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Keith and Della's Alaska/Hawaii Cruises - 2015

KeithS
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Re: Keith and Della's Alaska/Hawaii Cruises - 2015

Postby KeithS » Fri Sep 18, 2015 4:31 pm

Day 21 – 13 September 2015 (Hilo)
We were told last night that we would enter Hilo port around 7:15 this morning and that there would be a Deck 10 photo opportunity as we sailed into port. But when I woke up at 6:50am, we had already docked and it was teeming with rain! We also noticed an ambulance and paramedics trucks awaiting our arrival. We were just tying up and then the ambulance guys went on board and then wheeled someone off the ship. They were sitting upright so it wasn’t too big a problem. Our breakfast was brought to our room at 7:30am and then we headed to our Port Adventure registration session at 8:45am.

Today we were heading out on a “Best of Hilo” tour. After check in, we headed down the gangway onto land and was given a traditional Hawaiian Lei (flowers for Della and Nutshells for me. We met our driver at the bus and his name was Earl. His first stop of the day was to be a macadamia factory. We’ve seen these before in Qld of course and this was no different, however Earl’s commentary along the way was very funny and informative.

After the nut factory, we went to two different sets of waterfalls which were quite spectacular, including Akaka Falls which were about 125 metres in height. After the falls, we went back to Hilo township and saw the statue of King Hakakakakaka-something-something, before being returned to the Disney Wonder.

As the port is some distance from the town we just decided to go back on board the ship and have lunch there.

We went downstairs to the Promenade Lounge for Disney Trivia – Della and I did really well, getting 22 out of 25, but it wasn’t enough to beat a couple of Aulani castmembers who got 24. After trivia, we went up on deck where they were having another Sail Away party. It was great fun too as they had an amazing ukulele duo called Heart and Soul who were so fast at playing that you couldn’t see the fingers move. The ship’s horn played again and we slowly backed out of Hilo and headed back to sea. We stayed on deck for a while before heading down to get changed for the show and dinner.

The show tonight was a variety act by a Hawaiian singer. He had an amazing voice but we were starting to be over all the Hawaiian language music, no matter how well it was sung! There is another similar act tomorrow night and we are debating whether to go or not!

After the show, we caught up with our new friends James and Michelle and grabbed some photos with Stitch before heading down to Parrot Cay for dinner. The restaurant was freezing tonight, so I went back to the room to get some jackets. The food was great again though. We caught up with our tablemates and heard all about their adventures in Hilo. After dinner, we met up with Daisy Duck before getting a cup of tea and retiring for the night. Tomorrow, we are heading all the way over to the other end of Hawaii, visiting Kauai and the town of Nawiliwili.
Keith

Trip history:
DLR: 2005, 06, 09, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18
DLRP: 2006
HKDL: 2006 (Mar & Sept), 11 (Apr & Dec), 14, 19
SDR: 2017
TDR: 2008, 10, 17
WDW: 2006, 13 (Mar & Sept), 16, 19
DCL: 2013, 15 (Alaska & Hawaii), 18
Aulani: 2015

KeithS
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Re: Keith and Della's Alaska/Hawaii Cruises - 2015

Postby KeithS » Fri Sep 18, 2015 4:32 pm

Day 22 – 14 September 2015 (Nawiliwili)
When I opened the blinds this morning after the alarm went off, I was greeted by bright sunshine, blue water, and nothing else! We were still at sea and I couldn’t see any land at all. I knew we weren’t due in until 9:00am or so, but I turned on the TV just to see where we were. Nawiliwili was only 20 miles away, so we were right on time. Breakfast came and we ate it on the balcony as the island came in to view and got closer and closer. There were pretty dramatic cliffs leading down to the water and I felt that at last we were seeing the Hawaii from the tourist brochures!

After breakfast and watching the ship pull into port from our balcony, we headed down to Wavebands to check in to our tour of the day – the Jewels of Kauai tour. The tour would take us to the Botanical Gardens and on a rainforest walk. We headed off the ship and met our tour guide/bus driver for the day – Sam. He was a great bloke who grew up here before heading into retail and then returning to run tours of the gardens.

We drove for about 30 minutes through rainforest vegetation until we got to the McBride-Allerton Gardens. These are gardens held in trust by JP Morgan (it is a long story about rich industrialists and bequeathed land as to how that came about) however the short of it is there are formal gardens preserved there as well as flora research. The site was also the filming location of a number of well known films such as Jurassic Park and Pirates of the Caribbean. We spent over an hour with our guide walking through the gardens as he told us the history and pointed out a lot of the plant species and what they were used for.

