My amazing, long awaited trip July 20 - 31

[smrtypnts]

Enjoying your review and looking forward to more.

coming from you that's a real compliment--your review was truly amazing!!

Wow! Road to Hana and a luau all in a day!

 

Great pictures! Thanks again for taking the time to share.

Yeah--maybe if we had not rushed to get to the end first due to our time constraint, maybe I wouldn't have become car sick. :o

Thanks for taking the time to write this review! It has been fun to read it and very helpful for those of us who are planning a trip...we get all sorts of little tips and ideas!! Enjoying your pictures too!

I felt exactly the same way when I was doing all my research!

[smrtypnts]

This review is getting me so excited for my trip in April. The planning never seems to end....I just can't decide on what to do at each port and/or which tour company to use...or to rent a car.....ahhhh!

Good!! The planning doesn't end--even when I was there, some plans were changing!;)

 

I think your luau pictures are terrific. Mine were horrible. So blurry you could barely make out the figures and the colors just didn't show. Be proud to show yours off cuz they are good.

 

It's funny you mentioned the black sand being bad luck as we had read about that too and even when someone offered us a small bottle of it, we declined his offer. Thanks but no thanks kind of thing.

Yeah, I have a few blurry pictures too.:( And I don't need ANY bad luck!!! No taking anything back from Hawaii that's not sold in a store, and maybe not even some of that.;)

 

I think your luau pictures are spectacular!

Thank you so much!!!

[smrtypnts]

Good Morning Smrtypnts: I, too, have been enjoying your review and lovely pictures. I will be on the POA on September 15, 2012. Have noticed you have not posted since August 17. Do hope all is well and that you have just not had time to post.

Just busy. But thanks for asking. You're going to have such a wonderful time!!

[smrtypnts]

Second day in Maui was a planned beach day. It didn’t NEED to be anymore, but I think we were all ready for some “down” time. A beach day had originally been planned because we were getting up so early for the Haleakala sunrise, but as noted we didn’t do that. We all headed off the ship to our various cars. I had picked Black rock because I figured DN, BFH and DB would love to jump off the rock. Finding parking at a reasonable rate (when there are so many beaches you can go to for free) was a real feat. So much so that DB & DSil who were following us were really becoming annoyed as were BF & BFH. So at one point BF & BFH jumped out of our car and into DB’s rented mustang convertible and went with them back towards one of the many passed beaches along the way. We stuck with the plan and via cell phone got hold of DS and she came to park near us. We got on the beach and DS rented an umbrella as she was nervous for DN’s very pale skin and DH rented a beach chair. DN had a boogie board that DS bought an hour earlier in Lahaina. He used it the entire time we were there. Had a blast.

 

 

 

 

We watched people jumping off black rock. It was a nice beach with rentals and food very close. On the way out, DS bought a fitted toe ring. She’s very happy with it. We stopped at a nearby store on the way back to the ship for a shave ice. Very good, but not as good as Matsumoto’s. DS didn’t have one so she was able to drive and off she went with DN. DH & I stayed a while and ate our shave ice. Then off we went. As we neared the rental car place we filled up on gas. Then we returned the rental car and took the shuttle back to the ship. All very nice and neat—no mess, no fuss, no problems.

 

 

This was my mother’s 70th birthday. The whole reason we took the trip! We were eating at the French restaurant tonight. We had 7:00 reservations. The 8 of us met there. BF & BFH had dinner alone this night. From this board I learned the escargot was to die for so I ordered two. We had my DN order one—he didn’t know what it was and we didn’t tell him until after he was done eating it and said it was delicious, which it was!! I don’t really remember what we ate other than that—again, nothing to write home about, but not terrible either. Of the 8 of us 2 of us ordered desert…..mostly because we all knew they were bringing us a cake for DM. It was a good time and a very nice evening. DS got a little drunk, but that’s the way my family rolls, so no big deal. J Again, another night where most of us headed back to our cabins—except DH. He’s a night owl.

DM & DMH

 

 

 

[smrtypnts]

Tuesday morning—I had rented a mini van because DS, DN, DB and DSil were going to head out with DH and me. When I called DB in his room he said they were too tired or something. I was simply annoyed and then poked my head over the balcony railing and asked BF if they wanted to ditch their rental car and come with us, but they said no. I knew basically all of us were headed to Volcano National Park. I asked to downgrade our car at the rental car place but they said no—ok, no big deal really. While we were on line at the rental place here comes BF. Off we went. We got to VNP and headed straight to the visitor center and spoke to a ranger. We asked him where should we go/what should we do, but quite honestly he wasn’t very helpful—we never headed beyond the visitor center so we never saw the fumes/gasses coming out of the volcano. Oh well. We went straight to Thurston Lava tube first. We went through the lit area just fine—interesting. DS & I walked about 4 feet into the unlit portion and realized very quickly that the crappy, tiny flashlights that we brought sucked and weren’t worth sh*t. We decided we were not going any further. DN decided to hang with DH and head through this dark area….and boy was it dark—pitch black!! So DS & I went up the few stairs and waited up there—took a few pics etc.

