Carnival Spirit 15 day Hawaii 12.2.2011

Hi all. Just got back from our cruise on 12.17.2011. Sorry it took so long to get to my review, but with the holidays, just didn't have time! Never traveled like this and for such a long period of time over the holidays. What a place to visit for the first time though!!! A trip of a life time and I hope not the only time we visit those beautiful islands!!!:D

I'll start my review with basically all to do with the ship. We had some health issues leading up to the cruise and once the insurance part is resolved I'll comment on how that went (we had to cancel our flight out on Dec. 1 at 6:05am from Chicago and we took the last flight out on the same date so we're hoping our insurance will cover the difference in the price since it was health related).

Now on to the review:

Let me start out that over all we enjoyed our trip. We LOVED Hawaii and hope to go back. We felt that for our first visit this was the way to see some of the best of what the islands had. Definitely not enough time on them, but gave us a good taste of what they had to offer.

I'll start with the not so good for the ship. It’s quite the story. From the start it had some faults. Check in was horrible. The lines were so long and we got there when our papers said to be there (at 1:00). There were computers not in use, which I think is not right when you know you have about 2,000 people you are trying to get on board. If you are a VIP, frequent cruiser to Carnival, then I’m sure this process is much better, but for those of us that aren’t its pure torture!

I was told I did not need a passport and could use my birth certificate, which I did, and I was also told I did not need to bring along my marriage certificate, just my drivers license with picture, which I did. When we finally had the chance to get up the counter to check in, they told me I needed my marriage license! What a mess. They did finally let me go but with a "warning" next time to bring it or get a passport and then a “Welcome to Carnival and good luck at customs getting off without the marriage license. They will probably understand”. When we stopped and turned around to ask what she meant by that, she just said all should be ok. Just wonderful do we get on the ship or not? We went ahead and figured we’d worry about that when it came time to get off. People at Carnival need to get on the same page with the papers you need to check in.

After the long wait to check in we were herded over to an area to get a boarding number. Upon receiving it we were told that all the sitting areas were full and to find something out where we were now and they would be calling our number. There was nothing around and we saw some people going through security and figured they were VIP. We opted to go outside and sit on some of the planters they have out there. It was very windy, but not too cool so it wasn’t bad except for all the people out there smoking.

We were outside about hour when a man came outside and said that some room had opened up inside if we wanted a seat inside. We got up to go inside and could see not seating at all. I don’t know what he was talking about. We walked around to see if there was another lounge area with seating and didn’t see a thing, but we did see people getting their boarding numbers and going straight into the security line. Their numbers could not have been called without ours being called because ours was about 9 numbers in front of theirs!

We tried to find someone to help us, but no one that worked at the port or for Carnival could tell us anything. I finally approached a person that just got their number and was heading towards security and asked them if they were told they could go ahead through security or were they just doing it? She told me you can proceed through security at any time and just wait in the lounge areas they have after security until they call your boarding number. Why couldn’t someone from Carnival or the port tell us that? So I’m telling you now, once you get your boarding number you can go through security and find a seat on the other side.

If you are sitting on the other side of security, the side before you go through it, you do not hear them calling out the boarding numbers. We did not have too long of a wait once we made it through security and had we stayed on the other side we would not have known they were calling our number.

After your number is called you proceed to an area to file past an area that you put in your sail and sign card and get your picture taken. Once through there you walk out of the building and then get into another line to enter the maze to get onto the ship. It is a glass covered gang plank, for lack of a better word for it. It’s a huge line that goes back and forth about 5 times before you step onto the ship deck.

I think there needs to be a different boarding area for those in wheelchairs instead of trying to push them through the lines of people waiting to board. Trying to get people to crunch over to one side so the wheelchairs or motorized chairs can go through is hard to do. I don't mind that they need additional help (I think I'll soon be joining their ranks), I just think it would be easier for all if there was another place they could get on the ship or else you stop the lines occasionally and put them on in groups.

I know many of the people in the chairs were apologizing as they were going by and I felt bad for them that they felt they needed to do that. I didn’t feel they needed to. I’m sure they would have rather have been standing in line. It’s the workers that were pushing them that were sometimes rude. That is why I say if there could be a different area for those that needed the additional assistance it would be better for all and maybe they wouldn’t be so uncomfortable either.

When we finally made it through the ship doors we were greeted with Carnival workers passing out silk leis. It was finally like…we’re on vacation! Very nice. Until we made it to the elevators! They asked that you use the central bank; however, they did not mean the whole central bank. Some were blocked from use because they were using them to get the luggage to the people.

I totally understand that they want to get people their things as quickly as possible. What I don’t understand is how rude people waiting for a free elevator can be! The pushing and shoving that was going on. Come on now people. We all had to wait to get on and we all were waiting and wanting to get to our rooms.

Once we made it onto the elevator (hint, we took it down and then back up) our room was ready, which was nice. Right away I noticed that the chairs on our balcony were too small for me to sit in with my leg and asked our steward for something different. That issue never got solved so for me the extended balcony was an additional fee I didn't need to pay because I didn't get full use of it. I don’t understand why the chairs on the balcony aren’t the same size as the chairs on the Lido deck. I was fine in those.

Now onto the food issue. My understanding was that Carnival just changed their menu on all of their ships. I wish I could have tasted what they offered before because as far as I was concerned, the new menu was horrible! I had to really search long and hard to find something good to eat. You can only eat so much salad.

On our first cruise (Celebrity) on their formal night they did lobster and Prime rib, as did this cruise. The difference? On this cruise the lobster tail was about the size of a piece of perch once you took the "meat" off the shell and on our first cruise it was a nice big "regular" sized piece of lobster tail. I would say you'd have to order about 6 maybe 7 of the lobster tails on this cruise to equal one normal sized one. Very disappointing. We didn't bother going to the second formal night.

My final complaint of the ship is the excursions they offer. Maybe I’m picky, but for the most part they didn’t offer much that interested me. I’d like a part of one and then a part of another. It made it had to pick out what to do so we rented cars on the first two islands and then used the Trolley by Honolulu.

Carnival did offer a couple of different snorkel adventures; however, the type of boat they use for this is not suitable for everyone, especially me. I can't ride in one of those raft type boats and I certainly can't climb back into the boat with that type of ladder. Many people had this same complaint.

I wrote to Carnival regarding this issue when I found a boat in Kona called the Body Glove that was a boat I could snorkel from and requested they look into making a contract with them so all of us could snorkel. The reply I got was they could not do it (I'm thinking it might be a breach of contract with whoever they contracted with already, but something needs to be done for those that can't use the one they have booked already). I talked with Body Glove because Kona is a tender port and since I'm not a frequent cruiser and not "legally" handicapped I would not get on the tender in enough time to do their trip. Body Glove was so nice since so many of us on this cruise wanted to do their adventure, they changed their start time. Much more accommodating than Carnival was (by the way, it was wonderful, you should check them out!!!).

That all being said, this was Carnival Spirit's first 15 day cruise so they had some things to learn from it. They have room to tweak things if they want to continue to offer this cruise. I hope they’ll be reading people’s reviews so it will help to make a better time for future people sailing with them.

I know some of this may seem petty, but these are things that can make or break a vacation. Many of these things can be adjusted and improvements made so they don’t happen to make for better cruising.

Something that Carnival had no control over was the weather. While on ship it wasn't very good. We had a lot of gloomy days and right off the bat we had very high seas with a lot of rocking and rolling. Our understanding was that about 1/4 of the crew was even seasick! They did have their "little white bags" taped up all over the ship if you needed them. Thank goodness I didn't need any use of them!!! DH wasn't feeling well, but after two days he started to feel better also (a little dry toast, green apples, and ginger ale along with some Dramamine did the trick).

Also some good advice from our server the first night was to stay out of the bathroom (too closed in) and get out of the room and onto a lower deck where it's wide open and try to see as far as you can..but don't look out the windows. We went down into the atrium area and it seemed to work out pretty good.

On the good side of our cruise, I found that for the most part most of the workers were very, very friendly and greeted you with a smile and a hello (except for the guys by the pizza area!). Our room was kept nice and the room steward and helper were very good when we accidentally broke a glass while the seas were not cooperating with their high waves! Our steward and helper remembered our names from the start and that's always nice too. We got many cute towel animals each evening, as well as our beds turned down and the mints on our beds.

I did buy a soda card and one young man from the very first time I asked for a soda remembered me and what I drank and every time he saw me would ask if I'd like another, which was nice. It didn't matter if I was by the pool, in a lounge or in the main show room, he remembered me.

It was nice they had some desserts that were sugar free; however, I wish they offered a little more variety of them (just changing the flavor, but having the same thing starts to get old on this long of a cruise). I was happy for the effort to have them though.