We then got back on the bus and headed to a lunch spot were there were turkey wraps and vegetarian wraps which were both nice. One thing we noticed is that there are feral chickens everywhere! They are actually a bit of a pest and are descendants of chickens that escaped their pens during hurricanes many years ago.

After lunch, we went on another walking trail to see a waterfall which was very nice and the site was once the bathing place for the former queen of Hawaii. After seeing the falls, we got back on the bus and discovered we had been given a DVD about the gardens to keep which was a nice surprise. We started on our return trip to the ship, but first we stopped at the park gift shop and also at a lookout at a blowhole where we saw green sea turtles in the water which was pretty cool.

As we drove back towards the ship, the clouds began rolling in and by the time we were at the dock, it was pelting down. We made a dash for the gangway after going through security and made it onboard a little wet. I should mention that security here in Hawaii is much tighter than any other cruise destination we’ve been too – photo ID checks on the bus before you get off, followed by multiple screening!

We went upstairs and grabbed some drinks before heading to our room. We both fell asleep after all the walking and woke up around 6pm. We weren’t planning on doing the show tonight anyway so we just got ready for dinner. At 7:30 however, we decided to go to a variety act in Wavebands featuring a guy called Heath Hyche who is a comedian. He was hilarious too and we really enjoyed him.

Dinner tonight was in Triton’s restaurant. I have been photographing the menus because we’ve been eating so much that I can’t remember what I’ve eaten from day to day!

After dinner, we headed up to level 4 to get a photo with Buzz Lightyear and while there we ran into James and Michelle again so we had a good chat about our respective days before retiring for the night. Tomorrow we are on the island of Maui in the port town of Kahului.
Keith

Trip history:
DLR: 2005, 06, 09, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18
DLRP: 2006
HKDL: 2006 (Mar & Sept), 11 (Apr & Dec), 14, 19
SDR: 2017
TDR: 2008, 10, 17
WDW: 2006, 13 (Mar & Sept), 16, 19
DCL: 2013, 15 (Alaska & Hawaii), 18
Aulani: 2015

KeithS
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Re: Keith and Della's Alaska/Hawaii Cruises - 2015

Postby KeithS » Fri Sep 18, 2015 4:33 pm

Day 23 – 15 September 2015 (Kahului)
Today is an early start day as our port adventure check in time was 8am – our destination, the volcano crater at Haleakana. We set the alarm for 6am so we could shower and get ready by the time breakfast arrived at 7am. It was mostly sunny skies when we arrived in Kahului although there were dark clouds over the hills outside of town. We headed to the theatre on Deck 4 to check in to our tour and shortly afterwards we were heading to our coach out of town.

Today’s bus driver was Dwayne and he was just like the driver we had the day before. The journey to the volcano was only 38 miles but in that distance, you travel from 10 feet above sea level, to 9,900 feet above (three times the height of Katoomba). Most people on the bus were dressed for Hawaii which made me and Della smile a little as it was definitely going to get cold and the guide told them that too – luckily we’d bought our Alaskan coats with us as we knew it would get cold.

At about 3,000 feet, we stopped at a roadside gift shop and restroom. It reminded me of the little stop off points that used to exist up the Blue Mountains in the old days. We just bought some water there before getting back on the bus but we already noticed it was getting cooler. Next stop was at the National Park Ranger Station and it was definitely colder there. We had travelled through quite a lot of cloud on the road up and it was sprinkling rain as well.

By the time we got to the crater car park, we were completely hidden in the cloud and couldn’t see a thing!!! It was freezing cold with a howling wind, but you could only see ten feet in front of you. We headed to the gift shop and bought some crater memorabilia and headed back to our bus. There were three buses waiting to depart and the first one left. Ours started its engine and just as we were about to leave, the sun came out! Our bus driver said to run back to the crater in case it was visible, so we all got off and ran up to the crater fence and the whole crater valley was laid out before us – it was amazing!!! We were so lucky we weren’t on that first bus as they missed the whole show!

It took about an hour to return to the ship and after we got onboard, we had a late lunch before heading out across the street at the cruise terminal to a local Maui mall – unfortunately there wasn’t a lot there so we went back to the ship for food and a drink.

