Mandymouse's Return to Paradise ~ Sept '18

[mandymouse]

Aloha, and welcome to my latest Trip Report, where the hubby and I venture back to beautiful Hawaii. Some of you may remember that 9 of us made this trip in September 2016, and while 5 members of the Hawaii 9 were heading on a Caribbean Cruise at the same time as us, Paul and I were desperate to get back to Hawaii

Our itinerary for this trip is …

11th Sept .. Travel to Gatwick and stay at the Premier Inn

12th .. Fly to Vancouver, stay at Ramada Ltd Vancouver Downtown

13th .. Board Carnival Legend

14th .. Day at Sea

15th .. Day at Sea

16th .. Day at Sea

17th .. Day at Sea

18th .. Day at Sea

19th .. Maui

20th .. Hilo

21st .. Kona

22nd .. Kauai

23rd .. Honolulu

24th .. Disembark, stay at Waikiki Resort Hotel, Honolulu

25th .. Late flight to L.A.

26th .. Stay in Santa Monica

27th .. Drive to Anaheim, stay at Best Western Park Place Inn, Disneyland

28th .. Disneyland

29th .. Disneyland, Fly home

30th .. Land home


Tuesday 11th September

Most of my prep had been done over the weekend. I had my nails done Saturday morning and had my last shift at work Saturday afternoon



On Sunday the cases were brought in from the garage and we made a start on our packing

This morning I was up at 5.45am as usual to see Paul off to work, but the difference today was that he would be taking all the luggage with him and I would be meeting up with him later in the day

When we had all booked our holidays, we didn’t realise that we would all be travelling down to Gatwick on the same day. Our girls (Kerry & Becky), their friend (Bex) and her parents (Sheila & Pete) would be travelling down to their hotel just outside of Gatwick later that evening

As for us, Paul had a day at work and I had a hair appointment at 9. Now Paul works at Gaydon, so instead of having to come back home, the totally opposite way to the airport, I was going to get a train down to Banbury a junction down the M40 from where he works

After my hair appointment and getting the house sorted, around lunchtime Becky drove me to Coventry via a quick Costa stop at the Ricoh Arena. I got the 1.25pm train and half an hour later arrived in Banbury. I planned to wander around the shopping centre and hoped that being so close to Paul’s works it would encourage him to finish earlier Sadly the meeting he had at 2.30om overran and he rang me at 3.30 to say he was on his way to his car and would be with me by 4

The drive down the M40 went quick and was uneventful till we hit a major delay on the M25 where we were stuck in crawling traffic between junction 10 & 9 for a good hour. We finally got to the APH car park just after 7pm and after checking the car in we got on the shuttle bus to the airport. After a brief stop at the South Terminal the bus headed over to the North Terminal where we checked into the Premier Inn there

It was gone 8 by the time we had dropped our luggage off at the room and by now we were both shattered and starving too. We wandered back to the terminal and took the monorail over to the South Terminal to get some dinner. We settled for Giraffe and both enjoyed Fish & Chips and a Peroni for Paul and a glass of Prosecco for me. We had another round of drinks and the bill came to just over £40 with a 15% discount with my Flio App

We had a drink back at the North Terminal, and a quick nightcap back at the hotel, then called it a night

Meanwhile the girls had arrived at their hotel with no problems or delays and we arranged to meet them in the morning for a quick hug before they flew off

Tomorrow - Vancouver

 

[mandymouse]

Wednesday 12th September

The girls and fellow travellers, or as I will call them, The Fort Lauderdale Five, were due to arrive at the airport about 7am for their 9:55am flight. I’d had a message the evening before to say they hadn’t got any cable ties for their luggage, but luckily Super Mum had some Our flight wasn’t till gone 12, and I knew we’d be awake early, plus I wanted a hug before they left We got there first and grabbed a couple of skinny lattes from Costa then headed over to the Norwegian check in desk. They arrived moments later and we said our goodbyes

Paul & I returned to the hotel, got showered and left around 8.30am. The Air Transat desk is in a quieter area of the South Terminal and as we’d already checked in on-line we just dropped our bags off and headed towards departures

We had bought the Premium Security Tickets for a fiver each that whizzed us through with just my hand luggage being checked

Once through to departures we wandered round. I had got my eye on a Pandora ring which turned out to be less than £5 cheaper at Duty Free, so gave that a miss

I was hoping for a Costa breakfast toastie, but was disappointed to find it had been turned into a Jamie Oliver restaurant, so after checking a few places out we opted for a Nando’s breakfast. The restaurant was quite nice. We were seated overlooking the runway and it was well spread out, much nicer than the cramped Wetherspoons

Paul had a Nando’s breakfast and I had eggs on toast. It was all very nice and came to just under £23 with a coke and latte

