A Photo Trip Report of POA 3/25-4/8/15

[BnAv10]

Tuesday, March 31 Pride of America (POA)‏ continued

 

After this hike, we also did the Thurston Lava Tube again, which we had also done the last time we visited (9 years ago). We were surprised that the last section of the tube was fenced off now. It was still very cool to walk through.

 

 

 

 

 

After that we made a stop at the Volcano House (the hotel inside the VNP) and again thought how cool it would be to stay there. There is an awesome view of the crater outside the back of the hotel.

 

 

 

There is also a gift shop inside the hotel. The hotel is across the street from the visitor center.

[BnAv10]

Tuesday, March 31 Pride of America (POA)‏ continued

 

After Volcano National Park, we made a couple stops. We stopped at Walmart to pick up some souvenirs and water, and also stopped at Sports Authority where we picked up a very small waterproof bag to use later in our trip for a water hike adventure. (More on that on a different day's trip report!)

 

Returning the car and shuttle back to the ship was quick and easy.

 

That night we returned to the Liberty Dining room. We were seated immediately with no reservation. This time we were seated in a different place (window seat) and had different servers (a female team). Service was fine and food was adequate. We had gnocchi in a squash based sauce.

 

 

One odd thing about being seated where we were near the entrance of the restaurant. There was the music of the dining room we were in, and also the music from downstairs in the Skyline. This hurt my ears with the jumble of the two together. They should really do something about this so the music of the two spaces aren't competing with one another. Either music would have been fine on its own. It was the jumble of the two that made it horrible. Really unpleasant.

 

After dinner we attended the magic show in the main theater. We enjoyed it. I think some of the dancers from the other shows joined the magician and his wife. He incorporated dancing into the magic show which sounds silly but it was nicely done. At the end of his show he promoted a magic act he would be performing later in the week in the pool where he escapes after being locked up underwater or something like that.

 

After that we headed back to our room. Unfortunately we got a call letting us know that the one and only excursion we had booked through NCL, in advance, for the following day, had been cancelled. We had booked a kayak and snorkel tour. I was so disappointed, i was really looking forward to that. I kept talking about it every day about how excited i was! Oh well, the best laid plans. The man on the phone said that the vendor had told them they lost their license so they couldn't do the tour anymore. The man on the phone did not have much information about it (i can't remember his name.) He did try offering us different excursions to make up for it but none were appealing. I also told him it was our ten year anniversary and that is what we had planned to do to celebrate. He felt bad and made arrangements to pay for our dinner in La Cucina and a bottle of wine the following evening. I thought it was very classy that he did that.

 

I'm still so bummed i didn't get to do that excursion, especially since it was the ONLY one we actually booked in advance with the ship! But there's always next time! I think this is a good reason to always have a plan B, in case you can't do the #1 thing you had planned to do on a given day due to unforseen circumstances. I am a planner, and i usually don't like how things turn out on trips when i haven't planned in advance.

 

Next up: the port of Kona, Hawaii, day two of the Big Island.

 

Thanks so much to everyone for following along! It really does help to know i'm not talking to myself ha! If there are any specific questions i can answer to help in your planning, please let me know, i love to be helpful!

 

Aloha and Mahalo! :)

[meatball_nyc]

Thanks for the posts. Love your photos.

Stinks about the kayak excursion though. Good reason to visit again next time, right?

It was nice to see the road to Hana. It is long and scary in parts. When we went it rained what seemed like every 20 minutes. Bad part about that was ( we were young and stupid ) our convertible Corvette Stingray.

Looking forward to more. Thanks!

[piglettravels]

I am enjoying your trip report. Thank you so much for taking the time to write it and post the pictures! Sorry about your kayak excursion. Now wondering what you did in Kona instead.

 

How long did it take to do the Kilauea Iki trail? Do you think folks in the early 70’s (who do just a little hiking plus walk 2 miles a day) could do this trail?

[BnAv10]

Thanks for the posts. Love your photos.

Stinks about the kayak excursion though. Good reason to visit again next time, right?

It was nice to see the road to Hana. It is long and scary in parts. When we went it rained what seemed like every 20 minutes. Bad part about that was ( we were young and stupid ) our convertible Corvette Stingray.

