Cool Breeze Cruiser
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The show in the Phantom Theatre that night was the Love & Marriage Show.
Next up Maui! And the 'Best-laid plans of mice and men'!
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We turned in the rental car & the shuttle driver dropped us off at Anchor Cove mall close to the pier so we could spend every last second we had in Kauai. There was a little flea market type thing with great deals on jewelry in the back corner of the mall. Lynn got a few great deals but they were closing when we got there so we didn’t have long to look.
We walked back to the ship & hung out for sail-a-way on our balcony munching on pizza.
Bye Kauai!
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Next we stopped at the Hanalei Taro Fields.
And then on to the infamous one way bridge that we will probably never let poor Mitch live down! Bless his heart!
And Lynn thought this sign was so funny describing protocol for the one lane bridge.
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We stopped at a beach so the guys could put their toes in the sand!
And off we go again!
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We drove out to Kilauea Lighthouse. The views were breathtaking with the waves crashing against the rocks.
If you haven't been to Kauai can you even imagine this?!?
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We were all getting hungry so we stopped for lunch at Island Palm Grill and Bar just because we liked the way it looked from the outside which is really unlike Lynn & I because we are both 'researchers' before we cruise!
I thought this was so pretty!
WOW did we ever choose well! It turned out to be one of the best meals we had the whole week. It is a quaint open air restaurant so it is not air conditioned but there was a nice breeze. Our waitress was adorable & I don’t know when I have enjoyed a meal more & the price was so reasonable! Our bill was $30 for two meals & two iced teas.
I ordered the Kalua Pork (I REALLY wish I could get it in Tennessee), J.R. ordered the fish & chips, Mitch ordered the Kalua Pork Burrito & Lynn got a salad with chicken & macadamia nuts. We all sampled each other’s entrees (except I didn’t try J.R.’s, no ‘fishies’ for me) & they were all delicious!
I think my Kalua Pork & veggies & rice were the best!
Just for giggles I looked up Island Palm’s reviews when I got home & the reviews did not reflect the experience we had, so it is a good thing we just went on our instincts because I would ABSOLUTELY go back there again if we go back to Kauai.
They gave us a coupon to use at the store next door so we went in there & bought a few things. They had some unique pieces of jewelry but we found some of the same things they had there quite a bit cheaper other places.
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We rented all of our cars through Discount Hawaii Car Rental. Their customer service was wonderful. We had to change dates for our rental cars when our itinerary changed & they were very easy to deal with. You do not pay for the car until you pick it up nor do they require a credit card number to reserve a car. We were able to call them & have our rates reduced a couple of times when we found a price drop & they encouraged us to check back a few days before we left to see if there were any further price drops.
Mitch & Lynn had picked up their rental car before our flight. They rented through Thrifty & said they were able to bypass the lines by signing up for the Blue Chip program beforehand. They were also upgraded when they got to Thrifty. They were given the choice of a mini-van or a Mustang convertible! Duh!!!
Since we had originally planned to share a car that day J.R. & I cancelled our rental car & we all piled in the Mustang: guys in the front & girls in the back. We had soooo much fun! Wish we had a pic of the Mustang on two wheels going across the one lane bridge! Mitch will never get to live that one down!
The four of us had tried to book a private tour with Kauai Guided Tours for after our flight but they were already booked but Erik Burton of Kauai Guided Tours was a really nice guy & offered us these suggestions on where to go & what to see.
"I would recommend that you explore the East to North corridor as it has most of the main sights.
These locations are all on the visitor maps and are in order as you head north from the car rental places:
1. Wailua Falls
2. 'Opaeka'a Falls
3. Holoholo Ku Heiau and Birthing Stones
4. Coco Palms is where Elvis flimed Blue Hawaii and what is left of the hurricane ravaged facility is at the bottom of the waterfalls/Heiau road
5. Old Kapaa town for food and shops
6. Kealia Beach (good for swimming if waves are small)
7. Kilauea Lighthouse on the north shore
8 Hanalei Taro Fields overlook
9. Hanalei Bay overlook
10. Hanalei Town
11. Hanalei Pier"
So we set out in our little Mustang convertible with Mitch in the driver’s seat & J.R. navigating. We probably looked ridiculous all piling out of that little car but it was so worth it!
