Zaandam to Hawaii Nov 17, 2012 Review

[dobiemom]

Looks like grandmas spoil dogs as well as kids! ;)

 

Thanks for taking us with you on your cruise. Love your pics! (Yes, I saw the fish!)

[PathfinderEss]

Great review and your pictures are awesome. Love your dogs. Looking forward to more of your cruise. Thanks

I saw fish too!:D

[sue117]

Just a short update...we are currently docked in Hilo and have free Internet on the smart phone! Hooray!!!!

We are supposed to be able to pick up our rental car shuttle at the pier we will see when we get off the ship. So far it's a cloudy day but pretty warm. We are headed past the volcano park today to the southern most point in the US...it's about 65 miles straight line distance. There is a green sand beach that is our target. Then we will head back towards the ship stopping at the volcano natl park as time permits. I think we are going to miss the thanksgiving meal in the dining room though. We will see.

[martinimadam]

sue 117, so glad you started this thread so I had a way to contact you all. Had to cancel on very short notice (Thursday, actually) beacause of health issues. Didn't want you to think I'd just "blown you off". Sounds like HALFans has everything hopping. It should be a lovely cruise. Hope you all have a wonderful time!

[cruisinjudy]

I am really enjoying your live thread. We will be on Zaandam in June to Alaska and we are in 7028 which you mentioned as possibly the suite with problems. Hope they fix it.

[sue117]

Martinimadam I'm soooo sorry that you had to cancel...what a huge bummer!!!

 

And I'm not sure on the room number for the issues but it really seems like a crap shoot on what rooms have the issues. I wouldn't lose sleep over it...it could be he room next to you on that cruise! Who knows!

 

We had a good day. I'll post the entire review later...but here is a teaser pic at the volcano national park. We didn't have a lot of time here but did stop by for a bit.

[sue117]

Thursday Nov 22

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I think we are getting the hang of this sleeping thing! Even though the clocks went back an hour last night and we still went to bed early, we didn’t get up until 630am. Go us! Lol

 

 

 

The weather is cloudy this morning, but we sat out on the balcony anyway and enjoyed the morning fresh air for a while. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade was on TV and we watched that for a while too. We are supposed to be in Hilo today around noon, so we have some time to hang out and kick back until we get there.

 

 

 

We did our usual breakfast routine and then I listened to a speaker talk about the Titanic. I am fascinated by all things Titanic and can’t pass up a chance to listen to someone speak about it. After that it was time to go to the room and the balcony and watch us dock!

 

 

 

We docked right on time. Getting off was a bit of a pain, everyone just lining up on the stairs, but it went by pretty quickly so I can’t really complain too much. It looks like they had the people with excursions meeting outside instead of sitting in the lounge getting stickers first. That seemed to go ok as well, but as we weren’t on a HA excursion I can’t say for sure.

 

 

 

We rented a car from Thrifty today. We got out to the rental car shuttle area only to see our Thrifty van driving away. We waited about 25 minutes for it to come back. When it did we drove to the airport and we got the car with no issues. I can’t say that I didn’t like Thrifty, but I did notice that the people that used Harper Car and Truck Rental got into their shuttle a lot faster than we did and it’s located closer to the cruise ship dock than the airport rentals. It might be worth looking into, as it would have saved us at least a half an hour.

 

 

 

The goal of the day was to drive to the southern most point in the US. We left the rental car place at 1 and had to be back at 7 for the last shuttle. That didn’t leave us much time as it was supposed to take us an hour and a half one way to get there. Once we got out of Hilo we didn’t have any issues, although the speed limits are 55 and the roads are kinda curvy. It takes 45 min to get to the Volcano Natl. Park, and we had to go another 50 miles beyond that.

 

 

 

We finally got to the southern most point and it was really pretty. The sun was kinda out and there weren’t a ton of people there. What people WERE there were JUMPING off the darn cliff! CRAZY! There was a platform built that they could jump off of, and then this rickety metal ladder that they were supposed to climb back up to the top on. There was also a geocache here, so now we can say that we have found the most southern most geocache in the United States. Cool!

