My Hawaii Cruise Adventure

[scrappydoo]

 

Happy to report that I have tackled a couple of walks at Jenolan Caves in the Blue Mountains recently and one of these walks had over 250 steps!:eek: I survived, so I think Diamond Head will be simple now...probably not! But at least I know I can do it!

 

 

Way to go, Raison! Diamond Head will be a piece of cake for you now! That's smart --- training for Diamond Head. haha. Good job! :)

 

Thanks for reading and posting a reply. I really feel like I must be boring you guys all to death with my blow by blow accounts of my days. :o As for the lei, if you take a look at my picture of the plumeria lei I made in Sept (on the rocking chair) back in the Day One post, you'll see how sad and pitiful it looked... haha! :D The orchid ones are a lot easier to make and come out so lush. You will have a fun time making your own!

[bronxite]

Way to go, Raison! Diamond Head will be a piece of cake for you now! That's smart --- training for Diamond Head. haha. Good job! :)

 

Thanks for reading and posting a reply. I really feel like I must be boring you guys all to death with my blow by blow accounts of my days. :o As for the lei, if you take a look at my picture of the plumeria lei I made in Sept (on the rocking chair) back in the Day One post, you'll see how sad and pitiful it looked... haha! :D The orchid ones are a lot easier to make and come out so lush. You will have a fun time making your own!

 

 

Loving your adventure...and photo's. We leave in 37 days for Hawaii, so looking forward to our trip.

[cbedics]

What do you recommend is better to see hawaii, a cruise or island hopping

yourself?

[scrappydoo]

Loving your adventure...and photo's. We leave in 37 days for Hawaii, so looking forward to our trip.

 

Thank you, bronxite. I appreciate it. Your trip will be here before you know it! I'm so excited for you... :)

[scrappydoo]

What do you recommend is better to see hawaii, a cruise or island hopping

yourself?

 

Oh, this is hard... cuz it's so dependent on what you're looking for in a vacation. I loved my first trip to Hawaii on just Oahu and getting immersed in just one island. Then I loved my trip to Oahu/Kauai split and exploring a new island. And I've loved every trip to every island that I've taken.

 

The cruise was a new way to experience Hawaii, and it was just neat to experience them all together. It is just like a taste of all the islands, and it's SO convenient in that you don't have to pack/unpack, and don't have to worry about where to eat and just spend all day exploring...then while you sleep, you get transported to another island! It's all very cool.

 

If you do a cruise, I highly recommend POA because of all the time you get to spend on the islands. Not all cruises spend this much time on the islands. I would definitely do it again in a heartbeat, and I already have a list of things to do for the next time. A cruise is great for someone like me who doesn't like to drive or tends to go solo traveling. It doesn't get more convenient than this... however, if you have a nice group, and a mini-van, you can always rent a big condo and ride everywhere together and that might be fun.

 

The cruise is a good overview, and you can always go back to the island(s) that interests you the most for a land vacation. Or even better, stay on Oahu a few days before/after the cruise and make it a combination cruise/land vacation.

 

You really can't go wrong...enjoy!

[scrappydoo]

Day Six - Kona, SeaQuest Morning Snorkeling Trip

 

Wednesday, 12/1 -

 

This morning, we had our SeaQuest Morning Snorkel Trip! I wanted to take this trip for several reasons...first, I've heard how great the snorkeling is in Kona, particularly at the two locations that this tour stops at (Place of Refuge area, and Captain Cook's Monument). Second, it is a smaller boat so there are no more than 12 ppl on a tour which was important to me since I consider myself a "non-swimmer" and pretty much kind of freaked out in the water and I knew I wouldn't be lost in the crowd. They reassured me that they specialize in first time snorkelers and non-swimmers. Thirdly, my friend has a very strong eyeglass prescription and cannot wear contact lenses. Therefore, we needed a company who had a pretty high RX snorkel mask available for her. We were considering Dolphin Discoveries (because I really wanted to see wildlife out there) but they didn't have the RX masks at the strength my friend needed, so we decided on SQ.

 

We needed to check-in at SQ at 7:45am, so I was a little anxious about making sure we were on the first tender boat out and catching a taxi to Keauhou Bay by 7:45am. Our plan was to line up at the Pink's Champagne Bar around 6:30-6:45 for the first tender boat at 7am. Well, we got there at 6:45am and there were only a handful of people waiting. By 7am, when the lady came to distribute tickets, there were only enough people to fill about half the tender boat. This is only our own experience, and I can't say whether it's like this the majority of the time or not, but in our case we could have arrived at 7am with no worries of missing the first boat out.

 

The ride to town was non-eventful and we were full of excitement to reach Kona. I was on the look out for dolphins, but did not see any signs of wildlife unfortunately. I've been able to see dolphins out in the waters of Hawaii on a zodiac before and remember how awesome it was to experience. I really wanted my friend to see some dolphins today! That was another reason I wanted to go on a small boat snorkel trip during our cruise.

 

When we reached the pier, they had the Kona Surfing Dude as our photo-op, but we by-passed this line to make sure we were able to catch a taxi ASAP. As we arrived, several taxis pulled in and we were able to get on the first one out. It seemed that there was a bigger group of passengers that were having a little more trouble getting a taxi, but because we were only two people we had no problems. It turned out that same group arrived at Keauhou Bay about 10min after we did. Again, this was only our experience, and if you feel more at ease by reserving a taxi prior to arrival, I've read that Mel's Cab is reliable and able to make reservations in advance.

