The Island of Kauai

Our final port was 2 nights on the island of Kauai.

We took a tour to Waimea Canyon which is known as "the Grand Canyon of the Pacific". There were curvy roads going up with great views at the top. We were lucky the weather was good because we were told the day before it was too foggy to see.

 

There was a guy dressed as a warrior with a mask made from a gourd with who one could get their picture made.

 A coffee farm was our next stop with many coffee bean trees and we tasted several flavors of coffee. (I preferred the banana coffee).

You may have heard or seen pictures of the "Spouting Horn". It is on the south shore of  Kauai. The waves come in under the rock and produce a geyser. It is fun to watch.

We rode along the Popiu shore with many nice beaches. This is a place I would like to come back and spend more time someday.

The following day  our ship left port at 2pm so that morning we walked over to the nearby Marriott which had beautiful gardens

and a very nice beach.

 As we left that afternoon on our ship we cruised the Na Pali Coast. Many movies have been made here because of the beauty.

This was a great grand finale to our 7 day cruise!

This was a fantastic vacation! Everything went very smoothly and we were able to see a lot on each island.
I would be very glad to help you plan your vacation to Hawaii.

Contact me for more information on your Hawaii cruise as well as tour information - becki@cruisetogether.com or 336-922-1837.

Day 2 on "The Big Island" of Hawaii

Our ship cruised to the opposite side of the island overnight and we docked near Kona for our second day on this island.

We took a historical tour which included Pu'uhonua 0 Honaunau National Park. It was very pretty here and we got to walk on lava rock into the ocean.

We then went to St. Benedicts Catholic Church which is also known as "the painted church".

Everywhere we looked were beautiful trees and flowers.

Another enjoyable day on the islands. Our show on the ship that evening was "Oh What a Night" with Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons songs. 

Day 1 on "The Big Island" of Hawaii

After we left Maui...

We cruised next to the island that is known as "The Big Island" and also "Hawaii".

Our ship spent 2 days here with our first day near Hilo. You have a 50-50 chance of rain on any day. It did rain on us some but we had rain ponchos.

We took a full day tour stopping first at Rainbow Falls.

 

We then went to the big attraction of the day, Volcano National Park.  We saw a crater that had collapsed and the steam was still pouring out of it.

We also got to walk through a lava tube. How cool is that?

We were not able to get close to flowing lava  because it was considered too dangerous but it all depends on where it is flowing on any given day.

We also stopped at Mauna Loa factory where you will find every flavor of macadamia nut . And they all were good!

After a full day we went back to our ship and ate at the Liberty restaurant which became our favorite place on the ship to eat. We then saw a comedian in the theater and  the band Toby which was quite good.

Our ship cruised to the opposite side of the island overnight and we docked near Kona for our second day on this island. To be continued...

Cruising Pride of America in Hawaii

I certainly recommend flying into Honolulu several days prior to the cruise. It will help you to acclimate to the time difference and there is so much to see  on the island of Oahu. We stayed for 4 nights previous to boarding the ship which seemed about right.

Having been on 15 previous cruises I was pleasantly surprised. I thought this ship was quite nice. It has a patriotic theme throughout.

The only Hawaiian decor was in the hall to our room.

Two of our shows were the best I have seen on a ship. The first night was a magician who not only did fantastic tricks but also danced and told jokes. Another night was a Jersey Boys act "What a Night" which was very enjoyable if you like Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons songs.

This is a casual cruise but they encouraged us to dress Hawaiian one day. The staircase is a nice place to have a picture taken.

 

Our first day of our cruise was in Maui where we rented a car, drove the 40 minutes to Lahaina where we shopped and then went 3 miles down the road to Kaanapali Beach and Whalers Village.

The Banyan trees are quite a sight.

We had already been to Chiefs Luau on Oahu but another great choice for a luau is Old Lahaina Luau on Maui. It is not a full Hawaiian experience without a luau.

 

Our second day on Maui we went to Ioa Valley and saw the "needle".

Not far from that we stopped at Maui Plantation. It was beautiful with many plants and flowers.

 

We also enjoyed going through a few little shops with handcrafted items.