To kill an hour or so we plonked ourselves down at The London Bar and enjoyed a Mimosa or 3 while we chatted and people watched. Roughly £50 lighter and feeling very very happy we wandered over to our departure gate (#34)

Our flight was scheduled to leave at 12.10pm and boarding began around 11.30. We find the seats on this plane to be quite generous, though the seats could do with a little more padding

We pulled away from the gate on time, but it took so long to get to the runway, which didn’t help with about 6 planes ahead of us plus planes landing too. Anyway I think we were in the air half an hour later. We were sat in a row of 3 seats and luckily no one sat next to Paul

Almost straight away we hit some turbulence, then around 2ish the drinks trolley came round. The only downside of this flight is you have to pay for your drinks, but heyho, I ordered a Bacardi & diet Coke and Paul had a Voddie & Coke which came to £13.50 Can$

Paul settled down to watch the Han Solo movie and I made a start on my trip report (hello from half way between Scotland and Iceland!! )

Next I decided to watch a movie. The choice seemed much better than the last time we flew with Air Transat. There was as I said earlier the Han Solo movie, The Greatest Showman, The new Avengers movie, Ready Player One, but I fancied The Post

Around 3.30pm UK time dinner was brought round, we had a choice of sweet & sour chicken or a pasta dish, we both had the chicken, it was nice but the accompaniments were nothing to write home about

It really felt like a long, long flight though it wasn't much longer than flying to Orlando. Anyway I liked The Post, then watched 4 episodes of the X Files. With 2hrs 15 mins to go an announcement was made that a snack was soon to be served. I watched several episodes of New Girl and the veggie calzone was brought round, which was very tasty

We landed at 2.10pm Vancouver time, and as our seats were next to the cabin door, we were one of the first off. We followed the signs towards Immigration and used the ETA (Esta type machines) and within minutes our details were confirmed, a receipt with our photos was issued and we headed towards the Immigration Officer who briefly looked at the receipt and waved us on our way

We waited by the carousel for our cases, one came out quite quickly, but we had quite a wait for the second one

With cases in hand we headed towards the exit and made our way to the Canada Line towards Downtown Vancouver . We bought our tickets from the machine (7.25 Can$ ea) and the train arrived. We noted that it had been exactly an hour from when we had landed to sitting on the train, so not bad going

Half an hour later we arrived at the Waterfront Station and exited via Granville Street. As we scanned our ticket it wouldn’t let us through as it said we hadn’t paid enough. Another couple with suitcases had the same happen to them, but they barged their way through when the barriers opened, but honest me insisted we upgraded our tickets to the extra $1.25 ea that we owed

Our hotel, the Ramada Ltd Downtown Vancouver was only 5 minutes away so we took the short walk. The couple who had barged their way through the barriers were checking in too and it seemed they would be getting our cruise the next day too

We checked in and found our room (#510) and after a quick freshen up left to try and spend the next 4 or so hours awake (it was roughly 4pm by now, so midnight back home)

We wandered down to Canada Place to see if it wasn’t too far to pull our luggage to the ship in the morning. We grabbed a couple of skinny lattes and a lemon loaf for Paul and a gingerbread cookie for me from Starbucks

The previous week while checking my weather app, it had Vancouver as rain pretty much the whole time, bummer, but thankfully it was sunny and 16c though a little chilly in the shade

After our Starbucks we had a wander around taking photos and stopping for a pint in Mahoney & Sons, an Irish Bar we had found on our previous trip

Now as you probably don’t know, it will be Paul’s and mine 30th wedding anniversary at the end of October, so this trip is kind of our celebration of this. I really wanted a couple of Rose Gold Pandora rings from Paul as a present and I had mentioned this before the trip, so while we were close to the Pacific Center Shopping Mall he suggested we go and have a look for them. I did find the lovely teardrop engagement type ring that I wanted, which my lovely hubby bought me, but the band type one I wanted wasn’t there

After buying my ring we went in search of food. We were both shattered but kept going and found some Chinese food at the food court. It was very nice, though far too big

Next I wanted to wander down to Gas Town as I’d never been down that way before. I wanted to see the Steam Clock. Gas Town is a buzzing area of bars and restaurants. I found the clock, took some photos, then we found a bar to try and keep us going a bit longer

We had one drink, then wandered back to the hotel. After sorting out our passes and passports etc for tomorrow we collapsed in bed about 8.30pm (4.30am back home)

Tomorrow – Boarding the Carnival Legend

 

[mandymouse]

Thursday 13th September

I didn’t sleep that great. Paul woke me up at 12.30 while searching for the TV remote control (though to be fair, 4 hours of continuous sleep is some kind of record for this err woman of a certain age ). He then disturbed me at 3.30am, and then I was wide awake at 4.30am

