Cruising Goddess

About Us
Chris and I are a married couple of DINKS (Double Income No Kids) in our early 30′s. We live near Dallas, Texas but are originally from Los Angeles, California. This was our 5th cruise and 4th cruise in the last 2 years. We have sailed Disney twice, Royal Caribbean once, and Princess once but this was our first NCL cruise.

We visited Hawaii from November 24-December 5, 2010. Our trip consisted of 3 nights on Waikiki Beach in Oahu, 7 nights on Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America visiting Maui, Island of Hawaii, and Kauai, and returning to Oahu for 1 night.

Trip Report
Below are links by day to my DETAILED trip report with photos:

+ Day 1: Oahu – Honolulu & Sushi Nazi
+ Day 2: Oahu – Grand Circle Island Tour
+ Day 3: Oahu – Dolphin Encounter, Polynesian Cultural Center
+ Day 4: Oahu – Iolani Palace, Chinatown
+ Pride of America review
+ Pride of America Tips
+ Day 5: Maui – Haleakala National Park, Iao Valley, Old Lahaina Luau
+ Day 6: Maui – Road to Hana
+ Day 7: Hilo, Big Island – Volcanoes National Park, Rainbow Falls
+ Day 8: Kona, Big Island – Body Glove Snorkel
+ Day 9: Kauai – Waimea Canyon, Glass Beach, Poipu
+ Day 10: Kauai – Helicopter Tour, Napali Coast
+ Day 11: Oahu – Hilton Hawaiian Village, Waikiki Beach
+ Day 12: Oahu – Pearl Harbor

Trip Photos
+ Hawaii Photos
+ Hawaii Photo Book

All photos were taken with Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS1 up to our visit to Iao Valley in Maui. After that, photos were taken with Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS6. Underwater photos were taken with Fujifilm Finepix XP10. (I do not recommend this camera. If you are looking for a waterproof camera, I recommend the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS2.) Many of the photos of Chris and I together were taken using Xshot Camera Extender/Monopod.

Trip Planning
I am an obsessive trip planner and detailed-oriented. These were the resources that helped make my trip a success:

+ Guide Books: I HIGHLY recommend the Revealed series of guide books (“Oahu Revealed”, “Hawaii the Big Island Revealed”, “Maui Revealed”, and “The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook”) by Andrew Doughty. These books were the backbone of the planning for this trip! You have to use some common sense if you follow the advice in the books though. (For example, I don’t recommend you follow the advice where it says to ignore trespassing signs.) But for the most part, the books tell you about some gems you might otherwise miss! I also used Frommer’s Hawaii but definitely recommend the “Revealed” series over it.
+ Cruise Critic Hawaii Forum: The folks on the Hawaii Forum are SO helpful. I read the forum daily while planning my trip!
+ Cruise Compete: Get the best deal on your cruise by getting quotes from multiple travel agencies at one time! I’ve used this site to book 4 cruises now and have always gotten a killer deal!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

It was our last day in Hawaii and our plan was to spend it in remembrance of the men & women who served at Pearl Harbor. Our flight home was at 8 pm but Chris is a HUGE war history buff so I knew he’d want to see every single exhibit and read every informational plaque so I allocated the entire day for Pearl Harbor. People on the Cruise Critic Hawaii Boards and travel guides recommend getting to Pearl Harbor when it opens at 7 am to get timed tickets for the USS Arizona, which can run out. I had in my notes to LEAVE Waikiki by 6:30 am to make the 45 minute drive to Pearl Harbor. That didn’t happen.

We woke up at 6 am and watched the sunrise from our lanai. It was gorgeous but we couldn’t linger since we were already “late”.

View from our balcony of the sunrise over Waikiki Beach

After packing, checking out of the room, putting the luggage in the car, and walking to Wailana Coffee House, it was 6:50 am. We had breakfast. The place reminds me of Norm’s in Los Angeles. It was old school and very homey. We had Portuguese sausage, eggs, and hash browns. It was very good. It was almost 7:30 am by the time we were on the road to Pearl Harbor.

We arrived at Pearl Harbor around 8:10 am. The parking lots closest to the entrance were full but there was still parking in the lots just next to them. There was a security guard patrolling the lot so that made me feel better about having all of our luggage in our car but I’m still glad that they weren’t exposed and obvious.

Pearl Harbor

View of U.S.S. Missouri & U.S.S. Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor

We went directly the Pearl Harbor Visitors Center and picked up tickets for the USS Arizona Memorial. Our tickets were for 9 am but we had to get in line to see the documentary film at 8:30 so we literally had time to use the restroom really quick and then get in line for the movie. I’d say that was perfect timing! The documentary was very moving. I gave a speech about the Pearl Harbor attack in my Model United Nations class during my freshmen year of high school and saw the “Pearl Harbor” movie starring Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett so I knew about what happened and the causalities but the documentary made me cry…and not just a few tears. I was near bawling. Being reminded of how this attack shattered America’s feeling of security and how brave those service men and women were…It was very moving. Bring tissues.

After the movie, we walked to the dock for the ferry that would take us to the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial. The ferry ride is very short and a nice ride on the waters of Pearl Harbor. When you see the Memorial and once inside, you can’t help feel that it is such a sacred place. Unfortunately, I think that is lost on some of the foreigners who visit. They took photos of themselves smiling and holding up the “Victory” sign. I tried my best to ignore them but it was very annoying that they don’t realize this is supposed to be a solemn place.

The Memorial is built over the sunken U.S.S. Arizona battleship. 1,177 men lost their lives on the Arizona on December 7, 1941 when Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese. 1,102 of them are entombed in her wreckage forever and some of the survivors of the attack have chosen to have their remains interred with their shipmates after they passed away. As I said, the Memorial is very solemn and sacred. You can see parts of the Arizona sticking out of the water, including 2 of the gun turrets. Oil from the Arizona continues to seep out of her and it swirls and glistens on the surface of the water. The Memorial is not very big so they limit the number of people that go there at one time. You’re only allowed to spend about 20 minutes there before you have to get back on the ferry to Pearl Harbor and they do require that everyone leave in the same group that you came with so you don’t have the option to stay longer if you wanted. However, I felt that 20 minutes was plenty of time. Even with a full ferry, we got to see each section of the Memorial and read all of the information there.

U.S.S. Arizona Memorial

Inside U.S.S. Arizona Memorial

American flag at the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial

U.S.S. Arizona Memorial: Names of those that made the ultimate sacrifice

Gun Turret from U.S.S. Arizona Memorial

Oil from U.S.S. Arizona Memorial

We did not realize this until later but the day we chose to visit was 2 days before the anniversary of the attack and we were fortunate enough to visit Pearl Harbor during the 69th Anniversary Commemoration Events. This day in particular was Kama‘aina Day, a day in remembrance of civilians and what they endured during the attack on Pearl Harbor and the years after. Throughout the entire day, there was Hawaiian and military performances in the Visitors Center area. There was also the “Pacific War in Miniature” Model Exhibit, which Chris loved! It was amazing to see the intricate detail and accuracy that went into each model of the military aircraft, ships, and vehicles used during World War II. The hobbyists are definitely dedicated! When we were viewing the models, the man in front of us was a Pearl Harbor survivor and WWII veteran. He pointed out which ship he was on when the attack occurred and he seemed to really enjoy the models. I guess they brought back good memories in addition to sad ones.

“Pacific War in Miniature” Model Exhibit

Seeing so many survivors of the attack was another amazing part of being at Pearl Harbor so close to the anniversary. We met at least 7 of them during our entire day there. 5 of them were in a group together and you could tell it was a special day for them too since they probably don’t get to see each other all that often either.

Pearl Harbor survivors

Also as part of the 69th Anniversary, the Pearl Harbor Visitor’s Center were going to open 2 new exhibits on December 7th. Unfortunately, we were 2 days early so we didn’t get to see them. If you will be visiting Oahu around the Pearl Harbor Anniversary (December 7th), I highly recommend you check out the Pacific Historic Parks web site to when commemorative events are going on. Being at such a sacred place during the anniversary was very special.

After walking around the Visitor’s Center area, we headed over the U.S.S. Bowfin. The World War II Submarine Memorial in front of the submarine. I had no clue that we had lost so many submarines with some of them are still missing in action.

World War II Submarine Memorial

It was 11 am when we got to the USS Bowfin. Admission is $10 and includes a self-guided audio tour, which was very good. As you walk through the submarine, you hear information about the sub, its history, and interviews with servicemen who actually worked on her. The submarine has a couple of steep stairs and several narrow doorways. It was fun talking around in it but it could be uncomfortable for people who don’t like tight spaces. There are also a few things you can “play” with like controls and the gun on deck. We spent about an hour at the Bowfin.

U.S.S. Bowfin

U.S.S. Bowfin deck

Me manning the U.S.S. Bowfin submarine

U.S.S. Bowfin: Chris walking through one of the narrow doors

U.S.S. Bowfin: Manning the guns!

After seeing the Bowfin, we headed over the Submarine Museum right in front of it. It’s not very large but it has A LOT of artifacts and exhibits from many of the submarines deployed during World War II. It was very poignant to see the bells from the submarines lost in the war. Surprisingly, Chris didn’t look at EVERYTHING in this museum and we spent about 30 minutes there.

Bell from the U.S.S. Wahoo (who was sunk by the Japanese) inside the Bowfin Museum

After the museum, we grabbed some hot dogs at the small food stand in front of the museum. I know a lot of people don’t consider hot dogs a decent lunch and would rather have sandwiches or something more gourmet but I personally LOVE hot dogs! So I was happy. =)

After lunch, we visited one of the gift shops and then got on the shuttle to the U.S.S. Missouri, which is located on Ford Island. Since Ford Island is an active Navy base, you cannot drive there yourself and you are not allowed to take photos on the shuttle once you’re at the Ford Island Bridge. The ride there is very short and the shuttle is a big motorcoach so it’s nice and comfy.

The area outside of the U.S.S. Missouri has a gift shop, food concessions, and restrooms. The walkway up to the Missouri is lined with American flags and quite a sight to see.

U.S.S. Missouri

Walking up to U.S.S. Missouri

Pearl Harbor, and the loss of U.S.S. Arizona, was where the United States’ involvement in World War II began and the U.S.S. Missouri is where it ended. It was the site of Japan’s unconditional surrender on September 2, 1945, ending World War II. Seeing the Arizona first and the Missouri last on this day of remembrance brought everything we experience on this day to a full circle.

We got to the Missouri around 1:25 pm. Right when you board the U.S.S. Missouri, you begin a 35-minute guide tour of the deck and upper level of the mighty battleship. Our group had about 30 people in it and sometimes it was hard to hear our guide or take photos without someone getting in the way. Despite that, the guide gave very interesting history and information about the U.S.S. Missouri. As part of the tour, you get to stand in the same spot where the Japanese signed the agreement to unconditional surrender, ending World War II.

U.S.S. Missouri: Gun Turret

U.S.S. Missouri: Spot where World War II ended

At the end of the tour, you are then free to explore the ship on your own. The ship is pretty massive. Underneath the deck, there are galleys, mess halls, officers’ lounges, rooms for seamen and officers, dentist office, post office, and the list goes one. It’s literally a mini-city! There were also a couple of exhibits about the war, along with things that were used on the battleship and models of her. Above deck, we saw the bridge and control room. Lots of neat things to see! We spent about 1.5 hours here, including the guided tour, and were done around 3 pm.

U.S.S. Missouri: Officer’s Lounge

U.S.S. Missouri: Control Room

U.S.S. Missouri: View of U.S.S. Arizona Memorial from upper levels

Our time in Hawaii was coming to an end. We returned our rental car to Thrifty between 4-4:30 pm and took their shuttle to the airport. We had quite a bit of time before our flight so we had a “snack” of fried chicken at Lahaina Chicken Company and did some shopping at the gift shops. I bought Dole Pineapples that are prepackaged and already approved to be taken out of Hawaii to the mainland. OMG! These pineapples were so delicious. It was nice to have a taste of the islands in the weeks after we got home.

