Our Cruise to Hawaii

One of the things I have come to realize taking a cruise to Hawaii is that the trip is not necessarily about the destination as it is about the cruise.  We left Saturday, January 10th around 5:00 pm from San Diego, California.  We arrived in Hawaii Friday morning, January 16.  Of the 18 days of the trip to Hawaii, only five of them are spent with feet on the ground in Hawaii.  Most of the time of the trip is spent on a ship where there is no land in sight for days on end.

I realized that I had to figure out what to do on a ship for that many days.  I don’t gamble, and with some health issues that Dennis and I may or may not have, drinking alcohol is pretty much gone also.  Those are two big activities on a cruise.  We did get massages the first day at sea.  It was one of the best I have ever had, which is good because they charge way more than I have ever paid on land, not counting the 37% gratuity they automatically add to the bill.  What am I going to do?  Say “no”?  Where else can I get a massage when there is no place to go but into the ocean?  

We are traveling with four other friends, Bob and Sue, and Jeff and Jane.  We never met Jeff and Jane until two days before the trip.  They are friends with Bob and Sue, and they live in Omaha, Nebraska.  Somehow the six of us click together quite well.  We met Bob and Sue about three years ago.  Bob’s son, Ryan and his wife Ashley, came to our garage sale.  Ryan asked us if we liked going to dinner, playing cards, and making new friends.  Yes, to all of that.  He said his dad was a snowbird and he and his wife, Sue, are always looking for new friends to hang with.  Since Ryan and Ashley live about a block from us (and Bob and Sue live each winter in the casita at their home), it was a match made in heaven!  Bob and Sue live in Michigan the rest of the year.

Our flight from Phoenix to San Diego to get to the cruise proved to be more than interesting.  Our flight was to leave Phoenix at 8:30 a.m. on Alaska Airlines.  These flight reservations were made through Holland American Cruise Lines because they promised along with getting us a flight, there would be a shuttle.  At 3:00 am, Dennis got a call from Bob that he had just gotten notice of our flight to San Diego being canceled.  Bob was scrambling on the phone with the cruise line since they made the reservations.  About an hour later, we were told we now had reservations for a Southwest Airline flight later in the morning, and a shuttle would pick us up at the airport.  To say the least, we had little sleep that night! 

This short flight fascinated me because San Diego is approximately 360 miles from Phoenix, but the terrain is ever changing.  I couldn’t stop taking photos as the view kept changing in the 75-minute flight.

On the ship, the six of us met every morning at 9:00 am in the buffet for breakfast.  After breakfast and chatting, we broke up to spend the rest of the morning as we saw fit.  This may have included going to the workout room, the spa for a massage or haircut, swimming in the pool, walking around the deck, or just relaxing.  We got together for lunch at 1:00 pm, but on occasion we got together earlier to play cards.  It was an ongoing card game—Bob supplied the cards, and I brought the score sheet.  

The one thing we did the most was laugh.  Anything can become funny when you are all stuck on a boat together for 6 days in each direction!  We met up for a 6:00 pm dinner either at the buffet or the dining room.  We occasionally took in the 8:00 pm show in the theater, and then we met up at 9:00 pm back in the buffet area where we could find that 6-top round table to continue our card game.  Occasionally one of us couples broke away to have dinner alone to enjoy some special time together. 

Hawaii was lovely.  We stopped at four islands (5 stops).  We took some of the ship sponsored excursions, a non-ship excursion, and going on our own when at port.  It’s a short trip around Hawaii.  There is so much I would have loved to see, but I can’t let the boat sail without me. Of course, Honolulu was the busiest place we stopped.  It’s a bustling city filled with tourists.  Since Dennis had never been to Hawaii, the Pearl Harbor Memorial was a must for this trip along with seeing Waikiki Beach.  

Our worst tour was in Maui where we went to a supposed plantation.  I didn’t see Scarlett O’Hara or Rhett Butler anywhere!  The plantation we saw was not very big or even looked like a working plantation, and we found out we could not purchase any of its fresh fruit as it is not allowed on the ship.  Even though it wasn’t impressive, I was able to take photos that look impressive!

They then took us to an ocean center, otherwise known as an aquarium.  I have been to several aquariums in my life, and this one was not the best one by any means.  Jane and I were trying to make the best of it, but it was tough.  We found a spot to sit where there was a video showing jellyfish on the wall.  We realized it was like watching a movie at home when we were kids—if we held our hand up the shadow of our hand was on the screen.  So, what did we do?  We started making shadow puppets on the wall with the jellyfish.  We thought it was funny, but the couple who sat down near us, took one look at us and left!  That really made us laugh—we felt like silly teenagers again!  

That ship excursion was a disappointment (for the price it cost).  Nevertheless, great photos are always available everywhere!

The next day was a tour of the Hawaii Volcanos National Park.  It was chilly and windy, but we had a really good time.   The volcano was not spewing fire, but it was certainly active with all the steam coming from it.  

I saw a few spots where flowers or fruit was set out as a gift to Pele, the goddess of fire.  I’m thinking that if I was the goddess of fire, fruit and flowers would not be sufficient for my power—leave me your Mercedes or a few diamond rings!

From there we went to the macadamia nut factory.  This part of the tour was a bit disappointing.  When I think of a tour of a factory, I figure I am going to see them process and package these nuts for sale.  Instead, we saw the building of the factory, but we visited a store selling all kinds of different macadamia nuts—chocolate covered, honey roasted, and other crazy flavors.  There was the “Mauna Loa Nature Walk.”  It was a big field with different kinds of plants and trees, including hibiscus, banana, breadfruit tree, ginger tree, sugar cane, among others.  Once again, we learned our lesson, that the ship excursion was a nice tour but not a great tour, and well overpriced and underdelivered.

