Magical Hawaiian Radiance of the Seas Detailed Trip Report with Many Pictures

[FunCruiser56]

Did you go into the Palace in Kona? We are just planning to walk around town and wondered how far it was from the dock. Enjoying your trip report, we will visit in April on board the Celebrity Solstice.

 

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[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

While we were walking around in the 90 degree heat, a girl from Ocean Encounters called to tell me nothing else was included. What? We had to get our own snacks and drinks. I was a bit taken aback and said okay and hung up. This made us a bit upset since the website clearly says drinks, snacks, and some appetizers were included. I called her back to see if they would have water and she said oh yes and that we could order from their restaurant and she would pick it up for us. No, thanks! We stopped at a convenience store and bought snacks and drinks. We then called the number for the taxi they had recommended. When the guy did not recognize the name of what looked to be a main street we were on and then asked what island we were on, I said no thanks and hung up! We walked back to the port and grabbed a taxi there. We made arrangements with the driver to pick us up at 4. Last tender wasn’t until 5:30, but we would rather be safe than sorry!

 

 

We got to the Bite Me Sports Shop, where we were to check in. When we walked in, the girls totally ignored us. They looked at us like we were oddballs. They took our info and said for us to walk down to the boats and it was the 7th boat in and the captain would meet us there and if he was not there, he was getting fuel. What? I can’t believe that if we had chartered it for 37 people, they would have 37 people march down there looking for their boat. If they had been a little more welcoming, we would have probably bought a hat or t-shirt or something the store had for sale, but they made us feel so out of place. Plus, this excursion seemed like it was going south fast and was going to be a total waste of money. :( We walked out back and down to the pier. The boats were on 2 sides of a perpendicular corner and there was no way to know on which side the 7th boat would be ours. We were trying to figure out which boat it was and Phil said, “Well, it better be the one that we paid for!” (We were all grumpy and hot at this point.) A man walking up behind us said, “It better by my boat you paid for!!” LOL, so embarrassing!

 

 

 

 

Boarding was a bit complicated, especially for Frank’s bum hip and my complete incoordination because you had a big gap from the pier to the boat to maneuver. (I’m looking at the picture and it looks like it would not be too bad, but that step went into the boat to step down once you boarded and that white thing the steps are on was not something you could step on.) However, from the second we boarded, all our problems disappeared!! The captain and first mate were very nice. The ship was very nice. And it was heavenly cool on the water. They didn’t know that we were just sightseeing – even though I had stated so in several communications. I can’t even say lesson learned here because you can’t do more than I did – mentioned it at booking AND emailed prior to the excursion to remind them that we were only sightseeing with 4 people AND told them when they called the day before. Clearly, the front desk girls were not too good at their jobs. When we mentioned that we wanted to be back at 3:30 to 4 instead of 4:30, the scheduled time, the captain brightened up. He has us back at 3:30 on the dot. :)

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

Did you go into the Palace in Kona? We are just planning to walk around town and wondered how far it was from the dock. Enjoying your trip report, we will visit in April on board the Celebrity Solstice.

 

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Hello! Thank you! No, we didn't go in. We weren't sure of what the deal was - free or fee, etc. It was not far at all, just a few minutes walk. It was so hot that day though that it felt further. :)

 

We had originally been booked on the Solstice - they had a wonderful overnight in Honolulu; however, the price we got on the Radiance was too good to pass up. Have a wonderful trip!!!!!

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

We sailed by our ship and out to Cook’s statue. It was a lovely experience and they did have water and snacks for us… I don’t think I would want to be on the boat with 37 people, but it was awesome for 4 people! I had brought my nook and iPad thinking I would read and relax, but I found that I was entranced by the water and the experience. I mostly sat in the front of the boat and just took pictures and took in the beautiful scenery! We thought that we would not want to fish, but the first mate convinced the men to put out a few poles. It was just fun!!!! Wonderful day!!!!

 

 

 

 

Friendly port turtle!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If anyone takes the Zodiak tour:

 

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

 

 

My love!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

 

 

 

 

 

The beautiful Radiance of the Seas!

 

 

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

 

 

Our guys!!!

 

 

 

 

We were fishing!!! We didn’t catch anything… :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

The guys were up at the top deck of the ship with the first mate. There was an inside cabin with a table and bathroom, a front deck, a back deck, and a topside deck.

 

 

A storm was brewing but we never got rained on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frank called the driver when we were headed back to shore. He pulled up just as we were walking back up the pier. Great timing! He was a bit odd… He was going on and on about how Royal is getting known as the ‘ghetto ship’ with its clientele - not us, of course, he said - the Canadians that are from Alberta who are so rude. Oh and he was a Buddhist and some people don’t like Buddhists. :confused:

 

 

This excursion ended up being an awesome experience and so relaxing and beautiful!

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

Back to the ship for a drink and then to our 7:30 Samba dinner reservation. This was our first time at Sambas. Delicious!!!! A lot of food and you could ask for more of any particular met. Not quite like a real Brazilian restaurant as they did not just walk around with the meat, but it was very good. You put the green side of the sign out when you wanted more and red when you were not ready. The sausage and the lamb chops were my favorites! The Batista drink (on the menu there only that we saw) was the most delicious drink we had had on the ship. Maria ordered another, but it was not as good. We weren’t a fan of the desserts, but the salad bar was awesome! We left very stuffed!!! Well worth the cost!

 

 

It was Hawaiian night so we wore our luau clothes. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First you go to the salad bar. It had a lot of yummy choices.

 

 

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

 

 

 

Best drink of the cruise:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

Serious cutlery

 

 

 

LOL, Maria got her arm stuck in the window hanging. I do not know how that happened…but I did get a picture... :)

 

 

 

 

Also had grilled veggies and French fries and plantains

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

All the sauces – they explained which sauce went with each meat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

 

 

Requisite shot of Frank with something up his nose… An unplanned cruise tradition…

 

 

 

 

They were having a luau party on the deck tonight. Phil got some shots of the yummy treats. We were too stuffed to even attempt to eat anything else.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow is Maui!!!!

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

DAY 10 – MAUI

 

Maui was a beautiful sail in!! I did go up on the top deck to see if I could get some sunrise pictures, but it was blocked by hills. Gorgeous, though!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

Today was supposed to be Road to Hana private tour with Butch from Maui Touring Company (http://www.themauitouringcompany.com/). We were meeting Mo to be escorted off the ship right at 8 am, but there seemed to be some issues with positioning the ship so we could tender. Well, there were issues – they came on the loudspeaker to say they had sent one tender off but found that they had to turn the ship to buffer the tendering process from the winds. Butch had texted me early to let me know he was there. I was letting him know the updates as we got them. I mentioned to him that, if he thought the time would be too tight to do the Road to Hana, we could do Hana the next week. We were using this company during our stay in Maui, when we planned to do Haleakala Crater and other sights. Butch texted me back that funny I should mention that – he was thinking the same thing!

 

 

Butch was a very nice guy! He was very friendly and knowledgeable. He joked around with us, especially Frank in the front seat and answered all of the questions. He was from Oklahoma. Some of the sights we saw this day included the North Shore, Ioa Needle, The Maui Winery, Paia, etc. The tour was in a gorgeous Escalade, so was very comfortable. As I said before, I didn’t really keep any notes during these port stops, so I will let the pictures speak for themselves!

 

 

Big tree and market in the middle of town: