Our 15 day Carnival Miracle Journey Cruise to Hawaii

[cruzin Phillis]

Couple of months late but I am loving your review. You and your wife are so adorable!!!

 

One of the many places I would love to visit!!:D:D:D:D

[cruzin Phillis]

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.

 

 

I have a coworker who daughter goes to college in Hawaii. She fly's there twice a year for a week to check on her DD. What an excuse to have to travel there!! I could only imagine!!

[Clarea]

Just got through this review, what a fun time and great photos! Thanks.

[isadelia]

Great review! Makes me want to take a Hawaiian cruise. We got married in Maui in 2013, spent 4 days there, 3 days on Oahu. Completely agree about Oahu. It was overly crowded, dirty, and just not a very enjoyable time for us. We would go back to Maui in a heartbeat. We went to the same Luau as you guys, so much fun!

[cruisingbajan]

Also coming to the party late but totally enjoyed your review.:D

[shonandsuzie]

Thank you everyone for the compliments! We always read reviews before our cruises to add to the excitement and get good tips. We're glad to share!

[DoxieCruiser]

What an awesome review!! I love that you two are smiling and having fun in each and every picture!! And I also love that you guys are not only fellow Michiganders, but fellow Sparty fans as well!!

[the_lovely_voyage]

What a beautiful trip! Now I really want to plan a Hawaiian cruise! Thanks for all the effort you put into this.

Also, sometimes I have a bad habit of looking at pictures in a post before reading the text, so when I saw the LCSW picture you took I got really excited but was confused until I went back and read that you did SW too. I test for my LMSW next month, so it's nice to know I was in good company while reading your review!

[gvlgolflady]

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.

 

 

 

 

 

The Sheraton Waikiki (just behind Shon's cap in first picture) was our hotel on 2 different vacations to Hawaii. That is a beautiful area on Waikiki beach.

[cruiseonthebrain]

What a wonderful review! Thank you so much for sharing! You all seem like you would be a blast to cruise with. And, I have to say, you were so much nicer than I could ever be about the jerks making comments about being in the wrong line in the beginning. I am so glad that didn't affect your cruise!

[gvlgolflady]

Thanks so much for your review and beautiful pictures.

[bonstersd]

We did a super fast tour of some main highlights. We were trying to see as much as possible before it was totally dark. Which at this time of year was like 5:30-ish. My favorite of the things that we saw in San Diego was the Mount Soledad Memorial. It was touching.

 

 

This is where my husband and I got married (and we only live about a mile away)!

[marter99]

Thanks for your great review! Fellow Michigander here (GO GREEN!). We're planning on booking this same cruise for this year and so I came on to look for some reviews. Was great to find yours! Again, thanks for all the work, I know reviews aren't easy.

[MikeNKim]

Awesome!

[jemurphy530]

Just came upon this post. Thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed review. We are booked on this cruise in January 2017 and we cannot wait. I am really looking forward to the sea days, lots of reading and relaxing!!!

[mykindaparty]

Awe Suzie, you are a lucky woman, Shon has the cutest dimples and smile. Y'all are such a cute, fun couple. So glad you enjoyed your cruise and thank you for the review, I enjoyed reading it. I love the pic of you talking a selfie! Lol

[shonandsuzie]

What an awesome review!! I love that you two are smiling and having fun in each and every picture!! And I also love that you guys are not only fellow Michiganders, but fellow Sparty fans as well!!

 

Thanks for your great review! Fellow Michigander here (GO GREEN!). We're planning on booking this same cruise for this year and so I came on to look for some reviews. Was great to find yours! Again, thanks for all the work, I know reviews aren't easy.

 

 

Yay!!!!! Because Spartans are the most fun! Go Green!!!!!!!

[shonandsuzie]

We did a super fast tour of some main highlights. We were trying to see as much as possible before it was totally dark. Which at this time of year was like 5:30-ish. My favorite of the things that we saw in San Diego was the Mount Soledad Memorial. It was touching.

 

 

This is where my husband and I got married (and we only live about a mile away)!

Oh wow. That would be a beautiful wedding. Next time we'll stop by for coffee--- or wine!

[shonandsuzie]

Awe Suzie, you are a lucky woman, Shon has the cutest dimples and smile. Y'all are such a cute, fun couple. So glad you enjoyed your cruise and thank you for the review, I enjoyed reading it. I love the pic of you talking a selfie! Lol

I agree. He's cute and he's my "bestest" friend!!!!!

[shonandsuzie]

What a wonderful review! Thank you so much for sharing! You all seem like you would be a blast to cruise with. And, I have to say, you were so much nicer than I could ever be about the jerks making comments about being in the wrong line in the beginning. I am so glad that didn't affect your cruise!

Thanks! We have our moments but for the most part we try to look on the bright side and joke about ding bats when they are being judgy.

[shonandsuzie]

Just came upon this post. Thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed review. We are booked on this cruise in January 2017 and we cannot wait. I am really looking forward to the sea days, lots of reading and relaxing!!!

Yes. Those sea days are the best!

We're doing a 12 day southern from New Jersey in January while you are doing Hawaii. Have fun!

[fuzzmane]

Just found this post.

 

Awesome review. Beautiful pictures.

 

We did the 15 day RT from San Diego on The Splendor in January 2013. Was an awesome trip. We stayed at the Hotel Maya, great place, a little expensive but worth it. We missed going to Kauai, because our ship was to large. Would love to go back.

[shonandsuzie]

Thanks fuzzy :)