The following day we arrived in Kona.  Dennis and Bob went snorkeling in the morning.  After their return, we had to be tendered to the land, which means that there is no pier to walk off from the ship, but boats that took us to shore.  We walked around the streets where they had an open market.  It was nice to just get out and see the scenery.  No matter where we landed, there are always great views to photograph.

The following day we arrived in Honolulu.  This time we took a tour with a non-ship company to get us to Pearl Harbor.  There is something beautiful and solemn about visiting this spot where so many young Americans lost their lives that brought the United States into World War 2.  

From there the driver took us to the national cemetery and a few sites to see in the city and then dropped us off at Waikiki Beach where we had lunch, walked the beach, and took an Uber back to the ship.  I wish I could have had a couple days in Honolulu—so many things to see and no time to do so.

After Honolulu, the following day, we went to Kauai.  I thought this island was the most beautiful.  We were on another ship excursion that took us to the Grand Canyon of the Pacific.  Our bus driver, originally from Michigan, was very informative about the area and the history of the island.  This was probably our best ship tour, and one where all six of us were together. On our way to the canyon, we stopped to observe a small blowhole. I’m not sure why but I got some nice photos while there. Watch this video of the blowhole. At the end you will see someone paddling his boat out in the water.

The Grand Canyon of the Pacific, otherwise known as Waimea Canyon, did not disappoint.  The canyon is not as large or deep as the Grand Canyon, but it was beautiful, nonetheless.  What made it distinct was the vegetation.  

On our ride back to the ship, we stopped in the small town of Hanapepe, Kauai where there were food trucks and small eateries to grab a quick lunch.  Dennis saw JoJo’s and they advertised a great hot dog (one of his favorite things), so we walked in.  We ordered two hot dogs and saw they had root beer floats.  The thought of it was so refreshing, we ordered two of them.  The young lady took our order and then informed us that they had only one hot dog left.  Okay, I’ll just eat a bag of chips with my root beer float.  What arrived was a shaved ice root beer float.  When she handed it to me, I asked her what it was, and of course, she said it was a root beer float.  I guess if I go to a shaved ice place, I should know that a root beer float was not really a root beer float.  To add insult to injury, my Hawaiian potato chips stated on the bag, “not a product of Hawaii.”  Interesting place.

After the shore excursion, the next day we took sail for returning to San Diego.  We had more days at sea. The second to last day, was cake day on the ship–that did not disappoint!

Before we could arrive back to San Diego, our ship had to stop at a foreign port.  Yes, that is a rule!  A foreign ship coming in and out of the U.S. must go to a foreign port—not sure why, but it’s a rule.  Our ship stopped in Ensenada, Mexico.  We decided to walk off and explore, but as we did, there were shuttle buses that for $4 round trip they would take us to downtown Ensenada.  Little did we know there is not much to see downtown, or maybe we just walked the wrong direction.  We saw a cute restaurant and ordered lunch.  I asked for an iced tea, and they delivered a version of iced tea that was loaded with sugar.  I told the waiter that I wanted unsweetened iced tea.  My back was to the bar where they had all the beverages.  Jane watched and reported to me that they looked confused and were mixing stuff together.  They finally delivered to me a large glass of red stuff!  I took a sip and there was absolutely no tea in this concoction.  I was not happy, and wanted to give it back, but I was asked by my sweet husband if I was going to be that “ugly American,” you know, the one you can never satisfy.  I chose not to be that.  We had a language barrier, and I didn’t want an argument.  I left it untouched, and as we left, the waiter made a comment to me about wishing we had a nice lunch.  I smiled at him, pointed to the glass of whatever that was, and said, “That is not tea.”  

It was so good to see San Diego the next morning.  Our flight was not canceled, even though our shuttle was.  That was really a good thing.  The shuttle the ship provided was very expensive and the airport is almost literally across the street!  The six of us got an Uber, packed like sardines, rode to the airport for simple flight back home.  

What did I learn from this trip?

1.  I am not a cruise type person.  I don’t gamble, drink, dance, or enjoy redundant theater.
2. If you want to really visit a somewhere, don’t take a cruise. The cruise is the important part of the trip with glimpses of Hawaii.  The best way to see Hawaii is to fly there and rent a car on each island and explore.
3. Most ship excursions are not worth the money.  The good thing about ship excursion is if they are delayed returning to the ship, the ship cannot sail until all excursions arrive back.  On a non-ship excursion, you take the chance of missing your ship and will have to find your own way to the next port to meet up.

Now I want to make it clear that I did not hate the cruise.  It was relaxing, and we had a wonderful time with friends.  Our cruise two years ago from Rome across the Atlantic was beyond amazing.  Only one of the tour excursions on that cruise was below expectations.  Eighteen days was hard to swallow.  By day 12, I wanted to go home!  I love being home.  I missed my puppy, although he was in good hands while we vacationed.  Ashley, the dog sitter, sent me numerous photos of Charlie everyday. What a treat when I would get to a port with cell phone connection to receive the photos.

I like having cellular connection and WIFI.  Do you know how many times I wanted to research something online, but to have WIFI on a ship is crazy in cost so the only connection I had was when we were in each port in Hawaii and in Mexico. I am amazed how I am so used to having an encyclopedia at my fingertips 24/7.

Would I do this again?  Maybe.  I really want to do a cruise that goes through the Panama Canal.  I think that would be an amazing cruise and a great way to get to Florida!  In the meantime, I am happy beyond words to be home.