Carnival legend hawai'i review w/pics 05/07/2015

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05/09/2015 SATURDAY

WRITTEN 05/09/2015 9:25 P.M.

MAUI

 

 

Saturday 05/09/2015 Maui

Rent Car (Orbitz $52.00)

Drive Road to Hana At Our Leisure

Haleakala National Park Sunset @6:00 pm

Return Car/ Return to Ship/Sail To Hilo

 

Today we had reserved a car, good thing too because the ships announcement included the fact that this island usually has a shortage of rental cars.

 

So, we had breakfast at the buffet and headed out. At the pier you can catch a shuttle to your rental car office. Again, our rental company Advantage did not send a shuttle so we snuck on the one for Dollar and got a transport over to the same area. After getting our car we stopped at 7-11 for coffee, hooked up our GPS and headed to Hana (fell asleep here with pen in hand restarted 05/10/2015 8:00 A.M.)

 

Seas were rough last night, not the kind of rough where things go sliding. The weather in Hawai’i has been perfection. So perfect, never hot, just right. One tour guide had said it’s never gotten over 90 degrees.

 

So- Hana highway is so scary with all its twists and turns. Yet, so beautiful at the same time. It took us ALL DAY from 10:30 in the morning to 8:00 at night to accomplish the whole thing. And we were able to follow this very informative guide

http://www.prideofmaui.com/blog/activities/top-10-places-stop-road-hana.html#ixzz3SxvT0PnD

 

At Twin Falls I stood eyes closed between the bamboo trees and listened to their music. Like the forest comes alive for you in your moment. Had to wade through two spots of water where the current was a bit strong and at the second area it was a bit high as well, almost waist high. The trail to the falls is long and uneven but so impressive. I couldn't believe these boys were jumping in from the top of the falls. It was funny because when I finally reached the end there were some dry people there. I asked them how they managed to wade through the water and stay dry. They said that their guide took them there through another route. Whatever, I actually still prefer doing it the way we did. That way you get the real feel of adventure in Maui. Though I have to admit that a walking stick sure helped.

 

The falls all along this road are spectacular and if you leave early at the end you will reach the Haleakalā National Park where you can take an extensive hike to a much larger fall plus a bamboo forest and a couple of other stops. However, we were unaware of this and reached the park too late. Another tourist was just finishing his hike and told us all about it. He said it was two mile each way. I was so very disappointed, I thought I would be at the side where we could climb above the clouds and watch the sunset. But, No that is on the other side of the park and no way there from here. Except all around the entire mountain. No time, so, I guess we have to come back to Hawai’i

 

On this road we also did the lava tubes, stopped at Uncle Harry’s for some pork tacos. It was cute, two little girls served and cooked for us. The tacos were good, the experience better. It was cute how the family ran this little hut. We also stopped at a black sand beach and marveled at the force of the Pacific Ocean.

 

On the way back up the Hana Highway we got caught in a crazy downpour.

 

A CRAZY, AMAZING, HAWAI’I ADVENTURE. LOVE IT!

[GASPARTY]

I am enjoying your trip to Hawaii and how you planned your trip. Looking forward to the reviews, happy cruising

[trippingpara]

Greetings fellow Rhody! We're just up the road from you in the Bucket. We vacation in Hawaii every year (land vacation). We would love to try it out on a cruise!

 

I see that you met Kap at the Polynesian Cultural Center:

 

 

He is so funny (and a great artist!) Kualoa Ranch is one of our favorite places to visit too. Loving your review so far, keep it going!!

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Road To Hana

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Lava Tubes

 

 

 

 

 

Black Sand Beach

 

 

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Be Careful, this road is tricky!

 

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05/10/2015 SUNDAY

WRITTEN 05/10/2015 8:25 P.M.

HILO

 

 

Sunday 05/10/2015 Hilo

Rent Car (Orbitz $184.00)

Akaka Falls State Park

Volcanoes National Park with Diner and night Lava Viewing (HawaiiActivities.com $227.00)

Let Ship Leave without Us and Drive To Next Port

Get Hotel in Kona Uncle Billy's Hawaiian Family Resorts (Orbitz $113.00)

 

 

So, when life gives you lemons, Right? Every one of our plans failed this morning. We had called Carnival months ago and asked one simple question. Would we be allowed to stay ashore on this evening of the cruise and re-board in Kona tomorrow? The answer was “It is not advised as Kona is a tender port and may be missed due to weather issues”.

