Mandymouse's 'Legend'ary Trip Report

[mandymouse]

Saturday 17th September


Now I love a nice relaxing day at sea, but 4 in a row is starting to wear a bit thin. I like a couple of seas days to get the cruise started, and one in between ports of call, but now onto our 4th day, I wanted to go exploring !!! plus I was finding all this eating, drinking, sunbathing and chilling exhausting I was always tired !!


Anyway I slept very well. I was awake around 5.30am and did my usual catch up with my trippy before getting up and getting ready for our morning jaunt around deck 10. Once I was ready I went off to put some laundry on while Paul got himself ready


We made our way up to deck 10, the doors opened and we were met by rain, and quite heavy rain it was too. Paul had the not-so-smart idea of going to the gym (ugh!), but thankfully all the treadmills were taken, so we decided to head down to deck 3 instead. This deck is slightly shorter than the normal running track, and only 80% under cover and once you get to the forward doors you have to cut across inside, but we gave it a go


So we enjoyed our run/fast walk, and it was a lot hotter doing it down on this deck, so between the heat and rain, my hair looked like it was being sponsored by the Hair Bear Bunch While jogging there was this lovely rainbow, just please ignore the hair

I left Paul on deck 3 while I went to sort my washing out. I put a few things in the dryer and dropped the rest back at the room, then met up with Paul for our morning coffee on deck 2


After our coffee then retrieving my washing, we got showered and ready for the day. It was Sheila's birthday today so I took her card and present up to deck 9 where we all tended to meet up at various times in the morning. We sat chatting to Sheila & Pete and the rain was still coming down


We had some breakfast, fruit and a few items from the cooked breakfast station (I'd just like to point out, that breakfast buffets aren't always everyone's cup of tea, but all the food at the various buffets was always piping hot, up to now I hadn't been disappointed with the food here)


We caught up with the girls and after an hour or so the rain stopped so we found some loungers up on deck 10 and enjoyed the just under an hour of sun before it began to rain again, and it pretty much stayed that way for the rest of the day


On sea days in the rain there's not much to do other than eat & drink! We had some lunch of grilled ham & cheese sandwiches and fruit then dropped our towels back at the room. We wandered around the shops, didn't see anything we wanted then Paul had the bright idea of having a Mimosa or two, so we headed to the adult area of the ship called Serenity and enjoyed a couple while the rain poured down

The day really got away from us today. We had a couple of drinks in the Red Frog Pub. We really like this bar, it has a fun atmosphere and there's always music on, but for some reason they keep using it as a venue for stupid games. Yes it's great that crowds of people come in to play bean bag tossing or throw the ring around the bottle, but the poor staff are frustrated that no-one buys a drink while they’re in there. I think the worst was the Ukulele lessons, where people were busy using their hands to play the instrument rather than lifting a beverage, sadly these events usually made me and Paul move on elsewhere, which today was the casino. Paul's luck came crashing down today over an afternoon and evening session where he lost the $100 he had made over the previous days .. oops


Our group met up in the casino, and we enjoyed a few hours chatting and at one stage free drinks were brought round as it was the Hawaiian party this evening


I'd like to point out that Paul & I had pre-paid for the drinks package for this cruise. It gave us 15 alcoholic drinks, speciality coffee and soft drinks a day. It was $49.95 each per day which also included a 15% tip, and you had to wait 5 minutes between ordering drinks. Although we didn't come anywhere close to having 15 drinks a day, we still thought it was great value and it was good to have it paid and out of the way before our cruise


Anyway I'll get to why I wrote that in a mo. So around 6.15pm we all agreed to meet outside Sheila & Pete's room at 7 to go to dinner for her birthday

Tonight we were all really flagging, there was an Hawaiian Deck Party at 10.30pm and it didn't look like many of us would make it. We yawned our way through dinner and a cake that Bex had arranged was brought out

After dinner we went back to the casino, and at one point Paul pointed out that the bar tender had said that we were on 13 drinks for today, I had to then fill him in that during his casino playing I had been buying a few drinks for the others, though not making it too obvious

The Deck Party was in full swing when we got to Deck 10, and yes it was still raining but the ship has a cover for the mid deck, and for the first time this cruise I saw how popular this cruise was. The party dances started, but then they did a very long explanation of a hula dance and I'd had enough and left for bed .. Zzzzz


Tomorrow ~ Yet Another Day at Sea (#5)

 

[mandymouse]

Sunday 18th September


I slept really well, dozing till 6.30 which wasn't bad as the clocks went back yet again another hour last night. I finished off my trip report and about 7.15am got ready for a bit of exercise


Once exiting onto deck 10 we were hit by warm sunshine YAY !!