Below is me with the geocache (a big ammo box)...the most southern US cache!

 

 

Below is a picture of the cliffs...and you can see the woman in mid-leap off of the cliff. You can't really see the ladder that she has to climb back up, but it's just hanging down loose from the platform, it's not up against the cliff for leverage when climbing back up. Crazy!

 

 

 

Our MAIN goal of the day was to get the Green Sand Beach that is also down in the same area. We knew that it was either a 4 mile hike, or you had to have a 4 wheel drive vehicle to get there. I tried to rent a jeep, but they gave us a fancy schmancy SUV instead. And when we got there there was no way that we would have tried to drive a jeep down there anyway. There wasn’t really a “road” to the beach, just a bunch of ruts. We have heard that locals will sometimes be in the parking area and will take people out there for a fee, but unfortunately we knew we didn’t have the time anyway. A major bummer.

 

 

On the way back we did stop at the Volcano Natl. Park. It’s really interesting and the gasses were really spewing today (I just wanted an excuse to say “spew” in my review! Lol). We would have loved to have gone down into the lava tube, but again, time wasn’t on our side. It is really interesting how we were at the beach in the sun, at 4000 feet above sea level, and in a rain forest all in the same day!

Below is us at the volcano.

 

 

 

Below is a pic of me at one of the steam vents...doesn't everyone that has been here have a pic like this? lol (and yes, as a side note, I am wearing a FREE WILLY t-shirt. Loved that cheesy 90s movie! Lol).

 

 

 

One last pic, this is the "Steam vent" area. You can see the volcano steam in the background (we went there too), and you can see the little steam vents coming up in the foreground as well.

 

 

 

 

We then went back to the rental place, but we had to get gas (of course) and we also stopped at Walgreens to get some snacks and some more Diet Coke (since we had the car it was easy). It was not crazy in there, which was nice (no Black Friday deals going on early and no big lines to try to get the deals). We returned the car with no issues and made it back to the ship by 6:20ish. Everyone was behaving by being on time back to the ship and we actually left the dock about 20 minutes early.

 

 

 

We ate our Thanksgiving Dinner in the Lido. I think I probably liked that better because I could pick and choose what I wanted and what I didn’t want (no gravy, no brussel sprouts, etc).

Below is my very sad Thanksgiving meal. Plain turkey, mashed potatoes, carrots, rolls and a salad.

 

 

 

 

We actually went to the show tonight as well. I know, you are all proud of us! Dan Raspyni was the entertainer. He’s a comedian/juggler. His voice annoyed me, but he was pretty good. Some of the stuff he did I didn’t think was that impressive, but other stuff was really good. I was laughing because apparently he practiced his stuff when the ship was NOT moving, so he kept having comments under his breath about the movement of the ship and things like “Oh man” and “heh, let’s see if this works” kind of things. He has an interesting bio as well. He has performed for the Tonight Show 3 times, has 2 Guinness Book of world records, and he entertained the sequestered OJ jury as well! Lol

 

 

Tomorrow is another long day for us, in Oahu. We have a friend picking us up and taking us around the island. We also have a dinner “geocaching event”, where local geocachers will all get together down in Waikiki. It will be fun to meet other nerds…er….geocachers like us! Ha.

[maxie99]

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Here is a pic of our room. Not sure what to do with all this room! Lol

Also got a panoramic pic of the large balcony. This is my favorite part of the room I think!

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I always am amazed at how grumpy people can be onboard. I don't know why it surprises me though. We try to smile at people and they just push right past us. I do feel sorry for the staff. People can just be so rude.

 

I will post more later on embarkation and tonight's dinner.

i sooo agree:mad:its really the only think that drives me crazy--the rudness--it serves no purpose--- one of these days im really going to let go on one of these idiots--:D

[JamesEM]

Thanks for keeping us posted.

