Review Hawaii Nov 7-17, 2012 POA

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We drove back to the Kahului pier around 8pm, but the last parking spot across the street was taken right as we arrived. The pier security guard directed us to the overflow parking lot which was located approximately ½ mile away. There was a walkway to follow to direct us back to the ship. We were never quite sure if our car would receive a ticket the next morning, as there were signs everywhere that it was private property. Thankfully it was okay.

Calvin, who works in Lazy J for breakfast and lunch, was walking on the path back to the ship with us and offered to carry our heavy packages (we bought water in Lahaina and other souvenirs). Our snorkel gear was in a rolling duffle bag. We had a great time talking with Calvin, who shared with us some of the changes that will be made to POA ship when it goes into dry dock in March 2013, including turning the 13th deck into a few larger suites and single suites, new carpet throughout, flat-screen TVs in every cabin, and better signage around the ship.

Back on the POA, there was coconut demonstration that started at 8:45pm. The Aloha Polynesia show came next, with live entertainment from locals who live on Oahu. They performed dances from Tahiti, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, and the Islands of Hawaii. One of the male dancers was there from last year, our favorite who has lots of tattoos and whose Tonga dance will have you recoiling in your seat in fear. Later that night they were flown back to Oahu.

 

I think this was the night when Tim Kaminski did a comedy show about the Wizard of Oz, but it wasn’t publicized in the Freestyle Daily so we missed it. The recorded version was only played once on our cabin TV and we caught the very end of the show the next evening. Every day when we were in our cabin we tuned to channel 27 hoping to watch the rerun, but it was never shown again. We had sailed on ships with Tim Kaminski but never made any of his shows. Since everything we heard about him was good, we wanted to make an effort to catch his show this time. Unfortunately, we missed the first show.

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We drove to Kula Lodge to see the beautiful view of Maui from the mountain.

 

 

 

 

 

Sun Yat Sen Park

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think this might be Oprah’s private road that runs from Highway 37 to Highway 31 (everyone else has to drive all the way around). Oprah bought several acres to prevent condominiums from being built along this beautiful upcountry area. She also has a house on the property.

 

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Ulupala Kua Ranch Store for Maui beef hamburgers, across from Tedeschi winery.

 

 

 

 

We had previously driven up to the summit of Haleakala on other visits so we didn’t do it this year. You drive up a winding road to the most beautiful view, high in elevation. We also had already visited the Ali’i Kula Lavender Garden on other visits, it is located off Waipoli Road from Highway 377 at mile marker 9.

 

Upcountry Maui has the most beautiful views of Maui, you can see the neck of the man of Maui (the island is shaped like a man, in case you didn’t notice), and see the ocean on both sides of the neck with Ma’aleaa Bay on the south end and Kahului Bay on the north end.

 

We watched the kite surfers just west of Ka’a Point on the way back to the airport near Kahului Harbor where the ship docks. The wind is almost always favorable for kite surfing on the north side of the island at this spot.

 

We also had already driven the Road to Hana several times in the past. It is a winding road that travels southeast along the island. Here you will see many beautiful waterfalls and beaches with sand and volcanic rock of every color. The road now extends all the way to Highway 31 along the south of the island to Highway 37 north back to Kahului Bay, so you could make the entire loop around the lower half of the body of the man of Maui. It is an all day adventure and really should be done slowly and leisurely with lots of stops.

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Back on the POA, I did the Hula class & Wine tasting ($20), and met DH at the kukui nut lei class (free!).

 

Wine tasting (I did this for $20). It came with an assortment of cheese. Here were the wines presented:

1. Sparkling wine

2. Risling (sweet white wine tastes like pear)

3. Chardonnay – dry white, tastes like oak. “Crisp” is more north, like pear, south is more like beaches or buttery taste.

4. Gamay – red, like a pinot noir, tastes like cherries. Young wine, salivatory (makes you salivate), a Beaujolais

5. Malbek – smokey red, big 6 blend for bordeau from Argentina

 

We ate at Little Italy, we ran into our friend Terrence from Texas, who is now one of the restaurant managers (he worked at the reservation desk last year). I had shrimp risotto and DH had lobster fettucini (delicious!). We paid $8.50 pp (reduced price if 3 specialty restaurants are booked online). There is now sausage speghetti and lasagna on the menu as of two weeks ago, so there is more variety offered (around 7 or 8 different entrees now). The Chianti wine goes best with Italian food (I learned this at the wine tasting).

