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Reiview NCL Pride of America Suite 13002 April 4th, 2015

bosnatis

By bosnatis,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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bosnatis

bosnatis

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Day 5 Kona

 

This is the one tender port and we had priority disembarkation. We were up early and had breakfast at Cagneys then waited for the tender boat in an area our concierge took us to. We went down a service elevator and right off the ship at 7 am. This was the one port we used Enterprise for a car rental since Avis did not have a shuttle. I got in the Enterprise van quickly (only one person per group is allowed in the van in order to make room for others) for the very short drive to pick up our car. No real plans for this port except for snorkleing. Tried to find the Captain Cook monument but did not have luck after driving around a while. Our GPS took us to a spot but a sign said it was not the spot. We later figured out it was the spot but the locals are tired of people driving down the residential road so they had a sign posted. Drove around and stopped at some scenic spots for pictures. Found some nice areas with beautiful cliffs but no snorkeling so far. We drove for quite a while just taking in the beautiful coast line down some curving roads

Finally went snorkeling on Kahaluu Beach Park. One of the best spots for snorkeling with the kids. Next we went to White Sands beach where the waves were pretty big and the kids just had fun in the water. I lost my sunglasses when a huge way knocked me over. A local saw me looking for something and I told him my sunglasses. He said they usually find about 20 pair every night wash up on shore. I guess I should have paid attention to the sign on the beach that said leave all personal items on the beach due to large waves. Lesson learned. We had our lunch we packed from the ship on the beach. Next stop was the Maka'eo walking path located behind the Old Kona Airport. This was only about 1 mile from the cruise ship and was a very nice path with beatiful flowers and birds. A relaxing part of the day and a very nice surprise for my wife. On the other side of the rode was a long stretch of beautiful beaches. We were about to go on the beach when we stopped and spoke to a local. When he saw we had three boys who were in their bathing suit he said I have a secret spot where the locals go to. He said go behind the old airport tennis courts which was about three blocks where we were at. He said park your car and you will see a walking path that takes you between some gorgeous and very expensive homes. When you are basically in their backyard you will find some beatiful beaches. And boy was he right. All beaches in Hawaii are public beaches and all have public access. It felt kind of strange at first to be in this area but the residents are use to it and just waved from their million dollar homes. We hung out and had fun in the water until it was time to get back on the tender boat to back to the ship. By far this was one of the best ports. Easy tender boat ride at 4:30 pm back to the ship. Kids went to the basketball court to play as usual while we had some adult beverages on the balcony. We could she the million dollar homes and beach we were just at from our balcony. We went to the 7 pm Oh What A Night show which we enjoyed. Went to bed around 10 pm so we could get an early start in the morning at our last port Nawiliwili. The first picture is the view pulling in the Kona port from our balcany, second is from the White Sands Beach, third and fourth were flowers from the walking trail and the last ones of the Freestyle Daily day 5.

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bosnatis

bosnatis

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Day 6

Nawiliwili, Kaua'i

 

Up at 5:30 and having breakfast at Cagney at 6:30. Packed our snorkleing gear, lunch and towels for a beach day. Off the boat at 7:50 and the Avis shuttle picked us up by 8:05. Short ride to Avis, went to the tent and on the rode in our Jeep by 8:20. We headed to Waimea Canyon which was about a 45 minute drive to the top. The falls were well worth the drive. You are on the other side of the Na Pali coast. We saw numerous helicopters every few minutes entering the canyon then going to the coast. We then headed to Spouting Horn park which was a 20 minute ride. We spend about 20 minutes at the park. We let the kids run around and play football with a ball we packed. Next we headed to Lawai beach to do some snorkeling which was well worth it. Not as good as Kona but still nice. Plenty of parking along side of the road, lots of people at this beach. We got some shaved ice across the street at a place called Riptides then we had our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the car. We wanted to go to Poipu beach but could not find it. We saw all the resorts in Poipu then found a dirt road that looked interesting so we went for it. The road was definitely not made for cars so we were glad we had a Jeep. It was a slow ride because of all the holes in the road. It was well worth it as the beaches were empty. I spoke to a guy in a Jeep who was heading out of the road. He said make a right at the end and turn into the road that said private property no beach access. So we did and we were glad we did as we found a cave that actually had brochures telling you where to go. This property is private but they invite you to cruise around. Not sure why they post signs saying no access. The cave was called Makauwahi Cave and was a short walk and pretty interesting. We then went to the beach and hung out for about an hour. After this beach we headed further down the road and found about 3 other beaches. One of the beaches had nice snorkeling which had a few turtles. After spending about an hour at the three beaches we decided to head back to the ship since it was 5 pm by now. On the way back we passed through the eucalyptus tree tunnels which were pretty neat. We stopped off at a local market to get water, soda, bread and chips for tomorrows adventures. I dropped the family off at the ship then went to find a parking spot. As I left the pier I noticed a block away from the pier on the main road you could park all night long for free. No signs says no parking except for a few on the curves and by the fire hydrants. I parked the Jeep in the first spot (I was the only car out of about 20 unmarked spots. I then walked further up and asked a local and he said it was fine. About a half a block further away from the ship they had parking from $10 to $20 for cruise ship guests. Not sure why people paid for parking. I asked the guard at the pier about where I parked and he said that was fine and he said it Kaua'i and they do not tow anyways. I went back to the room and went to the balcony and could see my red Jeep about a block and a half away. We went to the Key West bar got some burgers and fries and hung out on the balcony until 7:00. We then headed to the comedy show with Chris Alpine. We loved this guy the few times we saw his show. We had dinner at the main dining room at 9 pm then headed to the room around 10. We packed our bags for the morning. Great day of snorkeling, beaches, sun and adventure. Pictures are of the following. Waimea canyons falls, Spouting Horn park, shaved ice shop and shaved ice, the dirt road at Poipu, the beaches on the dirt road on the right that said no beach access, the cave, the other beach where we went snorkeling at and the eucalyptus tree tunnel.

