Review Hawaii Nov 7-17, 2012 POA

[Just4You]

Here is the Poli-Ahu Heiau, another sacred site. It was our request to visit the sacred sites on our second day, and Jay sure did fulfill our request.

I made a woven palm design to place as an offering. Jay left an offering of a stone wrapped in a Ti leaf. One can’t help but feel a spiritual connection to Kauai with the help of Karen and Jay’s beautiful spirit.

[Just4You]

Here was a beautiful secluded beach. All the beaches in Hawaii, including Kauai, are public property. This beach has been carefully cultivated and maintained by a person who owns a nearby home next to the beach. Jay had been here many times and wondered who the caretaker of the land was. Just then the person who keeps the area beautiful showed up and we talked for a while. He placed a cushion in the lounge chair since he saw Jay sitting earlier. Nice touch!

 

Here is Jay sitting in the lounge chair before the caretaker arrived with a cushion for the chair. There were lots of coconut trees and banana plants, notice the bunch of bananas growing over DH’s head.

 

[Just4You]

Here we felt like we were on the set of Gilligan’s Island. Jay had these adorable outfits for us to wear and take pictures. Again, here was another beach where we felt like we had it to ourselves.

[Just4You]

Our time with Jay was over before we knew it and we had to go back to the ship. When we got out of the car Jay presented me with a very special gift, an authentic Sunrise Shell. Karen had driven us to a cute little coffee shop that sold the shell necklaces the day before, but were too expensive. I mentioned to Karen how much I would like to have one but could not afford it. Well, Jay and Karen surprised us and presented me with a Sunrise Shell! They are like underground currancy in Hawaii. It is a small scallop that looks like the Shell Oil logo. They come in various colors of red, orange, yellow, white, and black hues with 7-9 paws. My shell has 10 paws and was in perfect condition.

Here is a picture of the Sunrise Shell that I attached a clasp and cord using Mighty Putty (Jay showed me how). We can’t wait to wear it to show Karen and Jay next year we see them again.

Again, our experience on Kauai with Karen and Jay is another BEST KEPT SECRET! and we highly recommend them.

Here is a picture of one of the ribbon leis we made on this trip. Inside this is a kukui nut lei that was given to me by Kainoa Dela Cruz who was the “King” of the Aloha Festival in 1993, and was the Ambassador of Aloha on our 10-day Pride of Aloha cruise in 2009. He is descended from Hawaiian royalty and lives on Oahu. In the center is the beautiful Sunrise Shell that was given to me by Karen and Jay. To the lower right is an untouched opihi shell and a polished opihi shell.

[Just4You]

Later that day on the POA, we watched the tugboat escort the ship back out to sea. We took apart and threw our flower leis into the ocean to ensure that we will return again to Hawaii.

Here is DH with the lighthouse behind him as we left Kauai. It’s hard to believe we were standing right next to it the day before.

We watched the Kanikapila Hawaiian Hula Show by Hawaiian Ambassadors China and Kaulana. This is where I danced the hula (Little Grass Shack and Hukilau) with the other guests, but I stayed in the very back.

[Just4You]

At around 5pm the ship sailed around the Na Pali coastline. There was a narration done by the Hawaiian Ambassador Kaulana. In the foreground on the second picture is the platform where the ancient art of Hula is still practiced today.

Here is the lovely face in the mountains that greets us every year. I call him my “ancient grandfather.”

[Just4You]

Later that evening we attended the Farewell Variety Show where the POA staff paraded onstage. Here DH learned that the gentleman who spoke with him almost daily in the Spa sauna was one of the head chefs. Who knew!

We ate again at Jefferson’s Bistro by changing our reservation from Lazy J at 6:30pm so we could see Steven our waiter again. Normally Jefferson’s Bistro is $17 pp with the 3 meal plan, but we already pre-paid the higher charge of $21.50 pp for Lazy J and took the loss. The only reservation left was for 8:15pm, so we waited to eat until then. I had swordfish and DH had rack of lamb. Again, it was great to see Steven, our waiter, again.

At 10:15pm I attended the Quest Scavenger Hunt with Tim Kaminski. My team didn’t win, but I won a shot of apricot brandy by showing some of my tattoos to the audience when the comedy act first started. It was silly but fun.