Lahaina Chicken Company

Dole Pineapples

Our flight home departed at 8 pm and we arrived home in Dallas at 7 am. Since it was a red eye flight and I had to work the day we got back, I wanted to get SOME sleep on the plane so we upgraded to First Class using our miles. On American Airlines, it cost 15,000 miles + $175 per person. We had a really nice meal and snacks. The seats are hard to describe. It’s better than domestic first class where the seat is just leather and wider but not as good as international first class where the seat converts into a flat bed. It reclines fairly far back but not as flat as the ones that convert into a bed and not as private as international first class where it’s like you’re in your own cubicle. Regardless, it was still much better than coach and made it much easier to get some zzz’s.

American Airlines First Class: Honolulu to Dallas

+ See all Oahu photos
+ Read more about my Hawaii 2010 trip

Friday, December 3, 2010

We were booked on Blue Hawaiian Helicopters’ Kauai Eco Tour for 10 am this morning. We were required to check in by 9:15 am so we got off the ship at 8:50 am to make sure we had enough time to walk to Harbor Mall. We lucked out and the Harbor Mall shuttle just pulled into the pier so we hopped on. We got to Harbor Mall before 9 am and check-in with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters.

When we checked in, we were weighed and since it was still early, they asked us to come back at 9:45. We walked around the shopping center but there wasn’t many stores opened. Chris got sucked into the model train store and I browsed jewelry. We returned to the Blue Hawaiian Helicopters office and it was now filled with people, including people who booked directly through NCL. We watched the safety video and then they called our names, forming us in groups of 6 for each helicopter. We were each given a number, which would be our seating arrangement in the helicopter. We were driven to the helipad in a van and waited in a seating area under a tent until they called our group. When our group was called, they asked us to line up by our number and then we were taken to the helicopter.

The Eco-star helicopter has 3 seats in the front row with the pilot sitting in the left window seat. There are 4 seats in the back row. From what I recall, this is where each number sits…

1. Front row middle seat
2. Front row right window
3. Back row left window
4. Back row left middle
5. Back row right middle
6. Back row right window

I was #1 and Chris was #2 so we were in the front row with me in the middle. In the back row, an older couple had the right-side and a younger couple on the left-side. The seating arrangement would be unfortunately become a pain point for this flight, as you’ll find out later.

Blue Hawaiian Helicopters

It was around 10:15 am when we lifted off. Before this year, I had never flown in a helicopter but we flew in one when we went to Alaska in July so this was my second heli ride ever and this year! LOL! Since this wasn’t our first time, I think that took away some of the newbie excitement we had when we rode in a helicopter for the first time. That being said, it was still very exhilirating! There’s no other feeling than taking off straight up into the air and feeling like you are flying because you are surrounded by windows!

Here’s a list of what we flew over during our helicopter tour:

Nawiliwili Harbor (including a view of the ship)
Haupu Ridge
Keoneloa Beach / Shipwrecks Beach
Poipu & Mahaulepu Beach
Koloa
Kauai Coffee Company’s coffee fields (largest coffee plantation in U.S.) in Eleele
Hanapepe Canyon
Waimea Canyon
Waimea & Waimea River
Kokee State Park
Napali Coast
Ke’e Beach, Kalalau Beach
Honopu Valley
Kalalau Valley
Whale watching over the ocean
North Shore: Tunnels Beach, Lumahai Beach
Hanalei
Very far view of Princeville
Mt. Waialeale (wettest spot on Earth) & Waialeale Crater (home to 64 waterfalls)
Kilohana Crater (birthplace of Kauai)
Far view of Wailua & Kapaa
Sleeping Giant

The highlights of the flight were definitely Waimea Canyon, where you could see the river cutting through the ridges, the gorgeous jagged Napali Coast jutting into the ocean, and the countless EPIC sky-high waterfalls in Waialeale Crater! It was pretty rainy in Waialeale Crater but I guess that’s pretty normal since it is the wettest spot on Earth! Also, the rain fills those gorgeous waterfalls!

Kauai Coast

Waimea Canyon

Napali Coast

Waialeale Crater Waterfalls

Waialeale Crater Waterfalls

The helicopter flight was wonderful and we’re very happy we did it! However, there were a couple of dampers on our flight. First of all, Blue Hawaiian Helicopters’ web site specifically says that we were supposed to see Wailua Falls and the map on their site makes it look like we were supposed fly over part of the east side of the island. However, during our flight, we didn’t see Wailua Falls and once we reached Hanalei, we pretty much flew directly south back over Kilohana Crater to Lihue, not flying over the east side of the island. We did see Wailua from very far away but we certainly didn’t see Wailua Falls. I was disappointed by this because we didn’t visit Wailua Falls by car since I thought we would see it from the helicopter ride so sadly, we left the island without getting to see the falls. (I even bought a postcard of Wailua Falls thinking I’d see it during the helicopter tour.) In the grand scheme of things, not seeing Wailua Falls isn’t that big of a deal but I’m disappointed that I expected to see it because of the web site description. I actually e-mailed Blue Hawaiian Helicopters about this to find out why my flight may have skipped Wailua Falls and I received a direct reply from their CEO Dave Chevalier:

“First I want to thank you for flying with us. We have traditionally shown Wailua falls on our tour but we have begun to receive complaints from overflights by ground visitors there. When a pilot notes a significant presence of ground visitors they have been instructed to give it a wide berth. I appreciate you bringing this to my attention. I will clarify that situation on our website. Although Wailua falls is impressive from the ground it does not compare to the waterfalls in Waimea Canyon, which can only be seen by air. We have compensated by including more waterfall views in the remote Waimea Canyon area. Not as well known but more spectacular than Wailua Falls, especially from the air. Notwithstanding this disappointment I hope you valued your experience.”

I found his prompt response to be very professional and appreciate that he took my concerns seriously. I think this just further shows what an outstanding company Blue Hawaiian Helicopters is and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to anyone.

Second, I must warn you that your experience could vary greatly on what seat you have on the helicopter. The best seats are the front on the right side but you have no control over where you are seated because it is decided by weight. We were very lucky to get seated in the front row with the pilot. Unfortunately, someone has to sit in the “bad” seats, which are in the back row on the left. As I mentioned before, it was a young couple on our flight and the woman complained throughout the whole ride that she couldn’t see anything. On one hand, she was exaggerating and a bit melodramatic. When we were flying over the canyons and in the crater where the waterfalls are, there are views on both sides. It was when we were flying along the coast that it was really only the right side that can see it. On the other hand, our pilot also could have made more effort to turn the helicopter around a few times to let both sides see, especially after she complained. He spent 5 full, long, boring minutes over the ocean looking for whales that never came and I would have much rather he spent those 5 minutes giving the left side of the helicopter a chance to see Napali Coast. I felt bad for her but at the same time, she was ruining our ride by complaining so much. It was a major buzzkill and I even felt guilty that we got the good seats. (When I watch the DVD of the flight, I cringe every time I hear her whine.) When the ride was over, we saw her complaining to the staff at the office but I don’t know what came of it. Obviously, what seat
you get is a gamble and someone has to sit in the “bad” seats. Perhaps the Blue Hawaiian Helicopters should make it more clear to people that not all seats are created equal when they book the tour. But I would hope that if it were me that got the worst seat, I would just accept it and make the most of the ride anyway.

That looks like a lot of negative to me but seriously, we are so glad we did this helicopter ride and it was really amazing!! As I said before, I bought the DVD of our actual flight. I watched it to make sure this review is accurate about what we saw and when I watched it, I was just struck about how gorgeous the flight was all over again, especially Napali Coast and the waterfalls in Waialeale Crater. The DVD gave me chills!!

We returned to the Blue Hawaiian Helicopters office in Harbor Mall around 11:15 am. We had to wait about 15 minutes for them to make our DVD. Chris went back to the model train store to finish browsing. We walked around the rest of the mall to find a place to eat lunch and settled on Kalapaki Joe’s. Chris got fried shrimp and I got shrimp tacos. The food was okay but nothing to write home about. I was pretty stressed out the entire meal because I was worried we wouldn’t get back to the ship on time. We got our food around 12:30 pm and finished quickly so it wasn’t a problem at all. I even had time to get a lychee-flavored shaved ice at Halo Halo Corner Shaved Ice in the mall on the ground floor in front of the shuttle stop before boarding the last shuttle back to the pier at 1 pm. I loved this shaved ice!! I definitely think ordering fruit flavors is the key for me to enjoy shaved ice!

People who read my blog often ask me if there is anything I’d do different during a trip and this was one of the days I would have changed. I thought I’d have plenty of time after the helicopter tour to walk around and eat lunch before getting back on the ship and that wasn’t the case. We didn’t even have a chance to explore the Anchor Cove Mall across the street. If I had to do it over again, I would have focused on walking around after our helicopter tour and waited until we got back on the ship to eat lunch since we had to be back on the ship by 1:30 pm anyway. Then we wouldn’t have spent so much time eating lunch and not enjoying it because we were stressed about getting back to the ship.

Shrimp tacos from Kalapaki Joe’s

Halo Halo Corner Shaved Ice

When we got back onboard, we finally spent some time exploring the ship. Ironically, it was the last night of the cruise but this itinerary was so intensive that we just never had time to explore. Read my Pride of America review to see my thoughts on the ship. We also got to see one of the tugboats that would escort our ship out of Nawiliwili Harbor do donuts in the water!! The gift shops on the ship had a Blowout Sale and I spent some time shopping. There were some great Hawaii shirts for low prices. (I think $10 per shirt.)

Video of tugboat doing donuts in the water!

Chris did some packing before the Napali Sailby. I’ve read people recommend on the CruiseCritic’s Hawaii Boards to get a spot for the sailby 45 minutes before the Daily Schedule says it will start, which was 5:15 pm for our cruise. Since Chris was in the middle of packing, we didn’t get out on deck until 5:00 pm and good thing to because we saw the coast immediately. The ship sails by the Napali Coast on the port side first and then turns around for the starboard side. Some people report that the starboard side sailby is shorter and farther away and since we had a starboard side balcony, we decided to go out on deck to watch it during the first pass. Instead of going to the upper decks like many people do, we went to Deck 6 and watched it from there. It was not crowded there at all and we thought the view was great! The railing is also a bit taller than your waist so there isn’t any protective barriers that block photos. We could also clearly hear the narration (see the video below and you can hear it too). I thought it was a great place to view the sailby! The Napali Coast sailby was absolutely gorgeous! It was great to see it from the helicopter early in the day and then see it again from the ship. It seemed so close too!

Napali Coast Sailby

Video of Napali Sailby

Immediately after the port side sailby, we went to eat dinner. We could see the ship passing Napali Coast from the starboard side through the windows and Chris thought the distance from the coast was the same, if not closer, and lasted just as long. So for our sailing, it seemed like we could have just watched it from our starboard balcony and gotten the same experience but I can’t guarantee that for other sailings.

+ See all Kauai photos
+ Read more about my Hawaii 2010 trip

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Nawiliwili Lighthouse from our balcony

Just like in Hilo and Maui, we got off the ship and took the Thrifty shuttle to their office. We picked up our car and were off the lot by 8:37 am. We had to stop by Walmart again because Chris needed something and there, we got our first treat of Kauai…a mother hen and her baby chicks walking around the parking lot. Chickens are one of Chris’ favorite animals. He collects chicken ceramics that we put on top of our fridge at home and while in Kauai, he bought a decal for his car that has a rooster and “Kauai” written on it. He was thrilled that Kauai was not disappointing us! Chris didn’t find what he was looking for at Walmart but of course we found some souvenirs. We left Walmart at 9:16 am and began the drive to Waimea Canyon.

