We did have a little bit of rain this morning but it wasn't enough to be anything more than a bother while we waited outside for our excursion. We gave Adam and Amy the chance to choose whatever excursion they wanted to do in each port and then we explored the list ourselves choosing whether we felt like joining them or not. I'm the youngest in this group of four but to look at their action adventure all day tour list, I suddenly felt very old and tired. Maybe that's why I'd love a cruise with a lot of sea days because I could just enjoy the ship and not be trudging around in the hot sun all day. Adam and Amy previously had an issue on a trip where they'd booked a tour on their own but it was the same company the ship used and they learned after arriving that their time slot got cancelled in favor of giving the slot to the passengers who booked through the cruise line. Because of this, Amy refused to have anything booked for her or Adam that wasn't through NCL.
After examining all NCL options and researching private and small group tour options, Dad and I decided to join them today on NCL's "Road to Hana Deluxe" tour. There is a Road to Hana regular tour that involves a large group on a bus that is $60 per person cheaper but I've been on way too many large bus tours to last a lifetime. For an itinerary that is mostly photo op stops, I can only imagine the hassle of waiting for everyone to file off the bus and file back on the bus. I'm sure some of you are thinking "They booked two suites, are they really going to nickel and dime over a $60 difference?" and I'd be in agreement. By paying the extra money, we spent the day with two other couples and a driver guide in an eight person van. When you're only reliant on eight people, it's a lot easier to interact and hear the information from the guide. Less chance of getting 20 heads in your pictures because everyone is taking pictures of the same thing.
Side note: One of our booking perks was the $50 shore excursion credit. This credit is only valid per port (so if you book a tour in Maui on day 1 and a tour on day 2, it only gives you 1 $50 credit), but also is only one per cabin. So you can think of it in our case as we each got $25 off this tour today. There are some differing reports on this part but the consensus is that if you want to use the credit, you must call NCL and book the excursions over the phone, not on the website. Then it's not a discount off the price right then but you get it as a credit on your account after you take the excursion. I checked our account routinely and made sure that at least by the next day, we had that credit.
We decided to skip breakfast not only because of the early time and the fact that a lot of people caution against motion sickness for this trek, but also because the tour description listed us getting pastries and beverages at the first stop. When we met Adam and Amy on the pier as our tour tickets instructed us to, we checked in with the shore excursion rep. She told us we had to wait a bit as our van was not here yet. There was a covered area with a few seats so we were able to duck in there to stay out of the brief intermittent showers. Soon the rep called out our last name but it ended up being just an announcement that the tour operator had canceled Adam and Amy's tour for our second day in Maui, the Molokini Zodiac Turtle Snorkel. I would have loved to do the regular Molokini Turtle Snorkel but when Adam and Amy insisted on doing the Zodiac one, I didn't feel like doing something so out of my comfort zone all by myself. It was a little disappointing when I learned later this evening that they'd visited the shore excursion desk and changed their tour to the regular Molokini Turtle Snorkel. Dad and I had already booked pre-cruise a low key small group tour through Roberts Hawaii for our second day.
Our van showed up a few minutes later with Wayne as our driver/guide. He took the time to ask if anyone was prone to motion sickness because it could be helped by sitting in the front seat next to him. No one said they were so he asked one of the women who used a cane if she'd like the front seat then since it would be easier to get in and out of the van. While getting in and out of the rest of the van required walking hunched over between seats to get to the one middle seat by the side door and sitting down to swing our legs out, it was a lot more comfortable than a bus or even one of those transport vans with bench seats. There were two rows of single bucket seats behind the driver and passenger seats and then a bench seat for 3 in the back. Dad and the front seat woman's husband took the first two bucket seats and Adam and I got the other two when I saw that the back row would be too tight a squeeze for me. Amy ended up sitting behind Adam on the bench seat so she didn't mind sharing with the last couple. I think the last couple was glad to have that spot because they were tall and it let them stretch their legs out in between our seats. It turned out the three of them got along so well, they were laughing and joking the whole ride.
Our first stop was at a park which was about 90% bathroom break and 10% photo stop of the view. Thankfully we arrived just before a group of multiple minibuses and got to use the restroom before the lines started. A miracle in and of itself, right ladies? While we enjoyed the view, Wayne set up a cooler of Aloha brand juice/soda, coffee, and water bottles before dishing out slices of an iced pound cake to each of us. He offered to run and get more water bottles when the person before me took the last one but I decided to try the Aloha drink. The pound cake was tasty but the Aloha drink was umm, good enough to quench my thirst. When it came time to pile back in the van, I offered the 3 back seat riders the chance to switch spots but they all turned me down.
Wait for it, wait for it...
Woosh!
Back on the road we next stopped at a bigger park but Wayne drove us directly up to a spot by the water that had several other cars pulled over to check out the waves crashing on the rocks. The woman in front opted not to get out of the van this time. I don't blame her, it was mostly uneven dirt terrain. Wayne offered to take group pictures for anyone who wanted to pose together and he took one with Amy's camera of the four of us.
A tender moment enjoying the view together:
Now you see the lava rock:
Now you don't:
Our next stop was at another park area with the waterfall Wayne explained was the place to swim if we so chose. He warned that it would be super cold water so any of us who were planning to quickly changed their minds. While most everyone visiting this place including our group went to the right for the path to the waterfall, I came up over the hill and discovered the beauty that was a litter of cats wandering around in hopes of trying to get those at the picnic tables to share their bounty. They all seemed to be of the same coloring aside from an older cat who must have been mama keeping watch on her brood. They all seemed to be in good health and well fed so they looked well taken care of. I snapped a couple pictures of the waterfall but my attention soon returned to stay on the cats. Both Amy and I are the kind of people that will fawn over any animal we come across so I called her over to see the cats. She tried to get them to come close to her but they'd venture over only to scatter. She soon gave up and went to rejoin Adam at the waterfall. I approached with caution squatting down and let them get comfortable enough to come to me before snapping a bunch of pictures. I was so enthralled in my efforts that I didn't even realize until I stood up that a small group had formed watching me interact with the cats. One of the ladies in the crowd remarked "Oh I bet you got some of the most beautiful pictures."
My favorite shot of the bunch:
Big Mama or Papa?
Hey who didn't recycle?!
I shall call him stubby and love him forever and ever
Oh yeah there was a waterfall there too:
No comments:
Post a Comment