Looking forward to more. Thanks!

 

Thank you for following along! Oh no! Convertible + intermittent rain = not fun! In theory, i love the idea of a convertible (like maybe a jeep with the top off) on the R2H. To be able to take in all the sights and sounds and smells even more completely. But i'm sure in practice, it's not so awesome, especially when you keep getting rained on! We had some sprinkles that day as well. Nothing too intense, but i'm sure it wouldn't have been fun in a convertible.

 

And yes, i would love to go back and do the kayaking and snorkeling!

 

I am enjoying your trip report. Thank you so much for taking the time to write it and post the pictures! Sorry about your kayak excursion. Now wondering what you did in Kona instead.

 

How long did it take to do the Kilauea Iki trail? Do you think folks in the early 70’s (who do just a little hiking plus walk 2 miles a day) could do this trail?

 

Thank you for following along! I will be posting about our day in Kona momentarily -- stay tuned! :)

 

Regarding the Kilauea Iki trail - i believe it took us 2.5 hours, and that was with many stops for picture taking and just stopping to take it all in for a while at the bottom. I believe it's about 4 miles total.

 

Hard to say if i would recommend it for people in their 70s. My Dad is in his 70s and does go on long walks and hikes with us, but mostly on flat or mostly flat trails. He has to go slowly and stops often. There is quite a steep incline on the way back out and a big change in elevation on this trail. So i would take those things into consideration when deciding. I don't think my Dad would enjoy the uphill climb, so i'm thinking he would skip this hike and just do the lava tube (easily accessible from a parking area.) However, i realize and respect the fact that there is a huge range in ability and health of those in their 70s, so each person is different. Sorry if that's not a great answer. FYI - there are some awesome views of the crater that don't require hiking such steep trails.

 

Coming up next: the port of Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii!

 

Aloha and Mahalo for following along! :-)

Edited April 24, 2015 by BnAv10

[russianmom]

YAY! :D

I was waiting for the next installment!

[BnAv10]

Wednesday, April 1 Pride of America (POA)

 

 

[BnAv10]

Wednesday, April 1, 2015 Pride of America (POA)

 

Today we sailed into the Port of Kona, Hawaii.

 

 

This was the one and only tender port. What that means is that we had to use the "tenders" aka lifeboats, to get from the big ship to the shore. This happens when a big ship goes to a port that doesn't have a big pier set up for big ships. Our balcony was on the same side of the ship (starboard aka the right side) as the tenders so we got to see them being lowered into the water and going to and from the shore.

 

 

 

To get to shore on this day, you had to go to the Mardi Gras Lounge on Deck 6 when you were ready to leave the ship. Then you were given a ticket. Then you sit down until your ticket # is called. It seemed like there were a lot of people in that lounge, even before we got there, but we only had to wait about 15 minutes.

 

Once our ticket numbers were called, it was very quick to get on the tender boat and get to the shore. I really liked both of the tender boat captains, they were friendly and chatty and hired from the Island. One of them explained that they hire captains from the Island since they know the waters better, and it builds good will. One of the tender boat captains i think also worked for a company that did excursions. He was very knowledgeable about the island and had a lot of great advice, i.e. where to go for beaches, snorkeling, turtles, etc.

 

Once we were on shore we walked around the little waterfront area there where there were lots of little shops, including coffee shops, an abc store, as well as other little souvenir shops. There's also a big banyan tree. It is a nice waterfront area to walk around in, i think the nicest port area we sailed into, probably helped by the fact that there hasn't yet been a big cruise ship terminal built here.

 

We were able to take a nice pic of the ship from the shore here.

 

 

 

I just loved the color of the water here! So beautiful!

[BnAv10]

Wednesday, April 1, 2015 Pride of America (POA)‏ continued

 

After we walked to and fro along the waterfront, we headed up the hill towards our newly chosen destination for the day: Kona Brewery. Since our excursion got cancelled this day that we had booked through NCL, we had to find something to do last minute. I googled things to do in Kona, and this came up. It was a fun way to spend a couple hours. Note: if you want to do a brewery tour, there is one that starts at 10:30 a.m. but the brewery itself doesn't open till 11 a.m. We didn't realize this so we missed the tour and showed up at 11. There is also a tour late in the afternoon.