Walmart Kauai

Mother hen & her chicks at Walmart

Around 30 minutes into the drive along Hwy. 50 just past mile 14, we stopped at the Hanapepe Valley Lookout for a beautiful view of the valley. 10 more minutes on Hwy. 50, we started to see the landscape change and the highway was flanked by Kauai’s red dirt. The wind and passing cars have kicked up the red dirt so much that the highway rails, bridges, and signs as well as passing cars are now covered in it!

Driving through Waimea, we made the turn on to Waimea Canyon Dr. and began our ascent up the mountain. According to our Garmin Nuvi GPS, Waimea Canyon State Park starts at mile 6 and the first official lookout is after mile 10. However, there were several notable places to pullover before mile 6. Specifically, we pulled over between miles 3-4 where one side had a dramatic view of the canyon and the other side of the road was this amazing red dirt hill with a small red dirt stream and waterfall! We spent almost 15 minutes at this spot because it was just so fascinating!

Waimea Canyon

Red Dirt Waterfall

We reached the park entrance at 10:18 am and the weather became hazy and misty by the time we got to the first lookout and kind of stayed that way the entire time we were at Waimea Canyon. It wasn’t as bad as when we went to Haleakala Crater but it sprinkled off and on, the sky was gray, and thin clouds hung around the canyons when we viewed them from the lookouts. Here are the places we stopped in Waimea Canyon and roughly what time we reached each one…

10:30 am – Waimea Canyon Lookout (between mile markers 10 and 11): This is as far as most of the big tour buses go and thus, you’ll find the restroom and the lookout to be crowded more crowded than other stops. There is a restroom close the parking lot and it only has one toilet in a space that could fit 3. While waiting in line, we women were all cursing why they would do something like that. After waiting my turn, using the restroom, and walking back out, I realized there were a larger set of restrooms a bit further from the parking lot. The one we were all using was the handicapped restroom!! D’oh! Please make note of this, ladies, as it will save you some time. From the parking lot, you walk up a set of ramps and/or stairs up to the lookout, which has two levels. While there were some thin clouds hovering around the tops of the canyon, the view was still magnificent! There was also a rainbow on the left side of the canyon.

Waimea Canyon Lookout

11 am – Puu Hinahina Lookout (between mile markers 13 and 14): This stop actually has 2 lookouts: one of the canyon and one of Niihau private island. The view of the canyon was spectacular and clearer than at the Waimea Canyon Lookout! The view of Niihau private island was almost non-existent. It was all white from clouds with just a little bit peeking out.

Puu Hinahina Lookout

11:15 am – We reached Kokee Lodge & Museum (past mile 15) but decided to keep going and we would return for lunch after seeing the last 2 lookouts.
As reported, the road past the lodge is very rough and unmaintained with a ton of pot holes that are just waiting to give you a flat tire so we drove slowly and carefully here.

11:23 am – Kalalau Lookout (18 mile marker): This lookout is supposed to provide a view of Kalalau Valley but all we got to see were white clouds. The view was completely socked in. We did get a nice view of the Cold War radar station, which looks like a giant golf ball.

Cold War radar station from the Kalalau Lookout

11:35 am – Pu’u o Kila Lookout: This lookout is the end of Waimea Canyon Dr. and is supposed to be a better view but less traveled lookout of Kalalau Valley and a view of Mt. Wai’ale’ale, the wettest spot on earth. From the parking lot, there is a steep path to the lookout. The clouds were still pretty thick up here but we could see a little bit of Kalalau Valley peek out as the clouds moved.

Pu’u o Kila Lookout: Mt. Wai’ale’ale “the wettest spot on earth” sign

11:50 am – Kokee Lodge (past mile 15): Kokee Lodge is the only restaurant in Waimea Canyon, has a small gift shop, and is open daily from 9 am – 3:30 pm. It was raining when we arrived so we hurried into the restaurant. The reviews I read recommended the chili and cornbread so I got a chili dog and Chris got Portuguese bean soup with cornbread. Maybe it’s because I’m from Texas and have a higher standard for chili but I didn’t think the chili was very good at all. Chris’ meal was much better and I wish I had gotten what he did. The cornbread was huge and SO delicious!! It was the best cornbread we’ve ever had in our lives!! I highly recommend you try it if you come here.

Kokee Lodge

Portuguese bean soup with cornbread at Kokee Lodge

After lunch, I got a really cute rooster magnet in the gift shop, along with a small bag of chicken feed for Chris. The rain had cleared up when we exited the Lodge and the chickens had the place surrounded! They must have all been hiding from the rain when we arrived. Chris and I fed the chickens (roosters, hens, and chicks!) and soon we were surrounded by them. Chris was having a ball! Some of the chickens fought over the food and I would yell at them. We also tried to make sure the chicks got enough feed to. It was so much fun!

Feeding chickens at Kokee Lodge

12:45 pm – Kokee Museum (next to Kokee Lodge): We walked to the Kokee Museum next door. It’s a small museum consisting of 3 rooms with exhibits about the area. Admission is free. Open 10 am – 4 pm. We spent 10-15 minutes here.

Kokee Museum

Petroglyph at Kokee Museum

1:20 pm – Waimea Canyon Lookout: On the way back down, we decided to stop by the Waimea Canyon Lookout one last time to see if the view was any better and it was worse.The weather is so weird along Waimea Canyon Dr. Of course, the weather got clearer the more we descended. After driving down for 20 minutes, it was as clear as day! The elevation makes a huge difference. Overall, Waimea Canyon was a great experience. It would have been nice if we could have see everything we were supposed to at every lookout but I feel fortunate we saw the views that we did in the morning because those that came later were probably not as lucky. Plus, OMG! We fed chickens!!!

Getting back on to Hwy. 50, we stopped at Jo-Jo’s Clubhouse, which is across the street from mile 23, in Waimea around 1:50 pm. Big Island Revealed said it is the best shave ice on Kauai. The 60 flavors are a bit intimidating so we went with one of the flavors marked as a “favorite”. I can’t remember what it was but it had creme on it on top of ice cream and I wasn’t a big fan but Chris loved it. Next time, I’ll stick to just shave ice with fruit flavors! We stopped by a souvenir shop near Jo-Jo’s Clubhouse before getting back on the road.

Jo-Jo’s Clubhouse

Around 2:35 pm, we stopped at Kauai Kookie Company in Hanapepe. These cookies were my favorite of the different cookie brands we tried in Hawaii. They are crispy, not chewy. Walmart sells this brand but the Kauai Kookie Company has a lot more flavors than Walmart carries, including limited edition flavors depending on the season, and different sizes of cookies and packaging. We picked up Kona coffee, pineapple, and chocolate chip flavors. When you exit the ship, make sure you pick up a copy of “Kauai This Week” and there are coupons for Kauai Kookie Company in it.

Kauai Kookie Company

At 3 pm, we arrived at Glass Beach in Ele’ele. Glass Beach turned out to be one of my favorite places during this whole trip. The sand is mixed with millions of pieces of broken glass from bottles and cars that have been smoothed by the ocean. The colorful sand that results is so beautiful! I sifted through the glass to reveal more and more different colors and it was a treat to find a big piece of glass that hadn’t been shattered by the water yet. There are also some tide pools formed by lava rocks that are also fun to wade in and hunt for special pieces of glass. It was very peaceful there, just 3-4 other people. While we were leaving, Chris noticed a man in a motorized wheelchair was stuck in the sand. Chris and another bystander tried to get the wheelchair unstuck but it wouldn’t budge so they carried the man to the parking lot, where I held him up, as they went back down to carry his chair. It was a good thing both men were there because it was just the man and his wife.

Glass Beach

Glass Beach

At 3:25 pm, we stopped at the Red Dirt Store Factory Store. Chris is a big fan of “Dirty Jobs” so this place was a must see. Unlike the other stores on Kauai and other islands, this location is where they actually make the shirts and where Mike Rowe visited during the show. Both of us picked up our Red Dirt shirts (Chris’ had a big rooster on it). We walked across the street and popped into Paradise Sportswear before heading back to Hwy. 50.

Original Red Dirt Shirt with Mike Rowe

We got to Kauai Coffee Company shortly before 4 pm. We took the self-guided tour of the coffee fields, which took about 15 minutes, and learned about how coffee is grown and harvested. Then we sampled the different kinds of coffee that Kauai Coffee Company sells. The samples are self-serve so you can try as many flavors as you want. Then I bought a bag of the coffee that I liked. It was 4:30 pm when we were done at Kauai Coffee Company and we expected that we’d be stopping for dinner so I changed into a sundress in the restrooms before we hit the road again.

Kauai Coffee Company

Kauai Coffee Company: Coffee Berries

When we stopped at Hawaiian Trading Post in Lawai around 5 pm, it had started to rain again. This store was really big and had a lot of selection. It also has a nice jewelry store, if you’re looking for a more expensive souvenir.

The sky opened up on the way to Poipu and it was pouring rain. Right when we got to Poipu Beach around 5:35 pm, the rain stopped but dark clouds loomed over so it would probably start raining again any moment. We walked on to Poipu Beach and there was a seal hanging out on the sand. He must have been there for awhile because it looked like beach workers roped him off in an effort to keep humans away. I got some photos of him. Unfortunately, there was also a crazy lady there yelling at the seal and he looked up at her like “You’re a freak.” but otherwise, he couldn’t be bothered by her and went back to sleep. LOL! Despite the gloomy weather, Poipu Beach was beautiful and it would be a lovely spot for a beach day. Perhaps the gloomy weather benefited us because the beach was pretty empty and who knows if the seal would have hung around so long if the beach was crowded with people. The sun was setting and the sky became a gorgeous purple.

Poipu Beach

Poipu Beach

Seal at Poipu Beach

Sunset at Poipu Beach

There were a bunch of Kauai brochures and guides at the Kauai Coffee Company so I picked a couple of them up and thumbed through it during the drive to Poipu to figure out where we would eat dinner. After seeing photos of it, we decided on Keoki’s Paradise because it had a tropical theme to it and was known for its seafood.

We went to Keoki’s Paradise in Poipu Shopping Village shortly after 6 pm. The shopping center was packed and it was hard to find parking. We didn’t have reservations but only had to wait 5 minutes for a table. We were seated right in front of a pretty waterfall! The atmosphere is very fun and tropical! The bad thing is that pretty landscaping is outdoors and it was raining off and on so it got a bit chilly and misty during the dinner. Also, after the sun completely set, it was also dark. I think this place would be a lot more pretty for lunch or for dinner when the sun doesn’t set so early. We found out that the restaurant was actually owned by the same company as Duke’s and they did not disappoint! We started with the I’a Maka Hui Platter, which was an appetizer of raw tuna served 3 ways: wok charred, shoyu poke, and fresh sashimi. It was delicious!! Chris had Keoki’s Style Fresh Fish and I had twin lobster tails. My lobster tails were FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC! For dessert, we had the world famous Hula Pie! I was so glad to try it here since we didn’t have a chance to try it in Oahu. Hula Pie is basically a GIANT slice of macadamia nut ice cream served over chocolate cookie pie crust and topped with hot fudge, whipped cream, and chopped macadamia nuts. It was sooooooo good!! It’s no wonder people make such a big deal of it!! Overall, I thought we had a wonderful meal here, even if the atmosphere wasn’t as nice as it was supposed to be.

Keoki’s Paradise

Twin lobster tails at Keoki’s Paradise

Famous Hula Pie at Keoki’s Paradise

We probably finished dinner around 7:30 pm and walked around Poipu Shopping Village for a little bit. I bought a few things from Whaler’s General Store there and we left around 8 pm. We had originally reserved the rental car for both days in Kauai but on the second day, we would only have an hour after our helicopter tour so we thought it’d be more convenient to return the car this day and just walk around the port area after our helicopter tour. We got gas for the rental car, returned the car around 8:35 pm, took the shuttle, and was back at the pier before 9 pm.