 

I think it cost us about $30 for the taxi ride to Keauhou Bay and we arrived a few minutes early for our 7:45am check-in. I must say, in all my experiences taking a taxi in Kona, I've found the drivers to be kind of on the sketchy side. That's just me...but you gotta get where you gotta get, so I just take it with a grain of salt and as part of the island ways here in Kona. =)

 

I had high hopes of seeing wildlife, esp after reading kwbound's awesome experience with SQ, but unfortunately, I guess we had a quiet day. No signs of any dolphins, turtles, small whale species for us! Oh wells, I still consider the trip a great success. By all accounts, I considered this my first real successful snorkeling endeavor Ever! The first time I snorkeled in Napali Coast, I was spinning around like a sea otter with my little flotation device and caught a lot of water...needless to say, I got quite queasy and stayed on the boat the rest of the time. The only other times I've "snorkeled" were in like 3ft of water in Lahaina area and there was nothing to see.

 

So this time, the staff at SQ gave me two noodles - one wide one for under my arms and one narrower one to hold out in front as a stabilizer. They took the time to instruct my friend and I on putting on the masks and mouthpiece, and how to get into the water and breathe. And as soon as I just relaxed and breathed through my mouth, it was all good!! It was a great experience seeing all the coral and just knowing I was SNORKELING (for real!) in waters deeper than 5feet! Hahaha. My friend and I were watching out for each other and checking on each other, and I always saw that the crew on the boat were always watching out for us and making sure everyone was doing okay. That made me feel a lot better, too.

 

 

I had purchased a waterproof camera bag and used my old digital camera to take underwater pictures. The bag worked like a charm and kept my camera dry. I was snapping away like crazy, because I couldn't really see how the pictures were turning out. We spent 30-45min it seemed at each location, and it seemed that was plenty because we weren't really allowed to go too far in any direction so after a while it was like I was seeing the same thing over and over again. Plus, I was concentrating so hard on breathing and trying to relax, it was a little tiring.

 

 

When we got back on the boat after the Place of Refuge (the first stop), we had plenty of pineapple, drinks, bags of chips and cookies waiting for us. Once we got moving, we put our stuff in the little locker areas they had. Definitely bring a nice big towel to keep you warm in between getting out of the water. It can get chilly especially when you are speeding through the waters. You are holding on to either a metal bar or a rope on the edge of the boat, and although it was a very fast ride, I never felt it dangerous or scary. We stopped by a few caves in between the snorkeling. After we got back from Captain Cook's monument, they gave us each a little fish, weaved out of leaves. Just a cute souvenir, which my friend enjoyed.

 

Captain Cook's Monument

 

When we returned to Keauhou Bay, we changed out of our swimsuits in this public bathroom down the road from the SQ office. Just a warning to the ladies, there are no doors for the stalls. I think there were about 3 stalls, (4max) separated by concrete walls, but you're kind of exposed to anyone walking in that might pass you. So I went to the last stall and had my friend stand outside as watch. A person or two came in and I just sort of yelled out to each person as a heads up. So we let whoever was at the first stall leave first, then the next and so on, so we all had our privacy.

 

SeaQuest boat

 

Finally, we asked the people at SQ to call a cab for us to bring us back to the pier. We did wait a while, but took a few pictures and just warmed up in the sun for a while. This cab drivers was definitely a bit off and was swearing up a storm on the phone. We gave up trying to have a conversation with him...didn't want to set him off. Haha.

 

We caught the tender boat back and got a nice view of the Pride of America. After settling in some, we had lunch at the buffet. My friend wanted to shower and clean up from all the salt water and didn't feel like going back out and walking around town, so we ended up playing some shuffleboard and checking out more of the ship. We passed by Cadillac Diner a few times, but just couldn't get ourselves to go in with all the fried food on the menu. It was a HOT day in Kona, and we decided to play some basketball at the outdoor court. It was pretty empty, with maybe one other person shooting some hoops at the other end. We had a mean game of Around the World, Horse, and Poison...kiddie games I played as a kid, where you don't have to run around a lot! haha!

 

POA from tender boat

 

I decided to take the Lauhala Ribbon Weave Lei Class and that was kind of tricky to get started, but once you got into the groove, it was okay. However, it took a bit longer for everyone so they actually started their next scheduled activity (Sarong Tying Class) with lots of people still trying to figure out their Lauhala Ribbon Weave Lei. Finally, I figured I better get going even though I wasn't quite finished with the lei. When I got back to the cabin, I just tested out the length and tied up the ends. I wasn't going to wear it to dinner because it was green and yellow -- not really a flattering combination for me personally! ;-)

 

Green/Yellow Ribbon Lei

 

A very nice dinner and maybe some ping pong rounded out our day in Kona.

[sue402001]

Yipee, day 6 has arrived! :D

 

Sounds like you had a great time in Kona scrappydoo. What time of the day did you get back from your snorkeling adventure? We also have a tour out of Keauhou Bay but ours is with the Hula Kai which is by Fair-Winds. Maybe we'll get lucky and not have a long wait for the tender either. The only difference is we check in at 9:00 so maybe earlier isn't better? Thanks for the heads up about the changing room / rest room. I wonder if the men's was like that?? I'm pretty sure we'll be bringing clothes with us so we can explore the town some before heading back to the ship.

