Sept 23- Oct 1 on the POA

[Krisser22]

I just got back from a wonderful trip to Hawaii on the Pride of America. I really appreciated all the help I received on the Hawaii travel board and I wanted to pay it forward by giving a trip report of my experience in case it helps anyone else out. To give you an idea of who we are, both my husband and I are in our late 20’s/early 30’s and love to travel. We like to see and experience everything we can, so we tend to wear ourselves out a bit on vacation. I will try to tell you what we planned on doing vs. what we actually did as well.

 

Friday

The Plan:

Arrive at 1PM

Check into hotel (Aqua Palms)

Hike Diamond Head

Watch Fireworks at Hilton Village (7:45PM on Fridays)

 

Friday, we flew into Honolulu from Houston and landed around 1PM. We had a nice uneventful flight and rented a car from Thrifty. Note- make sure you go out of your way to flag down the shuttle bus driver to Thrifty….we had a couple pass us up!

 

After getting our rent car, we checked into the Aqua Palms Hotel and Spa. The hotel was nice, we got a good rate online (~$109) and it came with free breakfast at IHOP next door. It was conveniently located by 3 ABC stores as well. The lemon water in the waiting area was also nice – thanks cruise critic from suggesting we try it! We were upgraded to partial ocean view. You could see Diamondhead and a bit of the ocean from our balcony. Perfect room for two exhausted travelers who just needed a clean, safe place to sleep.

 

After dropping our bags at the room, we rushed over to Diamondhead State Park. It was our goal to hike it on our trip, regardless of how tired we were from the jet lag and 5 hour time change. It only took about 2 hours roundtrip to make it to the top. The views were well worth it…gorgeous view of the city!

 

We got back to the room and visited a Greek restaurant across the street from the hotel. It was called the Fat Greek (or something similar). It may have been my hunger from hiking the crater, but the food was delicious. Picked up some Maui Pineapple wine and Kona Beer from the ABC store next door and had dinner out on the balcony.

 

I tried my hardest to stay awake for the fireworks at 7:45. I was too tired to walk across the street and around the Hilton, and thought we could see them from our balcony. The fireworks appear to be shot off from the beach side of the Hilton and we could hear them, but just not see them from our hotel. We passed out shortly after 8PM and were up at 3AM thanks to our internal clocks.

 

Sidenote…I did a lot of research for our trip and read some pretty bad reviews about Waikiki and safety. It had me a bit freaked out before our trip and I actually considered canceling our hotel and going to Turtle Bay on the other side of the island. I was so glad I did not change, because Turtle Bay is too far away for one night and we had no safety concerns for the day we were in Waikiki. I really did not care much for Waikiki (due to lack of parking and incredible busy-ness of the area), but I never saw anything unsafe. I am sure as long as you know what you are doing and stick to the well traveled areas, you will have the same experience. Hope this helps in case anyone else is concerned.

 

As soon as I can figure out how to post pics, I will work on getting them up.

[Krisser22]

Saturday

The Plan:

Get breakfast at IHOP

Visit Pearl Harbor

Visit Battleship MO

See International Marketplace

Drop the rent car

Board the ship

 

On Saturday, we woke up at 3AM thanks to our internal clocks. Since the free breakfast did not open until 6, we watched bad tv while waiting. We made it to Pearl Harbor around 7:30AM and got tickets to the first tour. While waiting we were able to view the museum and wander the grounds. The museum and movie were wonderful. I am not big on museums and I greatly enjoyed everything there. The memorial itself was very moving- a must visit.

 

After the memorial we were going to see Battleship Mo. I did not realize this required a bus ride and the person in charge quoted me about 2 hours to get over there, tour it, and then get back. This was a lot longer than I anticipated, so we decided to forgo the battleship and drive to Dole Plantation (something I had planned to do on the last day).

 

Dole Plantation was pretty neat. We did the worlds largest pineapple maze (2 for 1 coupon in Thrifty’s rent car drive guide). My husband decided we were going to beat the record of 8 minutes. After 40 minutes and only finding 4 of the 8 stations, we were hot and gave up. Haha, so much for that record J . To cool down, we had a Dole Pineapple Whip (again, thanks cruise critics for the suggestion!). It was wonderful! I also had to buy my mom several precious moments dolls…if any of you collect them, they have 2 “Dole Exclusive” ones that are only sold there. A small gift for watching my dog all week J.

