Our 15 day Carnival Miracle Journey Cruise to Hawaii

[isaiahsnana]

Following along, you look like so much fun and on my bucket list cruise!!

[shonandsuzie]

After 5 days of blissful, restful, perfection we reached our dream destination of Hawaii!!! The first place that we visited on this itinerary was MAUI. We had a group luau scheduled for the evening and planned to "find a close beach" for the morning. We got off of the ship , went through the super industrial looking "welcome center" and followed the path that others told us would lead to shops and a beach. It is an ugly prison looking path with fences surrounding you and it was anything but what we pictured when we dreamed of Hawaii for all of these years. (we later found out that if we would have turned left instead of right when we left welcome center, we would have avoided the scary prison path and gotten right to the main street)

 

Anyway, at the end of this trail was a busy street and a closed down store. But alas, across the busy street was a shopping center. We walked over and saw nothing touristy at all. We did see a Christmas tree, which made us happy because we wanted a hot vacation Christmas photo so we could send them out to our friends and family. We asked around and was told we could take the bus to a beach. Cool. We found a bus stop (full of homeless people) and asked about the beach- I mean, who would know more than them? We got 4 different answers so we gave up and..... Yes, we called Uber.

 

The coolest Uber driver ever came within seconds and picked us up and recommended a beach. For $5.00 -plus a great tip because we loved him-he took us to Kamaole Beach. He told us about the area and drove barefoot. He said he moved there from Colorado after he went for vacation. He now does Uber "when he feels like it" and relaxes in paradise. It took about 20 minutes to get to the beach from the shopping center (which is across the busy street from the ship). This is a small beach right near a couple nice looking resorts and it was not busy at all.

 

The water was clear, the sun was shining and a volcano was in the background. THIS was the Hawaii we were expecting!

 

https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xlp1/v/t1.0-9/12342608_1093470634019347_2884408615987731085_n.jpg?oh=c1ed4321fc1bcfe6795681b0e063ea0b&oe=570982B6

 

 

http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp93232%3Euqcshlukaxroqdfv38%3B%3A%3A%3Enu%3D3276%3E%3B62%3E575%3EWSNRCG%3D%3B65e%3A66607%3A9%3C%2F779d0c467%2F%3C2%3C8i7%3B892%3B2ot1lsi

[shonandsuzie]

Now.. I see this is not letting me copy/paste my photos like I was able to at work :( Argh!!!

 

UPDATE: Figured it out! Switched web browsers and we're back in cut and paste service!!! :)

Edited January 16, 2016 by shonandsuzie

[shonandsuzie]

 

 

 

 

[shonandsuzie]

We spent a few hours at the beach. The weather was just perfect and the water was a little chilly but warm. Not Caribbean beach in September warm but not Michigan beach in June cool. Gary and Cece stayed in the water! It was so cute.

 

After our beach time, we walked across the street to this cool little 2nd floor restaurant and had drinks before heading back to the ship to get ready for our luau. I used to be a social worker so I took a picture of the sign on the building for a local psychologist. Thinking, how nice would it b to work right here and have this view all day!!

 

Our temperature at the beach:

 

 

 

 

 

[shonandsuzie]

After several lovely drinks, we called a Uber and headed back to the ship. Uber worked really well in Hawaii. They are literally instant and the people we met driving them were so cool and friendly. Our trip back to the ship was a quick 20 minutes and we went inside to get rested and ready for the luau.

 

Our roll call was awesome! And one member, Deb, put together this luau. She arranged the whole thing for the group and even reserved a big bus to take us all. In the end we had like 80 people in our luau group. We are so thankful for her!!!!

 

The bus picked us up right at the spot where regular cruiseship excursions were leaving from. The drive from the port to the luau was probably 45 minutes. We saw so much that we wished we had more time to explore. The little town where we went was adorable. It was a walkable village with lots of super cute shops. You could have spent a whole day right there. But when we drove up to our destination, Wow! It was dreamy. This was all-inclusive and prepaid. It was $115 a person, I think.

 

We were greeted with cocktails by beautiful women and handsome men dressed in grass skirts. They led us to our tables and gave us a quick tour. It was perfect. The set up was; tables surrounding a grass stage, the waterfront in front of us, cultural stations along a path so you could stop and learn about things that interested you, and a buffet and bar behind us. The waitstaff brought us drinks and appetizers and made sure we were comfortable. Very attentive.