[Just4You]

Sat Nov 17, 2012, Oahu

Since we always do the Grand Circle Island Tour on our last day in Hawaii, our departure (black color tags) was not until 9:15am so we got to sleep in. Our bags were packed and placed outside our cabin door at 1am (it was supposed to be midnight, but our steward Jose was wonderful and gave us an extra hour). That morning we disembarked and claimed our luggage in the baggage terminal and were loaded almost immediately in the large tour bus that stored the luggage under the bus and would drop us off at the airport around 5:30pm.

Grand Circle Island Tour was given by Leo B, who was also our tour guide last year and he remembered us. He let us sit in the front row since DH uses a cane. The bus stops at many places, but here are some of the highlights.

The Hanola blowhole, on the southeast of the island, is normally not this active during our past trips to Hawaii, but today was putting on a great show.

 

The statue of Akebono, the Yokozuna Grand Champion from 1993 to 2000. He retired in 2001. He is a sumo wrestler, the first non-Japanese-born wrestler to reach Yokozuna, the highest rank in sumo. He is the brother of Cousin Randy in Hilo who gave me the palm nut lei.

[Just4You]

The tour provides a buffet lunch at Kualoa Ranch. Here is DH by a wooden sculpture and me petting the horses.

At Kualoa Ranch you can ride horses, ATVs, take an ocean voyage by catamaran to Kane’ohe Bay, go on a jungle expedition in a Swiss Pinzgauer to Hakipu’u Valley, visit an ancient Moli’i fishpond and tropical gardens, take a movie tour to Ka’a’awa Valley and the historic Kualoa Sugar Mill, or take Kualoa hula lessons. There is a pickup service to/from Waikiki.

We went to Sunset Beach on the North Shore, where we saw surfers in the high waves. The tiny dot in the wave is a surfer.

[Just4You]

Leo pointed out the the Sea-based X-Band Radar (SBX), a floating, self-propelled, mobile radarstation designed to operate in high winds and heavy seas. It is part of the U.S. Defense DepartmentBallistic Missile Defense System. It anchors in Pearl Harbor in the winter.

 

Honolulu Airport

This is our least favorite place to be in Hawaii. Not only does it signify that we are leaving, this is also the place where we have encountered the rudest airport staff at the gate area, a male who clearly dislikes people and/or his job.

When we departed from the tour bus, we pulled our luggage a few feet for an x-ray through the Agriculture Inspection. Once a sticker is placed on the luggage (difficult to remove once home), we are met by a man who weighs our luggage. My luggage was less than ½ pound over 50 pounds, and he made me go to the “naughty area of the airport” to remove ½ pound worth of stuff to switch to the carry on bag. Next we checked in at the United desk after waiting in line for several others ahead of us. Once given our tickets, we began the long trek to the gate. Gate 8 was the 3rd to the last gate and quite a walk.

We stopped at the Burger King, where we always get a hamburger, french fries and soda for nourishment for our long flight home. Our flight left at 8:10pm, but we would arrive in Houston at 7:30am the following morning (4 hours time difference, about a 7.5-hour flight). We had to laugh that only yesterday we were eating swordfish and rack of lamb at Jefferson’s Bistro, yet today we are paying $8pp for the #3 special at Burger King.

At Gate 8, once again the same rude person who has been here before was there. He barked at everyone to sit down. DH asked if the handicapped passengers can line up in the far right lane (like before) and he yelled at DH to sit back down. I ignored him and led my (now exhausted) DH to the far right lane where passengers in wheelchairs also lined up.

Since United messed up our seats when it merged with Continental, the gate in Houston made sure we had the first set of bulkhead seats behind First Class (no Business Class on this 777 unfortunately). While there was adequate leg room, there was no way to get comfortable in an economy seat. Also, our seatbelt would not stay closed which was strange given that the 777 was relatively new. We both took an Ambien (sleeping pill) and passed out for the duration of our flight. The last memory was of the beautiful lights of Oahu that we could see from seats 17 A and B.