 

 

It was a short hike up the hill from the port to the Brewery. We walked right in and got a table. We had a very nice server who set us up with tastings. It was just a wee bit early in the day for beer drinking but we were on vacation, and when it's a tasting, it's o.k....right? Anyway, we also asked from some chips to eat along with the tastings. She pretty much gave us unlimited refills on the chips while we were there. I heard they have great pizzas here but we didn't have any. It is a full restaurant as well as a brewery.

 

 

 

 

We also bought a couple tshirts from here as souvenirs. Not cheap. Probably the beer drinking affected our decision making on the tshirts. Side note: the tshirts run small. My husband's wound up being a bit tight fitting. Good news is that there was also a Kona Brewing Co location on Oahu, so we stopped there after the cruise and were able to exchange the tshirt for a larger size.

 

After that, we walked back down the hill and got in line to take a tender back to the ship. It looked like a big line on the pier but everyone in line got on the tender and off we went, very smoothly.

 

Side note: since it is a tender port, you've got to factor this in when making plans, in the a.m. as well as getting back to the ship in time.

 

The rest of the afternoon consisted of a late lunch and reading our books on our lanai in our cabin. And doing Sudoku procured from the library. And watching the tender boats go to and fro.

 

[BnAv10]

Wednesday, April 1, 2015 Pride of America (POA)‏ continued

 

For dinner, we went back to La Cucina. This night, we had a note from the excursions guy to give to the maitre d' that treated us to dinner and a bottle of wine. We had a lovely dinner.

 

fresh warm bread

 

flavored olive oils for the bread

 

minnestrone soup

 

 

We both got the pasta with creamy pesto sauce this time. Looks like a small serving on that big plate, but trust me, it was very filling! And yummy!

 

We also had a note informing the maitre d' that it was our anniversary. Because of this, 4 of the waiters sang "let me call you sweetheart" and presented us with a cake. It was so nice and fun!

 

 

After dinner, we attended the Kanikapila Hawaiian Hula Show in the Mardi Gras, which was hosted by Malu, the Cruise Director. I really loved Malu! I think i just really love Hawaiians in general, but Malu is a really special person.

 

We brought a special bottle of sparkling wine with us to the Mardi Gras, and our favorite waiter, Mark, opened it up for us and put it in one of those ice buckets on a stand and brought it over to us, made us feel so special and fancy! We really liked Mark!

 

I think we stayed at the Mardi Gras until it became more of a dance hall event, and then we headed to our room.

 

That was it for our day in Kona.

 

Next up: the port of Kauai and a hiking adventure in the beautiful Waimea Canyon!

 

Aloha and Mahalo for following along! If anyone has any questions, please let me know. I'm happy to help if i can!

[Mom2B&Z]

I am enjoying your trip report. Thank you so much for taking the time to write it and post the pictures! Sorry about your kayak excursion. Now wondering what you did in Kona instead.

 

 

 

How long did it take to do the Kilauea Iki trail? Do you think folks in the early 70’s (who do just a little hiking plus walk 2 miles a day) could do this trail?

 

 

Crashing this thread again...my parents were with us, are in their early 70's and walk the equivalent of 3-4 miles a day, including some hills. They decided Kilauea Iki was too difficult for them, partly due to heat, elevation and the fact the tough part of the hike is the way back. We did a few trails and the lava tube and had a great experience at VNP. The other thing to consider is what you have planned later in the cruise, we did the canyon trail at Waimea canyon and my parents found that challenging. They couldn't have done that hike if they had done Kilauea Iki at VNP.

So many great things to do, so little time... :)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[ransrider]

Has this review been completed? Been watching and waiting for more. Please continue.

[tlw3184]

Hana Hwy is just a twisty country road !!

 

For real white knuckle stuff drive 'round the other end of Maui :)

 

 

Did it once, wife nearly got out and walked at times, especially coming down the cliff into Kahakuloa village.

