Lessons learned, love shared: Golden Princess to Hawaii 3/27/13

[terrific_surprise]

For our first 15 minutes or so at the Halona Blowhole, things were very quiet. We could tell where the water was supposed to spout because there were people pointing toward it, along with an obelisk which (I thought) marked its location, but we just kept waiting for something to happen.

 

 

Although there were people standing near the blowhole, it appeared that they were not allowed to be down there, because a sign warned "Danger: Do not go beyond this wall."

 

I also later learned that the obelisk near the blowhole actually is another danger sign, warning that people have died by being swept away in the waves at this place. (Similar warning obelisks have apparently been erected in various dangerous locations along the coastline of Oahu.)

 

Our patience would eventually be rewarded with the blowhole slowly beginning to become active (as I recorded on this video).

 

 

Even when the blowhole became active, its intensity varied greatly (as can be seen in this additional video I recorded, less than a minute long), with some spouts being as forceful as a geyser...

 

...and others consisting of slight puffs of mist.

 

Several times we experienced the added bonus of seeing a rainbow in the mist. We had been looking forward to experiencing a Hawaiian rainbow, so we took special pleasure in the slightest hint of color in the mist (while still hoping for the opportunity to experience a full Hawaiian rainbow before the end of the cruise).

 

 

Our cameras didn't capture some of the best water spouts (because sometimes we did just want to watch without taking pictures), but the photos and videos above show the best ones we captured.

 

While we watched the water show (and waited between its active times) I noticed the hazy gray shape of another large island across the channel (apparently Molokai, about 20 miles away). We also began to notice many interesting white splashes (probably hundreds of them), and while most of them were far out in the water, some seemed to be getting closer.

Edited November 6, 2013 by terrific_surprise

[terrific_surprise]

Not long after we arrived at the Halona Blowhole Lookout, I noticed a sign describing the adjacent Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, which "lies within the shallow, warm waters surrounding the main Hawaiian Islands and is one of the world's most important humpback whale habitats."

 

 

After we noticed countless white splashes in the ocean (a little over halfway to the horizon), I went to the car to get my binoculars, which enabled us to catch glimpses of several whales' tails and snouts. (I was glad that I had thought to include binoculars on my long list of things to bring with us in port, but I found myself wishing that I had brought a camera with a better zoom lens.)

 

I soon began to notice whale spouts rising from the water in the distance. At times it was difficult to decide where to look, with the whales and the blowhole active at the same time.

 

After we had been enjoying the show at the Halona Blowhole Lookout for almost an hour, I brought Terri to the far right side of the lookout, intending to quickly point out Eternity Beach below (which we had seen in movies like From Here to Eternity and 50 First Dates) before getting back on the road.

 

 

We watched as a snorkeler who apparently began at Eternity Beach went far out of the cove, venturing into the turbulent surf. Although we were concerned for his safety, he seemed to know what he was doing and we never saw anything bad happen to him. Someone said that sea turtles were also down there (but we didn't see any).

 

Looking south, past Eternity Beach, we began to see a very active whale coming close to the shore. Other people nearby said that it was a mother whale with two calves. A boat seemed to us to be dangerously close to the whales.

 

 

This one minute video shows the best whale activity we were able to capture on camera, with several spouts, splashes and slaps (but nothing spectacular like a breach).

 

After watching the whales, I realized that it was almost 5 pm, so I knew that if we had any chance of making it to either of the Waikiki sunset hula shows I had read about, we needed to pull ourselves away from watching the whales, the blowhole, and the beach. I also hoped that we would still have time to do some quick shopping, get a tasty treat, and fill up the car with gas before returning it to the rental agency, so our time was definitely running out!

Edited November 6, 2013 by terrific_surprise

[terrific_surprise]

Hanauma Bay, reportedly the best place in Hawaii to view marine life, is just two miles down the road from the Halona Blowhole. But long before the cruise I had learned that Hanauma is closed on Tuesdays (if you plan to visit the Halona Blowhole on a day other than a Tuesday, you may want to allow enough time to also visit Hanauma).