It was quite hard work fast walking around the deck with the heat, but we did our usual 1/2 an hour, though with it being so nice so early it was busy with people sorting out their loungers for the day


After our jaunt we headed down to deck 2 for our lattes, then we had a shower and sorted ourselves out for a sunbathe. We dropped our towels off and then grabbed a quick breakfast, fruit for us both and 1/2 a bowl of roasted potatoes for me (Mmm, these are just so tasty )


We enjoyed a good hour on deck 10, but had to head down to the buffet deck when there was a shower. The rain only lasted 1/2 an hour, just long enough for us to share a cheeseburger and fries then we were back laying in the sunshine


When we'd had enough sun we popped down to Serenity and enjoyed a couple of Mimosas's


We dropped our towels and things back at our room and I wanted to wander around deck 2 and 3 to take some photos. When we reached the Atrium a Michael Jackson Thriller dance class was on, and as some of our group were taking part, I joined in too, it really was lots of fun, though I was hopeless

We carried on with our photo tour and ended up at our fave pub and it's fun staff

After a couple of drinkies we went back to the room to get ready for the Captain's Cocktail Party. Sheila & Pete, and Rachel & Steve were planning on going to the buffet tonight, but the rest of decided to get ready for another dress-up night

We checked in at the restaurant podium and were given a pager, which gave us time to grab a drink in the bar next door, but we didn't have long to wait. Once again the food tonight was good, I fancied a change from all the steak and chicken I'd had recently, so opted for the cream of broccoli soup, followed by a dish that was a puff pastry case filled with various vegetables in a cheese sauce, it really made a nice change


After dinner we changed into something more casual and met up with some of the others in the casino. Paul & Pete had a quick go at the roulette table then we sat chilling for a while. Tonight there was an 80's night at Medusa's Lair (the nightclub) and I was determined to get them in there. Well I think we lasted about 30/40 minutes as the music was terrible and the DJ didn't seem to get the hint that when no-one was dancing, just change the music


The evening finished off with me, Paul & Kerry in the Red Frog pub, then we called it a night


Tomorrow ~ The first island .. Hilo

 

[ukintheus]

Great pics of the ship Mandy, I've been patiently waiting for them - I began to wonder if Paul wasn't in the photo taking mood this time around! Didn't you just love the drink package? We really liked the fact that it was all paid for ahead of time and you didn't have to worry about what you were ordering. It sounds like the weather was a big hit and miss, but you can't help that, and it still looks like you are topping up your tan nicely. Can't wait to read about Hilo.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

I've never been on a cruise so it's great to see all your pictures of the different areas. I can't believe they have laundry rooms too, they must have to carry a lot of water! I take it they fill up at each port?

 

[mandymouse]

Great pics of the ship Mandy, I've been patiently waiting for them - I began to wonder if Paul wasn't in the photo taking mood this time around! Didn't you just love the drink package? We really liked the fact that it was all paid for ahead of time and you didn't have to worry about what you were ordering. It sounds like the weather was a big hit and miss, but you can't help that, and it still looks like you are topping up your tan nicely. Can't wait to read about Hilo.

We loved the drinks package Jenny It was great to not have that huge alcohol bill at the end of the cruise (lol)

I've never been on a cruise so it's great to see all your pictures of the different areas. I can't believe they have laundry rooms too, they must have to carry a lot of water! I take it they fill up at each port?

