Zaanadam Circle Hawaii Part 3 The Islands

[kakalina]

PART 3 THE ISLANDS OF HAWAI'I

First I must apologize for taking so long to get this posted. We both caught terrible colds on the trip back and we are just recovering now.

Tuesday Oct 13th Hilo, Hawai'i

We docked in Hilo with beautiful sunny weather that will follow throughout the entire cruise. We docked at 8:07am.

We purchased a ships tour as not much is close to the dock and we've already done most of the usual things here.

We booked the Hilo Botanical Gardens and we were very impressed. There is a lot of walking and a very steep incline going in and out. It was a breathtakingly beautiful place. We saw innumerable types of gingers, bamboo forests, a huge orchid area, an aviary, several amazing cannonball trees, a gorgeous waterfall and a tiny graveyard for the bones that were found when they cleared some of the land.

After the tour we spent some time visiting with our friend Leona who manages Lin's Leis in the warehouse where some of the shops are just off the dock. It is where we always go for fresh leis at a good price when we arrive in Hilo. Especially now as the ship no longer provides any leis at all for the pax as they used to do. We went back to the ship for lunch which was wonderful as always. I usually eat a bowl of good soup with a roll and sometimes a small salad. DH usually goes for a full hot meal.

We then took the shuttle to Hilo Hatties but it isn't the store it once was and we didn't buy anything there this time. We also shuttled to Wal-Mart for some necessities. I went to the salon onboard and had all my hair cut off. About 12 inches. So, I suddenly found myself needing "girly" things like a curling iron and hairspray. Yuck! One consolation, it will grow out. It is very weird to have a naked neck.

Wednesday Oct 14th Lahiana, Maui

We anchored off Lahaina at 7:00 am. It is another beautifully warm and sunny day. We made no plans for Maui. We took advantage of the new mariner progran and just walked down to the tender area when they announced the ship was cleared. We did not have a tender ticket. We were greeted by the CD Michelle Worthley and told as 4 star mariners we could just walk to the front of the line and board the tender. It worked very well and we were on the first passenger tender off.

We tendered in and walked through the Banyan Tree area. Listening to all the birds and enjoying the shade of the largest Banyan tree in the world. When the shops opened up we strolled up and down Front Street checking out the stores and galleries. We did see a few paintings we like but felt they were overpriced.

We had made arrangements to meet our friends Tina, Bunni and Charles at Bubba Gumps Shrimp Co. for lunch. We all met up and had an amazingly good meal. They have shrimp every way you can think of and hush puppies to die for. While sitting at a table next to huge open windows with a beautiful view of our ship at anchor. We had a long, leisurely lunch than took off for some more shopping. After walking up to Hilo Hatties and back we went to Ululani's for some of the best shave ice on Maui.

Thursday Oct 15th Nawiliwili, Kauai

We docked at 8 am. We booked our only other tour here. This cruise was more about relaxing and mourning our friend Rita than anything else.

We toured the Kilohana Plantation Estate and train tour. In 1935 Gaylord Wilcox built and named the 16,000 sq. ft. plantation house. Its name Kilohana means " not to be surpassed". With all that square footage and beautifully appointed downstairs rooms there are only three bedrooms in the entire estate. There is the manor or plantation house, a restaurant, many varied gift shops, a clay works, the Lu'au Kalamaku, and Hawai'is first rum factory. They no longer export sugar and were looking for something productive to do with their sugar cane. They decided a rum factory would work and Kaloa Rum was born. There is something completely decadent about sampling white and gold rum at 9:30 in the morning.

After touring the shops and buildings we boarded the Kilohana Train Tour. The authentic conductor narrated tour took 40 minutes to tour all 105 acres. We saw over 50 varities of orchards and fruit trees. They train stopped to feed a herd of over 50 wild pigs. We stayed on the train as we didn't want to deal with the customs form about being on a farm or touching farm animals. By staying on the train we managed to avoid that potential problem. There was a lovely bus ride back to the ship with a detour to Koahiki Bay where the locals fish. It was an amazingly beautiful viewpoint.

