Hawaii Summary

So this is my final review on our Hawaiian Vacation.

Hopefully it will help someone out who is 

planning a trip to Hawaii!

First, I am so glad we chose to do a cruise vs

just flying to one island.

I know cruises aren't for everyone, but if you

have ever priced a trip to Hawaii, then you know

how expensive it can be.

Cruising was much more affordable, and it allowed us 

to visit multiple islands vs just staying on 1.

Plus with cruises, you can make payments over time.

So book early so you have  longer to pay on it.

And since food is included in the price, we saved big time

in not having to pay for 3 meals a day x 4 people!

(A whopper meal at a local Burger King was $9!)

 The downside to a cruise is you don't really get enough time to 

fully explore an entire island.

But, you can still get a lot in if you plan right.

Here was the schedule I had written out for us.

I took this notebook along with all my print outs for

receipts for rental cars, passes, groupons, etc.

This kept us very organized because each night the guys

would ask, so what's next on the agenda. 

Initially they said I had too much planned but we actually ended up with a 

lot of down time to relax.

One major way we saved money was that my brother applied for one of 

those credit cards that give you travel rewards.

So we gave him the cash for the plane tickets and he purchased them on his card.

This racked up lots of points, plus he was able to

pay the card off right away.

We used those points for rental cars in Honolulu, Maui, & Hilo.

We also used the points for our "day hotel" in Honolulu from when we returned from the cruise.

My next very important piece of advice is to use the 

hell out of Google for good deals and research everything.

A lot of people feel safer booking their excursions right through the

cruise line. And I totally understand that logic if we were cruising to 

Mexico maybe, but Hawaii is in the good ol USA so I took my

chances and it paid off wonderfully!

For us, we created a MUST DO list for Hawaii.

We all agreed you can't go to Hawaii without:

Seeing Pearl Harbor

 $39 vs $59+ per person

Going to a Luau

 This was $100 either way but based on 

online reviews, we decided not to book with the cruise bc we

read it would be overcrowded.

Seeing a Volcano 

$10 total vs $100 per person
Rode in our own vehicle and stopped when we wanted

Road to Hana

Free rental car vs $139 per person
Rode in our own car vs being crowded 
in a van with 12 other people for 8+ hours

Going to the Beach

Once we had our list, we compared the prices on the cruise website

to all the various links on the Internet.

For me, 9 times out of 10 we found it was much cheaper 

to book things ourselves.

 Definitely check Groupon.

I can't tell you how many times this website

has saved us money! 

I found great deals for dinner, sails, spa, etc.

For plane tickets, it's really hit or miss.

Flying from the east coast to Hawaii is going to be expensive. Period.

But we downloaded this app called Sky Scanner and we just randomly checked the 

prices every week.

We got our tickets for $550 per person which is still high,

but to us it was low because every other time we checked, the flights were about $900. 

So we were extremely happy to get them for $550.

 If you have any questions let me know!

I'm no expert but I will definitely help if I can.

Day 8- Hawaii Recap

(Part 1)

Today we arrived in Kauai!

Our plan for Kauai was the beach and a luau.

Isn't she lovely? Isn't she Beautiful?

(Singing in my Stevie Wonder voice!)

 Daily Breakfast shots

We spent the first part of the day swimming!

Ahh the fabulous beach!

My mom didn't want to swim so she hung out in the shade!

Oh so fun!

I'd love one of those homes right there!

 

I don't know where all the other cruisers went,

but this beach was not crowded at all.

We had such a great time here!

Day 5 - Hawaii Recap

 (Part 3 of Maui)
Monday was our last day in Maui ; it was officially my mom's 60th birthday!

So naturally, we let her decide what she wanted to do.

What does she pick?

Wal-Mart!

Norwegian is really great about providing free shuttles at every port 

to all the various rental car places and stores.

So we hoped on the free Wal-Mart shuttle and off we went.

Even the driver joked that he is always amazed at how many

people fly across the world, come to Hawaii, & go to Wal-Mart.

There were lots of Australians on our cruise ship, so many of them 

had never been to a Wal-Mart so they were very excited! lol!

I will say, the cost of souvenirs is a lot cheaper than you  would

find at the local stores. Which is good for our pockets, but bad for the 

local small business owners. 

We tried to keep that in mind when we shopped.

Hawaii has a huge Asian population, so Wal-mart caters to that.

There was octopus, squid, and various hard to find spices.

My mom was in Heaven! 

After some shopping we decided to go back to the ship to go swimming.

I can't believe we went 5 days with no beach action!

I ordered this monogrammed hat from Southern Prep Co.

Perfect for Hawaii!

While we were in the pool, NCL (Norwegian Cruise Line) sent 

over one of their "party starters."

These are basically people who initiate activities- in our case it was water volleyball.

Normally I wouldn't play because I'm on 5'1" which means I can't jump to high-

especially in water!

We had SO much fun playing with the other guests though.

Some people got too serious and thought we were going to win a grand prize, lol!

 Afterwards the multiple games of water volleyball, we hung out in the jacuzzi.

At about 6pm, the ship started to set sail to our next destination, Hilo.

So for the remainder of the night on the ship, my brother & hubby went to the 

"Gold Rush Bar"to watch football. 

My mom & I head down to a lei making class.

We were provided with Kukui nuts, ribbon, & wire.

I totally could NOT make this necklace. 

I gave up but my mom insisted that she could make them.

So she took my supplies & her supplies back to her room.

About an hour later we were meeting up for dinner & what did my mom have around her neck?

Her finished necklace, lol!

Views of leaving Maui:

  

 

 

Resting after dinner before the show of the night:

Snack before the show:

The theme for this night's show was Moulin Rouge.

The performers on this ship are really amazing!

We loved the music, costumes, & dancing!

Up next: Hilo

Day 4- Hawaii Recap

(Part 2 of Maui)

When we got back to the ship we decided to relax a little before getting ready for

dinner & the onboard show.

We found our first towel animal, an elephant!

 

After my mom rested for a few hours, she was ready to go.

We're thinking it must have been all the heat or sun beaming down directly on her 

headfrom having the top off.

 (We brought her a hat after that episode!)

Dinner in the Liberty Dining Room

 After dinner we went to the theater and watched a show called Aloha Polynesia.

It featured several dances from Tahiti, New Zealand, Tonga, Samoa, etc.

It was absolutely fabulous!

I wish I could move my hips like these ladies! lol

 

 

This was a man with the big butt below!

Well don't these guys look happy!

Up next: Day 2 of Maui