 

After Dole, we decided to push off international marketplace for the last day and we dropped the rent car and went to the ship. We got there around 12:30 and literally walked on board…it was the easiest process I had ever had on a cruise ship! We got our lei, room key, and went to find lunch. Rooms were not ready until around 3PM.

 

Our room was an interior stateroom on deck 4 (hey, everyone on the ship is going the same place, so we cheaped out). Room had really nice storage and it did not seem much smaller than any other cruise ship we were on. We had some weird banging noise every night around 4AM that drove us both nuts that even our sleep machine we brought couldn’t drown out. Oh and the pillows were horribly flat….if you have room in your luggage (and neck issues), bring your own pillows. I tried to ask my room steward for fatter or firmer pillows, but I don’t think the message ever got across. Those are my two only real complaints about the room.

 

Dinner that night was lobster in the main dining room. We always went to the dining room you could wear shorts to (I kept confusing the names). I heard a lot of people complain on these boards about rude staff or lack of service….We never experienced any of it! Everyone was super friendly; the wait staff was always trying to help us, etc. We also had the best bartender all week in the Aloha Lania- $4 Mai Tais from 5-6PM and Kristine the bartender was the best!

 

I think the entertainment that night was the comedian and he was pretty funny. We also caught his latenight show later in the week (which was also fairly clean). Tomorrow, Road to Hana in Maui!

[Krisser22]

[hill6]

Great review so far. We have just over five weeks till we sail on the Pride.

[Krisser22]

Okay, I figured out the picture posting....

 

View from the top of Diamondhead

 

View of Pearl Harbor

 

Dole Plantation

[Krisser22]

Sunday

The Plan:

Thrifty Rent Car

Road to Hana

 

On Sunday, we rented a convertible from Thrifty. The line to get off the ship was very short (we got down there right when we docked) and we did not have to wait too long. The desk clerk at Thrifty let us pick our color of Mustang…we realized after picking the vehicle color we should have asked for a 2011! They had some 2010’s, which was the blue one we got, however if we were smart we would have asked for a 2011. If you get excited by cars and horsepower, the 2011 is MUCH better/fun/exciting. The convertible made all the difference!!! In fact, it spoiled us so much, I called ahead to Hilo and changed my reservation to a convertible too. Strongly consider the upgrade (and not that much more using the discount Hawaii cars website) if you can. Side note- we considered getting an open-air Jeep, but were glad we did not in this port. I didn’t think you needed it for the road and (as we learned in Kauai), the Jeep’s top is really difficult to remove/put back together. If you worry about your stuff like I do, you will constantly be removing/reassembling the top and it’s a waste of time…the convertible does all the work for you.

 

After getting the car we stopped at a gas station and bought some water, diet coke, and Maui Chips. Thanks for the Maui Chips suggestion- I ate these all week! The onion flavor was the best!

 

On the road, I had a lot of stops planned. I made notes of stops we had to make and had an app on my iphone “Maui Revealed” that was great. However, once on the road, all that went out the window and I just wanted to relax and enjoy the views. We took the approach of let’s stop where we see things/people/etc and just enjoy. I really enjoyed that approach. My advice is to do the research of what you have to stop and see upfront and that way you won’t be scrambling in the car trying to find stuff while driving. I did not really have a favorite stop, but I just enjoyed the views and hikes where we could take them.

 

Something that was interesting was a stop that was on private property. There were plenty of people illegally taking the trail, but there was a sign up that said private property- do not trespass. As if that was not enough, the property owner had taken a deer carcass and hung it over the fence. I understand the annoyance of people trespassing, but that seemed a bit much….especially with little kids running around. Just be aware if you do have kids and there is a “stop” you want to make that is on private property. Explaining why bambi is hanging on the trail is probably not something you want to have to deal with on vacation.

 

We made a lunch stop at the Halfway to Hana stand. The homemade banana bread was the best there!

 

We took the road all the way down to the black sand (pebble??) beach. Could not believe how cold the water was in the ocean and the waterfalls that we stopped at!!!

