We left the Miramar Hotel at around noon and took a cab to the Port. ($22 cab fare) Upon arrival, yo

I recently spent some time visiting france rental cars most of the major islands that make up Hawaii. This was my first trip to the 50th State, and I had a hard time making a decision about where to stay when I got there. france rental cars I spent countless hours scouring the internet and various forums to get an inside scoop as to what island I would enjoy the most. What I found is that each island has a great deal to offer, and my ideal vacation would be spent seeing them all. That s where Norwegian s Pride of America came to the rescue.
france rental cars Norwegian Cruise Lines -Pride of America set sail in 2005, and she is the first US flagged ship built in nearly 50 years. france rental cars One look at this glorious vessel; and you can tell that the name Pride of America goes further than just the lettering on the outside. Everywhere on this boat you are reminded france rental cars of what a great country the United france rental cars States is, and most of the lounges, restaurants etc have an American theme. Some reviewers have commented that they felt this was too tacky, however, I beg to differ, to an extent, these ships are all tacky, and this one seemed to fit
One major difference on this ship is that the majority of the staff are American Citizens. The online forums are filled with mixed reviews on the level of customer service they received while onboard. Many attribute this to the staff being American; however, I find this to be much too narrow of a thought process. I did find certain instances where the service was lacking, however, you re on vacation, try to ignore these limited instances and enjoy yourself. For the price you re paying for what you experience, it can be overlooked.
Day 1 My group and I flew into Honolulu International Airport and gathered our luggage at the carousel. Immediately outside the terminal is a taxi station with an employee who will assist you and your party with transportation to and from your hotel and/or the port. The fare from the Airport france rental cars to Waikiki was $35. I chose to fly in a day before to allow myself time to acclimate to the time change from the East coast of the United States.
I was looking for a safe, clean, inexpensive hotel in the Waikiki area within walking distance to the beach. I found this in the Miramar Waikiki. The hotel was booked for around $145 on Hotels.com, and really exceeded france rental cars my expectations.
We were all upgraded to an Oceanview room with balcony on the 15th floor. This hotel is in close proximity to many shops and restaurants, and within a couple of blocks to the beach. There is a Denny s right outside the hotel for breakfast, and the International Market place for shopping outside the hotels door. I found a fantastic Vietnamese Pho place in this market, and was the best meal I had while in Hawaii.
We left the Miramar Hotel at around noon and took a cab to the Port. ($22 cab fare) Upon arrival, you are instructed to tag your luggage and take them via a short walk to the baggage handlers who scan the luggage. Once they take your luggage, you are required to check-in and establish your onboard account with Norwegian. This is your sole source of buying power while onboard, cash is not accepted anywhere onboard. Now that the technicalities are complete, you are ready for 7 days of seeing some of the most beautiful islands in the world.
If you notice I got to onboard around lunchtime. The ship can be boarded this early even though it doesn t sail until later into the afternoon. The Aloha Café is available for lunch, and we took full advantage of it. I was impressed with the fact that along with standard American france rental cars fare, there was an Asian and Indian section of the buffet each day. After lunch, we waited for approximately 30 minutes and they began to announce the floor number of rooms that were available. This proved to be ample time for my wife and I to get settled into our balcony france rental cars stateroom and take a nap prior to dinner. We booked a balcony stateroom (7158), and once we entered the room we were a little surprised france rental cars by the size of the stateroom. It was smaller than other balcony rooms we ve booked in the past, with less storage, and a smaller TV. It should also be noted that the bathroom didn t come with complimentary france rental cars toiletries that I ve seen onboard other ships. The size etc isn t a deal breaker, and once we got used to it, it became a non-issue. The balconies are sufficient in size, with 2 chairs and a small table.
The ship arrived in the port of Kahului france rental cars (Maui) at 7 am and would be docked there until 6 pm the following day. Since this was an overnight stop, passengers are allowed to come and go as they please no matter the time of night. The area where we were docked is an industrial warehouse area, and after you leave the boat many of the car rental agencies provide shuttle s to pick up rental france rental cars cars. I highly recommend renting your own car on each of the islands, with the possible exception of Kona, and I ll expound on that later. Also, you should reserve the car prior to your arrival to ensure availability. The rates are really reasonable on all of the islands.