 

That evening we went to the Not-So-Newlywed game at 8pm.

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Tues Nov 13, 2012, Hilo. NCL Secrets of Puna ($150 pp, 6 hours). Cousin Emma was our tour guide. She arranged for us to get a complimentary bottle of wine since I had been on the tour 4 times now, this was DH’s first time.

 

Our van held 12 passengers maximum, done by Kapohokine Adventure and NCL. Very nice tour and a way to see the Puna area.

 

 

Here is Cousin Emma, by far our favorite tour guide. She offers a local flavor to the tour.

 

 

Lava Tree State Park. DH lost his tinted motorcycle reading glasses here. I like to thnk he left them as an offering to Madame Pele.

 

 

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Noni fruit and tree. The fruit is yellow and mushy when ripe. We went to Noni Juice Factory across from Painted Church and got to taste raw noni juice. A ripe fruit smells like stinky cheese (or vomit to some), but has medicinal properties according to the locals here. The juice doesn't taste as bad as the smell, IMO.

 

 

 

 

 

Painted Church, here is where we had delicious BBQ chicken and rib lunch, along with Maui corn, cole slaw, and steamed vegetables. Sparkling wine and beer along with sodas were also provided.

 

 

A beautiful plumeria blossom

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The road to the new beach after a lava flow in 1990. The Pu’u O’o vents run along the side of the volcano toward the ocean in the background (the lava was only a few miles from reaching the ocean, so no lava sailby this trip). As of today, the lava is located less than .3 miles from the ocean, so those sailing soon may get a chance to see it.

 

 

We bought 6 photos of the lava from Cousin Loco (crazy since he captures lava from his boat which caught fire in the past). He sells excellent pictures for $1 each or 6 for $5. I highly recommend buying the pictures if you are here.

 

Here is Cousin Randy who gave mr a palm nut lei after I listened to his many wonderful stories about Hawaii. I bought a coconut shell/Mother of Pearl necklace that he made, and a coconut/palm nut bracelet that his 7-yr old daughter made. He is the brother of Akebono, the champion sumo wrestler of Hawaii (see Sat 11/17 Oahu for info about his brother and the statue that stands on Oahu).

 

 

Here is the palm nut lei that Cousin Randy gave me, along with the coconut shell/Mother of Pearl shell necklace ($15) he made, and the bracelet of palm nut/coconut shell ($10) that his 7-year old daughter made:

 

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The road to the new beach after a lava flow in 1990. The Pu’u O’o vents run along the side of the volcano toward the ocean in the background (the lava was only a few miles from reaching the ocean, so no lava sailby this trip). As of today, the lava is located less than .3 miles from the ocean, so those sailing soon may get a chance to see it.

 

 

We bought 6 photos of the lava from Cousin Loco (crazy since he captures lava from his boat which caught fire in the past). He sells excellent pictures for $1 each or 6 for $5. I highly recommend buying the pictures if you are here.

 

Here is Cousin Randy who gave mr a palm nut lei after I listened to his many wonderful stories about Hawaii. I bought a coconut shell/Mother of Pearl necklace that he made, and a coconut/palm nut bracelet that his 7-yr old daughter made. He is the brother of Akebono, the champion sumo wrestler of Hawaii (see Sat 11/17 Oahu for info about his brother and the statue that stands on Oahu).

 

 

Here is the palm nut lei that Cousin Randy gave me, along with the coconut shell/Mother of Pearl shell necklace ($15) he made, and the bracelet of palm nut/coconut shell ($10) that his 7-year old daughter made:

 

 

Lety me try attaching the pics again:

 

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Statue of King Kamehemeha that was rescued from the ocean when the ship sank. A replica was made and stands in downtown Honolulu across from Iolani Palace.

Back on the POA, DH attended the Gilligan’s Island trivia. We both went to the flower lei class (free!), and went to the Sarong tying class by China.

We ate at Liberty Restaurant for dinner and sat with a couple from the UK and another couple from New Zealand. We talked about the Olympics, soccer and UK/New Zealand desserts.

That evening we finally got to see Tim Kaminski at his Improv Workshop. It was hilarious.

 

The following day we received a letter on our door from NCL for bottle of wine on behalf of Shore Excursions desk and Kapohokine Adventures, courtesy of Cousin Emma, since this was my 4th time on the Secrets of Puna tour. I got a complimentory bottle of Columbia Crest Merlot from Willamette Valley when we went to Jefferson’s Bistro the following evening.