 

As you leave the Hana Hwy and get back to town, there is a shell station on the left side of the road. They are (supposedly) the only place that sells “Road to Hana T-shirts”. I think it said something about surviving the Road to Hana. They were $15….a fun souvenir shirt. If anyone wants more info, let me know and I’ll try to dig out the exact location…it was listed in the book they gave me at Thrifty.

 

Monday….sunrise at Haleakela!

 

 

Waterfall on private property:

 

Black Sand Beach on Road to Hana

 

Painted Birch Trees

 

 

View of RTH

[brunolvr]

 

very pretty view!:)

[anboricua76]

Thank you so very much. Looking forward to the other days of your cruise. We will be on POA Aug. 2012. First time to Hawaii, very excited. How was the weather & did you check out the Spa? I looked at the hotel you mention and it sounds like something we might like.

Thanks,

Anboricua76

[Krisser22]

Monday

 

The Plan:

Haleakela Sunrise

Iao Valley State Park

Lahaina- Banyan tree park

Nap

 

On Monday, we woke up at 3:15AM. We had grabbed extra food off of the buffet from the day before and stored it in our fridge. We decided to eat breakfast at the top of Haleakela so we packed everything in our collapsible cooler. We were in the rent car heading down the road by 4AM. Thank goodness we were right behind a “Maui Downhill” truck that was also hauling to get to the top of Haleakela. My GPS that I brought from home kept telling me to turn down weird streets…it acted funny all week. Anyways, we just followed the truck the whole way up. We made it to the top in plenty of time…we were there at least an hour before sunrise. After standing outside seriously freezing for an hour, we finally got our first glimpse of the sun. The sunrise was gorgeous. It seemed like a decently cloudy day, however some guides at the top told us it was not too cloudy. The views I saw (and as you can see from the pictures) looked no where near as amazing as I had seen online. I had a friend recommend this based on her experience a year ago and she thought it was the highlight of their trip, but they had good cloud cover. Thus, if you know it’s going to not be cloudy when you go, you might want to rethink sunrise (or see if you can fit in a sunset). Just my 2 cents…

 

 

Another important point to mention is the area that you initially come across is not the true summit. We hiked to what we thought was the true summit…wrong! If you by pass the parking lot and continue up, you will be on the “true summit”. It has a marker and everything if you are interested. We really enjoyed hiking around on Haleakela after the sun came up – such a gorgeous and unique place.

 

 

After the sunrise, we still wanted to explore more of Maui. We drove over the Iao Valley State Park and did a little hiking. I could not believe how lush and beautiful it was over here. Definitely recommend everyone seeing this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also wanted to see the Banyan tree in Lahaina. It was a bit of a drive from Iao Valley, but we decided to fight through exhaustion and continue on. Lahaina was wonderful! We both decided if/when we come back to Hawaii, we would like to spend some time here. The town was very laid back, pretty beaches, and a great vibe. The banyan tree was pretty cool as well.

 

After this, we drove back to Thrifty and dropped off the mustang and crashed on the boat.

 

Tuesday: Volcanoes National Park (my favorite stop!)

[Krisser22]

Thank you so very much. Looking forward to the other days of your cruise. We will be on POA Aug. 2012. First time to Hawaii, very excited. How was the weather & did you check out the Spa? I looked at the hotel you mention and it sounds like something we might like.

Thanks,

Anboricua76

 

 

The weather was actually wonderful! Sunny and real warm! I had a friend warn me that it would rain every day and I think we only saw it sprinkle once! We got real lucky.

 

We did not have time to check out the spa while at Aqua Palms (although I wish we would have).

[herdingdogmom]

We did not have time to check out the spa while at Aqua Palms (although I wish we would have).

 

I stayed at the Aqua Palms last November. It is a great value particularly if you get the partial oceanview/diamondhead view rooms on a higher floor. I felt the 3 star rating was accurate. I would stay there again if looking to save some $ on a hotel room. The spa part of the name of this hotel is inaccurate. There is no spa, just a room off the pool with a massage table and one gal who does massages. The Hilton across the street has a beautiful full spa facility.

[Krisser22]

Tuesday

 

Tuesday we stopped in Hilo and planned to go see Volcanoes National Park, Akaka Falls, and Richardson's Black sand beach. We only had time to do Volcanoes National Park, because once we got there it was so interesting we decided to spend all of our time there.