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bosnatis

bosnatis

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Day 7

Nawiliwili, Kaua'i

 

Woke up early as usual and looked out on the balcony and my red Jeep was still in the parking spot. Went to eat at Cagneys then off the ship at 7:15. We had our snorkeling gear, food, snacks and towels. We had to be back at the ship by 1:30 so the Queens Bath was the only must do today. Our drive was about 45 minutes and it was a nice one. You get to the town called Princeville and enter a resort called St. Regis. A very nice golf course community. My GPS (WAZE is the app I used and it was right on throughout the trip) took us to a very small parking lot (11 parking spots ). They had a sign that said if you park anywhere besides the parking lot your car will be towed. We were one of the first to arrive at around 8:30 so we were lucky to get a spot. We headed down a trail (signs posted guiding you) about a quarter mile and very easy walk. When you get to the end of the trail you will see a wooded sign talking about Queens Bath drowings. The sign is an exaggeration but does let you know if you are not careful you could get hurt. After the sign you start to see the ocean, waves and rocks. What a sight. My only suggestion is to only swim at the actual Queens Bath since that is the only one closed off from the ocean completely. It is a 5 to 10 minute walk to the left to get to the Queens Bath. This was by far the best day of the trip not only was it fun but gorgeous. When we got to the bath we were the only ones but not for long. Arriving early is the key. We swam in the bath for about an hour then people starting arriving. The kids jumped from the top which is about a 5 to 15 foot drop depending on where you jump from. The kids could not get enough of it. The water was beautiful and when a large enough wave from the ocean hit the rocks it would fill the bath up with more water. If you are brave enough you can continue down the rocks and jump of the real cliffs into the ocean. Most of these people were the young locals. It was fun watching them jump, doing flips and being silly. We spent about 2.5 hours at the bath and enjoyed every minute of it. On our way out the parking lot was full and about 10 cars parked along the residential street. Good luck to them, if I was a homeowner (million dollar homes) I would be calling the towing company. We then drove to Wailua beach park and parked on the beach and went swimming. If you stay left on the stretch of beach you can drive up on the beach. We spent about an hour then headed back to drop off the car then take the shuttle to the ship. We were back on the ship at 1:00 pm and had lunch at Cagneys. We hung out until 4:30 and headed to the top deck to see the Na Pali coast. We did not stay on our balcony because the ship has the coast on the port side first. What a great view of the coast with some awesome rainbows. After the ship turned around we went to our balcony and enjoyed the coast again and were lucky enough to see some dolphins and whales. The coast was definetly a highlight of the trip and one of the reasons why this cruise is so much more expensive than the Carribean The ship does a great job of getting you very close to the coast. We went to the Farewell Variety Show at 7 pm then the kids went to the basketball court while we packed our luggage for tomorrow morning. What a great way to end our cruise with the Na Pali coast. We decided to keep our luggage with us so we could get off early. I called King transportation and he said he would be waiting for us on the dock at 8 am. Attached are pictures of our day.

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