 

That's DS & DN up ahead

 

Some pics while we were waiting outside Thurston Lava Tube

 

 

 

After a VERY long (getting nervous) while, our men showed up. Then we went down Chain of Craters Road. We made numerous stops and took too many pictures.

[smrtypnts]

When we got to the end, we took some pics near the ocean and even walked a ways beyond the orange cones blocking the road.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I called my DB for something—I can’t remember what, but he answered the phone and said—“Oh, I guess you heard”. Heard? No—heard what?. “Oh—we were kicked off the ship!!!” WHAT??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Nope—not kidding. Apparently, he was smoking pot on his balcony after my mother’s birthday dinner and someone called security. We were at sea when this all happened so they allowed him to stay on the ship for the night, but in the morning they brought in the local authorities, etc. According to DB, no one cared—not the captain, not the local police, no one—except security. Well, and headquarters in Miami. Boy oh boy—these things only happen to my brother. Don’t get me wrong, I am 75% pissed at DB for being an idiot, but I am 25% mad at whoever ratted him out. I mean, the guy isn’t your permanent next door neighbor. He’s your neighbor for a week. Oh well—it is what it is. Now, DS and I are saying….oh crap—who’s gonna tell mommy. Well, as it turns out, mommy has known the entire time because she has a cabin right next door to him and when all the hubbub was happening she poked her head around the balcony and saw everything. Not to mention she met him at a hotel in Hilo and gave him some money. Well, anyway back in the car and back to the ship. DH dropped the 3 of us off and then took the rental car back by himself.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

My last cruise on POA (July 16th departure) I saw security guards standing outside of a balcony cabin a few doors down from me waiting while the "guests" packed their stuff. Yep, they were being evicted in port. I wonder if it was cuz of smoking pot or something else naughty they did. Not too bright.

[smrtypnts]

My last cruise on POA (July 16th departure) I saw security guards standing outside of a balcony cabin a few doors down from me waiting while the "guests" packed their stuff. Yep, they were being evicted in port. I wonder if it was cuz of smoking pot or something else naughty they did. Not too bright.

Nope--clearly not bright. And as smart as my brother is, he's not bright most of the time. LOL

[Trip10]

OK,didn't see that coming! Trip Reviews really are just reality in it's purest form,huh?

 

But So sorry this happened on your family's Long awaited Hawaii vacation. You are now a Saint as well as the official planner! For God's sake, keep it coming...

[doxie2cruise]

Sorry this happened to your family. Love your review. Please keep it coming.

 

Question I keep reading about car rentals being cheap. When I look them up I'm finding quotes for around $100. per day. Does that sound cheap? Thanks, Doxie

[smrtypnts]

Sorry this happened to your family. Love your review. Please keep it coming.

 

Question I keep reading about car rentals being cheap. When I look them up I'm finding quotes for around $100. per day. Does that sound cheap? Thanks, Doxie

$100 per day is definitely not cheap. How far out are you looking? If it's more than 6 to 9 months, you have to wait until it's closer. If you are under 6 months, you need to find a discount code. Also, are you looking at specific car rental companies, like Hertz and Alamo or are you doing a general thing on travelocity or some other similar site? If you feel all you need are discount codes then do a search on the Hawaii forum "discount code" will probably pull up a bunch.

[smrtypnts]

OK,didn't see that coming! Trip Reviews really are just reality in it's purest form,huh?

 

But So sorry this happened on your family's Long awaited Hawaii vacation. You are now a Saint as well as the official planner! For God's sake, keep it coming...

You really gave me a good laugh! Thank you for that! A) As I noted, it was my brother's own darn fault and B) I am not a saint. Not by any stretch. I don't smoke pot because I don't like it, not because it's illegal. But don't get me wrong, I don't advocate it for those that feel it's perfectly ok--it's not perfectly ok.

Thank you for your kind words though, too. :):p:D

[boaterette]

I am enjoying your review. But boy must say that if that were my brother I would be a 150% pissed off at him. Especially for doing that on Mom's bd cruise.

 

Can't wait to hear more of your review. I am going in November.

[smrtypnts]

I am enjoying your review. But boy must say that if that were my brother I would be a 150% pissed off at him. Especially for doing that on Mom's bd cruise.