I liked that the captain of the ship came over the speakers every day but I wish he'd say something that we'd understand a little better. I especially liked that he did come on one of the days the weather was extremely bad and many people were worried if the ship could take the beating it was taking with the high seas and winds (it was really creaking and I was just starting to get a little worried...never seasick like so many other, but just wondering since this was its first time). He assured everyone that ship was handling everything fine (there were a few people that were sitting with their life jackets by them and that was when I got a little worried wondering if they knew something I didn't...but I looked at some of the crews faces when they were walking by and didn't see any worry in them so I figured we were ok for now). It would be nice to have a weather update besides saying no changes for the day. Maybe let us know what the next day was going to look like and what the temp of the day was?

There was a nice variety of things to do on the ship also. My only suggestion would be to have back up plans when something happens and you can't carry through with the first plan (like when the decks were closed because of the high seas so those things got canceled and nothing was in its place so it made for some sitting around for some people and they weren't happy). For us, we enjoy lounging by the pool and with the bad weather, that didn't happen. Not Carnival's fault though...so I got a lot more reading done. We also sat down in the Atrium area and enjoyed what was going on there and a lot of the music they offered there.

We didn’t participate in the events that were offered; however, we did go and view those that did for many different ones. A lot of fun was had by those that participated and those watching.

Each of the islands had their own unique thing about them. It was very hard to pick a favorite. Best advice I'd give is to make sure to either carry an umbrella or poncho for the islands. It may be sunny when you get off the ship, but things can change quickly. I brought the items from home, but left them on the ship. Live and learn. We didn't mind getting wet though. It was warm and I was in Hawaii!!!

The only excursion we did through the ship was in Kauai and it was the Hollywood Movies and Waterfalls. I really liked it because we got to see so much of the island and learn a lot about quite a few places. I felt it was worth the price and I was glad we ate at a restaurant instead of on the beach someplace. The food was very good (a burger, but good!). You could also see beautiful waterfalls from way up in the mountains coming down and it was kind of gloomy that day so I can imagine how it looked on a clear day!

As much as I got aggravated with all the people wanting to take pictures of you on the ship, I'm glad we finally took advantage of it the night before our last night. They did a wonderful job. Much better than I thought it was going to turn out and now wished I would have taken advantage of them a little more often. Again, live and learn! I'm just glad we got a really nice picture of the two of us. The ones they take while you get off the ship didn't turn out so great so I was glad we did this and we have a good one of us together.

Bingo can get out of hand. It was quite pricey and they kind of have you hooked when they do the progressive. You figure you've donated a couple of times so you need to try to win it back. Also on the pull tabs they offer. They say you have 12 chances to win, but in reality you only have 11 because the very last pull is either a no win one or if you won higher up on the card it verifies what you won on that one, so really you only have 11 chances...just a FYI on that one. These pull tab cards have an additional card at the bottom that you tear off and put in a bin in the casino that they draw at the end of the cruise to pay off your bar tab up to I believe it was $500. My hubby threw ours away on the first day because we don't drink, but they will pay for your sodas too so don’t toss them! Make sure to place them into the bin in the casino or else give them to someone else to use.

The placement of our cabin was great. We were in room 7237. This was midship and close to the stairs and the elevators there. We had no excessive noise from any of it. On our balcony we could see to the front of the ship; however, we could not see to the back because the rooms next to us jutted out from the side of the ship there. It was fine with us. If we wanted to see behind us, just go on deck or turn on the tv to that channel. Looking down, there was a life boat below us, but you could still see the water. If we took Spirit again, I'd definitely pick this cabin again (especially if they'd get larger chairs for sitting on the deck!).

We did not hear any noise above or below us either. Sometimes in the bathroom you could hear the "neighbors" if, and that's if, they were yelling (like someone being in the bathroom with the door closed and "yelling" out to someone in the cabin..never heard any-ones "business" going on though! Of course on your balcony you could hear others out on theirs, but you only saw them if they were leaning over the railing below you. FYI..never any cigarette smoke came on our balcony and I know a floor down and a room or two over there was a guy smoking on his, but it never came up to us.

We had plenty of room for all of our things in our room. I did bring an over the door shoe bag for the bathroom and that worked out great too. The shower looked to be so small, but once in it, there was plenty of room to wash up and not be hitting the shower curtain. The power in the shower head was great too.

I did hear this noise in the bathroom sink like there was a ping pong ball in there and as we rocked back and forth you hear it making a noise. It was driving me nuts and I figured out if you close the stopper on the sink it stops. That took care of that!

The lounge areas and open areas of the ship were very pretty. I was impressed by the glass looking stairs that led from the Lido deck up to the steakhouse. Not so impressed that I would climb up them though! They made for a pretty sight and picture.

The steakhouse was delicious! This is what I would expect of the main dining room though. I don’t think it’s right to have a restaurant on the ship that you have to pay additional money to eat there...even if it’s “only” $30 per person. By the time you tip you’re well on your way to almost $100 per night for 2 people.

Getting off the ship is a whole can of worms! It was much worse than getting on, I can tell you that!!! They need to change this and fast. When I was booking I specifically asked what time we would be off so I know when I should book our return flight because we could NOT spend another night away from home. They told me any time after 12pm and we would make our flight fine, so I went with that information and I booked a 1:40pm flight from LAX. Carnival told me I would have no problems at all making that flight, so I didn't worry.

That is until I hear other people on the ship saying they were asking to get off ship because they had an early flight and they told them they would have a number 2 and they would be fine. Everyone would be off ship by 11:30am. That made me feel a little better.

We get up on our last morning, get everything else packed that we used that morning and didn't pack the night before and set out and headed to breakfast. They requested you be out of your room by 8am and we were in plenty of time.

We had a nice breakfast (where was this food during the cruise???) and then headed for floor #2 (they asked that you stay off of floor #3). We didn't stay on the Lido because there were a lot of sick people (coughing so much) and we were trying to stay well. We made it down to #2 and there were no seats anyplace to be had. I found the stairs and we sat....and sat...and sat. No announcements were being made and no people or numbers being called. Now I'm beginning to worry.

Its 10am and nothing. The line at guest services is really long so no asking anyone there. No employees to be found either and the crowd is turning mean!

We ended up moving because one guy was really angry and there is no telling when people get like that what they may do. We moved off towards the casino area.

As we were walking we see people going up to #3...Hmm, no one called though. Then one man says they are "self-service" and carrying their own luggage off. Finally Stu, the cruise director, comes on and chastises people for getting in line when not called and it's holding up things so he asks them to leave the lines and allow it to proceed the way it's planned. Didn't happen. Now more people are going up to #3 and getting in this line that is not supposed to be there.

By the looks of the line it's going to take a long time to get off and we will probably miss our flight. DH decides to go and get in line anyway even though we're not called and we're now one of the ones not listening to Stu! I went up to #3 also and sat on the main stairs while DH got in line.

About 10:30am he's finally by where I'm sitting so I join him. As I get in line Stu calls for numbers 1 & 2 to get in line. Now I feel better...but it's still a long, long wait.

Once we get to the area to get off ship I see what is holding everything up. The customs people are on the ship instead of in the warehouse area and there are 4 of them and only 3 are sitting looking at papers! Now get this, 3 workers for 2,000 people! Not only that, but they started with all of the foreign people first. This is the US and we pay the taxes here so I think we should go first...but that's just me. FYI: Customs didn’t even ask me for the marriage license!

Once off the ship, it was quite a walk, but we made it and down to our luggage area and it was just as they said it would be. With your debark number for each section. We found our section, found our luggage and found a porter to cart it outside for us. Our limo wasn't there so we just took a taxi ($60) to LAX.

It was now 12:15pm and our plane takes off at 1:40. I thought for sure we might miss it, but the airport security went much quicker than I thought it was going to (first time being full body scanned!). We even had time to grab a bite to eat and make it to the bathroom before boarding our flight, thank goodness! Didn't have any extra time to spare though and didn't linger over lunch either.

As I said when I started out, there were many things that I didn't care for on the ship, but there were other things that were good (forgot to mention the acts they had for entertainment...hit and miss too. Everyone is different in their likes and dislikes though so what I didn't like someone else loved, and vice versa). Would I take this trip again? I sure hope I get the chance to. Would it be with Carnival? I'd have to see if they changed things around some before saying if there were other ships making the same trip. If they were the only ship doing it, I'd probably do it just so I could see Hawaii again (flying is out for me because I have a DVT and it's too long of a flight).

