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

[h20skibum]

We finished up a little shopping at the Anchor Cove Shopping Center, which was beside Duke's, then walked back to the ship.

 

 

I forgot to mention that this was the last day to get your disembarkation paperwork turned in to guest services. When we received it a couple of nights earlier, I thought "What the heck, we have not even finished one week of a 15 day cruise, and they already want to know about us getting off?" They want to know if you plan to do the walk off with your own luggage; if you have made independent arrangements; your airfare arrangements; and if you want Princess transfers. I guess they wanted to have lead time to make all the arrangements and organize people for disembarkation. We indicated we wanted the Princess transfers.

 

Tonight was another night with Anytime dining for us, and the second night in a row that I didn't get a photo of the menu or food. I must be slipping. Anyhow, we head to the Headliner Showtime tonight with the "Perfect Gentlemen". Their act was billed as a group singing the greatest hits of the 60's and 70's. We stayed for about a half hour before we left, and I think they were still doing 30's and 40's tunes. Maybe the HAL crowd would like them. It looked like they would never get to the 60's or the 70's.

 

We rounded out the day watching and listening to some karaoke, and relaxing in the lounges. Tomorrow will be the last day in Hawaii.

 

 

 

 

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[felicityd]

Following along! This is very helpful, thank you. :)

[cruisinsly]

What a great review! We are going on the Star Princess in early 2019. It will be our first with Princess. Thank you for sharing.

 

 

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[Thermy]

I'm not planning on going on the Grand again or cruising Hawaii any time soon but I'm still finding your review riveting. I love the amount of detail - it makes me feel like I'm there. Please do continue! A cruise to Hawaii in definitely on my to-do list now.

[wilcar71]

Thanks for the review will keep watching and now I can't wait till Oct 29.

[h20skibum]

Monday, May 1

 

Today, we are in Hilo. It will have been a 283 mile ride from Nawiliwili last night. We wake up and do our early morning ritual of lattes and the fitness center. It is raining as we sail along the northeast coast on the approach to Hilo. The rain should not be a surprise, since this is the rainy side of the island. As we get closer to port, the skies begin to clear. We are scheduled to be in port from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

 

The rain behind us.

 

 

Cloudy, but at least no rain ahead as we sail into port

 

 

Mauna Kea is behind us as we make the turn toward the port at 8:30

 

 

I will digress a little bit now. On my prior land trips to the Big Island, I stayed at what was then the Kona Surf Hotel. The rumor was that the hotel was haunted, because it was built on an ancient battleground. Myths and legend abound in Hawaii, especially those that surround sacred grounds and the fire goddess Pele. Although we will not be tracking ghosts today, we will be viewing some of the destruction attributed to Madam Pele. So more to come.

 

 

 

 

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[tiptwo2]

Thank you for the excellent report!

Pam

[TXLinedancer]

I am enjoying viewing the photos. I have not notice if there is a spreadsheet listing activities such as the M&G, Slot Pull, Cabin crawl. RLC dice game/card games and excursions. Diana

[h20skibum]

I am enjoying viewing the photos. I have not notice if there is a spreadsheet listing activities such as the M&G, Slot Pull, Cabin crawl. RLC dice game/card games and excursions. Diana

 

 

You will need to check on your roll call to see if anyone has volunteered to do them. I did see that homesteadmom is keeping an Excel spreadsheet for your Meet and greet. On our cruise, I kept the lists for our Meet and greet, as well as our slot pull and poker run, because I set up the latter two.

 

 

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[HappyCruiserettu]

Great report. Thank you for the effort. Planning similar cruise for Nov 2018 for our anniversary. Used to live in HNL and return often. Have never cruised there though.

[warthog2608]

Excellent review of your cruise, I'm eagerly reading each new post. We've done 3 cruises on the Grand but not Hawaii yet. Spent a week in Maui a few years back and going on a cruise to Hawaii is high on my bucket list. Your review really is a great vicarious experience.

 

 

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[Kenosha Cruiser]

Still following along, I may book a Princess cruise sooner than later. Love your pictures!

 

Cheers - Ken & Darlene

[Gimer]

Ken - Darlene. Yes, Mark does the best photo/review. His review is tight and clean, with out being long winded. Love to see you two on Grand. We'll be on Grand in Oct., Dec. and next March. Stan & Fran..