Around 6am we had a message from the girls to say that the Fort Lauderdale Five were getting ready for their drive down to Key West

I caught up with my trippy then got up to get ready around 7am. We had breakfast included in our stay, so we headed down to the breakfast room where we could have cereals, breads, yoghurts and a few danishes. I just opted for some toast and Paul had a few bits then at 8.30am we headed out

I bought us tickets to the Vancouver Look Out as I had hoped that the ship would be docked where it had been two years ago and we’d get a good view. Happily it was docked there and we were able to take some photos. Next we wandered down to Canada Place to take more photos, then we enjoyed a latte and cake from Starbucks and people watched for a while as there were many cruise passengers disembarking and arriving

We needed to check out of the hotel at 11, so we went back and packed the few things we’d used and I took a few pics of our room that I'd forgotten to do the previous day. Now our check in time for the ship wasn’t till 12/12.30, so we decided to walk the 5 or so minutes to the terminal with our luggage, hand it over to the porters and kill a bit of time at the pub we’d been to the day before

That decision worked out great and after a cider and Stella we left Mahoney & Sons and headed back to the terminal just before 12.30

We were checked in (or so we thought) by a more maturer lady who hadn’t dealt with any international passports before, and after some help from the colleague sitting next to her we then joined the line for security where we had our hand luggage scanned. Next we lined up for US Immigration then we headed up the gangway to be scanned in. Nope, we hadn’t been checked in properly ugh!!! We were held back for a few minutes then we were taken to Guest Services where a line of another half a dozen or so passengers had the same problem. Thankfully after a few minutes we were on our way

By now it was 1.30pm and our room was ready. Our room was #4115, the room next door to the one we had two years ago. We found our room keys on the letter thing outside our room, and even both our cases had arrived … result!!

We unpacked and by 2.10pm we were well and truly settled onboard yay! We went up to the Lido deck for some lunch. After wandering around to see what was on offer, we settled for some Chinese food at Chopsticks, and very nice it was too

Next we started putting our Cheers Package to good use, and we had a Mimosa or two at the Serenity Bar, we then carried on down to the lobby for a delicious Pomtini (pomegranate martini). We tried to find another bar but they had closed due to getting ready for the muster drill

Our muster station was A. We arrived at 4pm as advised, and there was no one about .. strange. After 20 minutes we realised we should’ve been outside, but as more people began to arrive Paul asked if we could stay inside, which was ok. Finally we had our room keys scanned but the muster drill didn’t finish till 4.50 due to some people not turning up (thankfully an announcement was later made to those who didn't turn up to attend an extra drill specially for them in one of the theatres)

The ship was due to leave at 5pm and Paul wanted to catch it on his Go Pro, but as we exited onto deck 10 we found it was raining. I guess we couldn’t complain as we’d been threatened with it since we arrived in Vancouver

We sat at Serenity Bar with a Mimosa waiting for the ship to move, we then had another one and moved inside as it was getting chilly. An announcement was made that the Captain had decided to wait for some passengers whose plane had been delayed and we’d be away shortly. We finally pulled away at 6.55pm. I was feeling tired so went back to the room and had a short nap till Paul came back to the room

We got showered and ready for dinner (we were doing Anytime Dining). Truffles Restaurant has two floors. Upstairs for Anytime Dining and down stairs for Early Dining (5.30pm) and Late Dining (7.45pm). We were in no hurry tonight. We sat at the Lobby Bar chatting to an American couple and enjoying another Pomtini then headed to dinner around 8.45pm

It was quiet in the restaurant by now, so we were seated straight away. We ordered a Prosecco each, then we both had chicken quesadillas then I had the veggie lasagna and Paul had Mahi Mahi, it was all very nice

We were both shattered, but Paul fancied a quick go at the casino, I felt like I was falling asleep in my drink, so headed off to bed, and I think I was asleep the moment my head hit the pillow. Paul said he was only 10 minutes behind me but said I was zonked out by the time he came to bed

Tomorrow – Day at Sea #1

 

[Owlpost23]

Hurray! Looking forward to this-we also love Hawaii! Can't wait!

 

[kittymamma]

More please !

 

[petals]

joining in.

 

[mandymouse]

Hurray! Looking forward to this-we also love Hawaii! Can't wait!

More please !

joining in.

