Spirit 15 Days~Hawaii: A Review

[kerrytens]

Thanks for the review Halos! I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

[Sillyjilly]

Wow! Great review! Looking forward to reading more.

 

I was on the Sapphire Princess. You took our parking spot. hahahahahahaha

[Therese S.]

Welcome back SillyJilly...looking forward to hearing about your time on the islands, especially the shark dive.

[halos]

At the end of our excrutiatingly long day, we were able to stop at a lookout point. The elevation was high, the wind was blustery but the view was pretty amazing.

 

 

 

 

[halos]

When we got back to port we still had a lot of time left to wander around the port area, which is probably the most awesome port area I have ever been to.

My BIL was focused on the state's obsession with Spam and had been quite 'disappointed' that when we had stopped at restaurants that it was never included on the menu. :p (we later discovered that we had missed the Hawaiian Spam celebration thing they have annually, by just one week LOL!!)

Anyway, when we got off the bus, my sister and BIL were in a search for sushi and we discovered some in a little kiosk right outside the ship and lo and behold, look what they offered :eek:

 

 

 

 

and yes, he did get one and he did eat it.

Edited May 3, 2012 by halos

[halos]

 

[halos]

Before I forget to mention, we did try the green slide on the ship :eek:

It's f a s t ...before you have a chance to wonder how long you have to hold your breath as the water rushes up your face, you are at the bottom.

We LOVED it.

Unfortunately the weather didn't permit too much pool/slide time...but if you get the chance, DO give it a go :)

[darth frosty]

Warning: photos of pig may be upsetting.

 

Yes it was upsetting...upset I couldn't taste/smell it!

[halos]

Saturday, we docked in Kona and I was pretty excited for our excursion that day. We'd finally be getting IN that amazing blue water...woohooo!!

 

We booked a wild dolphin snorkel with coralreefdivers.com and captain Ron was pretty awesome. WE had an amazing day!!

 

Hawaii has an abundance of these miniature, Spinner Dolphins. Mature dolphins are not much longer than 5 feet in length...far smaller than the Atlantic Bottle nosed 'Flipper' dolphin we are mostly used to seeing. These dolphins live in hawaii and breed all year long so young ones are there to admire as well.

 

They're called Spinner Dolphins because when they jump out of the water, they spin. They are amazing :)

 

Here are my sister's photos from our trip that day (I had my camera with me but unfortunately left the battery charging in the cabin :rolleyes: )

Marina

Boat

Captain Ron

[halos]

 

 

 

[pe4all]

OMG - this cruise is sooo on my bucket list! Reading your review, and looking at the pictures makes me want to go now!

[DnD_Cruisin]

Halos - THANKS so much for your review and pictures!! Dione and I are going on the Miracle in Jan '14 and are so excited!! You seemingly did everything we were considering and with reading your review will probably book.

 

Thanks again!

 

Dan

[kaykay51]

Wow! Great review! Looking forward to reading more.

 

I was on the Sapphire Princess. You took our parking spot. hahahahahahaha

 

Our captain outranked your captain!!

[Therese S.]

Thanks for the review Halos...really enjoying it and love the pictures, brings back a lot of memories. We're returning to paradise on earth in October 2013 on the Miracle.

[silvercrikhix]

Thank you so very much for all of the time and consideration you are putting into your Spirit to Hawaii review! Your photo's are fantastic. I am looking forward to the rest of it very much! :D

[golfadj]

Thanks so much for the review, Pics are awesome.

 

We want to do this but thinking that back and forth on a ship to many sea days.

 

If you had to do it again would you do it this way or do it as a land trip?

[CruisingAmazona]

What an awesome picture! I did a Hawaii Cruise aboard the Pride of America and Hawaii was amazing! Had relatives (and cruising partners) on this cruise as well!

[CruisingAmazona]

Thanks so much for the review, Pics are awesome.

 

We want to do this but thinking that back and forth on a ship to many sea days.

 

If you had to do it again would you do it this way or do it as a land trip?

Replying to your message Stu, I did it as a 7-day Cruise. We had much more time in port and were in Maui and Kuaia two full days gave us a lot more time in these important ports. I have not done the trans-pacific, but loved my 7 day cruise.

[mbasidos]

Halos,

My husband and I were on the Hawaii cruise aboard the Carnival Spirit and we agree 100% with your review. The cruise was very good and we had a great time. However, the cruise could have been excellent if the entertainment had been more often and better. Yes the weather wasn't favorable but the CD should had a back-up plan. The Captain was awesome and I loved his comments about the "point of no return" and being "spooky"

[CruisingAmazona]

There should ALWAYS be a Plan B! :-)....Hello......

[CruisingAmazona]

Halos,

My husband and I were on the Hawaii cruise aboard the Carnival Spirit and we agree 100% with your review. The cruise was very good and we had a great time. However, the cruise could have been excellent if the entertainment had been more often and better. Yes the weather wasn't favorable but the CD should had a back-up plan. The Captain was awesome and I loved his comments about the "point of no return" and being "spooky"

 

First post! Congratulations, mbasidos

[jonbgd]

Thanks so much for the review, Pics are awesome.

 

We want to do this but thinking that back and forth on a ship to many sea days.

 

If you had to do it again would you do it this way or do it as a land trip?

 

IMO it takes more than a couple days to see each island just like it does for most islands in the Caribe. But either way is a great way to see these spectacular Islands

 

I did it as a 7-day Cruise. We had much more time in port and were in Maui and Kuaia two full days gave us a lot more time in these important ports. I have not done the trans-pacific, but loved my 7 day cruise.

I have to agree.... While I love sea days and am defiantly thinking about doing this cruise

Flying into Oahu a couple days early than hopping on NCL was another great option of exploring the Islands

[halos]

Thanks so much for the review, Pics are awesome.

 

We want to do this but thinking that back and forth on a ship to many sea days.

 

If you had to do it again would you do it this way or do it as a land trip?

 

I'd do it again without one second's hesitation....but we love sea days.

Flying just to CA was tough...if I had to fly to Hawaii it would just be unbearable for me.

Edited May 3, 2012 by halos

[jonbgd]

I'd do it again without one second's hesitation....but we love sea days.

On Carnival or one of the other west coast based cruiselines?

[kmc500]

OK, this is just the port, don’t judge…But we had booked the Rainbow Falls/Volcano Park excursion (This one through Island Marketing, who I find very reliable) and drove through a good portion of Hilo and I never quite found the Hawaii I expected to see.

 

I have two sisters who live in Hilo. It is most definitely not the touristy part of Hawaii. Once you get out if Hilo and into Killalea and on up to Kona, it sure is beautiful, and definitely makes visiting the 'big island' worthwhile.