 

Ten minutes or so after leaving the Halona Blowhole, we made a quick stop at the Hawaii Kai Costco, finding reasonable prices on macadamia nut goodies in the area near the front of the store (just as Renee, CC's cr8tiv1, had recommended). I didn't see any special pineapple hot dogs in the snack bar there (someone on our CC roll call had claimed that the hot dogs at this Costco were particularly delicious because they included pineapple, but Renee had already informed me that this rumor was false).

 

I had planned to also go to the Bubbies nearby for mochi ice cream (having been told by Renee that this is a "must stop"), but I had accidentally passed Bubbies, crossing the bridge over the inlet to Kuapa Pond on our way to Costco. The traffic on Highway 72 was quite heavy, so I decided to drive around the north side of the pond to get back to Bubbies. Unfortunately, the heavy traffic was unavoidable -- I think it took us 20 minutes to get back around the pond to Bubbies (when it should have been about a five minute drive).

 

Bubbies did not have the colorful display case I had expected...

...so we just picked a half dozen mochi flavors from the menu board before hurrying back to the car.

 

 

We made the mistake of trying to savor the mochi ice cream experience a little too long. By the time we tasted our final mochi ice cream, it had melted so much that it was mushy.

 

Noticing a gas station nearby, I pulled in to fill up the gas tank (not being too concerned about the price, because we hadn't used much gas in our 45 miles or so). A little more than three gallons cost $13.75 -- much less than I would have paid had I given in to the pressure of the Alamo clerk's hard sell approach.

 

After getting gas we couldn't resist lowering the top on the convertible one more time (we hadn't taken the time to lower it between the last few stops, because they were so close together) before making our final drive back to the rental office at Discovery Bay near Waikiki.

 

By the time I pulled back onto the highway, it was already after 6 pm. The prospects of catching a 6:30 sunset hula show were fading, but somehow that didn't seem to concern us. With our time on Oahu almost over, we were still just "hanging loose."

Edited November 7, 2013 by terrific_surprise

[LollyMoz]

Enjoying reading about your cruise and travels! I'll have to put Hawaii on my bucket list!

[terrific_surprise]

Enjoying reading about your cruise and travels! I'll have to put Hawaii on my bucket list!

 

As someone who once said I would never go to Hawaii (in spite of my wife's desire to do so), I'm glad to know that my writings have motivated you to add Hawaii to your list too!

 

Tim

Edited November 8, 2013 by terrific_surprise

[terrific_surprise]

It should have taken us less than 20 minutes to get from Hawaii Kai back to the car rental office at Discovery Bay, but traffic was slow and heavy. Nevertheless, we were glad that we weren't on the opposite side of the highway -- it looked like a parking lot!

 

I had seen Diamond Head in the distance from Hawaii Kai, but somehow I didn't notice when we passed it.

 

After five very slow miles on Highway 72, it became Interstate H1, with traffic moving more quickly. But this only provided fleeting relief: just two miles later, we needed to take the offramp for Kapiolani Blvd.

 

We didn't need to go many blocks down Kapiolani Blvd., but the street was packed and the cars were just creeping along again, with every traffic light seeming to last forever. I was beginning to get nervous about whether we would make it to Alamo before their 7 pm closing time.

 

With all of our anxiety about the heavy traffic during this time, we didn't even notice the fact that we were missing the sunset!

 

According to my iPhone's GPS, McCully Street was where I needed to turn left, but "no left turn" signs made that impossible. I became increasingly tense at each subsequent intersection, where again and again "no left turn" signs were posted. Finally, I found a place to turn left after passing the Ala Moana Center mall, then backtracked along Ala Moana Blvd. to the Discovery Bay parking garage. The extra miles we had to travel because of the "no left turn" signs had cost us an extra ten minutes or so, but somehow we still made it back before closing time.

