Live from the Pride of America - 09/21-09/28/2024 - Hawai'i (Oahu to Maui to Hawai'i to Kaua'i)

[Kp125]

There is a luggage storage facility in the Honolulu airport. We took the Pearl Harbor tour ending at the airport, dumped our bags then took a cab to Waikiki until our 9 pm flight

[chefrubba]

Awesome...enjoy! Will be following as my family and I will be on the April 12, 2025, cruise.  Did this cruise 17 years ago on the Pride of Hawaii...honeymoon cruise.  It was awesome.

[Seas2mountains]

We are here! We arrived about 30 minutes early. The decision to upgrade and take the early flight was definitely worth it as we were able to get some decent naps. 

 

 

Here is our “brunch food”. The eggs and fruit were great. I didn’t need the other items. 

 

And some sights in the airport. And one for @cruiseny4life

[Seas2mountains]

Bags arrived quickly. We went to the taxi line outside of baggage claim. There were probably 15-20 people ahead of us and during the 5 minutes we waited, we didn’t see any taxis pull up. 
 

My husband ordered an Uber which meant we needed to go to the second floor and wait in a crowded area with others who ordered ride shares. This isn’t the greatest area as there is only space for about 4 cars to park along the sidewalk which meant it was congested with people and cars. 
 

We had a lovely driver who told us about her recent trip to Paris. She told us how she checked the price of We arrived at the hotel at about 12:00 Noon local time which was about 13 hours after we left our house this morning. Not too bad! 
 

We are waiting at a restaurant at our hotel for lunch as our room isn’t ready. I just got a text to let us know the room is ready.  
 

 

[Seas2mountains]

1 hour ago, Seas2mountains said:

 

We had a lovely driver who told us about her recent trip to Paris. She told us how she checked the price of …

Oops. I didn’t finish the sentence.  The funny thing is the Uber driver said she checked prices everyday to upgrade from Economy to Business class for her flight to Paris and found a deal when prices for Business class dropped at about 60 days before her flight date. 
 

I thought that was ironic since it was exactly what we did to get the first class seats today.

[Seas2mountains]

We checked in to our hotel right after lunch. Sorry no lunch photos. 
 

We are staying at the Hale Koa on Waikiki (next to Hilton Hawaiian Village) which is a resort for active duty military and retirees. We tend to come here every year or two. I started coming here in 1990 when I stopped here when I was an Army Second Lieutenant returning to Korea after visiting family in the states to finish my 13 month tour. 
 

I remember eating pineapple for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Now I have a pineapple sensitivity and have to avoid it. 
 

Here are photos of our room. If you know any military retirees who are eligible, I highly recommend it. 
 

The room is average and is nothing fancy but the price is much better than at other nearby hotels. We love the adult pool and hot tub area. It’s fun for us to meet other military veterans. Most are 10-20 years older. 

[Seas2mountains]

Here are photos from Hale Koa adult pool area.  I’ll post photos of the pool later as there are a few people in it now. 
 

 

[mking8288]

Happy to read that you are in Oahu already ... should help ease jetlag a little before your cruise.  Very spacious hotel "room" that you are staying at (and, thank you for your service to our country)  Onboard NCL, that would be considered an "over" Haven-sized suite.  

 

 

[LouChamp]

Aloha. Loving your posts and photos. We are blessed to divide our time between NY and Honolulu. Have sailed the POA and years ago the Pride of Aloha. A great way to enjoy a sampling of the islands without spending a lot of time flying between them. Have a wonderful experience!

[Seas2mountains]

After a fun afternoon of interesting conversations with many other military veterans and their spouses, we had a nice dinner outside at Biba’s which is at the hotel. 
 

Salad with Macadamia Nuts. I bumped the plate before taking the photo and the tomato fell off onto the floor. That is why the symmetrical tomato is missing for the OCD people.  

Caesar salad

Macadamia nut crusted Red Snapper with Mango sauce 

Shrimp Fettuccini Alfredo 

Mud Pie 

[Seas2mountains]

Here are some photos taken around the resort.
 

 

 

We were too tired to stay for the live entertainment but hope to be able to do that tonight to catch the Friday night fireworks along Waikiki Beach near Hilton Hawaiian Village. 
 

 

 

[Seas2mountains]

On 9/19/2024 at 5:05 AM, TeresaJ said:

Thank you for sharing! We sailed on POA in February and loved it. We can't wait to go back to Hawaii, it was our first time.  We also went to Waimea Canyon in Kauai and it's a must see!

 

Save travels!

Thank you! Did you have any other “must see”s?

 

We did go to Volcanoes National Park when in Kilo and saw Rainbow Falls last year. 
 

We did book a boat tour to see Na Pali coast in Kaua’i. 

[Seas2mountains]

In case you are wondering how many times Katty Byrd has sent an email to request for us to watch the safety video…. the answer is 6. 
 

Two on Wednesday spaced 4 hours apart, two on Thursday and two early this morning. 
 

 

[TeresaJ]

10 minutes ago, Seas2mountains said:

Thank you! Did you have any other “must see”s?

 

We did go to Volcanoes National Park when in Kilo and saw Rainbow Falls last year. 
 