[h20skibum]

Thanks for everyone's comments. I thought I would get more done yesterday, but the holiday was just too busy. Here are the Patters for the day in Hilo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[h20skibum]

The shopping guide for Hilo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[h20skibum]

And the port guide for Hilo.

 

 

 

At 8:45 we are easing over to the dock.

 

 

I see the Big Island port authority must have had the same $20 sign budget.

 

 

 

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[h20skibum]

In Hilo, we have the Princess "Kilauea Lava Fields, Hawaiian BBQ, & Lagoon Swim", tour ITO-505 booked, and it will take most of our day. It is a small tour, limited to 13 people. Out tour was about a half hour late getting started, as they waited for a family of four from South America to show up. It would be a recurring theme today.

 

The first stop on this tour would be at the Lava Tree State Monument, about a 40 minute drive south of Hilo and just southeast of Pāhoa. A lava flow in 1790 preserved lava molds of tree trunks.

 

 

 

 

There are several large lava cracks, formed due to the flow and cooling of lava. Some, like this one, may be 1,000 foot deep.

 

 

We cross the Kii lava flow of 1955, and some vegetation is starting to establish in the mounds of lava

 

 

Next stop - On to Ahalanui Beach Park

 

 

 

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[dverzic]

I have a question, what kind of music does Extasea play?

 

 

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[h20skibum]

I have a question, what kind of music does Extasea play?

 

 

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They have a wide variety of music they play. Maybe this video that someone compiled would best give you a flavor of what they do. (Note-This video was not from our cruise)

 

 

We enjoyed their playing.

 

 

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[h20skibum]

Ahalanui Beach Park is about a 20 minute drive from the Lava tree park. This is where we would have our lagoon swim. This part natural, part man made Pool is spring fed and volcanically heated to 90 degrees. There were several locals enjoying the pool here. However, when DW saw this sign, she was reluctant to get in

 

 

I didn't see any aggressive eels, but did see a few fish. I guess others were braving the waters also.

 

 

No sandy beaches along this area.

 

 

Next, a stop at the MacKenzie State Recreation Area

 

 

 

 

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[h20skibum]

MacKenzie State Recreation Area was about another 20 minute ride from the lagoon, so it was 1:00 when we arrived here. It didn't have much to offer, except for some unique views of the volcanic cliffs. Here are a few photos.

 

 

 

This is one of my favorites

 

 

From here we would travel to Kaimu Beach Park

 

 

 

 

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[h20skibum]

Kaimu Beach Park is at Kalapana, which was destroyed in a 1990 lava flow. Here we could walk to the shoreline through the lava and black sand.

 

Photos of the black sand beach

 

 

 

There were a couple of interesting displays in the lava flow, possibly from the Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement.

 

 

 

 

 

This is where Madam Pele used her force to push me down into the lava field, possibly trying to place some kind of curse on me. Or, maybe it was that I just slipped and fell to get a bloody leg. I like the first part of the story better. I guess I was in luck that we were near Uncle's Awa Bar so I could get some alcohol for the cuts. It is supposed to be administered internally, right? But then the driver had some to put on externally also.

 

 

While at the beach, we did see people returning lava rocks they had previously taken as souvenirs, and two weeks later we saw this story run.

 

http://www.newser.com/story/242746/tourists-returning-cursed-lava-rocks-to-hawaii-volcano.html?

 

Next - our BBQ

 

 

 

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[h20skibum]

The last part of the tour was a Hawaiian BBQ. We left the Kaimu Beach Park and drove a short distance to the Star of the Sea Painted Church, where our driver would prepare a BBQ meal for us. The church was built in the 1930's and was moved to avoid the advancing lava in the 1990 flow.

 

 

 

The tour made the obligatory stop for shopping at their partner store, before returning to the ship. There was a Hula show going on at the Doubletree Hilton while we waited for the rest of the tour group to finish shopping.

 

 

Was the tour worth $200? No. I would have much rather seen some of the current lava flow, and would have given up the BBQ to do that instead. This tour took you to within a couple miles of the access point to view the current flow, but it did not go there. So if you are looking at tours that may get you close, this is not the one.

 

 

 

 

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[JF - retired RRT]

Was the tour worth $200? No.

Was that $200pp?

[h20skibum]

Was that $200pp?

 

 

That's right, $200 p/p[emoji15]

 

 

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