POA trip report 4/16 (with an 8-year-old!)

[bensmom1]

I learned a LOT from this board in planning our trip, so wanted to share our experience -- with a little perspective for those traveling with kids.

 

Pre-Cruise - Honolulu

We flew out from Charlotte via Phoenix on the Wednesday before the cruise. We had a 2-hour layover in PHX which was perfect for a sit-down lunch and a lot of walking around to stretch our legs before the 6.5-hour flight to Honolulu. A LONG day but DS did great on the flights, with a little help from card games, books, a notebook to write & draw, and the travel DVD player (which we somehow left on the plane! oh well). No crankiness at all--amazing! We are off to a good start.

 

I had booked rental cars w/Thrifty (w/Blue Chip program--thanks to tips on CC!) at each port except Kona. The process in Honolulu went smoothly, but Waikiki traffic is no fun to drive in. A GPS might have been helpful, but after a few minutes studying maps, we made it to our hotel, Hilton Hawaiian Village.

 

LOVED the HHV! We stayed in the Rainbow Tower w/a beautiful view of Diamond Head and the ocean. The beach in front of HHV had quite a bit more space than some of the hotels further down, and the pool was beautiful and not crowded (I think it's the largest in Waikiki). We enjoyed the tropical birds on the grounds (flamingos, penguins, macaws, etc.) We had dinner at one of the faster-service sit-down restaurants in the HHV shopping area. By that time, it was about 2 am east coast time, so we were too tired to even unpack and just went to bed "early."

 

Of course we were awake by 5 am the next morning. We had planned to just have a lazy day at the resort. We had breakfast at the (expensive!) buffet in the Rainbow Tower, and made the first of several trips to the ABC store on-site at HHV. Good prices on most everything you might need, including the BIG bottles of Hawaii-bottled water for only $.99! We then drove to Snorkel Bob's (recommended by many on CC)--at the other end of Waikiki--to pick up our snorkel equipment which I'd rented online for a week. It wasn't busy at all and we were fitted and ready to go in no time. (However--I didn't take the time to walk around in the snorkel fins so didn't realize that the toe opening was too tight--I ended up cutting my toe when we went snorkeling the next day, and we had to go back to get different fins--so make sure they fit well when you pick them up!)

 

Our chores done, we went back to HHV and hung out on the beach and the pool the rest of the day. (One tip I was glad we followed--we brought our own soft-sided cooler, and ziplock bags for ice, so we could keep our big bottles of water cool on the beach--used this almost every day of the trip). We walked down the beach (about a 20-minute walk) to have dinner at Duke's at the Outrigger, where I had made a reservation a couple of weeks before. It was very busy and loud, and the food was just OK. I was glad we hadn't stayed at a hotel at this end of the beach--as mentioned above--it was much more crowded and much less beach space. Another popular spot--the Hula Grill--was right next door. We were again in bed by 9 pm.

 

The next morning, DS and I again woke up about 5 am. DH was still sleeping, so I decided to go running on the beachwalk and let DS read downstairs in the lobby. This worked out well (and ended up being my only real "exercise" on the whole trip). After breakfast, we went up to Hanauma Bay to snorkel. We got there by 8:45 and there were plenty of people already, but no wait (when we left, late morning, we saw a lot of people waiting). I was hoping DS would enjoy snorkeling, and thankfully, he did! The water was a bit chilly but OK if you keep moving. We then drove up the coast a bit (to Kailua, I think?). I did not have a specific plan for a lunch place--I found a listing in our guidebook that sounded good, but the traffic in Kailua was actually pretty bad, and we just gave up. We stopped at Sandy Beach--right next to the Blowhole--to watch the surfers. We then drove back to Waikiki to do the flipper exchange at Snorkel Bob's--got a bit lost in traffic--then got a bit lost again trying to get to Duke's (where DH had realized he'd left his debit card the night before), and were totally fed up with Waikiki traffic by the time we gave up on Duke's and just went back to HHV--from which DH walked back down the beach again to get his debit card! Oh well, it was his only exercise for the trip :rolleyes: Again, a GPS unit would have been helpful! We had dinner at the Tropics restaurant at HHV, which was excellent (I had surf & turf, w/a perfectly cooked steak; yummy cheesecake for dessert), then watched the HHV fireworks from the beach--which were very impressive for something they do every Friday!

