POH 8/27 Review!!

[KKCruisers]

Aloha, just returned from our wonderful Hawaiian vacation and have spent the last few days catching up on much needed rest. I do not sleep on airplanes! I just watch everyone else snoring away. I really envy them! Thankfully we had really nice flights. Continental even fed us a few times, not much, but it was good to get a snack once in awhile.

 

Day 1 -- This day started the day before our flight. We arranged to stay at a Double tree Hotel in Tampa the night before our flight because we didn't want to take the chance of being late for our plane, which left at 6:50 AM. We drove from Port Charlotte, FL to Clearwater Beach where we spent the afternoon and then checked into our hotel. We chose this hotel because we could leave our car there for 10 days. This service is free to hotel guest. We only paid $89 for the night. They also offered free transportation to the airport 24 hours a day. Can't beat that! We were very satisfied with this arrangement and would definitely do it again.

 

Day 2 -- We were up at 4:30 AM and on the 5:30 shuttle to the airport, which was only 5 minutes away. At this point I have to make an acknowledgment to Continental because every flight we took with them was on time for leaving and arrivals. We had one stop in Houston with 1 1/2 layover and we arrived in Honolulu at 12:50. Picked our car up by 1:30 PM from Thrifty (Blue Chip) This was a short ride in their shuttle for the pickup. We had arranged for a Dodge van because there were four of us, me and my DH, my Sister and my brother-in-law. Our car was upgraded to a Chrysler Grand Caravan. Following directions from the Thrifty staff we arrived at our Hotel, Waikiki Wave Hotel by 2:30 PM.

Our hotel was a pleasant surprise. The room we had was a small suite on the 14th floor (only 15 floor hotel) This room had a small view of Waikiki beach only a couple of blocks away. We had two balconies, a small refrigerator and a microwave. It had 2 rooms, one with a couch and small table and chairs and another with a beautiful king size bed.

My sister's room was on the 12th floor and she had a water view also. Their room was quite nice also with 2 Queen beds and a balcony. This is an older hotel that has just been completely remodeled. The best part was the price. It only cost us $107 per night. Parking in the underground garage was $18 a day extra but well worth it to be able to have a parking place in a town where parking anywhere is at a premium.

We were tired after the long flight, but very anxious to see Waikiki, so we freshened up a bit and took off on foot for the beach. Our first stop was at the Banyan Tree Patio Bar at the Outrigger on the Beach. We all had a toast to our Hawaii vacation which we had been planning for the last 8 months. My Mai Ti was delicious.

It was my sisters 35th Anniversary on Aug 26 so we all went out to dinner at the House without a Key. This restaurant is right on the beach and we ate outside on the patio. After dinner, which we all liked very much, we went back to the Banyan tree bar for one last drink and then back to the hotel for some much needed sleep. Of course we were all wide awake at 5AM!

 

Day 3 -- We went to breakfast at a restaurant right near our hotel. It was recommended by the Hotel staff and very good. Picked up our car at the hotel and then started out to find Snorkel Bob's so my sister and her husband could pick up their gear, we brought ours with us. By the time we arrived for the snorkel gear it was 9:30 AM and they told us it was too late to go to Hanauma Bay because the parking lot would already be filled because it was a weekend day. They suggested we go to the North Shore, which we did. It was a beautiful ride along the coast and there are so many gorgeous beaches. No name signs, so we didn't know one from another. We stopped at one and parked up the road in a church lot for a donation of $5. We had to walk back down the road and down a small hill to the beach. We all went in snorkeling, but didn't see many fish. We had a good time though. I think the better snorkeling was off the cliffs to the right of us, but it was very rocky over there so we decided not to try it. We continued driving up the coast and I started looking for Giovanni's Shrimp truck which I have read so much about on this board. After passing at least 5 shrimp trucks, we finally found G's and believe me it was worth the wait! You only have 3 choices, Shrimp with butter and garlic, which we all had, Spicy shrimp and Shrimp Scampi. This is a meal that will remembered by all of us for a long time. In another truck nearby they were selling pineapple cut up and smoothies. We shared a cut up pineapple and it was delicious! The shrimp only cost $12, what a deal. There are picnic tables to sit and eat at. You have to take a number for your order and there is a little wait, but not too long. After we had our tummies full we continued on up and around the whole cost back to Waikiki. It is a very beautiful drive that I highly recommend if you like seeing one of the most beautiful coastlines you'll ever see. We did ask a local why they don't put signs on their beaches or if there are some why they don't make them more obvious and she said the locals just know what they are. We had our map with us and just kind of guessed where we were. They do mark the Parks, but even those you could miss if you aren't looking close enough. Also the waves were very large and lots of people were surfing, even though everything I read said the waves were small in the summer. If this is small, I would really like to see large!