 

Enjoying your review, keep it coming:)

 

Just returned from Hawaii on Sunday. While in Maui I had decided to drive up the coast to Ka'annapali beach. Little did I know the road was going to be like this. Luckily my dad drove, but this road was scary and only one lane most of the time. We are now able to laugh about it and have a good story to tell, but during the drive I was wishing we could turn around and go back. While on a tour in Hilo, or guide told us this drive is way worse than Hana! We also learned after that we weren't supposed to drive this road in our rental car. I wish there was a t-shirt you could buy that said I survived this route like they offer if you do the road to hana!

[tlw3184]

Loving your review so far and following along. I just got back on Sunday from Hawaii :(. I love being able to look at these now and understand where things are and recognize places. I'm sad to be back though. Seriously thinking about doing a review like this as well. I too read Miicah's review and loved it and want to be able to give back to those who are planning. Miicah's review really helped me out a lot and I am wondering if I should do one as well. Can't wait to see the rest of your review and see Hawaii through your point of view!

[pspercy]

Just returned from Hawaii on Sunday. While in Maui I had decided to drive up the coast to Ka'annapali beach. Little did I know the road was going to be like this. Luckily my dad drove, but this road was scary and only one lane most of the time. We are now able to laugh about it and have a good story to tell, but during the drive I was wishing we could turn around and go back. While on a tour in Hilo, or guide told us this drive is way worse than Hana! We also learned after that we weren't supposed to drive this road in our rental car. I wish there was a t-shirt you could buy that said I survived this route like they offer if you do the road to hana!

 

Oh wow, had to think for a minute, of course, NCL docks in Kahalui so that would be an option:eek: I'm not aware of any rental car restrictions tho', nothing in the Alamo small print.

 

Note to others, if heading for Ka'anapali from the dock, follow the signs for Lahaina, Ka'anapali is a few (easy) miles further:D

http://lodging4vacations.com/maui-vacation-rentals/map-maui/map-maui

Edited May 2, 2015 by pspercy

[piglettravels]

 

Regarding the Kilauea Iki trail - i believe it took us 2.5 hours, and that was with many stops for picture taking and just stopping to take it all in for a while at the bottom. I believe it's about 4 miles total.

 

Hard to say if i would recommend it for people in their 70s. My Dad is in his 70s and does go on long walks and hikes with us, but mostly on flat or mostly flat trails. He has to go slowly and stops often. There is quite a steep incline on the way back out and a big change in elevation on this trail. So i would take those things into consideration when deciding. I don't think my Dad would enjoy the uphill climb, so i'm thinking he would skip this hike and just do the lava tube (easily accessible from a parking area.) However, i realize and respect the fact that there is a huge range in ability and health of those in their 70s, so each person is different. Sorry if that's not a great answer. FYI - there are some awesome views of the crater that don't require hiking such steep trails.

 

 

BnAv10 and B&Z’s Mom thank you both for the info on the hike. Very helpful and insightful info.

[BnAv10]

Thursday, April 2, 2015 Pride of America (POA)

 

 

[BnAv10]

Thursday, April 2, 2015 Pride of America (POA)

 

Today we sailed into the port of Nawiliwili, Kaua'i.

 

As was now our routine, we grabbed breakfast from the buffet and ate al fresco on the back lanai of the ship. After breakfast, we walked back through the buffet and picked up a plate of easy to go items like muffins and croissants to use as our lunch off the ship. We bagged them in our ziplocks and once we were docked, we walked right off the ship, and jumped on our Hertz shuttle to pick up our rental car.

 

Last time we were in Kauai, we did the river kayak and hike excursion. So this time we decided to go inland a bit and check out Waimea Canyon, that some call the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. Others say there is no comparison since it is smaller than the Grand Canyon, which is true, but it is so green and lush and beautiful that i have to say it is one of the most beautiful places i've ever been. Wild chickens were everywhere in Hawaii, but it seemed like i saw more on Kauai than on any of the other islands. And this one in particular i thought was really a beautiful one we saw at the Waimea Canyon Lookout.

 

 

View from Waimea Canyon Lookout

 

 

After stopping at the Waimea Canyon Lookout, we continued on to the Pu'u Hinahina lookout (between mile markers 13 and 14) where we hiked the Canyon trail. It is 4 miles roundtrip and i would consider it a moderate hike, although if you want to get from the first waterfall to the second one, it is more challenging for that last 0.2 mile with some scrambling involved. We thought it was so worth it though!

