Maui! OMG it is beautiful!

Maui is stunningly beautiful, and the only issue with our travel plan is that we would be there a short two days so we had to pick what we wanted to do.  It was a very tough decision, but I believe we had two of the most perfect days in Maui that we could possibly hope for.  That being said, I will tell you that someday I will go back to Maui and spend a week to see more and enjoy the serene beauty of the island.

The best thing about our travel by Cruise ship is that we went to bed one night and woke up docked at Maui the next morning.  Which was perfect because we were renting a car and spending the first day in Maui driving the road to Hana.  This is an all day 'excursion' if you choose to do this.   When you are doing your research you may see that it will take 2 1/2 hours to do this drive -- be aware that this is with no stops.  And what is the point of that?LOL

Map of the Road to Hana.  

There are several companies that offer tours that will drive you to Hana, but I do recommend you do this yourself in a rental car.  The roads are narrow, but if you take it slow and mind your 'road' manners, you will have a great time.  Road manner tips:  Practice aloha. Give way at one-lane bridges, wave at oncoming motorists, and if the person behind you blinks his lights, let him pass. And don't honk your horn -- in Hawaii, it's considered rude. 

Get an early start -- as early as you can because it will take you the whole day to get there and back.  At 7am we picked up our rental car right down the road from where the ship docks, filled the gas tank up and we were off and driving!  

Driving the rental car

I think a real key to enjoying this drive is to get on the road early before everyone else starts the drive.  And you will encounter many people doing the same drive, but there is so much to see that you get pretty spread out.  

Make sure you have your 'Road Kit' ready.  A driving-tour CD of the Hana Highway is available at  www.maui-info.com/hanatape.html. For more information, visit www.hana-maui.com/highway and www.hanamaui.com.  You can also buy this CD at the gas station or get a map if you like.  

Also take plenty of water, lunch & snacks.  I always bring my small foldable lunch bag and some ziplocks with me when I cruise.  PoA knows that a lot of people will be off ship all day, so at the breakfast buffet they put out sandwich  fixings.  You can make a couple of sandwiches, take some whole fruit and a few muffins or pasties and you are good for the day!  Put a little ice in your ziplock to keep your bag cool and do not forget your towels & snorkel gear. We both wore our swimsuits all day with cover ups.  We were perfectly comfortable and were able to 'dive in' anywhere we wanted to.

You start in Kahului where the cruise ships come in to port.  We had decided that we would pretty much just drive, stop where we wanted, etc.  We knew we wanted to snorkel, see waterfalls, the black sand beaches, but we were going to it at our own pace and stop whenever the mood or scenery compelled us to do so.  You can get on the web and print out an itinerary for this drive very easily.  You should definitely read up on the drive and pick a few 'must see' places for yourselves.  

Most web sites cover the following stops a long the way, so I will not go in to detail but know that it is easy to follow the road and look for the mile markers if you wish to stop in a specific spot:

Garden of Eden & Botanical Arboretum just past mile marker 10
Lower Puokokamoa Falls around mile marker 11
Pau'a Ka'a State Park, just past mile marker 22
Waianapanapa State Park at mile marker 32
Ohe'o Guich mile marker 42
Wailua Falls mile marker 45








We did not go in to the State Parks and there was so much to see along the way, that we just stopped and played where ever we wanted.  Ok, so here are a few pictures of the trip to Hana, these do no begin to show the beauty that is this drive, but I think you will get the idea. 

Thank you to CJS for the fabulous photography!

Sights seen on the Road to Hana!  A lovely fresh fruit stand.  Get a smoothie for the road, they make it fresh for you on the spot!  Behind the fruit stand there was a little path and we found a guy cutting sugar cane for his smoothie stand



When I spoke of narrow roads, this is what I am talking about.  If you drive the whole 52 miles of highway you will come across 59 bridges 46 of which are one lane bridges. Most date back to 1910 and were built by the US Army Corps of Engineers.   The Hana Highway was originally built for sugar plantation workers commuting from Pa'ia to Hana.

