Aloha is Love - Review of POA in Hawaii with Pics, Menus & More

[sjmbruce]

Thanks for trying but the pictures are too small to read and the resolution too low to blow up on the dailies.

 

Darn. Thanks for letting me know. I scanned it in using my super old scanner. I'll try one more thing before I give up.

[rockfsh]

Thanks for all your hard work. Try one scan per post. That may help. Love your TR BTW (and I live in Honolulu).

[sjmbruce]

Thanks for all your hard work. Try one scan per post. That may help. Love your TR BTW (and I live in Honolulu).

 

Thanks for the idea and the compliment!

[sjmbruce]

One more try with the scanned dailies. If it doesn't work, I'll try my last resort tomorrow.

[sjmbruce]

Ugh, still not good enough to read. I'll try again with a new idea tomorrow. Until then I will save the dailies for later and move on to Maui.

[sjmbruce]

The POA was ready for everyone to disembark at 8:00 in the morning and we were ready to go. There was definitely a line but we were off soon enough. Once off, there are different lines to get into depending on where you are going and who you are going with. There was some confusion but we ultimately got in line six and waited for our shuttle to Budget to rent the Jeep we had booked with Discount Hawaii Car Rental.

I didn't factor in the wait at the rental agency. Luckily we were second in line but others waited much longer for their car. We got into our red Jeep and headed out to join the highway to Hana (or R2H for faster typing).

I bought a map and CD from roadtohana dot com. The map was helpful as I had written down sites and their corresponding mile markers but at least now I had more of a visual aid. The CD had a few interesting tips and facts on it but wasn't that useful. At a cost of almost $30, I'd recommend skipping this purchase.

Edited April 23, 2016 by sjmbruce

[sjmbruce]

Planning for the R2H. I wrote down everything I absolutely had to see and then a secondary list for things on the way back if there was time. There won't be time. You'll miss things. That is okay.

I wouldn't be comfortable on this road after dark. It winds up and down all of the way. There are several one lane curves and bridges. Even spots that aren't marked as one lane are really only wide enough for one car. I may or may not have sideswiped a guard rail at one point :eek: and there was almost a head on incident when the oncoming car didn't yield to a signal. And that was all in the light of day. Despite that, the R2H wasn't a horrible drive and it was one that I was willing to drive on the way back. Other drives my husband and I have done, such as Needles Hwy in the black hills of South Dakota or driving through the Rockies in Colorado, I have refused to be the driver and was still white knuckled as a passenger. If I can do the R2H with just a little drama, you probably can as well. Just make sure you have plenty of gas!

Edited April 23, 2016 by sjmbruce

[sjmbruce]

Our first stop was Twin Falls at mile marker (MM) #2. It was super crowded but luckily we found a parking spot in the lot as others had parked further down the road and walked. There was a food truck there selling fruit, shave ice, smoothies and more. The lower falls were easy enough to get to in order to view them, but had a steeper walk to get in the pool. We had already done swimming in a small-ish waterfall at Waimea Valley, so we skipped getting in. If you don't want to swim in a waterfall here, I'd recommend bypassing this stop and moving on.

 

Beautiful views along the R2H!

Edited April 23, 2016 by sjmbruce

[sjmbruce]

We didn't stop at the Garden of Eden. Even though it had a nice view of some falls we didn't really want to pay the entrance fee. At MM#7 was the Ke'anae Arboretum full of plants and trees. Only stop here if you're into vegetation. I really wanted to look at the painted eucalyptus trees. We saw them earlier on in the drive but there wasn't room to stop. The Arboretum has a small almost unmarked entrance so you really have to watch the mile markers. Parking is on the opposite side of the road and there isn't much room. The eucalyptus trees are about a five to ten minute walk in. To me, it was so worth. I love trees and I loved these ones!

 

 

 

Edited April 23, 2016 by sjmbruce

[sjmbruce]

Around MM#16-17, there's a turn for the Ke'anae village and Peninsula. We didn't do it, but the pictures I have seen are beautiful. Just after that, there's a "halfway to Hana" stand with food, drinks, and portable restrooms that were clean.

 

We were able to slow down enough to take pictures of Waikani Falls, also known as Three Bears.

 

 

So many of the falls came up quickly without any warning. There's little to zero places to park so many people parked further down the road and walked to falls. I didn't think the places people parked were safe and the walk was even less safe. So we took pictures with our minds and drove on. There were also falls that were talked about online and on my R2H map that required a little walking, but I honestly could not see where to even start. We were short on time so I just gave up on those. There were also a few spots where I thought there may have been beautiful waterfalls at times but it was too dry to really have anything to see. Judging by pictures online, I'm pretty sure Wailua falls was on of these. Other times, there were random falls to admire:

 

Edited April 23, 2016 by sjmbruce

[sjmbruce]

Next was one of my top three favorite places in all of Hawaii. We went to Wai'anapanapa State Park. So incredibly beautiful!