 

On Saturday, we went to Pearl Harbor before boarding the ship. We packed and checked out first, leaving our luggage in the car at PH (some others had expressed some concern about doing that, but I think it must be pretty common). Everyone says get there early--we arrived at 9:30 and got tickets for the 11:00 tour. That worked out perfectly as it was just enough time to see the museums and other exhibits. We each got the audio tour, which I think added a lot. The two museums (one about the lead-up to the PH attack, and one about the day itself) are fairly new and really nicely done. They helped give DS a better perspective to understand the memorial, and I think made quite an impression on him. The whole experience is really very moving, and I agree with what other CC-ers have said--no visit to Hawaii is really complete without seeing PH and honoring those who were lost.

 

Next installment--the cruise!

[FunCruiser56]

Great start to your trip! I'll be waiting for more..

 

Bev

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Thank you so much for the review. So far, so good.:) I am glad that your DS seems to be enjoying himself so far. Waiting anxiously for the rest. Will you be including pictures?

 

I am recovering from surgery and have to be pretty much non-active for a few more days yet, so these reviews are a God Send for me.:cool:

[robbinsca]

We were on the POA that same week. We must have been on the same boat going out to PH.

 

I agree with your assessment on the PH tour. It was awe inspiring, and the set up they have their is just so solemn.

 

I posted a review on the CC Review section. I am going to follow your posts to see if you had the same opinions as we did. We were 4 50-somethings with no kids and it sounds as if you are a bit more active than we are.

[leapdaymom]

I am very interested in reading about your trip. We are traveling from Charlotte to Phoenix then Hawaii with a 7 years old (DS). We are going snorkeling at Hanuama Bay, eating at Duke's, and Pearl Harbor.

[bensmom1]

Next installment of our 4/16 POA cruise . . .

 

Sadly, I am unable to upload pictures--I get a fail message when I try to upload from my computer, and when I try to copy/paste the embedded code from Shutterfly, it just shows the code text, not the picture :confused:

 

So I will just continue with observations, and thank my fellow CCers who have been able to share pictures of many of the things we saw.

 

After seeing Pearl Harbor (and we had gotten sandwiches there as it was around noon by the time we were done), we dropped our car off at the Thrifty location and took their free shuttle to the pier--just waited about 10 minutes at Thrifty, and we were the only ones on the shuttle. We got to the pier probably about 1 pm.

 

We dropped off our bags, went through the first checkpoint, got our picture taken, and got in the actual check-in line--all of that took about 20 minutes. It was a long, slow line for check-in and I didn't see a Latitudes sign ?? After a few minutes a crew member came by and I asked if if there was a Latitudes check-in--he directed us to a counter at the very end on the left--no one was in line there, because I imagine no one else had figured it out either, with no signs. Strange. Anyway, that sped up the process considerably. When we got on the ship, a nice crew member asked if he could help us find anything, and offered to show us to our cabin--wow! When we got to our hallway, our bags were in the line-up already, so we all grabbed a suitcase (including the crew member) and went to the cabin. When we got there, he showed us around, adjusted the thermostat, etc. DH started to get money for a tip, and the guy said, "oh no, I'm an officer--the art director" :eek: I've read of a couple others having a similar experience, and I have to agree, it made such a positive first impression on the ship. Thumbs up.

 

Our cabin was an aft balcony room on Deck 10--I had tried to select a fairly quiet location--we were just under the Gold Rush Saloon area, and the only thing we ever heard was large carts being rolled a couple of times in the early AM hours. Yes, the rooms are a bit smaller than other NCL ships (e.g., we were on the Pearl last year), but it was plenty of room for the three of us. I found the storage area behind the right-hand mirror in the bathroom (not intuitive) and was happy. There aren't a lot of drawers, but the shelves & bins in the closet make up for it. The fold-out sofa bed is getting a bit small for DS (though he is very tall for his age), but he slept diagonally. No curtain between the fold-out bed and our bed, as they had on the Pearl, but we were so tired every night that nothing really interfered with sleep! We could get to the balcony even with the sofa bed out. I was very glad we had a balcony--for sailing into ports in the AM, the sail past Na Pali coast (port side!), and drying the many small batches of laundry I washed in the sink throughout the week (with a little box of Tide I'd bought in the ABC store). We would have spent a fortune getting things washed if I hadn't done that, and I felt like we packed a LOT of clothes!

