Hawaii - March 2009

DebbieandJerry · April 2, 2009

FREE Wal-Mart and Hilo Hattie buses at every port.

HILO: FRIDAY. Already did the volcano tour the last time so this time we walked from the pier to the Japanese Gardens and Coconut Island. Didn't get to see any turtles on Coconut Island. Really wanted to go to Akika Falls. Everyone who went said it was fabulous. Perhaps next time. Some folks went to the Macademia Nut farm. Said the best thing was the ice-cream. Very easy place to use public transportation and/or taxis.

KONA: SATURDAY. Went online and signed up for Captain Zodiac. Same exact excursion that the ship offered for less than half the price. Tendered stop. Lots of folks had problems navigating the steep steps (even though they were warned). Easy place to walk around. GREAT outdoor market where we got 100% Kona coffee for a great price. Beautiful fruit and flowers. Not able to buy any because we weren't able to bring them on the ship. Didn't see any dolphins or whales this time. Loved the Zodiac ride. Again, very easy place to walk around.

OAHU: SUNDAY. We had rented a car but the car rental place went out of business. Never thought to double check before we left. Only had a courtesy hold so no problem with being charged for something we didn't use. Ended up taking public transportation. Island Tour on their city bus. $2/person with one free transfer. Can get on and off as much as you like. Didn't stop at the Dole Plantation because the parking lot was jammed packed. Polyenesian Cultural Center not open on Sunday. Already did Pearl Harbor as well as Diamond Head. Went to North Shore. Oh my. Stopped at our favorite Macademia Nut farm and headed back to the ship. Entire bus ride takes 4-hours. We pretty much used up all of the day light with our comings/goings. One of our favorite malls was also on the stop so off we went. Just walked around it quickly and walked back to the ship.

MAUI: MONDAY AND TUESDAY. Another tender port. (Gotta love the tenders). Lots and lots of whales in Maui. Signed up for a zodiac whale watch online (Captain Steve's Whale Watching). Again, much cheaper than the ship's excursions. We were up close and personal with the whales. I was clicking away on the camera (35 mm). Got back to the cabin and realized that the film NEVER advanced so no pictures were actually taken. Had met a number of folks on our zodiac who did take pictures so I'm sure I'll get at least one. Spent Monday walking around Maui, walking the beach, just enjoying the city. Monday night the ship had it's luau and drummers/dancers so we did that. (Had already done a luau the last cruise to Hawaii). The free Hilo Hattie's bus took you to their mall as well as Hilo Hatties. They also had another free bus that took you to the hotels and beaches as well as to another mall. I had wanted to go to Up Country and see the Lavender Farms. Jerry didn't seem too thrilled about that and didn't jump up and down to take the Road to Hana, so we pretty much hung back.

Encinada: SUNDAY. Got there at 7pm (already dark). We got off because Jerry wanted to see if they had the type of cigarettes he smokes. Could have gotten them on the ship for $4.50/pack. So it cost us $2/person to get to their town; $2.16 for the cigarettes and $1/person to get back to the ship. You figure out the math!

JoeyandDavid · April 2, 2009

Encinada: SUNDAY. Got there at 7pm (already dark). We got off because Jerry wanted to see if they had the type of cigarettes he smokes. Could have gotten them on the ship for $4.50/pack. So it cost us $2/person to get to their town; $2.16 for the cigarettes and $1/person to get back to the ship. You figure out the math!

:cool2: