juanita1767

Kauai is such a beautiful island. We only rented a car for the first day because of the early sailaway on the second day. Also, there is a $20 parking fee at the pier overnight.

 

We drove to the north shore, stopping at many beaches along the way. We also stopped at the lighthouse and guess what? It is a National Park and we again used our senior pass to enter.

 

All the rental car agencies only gave us a booklet for each island with small maps to use. The beaches all had names on the map but they were not named when we drove there so we didn't know which ones we visited except for the last two, Tunnel beach and Kee beach. If you are a good hiker there is a path from Kee beach that will take you to the NaPoli coast, 11 miles. They say you can also see it at 2 miles in. We were not that adventurous. After the drive back it was still early so DH said lets go to Waimea Canyon now so we did. FYI our GPS said to turn right off the main road but there is a big sign there that says the entrance is another three miles so that is what we did. Big mistake. Must have taken an extra half hour that way. The canyon is 11 miles in and we weren't even sure we were on the right road because there were no more signs. Finally got to the overlook and it was spectacular. The next overlook seemed to be around 15 more miles but we chose not to go. They say you can see the NaPoli coast from there as well.

 

Now comes the grand highlight of the trip. On Friday morning we took the shopping shuttle to the ABC store to meet our next excursion Wings Over Kauai. It is a six seater plane that shows you all of Kauai for a full hour for $125pp and was worth every penny. The ride was so smooth and the day was exceptionally clear. We considered a helicopter ride but it was double the price, only lasted for 30-45 minutes and was told it was very jerkey motions. This plane glided like butter. A memory for a lifetime. They gave us a DVD with our picture in front of the plane.

 

The ships pass by the NaPoli coast was very clear as well. We watched it from deck 6 which wasn't too crowded. We could hear the narration very well. Then when it turned to pass on the opposite side, hardly anyone stayed and there was no narration at all.

 

This last night we finally discovered the Cadillac Diner. Wanted our ice cream after the show but the buffet was closed and someone mentioned Cadillac. People said service was slow but we immediately were seated and given two great big sundaes. Wish we knew about it before. Next stop debarkation (disembarkation?). More to come.

We also did Wings Over Kauai and I have to say it was the highlight of our trip!!!!

We were on POA in April and we did the sunset because I didn't want to get up at 3am either, it was beautiful and I was so happy we didn't do the sunrise because we heard everyone complaining that they seen nothing because it was raining that morning.

BOMAX2 I think we might have been on a few of your bus tours with you!!! Did Michelle ask your husband to buy his cane?

We got out of the bus at all stops.

We were on Pride of America last week and used Roberts and would recommend them in a instant. We did 3 tours with them Haleakala at Sunset, Volcanoes National Park and Hanalei Tour. We also did a flight over Kauai with Wings over Kauai and I would recommend it also. Bomax2 I wonder if we were on the same tour buses?

Strange. We just got off NCL's POA last week, and on arriving at the port at 12 noon on embarkation day, could see no porters around at all. We talked about how strange that was, and how unusual.

 

But in any case, embarkation was a breeze. Once past the first ticket and ID check (there were two) we dropped of our luggage at an xray machine. Then there was another ticket and ID check, and the usual hand baggage xray and magnetometer, and then we were sent to suite check in to one side of the main terminal room.

 

We were on the ship by 12:30, escorted on by the Concierge, who took us to the Napa wine bar outside Cagney's for a small talk and free glass of champagne, then we were into Cagney's for lunch.

 

Our suite was ready at 1:00 pm, and our bags were delivered at 2:00 pm. Earliest we've ever seen our bags on an NCL cruise.

I have a question, you say go to Cagneys for lunch, is that free or do you pay for lunch there? We are on this cruise April 5th.

Thank you so much for the review so far. We are going on April 5th and I am pretty excited. It is our first cruise.

This is our first cruise ever. We just booked the Pride of America Hawaiian Cruise.

I don't know what to expect.......feeling nervous and excited all at the same time.