[sue117]

Sorry I didn't post yesterday...got back late from our day in Honolulu and left early in Kauai. More later on our fun days! Here is a teaser pic.

[sue117]

If anyone still cares ill be catching up with the 4 days in port soon. We will have 4 days at sea so I will have some time. This morning tendering into Maui the seas were like glass...by noon the waves are crazy! They are having a tough time getting people off the tenders and back on board. It also looks like some injured people are leaving the ship too...at least one woman with a broken foot maybe? And another couple (walking not on a stretcher leaving)They are being very cautious with everyones safety getting off the tender though. its nice to see. More later ....

[vicocala]

Thanks Sue, I am enjoying both your reports and your photos. Please keep up the good work!

[dobiemom]

If anyone still cares ill be catching up with the 4 days in port soon. We will have 4 days at sea so I will have some time. This morning tendering into Maui the seas were like glass...by noon the waves are crazy! They are having a tough time getting people off the tenders and back on board. It also looks like some injured people are leaving the ship too...at least one woman with a broken foot maybe? And another couple (walking not on a stretcher leaving)They are being very cautious with everyones safety getting off the tender though. its nice to see. More later ....

Looking forward to it! ;) Sorry to hear of the injuries. Did they get back on the ship or leave for good? Love your pictures!

[lindaler]

We found geocaches in Honolulu and Lahenia but loved the shot of the one most south. We look forward to your report on the port days. And we are enjoying your report.

[sue117]

Looking forward to it! ;) Sorry to hear of the injuries. Did they get back on the ship or leave for good? Love your pictures!

 

It looks like they were leaving "for good" as they had huge suitcases that got on the boat with them. At least she was walking though and not on a stretcher!

 

Also the captain said that this big wind wasn't forecast this morning. Wonder if we would have skipped the island if he knew

[sue117]

Here is a pic of the ship from shore in lahaina today.

[Boatdrill]

Sat Nov 17

 

..... We filled out our health questionnaire and got into the “suite” line. A woman came roaring at us saying very loudly “excuse me, that is not the right line for you”….I kind of stammered that we were staying in a suite and this was the suite line….she just mumbled something and turned around and went back the way she came. I can only conclude that we didn’t look like the “typical” suite customers…lol. Honey Boo Boo maybe! With our drinks and popcorn I can only imagine what she was thinking.

 

It had nothing do to with your popcorn and coke. She may have thought you had a Superior Veranda Suite, in which case those guests do not use the suite line. Or she thought you had gone into the Special Assist line, when you didn't require it.

 

Suite line is for Penthouse, Deluxe Verandah Suites and 4 star Mariners only.

Next to the suite line is the Special Assist line.

 

There have been several instances when passengers get into a suite line (even though they don't have any kind of suite) or Special Assist line, to avoid a long check-in line. Their stunt makes those special lines longer. Suite guests and Special Assist guests are then kept waiting while check-in staff has to take the time to help those "imposters". A bad scene all the way around.

 

The woman who spoke to you was doing her job of protecting the integrity of those special lines.

[vicocala]

"The woman who spoke to you was doing her job of protecting the integrity of those special lines. "

 

 

Sounds to me like she opened her mouth at the wrong time, to the wrong person.:rolleyes:

[sue117]

Friday, Nov.23 (Honolulu, Hawaii)

Today was our longest day in port. It’s amazing how time flies when you are off the ship! We had a friend picking us up today and taking us on a tour of the island (and geocaching). He called to say that his boss wouldn’t let him take the whole day off, but that was ok. We got off the ship right around 10:30 after we docked. No line to get off this morning. We were docked at Aloha Tower shopping area…although that is really a misnomer. It’s sooo sad to see how empty this shopping center has become. 10 years ago when we were on the circle Hawaii cruise it was bustling. But today it was dead. The entire second floor was empty of all stores. There is no food court anymore either.