 

The rental car was quickly checked in, with no unexpected problems or charges. But although we had been told that there would be a shuttle to take us back to the ship, we were given the news that the final shuttle for the day had already departed! However, it seemed to me that this situation might have been a blessing in disguise -- I wasn't sure if we really wanted to return to the ship yet, knowing that we still had four hours before sailaway.

Edited November 8, 2013 by terrific_surprise

[TipsyT]

Tim, thank you so much for your wonderful review. We board the Star Princess on Nov 20th for Hawaii and your posts have been such a great part of our pre-cruise excitement.

 

Mahalo!

 

Trish

[MauiLvrs]

As someone who once said I would never go to Hawaii (in spite of my wife's desire to do so), I'm glad to know that my writings have motivated you to add Hawaii to your list too!

Tim

We've been in LOVE with Hawaii from the second we first touched down over 25 years ago...

You review and a couple of others have us trying to make a cruise to the islands work. Financially and logistically, it is hard to make it work for us. With our timeshare, we can stay for 3-4 weeks for the cost of a cruise and with the cruise, one has so little time on Island.

 

The reviews have us thinking, if we fly one way cruise the other and spend two weeks on island ... that may work :D

Just need to put together a cruise sale, air sail, vacation time and timeshare availability all at the same time...

Maybe a retirement trip ;)

Edited November 8, 2013 by MauiLvrs

[blazerjan]

We've been in LOVE with Hawaii from the second we first touched down over 25 years ago...

You review and a couple of others have us trying to make a cruise to the islands work. Financially and logistically, it is hard to make it work for us. With our timeshare, we can stay for 3-4 weeks for the cost of a cruise and with the cruise, one has so little time on Island.

 

The reviews have us thinking, if we fly one way cruise the other and spend two weeks on island ... that may work :D

Just need to put together a cruise sale, air sail, vacation time and timeshare availability all at the same time...

Maybe a retirement trip ;)

 

Are you aware of the Pride of America the NCL ship that sails around the islands? You fly to Hawaii ... spend 7 days on the ship.. and fly home. You can add days on either end of you wish... (sry.. didn't mean to thread jack)

[cr8tiv1]

We've been in LOVE with Hawaii from the second we first touched down over 25 years ago...

You review and a couple of others have us trying to make a cruise to the islands work. Financially and logistically, it is hard to make it work for us. With our timeshare, we can stay for 3-4 weeks for the cost of a cruise and with the cruise, one has so little time on Island.

 

The reviews have us thinking, if we fly one way cruise the other and spend two weeks on island ... that may work :D

Just need to put together a cruise sale, air sail, vacation time and timeshare availability all at the same time...

Maybe a retirement trip ;)

 

I have been waiting for Princess (lobbiest) to put the pressure on our congressmen to add an addendum to the Jones Act or similar restriction. There are only a few coast to island cruises (usually only repositioning ones). I wouldn't hold my breath for this to happen in my lifetime (it was possible 60 years ago).

 

I am jaded and the NCL cruise around the island is a great itinerary (and I have done it), but prefer Princess to do the round trip. The experience on NCL just isn't the same as your foreign serviced fleets.

 

Thanks Tim for all your recognition. Hopefully, I did not misdirect you too many times. And you did not miss Diamond Head. Once on H-1, you can't see it anymore.

[terrific_surprise]

Tim, thank you so much for your wonderful review. We board the Star Princess on Nov 20th for Hawaii and your posts have been such a great part of our pre-cruise excitement.

 

Mahalo!

 

Trish

 

I'm so glad to be a part of your pre-cruise excitement, Trish, as CC was such a big part of my own pre-cruise excitement. As you're likely aware, your experience on the Star will probably be similar to our experience on the Golden (at least in relation to the best parts, like Elua, though I'm sure that every cruise is unique). By the time you sail away, I hope that I will have finished at least the part of my review that relates to the islands. And if I can work out the details, I hope that Terri and I will be there on the 20th to wish you and your shipmates "bon voyage!" :)

 

A hui hou, ;)

 

Tim

[terrific_surprise]

We've been in LOVE with Hawaii from the second we first touched down over 25 years ago...

