Honeymoon in Hawaii
Despite the fact our journey took considerably longer than expected as snow delayed us and we missed our connection in Los Angeles - as soon as we touched down in Honolulu/Oahu everything was perfect. We were whisked away to the Kahala resort just outside Honolulu, an oasis of peace and tranquility - and a dolphin sanctuary! Our honeymoon was arranged by luxury tour operator Carrier and we had champagne on arrival and a personal message from the hotel director advising our missed first night would be refunded and a complimentary late check out had been arranged. How lovely! We made the most of our shorter stay relaxing at the beach, drinking champagne on our garden terrace and the next morning we went swimming with dolphins!
A short taxi ride took us to our ship Norwegian Cruise Line's Pride of America to sail a 7nt Hawaiian Islands cruise. This is the only ship registered to sail in and out of Honolulu, others have to come from West Coast USA which takes several days. We had a balcony cabin and had treated ourselves to a Honeymoon package so had champagne and canapes waiting in our cabin. We found the ship to be bright and cheerful more of a 3* than it's official 4* but much less formal than previous ships had sailed on with free-style dining the only option.. so you could eat where and when you wanted, although personally we do prefer the more formal option but would rather sail from Honolulu any day.
First port of call was Hilo / Big Island for Volcanoes National Park. We didn't do the excursion to go see flowing lava as extremely expensive (about $200 per person) but we did go into the Naitonal Park, really interesting - and the ship sailed past the lava flowing into the sea in the evening anyway so didn't miss out! Maui was next for a two day call, much hotter and sunnier as no volcano to interfere with the weather. We did the cultural aspect first to Iao Needle and Valley to learn about the historic battles and the Ocean Centre then went on an evening whale watching cruise - we were lucky enough to see lots of humpback whales and a few flying fish! On our second day we went out on a catamaran to Molokini crater snorkelling and swimming with fish - and turtles!! Back to Big Island, Kona on the West coast next. The ship was at tender but we had priority disembarkation as had booked an excursion (always a good idea on a tender day!) and went off in a rib around the coastline snorkelling and swimming at Captain cooks monument - this time a pod of spinner dolphins paid us a visit.. How lucky were we!! What a fantastic sight!! Our last port of call was the island of Kauai for two days. Firstly we went to Waimea Canyon - and the wettest place on earth followed by an exploration of extinct lava tubes. In the evening we went to a Luau show to eat traditional food and watch the Hawaiian dancers - great fun! Our last day was spent kayaking (through a location for an Indiana Jones filmset) and then back on the ship drinking cocktails with our new found friends from the kayaking expedition.
On arrival back in Honolulu we went on a sightseeing trip around the city and visited Pearl Harbour and the USS Arizona - very moving and emotional. Our excursion ended at the airport where we boarded a short 20 min flight back over to Maui. We had a luxurious relaxing week at the Four Seasons in Wailea, S. W. Coast of Maui - although only a standard room it was amazing. Carrier had advised the hotel we were on honeymoon - so another bottle of champagne was awaiting us. Lovely room, balcony, large marble bathroom, king size bed and excellent service. Hotel has a private beach area and two pools, waterfall and hot tubs, kayaks and snorkelling equipment available to hire and staff constantly brought iced water, cakes, fruit and ice creams throughout the day.
We had a wonderful time although be warned, Hawaii and especially Maui is very expensive... I would also advise to be in Oahu/Honolulu for a day or so before flying home as we did it straight through Maui- Oahu-Los Angeles - Heathrow and were exhausted!
Pure Heaven!