Pride of America Review, Aug 31-Sept 7, 2019

[alliecat44]

We were getting a little sick of the Cadillac Diner, so the following morning we opted for the buffet. Typical NCL buffet food--decent, filling, chaotic atmosphere but coffee was probably the best I've had in any non-specialty dining NCL restaurant. 

 

Anyways, for this day we had booked a tour with Ricky's Tours around Hilo on the big island! 

 

We were off the ship and easily found Ricky by 8:15am. There were only six of us taking the tour, so we had plenty of room in his 12-person van to relax while he took us on a truly excellent tour. Originally from the Phillipines, his parents emigrated to Hawaii when he was a child and worked in the Mauna Loa macademia nut factory for over 20 years. He is intimately knowledgeable about local history and informed us of Pele's curse--that if you take a piece of lava rock home with you, you will have BAD LUCK until you return it.

 

Apparently, Hawaiian post offices receive literally thousands of pounds of lava rock in the mail each day--from people who took it home and wish to have it returned so that their bad luck will end! 

 

First stop--Richardson's Black Sand Beach. This was beautiful (and already getting crowded--glad we did this first.) So peaceful. There is a police station here, which means it must be safe! 

 

Fun fact: Hilo is the only place in the US which is threatened by four types of natural disasters: earthquake, hurricane, volcanic eruption and tsunami. 

 

 

Edited September 16, 2019 by alliecat44

[alliecat44]

Next, we drove through Banyan Drive, stopped at the Queen's Gardens and went to Rainbow Falls. It was beautiful! 

Edited September 16, 2019 by alliecat44

[alliecat44]

Then, we stopped at Mauna Loa where we had some amazingly delicious samples (and brought some home--try the honey roasted and the maui onion and garlic--yummmmmm) and a quick lunch. 

 

After lunch, it was time for another big trip highlight....Volcanoes National Park!! I was sooooo excited. Mother Nature, of course, dictated that there were no active lava flows to see, and that a famous lava tube was closed, and that the Jagger Museum was closed....but what can you do. 

 

We stopped at the Visitor's Center and watched a video about the 2018 eruption--fascinating, beautiful and chilling. Next stop was the Kalelua Caldera and the steam vents. 

 

This is another one of those places where words and pictures just do not do it justice. To see, smell and feel the earth "breathing" through the steam vents...to walk up and suddenly see the massive two-mile wide caldera....I mean, even our greatest poets would not be able to describe it accurately for you--so I will not even try. Instead, I'll just show you some pictures (all photos so far, by the way, are just with my iPhone 6). 

Edited September 16, 2019 by alliecat44

[alliecat44]

We also went to a lava flow from the 1970's walked around on the sharp lava rocks and saw a smaller active caldera. 

 

On the way back to the ship, we stopped at a lovely orchid garden/nursery, which was lovely. They had a nice little gift shop, too! 

 

 

Edited September 16, 2019 by alliecat44

[alliecat44]

Back to the ship by 3pm and again we were tuckered out. Went by the pool, had some of the barbecue buffet, hung out in the hot tub, had some drinks, went back to the room and got ready for dinner at Moderno. 

 

Dinner at Moderno was good--meats were delicious (not a single dud among them) and of course the grilled pineapple is always a highlight. Bellies full, we retired for the evening. 

[alliecat44]

Okay, taking a break for now....hope some folks are enjoying this. Also hope this answers some questions people have about planning for their own cruise! 

 

If anyone would like to hear more about anything, please let me know. Will continue either tonight or later this week....

 

Still to come: Kona and Kauai! 

[RNCheryl]

Kauai is my Happy Place, but Maui looks interesting and beautiful.  We used the Gypsy app in Banff and I know what you mean about adding to the trip.  Not sure I would spend the $$$ for this cruise as opposed to another week on Kauai, but you are making it look enticing!

 

[maggieq]

Wow!  Your pictures and review are amazing.  Hawaii is on our long cruise bucket list.  We never rent cars when on vacation, yet you make it seem so easy. 

 

Love it!  Thank you!

[Firepath]

I'm really enjoying your trip report and beautiful photos! It's getting me even more excited for our cruise on POA next month!

[cincicruisers]

I am enjoying your review.  Thanks for sharing.

[Budget Queen]

1 hour ago, maggieq said:

Wow!  Your pictures and review are amazing.  Hawaii is on our long cruise bucket list.  We never rent cars when on vacation, yet you make it seem so easy. 

