Pride of Aloha Review 12/12-22 Pt 2 (wild horses ...)

[Floppy McTurnriver]

continuing on...

 

Embarkation Day (Honolulu, Oahu):

- we checked in late (around 4pm) so the process was a breeze and we were in our cabins in no time. Our family had 3 outside cabins in the front of the ship. Surprisingly the luggage which we dropped off 4 hrs ago still hadn't made it to any of our cabins yet. So I went looking for them and spotted them thru the door window of the luggage sorting area. The young gentlemen handling all the luggage was kind enough to give me all our pieces right away. He apologized for the slowness as he was the only one available to do the whole front of the deck. I didn't realize at that time but this was going to be a forebearer of things to expect from NCLA (I'll save the NCLA cruise ship specifics for the last segment of the review).

- we had still kept the rental car so sis and wifey headed straight back out to Waikiki for the rest of the afternoon/evening. Since they came back around 11pm, the parking lot beside the pier (#11 - Aloha Tower) was already full so they did a bit of scrambling before they could secure a spot.

 

Day 2 (Honolulu, Oahu):

- straight to the car after breakfast and headed out in search of Lanikai beach on the SE side of Oahu. According to Frommers and other sources it was suppose to be a 10 best kind of beach. Along the way on Hwy 72, we stopped at various scenic viewpoints. Lanikai was a big bust as this beach does not exist anymore. At least we couldn't find it. We saw the beach sign, we walked down several beach access laneways as it's located in a residential neighbourhood. But all we saw was concrete seawalls. It's like the whole beach was washed away. We found the Kailua beach beside Lanikai but if anyone knows what happened to Lanikai please let me know.

 

- so we turned around and headed back, making a stop at Hanauma Bay for snorkelling. When planning for the trip I was apprehensive about doing Hanauma Bay as I got the impression from various posts that it was a very crowded drawn-out process just to get into the water. Turns out it really wasn't that bad. It was midday on a Thurs, parking spots were available. You do have to watch a short video and then do a short walk downhill to the beach (or available shuttle for $.50 going down, $1 going up or $2 for all day use). There are lockers, equipment rental, restrooms at the beach but no food/drinks (that's at parking lot level). As far as the snorkelling, it's accurately described in other posts. The coral is not colourful but plentiful, I saw some fishes not huge amounts but then I was in there only a very short time. The water temparature was OK, I was expecting colder (outside temperature was around 78-81F). As all my previous beach & snorkelling experiences is Caribbean based that's my only frame of reference. Glad to have done Hanauma Bay once, no need to repeat in future.

 

- we were now in a rush to return the car and get shuttled back to the ship. Thriftys in Honolulu is not right in the Airport, it's a short distance way and you really need specifc instructions or the address & a map. There is virtually no signage, so just be aware. I've had no prior rental car experience so I found the Thrifty experience to be fine. I recommend the Blue Chip member option. We got on board around 5pm so missed muster drill, didn't seem to be a problem.

 

Day 3 (Kahului, Maui):