I'm sure you'll find many people agreeing with me on these things and I'm just as sure you'll find those that disagree with me. As I said, we're all different, but I wanted to tell it like it was for us. I hope this helps others and I especially hope Carnival looks at all the reviews and tries to improve the things that they can.

Even with what I call "problems" we made the most of what was there and didn't let any of it ruin our vacation. We tried to keep a positive attitude, even in the huge lines to get on the ship and even longer to get off. If I had to say what was the worst part of the trip it would be those two things. If I had to say what was the best about the ship it would be most of the staff.

If you go in looking for problems you're going to find them and even if you don't look for them, they will be there. It's just how you react when things happen. Even though it seems like I have a long list here of problems, we didn't let any of it hamper our trip and I just wanted to make others aware of what came up with us so maybe they can prepare so it won't happen to them or they'll know how to handle it.

Hopefully tomorrow I can get to my reviews of the islands. I'll try to do them in the order that we visited them and maybe I'll figure out how to attach some pictures!:D

Thanks for the review. This is my next cruise and we have been waiting forever for it. Hopefully, the problems you had will be gone since we leave out of San Diego. Our cruise is in April so maybe the weather will be a bit better on the crossing. I can't wait to read your review of the islands. Thanks again!

Thank you for the review so far...I'm also on this cruise in April and can't wait for your review of the islands..We also booked the Hollywood excursion and am glad to see you enjoyed it!! :)

Thanks for the review. This is my next cruise and we have been waiting forever for it. Hopefully, the problems you had will be gone since we leave out of San Diego. Our cruise is in April so maybe the weather will be a bit better on the crossing. I can't wait to read your review of the islands. Thanks again!

Thank you for the review so far...I'm also on this cruise in April and can't wait for your review of the islands..We also booked the Hollywood excursion and am glad to see you enjoyed it!! :)

Be rested when you get to the port and I think that will make a huge difference while waiting in line. My DH was in the hospital the day we were to leave for California waiting to be discharged and we thought we were going to have to cancel the trip, but the doctors told him to go, as did our kids. We toyed around with the not going and then changed our minds and got the last flight out of Chicago for Los Angeles so I think that had a lot to do with how horrible the wait to get on the ship was. We were just so tired and totally exhausted and the standing was killing our backs.

When I booked they told me not to get to the port until the time on our ticket and we'd have an easy time of checking in and getting on the ship, but that wasn't so. That was disappointing, but we finally made it through the process.

As I said before, if I could do it again, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Just be prepared for the hurry up and wait and all will be fine. We didn't let the boarding process ruin our trip. We did go to bed early the first night because of being so tired but I think that was the only night there was an early bedtime.

Wish i could be going with you all and I do hope your crossing is much better than ours was, weather wise! Hopefully they'll have all the other issues straightened out too. All in all for their first time doing it, it worked out well.:D

Hilo

Hilo was wonderful!!! It was our first step into Hawaii and our first time getting off the ship into a warehouse! As we approached the island we were greeted with a rainbow! We docked so no tender was needed. You have to make sure to get off as soon as possible if you rent a car though! Since we docked, we weren't in line as they said you could get off. We were in our room and then went down to get off the ship.

Because of that when we got out of the warehouse it was craziness all over! Lines here and there and no signs telling you which line was for what. We rented a car from Budget (made sure to get the Rapid Rez, which is free too) and we were looking for the van with Budget on it. Of course we saw it too late and it was 3 rows over (they did have some tents put up to help shade you from the sun…yes, there was sun when we got off the ship!). It was also very warm in temperature and with the mood of the people already too!!!

We found a guy directing traffic and asked him where was the best place to wait for the Budget rental van and he said he was going to direct all of the rental vans to the first line of tents, so that's where we went to stand.

I was told that the van would come every 10 to 15 minutes so I looked at my watch when the first one left figuring we'd have no more than 15 minutes to wait. Every other company was having vans pull up pretty regularly; however, they were only allowing whoever was going to be the driver of the rental on their van and then that person was going to have to drive back to pick up the other people that would be sharing the car. No one was happy!

When it got to be 1/2 hour and our Budget (and Alamo) van didn't come back I called them (thank goodness I programmed the direct line into my cell phone!). No answer though! Another 20 minute wait and we finally see it coming...as did the other 30 people waiting for either Budget or Alamo too. Now it was a "who is lucky on where they are standing when the van stops" game. We did luck out and DH got on, but someone else got on along with him who had family also waiting to get on and they had a handicap child. I was NOT going to push myself in front of her trying to get her child on, so I stepped aside so the driver could help her and 4 other people pushed by me and jumped on (meaning they also pushed in front of this family! So rude!).

Once they got the child on the van I got on also but there was no seating left. My DH got up and held onto the rails so I could sit. It was a very short trip over to the airport, thank goodness!

Once there we saw that we really could have gotten onto any of the vans for any of the companies because they were all right there along the curb in a line. Now I saw why they didn't answer their phone. There was only 2 of them working in each little opening!

I was glad I did the Rapid Rez (like a frequent flyer card, frequent buyer, etc.) because there was only 1 person ahead of me then; whereas, the other line had about 15 people in line. It didn't take long and we were in our car..a nice car too!

We got our bearings and by now it's starting to rain. Originally we were going to head to Richardson's beach, but thank goodness I had printed off all kinds of directions for other things to do just in case weather turned bad, or other things happened, like road closings, etc. So a last minute decision was made to drive up to the volcanoes and see them from afar and do the chain of craters road and possibly the Thurston's Lava Tunnel too.

We were on the road about an hour after I had wanted to be, but hey, we were in Hawaii and even in the rain it was warm and we were starting to enjoy ourselves now!

Once we made it up to the VNP, it was $10 to get in and we stopped to view the crater. It was foggy, drizzling and it was very cool out!!! I forgot our ponchos and umbrella in the ship and we didn't bring jackets...so we suffered through it (not much suffering in reality! LOL). We waited for a short bit because a gentleman said give it about 10 minutes and it would probably clear up, but it didn't and it was drizzling a little harder so we took cover in the car.

We drove towards the Chain of Craters and came across the Lava Tunnel first. I saw on the map that I got from the entrance guy that there was a bathroom here so we stopped to use it and tried to decide if we wanted to do the tunnel.

Originally I really wanted to do it until we got there and I saw that you had to go down very, very steep declines into the "bowel" of the crater/rainforest to get to it. With it being so wet I was very afraid of slipping and falling. I also worried that it was such a long walk down that we'd be so tired we wouldn't feel like doing anything else and this was just our first stop of the day and trip! I certainly didn't want to get hurt and not be able to do anything else the rest of the trip. DH left it up to me. He said he'd do it if I wanted to or he would be fine in not doing it.

We stood around for a bit while I was giving it some thought and while I watched all these people go down and how long it was taking them to get to where I didn't see them anymore. I wanted to do it, but was just scared. I didn't want to be holding anyone up as I crept down it too.

DH saw a man and woman coming from the area of the bathrooms and asked them if they had done the tunnel and they said yes. He asked if it was worth it and they said yes and then he asked them about how long it took to get down there and then back up and the guy said the whole thing took them about 15 minutes to 20 tops. Now they looked to be in better health than me, but I also saw some older people going down there so I decided, let's do it. Boy was I glad I did!

Yes, it was steep and wet, but we went slow and let other people pass us. There were a few stairs here and there, but never more than 4 together at a time. It was mostly like paved ramps with railings.

It went much quicker than I thought it would. Maybe because it was so steep? We ended up behind a tour guide (they passed us up going down) so we were able to hear some of the history of what he was telling them. It was interesting (did you know you can use the milk of the coconut in the human body to increase the volume of fluid in your blood until you can get to a medical facility that has blood? Don’t know how you’d get it in you though!).

Then you see the entrance! I was so excited because when my children were in grade school and middle school I brought a program to the school called the Jason Project and for that semester the Jason Project was in Hawaii studying volcanoes and lava tubes and everything else that goes along with it and I was finally here seeing it in person!

It was rough footing through the tube. They did have a few lights placed around, but it was very wet inside and water was also dripping trough the top of it too. You had to be very careful where you stepped. At the end they used to have a gated section where you could go off on your own if you brought along a flashlight; however, it is now closed because they said that parts of it were caving in. At the end there was about 8-10 stairs to climb up out of the tunnel.

