What would you do with 4 days in Honolulu?

We are going on the Radiance of the Seas in September and then staying on Waikiki Beach for three nights!! I am so excited, but honestly don't know what to do in Waikiki! There is just so much stuff there!

Any advice would be apprecitaed! All we know for certain is that we will spend the last day at Pearl Harbor.

Tara

In no particular order:

• Eat at Duke's and Roy's. Looking for something more exotic? Try La Mer.
  
• Snorkel in Hanuama Bay
  
• Consider a Luau (we enjoyed Germaine's)
  
• Take a surfing lesson
  
• Hike Diamond Head
  
• Laze on the beach and DO NOTHING :D
  

We are going on the Radiance of the Seas in September and then staying on Waikiki Beach for three nights!! I am so excited, but honestly don't know what to do in Waikiki! There is just so much stuff there!

 

Any advice would be apprecitaed! All we know for certain is that we will spend the last day at Pearl Harbor.

 

Tara

When at PH there's also the battleship Missouri, sub Bowfin and the aviation museum on Ford Island.

Will you rent a car? If so I'd suggest spending some time outside of Waikiki which I enjoyed more. A hike to the top of Diamond Head offers wonderful views of the west & south shores. A drive around the island offers even more beauty particularly on windward O'ahu...great views from the Pali overlook...snorkeling in Hanauma Bay.

To me there's so much more than Waikiki but others prefer to not drive anywhere & to walk around Waikiki. Traffic around Honolulu can be very bad but there is the great public bus system...The Bus...where you can go anywhere on O'ahu for only $2.50. :)

We were just there for four 1/2 days. We did the following and I put comments for you. I think a rental car is a must for that long.

Day 1 laid on beach at our hotel in Ko'Olina. Went to Paradise Cove luau .... Just OK, but fun if you have never done luau

Day 2. Drove Tantalus Drive for specular views. Took and hour or two and was beautiful then, A MUST do on my list. Oahu Photography tour ....soooo fun. Met in Waikiki and took fabulous photos on tour, seeing a ton of the island. Then, ate at Dukes. Another must. Hula chicken was great...Mai tais incredible!

Day 3. Catamaran tour swimming with dolphins. Wouldn't do again. Really not close to dolphins...they are skittish in wild. Beach again...Ko'Olina is so calm and beautiful! Ate at Roy's...pricey but good. Rum Fire for happy hour...fun!

Day 4. Dole Pineapple ...a tourist trap/gift shop. Definite skip. Drove to North Shore. Went to Waimea Falls and Botanical Gardens. LOVED it. So beautiful. Took 2 1/2 hours for gardens. Ate Hawaiian ice at north shore. This was a cool and fun day.

Day 5. Pearl Harbor. An obvious must do.

Hope this gives you ideas!

Go to a luau (Germaines). Do the circle island tour (the other side of Oahu is wonderful)

Go to the beach all day. Shopping at the international market place. Hike up to the top of Diamond head. ......to just name a few

What an awesome bunch of answers to wake up to!!:cool::D Thanks you guys!!

I think we are going to eat at Roy's for our anniversary. Le Mer looks gorgeous, but French is not our thing. However, we will be trying House Without a Key! We are planning to rent a car at least for one day.

Thanks again for the great suggestions!! Planning is so fun and it's nice when you have a direction.

Tara

I would do:

1) Oahu Grand Circle Tour

2) Polynesian Culture Centre, make it an all day event and take in the evening show Ha Breath of Life that gets rave reviews.

:D Thanks!! I'll look into those too!!

Tara

One day taking my time driving east ending up at the Polynesian Culture Center and staying for their Luau. Lots of places to stop and take pictures. You will know when.

Second day drive west to the North beach stopping to relax and watch surfers. Good place to get surfer dude shirts. Make sure to experience lunch from a shrimp truck.

Third Day at Pearl Harbor.

Forth day is rest at the beach.

Burt

I would devote an entire day to Pearl Harbor and the other military sites.

A day of shopping and the beaches.

Keith

Thanks again, you guys!!:D I think that we are going to do the following:

Day 1: Do the beachwalk, take a surfing lesson and go to Duke's for dinner and drinks.

Day 2: Go to Hanuama Bay and Snorkel. Eat at Roy's for dinner.