 

Can't wait to hear more! :)

[Bucky3]

Scrappydoo! Wow, I didn't know how much I would have to catch up on! It's now 12AM, and I came in just to turn off the computer more than an hour ago, but your Hawaii called!! Loving every word!

 

We also live in the SF Bay Area. In case you have decided that you love cruising almost as much as Hawaii, maybe you already know that Princess Cruises will be having three round trips (15 days each) to Hawaii from SF in the spring of 2012 on a wonderful ship, Star Princess. We cruised on her for 60 days to/from Sydney in the Fall of '09. We're booked for the April 2012 Hawaii sailing! Of course, you need to know that there are only four days actually in Hawaii on those cruises, but the sea days have you rested and ready for touring, and then those peaceful days sailing home - it's a REAL vacation, one you're not exhausted from enjoying!! We don't fly anymore, so this is perfect for getting us to our favorite place!

 

Looking forward to more - love your detail, and your pictures are wonderful. The orchid lei you made is gorgeous. Aloha!

[scrappydoo]

Yipee, day 6 has arrived! :D

 

Sounds like you had a great time in Kona scrappydoo. What time of the day did you get back from your snorkeling adventure? We also have a tour out of Keauhou Bay but ours is with the Hula Kai which is by Fair-Winds. Maybe we'll get lucky and not have a long wait for the tender either. The only difference is we check in at 9:00 so maybe earlier isn't better? Thanks for the heads up about the changing room / rest room. I wonder if the men's was like that?? I'm pretty sure we'll be bringing clothes with us so we can explore the town some before heading back to the ship.

 

Can't wait to hear more! :)

 

Hi Sue! Let's see, we got back to the SQ office around 12noon, changed and settled back in by around 12:15pm, waited for the cab probably until 12:45pm or so...then probably didn't get back to the Kona Pier until around 1:15pm.

 

Ideally, we would have wanted to ask the cab that brought us to Keauhou Bay to come pick us up again at noon...but my friend thought the driver was kind of weird, so she said she rather not ask him to come back for us. In hindsight, the second cab driver was way weirder than the first! :eek: So asking for SQ to call a cab and waiting for one to come took a good while.

 

For a 9am check-in at Keauhou Bay, I'd arrive at the Kona Pier by 8:30am at the latest to catch a cab. It's supposed to be a 20min ride, but who knows what slow driver will be ahead of you (only one lane) and if there will be enough cabs outside waiting.

 

As for the tender boats tkts, I believe as the morning goes on, it might get more crowded and be more of a wait time? I think they say that everyone in your party has to be there, and you can't get tkts for other people in your party. (ie. one person go early, and the rest come later when the boat is ready to go) But it seemed that the tender boats were constantly coming, so I can't imagine you would have to wait too long...has anyone out there ever had to wait more than 10-15min??

 

Having a change of clothes and checking out town before heading on the ship sounds like a good idea. If my friend didn't want to shower and all, I would have just had lunch in town and explore a bit. :)

[scrappydoo]

Scrappydoo! Wow, I didn't know how much I would have to catch up on! It's now 12AM, and I came in just to turn off the computer more than an hour ago, but your Hawaii called!! Loving every word!

 

We also live in the SF Bay Area. In case you have decided that you love cruising almost as much as Hawaii, maybe you already know that Princess Cruises will be having three round trips (15 days each) to Hawaii from SF in the spring of 2012 on a wonderful ship, Star Princess. We cruised on her for 60 days to/from Sydney in the Fall of '09. We're booked for the April 2012 Hawaii sailing! Of course, you need to know that there are only four days actually in Hawaii on those cruises, but the sea days have you rested and ready for touring, and then those peaceful days sailing home - it's a REAL vacation, one you're not exhausted from enjoying!! We don't fly anymore, so this is perfect for getting us to our favorite place!

 

Looking forward to more - love your detail, and your pictures are wonderful. The orchid lei you made is gorgeous. Aloha!

 

Hi Bucky3! Good to hear from you again, thank you! And no, I didn't know that Princess has RT to Hawaii from SF in 2012....hmmmm, I'll have to think on that one...sounds Fantastic!! Thanks for the heads up. Do you know if the waters are very rough and bumpy to/fro?? Maybe I can something rolling with my family...:D

[scrappydoo]

Day Seven - Kauai, Safari Helicopter Ride, Kalapaki Beach

 

Well, this was a day that I was certainly looking forward to!! My friend had booked the Horseback Riding Tour with NCL (which was one of two low points of the trip for her) and I booked the Safari Helicopter Ride online independently. Since my friend's tour was from 9a-12noon, I requested about a 10am flight with Safari. They booked me with a 10:30am flight, with a pick up time of 9:40am at the ship/pier. I chose to book the helicopter ride on our first morning in Kauai, just in case the weather did not co-operate then I would have options for a later flight in the day, or if worse came to worst, I'd have an option to reschedule for the following day. Well, thankfully, all systems were go and the weather didn't stop us from having a great flight. Hooray!