Sorry for taking so long to get back to this, hopefully I'll get back on it now, thanks for joining in

 

[mandymouse]

Friday 14th September

I slept really well, and when we checked the time on the TV (by the way we had to put our clocks back an hour last night), and it was nearly 6am. Sunrise was around 6.10am so Paul hot footed to the top deck with his camera. Unfortunately it was raining and cold so he headed back to bed

We got showered and changed and headed down to deck 2 for a couple of large skinny lattes. We wandered along decks 2 and 3 and then made our way to the Lido buffet for some breakfast. We checked out all the counters and opted for a freshly made omelette each

We continued with our walk, checking out the shops that had recently opened, we then ended back at the coffee bar where I had another latte and we sat listening to a couple of trivia games that were going on

Sadly the weather didn’t improve all day. We enjoyed a few Mimosas, then at 12 made our way back to the Lido deck for some lunch. Unfortunately with the bad weather it seemed like the other 3000 passengers or so had the same idea, so we decided to come back in an hour, so had some fun at the electronic roulette machine at the casino where you could put on much smaller bets than the proper games table

We returned to the buffet for lunch and there was a Caribbean theme on, so we enjoyed Jerk chicken, stew and rice and beans, it was all very nice

We spent the next few hours chilling and enjoying a few drinks. We returned to our room around 4, not quite believing we’d been out for the last 8 hours

We lay on the bed and in no time were fast asleep. I woke around 7, gave Paul a dig to wake up and we got showered and ready for dinner

First stop was the lobby bar for a Pomtini or two, and in the atrium a group of 3 violinists were about to start. I was surprised at how good they were playing Ed Sheeran, Coldplay and other popular songs. We stayed till they had their break and we made our way to dinner. We were seated straight away, and once again had a lovely meal of Spring Rolls each to start, a vegetarian Indian selection for me and lamb shank for Paul for our mains, then we shared an apple pie and ice cream

We finished the evening off with a short stop at the casino, then it was time for bed

Tomorrow – Day at Sea #2

 

[mandymouse]

Saturday 15th September

I paid dearly for my nap yesterday and was wide awake at 4am, Paul started to move about around 7 so I got on with my trip report

We lay in bed watching the latest Tomb Raider movie, then around 9 we started to get ready

Unfortunately it was another cloudy cool day which pretty much meant a day of eating, drinking and the odd visit to the casino

To be fair the day really did get away from us. We started off with our usual skinny lattes then we had an omelette each. I was struggling today. I couldn’t put my finger on what was wrong with me, but I just felt like for the first time in my life I was suffering from travel sickness. I seemed to feel every move the ship made, though thankfully I wasn’t ill

This carried on for most of the day, though surprisingly went when I had a good lunch

We had a message from the Fort Lauderdale Five saying that they were about to embark the Carnival Conquest to the Caribbean and to rub salt into the wounds they sent photos of glorious sunshine and sunbathing .. we were not impressed

During the afternoon we watched the Michael Jackson Thriller dance class, which was lots of fun and enjoyed a cocktail or two

Tonight was our first formal night with the Captains Cocktail Party. People were already dressed up ready for the first Dining seating when we left to sort ourselves out

Personally I wasn’t that bothered about meeting Captain Giuseppe or having free cocktails (as we had the Cheers package), but I do love getting dressed up!!!

We had our usual Pomtini in the lobby bar while listening to two guys singing Beatles songs then we wandered towards the restaurant where the trio of violinists were set up by the Alchemy Bar. We waved as we passed then checked in for dinner

To start I had cream of broccoli soup and Paul had salmon. Next I had a vegetable dish made in puff pastry and a delicious sauce, mmm it was good and Paul had steak which he said was good

Next a bunch of waiters came over with a dessert with Happy Honeymoon written on it. We explained we were actually going to be celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary so they broke out into song with ‘Happy Anniversary to you’ The cake itself was far too sweet for me, but it was a nice touch, and Paul finished off with some cheesecake

We grabbed a Pomtini and went back to the Alchemy bar to listen to the group. It was really busy, but there was a space next to a guy in his white uniform. I asked if we could sit there and he gestured for us to join him

I was telling him how much we enjoyed the group and we generally chatted about cruises when we realised that the guy was actually the captain

We finished the night off with a go at the casino then I went off to bed. Paul rolled in at 1.30am and the next morning found he had won $450

Tomorrow – Day at Sea #3

 

[Owlpost23]

So glad you're back and reporting!