You review and a couple of others have us trying to make a cruise to the islands work. Financially and logistically, it is hard to make it work for us. With our timeshare, we can stay for 3-4 weeks for the cost of a cruise and with the cruise, one has so little time on Island.

 

The reviews have us thinking, if we fly one way cruise the other and spend two weeks on island ... that may work :D

Just need to put together a cruise sale, air sail, vacation time and timeshare availability all at the same time...

Maybe a retirement trip ;)

 

As blazerjan and Renee already mentioned, your comments made me think of the great POA itinerary. But if (like me) you're stuck on Princess, there's a one-way cruise from Vancouver that looks very interesting (with extra ports and two days on Maui, which from your username I'm guessing that you would particularly enjoy). The cruise from Honolulu to Tahiti (including all four main Hawaiian islands) also sounds very interesting. But of course both of these would likely require two flights, not just one. In any case, they're nice to dream about. ;)

 

One point is important to re-emphasize for readers who have not already been on a cruise to Hawaii: in spite of the fact that I have taken over a month :o to describe our one Oahu day, the island time on a round-trip cruise is indeed quite short, and you will doubtless find yourself wishing you had more time to enjoy Hawaii.

 

Tim

Edited November 9, 2013 by terrific_surprise

[terrific_surprise]

When I learned that we had missed the final shuttle to the ship, I briefly considered taking the time for a 15-30 minute walk to Waikiki Beach (even though we had already missed the Waikiki sunset hula shows I had thought we might attend).

 

But I quickly remembered that we would still have time to watch one highly-praised Honolulu hula show: the keiki (children) from the Hālau Hula Olana school were set to perform two shows that evening in the ship's Princess Theater. We had heard Elua's Leialoha speak with deep emotion about the keiki hula show, saying that it is so beautiful that it brings tears to her eyes. So the lure of the hula show (along with the fact that we had heard that there would be a special Hawaiian buffet in the Horizon Court) was enough to make me eager to give up our final hours on the ground in Honolulu.

 

Suddenly determined to return to the ship as soon as possible, I pressed the Alamo clerk about the fact that we had been promised a shuttle back to the ship. Without argument, the clerk promptly took $15 off the price of the car rental and called a cab for us. By the time we walked out to Ala Moana Blvd., it was already there -- only it wasn't a cab at all.

 

It was a limousine!

 

(By now you may know that Terri and I have lived a somewhat sheltered life, having just experienced our first ride in a convertible. Now we were going to experience our first ride in a limousine! And it was free!)

 

 

With only ten minutes in the limousine, we didn't have time to enjoy any of its amenities, spending most of our time snapping some pictures before the limousine arrived at the Aloha Tower, where the Golden Princess was docked.

 

 

I have no clue how much such a limousine ride would normally cost, but in our case, all we had to pay was the $15 we had just received back from the car rental agency (I made sure that the $15 would suffice before accepting the ride). The speed with which the limousine returned us to the port served as a reminder of the foolishness of my decision that morning to devote an hour taking the bus to get from the ship to the car rental agency.

 

After exiting the limousine, we breezed through the security check, without the slightest delay from Terri's non-government-issued ID (although we still figured she might have problems), and in seemingly no time we were back on board our Golden Princess.

Edited November 9, 2013 by terrific_surprise

[Cruisin' Chick]

I have been waiting for Princess (lobbiest) to put the pressure on our congressmen to add an addendum to the Jones Act or similar restriction. There are only a few coast to island cruises (usually only repositioning ones). I wouldn't hold my breath for this to happen in my lifetime (it was possible 60 years ago).

 

I am jaded and the NCL cruise around the island is a great itinerary (and I have done it), but prefer Princess to do the round trip. The experience on NCL just isn't the same as your foreign serviced fleets.