 

During dinner there was the luau show. The sun set as we sat there. There were fire torches. It was just beautiful. We were there for hours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[shonandsuzie]

More Luau....

 

 

 

 

 

[tawaik]

Such a nice review. Enjoying your unique descriptions and your great pictures. Very nice looking coupe.

 

Can't wait for the rest :)

[shonandsuzie]

Next Stop Oahu Honolulu

(That was something that was difficult for me in Hawaii. There were lots of island, port, city, state? names and they were all similar and our stops were back to back so I kept getting confused about what to call the place that we were at at any one time)

 

Our plan for this day was to rent a car go to Waikiki Beach and then drive the scentic coast. Gary booked a rental car at the airport and we thought there was a shuttle from the port to the airport. We waited and waited but none came. (Turns out they dont come there). We walked out towards the street to find a taxi or call a Uber driver. That walk was long and we were all disappointed about waiting there so long so this part may have had some bickering...:D lol. Anyway, we grabbed a taxi and and took the LONG ride to the airport. It would have been a better ride if there was scenery but there was nothing but busy street and regular city stuff to see. Once we got to the airport, we had a hard time finding the rental car office. I guess we were dropped of at rental car returns instead of pick ups and it made a HUGE difference. Bwe were really bickering by now and we were hot and irritable. But we did eventually find the car and get on the way to fun.

 

Once in the car, air conditioning blastiing, nice music on and liquid to drink, we were all our happy bubbly selves again! Off to find Waikiki beach. We had been dreaming of this from the first time we ever saw a Hawaiian beach scene on t.v.. It was not a fun drive. Traffic! Blah. But we did get there. We even found free parking. Then we got to the beach and it was, meh. I mean, it was a beach, we're in Hawaii, the water is clear (besides the warning of jellyfish) and it's fine but it's not our dreams... It was something you had to do once but it was public and not the cleanest and just meh.

 

 

 

[shonandsuzie]

Well, that was anticlimactic so we decided to go find a waterfall to walk through. Our GPS said there was something super cool close by. So off we go....

It didn't take too long really and we saw the zoo and a college (can you imagine going to class in HAWAII???) and some interesting neighborhoods and then the sign said waterfall this way>>> So we went up a winding road to the top and--- hmmm. Not what we were expecting. A small office with maps to walk through nature and yes, there is a waterfall miles in. But in the secretary's words, "not a big one". No thank you! I had on white. It was a bad plan. We hadn't researched. Just no. So Shon ventured off alone determined to do the thing we came this far for. Gary and Cece went to do the shorter nature trail. I sat on a bench and played Candy Crush on my phone. OK?! And at this point I hated Honolulu or Oahu or wherever the heck I was! When Gary and Cece came back, we laughed- alot- in the car's air conditioning and ventured out to save Shon (who I was sure was eaten by snakes!). SHon was exhausted but he did see a lot of amazing things and a WATERFALL!!! Yay! I was so happy to find him alive though.

 

 

 

 

 

[shonandsuzie]

So far, this place is not paradise. It's ok but it's not the dream. We decide that we must be hungry and we needed to take a moment to regroup and plan. We drove in circles, in traffic, to and fro, following the GPS lady's stupid advice and directions-- and then. NO MORE- STOP. Right here. Now! And because God loves us... there was a very nice restaurant with wonderful view!

 

 

 

 

 

We rested, used "the facilities", ate, drank and decided we'd turn off the GPS when we got back in the car and find the coast. Gary and Cece had been here before and swore there was this beautiful coast that had to be close by. They really thought we should see it. We were all hysterical by then. I mean jokes non stop. Laughter. Sarcasm. and it was so FUN!!!!! We found the coast by turning one corner!! LMAO!! It was right there all along. This may seem dumb but I tell you, this city does not have a logical highway/road design. The coast was worth the 15 day cruise and all of the money we paid to take this trip. It was "the DREAM!".

[shonandsuzie]

The Dream. Paradise. The Coast!!!

(and us all goofy but appreciative)

 

 

 

 

 

 

[shonandsuzie]

 

 

 

 

After our coastal tour. We dropped the car off and took a taxi back to the ship from the airport.