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Wednesday, December 1, 2010

For this morning, we booked Body Glove Snorkel (called Dolphin & Snorkeling Adventure on their web site) through Norwegian Cruise Line. If you want to do a snorkel cruise excursion in Kona, you have many options but the most popular are Fair Wind, Captain Zodiac, Sea Quest, and Body Glove. Chris does not swim so he would not be snorkeling at all during this excursion. With that in mind, I quickly eliminated Captain Zodiac and Sea Quest because they are raft excursions and I wanted Chris to be able to relax on a boat with shade. Both Body Glove and Fair Wind sounded like great boats with restrooms, floating devices, breakfast, and lunch. Fair Wind was more highly recommended in reviews than Body Glove. However, Kona is a tender port, meaning you can’t just walk off the ship and be at the pier. The ship anchors in the middle of the water and a ferry or lifeboat shuttles passengers from the ship to the pier. This process requires you to obtain tender tickets to get a place in line on the tender and you have to factor in time for the actual tender. Fair Wind is a 25-minute drive from the cruise pier and requires you to check-in by 8:30 am. The ship arrives in Kona at 7 am and in order to be on the first tender to make it to the Fair Wind on time, it is recommended you get in line for tender tickets at 6:30 am as well as pre-arrange a taxi at the pier to take you to the Fair Wind. However, if the ship docks late (or in some cases, unable to dock at Kona at all), then you are out of luck and will lose the money you paid for the excursion. Many people have said they were able to pull this off with no problems but the idea of making Chris wake up at 5 am for an excursion he didn’t even want to go on was not really flying with me. However, if you book a morning excursion through the cruise line, you tender with the group and do not need obtain a tender ticket on your own. NCL offered the Body Glovel Snorkel cruise so we booked it through them. I actually tried to call Body Glove and book the excursion directly to save money but they said it was booked out by NCL. In the end, it worked out because we didn’t have to worry about the tender tickets.

Beautiful sunrise from our balcony

We met for our excursion in the Hollywood Theater at 7:15 am. In the past when we’ve been on ship excursions that met this early, people don’t arrive on time and we wind up waiting for the stragglers for a long time. Surprisingly, everyone on our excursion arrived promptly and we didn’t have to wait long before we were boarding the tender. We were in Kona by 7:35 am. The Kona pier offers the best view of the ship you’ll ever get on this cruise. Nearly all the other cruise piers are very industrial and the ship is surrounded by ugly buildings so it’s hard to take a good photo of it. So if you want to take a good photo of the ship, make sure you do it here!!

NCL’s Pride of America tender boat

View of Pride of America in Kona

We literally walked off the ship, through a gate, and up the gangway to Body Glove’s boat, Kanoa II! It was right next to the tender. The ship has 2 levels, both with shaded and unshaded areas. The bottom level had open fresh-water showers, bathrooms, a buffet serving area, bar, and sit-down tables. The bow of the boat was uncovered and had a few tall cocktail-style tables (no chairs) and seating around the front of the boat. The top level had benches all around the perimeter and long beaches in the middle that were covered. It also had a high dive platform and water slide. As far as amenities go, you cannot ask for more on a snorkel cruise!

The continental breakfast buffet was already being served when we got onboard. It included pastries, bagels, fruit, hot tea, and coffee. All of the covered seating was already taken so we ate at the tall cocktail tables at the bow of the boat, as the boat pulled away from the pier and we were on our way to Pawai Bay. According to “Hawaii the Big Island Revealed”, the boat fits 130 passengers but it seemed like there were about 50 people or less on our excursion. It was not crowded at all.

Body Glove Snorkel Cruise Boat: Kanoa II

Body Glove Snorkel Cruise Boat: Kanoa II

As we sailed away from Kona, there were spinner dolphins along the side of our boat. I missed this sighting because I was using the restroom but we would see more on the way back. I think it took about an hour to get to our snorkel site and near the end of that hour, I started to feel sick. I get motion sickness fairly easy so whenever we cruise, I take Bonine every morning. I took a ginger pill right away but still felt queasy. I was hoping I would feel better once we arrived at the snorkel site but the boat continued to rock after being anchored. At one point, I saw a woman acting strangely and Chris told me to look away but it was too late. I watched in horror as she barfed into a trash can, which then triggered a need for me to vomit as well. Luckily, I looked away, thought of something else, and held it down. I wasn’t sure if getting into the water would help or hurt my motion sickness but I wasn’t getting any relief on the rocky boat so I might as well get into the water.

I brought my own mask and snorkel. A crew member helped me try on different fins until I found a pair the fit comfortably and another crew member help me get fitted in a life jacket. It’s optional to wear a life jacket but almost everyone I saw wore on. Keeping yourself afloat just gets tiring. I cannot say enough about how wonderful this crew was. Since Chris didn’t go into the water, he was able to observe the staff. He said they were always watching the water for distress and one crew member accompanied someone the entire time in the water because they were uncomfortable going by themselves. Someone was always at the ladders to help you in and out of the water. When girl who jumped off the high dive reported seeing a jellyfish, crew members immediately went to check it out and make sure it was a safe distance away from swimmers. The crew was extremely friendly and safety was obviously their top priority. The crew absolutely gets an A++++ from me. They also had a lot of equipment. In addition to masks, snorkels, fins in all sizes, and life vests, they had prescription masks, noodles, and 2 rafts. They also gave everyone a chance to try SNUBA, which is like scuba diving but the air tank floats on the surface, for an additional fee.

I was in the water in my snorkel gear, wearing a life vest, and using 2 noodles at 9:25 am. I snorkeled in the bay near the back of the boat. The water was very blue and clear. This was my only snorkeling experience in Hawaii so I have nothing to compare it to but you weren’t SURROUNDED by fish, like I saw in photos when I googled “Pawai Bay”. The reef was very deep and so you see the fish from up above them. The fish looked small to me but it might be because the reef was so deep and they were hanging out close to it. There seemed to be a good number of fish but not TONS. I used my new Fujifilm Finepix XP10 waterproof camera. In the photos, you see a lot of reef and you can point out the couple of fish in each photo. Despite not having a ton of fish to look at, the reef itself was beautiful. Seeing it with your own eyes in person is truly a wonderful experience. What I think I enjoyed more than seeing the fish was just bobbing in the water and looking around the bay. It was very pretty and there is just something about being in the water, where you’re literally in the middle of all the beauty. I snorkeled for about 30 minutes before getting back onboard to rest.

Entering the water from the boat

Snorkeling at Pawai Bay

Snorkeling at Pawai Bay

When I got back onboard, I started to feel motion sick again with the boat rocking and realized it was better in the water. However, I was still tired. Chris got me a ginger ale from the bar. The bartender makes a wonderful ginger ale with real ginger capsules and it tasted it great! The lunch buffet was being served. It consisted of bread, lunch meats, sandwich fixings, fruit, and Maui-style potato chips. Obviously, I felt more like barfing than eating so I made myself a plate and then asked the bartender to store it so I could eat it later. (The crew advises you to do this so that they can pack up the buffet on time and you can eat your lunch when you feel like it or take if off the boat too.) I laid down on the benches for a little bit and that helped with the queasiness. They made an announcement that we only had 20 more minutes of water time so if we wanted to go back in, we should do so now so I did. This time I swam between the starboard side of the boat and the rocky coast. The rocks made the reef less deep but it seemed like the same amount of fish that I saw before. I came back to the boat after about 15 minutes. By then, my lips were BURNING from the salt water, which I don’t recall experiencing in previous snorkeling trips I’ve done in the Caribbean.

Floating in Pawai Bay

Once back onboard, Chris and I hung out again on the second level. We got to see a spouting whale off in the distance! I started feeling sick again so I laid down again and even dozed off for a little bit. When I got up, the boat was already on the way back to Kona. I felt better so I ate my sandwich and then watched us sail back to Kona. It was so nice to have the wind blowing in my face and smell the salty air. I made sure I wasn’t in the bathroom as we approached Kona so I didn’t miss the spinner dolphins this time!! There were probably 4 of them swimming when suddenly, one would jump out of the water spinning!! Then another would do the same thing! It was so thrilling and amazing to see!! We pulled into the Kona pier and disembarked.

Spinner dolphins in Kona Harbor

Approaching Kona Harbor. You can see dolphins in the water!

Overall, I would definitely recommend this excursion to anyone looking for a safe, convenient snorkel trip with a top-notch crew. For the most part, everything about Body Glove was wonderful: the crew, the food, the equipment, the boat, the convenience of not having to get your own tender, boarding location, etc. The only thing I was disappointed about was the lack of fish at Pawai Bay. I’m not sure if it was because of the time of year since on Google, it seems like other people saw lots of fish there, but I still had a good experience nonetheless! Just be aware if you get motion sickness that the boat gets rocky. After this excursion, I may have to talk to my doctor about getting one of those motion sickness patches.

We got back to Kona at 12:30 pm. It was supposedly 83 degrees that day but it seemed a lot hotter to us in Kona and we’re from Texas! I don’t recall feeling the sea breeze you would normally think would exist being right next the beach and it really felt like the sun was just beating down on us. We walked to the King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel (King Kam Hotel for short) across the street from the pier and took some shelter in their air condition before heading over to the Ahuena Heiau on their property. Ahuena Heiau was a temple built by King Kamehameha for Lono, the god of peace and prosperity. The heiau is currently being restored so it was mostly the wooden frames of the heiau and missing a lot of the thatching that goes over the frame.

Ahuena Heiau

It was 1:15 pm when we were done seeing Ahuena Heiau and Chris, who had eaten lunch early on the boat, was hungry again. We decided to go to Ba Le, a Vietnamese restaurant in the Kona Coast Shopping Center recommended in Frommer’s Hawaii, located on Palani Road. We walked out of the King Kam Hotel to Palani Road and saw it was a steep uphill climb and we’d have to do it in the heat. Hilo Hattie is more than halfway up the hill so we went back to the pier and took the Hilo Hattie shuttle up Palani Road, then walked the rest of the way to Kona Coast Shopping Center.

Chris and I both ordered Vietnamese sandwiches at Ba Le, along with some cold drinks. OMG, the sandwich totally hit the spot! My favorite Vietnamese sandwich place is Lee’s Sandwiches and the sandwiches at Ba Le came pretty close. However, the French bread Ba Le used was wonderful and much better than the bread at Lee’s Sandwiches. Writing about it right now is making my mouth water. Anyway, this place would be an excellent place for lunch or a snack.

Vietnamese sandwich at Ba Le

After we had our tasty sandwiches, we walked back down to Hilo Hattie and decided to do some major shopping. I loved this store!! When you enter, you are greeted with a complimentary shell lei and offered a cold drink. We found some nice souvenirs that we didn’t see elsewhere. There was an artist selling her hand-painted tiles and we bought one to hand in our house. Since we were in Kona, we bought our 100% Kona coffee. They had a pack of 3 small bags that was perfect for gift giving. We bought ourselves a 1 lb. bag of Fike Farms coffee, which was called “Best Kona Coffee” by Big Island Revealed. I also picked up some lychee tea and poke mix. While they did have other things that you can find cheaper at Walmart and ABC Stores, there were definitely some great finds here!

We were done shopping around 3:30 pm and got back on the Hilo Hattie shuttle back to the pier. By the now, the heat combined with waking up early (plus the energy I spent snorkeling and feeling sick most of the day) was getting to us. I was very tired and started to feel dizzy but still wanted to keep exploring Kona. Chris wasn’t having any of it. (I have a tendency to push myself to hard on vacations and getting sick. Chris calls me a “vacation ruiner”.) He made us call it a day and we were back in our room around 4:15 pm. I’m sad I didn’t get to see more of Kona since it really is the only port you can easily walk around but for my health’s sake, I’m glad we went back because if I had gotten sick, the rest of the trip would have been a wash.