There were many beautiful and memorable experiences this trip, along with the daily miracles that always seem to occur when we come to Hawaii. There is something about Hawaii that draws us back again and again. Mahalo nui loa for allowing me to share my experience with you.

A hui hau Hawaii!

Just4You

 

PS: If you liked this review but would like more information about some of the other shore excursions, please read my review of Hawaii from last year:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1534322&highlight=just4you

[hill6]

Great review

 

Sorry we missed you at the Meet and Greet

[kapoho2]

Wow...great job! Mahalo for taking the time to post this wonderful review.

[Just4You]

Kehaulike Market in Chinatown.

 

 

 

MaunaKea Marketplace. Here they sold all parts of the pig including the snout and had live bullfrogs for sale to eat:

 

 

Rambutan are $4.99 per pound:

 

 

Pepiau dumplings (Hawaiian, steamed) with spicy mustard from Char Hung Sut, and ma tai su flakey pastries (Chinese pot pies) from Sing Cheong Yuan Bakery. By this time we were getting full, but there is much, much more!

 

 

Here's the pic of Rambutan that didn't show:

[Just4You]

Here are some of the pics that initially didn't show:

 

Spam Musubi

 

Ahi tuna poke

 

Fruit at the Marketplace

[Just4You]

A statue in Chinatown:

 

We went to Char Siu House for Chinese sweet boneless pork and 5 layers of heaven roast pork with crunchy skin (so delicious!). Here is Saraha getting our goods, and a suckling pig, a delicacy for special occasions. Oh, the little baby piglet… how sad (as we licked our lips, shameful!).

 

Leonard’s Bakery for malasadas, a Portuguese doughnut. By this time we couldn’t eat another bite.

quote]

 

More pics that didn't make it the first time:

[Just4You]

Sat Nov 10, 2012. Feeding the doves from our hotel room. We had to keep chasing them out of the room and keep the door closed. They would knock on the door when they saw us in the room.

 

That morning we went to the US Army Museum since it was next door to our hotel. DH in front of US Army Museum.

 

Outside the Outrigger Reef on the Beach hotel while waiting for VIP Transportation to take us to the pier.[quote]

 

Pics that didn't make it:

[Just4You]

Our cabin 10157, a handicap room, so it is larger than the normal inside suite. We had this same room Dec 2011.

 

If you want to see pictures of the bathroom, go to my review from Dec 2011. Note the ample storage behind the corner bathroom mirror.

 

 

More pics that were missing initially of cabin 10157:

 

[Just4You]

Teralani Sunset Dinner cruise ($69pp) at Ka’anapali Beach. We had to meet at 4:10pm and wait in line on the sandy beach for the catamaran to pull onto shore around 5pm to offload a group of snorkelers, then take off our shoes and walk in the ocean to get to the boat. Nobody on the cruise offered to help DH into the boat that was bobbing wilding in the surf. Two other passengers finally got on either side and helped to lift him on.

 

The girl who worked on the ship (walking up behind DH in the second picture below) was indifferent and snappy to everyone, except at the end of the cruise when she expected a tip. The food was below average, it seemed everyone on board got drunk and we listened to canned American music… not our idea of fun. The sunset was beautiful, however.

 

A much better sunset dinner cruise, IMO, is with Quicksilver called the Quicksilver Sunset Dinner Cruise out of Ma'alaea Harbor. Here you will have better food, live entertainment, boarding from the pier (not the ocean), and many attentive crew and a friendly captain. It is one of the sunset dinner cruises that occur on Sunday, which is the day the POA docks overnight.

 

Missing pics:

[Just4You]

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.

 

 

more missing pics:

[Just4You]

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.

 

missing pics:

[Just4You]

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]

 

Missing pics:

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the review!

[Just4You]

Great review

 

Sorry we missed you at the Meet and Greet

 

I'm sorry too, DH wanted to get everyone to sign his birthday T-shirt.

 

I forgot to write down the time we were supposed to meet. I wandered around Deck 13 after the muster drill but left around 5:30pm. I found out later you were meeting at 5:45pm, I must have just missed you. I hope there was a good showing of ship officers there.

[SED510]

Thank you for taking the time to share all of your Experiences and Photos!!

[puddles99]

Thanks so much for the wonderful review & pictures!