Being that this was the first time either of us had been to Hawaii we were really wet under the wings. Thanks to some tips from far too many people to mention, we felt like we accomplished as much as we possibly could in the time that we had in Honolulu. This lovely city has enough things to keep one occupied for a week no less 3 days. Do not just bypass this city without taking some time out of your schedule or you will be sorry you did.
Up early Thursday morning for the flights to Hawaii - I hate flying. Three flights and 16 hours later; stocked with a good stash of those little biscuits that Delta gives you we arrived in Hawaii. It was almost dark when we arrived at 7 PM Hawaii time.
We caught a Roberts Bus at the terminal at a cost $8 per person and the bus was comfortable and clean. The trip to the hotel took about 20 minutes. We stayed at the Renaissance Ilikai Waikiki Hotel right by that yacht area where those first scenes from Gilligan's Island were filmed - rather fitting I thought.
We had a real nice view, the room is on the side, but at the front so we can see the ocean, and the town and mountains. We dumped the bags and walked Waikiki beachfront where E bought me lei. During the walk we took note of an Internet café and walked up past the Pink Palace (The Royal Hawaiian). As it was getting on toward 2 am our time we decided to head back to the hotel for some shuteye. E stopped off to get the bus passes for the next day at the ABC store across the street. They were $20 PP for a 4-day pass, which is a bargain as long as you are not in a hurry.
We were up early and did not feel like eating breakfast. We went just across the road from the hotel and got the bus to the Arizona Memorial. By the time we got there it was 9:15 and the first tour we could get on was 11:15. So it pays to be there early. We thought we would be in good shape, but should have got there at least by 8, if not sooner. The hours at the Memorial are 7:30 am to 5:00 pm with the first tour starting at 8 and the last one at 3.
While waiting we went over to the other exhibits in the area. Fortunately there is a lot to look at and time went quickly as we went around the museum. Finally our number was called and we went into the theatre to see the movie of the attack. It had scenes that some people had not seen before. Then we got on the boat to go out to the memorial.
It really hits home when you see it in the daylight, imagining the ship sitting there that morning, and then being attacked. The actual memorial area is nicely done, with a list of names of the fallen inscribed on the wall at the far end. We watched as the oil came up from the wreck. It is as if the blood still seeps out to remind us of those that died for our country.
We then went outside and caught the bus for the "Circle the Island" drive. It actually does not completely circle the Island, as the road does not go all the way around, but cuts back through the Pineapple fields half way around the Island. It was fun being on the bus, but extremely time consuming as the bus makes a LOT of stops.
We finally got hungry, so we bailed off at the little town of Haleiwa on the North shore and ate pizza in Spaghettinis. We sat there watching the world go by sipping on a cold one. The pizza was just being delivered and it was good and in fact E thought it might be as good as NY pizza.
E got up bright and early to take some pictures of the sunrise. On the way back to the room, a guest that was checking out handed him two passes for the breakfast brunch so we went down for it. That brunch costs $17 per person!!! We really enjoyed that meal.
After stuffing ourselves full we went outside the hotel and caught the bus to Diamond Head. It was a long walk in from where the bus drops you, and you walk through a tunnel. When we finally got to where the trail goes to the top, it started to rain lightly at first, which worked out to our benefit as it kept us cool.
The trail in Diamond Head is a mixture of paved path, uneven rock and steps. At the bottom of the first set of steps (99 of them) it really started to pour down. There were two more sets of stairs (43 and 56) so you need to be in reasonable shape for this. You also go through a tunnel, which is not lighted, and on a good day there is a guy there renting flashlights. But on this day he was home staying dry. I had brought one with me so we were the envy of those blundering through in the darkness.
By the time we got to the top of the crater I was soaked and stained from the rust off the railings. We were about to give in and leave when the sky started to clear up and the sun came out. We got some great views and photo shots. In spite of the weather and the steps it was well worth the exhausting hike.
We then caught the bus again heading for the Waimea falls park. We started talking to a couple (Chuck and his significant other) on the bus ride to the North Shore and Waimea Falls. Once we arrived at the bus stop outside the park we walked in and paid our admission of $22.00 PP and used the buy one, get one free coupon out of the discount coupon books available at almost every street corner.
After entering the park we took the little shuttle bus to the dive and falls area. After exiting the bus the sight of COLD Beer caught our eyes so we bought a couple and then I changed into my swimsuit and we all swam in the pool under the falls. The swim area is very clean but rather rocky and the water was definitely cool.