 

 

 

We did a need geocache. It’s called “secret garden” and it’s on a roof of a building near the cruise ship pier. You go up the elevators from the parking garage to the 6th floor and walk up one more floor. Viola, a nice garden break spot for the building workers…and a geocache. We took a neat pic of the ship and the Aloha tower from the garden on the building .We then walked around a bit more and went up into the Aloha Tower (Free) which we had never done before. It’s not that thrilling up there to be honest, but we got some good pics of the ship.

 

 

 

We got back ON the ship to eat lunch, then our friend Roland came to get us around 12:30. The plan was to go on a little hike to get the oldest geocache on Oahu (and the all of the islands of Hawaii—it was placed in June of 2000) and then go to the North Shore before picking his wife up at work. The hike to get the oldest geocache (GC23) was very nice, I didn’t quite expect it to be as long as it was (about 1.5 miles), but since we were in Hawaii and it was beautiful it was ok. Also Hawaii has NO Ticks, NO snakes, NO big mammals (except for the wild pigs), NO poison ivy…so all in all it was a safer hike than if we were back home in Indiana! Lol

 

Roland had told us that there was a thunder storm predicted and as we were doing the short .75 mile hike to get another geocache in the area it started raining and thundering. The rain wasn’t too hard so we continued on our hike. By the time we got back to the car it was raining a bit harder. Roland got a call from work that the storm had knocked out electricity at his workplace (he works for the State in the infectious disease labs-right now they are studying the flu). He said that anytime it rains hard it tends to knock out the electricity.

We got on the highway, H-1, to get to the highway that goes to the North Shore (H-2) and immediately came to a stop. It was POURING right where we were (although it was sunny on the North Shore darn it) and there was “ponding” on the Interstate. Basically there was 3 feet of rainwater collected at one point on the road and of the 6 lanes in the highway only 1 was passable. So we sat. And sat. And sat. For an hour. We went ½ mile in one hour. The rain finally lessened and we got by the water which was receding, but I guess it was a “typical” Honolulu experience, sitting in traffic! Lol

[sue117]

Honolulu continued...

 

By this time we were running out of time, but we all still wanted to go to the North Shore and specifically Honu (turtle) Beach. WE got the geocache that was there, and there was a turtle!! Soooo cool! Totally made being late for the rest of our stuff tonight worth it! These huge turtles climb up on shore to sun themselves and play in the surf. I would have loved to have swim here and watched them, but we didn’t have the time for that. Locals volunteer to come out and watch over the turtles while they are on shore. In the past people have been stupid (imagine that!) and sat on the turtles backs, or messed with them while they were on shore. So now they have the local “watchers” who put our red rope to block off the turtle and to keep people away. They sit in chairs nearby and let people take pictures and whatnot from a safe distance.

 

We sped through North Shore (and got a geocache next to Maisumoto’s Shave Ice store) and then to the Dole pineapple plant (to grab a quick geocache and then back to pick up his wife (an hour late) and then we were off to a spot near Waikiki for dinner with fellow local geocachers.

 

 

 

We had a nice dinner in an open air restaurant that served more “native” food, chatted with the 15 or so geocachers that showed up to meet us and to talk. Then our guide, Roland, and his wife took us downtown to the Palace to sightsee (and geocache more). We are soooo thankful to Roland for taking us around. He did it for free, and didn’t have to. We have found in this crazy hobby of ours that geocachers for the most part are the nicest people. We will definitely return the favor if Roland (or anyone else for that matter) is visiting our neck of the woods!

 

 

 

We got back on board around 10pm (all aboard was 10:30). We came in behind a bus full of Luau people. The metal detectors were set SOOO high, it was annoying! My HAIR CLIP kept setting off the machine. I felt like I was gonna have to strip down to get back on the ship! Lol

 

 

 

People are still behaving and getting back on the ship in a good amount of time. We pulled up the gangplank early again and were away from the dock right on time at 11pm. I went right to bed as I was really tired and my feet hurt. DH stayed up to watch us leave…I must be getting the hang of these beds though because I didn’t even feel him come to bed! Lol

 

 

 

One of my favorite pictures that I took today was at an out of the way spot that Roland knew about (and of course there was a geocache there). This was a place in ancient times where women came to give birth because of the “sacred” stones that are here. Birthing your child on a stone meant good things for the child. The sun was setting just right and there was just a great combo of things in the picture to make it a very nice sunset pic. I hope you guys like it too.