View of Kailua-Kona

We got changed and rested in our room for a little bit before heading down to dinner. I’m ashamed to say we were actually at the Skyline Restaurant before it opened at 5:30 pm so we were waiting in line with a bunch of old people for the doors to open! LOL! I think we should be promoted from our early 30′s to early 70′s and retire immediately!! Thank goodness that this was the only night this shameful event occurred.

The White Hot Dance Party was this night but we didn’t attend. I think this day was when we really started to feel the effects of not having any sea days on this cruise. Our schedule had taken a pretty bad beating on us and we thought it be best to get as much sleep as possible before arriving in Kauai. We still had 4 more days of this trip (2 cruise days, 2 land days) left to go before we could rest at home!!

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Tuesday, November 30, 2010

This was the only day that we packed sandwiches from the breakfast buffet at Aloha Cafe because we expected that we would be in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park during lunch time and they don’t sell food. In addition to packing sandwiches, we brought a half-full stack of chips that we had bought on our flight to Hawaii and 2 cans of Coke that we bought at Walmart in Honolulu. We filled 2 ziploc bags with ice and used them along with a soft-sided cooler to keep the sandwiches and drinks cool. Beware that the ziploc bags WILL leak when the ice melts and our soft-sided cooler was not waterproof. Luckily, we put everything into a Waterproof Wine Bag so the melted water didn’t get everywhere.

We got off the ship at 8:15 am this morning. As reported, Alika’s Hawaiian Flowers has a stand at the cruise terminal where you can order beautiful flower arrangements and they will deliver them to your cabin. Actually, I’m pretty sure Maui, Hilo, and Kauai all had a couple of vendors selling souvenirs and jewelry in the cruise terminal. We took the shuttle to Thrifty and picked up our rental car. We were off the lot before 9 am.

Alika’s Hawaiian Flowers at Hilo Cruise Port

We headed straight for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and arrived there at 9:40 am. Cost is $10/car. We used the maps on the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park web site. Below is the route we took, times we reached each stop, and my notes about each stop…

Upon entering the park, turn right on Crater Rim Drive.

9:40 am – Kilauea Visitor Center (right): We asked the rangers where lava was flowing but it was only reachable a very long hike and you would only see a small amount. There were some exhibits about the volcanoes, a gift shop, and the largest set of restrooms in the park. Open 7:45 am-5 pm daily. Something we found especially neat is that you can bring your own water bottle and refill it with rain water “captured from the clouds, filtered by sand, and pumped by solar” for free. Photo of the water refilling station. If you didn’t bring your own bottle, you can buy one from the gift shop.

Kilauea Visitor Center

10 am – Caldera Overlook (from Visitors Center, walk across the street and past Volcano House to the short trail to overlook): Since Volcano House is temporarily closed, I don’t think many people know about this overlook so it was the least crowded. There was only 1 other couple who came by while we were there. It offers a great view of Kilauea Caldera and the steaming Halema’uma’u Crater.
Sulphur Banks: According to “Big Island Revealed”, there should have been a road on the right but we were unable to find it. The park map shows a hiking trail there, not a road, and when we drove by the trail, there are no places to park the car at the beginning or end of the trail so basically, we would have had to park at the Volcano Art Center and walk the rest of the way. Not in our plans so we skipped this.

Kilauea Caldera & Halema’uma’u Crater from the Caldera Outlook

10:20 am – Steam Vents (left): This is where you can see the steam rising from cracks in the ground up close! Make sure you venture away from the parking lot, which only has a man-made steam hole. If you walk a little further, you’ll see steam coming from natural outlets as well as a view of Kilauea Crater.

Steam Vents

10:40 am – Kilauea Overlook (left): Offers a closer view of Kilauea Crater & Halema’uma’u Crater. Restrooms and picnic tables available.

Kilauea Overlook

10:48 am – Jaggar Museum (left): Walk around to the back of the museum to get the best view of Halema’uma’u Crater since the road to the Halema’uma’u Outlook is closed. On a clear day, you might see Mauna Loa, 20 miles to the west. The museum shows a film from when the volcano was really spewing, explains the Madam Pele legend in murals, and monitors earthquakes (a precursor of eruptions) on a seismograph. You can also see displays of different types of lava and the clothes and tools of a man who was caught in an eruption. Since all the tour buses stop here, it can get crowded. Tours limit the amount of time they can stay at one place so if you can’t get good photos, wait about 10 minutes for the tour bus passengers to leave. Restrooms and another rain water refilling station available. Open 8:30am-5pm.

Halema’uma’u Crater from the Jaggar Museum

Lava rocks in the Jaggar Museum

Since Crater Rim Drive is closed from the Jagger Museum, we went back the way we came on Crater Rim Drive (clockwise) and past the park entrance.

11:18 am – Kilauea Iki Overlook (right): View of Kilauea Iki Crater. It is not steaming like Halema’uma’u Crater but you can see the texture and colors of the harden lava.
We attempted to stop at Thurston Lave Tube but the parking lot was completely full, even all of the tour bus spots, and overrun by people. We decided to come back after finishing the rest of the park.

Kilauea Iki Crater from the Kilauea Iki Overlook

11:40 am – Pu’u Pua’i Overlook & Devastation Trail (road on left): Chris was hungry by now and there was a picnic table here under shade so we decided to eat our packed lunches. The weather was perfect for a picnic and it turned out to be a really nice, relaxing lunch. Just past parking lot, there is an overlook of Kilauea Iki Crater. There is a path that leads to Devastation Trail, which shows results of 1959 eruption on environment and you can see the base of Pu’u Pua’i. The entire trail is 0.5 miles but we only walked down it for about 5 minutes and was able to see the contract between the pre-eruption forest and then barren dirt.

Lunch at Pu’u Pua’i Overlook

Kilauea Iki Crater from Pu’u Pua’i Overlook

Devastation Trail: Trees turning into nothing along the trail

Devastation Trail

12:10 pm – Chain of Craters Road: If to take the road all the way to the end, it is about 18 miles long. We printed out Instant Hawaii’s Chain of Craters Scenic Drive as a guide. Though we didn’t take every stop nor hike any trails, it took us almost 1.5 hours to reach the end. Here are our stops along Chain of Craters Road:

• Lua Manu Crater: small 327-foot crater and first chance to walk on harden lava!! The lava rocks here are a matte black and dry.
• Pauahi Crater: larger 1,800-foot crater. You can find lava rock here that is shimmer black and glossy.

  
  Pauahi Crater

• Pu’u Hulululu & Mauna Ulu: We only used the restroom here. It’s the only one between the Thurston Lava Tube and the end of Chain of Craters Road so use it!! It’s more like a permanent port-a-potty than a modern toilet. No flushing and no sink so bring some hand wipes.
• Mau Loa O Mauna Ulu: View of Mauna Ulu on left and Pu’u Hulululu to the left of it. There is also a vast lava field here and it seems like lava goes as far as the eye can see.

  
  Mau Loa O Mauna Ulu

  
  View of Mauna Ulu

• Muliwai a Pele: Stunning 5-mile long “muliwai”, or river of lava.

  
  Muliwai a Pele

• Kealakomo: A gorgeous view of the ocean and overlooks the coastal village of Kealakomo, which was buried in a 1971 lava flow. The shelter mentioned in the guide no longer exists!

  
  Kealakomo

• Alanui Kahiko: This was my favorite stop along Chain of Craters Road. You can walk on the old highway that was covered by lava in 1972. It was just so cool to walk on the harden lava with parts of the old highway peaking through.

  
  Alanui Kahiko: Lava covers old highway

• From here to the end of the road, there are several scenic points to see some awesome coastal views.
• Holei Sea Arch & Ranger Station: This is the end of Chain of Craters Road. When you reach the ranger station, take the turnaround and park on the right. You can then walk down 40 feet to the Holei Sea Arch overlook. The Sea Arch is a stunning example of the power of the ocean, even up against solid lava cliffs. There was no attendants at the Ranger Station that we could tell. There are several more of those permanent port-a-potties here. You can continue walking past the Ranger Station but we didn’t. There was a couple coming back from there and said they walked down quite a ways and there wasn’t much to see so we got back in the car and headed back up Chain of Craters.

  
  “Holei Sea Arch

• It took us 40 minutes to come back up without any stops.

2:20 pm – Thurston Lava Tube: When we returned to the lava tube, there was much less people and only 1 tour bus. When you arrive at the lava tube, you’re surrounded by lush tropical rainforest and then you descend into the lava tube. There are 2 parts of the lava tube: a lighted portion and unlighted portion. The lighted portion, which is where all the tour bus people were, is very short in distance and pretty roomy. Parts of the ceiling are very high and so are just tall enough so that you don’t have to duck. It was like walking through a tunnel. It was still cool and water dripped from the ceiling. For the most part, it was not steep and very easy to walk. When we first got into the lighted portion of the lava tube, it was very crowded with tour bus people. So we quickly walked through it and did the unlit portion of the tube. When we finished the unlit portion, we returned to the lighted portion and it was completely empty. Something to keep in mind if it’s busy when you get there and you plan to do both parts of the tube.

Descending into the lava tube

Lighted portion of Thurston Lava Tube

The unlighted portion of the tube begins where the lighted tube ends and past a gate that labels the unlit tube. You must have flashlights to go into the unlit tube because it is literally complete darkness in it. There are also many chances for you to hit your head if you don’t duck in time and near the end, you need to crawl. There was also a short drop and big boulders to navigate. It was fun because we only saw 2-3 small groups of people so most of the time, we could not see any other flashlights and it felt like we were there by ourselves! It can be dangerous if you are not careful. It took us about 15 minutes to reach the end of the tube. I’m scared of the dark so making it to the end was a huge accomplishment for me! Since we knew what to expect, it took 10 minutes on the way back out. I highly recommend bringing real flashlights, not mini-ones, or at least bring strong ones. We brought small travel flashlights to save space in our luggage and they were much too dim in the lava tube.

Squatting at the end of the unlit portion of Thurston Lava Tube

3:18 pm – Exited Volcanoes National Park

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was truly one of the highlights of this entire trip. Seeing the massive craters, Devastation Trail, the lava tube, and the lava fields along Chain of Craters Road really hit home to me as to how awe-inspiring and devastating Mother Nature can be. While we didn’t get to see active lava at the park, the steam constantly rising from Halema’uma’u Crater and the Steam Vents reminds us that the volcano has its own will and is just waiting for her next show. Though visiting Volcano National Park took almost our entire day in Hilo, I’m very glad we did everything we did and made the park the focus of this day.

When we pulled into Hilo, I made a last minute decision to stop by Rainbow Falls before returning the car. It was my goal to return the car by 4:30 pm and we were cutting it close but I thought we would have time. On the way to Rainbow Falls, we hit some traffic so I was pretty stressed about timing. the whole way there. We finally arrived just after 4 pm and we would have to make this a quick stop.

Despite not seeing a rainbow there (which is more likely in the morning), Rainbow Falls was very beautiful and I’m glad we were able to squeeze it in but honestly, with the waterfalls we saw in Kauai later, it wouldn’t have been a big disappointment to have missed coming here. There was a woman selling bowls and headbands made of ti leaves. I winded up buying a cute little ti leaf fish! Overall, we were at Rainbow Falls for less than 10 minutes.

Rainbow Falls

We filled up the rental car with gas and returned the car to Thrifty before 4:30 pm and was back at the cruise pier by 4:50 pm, plenty of time to spare since all aboard time was 5:30 pm! Yay!

Back onboard, Chris went back to the room and I headed straight to the Diamond Head Auditorium for the Orchid Lei Class that started at 4:45 pm. I was late but they still had enough orchids for me to make a lei. A nice lady I sat next to caught me up to speed and I made my beautiful lei! I noticed that others had some special flowers and their leis were fuller than mine but that’s what I get for coming late. I loved my lei just the same and took lots of photos with it on that evening. It’s fun to look at those photos and know that I actually made the lei I’m wearing in them!