 

[mandymouse]

Sunday 16th September

The clocks had gone back another hour during the night, so we were wide awake a 6am

We got ready and found ourselves at the coffee bar at 8am, blooming heck it’s going to be a long day

We wandered up to the Lido deck. It must’ve rained in the night as everywhere was sopping wet, but we suddenly realised that the cold wind from the north had gone and that there were breaks in the clouds .. woohoo things are looking up

We went to the buffet for some breakfast. I just had scrambled eggs on toast and Paul had an omelette

We walked around the open decks and people were already sorting out their sun loungers. We got changed into our swim wear and enjoyed the first proper sun of the holiday. It was lovely, a nice warm 75f

Over the next couple of hours we enjoyed a sunbathe in the sun, then went to get some lunch. After some Chinese fare for me and chicken tikka masala for Paul, we had a couple of mimosas out at the Serenity Bar

Once again the afternoon got away from us where we had a cocktail here and there and visited the casino, where at one point the manager gave everyone at our table a free drink, though not necessary for us as we had the drinks package

We wanted to try and see the sun set around 6.30pm, so we wandered up to the top deck around 5.30, though by now it was starting to cool down. We sat in a pod and put our towels around ourselves then promptly had yet another nap, lol this cruising lark is exhausting

We woke half an hour later, it looked like it might be good for the sunset, but sadly it got cloudy very quickly

We headed back to the room, where we found a plate of cookies had been sent to Paul from the casino haha, they love him. We got ready for dinner and tonight I had a vegetable dip with naan bread and Paul had lentil soup. For our mains I had penne pasta with chilli and Paul had salmon fillet. We’ve really enjoyed the meals we’ve had so far this trip. We’ve been eating rather late, usually around 8.45pm and the restaurant is always quiet and we've never felt rushed

We had a drink at the casino and I left Paul down there at 11.30pm. I heard him come in around 1.30am again and learnt that he had won $400 on the electronic roulette table .. lucky git

Tomorrow – Day at Sea #4

 

[mandymouse]

Monday 17th September

Yet again I was awake early, about 6.30am. I caught up with my trippy then I had the bright idea of going for a fast walk/jog around the jogging track

It looked like it was going to be another lovely day and even at that early time people were setting their loungers and towels out for the day

We did about half an hour around the track, though it was very windy as it was on the very top sports deck and at the front of the ship, but we were glad we made the effort

We returned to the room and got showered and ready for the day. We grabbed some lattes from deck 2, then had some breakfast, just some toast for me and cereal and muffins for Paul

We wandered the top deck looking for some loungers and some were just being put out, so I lay my claim to two and Paul went off to get our towels and stuff

We enjoyed a lovely hour or so in the sun and before we knew it it was time for lunch. I was feeling out of sorts today. I had woken with a terrible toothache which in turn was giving me a headache. I wasn’t in the mood for yet more drinking. I also felt like I’d had enough of all these sea days. We did have a couple of Mimosas, but they did little to shake my mood or toothache

We grabbed another latte each and watched some football in the sports bar, then I left Paul in the casino so I could have a lie down and get rid of my headache

After my chill we went up to Deck 10 to watch the sunset. I was feeling a bit better and after taking some photos we popped into the buffet on deck 9 for a nosey and to see what was on offer. There was a vegetable masala on, so we shared a bowlful, then had a Mimosa at the Serenity Bar before heading back to our room to get ready for dinner

We had our usual Pomtini from the lobby bar then went for dinner. Tonight I had butternut squash soup and Paul had sea bass to start then we both had turkey dinner .. yum it was all very good

Now tonight the clocks were going back yet another hour, so we needed to try and stay out a bit longer. We went to the Latino hour at the night club and watched a contest in the casino, but tiredness got the better of me, so it was time for bed

Tomorrow – Day at Sea #5 .. but the last one .. woohoo !!

 

[mandymouse]

Tuesday 18th September

I was awake super early again, but thankfully my headache and toothache were gone. I caught up with my trippy then looked out of the window to see rain!! So that was our morning walk out of the question. I then had the bright idea of doing some laundry. I threw some clothes on and headed to the nearest Laundry room, but it seemed that every man and his dog had had the same idea, so we gave it a miss

We went back to the room and got ready. We had our usual lattes and wandered up to the Lido buffet, but neither of us fancied any breakfast

As we exited the buffet we were met with clearer skies. People were grabbing the loungers so we went up to deck 10 to do the same. I claimed our loungers and Paul went off to get changed and get the towels, when he came back I went to get changed too. By now it was only 9ish, but it was very warm. We sat out for a good hour and as time went by it got cloudier and much more comfortable to lie out in. I was gazing out to sea when I could see a wall of cloud heading straight for us and moments later it was pouring down. Luckily we were sat near the doorway and stairs back down to the buffet area. We hot footed downstairs and decided to get some breakfast. I just had an omelette and Paul had some eggs fried sunny side up freshly made on toast

When our breakfast was finished we reclaimed our loungers. We sat out for a short while, but it got too hot for us, so we went back to the room to cool down

Over the next few hours we had a couple of Mimosas at the Serenity Bar, had a Chinese lunch and a cocktail or two in the Red Frog Bar, where after a short downpour there was a lovely rainbow through the window

At the lobby it was being decorated for Hawaiian Night. Cocktails were being made ready for those on the first seating and everyone was wearing leis