After writing a journal update, we got ready for tonight’s show – Disney Dreams. I mentioned on the Alaskan cruise how good this was and it didn’t disappoint again. We watched it closer to the stage and it seemed even better! It is a terrific production. After Dreams we did some more photos before heading to Animator’s Palette for dinner where we caught up with Mike and Patricia. During the dinner, Patricia mentioned that she thought their room host was handing out lithographs for this cruise.

When we returned to our room after dinner – we had a big envelope left on our bed containing the Hawaiian cruise lithograph! It was a great little present – apparently the cruise line gives them out on special one-off cruises like Hawaii and Panama, or the first cruise of a new route. We went upstairs to grab a drink for the evening before retiring – tomorrow we arrive in Honolulu as we get close to the end of our wonderful cruise!
Keith

Trip history:
DLR: 2005, 06, 09, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18
DLRP: 2006
HKDL: 2006 (Mar & Sept), 11 (Apr & Dec), 14, 19
SDR: 2017
TDR: 2008, 10, 17
WDW: 2006, 13 (Mar & Sept), 16, 19
DCL: 2013, 15 (Alaska & Hawaii), 18
Aulani: 2015

KeithS
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Re: Keith and Della's Alaska/Hawaii Cruises - 2015

Postby KeithS » Fri Sep 18, 2015 4:34 pm

Day 24 – 16 September 2015 (Honolulu)
I had to get up this morning at 6am because we had a message that we’d spent more than the $800 which is the US Duty Free limit, so I had to meet US Customs officials at 6:45am when they boarded. I looked outside and saw we were just tying up in Honolulu which was very sunny outside and warm too. I headed down to the Buena Vista Theatre with my Customs form and explained to them that my new wife had gone crazy in the jewellery store. They nodded sagely and I could see the sympathy behind their eyes as they stamped my form. They just wanted to make sure the goods weren’t staying in the US.

I got back to the room in time for breakfast and then we both headed to the check-in for our Honolulu City Tour and Arizona Memorial Tour. Once again we headed off the ship and hopped on the bus where our driver “Cousin Dave” took charge. Firstly we drove around Honolulu City area, seeing their Chinatown, Civic/Government area, before heading up to Punchbowl Military Cemetery which was very interesting. From there, we headed up into the mountains behind Honolulu where we were going to a lookout, but when we got there – it was pouring rain! And I mean torrential! So we didn’t get out of the bus but instead headed to the north side of the island, seeing the wonderful cliff formations before taking the freeway to Pearl Harbor.

We got there about 12:30 and our tour to the floating Arizona Memorial was at 1:15, so we grabbed a bite to reach before checking out the gift shop and some of the other World War II relics. It was a very interest area and I would have liked more time to explore. At 1:10pm, we lined up for our tour and were marshalled into a movie theatre where we watched a 15 minute movie about the lead up to the attack and its aftermath. We really liked this film as for once it was balanced and factual rather than Red, White, and Blue if you know what I mean. After the film, we headed onto a boat skippered by a couple of surly US Navy seamen.

The boat took us across the waters to the USS Arizona memorial which was nicely done. It was interesting to see the oil still leaking out of the submerged vessel after all these years. The memorial lists the over 1,100 sailors who were killed during the attack. We had only about ten minutes out on the memorial as the next boat that comes along takes the previous group back to shore. It was enough though to have a good look.

Once we were back on shore, we bought some gift shop items before heading to the bus which then took us straight back to the ship. We got on board around 3:30pm and just after our arrival, there was a shipboard message to advise us about the tsunami alert that had been issued for Hawaii. They said they may take the ship out of port if a tsunami warning is issued, however it got downgraded to just an advisory so no dramas.

We had to pack this afternoon, so we spent a few hours stuffing fluffies into suitcases, along with everything else we’d bought! We just managed to fit it in but I doubt we’ll get it home without a fifth suitcase – excess baggage, here we come!!!

After packing, we headed to the atrium for the ‘Til We Meet Again party – it was great fun and we managed to get some good photos with the crew cast. We also went to Shutters to pick up all our professional photographs. We dropped the photos in our room then dragged our suitcases into the hallway in preparation of them being picked up.

Next up, we headed to our final dinner on board which was very sad as we had to say goodbye to or wonderful servers, Maurice and Sudi. They were a great team and we’d spent 17 days with them having a lot of fun every night. We also exchanged contact details with Mike and Patricia, our tablemates from Montreal who were great fun through the last ten days.