 

We unpacked and had snacks in the buffet. Let me get my comments on the buffet out of the way now. My personal advice is to go with things that are in their natural state, or freshly made. For example, the cheese board was always a nice treat--hard to screw up good quality cheeses. The freshly-made pasta was wonderful. Probably the same with pizzas and omelets, though I never had any. Fruit, if it's ripe. Fresh veggies on the salad bar. Other things, they are cooking buffet-style for the masses, as many others have observed, so it's just going to be somewhat hit or miss on your personal tastes. For parents of younger kids--with pizza, fries, burgers, desserts etc. always readily available and visible, you have to find your own ways of managing intake, what can I say. This is actually a good reason to go to the table-service restaurants occasionally, even with younger kids, so the full bounty isn't laid out for every meal!

 

Staying on the subject of food--after exploring the ship, we had an early dinner in East Meets West--Asian Fusion. Only a few others were in there, as we were setting sail at 6 pm. The setting and service were very nice--in fact, the maitre'd engaged in a nice conversation with us--one of several such experiences during the cruise. Overall, we found the crew to be very friendly, cheerful, and responsive--no complaints about service--though I agree with others' observations that they are not nearly as pushy about drinks as on other ships during shows, around the pools, etc. We did not care for most of the food we ordered at that meal (other than the appetizer--lettuce wraps); and I was wishing we had stayed on deck for the sail-away and just eaten at the buffet instead--BUT I have much better things to say about other restaurants on the ship, so I will leave it at that. We did get back on deck for the latter part of the sail past Waikiki, which was pretty, and--you guessed it--we turned in early again!

[sue402001]

I'm loving your review bensmom1. As you know we were on that sailing too, sorry I didn't get to meet you. Your first morning sounds a lot like ours, we woke up at 5 also. We're you at Dukes Thursday night then? We were and the staff sang Happy Birthday to my sister that night. We got a free piece of Hula Pier out of that. We must have crossed paths at Pearl Harbor too, our tour was at 8:45 and we were done just before 10:00. :)

 

I'm glad you were able to find the Latitudes line, there was nobody in it for us either. LOL on David (the Art Director) showing you to your cabin. He's a hoot. You must have been right down the hall from us, we could hear the goings on at the Gold Rush too.

 

I can't wait to read more of your thoughts on the cruise and stops. (Mine is a work in progress.)

[bensmom1]

Sue402001--small world! I wonder if we heard them singing Happy B-day to your sister at Duke's? We should have gotten the Hula Pie . . . were just too full!

 

And re: the buffet, I forgot to add that my favorite thing of all was the made-to-order dessert crepes--yummy!

 

Continuing on with our first port, Maui . . .

 

We awoke early (again) and I got some nice pictures from our balcony of the sunrise behind the clouds as we sailed in to port. We took the Thrifty shuttle for our rental car at about 9 am--no wait at all, and again, we were the only ones on the shuttle. We drove to Kaanapali Beach--a lovely and easy drive to a beautiful resort area north of Lahaina. We parked at the Sheraton Maui parking garage and walked down to Black Rock in front of the hotel to snorkel--thanks to another CC tip! We were all set w/our Snorkel Bob's gear, and went right in the water. This was a bit different than Hanauma Bay--bigger waves and stronger currents, but good snorkeling, and DH and I even saw TURTLES up close--huge and amazing! DS snorkeled for awhile, and he did fine even without the floatie suit we'd rented for him (we never used it). We just made sure to stay close to him with the currents. Then he played in the waves and on the sand, even making a new friend (who he buried in the sand), making his beach day that much more fun.

 

We had a late lunch at the Hula Grill at Whalers Village resort, just a few minutes' drive from the Sheraton--beautiful setting on the beach with live music, and I had delicious fish tacos! We then strolled around the shopping area at Whalers Village and stopped in the whaling museum, which was actually very interesting. I originally had Lahaina on the list of possibilities, but we just drove through it without stopping, feeling ready for some rest on the boat. I did not feel compelled to see every sight in the ports, and was very glad I didn't plan any more than I did. The drive back to the ship was very enjoyable, with the big cliffs on one side and the beaches right next to the road on the other side. We were able to park in the first parking lot, right by the ship.