 

I was picked up by a gentleman named Wayne from Safari Helicopters and as we were headed to the Safari office, he saw a family of 4 walking alongside the road. He then stopped and asked them if they needed a ride! How thoughtful and kind of him...I forget, I think they wanted to rent a car (no reservations made) and so Wayne kindly dropped them off around the airport where a cluster of rental car offices were located. It was kind of nice to have company in the van for a bit, and I found out they were from New Zealand! Gotta love the Kiwis! They were a friendly bunch! =)

 

When I got to the office, I had to do the weigh-in, and put all my belongings in a little locker. I guess I was the only one in my flight from the cruise, so I was the last to arrive. We then all headed out to the heliport and waited in a little covered bench area, for the previous flight to come in and deplane, and then the they refueled the helicopter. Wayne was the one giving us instructions on where to sit, where to put on/place the life jacket, how to board, etc. I was a little afraid of which seat I was going to end up with, but I lucked out and got the far right seat! Yay! Exactly what I was hoping for...I really didn't want to be stuck in the middle two seats...I had a great view with pretty much head to toe windows on the side.

 

Thanks to those who posted here on CC, I remembered to wear all black/dark colors in order to minimize any reflections. Unfortunately, not everyone got the memo...one guy was wearing a nice shade of red! So I'm guessing their pictures had lots of red in there. The life jackets we had to wear around our waists were yellow, so I did my best to cover it up with my jacket.

 

Before we knew it we were off! I've been on one helicopter ride in the Grand Canyon and it was cool, but a little bit disappointing in terms of views and all. But it was smooth as can be. So I was no longer nervous about helicopters, but didn't know what to expect in terms of the views. Well, let me tell you, there are no words to accurately describe all that you see!! It was just breathtaking, and I just kept thinking "Wow!" "Awesome!" Please, please, don't hesitate to book a helicopter ride on Kauai !! It really is the best way to really appreciate the beauty of the island.

 

Kalapaki Beach/Marriott and POA viewed from helicopter

 

I cannot tell you how many waterfalls we saw. And because it had been raining that night, and there was some rainfall (just for a little bit) during our flight, we saw about three rainbows early in the flight. Even a double rainbow, but it disappeared too fast for me to take a picture! I never experienced turbulence on a helicopter, but I think there were some winds esp in the valleys, so it did bob up and down at times. Try and breathe through it.... ;-) Haha. No really, it wasn't too bad and it was just for a moment. Concentrate on the beauty of the island! I can't say enough good things about the views and if it's something you can afford, please DO IT!

 

Rainbow over Kauai

 

Waimea Canyon

 

Wailua Falls

 

I think I paid about $183 online, but if that is too much you may want to consider a small plane ride instead. I was contemplating Wings over Kauai or AirVentures, but my friend decided she'd rather go horseback riding, so I thought I mind as well go for the helicopter ride. It turns out, her horseback ride cost almost as much as my helicopter ride...and trust me, the helicopter ride is SO MUCH MORE worth it!!

 

Beautiful Coastline

 

[scrappydoo]

At the end of the flight, we deplaned and gave everyone who was waiting for their turn next a thumbs up. We knew they were about to experience something awesome in just a few minutes time. We returned to the office, and I decided not to get the DVD of our flight. Mostly because the DVD wouldn't be ready until the next day, and I had a tour the next day and no means to get back even if I wanted to... granted, they would have mailed it to you if you couldn't return the next day, but I felt I grasped everything in my experience already and I had photos to remember it by.

 

In front of our Safari Helicopter

 

On the other hand, if I felt the commentary was really excellent and I could have benefited from that information while seeing the sites again on DVD, then maybe I would have purchased it. But the commentary wasn't that informative...it was just okay. Then again, I guess I'd want my pilot to pay full attention to the task of flying safely, than to be making jokes and commentary on everything that we see. If I would do another helicopter tour on Kauai again, I think I would try Blue Hawaiian's tour. Their helicopters really do look very nice...but either way, Safari has an excellent safety record and it's helicopters are in good condition from what I saw.

 

After I picked up my belongings, Wayne then drove me back to the pier. We were talking about what else I had planned for the island that night and since I wasn't going to the Luau, he invited my friend and I to go see a orchestra concert at the community college where he worked. (It seems everyone on Hawaii has two jobs to pay the bills) I told him that we didn't have a car, and he said if we wanted to go, to give him a call and we would be his guests, ride and all. Now that's Kauai hospitality! Sure, every jaded, skeptical city-girl part of me was like, whhaaaat?! But he reassured me that he would not take any offense if we didn't call, it was just an open invitation with no obligation. So I thanked him and told him I would definitely ask my friend and if it worked out and she wanted to see a concert, we would call him.

 

The True Spirit of Kauai

 

Well, I got back and waited for my friend to return from her NCL Horseback Ride. I was excited to hear about it because it has been a lifelong dream of hers to go horseback riding, and I thought what better place than Kauai??? Well, turns out she got a terrible tour guide who treated her and her tour mates, and the horses, like it was a boot camp. He was yelling at them: go faster, go slower, don't let the horse do this or that. They all felt like they couldn't just relax and enjoy the views because he would yell at them. Neither did they feel he was treating the horses with respect. From what I heard, he used inappropriate language as well. Now, my friend likes to tell stories, in a good way, so I thought maybe there was a hint of exaggeration there...but we met up with a couple in her tour group who confirmed everything she was telling me. Apparently, the couple was quite upset about it and filed a complaint with the shore excursion desk.