After dinner, we headed up on deck to watch the Tiharti Hawaiian group again but after watching them for a while, we headed down to Wavebands for Heart and Soul – the awesome ukulele duo. Straight after Heart and Soul, we had the cruise crew undertake their end of cruise pantomime which was hilarious – it was a wonderful way to end the cruise entertainment and we got a lot of great photos.

After the review, we walked around the ship a bit more and ran into a few of our friends doing the same thing. We said our goodbyes to people and grabbed a final cup of tea before retiring to our stateroom for the last time. I can’t describe how good the two cruises were – Alaska and Hawaii on the Disney Wonder was probably the greatest holiday experience we’ve ever had. Tomorrow we say goodbye to the Wonder, but hello to Aulani!!!
Keith

Trip history:
DLR: 2005, 06, 09, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18
DLRP: 2006
HKDL: 2006 (Mar & Sept), 11 (Apr & Dec), 14, 19
SDR: 2017
TDR: 2008, 10, 17
WDW: 2006, 13 (Mar & Sept), 16, 19
DCL: 2013, 15 (Alaska & Hawaii), 18
Aulani: 2015

KeithS
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Re: Keith and Della's Alaska/Hawaii Cruises - 2015

Postby KeithS » Fri Sep 18, 2015 4:35 pm

Day 25 – 17 September 2015 (Aulani)
Today is disembarkation day, so we had to get up early to get our breakfast as the Aulani bus was leaving the port at 9:00am. Although we were due to have breakfast with our servers in Parrot Cay, we decided just to go to the Beach Blanket Buffet as our scheduled breakfast was at 8:15 which was too late if we had to go through Customs again. We had a good buffet breakfast of bacon, eggs, hashbrowns etc. We then went to Shutters to collect our photo CD before returning back to our room to collect our carry-on bags before saying goodbye to our room and heading downstairs. We popped by Parrot Cay to say goodbye to Pat and Mike and asked them to pass on our apologies to Sudi.

We then headed to the atrium to debark, but we ran into another friend, Lindsay from the cruise staff. She know’s Michelle and Caroline from our club and she was a good friend to us throughout our cruise. We grabbed a final photograph together – which was our last act on board the ship, and we sadly headed down the gangway and into the cruise terminal. Once there, we handed in our customs form and found ourselves in the luggage hall. I grabbed a porter and got him to load our bags on a trolley and take them to the Aulani bus. The whole exit process was really quick – much better than Port Canaveral as we’d already gone through the main immigration processing in Vancouver.

Once on the bus, we hit the freeway to Aulani. It was only a 50 minute trip in sunny conditions and soon we could see the Aulani buildings in the distance. It looked amazing and as we drove up to the reception, our sadness about leaving the ship behind disappeared! We got off the bus and handed our luggage to the Bell Desk and lined up to check in. And what a line it was – with buses from the cruise ship arriving and people checking out to head off on the return cruise to Vancouver, well let’s just say the place was hectic!

Fortunately, despite the madness, the line moved on and we eventually got served by a very nice girl who got us a room on the second from top floor! She was gave Della a lei and I got another string of kukui nuts. Our room wasn’t yet ready, so we wandered around the resort, checking out the shops (groan…definitely going to get a fifth checked bag…), the restaurants, pools etc. We grabbed lunch in the Ulu Café and also got some refillable mugs. We got a call around 1:15pm saying our room was ready, so we headed straight up there.

I rang the bell desk to get our luggage delivered – but they were getting smashed so it would take an hour or so for it to arrive, so we waited in our room. It came about 40 minutes later and then we had another knock at the door and a lady delivered a bottle of Moet-Chandon Champagne, five chocolate coated strawberries, and a congratulations photo in a folder signed by Mickey and Minnie! What a nice surprise!!!

Once we got our bags sorted, we went for another walk to assess what to do for dinner, but we ended up returning to our room and ordering room service. We were too tired tonight after all the adventures of the last couple of weeks and room service seemed the better option. Tomorrow, we will spend the entire day at the resort – especially in the pools!
Keith

Trip history:
DLR: 2005, 06, 09, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18
DLRP: 2006
HKDL: 2006 (Mar & Sept), 11 (Apr & Dec), 14, 19
SDR: 2017
TDR: 2008, 10, 17
WDW: 2006, 13 (Mar & Sept), 16, 19
DCL: 2013, 15 (Alaska & Hawaii), 18
Aulani: 2015

KeithS
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Re: Keith and Della's Alaska/Hawaii Cruises - 2015

Postby KeithS » Sat Sep 19, 2015 4:55 pm

Day 26 – 18 September 2015 (Aulani)
I woke up with a headache this morning so Della went out to get us breakfast and brought it back to the room (I like this wife business!). Anyway, I recovered pretty quickly so we decided to head across the road to check out the little shopping area. When we went down to the lobby, we ran into James and Michelle from the cruise. They were heading home this afternoon as they only had a single night in Aulani.

