Friends,
Due to the blueberry work schedule in spring we were not able to leave
the farm for a spring cruise/vacation. So I planned a double cruise for
the off season (Sept/Oct). We first flew to Maui 4 days prior to the
Pride of Aloha's embarkation. Since the ship stayed for two days in
Maui (80% of the passengers board in Honolulu, the rest in Maui), we
had 5 1/2 days to explore Maui rather completely. We stayed the first 4
days at the Peace of Maui, a small family run boarding house. The Peace
of Maui was centrally located and very inexpensive ($55 per night). The
house had 7 rooms plus a full separate house that sleeps six. Although
the rooms did not have private bathrooms, there were 3 separate half
baths and 3 separate shower rooms. A vacant restroom was always
available. Most importantly, the facility had a common kitchen from
which we could prepare my wheat free meals; the living room also had a
computer with high speed Internet access. Tammi and John and their
helper Becky were delightful. The tenants included several Europeans
and a person who was looking for a Maui apartment during her upcoming
therapeutic message schooling. Would we go back to the same place? By
all means! No it isn't on the beach but it is an excellent place from
which to depart each morning to explore the island. Activities in Maui
included 1) sunrise at Haleakala (first day since you wake up early
anyway), 2) several visits to Hookipa Beach to watch the surfers, 3) Iao
State Park, 4) the Road to Hana (an all day drive) that culminated in a
State Park with an excellent black sand beach and crashing waves against
the rough shoreline and a National Park with a waterfall (yes, we did
take a brief swim in Hawaii's most photographed waterfall along the
way), 5) snorkeling about 4 beach access sites as well as "Turtle Town"
and Molokini (boat access), 6) a Luau (the kalua pork and chicken were
the only wheat free meats since others were spiced with soy sauce which
unfortunately is made from wheat), 7) surf lesson (a picture of Diane
is attached for proof!), 8) a 1 1/2 hour timeshare presentation that
paid us $100 plus $25 in savings on other activities--the view was
spectacular, but not worth $35,000 plus $800 per year in maintenance
for one week (when the sales person saw that I was paying $55 per night,
he said, "I'll be back in a couple of minutes." 9) a visit to the
Ocean Center's aquarium. The highlight of Maui? Drum roll please!
The surf lesson!
>From Maui we sailed to Honolulu. With our rental car we went to the
Arizona Memorial, traveled to Diamond Head State Park where we hiked to
the top, and then traveled to the North Shore (known for the big wave
surfing) along the scenic northeast coastal route. We had to call the
rental agency (in Waikiki) to get directions to return the car and bring
the shuttle van back to pick us up. We have decided that the Garmin 350
GPS navigational aid is in our future. From Honolulu we sailed to Kauai
for 1 1/2 days. The first day we drove to the Waimea Canyon, then to
Kilauea Lighthouse (the opposite direction) and finally to Haena State
Park where we hiked 2 of the 11 mile Na Pali Coast Trail. We ran out of
light and energy before hiking the 22 miles (11 each way!). The next
1/2 day we took a helicopter ride over viewing the entire island. I
choose InterIsland Helicopter since they fly with the doors removed. I
highly recommend this flight. (You do have seat belts.) With doors
off, there is nothing to obscure your vision and you have wind in your
face which helps prevent motion sickness. This was the highlight of
Kauai (pronounced Ka-wa-he much like Hawaii). The next day we sailed to
Hilo on the Big Island where we took our rental car to Hawaii Volcano
National Park and hiked toward but not all the way to the lava flowing
into the ocean. At night we sailed to this sight where you could see
the red lava flowing down the mountain and rolling into the sea. The
ship stayed for about 40 minutes and pulled a 360 so that all could
see. Our last port day was on the west side of the Big Island, the city
of Kona. We used a rental car to travel north to Pololu lookout and
then south to Honaunau Beach to snorkel.
Obviously this was a very port intensive cruise; there was only a 1/2
day sea day when sailing from Kauai to the Big Island. NCL's American
flagged ship Pride of Aloha served as our hotel and breakfast/dinner
restaurant. Entertainment was provided each night; either a production
show, a comedian or a magician. While some would complain of the
American service (as opposed to the international crew of foreign
flagged ships), I found that the crew really tried pretty hard. E.g. I
overheard one passenger ask a cook to "burn some bacon" and the cook
obliged as if it were an everyday request. (The bacon on the food line
was adequately cooked by most people's standards but not crisp.) We did
notice that many of the workers were not yet up to speed on what was
going on. Contracts were usually only 5 months (6 to 9 months is
standard on a foreign flagged ship); I had the impression that many
didn't renew their contracts--they had seen Hawaii and were ready to
move on with life. The waiters were very good with my wheat free diet.
NCL has Freestyle dining which means you don't have an assigned time or
table. Due to my diet I always asked for the same waiter and I
explained why. The waiter would take the menu to the chef who would
cross off the forbidden items. I then order two entrees, one fish and
one chicken or beef. NCL definitely has to cut some corners since it
pays US taxes on the employees as well as on its profits--and NO casino
to help pay the way!) We noticed there were no flowers on the dinning
tables; no fillet of mignon or beef wellington (unless you went to a
service charge, specialty restaurant).