 

Thanks Tim for all your recognition. Hopefully, I did not misdirect you too many times. And you did not miss Diamond Head. Once on H-1, you can't see it anymore.

 

I wouldn't hold my breathe that the Passenger Vessel Services Act (the Jones Act is about cabotage) will become less restrictive. In fact, about five years ago, the head of NCLa (the NCL part that had the Hawaiian cruises) Colin Veitch was on a campaign to get changes made that would make it harder for the other cruise lines to keep the RTs from the West Coast to Hawaii. He kept complaining the RTs were unfair competition to the Pride cruises. Senators Inouye and Stevens were in his hip pocket.

 

Many people (including some of us from CC) and organizations submitted comments on a website for the Customs/Border Protection Agency. Those of us who live in LA, SD, SF, Seattle expressed concern that if the changes (see this for a description: http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=2397) were put through, it would cause financial harm to the ports in these cities. The mayors of these cities sent letters of official protest. Royal Caribbean also sent in a letter against the changes (didn't see one from Princess,though:().

 

When Veitch was told that the changes he was pushing for, would make the NCL Alaskan RTs undo-able, he decided to make it all about the Hawaiian RTs and exempt other itineraries. Then the governors of Hawaii (who realized that these changes would negatively affect Hawaii because the number of cruise ship passengers would go way down) and California (the guvernator) sat down with then VP Cheney, who got the whole plan tabled. Thank goodness.

 

Personally, if I wanted to spend more time in Hawaii, I would select a couple of islands and stay some days in one, some days in another, just as we did on our honeymoon. I look at a cruise as an experience, not just a floating hotel, so the Pride cruise is not of interest to me. Our three Hawaiian cruises on Princess were a true cruising experience.

[cr8tiv1]

I wouldn't hold my breathe that the Passenger Vessel Services Act (the Jones Act is about cabotage) will become less restrictive. In fact' date=' about five years ago, the head of NCLa (the NCL part that had the Hawaiian cruises) Colin Veitch was on a campaign to get changes made that would make it harder for the other cruise lines to keep the RTs from the West Coast to Hawaii. He kept complaining the RTs were unfair competition to the Pride cruises. Senators Inouye and Stevens were in his hip pocket.

 

Many people (including some of us from CC) and organizations submitted comments on a website for the Customs/Border Protection Agency. Those of us who live in LA, SD, SF, Seattle expressed concern that if the changes (see this for a description: http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=2397) were put through, it would cause financial harm to the ports in these cities. The mayors of these cities sent letters of official protest. Royal Caribbean also sent in a letter against the changes (didn't see one from Princess,though:().

 

When Veitch was told that the changes he was pushing for, would make the NCL Alaskan RTs undo-able, he decided to make it all about the Hawaiian RTs and exempt other itineraries. Then the governors of Hawaii (who realized that these changes would negatively affect Hawaii because the number of cruise ship passengers would go way down) and California (the guvernator) sat down with then VP Cheney, who got the whole plan tabled. Thank goodness.

 

Personally, if I wanted to spend more time in Hawaii, I would select a couple of islands and stay some days in one, some days in another, just as we did on our honeymoon. I look at a cruise as an experience, not just a floating hotel, so the Pride cruise is not of interest to me. Our three Hawaiian cruises on Princess were a true cruising experience.

 

Thanks for the refresher. I really did know that, but had a senior moment when I was posting.

 

As for Senator Inouye...

He did wonderful things for Hawaii during his tenure in the Senate. Hawaii benefitted financially and his passing will truly hurt the Islands since our new people in Congress have absolutely (zero) seniority. I have the highest regard for the work he did for our state. I was once in a plane with him...and he sat in coach. That really left an impression with me. But I did not always agree with all of his policies. Yes, NCL had a really supporter. His second wife was on the Board of Directors with NCL. I think it was Governor Lingle that fought hard to keep the PVSL from being changed to be more restrictive.