We popped back to the room after watching the sunset, put the TV on and before we knew it we were fast asleep

Paul rudely awoke me at 8pm and we threw ourselves together and got ready for dinner and what was left of Hawaiian Night. The violin trio (Dolce Trio) were playing in the lobby and we had a quick cocktail. Our favourite server Sherin asked where we’d been, we had missed the free cocktails and she laughed when we told her we’d fallen asleep

We just made it in time for dinner before it closed at 9. I had flatbread to start and Paul had mini pasties, then we both had Beef Wellington (or Beef Leamington as Paul had said when he had read the menu earlier ). The Beef Wellington was the best meal so far, it was delicious. We gave dessert a miss and wandered back to the lobby where the band were still playing. They were so good, they could go from classical to pop so easily and they even did a couple of Disney classics and I asked them to play A whole New World from Aladdin, which was very good

Now tonight was the Hawaiian Deck Party Deck 9, which I’m sure would’ve been fun but the band said there was going to be jam session in the Red Frog Bar of all the musicians onboard, and that sounded like lots of fun

We had a quick go at the casino then went to listen to the jam session, what a great evening it had been, even though we had pretty much missed out on all the Hawaiian Night activities

Tomorrow – Woohoo! The first Island, Maui

 

[mandymouse]

Wednesday 19th September

I woke about 6.30am with a thick head last night had been a good one. I caught up with my trip report while Paul lay in the land of nod

Once Paul was awake we got ready and headed up to deck 10 to watch the ship dock in Maui. The dock itself isn’t a pretty one, it’s very industrial and we docked next to a container company

Now our plan for today was to get an Uber to Lahaina, spend the afternoon there and watch the sun set before heading back, so we were in no hurry to get off straight away

I thought now would be a good time to get some laundry done, so we put a load on and went to get some coffee, then Paul grabbed some breakfast

It was already in the high 80’s, so we thought it would be nice to have a lie out in the sun before it got too uncomfortable. Once the washing was washed and dried we got sorted to disembark

We had checked Uber online to see when a taxi would be available, and one was available in 5 minutes time. We ordered it, but then found that Uber aren’t allowed to pick up from the port. Bummer! Never mind we just walked the 5/10 minute walk to the small shopping centre where our driver was waiting for us

It’s a nice drive to Lahaina, once you leave the city it’s pretty much mountains to your right and the ocean to your left, very picturesque

Our taxi driver dropped us in the town and over the next few hours we leisurely strolled through the outlet mall, many souvenir shops and enjoyed a huge yet delicious cheeseburger from the Cheeseburger in Paradise restaurant where we sat at the open window with the sea lapping below us .. ahh lovely

It was very hot by now, but we carried on up past the marina taking photos and loving the view. We wandered by the Banyan Tree Park and once it got too hot for us we found a bar and killed a good hour drinking lager and pina coladas

We returned to the outlet mall and found a bench in the shade with a lovely breeze flowing through and sat for a short while then bought some souvenirs that we’d seen earlier

Sunset was at 6.24pm so we sat on the sea wall and watched the sun go down behind an island opposite. Paul wasn’t too impressed as there was too much cloud over the island, but I thought it looked pretty

We arranged for an Uber to pick us up. We were both shattered due to the heat and it was nice that some one else was doing the driving. Thankfully this time he was allowed to drop us off at the port

We returned to the room, freshened up and went for dinner. Neither of us were particularly hungry so we just grabbed a few bits from the buffet

I was feeling so tired, even our violin trio couldn’t keep me awake. I’d hoped to see us leaving the port around 11, but I was in my jimjams by 10pm and asleep in no time, though Paul managed to wake in time for sail away

What a lovely day it had been

Tomorrow – Hilo

 

[mandymouse]

Thursday 20th September

I felt like I’d slept really well and woke at 6.45am. I looked out of the window and it looked cloudy

We got ready and went up to deck 10 to watch the ship dock into Hilo

Once again it isn’t a pretty port and very industrial. We grabbed a latte and croissant each and enjoyed them at Serenity Bay and listened to the announcements. Once the ship was clear for disembarking we let the crowds leave then sauntered off when it was a bit quieter

We took a taxi to the airport where we would be picking up our hire car. When we did this trip two years ago we were lucky enough to visit the National Volcano Park, but due to the major activity back in early May the park has been closed though it would be reopening in two days time. Bummer! I was soooo disappointed. Like last time we visited Rainbow Falls which is a very popular and surprisingly free attraction. We took photos at the bottom then climbed the steep and rather slippery steps, due to some recent rain to the top

We then got back in the car and headed to Hilo City. We visited the King Kamehameha statue at the Wailoa River State Park then parked up in the town. I found it surprising that it wasn’t very touristy at all. We wandered around the shops, some still boarded up from Hurricane Lane a few weeks ago