We tried to have dinner as early as we could this evening so that we could come back to the room and shower before the Kilauea Volcano Sailby at 9:45 pm. We had a starboard balcony so we watched it from our balcony. The ship had a drink special that night where if you ordered a drink for the sailby to be delivered to your room, they would not charge you additional gratuity on the drink. I ordered a lava flow and honestly was not a fan. I don’t like artificial strawberry flavoring and that’s what they poured all over the drink. I’m going to stick to pina coladas in the future!

We started to see lava shortly after 9:45 pm, though the minutes seemed like forever as they passed waiting for us to see SOMETHING! We didn’t get a TON of action but there was a small glowing ball of lava that looked like it was the size of a gumball when viewing from the ship with the naked eye. It was very beautiful and exciting to see! We used 8×40 Bushnell binoculars for the viewing and through them, you can see actually see the small ball of lava flowing. With the binoculars, we could also see a couple of faint red glowing spots on the volcano that we couldn’t really see with our eyes. I read a tip from kwbound on Cruise Critic to look up at the stars when the ship turns out all of its lights. I’m so glad I did this. As she said, it was the most stars I’ve ever seen in my life. Very magical. The next day, we went to the Photo Shop to ask about the professionally taken sailby photos and they told us even their camera couldn’t get any good shots of it! That was disappointing so I’m glad we took some photos of the sailby on our own, even if it just looks like a little red dot. LOL!

Kilauea Lava Sailby

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Monday, November 29, 2010

We wanted to do the Road to Hana during our visit to Maui but we had to do it on the second day in port because we were planning to go to Old Lahaina Luau the first day and would not have time to do both in one day. Since we had to be back onboard at 5:30 pm on the second day in Maui and the Road to Hana had such an infamous reputation, we thought it would best to take a tour, instead of driving ourselves, because the tour operator would have a much better idea of judging the timing and knowing the traffic patterns to get us back to the ship on time. There were not many options when it comes to a Road to Hana tour that can guarantee that you’ll be back at the ship by 5 pm. I was able to figure out that Temptation Tours is the company Norwegian Cruise Line uses for their Hana Picnic tour and we booked this tour directly through Temptation Tours.

Our meeting time was 8 am at the pier about 15 minutes before that, the tour guide called us to let us know what her van looked like and where she was parked. Surfin’ Sue was our guide and she was WONDERFUL!! She is SO knowledgeable about the area, history, and plant life! The tour is definitely personal. Their van only fits 8 passengers but for our tour, it was just me, Chris, and another woman who was traveling on her own. That’s it! The van was also a very nice, luxury van with large leather chairs.

Temptation Tours Van

After picking us up, we drove through Paia and stopped at Hookipa Beach Park around 8:30 am. This was Sue’s favorite surf spot and it was gorgeous!! We saw some surfers in action, while having some pound cake, pineapple, and coffee for breakfast. In the parking lot, there was a woman making jewelry from painted seeds and nuts of local trees.

Hookipa Beach Park

Then we were on the Hana Highway. Since this was a tour, I’m not completely sure of where we stopped along the way and what things were called so forgive me for the lack of detail. I’m trying to piece together where we went based on maps that I have.

Sue pointed out the famous “painted” eucalyptus trees along the highway. The bark has this unique coloring that makes it look like someone painted them with red, purple, and green paint. They were very pretty. We stopped along the highway over a few rock-bordered swimming holes around 9:30 am. The water was pretty murky but there were still some people wading in them. Sue pointed out some taro plants and the bamboo growing too.

Painted eucalyptus trees

Bamboo lined stream along Road to Hana

Swimming Holes along Road to Hana

As we continued down Hana Highway, we had some magnificent views of Honomanu Bay and Nauaailua Bay along with some waterfalls (probably Puohokamoa Falls & Punalau Falls). Despite the rain ruining our day in Haleakala yesterday, it was good for this day as it gave the waterfalls some oomph! We stopped at a place called “Halfway to Hana” at 10:05 am and got some fresh coconut and banana bread. They claim to have the “Best Banana Bread in the world” and I have to admit it was very good! Definitely worth a stop!! They also sell other snacks and drinks too.

View of the Bay from Road to Hana

Halfway to Hana

Halfway to Hana Banana Bread

From there, we had a beautiful view of the town of Wailua and stopped to view Waikani Falls. Then, we reached Kakala Gardens, a 50-acre tropical flower farm, at 11 am. This is where Sue’s botanical knowledge really shined! We walked through the farm and she showed us many of Hawaii’s gorgeous flowers. We tasted some of the nuts and fruits. We also got to hide in one of the Banyan trees similar to the one Jack and Kate hid in on the show “LOST”! LOL! At the end of the tour at the gardens, we were surprised with a complimentary bouquet of Hawaii flowers! They were so pretty and I had them in vase in our cabin for the rest of the cruise!

View of Wailua from Hana Highway

Waikani Falls

Banyan Tree at Kakala Gardens

Tropical flowers from Kakala Gardens

Next, we drove by Fagan’s Cross around 11:30 am and the Hana Ranch, which raised Maui cattle. Perhaps that’s where my Maui burger at the Kula Lodge came from! I have to say, even the cows in Maui look more relaxed than those in Texas!!

Fagan’s Cross

Cows at Hana Ranch

It was 11:45 am when we reached Hana Bay. Sue gave us some time to walk around the bay while she setup our lunch in the picnic pavilion. She said we wanted to swim, this was probably the best place because the other beaches had rough waves and the waterfall ponds were all pretty murky but we decided not to swim and just enjoy strolling the gorgeous beach. The water was so blue! Some say that Hana Bay is a “black sand beach” but the sand looked more like a dark brown to me.

Hana Bay

Lunch was ready at 12 pm. I didn’t expect much from this lunch since most tour lunches aren’t great but I was pleasantly surprised with this one! We had Hibachi chicken, parmesan-crusted mahi mahi, corn, coleslaw, Hawaiian bread, and canned Hawaiian juices. It was all very delicious and had a home-cooked taste to it, probably since they only had to make enough for 3 people. It was so lovely eating lunch on such a beautiful bay with the sound of the waves crashing!

Picnic Lunch at Hana Bay

Hana was the furthest point we went on the Road to Hana. From there, we turned back around and headed back towards Kahului. Our next stop was my favorite on the whole tour: Waianapanapa State Park! We got there around 1 pm and Sue led us in a short hike on the lava cliffs, where we saw the blow hole and peered into the lava tubes. The parts of the cliff near the water had small tide pools in them too! It was really neat and beautiful!

Waianapanapa State Park Lava Cliffs

Sue has a special bond with the mongoose that inhabit Waianapanapa State Park so she had us sit at a picnic table, which mongooses associate with food, and she lured a couple of them out from the brush to say hello! Again, we love animals, especially little critters, so this was absolutely thrilling to us!! Mongoose look like little weasels. They were so cute and fuzzy!!

Mongoose at Waianapanapa State Park

Sue left to go move the car while we walked to the Black Sand Beach. There is a short hike down a path to it and it opens up to a gorgeous, gorgeous beach!! The black sand was so pretty. It was like nothing I had ever seen and probably one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen in my life. It was a combination of the sand, the water, and the lava cliffs that surrounded it. Simply amazing! The waves were pretty big that day, though we saw a few brave souls swimming in it really close to the beach.

Waianapanapa Black Sand Beach

Waianapanapa Black Sand Beach

After hiking back up the path to the parking area, we met up with Sue again, who pointed out some more neat plants and found a huge beehive in a tree!! We left Waianapanapa State Park around 1:35 pm.

At 2:15 pm, we stopped at Puaa Kaa State Park. There was a short walk from the parking lot and across some slippery rocks to a small waterfall and pond. A few people were swimming in it and, even though the water looked murky, I decided that I wouldn’t pass up a chance to at least wade in a waterfall pond! I went in with my short and flip flops on and waded around the shallow part of the pond! The water was very cold but I thought it was so cool to be in a pond with a waterfall! When I got out, my flip flops and feet were very slippery, like they were just covered in algae! I winded up slipping on the way back across those rocks to the parking lot but I didn’t get hurt. Good thing I have a big butt to break my fall! There was a tan pitbull mix dog hanging out in some grass and brush off to the side of the parking lot. Sue told us that someone abandoned him a long time ago. He seemed to have alluded the SPCA and good Samaritans trying to take him in. It’s like he’s still waiting for his owner to come back and get him so he doesn’t want to leave the park. Poor thing. He was very quiet and calm but kept his distance from people. Sue offered him some of our lunch scraps but he wouldn’t come close to take them. Only when she threw it towards him would he eat it. I wonder if he doesn’t trust people because people have been trying to catch him. I hope the SPCA can get him one day and find him a loving home.

Puaa Kaa State Park

Dog at Puaa Kaa State Park

We were back on Hana Highway at 2:30 pm. We had a wonderful view of Wailua Iki Falls Bridge. I think that was the tallest waterfall we saw on this tour but it’s hard to remember and the perspective gets messed up depending how close we are to a waterfall.

Wailua Iki Falls Bridge

Our last stop was at Keanae Peninsula around 3 pm. There are lava cliffs hugging the shore line here and the contrast between the jagged black lava rock and crisp blue water is stunning. The waves were strong there too and you could see its force pounding against the lava rock, slowly reshaping it.

Keanae Peninsula

Keanae Peninsula

The rest of the way back, we got some more gorgeous views of the bays high atop Hana Highway. I have to admit that I dozed off after that and didn’t wake up until we were passing Hookipa Beach Park, which was now dotted with wind surfers. We got back to the pier around 4:20 pm, plenty of time to spare before the ship left and perfect timing for the Kukui Nut Lei class!

Honomanu Bay from Hana Highway

Honomanu Bay Beach from Hana Highway

Wind surfers at Hookipa Beach Park

Overall, I cannot say enough good things about this tour and especially Surfin Sue. She is truly an amazing, knowledgeable guide! I’m so glad we decided to take this tour, instead of driving ourselves. I wish we could have gone past Hana to the Oheo Gulch but I know that wasn’t possible in the time we had on this day. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone!

When we got back on the ship, I went straight to the Hollywood Theater for the Kukui Nut Lei class and Chris went back to the room to rest. I’m really glad I attended this class. It was so fun to make a nut lei and I winded up buying enough kits to make 4 more leis to give to my family as gifts! See photos of me making the nut lei in my Pride of America review.

Sunset over Kahului Harbor from our balcony

This evening was Dress Up or Not Night. We took portraits before having dinner at the Liberty Restaurant. See my Pride of America review for more info.

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Sunday, November 28, 2010

We rented a car at every port on this cruise, except in Kona. We made reservations at Thrifty through Hawaiian Cruise Cars. Every port had a shuttle to the Thrifty office and back to the pier, except in Kona. In Kona, Thrifty is across the street from the pier inside King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel (King Kam Hotel for short).

Since this was the first port day, I wasn’t sure if the 8 am arrival time listed on the Freestyle Daily was the time our ship would dock or if we could actually get off the ship at 8 am so we decided to shoot for getting off the ship at 8:30 am. We actually winded up getting off the ship at 8:45 pm. We took the Thrifty shuttle and were at the Thrifty office by 9 am and with Blue Chip membership, we were driving off the parking lot at 9:23 am.

Man playing Hawaiian music at cruise pier

We need to make a stop at Walmart to buy some toiletries we needed and I also checked out their souvenir selection, which was smaller than Oahu’s Walmart. In case you are in the mood for a Hawaiian breakfast, McDonald’s serves Portguese saussage, spam, eggs, and rice for breakfast and there was a McDonald’s attached to the Maui and Kauai Walmart locations. We wish we knew this in advance because Chris was sad he didn’t get to try it and we had already eaten breakfast.