 

I would take a cruise over to the islands any day over going through LAX.

 

Displaced Local Girl

Edited November 9, 2013 by cr8tiv1

[MauiLvrs]

Are you aware of the Pride of America the NCL ship that sails around the islands?

Yep. The new NCL really isn't our cup of tea. Like Tim, we're really hooked on Princess. We have talked about it though and can use Diamond points for it, but just don't get to spend much time on Island. Ideally fir Island hopping, we'd love to get the plane over there for 2-3 weeks. Getting her home gets really difficult

 

 

 

... there's a one-way cruise from Vancouver that looks very interesting (with extra ports and two days on Maui, which from your username I'm guessing that you would particularly enjoy).

Tim

We've looked at that. The water is still a little cold then and the return is in tropical storm season. Now if we make it a cruising trip and non-diving trip ... water temp doesn't matter so much ;)

If we cruise in spring and have a summer/fall dive trip...

Have to keep them on the list :D

By the end of Tim's story ... we may have a plan ;)

Edited November 9, 2013 by MauiLvrs

[terrific_surprise]

Interesting interaction between Patty and Renee regarding the PVSA politics. Those proposed 2008 restrictions (such as 48 hours in a foreign port) would have been quite drastic, as even NCL recognized. It sounds to me there was a political game going on behind the scenes and NCL blinked. :rolleyes:

[terrific_surprise]

Lugging the items we had purchased on Oahu, along with my large duffle bag, we decided to first go up to our Baja room to lighten our load. We also used this as an opportunity to change out of the swimsuits we had been (unnecessarily) wearing all day.

 

Our eager appetites wouldn't allow us to stay in our room for more than 20 minutes or so. It was about 7:45, the usual time for our late traditional dining, but Ram (our waiter) had informed us two days earlier that the Canaletto Dining Room would be closed when the ship was in Honolulu (apparently because they assumed that too many people would still be off the ship).

 

So we went up two floors to Horizon Court, where we had the opportunity to try some unusual Hawaiian fruit selections.

 

 

As we first approached the buffet line, we noticed several Hawaiian girls in shiny green dresses filling up their plates. It was obvious that the hula performers were taking the opportunity to enjoy the buffet between performances.

 

The most interesting fruit we saw on the buffet appeared to be rambutan, a spiny reddish fruit (although it was not labeled).

(Sorry for the flash glare, but I didn't want to hold up the buffet line to get better pictures.)

Another fruit selection at the buffet appeared to be longan ("dragon eye").

 

When I returned to the buffet a couple of hours later, they had another Hawaiian fruit that looked like a kiwi inside but was red outside with white flesh. (A Mexican man nearby said that it was like a cactus fruit, but that in Mexico it is a different color.)

 

The only other Hawaiian item we noticed at the buffet that night was a Hawaiian salad, with ham and pineapple.

 

 

We brought our filled buffet plates out to the pool deck so that we could watch From Here to Eternity (on Movies Under the Stars) while we ate. Unfortunately, we missed the scene filmed at Halona Beach Cove ("Eternity Beach").

 

When we were done eating, we decided to hurry down to the Princess Theater to be sure that we would get a good seat for the 8:45 keiki hula show, which was scheduled to begin in about 15 minutes.

 

 

Having fond memories of performing a couple of hula numbers when she was a child, Terri didn't want to miss seeing the children up close. So we found seats in the middle of the front row!

Edited November 9, 2013 by terrific_surprise

[silverbird]

Hey Tim --

DH and I are the middle couple in the back row of the lower section!! He has on a green print shirt and my white hair shows up easily. This is our favorite show every time we cruise to Hawaii. From the littlest girl to the charming young man, they all were darling, talented, and not the least bit shy.

 

Mahalo nui for posting.

[terrific_surprise]

Hey Tim --

DH and I are the middle couple in the back row of the lower section!! He has on a green print shirt and my white hair shows up easily. This is our favorite show every time we cruise to Hawaii. From the littlest girl to the charming young man, they all were darling, talented, and not the least bit shy.