 

Can't wait to hear more of your review. I am going in November.

Well we certainly weren't happy with DB, but he ruined it more for himself and his wife than anyone else. I think most of us felt sorry for DSil because she doesn't smoke pot so it really sucked for her. He had to pay for hotels for 5 days, food for 5 days and a puddle jumper for the 2 of them, so it cost him royally!!

[smrtypnts]

We got back to the ship early enough to spend a little time in the pool. It was nice—refreshing and not too many people. Most nights we were all meeting at one of the bars for drinks around 6—this night was no different. So we all had a couple of drinks and then 6 of us again ate in the main dining room and DM had dinner in one of the specialty restaurants. Again, I don’t remember what I ate, but my sister and I having had quite a few of their steaks were quickly learning that even when ordered rare they were very dry! I have only had dry steak in the past when it’s well done, so this was really weird. And just like the steaks and the drinks, the norm was quickly becoming to head back to the room after dinner. By myself. Sometimes I would sit out on the deck for a little while and enjoy the breeze or watch the wake—it was simply very relaxing. There were 3 tv’s in our suite…1 in each bedroom and 1 in the living room. All 3 were used frequently. For me I use the tv at night like white noise—it lulls me to sleep. One of the nights DH slept on our balcony and one of the nights DS slept out there. It really was the most wonderful balcony with views in 2 directions and so many loungers and so many chairs. It really does spoil a person!!

Wednesday was Kona. We had priority tender tickets, but we still

had to wait. However, we did get on the next tender. When we were on our way to the dock, a few spinner dolphins gave us a real show!! I was too slow with the camera and not in a good position to take pictures though. If you rent a car from thrifty you can rent basically across the street from where the tender drops you off on the dock at the King Kam hotel. But we rented from Enterprise, so they had us wait just a little before the hotel under the banyan tree.

 

 

When they finally came to get me, there were 3 families waiting for them so only the driver could go. Well, it turns out the driver is also the customer service agent once back at the rental building—so one at a time we took our turn getting a car. Guess who was last? From the time we got off the ship onto the tender to the time I picked up my family it was probably over an hour—what a waste!! Probably shouldn’t have been so cheap and just bit the bullet, paid more and rented from Thrifty!! Well anyway—the plan of attack was to go to the Kona Brewery (mainly for the free beer) and finding it was a drag because the address is on the main road but you can’t access it from there—you have to find the parking lot a block away and drive a block through the parking lot to the Brewery or better yet—walk! As it turned out that’s exactly what BFH did. He was waiting there when we arrived. So we took the tour and then had a few free 4 oz glasses of beer. I personally don’t like beer, but I did it for DH. DS does like beer but she’s a Bud Light girl. Two of the beers they gave us were dark and she did not like those. I took a tiny sip of each and then passed mine on to BFH or DH.

 

 

 

Then we tipped our guide and ordered some lunch to take with us. DH & DN shared a pizza which was supposedly the best pizza around—they said it was very good. DS & I shared a BLT of sorts. It was very good. We ate it on the way to Place of Refuge. I don't know if this is typical or not, but there was a Native person there doing a chant and a girl in the water pouring water from her hands. It was interesting.

 

This is the man doing the chant

 

 

[smrtypnts]

After we were done sight seeing there, we walked up the street to Two Step to snorkel. Again, DS and DH had a hard time and DN & I snorkeled together. Two step is an area of old lava and then basically jump in the water—it’s not a beach by any stretch of the imagination. The snorkeling was much better than at Hanauma Bay and we saw 2 sea turtles. DS had a hard time and just figured it wasn’t worth it, so she got out and on the way out she really scratched/stubbed the top of her toes on the lava rock and she was bleeding pretty bad. Plus there was an obnoxious guy who yelled at me when I sprayed SPF on myself and the wind brought it in his direction. Later on while we were snorkeling he starts giving my nephew a hard time about how he’s snorkeling and too close to the turtles. DH was near us at that time and he points to my husband and says—does HE belong to you too? As if to say none of the people I came with are worth a damn. Basically he starts telling me how neither DN nor DH are snorkeling “correctly”. I’d had enough of this a$$hole and we get out. I heard afterwards from DS who was sunning herself that he gave a lot of people a hard time and some kids were thinking of stealing his belongings…LOL.

After snorkeling we went to a Painted Church. It was practically a stone’s throw from Place of Refuge. When we got there and my sister realized it was truly a church she wouldn’t go in because we weren’t dressed appropriately and she felt it was disrespectful. (BTW we are Catholic…don’t know if that had any bearing on her attitude.) So I did. I took a few pictures, said a prayer and left. I bought a St Christopher medal before we left. Oh—and I took a few pictures of flowers there.