 

We first went to the caves, freshwater on the surface with subterranean connections to the ocean. There were warning signs about swimming in them, as a cave in had recently occurred.

[sjmbruce]

I was so excited to see my first black sand beach! The sand was hot and the waves were rough, but I loved it.

 

If you're looking out at the ocean, turn to the right and look for a hole. You can crouch down and go in.

 

You'll quickly be able to stand up and see light.

 

And you'll be rewarded once you realize you're in a sea cave that opens up to the ocean.

 

Just watch the tide!

[sjmbruce]

The ocean wasn't rough enough to put on a show, but there was a blowhole located at the park. And lots of views.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm done with the pictures, I just loved this place so much! At this point we pulled out the snacks I had mentioned earlier as well as oranges and hard boiled eggs from the morning's breakfast buffet and had a small picnic before moving on.

Edited April 23, 2016 by sjmbruce

[travelbugforever]

i was so excited to see my first black sand beach! The sand was hot and the waves were rough, but i loved it.

 

if you're looking out at the ocean, turn to the right and look for a hole. You can crouch down and go in.

 

you'll quickly be able to stand up and see light.

 

and you'll be rewarded once you realize you're in a sea cave that opens up to the ocean.

 

just watch the tide!

 

beautiful!

[rockfsh]

Ugh, still not good enough to read. I'll try again with a new idea tomorrow. Until then I will save the dailies for later and move on to Maui.

 

Your camera is very sharp. Try taking a picture of one of the dailies at high resolution with a picture size 2meg or larger and post that. A single day's activities is enough to see if the program has changed post refurb .

 

Alternatively, compare your dailies with the ones in this link to see if the activites are the same.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2251720

 

 

Your pictures of the park near Hana Maui are fist rate

Edited April 23, 2016 by rockfsh

[PorkChopKid]

Hi D & N

We booked a luau on Kauai with Smith's Luau Tours. It is for the first night Thursday and provides a shuttle to and from. We are cruising on POA 5/7 getting close. It was $91 each including shuttle saved money booking on line. It will be our first cruise to Hawaii getting excited! :)

 

I'm glad 2 buckeyes could offer some luau advice - thanks!

 

NCL does offer a luau in Kauai. I'm not sure about the time you'd need to get back to port. It looks like you can also book an extended luau that starts at the plantation earlier with additional activities.

We booked a luau on Kauai through Roberts for $99/ea. Pick up at 4:30. Something tells me we'll all end up in the same place regardless who we book through. Thanks for the review....

[PorkChopKid]

We're doing that direct flight on 5/4 from JFK. Unfortunately, HA doesn't have wifi:(

Don't need wifi.... we have a couple wireless flash drives preloaded with movies to last us. "Airstash Gen2" and "Sandisk Gen2.5" shown here... http://www.airstash.com Add in the Kindle books and magazines loaded in "Zinio" and our eyeballs will fall out first. :eek: :D Oh and don't forget the noise cancellation headphones..... FWIW, we also fly out on the 4th, see you aboard.

[PorkChopKid]

Hopefully someone with more experience with NCL can answer. This was my third cruise and my previous two were with Princess. We only ate at the main dining room once and we had reservations.

Here's how I think it works. There's no anytime or fixed dining. You can't elect to dine everyday at 6:00pm at a four top table with the same waitstaff. It's just freestyle, meaning you can choose to make reservations or choose to show up when you'd like. If you just show up, there could be a line. There were larger tables so perhaps you can ask to sit with others.

 

If anyone has a correction for my understanding of NCL dining, please chime in.

Perhaps its different on POA but here is how it has worked on other NCL ships we've been on......

No reservations needed, 1st come, 1st seated ...however... we've heard of groups of people making reservations because they want to sit together at a table of 8-10. We're usually alone and can get a table for two however we are often asked if we would like to share to which we say "yes" if it's with another couple. We enjoy meeting people but find conversation is difficult when there are 3-4 couples at the table. We've never been seated at the same table twice on a cruise.

Anyway, a few times we had to wait and they gave us one of those flashing light vibrating things to notify us.

[pe4all]

We booked a luau on Kauai through Roberts for $99/ea. Pick up at 4:30. Something tells me we'll all end up in the same place regardless who we book through.