 

I felt so terrible that her dream of horseback riding fell so short of her expectations in reality. I really think it's not the tour itself, or the ranch, but probably that one particular "off" tour guide...it was just unfortunate that they were the unlucky ones to get him. All I can say was that this person was not Hawaiian but from the mainland, although prided himself as being a unique "cowboy." My friend then decided she too would file a complaint with the shore excursions desk. They seemed shocked at her story, and said that they would refund her 15% of her price. Which my friend really didn't care about getting a refund, but just wanted to make sure nobody else had to experience what their group did. Take this with a grain of salt, and don't feel as if you shouldn't book the tour at all, if that is something you want to do. If I go back, I would not have a problem booking the Horseback Ride with NCL... I would just make sure I felt comfortable with my tour guide.

 

So, enough about that... the rest of the day, our original plan was to catch a cab to a bike rental place in Kapaa and go for a nice ride along the coastal path. But upon some research, we realized the cab ride would be near 30min each way, and it was not worth it to pay that much in cab fare for a bike ride. Instead, we had our lunch at the buffet and felt it was a perfect time to spend some time at the beach. Remember, my friend still had the sand she wanted to return to the land. I was hoping that the beach would be deemed worthy enough for her "Sand back to the land" ritual.

 

Kalapaki Beach

 

So we took a stroll to Kalapaki Beach next to the Marriott, and explored a little bit of the stores around that area. Picked up a few items at the ABC store and even ran into our cabin stewardess on break there. We walked the beach, explored the Marriott a bit, and sat in the sun for a little while. My friend decided that indeed, Kalapaki Beach was perfect for her "Sand Back to the Land" ritual... haha! So we had a little moment- her little full circle moment, celebrating the fact that she finally made it to the beaches of Hawaii.

 

The "Sand Back to the Land Ritual"

 

The rain clouds began to roll over and it started raining. We took cover under a stairwell area of the Marriott, where a gentleman also ran for cover. He was carrying a boogie board and had a sour look on his face. We kind of remarked how it was coming down, and he said that it was "unbearable" yesterday by Hanalei. Well, the rain stopped soon enough, and he left our little cover area. My friend and I looked at each other, and almost simultaneously, we were like, "He looked just like Donny Osmond!" Of course, he wasn't, but he was definitely a younger, grumpier version. haha!

 

The Coconut was Wet for a while...haha

 

But all in all, Kalapaki Beach is a great little beach to relax on, and so convenient from the ship pier. There are a few restaurants, shops, the Marriott to explore, and grassy areas to sit on as well if you don't want to sit on the sand. We headed back to the ship and decided against going to the concert at the local community college with Wayne, and just enjoyed a relaxing dinner at the dining room. And you probably catch the drift by now...yes, there was probably some ping pong to end the day! We turned in early because we had to wake up extra early for our 7am departure the next day...

[Bucky3]

Scrappydoo - Hope your second day in Kauai is as memorable as the first! If we HAD to choose a favorite island, beautiful Kauai would probably be it, but all of the islands are special to us!

 

Your helicopter ride pictures were stunning. Our family, including DH, did that a few years ago and loved it. I, on the other hand, don't even like flying in a 747, so I waited at the heliport while they flew! I had the opportunity to speak with an elderly couple just after their flight. They said they had traveled all over the world and that their Kauai helicopter experience was the highlight of their travels!

 

About cruising RT to Hawaii from SF: No way would I even attempt to guess what the ocean motion might be! We have cruised several times RT from LA, twice from Vancouver to Honolulu and from Honolulu to Ensenada a couple of times. All but one of these trips were done in the September/October timeframe with calm seas. The exception was one RT from LA in December. It was a bit rocky the first day out of LA and the last day back, but other than that it was good. We are not prone to seasickness. We are booked on the last of the Star's three spring 2012 cruises. I believe it leaves from SF on April 28th and believe this should be a good time of year for this sailing! That, of course, is all up to Mother Nature!

 

We are anticipating your next post! Mahalo and Aloha!

[andianna]

Keep it coming so enjoying your pics and report. thank you

[sue402001]

I had read your review of Kauai at work the other night but I couldn't see the pictures. I am so looking forward to seeing Kauai from the sky as it looks absolutely beautiful! Til the next time, Mahalo!

[gskline]

Sorry folks, for the long essay on Day One. It was late and I wasn't thinking about the reading ease of the public. I will try to break it down into smaller chunks and put pictures in so it will be easier to keep track of where you left off. Thanks for your patience. It's my first time sharing my experiences with the public.

 

So here goes...

 

DAY TWO:

 

11/27- Saturday - I woke up around 5:00am to have the Protein pack as breakfast and get ready for my Diamond Head Hike tour. I chose the 6am departure with Oahu Nature Tours so that I could view the sunrise atop Diamond Head. It was only $24.03 with an online discount. It was still dark as I left the doors of the hotel, and there were some sprinkles so I was glad I had my light jacket with hood on. I waited about 15min for the van to arrive and then we picked up a handful of other passengers before we made our way to Diamond Head.

