By: Alisha
Family and friends. This cruise was an extra special cruise for us. This time, it was Jeo and myself. We had no kids and was just the two of us. Jeo and I wed in March of 1997. We have not had our own trip by ourselves since we were on our honeymoon. Those who have children will understand the sacrifice that is given when raising a family. Although we have vacationed as a family, we have not had time just the two of us, by ourselves. After 22 years, Jeo and I were blessed with an extra special anniversary gift from my parents and that was a cruise around Hawaii! Oh my goodness. We were so excited. I don’t think the words could even express how exciting this was going to be. We picked dates that would not impact the business. Of course, that happens to be the slowest time of us which also happens to be in August, our hottest time of the year. Who cares! We were cruising. I don’t think anything would have ruined this trip. I have to admit, until we were on the airplane, it was surreal. After all this time, we were alone, no kids, just us two for a whole seven days! We are used to Grandma taking care of all the planning. This trip, we got to do it ourselves. Boy oh boy. What to do? There was so much to do…so many excursions to sign up for. We picked a couple and decided the rest of the time we would just see how it goes. Those are always interesting.
8/10 – Honolulu. We flew to Honolulu to catch our cruise ship. The flight was not bad. We had assigned seats which made it so much nicer and we were two seats on our side of the plane. It was nice to finally land. It was humid when we got off but overall, it wasn’t bad weather. When we reached the port, we were greeted with leis. The check in process was not fast enough for our excitement, but was actually pretty quick. We arrived quite early. I think we got there about 30 minutes after the earliest check in time. When we made it to the boat, we had to wait for our room to be ready. No problem. We headed to the buffet for some lunch then off to see what they had going on. We walked around the boat. As we were walking, there was an announcement for corn hole. We had fun playing. We didn’t win, but still a lot of fun and we met one of the entertainment staff. He was from Indiana! When the announcement came for our room to be ready, we went to check it out. It was nice. It was smaller than expected, especially the bathroom, but it wasn’t bad at all. We were able to move around nicely. Where we were located on the boat, we did our safety drill inside the theater. It was great. We didn’t need to stand outside in the humid heat. Our first sit-down dinner went well. They were slow, but we were just excited to be here that we were dealing with it. After we ate, we went outside to watch the boat sail away. The pilot boat showed off a little bit for us. We are off! Jeo and I are officially sailing away enjoying our week long trip. We watched the evening show. They introduced the acts that would be performing during the week, dances, singing, comedy, and magic. It was a great first day.
8/11 – Day 1 Maui. We woke up early and had breakfast. The breakfast buffet was pretty busy. Jeo was excited to get his omelets made. After breakfast we were off to our first excursion. Our excursion consisted of snorkeling and seeing sea turtles. Our first stop was snorkeling and looking at the different fish and turtles. The company provided us with a light breakfast. This was a full boat and everyone was very excited. We had people around us getting their cell phones in their plastic pouches. We brought a camera that can go in water as well as my cell phone (that can get wet). During this first water adventure, the small waterproof camera did not work. We used the cell phone and were so pleased that we did. The pictures came out so well. We had fun taking selfies and pictures of each other under the water as well as the fish and the coral. We did not see any turtles at this stop. We were told we would see them at the next stop. After we were done snorkeling at this stop, we were allowed to jump off the boat. Jeo was excited to do this. He and a couple other people were jumping, diving, and doing flips off the boat. The water was perfect as was the weather. I got burned before I left for Hawaii so I ended up renting a scuba jacket to keep the sun off my back. That was a good decision. We were also able to see the mountain that was bombed during Pearl Harbor. They said that nobody lived there. When we got back on the boat to make our way to the next stop, we over heard a couple people saying they didn’t get good pictures with their phone (in the case). I looked at our pictures and was so happy our pictures came out so nicely. Off to the second stop. This location was known to have more turtles. We saw one turtle. Others saw it first. I swam to where the turtle was seen and it didn’t want to come back up. After a while, it did and I was right there to see it. We were told to stay back to give it space. I was able to stay back although the current was pulling me toward it. I was able to get some good pictures. I was thrilled the rest of the day. I could not wait to tell Jade. I wanted to show her right then and there, but wanted to wait until I could see her face. We spent the rest of the time jumping off the boat and swimming around. When we got back to the ship, we realized we got sun burnt even with sun screen. I got burnt on my legs (I forgot to put sunscreen there) and Jeo noticed it on his shoulders. Our dinner experience was better tonight than yesterday. Our server was more attentive and friendly. When the sun set, the weather was so perfect. It was cool and comfortable. Sitting on the seats outside was a great way to end the evening.