The path going back to where you start is at an incline that you have to walk. It was no where near as steep and there were no railings along the way, just a paved path. It would incline and then smooth out and then incline again, all the way to where you started from. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, it was amazing to see (even the rainforest was so pretty!) and it only took us about 35 minutes from when we took our first step down to coming out. Not too shabby for 2 out of shape folks! We did this now I felt like we could tackle anything!! LOL

On to Chain of Craters road. It was still drizzling as we drove. We didn't stop at every stopping point (for us, once you saw some of the old lava flow that hardened, what difference did it make what year it came down, it was the same...I know others will beg to differ on it though). We made a stop at some of the other craters along the way too and the drizzle started to stop. It was a very windy day though! I was also amazed at how vegetation could grow through the cracks in the lava. We didn't do any of the trails either. I was anxious to get to the end. I wanted to see the Holei Sea Arch (made from the hot lava over flowing the edge of the island..not hot anymore, it's hardened).

We made it down to the end and there were signs where the arch was, but there was also warning signs not to stand on the edges because there could be falling rocks into the ocean. It was still very windy and drizzling, but I was getting out to see this arch. It was a short walk from the car, over some very uneven grounds (the old lava flow) to the edge; however, this edge had a small wall built up so I assumed that was where they wanted you to stand to see the arch and that's the only place I went. There were many others testing fate!

My DH decided to make the trip out to see this arch too, but not until after I had gotten most of the way out there myself. As he walked out, the sun came out and it was beautiful out! He was just as amazed with that arch as I was. It's beautiful. We took our pictures, stood around for awhile in marvel at it all and then made our way back to the car. We did not walk past the security huts to see the lava flow across the road. From what people said it was about a 15 minute walk so it would have been even longer for me. We decided to head on back up to the top and onto our next place...Rainbow Falls but not before one last peek to see if we could see the volcano a little better.

We couldn't stop talking about the arch and how beautiful it was on our way back up. As we drove back up, it started to drizzle again and get more dark. We made our way to Rainbow Falls and it was raining now. We still got out of the car to see it and were glad we did. There were quite a few people around even in the rain. A man took a picture of us with the falls, for that we were thankful. With the rain, there was no rainbow to be seen though. It was warm out so it was not cold here.

We took cover under this large tree and marveled at how beautiful those falls were. We took a few more pictures and then headed for the car because the rain was coming down much harder now! It was huge drops!!

We were trying to decide what to do next and our stomachs won out. It was now 5pm and we needed to have the car back no later than 6pm because we had to be on the ship by 6:30pm and we didn't want to be rushing. Before leaving home I looked for good places to eat close to the pier and many, many people suggested Ken's Pancake House so we plugged in the address into our GPS (one we brought from home) and away we went looking for food!

For some reason our GPS lead us wrong! We kept going to this round-a-bout and no Ken's to be found. I tried looking for it as we drove, but didn't see anything that I thought might be it. We stopped to ask and it turned out it was across the street from where we were! It was nothing like I thought it was going to look like!!! I was thinking on the order of an IHop.

We went there anyway and boy are we glad we did. Service is slow compared to Chicago, but we're in Hawaii. We were just on pins and needles because we were worried about getting back onto the ship in time. The staff was very friendly there and the food so delicious! I was trying to figure out how we could bring some back on the ship with us since that food was so bad!!! Couldn't figure it out though. I had their Prime Rib (special for that night) and it was so much better than what I got on the ship! And the soup...oh my goodness!!! It was chicken tortilla and it was out of this world!!!! I had to have a second one. Even the fries were good...not greasy at all.

It is an old place, nothing fancy at all. While eating they rang this bell on the wall and hit a gong and yelled out something...scared us at first because we were sitting right there! When we asked about it our waitress told us it's a tradition that is as old as the restaurant is and when someone orders a super size/large they do that. She also said they're open 24/7 and in the evenings they get a large crowd of teens in there to hang out. The manager doesn't have a problem with it and enjoys them being around even if they only order just a drink and nothing else all evening because it keeps them off the streets and out of trouble. Very nice thing to do!!!

While sitting there we also saw one of the waitresses cleaning behind the counter. She was cleaning everything from top to bottom and every corner. I commented to my DH on how great of a job she was doing...even breaking down some of the machines (like the malt machine) and cleaning it all up. Our waitress over heard me talking to DH and she said they do this every shift. Each day one of the waitresses has to stay after the end of their shift and clean everything up like that. You didn't see this woman mad that she had to stay either and she did it right. She wasn't hurrying to get out and skipping anything. So nice to see! I’d love to bring her to my house to clean!

We finished up, paid our bill, left our tip and was on our way in plenty of time to return the car and get back to the ship. Our belly's still full we had no need for dinner that night and just picked up some fresh fruit for dessert.

LOVED HILO and hope to go back and see more of what she has to offer!! Would have given Hilo a 5+ if it wasn't for the problems in the port with the car rental vans. That needs to be straightened out.

Sorry, I tried to post pictures with my review, but I just can't figure out how to do it.

great job

Since I couldn't attach my pictures with my review, here is a link to Photobucket and I have them on there. If you view them in the slide show you can see what I wrote for each picture.:D

http://s92.photobucket.com/albums/l18/317bossyaussie/15%20Day%20Hawaiian%20Cruise%2012-2-2011/?albumview=slideshow

Hopefully tomorrow will be Maui !!!

I am enjoying your review. I was on the Spirit to Hawaii last April from San Diego to Honolulu. I don't agree with everything you are saying but then each person has their own opinion and view point. Keep the review coming and I will continue to read it. Thanks.

We sailed on NCL Pride of America last July. hawaii was a trip of a lifetime.

It rained on us while visiting VNP in Hilo also. Plus, no lava flow. Thurston lava tube was real interesting. I too was concerned about walking over wet surfaces while headed down to the tube. No issues. glad I did it.

Surprised you didn't go to Wiamea canyon in Kaui. Outstanding!

I am enjoying your review. I was on the Spirit to Hawaii last April from San Diego to Honolulu. I don't agree with everything you are saying but then each person has their own opinion and view point. Keep the review coming and I will continue to read it. Thanks.

I agree with you. Everyone has their own opinion of things and sees things differently. Would love to hear your opinion on the things you don't agree with! Maybe you can change the way I saw things or enlighten me on a reason something happened? I'm always open to learn!:D

We sailed on NCL Pride of America last July. hawaii was a trip of a lifetime.

 

It rained on us while visiting VNP in Hilo also. Plus, no lava flow. Thurston lava tube was real interesting. I too was concerned about walking over wet surfaces while headed down to the tube. No issues. glad I did it.

 

Surprised you didn't go to Wiamea canyon in Kaui. Outstanding!

Like you I was very worried about walking over the wet surfaces going down the deep paved trail. Almost didn't do it because of it, but so glad we did. We just went slow and not one slip on the way down or back up.

My DH and I are not ones that exercise a lot so I was very worried about just being able to walk all the way and at those declines and inclines, but we made it just fine. I was surprised and very happy!

I wanted to see Wiamea Canyon in Kauai and was so hoping our excursion would swing by that way, but it didn't. We didn't want to rent a car and the excursion from the ship had other things combined with it that we had no desire to do, so that's why we opted for the Hollywood Movies and Waterfalls. Got to see a lot of the island going on this.

Wiamea Canyon will be for next time!:D

When we finally had the chance to get up the counter to check in, they told me I needed my marriage license! What a mess. They did finally let me go but with a "warning" next time to bring it or get a passport and then a “Welcome to Carnival and good luck at customs getting off without the marriage license.

Interesting I have never been asked to show marriage license. Glad you were able to get on ok.

Interesting I have never been asked to show marriage license. Glad you were able to get on ok.

Why did they say u needed a marriage license?

D76 I am absolutely loving your review... I can relate to many ofthe things that you stated in the initial part of your review.. We also had a very rough time once on a 7 day we only would up being able to be off the ship for 5-1/2 hours I swear we sailed in circles that week.

Would you or anyone else in your group happen to have the Daily Newspapers that you could email or scan to me? Or I could even give someone a fax number....

Im the group leader for our April sailing the Moana Malihinis and it would certainly help with the planning of events..

Keep those islands coming cant wait to look at pics either...

Since I couldn't attach my pictures with my review, here is a link to Photobucket and I have them on there. If you view them in the slide show you can see what I wrote for each picture.:D

 

http://s92.photobucket.com/albums/l18/317bossyaussie/15%20Day%20Hawaiian%20Cruise%2012-2-2011/?albumview=slideshow

 

Hopefully tomorrow will be Maui !!!

Great review! Can't wait to hear about Maui. I was blessed enough to spend 8 wonderful days there in 2010 and long to go back one day. :D

Why did they say u needed a marriage license?

They told me I needed my marriage license because i didn't have a passport and used my birth certificate (make sure it's an original or a copy that you can feel the seal on it!!!). Since my birth certificate has my birth last name on it and I'm now married the last name on my drivers license is different than the last name on the birth certificate.