- me and wifey had our only NCLA shore excursion this morning. It was the Molokini Crater snorkel. Originally I tried to book this with Roberts Hawaii but they were already full. NCLA uses PWF (Pacific Whale Foundation) to run this. Wet suit tops were available for rent ($10) and we each took one as we are more sensitive to cold as we age. Now I've been on deep sea fish charters before on the West coast, ocean fishing off of regular small motor boats, and turbulent oceans on cruises and never gotten seasick but for whatever reason my body did not agree with this catamaran. We had a full boat load of approx 80. The journey to the crater started off fine but once we got there my stomach went off like an Atlas rocket. Thank goodness I only had dry toast for breakfast. it was many dry heaves but it just wouldn't stop. The crew kept telling me it would be better in the water but the waves looked pretty bad and I was hearing too many people complaining about swallowing too much sea water also so I just kept feeding the fish the only legal way possible at Molokini - with my stomach. The crew admitted the conditions were worse than normal and to be fair only about 6-8 people onboard seem to be affected such that they couldn't muster the energy to snorkel either. If you look on a map of Maui, you'll see that Molokini is just offshore west of south Maui, so I (incorrectly) assumed the tour bus would be driving south along the island and then we'd board the boat for the short jaunt to the crater. Wrong. The boat departs way up around Ma'alaea (mid Maui) and it's all boat ride down to Molokini. After the crater, they went to a 2nd location for Green Sea Turtle snorkelling. The waters were slightly calmer and I managed to get in for about 5-10 mins. I then returned to the boat's railing to continue flexing/toning-up my ab muscles. I did easily spot turtles here. Wifey later told me there was lots to see here. She enjoyed the excursion thoroughly and was not affected by the water conditions. The final kick in the face was then watching everyone eat, drink and be merry as we headed back to dock. The only thing I got out of this excursion was a severe sore throat for the rest of the day due to my involuntary oral recital. I did provide feedback back to the ship's shore excursion desk manager just to see how they'd react/respond. In no way did I demand or ask for any compensation. I simply stated this was my 1st NCLA cruise and shore excursion and that I could have chosen Hawaii Roberts instead. ie) if I was going to get sick anyways I could have gotten sick for cheaper. A good business minded person would have taken the opportunity to give a partial credit on a future shore excursion in an effort to gain more potential business and good will. But such was not the case here, they heard my story, nodded and walked away. Fine - they owe me nothing and I owe them nothing in my future cruise plans. I refuse to let the ocassional kink in well-laid plans ruin the overall vacation atmosphere.

 

- the excursion ran from about 9am-2pm. We didn't re-head out after this as we wanted to turn in extra early as we had a Sunrise at Haleakala excursion with Roberts Hawaii the next morning. The folks and sis had gotten their Thriftys rental car (Jeep Commander) no problem. Shuttle came by automatically to pier. No phone calls necessary. They found overnight parking on street nearby.

 

Day 4 (Kahului, Maui):

- we met outside in the parking lot with a bunch of others at 3:30am. We were picked up by a nice cowboy-ish gentlemen (Walter) and headed to the park. It's only a short drive to the top of the mountain. Maybe 30-40 mins at most. He did a pitstop along the way and passed out simple Costco type croissants and pastries along with thermos coffee. Once at the top we just sat in the vehicle until sunrise. So someone asked why come so early if sunrise doesn't happen till 6:30-7am? Answer was that the park limits the number of cars at the top. Once it's full they stop allowing cars up. So the only way to guarantee the excursion to run is to get up there early and wait. He will keep the vehicle running so the heater is on. But be warned that the outside is cold. Not cool but cold (33F on our morning but with wind chill it was in the 20s). We came with full winter gear and we still could have used some extra layers against the wind.

 

- we were fortunate with the weather. It was clear, no rain. You're above the clouds so don't expect to see way down to the ocean. The views are nice and the landscape barren but beautiful. No regrets on this excursion. Would recommend. Only $39pp. ($19 if you do it during the day rather than sunrise). We got back to the ship around 8:30am. Had breakfast, met rest of family and headed out to the fancy town of Wailea.

 

- we first checked out the 'Shops at Wailea'. Very pleasant to stroll thru. Much of it is high-end but then again I wasn't planning on buying much. We did find a 'blow-up' snorkel vest that retailed at $35 which is much cheaper than in Canada ($55 plus 15% tax). We next checked out 3 of the neigbouring higher end resorts (Fairmont Kea Lani, Four Seasons Wailea, & Grand Wailea). I love architecture, and I love the way one can incorporate the outside into the design of Hawaii resorts due to the climate. Even though all are 15+ years olds, each are special in their own ways. Since we have no kids, my personal favorite would have to be the Four Seasons. Clean & most modern design. We had lunch at the central outdoor bar at the Grand Wailea though. Mini Kobe beef burgers along with other pupus and local beer followed later by Lapperts ice cream. Now this is living! After this it was back to Thriftys and shuttle back to ship

 

...continued soon (need dinner)