Hawaii Report - 18 Wonderful Nights in Hawaii!!

Hi Everyone,

I have just returned from a wonderful 18 nights in Hawaii. I did some new things and will post some award winning Agent Greene Photos later this month....

We started out by traveling First Class from Baltimore to Honolulu via Dallas. Folks for such a long trip this is definitely the way to go...The food was a little better than usual for such a long trip and the best part was LEG ROOM.....For someone tall, this is a definite need. The last time we went my husband had trouble walking after the flight and I had black and blue knees from being banged in the knees from the seat in front of my legs. It cost a bit more but is well worth it if you can stand the price difference or you can upgrade with Frequent flyer miles if you have them. Lets talk!

So after arriving in the early afternoon we got a shuttle and were off to Sunny Waikiki and the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel (Included breakfast on the beach) with an ocean view room....A great place to spend a few days (2 for me) and walk on the beach, take in the sights "Girls great looking men and Men, what can I say") then off for a 7 night cruise aboard the Norwegian Star -

I was pleasantly surprised by the roominess of this golden star and the fact two people could even fit in the shower if one were so inclined with a sliding glass door. This ship had something for everyone, from large comfortable staterooms with ample closet and storage space to great maid service and 10 restaurants to fit every palette. Even 2 very differently decorated main dining areas and with any time and free style dining you could try a different restaurant every night from Sushi and Japanese Tempura to California or French cuisine at Soho or Le Bistro....To Italian buffet and Hawaiian dinning at Summertime. Lots of bars, plenty of sunshine and this was the first few hours. Plus boarding was so easy and stress free....I was in heaven. Great spa too and wonderful Massages - I know I tried one!

My biggest problem during the cruise what where to eat.....The food was so well served and so good! The only unique experience for this cruise is that Fanning Island was missed and we ended up to our pleasant surprise spending 5 nights in the Hawaiian Islands getting a taste of What the new Aloha ships will be like next year starting July 4th.

The most memorable part of the trip was seeing the volcano from the sea and I must say that the lava flow in red that night reminded me of a giant lion's face waiting to pounce on someone, and later on after the cruise we actually walked where no lava had been 2 years ago. Something awesome to experience.

We spent our extra nights and most of the days in Maui and Hawaii (Known as the Big Island).....The shows on board were among the best with the dance company doing Las Vegas style shows....And ladies, this ship had the biggest ship's store I have ever seen, it was as big as one of the main dining rooms....with great buys.

After trying to avoid gaining weight, snorkeling on all of the islands and enjoying seeing the Grand Canyon of Hawaii on Kauai we said a fond farewell after 7 nights on board the NCL Star and made our way to the airport to spend 4 nights on The Big Island.

After getting our car on the Big Island we made our way to the Hilton Waikola for 4 wonderful nights at this plush resort that has even made several visits on the various travel logs on tv. The grounds are something to witness with a cruise boat or train to take you around, swimming with dolphins or turtles or fish in the lagoons and enjoying over 7 million dollars of artwork on display. My only surprises were that some renovations was taking place but the Hilton chain did not advise anyone including on their web site (A boo boo I think) and they were a bit difficult if you wanted a refrigerator for sodas etc, they prefer you use their mini bar at extreme prices....Well - a travel agent does what a travel agent does and we rented a mini refrigerator for about $4. a day extra. I thought at the prices this hotel charges this was a bit of nickel and diming a guest to death. But if you can get over the silliness of the management - this is one hotel worth a visit just to enjoy the grounds and fish. The restaurants are to die for, but bring a well stocked wallet.

After visiting all the sites we could, We said goodbuy to the Big Island and made our way aboard Aloha Air once again to visit Maui (OGG) - This once again is a great treat for me and we stayed at the Marriott Wailea (An Outrigger) Hotel. This was a great treat for us - The Marriott gave us a oceanfront room which opened right to the pool and beach....What a view. We didn't get any nickel and diming and a nice mini refrig was there and fresh kona coffee in the room and nice his and her robes were provided and there was no extra charge. (I think Hilton needs some Marriott management)

We visited alot of our favorite snorkel sites, visited Hana and the road is now free of any construction as well as visiting The HULA GRILL at the Whaler mall in Kaanapali Beach. A must - I recommend the Lava Flow for a drink and if you arrive between 3-5 there is live music. Come sit on the beach - get toasted at the Hula Grill and eat the great food on the menu. Of course we visited Lahaina and enjoyed some of our favorite restaurants but alas the early bird specials we had enjoyed for so many years are no longer there.....

I am back now ready to give you the best information on Hawaii.---When you call Agent Greene Travel - Ask for Agent Greene herself.....301 292 5035 or 877 268 1329 or write to me at agentgreene@hotmail.com or agentgreene@gonowmail.com Let me plan your special week in Hawaii

Remember next year NCL starts cruising Hawaii only beginning July 4th for 3/4 or 7 nights. (With great pre or post stays.) What are you waiting for call today! And we can do this in advance with on time payments so you can spread out the cost before you go and save some funds for spending money.

With all my best regards
Agent Greene