 

After some deliberation we decided to take the chance on account of adventure. We made five hundred something dollars’ worth of plans. A car, a hotel and a tour. Then when we went to guest services to forewarn them that we would not be boarding. We were told that it violates the Jones Act and we would subsequently be fined $300.00 each.

 

I hate this freaking law. I believe, this is my frigging Country and I am an American Citizen. AAARRRGGGHHH. Not to mention, I already had a problem with this stupid law. You see, we were originally booked on the Legend back to back. Had purchased airfare and began looking into hotels. Then two weeks pass and we get a call from our travel agent giving us the good news, we are not allowed to do this planed itinerary. Leaving out of Honolulu and ending in Seattle is illegal. It’s irrational if you ask me. So, our cruise to Alaska had to be changed to the Norwegian Sun.

 

Anyway, back to how one makes lemonade. After wasting an hour making the phone calls needed to cancel everything and figuring out our financial losses we were off to see what we could do ashore.

 

There were tours, cabs and the Hoppa On Hoppa Off bus. So we opted for a tour. We did Rainbow Falls (NICE!), the chocolate Factory (YUMM) A macadamia nut farm (pretty interesting) and a lava flow viewing (cool) then a farmers market and a narrated city tour. All went very well. Maybe not as exciting as driving across an unknown and picturesque island late at night but it was cool and hey, that’s how life works.

 

It’s Mother’s Day so they are switching the lobster diner to tonight plus there are some interesting shows. We did end up getting a refund on the car and half of the tour. We have all day tomorrow to see what kind of fun we can make. I want to go para-sailing, it was something we were supposed to do in Oahu and never got to. It’s funny but it seems to be the one thing on every vacation that gets missed I want to go badly so here’s wishing all this works out for the better.

 

As per usual we have spent a super large portion of our remaining funds for this cruise in the casino. We do it every single time, never fails. We are always looking for a win. Oh well, looks like five broke and boring sea days are heading toward us. I hope they fixed this blasted TV, we haven’t had reception since day one.

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Hilo

 

 

 

 

 

 

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05/11/2015 MONDAY

WRITTEN 05/12/2015 8:00 A.M.

KONA

 

Monday 05/11/2015

At hotel

Wake Late/Free Day/Breakfast/Shopping/Relaxing

Catch Ship/Sail To Kauai

 

Another notch off my bucket list. Para-sailing. UFO Para-sailing has a kiosk right inside the hotel here, about a three minute walk from the dock. For $80.00 you can do an 800 foot ride, and 800 feet was absolutely high enough for me. Don’t get me wrong here, while I was super glad I did it, I never will again. It was a thrill but a scary one. Once you’re up there it gets so quiet and peaceful and insane and beautiful (if you’re paying attention to all those good things) If not then you’ll notice how high you are and how it’s only by one rope and how much that one rope creaks and moans. So, don’t notice those things, just keep watching Mother Nature in all her glory. My hubby also made a cross off a bucket list member, a tattoo souvenir. As we were walking through the shops we happened upon this tattoo shop I really must figure out the name. He needs to, deserves to be mentioned. A nice mainland (California) immigrant hand drew a fresh tattoo for him and even added things we requested. He wanted a Tiki guy and as he was free handing the thing we asked that his hand be doing the shaka thing that everyone does in Hawai’i.

It was as my hubby was being inked that I was flying some 800 feet above the Pacific.

 

Awesome Day, we were both super happy about the outcome. Maybe the best day yet, close to it anyway. Plus we finished all the shopping we needed to.

 

We have five sea days coming up so I will get to review the ship more but I do have to say that my room sucks. There is an issue with the door lock so it doesn't seal at all and the wind whistles through all night. We have yet to get a good night’s sleep. I did make a call about it today because this simply can’t continue, I am exhausted. We are off to have a 70 minute Air Adventures flight tomorrow and I’m a bit scared so, I hope all goes well. Will be righting later….

 

I HOPE

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Kona

 

 

 

 

 

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05/12/2015 TUESDAY

WRITTEN 05/13/2015 7:00 P.M.

KAUAI

 

 

Tuesday 05/12/2015

70 Min Air Tour (Air Adventures Hawaii $164.00 For 2 W/ Entertainment Book Coupon)

Catch Ship/ 5 Sea Days

 

AirVentures, have I used the phrase amazing yet? I had obtained a buy one get one free coupon from the Entertainment Book making the total only $165.00 for two.

 

After getting off of the ship we walked a quick seven minutes to the ABC Store and met up with the co-owner Ray ( @ this point we were unaware he was owner). He personally drove my hubby and I to the airport while the other van drove a few more couples over.