We got up and walked along the beach to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel for breakfast brunch. It was $22 per person--not cheap at all. We sat right next to the railing on the beach, watching the ocean. I went for the pancakes with Macadamia nuts WOW! That did my sugar intake for a month. In spite of the price I think that it is a great thing to do at least once if you get a chance. The view and atmosphere is absolutely breathtaking and what better way to finish off our stay in Honolulu than a breakfast buffet on the beach overlooking Diamond Head?
After breakfast we then walked out through the hotel and went across the way and into the outside lift on the Sheraton Hotel. When you get to the top you are in the bar/lounge that everyone said was a great place to watch the sunset. The views of Diamond Head and Waikiki beach through the picture windows are the best.
We gathered our belongings and headed for checkout. We got a taxi ($8 PP) to the terminal, which is at the Aloha Tower right in town. This concluded our land based portion of the vacation as we were now ready to walk down that lovely gangway all of us Cruise @ddicts dream about.
Although the bus pass is a good value, we would rent a car the next time and use the bus for just around the town. Once you get out of town there are too many stops. It wastes too much of your time and can get frustrating. If you are in a car then you can stop at that cute little places, but, when on the bus, you do not have that option.
Must-Do Recommendations: A stop at the Royal Hawaiian for at least a drink one evening, and also do watch a sunset from the Sheraton right behind. It should be at the top of your list to do. The city of Honolulu has so many sights to see that it requires a few days on its own to explore the town in depth.
We arrived at the Aloha Tower at 11:45 am and paid the porter to check in our bags, which was well worth the expenditure. Since our baggage was already checked we bypassed all the others who were there in a line with their luggage waiting to check in. Check In went smoothly and within 5 minutes we showed our passports, rode the escalators down, and headed through the gangway. All in all, I do not think it took any longer than 10 minutes from the moment our taxi dropped us off until we were setting foot on the ship.
First impressions: The first look at the NCL Star blew us away; it is visually a beautiful ship. First stop was the excursion desk to make sure we had all our excursions for the cruise lined up. We then headed out and explored the ship from bottom to top we went into the spa area and found that it was well laid out. There is a hydrotherapy (thalassotherapy) pool, hot tub and shallow pool.
Our Cabin: Now we had an inside room and it was plenty big enough for both of us. We did think that the closet could have been better laid out. The shower was a plus as it was a good size and had a real shower door so NO sticking shower curtain. They had a pot to make tea or coffee in the room and a small fridge. They have soap and shampoo dispensers in the shower but NO conditioner.
We headed up on deck for the sail away and took the champagne that our Cackler friends had sent to us as a gift. Moet Chandon!! WOW!! It is a beautiful view overlooking the Aloha Tower and its many shops. Usually the place a ship leaves from is less than picture perfect, but this place is wonderful as you are looking at the whole town right there. There were people calling out Bon Voyages to us and doing Hawaiian dances on the quay. What a sendoff.
Today we were signed up for the Volcano National Park tour. We were supposed to go to the park first and then stop in at the Macadamia nut factory on the way back but we had a young woman on the bus that had an upset stomach and we were forever stopping for her to use the facilities. We ended up going to the nut factory first as she was in need of a pit stop as we passed.
Now it was off and up the steep winding road as we climbed up to the top of the volcano. We stopped at the Halemaumau fire pit and the Kilauea Iki Crater before heading for the Thurston Lava Tube. This place was amazing as you go from the moon to a rain forest in just a few minutes. You can see the steam vents everywhere. We walked down a trail surrounded by vegetation and giant ferns. The size of this tube where lava once flowed is amazing.
This was a great tour and one I will remember for a long time.
Back on the ship we went to the Red Lion Pub to grab some food. Now I expected to really enjoy this pub but in fact it was my least favorite place on the ship. According to the menu it states that you can get fish and chips there. Well, we ordered fish and chips and it seemed to throw them into confusion. Take this limey's word for it, they were not worth the wait.
Today is a sea day so we slept late then got our tender tickets for the next day. E went looking for the sunrise and I went to yoga. We met up at the Java café for morning trivia. We won huggies and a beach ball as we finished 1st again. After trivia we went for lunch and then headed out at the pool for a few frozen Thingees. E must have had more than a few as he got pulled into the pool games and won a cooler cup.
We ate dinner in the Versailles Dining room again as this place seemed to be our main staple for evening dining. The meal was not anything special but we certainly were not starving away and figured that there was always the midnight buffet.