Thanks hun

 

[mandymouse]

Monday 19th September


Once again I slept well and woke around 6ish. I was very excited as today we would be disembarking onto our first island, and I was looking forward to finally walking straight


We showered and headed down to deck 2 for our morning lattes, then grabbed some breakfast from the Lido buffet


We watched from deck 11 as we sailed into Hilo and Paul used his Go-Pro to do a time lapse of it

Hilo is a very industrial port, so not exactly pretty, so once we disembarked we lined up for the Thrifty shuttle bus to take us to the airport to hire a car. The line was already very busy and the shuttle wasn't in sight, so Paul and Kerry got a taxi to the airport and we were going to get the free Wal-Mart bus and they'd pick us up there (by the way Sheila & Pete had gone on an excursion). Unfortunately the bus just pulled out and as the next bus wasn't for 1/2 an hour we took a cab to Wal-Mart. It didn't take long for Kerry & Paul to catch up with us, and while we waited we did some souvenir shopping


We all piled into the car and our first stop was the National Volcano Center which was about 1/2 an hour away. It cost $20 per vehicle to get in and we drove round to the various stop off points to take photos, it was pretty cool

Our next stop was Rainbow Falls, which was a beautiful waterfall which had lovely views and was free, once again we had a good look round and climbed the steep steps to get some lovely photos

By now it was about 2ish and everyone wanted something to eat. We drove through Hilo City but ended back at the retail park where Wal-Mart was and found a little diner there. The food was really nice and it was good to try somewhere different other than the KFC or Starbucks that were close by


Paul dropped the kiddos back at the port and we took the car back to the airport, we caught the shuttle back to the port and just chilled on a now cloudy deck 10. The kids were now in the hot tub, so we ordered a Mimosa till it began to rain. It was nice sitting there in the warm drizzle, but once it got too heavy we retreated to the Serenity Bar for another Mimosa

We watched as the Legend departed from Hilo, what a lovely day it had been, and we were already looking forward to Kona tomorrow

As we had eaten quite late on Hilo, we didn't bother going to dinner tonight. We just had a light meal at the Lido buffet, which had a delicious Biriyani on. We had a drink at the Red Frog pub, then headed up to deck 10 as the Captain had informed us beforehand that at 10pm we would passing a volcano lava flow into the sea. Wow! It was amazing how close to land we were sailing and seeing this sight (sorry the photos really don’t do it justice)

We had one last drink in the casino, I couldn't resist having a Lava Flow to celebrate what I'd seen, it was nice, just a little too sweet, then after a quick go at the roulette table we headed to bed

Tomorrow ~ Kona

 

[ukintheus]

What a great day Mandy, and so nice to be able to get a hire car and do it all at your own pace. Good idea whoever thought of that! It all looks really lovely and the lava flow at night was the icing on the cake.

 

[Jets fan]

Absolutely brilliant photos Mandy. There are some lovely ones of you and Paul.

Tina

 

[mandymouse]

What a great day Mandy, and so nice to be able to get a hire car and do it all at your own pace. Good idea whoever thought of that! It all looks really lovely and the lava flow at night was the icing on the cake.

Our girls had hired a car when they went a couple of years ago, so it was always going to be our plan It really was a great day

Absolutely brilliant photos Mandy. There are some lovely ones of you and Paul.

Tina

Thank you Tina

 

[mandymouse]

Tuesday 20th September



I woke just after 6.30am which I think was the latest I'd woken up this trip yay! I showered etc then grabbed a latte for me while Paul got ready

Now in the Fun Times it suggested that as it was a tender port, to not get your disembarkation number till you were ready to leave the ship. So other than Pete & Sheila who were on an excursion, the rest of us would meet outside Rachel's room at 8.30am and head to the Lido deck to get our numbers



So we joined the short line and were given number 5. We then went down to deck 3 near the atrium to sit and wait for our number to be called. Well to say it was a farce was an understatement. After 2 hours of sitting there, we moved closer to the stairs that would take us down to the deck where we'd be joining the tenders



The poor girl holding us by the stairs and listening to the walkie-talkie was so apologetic and exhausted by the constant comments, thankfully none were aimed at her personally, but it was unbelievably chaotic



Our number was finally called just before 11!!! We went down the stairs to join yet another line and 15 minutes later we were on a lifeboat that was being used for tendering us to the island. We finally stepped onto Kona at 11.25am. Like I said, we were number 5, I saw numbers up to 19 and I heard 22 mentioned, so I dread to think what time those people got off, especially as the last tender back was at 4.15pm