After saying our goodbyes to them, we went out the front of the resort and headed across the road. The little shopping centre had a nice grocery and souvenir store, as well as some Hawaiian fashion shops, and a couple of eateries. We headed back to our hotel and got changed into our swimming gear. We headed down to the Waikolohe Stream which is a continuous river in Aulani that you ride on floatation tubes. We did three laps of the river and had a great time doing it. The gardens you float through are amazing with little Hawaiian sculptures all around and lots of little details that you only ever get in a Disney resort. After our three laps, we grabbed a couple of hot dogs and two beach chairs in the adults only pool area. Della got our refillable mugs and we had a drink while taking in the warm sunshine by the pool – it was tough LOL.

After eating, we went back to our room to change before going back downstairs to enquire about transport to the shopping mall tomorrow (Saturday). We want to go to the big mall in Honolulu where the main stores are located, including the Disney Store. The pick up from the resort is 1:45pm, and then the pick up from the shopping centre is at 7:20pm! Plenty of shopping time for Della…

After finding out about our transport options, we then went to the Pau Hana community hall where they hand out tablets to play the hidden Menehune game which is a treasure hunt of sorts. There are two routes, an inside route and an outside garden route. You follow instructions on the tablet and it basically lets you explore the resort and interact with various landscape items. We did the inside route first, which took about 30 minutes and took you all around the lobby area and pointed out lots of hidden details. We then did the outside route and that took ages! It leads you all over the gardens and items come to life including blow holes, volcano fire, hidden lights in the rockwork etc. It was great fun and made you walk miles around the resort’s gardens. The funny thing is, while the inside route has a story end, the outside one doesn’t and begins replaying some of the tasks again – so we took the tablet back to where we got it from and they laughed and said that the outside game never ends…arrgghhhh!

After playing the game – Della hit the shops. There is a big ShellieMay presence here in Aulani with lots of unique merchandise, so Della decided she needed it all! We spent quite a bit of time in there and I got a t-shirt.

After the shops, we got ready for dinner but first we took a walk down to the beach to watch the sunset over the ocean. It was great to go down there and see the wonderful landscaping and the sunset was spectacular – just like a postcard. After the sun had set, we headed to The Lava Shack and I had a burger and onion rings while Della had a chicken burger with fries – both were terrific. We then went straight from dinner to “The Circle of ‘Alae ‘Ula” – which is a traditional story telling fire pit. We had a Hawaiian cast member come down and light the pit and play songs and tell stories – it was really nice under the stars with the fire burning and traditional music playing along.

After that, we just grabbed two hot chocolates and headed back to the room. Tomorrow we are off shopping in Honolulu (and buying a fifth(!!!) suitcase as we have too much loot.)
Keith

Trip history:
DLR: 2005, 06, 09, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18
DLRP: 2006
HKDL: 2006 (Mar & Sept), 11 (Apr & Dec), 14, 19
SDR: 2017
TDR: 2008, 10, 17
WDW: 2006, 13 (Mar & Sept), 16, 19
DCL: 2013, 15 (Alaska & Hawaii), 18
Aulani: 2015

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Re: Keith and Della's Alaska/Hawaii Cruises - 2015

Postby ElissaB » Wed Sep 23, 2015 12:25 am

Wow Keith!! Mum and I have just finished reading through all your posts and we are so jealous!! What an amazing holiday! We are so looking forward to seeing some of the loot at the next meeting! With 5 suitcases it sounds like you've found plenty of goodies. We've decided we must put a cruise on the top of the list for next year! Safe travels :D

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Re: Keith and Della's Alaska/Hawaii Cruises - 2015

Postby KeithS » Wed Sep 23, 2015 3:43 pm

Thanks Elissa - glad you have been enjoying them. It is hard to convey how good the cruise really was but when I get home and upload some photos, things will become much clearer.