We were late getting back to town, and we had reservations for a Magic Show that evening so we decided to go to the show and then eat dinner later. Before the show we had a few minutes so we went to the top of the Sheraton. They have a revolving bar and the most beautiful view of all of Honolulu. Don't miss this view!

The Magic Show was very good. (Entertainment book has 1/2 price coupon)

.After the show we went back to the Outrigger and ate outside on the patio. The food was good and there was a singer in the lounge. We stayed there till around midnight and headed back to the hotel for a good nights sleep because tomorrow was embarkation day!!!!

To be continued.

[GreatLakes]

Welcome back KK! I can't even begin to start a review about this wonderful vacation we had. All I know, is my DH took about 400+ digital photos and we just had 5 rolls of 35 mm film developed, so can only try to relive the memory by looking at the photos.

 

I have to honestly admit, from all the negative posts I had been reading over the past several months, was somewhat skeptical about sailing on NCL, but DH and I went on this cruise with an open mind not expecting the greatest of anything. To our very pleasant surprise, we had a wonderful time, and just let some of the minor flaws that we saw slide by. We met just about everyone from our CC group, and each and everyone was a positive, happy, upbeat person, and I do believe this contributed to the fun of the cruise. We found the waiters, bartenders, etc. all very polite and really trying to do their job. We tried to engage them in conversation and learn a little about them. We even met one young girl from our hometown who graduated high school a year after our son. Small world. We did have some issues with housekeeping, but then again, have had some of these same issues at hotels we have stayed in. All in all, this was a wonderful vacation, and I would certainly do it again.

[Library Chick]

Dear KK,

You have inspired me to sit down and write up my full review. Soon.

In the meantime, I look forward to reading the rest of your informative review. Keep those details coming, such as how to park near your home airport for free. Now why didn't I think of staying overnight at a hotel that allowed me to leave my car there and gave me a free ride to the airport?

;) Still hangin' loose,

Library Chick and husband

[KKCruisers]

Aloha all,

 

Yes I do agree that meeting our CC friends really enhanced our cruise. After our first get together we kept running into you all over the place and it was a nice feeling knowing other people when we were so far away from home.

 

We also had a wonderful time with hardly any complaints! Everyone was so friendly and tried so hard to please you. All the Ilanders were exceptionally nice and went out of their way to talk to you from store clerks to waiters they all were great.

 

I will be writing some more later on, right now I'm working on the pictures. I just burned 368 to disc so I can mail them to my sister. We also have 3 other cameras to be developed, plus what my sister took.

 

Mahalo, I wish we were still in Hawaii!

Kat

[KKCruisers]

Day 4 -- Embarkation Day

This is the day we have been waiting for almost 1 year! We were up early again and decided to go somewhere on the beach for breakfast. The Shorebird Restaurant is right on the water with open windows looking out on the beach. If you look to the left, while facing the water you have a great view of Diamond Head. They have a buffet for $12.99 per person and we had a coupon for $1 off. This was a large assortment of fruits, pastries, eggs, french toast, etc. It even had a carved ham. Juice and coffee came with that price. Everything was great. But one warning, watch the birds! After my dh dropped his food off at our table and went back for coffee a bird came and decided he liked dh's choices and flew off with 3 bacon strips and some eggs. I came back to the table and saw my sister screaming at the birds to scare them away. It was all quite funny. Just watch your food, the place is great, birds and all! After eating we went around to a few shops and then back to the hotel to get ready to check out and bring back the rental car to Thrifty and get a ride to the ship. We arrived at the Ship at about 1:30 PM and dropped off our luggage and went inside to wait in line. It was a long line and took about 1 hour but we were on the ship by 2:30. To our surprise both our rooms were ready. We were on deck 10 aft right around the corner from the elevators. Our room was beautiful with a nice balcony overlooking the port. Our luggage hadn't arrived yet so we decided to go up to make reservations for dinner that night. We went up to the Mexican restaurant where they were taking reservation and there were only 3 of us there to make the reservations so it went very fast. We had decided on Papa's for the first night and also made our reservations for Le Bistro for the last night, this was part of our Anniversary package we had purchased. I should mention we had a bottle of Champagne waiting in our room on arrival too. This is a great package to purchase we really enjoyed everything it consisted of.

Then we went up on deck for our first drink, of many! Of course I had a Mai Ti and it was great. We also indulged in the buffet which was delicious. I was still pretty full from the breakfast we had, but I managed to force some more food down. (lol) Then it was time for muster. Our muster was back in the same room where we made reservations earlier. All our bags but one were at our door, but that was the one with dress up clothes, but that arrived soon after.