Day 3: Rent a car and go to Polynesian Cultural Center.

Day 4: Pearl Harbor.

Tara

One of the days that you are driving, be sure to take Monserrat Ave (it meets up with the main street down Waikiki and maybe a mile up (if that), on the left side, you'll see the Diamond Head market. Stop off and buy a couple of their delicious cream cheese scones!!!!

If you want a cheap, but good dinner that last night, go behind the International MarketPlace via Dukes' Lane to Kuhio Ave. On the far side of the street, you'll see a tiny restaurant with a line of people waiting to get in. It's the Marukame Udon house. Oh My. My favorite place now in Waikiki. Fresh, made on premises udon noodles with a variety of preparations. And different kinds of tempura. It's definitely low-brow. You pick up a tray, go down the line, give the udon guy your order, pick it up, move down the line and select whatever tempura you want, move down the line get your drink, move down the line, pay the cashier (CASH ONLY). You will totally fill yourself with fantastic noodles and tempura for no more than $15 each. I got out of there each time for $9, which included my drink, udon, and 3 pieces of pumpkin and squash tempura. If you go to Trip Advisor, Yelp, Urban Spoon, you'll see it's highly rated.

Going to the PCC is definitely personal preference. It's owned by the LDS church and uses their students from BYU-Hawaii next door and brings some of their converts from the Pacific Islands to put on the shows. To me, it's kind of like a South Seas version of EPCOT at Disney World. Some people don't know it's owned by The Church. Some people don't want to give their money to a church-sponsored function. Like I said, full disclosure.

Going to the PCC is definitely personal preference.

Everything you just suggested is a personal choice.

I can't believe I'm reading this, it's the first time I've ever been offended on the Cruise Critic forums. I'm not associated with the LDS in any way, but this “full disclosure” reeks of discrimination. If you have nothing nice to say, well! you know.

Burt

Everything you just suggested is a personal choice.

 

I can't believe I'm reading this, it's the first time I've ever been offended on the Cruise Critic forums. I'm not associated with the LDS in any way, but this “full disclosure” reeks of discrimination. If you have nothing nice to say, well! you know.

 

Burt

I didn't mean to offend. It wasn't discrimination. People may or may not want to give money to a church or political organization for different reasons. I pay to go to the Vatican museum knowing full well that it's owned by the Catholic Church. I don't see any difference in knowing before I go if an attraction I am going to is operated by a church. That's all I meant. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

We were just there for four 1/2 days. We did the following and I put comments for you. I think a rental car is a must for that long.

 

Day 1 ...

Day 2. Drove Tantalus Drive for specular views. Took and hour or two and was beautiful then, A MUST do on my list. Oahu Photography tour ....soooo fun. Met in Waikiki and took fabulous photos on tour, seeing a ton of the island. Then, ate at Dukes. Another must. Hula chicken was great...Mai tais incredible!

 

Day 3....

Day 4. ...

Day 5. ...

Hope this gives you ideas!

Can you give me some information on the Oahu Photography tour? I went on one in St John New Brunswick and loved it! Is there a website for it to arrange, or was this a ship sponsored excursion?

Can you give me some information on the Oahu Photography tour? I went on one in St John New Brunswick and loved it! Is there a website for it to arrange, or was this a ship sponsored excursion?

Yes, you can find them on trip adviser . I think they are one of...if not the...top rated tour. Website is http://www.oahuphotographytours.com/. Beyond great!! Highly recommend!

DAY 1 - If you're leaving from the Honolulu area (after a good breakfast - you'll be needing it believe me) head east on H1 to drive around the island starting with a stop at Diamond Head for the short hike to the top with some of the best views of the island. Then you can rest while continuing your tour of Oahu on Hwy 72 to Hanauma Bay for a little snorkeling which should relax your sore muscles from the Diamond Head hike.

Since you are now probably hungry get back on Hwy 72 and keep driving NE towards Kailua stopping briefly at Halona Blow Hole just a couple of miles down the hwy. On to Keneke's plate lunch and BBQ on the right in Waimanalo for a local style plate lunch at the cheapest price you will eat for on all the islands.