 

This waterfall is much taller than it looks in this pic

sometime you have to hike a bit to get to the waterfall

 
 It's hard to describe the beautiful of the various waterfalls. I am trying not to put too many pictures in because I understand they probably start to look alike to the viewer, but I hope this series of snaps give you the idea of the size and how you can hike to them.  Sometimes you do not see them from the road, you have to be 'in the know' of where to turn off.  Tips from other travelers :-)

we just could not get enough of waterfalls

You can see how you might be enchanted by these

I am not sure how many waterfalls there are along this drive, I lost count, but there are many.  Be careful when you pull over.  The roads are narrow and not always a lot of room to park on the side of the road.  Don't block the road to stop and take a picture.  Drive forward until you find a place to park, turn on your flashers and walk back to take the photo.   You will see a fair amount of people doing the same.  One thing I've learned in all my travels is to not be shy and talk to fellow travelers along the way.  Often times they will tell you about places they have seen and how to get there.  I have found many a hidden treasure off of tips from fellow travelers.  

Oh, the water at the base of the fall was so cold & refreshing!

So many waterfalls along the drive.  After a while we had to say enough, and keep going to see the beaches.  But it was hard not to stop at every waterfall!

 The beaches were incredible.  Each one different than the last, black sand, white sand, pinkish red sand.  Fantastic!  

Plenty of places to stop, swim, snorkel, sunbath, each lunch or just sit and enjoy the scenery.  

It was difficult keep ourselves moving forward as each place we stopped seemed to be more  enchanting than the last.

All beaches in Hawaii are public. Some guidebooks document the "keep out" areas and ways past barbed wire fences and locked gates to reach attractions.

Towards the afternoon we finally made it to the town of Hana.  Hana is one of the most isolated communities in Maui, with a population sightly over 1,000 people.   An interesting fact about Hana:  Charles Lindbergh retired there in the 1970's for its isolation and quiet.  He was buried near Hana in 1974.
Unfortunately, by the time we got to Hana, we did not have much time left to explore (too much time spent at waterfalls and beaches along the way!!)  We wanted to be back at the ship by dark, and we knew we would need a minimum of 2.5 hours to get back, so after a short exploration, we turned around and headed back, promising ourselves to return to Hana one day to truly explore.

It took us a little more than the 2.5 hours to drive back, but this was due to a few extra stops along the way back :-)

We had a marvelous & exhausting day.  It was dinner and to bed early because tomorrow we were headed out on a catamaran to snorkel the Molokini Crater!  More on that in my next post.
When in Maui ---
Do this:  Drive the Road to Hana
Stop:      And hike to a waterfall, enjoy the cool pools of water
Find:      Your favorite beach, and swim or snorkel
Take:     Lunch and lots of water

Until next time, safe travels!

Tropical Travel

I have been thinking on what travel adventure I should write about next.  I have spent a lot of time researching about tropical vacations lately as I am planning a trip to Tahiti in April of 2014. I have been to Tahiti before,  However it has been about 12 years, so I will wait until I travel there in 2014 before I blog about it for you. 

I have also been to the Virgin Islands a couple of times, Hawaii & Phuket, Thailand.  But I would like to share with you today my trip to Hawaii as we really enjoyed ourselves immensely and I think the way we planned it worked out great.  So if you are thinking of Hawaii, you might consider the travel plan we put together.

I had never been to Hawaii before.  CJS had, but it had been a long time, more than 20 years, so it would be almost like a brand new adventure for her.  We had 12 days and I wanted to see as much as we could, get plenty of time in for snorkeling and see all the top sites.  AND I wanted to see as many Islands as I could.  Not too demanding of me huh?  After investigating a few different options, CJS came up with the perfect idea -- we need a floating hotel! -- one that would take us to many islands.  Yes, you got it, we went on a cruise ship!  However we tagged on two days on either end and this made the time spent on Oahu perfect.

First we had to do some research on cruises.  What we discovered is that there is only one cruise ship that can sail out of Honolulu and then sail only in the islands and return you to Honolulu.  This is Norwegian's Pride of America.  This cruise ship is the only one that is registered in the USA and has a US crew.  Therefore it gets this special privilege of sailing the islands without having to stop at one international port. Check it out for yourself.  Most cruises will start in LA, Long Beach or San Diego, make a stop in Mexico, then head for Hawaii.  This is a large waste of your time, unless you like to be at sea for several days.  (Which some people love, but not me LOL)  

Here is the 4-1-1 on the Pride of America:

• Passenger Capacity: 2,138 (double occupancy)
• Crew: 940

• 

  this is the route the ship takes starting in Honolulu

  • 8 complimentary dining options, from three-course dining to endless buffets with action stations.
  • Entertainment day & night. stage shows, comedian, dance clubs, bars & lounges, piano bars and live music.
  • Fitness center, sports court, pools, and hot tubs.
  • Youth programs for children ages 3-17.
  •  Room steward and complementary room service.
  • Ports of Call: Honolulu; Maui (Kahului); Hilo; Kona; Kauai
• 
  
Now I am getting a little bit ahead of myself.  Let me tell you about our first two days on land in Hawaii before we boarded the Pride of America. 