8/12 – Day 2 Maui. Our second and final day on Maui. One of the staff mentioned a couple places to see while we were here and thought we’d take a look. We took a city buss and went exploring. We saw a Banyan tree which took a city block. We did a lot of walking. We noticed wild chickens running around. It was so cute to watch them. We were enjoying the view as well as the landscapes. There were so many flowers. We don’t see many flowers in Arizona with the heat. Jeo picked one and put it on my ear. Awwww, right?? The location of the Banyan tree was on the other side of the island. We did a little bit of traveling with the busses. The drivers were very friendly. We walked a couple malls. Everyone was very friendly. They could start up a conversation with anyone. It was nice. When we got back to the ship, we decided we would eat sushi. I don’t eat sushi, but this is vacation and we are on a cruise. It’s all about trying new things. Jeo ordered the rolls for us. It’s wasn’t too bad. It was better than I expected it to be. Of course, Jeo loved it, but he loves sushi. I am glad he ordered for me because I am sure I would have ordered something nasty. After dinner, we went to watch a show. Tonight’s show was the Not so Newlywed Show. They take three couples and ask them questions about each other to see how much they remember about the other partner. It was quite funny and everyone was having a very good time. It’s much funnier when the contestants are into it as well. Day 2 went well. The boat was off to our next stop.
8/13 – Day 3 Hilo. We did not have any excursions planned for Hilo so we decided to take a tour on one of the Hop On-Hop Off busses. We signed up for their volcano tours. Before the volcano tour started, there were some stops. Our first stop was Rainbow Falls. We did not see any rainbows but that doesn’t mean the view was anything less than spectacular. Jeo’s first comment was, I wonder how many people have jumped off this. See a pattern of him jumping off things into the water? We also explored some Banyan trees. They are very popular in Hawaii. They were so beautiful…giving off so much shade. We even did some “prohibited” exploring. There was a path and we couldn’t say no to seeing what was over there. It was great! The next stop we visited a market. Jeo had been wanting Hawaiian fruit. There was so much fruit there. The first thing he looked for was a coconut. We saw some very big avocados. The weather was overcast and nice. It did rain in the morning. On our way to the volcanos, we stopped by the Mauna Loa macadamia nut factory. We did not get to spend a lot of time there, but we did get to try their ice cream. It was great. We saw a gecko there. We tried to get a good picture, but it was shy. The farm had a lot of trees. We noticed a tree with green hanging fruit. We were told they were like potatoes. Too bad they didn’t have anything for us to try. They did have even more different plants and flowers we were able to capture. The next stop was the volcanos. Kilauea was the first one. It was huge. We were able to take some good picture. We left that stop and headed to the Lua Manu volcano. We were able to see a section where the lava burned the tree and the mold of the tree was still there. It was pretty awesome. We had two more stops to go. We visited the orchid farm. It was pretty neat to see them bread different orchids. It was a great place to take even more pictures of the flowers. Our final stop was the beach. This was the one stop we wanted to do the most and was supposed to be done more in the morning, but the tour guide said the turtles were not around in the morning and so we were going to see it in the afternoon. We were only about to spend about 15 minutes, but were able to see the black stand beach. We did not see any sea turtles. The tour guide was nice and was informative. The trip, overall, was a success. When we got back to the boat, it was time for dinner. We cleaned up and tried out the dinner buffet. They served different food than the restaurant. It was good. After dinner, we saw a magic show. It was fun. The magician was entertaining and funny.