Anyway we put the sorry episode behind us and wandered the little streets checking out the cute souvenir shops and taking photos along the way

We ended up at Bubba Gump's for lunch where me and Paul shared some garlic bread and frazzled onions, I had some delicious fish and chips and enjoyed a couple of Starboard Sunrise cocktails. Everyone enjoyed their lunch, then we split off and did our own thing for a couple of hours

We took the tender back to the ship around 2.45pm and lay out on deck 10 for a while, then watched a lovely sunset as we left Kona. We enjoyed a couple of Mimosas's while chatting to a couple from the UK only to find the woman originally lived in the next town to us

Paul's leaving Kona GoPro timelapse video

As we weren't particularly hungry tonight, we decided to have something small from the Lido buffet again. There was a yummy vegetable jalfrazi on tonight so I had that



Later in the evening Paul went on the roulette table (I think he's addicted to this now ) and had a lucky streak with coming away with $120



We said goodnight to Kerry and Bex who went off to bed (lame !!) and once gain that left just Paul and me out late tonight



In the night club at 10pm there was a Michael Jackson hour that I really wanted to go to. We were shaking our body down to the ground when Rachel & Steve joined us (they'd had a nap and had set the alarm for the MJ hour )



We had a fun evening dancing and having a laugh, then we said goodnight at 12.40am. The ship was pretty quiet by now, so it was off to bed for us too



Tomorrow ~ Kauai

 

[ukintheus]

Lovely photos! Thank goodness you didn't have anything planned that day - what a huge pain in the backside that whole tender fiasco was - it would have been really annoying if you were trying to get off to do something at a specific time. It sounds like it was a relaxing day though, so I suppose that's something. No photos of the Michael Jackson moves? LOL

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

The islands look beautiful, the waterfall from yesterday and today's pictures are really good.

 

[mandymouse]

Lovely photos! Thank goodness you didn't have anything planned that day - what a huge pain in the backside that whole tender fiasco was - it would have been really annoying if you were trying to get off to do something at a specific time. It sounds like it was a relaxing day though, so I suppose that's something. No photos of the Michael Jackson moves? LOL

Even the people with excursions were running very late, it really was a farce. Haha, thankfully there aren't any photos from the MJ disco

The islands look beautiful, the waterfall from yesterday and today's pictures are really good.

Aww, thanks Samantha

 

[mandymouse]

Wednesday 21st September


I woke at 6.45am with a thick head. Our plan before disembarking was to have a run and let everyone leave the ship and just take our time, but as I type this I really don't fancy ANY exercise ... someone get me a coffee ... Now !! ... Please !!


Paul woke just before 8am and thankfully as the decks would be too busy with watching the ship dock, we gave our run a miss ... Phew!!


We were planning on having an early sunbathe onboard before it got too hot. Most of our group had an excursion, and we arranged to meet them at the beach for some lunch later on, so we were going to chill for a while then leisurely disembark once the crowds had gone


So we grabbed a couple of lattes from Michelle at the coffee bar (I'm going to miss her coffees and the little messages she writes on the lids each day), we then had a bit of breakfast, I had some poached eggs on toast and some delish vegetable scrambled eggs (scrambled eggs mixed with peppers, onions and mushrooms Mmm) and we sat watching the crew decorating around the lido deck with towel animals

We pretty much had deck 10 to ourselves and sat out in the sun till about 11am then we got ready to disembark onto the island


It was only a 5/10 minute walk into the town. It was lovely, full of cute souvenir shops, bars and restaurants. We had a good look round then ended up by the beach next to the Marriott Hotel. It was so nice, with grass leading up to the beach where there were surfers out. It was a lovely, relaxing sight. After walking the length of the beach we sat on the grass for a while