We arrived back at the ship and had a nice lunch. I made my daily team trivia game. I do love my trivia. We had a great team, thanks to Tina, Bunni, Charles, Steve, Lisa and myself. We are living proof that you don't have to win to have a truly fun time.

Friday Oct 16th Honolulu, Oahu

We docked in Honolulu at 7:52 am. We made a point to be on the Lower Promenade deck outside movie camera in hand so we could watch the docking. In Honolulu the ship is welcomed by hula dancers in their native dress dancing us into the dock. The call out welcomes to the ship and play lovely music to dance to. They used to dance right on the dock but this trip we found they built a pavilion for them to dance at. It is safer for them and some protection from weather.

Once again we didn't have any particular plans for our time here in Honolulu. We had a lovely long breakfast in the Lido and then took our time about disembarking. This was the first time we docked at Aloha Towers and didn't use the moveable stairs when disembarking from deck 5. Instead we disembarked from deck 2 and were right outside the back of the terminal and had to walk through a warehouse to get inside the Aloha Towers terminal. No problem with it , it was just different.

We walked through the towers and went to visit some friends who work there. Our friend Trin has a kiosk just inside the walkway when you get off the ship. She has beautiful dresses and shirts. I bought my new granddaughter a Hawai'ian sun dress that was so cute. DH got a nice island style shirt and I got one more long, ruffle hemmed, Hawai'ian gown. They are just so pretty.

Then we were off to the Millenium store in the Towers. Our friend Charlie works there and that is where DH gets all his funny tees. I also found a really cute onsie for the baby which I had to get. And they had some really great incense with island scents like the ocean, and ginger and orchid. We got some of those also.

We pretty much wandered in and off the ship through most of the afternoon and evening. This Circle Hawaii cruise doesn't stay overnight here as our others did. We really liked staying overnight. It gave us plenty of time to do what we wanted to.

Saturday Oct 17th Kona, Hawai'i

We anchored in Kona at 9:20 am and followed the same procedures for getting off that we did last time. We tendered in and wandered around the port for awhile. We went to re-visit the church there with the great replica of the ship "Thaddeus" it is really cool and very well done. We went to visit our friend Crystal who owns Beach Dogs which has the finest shave ice in Kona and an internet rental site. We never miss a visit and a cool treat. Crystal was telling us how bad business is in Kona right now. With NCL down to one ship and HAL dropping Kona from the Circle Hawaii tour next year they are hurting badly. Several businesses have closed and it will be a rough time ahead for the folks in Kona who make their living from the tourists ( which is most of them).

We did a little shopping, checked out Hilo Hatties and made a visit to a drug store for thank you cards. Then we returned to the ship. I couldn't figure out why I was so tired but that night when I woke up unable to breath and coughing I knew I had caught the dreaded cold going around the ship.

Headed back - the sea days

They did something really different on the way back regarding changing your clocks. Instead of doing it in the middle of the night as they always have in the past they had everyone change at 2 in the afternoon. The first time they did this it really messed up the schedule. Apparently they forgot and the daily program had things scheduled at 2 and 3. Well, at 2 they made an announcement on the PA and it was suddenly 3 with new activities supposed to start. The people for the 2 o'clock activities hadn't started yet. It was strange. We prefer changing the times at night.

We hit the casino several nights. I am afraid that I didn't make it to any shows as I was so sick with the stupid cold. We mostly had dinner served in the cabin. In fact, it was wonderful on the last formal night they had my favorite foods and they delivered all of it to the cabin. I had my escargots bourguoine(sp), lobster tails and that wonderful vanilla souffle with Grand Marnier sauce.
The problem was I discovered I couldn't taste any of it. Dang it! I'm stubborn and I ate some of it anyway. I could taste the incredible sweetness of the souffle. It was good.