Now to let all that local cuisine settle follow Hwy 72 to Hwy 83 to continue north (for a cool side trip to see lots of Honus or Turtles in the ocean go right on H3 to Hwy 630 / Hwy 65 and go right again to Old Mokapu Rd, again right to Kaimalino St and you guessed it take another right. About a quarter of a mile down Kaimalino St on the RIGHT ;) there is a public right of way to beach access trail. If you go past the street - Launa Aloha PL - then you just past the sign. Walk down the trail to the water and start looking for the many Green Sea Turtles that frequent this area all the time year around. You can snorkel with them or just wade around near them as they rest or feed.)

If you skip the side trip for turtle viewing or have left the Turtles and taken all the lefts to get back to Hwy 83, go north on Hwy 83 to Kualoa Regional Park to get a good view of Chinaman's Hat.

Back on Hwy 83 going north stopping anywhere that catches your eye I'd probably stop next at Kawela Beach Park to watch the surfers for a little while (maybe enjoy a light snack of shrimp tacos from the shrimp trucks in the area).

It's already been a long but great day so when you get to the junction of Hwy 83 and Hwy 930 (I'd take a right on the short detour on Hwy 930 to see the whole north shore area then back to Hwy 803 which intersects Hwy 99 going south. On your (again) right take Hwy 750 to H1 and hang another right to Hwy 93 going right to see the west side of the island.

Going back to H1 I'd head back to Honolulu get cleaned up and eat a late dinner before crawling into bed for some badly needed rest, believe me again, sleep is going to be the biggest asset to enjoying the next day to it's fullest.

DAY 2 - Get up early and go to Pearl Harbor (early in the trip in case of rain) - eat lunch then go to the North Shore for either surfing or for me a two tank shore dive at Sharks Cove.

DAY 3 - Get up early, eat a good breakfast then head over the Pali Pass (stopping briefly for a view from the Pali Lookout - you surely googled to find out the history of this spot before your trip) on Hwy 61 to play a round of golf at Koolau Golf Club. Eat lunch at Buzz's Lanikai in Kailua (now you have spent a little of the green stuff you brought with you and didn't want to carry it back home).

After lunch if you want to play a round of golf on a course where you might get some of your dignity back (after the murderous round you no doubt just played at Koolau) then head over to Bay View Golf Park. It is cheap and not overly maintained but you can put your handicap back in order and leave Oahu feeling a lot better about your game than you otherwise would have felt. If the beating you took at Koolau wasn't enough of an ego deflator then you can play either Turtle Bay on the north shore or my favorite of the afternoon picks Makaha Valley Country Club on the west coast of Oahu. This will help finish off that extra weight in your back pocket I was kidding you about earlier.

DAY 4 - Get up as late as I'd like (7 or so) eat a leisurely breakfast then drive up into the Tantalus Drive area before heading to the beach for a couple of hours of surfing before getting dressed for dinner at Nico's Pier 38.

Time to head to the airport, drop off the rental and head home (red eye for me to maximize my time on the islands) - now I'd catch up on my rest :).

Everything you just suggested is a personal choice.

 

I can't believe I'm reading this, it's the first time I've ever been offended on the Cruise Critic forums. I'm not associated with the LDS in any way, but this “full disclosure” reeks of discrimination. If you have nothing nice to say, well! you know.

 

Burt

Went to PCC and I honestly got the same impression that you found offensive...might as well have been a "production" that could have been done anywhere. We were honestly disappointed to have spent part of our limited time there. I see lots of negative reviews on CC, so "If you have nothing nice to say, well! you know" doesn't make any sense. Both negative and positive reviews are the purpose of the Boards. Loads of reviews say, "very touristy and a waste of time." That sums up my impression of PCC. Just because it's run by and the money goes to a church doesn't mean it's exempt from any criticism.

Thanks again, you guys!!:D I think that we are going to do the following:

 

Day 1: Do the beachwalk, take a surfing lesson and go to Duke's for dinner and drinks.

 

Day 2: Go to Hanuama Bay and Snorkel. Eat at Roy's for dinner.

 

Day 3: Rent a car and go to Polynesian Cultural Center.

 

Day 4: Pearl Harbor.

 

Tara

Dear OP, I should have mentioned...be SURE to get you Pearl Harbor tickets ASAP online! The tickets online are free, with a small processing fee, but tickets sell out fast! The furlough is IN EFFECT there, so tours of the Memorial run only 1/2 of the day.....for same number of visitors! Go here for tickets http://www.nps.gov/valr/index.html...follow to pages for reservations. Without a pre purchased ticket, we would not have seen the memorial.

