunset on Haleakala is considerably faster because that route ends up in the upcountry, near the Haleakala route.

 

Just be aware that what you stated means you're driving the south route twice.

 

Actually, I google mapped it. RTH to Oheo is only 8 minutes longer than going the other way, so we'll likely do the full circuit, but only make 2 stops 1) see the sail-boarders, 2) Oheo Gulch.

 

A couple tips for others reading this excellent review

1) Hanalei is unbelievably under-reported. This is a beautiful location with a beautiful beach

2) If you do the Napali hike to the beach, which is 2 miles in, what Donna showed isn't an exageration. There's plenty of places where it's very muddy, and it's up and down all the way there. What I did was take an old pair of sneakers that I planned to throw away. When I got back from the hike (4 miles total), I went straight into the ocean fully clothed because I was covered in mud from the waist down....and I chucked the shoes :-)

[kwbound]

Our originally scheduled itinerary:

Friday, October 15 – Kauai

 

7:45am-9:30am – Helicopter Tour with Blue Hawaiian http://www.bluehawaiian.com/kauai/tours/ $197/pp

 

9:30a-12pm Go down to the South Shore area and see the Spouting Horn and Po’ipu Beach Park http://www.poipubeach.org/beaches.html where there is good snorkeling and occasionally the rare Hawaiian Monk Seal comes ashore.

 

12p-1p Drive back to Lihue, return rental car

 

2pm Ship sails. They will sail by the Na Pali coast in the afternoon.

 

 

Locations for GPS:

 

Spouting Horn

Koloa HI

 

Po’ipu Beach Park

Poipu HI

 

Thrifty Car Rental

3273 Hoolimalima Place

Lihue, HI 96766

877-283-0898

 

What we actually did:

DH left before us to go get the car and come back and pick us up so DFH wouldn’t have to walk to Blue Hawaiian’s offices. Since we were taking home more than we came with, DH went ahead and ran to Kmart and picked up an extra duffle bag for us. He then picked us up and we headed to Blue Hawaiian’s offices which are in the Harbor Mall, just across the street from the Anchor Cove center, and within an easy walk of the ship if everyone in your party is fully mobile. I was anxious about two things regarding the helicopter flight. First, it was a helicopter flight. Second, they weigh you in before they let you on! Jeeze! I was planning on leaving about 20 lbs at home on this trip, but it decided to come on the trip regardless of what I wanted. But both of my fears were unfounded. In the offices, you step on a mat to be weighed and the person checking you in is the only person that sees it. I don’t even know what it said. She didn’t laugh or try to make me pay for an extra seat, so I was happy. Once your flight is all checked checked in, they call your name and give you your seat number, which is assigned by computer based on the weight of all the passengers. I was 2, DH was 1, DFH was 5 and DFW was 6. Then you watch a little safety presentation, get your floatation devices which are like little yellow fanny packs and are shuttled to the airport. At the airport, there is a shade awning with chairs where you wait for your helicopter. Our pilot was Don. My seat was in front center between the pilot and DH. DH was responsible for opening the door on that side if we needed to evacuate. BFs were in the two seats behind the pilot, 6 was the window seat. Soon we were loaded, buckled up and taking off. It was so much smoother that I expected. The views were just amazing, especially of Waimea Canyon and the Na Pali coast. Once we were under way, I never had one nervous moment. I definitely recommend his tour. The pictures don’t do the beauty of the island justice, but here are some of them:

 

 

 

 

 

 

In this picture you can see some of the Kalalau Trail.

 

Day 8 Continued – Kauai, Kalapaki Beach

[kwbound]

After we returned from our helicopter tour instead of driving down south to Poipu Beach, which was what we had originally planned to do, we decided to spend the remainder of our last day in Kauai relaxing at Kalapaki Beach. Afterwards we all agreed it was an excellent decision. I don’t why you don’t hear more about this beach. It is really lovely. There is plenty of shopping at Harbor Mall, Anchor Cove and some more little nearby shops. There were several restaurants and bars nearby, including Duke’s right at the beach. There are beach rentals available. And between the sidewalk and the sand is a large grassy lawn. It’s always nice to be able to put your towel on the grass instead of in the sand. While DH went to return the rental car, DFH went to stake out his spot on the beach, while DFW and I shopped our way from Harbor Mall over to the beach. DH got back to the beach about the same time as DFW and I arrived. We went to Dukes for the Hula Pie we had been hoping to have before we went home. It was good, but not as good as the dessert we had at Hula Grill in Waikiki the first night of vacation. After our Hula Pie we rented some boogie boards and headed down the beach where the waves looked a little better. We had fun playing in the surf and relaxing until it was time to head back to the ship for the last time. Here are some photos from the beach:

 

 

You can see the ship from the water.

 

 

Hula Pie

 

There is a sports bar at Anchor Cove and we stopped there for one last drink before going to catch the shuttle back to the ship. Once again we had a problem with catching the shuttle. We went out about 1pm to get in line for the shuttle. There were were several others also waiting. A few minutes later a couple of the merchants came out and told us all that the shuttle driver had made his last run. That when he pulls up his little traffic cones, he is done for the day and he had already taken them up. This was annoying. There was no sign saying when the last shuttle ran. I went back and looked in the Daily and there was nothing about what time the last shuttle ran. Passengers didn’t have to be back on board until 1:30pm. So the shuttle could have made two or 3 more runs in that time. I guess I was most annoyed because that shuttle said NCL on the side of it. NCL should have told us what the schedule was so that we could have planned appropriately. So we had no choice but to start walking back. I wasn’t worried that we wouldn’t make it before the ship sailed, but I was concerned about the wear and tear DFH’s foot and ankle would take on a rushed walk of that distance. He of coursed acted like we didn’t need to be worrying about him, he could beat us all back! Fortunately one of the merchants saw there was an issue and offered to drive him and DFW back to the ship. With traffic lights, they just barely made it in front of us. When security scanned by card I asked how many people were still out. He said 24, and they are all on a ship sponsored golf excursion, so we’d be waiting on them if they were late.