They did not have a black and white ball on this cruise. They did have a cocktails with the Captain party that we attended. They used some pull out walls and closed off part of the CN for this event. The problem was too many people in too small a space. DH greeted our hosts and then turned around and left. I stayed for one drink with Marthin the Park West Auctioneer. It was too crowded to move and there was no place to sit. It certainly wan't conducive to small talk and mingling. Perhaps that was the point.

I wanted to mention the floral arrangement in our cabin was the nicest one we've ever gotten. Really large it had full blown red roses, baby breath, carnations and lots of two types of orchids. Really lovely.

We did save all the daily programs so if anyone wants to know about the entertainment etc. just let us know. It was a wonderful cruise all in all.
We traveled a total of 4,991 miles.
The Master of the ship was Captain Sybe deBoer, the Hotel Manager Paul A.Z. Muller, the Cruise Director Michelle Worthley and the Executive Chef Paolo Maldini.
We have sailed with all of them before and they lived up to our recollections of a great group of people.
　

[IRL_Joanie]

Thank you for such a wonderful review!

I am so sorry that you got your cold while on the cruise. That just sucks!

Good to have you well again though and back with us

Joanie

[Sage]

Thank you so much for the wonderful review. I'm so looking forward to our trip to Hawaii. Last time we were on our Hawaii cruise, they started dinner early so we could all view the volcano, and the Captain announced when the volcano was in sight. It is something I will never forget. Is this still done?

[Cruising-along]

Thank you! I really appreciate your review, we'll be doing this cruise in April. I'm so sorry you got sick, and hope you're both feeling much much better asap!!!

Knowing you've done this itinerary many times, I'd love to pick your brain if you don't mind! ---

I see you did the Kilohana Plantation tour, it sounds wonderful, viewing the orchards and plantations house and buildings. Sampling the rum doesn't sound so bad either LOL. We're looking at that one or the Grove Farm Sugar Plantation. Do you know anything about the other one that would make our choice easier? What differences are there, if you know?

And a few other questions that you can probably answer from previous experience:

Which do you recommend, Rainbow Falls or Akaka Falls?

Luau Trying to decide between Paradise Cove, Drums of the Pacific, or Old Lahaina. Have you ever been to any of these?

Thanks! And again, thanks for the Bubba Gump info! We'll be sure to go at least once.

[2Labs2Many]

Thanks for your great summaries. I am enjoying reading any and all info that you are providing as we are taking this same trip in February and it will be our first time for both Hawaii and HAL.

Are there any "don't miss this" tours or shops on any of the islands that you would recommend to a first timer?

What about any "make sure you eat this" menu items or activities to do onboard?

[IRL_Joanie]

Just noticed your new Avatar. I love it!!

Joanie

[kakalina]

Sage: Thanks for reminding me. I forgot to put that in about the viewing of the volcano, I didn't go this time I was feeling too poorly and was fast asleep when we passed. Kainoa, our Hawai'ian travel guide did the narration of the volcano. I was told that the viewing wasn't as good as it has been in times past, just some dim glows in the distance.

Carolyn: We haven't done the Grove Farm tour but did talk to some folks who did. They really enjoyed it but did say they thought the train ride sounded fun. I think it's a toss up and you would enjoy either of them. We loved our trip to Akaka Falls which also included the Tsunami Museum it's called the Waves and Waterfalls tour. As for lu'aus we have done the Paradise Cove and the Lahaina La'ua. They are both really good. If you do decided to do Paradise Cove you get a much better deal booking it through their website. You pay the same but get the best instead of the worst seating along with other goodies the ships tour doesn't give you. You can pick up their bus at the Ala Moana hotel. We take the bus to the hotel and then pick up the tour bus. As it gets back late we take a cab back from the hotel to the pier. The Lahaina Lu'au may be a bit more authentic but I think the Paradise Cove is a bit more fun.