 

We got off the ship and got a convertible at Thrifty. Again, this was a super easy process and today we were literally the first off the boat (no lines!). We made the ~1hr drive out to VNP and went straight to the visitors center. At the visitors center they recomended we do the Kilauea Trail. It takes ~2-2.5 hrs and per the national park's website: "Kilauea Iki Trail starts in the rain forest on the crater's rim. The trail descends 400 feet through the rain forest, with native birds in the canopy, to the crater floor. Hikers will cross the still-steaming crater floor, past the gaping throat of the vent that built Pu'u Pua'i cinder cone, and return to your starting point via the crater's rim." This was a really cool hike....thanks to trip advisor we decided to go counterclockwise because the ascent back up the crater will be less steep.

 

Trail through the rainforrest:

 

steaming crater in the distance

 

Steam Vent we got to hike by

 

After 2 hours of hiking we decided to go to Volcano Village (just a short drive out of the park) and get lunch. Had Salmon Pizza at the first stop in the park...wish I could remember the name of the place because the food was excellent. We decided to forgo going to the Akaka Falls & black sand beach and go back to VNP and drive Chain of Craters road. I was very happy we made this decision because there was a lot of interesting stuff to see.

 

Sea Arch at the end of the road

 

 

Short hike at end of road to see where the 2003 lava went over the road. In the background you can see a sign that says "Road Closed" that is stuck in the Lava.

[Krisser22]

Wednesday we docked in Kona. We really wanted to drive to the top of Mauna Kea. We have a thing about wanting to go to State High Points, so we thought this would be a really cool thing to do.

 

Since we really had not decided if we were going to attempt this, we wanted to see what time we got off the ship, etc, I had not already paid for a rent car. In the morning, I called Harpers to make sure they had a car, but did not reserve it. We were (again) the first ones off the ship. We went to get our tender tickets at 6:50 and were walking down to the tender at 7:00. We grabbed a cab at 7:15, paid ~$30 incl tip to get to Harpers. Harpers gave me a negotiated rate since I was a walk in ($130?) and for $30 more allowed me to drop the rent car at the Hotel Kam... right by the pier. I really appreciated this since I was concerned about our time schedule. No one was able to tell me this was an option in advance on the phone.....I wish they would have because I would have been less concerned with time. By 8:00, we had an all wheel drive Chevy Equinoix and were on our way! We made it to the visitors center at Mauna Kea by 9:30. FYI, Saddle Road was not in bad shape at all. I think they have redone it.

 

We decided to acclimate for 30 minutes. In retrospect, we had plenty of time and I should have acclimated longer. After acclimating we made the trip to the summit. 8 miles to the top, 4 of which are dirt and unpaved. It was not a bad road considering. My husband kept the car around 10-15mph and the Equinoix made it to the top. We never felt in danger...in fact, we got passed several times by the people who work there. The road was wide enough and the edges did not see too scary. You need a 4 wheel drive for sure, but it wasn't as horrible as we had expected. At the top, we did the small hike to the "true summit". My husband did just fine, but I started getting really dizzy and hungry. I should have acclimated longer. After seeing the summit, we decided it was time to come down. I felt like I was in a fog and needed to get off the mountain. Again, the drive down was not horrible either. We were worried we were going to have to pull over a lot and rest the brakes/etc, but my husband was able to keep it in low gear and let the engine do the breaking. Once back at the visitor center, I instantly felt better again. We headed back to the ship and were onboard by 2! It was pretty cool to go from sea level to almost 14,000 in several hours!

 

Invisible Cows??

 

 

The Road

 

True Summit Hike

 

 

The official marker

[tommui987]

Wednesday we docked in Kona. We really wanted to drive to the top of Mauna Kea. We have a thing about wanting to go to State High Points, so we thought this would be a really cool thing to do.

 

We decided to acclimate for 30 minutes. In retrospect, we had plenty of time and I should have acclimated longer. ]

 

I enjoy reading the Hawaii reviews even though I have lived here for some 72-years! And this review is terrific!

 

Bit of a warning: Mauna Kea is about 2.5 miles above sea level and if you are prone to altitude sickness, acclimation will take a heck of a lot longer than above.