 

Love it!  Thank you!

The only way I tour Hawaii is by car rental.   :)   Hawaii is so much-  simply - drive up.   In my opinion it's best to be on your own time.     I was also on this same sailing-   always excellent.  :)   

[alliecat44]

Awwww, thanks, guys!! It's wonderful to have you following along and I hope some of this helps you plan for the future--as this trip was worth EVERY CENT and every second of travel and planning time!! 

 

Okay, Wednesday was Kona day. I knew that being able to actually get to the port was a bit iffy with recent cruises having to skip Kona, as it is the only tender port on this cruise. Coupled with the fact that I anticipated us needing a day to "breathe" a bit instead of racing around from point to point, I didn't really plan much for Kona. My goal was to take the trolley to a few pretty beaches and then get off at one  of the breweries and spend a few hours partaking of the libations. 🙂 

 

Thankfully, we were able to tender in just fine. They use the lifeboats as tenders and the whole thing goes very quickly and smoothly. We decided to find breakfast on the island for a taste of local culture, and got off the ship around 8:30am. The port was very pretty with lots of places to rent watercraft, snorkeling equipment, etc. Adjacent to the port were a bunch of outrigger canoes for a competition!! So cool to see them up close. 

 

I had used Yelp to find a yummy local spot for breakfast within walking distance--808 Grindz Cafe. Well, it WAS within walking distance--but up a VERY steep hill! No worries, as it was worth the effort. This place is tucked into a little strip mall and is super tiny but OH MY GOD it was one of the best meals we had all week. I had the banana pancakes with coconut vanilla sauce (a bit too sweet for me) and the boy had the shredded pork loco moco--which was one of the best things I have tasted in the past five years, at least. SO SO GOOD. These people work really hard, have very reasonable prices and deserve your patronage. We are still talking about that pork moco. 

 

Anyways, we went back down the hill, caught the trolley by the banyan tree across from the port, and headed around to different shopping areas. Since we didn't want to take another hour and half to go around to still more beautiful beaches, we decided to get off at Ola Brewing Company. 

 

Man, am I glad we did this. The brewery does not have mainland distribution at this time and all of their beers and ciders are made with local fruits (except apple, which does not grow in Hawaii). We sat at the bar and enjoyed a few flights of ciders and of beer, ordering a declicious flatbread (see menu below). Quite a bit tipsy, we caught the trolley on the flip side and made it back to the ship. 

 

Edited September 17, 2019 by alliecat44

[maggieq]

16 minutes ago, Budget Queen said:

The only way I tour Hawaii is by car rental.  🙂  Hawaii is so much-  simply - drive up.   In my opinion it's best to be on your own time.     I was also on this same sailing-   always excellent.  🙂  

Thank you!

[alliecat44]

One tip I forgot to mention above: I had found the Kona trolley schedule online and printed it out. The trolley makes two stops at the pier--think of its route like a two-hour figure-eight pattern. We didn't see the beaches because with the walk to/from breakfast, timing didn't work out to see the pretty half of the trolley tour. The trolley costs $2 a ride, however far you want to go. 🙂 

 

Another reason we didn't do much in Kona is because we had dinner reservations early--5:30pm--at Teppanyaki. It was the only time I could get that wasn't terribly late, so I grabbed it (made reservations online within the first week they were available--but everyone was planning ahead this cruise!). 

 

We had a great dinner, great show (as usual) and met some lovely people. We wandered the ship a bit and ended up running into our dinner companions on the pool deck. We drank and chatted until about 10pm, then headed back to bed to pass out. 

[alliecat44]

29 minutes ago, Budget Queen said:

The only way I tour Hawaii is by car rental.  🙂  Hawaii is so much-  simply - drive up.   In my opinion it's best to be on your own time.   

 

Totally 100% agree. I was shocked at how EASY it was to get to these places--I mean, literally, pull over, step out that's it. NO need to pay a tour group unless you have mobility issues or are interested in something super specific. If we ever do this cruise again, we'll probably take the time to do specific tours (coffee plantation, Road to Hana, maybe even a pineapple tour) but for this trip, it was all about seeing as much of the islands as possible. 

 

On Maui, we rented from Budget and on Kauai, we rented from Thrifty. 