2Labs2Many: Like your screen name. Be sure and check out Millenium in Aloha Towers. If you snorkel be sure and snorkel Molokini in Maui it is so worth doing. If you don't do water try the Maui Ocean Center it is amazing. You actually go through an area where you are surrounded by plexiglass and there is sea life all around you. Sharks beside you a ray above and hundreds of colorful fish on the sides. Truly a sight to see.
In Hilo of course is both National Volcanoes Park and the waterfalls. There is so much to do and see; that is why we keep returning to Hawai'i so we can see what we missed last time.
In Honolulu, many go to Pearl Harbor. It can be a long wait to get in though as you can't buy tickets in advance. Waikiki is wonderful and everyone should walk it at least once. We enjoy sitting on the beach there eating a shave ice to keep cool. If you are adventurous take "The Bus" for $2. The #55 ( I think) circle island bus does the whole shebang in 4 hours. You can get on and off as much as you like. You can get one transfer per paid ride. It is a great way to see Oahu. You can get off at the Dole Pineapple Plantation, North Shore where you can get famous Kono's hot dogs or Matsumoto's shave ice, the Polyneisan Cultural Center or even the swap meet at the "Bowl" if you are so inclined.
Kona has some great snorkeling as well. I can't find the shore excursion booklet although I know I brought it back. It's here - somewhere.

I hope this answered some questions for you. I know you will have a wonderful time, we always do. Thanks for the good health wishes, at least the sick waited until we were on the way back!

[Himself]

Hawaii is a wonderful place. I hope to get back there in a few years.

[Cruising-along]

Originally Posted by kakalina

.......

Carolyn: We haven't done the Grove Farm tour but did talk to some folks who did. They really enjoyed it but did say they thought the train ride sounded fun. I think it's a toss up and you would enjoy either of them. We loved our trip to Akaka Falls which also included the Tsunami Museum it's called the Waves and Waterfalls tour. As for lu'aus we have done the Paradise Cove and the Lahaina La'ua. They are both really good. If you do decided to do Paradise Cove you get a much better deal booking it through their website. You pay the same but get the best instead of the worst seating along with other goodies the ships tour doesn't give you. You can pick up their bus at the Ala Moana hotel. We take the bus to the hotel and then pick up the tour bus. As it gets back late we take a cab back from the hotel to the pier. The Lahaina Lu'au may be a bit more authentic but I think the Paradise Cove is a bit more fun.......

Thank you so much, this is a big, big help! Get well.

[Down-Unders]

Originally Posted by kakalina

PART 3 THE ISLANDS OF HAWAI'I

First I must apologize for taking so long to get this posted. We both caught terrible colds on the trip back and we are just recovering now.

Tuesday Oct 13th Hilo, Hawai'i

We docked in Hilo with beautiful sunny weather that will follow throughout the entire cruise. We docked at 8:07am.

We purchased a ships tour as not much is close to the dock and we've already done most of the usual things here.

We booked the Hilo Botanical Gardens and we were very impressed. There is a lot of walking and a very steep incline going in and out. It was a breathtakingly beautiful place. We saw innumerable types of gingers, bamboo forests, a huge orchid area, an aviary, several amazing cannonball trees, a gorgeous waterfall and a tiny graveyard for the bones that were found when they cleared some of the land.

After the tour we spent some time visiting with our friend Leona who manages Lin's Leis in the warehouse where some of the shops are just off the dock. It is where we always go for fresh leis at a good price when we arrive in Hilo. Especially now as the ship no longer provides any leis at all for the pax as they used to do. We went back to the ship for lunch which was wonderful as always. I usually eat a bowl of good soup with a roll and sometimes a small salad. DH usually goes for a full hot meal.

We then took the shuttle to Hilo Hatties but it isn't the store it once was and we didn't buy anything there this time. We also shuttled to Wal-Mart for some necessities. I went to the salon onboard and had all my hair cut off. About 12 inches. So, I suddenly found myself needing "girly" things like a curling iron and hairspray. Yuck! One consolation, it will grow out. It is very weird to have a naked neck.