We stopped at Opaeka’a Falls for a photo op. There were a few people swimming down below the falls. The grass/weeds were really high by the road where we stopped so the guys stood up on the railing to take pics.
'Our' little Mustang with HAWAII tags!
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Too bad. You don't really get a good feel for the islands unless you do a land vacation. :)
DH and I love Hawaii. Its cool seeing the Grand Hyatt from the air. We rent a condo down the beach from this place and can walk in and enjoy their grounds. :) Their Tidepools restaurant is really nice too.
I think most of the group we ran with thought Hawaii did not live up to the hype (although we loved the whole cruise Hawaii included) & we would probably stay with Caribbean cruises since they are so much cheaper & closer to get to but since we have been back we are all texting & emailing thinking about another cruise to Hawaii. :DIt was definitely not that we did not enjoy Hawaii & Kauai is stunning! We enjoyed every second of our cruise & Hawaii was wonderful but we also love the Caribbean (especially St. Lucia, St. Kitts & Barbados) & to 'us' Hawaii although amazing was not that much better than the Caribbean.
We enjoy cruising more than land trips so that is what works best for us. I am so thankful we finally got to experience Hawaii & I would not take anything for the memories we made on this trip.
I also would have a really hard time with the long flight from Nashville to Hawaii so this cruise suited us perfectly & if we go back it will most likely be on another cruise! :)
Juli
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J.R. & I are definitely not great (or even very good) photographers but we started out our trip with three cameras. My favorite point & shoot camera bit the dust a day or two after we left home & I think the settings were off on our 'big kid' camera so my Olympus Tough water camera became our go to camera so our pics are not as wonderful as we had hoped. It would be hard to capture paradise anyway! :D
good jobThanks. :)
I am very sorry to hear about your father. Always a sad situation. Thank you for sharing your fun of the cruise with all of us.Thank you. It has been tough & I hate to see him in this shape but I am so grateful that we are getting help & he is getting the best care possible.
Juli
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From takeoff to landing it was a wonderful flight & we got such a great overview of Kauai. We all agreed it was one of the highlights of our trip.
When we landed Ellen from Wings Over Kauai came over to check with us & make sure we enjoyed our flight. She also gave us a free DVD of a flight over the island.
After we got home Air Ventures emailed us a group photo with a thank you for flying with them which was a nice touch.
Here is Air Venture's website...
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Sorry but it took me awhile to figure out how to avoid the glare from the window.
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Why is it so cool to see 'our home away from home' from the air?
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Brian was a very capable pilot & despite some turbulence we felt very safe. He was also knowledgeable & witty & made our flight entertaining. We could hear his narration very well through our headsets & we could ask questions & speak to each other through them. Every seat has a wide-angle bubble window specifically designed for sightseeing and photography & Brian did a great job allowing both sides of the plane to see the sites by circling back frequently.
We did the Big Kahuna Kauai Air Tour. It was $125pp and about 70 minutes.
From Air Venture’s website about the Big Kahuna Kauai Air Tour …Our most popular Kauai air tour encompasses the entire Garden Island. Enjoy views of the Menehune Fish Pond, the Eucalyptus Tunnel of Trees, Waita Reservoir (the largest reservoir on Kauai), Captain Cook’s Landing in Waimea Town, the breathtaking Waimea Canyon, the majestic Napali Coastline, Lumahai Beach (were the movie South Pacific was filmed), Hanalei Valley, cascading waterfalls, Kilauea Lighthouse (the largest Frigate bird sanctuary) and miles of beautiful coastline and beaches.
This was our air tour route...
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We are finally in Hawaii!!! :)
Kauai was our first port. We were there from 8:30AM until 6PM.
What we saw when we woke up that morning...
After much research we booked the Grand Deluxe Tour with Wings Over Kauai in January 2014. We chose a flight in Kauai because so much of the island is inaccessible except from the air. We had to change our date when our itinerary changed in April. Fortunately WOK had an opening for that day & was able to accommodate us.
Our plane was supposed to hold up to six people but WOK recommends no more than four. Lynn (& Mitch) & (J.R &) I had both booked WOK for the 9:30AM time slot before we ever started communicating together.
The night before our cruise while in Vancouver I received an email from Ellen at Wings over Kauai. Fortunately I had my IPad & had free wifi in our hotel or we would not have received the message.