Edited September 17, 2019 by alliecat44

[Budget Queen]

8 minutes ago, alliecat44 said:

 

Totally 100% agree. I was shocked at how EASY it was to get to these places--I mean, literally, pull over, step out that's it. NO need to pay a tour group unless you have mobility issues or are interested in something super specific. 

 

On Maui, we rented from Budget and on Kauai, we rented from Thrifty. 

It's the US.  😉     Don't know-   if you were aware-  (if not you were very lucky)  but it's important to note-  that ONLY Payless,  Avis and Budget shuttle from port to rental pick up at the airport in Maui.   All other airport rentals,   will require your own transportation.     Don't figure you will just jump on a shuttle you don't rent from-   they check reservations and receipts.   

 

Verify-  current information.   Of course subject to change.  :)   

[alliecat44]

Okay, so similar to Maui, I had BIG plans for Kauai. The boy's birthday was on September 10, and I knew I wanted to do something special for him during the cruise. 

 

Well....this was the day. 🙂 I arranged a session at Kauai Sporting Clays for him in secret with the help of the lovely owner of the business. We scheduled for 9am, and I told her that we were getting off the ship at 8am, would have to shuttle to the airport, pick up our rental car and then drive there. She assured me the location was a mere ten minutes away from the airport and it was perfectly do-able, and that if we were a bit late it was no big deal. 

 

For weeks before the cruise, I had been telling the boy that I had a surprise for him and he was going to LOVE IT! I kept ramping up the surprise teases and he was pretty excited. We were waiting in line to get off the ship at 7:45. Gangway opened at 8am and we rushed out, waited for and grabbed the first rental car shuttle and were at the counter by about 8:20. The paperwork and inspection process was more cumbersome this time, so we left the lot around 8:45am and followed the excellent (and very specific) directions they had given to me. 

 

It turned out that Kauai Clays was almost exactly ten minutes away and super easy to get to. He didn't realize what we were doing until he saw the sign on the fence! I was so pleased--surprise achieved!!! It was so great to see him having so much fun. Although he regularly takes pistols and rifles to our local gun range, he hasn't shot clays since he was in Boy Scouts as a kid. 

 

They did a great job--the pigeons would come from eight different traps firing in different directions. At each station, two wouold fly and he would be given a heads-up about which directions he would be looking at, etc. The owner also gave great instruction and tips, as well as kept score for the boy. 

 

All in all, a GREAT way to spend the morning--and he was grinning like a kid in a candy store. 🙂 

Edited September 17, 2019 by alliecat44

[alliecat44]

2 minutes ago, Budget Queen said:

It's the US.  😉     Don't know-   if you were aware-  (if not you were very lucky)  but it's important to note-  that ONLY Payless,  Avis and Budget shuttle from port to rental pick up at the airport in Maui.   All other airport rentals,   will require your own transportation.     Don't figure you will just jump on a shuttle you don't rent from-   they check reservations and receipts.   

 

Verify-  current information.   Of course subject to change.  🙂  

Yes--Thrifty was the only one with a currently running shuttle on Kauai (I think this changed as recently as this past March!). That's why I chose them! 

[Budget Queen]

3 minutes ago, alliecat44 said:

Yes--Thrifty was the only one with a currently running shuttle on Kauai (I think this changed as recently as this past March!). That's why I chose them! 

Sorry -  no,   Kauai -  they all were running,   I rented from 3 different vendors there.   :)

 

It's Maui-  as I noted in my post-   the only shuttles are for Avis, Budget and Payless.   

[alliecat44]

Okay, so I wasn't sure how much time we would spend at the shooting range and how long it would take to get places, so I was super happy to have the Gypsy Guide again (and Hawaii Revealed to further fill in context!). It turns out the range was on the way to Wailua Falls. We left around 10am, went to Wailua Falls (parking there is abysmal, but it is very pretty). Following Gypsy Guide instructions, we headed back towards the main road and found another waterfall further in the distance. I can't remember the name of this one (shame!) but you will know it when you see it. Tip: definitely cross the road and look out the other scenic overlook. 

 

When leaving, we went down-down-down a steep road where we thought we would see an historic Hawaiian village. Instead, we found a serene spot with kayak and paddleboard rental. Thanks to Gypsy Guide, we learned that this is the only navigable river in Hawaii, since Kauai is so old and the terrain has had more time to flatten out. Fascinating! 