 

I will continue sharing more in my next post on the cruise.

 

If you want any information on NCL's Pride of America Hawaii cruise send me an email and I will be glad to help you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reflections on My Time in Hawaii

Having returned from spending 4 days on Oahu and 7 days on the cruise to the other islands I will share what I believe to be the best to see and do. It all went very smoothly and we enjoyed ourselves immensely.

First I would say that anyone who goes and spends time on one island is missing a lot. All the islands are very different and all offer so much beauty.

The six of us girls started off by having our driver take us to the airport which was a 1 1/2 hr. ride to Charlotte to get on our flight. That was a great decision as otherwise we would have had to take 2 cars for all of us and our luggage and paid for parking for 13 days. And when we came back after being awake for 24 hr. no one would have wanted to drive home. He was very dependable and prompt.

We stayed on Waikiki Beach at the Outrigger Reef on the Beach. It is at the quiet end with a view of Diamond Head.

Our favorite places to eat were about a 20 minute walk to the Outrigger Waikiki. We ate breakfast at the Hula Grill where I had yummy Macadamia nut and banana pancakes.

Dukes was also at this hotel where we had dinner. It was a bit  pricey but they had a huge salad bar and very good seafood. And we HAD to try their famous Hula Pie.

Expect to drop about $40 per person here.

One of my favorite things about traveling is experiencing the food.

Our view from the Hula Grill

The beach in front of our hotel was narrow so we walked down a few yards where we rented some beach chairs and saw these people taking surfing lessons.

I had previously made reservations for our first evening at Chief's Luau at Sealife Park. This included their bus picking us up at the Embassy Suites across the street from our hotel. They were prompt and we enjoyed the beautiful 40 minute drive along the coast.

  

 

We could see Rabbit Island from our luau. I thought the buffet dinner was good, especially the pork which was cooked in a pit covered with banana leaves. We also had fun learning how to do the hula.

One of the best tours I reserved included a full day starting with Pearl Harbor on our 25 passenger mini bus. We enjoyed  the museum and movie before departing for the Arizona memorial.



 

It was all very moving and worth the time to spend walking around the grounds and through the museum.

 

The Arizona has been leaking oil for 70 yrs and they expect it to continue leaking for another 70 yrs.

After about 2 1/2 hr here we continued on a Circle Island Tour which was 120 miles around the entire island. We went to Dole Plantation and got a Dole Whip (which was very sweet), a macadamia nut farm, went to the north shore and stopped for lunch. We saw every shade of green and blue in the ocean as well as mountains and even a ranch. We saw where many movies were made and even saw some cliff divers.

 

Our day had started at 6am and it ended at 4:45pm when the bus dropped us off at our hotel. It was a full day but very interesting. The tour was only $65 which I feel is a bargain for all we saw.

If you want me to plan any tours for you please email me  -  becki@cruisetogether.com

 

 

Hawaii: Day By Day

Many people dream of traveling to Hawaii and for most it is a once in a lifetime trip.

I've shared our itinerary for you to use as a tool to get the most out of your trip.

For easy reference, here are the posts:

Planning a Trip to Hawaii

 

Which Luau?

Pearl Harbor and Circle Island Tour

 

 

Cruising the Islands of Hawaii

Maui: Sun, Sand, and Shopping

 

Touring Volcano National Park

 

 

Coffee in Kona

 

Venturing to Waimea Canyon

With so many options and such unique experiences you need an experienced travel agent to make certain you get the most out of your trip to Hawaii.

Call me at 336-922-1837 and we'll start working on your Hawaiian itinerary today!

Coffee in Kona

On Wed. we spend the day in Kona. We had planned to walk around the historical area here on our own which can be done. However, because we reserved 2 other tours we get the third one for only $15 so I booked the tour from 10am-2pm. Not a bad price for $15 and we will get the full narrated history.

Tip: Cost of the three tours which we took in Hilo, Kauai and Kona were only $115 for all three. This is much less than reserving excursions through the ship and it is the same excursions.
I can take care of these reservations for you and save you money - just call me at 336-922-1837.