When first looking into this, the woman I talked to at Carnival told me no need for the marriage license since I'm female they understand that you change your last name when you get married and you don't need any proof.

Different story when checking in at the San Pedro/Los Angeles Port. That woman wanted it and wouldn't drop it no matter how many times I told her that I was told I didn't need it. It would have been no problem to bring it. I just didn't want to be bringing additional papers with me that has the possibility of getting lost.

I even called the Carnival number to question someone else about no passport and what papers are required and as I stood there they were telling me on the phone that I did NOT need the marriage license and this woman would not listen to that person and said, "I'm only doing my job".

I can understand that and appreciate that she was being so vigilant, but what upset me the most was that she would not call a supervisor for the longest time to inquire about it...and I didn't like her comment as we walked about about "good luck with customs on coming back". Had me worried for awhile, but then I just figured...hey, I'd be on US soil and I'd worry about it then.

I plan on preventing this from happening again next time I sail by getting my passport. The reason we didn't for this one was because it was a US cruise (except for Ensanada and we didn't plan on getting off there because it was such a short stop and at night) and the cost for it after the cost for the cruise, excursions, and plane I just didn't see a reason for spending another $400...especially if I'm not going to be sailing for another couple of years. Wish it would be sooner, but with a grandbaby on the way, I just don't see it in the cards.:rolleyes:

I think I covered everything in this review of this beautiful island. Wish we would have had even more time to explore and sure wish I could figure out how to add pictures to my reviews! I'll try to load pictures to the CC site. I see they offer something for a free slide show. It will take me awhile to figure that out, but for now, here is the written review. Again, it's my opinions and I'm sure some will agree and some will disagree. I'm always open for questions and love to hear others comments.

Happy reading...I do get "gabby"!:eek::D:p

Our second island and second day of the islands. As we were coming into port a rainbow was waiting to welcome us to the island (one of many for the day!). So BEAUTIFUL and so vibrant!!

So excited and this time was ready to go down and get off the ship right away! We docked so no tender here either. Lots of sun and again, we get off inside a warehouse. Once outside we find where the shuttles are coming for those renting cars. This time no tents set up and it's a huge wooden frame with signs saying which line to get into for which shuttle. It's still craziness going on though! I felt like a herd of cattle getting ready for slaughter while lining us up in the lines!!!

As we find the correct line we see our shuttle, a Budget/Alamo sitting out in the lot in front of us. As we're trying to get to the front of the line (all rental car people line up in the same area no matter which rental car you are taking..makes for a mess!) the shuttle starts to pull out. We yelled for the security guard to stop the shuttle and he says he can't stop him. They are only allowed to sit and wait for someone to board for 5 minutes and then they have to leave. They also can not just exit and pull back in again! Rats!

Now we stand again among all those waiting for the rental car shuttles. It crosses my mind about Hilo and how they were all lined up along a curb at the airport and I toy with the idea of just jumping on the very next one that comes. Good thing I didn't. It was not the same layout for Maui airport!

So now we wait, and wait some more. Again, I call after waiting for 20 minutes and this time someone answers and she tells me the same thing the security guard did in that they can only sit for a short amount of time and then have to leave. She said another one was on it's way and should be there in no time at all. Sure enough I no sooner hang up with her and it begins to pull in.

We had to wait for other buses to clear and then the security guard allowed all those on Alamo or Budget to go to the shuttle. We filled it in no time at all and this driver would not allow anyone to stand. Good thing no one else was in line yet, and off we went.

The road to the airport was full of bumps this time! Wasn't too nice of an area we were driving through either. The driver made mention that when coming to return the car stay on main roads and don't go driving through neighborhoods around here. Ok, now he scared me! On Maui we didn't have to be back on ship until 10:30pm and being winter time, it gets dark very early!

Soon we were at the airport and like I said I was glad I didn't hop on another shuttle. Each rental place had their own building along these roads on airport property. We got off at Budget, along with everyone else on our shuttle (no one got off at Alamo) and all filed inside the building. Everyone went to get into line and I saw that there was a woman sitting under a sign that said Rapid Rez, so I went over to her and asked if her line was open and she said for Rapid Rez customers only so I told her, "that's us!". Within less than 5 minutes we had the keys to our next car and it was parked right outside the door! Another nice car.

We got everything arranged in the car, plugged in our GPS and were on our way for a fun filled day on Maui! The sun was out (saw a beautiful rainbow off the ship before we got off) and it was warm outside. Looking forward to a day on the beach at Ka'anapali and maybe try some beach snorkeling for the first time!

We made the drive with no problems to the Ka'anapali area but really had problems finding open parking. There were hotels all over and most said parking for guests only. Wasn't too sure if they were strict with it or not so we looked for some open parking. I know the info I had from home said it was open parking by the Wharf shops, but we could only find valet parking there and we didn't want to do that. The shops looked to be very upscale shopping too...not what I was looking for.

On our way up to Ka'anapali we passed many, many places where you just pull off the highway and there was sand, some picnic tables, and people parking their cars on the sand and going in the water. We were at the point where we were going to do that and we then saw a sign for open beach parking in designated spaces only.

We pulled into that area, between shops and hotels and many spots were reserved and then we found one that said reserved beach access, so we pulled into that spot hoping it was for the beach. I took a picture of the car and the sign just in case it got towed so I'd have proof that was where we were at. We pulled out all of our beach things and headed to the beach area.

It was so pretty! The water so blue and you had green grass with walkways between everything with some bushes lining between the grass and sand. The bad news..no place to rent a chair or umbrella. I'm past the age of enjoying sitting on a small beach towel on the sand so I kept looking thinking maybe by a hotel we could give the person a tip and still get a chair and umbrella, but to be honest, there was only 2 chairs and no umbrella set up as far as the eye could see! Hmm, what to do?

We put our things down (didn't bring along much with us and purchased a water wallet thing that looked like a fanny pack that I put on under my swimsuit with our important things in it...licenses, sail and sign cards, money, etc.). In the bag was only towels and snorkel things along with a book for me to read and some bottled water.

I decided to go ahead in the water. It was warm out, sunny and I figured I wanted to spend most of my time in the water anyway. DH decided to sit on the towel on the beach. So off I went. Did I mention it was windy? If not, it was very windy and the waves didn't look too bad, but oh boy were they when you got into it! The undertow was horrible and very, very strong!

Now I can swim in a pool and I've been in oceans before and done fine, but this was just too strong and I got very nervous right away after stepping off of the "sand shelf" area! It was pulling me out no matter how hard I was trying to go back to shore. I had to call out to DH and he got up and waded out wondering why I was getting so upset. It's just not like me in water. Then he saw.

He finally latched onto my hand and was able to help pull me back up to the higher area of the sand. That was the end of my being in the water on this beautiful beach! I walked along it for a short distance and saw huge waves crashing into the sand not too far away from us and there were very few people in the water. Most walking along the beach on the sand or up on the walkway by the hotels.

We finally dried off some and headed up to land and found a bench facing the ocean and sat just enjoying the sights. There was a nice man there trying to sell time shares and not doing well with the weather being like this and there was a restaurant right there by him being remodeled and all of that noise and garbage was keeping people away from him.

He was nice to talk to though and said the waters are very rough during the winter but they started early this year and they are not friendly enough to go into right now...no kidding! Wish we would have seen him earlier!! LOL He said he'd give us a "guide" to Hawaiian waters, only go in when you see brown in the water (meaning natives swimming there) AND stay out of white waters that means it's crashing waves and too rough. I remembered that one for the rest of the trip!

We were disappointed with our beach day so I suggested we head back to this strip mall that we passed on the way here to do our souvenir shopping and stop at a gas station so I could change out of my swimsuit and into clothes for the next part of our travels on the island. We also made a stop at Safeway for some soda and healthy snacks to take back onto the ship for later. I shopped at the ABC store for the items I wanted to get for gifts. With that done, we headed off to Lahaina for our Whale Watch excursion I planned on my own through Pacific Whale Watching Tours.

The drive was short and in my research I knew parking was at a premium in Lahaina. We found a lot right behind the Pacific Whale Watching Tour shop. It was a paid lot, but it was a spot. I wasn't going to be driving around wasting time. We parked, checked in at the shop and got the directions to the pier. We were about 45 minutes early but after walking over to the pier there was many people in line already. It was very hot and very sunny and not much shade.

DH did his thing and got in line while I sought out shade. It was about 15 minutes when someone from PWW came out to give instructions for boarding and then 5 minutes later they let us start filing onto the boat, but not before getting our picture taken...as seems to be the thing for all excursions.

This boat was nice in that it had an upper and lower deck area to sit. We picked the lower because it was covered, but had windows that were open so we got a nice cool breeze from the winds.