I haven't done journal entry for the last few days here in Aulani - we've basically been sitting at the beach enjoying ourselves! We did go on a major shopping spree in Honolulu the other day (bought lots of loot and a fifth suitcase!). Today we did hire a car and basically drove around the entire island of Oahu which was great fun! We also stopped at the Dole Plantation for a Dole Whip of course!

Anyway, tonight is our last night here and we head to the airport tomorrow morning. We'll be back in Sydney on Thursday night so hopefully over the weekend sometime I can post some photographs - especially from the cruise.

See you all soon!
Keith

Trip history:
DLR: 2005, 06, 09, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18
DLRP: 2006
HKDL: 2006 (Mar & Sept), 11 (Apr & Dec), 14, 19
SDR: 2017
TDR: 2008, 10, 17
WDW: 2006, 13 (Mar & Sept), 16, 19
DCL: 2013, 15 (Alaska & Hawaii), 18
Aulani: 2015

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Re: Keith and Della's Alaska/Hawaii Cruises - 2015

Postby mushu mama » Wed Sep 23, 2015 5:21 pm

Really enjoyed reading your and Della's adventures too... looking forward to the pics ... loot pics too please -/
1999- Tokyo DL, 2008- DLR/Cal Adventure, 2012-DLR/Cal Adventure, 2013-Tokyo DLand/Sea, 2014-DLR/Cal Adventure, 2015- Paris DL, 2016 - WDW/Disneycruise , upcoming - May 2018 - HongKong DL

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Re: Keith and Della's Alaska/Hawaii Cruises - 2015

Postby churros » Thu Sep 24, 2015 11:22 am

Just caught up with all your trip reports - so fantastic! Can't wait to see the photos

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Re: Keith and Della's Alaska/Hawaii Cruises - 2015

Postby KeithS » Sat Sep 26, 2015 2:04 pm

Hi folks - no photo updates just yet. I thought I'd post the remainder of our journal updates first.

Look for photos tomorrow I hope...
Keith

Trip history:
DLR: 2005, 06, 09, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18
DLRP: 2006
HKDL: 2006 (Mar & Sept), 11 (Apr & Dec), 14, 19
SDR: 2017
TDR: 2008, 10, 17
WDW: 2006, 13 (Mar & Sept), 16, 19
DCL: 2013, 15 (Alaska & Hawaii), 18
Aulani: 2015

KeithS
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Re: Keith and Della's Alaska/Hawaii Cruises - 2015

Postby KeithS » Sat Sep 26, 2015 2:05 pm

Day 27 – 19 September 2015 (Aulani)
We got up this morning with the plan to head off on a shopping adventure in Honolulu. After going out to grab us some breakfast which we ate on the balcony, we got ready for our morning swim before heading firstly to the lobby to book our shuttle to Honolulu. However, when we got to the tour desk, we discovered that the bus was fully booked today, so we wouldn’t be shopping. We were able to book it both ways for tomorrow however so today was set to be a resort day!

After booking the bus, we headed straight to the beach. We had heard stories of it being difficult to get a beach chair in Aulani but we had no problem this morning. We grabbed two and put our stuff in them, then headed into the water. Initially it felt cold (compared to the air temperature) however you got used to it quickly and realised how nice it felt!

We stayed in the water for a long time and managed to see one wedding in the chapel next door to Aulani. It looks like lots of people get married in the resort area and then get their photos taken on the beach – although I’m not sure having wedding photos with some very large sunburnt Americans and English in the background is that inviting!

After our swim, we sat on the sun lounges for a while before heading back to the room to get changed. We grabbed lunch at Off the Hook in the resort which is an outdoor bar and burger place that we really liked – I can see us eating there again before we head home. Not satisfied with missing the shopping in Honolulu today, we decided to go on a big spree at the resort which resulted in a big bill but lots of merchandise coming home!