 

The Aqua Palm hotel - nice but you might want to get the room in the back rather than the rooms facing the street/"ocean view" as it is less noisy.

[Krisser22]

I enjoy reading the Hawaii reviews even though I have lived here for some 72-years! And this review is terrific!

 

Bit of a warning: Mauna Kea is about 2.5 miles above sea level and if you are prone to altitude sickness, acclimation will take a heck of a lot longer than above.

 

The Aqua Palm hotel - nice but you might want to get the room in the back rather than the rooms facing the street/"ocean view" as it is less noisy.

 

Yes, I was a bit stupid for only waiting half an hour. It would have been much more enjoyable if I would have waited the proper amount of time.

[langleyfld]

I am really enjoying your review!! We leave in 12 days!!!

Hurry up and write more.....

[beachchick]

Something that was interesting was a stop that was on private property. There were plenty of people illegally taking the trail, but there was a sign up that said private property- do not trespass. As if that was not enough, the property owner had taken a deer carcass and hung it over the fence. I understand the annoyance of people trespassing, but that seemed a bit much….especially with little kids running around. Just be aware if you do have kids and there is a “stop” you want to make that is on private property. Explaining why bambi is hanging on the trail is probably not something you want to have to deal with on vacation.

 

(Krisser22: This is not directed as a lecture to you, but a general observation.) While the deer carcass seems over the top, the property owner is no doubt beyond annoyed by many people hiking through his/her? private property every day. Signs and other warnings obviously have made no difference and he/she can't exactly call the police all day long. Here's a great paragraph from hawaii-guide that explains it well:

 

Trespassing is a huge sore spot with a lot of land owners along the Hana Highway. With such a buffet of gorgeous scenery it's tempting to just pull over and wander around. Please remember, people live here. This is their home not Disneyland or a national park. If signs are posted it's wise (not to mention legal!) to keep out unless you get direct permission from the landowner. Some guidebooks encourage trespassing at some "acceptable" places. There is no such thing. The Hana Highway affords many opportunities for visitors to explore its beauty without breaking the law.

 

In addition to the inconvenience to the owner and downright selfishness/rudeness of those trespassing, there is the issue of liability. Recently, there was a big to do over a death at the Nakalele blowhole. Part of the issue was that people have to trespass on private property to get there. The property owners have placed signs (that have been stolen more than once, as I recall) and put out warnings, but people keep going. The gist was that the victim's family intended to sue the property owners for not somehow preventing their family member from getting to the blowhole and (foolishly!) standing right by the blowhole itself. I think people should take responsibility for their own actions, but our society has become so litigeous that I can't blame property owners for taking more extreme actions to stop trespassers.

 

BTW, I'm so glad to hear your description of your Road to Hana day! So often people plan out the day to the tiniest detail and miss just enjoying what there is to see/do. No doubt you will treasure your memories of the day more than if you'd made it regimented "drive to here; stop for 10 minutes; drive to here; stop for 10 minutes" kind of thing. I agree that it's important to figure out a few must see/do stops and have some idea of the options. From there, it's best to let the rest of the day unfold as it will.

 

beachchick

[Molokai-Chuck]

Well said Beachchick .... sometimes in the paradise of it all ... we forget our manners.

 

 

Chuck

[ohioNCLcruiser]

Nice review. Did you bring the banging noise up to guest services? They have a noisy grid and several cabins on deck four get complaints each week and I'm sure they would have moved you if you brought it up ESP since it happened each night. What you heard is called the "water hammer."

 

James

[TSUmom]

Hey James glad to see you post - Always enjoy hearing from you and am guessing you are still on the PofA. I will be taking my 4th trip on her next fall so I guess you could say she is my fave!!!

[ohioNCLcruiser]

Hey James glad to see you post - Always enjoy hearing from you and am guessing you are still on the PofA. I will be taking my 4th trip on her next fall so I guess you could say she is my fave!!!

 

Glad you love the ship! I recently left Norwegian and work for a different company now. The POA will always be my ship though!

 

James

[Krisser22]

Nice review. Did you bring the banging noise up to guest services? They have a noisy grid and several cabins on deck four get complaints each week and I'm sure they would have moved you if you brought it up ESP since it happened each night. What you heard is called the "water hammer."