We were told to help the captain look for whales and if you think you see something don't just yell out you see something, yell a point like on a clock. Twelve o'clock was the front of the boat and 6 o'clock was the back. Three was the right side of the boat and nine was the left and then all the markers in between. We had a specialist on the boat giving out information on the whales as we went and after just a short bit we had a sighting at 11 o'clock!

Originally as we're going along I thought I saw one; however, the seas were very choppy and I didn't want to yell anything out for fear it was just a wave and this is the area I saw something. It was less than a minute later the woman talking about whales yells out 11 o'clock that she saw the back of one and I was looking there since I saw the other thing and sure enough I saw what she was talking about.

Everyone on the other side of the boat ran over to the left side then. It wasn't long when it appeared again, not too far from that point and it was around a catamaran that had it's engine killed so our captain said this one was mugging the other boat so they couldn't move when it was up and around it; however, we also couldn't go any closer but we'd stay at the distance and view it like that for now.

It kept coming up and around the other boat...both sides and around the back of it. It looked to me to be a baby because it sure didn't look as big as what they were saying big ones were. It wasn't long before our expert said it looked to be a young one....Ha! I was right! LOL

All of a sudden you saw the tail come up and down it went and our specialist said when whales do that they usually go deeper and stay down for awhile. Once the whale did that the other boat started it's engine and went back to land. We stayed around for a little bit, but no other sightings of this little one, so off we went in search of others.

After a short bit someone yelled out 2 o'clock and off in the distance you could see some whales "blowing" (when they come up from the deep and blow out of their hole on top there is water/mist that comes up in a spout). There was about 4 of them doing it, so we headed out that way to check it out. Once we got to the area there was nothing else to see. They either moved away or went deep again.

Next thing you know someone in the back of the boat yells out 6 o'clock and I didn't see it but he said, along with 3 other people that were sitting back there, saw a whale, a large one, come up and then go down and showed it's tail as it went down. Our specialist said it seemed like each whale was staying down for about 7 minutes so we'd stay around to see if this one surfaced again.

Seven minutes seems like such a long time when nothing is going on. It's not like being at a zoo or aquarium where the whales and dolphins have a show they put on for you! Seven minutes came and went and nothing again from this one.

There was a small cluster of boats off to our port side (left side) so our captain started up our engines and headed off into that direction figuring that they were clustered together because of a sighting. As we got closer there was a little one again. At first just floating around just under the surface and then actually brought it's head above water for a short amount of time. It did a couple of blows and arched it's back a couple of times too.

Our specialist told us that where there is a baby there is a mother not far away and usually a little deeper so keep our eyes peeled. Soon enough a mother appears off in the distance along with a male following her. She's circling around so she won't get too far from the baby and she's trying to ward off her suitor also, but he's not giving up and trying to stay close. She finally had enough of him and slapped him really hard with her tail!!! All of a sudden you see him arch and up comes his tail and he goes for deep dive. She gets closer just under the water and at the very same time as the baby, they both arch and show their tails and they go for a deep dive.

This was the end of our time and we were actually 15 minutes later out there than we were supposed to be so now we started heading back to shore. Our specialist told us with it being only December 8th it was very early in the season for the whales to be in Maui and that in a couple of weeks there would be quite a few more. For now they're thinking there are only about a dozen or so and come January there will be over 3,000 and each boat can have their own group to watch instead of having to "share" just a couple! I couldn't image seeing that many whales in one spot! She also asked, "are the humpback whales citizens of Hawaii or Alaska since they come to Hawaii from Alaska?" A lot of people yelled out they were Alaskan; however, she answered, "wrong! They're from Hawaii because they come here to be born so if born in Hawaii then you're Hawaiian. They are coming back home!" When you think of that, it's true. They are born in Hawaii and then go to Alaska to eat and then come back home for the winters. Smart beings!

After getting off the PWW boat we walked around on Front Street for a little bit just looking at the different store fronts. We found a place to get some shaved ice! I was so happy to have some because I'd heard so many talking about it. It's basically a snow cone, but instead of crushed ice, it's shaved. It does make a difference. We bought one and then went across the street to the park where there was a huge Banyan tree to sit and eat it.

This tree was amazing! It took up the whole block. Hard to believe that it was all just one tree. I'd heard talk about it, but didn't place it on my "to see" list, but now that we saw it, I'm glad we did. It's amazing.

We finished up with our shaved ice and did some window shopping as we walked back to our car. There was a little area where a man was carving out tiki's and also some Honu (turtles). He was very good. I found a turtle that I fell in love with and was fighting the urge to buy it. It was quite large and if I bought it I'd have to find a way to ship it home, but the more I thought about it, I would have no place for it in my home. He said he could do a smaller one for me and I wish I would have let him, but we had dinner reservations to make it to and so I took a pass. I wish I would have been late for dinner now and bought the smaller turtle because it was so pretty. Maybe one day I'll be back and can get one.

We made it to the car and then headed off for our dinner reservations at Buzz's Wharf in Ma'alaea for a sunset dinner. We found it with no problems and it was as was stated in their website...the port area was under construction so we just had to drive slowly and avoid the dips to get to them. They were situated right on the water, which would have been beautiful if not under construction.

So much for watching the sunset as we had dinner too. It being winter, the sunset was off to the side of the restaurant instead of over the water. Other than those things dinner was delicious!

The restaurant was a brown wood building with quite a few stairs to go up to get inside. They had it decorated for Christmas nicely and the whole front of the building had windows so you could see outside (while the back side was covered in mirrors so it reflected what was outside..very cool!). It was not a big place and on the website they did advise you to make reservations, which we did.

Our waitress was very nice and explained the menu and specials. They grow their own prawns and she strongly suggested giving them a try. I can't eat fish, but DH wanted to have some good fish while on the islands so that's why I picked this place out. It had good reviews on Trip Advisor. He ordered his fish, but didn't order the prawns and I ordered my steak.

After the waitress left I asked him why he didn't try the prawns and he said he just didn't think about adding them or if he could with his meal, so I told him we could add them to mine so when the waitress brought our soup he added them and he was glad he did! He said they were so good and he wished he'd have gotten a full order of them. He said however they fixed them it was delicious and the best tasting he'd ever gotten!

I felt the same for my steak. I'm a pretty picky eater (you'd never know it by looking at me though) and the steak was done exactly the way I like it! I can't remember ever having one that tasted so good. I don't know the spices they used or rub, if they did, but whatever they did to it, it was the best I've ever had! If I wasn't so full from it I would have loved to have had another or try to figure out a way to have it on the ship! YUM!

Buzz's Wharf is a definite place to eat whether you like seafood or steak when on Maui. It's not cheap, but it is so worth the price!!! Everyone was very nice there too. Sitting by the window with the breeze coming in felt good and especially realizing that it was December 8th and I was in short sleeves enjoying the weather instead of at home by Chicago with 17 degree weather! YES!! We will certainly be telling anyone visiting Maui about this place! (FYI: they also have a 10% off coupon on their website so make sure to print that out before going..any little bit helps!).

After dinner we got back into our car and had a short drive to return our rental. I was so glad that I went on Trip Advisor and looked up information. Originally we were going to have a sunset dinner in Lahaina but they advised us to go to Ma'alaea because the drive from Lahaina at night would be a hard drive through the roads with no lights and we'd have an easier drive from Ma'alaea to our port area and they were right! They've not steered me wrong yet, so thanks to those on Trip Advisor too!

Returning the car was very easy and when we had gotten the car the woman behind the desk said they closed at 10pm (never thought to ask when they closed. Just figured that since they were at an airport they would be open 24/7..note to self and others to ask when they close and when last shuttle runs!) so we got back about 8:30pm with our belly's full of good food again! We remembered what our shuttle driver told us about going off the main roads so even though we still had time left we decided to just return the car and return to the ship. We had almost a 1/2 hour wait for the shuttle and then it finally came. It was only us and one other couple returning to the ship at this time.

We went straight to our room to change clothes. It wasn't too long that we felt the ship being to leave the dock. It was not 11pm yet, but everyone must have been on the ship and they decided to go ahead and leave. So off we went for our next stop, Honolulu.

Again, would have given the port a 5+ rating if they could get the shuttle issue cleared up. It wasn't only problems with the rental car shuttles, but also the free shuttles for shopping, etc. As with Hilo, Maui is definitely a place I'd love to go back and spend more time..and have another dinner at Buzz's Wharf!!!

 

 

 

Again, would have given the port a 5+ rating if they could get the shuttle issue cleared up. It wasn't only problems with the rental car shuttles, but also the free shuttles for shopping, etc. As with Hilo, Maui is definitely a place I'd love to go back and spend more time..and have another dinner at Buzz's Wharf!!!