 

After dinner at the buffet, we took DS to the kids club, his only visit there for the week (we'd used it a lot more on the other two cruises with him). No complaints about it, but we just ended up doing everything as a family, and as this cruise has no sea days and is less party-oriented, there just wasn't a need for it. DH and I went to the Aloha Polynesia show, and thoroughly enjoyed it! The dancers--though fewer of them--were as good or better than the other shows we saw later in the week (more on that later). We stopped by the kids club after the show to check on DS, and he was having a great time, so we went to Gold Rush for some movie trivia. The kids club group went to the late Aloha show, and by time it was over, DS was very tired; in hindsight, we should have picked him up before the show; oh well. A very nice first day!

[bensmom1]

I don't know if our time zone adaption time was typical, but this was the first day that we "slept in" past 5:30--getting up at 7:30. Five days since our first morning in Honolulu!

 

I had not planned the typical "Road to Hana" day for Maui--from what I'd read, the many scenic stops are very nice but it can amount to a tiring day, mostly in the car--and just not the right itinerary for us with an 8-year-old. So the only specific thing I'd planned for today was driving east to Paia / Hookipa Beach. The night before I looked at the guidebook and realized we'd have plenty of time to see Iao Valley first. I was so glad we did this--it was a nice change of scenery from the beaches; very lush and nicely landscaped, and we enjoyed the short walk (can't really call it a "hike") up towards the monument and around the trails. It was only a few miles from the harbor, 20 minutes at most.

 

After a short visit there, we drove back through the harbor area, east just a few miles to Paia. I had really wanted to see Hookipa Beach, the "windsurfing capital of the world." When we got there, late morning, there were a few surfers, few waves, and no windsurfers. We had parked up on the hill just past the beach, so we climbed down the backside of the hill, facing the ocean. There was a narrow trail leading down to the rocky area at the water, and we explored here for a bit, watched the waves crash around the rocks, and sat down for a closer view of the surfers--now parallel to us.

 

Then it was time for our 12:30 lunch at Mama's Fish House in Paia (reservation made a couple of weeks before)--on the opposite side of Hookipa Beach, just a couple minutes' drive back west. This was one of our best meals on the trip! Very expensive even for a lunch, but a gorgeous setting on the beach, and delicious food. The menus are printed daily and list not only the fresh catches, but who caught them and where. I had coconut mahi mahi with what the waiter described as a "mini-luau"--roasted bananas, sweet potatoes, roast pork, and salmon salad (like a ceviche). After lunch, we walked out on the beach in front of the restaurant, and could see that some windsurfers had appeared at Hookipa Beach! I guess the wind and waves had improved. So, we drove back down there again, and I sat under a tree with the binoculars watching the 30 or so windsurfers. What fun! As I commented in another post, it was like a flock of butterflies with the colorful sails flitting back and forth. DS and DH walked along the beach where huge waves were crashing along the rocks. Again, I was glad I hadn't "overplanned" the day so that we had extra time to just hang out in this area.

 

We returned the rental car (after a bit of extra driving to find a gas station) and had an early dinner at the Little Italy restaurant. We thoroughly enjoyed this meal! I had the osso bucco (roasted lamb) with polenta, and the desserts were delicious. We had a nice view from our table for the sail-away from Maui.

 

Then we went to the early show for Toby Beau, doing an Eagles tribute concert in the lounge. DS was one of just a handful of kids there, but he did fine. It was a good show, just about 45 minutes, with some historical info about the band interspersed between the songs. Then, time for bed!

[bigtoeswim'n]

DH and I went to the Aloha Polynesia show, and thoroughly enjoyed it! The dancers--though fewer of them--were as good or better than the other shows we saw later in the week (more on that later). quote]

 

So enjoying your review bensmom1. Sounds like you had a great low-key time. My DH is urging me to go low-key, so I'm struggling with the RTH thing. Plans for a night luai are not looking good bc it would keep us up later than we would want. We are survivors of a port-intensive New Englad/Canada cruise, so being a year older, I'm trying to find the right balance of bucket-list things and resting too. LOL. I'm sure it will all work out. I have until Dec 2011 to make final decision.

