Lindsay Is A Lifetime Member: Hawaii

Showing posts with label Hawaii. Show all posts

1/16/21

January Travel

Travel is still 100% the top thing I’ve really been missing since COVID-19 reared its ugly head changing everything last March. While I have still been able to travel, it looks a lot differently since living amongst a Global Pandemic.

Seven years ago, we visited Hawaii. It was a glorious cruise on NCL’s Pride Of America visiting several ports of call along with some days before and after the cruise in Oahu. I blogged about the travel memory Two Years Ago if you would like to read about it.

I may not strike you as your typical Island Girl, however, this was a really great trip. We almost went back to Hawaii in November on promotional travel which was the plan prior to COVID restrictions that were put in place. I honestly don’t know if we will ever return to Hawaii. When I want to think about a relaxing place to de-stress, I picture a house on an island with all the windows open where we can hear the waves and feel the warm breeze. It is in those moments that I think about Hawaii.

Last year we visited Scottsdale, Arizona which was the first trip for me. Scottsdale in Janurary has the perfect weather and I can absolutely understand why so many retirees “snowbird” therefor the winter. You can sign me up now and save me a spot! Scottsdale is a travel destination we will visit again. Kenyon has a high school friend and his family that live there and my neighbor Trini now owns a second house near there. I would love to take Phoenix for either a girl’s weekend or a couple’s trip. There is so much to see and in Scottsdale and the surrounding areas.

Arizona Living

Arizona Vacation – The First Few Days

Arizona Vacation – The Last Few Days

I was able to enjoy some sunshine and warm(er) temps in Vegas, although I am sad the day we he to leave it will be was in the 70s. I really needed this time to recharge my batteries and spend time with Kenyon. We were last in Vegas in July, which had very noticeable and very sad things missing from our usual visits. I hope my beloved Vegas will bounce back. Recap soon.

1/15/17

Our Cruising Experiences: Alaska, Bahamas, and Hawaii (Soon To Be New England Coast And Eurpoe)

Three years ago was our Hawaiian Vacation and since we are experience freezing temps and a brutal winter, it make me wish I was on vacation in a warmer climate. I read over my Hawaiian blog posts and instead of sharing just those again (I shared them last year) I thought I would share with you the three cruises we have been on. I’m anxious for our fourth cruise in September 2017 and our first River Cruise in September 2018.

All three cruises (and our fourth booked cruise) have been with Norwegian Cruise Lines. I have only been on Norwegian but Kenyon has sailed on Carnival too. What we love most about Norwegian is their Freestyle Cruising philosophy in that you can eat when you want and wherever you want. Unlike other cruise lines, Norwegian isn’t an all-inclusive cruise. There is at least two sit down restaurants and one buffet included in the cost of your cruise and also room service. If you want to dine at some of the other restaurants there is a specialty fee associated with it. This doesn’t bother Kenyon and I one bit and we often make do with the free food offered just fine.

2010: Our first cruise was 7-days to Alaska, including the Inside Passage and Glacier Bay. We sailed in/out of Seattle, WA with Ports of Call: Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, and Victoria, BC. We booked an inside cabin due to the enormous cost of upgrading to a balcony and I do think this was the best idea. We didn’t have to worry about the daylight/sleeping issues and when we wanted to watch the scenery we just found a place on the community deck somewhere along the ship. Sadly, Kenyon was sick on day two and pretty much miserable the entire cruise/vacation. I wasn’t sure if I would ever cruise again but decided to give it another go. I’m glad I did as I love cruising.

Read about or adventures by clicking here <-

Alaska was the best cruise with the easiest ports to get around at. You pretty much could walk off the ship and either be right in town or for just a little farther walk you could get wherever you needed to go. We booked an excursion to Zipline that did require a van ride. Other than that we either just walked around the port and/or paid four our own tours. I did a lot of trip research and made some calls so it all worked out okay. I had THE BEST homemade black bean veggie burger at a bar off the side of a hotel in Victoria, BC and I am dying to get back there and have another.