We did book a boat tour to see Na Pali coast in Kaua’i. 

That sounds amazing.  We did not get to see the Na Pali coast. Hopefully next time.

 

We also went to Volcanoes National Park when we were in Hilo. Amazing.

 

We did an excellent snorkeling excursion in Kona. While boating, we saw whales and sharks, and turtles. That was a fun day - it was an NCL excursion. 

 

In Maui, we went up to the top of Haleakala and it was a beautiful sunny day so we had excellent views.

 

So much to do and see in Hawaii!

[Seas2mountains]

Good morning from Waikīkī Beach. It’s a beautiful morning. There is a light rain/mist as is typical in the morning for this area. 
 

We slept until 5:30am local time which is better than we expected with the time change. 
 

Our hotel has a delicious breakfast buffet with screened outdoor seating facing the ocean. We ate there for many years until we realized it was too much food.  Now we tend to get a simple breakfast at Happy’s which is also at the hotel. It has grab and go service with outdoor seating. 
 

I got eggs and coffee. My husband got eggs, sausage, pineapple and Diet Coke.  No photos. 
 

The prices are tax free since we are on a military installation.  

[cruiseny4life]

2 hours ago, Seas2mountains said:

After a fun afternoon of interesting conversations with many other military veterans and their spouses, we had a nice dinner outside at Biba’s which is at the hotel. 
 

Salad with Macadamia Nuts. I bumped the plate before taking the photo and the tomato fell off onto the floor. That is why the symmetrical tomato is missing for the OCD people.  

Caesar salad

Macadamia nut crusted Red Snapper with Mango sauce 

Shrimp Fettuccini Alfredo 

Mud Pie 

I'm so glad you posted this! After you named the resort, I went snooping, because...well it's me! The food looks great, especially for those prices! I'm glad DoD has these options for folx that are retired/serving! 

[PhillyTravelBug]

Following along. This is on my list of destinations too. Enjoy the beauty!!!!

[Seas2mountains]

2 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

I'm so glad you posted this! After you named the resort, I went snooping, because...well it's me! The food looks great, especially for those prices! I'm glad DoD has these options for folx that are retired/serving! 

Yes, you can see with the hotel and food prices how this resort wins over a cruise at times when we are willing to do the long flights.

 

Sadly, a lot of people who are eligible don’t know about this place. Those who are eligible can sponsor family members or friends by booking up to two more rooms. 
 

The food is typically good but not excellent like other more expensive choices. We go to Duke’s, Hula Grill, Roy’s and  other local restaurants when we want something different but the bill is usually twice the price, too. 

[Seas2mountains]

Here are some photos taken on a walk into the area towards Queen Beach/Honolulu Zoo and the Aquarium after breakfast at about 7:30am before the pool opened. 
 

 

Diamond Head in the distance. 

 

Newer pickleball courts on Hale Koa property. 

The was some sort of surfing competition.  
 

The Target is new since the last time we were here. 
 

 

[Ellis1138]

I think that was one of my few disappointments in February. The last time I was on Oahu was 1995, and the International Marketplace was a lot of nifty and interesting booths. Now it's just a mall with the same stores you could see anywhere.

[Seas2mountains]

Good night from Waikīkī Beach. We are going to try to stay awake long enough to see the fireworks at 7:45pm local time. 

[mking8288]

Beautiful Oahu sunset from Waikiki ... Mahalo.  Thank you for sharing. 

 

Jetlag being the worst in the mid/late afternoon for us as we fly in from the East Coast ... 

[ggTexasGal]

@Seas2mountains I'm enjoying your wonderful your posts with stunning photos!

They bring back good memories of Hale Koa and our cruise.

[MrsTocko]

17 hours ago, Seas2mountains said:

Yes, you can see with the hotel and food prices how this resort wins over a cruise at times when we are willing to do the long flights.

 

Sadly, a lot of people who are eligible don’t know about this place. Those who are eligible can sponsor family members or friends by booking up to two more rooms. 
 

The food is typically good but not excellent like other more expensive choices. We go to Duke’s, Hula Grill, Roy’s and  other local restaurants when we want something different but the bill is usually twice the price, too. 

Do they offer day use for vets?  My brother from another mother, is a vet. He and his wife (my sister from another mister) have a timeshare in HI. but they often have long layovers on the flight home.  He would love this.  

[Seas2mountains]

On 9/19/2024 at 5:47 PM, mking8288 said:

Happy to read that you are in Oahu already ... should help ease jetlag a little before your cruise.  Very spacious hotel "room" that you are staying at (and, thank you for your service to our country)  Onboard NCL, that would be considered an "over" Haven-sized suite.  

 

 

Thank you for your kind words. 
 

Yes, this room size would be huge on a ship. 
 

We found out our room is a bit unique as most “partial ocean view” category rooms have two queen size beds while ours has the king size bed with a sofa. We prefer a room with a sofa but didn’t request it as we didn’t know it existed. 
 

The trade off is we barely have a partial ocean view as the balcony isn’t angled like the other balconies in this category. It is a great room with newer looking carpet, newer bed, and most importantly, it is clean.