We visited Oahu before our cruise in 2010. Here is what we did:

Wednesday May 19 on Oahu: We were up by 6:00 a.m. and headed to Cinnamon’s in Kailua for breakfast. Food and service there were very good. Next stop was Safeway to pick up some beverages and food for breakfasts. We went back to the house to put the food in the fridge and then headed to Waimanola Bay Recreation Area to spend time on the beach. This was our favorite beach for our entire stay in Hawaii. It was clean (although the restrooms left something to be desired) with both a nice shaded area and a nice sand beach. We stayed here for 2 1/2 hours. Next we drove to Makapuu Point Lookout and then stopped at the Halona Blow Hole. We made a quick stop at a Burger King and then backtracked to view Hanauma Bay. Next we drove to Diamond Head were my DH and DD climbed Diamond Head. They found the hike relatively easy and enjoyed the view. We make a quick stop at Kapiolani Community College to the see the cacti gardens, which were very impressive. On the way back to the house we stopped at the Pali Lookout, which offered a lovely view. We picked up pizza at Domino’s, brought it to the house to eat, organized things for Thursday and called it a night.

Thursday May 20 on Oahu: After breakfast we headed to Pearl Harbor. We got there at 8:00 a.m. (Just couldn’t get my group out of the house any sooner.) 12:20 p.m. was the first time they had available for the Arizona Memorial. We decided to go on the tour on the Missouri Battleship while we waited for our Arizona Memorial tour. This was really worth it. All of use enjoyed this tour very much. We had a great guide who provided a very informative and interesting tour. We ate a light lunch at Pearl Harbor and then walked over to where our tour was going to begin. The Arizona Memorial provided a very moving experience. I was very happy we had the opportunity to go and pay our respects to the servicemen who lost their lives on the Arizona. When we returned, we went to watch the movie that is currently being shown in a tent-like building. This was very worthwhile. From Pearl Harbor we drove to the Punchbowl Cemetery and then did the Round Top/Tantalus Road Drive. This drive was enjoyed immensely by all of us. It is a very scenic drive. We stopped at the Pu’u Ualaka’a State Wayside Viewpoint. This is a "don’t miss" in my mind. My DH and DD said the view was even better than the view from Diamond Head. From this viewpoint you see Waikiki, Honolulu AND Diamond Head. It made for some pretty awesome pictures. Our last stop was a quick one at Waikiki Beach. We wanted to get a quick look at this area. It took us a very long time to find a parking lot. This was one place our GPS failed us. We thought we finally wised up when we set it to take us to a Parking Lot. However, when it told us we had arrived, there was no parking to be found in that area. L Once we found a parking lot it had plenty of parking. We stopped at our first ABC store and then walked to the Beach. We were near Lewers Street and the beach in this area was not very impressive. In general we were not impressed with the beaches in Hawaii. They did have the clearest and most beautiful colored water of any beaches we have ever seen, but we have been to much better sand beach areas than in Hawaii. After our brief stop in Waikiki we headed back to Kailua. We stopped at a Taco Bell and then went to the rental house where we were in bed by 9:00 p.m.

