The Grand Hawaiian Adventure. A trip report with Patters, Menus, Elvis, and ...

[h20skibum]

Thanks so much for taking all the time to write such a great review. Love your pictures. We are taking the Star out of LA in Jan., 2018. We have done this cruise several times and are looking for different things to do. I made notes of your findings at the baby beach. Was the Jodo Mission close by? Did they still offer whale watching excursions on the pier? :D

 

 

The Mission is right beside the beach, and you can see it as you walk along.

 

Not sure if they were offering whale watching tours at the pier. We were there late in the season, so we were not looking. I have my photos of whales from earlier trips. We did, however, see one on the way back from Hawaii.

 

 

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[h20skibum]

Thanks to everyone who checked in, if I didn't get a chance to thank you individually. Now, let's get on with it.

 

 

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[h20skibum]

Saturday, April 29

 

Today, we are in Honolulu. The Captain gave us a smoother ride last night as we covered the 116 miles from Lahaina to Honolulu. At sunrise, you can see clouds hanging over the Koolau Range as we approach port.

 

 

The NCL Pride of America is following us in to port.

 

 

Our ship ties up at the Aloha Tower dock, while the POA ties up at pier 2.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[h20skibum]

We are scheduled to be in port in Honolulu today from 7:00 a.m. until 10:30 p.m. tonight. Here are the Patters for the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[h20skibum]

There are, of course, shopping guides

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[h20skibum]

Princess also has a port guide for Honolulu

 

 

 

 

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[Gimer]

Keep it going and don't stop posting. You are creating the most comprehensive Grand Princess Hawaiian Day to Day Cruise review, ever posted. Your photos say it all. The bonus is posting those Princess Patters. Thank, great job and we'll all keep reading. I'll be recommending this CC Thread to the October 29th Grand cruise to Hawaii Roll Call. Stan

[Josie2]

I'm on the October 29 cruise and reading avidly ! Thank you.

 

 

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[kitegirl]

I am so enjoying your review and the pics are amazing. We are going to be on the STAR out of Vancouver in April 2018 and just cannot wait. Thanks for all your suggestions and info...

[jennybenny]

Thanks to everyone who checked in, if I didn't get a chance to thank you individually. Now, let's get on with it.

 

 

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You are doing a great job!! Your review is very detailed and with photos too!! Thanks for taking the time to do it.

 

 

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[Lucky TGO]

Nice review and photos. Following.

Ditto!!

Tony

[Gimer]

Josie2, I see your on that Oct. 29 RollCall Spreadsheet. I was on the same cruise with Mark and ran into them at the Spam Jam Festival. His review is SPOT on and he does take great photos. Stan

[wrongwaywatson]

Great review so far! It's like I'm back on the ship!

[Belle]

Thank you for the review. Brings back the

good memories. I was on this cruise and

the April 8th. 30 days.. Loved it. Grand is

showing her age but still good. Crew is wonderful.

 

Glad NCL was in port. Then we get the Aloha

Tower dock 1. First cruise had to dock where

they do. Dock 2. I like Dock 11 better. Where they always use to dock. I love the pictures on the wall. Old time cruising.

. To let people know going up

the tower is free. 4 different doors to go out and see the views. A restroom up there.

 

One Hawaiian told me.. A good place to be homeless is Hawaii. Warm weather, food growing

on trees. Fish. Don't need many clothes. Shorts

and a shirt for the night time.

[Josie2]

Josie2, I see your on that Oct. 29 RollCall Spreadsheet. I was on the same cruise with Mark and ran into them at the Spam Jam Festival. His review is SPOT on and he does take great photos. Stan

 

 

Good to know. We did this cruise 10 years ago. I know the Grand is a bit older (we were on the Diamond in 2007) but looking very much forward to Hawaii, and the crossing.

 

 

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[Once Upon A Time]

Thank you so much for posting this great review.. I hope some of the passengers on the 11/13/17 Grand Princess Roll Call will have an opportunity to see this..

[h20skibum]

Keep it going and don't stop posting. You are creating the most comprehensive Grand Princess Hawaiian Day to Day Cruise review, ever posted. Your photos say it all. The bonus is posting those Princess Patters. Thank, great job and we'll all keep reading. I'll be recommending this CC Thread to the October 29th Grand cruise to Hawaii Roll Call. Stan

 

 

Thanks Stan. I just hope I can wrap it up before we head back to San Francisco for a couple weeks next weekend. If not, I may be working on it then.

 

 

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[h20skibum]

I am so enjoying your review and the pics are amazing. We are going to be on the STAR out of Vancouver in April 2018 and just cannot wait. Thanks for all your suggestions and info...

 

 

Glad you are enjoying. Please don't think of anything as suggestions. This is just merely information about what we did. Everyone is different, and they have different likes and dislikes.

 

Just do your research and pick things that interest you. This is especially true if you go to the islands as a first timer. There are many things to see, and choosing may be difficult.