We then went to the Balai Hai Lounge on Deck 13 to meet our Cruise Critic friends. It was great to finally put a face with the cc names we had been corresponding with for so long. We all chatted about our plans for the week and got to know each other. Only a couple from our group didn't show, I was impressed. Balai Hai was a great place to meet and we had the whole area to ourselves. I don't think too many people had discovered that deck by that time. We stayed about an hour and then went back to change for dinner. Our final bag was there, thank goodness. Don't worry though, they allow you to eat in shorts if your bags haven't arrived. I saw lots of people in restaurants that night in shorts.

Dinner at Papas was wonderful. I had the antipasto tray. They bring this big tray on wheels to your table and there are many choices. I really liked it and I also loved my Ossobuco. Everyone enjoyed their dinners and the service was very good. We all had tiramisu for dessert. YUM

After dinner we went to the Welcome Aboard show and then to bed, since we all wanted to get up early for Kona.

First day on ship was great.

Our bed's were turned down with candy on the pillows. Very comfy!

 

Day 5 -- Kona

 

My dh woke me up at 6AM as we were pulling into port. He knew I didn't want to miss this. We took lots of pictures of our first sights of Kona. We were on one of the first shuttles off the ship and went directly across the street to the King Kam hotel and got our car from Thrifty. There were only 3 of us in line, but we had reservations and the others were told there were no more cars available. I felt bad for a woman and her daughter who were in line. She noticed we had our reservations and asked how we knew to have made reservations and I told her all about cruise critic, she was impressed. I don't think they were able to rent, they were still at the counter when we left. This port is really easy. Thrifty just gives you your keys and tells you the car is parked in the back of the building at the number on the key. Bring it back when you want. They close at 4 PM but you can keep it as long as you want and they have a drop off for the keys. We were upgraded again!

 

When I made plans for this day I decided to go to the North coast to snorkel, but the girl from Thrifty said the best snorkeling was south of us, so we changed our minds, which proved to be the wrong decision! She told us to head south toward Captain Cook and we did, but the road markings, again, weren't very good and we somehow missed the road and then took a wrong turn and ended on a two lane country road going down a mountain. We could see water, but never seem to get to it, then the road turned into a one lane with traffic having to stop and let each other by. It was almost like the RTH.

After a long time on this road we finally found someone to ask directions from and found out we weren't too far from a snorkel beach, or so they call it. We arrived at a large lava area with people laying on top of the lava in chairs and snorkeling around and in the lava rock. There was no beach. We decided at that point that the locals will snorkel anywhere and what they consider good snorkeling is good for experienced snorkelers, not us! Since we had an early start it was only 11 AM by then so we decided to head North like the original plans. We finally found a nice beach at least there was sand! Again the waves were really large and made it hard to snorkel, but we tried. It turned out to be a nice day after all and on the way back to we stopped in the little shopping area in Kona and had a drink at Hooters. We had a great view of the ship from there and we took lots of pictures.

That night we ate at the Grand Pacific. They told us there was a 1 1/2 hour wait for dinner, but they gave us a pager and we went to a lounge for drinks and we were paged in about 20 minutes, not bad! Dinner was quite good.

After dinner we went to a show in the Spinnaker and then off the bed.

Tomorrow is Maui, what will this bring?

 

To be continued.

[KKCruisers]

Day 4 -- Embarkation Day

This is the day we have been waiting for almost 1 year! We were up early again and decided to go somewhere on the beach for breakfast. The Shorebird Restaurant is right on the water with open windows looking out on the beach. If you look to the left, while facing the water you have a great view of Diamond Head. They have a buffet for $12.99 per person and we had a coupon for $1 off. This was a large assortment of fruits, pastries, eggs, french toast, etc. It even had a carved ham. Juice and coffee came with that price. Everything was great. But one warning, watch the birds! After my dh dropped his food off at our table and went back for coffee a bird came and decided he liked dh's choices and flew off with 3 bacon strips and some eggs. I came back to the table and saw my sister screaming at the birds to scare them away. It was all quite funny. Just watch your food, the place is great, birds and all! After eating we went around to a few shops and then back to the hotel to get ready to check out and bring back the rental car to Thrifty and get a ride to the ship. We arrived at the Ship at about 1:30 PM and dropped off our luggage and went inside to wait in line. It was a long line and took about 1 hour but we were on the ship by 2:30. To our surprise both our rooms were ready. We were on deck 10 aft right around the corner from the elevators. Our room was beautiful with a nice balcony overlooking the port. Our luggage hadn't arrived yet so we decided to go up to make reservations for dinner that night. We went up to the Mexican restaurant where they were taking reservation and there were only 3 of us there to make the reservations so it went very fast. We had decided on Papa's for the first night and also made our reservations for Le Bistro for the last night, this was part of our Anniversary package we had purchased. I should mention we had a bottle of Champagne waiting in our room on arrival too. This is a great package to purchase we really enjoyed everything it consisted of.