2012: Our second cruise was to warmer climate and included an upgrade to a balcony room. We sailed for 4-days in/out of Miami, FL to the Bahamas. Ports of Call: Freeport, Nassau, and Great Stirrup Cay (the NCL private island).

Read about or adventures by clicking here <-

We booked a fantastic excursion kayaking down a river in a National Park in Freeport. There wasn’t anything to do off the port in Freeport so you did need to book something for entertainment. In Nassau we decided to just get off the ship and walk around. There is plenty to do but it is very crowded and the locals try desperately to get to you take public transportation (included horse drawn carriages). We booked an excursion to swim with the sting rays at NCL’s private island but the recent events of Hurricane Sandy had made them all escape and they didn’t come back. I was sad we had to miss out but we were able to spot some fish while we snorkeled.

2014: Our third cruise was a 7-day cruise in/out of Oahu, HI to all of the Hawaiian Islands. Ports of Call: Maui (overnight), Kona, Hilo, Kauai (overnight). We booked a balcony upgrade and I highly recommend spending the extra money to do so. 1) It is warm and 2) It is fantastic sitting out on the balcony on the overnight stops where you can just watch the scenery and the people out in the water near the port. It was a great investment.

Read about or adventures by clicking here <-

The one thing I didn’t like about Hawaii that I did about Alaska is that there just isn’t much to explore right off the ship. The small areas like Hilo and Kona had stuff right there but you really do have to book an excursion. We booked our excursions with an outside company called Roberts Hawaii that had a guarantee they would get you to the ship on time or they would refund your cost of the cruise. It also turns out that Roberts Hawaii runs the transportation for the NCL booked excursions so we ended up saving a boatload of money. You never know if you should take a risk on an outside company but if you do, you will save money. Just don’t miss the boat!

Our fourth cruise will be in September 2017 for 7-days in/out of New York City, NY and down the New England coast. We had to re-book from September 2016 and push it out a year with our new house purchase. So, I’m even more excited. We are planning a few days ahead of time in NYC and I had wanted to end the cruise with a few days in Boston. But, I don’t think we will try all that. The cost starts to add up really fast.

Oh vacation…why do you have to be so fun and yet so far away??

1/9/16

Two Years Ago We Were In Hawaii

Two years ago Kenyon and I spent 12 days in Hawaiian on a vacation of a lifetime. We spent a few days on Oahu before boarding the Norwegian Pride of America and taking a 7-day cruise to all the islands. We finished our trip with a few more days in Oahu. I guess I'm feeling a bit nostalgic as we didn't really do much vacationing in 2015. We hope to make up for it in 2016.

If you didn't follow along with my Hawaiian Vacation in 2014, I'm going to repost them all the blog posts here. If you already read about it, sit back and enjoy the refresher.

Aloha!

On the morning we were set to leave Boise, we woke up to snow. I ended up shoveling snow at 1:30am before we headed to the airport for the first leg of our very early flight. You can read about our All Day Of Travel here.

We split our visit to Pearl Harbor into two days. You can read Day One here and Day Two here.

During our stay in Oahu we visited both the Dole Pineapple Plantation and the North Shore. I would love to have a Matsumoto's snow cone right about now. Yummy.

I couldn't get enough of the yummy food in Hawaii. While I never tried spam and eggs, I did enjoy the Portuguese sausage and rice. Every time we visit Original Pancake House in Boise I ask for coconut syrup. I am instantly taken back to our Hawaiian vacation and the amazing coconut syrup. You can read all about the food here.

We boarded the Pride of America and started our 7-day cruise to all of the Hawaiian islands. While this cruise did cost quite a bit, it was worth it to us to get it all in on one vacation. We still agree that it was the best idea and enjoyed it very much. You can read about our ship adventures here and about the entertainment onboard here.