 

The amount of time at each port was perfect, by the way. This day, I believe, we sailed at 11 p.m.. It really did give us plenty of time to see many different things if we wanted.

 

And just so you know, the rental car was a good choice-- regardless of our mishaps. We should have mapped out our plan and route in advance instead of depending on GPS. That way we could have timed things and saw traffic issues in advance. But all in all. This turned out great. Thanks to God putting that coast there for us ;)

Edited January 16, 2016 by shonandsuzie

[shonandsuzie]

On to Kauai--- My favorite

 

Again, the welcome center was not the most welcoming and when we docked I felt like I was working at the shipyard but beyond that... W.O.W.!!! I love Kauai. I love the weather, I love the free trolley's from port. I love the little shopping strips. I love the resort right at the port. I love the water and mountains and I just love this port of call!

 

When I went out on our balcony for coffee that morning, I wasn't impressed. Then, these cute trolleys started lining up in the parking lot at my feet. People were getting on and going somewhere and then the trolleys would be right back. So I knew "something" was close. I told Shon and we grabbed Cece and Gary, got ready and set out for our easier day of adventure. When you exit the ship here, you go through another warehouse and then out to the lot. The trolleys are lined up. Some say Kmart (no thanks) some say beach (maybe) and some say shops and beach (yessir!). We jumped on that the guide was awesome. He told us a little about the area and explained he layout of the souvenir shops and how to get to the beach and resort behind them. Yippee! This is my kind of port. Easy peasy!

 

We walked through some shops but decided to hit the resort and beach area first so we wouldn't have to lug bags with us. The area was not crowded but there were lots of people around. There were little pubs and dives and shops and cute stuff. We followed the directions that the trolley driver gave us and there paradise was. The Marriott Kauai Resort. I would go to this resort for a week. It was peaceful and pretty and fancy enough without being pretentious. I loves all of the beautiful flowers around and the grass that seperated the sand from the cement. The rest speaks for itself.

 

We arrived...

 

In the welcome center warehouse:

 

 

 

 

On the trolley:

 

 

Paradise:

 

Edited January 16, 2016 by shonandsuzie

[shonandsuzie]

More Kauai and the Marriott Resort:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[shonandsuzie]

Kauai (told you I loved it here):

 

 

 

 

Eventually, we left the resort and went shopping. We found our trinkets and some cold liquid and decided to walk back to the ship. It was like 1/4 of a mile. When we got to check into the port area, there were pet chickens standing in the way. That cracked me up!

 

 

 

[shonandsuzie]

Our next stop was Kona-Kailua..

 

This port was tendered so we would have to get on the little boats and ferry over to the island. This was the best benefit of the priority status. We were able to get straight onto the tender boat without waiting in the line other passengers were waiting in. So we bopped out and off to the island. This we had researched and knew we wanted to get on a trolley that picked you up at the port and then stopped along the strip at different points of interest. This one was not free but there was much more to it than just a quick lift to the shops. I believe it was $30/pp for the whole day. The driver recommended we got all the way to the end beach and then when we get picked up, stop at the stops along the way.

 

The "beach" was not what we are used to. They said its a great surfer hang out due to the waves. There were huge rocks and lots of fish and other scary sea life all around. There was gravel instead of the sand that we life. Im glad I saw it and experienced it but we didnt want to hang out for any amount of time. So we took the next trolley- they were there every 5 minutes or so it seems. We stopped along the way back to see things and try real Kona coffee. It was pretty fun.

 

During this day, we were finding that we were a little worn out. Hitting all of these new islands in a row without a day in between was tiring. Our brains were maxed out on new cool sites and information and our muscles were tired too. But have no fear, we continued having fun and paid for it later!

 

 

 

 

And this was hilarious to our 7 year old when we got home:

 

 

[Dets_Girl]

We did this cruise in 2013 before it was considered a "Journey Cruise" and are going again next January. So I'm wondering about the "Journey" items.

 

We just did the Caribbean Journey Cruises, Galveston to San Juan and then San Juan back to Galveston. They had a chef from St. Marteen come in to do a talk - same chef, same talk, same food twice on each cruise. 1100 people did the b2b on those cruises. Disappointment on the 2nd round, we thought it would be different as many people as did the b2b. His food was good, and on that evening's dinner menu.