Friday, May 21 on Oahu: This morning we woke up at 6:00 a.m. and got out by 8:15 a.m. We headed for the North Shore via H-2. We arrived at Haleiwa at 9:00 a.m., which was too early for their shops to be opened. In the end I wished I had taken the longer route to the North Shore via Highway 83. Timing would have worked out better for arriving at many of our stops. It took a little bit of going back and forth, but we finally found Turtle Beach AKA Laniakea Beach. Many of the beaches/sites in Hawaii are unmarked, which can be frustrating. Turtle Beach is between Haleiwa and Waimea. There is no parking lot for this beach. There is a dirt road across the road from the beach where you can park. However, more than one beach area also has the same type of parking. You just need to park and get out of your car to check if you found the correct beach. The day we were there a volunteer had a station set up with information on the turtles. We only saw one turtle, but the day before we were told that there over 20 in the area. Although the volunteer said there is no rhyme or reason as to when you will see the turtles, he said you have a better chance of seeing them in the afternoon. Another reason I wished we had taken 83 to the North Shore. After Turtle Beach we stopped at Ehukai Beach Park. This is the area where the famous Banzai Pipeline is. There were vendors there selling inexpensive Pipeline T-shirts. This beach is easier to find. It is right across the street from Sunset Beach School. Unfortunately being that it was May, we did not see any great surf in the area. Ehukai was a lovely beach with decent restrooms. Next stop was the "famous" Ted’s Bakery for lunch. My sister ordered the shrimp plate lunch, which she really enjoyed. My DH had a barbecue pork sandwich and my daughter chose the Loco Moco entrée. She was looking for a more authentic Hawaiian Dish. It was burgers with a fried egg set on top of rice with gravy. I am a vegetarian and I quickly learned that Hawaii is not very vegetarian friendly. I chose a veggie salad, which was fine, just not exciting. After lunch we stopped at Laie Point State Wayside. This was a scenic highlight of our time on Oahu. We didn’t want to leave this area. The view was so amazing. On one side you see a beautiful sea arch. On the other side is a bay area with nice waves. This is another unmarked spot. Our GPS did have it listed as Laie Point State Wayside. If you love scenic spots this is a must do. From Laie Point we headed to the Polynesian Cultural Center. As someone else mentioned, we went to park near a gate toward the far side of the lot. We were able to leave the lot very quickly. This was a great tip!!! Pablo was our guide. He did a wonderful job explaining things and getting us from place to place in a timely fashion. Since we did not arrive until around 1:30-1:45, we did not get to see all the villages. We did visit Tonga, Samoa and New Zealand. We also saw the canoe pageant (thought it was overrated from all the positive reviews we had read beforehand) and we took the canoe ride. All in all we enjoyed our afternoon here, but it was not a true highlight of our trip. Rather than the luau menu, we chose the American Menu, which was enjoyed by all of us. They had a vegetarian chili for me, which was excellent. The evening show, Ha Breath of Life, was, indeed, an outstanding production. We had third row seats which were great!!! This show was phenomenal!! The fire knife performance was magnificent. We were all in awe!!! It was just a great way to end our day. We watched for the quickest exit out, which was on the far end. Very few people were exiting here and we made a quick exit. We quickly exited the parking lot and were soon on our way down on 83. This is a very windy road. You need full attention to drive it. I think it is good that the PCC does not serve alcoholic beverages. The drivers on this road can not afford to have their alertness comprised in any way. It took us 50 minutes to drive back to Kailua. This was the first day I felt my body was finally on Hawaiian time. I did two loads of laundry when we returned and then called it a night.

Saturday, May 22 Embarking on the POA: We woke up at 6:30, had breakfast and then walked to the neighborhood Turtle Cove where we spotted two turtles. Next stop was Bellows Beach for a quick look. This was for my sister’s sake. Her co-worker’s daughter said it was the most picturesque beach on Oahu. It is not open on weekdays, so we had to wait until today to see it up close. Bellows Beach is right next to Waimanola Bay Recreation Area where we went on Wednesday. After this quick stop we headed to Thrifty to return our car. We were fortunate to catch the next pier shuttle in about 5 minutes. We arrived at the pier around noon. It probably took us about a half-hour to go through the various lines for check in. It went very smoothly. Once on the ship we had lunch at the Aloha Café. We then spent some time by the pool. When our cabins were ready (about 3:00 p..m.) we went up and read the materials left in our cabin. Our luggage had not yet arrived. At 4:30 p.m. we went for the muster drill and then returned our life jackets. Next we toured the ship a bit and then went to the Skyline for dinner. After dinner we went on deck (near the pool) to watch the sail-away. Honolulu looked very pretty at night with all the lights. Next stop was the Aloha Café to check out dessert. Since there was nothing I wanted to waste calories on, I had some asparagus. The others tried the desserts but were not impressed. My DH and DD went to the evening variety show, which they said was enjoyable.

Do you have a link to your full review?