 

 

Painted on the ceiling

 

Painted on the wall

 

More wall paintings

 

Again on the wall

 

One of many flowers I took

[smrtypnts]

We headed back—I dropped everyone at the tender dock and brought the car back by myself. This time I got an outside seat and had my camera ready, but no dolphins. Back to the cabin and out on the balcony. After we all had showers etc. we were having a “party” on our balcony at 5. George our butler brought us plates of food and an extra large ice bucket.

 

The family was making fun of me taking pictures of the food, so I didn't do it too often.

 

We had some vodka in our room and bought a bucket of beer and all 8 of us hung on the balcony for a couple of hours. Before everyone arrived though, there were dolphins in the water giving us a show—but pointing your camera in the right direction at the right time was very difficult and I really didn’t get any “good” pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TSUmom]

We are planning on stopping at the Kona Brewery too and were told that it is not that far of a walk so I think we will head there after our Zodiac Snorkle. I too have heard the pizza is great and my DH loves trying different beers. Thank you for taking the time to do this review, I am enjoying it.:)

[Countrygirl44]

Have been enjoying your review and photos sooooo very much. DH and I are going on the POA in September 2012. First cruise to Hawaii (did spend a week there about twelve years ago in Honolulu). Also first cruise on NCL. Have cruise Princess (six) RCL (one) and Carnival (one).

Thanks so much for the many details. I am the planner in the family. I have been able to gleen so many ideas and suggestions from CC.

Been checking daily for the rest of your review.

[smrtypnts]

Have been enjoying your review and photos sooooo very much. DH and I are going on the POA in September 2012. First cruise to Hawaii (did spend a week there about twelve years ago in Honolulu). Also first cruise on NCL. Have cruise Princess (six) RCL (one) and Carnival (one).

 

Thanks so much for the many details. I am the planner in the family. I have been able to gleen so many ideas and suggestions from CC.

 

Been checking daily for the rest of your review.

 

Thanks a lot! I will finish the review soon. We were without power due to hurricane Irene for several days and the cleanup now that we have power has taken precedence. I also started sewing my daughter's halloween costume (she's 21...will it ever end?). I promise I'll be back on track this week.

 

You are going to love this itinerary. Unfortunately, as nice as the ship and staff are, you're not likely to spend much time doing the ordinary cruise things. As you can tell from the review we were too pooped each day. Generally we're the ones staying up late, drinking and just having a ton of fun getting to know staff and other cruisers. I got the vast majority of my info pre-cruise right here on CC--the people here are just the best!!

[Countrygirl44]

Thanks a lot! I will finish the review soon. We were without power due to hurricane Irene for several days and the cleanup now that we have power has taken precedence. I also started sewing my daughter's halloween costume (she's 21...will it ever end?). I promise I'll be back on track this week.

 

You are going to love this itinerary. Unfortunately, as nice as the ship and staff are, you're not likely to spend much time doing the ordinary cruise things. As you can tell from the review we were too pooped each day. Generally we're the ones staying up late, drinking and just having a ton of fun getting to know staff and other cruisers. I got the vast majority of my info pre-cruise right here on CC--the people here are just the best!!

 

We are just a tad shy of 70 so I am beginning to think that maybe I am a little ambitious in some of my excursion selections...especially something every day. We are actually fairly active (me more so than DH as he does have some health issues). He did well on our Alaska cruise this summer. We went to the Yukon, did the whale watch in Juneau and the Misty Fjords by boat. But then we also had a couple of sea days. We do plan to arrive in Honolulu for a few days to get our bodies on Hawaiian time. Depending on our flight back to NC on departure day, we will make plans for tours in Honolulu pre cruise and then something on disembarkment day.

We will not do any car rentals as I would be the one driving.

 

Most of our excursions are tours (Road to Hana, Best of Maui, Kona by Land and Sea, Volcano/Gardens in Hilo, Waimea,Wailua, and Fern Grotto, and Hanalei Tour). Some are longer than others. Once back on the ship, we may or may not go to the MDR for dinner. We may just opt for room service and enjoy sitting on the balcony. We are past the partying age in our life. We may go to some of the shows. That was how we handled Alaska (five times).

 

Sorry you lost power with Irene. From what I could tell from the weather channel, some of the places that was expected to get a lot of damage, did not and those that were not in the direct path got more.

 

We have had steady rain for two days. Yesterday was an "all day rain". I really hate to complain as we truly need the rain and it was such a good soaking rain.

 

Will continue to check for the rest of your review. Your pictures are absolutely beautiful!