In overview, Hawaii is a land of contrasts. Not only is each island
somewhat different but each island also has dramatically different areas
of its own. Some places are lush but others are desert like or filled
with bare volcanic rock.
About a week after we came home the earthquake hit the Big Island (Kona
mostly). We were home for 10 days and then flew to FL prior to a
Southern Caribbean cruise on the Sun Princess. The first full day was
spent at EPCOT (actually we spent an 1 1/2 hours doing another time
share presentation before going to EPCOT to get reduced ticket prices).
We have had our fill of timeshare presentations for the next couple of
years. Then we drove our rental car to Ft. Lauderdale where we took a
river cruise of the multi million dollar homes built along the New River
and intra coastal waterways. The next day prior to embarking the Sun we
visited Butterfly World heralded as FL's number one tourist attraction
for good reason. The park raises all its own butterflies which only
live about 10 days--yet there are thousands fluttering about seeming to
dance to the quiet music. It also has hummingbirds and colorful
lorikeets and macaws.
The Sun visited Antigua, St. Lucia, Grenada, Martinique, St. Thomas and
Princess Cays after 2 sea days (and one sea day between St. Thomas and
Princess Cays). The service on the Sun has dramatically improved since
Nov 1, 2003 when Personal Choice Dinning was first introduced. The menu
had "always available" fillet mignon, breast of chicken, salmon for
entrees. Prime rib was served twice; lobster once. The first night
dessert included a flourless chocolate cake; I have requested the recipe
from princess.com and will pass it along later. The dinning room food
was excellent; the buffet line food was normally very good. On the
buffet line I always asked the chef if there was flour in the various
dishes. One corrected me by stating, "You need to ask not only about
flour but also soy sauce" (since Kikoman is wheat based). Most days I
had several choices of entrees from the buffet line; most days they were
excellent--especially the fish and the Virgina ham. The high light of
this cruise for us was not on any of the stated ports. From St. Thomas
we took a ferry to St. John. The cab dispatcher correctly described St.
John as Gilligan's Island due to its pristine, undeveloped beauty. Here
we rented a car and drove most every road on the small island which is
80% National Park. St John's beauty evokes my preconceived idea of what
Hawaii should have been like (and was in places but not all). On two
occasions we drove into a new "housing development." Don't think
subdivision--think beach view mansions built on top of a mountain.
Think multi-million dollar lots with priceless views. Most of the homes
had not yet been completed. When the homes are completed, I suspect
that the road will be gated.
Princess Cays offered excellent snorkeling with many types of coral.
The island had sailboat rentals, banana boat rides, and aqua-bikes. Our
British table mates had signed up for an "Aqua-bike" assuming that it
meant a jet ski. Were they in for a surprise! Pedal power wasn't Mark
or Trish's idea of an aqua-bike. It made for a good laugh that night at
dinner. (Even better than, "Why do you Americans call it the WORLD
Series?"). We really enjoyed all of our table mates. Princess has the
option of traditional seating, at a specific time and table or anytime
dining. We choose traditional since you get to know your regular table
mates (and it helps to deal with the same waiter for my GF needs).
In Martinique we were very brave or foolish--we rented a car in a
country that speaks primarily French. All went well until we had to
return the car full of gas in time to catch the ferry back to the ship.
No one could tell us the location of a gas/petrol/fuel station because
they didn't understand English. Prior to that problem we enjoyed
driving along the coast line stopping at most of the beaches. Since we
had planned on snorkeling we didn't take the camera. The highlight was
the Rock of Diamont which was used to mount cannons to protect the land
during battle. I've found 2 web photos; neither do it complete justice
but they give you an idea.
In summary, at each port in Hawaii I had lined up a rental car.
Shuttles to and from the ship to the rental agency worked well. We
often saw twice as much and paid 1/2 as much as those who took ship
sponsored tours. If I do it again, I will only make a couple of
changes. One, I'll wait until NCL offers free air from Los Angles (I
used our $1000 AA vouchers from last years voluntary bump to get us to
Maui 4 days prior to the cruise). Two, I will go to Los Angles a few
days early; tour CA digesting 3 hours of the time change before flying
to Hawaii (another 3 hour time change). Three, once there I would be
tempted to do two back to back NCL cruises; this would give you twice
the time at each port albeit on separate days (except your start and
finish port of call).
In the Caribbean we only rented a car in Martinique and St. John. In
retrospect we should have rented in St. Lucia as well. I am at home
behind the wheel--even in strange places--even if they drive on the
wrong side of the road (left). The rented vehicle provides a place to
hide your valuables while you snorkel; it is also air conditioned to
cool you down after a hike.
We did happen to learn why the British drive on the left; a fact we
shared with our British table mates. In the old days it was common
practice for horses to pass on the left so that you could draw your
weapon to protect yourself with your right hand.
>From some trivia show I heard that there are three sports that are
required to be played right handed. Unfortunately, I've forgotten all
but one. Polo must be played right handed since1975 for safety
reasons. I suspect that joisting must be done right handed for the
reason stated above--I don't know if this is considered one of the three
"sports." Anyone know the other 2?
Well, this has run long but I assure you that Diane's travel diary is
even longer since it has descriptions of the various shows and other
observations.
Hope everyone is doing well and we look forward to talking with you in
the near future.
In Christ,
Dale & Diane