 

We were each given a bottle of water, and made a bathroom pit stop before we started on the trail. The guide told us that for the first 25min or so, it would be heads down, no chitchat from him, nothing but business and he was going to set the pace. He mentioned that it would probably be uncomfortable for most of us, but to do our best and we would meet at this particular viewing spot. Well, I thought, no problem, I'm a quick walker...why, I'm a pro at dodging in and out of busy downtown streets or amusement park crowds...no problem! Well, he wasn't kidding, because within two minutes, my lungs were burning and my heart was definitely pumping! I didn't need to wear my jacket anymore, that's for sure. Man, did I get my exercise for the day (or week...) in this hike. I'm only 5'1" so my short stumpy legs could not keep up. Still I did my best and I kept somewhere in the middle-front of the pack. But it definitely was a good cardio workout.

 

Eventually, we all made it up to the lookout spot and we waited a few minutes for the sun to rise with a nice crowd of other tourists. There is something kind of funny about all these people staring at the sun, basically burning our retinas, and somehow we all just keep doing it. haha. But something about being up and about before the sun rises, and breathing in the new day, was very cool. I enjoyed those few moments as we just entered the park and walked by these trees along the trail, and everything was still at dawn, in shadows, and there was a certain quietness to the day. That was my favorite part.

 

Sunrise at Diamond Head

 

After the sunrise, the tour guide then started his "tour duties" and explained a lot about the formation of the Hawaiian Islands and how certain plants and animals got to the islands. It was all very fascinating and interesting. I wish I could remember it all, but this is one of the reasons why I like coming back time and again....refresher courses in Hawaii history, flora/fauna! He was a very informative tour guide, but seemed very down to business in getting his information out to us.

 

We climbed over 200 steps of stairs to get to the top of Diamond Head, there was a tunnel and a narrow spiral metal-staircase as well. Some more claustrophobic folks might not enjoy that portion too well. As one put it, it's not a difficult hike, but it's not a casual hike either. I had emailed the tour company earlier regarding if it would be okay to wear sport sandals instead of closed-toed shoes, and they advised me to wear closed toed shoes. I didn't want to pack extra shoes just for a hike, but in the end I'm glad I did. I would recommend a pair of tennies for the hike, just a lot of loose pebbles and stones and uneven ground and stairs. I felt a lot more secure with my tennis shoes. Plus, I'm a little prone to accidents, so I needed to watch where I was going. I also advise, if you go on your own by car or bus, you should go early in the day because it can get hot out there and exerting so much energy to reaching the top can be difficult in hot weather.

 

When we reached the top, we could see the Diamond Head lighthouse, Diamond Head crater, and Waikiki. It was beautiful and we all felt accomplished that we made it to the top! At the end of the tour, back down at the van, the tour guide gave us each our own Certificate for climbing Diamond Head. I arrived back to my hotel at about 8:50am. One last thing, when you take tours, I always tend to bring a light jacket because it can get really cold in the van or bus with the AC on. This was the case for this tour.

 

Diamond Head Crater in background

 

View of Waikiki from atop Diamond Head

 

Lighthouse at Diamond Head

 

 

 

 

Thanks for this info. I've been to the Islands twice and have never made it up Diamond Head. We're sailing on the POA in Feb 2012 and staying in Honolulu 2 days before sailing. This time I'd like to go to the top of Diamond Head:D.

[gskline]

Day Seven - Kauai, Safari Helicopter Ride, Kalapaki Beach

 

Well, this was a day that I was certainly looking forward to!! My friend had booked the Horseback Riding Tour with NCL (which was one of two low points of the trip for her) and I booked the Safari Helicopter Ride online independently. Since my friend's tour was from 9a-12noon, I requested about a 10am flight with Safari. They booked me with a 10:30am flight, with a pick up time of 9:40am at the ship/pier. I chose to book the helicopter ride on our first morning in Kauai, just in case the weather did not co-operate then I would have options for a later flight in the day, or if worse came to worst, I'd have an option to reschedule for the following day. Well, thankfully, all systems were go and the weather didn't stop us from having a great flight. Hooray!

 

I was picked up by a gentleman named Wayne from Safari Helicopters and as we were headed to the Safari office, he saw a family of 4 walking alongside the road. He then stopped and asked them if they needed a ride! How thoughtful and kind of him...I forget, I think they wanted to rent a car (no reservations made) and so Wayne kindly dropped them off around the airport where a cluster of rental car offices were located. It was kind of nice to have company in the van for a bit, and I found out they were from New Zealand! Gotta love the Kiwis! They were a friendly bunch! =)

 

When I got to the office, I had to do the weigh-in, and put all my belongings in a little locker. I guess I was the only one in my flight from the cruise, so I was the last to arrive. We then all headed out to the heliport and waited in a little covered bench area, for the previous flight to come in and deplane, and then the they refueled the helicopter. Wayne was the one giving us instructions on where to sit, where to put on/place the life jacket, how to board, etc. I was a little afraid of which seat I was going to end up with, but I lucked out and got the far right seat! Yay! Exactly what I was hoping for...I really didn't want to be stuck in the middle two seats...I had a great view with pretty much head to toe windows on the side.

 

Thanks to those who posted here on CC, I remembered to wear all black/dark colors in order to minimize any reflections. Unfortunately, not everyone got the memo...one guy was wearing a nice shade of red! So I'm guessing their pictures had lots of red in there. The life jackets we had to wear around our waists were yellow, so I did my best to cover it up with my jacket.

 

Before we knew it we were off! I've been on one helicopter ride in the Grand Canyon and it was cool, but a little bit disappointing in terms of views and all. But it was smooth as can be. So I was no longer nervous about helicopters, but didn't know what to expect in terms of the views. Well, let me tell you, there are no words to accurately describe all that you see!! It was just breathtaking, and I just kept thinking "Wow!" "Awesome!" Please, please, don't hesitate to book a helicopter ride on Kauai !! It really is the best way to really appreciate the beauty of the island.