We left Walmart at 9:45 am and drove to Haleakala National Park. It costs $10 per car to enter the park. As we ascended Haleakala, the weather started to sour. It basically rained, drizzled, and was foggy the entire time we were at Haleakala National Park. We quickly put on our packable rain coats. (Make sure you bring these!) They helped block the wind and rain. Unfortunately, the view was socked in at every stop we made. Despite that, we still tried to make every stop and drove all the way to the summit. The summit was particularily cold because of the wind. It was the only time I wish I had worn pants or convertible pants so I could add the pant legs to my shorts but we weren’t there for very long since there was no view. There are some signs at the summit where you can read more about it. What I found really interesting was the change in scenery. Below the summit, there is a good about of greenery and plants, as you can see in the Halemau’u Trailhead photo but the summit is rocky with red dirt and baren of plants.

Haleakala National Park scenic points:

• Park Headquarters (after mile 11): Restrooms, pay phone, and drinking water are available.
• Halemau’u Trailhead (between miles 14-15): Good place to spot nene, restroom
• Leleiwi Overlook (after mile 17): short trail leads to a panoramic view of crater
• Kalahaku Overlook (between miles 18-19): overlook with restroom
• Haleakala Visitor Center (between miles 20-21): panoramic view, exhibits, restrooms, water.
• Puu Ulaula Overlook / Red Hill (mile 21): Summit

Halemau’u Trailhead

Haleakala Observatories

10,023 ft. elevation sign at the Summit

Socked in view from the Summit but you can see the neat red dirt

The only thing that really made the trip to Haleakala National Park worth it was that we saw a pair of nene outside of the Park Headquarters. This was the only place we saw nene at Haleakala. I’m guessing because the rain drove most of them into hiding. It was disappointing not to be able to see Haleakala National Park at its finest but hey, you can’t control the weather and you can’t win them all, right? We are big animal lovers so seeing the nene really made it worth it for me!

Pair of nene

Nene

When we came back down Haleakala, we stopped for lunch at Kula Lodge at 12:45 pm. Their restaurant sits on a hill with a view of West Maui. Our view was hazy because of the weather but it was still very nice! They have a large outdoor patio with a brick pizza oven that would be wonderful to sit at on a clear day. Their Maui onion soup was very good and they serve Maui beef burgers with Maui Potato Chips. Best of all, we had this delicious pineapple shortcake dessert with 3 scoops of Maui-made Roselani ice cream. OMG…it was SOOOO good!!! We were back on the road at 2:08 pm.

View from Kula Lodge

Pineapple shortcake with Roselani ice cream

At 3 pm, we arrived at Iao Valley State Park. Parking is $5. After paying for parking, we headed over to the port-a-potties at the entrance of Iao Valley. This is where disaster struck. There was a rooster walking around the parking lot so I took photos of him while Chris was using the bathroom. When he got out, I reached in my pocket to get him a antibacterial wipe and the camera slipped from my wrist!! It went crashing into the asphalt with the lens extended. While the camera still worked, it would not focus if zoomed more than 2x and lower than 8x, which is a huge range not to have. The fall must have misaligned some of the lenses. We took the photos we could in Iao Valley with the camera as it was but I was very disappointed that I broke the camera and it wasn’t working 100%.

Iao Valley itself was gorgeous! The weather was much better here in Central Maui. There were still cloudy and it was a bit gloomy but the clouds mostly hung out near the tops of the peaks so we could still see everything. The famous Iao Needle was very interesting and the scenery was lush and beautiful with some gorgeous Hawaiian plants! I really enjoyed all the running streams too. It was very peaceful, which is good considering all the blood shed here. (In 1790, the Battle of Kepaniwai took place there, in which Kamehameha the Great defeated Kalanikupule and the Maui army during his campaign to unify the islands. The battle was said to be so bloody that dead bodies blocked Iao Stream, and the battle site was named Kepaniwai, which means “the damming of the waters”.) Since it had rained, the steep walkways were slippery. There are hand rails but something to consider if you have limited mobility. Considering how fail Haleakala turned out to be, I’m glad we stopped here so we could see some lush scenery!

Iao Needle in Iao Valley

Iao Valley’s lush scenery

Iao Valley stream

We left Iao Valley at 3:38 pm. I was still upset about breaking the camera and I didn’t want bring a camera to the luau that wasn’t fully functional so I decided that we would turn back around and go to the Costco in Kahului. Costco no longer sold our Panasonic Lumix ZS1 camera but they had the latest model, Panasonic Lumix ZS6. I have to admit that unexpectedly spending $270 on a new camera made me cringe but I didn’t spend all this money to come to Hawaii to take photos with a broken camera! The sales tax we were charged was only 4%, which is much better than our 8.75% at home! (Plus, when we got home, we received a coupon for $50 off and was able to get the discounted price.) It was about 4 pm when we left Costco in Kahului and we arrived in Lahaina at 4:50 pm. It literally changed into my luau dress in the backseat of the car while Chris drove to Lahaina! LOL!

Since we had to be at Old Lahaina Luau at 5:15 pm, we didn’t have any time to walk around Lahaina like I would have wanted to. Instead, we drove through Front Street to get a feel for the town. Chris dropped me off at the big Banyan Tree and circled around so I could take a photo of it. Lahaina looks very charming and I would have loved to spend time there. Something to add to the list for next time.

Banyan Tree in Lahaina

We arrived at Old Lahaina Luau at 5:10 pm and the parking lot was already full. They told us to park at the overflow parking lot at the Cannery Mall across the street but we were able to find some street parking that was a little closer instead. Once we parked, Chris just changed his shirt right there and we went inside.

The luau area was absolutely gorgeous! It was very open, intimate, and looked out to the ocean with sail boats in it. When you arrive, you are greeted with a fresh orchid lei, offered a mai tai or non-alcoholic drink, and then taken to your seat so you know where it is. Before the luau began, we walked around the oceanfront area of the luau, where they had professional photographers taking photos and crafts people making and selling crafts, like nut leis and wooden tikis. I sat down and learned to make a fresh plumeria hair pin for my hair and it was so beautiful! We then took some photos with the professional photographers.

Old Lahaina Luau

Carving and selling wooden tikis at Old Lahaina Luau

Making plumeria hair pin

Professional photo of us

At 5:45 pm, people starting to gather around the imu, the traditional Hawaiian underground oven, signaling that they were going to unearth the pig. Two employees unburied the pig from the mound of dirt, which looked like a lot of back-breaking work, and then placed the cooked pork into a big metal pan. You could see the steam rising as they unburied it and the meat was already falling
off the bone when they moved the pig to the pan. It looked and smelled delicious!

Uncovering the imu

Kalua pork inside the imu

Once the kalua pork was out of the imu, we took our seats and dinner started. The food was served at a buffet and it was all-you-can-eat. The menu included Kalua Roast Pork, Laulau (Pork wrapped in Luau leaf steamed to perfection), Poi, Ahi Poke (marinated raw Ahi tuna), Big Island Sweet Potato, Grilled Tenderloin Steak, Chicken Long Rice, Island Style Chicken, Maui Style Mahi-Mahi, Stir Fry Vegetables, Local Style Fried Rice, Island Crab Salad, Taro Leaf Salad with Coconut Sauce, Pohole Salad (fern shoots), Lomi Lomi Salmon (raw salmon mixed with tomatoes and onions), Banana Bread, Fresh Island Fruit, and taro rolls. The food was MUCH better than the Polynesian Cultural Center’s luau. My favorites were still the ahi poke, lomi lomi salmon, and chicken long rice.

The food at Old Lahaina Luau

The hula show began at 6 pm. The show was wonderful! It displayed different types of hula with men and women, lots of costume changes, and some live Hawaiian music! It was beautiful and lasted until 8:15 pm, which was just the right length! Unlike Polynesian Cultural Center’s show, I didn’t get bored and I was entertained the entire time! Hula dancing is truly a beautiful art. I’m glad I got to see such talented performers. Dessert was served around 7:40 pm while the show was still going. They bring a tray of desserts to your table and included tropical fruit tarts, brownies, chocolate-cups filled with creme, and haupia, which is like coconut jello.

Video of Old Lahaina Luau hula show

When the show ended, the MC asked honeymoon and anniversary couples to dance on the stage and we were tipped off by one of the professional photographers that was the signal to beat the rush and buy our photos now. So we snuck away from our table to the back of the luau, where they had table with all the photos. I believe the photo package we purchased was $40 for four 8×10 photos, not a bad price compared to the cruise ships!! The dancers were around to take photos with, as everyone was leaving the luau.

Chris with the lovely dancers of Old Lahaina Luau

When coming to Hawaii, there are many luau options on different islands. After reading quite a bit about the different luaus, we picked Old Lahaina Luau because it was highly recommended by “Frommer’s Hawaii”, featured on Travel Channel, and called “the most authentic Hawaiian luau” and “best luau in the Hawaiian islands” by several travel editors. We are very happy we chose this luau and had a wonderful time!! I would highly recommend it to anyone.

We left Old Lahaina Luau at 8:30 pm and drove back to Kahului. We got gas for the rental car on the way back to the Thrifty office. (Note: The Costco in Kahului does not have a gas station.) We returned the car around 9:20 pm. Thrifty officially stopped running the shuttle back to the pier at 9 pm so we were expecting to call a taxi (I even brought the number for Yellow Cab of Maui) but the shuttle driver was nice enough to take us back to the pier anyway, he just had to drop people off at the airport first. Worked for us!! The ship docked in Maui overnight this evening. We had a tour planned for the next day so we didn’t want to keep the car overnight.

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I find it easier to review my experience on the ship in one entry, then breaking it up by day. So I’m going to go ahead and review Pride of America now…

Decisions, Decisions
“Let’s go island hop! Hawaii! Let’s go island hop on Maui!” Does anyone else remember these Norwegian Cruise Line commercials from about 5-6 years ago? Well, I do!! When we decided to cruise Hawaii, picking Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America was an easy choice. It is the ONLY ship that sails roundtrip from Hawaii through the Hawaiian islands. All other cruises leave from the U.S. mainland and must stop at one international port, making the cruise 10 or 14 days long with 5-8 sea days! Vacation time is precious to us and we’d rather spend vacation days seeing the islands than at sea. So if you’re looking for a cruise that starts/ends in Hawaii with minimal sea days, you really have no other choice than Pride of America.

I absolutely agree when people say to book as early as you can. We only saw the cruise price go up and up for our sailing! I booked my cruise for November in January and during the course of those 11 months of planning, I read a lot of reviews about how poor the service was on Pride of America due to the American staff, how the food was horrible, and basically think of POA as a floating hotel, not a cruise. I was worried about what I read and kept my expectations low but I’m happy to report it wasn’t too bad.

Pride of America docked in Kahului, Maui

Embarkation/Disembarkation
As I mentioned in my Day 4 post, check-in was a breeze around 11:30 am on Embarkation Day. We had no problems finding a porter to help us with our bags. Security is tight at the port. We have to show our ID’s and cruise docs twice and go through X-ray screening before reaching the check-in area. While we didn’t stay in the waiting area, NCL provided water, entertainment, and chairs. There was also a small table selling leis and other Hawaiian souvenirs. When we came back from sightseeing around 4 pm, we had to show our ID and cruise card and we had to go through the X-ray again. Otherwise, we walked right on to the ship. Along with our suitcases, we also checked in a tote bag with 2 gallons of bottled water and a 6-pack of Coke. We received the bag with our other suitcases with no problems.

Disembarkation was also a breeze. The Disembarkation Talk was held on evening we left Kona at 5:15 pm. We did not attend but we happened to go to Deck 5 right before the talk was over and a table with all of the Disembarkation Luggage Tags were out in the Capitol Atrium. There was a display that showed our choice for disembarkation time beginning with express walk-off to 9 am. Each time had a corresponding colored luggage tag. We quickly grabbed the last possible time and I would recommend that you get your luggage tags early. The latest times were already all gone by the next day! We put 4 suitcases outside the night before Disembarkation and they were all waiting for us when we got off Pride of America!