After the shop, we got back into the swimming gear to do some laps of the river on an inflatable tire which was still a lot of fun! By now, it was nearly dinner time, so we got changed again then headed across the road to the pizza restaurant. We ordered the Meatzilla and it was enormous – we just managed to eat half of it. We could have boxed it up but then it would make our room smell and we had no means to re-heat it, so it was left behind. We returned to the room for the evening and watched some TV before going to bed – tomorrow hopefully will be our shopping day!
Keith

Trip history:
DLR: 2005, 06, 09, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18
DLRP: 2006
HKDL: 2006 (Mar & Sept), 11 (Apr & Dec), 14, 19
SDR: 2017
TDR: 2008, 10, 17
WDW: 2006, 13 (Mar & Sept), 16, 19
DCL: 2013, 15 (Alaska & Hawaii), 18
Aulani: 2015

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Re: Keith and Della's Alaska/Hawaii Cruises - 2015

Postby KeithS » Sat Sep 26, 2015 2:06 pm

Day 28 – 20 September 2015 (Aulani – Ala Moana)
A lazy start today as our shopping bus wasn’t until 1:45pm. We got up and did our usual breakfast on the balcony before going to swim again down at the beach. Today there were two weddings at the chapel that we saw while we were there. The weather has been terrific since we arrived in Oahu – basically the same everyday, mostly sunny, a little breezy, and about 31-33 Celsius – just perfect for swimming.

We spent all morning at the beach before heading back to our room to get changed for our trip out. Before heading off though, we grabbed lunch again at Off the Hook. Then right on 1:45, the bus arrived and we got on board with a few others for the 50 minute drive to the Ala Moana Shopping Center in Honolulu. We were told this centre had over 1.5 miles of shops and I think they were right. First stop of course was The Disney Store – which we thought was pretty good. Not as good as the old version of the Disney Stores, but still better than many that we’ve visited recently.

After The Disney Store, we headed upstairs to the Hallmark shop we was fantastic. Everyone knows we collect the Hallmark Itty Bitties and they had a lot there that hadn’t made it to Australia… so yes… we bought them (and a lot more too including porcelain Hallmark Disney Keepsakes!).

We had to keep in mind that we needed a new suitcase, but we walked through the whole place and couldn’t find anything other than some really expensive ones – however we eventually did get one on sale at Macy’s so that made me happy. Della went to lots more shops in the centre and I sort of lost count after a while. Eventually the time came for our pick up (7:20pm), so we headed to where our drop off was and the bus came right on time. Funny thing though, before we headed back to the resort, our bus driver got out his Ukulele and played us two songs while standing at the front of the bus. He was really good too! I think he was just making sure there was plenty of time for late comers to get the bus.

After an uneventful trip back to Aulani, we went straight to the Hui which is an outdoor show at Aulani featuring Hawaiian dance and music, followed by an appearance by Mickey, Minnie and friends for a dance party. That was a lot of fun. After the Hui, we returned to our room and ordered room service for dinner and retired for the night, however before doing so, I managed to hurt my back when answering the door for room service (I blame all the bag carrying today – not the Hui dancing…). Tomorrow, we plan on hiring a car and driving around Oahu!
Keith

Trip history:
DLR: 2005, 06, 09, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18
DLRP: 2006
HKDL: 2006 (Mar & Sept), 11 (Apr & Dec), 14, 19
SDR: 2017
TDR: 2008, 10, 17
WDW: 2006, 13 (Mar & Sept), 16, 19
DCL: 2013, 15 (Alaska & Hawaii), 18
Aulani: 2015

KeithS
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Location: Peakhurst Heights, NSW

Re: Keith and Della's Alaska/Hawaii Cruises - 2015

Postby KeithS » Sat Sep 26, 2015 2:07 pm

Day 29 – 21 September 2015 (Aulani)
Of course – driving a car requires that you can get out of bed, dress, sit, and work the controls of the car – all of which I couldn’t do this morning and I woke up with a very sore back! Della went and got us breakfast and I struggled to get to the beach to go swimming. The time in the water did help a lot though but there was no way I could drive a car. Instead we hung around the resort all morning before deciding to catch the Ko Olina Intra-resort Shuttle. This shuttle takes you around the Ko Olina hotels, golf course and marina. We caught it over to the Marriot Vacation Club towers to see how the poor people did a Hawaiian holiday (haha).

The Marriot has DVC-type time share properties in Ko Olina and their resort was quite nice, although still feeling like a generic hotel (unlike Aulani which is mega-Hawaiian themed!). We had lunch at their poolside eatery (Longboards) and took a look at the local market they ran which included stores from local businesses which we thought was quite a nice idea.

