Tag: hawaii

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Hawai’i and The Pride of America

Our last day was spent in Honolulu, a place that I hope to never visit again. Our hotel, the Hilton Hawai’ian Garden was great, but it could have been anywhere. We did drive to the Northshore, which was pretty, but this was mostly throw away time.

I just want to leave our four loyal readers with a few afterthoughts based upon our trip in general. Given the opportunity, I would take this cruise again, and given the opportunity, I would visit Hawai’i again. That said, I do not think either are trips that I would plan myself. We all had great experiences, but it wasn’t amazing to the point that I am jonesing to go back.

If you are taking this boat specifically, I would recommend not spending the extra money on the upgraded dining experiences. The food was good, but not that much better than the free options. I would recommend upgrading to include the alcohol package. You have to drink a lot each day to make it worthwhile, but it was so much easier to not have to worry about how much we were spending. And, the package included gratuity.

If possible, I would recommend not staying on the 8th floor. There was nothing wrong with our rooms, but the view is obscured a bit by the emergency rafts. I would also recommend bringing magnetic hooks. The bathrooms have very few, but these hooks will stick to the door and make it a lot easier to dry your towels and swimming suits.

I think my single biggest take away would be to recommend skipping any of the included excursions, if at all possible. The much better option for us was renting a car at each port and creating the experiences for yourself. Every rental car pick-up spot was less than a 20 dollar cab ride from the port, and if there are several of you, this is a far more affordable option. We had much more fun driving around ourselves than we did on any of the planned trips.

If you’re on the fence about to see Hawai’i, this cruise is a great option. It certainly isn’t perfect, but there aren’t many better ways to get to all four islands. Everyone was very friendly, everything was very clean and everyone in our group had a great time.

Next up, we have a very brief break before heading up to Maine and Acadia.

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Nawiliwili for the Win – Days 7 and 8

On Day 7, we woke up at a port on Kauia called Nawiliwili and stayed there for two days. This was an amazing part of our trip, with lots a cool sites and some of my favorite experiences. We initially planned a hiking excursion through the boat, but they had to cancel it, so we went out on our own.

We rented a car, for two days this time, and headed out onto the island. Our first stop was a bucket list item for Eileen, to take surfing lessons. We found local guides who offered lessons outside of a great beach near a Sheraton, of all places, that guaranteed that the kids would get up on the board.

This was a great experience, and the guides did not disappoint. Both of the kids got up on their first try, and while it was a lot of work, especially for JR, they both had a great time. We tooled around the beach for a while, then headed back the direction that we’d come. We took the scenic route on the way back, and if you have your own car, this is something I highly recommend. The unplanned parts of the adventure are often the best parts of the trip.

That night, we went to a luau put on the by Norwegian Cruise lines. They roasted a whole pig, had all sorts of performers and put on a fine show. That said, this was probably my least favorite part of the whole trip. I get that a luau is something you ‘have to do’ in Hawai’i, and it is interesting, but I feel like our time could have been much better spent doing almost anything else. Oh, and it was expensive as shit…

The next day, we met up with a company called, Smith’s, that offers multiple Hawai’i-specific adventures (including a luau), for a trip upriver to fern grotto. This grotto is pretty remarkable, with overhanging walls that feature ferns that grow upside down. We enjoyed this tour, and I would definitely do it again, but of the things we did, I wouldn’t put it in my top 10.

That afternoon, we drove up to the Napoli Coast, which is a must see along the coast of Kauai. It is beautiful, and extraordinarily unique to this island. If you have the time, don’t skip out on this.

Nawiliwili was our last stop before heading back to Honolulu, so the best part of our trip had unfortunately come to an end. It was a great trip, and I would recommend it. Stay tuned for one more post about Hawai’i, and what you can do to maximize your stay on this specific boat.

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50/50 – Hawai’i or Bust (Days 1 and 2)

One of the goals of my life has to been to visit all 50 of the great United States. My younger brother Jim has already accomplished this feat, and my father and other two brothers have both hit 48/50. This June, I joined Jim by finally making it to the wonderful island paradise of Hawai’i.

The family and I set out at 5 am from New Orleans, stopped in Denver, stopped in Oakland, and finally made it to Honolulu. For the purposes of readability, I am going to break this vacation into several posts so that I don’t leave anything out.

Getting to Honolulu is no small adventure, and our flights got changed around several times. We finally settled on a Southwest journey that was actually three flights, with a 5+ hour layover in Oakland. While this sounds awful, since we had checked all of our bags through to HNL, we were afforded the opportunity to rent a car and take a quick tour of the bay area.

Our first stop was at a breakfast restaurant in view of the bay called Town’s End Brunch. This, evidently, is a local favorite, and for good reason. Alyson and I both felt that we could have eaten there five or six days in a row and eaten five or six different things. It was great for the kids, the service was fantastic, and the food was wonderful. It was a great way to break up the 17 hour trip.

We completed the circle around the bay by stopping at the Golden Gate Bridge National Recreation Area. We actually visited this locale in an RV a few years ago, but failed to stop at the Visitors Center and stamp our books. We easily rectified that this time around, and the drive across the bridge was clear and beautiful.

The flight from Oakland to Hawai’i was a rough one, but only because it had been such a long day. Due to the time changes, we arrived at 5:30 pm local time and made our way to the Hilton Hawaiian Village. I feel like my least favorite parts of this whole trip were Honolulu and this hotel. There’s nothing wrong with either of them, but it felt like we could have been anywhere. The resort was really nice, but given the choice, I’d skip Honolulu again in the future.

Now, the main reason that I would be willing to skip it is because on Day 2, we were able to visit Pearl Harbor National Memorial. We were lucky enough to get to visit the USS Arizona and the Valor Memorial, which requires tickets that, at times, can be hard to get. That said, we were able to book through the hotel, which while more expensive, guaranteed our spots. I am aware that I just trashed the hotel and Honolulu itself, but there are certainly worthwhile things to do and see.

From here, we boarded the Norwegian Cruise Line ship, Pride of America, and set sail for the rest of the islands. This ship is older and a bit small for a major cruise line, but is the only one that hits the four major islands. The amenities are fine, but the reason to take this cruise is for your time off the boat, not to hang out on board. We ate that night at one of the included restaurants, Liberty, and bedded down as we set sail for Kahalui, Maui.