 

Love your review. thanks.

[andianna]

Your trip sound so relaxing. Looking forward to the rest

[sue402001]

Sounds like you had a nice relaxing day in Maui bensmom, I wish we would have done more of it!

 

I can't wait to read more of your review.

[hucifer]

Bensmom, I'm enjoying your review. I'm dragging my 4yo son with us to Hawaii in September, so I really appreciate your family-friendly excursions. I especially love your soft cooler tip! What a great idea!

[bensmom1]

next installment . . .

 

Tuesday - Hilo

 

Tuesday was Volcanoes National Park. When DH and I visited Hawaii about 15 years ago, this had been the highlight of our trip--we had hiked across the old lava flows at nighttime to see the lava flowing into the ocean. No such thing on this trip, as there was no lava flow and we wouldn't have ventured it with DS anyway. So we had realistic expectations for the day.

 

We started by making sandwiches in the buffet to bring with us, per CC tips. An odd experience here--a crewmember saw DH making sandwiches and getting some ice in ziplock bags, and told him if we were caught taking food off the ship, we'd be "fined"--huh? :confused: I had never read any such thing in all my CC research! DH just said "OK" and carried on; of course no one searched us; I have no idea if that's an actual policy of some kind; they must know that lots of people do that every day?

 

The car rental process took a bit longer in Hilo, as there were more people in line, but the "Blue Chip" counter was faster. It was an easy drive to VNP; cloudy but no rain. We didn't have to pay an entry fee as it was National Park Week (and thank goodness we didn't have a government shutdown!) We stopped at the visitors center, then Thurston's Lava Tube--no problem finding a parking space here though it was only mid-morning; it looked more crowded by the time we left. This actually turned out to be a real highlight of our trip. We brought two good flashlights (again, thanks to CC tips! I know I keep saying that, but I have to give credit!) so were able to go into the "unimproved" = PITCH DARK section of the tube--a few hundred yards all the way to the end. This was a huge adventure for DS. He had one light and DH had the other; DS took it upon himself to hold my hand and point out the rocks for me--very sweet. :) At one point he said, "This is a big experience for me!" Only a few others were in there with us--it is uneven, rocky, and with a few low ceiling areas. You must use real flashlights, not cheap little travel lights! And take your time; you wouldn't want to fall on that sharp lava rock. We then saw the steam vents, and the Jagger Museum and caldera lookout. Interesting even without the lava, though I have to say the museum is pretty low-budget (maybe I'm comparing it unfairly with the nice new Pearl Harbor museums!) We did not drive Chain of Craters Road, as we had seen it before, and we felt like DS had had enough of the volcanic experience for the day.

 

We were back to the ship by 4 pm, and I took DS to the pool while DH got a nap. We had dinner at the buffet, then went w/DS to see the early show of Murray the Magician--a pretty good comedy/magic combo. DS enjoyed it a lot--he is big magic fan. The only negative comment is that a couple of moments didn't really seem appropriate for a family audience--a reference to not being "gay" (which, yes, DS asked us about later :rolleyes:) and a weird, gratuitous semi-exotic dancer bit from a leggy young woman who Murray introduced as his girlfriend who works in Vegas. Nothing offensive, really, it was just out of place in a magic/comedy show with kids in the audience. Oh well.

 

As we had no lava to sail by on this cruise, it was another early night!

Wednesday - Kona

 

For Kona's adventures, I really have to give credit to CC'er kwbound, whose trip report I think is legendary by now! She inspired me to book the 5-hour Seaquest snorkel excursion, another highlight of our trip.