Is it possible to take a cab to the car rental place and avoid that mess?

Thanks for the review! Love Hawaii!

Is it possible to take a cab to the car rental place and avoid that mess?

Yes, you can take a taxi, but by the time we even began to think about it, the line for the taxi cabs was horribly long and at Hilo we were told it was about $35. After we were on the shuttle I couldn't imagine it costing that much because the airport was so close. In Maui it's a little longer of a ride so I would think it would be a little more than that, but you can always ask them before getting on.

If you think you would rather do the taxi thing, then I'd get off the ship asap and get right into that line before it got too long.

They did say you could even walk to the airport at Hilo and it's about a 4 mile walk. I wouldn't advise it unless they have a special walkway there.

Maui was another story because the area we drove through to get to the airport didn't look too good and our shuttle driver even told us that by the time we bring the cars back it will be dark and for everyone to stay on main roads and don't go driving through neighborhoods because you're not familar with them, especially when you get close to the airport.

I wish I would have asked him why. Was it because it's considered a "bad" area or was it because of bad roads, roads with no signs to alert you to things like pot holes (does Hawaii have them?) or roads ending at the ocean?

I think had someone written about the mess getting off the ships getting the rental cars we would have been prepared and it might not have seemed so bad to us. I'm the kind that likes to know and be prepared and then I can have my options...like we did in Hilo. Our original plan was to go to Richardsons Beach for the day with a short stop at Rainbow falls and if time a stop at the Chocolate Factory.

It was raining and so gloomy we decided to do something else instead of standing around on a beach in the rain. I had printed out many, many things to do on the islands we rented the cars and on Honolulu with the trolley so that we had options just in case things came up beyond our control.

We ended up doing VNP and Chain of Craters road along with Rainbow falls and a stop at Ken's House of Pancakes (very good food and I totally recommend their chicken tortilla soup if they have it that day! YUM, YUM!) Their prime rib was also delicous...much more so than on the ship!

I wanted to see Richardsons because they are supposed to have lots of Honu (turtles), but I think with the high waves, they probably wouldn't have been there. No regrets and hope to get back to see much more!

Thanks for the review! Love Hawaii!

No problem writing the review. I so loved Hawaii. I was shocked when talking to some of the people that live there though. They said it's a huge culture shock and tons of people can't make the adjustment and end up going back to the mainland!

They said these people just couldn't wrap their heads around being on an island. It's not that big and they felt trapped. For me, I think I could do it just fine. You have your different towns/cities and the ones we visited were not all that small.

Now on the mainland, you couldn't catch me out in the country with no one around for miles though. As I say over and over though, everyone is different in their likes and dislikes and everyone sees things differently and that's what makes us all unique. I will not tell someone they are wrong on these boards when they are writing their opinions...I will offer mine too, which may be different, but I will not and refuse to "flame" others as some do on these boards and I feel that is just so sad.

I looked to this board for help in my planning a trip of a lifetime and got so much good information and in my writing my review I am expressing my opinions on what we experienced and saw, but it's my version and I'm sure you can find others that did and saw the same things I did and will say something totally different. It all depends on who you are and your tastes and outlook on things.

If you go with a good attitude, even the "bad' things won't be that bad...but I felt I needed to express what we had issues with to be fair to others, just as I would wish for others to express them so I can be prepared.

When people disagree with what I write, I love to hear their opinions and maybe they can enlighten me as to why something happens, etc. so I can understand it better.

Just me....almost done with my Honolulu review and stil trying to figure out the adding my pictures to the review! Am I that dumb???:eek::confused::o:p

Honolulu

Look out Honolulu here we come! Oahu was our third island. I was standing on our balcony as we were getting into our port. I got so excited when I saw the clock tower and knew we were very close now! From my research I knew we would be docking very close to this tower and we did. We were at Pier 10 and actually at 11 too. We took up both berths.

This was going to be an "open" day for us. No rush to get off the ship because I knew this was a "big city" and DH works in Chicago and had no desire of being caught up in it all.

We did not rent a car here because so many said it was a huge headache to do so. We had advance notice that trying to go see the USS Arizona would be a hassle also because Hawaii 5-0 was filming in the area so we decided to forgo that visit also. I see that some people did make it and have posted some pictures but I don’t know how they went there: ship excursion, by car, or another excursion booked off the ship.

We let the masses get off ship and then decided to strike out on our own. In my research I knew there was a trolley that ran around parts of the island and it said it was a get on and off type thing and also a tour of parts of the island so we decided to do that.

When we got off the ship, it wasn't a warehouse this time. It was a building and we were on the upper floor and had a couple of long corridors to walk through and then down an escalator. Once downstairs it was craziness again! There were lines all over the place for this and that and no one to ask any questions to. Security was at the doors; however, they were no help when asking where you pick up the trolley.

We went out the doors and headed over to the Clock Tower area. I figured that was a main area and you'd think they would have a pick up here. Once we got there, only about a half block, we didn't see anything except for the shopping area behind us and then a parking area across the street, so we walked. We asked a couple of men that were by limos, but they had no idea and I don't think they understood English. We walked some more.

We made it down to Pier 8 and still didn't see anything so I told DH that I remembered them saying in my research that it picked you up by the Clock Tower so I was thinking maybe right in front of it, but there was no road for vehicles to get through to it.

We crossed the street because there was a woman in the parking area in the hut to collect the money so I asked her about the trolley and she said the stand was right behind us! Sure enough there was a wooden structure standing there with the words trolley on it right across the street from the door we came out from by pier! DOH!

There were quite a few people sitting there, but not all were waiting for the trolley. They were waiting for various shuttles. As we were sitting there, there was a big commotion behind us but I couldn't tell what was going on and as we sat there all of a sudden there was all this water coming down the street in front of us. I thought maybe they were doing a fire hydrant flush or something...but the water just kept coming and getting more and more. I stood up to take a look around and there was this huge flume coming from about a block away!

It turns out that a bus backed into a fire hydrant and broke it off! Water was quickly filling all the surrounding streets, including in front of us. We were on the low side of the street and it was up to the curb. They had some speed bumps in the street so we decided to cross over to the other side to get away from the rising water while we could wade on the speed bumps to keep us out of water above our ankles.

We make it to the other side with just some wet shoes and we no sooner get over there and the trolley comes around the corner towards the trolley stop! To get on and off is on the side of the street we were on before. We let the traffic director know we wanted to get onto this trolley so he stopped it and told them they needed to turn around and could not proceed any further because the water was way too deep now. He also let the driver know we wanted to get on.

The trolley driver pulled out into the middle of the street so we didn't have to wade into too deep of water and waited for us to get on and then he did a turn around using the parking area driveway to do it.

As we started to go the trolley driver asked for our tickets, which we had none. We told him we thought we could buy them from him and he said usually you purchase them from (and we couldn't understand where he said to get them) but that we could buy them from him also.

Now I thought the trolley was only supposed to be $2 and when he said $32 each I freaked. I grabbed a map and for the life of me I can't figure out what costs $2 on the trolley, but to ride any of them and have the on and off was $32 each, which we went ahead and paid because this is what we wanted to do for the day.

There are 3 different lines. A red, pink and green line and each one has a tour of either shopping, sight seeing and restaurants. We were currently on the red line because we wanted to go to Waikiki for lunch at Dukes.

I had no idea where Dukes restaurant was except for it's on the beach in Waikiki. I figured it would be some place around the Duke's statue. Makes sense right? Wrong! If you get off at the statue, you're actually one stop too far from the restaurant.

There is no advertisement or signs that the restaurant is there either and you can't see it from the street! We asked the driver when we got off at the Duke's statue and he said it was a short distance away and we got off at the right stop. We looked and looked and didn't see anything that even looked like Dukes. I saw a map so we walked over to it to look and a nice woman from a tourist department came over and asked if she could help so we asked her. She told us where to go and it was just past the oldest hotel. So we start walking.

We pass up the oldest hotel and still don't see it. We walked a little more and I saw this arch and it had some stores listed inside it and I saw what looked to say Duke's so we decided to go in there and see. There were quite a few nice shops that we walked past and then realized that we were in a side hallway of a hotel. As we made a bend in the corridor there it was, Dukes!

Not what I was thinking at all. I thought it would be a building by itself out on the beach of Waikiki! Not that it wasn't nice. It was very nice, just not what I thought it was going to be.

After you go past the entrance then you walk into the area where they seat you and it's all open to the beach. Very cool. Just outside of the restaurant there is the swimming pool for the hotel and also chairs for laying out in the sun. Next comes the sand and the the Waikiki beach. It was a beautiful sunny day and there were tons of people out on the beach and in the water as well as laying on the chaises in the sun and in the swimming pool.