Now I’m only adding this next paragraph as it was the most bizarre moment to happen that day, but I only wanted to add it as I don’t want to forget about it happening .. it was bizarre yet hilarious too. Well you know when your cruising there's always that person or couple that are downright miserable whenever you see them. Well there was this one woman that I had seen at the casino, she always had a right face on her and it seemed she had left her manners in Vancouver. I only noticed her as she would hand her chips to the attendant at the table and seemed incapable of doing anything for herself, or thanking anyone, and the only time I saw her crack a smile was when she'd lost all her money at the roulette table and was trying to get more money out of her husband (which he didn’t give ). Well today we had only sat down on the grass a few moments when she must have just sat next to Paul, and I mean right next to him, when there were lots of other places to sit. I had lay down to sunbathe so hadn’t noticed her. Paul was trying to spray some suntan lotion on himself when there was a bit of a commotion. Well ‘right face on her’ woman started yelling like she'd been acid attacked in the face with Paul's suntan lotion, silly mare. Paul promptly got up and walked away totally ignoring her and continued spraying himself, and as she was foreign we couldn't understand exactly what she was saying (though we got the gist ). Thankfully less than 10 minutes later she and her husband left, but what a carry on. Thankfully the incident gave us plenty of laughs and we just chilled for an hour or so afterwards enjoying the sun and taking photos

As the afternoon wore on we got a little hungry. We hadn’t heard from the others who had gone on an excursion, so we popped to Duke's for some lunch. Duke's was a fab restaurant. Inside there was a pond with fish in and little water features, it was so cool

We ordered a Duke's Mai Tai each, then I ordered the BBQ chicken flatbread and Paul had steak & fries, it was all delicious, we had one more drink then left after paying the $80 check

As we left, Kerry, Becky, Bex, Sheila & Pete were just going in to Dukes, they said that they'd enjoyed their tour but it didn't leave much time for them to explore the beach


We returned to the ship and on the way back I treated myself a lovely cabin size case and a Kauai Christmas decoration. What a lovely island Kauai was, and so far my favourite stop

Once back onboard we chilled for a while then went up to deck 10 for sailaway, we then had a drink or two at the Serenity Bar. Once again after eating on the island we didn't fancy going to the main dining room, so we had a light snack from the Lido buffet

Paul's GoPro timelapse video of leaving Kauai

Now tonight was the last evening of the casino. So any chips you had left you needed to cash them in. Tonight I came to realise just how hooked Paul had become on the roulette table Somehow he managed to stay playing for several hours. I was very tired after the late night the night before, so a couple of drinks and an early night was on my radar tonight. Unfortunately Paul lasted out till gone 12.30am. He'd really enjoyed taking part in this activity and was happy that all in all he was $50 up from what he had started with at the beginning of the cruise

Then it was time for bed


Tomorrow ~ Maui

 

[ukintheus]

Another lovey day, Kauai looks absolutely beautiful and it sounds like you had a nice relaxing day after waking up feeling a bit groggy - thank goodness you didn't go and run!! What a wierdo 'right face on her' was - why would she sit that close to you? So strange. Nice that Paul really enjoyed the casino, but even nicer that he didn't lose a ton of money! The days on the islands seem to have flown by after all those at sea days.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

I think I might have the wrong idea about you, I thought I read "before disembarking our plan was to have a rum......" on reading again it obviously said RUN, you being the fitness fanatics you are!

Another lovely island day, palm trees just say holiday

 

[mandymouse]

Another lovey day, Kauai looks absolutely beautiful and it sounds like you had a nice relaxing day after waking up feeling a bit groggy - thank goodness you didn't go and run!! What a wierdo 'right face on her' was - why would she sit that close to you? So strange. Nice that Paul really enjoyed the casino, but even nicer that he didn't lose a ton of money! The days on the islands seem to have flown by after all those at sea days.

I absolutely loved Kauai, I need to go back ... and NOW !!!

I think I might have the wrong idea about you, I thought I read "before disembarking our plan was to have a rum......" on reading again it obviously said RUN, you being the fitness fanatics you are!