I am also looking to book through Roberts for a luau in Kawaii, but only see Smith's Luau offered, and no transportation there. Is that the one you booked?

[PorkChopKid]

We booked a luau on Kauai through Roberts for $99/ea. Pick up at 4:30. Something tells me we'll all end up in the same place regardless who we book through. Thanks for the review....

 

I am also looking to book through Roberts for a luau in Kawaii, but only see Smith's Luau offered, and no transportation there. Is that the one you booked?

If you go onto the (click-->) "Roberts Hawaii" website and put in your ship and embarkation date then select "Shore Excursions". You'll see a link under Kauai for "Islands Best Luau - Kauai". Thats how we got to the one we booked. I just checked my confirmation and it says "Pick Up: Pier". If you have trouble finding their site (or if CC wipes the link away) go to one of my more recent cruise webpages and at the bottom you'll see a mailbox, send me an emil. FWIW, besides the luau, we booked Robert's 5 excursion package.

[millineumwoman]

Hopefully someone with more experience with NCL can answer. This was my third cruise and my previous two were with Princess. We only ate at the main dining room once and we had reservations.

 

Here's how I think it works. There's no anytime or fixed dining. You can't elect to dine everyday at 6:00pm at a four top table with the same waitstaff. It's just freestyle, meaning you can choose to make reservations or choose to show up when you'd like. If you just show up, there could be a line. There were larger tables so perhaps you can ask to sit with others.

 

 

 

If anyone has a correction for my understanding of NCL dining, please chime in.

 

 

 

Yes you can elect to come at the same time everyday and sit at the same table with the same waitstaff. Just know the table # and when you get up to front of line just tell them you want that table or one in that staffs area. When we were on the jade we asked for the same table every night as we adored the servers.

[sjmbruce]

Perhaps its different on POA but here is how it has worked on other NCL ships we've been on......

No reservations needed, 1st come, 1st seated ...however... we've heard of groups of people making reservations because they want to sit together at a table of 8-10. We're usually alone and can get a table for two however we are often asked if we would like to share to which we say "yes" if it's with another couple. We enjoy meeting people but find conversation is difficult when there are 3-4 couples at the table. We've never been seated at the same table twice on a cruise.

Anyway, a few times we had to wait and they gave us one of those flashing light vibrating things to notify us.

 

Thanks for the info!

[pe4all]

If you go onto the (click-->) "Roberts Hawaii" website and put in your ship and embarkation date then select "Shore Excursions". You'll see a link under Kauai for "Islands Best Luau - Kauai". Thats how we got to the one we booked. I just checked my confirmation and it says "Pick Up: Pier". If you have trouble finding their site (or if CC wipes the link away) go to one of my more recent cruise webpages and at the bottom you'll see a mailbox, send me an emil. FWIW, besides the luau, we booked Robert's 5 excursion package.

Thank you so much for the link. I had a totally different web page from them! We are sailing Christmas week, and the date only goes through thanksgiving. Bookmarked it for the future!

[dexddd]

Thank you so much for the link. I had a totally different web page from them! We are sailing Christmas week, and the date only goes through thanksgiving. Bookmarked it for the future!

 

I quickly read some of the back and forth about the luaus, but you can book Smith's online and get a discount. They also have a shuttle bus that they also charge a fee for. We did Smith's a few weeks back (we had a rental car) and it was really nice, good food, drinks, and entertainment.

[sjmbruce]

Our last stop was the southern portion of Haleakala National Park. The road gets even more narrow, even more winding, and paved but with a lot of potholes. My guide referred to this section of R2H as "the beyond". If this is what the rest of the road was like, I'm glad we turned around and went back the way we came. Our rental car agency specifically singled out the road beyond Haleakala and said that it violated our contract to drive on it.

The entrance fee was $15 per vehicle. They actually preferred payment by credit card over cash. The ticket also covers admittance to the northern portion of the park, so if you're going there for the volcano the next day, keep your receipt.

My original plan was hike the Pipwai Trail. We were going to go through the bamboo forest and hike all the way to the waterfall. However, plans change. By the time we got there, even though we hadn't done as many stops as we could have, it was later in the afternoon. It was hot. We were tired. What really sealed the deal was the dry waterfalls we saw on the way and how dry the O'he'o Gulch pools were. The falls were low and the pools were low. Don't get me wrong , they were still beautiful. However, I didn't want to do that long, time consuming hike to not be blown away. Maybe I made a mistake and missed out on something fabulous. Hopefully not.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 26, 2016 by sjmbruce