 

 

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[h20skibum]

Honolulu is going to be another "Do your own thing day" for us. I think all of the top things they say you should do in Honolulu, I have been able to do on past land based vacations. Visit Pearl Harbor; attend a luau; snorkel Hanauma Bay; visit the Polynesian Cultural Center; circle island to the North Shore; visit the Punchbowl; learn to surf on Waikiki Beach; tour historic Honolulu; visit Sea Life Park; the zoo; climb Diamond Head; plus many things you can no longer do like visit the original International Market Place and the Pearl City Tavern to name a few.

 

My prior land based trips were all from the mid 70's when I was a young single guy, through the mid 80's, when by then I was an old married guy. Our last trip to Hawaii was in 1985. We looked just a little younger then, but then so did this guy.

 

 

This photo was taken in Honolulu when we were on the set of Magnum PI in early 1981.

 

The things we wanted to do today included climbing Diamond Head, spending time on Waikiki Beach, and going to the Spam Jam Festival. I had climbed Diamond Head before I was married, but DW never had, so that was what we planned.

 

By the time the day would end, we would have logged almost 17 miles on our fitness trackers.

 

When I last left off, we were just coming into port, and I had a couple of photos posted of our arrival. It looked overcast, and we would eventually get a brief shower later in the day.

 

After our 7:00 docking, it was about 7:30 when the ship received clearance for passengers to disembark.

 

 

 

 

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[h20skibum]

We had our breakfast at the HC and got off the ship around 8:00. Princess does have a tour that will take you to climb Diamond Head for $90 each. However, we are doing this on our own, and it would cost us $3.50 each, transportation included. We did this by using The Bus. Oahu has a great bus system, and it is a very inexpensive way to get around. You may get a little more of the local flavor, as this is what many of the residents use to get around. Just do a search online for The Bus, and you will be able to get their bus routes and schedules.

 

When we got off the ship, we walked to the bus stop on S. King Street at the corner of Punchbowl Street. This is a map of the area.

 

 

We stopped for photos at Iolani Palace.

 

 

And photos of the King Kamehameha Statue.

 

 

 

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[h20skibum]

The Bus costs $2.50 per person, exact change. If you are using the bus, ask for a transfer when you first board it. That is what we did, and we used the transfer for our return trip to the ship.

 

If you have the maps app on your phone, you can click on the bus stop icon on the map and get a listing of the bus routes, along with how many minutes until the next bus is expected.

 

 

We got off the bus near the Honolulu Zoo, because we had to stop at an ABC store before we headed toward Daimond Head. DW forgot to pack a sun visor when we left home, so she bought one in Maui. She then forgot to bring that one today, so we had to buy another at the ABC store. To give you an idea of the time involved for our Diamond Head climb, we left the ABC store on Kapahulu Avenue by the zoo at 9:00. We had walked to Diamond Head, did the climb, and were back in front of the zoo by noon. Our walking route to Diamond Head followed Monsarrat Avenue from the zoo, up through the tunnel to Diamond Head State Monument.

 

 

Along our way, we pass the Queen Kapi'olani Gardens which were undergoing some planting updates.

 

 

The Culinary Institute of the Pacific has a nice location on the backside of Diamond Head.

 

 

And we arrive at the Ft. Ruger pathway, which will take us the rest of the way to Diamond Head

 

 

 

 

 

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[blbailey]

Really enjoying this review, we are going on the Grand to Hawaii in April!!!! Super excited as neither of us have been there!!!!

 

 

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[h20skibum]

The sign gives the price for walk-ins, and for various vehicles. To enter and make the climb costs $1.00. Parking is very limited once you enter the crater, and we saw a long line of vehicles in the cue, waiting for a parking spot to open. You may want to consider this if you drive in.

 

 

You enter through a tunnel, which has a narrow walkway delineated for pedestrians.

 

 

Once you enter, you walk along the road, pay your entrance fee and end up at the welcome center.

 

 

The climb of Diamond Head looks pretty easy when you start out, and the trail is paved here. It was 10:04 a.m. when this photo was taken starting out. The sign said the climb up and back down takes 60 to 90 minutes, and we completed ours in 60.

 

 

Then you leave the paved surface, and the trail is a little more uneven.

 

 

 

 

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[h20skibum]

The trail to climb Diamond Head has several switchbacks

 

 

And we see all the people on the trail ahead of us. They look like colorful ants from here.

 

 

You then have the first flight of 74 stairs to climb, and these lead to a 225 foot long tunnel

 

 

And more stairs (99). Some people even carried their kids in their backpacks.

 

 

And some maybe abandoned their kids and just carried their strollers.

 

 

 

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[h20skibum]

Your reward for making the climb is a great view from Koko Head to Barber's Point. These are just a few photos from the summit. The overcast and rain-threatening day we had limited some of the visibility.

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you make it to the top, they will stamp your ticket to signify you completed the climb.

 

 

 

 

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