Miracle to Hawaii 9/18/14 to 10/4/14 with pics

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

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.

Edited October 20, 2014 by Cool Breeze Cruiser

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

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?!?

 

 

 

 

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

We stopped at a beach so the guys could put their toes in the sand!

 

 

 

And off we go again!

 

 

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

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.

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

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!

 

 

 

[babsee101]

Loving the review! I can hardly wait for more! :)

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

 

 

 

 

 

 

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'!

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

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

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

We woke up to a very overcast, drizzly day but who cares we were in Maui! :) Everything was wonderful until Troy made an announcement right as we docked that Carnival had just received word from the port authority that due to port congestion we had to leave Maui an hour early at 10PM! We now had to be back on-board at 9:30 instead of 10:30. :(

 

OMG to say we were disappointed would be a huge understatement! I called Old Lahaina Luau & they said they had about 90 people coming to the luau from the Miracle & over half of them had cancelled already. We only had until 10AM to cancel our reservations for a full refund.

 

We met a bunch of our friends in the atrium lobby & tried to decide what to do. The lady at OLL said we could leave the luau early but we hated to miss part of the show plus we did not want to spend the whole day worrying about getting back to the ship on time. We wasted an hour or two trying to decide what to do & finally decided not to risk going to the luau so we cancelled.

 

The people that had booked a different luau through Carnival were able to go but that was not the one we wanted to go to.

 

So we regrouped & came up with a new plan & decided we would have a wonderful day in Maui anyway!

 

 

We got off the ship & got in line for the free shuttle that would take us to Alamo. Chaos reigned & I think the guys directing us were on an ego trip because they would tell us to get in a certain line for a shuttle & then let a different line that just walked up get on the shuttle.

 

To say tempers were flaring would be an understatement especially after we just had to give up our precious time in Maui. We FINALLY got on the shuttle to Alamo & even the shuttle driver apologized & said he had never seen it like that.

 

We went to Alamo & upgraded our economy car to an SUV since we had decided to share a car with Lynn & Mitch again. This time J.R. was in the driver’s seat with Mitch navigating & we went off to explore Maui!

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

We headed to IAO Valley & beat the rain there by a few minutes!

 

 

It was just a 'little' overcast there!

 

 

 

 

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

 

 

 

 

 

And then we got drenched in a downpour!

[shipshipship]

We were on the same cruise and the announcement shortening Maui by an hour (after losing a day there) was so disappointing. What a let down. Didn't let it spoil the day, but confess made us question Carnival's regard for their customers.

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

Thank you for this excellent thread. We look forward to making this cruise next winter.

Thanks. Hope you have an amazing cruise like we did!

 

Loving the review! I can hardly wait for more! :)

Thanks. It is taking me longer than I had hoped to finish my review with all the things going on with my father but it is also providing me with a good distraction.

Juli

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

We were on the same cruise and the announcement shortening Maui by an hour (after losing a day there) was so disappointing. What a let down. Didn't let it spoil the day, but confess made us question Carnival's regard for their customers.

 

 

Wasn't it a wonderful cruise?

I have to admit I was pretty ticked when the announcement came that we had to leave Maui an hour early but we did the Behind the Scenes tour later that week & the Captain sounded pretty POd about it too!

He said that the Port Authority informed Carnival that morning that due to port congestion we had to leave early. He said they had a cargo ship coming in with supplies & the Miracle had to MOVE!

Since Hawaii is dependent on supplies from the mainland it made sense.

Still hated to miss the luau but I truly believe it was beyond Carnival's control.

Juli

[Beachiekeen]

Oh your pics of Iao Valley are incredible. It's on our list for our trip in 2 weeks. This review is getting me excited for both that trip and our cruise!

[daisy001]

Thanks for the review and the pictures. It is very interesting to read people adventure especially when they were on the same ship then you. We also made the best of everything no matter what.

 

Looking forward for the rest of the review. Best wished for your father.

[jzad]

Great review! Doing Hawaii in 2016 and love reading about your trip.

[jimbo5544]

Wow, great review and looks like an outstanding cruise!

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

Oh your pics of Iao Valley are incredible. It's on our list for our trip in 2 weeks. This review is getting me excited for both that trip and our cruise!

Thanks. Sorry it is taking me so long to finish my review. Hope you enjoy your trip.

 

Thanks for the review and the pictures. It is very interesting to read people adventure especially when they were on the same ship then you. We also made the best of everything no matter what. Looking forward for the rest of the review. Best wished for your father.

It is hard to believe how fast our cruise went by! I thought we would have so much free time with 11 sea days but we were doing something every minute! Thanks for the well wishes for my father.

 

Great review! Doing Hawaii in 2016 and love reading about your trip.

Hope you have a great trip! Hawaii was beautiful!

 

Wow, great review and looks like an outstanding cruise!

Thank you. My favorite cruise is always the one I am on at the time! :D

Juli

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

We left IAO Valley & drove south down Highway 30. I had read about Coconuts in Kihei being really good so we 'tried' to find it. It is kind of a hole in the wall in a strip mall so we passed it the 1st time & had to backtrack.

 

I didn't research it very well because I missed the part about it being Coconuts Fish Cafe & I don't do 'fishies'! :eek: But they had chicken tacos so I survived! :D

 

Coconuts has custom surfboard tables, exceptional food, healthy food choices, and aloha culture. In 2013, it was featured in Travel + Leisure magazine in its list of "Top 100 Places to Eat Like A Local," and CNN's list of "Top 10 Places to Eat Like a Local" and their "Top 100 Seafood Restaurants in The World."

 

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCkQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoconutsfishcafe.com%2F&ei=ZNVHVKesLs2XgwTDqILgDA&usg=AFQjCNFhkSfhh7w3cer2gIqScY1LWZrZZQ&sig2=a28IwrP7Nyf1QcdIA-IVmw

 

 

 

The food was good, very fresh & one of Coconuts claims to fame is that it is supposed to be healthy food & the staff is extremely friendly. She gave Mitch a lesson on how to eat their huge tacos when he asked her about it! :D

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

There was a little flea market across the street from Coconuts so we stopped by there after lunch. We wanted to buy some new Hawaiian dresses & shirts.

 

I found a blue Hawaiian dress I liked & turned around & saw Mitch holding the shirt he had picked out in the same pattern as my dress! :eek: Then J.R. picked up the same shirt so he could match me. :p Lynn said the three of us couldn't wear matching clothes & leave her out so she bought the same dress I did. :D

 

At the time we thought it was hilarious! Later Lynn & I were like "what were we thinking?" And we had not had a drop of adult beverages at that point either!

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

After buying twinsie times two Hawaiian clothes we drove along the coast.

 

 

 

We kept driving until we came to this almost one lane highway. This is what we saw on either side of us.

 

 

Time for embarrassment. We thought they had done some major excavating to get miles of that dirt & rock churned up! :o We didn't find out that was from lava flow until we got to Kona & Kyle with Mary Lou's Tours told us!

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

We stopped at a beach next that we thought was Big (Makena) Beach but now we are not so sure so if anybody recognizes the beach in these pics & knows for sure where we were please let me know! Anyway it was very pretty & the sun finally came out while we were there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then the waves came!

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

 

 

 

 

I am a 'little' heavier than I was when J.R. carried me over the threshold 30 years ago!

 

This fish taco stand was parked by the parking lot.

 

There were also porta-potties & lifeguards at the beach.

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

I almost forgot there was a wedding taking place at the beach when we were there. Of course we had to take a pic!