 

Seaquest had instructed us to take the first tender off the ship. We got ready and ate early, and were waiting in Pink's by 6:40 am, as I didn't know how the line-up would work for handing out tender tickets at 7 am. As others have said, it turned out to be a breeze--but you never know for sure if maybe everyone on YOUR cruise will want to be on the first tender, right? So better to be early. We had lined up a taxi through Mel's Taxi and the driver was waiting for us at the pier--it was a 20-minute drive to the snorkel departure area. Seaquest's building was destroyed in the tsunami a few weeks ago, but they were checking people in from the back of a car, which worked fine. Mary and Susan were our skippers, and they were great! Very experienced, knowledgeable, and personable. We had a full boat of 13 passengers. We visited three spots--Place of Refuge, Rob's Reef, and Captain Cook's monument--each was better than the last, and it seemed every time I put my head in the water, I saw something new! We were also very lucky to see dolphins (from a distance) at Captain Cook's. DS snorkeled most but not all of the time; for awhile during the second stop he just hung out in the boat for awhile and visited with our guides. DH also had to get out a bit early as he had a "close encounter" with the coral and got a few minor gashes. While the water was pretty calm, the currents around the coral were a bit tricky at Captain Cook's--again, we felt comfortable that DS was fine but stayed close to him. Our guides served a snack and drinks after the second stop, and a nice lunch after the last stop. The first leg out, and the trip back, were about 20 minutes each of very bouncy riding for those of us in the front of the boat. But well worth it for a small, personal tour and GREAT snorkeling variety!

 

We took a taxi back to the pier and decided we would rather rest than walk around Kona, as we felt we'd had a full day's worth of fun already. We decided to try the Lazy J Steakhouse for dinner on the ship and again, we really enjoyed it! I had crab cakes, lobster bisque, and filet mignon with mushroom sauce--all excellent. We shared the espresso brownie with macadamia ice cream for dessert, and rolled ourselves back to the room for another early night--tomorrow, the helicopter!!

[sue402001]

I can't believe how many times our paths crossed and we didn't even know it bensmom! We were at Pinks Champagne Bar waiting for the first tender tickets too (My sister & I were actually sitting at the bar). :)

 

Sounds like you had a fantastic time on your snorkeling adventure and at VNP.

[bensmom1]

Helicopter day! (and some important logistical notes)

 

We awoke on Thursday sailing into the port at Kauai. We again had a Thrifty car lined up, and had originally planned to get the car first, but decided to just go straight to the Blue Hawaiian office to check in for our 10 am helicopter tour--it was a two-minute free shuttle ride to the shopping area near the pier.

 

I agree with what others have said--Blue Hawaiian is top-notch; a very well-run operation all around. After the short orientation, we rode in a van to the helipad a few minutes away and waited a short time under an open-air tent until our helicopter came in and got fueled up. We were seated based on weight/balance; DS ended up in front, I was by the window behind him with DH in a middle seat next to me. Our pilot, Kevin, was very professional and really put me at ease. Still, how exciting to lift off the ground in a helicopter for the first time! Kevin provided just the right amount of commentary, interspersed with nice background music, as we saw the different parts of the island. Breathtaking, awe-inspiring, etc.! As we were coming in to land, DS clicked on the intercom and said in a solemn voice, "thank you very much, captain." This was truly the most special and memorable experience of our cruise! I must again give credit to kwbound and the other CCers who recommended it. Yes, it was a splurge, but I must agree it has to be the best way to fully appreciate the spectacular scenery of Kauai. We did buy the DVD of our flight--a great memento for only $25.

 

Then began the shuttling portion of our day. We took the free shuttle back to the pier, then the Thrifty shuttle to the airport to pick up our car, then drove to the Anchor Cove parking lot (across the street from the shopping center we'd just come from), paid for a parking pass, then took the Anchor Cove shuttle back to the boat. Whew!

 

After lunch in the buffet, we hung out by the pool the rest of the afternoon and enjoyed the poolside live music--Toby Beau tribute to Jimmy Buffet.

 

We then took the shuttle back to Anchor Cove and drove to the Snorkel Bob's location near the Wailua River to return our snorkel gear. We'd kept it an extra day past our week rental, so were just charged a few dollars for the day. We'd planned to drive around the area a bit more to see waterfalls, but it was time to head to the Smith's site for the luau starting at 5 pm (reservations made online several weeks before). The gardens at Smith's were beautiful and extensive--the tram tour was nice, and we spent some time before dinner exploring. DS totally enjoyed the peacocks, and feeding the birds. It was quite a lot of people, but the Smith's crew ran it very well. The food was very good for a buffet. The show was a complete package of the luau dance experience--perhaps just a bit long by one or two numbers. The dancers were rather far away, though, and (this may sound bad, but just my two cents), some of them were not as visually compelling as dancers we saw in other shows.

