Spirit 15 Days~Hawaii: A Review

[halos]

The area where we waited for our whale watch:

 

 

 

[halos]

 

 

[halos]

 

 

 

Waving "HI!"

 

[jonbgd]

Next Up tomorrow, Kahului :)

Glad we didnt have to wait till tomorrow

 

BTW Maui is actually MAUIFORNIA to us west coasters:D

Enjoying the photos

Edited May 2, 2012 by jonbgd

[chasinraynbowz]

Great review so far!!! I was looking forward to your Maui portion. I leave on Friday for a week long vacation in Maui!!

[halos]

After we were done the whale watch we had LOTS of time to kill before heading over to the Luau so we stopped and ate a very light lunch and just walked around Lahaina which was really a nice way to spend a couple hours.

We were able to walk ( a mile or two??) to the Old Lahaina Resort area. It was great to take in the beauty and we finally got to see our first Hawaiian rainbow along the way,

The Luau at Old Lahaina is great from start to finish. After doing this we all agreed that we had never seen so many beautiful people at one place at one time…men and women both were just too gorgeous for words.

 

The drinks were free flowing, you are waited on by exuberant, friendly, energetic and stunning people and the show was something to behold.

 

The buffet was full of lots of ‘new’ (to us anyway) food and we tried mostly everything. The food was OK to good…it’s buffet so I think that is as good as it’s going to get considering the HUGE amount of people they were feeding.

When booking this luau you get a choice of traditional table seating OR you can sit on pillows, on the ground. Since we were a group of 12 and the youngest of us is in their mid 40’s, we opted for table/chairs. I’m happy we did. We had a fabulous table in a fabulous location. Booking early was a very good thing.

This Luau does not contain any of the fire-throwing that some do. It was all about the story-telling dance. It is supposed to be the oldest and most traditional Luau on the island, so that is the reason I chose this particular one. We weren’t disappointed. Like the whale watch, I would definitely recommend this luau.

Prior to the start of the show and the buffet, you are told to enjoy the bar and to explore the grounds which are magnificent. There are local crafters selling things on the grounds, the beach is there and the sun set is magnificent.

 

They did the traditional Pig dish, Kalua Pua’a, where the pig is cooked underground.

Warning: photos of pig may be upsetting.

Warning 2: Photo of male dancer shows a lot of ’leg’ J

(I used to be a great fan of kilts, but I now have a new favorite J )

Good to know info:

Taxis were waiting after the Luau. My SIL had already arranged for the taxi that got her and her clan there to return with another car for all of us to get back to the ship, but pre arrangement is not necessary. The taxi ride from Lahaina to the ship is approx $75-$80...It’s a solid 45 minute drive.

 

Our day in Maui was absolutely awesome from start to finish.

 

Rainbow

 

Grounds

 

Stage

Edited May 3, 2012 by halos

[halos]

[halos]

Menu

 

Pig Under Ground

 

Digging up the pig

 

The finished product

[halos]

 

The Musicians

 

The food

[halos]

 

 

[halos]

[halos]

 

 

[halos]

We forgot the bungee cord. Belts worked.

Because the cruise was the absolute 'coolest' in terms of weather, we literally had the door open every night with the exception of two...the first night and the last night....both of which were TOO cold.

 

 

 

I have to tell you that our AC was out of control cold. We couldn't get it to adjust at all. Keeping the door open caused it to kick off which was perfect :D

We did close the door every morning.

Edited May 3, 2012 by halos

[vacruizer]

Great review so far!!! I was looking forward to your Maui portion. I leave on Friday for a week long vacation in Maui!!

 

Oh, I'm jealous - my favorite place on earth!

 

Halos - your pics are bringing back wonderful memories! :) The whales are really spectacular in February. By the end of 8 days I think I'd seen a thousand at least. You are really making me want to do the Hawaii cruise. Now if I can just figure out how to take 2 1/2 weeks off work! :p

[chasinraynbowz]

Thanks so much for the luau pictures!! I booked us a few months ago!! I am so glad I don't have long to wait!!!

 

Can't wait to see more pictures!!!

[halos]

You are really making me want to do the Hawaii cruise. Now if I can just figure out how to take 2 1/2 weeks off work! :p

 

What was so amazing (and probably NOT good) was how quickly those 15 days went by. All my DH and I kept thinking was, if this went by so fast, our next cruise which is for only 7 days, is going to really be insufficient.

 

We have become seriously spoiled. :eek:

[halos]

Can't wait to see more pictures!!!

 

I'm working on it...between my terrible computer, having to go through 1500 pics and resize the ones i want to post and photobucket giving me aggrivation I am struggling....

[halos]

This was the one and only tour we booked through Carnival. I tried to find something similar outside of Carnival and couldn't so I booked this and I don't think I would recommend it....maybe just the Pearl Harbor portion.

 

This was a very long day in a very large bus with few stops. We saw gorgeous sights....all through the windows of a bus. If I go back, we will rent a car for the day and explore ourselves.

 

The tour guide/driver was absolutely horrendous. Basically what we learned from him was everything about the roads/highways we were driving. It actually became funny at one point (after the feeling of wanting to strangle him had passed, that is)

"We are now on the H1 and have already been on the H2....I will take you on the H3 so you can say you've been on all three of the roads."

 

"Those little 'boxes' on the sides of the road are called 'call boxes'. If you should break down, you can walk over to one and call and get help"

 

(no lie...we got a lecture/lesson on call boxes)

 

"We are now entering the tunnel. This tunnel took (??) years to build. You will notice that the tiles at the bottom are dark and they graduate up to a lighter color tile. This is to make it lighter inside the tunnel so you can see better. We just passed the H2 and are going to get on 68."

 

 

*AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH*!!!

There was 8 freaking hours of this. :eek:

 

 

The port of Honolulu is awesome. I know that most of the other island's people don't even consider Honolulu part of Hawaii...it's just another big city to them. As far as I was concerned, it was quite a gorgeous city and I loved it.

Ironically I asked quite a few people where the heck a Hawaiian goes for a vacation and the answer I got most often was Vegas. :eek:

I found this utterly bizarre.....

 

Pulling Into Honolulu: (Another cloudy start. Every day was like this)

 

 

[halos]

 

 

[halos]

Our bus tour first stopped at the Dole Plantation...we drove through the plantation (all 25000 acres or so of it) and stopped at...you guessed! A store! :p

 

 

 

The grounds were very pretty :)

[halos]

 

Edited May 3, 2012 by halos

[halos]

This was a pet cemetery...It was a very very large pet cemetery...

[halos]

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 3, 2012 by halos

[halos]

We actually felt we didn't have quite enough time at the memorial...my DH especially wanted to do a little more looking/reading. We had to pretty much zip through.

Again...do this tour on your own.

 

More of the endless but tour tomorrow. I'm tired.

 

G'night :)

Edited May 3, 2012 by halos

[nybumpkin]

Our bus tour first stopped at the Dole Plantation...we drove through the plantation (all 25000 acres or so of it) and stopped at...you guessed! A store! :p

 

 

 

The grounds were very pretty :)

LOL - when we toured Oahu in 1985 we visited the plantation and bought (of course) a pineapple. We returned to BIL's apartment (he was stationed at Pearl in the Navy) and his immediate reaction was "Oh No! You bought a pineapple!:p I think I'd like the chance to get tired of pineapple....

 

Halos, enjoying your review. And you have some wonderful photos.