 

Kalapaki Beach/Marriott and POA viewed from helicopter

 

I cannot tell you how many waterfalls we saw. And because it had been raining that night, and there was some rainfall (just for a little bit) during our flight, we saw about three rainbows early in the flight. Even a double rainbow, but it disappeared too fast for me to take a picture! I never experienced turbulence on a helicopter, but I think there were some winds esp in the valleys, so it did bob up and down at times. Try and breathe through it.... ;-) Haha. No really, it wasn't too bad and it was just for a moment. Concentrate on the beauty of the island! I can't say enough good things about the views and if it's something you can afford, please DO IT!

 

Rainbow over Kauai

 

Waimea Canyon

 

Wailua Falls

 

I think I paid about $183 online, but if that is too much you may want to consider a small plane ride instead. I was contemplating Wings over Kauai or AirVentures, but my friend decided she'd rather go horseback riding, so I thought I mind as well go for the helicopter ride. It turns out, her horseback ride cost almost as much as my helicopter ride...and trust me, the helicopter ride is SO MUCH MORE worth it!!

 

Beautiful Coastline

 

 

 

I just started reading your travel log and I'm sooo happy you did a helicopter ride on Kauai. I'm hoping I can talk my wife into doing the ride. She's a little nervous about it. Do you think if she's in the middle seat she might feel safer?

 

Greg

[scrappydoo]

Scrappydoo - Hope your second day in Kauai is as memorable as the first! If we HAD to choose a favorite island, beautiful Kauai would probably be it, but all of the islands are special to us!

 

I feel the same exact way, Bucky3! I can't play favorites, each island is indeed unique and special to me. :)

[scrappydoo]

Go for it, gskline! :) It took me 16yrs to finally do this hike, and I'm glad I did it...

[scrappydoo]

I just started reading your travel log and I'm sooo happy you did a helicopter ride on Kauai. I'm hoping I can talk my wife into doing the ride. She's a little nervous about it. Do you think if she's in the middle seat she might feel safer?

 

Greg

 

 

I'm so glad my review could help in any way possible, Greg! I would totally and completely encourage your wife to go for the helicopter ride! I was nervous when I first got into a helicopter at the Grand Canyon, but that scary feeling quickly dissipates when you feel how smooth the ride it. It's like an elevator, up down, sideways...I rode in the middle seat for my first ride and it didn't make a difference in making me feel safer. Those gitters go away real quick and you just want a good view! ;) I heard that the right window seats get the best views for the Kauai helicopter rides, but they do turn around sometimes so everyone can get a view. The seats are assigned based on weight distribution, so here's to a window seat for you!! :)

 

My friend, who didn't want to join me because she was too scared of the thought of helicopters, later admitted she wish she had gone on the helicopter ride with me. It's amazing if you had to do it by yourself, but it's even better shared with a loved one.

 

It is an experience that you just can't pass up in Kauai. Highly recommended!!!

[scrappydoo]

Day Eight, Day 2 in Kauai: Hanalei Tour, Napali Coast Sail-by

 

Friday, 12/3 - Well, this was our last full day in Hawaii. We started the day off early with a quick bite to eat at the Aloha Buffet, before meeting our Roberts Hawaii tour at 7am at the pier. We arrived a few minutes early and were one of the lasts to arrive! Talk about punctual, we basically left at 7am sharp! Our tour guide was a Hawaiian lady by the name of Summer. She was great, really informative, and shared about her life on the island. Turns out, she was a world class surfer who paved the way for female surfers in years gone by. She knew the family of the Andy Irons and you could feel how the whole community of Hanalei was affected by his untimely death.

 

I will admit I was pretty sleepy still, as it was still a little bit dark outside. We drove north on our way towards Hanalei, and saw the sun rising. Shortly thereafter, we stopped at a nice vista to take in the morning and breathe in the new day. Today was a pretty rainy day, and due to the heavy rains during the night, there was concern that the bridge to Hanalei may be flooded. Summer couldn't guarantee that we'd even make it to Hanalei because of possible road closures. In the end, she decided to make a bee line to Hanalei without any stops since the water levels were pretty high. The last thing she wanted was to get to Hanalei and then the bridge getting closed off and us being stuck there without a way back to the ship!

 

So we first made a bathroom pit stop where Summer made a few calls to check in on road closures. At this time, it was starting to rain again. The water levels were high, but holding out, so we crossed our fingers and kept heading on! We passed by Kapaa, where we were SUPPOSED to have rented bikes the day before, and that only confirmed that it would have been way too far away to justify a taxi ride to/fro. When we crossed the bridge, we made a stop at the King Kong Mountain (aka Kalalea Mountain), named so because the side profile of an ape could be seen. If you look closely, you can see a turtle facing King Kong, King Kong looking towards the turtle, and then a Hippo lying down and facing King Kong. Kind of cool, huh?!