 

It ended just after 9 pm, and by the time we got back to the Anchor Cove lot, it was about 9:30. We had missed the last shuttle (at 9 pm) so had to make the 7-8 minute walk back to the ship. CAUTION--THIS IS NOT SAFE AFTER DARK. It is not well-lit, and is right next to areas where shady-looking young men are drinking, etc. openly in the park and along the route to the pier. We were not at all comfortable, even with DH there, and walked as quickly as we could. We mentioned this to our Thrifty shuttle driver the next day, and he said an NCL passenger (from Germany, I think) had been mugged in the early morning hours just a couple of weeks before. NCL should really do more to warn its passengers about this--as they must know many people with rental cars are coming back from that lot after 9 pm; had we known, we would have pre-arranged a taxi to meet us at the parking lot.

 

Sorry to end this installment on a bad note, but there it is :rolleyes: In hindsight, we really didn't need to rent a car here except to return the snorkel gear, and it wasn't worth all the shuttling and the unsafe walk to the pier.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

We are also going to the Smith Family Luau, but we are booked with Robert's Tours. We leave at 2:30 and will do the Wailua River/Fern Grotto Tour prior to the luau. We are not renting a car in Kauai. After reading your experience I am glad we made that decision as Robert's will drop us off at the ship after the luau.

 

I had not heard about the tram tour before. I have also heard the gardens are beautiful and am so anxious to see them. Did you have problems with mosquitoes at the luau? I just put bug spray on my shopping list.:rolleyes:

 

I am glad that the Smith people use "real people" for the dances. I think that makes it all the more personal. I hear they make you feel like family. We are really looking forward to it! One week from today and we will be in Hawaii!!!:D

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I can't believe how many times our paths crossed and we didn't even know it bensmom! We were at Pinks Champagne Bar waiting for the first tender tickets too (My sister & I were actually sitting at the bar). :)

 

Sounds like you had a fantastic time on your snorkeling adventure and at VNP.

Sue - I am looking forward to YOUR review! We have only a week to go. I hope to see it prior.......(hint, hint;))

[sue402001]

Sue - I am looking forward to YOUR review! We have only a week to go. I hope to see it prior.......(hint, hint;))

 

LOL, I"m working on it Sunny AZ Girl. I promise to have it posted by this weekend. I'm working on writing it up but it's at home and I'm at work. Maybe you'll get to see the first installment tomorrow. :rolleyes:

[bensmom1]

I can't believe how many times our paths crossed and we didn't even know it bensmom! We were at Pinks Champagne Bar waiting for the first tender tickets too (My sister & I were actually sitting at the bar). :)

 

 

Yes, indeed--I remember seeing you there! How funny. We need a CC floating over our heads so can identify each other :)

[bensmom1]

Did you have problems with mosquitoes at the luau? I just put bug spray on my shopping list.:rolleyes:

 

I am glad that the Smith people use "real people" for the dances. I think that makes it all the more personal. :D

 

We had no problems with bugs at the luau--I think I felt just one during the show, but didn't notice any bites (and mosquitoes love me!)--but, couldn't hurt to bring the spray. And yes, I would agree Smith's does make an effort to make everyone feel like family, and introduces several of their family (an example of a successful multi-generational family business!) The patriarch even does a nice welcome and blessing after the imu ceremony. Enjoy your cruise!!

[bensmom1]

Nearing the end (sigh)--our second day in Kauai:

 

DH had booked a golf outing through the ship several nights before--we'd agreed this was the best day to do it, as the only thing I'd planned was some time at the Kalapaki beach right near the ship. So he got up early for the group's 6:30 am departure. They played the Kauai Lagoons course, actually right on the other side of the beach--very close. The 9 "ocean holes" on the course were closed for renovation, so they played the inland holes, and he said it was a beautiful and playable course--he enjoyed it a lot. I was glad he got to do his own thing for a morning, as we'd been doing what I'd planned the entire week!