Another lovely island day, palm trees just say holiday

LOL, I think you do have the right idea of me ! It's definitely RUM before RUN

 

[mandymouse]

Thursday 22nd September


I was awake around 6.40am this morning, and had a thick head due to the lack of sleep and too much Prosecco the night before


I showered and got ready for our day on Maui. We were due to meet everyone outside in our corridor at 9.30 and our plan was to take a couple of taxis to the airport to hire two cars for our adventure today, so at least I had time to see Michelle for my morning latte and a quick breakfast before the madness began

GoPro into Maui

Everything went well till we got to the Thrifty car rental as we had to join a huge line to hire our cars. Thankfully it went quite quick and after a good 1/2 hour wait we were driving away


Now Kerry, Becky and Pete had a 12o'clock reservation for zip-lining so we had a little time to kill so we called in at K-Mart for some water and our first bag of Lays of the holiday. We then piled back into the cars and headed to the Maui Tropical Plantation which was only 15 minutes away


The place where the zip lining was held surrounded by lovely scenery and after the nutters who were zip-lining signed their lives away agreeing to all the scenarios that could possibly go wrong they started getting fitted into their harnesses

For those of us watching it took ages while the group of 10 (who then became 8 as two people chickened out at the last moment) as they had to wait for the group ahead of them to finish before they could start and with the safety briefings too, but it was nice for us to just chill in these lovely surrounding where we could watch them zip lining between the 5 structures

It sounded like they all enjoyed their adventure and a couple of hours later we all jumped back into the cars and set off for the lovely town of Lahaina. Here we all split up into groups agreeing to meet up in two hours time. Paul and I had planned for some lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe which looked out to the sea


When we got there it was Happy Hour on certain drinks/cocktails and appetisers ... Happy Days !!! We started with a couple of Mai Tai's, then ordered some chicken tenders, potato skins and onion rings to share then we had another couple of cocktails each (luckily for us Pete was driving today, job done !!). We really enjoyed our lunch here and after paying our bill which was about $60 inc tip we left, by the way, 6 Mai Tai’s on their own would’ve been $54 before tip, got to love Happy Hour !!

We took some photos by the sea wall then wandered around the outlet shops and other little stores, I could've stayed here for hours with all the surf and souvenir shops. We bought some bits and bobs for friends, a t-shirt for Paul and a Christmas decoration for me

Once we all met up we drove up the coast to find a beach, but by the time we had driven a while up the road then doubled back on ourselves it was close to sunset (around 6.15pm). We found a beach just down the road from Lahaina and took a few photos before heading back to the airport to drop the car off

The shuttle took us back to the ship then it was time for the dreaded packing, ugh! too depressing. We packed, showered then went to find something to eat at the Lido buffet. The Deli was open so we both had a toasted sandwich and as it was now gone 9pm we decided to make one last use of our drinks package. After a couple of cocktails we went up onto deck 10 to watch the ship leave Maui at 11pm, then it was time for bed

Leaving Maui

Tomorrow ~ Disembark & Honolulu


Thoughts on Carnival


Ship, she wasn't pretty like the Disney ships, she needed some TLC, and is getting ready for dry dock next year, but it didn't affect our time onboard

Room, great, and good size

Staff, lovely, everyone friendly and work hard for their tips

Sign & Sail card, great, machines to check balance and make payments

Drinks package, brilliant, didn’t make the 15 alcoholic drinks a day, but fab to prepay and to get soft drinks and speciality coffees thrown in

Weather, only one day of bad rain, lovely

Sea days, a day or two too many for me, was relieved to get off after 5 days at sea

Ports, lovely, really liked Kuaui and Maui

Dining, tough one, we really enjoyed the Anytime Dining, but I really missed not having the same wait staff serve you every night and getting to know them. It didn't bother me that we were to go to the same restaurant every evening as the menu changed daily, and for the last few days we had eaten at the Lido Buffet anyway. The food was always tasty in the dining room, but we felt it just needed to be hotter, and the food at the Lido was always piping hot with a good selection whether it was breakfast, lunch or dinner

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Maui looks stunning, those gardens near the zip wire , the beach pictures and sunset pictures are all beautiful. Glad the happy hour worked out for you , did it feel strange being in the Hard Rock Cafe but on a tropical island?

 

[mandymouse]

Maui looks stunning, those gardens near the zip wire , the beach pictures and sunset pictures are all beautiful. Glad the happy hour worked out for you , did it feel strange being in the Hard Rock Cafe but on a tropical island?

Thank you Sam, Maui was definitely a lovely place I must admit we've been to a few Hard Rock Cafes in the Caribbean, but this one was particularly nice