 

James

 

 

No, I should have though....didn't even think about it! Good to know for next time!

[diverearl]

Aloha Krisser22, Thanks for such a great read so far - but - many of us are waiting on you to finish the trip report you have been writing. Kauai should be coming soon (we hope :cool:) and since I'll be on the island for several weeks next month I'd really like to read what you did while visiting Kauai.

 

We have kids overseas fighting and getting killed so that each of us can have an opinion so please give us your view to help make their actions count.

 

Don't let a few get into your head or you will never be able to express your view or opinion ever. Just let em slide off your backside and you just keep on going - please........

 

Your going to find out many of the posters on any board or blog have nothing better to do with their meaningless life than to sit at their computer and grip or complain. There are a greater majority of posters though that just want to help others enjoy their trip or read other peoples reviews to get a little stoked about upcoming or past trips, like myself and apparently you.

 

Again Mahalo for a great review, hope ya finish it.

[Krisser22]

Thanks for the positive feedback! Sorry I have slowed down...for any of you that are accountants you will know how horrible quarter closings can be...Work has been keeping me busy....but back to the important stuff...Thursday in Kauai!!

 

On Thursday, we were once again the first people off the ship. It was seriously unbelievable people were not beating down the door to walk off. We went to Alamo to get our open-air jeep. We loved the jeep, however, word of warning....the first time we took the top off it took easily 15 minutes...the instructions are ridiculous! Well...when we finally decided to put the top back on....it easily took 30 minutes! I swear the chickens gathered around the jeep were laughing at us. I almost "you tubed" how to get in back on!!! Still after we figured out, it was worth it. If you dont want the hassel- rent a convertible!

 

We decided to head to Waimea Canyon. Thanks to the Kauai Revealed app on our phone, we decided to use Waimea Canyon Drive (Road?) instead of the "recommended route" from the signs on the road. This definantly provided nicer views as we took the other route down.

 

We were greeted by the gorgeous Red Dirt Waterfall on the side of the road along with gorgeous views of the canyon.

 

 

Doesn't this look like something off a jeep commercial:

 

We stopped at a outlook and got to view the canyon:

 

It really lived up to its name of the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific". After viewing the canyon we decided to hike down into it. The Kauai Revealed app showed us a trail to a waterfall Waipo’o Falls. The picture on the app showed some massive waterfall...I am going to assume because it wasn't the rainy season it explains why we just saw a small waterfall with a bit of a trickle, but if you take this route don't get your hopes up for a huge falls. However, the views of the Canyon were amazing- so much better than the viewing point right by the road. The hike took about 2-2.5 hours roundtrip...I swear you had to climb in and out of the canyon 4 times in and 4 times out...My husband disagrees. I would say the trail is moderate to strenuous....we did see many different age groups on the trail.

 

View at the end of the trail of the "rushing falls"

 

After working up quite an appetite, we decided to go eat at Kokee Lodge. It was surprisingly inexpensive given what I had seen at other Hawaii places and they had tons of chickens

 

 

After this we rushed back towards the ship so we could make it to the Smith Family Luau. We did make a brief stop at Kmart for some cheap souvineers and Clartin- my allergies did not agree with all the flowers I kept around my neck all week.

 

We parked our jeep in the overnight parking by the ship. The guy at Alamo told me the lot never fills up, but I felt like we got one few remaining spots at 3PM. There must have been more around back.

 

Up next the Luau.

[Krisser22]

On Thursday night we attended the Smith Family Luau. Going to a Luau was something I really wanted to do and I decided to take the advice of Cruise Critic and book one outside of NCL's excursion offering. I greatly enjoyed this Luau. The grounds were lovely, the food was delicious, and the entertainment was wonderful! The staff really tried to make you feel special and cater to your needs. Upon entering you got your picture taken with two dancers- one male and female. Given the fact my husband was hanging all over the female dancer and I was all over the male dancer, I decided not to buy the picture, however most everyone else did. I believe they were only $20.

 

We ate everything we could and had plenty to drink. This was an excellent memory from this trip!

 

Picture of the Emu Ceremony

 

The Entertainment

 

The show ended with a crazy fire dance....this was my one requirement for a luau and they delivered!