 

Edited September 17, 2019 by alliecat44

[alliecat44]

After that, we decided to head east for a while before turning around to get to Port Allen for a catamaran cruise I had booked. We drove through Kapaa, which was lovely and charming.The seascapes here were gorgeous--deep blue water crashing against cliffs. There is a lovely paved bicycle path that would 100% be worth doing if you have the time--so so gorgeous. Eventually, though, we had to turn around--and were glad we made that decision when we did, since we got stuck in one of the famous island traffic jams. Ugh! Understandable, but was worried we would miss our booking 25 miles away....

 

Edited September 17, 2019 by alliecat44

[alliecat44]

Fortunately, we were just in time. I was disappointed that we weren't able to stop at Poipu on the way to Port Allen, but hoped we would have enough time the following day. We stopped at a Chinese place for lunch in a shopping center right up the hill from the port, checked in a Kauai Sea Tours, and got ready for our sunset catamaran cruise and snorkel. Reading Hawaii Revealed, I learned that the very BEST Napali Coast tours leave from Princeville--right in the heart of the most scenic spots. However, having booked the clay shooting in the morning, we would not have had enough time to get there for a long cruise (and the prices I found were at least a hundred dollars more expensive). I figured there would be no such thing as a "bad day" on the water around Kauai, so I kept my reservation. I ended up very pleased! 

 

Kauai Sea Tours did a great job. We were with 49 other guests on a 60-foot catamaran, the Lucky Lady. Meeting time was 1:15pm and after taking attendance, reviewing safety, etc we were on the water by 2pm. The crew was young but super enthusiastic and attentive to everyone's needs. (I felt so badly for the two women who got seasick!) The waters around Kauai are notoriously fickle and rough--in the winter, the northern coast easily sees swells of 30 feet (!!!). Fortunately, swells on our trip were only a few feet. Don't get me wrong--it was still a wild ride at times with tons of seaspray (especially if you were standing in the front) and up-and-down movement. We loved it. 

 

We got as close as possible to some of the sea caves and saw the beautiful coast up close and personal. The first snorkeling spot was way too rough (whitecaps), so we ended up snorkeling at their second choice. It ended up being a bit cloudy but still saw tons of fish and coral (just didn't get many underwater pictures!). The crew did a wonderful job of making sure everyone was comfortable and with safe, good-fitting equipment. The water was, as always, a refreshing 80 degrees. I LOVED this trip!! 

 

 

Edited September 17, 2019 by alliecat44

[alliecat44]

After the snorkeling, the bar was OPEN and we had a couple of delicious mai tais and a few beers. (Open bar included in the price.) They served a meal of teriyaki chicken, mixed greens salad, rice, and two types of cookies--we were happy (though the boy didn't care for the teriyaki sauce--I thought it was delicious). We were exhausted by the time we got back and drove back to towards the pier in the dark. We ended up SCORING the free parking spot that was closest to the ship (the rental car shuttle driver told us where the free parking was--and it was within easy walking distance of the ship). 

 

Once again, you guessed it--a drink and passing out. 

 

 

Edited September 17, 2019 by alliecat44

[alliecat44]

[alliecat44]

Okay, so the next day was the last full day on the cruise (booo!) and it was only half a day on Kauai (double-boo!). All aboard time was 1pm and we knew we had a LOT to do, so breakfast at the Cadillac Diner (again!) and off we went off the ship around 7:30am. We walked to our free parking spot (yay!) and got in the car, this time heading west! 

 

We used Gypsy Guide to dead-head towards Waimea Canyon. Sadly this meant back-tracking as far as Port Allen (so a bit of a "waste" of time) and then on to Waimea and up Waimea Canyon Road. If we hadn't had Gypsy Guide and Hawaii Revealed--again, we would have missed out on so much scientific and cultural significance. Seriously. 

 

The lookouts were breathtaking and at the top, we had the pleasure of learning from a local Hawaiian man in traditional warrior clothing. He explained a bit about Hawaiian language, traditions, and the controversy about the annexation. Since he is of native blood, he is allowed to and still does hunt at the bottom of the canyon--on mule- or horse-back, or on foot, in order to feed his family. 

 

Something beautiful I learned is the translation of "Hawai'i"--"Ha" means "life-force" or "essence of life"--that special thing that makes a living being alive. "Wai" means "fresh water." "I" means "creator." So, the name "Hawai'i." So fitting. 

 

 

Edited September 17, 2019 by alliecat44