Wednesday Oct 14th Lahiana, Maui

We anchored off Lahaina at 7:00 am. It is another beautifully warm and sunny day. We made no plans for Maui. We took advantage of the new mariner progran and just walked down to the tender area when they announced the ship was cleared. We did not have a tender ticket. We were greeted by the CD Michelle Worthley and told as 4 star mariners we could just walk to the front of the line and board the tender. It worked very well and we were on the first passenger tender off.

We tendered in and walked through the Banyan Tree area. Listening to all the birds and enjoying the shade of the largest Banyan tree in the world. When the shops opened up we strolled up and down Front Street checking out the stores and galleries. We did see a few paintings we like but felt they were overpriced.

We had made arrangements to meet our friends Tina, Bunni and Charles at Bubba Gumps Shrimp Co. for lunch. We all met up and had an amazingly good meal. They have shrimp every way you can think of and hush puppies to die for. While sitting at a table next to huge open windows with a beautiful view of our ship at anchor. We had a long, leisurely lunch than took off for some more shopping. After walking up to Hilo Hatties and back we went to Ululani's for some of the best shave ice on Maui.

Thursday Oct 15th Nawiliwili, Kauai

We docked at 8 am. We booked our only other tour here. This cruise was more about relaxing and mourning our friend Rita than anything else.

We toured the Kilohana Plantation Estate and train tour. In 1935 Gaylord Wilcox built and named the 16,000 sq. ft. plantation house. Its name Kilohana means " not to be surpassed". With all that square footage and beautifully appointed downstairs rooms there are only three bedrooms in the entire estate. There is the manor or plantation house, a restaurant, many varied gift shops, a clay works, the Lu'au Kalamaku, and Hawai'is first rum factory. They no longer export sugar and were looking for something productive to do with their sugar cane. They decided a rum factory would work and Kaloa Rum was born. There is something completely decadent about sampling white and gold rum at 9:30 in the morning.

After touring the shops and buildings we boarded the Kilohana Train Tour. The authentic conductor narrated tour took 40 minutes to tour all 105 acres. We saw over 50 varities of orchards and fruit trees. They train stopped to feed a herd of over 50 wild pigs. We stayed on the train as we didn't want to deal with the customs form about being on a farm or touching farm animals. By staying on the train we managed to avoid that potential problem. There was a lovely bus ride back to the ship with a detour to Koahiki Bay where the locals fish. It was an amazingly beautiful viewpoint.

We arrived back at the ship and had a nice lunch. I made my daily team trivia game. I do love my trivia. We had a great team, thanks to Tina, Bunni, Charles, Steve, Lisa and myself. We are living proof that you don't have to win to have a truly fun time.

Friday Oct 16th Honolulu, Oahu

We docked in Honolulu at 7:52 am. We made a point to be on the Lower Promenade deck outside movie camera in hand so we could watch the docking. In Honolulu the ship is welcomed by hula dancers in their native dress dancing us into the dock. The call out welcomes to the ship and play lovely music to dance to. They used to dance right on the dock but this trip we found they built a pavilion for them to dance at. It is safer for them and some protection from weather.

Once again we didn't have any particular plans for our time here in Honolulu. We had a lovely long breakfast in the Lido and then took our time about disembarking. This was the first time we docked at Aloha Towers and didn't use the moveable stairs when disembarking from deck 5. Instead we disembarked from deck 2 and were right outside the back of the terminal and had to walk through a warehouse to get inside the Aloha Towers terminal. No problem with it , it was just different.

We walked through the towers and went to visit some friends who work there. Our friend Trin has a kiosk just inside the walkway when you get off the ship. She has beautiful dresses and shirts. I bought my new granddaughter a Hawai'ian sun dress that was so cute. DH got a nice island style shirt and I got one more long, ruffle hemmed, Hawai'ian gown. They are just so pretty.