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Statue of King Kamehemeha that was rescued from the ocean when the ship sank. A replica was made and stands in downtown Honolulu across from Iolani Palace.

 

 

Back on the POA, DH attended the Gilligan’s Island trivia. We both went to the flower lei class (free!), and went to the Sarong tying class by China.

We ate at Liberty Restaurant for dinner and sat with a couple from the UK and another couple from New Zealand. We talked about the Olympics, soccer and UK/New Zealand desserts.

 

That evening we finally got to see Tim Kaminski at his Improv Workshop. It was hilarious.

 

The following day we received a letter on our door from NCL for bottle of wine on behalf of Shore Excursions desk and Kapohokine Adventures, courtesy of Cousin Emma, since this was my 4th time on the Secrets of Puna tour. I got a complimentory bottle of Columbia Crest Merlot from Willamette Valley when we went to Jefferson’s Bistro the following evening.

 

Hopefully here's the pic again:

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Wed Nov 14, 2012, Kona.

 

Coral Reef Snorkel Adventures ($150 pp). We took first tender from the ship (we got tickets from Pink’s Champagne Bar at 7am), and took taxi to Honokohau Marbor Marina ($15 + $5 tip each way). It is owned by Captain Ron (who met us on the pier when we returned), but our captain today was Captain Carl and snorkel guide/dolphin whisperer Roberta. Only 2 others were on our tour (there is a maximum of 6 passengers). This is another best-kept secret and a must-do for anyone who wants to swim among wild spinner dolphins. We were not allowed to touch them, but they came right up to us about 6 inches away.

 

 

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I was in the water for about 4 hours total as we moved to about 4-5 different sites. Each site had around 150-200 spinner dolphins surrounding us. There were moms with their babies nursing and learning how to jump out of the water. There was a lot of mating going on all around us between the males and females. The dolphin would leap into the air and spin up to 6 times before diving back into the ocean. We also saw the manta ray “Lefty,” and the couple with us saw two other manta rays as they slowly circled the coral reef and allowed cleaner fish to clean out their mouths. DH saw a lot from the deck but he didn’t snorkel. I didn’t take an underwater camera; check out the pictures from their website: www.CoralReefSnorkelAdventures.com

 

 

Getting into the water was easy from the low seated ledge. There was a convenient ladder to climb back into the boat, and the captain made sure the boat was always nearby. I felt very safe, especially with Roberta in the water with me.

 

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After playing around the pier, we took the tender back to the POA around 3 pm.

 

Dinner at Jefferson’s Bistro, Kona lobster night ($17pp with the 3 dinner special + $10 extra for lobster tail or $20 for whole lobster). I wish I had remembered that the whole lobster is served unless you specify the tail only. I was apologizing to my lobster during the entire meal as his beady little eyes were gazing on me while I was eating him. The chef does a wonderful job of cracking the shells so all you have to do is lift out the succulent meat.

 

Waiter Steven Alqueza was our waiter on Pride of Aloha in 2009 when it offered the 10-night Hawaiian cruise. He worked with Robert in the main dining room at that time. We wanted to cruise with him again but he took a couple of years off so we did other cruises to Hawaii from the mainland on a couple of different cruise lines. Last year Dec 2011 we missed Steven by 1 day when his tour ended. We were lucky to run into him again. He still has the kukui nut bracelet I made for him in 2009.

 

 

This was our exact same pose in 2009:

 

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After playing around the pier, we took the tender back to the POA around 3 pm.

 

Dinner at Jefferson’s Bistro, Kona lobster night ($17pp with the 3 dinner special + $10 extra for lobster tail or $20 for whole lobster). I wish I had remembered that the whole lobster is served unless you specify the tail only. I was apologizing to my lobster during the entire meal as his beady little eyes were gazing on me while I was eating him. The chef does a wonderful job of cracking the shells so all you have to do is lift out the succulent meat.

 

Waiter Steven Alqueza was our waiter on Pride of Aloha in 2009 when it offered the 10-night Hawaiian cruise. He worked with Robert in the main dining room at that time. We wanted to cruise with him again but he took a couple of years off so we did other cruises to Hawaii from the mainland on a couple of different cruise lines. Last year Dec 2011 we missed Steven by 1 day when his tour ended. We were lucky to run into him again. He still has the kukui nut bracelet I made for him in 2009.