 

 

[Overtime4me2]

I came upon your thread a little late, but got caught up and have enjoyed it. Thank you for posting it, and I hope that you continue to enjoy the remainder of your cruise! :)

[JamesEM]

Thanks for keeping us updated on your cruise.

[RuthC]

I don't normally open pictures in threads, but for some reason I did open yours. So glad I did! :)

They are lovely to look at. Make me wish I was there!

[sue117]

Saturday Nov 24 (Nawiliwili, Kauai)

We have progressively been getting into port earlier and earlier. First it was noon, yesterday it was 10am, today it is 8am, and tomorrow it’s 7am. We were up and watching us pull into port. It’s funny to watch the dock workers when the ship comes in. Today there was another “shouting” match between the guy on the ship throwing the monkey ball (with the lines to tie us up) and the dock workers. The ship’s captain knows which lines he wants tied up first, but apparently the dock workers want it their way. They yelled at the ship guys because they threw the line to a point where they didn’t think they should be. One of the officers on the bridge had to open his little side window and yell down today! Lol We’re bigger, the ship always wins!

 

This was the one island on the trip that I had planned excursions. We had first planned a plane ride. (I’m not sure that I am allowed to say what companies we went with, but if you want to know just shoot me a note or check our roll call). It was fairly cheap ($120 a person) and was wonderful!!!! We were picked up at the ABC store a 10 min walk from the ship (or you can take the shuttle to the shopping area). We went to the airport, signed the paperwork and were soon on our way. The flight was an hour long and was just beautiful. This was one day out of fiveish every year that there were no clouds at the very top of the island. This is the wettest place in the US and there were no clouds! You could see the clouds slowly form as the morning went on, but not while we were there. We flew over the coast, then up the middle to the Canyon (so beautiful from the air! Like a mini grand canyon!), then over the Na Pali Coast and back to the airport. Well worth every penny. The light wasn’t great in the morning for photos, but it was ok. The 1045 am flight might be better for the glare and the sun, but we wouldn’t have been able to see the top of the island because of clouds. I took a ton of pics, but here are some

 

 

In this pic you can see that there are only 4 people on the plane at a time and we all get window seats! And all the things that we "look at" are on the right side. It was nice!

 

 

 

In this pic you can see the very TOP of the island...with no clouds at all on it! We were told this is very rare as this is the rainest place in the US.

 

This is Waimia Canyon. Like the Grand Canyon only in Hawaii and smaller and next to the ocean. ha

 

 

[sue117]

These pictures are a continuation of the last post. More pics from the airplane over Kauai. Below are 2 pics of the Na Pali Coast from the air. So beautiful.

 

Here is our ship from the air as well.

 

 

 

Then our second trip was a “photo tour”. Our guide picked us up at the airport right after our flight, which was awesome. It was just the 2 of us, since I couldn’t find anyone else on our roll call that wanted to join us, but that made it great! Lol Our guide was a young man, who at first I was afraid would be annoying, but he grew on me over the next 5 hours. We booked a shorter tour than they usually advertise (since we wanted to do the flight in the morning beforehand), but Matt drove us around for 5 hours! We went to places that were very scenic and it was nice not to have to navigate or drive! We went further than I thought we would have time for. We ended up all the way on the northwest side past the Taro fields and the northern most lighthouse on Hawaii. We got some good photo tips and we saw more of the island than I thought we would in the short time we were there. We also were able to get 5 geocaches as well. They were placed in 5 of the same places that we stopped to take pictures of! I figured that might be the case!