Then we were off to the Millenium store in the Towers. Our friend Charlie works there and that is where DH gets all his funny tees. I also found a really cute onsie for the baby which I had to get. And they had some really great incense with island scents like the ocean, and ginger and orchid. We got some of those also.

We pretty much wandered in and off the ship through most of the afternoon and evening. This Circle Hawaii cruise doesn't stay overnight here as our others did. We really liked staying overnight. It gave us plenty of time to do what we wanted to.

Saturday Oct 17th Kona, Hawai'i

We anchored in Kona at 9:20 am and followed the same procedures for getting off that we did last time. We tendered in and wandered around the port for awhile. We went to re-visit the church there with the great replica of the ship "Thaddeus" it is really cool and very well done. We went to visit our friend Crystal who owns Beach Dogs which has the finest shave ice in Kona and an internet rental site. We never miss a visit and a cool treat. Crystal was telling us how bad business is in Kona right now. With NCL down to one ship and HAL dropping Kona from the Circle Hawaii tour next year they are hurting badly. Several businesses have closed and it will be a rough time ahead for the folks in Kona who make their living from the tourists ( which is most of them).

We did a little shopping, checked out Hilo Hatties and made a visit to a drug store for thank you cards. Then we returned to the ship. I couldn't figure out why I was so tired but that night when I woke up unable to breath and coughing I knew I had caught the dreaded cold going around the ship.

Headed back - the sea days

They did something really different on the way back regarding changing your clocks. Instead of doing it in the middle of the night as they always have in the past they had everyone change at 2 in the afternoon. The first time they did this it really messed up the schedule. Apparently they forgot and the daily program had things scheduled at 2 and 3. Well, at 2 they made an announcement on the PA and it was suddenly 3 with new activities supposed to start. The people for the 2 o'clock activities hadn't started yet. It was strange. We prefer changing the times at night.

We hit the casino several nights. I am afraid that I didn't make it to any shows as I was so sick with the stupid cold. We mostly had dinner served in the cabin. In fact, it was wonderful on the last formal night they had my favorite foods and they delivered all of it to the cabin. I had my escargots bourguoine(sp), lobster tails and that wonderful vanilla souffle with Grand Marnier sauce.
The problem was I discovered I couldn't taste any of it. Dang it! I'm stubborn and I ate some of it anyway. I could taste the incredible sweetness of the souffle. It was good.

They did not have a black and white ball on this cruise. They did have a cocktails with the Captain party that we attended. They used some pull out walls and closed off part of the CN for this event. The problem was too many people in too small a space. DH greeted our hosts and then turned around and left. I stayed for one drink with Marthin the Park West Auctioneer. It was too crowded to move and there was no place to sit. It certainly wan't conducive to small talk and mingling. Perhaps that was the point.

I wanted to mention the floral arrangement in our cabin was the nicest one we've ever gotten. Really large it had full blown red roses, baby breath, carnations and lots of two types of orchids. Really lovely.

We did save all the daily programs so if anyone wants to know about the entertainment etc. just let us know. It was a wonderful cruise all in all.
We traveled a total of 4,991 miles.
The Master of the ship was Captain Sybe deBoer, the Hotel Manager Paul A.Z. Muller, the Cruise Director Michelle Worthley and the Executive Chef Paolo Maldini.
We have sailed with all of them before and they lived up to our recollections of a great group of people.
　

We are going in April, what side of the ship would you recommend?

[sassyredhat]

Thanks for such a nice review. It brought back such lovely memories. We took this cruise last year. We had gone once before on Statendam, but our favorite is Zaandam.

We were on port side by the aft elevators. Loved the location ! Doesn't port side face Aloha Tower ?

We also went to Akaka Falls and really enjoyed the tsunami museum.

I am living vicariously thru' all of you. Enjoy.

Pat

[AKBeagleMom]

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Kakalina! I am enjoying your reviews so much, and it's getting me very excited for our cruise in Feb.

I'm sorry you weren't feeling well, but your cruise actually sounded really relaxing, all things considered.