The email said, “Hi Juli, just got back and just got word from Bruce that the AirVan will be down for maintenance all of next week, it’s the new engine going in. I am holding the 9:30 Cessna for the two of you and the 11:00 Cessna for Lyn and Mitch, and will wait to hear back from you all. I wanted to let you know first before I call all my other people, I have a whole mess of calls to make. I just called AirVentures, if you guys want to fly with them they have the AirVan available at 1:30 and 3:00.
So very sorry, all of our careful planning and the new engine replacement will occur during your stay. We had hoped to do it last week but the shipment was delayed, we have to do it next week when all the cruise ships are in, yikes. Let us know what you think, I am holding those times until I hear from you, okay. Aloha, Ellen”
Obviously we were very disappointed but I also felt sorry for Wings Over Kauai who depend on tourism to support their business.
Originally Lynn & I had both booked rental cars but the week before we left for Vancouver we decided to share a rental car after our flight since we would only have a few hours to explore Kauai & we wanted to go to the same places so I text Lynn & forwarded her Ellen’s email (don’t know why she did not get one) & we decided to go with the two seater plane since we did not have a lot of options at that point.
Lynn had to scramble to book another rental car since we would be going on our flight at different times. I knew we would love Lynn & Mitch at this point because they did not go to ballistic & went with the flow. When on vacation you better be willing to adapt or you will be miserable & J.R. & I live by the philosophy 'when life gives you lemons..."
I called WOK from the ship when we got to Kauai & they assured us we were set to go & would pick us up at the ABC store at Anchor Cove Mall close to the pier.
We got to WOK & the receptionist greeted me with a Kukui nut lei & a fresh flower & went over safety briefings with us. Ellen & Bruce (the pilot) came in looking a little frazzled. They told us we could not go up in the Cessna either because there was a problem with the headsets that they thought they could fix before our flight but they were not able to so the pilot would have no way to communicate with the passengers.
They told us Air Ventures (right beside them) had an opening for four people on their next flight & they recommend them when WOK is full so we called Lynn & Mitch who were picking up their rental car & they rushed to get to the airport.
We filled out our paper work with Air Ventures & weighed in so they could distribute the weight on the plane evenly. Then we went out to meet Brian, our pilot for our flight & the other couple (honeymooners staying in Kauai) that would be joining J.R., Lynn, Mitch & me.
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Sunset that night was beautiful!
And enjoying it with great friends made it even more special!
The show in the Phantom Theatre that night was the "Fun Factor Talent Show'. We did not go. We spent most nights in Frankie & Johnnie's with Music Unlimited.
Next up.... Kauai!
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I forgot to post a pic of my favorite bar wait staff IWayne.
I also forgot that we were awakened EARLY that morning to the ship DEAD IN THE WATER! We went out on our balcony to see 'what was the matter' & a plane whizzed past our balcony & there were smoking flares in the water! Pretty eerie!
And the drop...
It turned out a passenger onboard needed a blood transfusion & our wonderful Coast Guard came to the rescue. It was amazing to watch the Coast Guard in action although it was a pretty freaky thing to wake up to that morning when we had no idea what was going on. At first we thought the pirates must be back! Seriously I am so thankful they were able to get the man the help he needed & I think the Coast Guard & the ships crew handled it remarkably.
Here is the link...
That night they had to medevac the man from the ship. Again the Coast Guard & the crew did their jobs admirably. We heard later that he was doing well.
Here is the link...
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Sea Day 5!!!
We had our LCR games from 2-3PM & then our one hour Cruise Critic M&G Cocktail Party from 4-5PM in Sam's Piano Bar. We got to choose from three specialty cocktails & we chose Rum Punch, Sex on the Beach & Margaritas. We also had Red Wine, White Wine, Sparkling Wine, Domestic and International Beers, Sodas, Regular Coffee and Tea & was $16 per person plus a 15% tip so it was $18.40 pp. The bartender was a doll though & was pretty much making anything anyone asked for.
We had soooo much fun at the cocktail party & yes Carnival's prices have really gone up in the last year but it was so worth it! My dear friend Rae made some great name tags for all of us.
Better not post any more pics from the Cocktail Party! lol
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Sea Day 4!!!
We went to brunch because we love the brunch & never miss it!
