Norwegian Cruise Line’s ship, Pride of America, is a convenient way to see a large portion of the Hawaiian Islands with your family.
Part 2: Days 4-6
Day 4: Pride of America-Norwegian Cruise Line
NCL Pride of America
After our hike at Diamond Head, we decided it was time to make our way to the cruise ship to embark on our adventure. Donnie dropped us off at the terminal and went to park the car at the nearby Enterprise rental agency. It was within walking distance for an adult but not kids with luggage so Donnie volunteered. We checked our luggage and waited for Donnie to return so we could check in together. We were greeted with flower lei’s for the ladies, kukui nut leis for the men, and Menehune necklaces for the kids.
NCL Terminal
Our cruise was a 7 night round trip that originated in Honolulu. NCL also has an 11 Night cruise that includes land tours on Oahu.
https://www.ncl.com/cruise-destinations/hawaii-cruises
Since we had a suite, we were lead to a private area to check in that had appetizers and snacks. We also got to be privately escorted onto the ship, along with another family that was checking in at the same time as us. The suite was really nice and could fit 6 people but 5 was just right. It had a King bed, a sofa bed, and a Murphy bed. It also had a mini fridge and coffee maker.
Suite number 13014
The balcony was huge, almost the size of the suite itself. The ship had recently been refurbished so everything was pretty new and updated.
Balcony and view from Balcony at the port in Oahu
We registered the kids at the kids club, Splash Academy (ages 3-12). The younger ones need to be potty trained. There wasn’t a whole lot in the rooms at the club, but the counselors had lots of fun games and activities that it didn’t matter. My kids loved the club and begged to go and hated to leave each day. The Guppies Nursery is for ages 6 months of age to under 3 years old and Entourage is for teens age 13-17.
Splash Academy for ages 3-12
We all had dinner together (all 16 of us) in our assigned dining room, Liberty, that night as our ship was sailing towards the island of Maui.
Cousin table in Liberty main dining room
Day 5: Maui
Our first stop was snorkeling at Kuau cove right behind Mama’s Fish House (a popular eatery, but we didn’t eat there). It had amazing fish and one huge turtle! Public “Beach Access” parking is limited to a few spots unless you are eating at Mama’s. Snorkeling at Kuau Cove was protected, fairly calm, and safe. We also saw an eel, sea urchins, and crabs.
Kuau Cove behind Mama’s Fish House Restaurant
Later in the afternoon, we toured Haleakala Crater (pictures coming soon). Henry was our tour guide on the charter bus. This is one of the few excursions we signed up for on the ship. We just happened to see my brother and his family at the top of the crater at the same time. They drove their rental car up there.
Travel Tip: Save some money and just rent a car to drive to the top of Haleakala. I had read that it was a challenging drive but it was totally doable in a car. Since we had come up on the bus (about a 60-90 minute drive one way), my brother drove us up to the very tip top just another half mile up to the observation windows at the 10,000 ft elevation spot. It was cold up on the crater. It was probably around 50 degrees F or less on average so wear something warm. We watched the sunset and then headed back on the charter bus to make our way back down the crater. To me, the drive down watching all the different constantly changing colors of the sunset was almost better than the sunset at the top of the crater. The down side of the charter bus (or it could be an upside depending on how you look at it), was the bathroom on it being closed. We forgot to have my youngest (5 year old) use the bathroom at the observation area before we boarded the bus again. He had to go really bad and I was worried he wouldn’t make it back to the ship in time. We finally asked Henry if he could pull over so Owen could go outside. He was very kind and understanding to let Owen do that. Thank goodness!
Travel Tip: Bring some extra cash to tip the tour bus drivers if you feel they went above and beyond their call of duty. We got back to the cruise ship and ate dinner at Skyline restaurant, the other main dining room, then turned in for the night.
Day 6: Maui (continued)
On our second day on Maui, we went to Ka’anapali Beach. We parked in the parking garage of the Sheraton hotel for $5. It was a nice beach with lifeguards, bathrooms and boards you could rent. This is normally a calm beach, but the day we went, there was a really strong undertow so the kids just played in the sand after getting tossed like salad a couple of times. Waves came all the way up and got our stuff and Nana (my mom) wet. The kids had a blast.
Kids frolicking on Ka’anapali Beach
There was an area down the beach a little ways called “black rock” (lava rock formation) where people were snorkeling but we didn’t do it this time.
While the rest of my extended family went back to the cruise ship, we had the idea of continuing north on the coastal highway to check out the rest of the northern tip of Maui. Maui is the shape of what looks like a human torso and we went driving to the top of and around the head. Our plan was to try to maybe stop at a pineapple plantation on our way back to the ship in Kuhului, the back of the neck if you are looking at the island as if it were a torso. Let me back up and say that we decided against driving the “Road to Hana” because we heard it had lots of twists and turns that could make us car sick which has started happening to me as I’ve gotten older. And also I heard that it wasn’t the safest drive either due to it’s narrow, winding, one lane roads.
Little did we know that the Kahekili Highway was essentially the “Other Road to Hana”. Luckily we were going in the best direction for traveling on this highway (north so we were on the inside lane and not on the cliffside) with hairpin curves, narrow lanes (some were just wide enough for one car) with few guardrails, and falling rocks.
Kahekili Highway: one lane road with dropoff on the left side
We saw a large rock that looked like it just recently landed in our lane and can’t imagine what damage it could have done to our car if it landed on us.
Large rock in the road
Travel tip: If you want to drive the “other Road to Hana”, drive it going north so you aren’t cliffside, have a full tank of gas as it is a long drive and no gas stations, empty your bladder before leaving as it’s pretty remote, drive during the day, drive slowly, and also drive the smallest size care that you can. Luckily we drove a small car rather than a mini van or large SUV. Also there is very little cell service out there, just FYI. Also we made the mistake of not bringing cash with us so we couldn’t buy fruit or homemade baked goods from the roadside stands (they can’t take credit cards due to poor cell service).
I didn’t take as many pictures of the highway views because I was a bit nervous at some points on the road. One treat we got for our daring drive was getting to see the Nakalele blowhole, a natural formation where the power of the ocean is funneled through a lava rock keyhole.
Travel Tip: If you visit any blowholes, stay far enough away as you can get sucked into the hole and drown. Don’t let small children play near the blowhole, hold their hands the entire time and keep a safe distance. It was a little rough in terrain so we just walked to a ledge that overlooked the hole from a safe distance but still be careful with little ones as there is no railing there.
Afterward, we headed back to the cruise ship boat and the kids spent some time playing in the pool with cousins. There was some singing and conga lines going on as well. Donnie and I had a date night at La Cucina, one of the specialty restaurants, while the kids ate and played at the Kid’s Club (Splash Academy). They were getting ready for a circus show they would perform at the end of the week and the kids seemed very serious about it. We had an awesome view of Maui during dinner. Then it was time for bed to see what our next adventure would be!
View from La Cucina
See Adventures in Hawaii: Part 3