We visited Oahu before our cruise in 2010. Here is what we did:

 

Wednesday May 19 on Oahu: We were up by 6:00 a.m. and headed to Cinnamon’s in Kailua for breakfast. Food and service there were very good. Next stop was Safeway to pick up some beverages and food for breakfasts. We went back to the house to put the food in the fridge and then headed to Waimanola Bay Recreation Area to spend time on the beach. This was our favorite beach for our entire stay in Hawaii. It was clean (although the restrooms left something to be desired) with both a nice shaded area and a nice sand beach. We stayed here for 2 1/2 hours. Next we drove to Makapuu Point Lookout and then stopped at the Halona Blow Hole. We made a quick stop at a Burger King and then backtracked to view Hanauma Bay. Next we drove to Diamond Head were my DH and DD climbed Diamond Head. They found the hike relatively easy and enjoyed the view. We make a quick stop at Kapiolani Community College to the see the cacti gardens, which were very impressive. On the way back to the house we stopped at the Pali Lookout, which offered a lovely view. We picked up pizza at Domino’s, brought it to the house to eat, organized things for Thursday and called it a night.

 

Thursday May 20 on Oahu: After breakfast we headed to Pearl Harbor. We got there at 8:00 a.m. (Just couldn’t get my group out of the house any sooner.) 12:20 p.m. was the first time they had available for the Arizona Memorial. We decided to go on the tour on the Missouri Battleship while we waited for our Arizona Memorial tour. This was really worth it. All of use enjoyed this tour very much. We had a great guide who provided a very informative and interesting tour. We ate a light lunch at Pearl Harbor and then walked over to where our tour was going to begin. The Arizona Memorial provided a very moving experience. I was very happy we had the opportunity to go and pay our respects to the servicemen who lost their lives on the Arizona. When we returned, we went to watch the movie that is currently being shown in a tent-like building. This was very worthwhile. From Pearl Harbor we drove to the Punchbowl Cemetery and then did the Round Top/Tantalus Road Drive. This drive was enjoyed immensely by all of us. It is a very scenic drive. We stopped at the Pu’u Ualaka’a State Wayside Viewpoint. This is a "don’t miss" in my mind. My DH and DD said the view was even better than the view from Diamond Head. From this viewpoint you see Waikiki, Honolulu AND Diamond Head. It made for some pretty awesome pictures. Our last stop was a quick one at Waikiki Beach. We wanted to get a quick look at this area. It took us a very long time to find a parking lot. This was one place our GPS failed us. We thought we finally wised up when we set it to take us to a Parking Lot. However, when it told us we had arrived, there was no parking to be found in that area. L Once we found a parking lot it had plenty of parking. We stopped at our first ABC store and then walked to the Beach. We were near Lewers Street and the beach in this area was not very impressive. In general we were not impressed with the beaches in Hawaii. They did have the clearest and most beautiful colored water of any beaches we have ever seen, but we have been to much better sand beach areas than in Hawaii. After our brief stop in Waikiki we headed back to Kailua. We stopped at a Taco Bell and then went to the rental house where we were in bed by 9:00 p.m.

 