I have a couple of questions:

1. How many formal nights were there?
2. Which nights were formal nights?
3. Although you didn't attend any of the shows, were there two shows per night? If so, what time(s)?
4. How bumpy was the crossing? (I'll be fine, but I'm a little worried about my DH who sometimes gets a lil green around the gills.)
5. At which points was it warm enough to be on deck in shorts, or swimming in the pool? (We're Alaskans, so 70 degrees is all we need.)

Thanks again for sharing your cruise notes with us! This will be our second cruise (first was last year, for our honeymoon), and we can't wait. Each of your posts builds our excitement! Thank you for being willing to answer all of our questions, too!

[2Labs2Many]

Thank you for your recommendations.

I will definitely check those activities out. I know we definitely want to see Pearl Harbor. This trip is partially to mourn/honor my father who recently passed and he was a WWII vet, so I can't pass a chance to see Pearl Harbor.

I'm planning to leave a lot left undone so that we have a great excuse to return! I always leave a lot of money in Vegas so that I can say I'm going back to find it!

[kakalina]

Originally Posted by AKBeagleMom

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Kakalina! I am enjoying your reviews so much, and it's getting me very excited for our cruise in Feb.

I'm sorry you weren't feeling well, but your cruise actually sounded really relaxing, all things considered.

I have a couple of questions:

1. How many formal nights were there? There were 4 formal nights for the 15 day portion 5 for those who boarded in Vancouver.
2. Which nights were formal nights? There were 3 in the first sea days and 2 on the way back from the islands.
3. Although you didn't attend any of the shows, were there two shows per night? If so, what time(s)? I did attend shows just not on the last 4 nights. The shows were at 8 and 10. I give info on the shows in the first two parts of the review.
4. How bumpy was the crossing? (I'll be fine, but I'm a little worried about my DH who sometimes gets a lil green around the gills.) The seas were disgustingly smooth. They did put the bags out once going out and once coming back but no one I spoke to was feeling ill.
5. At which points was it warm enough to be on deck in shorts, or swimming in the pool? (We're Alaskans, so 70 degrees is all we need.) We're from Arizona and no judge for that. Basically the first two days out of SD are chilly after that most Northerners are out in shorts and bathing suits. The same for the last two days going back.

Thanks again for sharing your cruise notes with us! This will be our second cruise (first was last year, for our honeymoon), and we can't wait. Each of your posts builds our excitement! Thank you for being willing to answer all of our questions, too!

Have a wonderful time I know your cruise will be memorable.

[Big Al B.]

On the best side of the ship, we were on the port side of the same cruise as Trish. In Honolulu the dock was on the starboard side. The volcano was on the port side this trip. We had a balcony cabin and got a good view of the lava. There was one spot with a lot of red areas and one major inflow. We could feel the heat and the steam rolled into our balcony (from 2 miles out).

[pattigay]

Thank you so much for your review. I am leaving this Saturday and can hardly wait. Even though I have been to Hawaii many times, it has been a few years and your suggestions were very helpful.

[Down-Unders]

Originally Posted by Big Al B.

On the best side of the ship, we were on the port side of the same cruise as Trish. In Honolulu the dock was on the starboard side. The volcano was on the port side this trip. We had a balcony cabin and got a good view of the lava. There was one spot with a lot of red areas and one major inflow. We could feel the heat and the steam rolled into our balcony (from 2 miles out).

Thank you.

[FireIce0010]

What a nice review. Loved it. We loved our Hawaii cruise too.

[Crusing Bob]

Hi, I sent you my email address because I couldn't find the link to the new Daily Program layout that you described. I also had asked if you might post or email me any of the menus for the Rotterdam when you are well knowing that you both came back with bad colds.

Bob

[kakalina]

Hi Bob, I did get your email and will answer later today or tomorrow. Sorry I am taking so long, this cold is just hanging on.

Here is the link to the copy of the program it is post #9
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1081698