Excellent cabin.  Stewards went above simple service.

Lori Pele: Goddess of Fire Volcano Exploration 
4 hour tour of Volcanos National Park I am glad I selected the small group option as we were in a small bus with about 15 people. 
Lori was interesting but you could tell this was close to the end of tourist season and she had done the tour many times.  The first stop is the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut factory.  Lori did inform us that there was no food service any other place on the tour so we might want to pick up a sandwich etc. here.  It was about an hour up to Volcanos National Park.  At the Jagger Museum you could look out over the crater and see the lava spewing about 50 feet in the air.  There isn’t a current lava flow just the cauldron.  The return trip had two main attractions the Thurston Lava Tube and the 1974 lava flow.  The Lava Tube required a walk down steep steps and was slippery so I did not go down.  Sitting at the top of the steps I enjoyed ease dropping on another tour operator talking about the tube and the local flora and fauna.  The day in total was interesting and I did learn a lot about volcanos.

The Pearl Harbor and City Tour Gray Line – Polynesian Adventure Tours (Holland America Excursion) was a 4 hour tour driving around the city and then out to the National Memorial.  It includes picture stops at the King Kamehameha I statue and the Iolani Palace.  There is a drive through the National Cemetery in the Punchbowl crater.  The World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument (Arizona Memorial) is very informative.  The exhibits Before the War and the Day have very good information, artifacts, and reproductions of the time.  The grounds have way stations with informative signs about where ships were and how things happened in 1941.  The 20 minute film reviewed the day and is narrated by Stockard Channing.  The launch to the memorial is right after the film.  It takes about 5 minutes to cross the harbor and you have 15 minutes at the memorial before the launch returns.  This is time to contemplate what happened and more of an emotional experience than I expected.

This is a 10 hour tour that takes you around the east side of Maui.  About 40 miles of the route is the Road to Hana a very curvy (620 curves) with many (59) one lane bridges and road sections that are really one lane but you may need to squeeze by other vehicles.  Our mini-bus hugged the mountainside many times.  The scenery is tropical rain forest passing several beautiful waterfalls, scenic views, and cattle ranches.  There is a short stop at the Waianapanapa State park and black sand beach.  I was fortunate to have Bruce as the driver/guide for the day.  Bruce a transplanted Texan made it an enjoyable day and took into consideration the needs of his 15 not so young passengers.  At the end of 10 hours we all felt we had a great time and made new friends.  There are sufficient breaks and opportunities to get out, stretch your legs, and use bathroom facilities.  The stops allow enough time to view the area but you don’t feel rushed.  The stop at Palapala Congressional Church the location of Charles Lindbergh’s grave was very interesting as well as the Kipahulu National Park location of the 7 sacred pools.  It is about a half mile walk down to the pools.  The visitor/ranger station had some very interesting history of early Hawaiian life.   Along the highway are homes of several famous people - Oprah, one of the Beach Boys, Willie Nelson and others. There is a stop at Travaasa Experiential Resort for lunch which was just OK, but I am a bit jaded after many days of superb cruise ship dining.   A word of warning, they caution people with back backs and pregnant women to avoid this trip – pay attention to this warning the road has many miles of unpaved and poorly paved roads.

The Evening show singer Elika Santos, did not appeal so I spent some time on the Sea View Deck watching the island lights as we sailed from Oahu

 

Sunday 10/9 Port Day Hilo 

Lori Pele: Goddess of Fire Volcano Exploration Gray Line (excursion through Holland America)

I booked this 4 hour tour of Volcanos National Park through Holland America.During the Good Morning Westerdam show Cruise Director Sarah revealed she was anxious for land this is the longest stretch of sea days she has done.

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