We decided to have some lunch and found Cronies Bar & Grill. We ordered some onion rings to share, which were so big that we knew we’d struggle to eat our mains. I had a club sandwich with fries and Paul had a cheeseburger and fries. Wow there was so much food and well worth the just over $50 bill

We drove along the seafront highway for a while stopping off at some scenic spots along the way, then we drove back through the city and went to Wal-mart and Target for some shopping

We returned the car back at the airport and took the shuttle back to the ship

It had been a very warm muggy day and felt too sticky and uncomfortable to lie out, so we had a couple of Mimosas and a Pirate Punch. We watched from the top deck as we set sail from Hilo then returned to our room to get ready for dinner. While getting ready the captain made an announcement that he’d been in touch with the National Volcano Park to find out whether there was any lava flow activity that could be seen from the ship. I was gutted to hear that there wasn’t any, as it was a sight to be seen on our last cruise here

Due to having eaten so much at lunch time, we really didn’t fancy a sit down meal so popped up to the Lido buffet where we both had a delicious freshly cooked pizza each

The evening pretty much got away from us. We had a couple of cocktails and listened to Dolce Trio and the Captain joined us for a chat and after a quick visit to the casino it was time for bed

Tomorrow – Kona

 

[ukintheus]

Joining in....now going back to the beginning to read.

 

[ukintheus]

Way too much to catch up on and comment on it all but it's looking like a really nice and relaxing trip so far. Naps, drinks and food...you can't get any better than that. It sounds like you were ready for your port days, it's a shame that the hurricane and volcano had some things closed down but there still looked like there was plenty to see. Any day in Hawaii has to beat a cold, rainy day at home! I'm very proud of you and Paul for doing your utmost to make the most of the drink package. Right up my alley.

 

[mandymouse]

Friday 21st September

I woke just after 6am and dozed for an hour till we heard a commotion from outside our window. We had already arrived at Kona and several of the lifeboats (which obscured the view from our window) were being lowered ready to be used to tender us to the port

We weren’t in any hurry to get off as we were only going to wander around the town and get some lunch

Basically if you had an excursion booked through the ship you had priority for tendering over to the island first, then once everyone else was ready to disembark you went to one of the theatres for a number and waited there till your number was called and you’d be escorted down to the lifeboats

Like I said we weren’t in any hurry, so we got ready for a sunbathe for an hour before it got too hot. It was very warm out but starting to get cloudy too. After our lie out we got showered then headed to deck 9 to grab a latte and a croissant

While we finished our coffees an announcement was made that general tendering was operating now so no need for numbers and to just head down to disembark

I think it was about 11am by the time we got on the lifeboat and a short 10 minute ride later we were in Kona

We wandered around the souvenir shops and took photos along the way and the day got cloudier as it went along. We checked out various restaurants along the sea front and chose one looking out to the sea

We ordered a couple of Mai Tais and a Hawaiian pizza for me and a tuna melt sandwich with fries for Paul, and then the rain came down. We ate our food and ordered another Mai Tai, well there was no point getting wet for the sake of it

The rain stopped and we paid our bill which was good value at just under $50, got to love $5 Mai Tais

We strolled back towards the pier stopping at various shops along the way and bought a few things at the ABC shop before boarding the tender boat back to the ship

We chilled in the room for a while then went up onto deck 10 for sail away. We had a few Mimosas then got ready for the last Elegant Night. Neither of us were particularly hungry, but we wanted to have a nice meal while we were dressed up. What a big mistake that decision was, I’d only started to eat my mushroom soup and I already knew I was full. We both had the soup to start then I picked at my veggies in pastry dish while Paul had the sea bass

After our attempt at dinner I just wanted to go for a walk, so we wandered a few decks listening to Dolce Trio from the balcony above and taking some photos

I had one last Bacardi and Diet Coke but was still too full to really enjoy it, so it was time for bed

Tomorrow – Kauai

 

[mandymouse]

Saturday 22nd September

I woke up far too early, 5.30am to be precise by the poor gentleman in the next stateroom who sounded like he had a terrible cough, poor thing. I think our plan for today is pretty much the same as yesterday, let the masses get off, maybe we’ll have a sunbathe and perhaps do a bit of laundry then get off around 11am. So I caught up with my trippy till Sleeping Beauty woke up

Well as predicted we did do all the above. We put some laundry on, grabbed a couple of lattes and sat out on a rather cloudy but warm deck. We lasted out till 11.15am then came back to our room for showers and to get ready for our walk to the beach

We wandered through the little souvenir shops finding little picturesque spots to take photos then after a short walk we arrived at the beach. It’s so pretty here