Then we went up on deck for our first drink, of many! Of course I had a Mai Ti and it was great. We also indulged in the buffet which was delicious. I was still pretty full from the breakfast we had, but I managed to force some more food down. (lol) Then it was time for muster. Our muster was back in the same room where we made reservations earlier. All our bags but one were at our door, but that was the one with dress up clothes, but that arrived soon after.

We then went to the Balai Hai Lounge on Deck 13 to meet our Cruise Critic friends. It was great to finally put a face with the cc names we had been corresponding with for so long. We all chatted about our plans for the week and got to know each other. Only a couple from our group didn't show, I was impressed. Balai Hai was a great place to meet and we had the whole area to ourselves. I don't think too many people had discovered that deck by that time. We stayed about an hour and then went back to change for dinner. Our final bag was there, thank goodness. Don't worry though, they allow you to eat in shorts if your bags haven't arrived. I saw lots of people in restaurants that night in shorts.

Dinner at Papas was wonderful. I had the antipasto tray. They bring this big tray on wheels to your table and there are many choices. I really liked it and I also loved my Ossobuco. Everyone enjoyed their dinners and the service was very good. We all had tiramisu for dessert. YUM

After dinner we went to the Welcome Aboard show and then to bed, since we all wanted to get up early for Kona.

First day on ship was great.

Our bed's were turned down with candy on the pillows. Very comfy!

 

Day 5 -- Kona

 

My dh woke me up at 6AM as we were pulling into port. He knew I didn't want to miss this. We took lots of pictures of our first sights of Kona. We were on one of the first shuttles off the ship and went directly across the street to the King Kam hotel and got our car from Thrifty. There were only 3 of us in line, but we had reservations and the others were told there were no more cars available. I felt bad for a woman and her daughter who were in line. She noticed we had our reservations and asked how we knew to have made reservations and I told her all about cruise critic, she was impressed. I don't think they were able to rent, they were still at the counter when we left. This port is really easy. Thrifty just gives you your keys and tells you the car is parked in the back of the building at the number on the key. Bring it back when you want. They close at 4 PM but you can keep it as long as you want and they have a drop off for the keys. We were upgraded again!

 

When I made plans for this day I decided to go to the North coast to snorkel, but the girl from Thrifty said the best snorkeling was south of us, so we changed our minds, which proved to be the wrong decision! She told us to head south toward Captain Cook and we did, but the road markings, again, weren't very good and we somehow missed the road and then took a wrong turn and ended on a two lane country road going down a mountain. We could see water, but never seem to get to it, then the road turned into a one lane with traffic having to stop and let each other by. It was almost like the RTH.

After a long time on this road we finally found someone to ask directions from and found out we weren't too far from a snorkel beach, or so they call it. We arrived at a large lava area with people laying on top of the lava in chairs and snorkeling around and in the lava rock. There was no beach. We decided at that point that the locals will snorkel anywhere and what they consider good snorkeling is good for experienced snorkelers, not us! Since we had an early start it was only 11 AM by then so we decided to head North like the original plans. We finally found a nice beach at least there was sand! Again the waves were really large and made it hard to snorkel, but we tried. It turned out to be a nice day after all and on the way back to we stopped in the little shopping area in Kona and had a drink at Hooters. We had a great view of the ship from there and we took lots of pictures.

That night we ate at the Grand Pacific. They told us there was a 1 1/2 hour wait for dinner, but they gave us a pager and we went to a lounge for drinks and we were paged in about 20 minutes, not bad! Dinner was quite good.

After dinner we went to a show in the Spinnaker and then off the bed.

Tomorrow is Maui, what will this bring?

 

To be continued.

[judyf]

Nice review, Do you remember what time you went for dinner?

[BullishCruiser]

Hi Kat. It was nice meeting you and Ken at Bali Hi. Glad to hear you enjoyed your cruise. We did too!

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review. Great job so far. I hope to write a review myself, but have been concentrating on getting my digital photos together.

 

I can't get Hawaii off my mind. What a great place. :)

[KKCruisers]

Nice review, Do you remember what time you went for dinner?

 

Judyf, If your talking about dinner the first night it was 7 PM. The second night at the GP it was 6 PM, they open then.

 

Hope that helps you. They do have problems with the main dining rooms as far as not having enough servers for the amount of people dining. That's why many people have to wait, because there are always empty tables. We didn't let it bother us though, just went for drinks first. Watch the dailies for the happy hours in the Martini Bar, they were great!

 

Kat

[KKCruisers]

Hi Kat. It was nice meeting you and Ken at Bali Hi. Glad to hear you enjoyed your cruise. We did too!

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review. Great job so far. I hope to write a review myself, but have been concentrating on getting my digital photos together.