I had originally scheduled our Cruise Critic cocktail party for that day but they moved the VIFP party back a day & we did not want to do both in one day so we moved our cocktail party to the next day.
The VIFP party was held at 3-3:45 & again at 4:15-5. The drinks they served were good but super sweet so we ordered Long Island Iced Teas. We tipped the waiter $5 to start with & he brought us two drinks each & checked in with us every few minutes! He was so attentive we gave him another $5 at the end of the party.
Fun after the VIFP party!
And time for dinner.
The show that night was 'the hilarious ventriloquism' of Phil Hughes. We thought it was horrible!
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Sea Day 3!!!
J.R. loves to play Bean Bag Toss (AKA cornhole). Sometimes the tournaments were at 9:30 in the morning (which we usually did not make) & some days they were in the afternoon. I was J.R.'s partner a few times. We were doing great one time & I threw two 'curve bags' on my last toss. We had fun anyway!
I was glad Mike was there to be his partner this time.
The show in the Phantom Theatre that night was Nicole Sasser, the dynamic Trumpeter & Vocalist accompanied by JC & the Miracles. We did not go to the show.
We did go to the deck party that night & had a TON of fun!
Carnival gave out flowers for our hair & fans.
J.R. & Mike did not get the memo that the flowers were for the GIRL's hair! You can not embarrass J.R. (one of the reasons I love him) & he met his match in Mike. Kim & I just shook our heads!
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Our Cruise Critic roll call played LCR every sea day from 2-3PM. I arranged with Carnival's group services to reserve Frankenstein's Lounge for our games about a month before our cruise & they had the room set up & provided pitchers of water & cups & put a Private Event sign by the door.
We had a pretty large group most days so we split it in to two groups so we had two winners every day. We had a great time & it got pretty lively some days!
Miracle to Hawaii 9/18/14 to 10/4/14 with pics
in Carnival Cruise Lines
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Maui & ‘the best-laid plans of mice and men’…
The very 1st thing I booked after I booked our cruise was Old Lahaina Luau in Maui. It gets such wonderful reviews & we were so excited about going.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CC8QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.oldlahainaluau.com%2F&ei=GpVGVNbKNZHoggSOqoDIBA&usg=AFQjCNFevpZIwn8KTfV1-DGc04aJ_C3OJg&sig2=-LqZ1nL6Dj-qzJQEBXDBvQ&bvm=bv.77880786,d.eXY
If you think you want to book the luau definitely book early as they have a liberal cancellation policy & table assignments at OLL are based on who books the earliest.
Then we received the email from Carnival with the itinerary change that cancelled our overnight in Maui. We had to scramble to try to condense two days plans in to one day!
We decided we would still have time to go to OLL since we did not have to be back on-board until 10:30PM & the luau is over at 8:45. We were able to change the date for the luau & keep our rank for table assignment.
The Miracle docked in Kahului & Old Lahaina Luau is obviously in Lahaina about 45 minutes away. We had reserved a rental car for Maui & we spent a lot of time trying to find transportation to & from the luau. We did not want to drive there because for one reason we were afraid we would be pushing it to get back to Kahului after the luau, gas up the car, catch a shuttle & make it to the ship on time. The other reason was OLL includes unlimited adult beverages & their mai-tais are supposed to be wonderful!
The best option for us seemed to be to rent a car through Alamo at Kahului through Discount Hawaii Car Rental & return it to Lahaina after a day of sightseeing. We would have to pay a $35 drop fee for dropping the car off at a different location. Then we planned to take Alamos free shuttle to Old Lahaina Luau that is about 10 minutes away & then to catch a cab back to the ship with CB Taxi.
The man I spoke with at CB Taxi said transportation to or from Old Lahaina Luau to our ship is about $70 & the cabs hold up to seven people! He said to give them a call a few days/weeks ahead & they would be waiting on us outside the Luau with a sign with our name on it. So J.R. & I & Lynn & Mitch & Rae & Lee decided to share a cab back after the luau. Rae & Lee planned to take the bus to the luau.
We also lucked up because the six of us linked our reservations at OLL together & guess whose reservation was #1 on the list? Rae & Lee’s so we all got to take advantage & get the best seats at the luau. J.R. & I were #2 but nothing beats being #1!
Juli