 

 

We loved this hike and i think was our favorite of the trip. Just beautiful and amazing. Along the way we saw a lot of helicopters which is another way to see the canyon if you don't like to or can't hike, but way more expensive. I really don't think it compares to actually getting down there in the canyon and hiking it though.

 

 

 

[BnAv10]

Thursday, April 2, 2015 Pride of America (POA) continued

 

More pics from along the Canyon Trail

 

 

 

The first waterfall:

 

 

 

It's tough to find, but there is a trail leading off to the right from the first waterfall to the second. There is some scrambling over rocks involved.

 

Beautiful wildflowers in between first waterfall and second waterfall.

 

 

The trail between the two waterfalls was not marked and was overgrown, probably because most people don't even know about it, so it's not well travelled.

[BnAv10]

Thursday, April 2, 2015 Pride of America (POA) continued

 

When we finally figured out how to get to the second waterfall from the first, we were overcome with how amazing that spot was, and we had it to ourselves since it was so hard to find.

 

 

 

 

My husband took a short video to better capture the experience than a still picture could.

 

[YOUTUBE]4w--0HVM0Tg[/YOUTUBE]

 

When we were back at the top, there was also a beautiful view.

 

 

After the hike we drove further along Waimea Canyon Drive to the end of the road and stopped at the Pu'u o Kila lookout where we got a beautiful view of Kalalau Valley which is the largest valley on Na Pali. The clouds roll in and out but a secret we learned from the Kauai Revealed book was if you wait a minute or so, the clouds clear, so you get a peek at the shoreline without the clouds, then they roll in again. It's a cycle all day long. Very cool.

 

Edited May 16, 2015 by BnAv10

[BnAv10]

Thursday, April 2, 2015 Pride of America (POA) continued

 

After that we headed back along a different road down the mountain on Koke'e Road which allowed us to see some different scenery and a cute little town called Kekaha. We returned the rental car, hopped on the shuttle and returned to the ship. Our towel animal today was an elephant.

 

 

In the late afternoon we enjoyed a cocktail on the back lanai before dinner, and took some pics of the beautiful scenery as seen from the ship.

 

 

 

 

For dinner this night we ate in the buffet, and i had made to order pasta with a bunch of veggies. I really enjoyed having dinner in the buffet and eating it al fresco on the back lanai. In hindsight, i wish we had done this more often. It's the only option for eating al fresco, which i really enjoy doing on the ship.

 

 

 

After watching the sunset, we headed to the theater to see the Rock-a-Hula show. It was well done and definitely reminded me of those old beach movies with Frankie and Annette.

 

That's it for today. Next up is day 2 in Kauai, where we did an impromptu hike to the lighthouse you can see from the ship. This hike was an adventure! Stay tuned!

[relic2]

Glad to see you back. I was afraid you weren't going to finish. [emoji20][emoji475]🏻

[cyndepet]

I'm really excited to read more about your trip. We leave this Thursday for ours :-) Kauai looks absolutely beautiful. This is where we have a helicopter tour booked. I'm so excited!!!

[AlohaPride]

I will be on the POA in December. A friend, whose husband hates to cruise, asked me along and I said heck yes. So we will be in a regular balcony. I have absolutely loved reading your review so far.

Since my late husband was retired military I booked our hotel room at the Hale Koa, which is a military hotel. It is near the Outrigger. It has great reviews.

As each day goes by I am getting more excited. Of course my friend keeps calling me about going on other cruises with her and I have to remind her that I still work but couldn't pass up Hawaii.

 

The Hale Koa is really nice. There aren't coffee makers in the rooms and there is no room service, but that's made up for in the rates and location of the hotel. The pools are really nice and the drinks at the barefoot bar are yummy. You won't be disappointed with the Hale Koa. We were just there yesterday enjoying the pool with my parents, who are retired military. We live here and when they visit it's always a favorite place to go.

[BnAv10]

Friday, April 3, 2015 Pride of America (POA)