Friday, May 21 on Oahu: This morning we woke up at 6:00 a.m. and got out by 8:15 a.m. We headed for the North Shore via H-2. We arrived at Haleiwa at 9:00 a.m., which was too early for their shops to be opened. In the end I wished I had taken the longer route to the North Shore via Highway 83. Timing would have worked out better for arriving at many of our stops. It took a little bit of going back and forth, but we finally found Turtle Beach AKA Laniakea Beach. Many of the beaches/sites in Hawaii are unmarked, which can be frustrating. Turtle Beach is between Haleiwa and Waimea. There is no parking lot for this beach. There is a dirt road across the road from the beach where you can park. However, more than one beach area also has the same type of parking. You just need to park and get out of your car to check if you found the correct beach. The day we were there a volunteer had a station set up with information on the turtles. We only saw one turtle, but the day before we were told that there over 20 in the area. Although the volunteer said there is no rhyme or reason as to when you will see the turtles, he said you have a better chance of seeing them in the afternoon. Another reason I wished we had taken 83 to the North Shore. After Turtle Beach we stopped at Ehukai Beach Park. This is the area where the famous Banzai Pipeline is. There were vendors there selling inexpensive Pipeline T-shirts. This beach is easier to find. It is right across the street from Sunset Beach School. Unfortunately being that it was May, we did not see any great surf in the area. Ehukai was a lovely beach with decent restrooms. Next stop was the "famous" Ted’s Bakery for lunch. My sister ordered the shrimp plate lunch, which she really enjoyed. My DH had a barbecue pork sandwich and my daughter chose the Loco Moco entrée. She was looking for a more authentic Hawaiian Dish. It was burgers with a fried egg set on top of rice with gravy. I am a vegetarian and I quickly learned that Hawaii is not very vegetarian friendly. I chose a veggie salad, which was fine, just not exciting. After lunch we stopped at Laie Point State Wayside. This was a scenic highlight of our time on Oahu. We didn’t want to leave this area. The view was so amazing. On one side you see a beautiful sea arch. On the other side is a bay area with nice waves. This is another unmarked spot. Our GPS did have it listed as Laie Point State Wayside. If you love scenic spots this is a must do. From Laie Point we headed to the Polynesian Cultural Center. As someone else mentioned, we went to park near a gate toward the far side of the lot. We were able to leave the lot very quickly. This was a great tip!!! Pablo was our guide. He did a wonderful job explaining things and getting us from place to place in a timely fashion. Since we did not arrive until around 1:30-1:45, we did not get to see all the villages. We did visit Tonga, Samoa and New Zealand. We also saw the canoe pageant (thought it was overrated from all the positive reviews we had read beforehand) and we took the canoe ride. All in all we enjoyed our afternoon here, but it was not a true highlight of our trip. Rather than the luau menu, we chose the American Menu, which was enjoyed by all of us. They had a vegetarian chili for me, which was excellent. The evening show, Ha Breath of Life, was, indeed, an outstanding production. We had third row seats which were great!!! This show was phenomenal!! The fire knife performance was magnificent. We were all in awe!!! It was just a great way to end our day. We watched for the quickest exit out, which was on the far end. Very few people were exiting here and we made a quick exit. We quickly exited the parking lot and were soon on our way down on 83. This is a very windy road. You need full attention to drive it. I think it is good that the PCC does not serve alcoholic beverages. The drivers on this road can not afford to have their alertness comprised in any way. It took us 50 minutes to drive back to Kailua. This was the first day I felt my body was finally on Hawaiian time. I did two loads of laundry when we returned and then called it a night.

 

Saturday, May 22 Embarking on the POA: We woke up at 6:30, had breakfast and then walked to the neighborhood Turtle Cove where we spotted two turtles. Next stop was Bellows Beach for a quick look. This was for my sister’s sake. Her co-worker’s daughter said it was the most picturesque beach on Oahu. It is not open on weekdays, so we had to wait until today to see it up close. Bellows Beach is right next to Waimanola Bay Recreation Area where we went on Wednesday. After this quick stop we headed to Thrifty to return our car. We were fortunate to catch the next pier shuttle in about 5 minutes. We arrived at the pier around noon. It probably took us about a half-hour to go through the various lines for check in. It went very smoothly. Once on the ship we had lunch at the Aloha Café. We then spent some time by the pool. When our cabins were ready (about 3:00 p..m.) we went up and read the materials left in our cabin. Our luggage had not yet arrived. At 4:30 p.m. we went for the muster drill and then returned our life jackets. Next we toured the ship a bit and then went to the Skyline for dinner. After dinner we went on deck (near the pool) to watch the sail-away. Honolulu looked very pretty at night with all the lights. Next stop was the Aloha Café to check out dessert. Since there was nothing I wanted to waste calories on, I had some asparagus. The others tried the desserts but were not impressed. My DH and DD went to the evening variety show, which they said was enjoyable.

Went to PCC and I honestly got the same impression that you found offensive...might as well have been a "production" that could have been done anywhere. We were honestly disappointed to have spent part of our limited time there. I see lots of negative reviews on CC, so "If you have nothing nice to say, well! you know" doesn't make any sense. Both negative and positive reviews are the purpose of the Boards. Loads of reviews say, "very touristy and a waste of time." That sums up my impression of PCC. Just because it's run by and the money goes to a church doesn't mean it's exempt from any criticism.

I gave no review of the Cultural Center, "At ALL". I only criticized the poster for "warning" that the operators where a religous organization. Are we supposed to tell the organizations and behavioral habits of the owners and operaters of all the tourist spots in Hawaii now? You might be surprised who you are supporting with your positive reviews.

Burt