 

 

 

This was our exact same pose in 2009:

 

 

 

Now I'm getting annoyed at Flickr. After paying $24.95 to upload these pictures I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. I've been working on this review for the past 3 days. Here goes again:

 

 

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This day on POA we also made Lauhala ribbon weave leis (free!). Later I wove palm fronds and taught others how to make bracelets and key chains in Kauai.

Later that evening I went to White Hot Dance Party where everyone danced like crazy and wore a round glow stick around their neck or on their head. The Cruise Director Scotty (Silias Cook was on vacation) and his staff do a great job of keeping everything lively.

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Here is the best-kept secret to experiencing Kauai. The Pride of America cruise ship was docked in Kauai from Thursday morning 8am to Friday 1:00pm. We spent the entire time in Kauai with Karen Tilley - Kauai Eden Tours (Thursday for 12 hours, 8:30am-8:30pm) and Jay Dorrance – Tread Lightly Kauai (Friday for 5 hours, 7am-noon). We spent approximately 17+ HOURS with them in Kauai.

You can book a half-day tour (4 hours) for $345 for two people, only $69 for each additional adult (less for children) up to 4 people total. For example: the average cost for 3 adults comes to only $138pp plus tax for a 4-HOUR TOUR!! Try to book that through the ship or anywhere else and you will pay MUCH MORE. There is a discounted rate per hour for more than 8 hours, and a discount if you book the second day. Karen and Jay are available by email/phone to give you the details and the multitude of choices to make your experience totally exclusive!

The total cost for both of us for 17+ FULL HOURS was $984.55 which included tax, divided by 17 hours and then by 2 comes to only $28.95 per hour per person! This is a bargain for what you get, in our opinion. If there are 3 or 4 in your group the price is even less per person. The tour was geared exclusively for us, so we got to see and experience things we would have never done with a public tour company or on our own.

They can also take you to the more popular tourist “must see” spots but will provide a more private experience without the crowds. Again, this is another best-kept secret for the island of Kauai. To book a tour with Karen and/or Jay (you can reach them at either website):

www.KauaiEdenTours.com

www.TreadLightlyKauai.com

 

They also have a cabin for rent on private grounds in the most beautiful area on Kauai with the mountains in the background and local fruits and flowers growing right outside the cabin door. The price per night is only a fraction of what you would pay for a hotel (around $350/week). For more information, check out their website which includes pictures of the property and all the produce you can obtain outside your door while staying there:

www.TreadLightlyKauai.com/Kapahi_Cabn_Home.html

 

Karen and Jay are the coolest people we have ever met. Both provide a completely different experience of Kauai. Karen has more of an airy nature, like that of a songbird, while Jay is more earth-centered and grounded.

Karen enjoyed showing us the secluded beaches, snorkeling spots, and hiking trails. She is a gorgeous 6-foot-one beauty with a heavenly voice who also plays guitar. We felt like we were in the presence of a Hawaiian spiritual goddess when we met her. We especially liked when we asked her a question and her first response was, “Ahhh!” We knew we were in for a special treat with her answer.

 

Jay is completely different, but complimentary to Karen. He is also laid back, and we felt an immediate connection with him. He is a walking encyclopedia when it comes to Hawaiian history. He also has a special sacred spirit to him, as he respects the land, the customs, and the environment. You can feel his reverence for this area and people. We were with Jay on our last day in Hawaii and, by then, we were exhausted. He made sure to take us to easy to access areas and provided a TON of information about Kauai and the Hawaiian ways. We wished we had more time to spend with Jay, but we had to get back to the ship. Getting the best from both Karen and Jay was the way to go, and we plan to do it again next year. We also may rent their cabin for a week. Karen knows how to get a car rental for only around $30-35/day. In the 16 years we have been coming to Hawaii, this was the BEST experience, by far. I can’t believe I never heard of it before this year, so I’m sharing what I know with the hopes that others can truly experience Kauai with these beautiful people.

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Lydgate State Park has a boulder-enclosed pond that allows water and fish in, but keeps out the ocean’s force. Here we stood in knee deep water and fed hundreds of fish (Sargent Major, butterfly, various sizes of a torpedo-shaped fish, and in deeper water were angel fish). Karen snorkeled to the deeper water, while we stayed in the more shallow water since we were exhausted from 4 hours of snorkeling with the dolphins the day before in Kona. Karen brought turkey sandwiches for us to eat but we fed these to the fish instead. The fish ate the food right from our fingers and surrounded us in the water. It was a fun experience and we could have stayed here all day.