For this little stop E had to pay nearly $200 to get a passport in a hurry. We found out at the last moment that you had to have one as the ship went to Fanning Island. (The Passenger Services Act again.) So E is ready to flash this $200 passport and GUESS WHAT? This is the one stop that they do not even require you to show anything but your ship ID let alone a passport.
It was raining so we were not in any hurry to get on the tender. This is a beautiful place; there are no phones, electric, cars, etc. The people there live simple lives. When we set foot on the shore they were in a big ring waiting to sell us the things they had made by hand. Most of it was baskets made of palm fronds and shells and some carvings done in coconut.
Now, NCL had advertised that for $5 you could be on your own private beach with just 200 other cruisers. Well we thought that was bad on a few counts. First I think it is cheap of them to charge for this, and secondly I think that perhaps all that you would see is their beach and not the people and the way they live so we did not do this.
I tried a coconut for $1 where the guy takes a machete and makes a few swings and you have the biggest drinking cup in the world. I did not care too much for the taste of it and that was just as well as I found out later that it is nature's draino juice.
To anyone that wants to see Hawaii thoroughly, I would recommend a land based trip, as long as the Passenger Services Act forces the cruise lines to go outside the US to Fanning Island. This ate up three whole days that could have been spent on the Islands.
We did not get here until 1:30 pm so you can see just how much time it takes to get from Fanning Island back to the Hawaiian Islands. We were booked for the Haleakala Crater tour.
The drive through the small town and countryside was fun and interesting, our driver never stopped talking. As you climb up to the top of the volcano you pass through clouds. It is the first time I have been above the clouds and not in an airplane. The sky was clear blue, and the white clouds lay at our feet. The views are terrific.
On the way back down, we were trying to delay the driver so that we could catch the sunset. We were talking minutes here and could not figure out why he would not stop for the 4 minutes left to sunset. We did get some amazing shots though.
When we returned to the ship it was to find it in darkness. Apparently someone goofed while doing some work on one of the electrical panels so once again my flashlight came in handy. This counted out dining in the dining rooms so we headed up for the buffet.
We are going on the Waimea canyon tour at 8.45, a 5-hour tour. We stopped at far too many stores on this excursion. This bus driver must be getting one heck of a kickback. One of the stops is at a shop that sells the necklaces made out of tiny Niihau shells. When you consider that a dozen shells would fit on your thumbnail, and the most prized are as small as the letter o on this page, you can begin to appreciate their beauty.
Finally we get to the canyon. I saw this canyon in the John Wayne film "Donavan's Reef" and always wanted to see it. It is called the "Grand Canyon" of Hawaii and, although it is a small version, it is beautiful, with all the colors that I saw at the Grand Canyon many years ago. The scenery is beautiful. We took many pictures.
This was a good tour, only spoilt by all the stops at shops. But I guess that some people live to shop. I was amazed at the people getting back on the ship with their Wal-mart bags.
At first we were blown away by the beauty of the ship and all the restaurants and how beautiful they were. It was only after a couple of days that it hits you that the reason that there are no long lines for eating is because there are a lot of restaurants. This is necessary to make Freestyle work and it does work. The downside to this is many of the places that would be nice lounges to sit on other ships are restaurants on this one.
Many of these restaurants were only open for 4 hours a day and sat idle the remainder of the time. In fact that was the problem with the whole atrium. It is pretty, but except for the small Java Café and one small shop that sells everything from postcards to toothpaste there was nothing to keep you in the area. The end result is that this beautiful ship is a floating restaurant.
This ship is filled with beautiful artwork, every set of stairs is a delight, and the placement of mirrors at each end of the landings adds to the enjoyment. All around the promenade deck there are murals on the walls, so at a glance you can see what is inside the doors.
Here is our take on it and we are all different so take our version for what its worth. We wanted to sit with others, but if you ask for a big table then be prepared to wait until the table is at least half full before they take your order. Most of the time we were seated on our own, because if they have started taking orders at a table then they will not place you there.
I miss the traditional seating where you can ask to be with a group. Where when you walk in your waiter knows you and has your drink etc waiting. With Freestyle forget any substitutions or alterations to the menu as what you see is what you get.
Want to know what the conversation is at the table on freestyle?
Monday ... "Hi, I am Jane this is Al, where are you from?"
Tuesday ... "Hi, I am Pat this is Mike, where are you from?"
Wednesday ... "Hi, I am Fred this is Mary, where are you from?"
Freestyle Dining may be the wave of the future for some people, but for us its just not our cup of tea.
Final Thoughts: This was a really great trip. We tried to be honest here with the review, but please do not think that we did not enjoy either the ship or the cruise. It was the trip of a lifetime.