Our next decision was: Where do we go and what do we see? I m sure every guidebook you will ever read on Maui will command you to drive the Road to Hana. I was dead set on doing this prior to getting here, but I tend to look for signs pointing me in certain directions. One such sign came to me over a Grand Slam Breakfast Our waitress at Denny s in Oahu was a Hawaiian native, and as it turns out, a well-traveled sage! Her advice to me was that I should definitely france rental cars drive the road to Hana if I wanted to be stressed out, stuck in traffic for 4 hours, only to arrive at a town with very little to do. She advised us to see the Haleakala Crater and to travel around france rental cars the road that leads to Lahaina and see the same scenery. I know I ll have some that will disagree with me, but I m glad I went with my gut. So
After picking up our rental car, we decided to drive to Haleakala National Park to see the Haleakala Crater. The cruise line offers both sunrise and sunset bike rides down the crater. I m certain france rental cars this would be a site to behold; however, we decided just to see the island at our leisure and didn t want to be on any set schedule. The drive into the park is very simple (using a GPS), and prior to entering the park, look for the Kula Lodge. There is a small store next door to the restaurant that is your last chance to get food and snacks prior to entering the park.
I was a little concerned france rental cars about visibility in the crater since it was so late in the morning, as this can be an issue; however we had 100% visibility and were astonished at the views from the summit. The drive up was great as you actually drive through the clouds on your way to 10,000 + feet in the air. I would caution anyone with any health conditions affected by altitude to consult a physician. I personally have asthma, and could feel my chest tighten and heart rate increase, but it wasn t so bad that I couldn t enjoy myself. After leaving the park, it was lunch time and we chose to go back to the Kula Lodge for lunch. The food here was somewhat pricey at lunch, but we grabbed a pizza, and enjoyed the phenomenal view from off the back deck.
After lunch, we traveled to the Maui Ocean Center, a large aquarium with many exhibits located france rental cars about 25 minutes from the cruise port. The exhibits were great, admission was around $22, and you can see most of the sights within about 2 hours. After our visit, we returned to the ship to relax and eat dinner. You are allowed to park your rental car overnight in a lot within close walking distance to the ship. On our second day in Maui, we decided to travel up the coast to Lahaina to see some sights,and do some shopping. The road that leads to Lahaina is filled with beautiful beaches, and mountains and it becomes increasingly more difficult to keep driving, when you really just want to pull over and hang out on the beach all day. If you feel so inclined, I m sure you won t regret it. I should point out that once you enter Lahaina, you will want to look for the Old Lahaina Front St.This is where the shopping france rental cars is. There is another Front Street, but there isn t much shopping.
The shopping in Lahaina consists of many chain stores, france rental cars local artisans, many restaurants, and you re right on the water, so it s a very relaxing environment. There is a Bubba Gumps, Kimos, and several other highly rated restaurants. However, when I m out of town, I like to eat what the locals eat. So we headed to Aloha Mixed Plate. Aloha Mixed Plate is a favorite of locals and tourists alike. They have a great outdoor seating area near the water, and they have ample supplies of cold drinks, and their mixed plates were the best I had while in the islands. The Kalua pork was outstanding! The service was a little slow; however, the one waitress that was in our area was doing her best to satisfy everyone.After lunch, we returned our rental to the agency.
Hilo Same drill . Exited the boat, caught a shuttle to my pre-booked rental agency and drove to Volcanoes france rental cars National Park. This area of Hilo has lots of shops and gas stations to stop en route for snacks restrooms etc Since we only had one day in Hilo, time was of the essence. We entered the park (for a nominal fee) and found that all of the attractions were clearly marked, and could be easily driven france rental cars on your own. We first stopped at the steam vents, an area where the heat from the volcano causes steam when it comes into contact with water.
A few steps away from this you have a scenic overlook, and once you leave from here, drive directly to the Jagger Museum. Here you find information on the Kilauea, and the best views of the volcano. The loop around the volcano is currently france rental cars closed due to volcanic fumes, but the areas that are open, are spectacular. On the way out of the park, make sure you take a walk through the lava tubes.
After leaving Volcanoes National Park, type in Mauna Loa Macadamia Farm into the old GPS, and take a self-guided tour of this enormous Macadamia Plantation. The tour itself isn t all t