 

King Kong Mountain

 

Then we went straight to Hanalei Pier and spent a little time there. At first we thought we'd just have to get there, take a picture and leave (things were that touch and go), but once we got there, we saw that things were starting to clear and the rain was letting up. So we spent a little more time there, and didn't have to rush. My friend was so excited to see Bali Hai, of South Pacific fame. She is a show tunes fanatic, and loves old school Hollywood musicals. This was the highlight of her day! Yes, it was quite cloudy and the rain waters made the bay all muddy and brown, but it was still beautiful cuz we were in KAUAI !!! I loved every minute of this tour!

 

Hanalei Beach

 

Hanalei Pier w/ Bali Hai in background

 

We drove through the small town of Hanalei and saw some nice churches, stopped at Hanalei Valley and drove past all the taro fields. It was quite lovely...We then went to the Princeville resort area where we got a better view of Bali Hai and the surf, and saw some beautiful shades of Hibiscus and ginger flowers. Summer said that now she knew where to come to catch some nice waves later on, after we got back to the ship!

 

Driving by Taro Fields

 

Lovely shade of peach Hibiscus

 

Beautiful Pink Ginger

[scrappydoo]

We then saw some Nene goose (geese?) at the Kilauea lighthouse lookout area. Summer was trying to park a bit away as to not scare them, so that we can all get a good look and take pictures...when these tourists in a red convertible just zoomed in so fast and parked literally right in front of the Nene. They weren't paying attention at all, could have hurt them if they were just a few feet closer. The roar of the car scared one of the Nene away into the bushes, but luckily the other one came out to pose for us a little. ;-) One of our last stops was Opaeka'a falls where we also viewed the Wailua River from a lookout across the street. We finished our tour and got back on the ship a bit after 12:30pm. Summer knew the backroads, so we were able to by-pass some traffic getting back to the ship. All in all, I enjoyed this tour very much and would recommend it highly to anyone!

 

Nene Goose at parking lot area

 

 

Kilauea lighthouse

 

 

Opaeka'a Falls

 

 

Our tour guide, Summer, was awesome!

 

 

Sky leaving Opaeka'a falls area

[scrappydoo]

We settled in a little bit and freshened up. Since this was our last lunch on ship, we thought it might be nice to mix it up and have lunch in the Dining Room as opposed to the buffet. Well, I guess we kind of splurged, cuz we ended up ordering like two appetizers each. Needless to say, we were stuffed after lunch! Because we probably didn't finish lunch until about 2:30pm-3pm, and we just were too full that we couldn't think about food, we decided to cancel our Jefferson Bistro reservation that night. We didn't know what time the Napali Sail-by would end and we just wanted to have some flexibility.

 

We made a call to Mark at hawaii23.com to see if he could pick us up the following day from the pier to the airport. Mark said he had a tour booked, so he would call to arrange either his cousin or a taxi friend to pick us up at our arranged time. That worked for us, so we scoped out a spot for the Napali Coast Sail-by in the area outside the back of the Aloha Cafe. This was a bit of a mistake as the Pub Crawlers over took the bar there. (No offense to any of you who were a part of the pub crawl...) But we ended our visit to Kauai by sailing past the Napali Coast which was still beautiful regardless of the pub crawlers screaming "PUB! CRAWL! PUB! CRAWL!" Now I'm not against them having fun, but maybe it could have been timed better, as most people wanted to bid Kauai farewell and appreciate the gorgeous beauty of the Napali Coast sail-by in a more serene atmosphere, if you know what I'm saying. We stayed a while longer, watching the sun set over the neighboring island of Niihau, the Forbidden Island. Ahhh...to be in Hawaii.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Does anyone else see the face of a man on Napali Coast?

 

Farewell Kauai....until next time!

 

Enjoying our last Hawaiian Sunset

 

Finally, we decided to have dinner at the Skyline one more time. I think we just indulged way too much, because this time, instead of two appetizers, I wanted to try two desserts! I know, it was the end of me...I had to go back to the room and just lay down. Overstuffed! I had to digest and my body was sort of shutting down. My friend wanted to have one last game of ping pong, but without knowing it I had dozed off for a good hour. When I finally got some energy back, we thought it best to start packing up for tomorrow.

 

Up next...our last morning in Hawaii and final thoughts....

[gskline]

I'm so glad my review could help in any way possible, Greg! I would totally and completely encourage your wife to go for the helicopter ride! I was nervous when I first got into a helicopter at the Grand Canyon, but that scary feeling quickly dissipates when you feel how smooth the ride it. It's like an elevator, up down, sideways...I rode in the middle seat for my first ride and it didn't make a difference in making me feel safer. Those gitters go away real quick and you just want a good view! ;) I heard that the right window seats get the best views for the Kauai helicopter rides, but they do turn around sometimes so everyone can get a view. The seats are assigned based on weight distribution, so here's to a window seat for you!! :)

 

My friend, who didn't want to join me because she was too scared of the thought of helicopters, later admitted she wish she had gone on the helicopter ride with me. It's amazing if you had to do it by yourself, but it's even better shared with a loved one.

 

It is an experience that you just can't pass up in Kauai. Highly recommended!!!

 

Thank you for your ahola spirit Scrappydoo. I can tell that you are a kind & gentle person by the way you write. Is Blue Hawaiian any better or different than Safari Helicopter rides?

Greg

[sue402001]

Once again you've done an outgoing job scrappydoo. I'm glad you were able to go to Hanalei, that is one of the towns I want to visit while we're in Hawaii next month.

I love the man on the Napali Coast, I noticed the face before I read your comments below it.