8/14 – Day 4 Kona. This week is just going by way too fast. We needed to get more sunscreen for the white girl. We made our way to a Walmart. They actually had shuttles to the store. I guess Walmart really wants the business. This Walmart was on the top of a hill that gave a great picture of the Norwegian cruise boat. We did not get to experience the beach yesterday, so today we were going to. We used another Hop On-Hop Off busses and took it to the beach. We were looking to do more swimming and to see if we could find the turtles. On our way to the beach, we saw the church where John Wayne married. It was cool. Jeo was also telling the driver how we live close by John Wayne’s house in Maricopa. The water was a little murkier than the snorkeling, but it was still nice. Jeo took the camera and went further out to the ocean while I stayed closer to the shore. The further he got out to the ocean, the better the water was and he was able to get more pictures. While I was waiting for Jeo to finish exploring the ocean floor, I saw a sea turtle. It was eating and eating. I wasn’t sure how long it was going to stay, but it stayed a long time. Jeo made it back to shore and was able to see it as well. We were not able to get the best pictures, but we were able to take some videos of it coming up out of the water. After we were done with the beach, we hopped back on the buss and walked around. We went to another market where Jeo got more fruit. We went to a park. It was so nice and with the trees, the weather was nice. It was so relaxing. We met another couple who was just sitting there all day. We made our way back to the boat in time to enjoy another beautiful sunset. Tonight’s dinner was at the Chinese restaurant on board. We did not realize this was complimentary to the cruise and had to have reservations until a couple days ago. It was great. The food was very good. Unfortunately, there were no more available reservations for the remainder of the cruise. It’s okay because we got to experience it at least once. After dinner, we watched a comedy show. It was super funny. He would talk to the guests and make jokes based on their responses. It was a great day in Kona. Off to the next island we go.
8/15 – Day 5 Kaua’i. We made another trip to Walmart. We saw more wild chickens. They had super inexpensive water. We stocked up for the day. While we were waiting for the shuttle, I tried to catch one of the roosters. He didn’t want me to catch him; but it was fun running after it. We visited Hilo Hattie. This location has the biggest Hawaiian shirt made. It’s a 200XL. We had to take a picture. It was huge. One of the hotels had a koi fish and a botanical garden. We walked around and took pictures. It was so peaceful. We sat on the bench and enjoyed the view and surroundings. Jeo found another flower and put it on me. Awwww, right? Such a sweetie he is. There was an art gallery. We visited it and saw the different paintings and pieces. We walked around the stores. Our next excursion was a luau. It was a neat and entertaining experience. We were able to see where they buried the pig. We arrived about 1 hour before the food was served. That one hour, it was very warm where the seating area was at so we walked around as much as possible outside. When the dinner started, we went to the buffet line to get food. The pig was very good. We did not need to add anything extra (sauces). They suggested to try the poi, but it was so bland and did not taste good to us. We were sitting in a spot that allowed for us to see the performance without any problems. The camera was able to capture everything well as well as some of the videos. The best part was the fire. The performance was flawless. After the event was over, busses took everyone back to the boats. We arrived in time to see another magic show. During the show, the magician asked for volunteers who would be willing to let him put their rings together. I volunteered my ring. It was pretty cool to see all the rings linked together and then he separated them. The magician said he even put another diamond in there, however, I counted and he didn’t. Should I ask for my money back? It’s was a great performance.
8/16 – Day 6 Kaua’i. We briefly walked the town again. This day was a shorter day keeping us closer to the boat. After we walked around and decided we would spend the rest of the day, our final day, on the boat. We at lunch and watched the entertainment by the pool. After a while of watching this, we decided to walk around the boat. We saw some of the couples and families we met throughout the week and chatted for a little bit. We found a nice spot on the side of the boat and took a little nap. We watched the boat sail off Kaua’i as we headed for Honolulu. The water was so blue and so beautiful. Our last dinner, we decided to eat in the dinner area and see the waiter we had earlier in the week. The food was good. We had a great view of the sunset at our table. It was too bad the windows were not so clear, but it was still very nice to see. The last night of entertainment was the comedian. We watched the non-kid friendly show. It was funny. We saw a family we had seen multiple times on the ship. They were so friendly and nice. They bought Jeo a drink. It is so nice to meet new people who are having a great time like we are. It was time to say good-bye to our last night aboard the ship. It was going to be an early day for us.
This week was so short. We were looking forward to seeing the kids, but were sad to say bye to our week long vacation of total pampering. It was so great to get to spend this week with just the two of us alone. The kids did awesome taking care of the house and the business while we were gone. We are proud of them for being responsible and trustworthy.