 

Mahalo nui for posting.

 

Wow,Elinor, I hadn't noticed you two back there! And to think, I almost didn't post that photo of Terri in the theater (I thought it might not be interesting enough).

 

I'm working on a post with more details (and videos) of the hula show (hopefully in a few hours I will post it).

 

I guess you'll be on the Royal Princess soon, so I hope you have a wonderful time!

 

Tim

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[TracieABD]

Thank you for continuing your review. It is very detailed!:)

[cr8tiv1]

Thanks for the buffet menu. I was hoping for a little more "Hawaiian" food like Kalua Pig, Haupia, Poi, Lau Lau. The Dragon Eyes are really very good. Like Lychee but much sweeter. I was surprised to see that in the buffet.

 

Sorry for hijacking your thread about the PVSA....

 

I am looking forward to seeing the Keiki Hula Show. The Golden didn't have them for my cruise.

[terrific_surprise]

The hula group performing on the Golden Princess when it was docked in Honolulu consisted of about a dozen girls and two boys, students of Hālau Hula Olana. From the very first song, it was obvious from the expressions on the children's faces that they all found these hula songs to be both meaningful and enjoyable.

 

 

 

Obviously, my camera was not totally up to the challenge of capturing the high contrast scenes created by the bright stage lights (especially when coupled with the movements of the hula dancers). The videos I provide here (via the links in this post) are just choppy (and sometimes blurry) excerpts of some of the songs, but hopefully they will give you a small taste of what the hula show was like.

 

The hula motions were performed to pre-recorded music, with a hula teacher providing narration and explanation of the meaning of the songs. (Unfortunately, from where we sat, the narration was sometimes difficult to understand.) The hula teacher sometimes played an instrument that looked like a large double gourd.

 

The tune of the hula song Pūpū A 'O Ewa was familiar to us from the song "Pearly Shells," which we had been practicing in the ukulele classes.

 

Eventually, the girls left the stage so that the two boys could showcase their hula skills to a song about Hawaiian cowboys. I was surprised to see how much these adolescent boys seemed to enjoy hula dancing. The hula teacher said that this was one of the final performances for these boys, who were in their final year at the school.

 

 

While the boys performed their cowboy hula, the girls changed their costumes, soon returning to perform Papalina Lahilahi ("rosy cheeks").

 

Then the song Surround Me With Love began, with the girls coming down from the stage into the audience, eventually performing their hula moves up close for those sitting in the back section of the theater. (Elinor, CC's "silverbird," will undoubtedly notice herself again in this video.) I was surprised at this point to see how many empty seats remained in the theater. I had thought that this show would be packed (but I assume that many people attended the earlier performance).

 

The hula girls gracefully finished Surround Me With Love back on stage.

 

 

For the final song, Aloha `Oe, some of the girls came down to share their aloha with the audience by shaking hands.

 

The hula show lasted about 40 minutes (a little longer than the typical Princess show), but I doubt that anybody in attendance was eager for it to end.

 

Considering the fact that our busy Oahu day had begun before dawn (and we hadn't had much rest the night before), it seems like we should have been ready for bed at about 9:30 after the hula show. We're not typically late night party animals under the best circumstances. But somehow for us, the night was still young.

Edited November 10, 2013 by terrific_surprise

[roomba920]

Very sweet. Thank you. :)

[Jasperdo]

You're absolutely right about the Hālau Hula Olana Show. It is a treat to watch, and the students are definitely enjoying what they are doing. I was a bit surprised to hear they are using pre-recorded music now. When we saw the performance back in 2011, the music was all live, and really added to the experience. I hope you don't mind if I add a few photos that I took at that show. I'm really enjoying your very detailed review.

 

Golden Princess by Jasperdo, on Flickr

 

Golden Princess by Jasperdo, on Flickr