 

I can't get Hawaii off my mind. What a great place. :)

 

 

Hi BC, We enjoyed meeting you too. I just posted some of my pictures at . http://kallen17.shutterfly.com/action/pictures?a=67b0de21b351e0c6050c

 

Kat

[KKCruisers]

Day 6 -- Maui

 

At this port, which is my 2nd favorite port, we rented a car from Thrifty again and this time we rented the GPS.We were upgraded to a Lincoln Town Car. We set the GPS for Whalers Village because we wanted to go to the West Shore and spend the day there and then go to the RLLuau. It was our first time with a GPS and I think it was OK, but she (who my dh named Lahaina) kept telling us to do a legal U turn when available. For a while there I think we drove in circles until we reset her! We did eventually get to Whalers Village. It really isn't that far from the port. We needed water for the beach so we parked in WV parking lot and found an ABC store and bought water. We noticed, when we parked that people were walking with suits on through the parking lot, but all sign said no beach parking, so we decided to look for a place to park. We really wanted to go to Black Rock, but when we arrived there we couldn't find any parking places. We asked some people and they said there was a parking garage in a hotel nearby, but it also said no beach parking. We finally found parking right next to the Westin Hotel between the Westin and Whalers. There aren't many parking spaces but we found one and settled on the beach to the right of Whalers. We rented chairs and umbrellas and had a nice day just relaxing. My dh wanted to snorkel, but the surf was too much and Black Rock was quite a walk from there and it looked ruff over there. The waves were crashing on the rocks. We stayed on the beach most of the day and had lunch at a restaurant right there. There are plenty of places in walking distance to eat and drink. There is an outside shower and a restroom to change in, so we got ready there for the Luau. About 4:30 PM we drove over to the Royal Lahaina Resort for the Luau. We were quite early so we sat in the bar overlooking the water, it was very nice, had a drink and relaxed. At 5:30 we walked over to the Luau and got in line. We were in line for quite a while but finally it was time to enter. It had started to rain while we were in line and they passed out ponchos for us all. It didn't rain too long, it was just a short shower. The Luau was good. Lots of food and beverages. More Mai Ti's and many different drinks. The show was nice. I've never been to a Luau so I had nothing to compare it with, but now I can say I've been to one in Maui. As we were walking into the Luau spot on the beach, the sidewalk was paved with engraved stones of people who had been married there, I knew my nephew had been married there about 5 years ago so we were looking for their names, but couldn't find them.

Lahaina got us back to the ship, but no parking was available anywhere and it had started raining again so the men left us girls off and went off to find parking. They ended up parking at the Maui Mall, which I had read about on this board. It was a little walk back to the port, I don't know how far exactly the Mall is. The next morning my dh got up early because he was worried about the car so he went off to get it. When he came back he told me there was a tag on the car to tow it. NO PARKING IS ALOWED AT THE MALL OR YOUR CAR WILL BE TOWED. Thankfully he got there before the tow truck!

 

Day 7--Maui and Road to Hana

 

When we decided to do the RTH we said we would drive until we felt like turning back. We didn't want to rush so we knew we probably wouldn't be finishing the trip. I bought the CD at little shop in the Shell Station lot. When we arrived at the first town,(sorry I can't remember the name) the police had a detour, so off we went in a direction we didn't know anything about. We drove through all these country roads and there was a caravan behind us following us, like we knew where we were going! Finally we reached a small town and asked a delivery man for directions. We already knew you don't ask locals for directions, but there wasn't another choice. We got the usual " go up that hill aways, turn left go to stop sign turn left and go ahead till you see the street" We did finally find Hana Drive but had no idea where we were, but we hadn't lost much of it because we saw mile marker 5. We drove until mm 22 and then turned back. We stopped at the interesting sights, waterfalls, pool, fruit stand etc. You have to look really close around the mile markers for the sights to see and then you can only stop if there is a place to park your car, but we managed to do quite a bit and got lots of pictures. I really loved the water falls with the pool, wish we had brought our suits, people were having a great time swimming in there. We stopped for ice cream and I had Macadamia nut with coconut and it was great. We all enjoyed the drive and sights but my sister got a little car sick because she was trying to read while we were driving. We stopped for a while and she started feeling better, but we figured we had gone far enough because we had to get back to the ship by 5 and we didn't know how long it would be to go back, especially if they still had the road block.

We found out later that the road block is something they do often, so if you do the RTH have a good map with you that has the names of all the roads.

We were back on the ship by 3:30 with a little time to relax before dinner.