After spending a few hours there, we headed back to Aulani and again did the river ride for multiple laps which was quite comfortable on my back. It seemed a bit cooler this evening and after riding the tubes. We had a booking this evening Makahiki – the buffet downstairs in Aulani. Neither of us was super hungry, but the food was all very nice and we had a good time. Afterwards, we headed back to the room and bed. Tomorrow, we’ll try hiring the car again!
Keith

Trip history:
DLR: 2005, 06, 09, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18
DLRP: 2006
HKDL: 2006 (Mar & Sept), 11 (Apr & Dec), 14, 19
SDR: 2017
TDR: 2008, 10, 17
WDW: 2006, 13 (Mar & Sept), 16, 19
DCL: 2013, 15 (Alaska & Hawaii), 18
Aulani: 2015

KeithS
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Annual Pass
Annual Pass
Posts: 6082
Joined: Sun May 29, 2005 10:28 am
Location: Peakhurst Heights, NSW

Re: Keith and Della's Alaska/Hawaii Cruises - 2015

Postby KeithS » Sat Sep 26, 2015 2:07 pm

Day 30 – 22 September 2015 (Aulani – Oahu circumnavigation)
This morning, I woke and felt pretty normal, so I got straight online and booked a car through Alamo Car Hire for collection at our resort. I just ordered a basic two-door little Kia-type car for running around in. The car was booked for 10am, so no morning swim today however we did have our character breakfast at Malahiki to go to. We went down there at 8:15 and the first thing you do is get a photo with Mickey in his Hawaiian gear before getting seated in the restaurant. While sitting in the restaurant, Aunty (an Aulani character) asked who was celebrating a honeymoon so we put our hands up. She came to our table and made us speak Hawaiian words to each other and had the restaurant clapping us – it was very nice. We also had a visit from Goofy and Minnie, as well as a chance to buy our Mickey photos (which we did!). All in all, it was a good breakfast although you had to wait a long time for just two characters, but it was a nice start to the day.

At 10am, we went to the rental desk and talked to a guy from Victoria who was picking up a car too. After he was served, we got to the front of the line and found the only car available was a full size Hyundai – so bonus upgrade for us.

After picking up the car, we headed out on the highway. Our first destination was the Dole Plantation in the north of Oahu. Because Oahu isn’t that large, it didn’t take too long to arrive there and find a car park. I expected it to be fairly quiet, but the place was packed! Who knew pineapples were so popular? We went into the gift shop and it was huge! Della picked up a present for her Mum and we also bought a pineapple Dole whip (we might as well have one at the place of origin and not just Disneyland!). The Dole Whip was great and more yellow than the Disney version – but it was unmistakably Dole Whip!

After the Dole Plantation, we headed back on the highway heading north and went to Haleiwa which is a little surf village on the north coast. There was a shopping area there and we parked to have a look at all the little shops. After Haleiwa, we hit the coast road and followed it clockwise around Oahu, passing through Waimea, Turtle Beach, Laie, and then down to the Kualoa Ranch on the east coast where they filmed Jurassic Park and other films. We got out there and wanted to do the 2pm Hollywood Movie tour, but we spent so long at the ticket office (there was only one person in front of us!) that the 2pm tour left before we got tickets (there is a thing here called Hang-Loose time – which basically means everyone does everything very slow…). We didn’t want to wait to the 3pm tour so we just grabbed some drinks and nibbles in their gift shop before hitting the road again.

We continued down the highway and through Waiahole, Waimanalo, Makapuu Point before stopping at the Koko Crater and looking out over Hawaii Kai (another large town east of Honolulu). After taking photos there, we headed to Waikiki where we did a number of laps of the hotel/beach/shopping area. It was now getting late in the afternoon and the peak hour traffic was building, so we hit the freeway and headed towards Aulani only to get tied up in thick traffic for a few miles near Pearl City, but we eventually got through, filled the car with gas, and returned to the resort.

Now we had to pack as it was our last night Aulani. We ordered room service and packed and ate as the night progressed. With the extra suitcase, it was pretty easy to get it all packed away. We ended up with five checked bags (thank you Qantas Club for allowing me three on flights from the US!). Eventually, everything we could pack was stuffed away and we retired for the night. Tomorrow ends our Disneyland, Alaska Cruise, Hawaiian Cruise and Aulani trip – and we’ve enjoyed every minute!
Keith

Trip history:
DLR: 2005, 06, 09, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18
DLRP: 2006
HKDL: 2006 (Mar & Sept), 11 (Apr & Dec), 14, 19
SDR: 2017
TDR: 2008, 10, 17
WDW: 2006, 13 (Mar & Sept), 16, 19
DCL: 2013, 15 (Alaska & Hawaii), 18
Aulani: 2015


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