For our first two days we stayed at the Edition. (one night and two days actually)  At the time it was part of the Marriott Hotel family, but I am not sure it is any longer.  Anyway, we got a great room there.  

Checking in - interesting front desk!

We arrived in the afternoon, heading straight to the hotel to check in.  What a lovely, unique hotel.  Here are a few pictures of the Edition.  In this case, pictures really do tell the story of this attractive, modern hotel.

Behind the desk close up

Our room

Room decor

And the view from our room...stunning

After checking in, we took a stroll around town, had to stop an pick up a few necessities at the near by mall.  One of the stops we made along our way was the Hilton Hawaiian Village.  It is worth taking a stroll through, the hotel is a city in to itself.  It's like 5 large hotels!  You have to see it to believe it. 

You have probably seen this hotel if you watch Hawaii 5-0.  They go there often on this show, LOL

We walked around quite a bit and took in the area around Waikiki Beach.  It is a beautiful place to stroll and people watch.  

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel.  We enjoyed spectacular fireworks from our room before going to bed.  We kind of thought the fireworks were just for us, as a welcome to Hawaii, but found out later that they have fireworks most nights, oh well, we enjoyed them just the same.

Day 2 it was up and out of the hotel and over to Diamond Head.  I am sure you have heard of Diamond Head - it is a National Park that is Hawaii's most recognized landmark.  Diamond Head is a huge area and very well known for its hiking trails.  The hike is steep and can be strenuous, as you are climbing the whole way - a little less than a mile, but 560 feet up. There are many switchbacks.  There is a trail and a concrete walk way part way up the trail.  Then you come to the steep stairs, when you get to the top, you will head through a 225 foot tunnel.  On the summit, there is the old Fire Control Station built in 1911.  You have to climb through this to get out on to the walk way.  Everyone helps everyone else through this part.  Unless you are young and agile (which I am neither) this is not easy to climb out of. Once you make it to the top, you will see it is worth it.  The stunning postcard view of the shoreline is a must see site.  

See what I mean?  Stunning.  I could have put up 20 pictures from the summit, but it still would not capture how truly beautiful it is.  

After hiking Diamond Head and making are way down again, we were tired and decided some down time at the Edition pool was needed.  We had stored our luggage before we left the hotel, but had our suits handy in our carry on.  We grabbed our stuff, changed and went an hung out at the pool until it was time to board the ship.  Here are some pictures of the pool area at the hotel.  It was the perfect place to relax a little, catch some sun and get in to the Hawaiian 'aloha' mood.  

These to pictures are of the restaurant and bar seating area by the pool and this is where the very famous Coconut Mojito was discovered!  If you've been reading my blog, you have seen this picture...

The lovely green drink in my hand is the Coconut Mojito.  I am not sure of what all they put in this drink, it was blended, very tasty and potent!  Drop by the pool bar and try it for yourself!

While in Honolulu:

Do This:    Hike Diamond Head

Go to:       The Hilton Hawaiian Village 

Drink this: Coconut Mojito

Aloha until next time when we sail for Maui!

Travel Safe!

Cruising Wrap up

Good Sunday Afternoon everyone

Today is wrap up day for the cruise I have been talking about in my last few blogs.  I thought it might be a nice end to this particular journey to talk a little about cruising in general and go over some frequently asked question that I have received.

Assuming that you know where you want to go, the next step is looking at the various ships going to your chosen destination and figuring out what line to sail on.  You'll find a lot of simular itineraries, so you'll need need to narrow it down.  If you have a cruise ship line that you like, start there.


Picking the right cruise ship for your trip.  There are cruise ships of all sizes. Many companies- how does one choose?  From my experience, it helps to know a little about each cruise company.  Many companies have multiple different Cruise Lines, and you may not be aware of it.

For example:
Carnival owns the following lines:  Carnival, Costa, Cunard, Holland American, P&O, Princess, & Seabourn.  Royal Caribbean is the parent company of: Azamara, Celebrity, Pullman, Royal Caribbean & TUI out of Germany.

Cruise ships come in all sizes from Royal Caribbean's  The Oasis of the Seas, is the largest ocean liner in the world. Twenty stories tall and nearly four football fields long, the Royal Caribbean ship can carry 5,400 passengers and 2,165 crew ---- to the Windstar sailing ships that care 148-250 passengers.  There is also the luxury line of smaller ships like Seabourn & Silver Sea's, usually 300-600 passengers.  