The Grand Pacific was our restaurant of choice for that evening. We arrived at the door shortly before they opened at 6PM. We were standing in line in front of the door and when they opened the door the first thing we heard was there was a 1 1/2 hours wait. Now we were the first there, how could it be full. Well the manager at the door said they already had reservations for 100, 2 parties of 50. I really don't know how they got inside because we were out there waiting. No one was going to be allowed in and he also informed us his pagers weren't working, something happened to all of them and he couldn't give us pagers so we would have to put our name in and stand there till there was a table available. Well that didn't satisfy the women in front of me, she was quite upset and let the manager know so in no uncertain terms. After he dealt with her I was next. I asked if we could put our name in and then call them back to see how things were going, he agreed and gave us a phone number. We went to a lounge and called back in half an hour and the girl said they were clearing tables but we would have to be there right away in order to get in, so off we went. When we got to the door the mgr said it was still an 1 1/2 hour wait. I told him what the girl had told us so he sent us to her and she took us right away and seated us. Needless to say they do have problems, but if your nice enough they really want to help you. This was lobster night and we all had the lobster. If fact we all had 2 or steak and lobster. While we were eating I kept looking around us at all the empty tables and people were still waiting outside the door. I asked the waiter why the empty tables and she couldn't really answer me. It appears that people made reservations and never showed up so they were holding the tables.

This was about the worst problem we encountered during our cruise and I had already expected dining problems so I was prepared. We didn't let it ruin our vacation.

Tomorrow Hilo

[BullishCruiser]

Hi again, Kat. Keep up the good work.:) It's interesting following along because I know where we were each day. Sometimes we were close by, other times in opposite directions.

 

By the way, I tried to view your pics, and the link asks for a password, so I couldn't see them. :(

[KKCruisers]

Hi again, Kat. Keep up the good work.:) It's interesting following along because I know where we were each day. Sometimes we were close by, other times in opposite directions.

 

By the way, I tried to view your pics, and the link asks for a password, so I couldn't see them. :(

 

Aloha, I'm sorry it's mahalo. Thought that would be easy enough to remember.

 

I was wondering how your dinner at Papa's turned out?

I wish we were back there now! Hawaii

 

Kat

[KKCruisers]

Hi again, Kat. Keep up the good work.:) It's interesting following along because I know where we were each day. Sometimes we were close by, other times in opposite directions.

 

By the way, I tried to view your pics, and the link asks for a password, so I couldn't see them. :(

 

Aloha, I'm sorry it's mahalo. Thought that would be easy enough to remember.

Try the slide show.

I was wondering how your dinner at Papa's turned out?

I wish we were back there now! Hawaii

 

Kat

[BullishCruiser]

Beautiful pictures. Especially the sunrise, sunset and rainbow shots. :)

Looks like the four of you really enjoyed yourselves. That's what it's all about.

 

Just so you know, I had to use CAPS "M", in Mahalo for the password to work. It is case sensitive.

 

We enjoyed Papa's. Good service and good food. We went there twice.

 

I know what you mean about wishing you were still there. I'm still having withdrawal pains. Last night I bought a whole fresh pineapple for the first time in my life. I cut it up trying to remember what I saw at a carving demonstration, then imagined myself back in Hawaii with each bite. :D

[DarSee]

KKCruiser: When you got to Kono, How early were you able to get the car at Thrifty?

[KKCruisers]

KKCruiser: When you got to Kono, How early were you able to get the car at Thrifty?

 

Hi,

I'm almost sure that we were there between 8 and 8:30. Remember they close at 4PM but you just leave the car in the lot and put the key where they tell you. There was only one girl working when we were there, but there were only 3 of us and I was the only one with reservations.

 

Hope this helps you.

 

Kat

[KKCruisers]

Today is the day I've been waiting for! I have always been interested in Volcanoes and different rock formations etc. I really enjoyed VNP.

When we arrived we went straight to Kilauea Visitor Center and to our surprise they were just announcing the movie was about to begin, so we went right in and watched the movie. It lasted about 20 minutes and was very interesting. Don't miss this movie, you learn a lot about what you are going to see.

We went outside to the desk area after and they were announcing about a special treat we could sign up for. It sounded like it was something new to VNP, I'm not absolutely sure though. It sounded interesting so we all decided to do it. This lady who was dressed in old fashioned clothing and wearing a hat with a hat pin in it gathered us all together and we followed her across the street to the Volcano House. It was kind of like a play about when the Scientist Thomas A Jagger was studying the volcano's. We first saw the fantastic view of the crater and then we were taken underground to see the Scientist and his lab of 1912. It was all very amusing but I don't want to spoil it for anyone else who might get the chance of seeing it. All I can tell you is if you get the opportunity to go to the underground science lab, go, you won't regret it, and there is not charge.

Then we took the ride around Crater Rim Drive and saw the Steam Vents,Halemaumau overlook where you can walk to the end of the crater and smell the sulfur. If you are pregnant or have asthma you might want to check with your doctor before you go. I have bad allergies but I went to the tip and the smell was strong and I could taste it in my mouth later till I chewed some gum, but I was fine. You will also see the areas that are dated when the eruptions occurred.

Thurston Lava Tube was our next stop and we walked through the tunnel. We had stopped at Walmart to buy flashlights, but when we tried to use them they didn't give much light, thankfully there are lights on in that tunnel, but not the one beyond the gate and we couldn't see a thing there so needless to say we didn't go beyond the gate! It was raining while we were there but not too hard. It also wasn't as cold as we expected in the park. Didn't really need jackets, but we had them with us.