 

Our plan for the rest of the day was to shower and clean-up, go to the Cadillac Diner for a late lunch, come back and pack so that our bags would be ready to sit out and then go to get a table at the Waikiki Bar to watch the Na Pali sail by. Our timing was perfect. We requested an outdoor table at the Cadillac Diner, so that we could watch the sail away. Except for Michelle and Kyle in the Skyline, the staff at the Cadillac provided the best onboard service we had all week. One of the waiters asked where we are from. When we told him he said, he thought one of the waitresses was from our community. Soon the waitress comes to our table and not only is she from our community, at one time we had lived in the same neighborhood. When she described it, I know the exact house she lived in. Our sons went to the same schools, but at different times. It was one of those small world things.

 

Then an entertaining thing happened and you should try to catch it if you can. There was a tugboat escorting the ship out of the harbor. A waiter told us to watch the tugboat, and when the ship was free of the channel, the tugboat would start doing 360’s in the water to tell us goodbye. And he did. And not just not just 1 or 2 circles, that little tugboat was spinning like a top as we sailed by. If you’ve ever read the Little Toot books to your kids, that’s what this tugboat reminded me of. It sounds silly to describe it, but it was funny and whimsical and made us all laugh. (OK – I admit it - I clapped like I did for the whales.) This was the only lunch we ate on the ship and we enjoyed it very much. So I recommend the Cadillac Diner on deck for lunch during the Kauai sail away.

 

Coming up: The Na Pali Sail By...

[kwbound]

Now it was time for the sad duty of packing for the trip home. We had signed up for the Easy Fly program. So we were just keeping our carry-ons for the final day and wouldn’t see our luggage until we arrived back in Houston on Sunday morning. It was a good thing that DH had purchased that extra duffle that morning, and that almost wasn’t enough. Fortunately his portable luggage scale told us all of our bags were under the weight limits.

 

So we headed up to the Waikiki Bar to snag a good table for the Na Pali sail by. When we got there, the ship was just approaching Hanalei Bay. We were happy that we had been able to see Hanalei from land, air and sea, and the same for Ke’e Beach and the start of the Kalalau Trail. Here are a few of the photos, which once again don’t do the views justice:

 

 

 

 

 

This is Ke'e Beach from the ship.

 

Red sky at night, sailers delight.

 

After the said-by we had our last dinner at the buffet. BFs went to the final show, but it was early to bed for DH and I. We wanted to get up early Saturday morning to make the most of our last day in Hawaii.

 

Coming up: A great last day on Waikiki Beach….

[Raison]

Fantastic! The report and the photos are great.

 

Your Friday is pretty much exactly what we have planned for our first cruise, so it is good to read about the helicopter flight, and the other things close to the ship. We are only planning on keeping our rental car for the first day and I have been wondering if we would need it on the Friday as well, but now I see we won't.

 

Just a little aside about helicopters - many years ago I was on a scenic flight over the Bungle Bungle NP in Western Australia (an amazing place). Anyway, we were flying along having a great old time when the door that I was seated next to fell open - minor panic attack!! The pilot talked me through shutting the door again as he manouvered the chopper to lessen the wind resistance so it was easier for me to do! Interesting things happen when you least expect them!

[sceptic]

browe, trust me on this: the way back from Oheo gulch via the southern route is a LOT shorter (time-wise) than via Hana. I suppose this will work well for you because if you assume it will take basically the same time (less 8 min) you will be pleasantly surprised by the time you save!

 

And if you do go to Haleakala for sunrise, going back via the southern route is much preferred.

 

And good on you for deciding to just zip to Oheo Gulch if that's what you want to see. IMO it's the highlight stop of the whole route.

[kwbound]

browe, trust me on this: the way back from Oheo gulch via the southern route is a LOT shorter (time-wise) than via Hana. I suppose this will work well for you because if you assume it will take basically the same time (less 8 min) you will be pleasantly surprised by the time you save!

 

And if you do go to Haleakala for sunrise, going back via the southern route is much preferred.

 

And good on you for deciding to just zip to Oheo Gulch if that's what you want to see. IMO it's the highlight stop of the whole route.

 

 

I also agree that coming back from the gulch would be faster via the southern route.

[Browezilla]

I also agree that coming back from the gulch would be faster via the southern route.

 

Lower on the nausea meter as well :-)

[leapdaymom]

I am really enjoying the review.....I have a few questions...we are going in June 2011...6 adults and 3 kids (ages 7,8,9). How was the buffet food....burgers, pizza, etc? Did any of the ports have water sports, shopping, etc.

[vc562894]

What time did you head up to the Waikiki Bar? You said you had perfect timing... just wondering!

[Browezilla]

I am really enjoying the review.....I have a few questions...we are going in June 2011...6 adults and 3 kids (ages 7,8,9). How was the buffet food....burgers, pizza, etc? Did any of the ports have water sports, shopping, etc.

Earlier Donna said the food was better at the buffet than in the main dining room. I was on Pride of Hawaii, and it was the same for me. The food was the same food served in the main dining room, plus some.

 

Some of the "ports" are industrial, but close by will be shopping and water sports.

[bronxite]

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.

 

Loving this review, thank you for putting so much time and effort into your adventure report. I too am very detailed when planning a major trip, want to see and do as much as possible. My questions is; how close is this snorkel company? Can't wait to read the remainder of your trip.:o