We had a nice lunch. It was basically burgers, chicken, etc., but it tasted good. It wasn't cheap, but not expensive either. The atmosphere was relaxing and nice. DH was facing the beach and was blinded by the sun reflected off the water at times, but other than that, it was nice.

Once we were done with our lunch we ventured back out onto the roads to catch the next trolley that was green so we could go and see Diamond Head and some other parts of the island (FYI if you're going to Duke's you'll want to get off at the stop that is by the Cheesecake Factory and it's a very short walk to your left to get to the arch to go through to get to Dukes!).

We didn't have too long of a wait and the green trolley came along. Our driver was very friendly and full of all kinds of information about everything we were going by. He did stop at a couple of look out places for Diamond Head Beach, which was nice too. He pointed out some houses in the distance, including Jim Neighbors.

We actually went around and then into the crater area of Diamond Head! There is an armed services base located there and a tunnel you have to go through to get inside of it. Once inside you could get off the trolley if you wanted and hike to the top rim of the crater. They had look out posts up around the top, but we opted to not get off. Not many people did.

We proceeded to drive through a few neighborhoods and our driver informed us that to live in the mountains costs millions of dollars. To live on the beaches costs tens of millions of dollars and even hundreds of millions of dollars! He did say there were a few areas between the two that wasn't as bad, but still not cheap.

As we came back into Waikiki we decided to get off the trolley in the Duty Free Shopping Mall. It wasn't to shop, but that seems to be their main stop for each trolley and we got into line for the red trolley to go back to our ship area, the Clock Tower, so we could get ready for dinner.

Good thing we did because as we were standing in line we saw on the board that showed all of the different lines and where they visited that the trolleys stopped running soon! I thought they would run all day and into evenings, but they don't. They finish up about 4pm and one sooner than that! When we got on the red line to go back to the Clock Tower there was only one more pick up after us. That was cutting it kind of close. Of course we could have taken a taxi, but they say that is about $60 and we already paid that for our trolley ticket.

Our red line finally came around again and we were in a very long line to get on it. Not many people got off at the Duty Free Shop so it was standing room only. I was just glad to be on it though. After 2 more stops enough people got off that I was able to sit, but DH had to still stand all the way back to the Clock Tower.

We got off back where we started and they already had the mess of the bus accident with the fire hydrant cleared up. It was a very short walk back to our pier and then through security to get back to the ship. There were many lines formed for the luau that was going on this night, but we opted not to go on it since I looked up information on Trip Advisor and it said it wasn't a very good one.

We made it up to our room and got freshened up and then headed back our for our sunset dinner cruise which included fireworks. In my research I stumbled upon this dinner cruise in Honolulu with Navatek. It's a catamaran like no other. Very beautiful when you are walking up and seeing it for the first time! Quite impressive to say the least.

Our ship was at pier 10 and they were located at pier 5. When I called for directions they told me a short, 5 minute walk so I figured for me it would be about 15 minutes and I was right for me. It's quite a haul..I'd say about 6 long blocks or so. A nice walk on a nice evening though. It wasn't too hot or too cool and a nice breeze.

Once there they had the normal picture taking session (make sure to stop by the desk before getting in line so you can pick up your tickets/boarding passes...or do like we did...I got in line to board and DH went and got the tickets). Soon it was our turn for the picture. They have a very nice backdrop and their photographer takes their time to pose you. Had I known they did such a nice job I would not have worn my capris and I probably would have bought the picture because it did turn out nice when they brought it to us later in the cruise after dinner.

Once finished with the picture you walk across the plank and are greeted by staff and directed to a doorway. Once going through it (we opted for the buffet instead of the more elegant lobster dinner...it was a whole lobster and not just lobster tail and DH didn't want to mess with a whole one and I don't eat any kind of seafood so I was fine with the buffet) we were greeted by a hostess who asked for our name and had someone show us to our seats.

I paid extra to get window seats so we could see the sunset and fireworks from our seats. This time of the year I would not do that again. We were seated on the port, left, side of the boat and you could not see the sunset from the window. You needed to go outside onto the deck to see it.

They did announce that the sun was setting but by the time we got out of our seats and onto the deck it was already set. Bummer. This happened very soon after we set sail..again, because it was during the winter and the sun sets sooner.

Our table was set up to hold 8 people, but it would be very crowded if 8 people were sitting there. We had 3 more women that joined us, so it worked out pretty good in the respect of having a little more elbow room. Had there been 8, it would have been way too crowded with no room at all to move.

The chairs were comfortable, just standard chairs, but padding was good and the spacing between tables was decent too, which made for getting up and down easy. If we had not paid extra for the window seating (and known we’d not see anything but the skyline) it would have been better to pick the “end” seats so we’d have one side open to the aisle and a little more room if the table were full.

For entertainment the woman singing had a beautiful voice and the gentleman playing the instruments had a nice voice also and played very well. It was enjoyable listening to them sing together.

We had a small taste of the different variety of hula dancing along with Tahitian dancing. Of course there was no fire dancing though. It was entertaining and they even had some audience participation wearing the coconut bras and grass skirts by the men in our group. A good bunch of participators and even one dressed as Santa!

They had worked out the lines for the food well and had 2 lines going at all times. The food was just ok. Nothing stood out to me as being great, but they had a nice variety of it. They don't fix it on the boat, it's catered in. It stuck me odd they would have canned pineapple when I thought Hawaii grows it's own on the islands, but later would find out that most of the pineapple in Hawaii is brought in from the mainlands! That answered that question.

The skyline of Honolulu and Waikiki was beautiful at night and there was also a full moon. As we were going along the moon came out nice and bright over Diamond Head! Such a pretty sight, for sure.

The women at our table were very nice and we had a nice talk with them all through dinner. It made for a very nice evening. As it all was winding down and desserts were brought out, it began to rain. While standing in line for dessert an announcement was made that the hotel that puts on the fireworks started them early and they were now going on so there was a mad dash for the doors to get on deck. We were unable to view them from our window seat.

By the time I made it outside all that was left of the fireworks show was the grand finale. Many people that went out before me were heading back in because the wind was blowing hard and the rain was really coming down and soaking them. I stayed out until the end of the grand finale, after all that was part of the reason I chose this dinner cruise! Once it ended then it was back inside.

Now I'm pretty wet, so I headed off to the bathroom area where a lot of the women headed. There was a line, but it went quickly. One of the stall doors didn't lock and a little girl was so distraught because she had to go to the bathroom so badly and the door wouldn't stay closed, so I told her I'd hold it for her and she could let me know when she was finished. She was so happy that I'd do that for her. Once she was done she yelled out, "I'm finished" so I let the door go and she still had the tears on her face so I helped her wash them off before returning to her table with her family. She was so cute! The rest of the evening she kept looking over at me with a shy smile.

As I came out of the bathroom they had all the couples celebrating their wedding or anniversary up on stage. This trip was to celebrate our 30 th wedding anniversary this past June, but I had no desire to get up there and I knew my DH didn't either, so I stayed in the back while this was going on. Our waiter looked at me and said, "your husband is waiting for you" and I just thought, "yeah, right". I soon met eyes with my husband and I was right. He motioned for me to wait because our table guests knew we were celebrating our anniversary on this cruise and they kept looking for me!

They did all of the announcements of those on stage and then they played a special song for them to dance too. Once it was almost done I headed to my seat. The rest of the evening on our trip back to the dock was spent in sing-a-longs and line dances. It was a fun evening, even though my dancing was kept to my chair! I had a good time just doing that.

Once we docked again, we said our goodbyes to our fellow guests at the table and wished them well on their return trip home the next day to California. They were 3 sisters that didn't get to see each other much because of living a distance away from each other. Good for them to be able to get away for a week together! They were not on Carnival, they had flown over to Hawaii for the week and stayed in Waikiki the whole time.

We got off the boat and started our walk back to the ship. It was drizzling out, but not bad and it was warm. We took our time because we didn't need to be back on our ship until 10:30pm again and it was only 9:10pm. We were back at the pier, made it through security and in our room by 9:30pm.

We had a very nice day in Honolulu, Waikiki and at Diamond Head. Our dinner cruise was fun and as with the other two islands, we hope to make it back sometime to enjoy more of it! We were very happy not to have to be running around to fit everything in so it was a nice time in the middle of our 5 days on the islands. We got to regroup for our next stop, Kauai!

As with the other islands, we would have given Honolulu a 5+ if more people were around to give help once getting off the ship. It was chaos once you made it downstairs and no one to ask for help. There was a help desk sitting there, but no one behind it or around it.