We wanted to go as far as we could on Chain of Crater Road and picnic at the overlook near the water, but it started to rain hard and there was a sign that said check you brakes now before the decent. At that point we decided not to go all the way down. We did stop at an overlook and eat our lunch that we had packed from breakfast. We made bologna and cheese sandwiches and they were pretty good.

 

We ate at the Paniolo Tapas that evening and had margaritas. Everything was great except Moe & Mike didn't like their blue margaritas and our waiter said no problem and brought them others.

We walked around a little after dinner and it was really crowded where they were taking pictures because it was captain night and some people dressed to have pictures taken. The lines were really long for picture taking, but we weren't interested anyway.

 

Day 9 -- Kauai

 

Our plans for this day were to drive to the North Shore and try to snorkel somewhere. We found Tunnels Beach and it was nice, but the waves again were very strong and there was a big drop off when you entered the water. I went into the water and my foot got stuck in the sand and I twisted my ankle, so that was the end of my snorkeling for Kauai. My DH tried to do some snorkeling, but the waves kept pushing him around, so he gave up and we decided to find another place. We drove up to Ke e Beach and that was really crowded, no parking anywhere so we went to lunch in a little town we came to. I bought a bandage to wrap my ankle and we went looking for Anani Beach which was quite a struggle to find because again their signage isn't that great, but we did find it and it was really nice. The water was smooth and snorkeling was good, at least that's what Ken and Moe told me. They had a great time and saw lots of fish. When we left there we went to Kilauea Lighthouse. There was no one at the gate so there was no charge, I think it is $3 PP but we didn't have to pay anyway. We took lots of pictures. I always take pictures of lighthouses wherever we travel and this is one of the nicest ones I have taken. We also saw 2 seals down on the rocks to the right of the lighthouse. That topped off a great day, or I should say another great day in Hawaii!

That evening we went to the Martini Bar for happy hour (because my ankle needed it!) and then to Grand Pacific for dinner. Everything was good I really don't remember what I ate that night, but I wasn't in any pain, that was good.

 

Day 10 Kauai

 

We had already planned on making this a ship day and just relax on board. We found a nice spot out of the direct sun on the port side just outside the elevator area. (where the large chess board is) and just rested and read our books. Our week had been very busy, exciting but busy so just relaxing felt good. We walked around the ship a little and found some places we hadn't been to, had some lunch and ice cream. I went up to the gym and was a little disappointed that they don't have an indoor hot tub. I really could have used one.

We picked up the drink of the day and went out on our balcony for the Napali cost drive by. It was fantastic, I was so thrilled when I saw 3 rainbows. I'm so glad the ship does this drive by the coast. We saw the beginning of it the day before when we were at the beaches and thought it was unreal, but seeing it from the water was unbelievable. I just kept shooting pictures of everything. We even got to see part of the Canyon too. We couldn't hear what the captain was saying out on our balcony, I wish we could have heard his description I'm sure it was great, but being on our own balcony was a treat for us.

This evening we had reservations at Le Bistro and I was glad that we left this for last because it was a perfect way to end a wonderful vacation. We ordered our free bottle of wine and we all ordered the fillet. It was very good and so was our server. She told us she was staying on with the ship and going to Europe. She was quite excited about having the opportunity. We ended dinner with special deserts that were all delicious. After dinner we went to Spinnakers' to listen to some music, but first we went back to our rooms to put our bags out for the Fly away program which we found to be wonderful because we didn't have to worry about our luggage until we were back in Tampa. I highly recommend this program.

 

Day 11 -- Leaving the Pride of Hawaii.

 

We were up when the ship docked in Oahu and watched her enter the port, had breakfast at the Aloha Nui lanai on the back of the ship and went back to our rooms to get our carry on bags. We left the ship about 9 AM and went outside to get our ride to pick up the rental car from Avis. I had completely forgotten that Avis didn't come to the port so we were standing out there with no ride. We talked to a driver and for $5 each we were all taken to Avis to pick up the car. There went my savings and I knew why Avis's price was so much cheaper than Thrifty's, but we didn't let it spoil our day, just chalk it up as another experience that's all.

Pearl Harbor was a very moving experience for us all. We arrived at 9:45 and were given tickets for 11. You can purchase $5 audios to go through the museum and that was very interesting. By the time we finished the museum it was time to stand in line for the ferry. We arrived while they were calling the group before us and waited. They call numbers every 15 minutes so if you get there 15 minutes early you can be first in line and then you enter the movie and are in the first row to go to the ferry to see the Arizona. I remembered that from a post I read on this board and it worked out just right for us. It was quite an experience standing over the Arizona and knowing that was a tomb of so many men and women. There is still oil leaking up from the ship after all these years. My DH took a picture of the oil slick and it actually shows in the picture. Everything is run so smoothly at Pearl Harbor. There are so many people, but you wouldn't know it because of the way they handle it. I was quite impressed. When we first arrived we parked the car in a lot and Ken, Moe and Mike went to check on lockers and I went to stand in line. I didn't think I would be able to get every ones tickets because there was a sign that said everyone must be there to get their tickets, but when I told the women where they were she handed me 4 tickets so we could all be together.