We had four different Ports of Call and spent two days on Maui and two days on Kauai.

Read about Maui here.

Read about Hilo here.

Read about Kona here.

Read about Kauai here.

After we sailed the Hawaiian Islands we had a few more days in Oahu before we headed back to Idaho. You can read about our Final Days In Oahu here.

2/5/14

Hawaii: Final Days In Oahu

Our final days of vacation were low key. We still had several things we wanted to do and several places we wanted to see. There just isn’t enough hours in the day.

After disembarking the Pride of America, we headed to the airport to pick up our rental car. We headed straight to the B&B to unpack and search for a laundromat. There are cruise ships that have laundry facilities but NCL requires you to send your laundry in single bag and it costs a fortune. So instead we went in search of one.

I also had one last taste of Hawaii. We went to Cinnamon’s for breakfast where I had my usual: pancakes with coconut syrup and eggs with Portuguese sausage.

We spent some time doing laundry while I did some blogging. I finally got a photo of a small car and a surf board!

Later we ventured to the mall in downtown Honolulu; yeah traffic is Hawaii isn’t fun, so I could get a package of Hawaiian coffee I fell in love with on our ship. We also shared a pizza at California Pizza Kitchen. The mall was really neat. It was several stories and all outdoors with covered walkways. I have not seen a mall like this since my trip to San Diego when I was in high school.

Our final day in Oahu started bright and early with a hike up Diamond Head. It was about a two mile roundtrip hike that had 99 plus stairs! We got there first thing in the morning, as suggested, but thankfully we missed the Japanese tour groups. They were mostly on their way down as we were headed up.

Kenyon was a rock star! The benefit of hiking in Hawaii is that you start at sea level and go up in elevation. That is waaaaay easier than hiking in Boise. However, it was still a hike and it raised your heart rate.

We killed some time that afternoon by driving back to the North Shore area so I could have one more Matsumoto’s shaved ice. Yum! I will miss that sugary goodness.

While it wasn’t planned to attend a luau on the last night, it ended up that way. It was like squeezing the last bit of Hawaii out of our vacation. I chose Chief’s Luau at Sea Life Park. It was a recommendation from another couple that had recently been to Hawaii. Chief is hilarious! I guess he is known for his cameo on The Amazing Race, but I didn’t watch that season. I really enjoyed his entertainment. The weather was awful. It started raining as soon as we got to North Shore that afternoon and was pouring by the time we got to Sea Life Park. I was not really happy but with it being our last day in Hawaii there wasn't much we could do. When we checked in for our luau the guy told us the weather would change by the time the gates opened. We got lucky! Sure enough it cleared up and made for a beautiful evening.

You actually arrive at the luau at 4:30pm and there is various activities to partake in. I got a “tattoo” and also made some sort of head attire.

When they were unwrapping the pig they had us all gather around to watch. Each layer was removed as Chief explained the process of the pig roasting. As the pig was finally exposed this little boy standing next to me says, "Wow. That is weird." I just laughed and told him it kind of was.

I had to get a photo with a “Hawaiian Fire Dancer” for my friend Shauna. She really wants to marry one of these guys. I found the cutest one of the bunch. His leafy attire stunk though so maybe this one isn’t for Shauna. I also never actually saw him dancing with fire.

The luau was your typical Hawaiian spread that I saw offered at most of the luaus I had researched in advance. This was my only time having pulled pork. It is my favorite dish!

You are also given meal tickets based on which tier you purchase so I had my drink ticket and Kenyon’s. The couple across from us at the table was not drinkers so they gave me their ticket. I think you know already how happy this made me.

The entertainment was neat but since I had recently saw the Polynesian show on our cruise it was the same dances from the same countries. The women in the audience were invited on stage so the two gals sitting near us and myself all took the stage. We did some “booty shaking” and had a good laugh.

Our Hawaiian vacation eventually had to come to an end. We were ready to head for home and be in our own comfy bed again.