Carole, we had a FABULOUS trip! At the beginning of our trip, we spent five nights at the Westin Moana Surfrider in Waikiki -- highly recommend! It was only a five-hour time difference, but the time change kicked my butt the first few days. I could not sleep well for the first few nights and was awake far earlier than I wanted to be on my vacation! During this time we ate and shopped, played in the ocean, visited Pearl Harbor, toured both the North Shore and the East side lookouts, visited Iolani Palace and snorkeled with turtles. We also had plenty of down time for relaxing and just doing nothing! Had a negative proctored Covid test, which was a huge relief!
Then we boarded the seven-night cruise. We had placed a bid for a penthouse suite on the Norwegian Pride of America (honestly, didn't bid much more than the minimum), and we found out three days before sailing that our bid was accepted! Honestly, this made our trip, with the addition of the specialty dining restaurant for breakfast and lunch, a butler, a concierge and a lovely large balcony!
I don't know how much you know about Hawaii, but during our two days on Maui we did a halfway to Hana tour with a private guide and visited Haleakala National Park. We also had two nights on the Big Island -- one of the Hilo side and one on the Kona side. During this time, we did a small group tour of Volcanoes National Park and a historic tour of Kona. On our first day on Kauai, we did a cruise ship excursion that was an island tour and a luau. It was overcast, so a couple of the views weren't that great, and it was a BIG group. Still, I think everyone should do a luau at least once, and now I've done it! On our second day in Kauai, we had planned a private Cessna plane tour of the beautiful Na Pali coast, but our plane had engine trouble before we arrived, and we were unable to book a replacement on late notice. We had also arranged a private dinner on our balcony to view the Na Pali coast from the ship, but it was cloudy! So Kauai was a bit of a disappointment, but I can't complain too much when the rest of the cruise was so lovely.
The ship was sailing at 40% capacity, and I think the crew is at somewhere between 30-40% of normal. They're a U.S. flagged ship, and the vast majority of their crew must be U.S. citizens. Like many service industries, they're having a very hard time recruiting and keeping staff. We LOVED the small crowd, and we found our service to be exemplary, but I'm sure that was impacted by the wonderful staff who cared for suite guests. I didn't care one whit that there was little nighttime entertainment, and fewer bars open in the evening, though I've seen my fair share of complaining online. I didn't want to visit most of those places much after dinner anyway! As I was waiting in line at guest services to leave an additional gratuity for our butler and steward, I witnessed another guest simply railing at a poor worker. It made me so uncomfortable, embarrassed and sad for the worker. These folks work 12+ hour days, and I never encountered one person who failed to smile back at me and give me the best service possible. I went in to it with fairly moderate expectations, and those expectations were met and exceeded. I don't know when people get the idea that they can treat people with such disrespect and downright meanness.
After we left the ship, we stayed at Disney Aulani for two nights, during which time we did absolutely nothing except play in the water, lie in the sun, read, rest and eat. We had a good time, and Aulani is beautiful, but I found it to be very, very crowded. Of course, it was the weekend, and I hear it's much busier then. And I arrived home with cold-like symptoms, took a Covid test as a precaution and learned I was POSITIVE. Ugh! Luckily, I have had two vaccines and two boosters, so I had a very mild case.
All in all, it was a trip of a lifetime for us! I found myself smiling the entire time, as I never thought I would make it to Hawaii. My grandfather was a Pearl Harbor survivor, and I grew up hearing all about Hawaii, as my grandparents returned several times for reunions. I would love to return one day, but my bucket list is long, my budget is not unlimited and I am not as young as I used to be.
I'm now planning a short
Disneyland trip for later this month as I accompany my husband on a conference trip. And our Disney/Universal trip for November!
I'm so glad to hear you had a great trip, and I can't wait to read all about it! I will be taking notes, as I plan for our Universal days to be much more relaxed than the Disney days we have with our grandson (and his parents!).