Then we went to Waikiki for one last visit, but parking was horrible and we drove around until we found a parking lot near the beach off Lewers Street. You had to purchase $25 in the Mall there to park for 3 hours. We ate lunch at Senior Frogs so that wasn't too hard to do. I think 2 drinks cost $25, of course they were a yard long! We had a good time there at Senior Frogs and hated to leave, but it was time to get to the airport. We found Honolulu exceptionally crowded. I guess it was because it was Labor Day.

From the airplane I looked back for one last glimpse of Hawaii with much sadness. I will be back again especially to see more of Kauai, my favorite island.

 

If anyone has any questions, I will try my best to answer them.

 

I want to thank everyone who has posted here in the last 8 months because I learned a lot from your wonderful reviews both good and bad. My advise to anyone contemplating this type of vacation is to go with the expectation of having a wonderful time on the Islands of Hawaii and you will have memories of a lifetime like we do!

Mahalo

A hui hou Hawaii!

 

Kat

[judyf]

Kat, nice review, thanks for sharing.

 

Your visit to VNP sounds great except the rain part. I hope they offer the underground visit when we go.

[DarSee]

Great Review! Thanks so much for taking the time to share your vacation with us.

[KKCruisers]

Kat, nice review, thanks for sharing.

 

Your visit to VNP sounds great except the rain part. I hope they offer the underground visit when we go.

 

Judyf, The rain only lasted for a short time and it was only in VNP when we left there the sun was shinning everywhere else. You don't even notice the rain that much in Hawaii, not like Florida! I didn't even see lightening once and I live with it every day in Florida. In fact when it starts raining you kind of welcome it because it cools things down a little, just bring a rain poncho or an umbrella.

Mahalo

Kat

[judyf]

Kat,

 

More questions if you don't mind :), I reread your review as I knew someone here had recently cruised with 4 adults. Which we are doing.

 

Was there plenty of room in the van for all the luggage from Airport to hotel in Oahu? I resreved a mini van.

 

Also what type of car did you rent in the other ports? I have reserved a full size at a higher rate to make sure there's plenty of room for whoever sits in the back. We got a PT Cruiser convertible reserved for our Road to Hana day. What did you do? How did it work out? Would you do anything different?

 

Also any driving tips from airport to hotel area? Any driving tips from and return car rental.

 

We are not gettimg GPS, as I have read some not so great things, plus I'm pretty good with a map, transportation is my business :)

 

Also would you say the CD was worth the expense for RTH? I have read good and bad on the CD.

 

Thanks again for a great review, and for answering my silly questions!

[DREAMER7]

We are leaving for Hawaii next saturday and sail 9/24 on POH.

The NCL brochures state that jackets & ties need to be worn by the men and dresses by women when there is a "formal" night.

Did anyone follow these "rules/guidelines"??

I've told my DH that he won't need a jacket and tie on this cruise. He's making a list of clothing to pack and he asked me to post this question.

So any help on "attire" for eating dinner in any of the restaurants would be sooooo helpful.

We are so excited....1st time to Hawaii!

I enjoyed your review so very much....I enjoy the details also.

Aloha!~

[santaloveroh]

I just sailed last week on POH and no tie is required even on formal night. My husband had on a Hawaiian shirt and nice pants. I did see a few men on suits and ties but not many. We ate in the nice restaurants, Cagneys and LeBistro and the casual shirt and nice pants seemed to be the most popular dress.

[beachchick]

We are leaving for Hawaii next saturday and sail 9/24 on POH.

The NCL brochures state that jackets & ties need to be worn by the men and dresses by women when there is a "formal" night.

Did anyone follow these "rules/guidelines"??

I've told my DH that he won't need a jacket and tie on this cruise. He's making a list of clothing to pack and he asked me to post this question.

So any help on "attire" for eating dinner in any of the restaurants would be sooooo helpful.

We are so excited....1st time to Hawaii!

I enjoyed your review so very much....I enjoy the details also.

Aloha!~

 

Are you sure it says "need"? The dress guidelines are that tux/suit/jacket and tie may be worn if there is a formal or "dress up" night listed. (In fact, you could dress formally every night if you wanted to.) Freestyle has some very basic guidelines for "resort casual," such as no shorts in the dining room and nicer restaurants in the evening. Other than those simple requests, it's up to you to wear what you'd like.

 

beachchick