 

Once we arrived, we paid, got weighed in and received a short review of the areas we were going to fly over. The stood us with the pilot in front of the plane and took a snapshot that they would e-mail to us free of charge. Each and every worker there were beyond nice. My opinion of Hawai'i get's better every single day. We then boarded the plane, buckled up and received a safety briefing. I may have mentioned how terrified of flying I am, but in case I haven't... I AM TERRIFIED OF FLYING. :) I thought I was good but that little voice started to talk me out of this crazy idea. I was scared. I'm not a nut case who is under the supervision of a trained medical professional. Flying is honestly the only thing that bothers me (actually crashing while flying :) ) so, I began my apologized to the other couple flying with us, swearing that I can't do it and making my way off of the aircraft when Ray's head pops in. "Listen he says, give it a try and if you feel you can't do it, then the pilot will just turn right around and land for you. Or hop out now, it's all up to how you feel".

 

That's what kept me on. Thank Goodness. So, buckle back up, headsets on and off we went. Our pilot was so perfect, expertly explaining every view. Predicting every little bump. Continuously checking on how I was doing while letting me know periodically how much longer until touchdown. And, most importantly, landing us smoothly and safely on the runway. I was so glad that I gave it a try, the view was undesirable, otherworldly. Seriously. After landing we came to learn that two people in another plane asked to be flown back down shortly after take off. We also learned that this sort of anxiety almost never happens to them. Ray said that it may have occurred eight times the whole time he's been open for buisness.

 

We waited for our ride, and was happy that it was Ray again. Since he had extra time, he gave us a short island tour, even to his home where he offered up a beer. Top Notch Guy. He is a retired Air Force pilot, retired United pilot, and relocated to Hawai'i where he and his wife run this wonderful business. He was going to drop us at the ship but we requested to be brought back to the shopping plaza they met us at. We picked up some souvenirs, a little vodka for the long sea days ahead and went back on board.

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Kauai

 

 

 

 

 

 

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05/13/2015 WEDNESDAY

SEA DAY 1

 

I love Carnival, the company. I don't so much like their ships! And I get a bit tired of the same programs each and every cruise. Plus, the same exact ship layout each and every ship. I don't care too much for the Legend, it needs a lot of help. At least they finally fixed my door and I was able to sleep last night.

 

05/14/2015 THURSDAY

SEA DAY 2

 

What the heck ever happened to pillow chocolate, meeting your cabin steward and knowing them by name? Whatever happened to stateroom television? Or the days when espresso was complimentary? The shops onboard are all out of cigarettes and my didn't buy any figuring they would be cheapest on the ship. Four days left @ sea for him with one pack of smokes. Good thing I quit two years ago. Quiet seas today, nice and relaxing. Was even able to see a pod of dolphin babies. Will have to hit the library for a book since the dang television is still out.

 

05/15/2015 FRIDAY

SEA DAY 3

Went to the serenity desk today, every single canopy seat and hammock was LIVED IN, I mean for real. I saw one family with two of them and they had a kind of number system to determine who would get the food and use the restroom. I wonder if they ever even go to their cabins. They have pillows, books, laptops, blankets, food, drinks by the gallon, towels and so forth all set up to live out the entire cruise in those things. I wonder what, on embarkation day, the rush to stake claim is like. Oh well, we just headed back to the cabin. Someone won $1650.00 in the Big Loot Draw today.

 

 

05/16/2015 Saturday

SEA DAY 4

 

I guess the ship by the whole isn't too bad. Maybe I'm just being tedious. The whole lock on my balcony being broken was upsetting. I do find it hard to believe it was reconditioned a year ago. I would say I like this ship the least of any ship I've been on.

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05/18/2015 Monday

VANCOUVER PORT

 

 

All the way up we were able to spot dolphins, sharks, whales sea lions and turtles from the ship. It was cool!

 

From Carnival to Norwegian is a culture shock. Norwegian is so classy, wow, what a difference.

We disembarked the Legend and embarked the Sun within two easy hours. The port was extremely well managed so there were no congestion issues. We boarded, dropped our luggage in the room and took a long walk around to check out this beautiful ship. Napped, did muster drill, some silly raffle things and topped it off with the show. I love this ship, I also think the food and entertainment is better. Although, I still love and adore how Carnival treats their guests, I mean we spent so much in their casino they sent us a free cruise. It's always the ones we can't accept. I mean we have to take it in six months or less (I doubt my job would like that seeing as this vacation was three weeks long)...

 

OFF TO ALASKA :)

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