Disembarkation has not always been this easy for us. On our Alaska cruise, someone accidentally took our suitcase, instead of their own. We now put bright yellow luggage straps on all of our bags as well as luggage stickers so that they will be more easy to distinguish from other suitcases.

Room & Housekeeping

We booked a BD balcony for the price of a BH when NCL was offering a 4-category upgrade sale. Speaking of balconies, everyone wants to know (as I did) if they should book a port or starboard balcony. Here’s the info you need to know to make a decision…

• Maui: The port side faces the ocean and starboard side faces West Maui.
• Hilo: Both sides face land. The port side faces the pier and south side of the island. Starboard side faces the north coast of the island.
• Kilauea volcano sailby will be around 9:45 pm after leaving Hilo and will be viewable from the starboard side only.
• Kona: The ship tenders and while anchored, it rotates so both sides face land or sea at some point.
• Kauai: Port side faces the port area and the town of Lihue. The starboard side faces the southern hill and open water.
• The Napali Coast Sailby occurs around 5 pm after leaving Kauai. It will be viewable from port side first and then ship turns around for starboard.

I originally booked a port-side room but switched to cabin #9056 on the starboard side after reading these tips on Cruise Critic. Our room was on Deck 9 near the Forward elevators.

Having seen photos and reviews of POA balcony rooms, I expected the room to be small and it was. This was our 5th cruise and we have always had balcony rooms. This was the smallest one we’ve ever had. There was just barely enough room to walk through between the bed and the wall it faces. The desk was small and molded to a set of drawers that held up the fridge and TV, which was a small CRT television (not a flat screen TV as we’ve started to see on other ships). The closet was also smaller than we have seen but there were many shelves inside of it too. That being said, we had plenty of room to unpack all 4 of our suitcases into the room. NCL did a great job in squeezing storage space everywhere in the room. There is even a set of small shelves inside the bathroom behind the mirror. The bathroom was typical size. The shower used a shower curtain, where I prefer sliding doors, but it didn’t attack me, like the curtain did on Island Princess. It was also not so teeny tiny that I had to turn the water off to soap and shampoo, like I did on Island Princess. The bed was comfortable but they don’t use fitted sheets so a few nights, the sheets got bunched up after we slept in them. Our stateroom attendant took care of it every morning but I hate feeling the sheets bunch up around my feet while I’m sleeping. The balcony was typical size as well. One thing I loved about the rooms on this ship was the little wheel on the front of the door that told the stateroom attendant when you were ready for the room to be made up, turndown service, or do not disturb! Very cleaver and you don’t have to worry about losing that little door hang you usually find elsewhere.

While the room is small, the space is adequate for 2 adults. I’m not sure how I’d feel about having additional adults or even kids sharing the room though. It may be a very tight squeeze.

Our cabin #9056 with my door decorations

Balcony Cabin #9056

Balcony Cabin #9056

+ See more photos of the room

Our room was a connecting stateroom. The connecting door is not great at keeping out noise and I was woken up a couple of times by our connecting neighbors’ TV and phone calls. (Our neighbor’s airline lost their luggage. Yes, I found that out by listening from my room while trying to sleep!) I would highly recommend that you avoid getting a connecting room, unless you need it.

The room was very clean when we entered it but there were some maintenance issues: 1 of the major ceiling lights flickered off and on, 1 smaller light over the couch was burned out, and the 2 drawers under the fridge wouldn’t open. We only found 1 robe in our closet and needed ice so we called housekeeping about all of these issues. When we came back from dinner, the robe and ice we requested were in our room. The housekeeping staff had to pass along the maintenance issues to fix. The flickering light was driving us crazy because it automatically turned on with the main room lights and the flickering gave us a headache. Luckily, that was fixed the next day while we were in Maui. The drawers were fixed on the 4th day while we were in Hilo. The smaller light was never fixed and we didn’t follow up because we didn’t really need it. These maintenance issues were a really downer though. It’s not how you want to start a cruise but other than that, we didn’t have any other issues with the room.

Our room attendant, Josephine, was wonderful! When room service brought us ice the first night, Chris asked if the room attendant will fill the ice bucket at turndown because we like to drink something before we go to bed and they said it was uncommon for them to do that so if we needed ice in the evening to just call room service. However, we met Josephine the first morning onboard and asked her to refill our ice at turndown. She always refilled for the rest of the cruise. We tipped her $3 every morning (in addition to the auto-tip) and we got wonderful service. (The first morning, she actually didn’t take the money we left her and when we saw her that night, we told her it was for her and she needs to take it! She thanked us profusely.) She always replaced any towels we left on the floor during room clean-up or turndown service. She was very sweet, did towel animals, always got us anything we asked for, but we didn’t have to ask for much because she always did her job well.

Elephant Towel Animal

NCL provides hand soap, shower gel and shampoo in dispensers that are mounted to the wall, so you can’t take them home. But one pretty pathetic nickel-and-diming by NCL is that if you want conditioner, you have to buy it from the shops downstairs! Never seen this on any other cruise line. It really doesn’t effect me since I bring my own shampoo and conditioner but it’s pretty sad. No chocolates at turndown, like Princess and Disney Cruise Line, either.

Food

We had breakfast in the Aloha Cafe buffet every morning, except for Disembarkation Day. This is my 5th cruise and 4th cruise line I’ve sailed. Every ship I’ve ever been on, when you walk into the buffet, the food and the line is right in front of the entrance. When you walk into Aloha Cafe, you see a bunch of tables. I was confused for about 30 seconds. Where the heck is the food? You have to turn left, walk past the tables, and then you’ll see the food. That immediately put me off. No one wants to get breakfast in the morning half awake and be confused about where the food is. The buffet was very crowded every morning and, as the week went on, it seemed to get busier. Each morning, we had to go further back into Aloha Cafe to find seats but we were always able to find a seat. The food was your standard breakfast fare and it didn’t change from day to day. I liked the breakfast buffet on Island Princess a lot better because it offered more options, varied dishes each day, and just seemed more organized. This was also the first cruise I ever sailed where they didn’t have corned beef hash!! I look forward to eating corned beef hash every morning when I cruise and couldn’t do it on this one! Well, they had something they called corned beef has but it wasn’t recognizable to me and tasted horrible. Lastly, I was not crazy about the decor and the plastic seats. It just reminded me of a dirty, old diner. That all being said, the buffet was adequate and for the most part, the food was good.

As others reported, there is a station with sandwich meats, mayo, mustard, tomatoes, cheese, and onion. You just have to snag some bread from the toast station, bring your own baggies, and you’ve got lunch for the day! We packed sandwiches on the day we were in Hilo and it worked out really well.

We did not have lunch on the ship during the cruise. For dinner, we ate at the Skyline Dining Room every night, except Dress Up Or Not Night, which we spent at Liberty. You are allowed to wear shorts to the Skyline Dining Room. No shorts are allowed in Liberty Dining Room so we found ourselves in Skyline every night because Chris didn’t want to wear pants. =) I wore sundresses every night. We were happy with the food in the main dining rooms and didn’t feel the need to go any of the specialty restaurants. We did spend the 2 overnight dinners (Maui and Kauai) at port though so we really only had dinner onboard 5 times. We ordered an appetizer, soup/salad, entree, and dessert every night. On Lobster Night, they only served half a tail with fish. Our server said we could order another one after finishing the first one, which we both did, so we walked away with our whole lobster tail. The half tail thing was pretty disappointing for us. We’ve never been served half a lobster tail on any other cruise line on Lobster Night. On Princess a few months before, we got a whole lobster tail with shrimp, none of this half tail and fish crap! It seemed like the seafood entrees were a bit on the small side too.

Day 4 Dinner – Scallops

Lobster Night

On “Dress Up or Not Night”, I wore a short dress and Chris wore an aloha shirt with slacks. We did not see many people who were dressed very formally at all. Mostly, resort wear or not dressed up at all. It was nice not having to worry about bringing formal clothes on the trip. If this was a cruise with more sea days, I probably would have missed having a Formal Night though. For this cruise, I didn’t miss it.

Dress Up or Not Night

The iced tea, which is my drink of choice, was as horrible as I read on the Cruise Critic NCL Forum. It was very, very bitter. Luckily, our travel agent gave us a bottle of wine as a gift and we also brought our own Coke, so we drank those. No servers gave us a hard time about bringing our own Coke either and were glad to bring us glasses with ice to drink it.

The service in the dining rooms was good. Just like any “anytime dining” program on other ships, sometimes you get decent servers and other times you get excellent servers. The first night, we had our worst server. She just seemed very grouchy. Not rude but just not friendly. She was the worst so it really wasn’t that bad.

We also never had to wait more than one party to be seated and usually we could walk right up and be seated. Since there were no sea days for us to rest during this cruise and we had to wake up early every morning to get off the ship, we ate dinner around 6 pm. While we ate, we could see lines forming and people being asked to wait so it seemed like 6 pm was a good time to avoid lines.

Entertainment

Since the itinerary was so intense, we chose going to bed early, rather than staying up for the shows. The only entertainment I did was participating in the Kukui Nut lei and orchid lei classes. It was a bit tiring to go straight to these classes right after spending the day sightseeing but I’m glad I did both of them. There were several opportunities to buy the nut lei kits after the class and I decided to buy enough kits to make gifts for my family. They turned out to be wonderful and inexpensive gifts! My family was so impressed that I made the leis too!

Making a Kukui Nut lei

The orchid lei was also fun to wear for professional photos and we got a bunch of great photos! It’s also fun to look at the photos and remember that I made the lei!!

Making an orchid lei

Professional photo with me wearing the lei I made

Ship

With no sea days and 2 overnights, it felt like we were barely on the ship! When we got back onboard on the 2nd day in Kauai, we finally spent some time exploring the ship and there were all these places we never saw the whole week! LOL! It’s truly a different cruise experience than any other cruise we’ve been on. We didn’t spend much time on any part of the ship, except for Deck 5 since that’s where the Skyline Dining Room, shops, Guest Services Desk, and Photo Gallery are. She is a beautiful ship and I didn’t see much wear on her. I found the layout a bit confusing but that could be because we didn’t get to spend much time getting used to her. I would have loved more time to really enjoy the ship but the Hawaiian islands call!

Upper Decks

The Conservatory

Chris did get to hit a few golf balls in the driving net, which he enjoyed. I also partook in the last day sale in the shops. Get there early because it gets crazy!!! I had my own little Black Friday on the ship!

Golf Driving Net

Sale Shopping

I usually take more interior photos of the ship but this cruise went by so fast, I didn’t remember!

One thing to note is that only the midship elevators goes to the gangway, which is located on Deck 3. So when you leave your cabin, go to the midship elevators to get down to Deck 3. You can tell you are at the midship elevators because the carpet has blue stars, whereas the aft and forward elevators have red stars. Also, there are 2 sets of elevators at midship and only one set goes down to Deck 3. Check the signs next to the elevators to make sure you get on the right one.

Another thing to note, our cruise had VERY rough seas. The crew said that the winter months usually have rougher seas but our week was unusually rough. The captain even made an announcement to warn everyone to hold handrails when walking around and take precautions. The roughest night was from Kauai to Oahu but every night we were sailing was pretty rough. We even had things fall off the shelves in our room! Fortunately, neither of us got sick on the cruise ship itself. We always take Bonine every morning no matter what. See my tips on preventing seasickness.

Overall Thoughts
I definitely don’t think Pride of America was as bad as some of the reviews I’ve read. Then again, it wasn’t the best cruise experience either. I think having the attitude that you’re on a floating hotel and you’re really here to make the most of the Hawaiian islands is your best bet! I hope I don’t sound like this was a bad experience because it wasn’t. I do feel that other cruise line provide a better experience but I hear that Pride of America is not a good example of what a real NCL cruise is like and you can’t beat the itinerary that Pride of America offers! It was a good cruise and I’d do it again in a heartbeat!

+ See all Pride of America photos
+ Read more about my Hawaii 2010 trip