First stop was Duke’s Canoe Club, I love this place with its little water feature running through it. We were seated by the pond and we ordered a couple of Mai Tais, and over the next hour or so shared some buffalo wings, Paul had steak and fries and I had chicken katsu. Another round of Mai Tais were ordered, and even though we were full and really don’t do desserts, we shared a Duke’s Hula Pie, which was A-MAZ-ING! We had one last round of cocktails and asked for the check. We knew this was going to be an expensive one, especially as the cocktails alone were $72. We paid the $140 bill and agreed that it had all been well worth it and even now, a few months on, I dream of that Hula Pie … Mmmm

We continued up the beach chilling and taking photos along the way, then wandered back to the ship and chilled in our room for a while

Now tomorrow was to be our last full day onboard and we had a busy day planned with going to Pearl Harbor in the morning and a Luau in the evening, so we were concerned that we wouldn’t see our favourite crew members to give them some tips and to get their names and where they came from for the questionnaire that Carnival would send us when we got home, so we decided to do it tonight, and just as well we did as one of them was getting off the ship the next day. Apparently quite a few guests would be disembarking a day early too, I guess to be back at work for Monday

It was also the last night for the shops and the casino as the ship would be docked overnight in Honolulu. So we all know where Paul would be heading

We got ready for dinner and after a cocktail at the lobby bar we headed to the restaurant one last time. We had chicken tenders to start and lasagne for our mains, though I couldn’t eat it all after our feast at lunch time

We handed out our tips and I after a drinky or two I left Paul at the casino and headed to bed

Tomorrow – Honolulu

 

[mandymouse]

Sunday 23rd September

I had a bad night’s sleep and woke at 4.30am with a million things on my mind. Thinking about Pearl Harbor and did we have time to do both the Arizona Memorial and the USS Missouri and then having to rush back for the Luau, then we would be getting off tomorrow and we hadn’t started to think about packing, plus our girls were getting off their ship today, flying home tomorrow and I wouldn’t see them for over another week, it was all going round my head and I couldn’t switch off

About 7am I typed this up, and typically started to feel tired, ooh it’s going to be a long day

The ship was due into The Port of Honolulu around 8 and all ashore by 9. We got ready and watched from deck 10 as we docked. We grabbed our lattes and a couple of croissants and waited for the announcement for all ashore. It was taking its time so we looked over the side of ship to down below and 2 people were being stretchered off into two ambulances, poor things, I hope they were ok

Anyway a short time later we were given the all clear and after joining half the passengers in line we exited onto Honolulu around 9.30

We requested an Uber which was only 4 minutes away and we were on our way to Pearl Harbor. Like I said earlier I was concerned that we didn’t have time for both the USS Arizona Memorial at 11am, tour the USS Missouri and have time to be back for the Luau, but I needn’t have worried. As we went to get our tickets the young man asked if we’d like to do the next Arizona tour at 10.15am a few minutes later. We jumped at the earlier tickets and went straight there. First you see a film of how the USA joined World War II, then you usually take a boat over to the Memorial site and get off for a short time to reflect, but due to the docking area being damaged a few months ago, instead we sailed around it from different angles to allow everyone to take photos

After that tour we got our tickets for the Missouri. We chose to just tour it ourselves, so took the shuttle bus over to it and we both found it really interesting

Once we’d finished we arranged for another Uber to take us to the King Kamehameha statue at the Iolina Palace which is the Hawaii Five O headquarters in the TV show . We took some photos then walked the 12 minutes or so back to the ship. (Note - Uber’s were approx $23 each way)

Once back onboard we were starving, so headed up to Chopsticks for a late lunch then we enjoyed a couple of Mimosas which cooled us down nicely as it was such a hot day

Now the ship was staying in port overnight and we decided to do the Germaine’s Luau which is one we’d done on our previous trip. We disembarked at 4pm and joined the line for one of the three coaches for the Carnival Legend passengers. Donna Owana was our hostess on the trip to the Luau. She was lots of fun giving out prizes, singing and playing games. The drive took about 25 minutes and when we arrived at our beach Luau we had our photo taken and were escorted to our tables. We had a voucher for one drink, so we both had a Mai Tai each and they were pretty good (unlike the weak offerings from our previous visit)

We had a fun night watching the Hula and Polynesian dancers, drinking more Mai Tais and eating the wonderful buffet

The Luau finished around 9 and we got on the bus for the drive back to the ship. It really had been a great night and we even bought the photo

We just had enough time to see Dolce Trio one last time at the Lobby bar and they played an Ed Sheeran song for me and Paul, then we said our goodbyes. As we wandered back to our room we saw that the Red Frog Bar was still open so had one last drink then headed for bed. What a busy but fun day it had been

Tomorrow – Disembark, Honolulu