Now keep in mind, that the following is simply my opinion based on my personal experiences. And I will tell you up front, that I have not been on every type of cruise line there is, but I have been on a few, so I can tell you what I enjoy.  Here are the lines I have sailed with: Windstar, Celebrity, Holland American, Princess,  Norwegian & AMA Waterways.   

I think Celebrity & Princess have some nice medium size ships that offer great value as well as comfort.  The Celebrity Century carries 1,814 passengers  and their Millennium class ships carry 2158 passengers.  I know that sounds like a lot, but it really isn't.  If you can stay around 2000 passengers or less, that is the size I prefer.  It's like staying in a larger hotel, you do not feel crowded.  I've taken two Celebrity Cruises and I really enjoy their service.

The most recent cruise I took (The Venice to Rome trip I just wrote about) was on the Crown Princess.  Which was just over 3,000 passengers.  I was very concerned about the size, but ended up enjoying it very much.  It never felt crowded, and we had no trouble getting around the ship an off on our shore excursions.  I think Princess does a great job, and I actually have my next cruise booked on the Pacific Princess.  (and the Crown Princess had a fantastic itinerary with 10 stops in 12 days!)

However my favorite cruise line is the Oceania line of vessels.  If you have the opportunity to sail Oceania, go for it!  Their ships are called 'Mid-sized' -- around 650-690 passengers and really one of the best cruising experiences.  They do not have all the 'amenities' of the large ships, (like giant pools and rock climbing) but you will not miss them!  Sailing with Oceania is a delight! Mostly adult, non-smoking ships with friendly sailing companions.  What more can you ask for!

I was also lucky enough to win a Windstar Cruise to the Virgin Islands, and it was beyond wonderful, but I do not kid myself about being able to afford to do a cruise like that ever again!

Once you have your cruise booked (again, I say, go to Vacations to Go to look for your perfect cruise) then you might have some questions about how to prepare for you trip and what to expect.  Here are a couple of items that helped me when I first started cruising.   (if you have any questions, please do leave them for me in comments -- I will do my best to answer you.)

Money:  How much to take? Can I exchange money on the ship?  What about ATM's?  Well, this can get a little complicated if you do not plan ahead.  Yes, you can use ATM's along the way -- find out from your bank before you depart what their fees are for this.  It can be anywhere from a couple of bucks to $8.50!  My plan of attack is to usually take about $100 in USD's, 500-600 in Euro's and the rest I do from ATM's.  Yes it costs to use ATM's, but the convenience is worth it. I order foreign currency from my bank about 2 weeks before I travel.  For places that are not on the Euro, if I am only going to be there for a day, I just get a small amount of local currency from an ATM or use my credit card. 

Using Credit Cards:  Yes, you can use your card, but there are usually fees involved -- call your credit card company to find out.  Also while we are on the subject, let them know your travel dates (and your bank too) so they do not think someone has stolen your card and they block it.  I had this happen to me on my first land based trip to Europe and it was a real bummer!

What to pack?  It varies widely based on where you are going.  Try to keep it to one medium suite case and one carry on.  There is usually plenty of room in your cabin for your clothing, and the suitcases go under your bed.  Most ships have a formal night.  If you like this, take something to wear.  If the thought of getting dressed up in the middle of your trip does not sound like fun - skip it.  You can eat at the buffet in causal clothing, have burgers at the pool or even order room service.

Is there Internet on the ship?  Yes there is, but it is usually really expensive.  I find it less expensive to go in to port and find a Internet cafe (they are everywhere, easy to locate) or if you have an ipad or tablet devise, you can find free wifi everywhere. 

How busy are the ports of call?  This may not be something you've thought of if you have never done a cruise before.  If the port of call is a popular one, you can research how many ships will be in port on the day your ship is there.  When a port is crowded, you can encounter problems & delays when there are several ships in port.  You can find out how many ships are schedule to be in port on any given day by going to www.cruisett.com.

Eating and picking a dinner time:  most times the Cruise line will ask you if you want the late or early seating at dinner.  I always choose the late seating - it's usually 8 pm or 8:15pm.  This does not mean I have to go to the dining room every night.  I can go if I feel like it or I can go to the buffet, or the private restaurant or the pool bar or Room Service.  There are so many choices, do not feel locked in!

I hope my Cruising Blog has been helpful,
until next time, safe travels!