 

I guess they had entertainment at some of the ports and on Lido while were in ports, but it was never very well advertised so we never knew about it till after it was over.

 

We enjoy the longer cruises and are doing the Mexican Riviera along with Hawaii in January (as we did in 2013). I'm sure irregardless we'll have a good time as I'm sure you did. But what were the Journey items?

 

Thanks, Edie .

[BJzink]

So.. as a special "Journey Cruise" there was supposed to be a lot of special things to do during sea days and experiences more like they were back when we first cruised. Honestly, I didn't see that. Now don't get me wrong, there were things to do but they were the same things to do that we always have. They did have some lectures on Hawaii--kind of. Dining changes- not really. Galas and things- the same. We all felt that it was the same cruise just longer. And that is fine but then don't market it like it's something different so all of the passengers are looking around for the something different. I don't know about other Journey cruises, because I haven't seem reviews with details about them, but this was a 15 day cruise to Hawaii.

And a 15 day cruise to Hawaii is FANTASTIC without the false "journey" promises...

 

So on to the 15 days...

 

We had a nice 5 days at sea to begin this cruise. Oh gosh how we needed that down time. It was a little chilly for the first day. It was probably 60-ish. We and other troopers laid out in the cool sun and soaked in what we could with goose bumps on our bodies. We made it happen doggone it! But never fear, the warmth came the second sea day. We love sea days because we have to rush here and rush there at home. Sea days are about doing what you want when you want. No pressure. They had fun things to do, like dances and group games but they also had nice lounge areas, pool areas and the good old casino to entertain ourselves with. It seems a lot of people we talked to on board were upset because there were too many trivia games and they felt not enough other types of activities. I can see that somewhat. They offered 2 or 3 different trivia game gatherings most sea days. But for us, there was plenty other things to do. I dont know what I would have added or what those who were disappointed would have added.

 

Here are the things we liked doing during the sea days in no special order:

1. Pool area - things like bean bag toss competition, the drink mix competition, swimming, sunbathing

2. Casino- they had drawings and music and slot pulls and drinks. Need I say more?

3. Comedy shows- there was a good mix of comedians and they switched them up often. Not one or 2 people for the whole time.

4. Deck parties- music and laughter and the cruise director getting in there with everyone and dancing the night away!

5. Food- everywhere- all the time- too much but just enough.

6. Our balcony. Peaceful heaven that it was.

 

 

 

 

We have been on 2 Hawaii cruises in the past 2 years (not Carnival), and in addition to the lectures there were 4 Hawaiian ladies on board giving hula and ukulele lessons, lei making, jewelry making, and cooking demos. Can't imagine you didn't have some of this............

[shonandsuzie]

We have been on 2 Hawaii cruises in the past 2 years (not Carnival), and in addition to the lectures there were 4 Hawaiian ladies on board giving hula and ukulele lessons, lei making, jewelry making, and cooking demos. Can't imagine you didn't have some of this............

?? That sounds interesting but :confused:

[shonandsuzie]

Final Port, Hilo...

 

Well, I'm embarrassed to say we skipped this port. The ship stopped. It looked appealing. But we were tired. Maybe if we had planned an excursion in advance we would have had the gumption to get off the ship but we hadn't. We did not feel like figuring anything out. Initially, we planned to do a tour and see volcanoes here. Next time we will.

 

But what we did do was explore the near empty ship in detail. It was fun!

 

Our view of Hilo

 

 

 

 

 

[ladygal4.4]

Love this!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[shonandsuzie]

We had a view of the port and the funny view of people running to the ship at the last minute. This time, the ladies who were late took their sweet time walking back. Everyone on our side of the ship was leaning out of the balconies laughing and clapping for them.

As we sailed away, there was a beautiful scene as local people took off rowing themselves.

 

 

 

So onward we go to 4 more sea days and a stop in Ensenada, This cruise felt like it would last forever....... and that was so awesome!!!

[shonandsuzie]

Love this!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you! :)

[shonandsuzie]

Such a nice review. Enjoying your unique descriptions and your great pictures. Very nice looking coupe.

 

Can't wait for the rest :)

Hey! Just noticed you are cruising with us on the Conquest in April! :)