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We went to the City of Refuge heiau at Wailua River State Park. Here Karen sang two authentic Hawaiian chants and we left a food offering. We walked along the beach and mouth of the river to find the rocks with the petroglyphs, and a couple of times we thought we saw writing etched in the rocks. DH is holding palm fronds that we later wove into bracelets. Here you can see Karen and DH where the Wailua River meets the ocean and the rocks in the water.

 

 

We went to the north shore of Kilowea, then stopped at a local fruit stand with the “honor system” to place the money in a metal box to purchase a couple of coconuts ($1.50 each for the larger ones).

 

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We went to the City of Refuge heiau at Wailua River State Park. Here Karen sang two authentic Hawaiian chants and we left a food offering. We walked along the beach and mouth of the river to find the rocks with the petroglyphs, and a couple of times we thought we saw writing etched in the rocks. DH is holding palm fronds that we later wove into bracelets. Here you can see Karen and DH where the Wailua River meets the ocean and the rocks in the water.

 

 

 

 

We went to the north shore of Kilowea, then stopped at a local fruit stand with the “honor system” to place the money in a metal box to purchase a couple of coconuts ($1.50 each for the larger ones).

 

 

Let's try the pics AGAIN!

 

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We had lunch at Kilawea Fish Market for delicious ono fish tacos. I taught the tourist children in the area how to weave palm frond bracelets. Here we are showing off our bracelets.

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Karen opened a coconut for us to taste the coconut water and eat the soft, gelatinous coconut fruit.

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Karen showed us the view of the ocean from Sea Lodge in Princeville that rents for around $150 per night. This is right outside the apartment a family member rents for 5 months of the year. There is a rocker bench to sit and watch the waves. It was windy but beautiful.

Here is an area of the beach called the toilet bowl and Queen’s Bath. The surf was up this day so it’s difficult to make out the toilet bowl. When the wave recoils the water in the toilet bowl looks like it is flushing. Queen’s Bath is farther left.

Here was a beautiful beach on the north shore of Kauai, a few miles near the end of the road. I think this may be Tunnels (Makua) beach. I believe Ke-e beach is further west at the end of the road. Each beach she showed us had very few people and we felt special, like we were the only ones in the area.

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We went to the Farmer’s Market and saw a group of local Hawaiians singing and playing ukulele, guitar, and slide guitar. Karen sang along with the other locals. What a treat! We got to sample some of the local fruit. Here is a cocoa bean.

That evening Karen and Jay planned a very special event: dinner outside under the stars. We sat around a campfire in comfortable chairs for a kanikapila (“let’s get together and sing”). We were serenaded by Karen and her artist friend, Bryn Quick, who also sang and played guitar with Karen. Karen sang songs she wrote and we all sang along. Jay made delicious homemade avocado soup (he grows the avocados on his land) and roasted local corn on the cob (yummy!). There were also turkey hot dogs offered in case the soup and corn wasn’t enough. The night ended all too quickly and at 8:30pm Karen drove us back to the ship. It was an end to a perfect day on Kauai.

Back on the POA, I saw the Late Night with Tim Kiminski comedy show at 10:30pm. I laughed so hard I think I may have broken a rib or two.

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sorry about the mixup of the dates above.

 

Fri Nov 16, 2012, Kauai

We started the day early with Jay at 7am. Just like with Karen, there was an immediate connection with Jay when we met him last night at the kanikapila campfire. Jay took us to several places, but what follows were the most memorable.

Here we are at the Holo-Holo Ku Heiau, one of the sacred places on Kauai.

 

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Here is the Pohaku Ho’ohanau (Royal Birthstones). This is an ancient and sacred Hawaiian site. In the old times it was important that all of Kauai’s kings were born here, as they would receive special “mana” or spirit. There is a stone where the pregnant woman was leaning against with her back and another stone where she put her legs while giving birth. Within the stone enclosure once stood a grass shack, where the mother-to-be stayed prior to giving birth.

The flat stone in the front was used to cover a sacrificed dog, signifying to commoners that for them the place was kapu (forbidden). After birth, the baby’s umbilical cord was placed in a crack in the rock wall. If the cord was taken away by a rat, then that was a bad sign, indicating that the child would later become a thief. If no rat showed up, it was a good sign.