 

Meanwhile, I took DS to the beach (using the free Anchor Cove shuttle--again, no need for our rental car!) Kalapaki Beach is a very pretty crescent with the harbor area on one side, hills up to the golf course on the other, and a small resort right behind it--with rentals, restaurants, and public restrooms available. There are nice shaded, grassy areas right next to the sand, so I was able to relax in partial shade (didn't really need more sun at that point!) and watch DS playing in the water. We had a really nice time--the waves were just right for DS to do his own version of bodysurfing, not quite big enough to be dangerous. I went out with him a few times past the break and we just floated and jumped in the waves, and watched the many surfers farther out. It was a beautiful day!

 

We returned the rental car at the airport just before the noon deadline (yes, I was really feeling annoyed about the rental car by that point--we could have stayed at the beach a little longer! :mad:) and took the Thrifty shuttle back to the boat. Perfect timing, as DH had just gotten back from golf. After lunch, we again hung out by the pool, enjoyed some tropical drinks, and live music. The ship left port at 2 pm for the sail past Na Pali coast. This is when I was most glad we had a port-side balcony. I sat out there the whole time with the binoculars and camera. It was neat to see this landscape again from the ship, having seen some of it from the helicopter the day before. More perspective on how amazingly big and rugged the cliffs are!

 

For dinner, we decided to try the Skyline restaurant--our first time at one of the standard sit-down restaurants. I was a bit leery about the service, having read in many posts that it was slow. We were seated pretty early, and nevertheless, the first 20-30 minutes or so did seem slow--to get water, bread, orders, appetizers . . . but then it seemed to pick up a bit. The servers were very nice, and the food was better than I'd expected (I had a seafood "hot pot"--a nice light, well-flavored dish). We went by the photo area to buy some of the pictures we'd had taken (the photographers really do take much better pictures than I can) and turned in.

 

Tomorrow . . . debarkation and a final day in Honolulu.

[bensmom1]

I seem to recall that when I booked our flights, it cost a lot more to fly back on Saturday than Sunday--so I booked for Sunday and figured we'd enjoy a final day in Honolulu. But by Saturday, I felt ready to get home! I was finally feeling antsy about how far behind I'd be at work (having managed to not think about that all week), and we were leaving Sunday afternoon, getting back to Charlotte on the red-eye Monday morning. Ugh. I even called the airline to see if we could change our flights to Saturday, but of course that wasn't possible so we decided to just make the best of the day.

 

I'd pre-paid for Saturday night at the Holiday Waikiki Beachcomber through Hotels.com--about half the price of what we'd paid at HHV. It's not on the beach, but right across the street from it--actually right across from the Outrigger where we'd eaten at Duke's. I called to see if we could check in early, and they had a room ready. We just packed that morning and did the self walk-off the ship, which could not have been easier. We waited until all the luggage tag colors had been called so most folks were already off the ship; had a very short wait for an elevator with space, walked straight out to a taxi, and were in our hotel room by 9:30 am!

 

We walked around the International Marketplace--right next to the hotel--and bought a few souvenirs. We had lunch there at the Tree House Cafe--just so-so--and hung out at the small but nice pool at the hotel. We had an early dinner at the Cheesecake Factory across the street (a VERY busy place, even at 5 pm!)--surprisingly, the menu included some very good fresh seafood.

 

We then went back to our hotel for the Magic of Polynesia show with illusionist John Hirokawa--a combo of magic and Polynesian dancing. You can do dinner & show or just the show. The dinner was about $40 for what appeared to be basically chicken, so I was glad we'd just booked the show. The setting is nothing fancy--sort of a converted warehouse appearance with picnic-like tables. But the show was very entertaining! DS, magic fan that he is, totally enjoyed it. Lots of cool appearances & disappearance, etc. I won't give away everything! ;) Even some very good sleight-of-hand that the audience could see onscreen. In between magic acts, the dancers did some nice hula numbers, including a fire-knife dancer at the end, who was excellent. It was a different type of show than at Smith's and I would say we enjoyed both.

 

So even though I'd started out the day wishing we were going home, we did enjoy our last few hours in Honolulu!

[FloatYourBoatSince2003]

Thanks for your review Bensmom... Brings back memories. Wish so much we were still there!