Blogs from Hawaii, United States, North America - page 9

On Saturday we had to leave the ship, that was okay; but, we had a whole day to kill since our flight was that night. We bought day passes to the Marriott at Waikiki Beach. We were so glad we did. They had 2 nice pools, changing areas and it was right across the street from the beach. Once there they also gave us a Cabana where we could spend the day. We walked on the beach, Pam got in the water, then we just relaxed. Around 5 we took a taxi to the airport, ate, then boarded our flight home. We arrived at RDU around 4:30 in the afternoon. Claire went to pick up a rental car for her trip back to the coast (remember Tom drove her to Raleigh because of his car problems) ... read more

We woke up this morning and got off to an early start for a ship excursion in Kona on the Big Island. Kona does not have a deep-water port so we had to anchor out in the harbor and take a tender into a port for our excursion. They use some of the ship’s lifeboats for the tenders, so now, we can all say we’ve been in a lifeboat. Our excursion was an hour-long tour of the bay and harbor in a glass-bottom boat looking at the corals, fish, and other marine life of the island through crystal clear water. It was hot! After that excursion, the sisters did what we tend to do and made our own excursion around the island. Claire got a great deal on a rental car so off we went to ... read more

We woke up early, what a surprise (eye roll), and decided to go out on the deck and look at the stars. Not only did we see familiar stars, but we also saw shooting stars and the Milky Way. When the sun began to rise, we got dressed and headed to breakfast. We left early to pick up our rental car and tackle the Road to Hana. Susan drove and Claire navigated. The speed limit for the 55 miles we drove to get there varied between 15 and 20 mph. It was hard to even go the speed limit. Hairpin turns, one lane bridges, two lane roads the width of at most one lane, broken pavement, and blind curves were a real challenge. Believe it or not, they had “no passing” signs in places, really?!? It ... read more

4. We’re on our way. Our travel arrangements from hotel to ship all went to plan. Our chauffeur introduced himself as Nikolai and due to the fact that he must have been trained by the KGB in fast, evasive driving, got us to the terminal somewhat quicker than advertised. Being on the Elite loyalty level, we were whisked through check-in and security and were on board having lunch before 1pm. Sailaway was delayed by some three hours as not all the stores had arrived and loaded. Like there isn't already enough food to last a few days, but maybe it was the Captain's favourite chianti order. Talking of the captain (he's Italian, hence the chianti joke), we have seen him around the ship a couple of times already and going by his talks and broadcasts, he's ... read more

Our family had an amazing time in Hawaii (the big island) this past December. We rented a car, explored the island, saw volcanoes, rode horses through valleys, swam with manta rays, and had a blast! At the end of our trip, we had a canceled flight and ended up stuck at a resort for a couple of nights just relaxing and swimming. It was a great (if unexpected) way to end our trip. Andrew and I decided it would be nice to have a vacation at a resort, a place to hang around, swim, and relax. This year, we have a lot of milestones. He and I are both turning 40 this year. We have our 15 year wedding anniversary. Also, Andrew's celebrating 10 years of sobriety. We decided to cancel other, smaller trips we had ... read more