“Hawaii is not a state of mind, but a state of grace,” legendary travel writer Paul Theroux once observed. Having been blessed with several visits, we know what he means: the Hawaiian Islands personify beauty, gentleness and graciousness in their “Aloha” (meaning love, peace, mercy, hello, goodbye) welcome to travelers.
After five days crossing the Pacific, we were delighted to see land again, and particularly land as beautiful as this. Our itinerary called at four Hawaiian isles: Oahu, Kauai, Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii.
I discussed our visit to Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii in a previous post about our Pacific crossing so I will concentrate on highlights of our visit to Oahu, Maui and Kauai here. I will start with Honolulu, Oahu as it is one of our favorite places not just in Hawaii but the planet. We have visited it on more than a half dozen voyages. It had been several years since our last visit to Honolulu and even longer since we had taken an organized tour there, so we opted for the included Panoramic Honolulu program which took us to enjoy again the most notable sights in the city including Waikiki Beach, iconic Diamond Head, the Koolau mountain range and the Pali lookout for views of the windward side of Oahu. Other sights included the Punchbowl National Cemetery, set in an extinct volcano and honoring America's fallen heroes from WWI, WWII, and the Korean and Vietnam Wars; Iolani Palace, the Royal palace of the Hawaiian monarchy and the only royal palace located in the United States; the impressive, gold-embellished King Kamehameha statue (King Kamehameha was the monarch who united the Hawaiian isles); Honolulu City Hall; the Aloha Tower at the cruise pier; the Hawaii State Capitol building; China Town; Kawaiaha?o Church, and the homes of the early missionaries.
Before we left Honolulu, Regent brought a local folkloric group comprised of adults and children, Halau Lilia Makanoe, who delighted us with traditional songs and dances in the ship’s Constellation Theater. Charming!
In the gorgeous Garden Island of Kauai, where numerous Hollywood movies including “Jurassic Park” and Disney’s “Jungle Cruise” have been filmed, we had previously taken from the port of Nawiliwili the popular riverboat cruise through eastern Kauai’s lush hinterlands on the Wailua River to Fern Grotto to hear Hawaiian songs in the excellent acoustics of the natural amphitheater of the grotto. This time we took an included excursion to several of Kauai’s attractions including Opaeka’a Falls, the Wailua River and Mt. Waialeale, reportedly the wettest spot in the world receiving 450-460 inches of rain annually, looming in the background. According to legend, at night ghost warriors walk the ancient river trails to and from the mountain–cool to imagine! And also cool to see: all that rain sometimes brings the beautiful gift of rainbows. We saw some, including a lovely one right from the ship’s Observation Lounge in Nawiliwili.
During our stay in Kauai, we enjoyed one of the world cruise’s exclusive special events: a train ride and luau at Kilohana Plantation near Nawiliwili. The ride on a vintage train took us to see the bananas, coconuts, pineapples, and other crops as well as the cattle, pigs and other animals–they even have some alpacas–of the plantation. Then we enjoyed the luau featuring among 16 offerings traditional foods like imu roasted Kalua pork (delicious!), island poi, coconut mashed sweet potatoes, grilled shrimp, fresh papaya and pineapple and a coconut custard dessert. The luau show was spectacular with the troupe performing a variety of scenes culminating in the dramatic fire dance.
In the port of Kahului in Maui, the Valley Isle, we took the ship’s free tour to the Maui Ocean Center, the Western Hemisphere’s largest tropical aquarium. This beautiful aquarium has more than 60 interactive habitat exhibits with marine life that has been collected from all around the Hawaiian Islands. Highlights of the aquarium include America’s largest live coral display, Pacific blue marlin, toxic pufferfish, frolicking seals, and endangered green sea turtles.
Some quick superlatives of our visit to Hawaii:
- Most delicious: The Kalua Pork at the Kilohana Luau in Kauai.
- Most charming: The folkloric show by the Halau Lilia Makanoe troupe of children and adults.
- Most eye-popping: The Fire Dance at the Kilohana Luau.
- Most delightful: Getting reacquainted with Honolulu and seeing landmarks we had not seen in several years which brought back fond memories of previous cruises.
- Most inspiring: The Green Turtle exhibit at the Maui Ocean Center. A docent told us about these wonderful, endangered creatures, which are called “Green” because they are that color inside, and about their struggle to survive–only .01 percent of the babies make it to adulthood.
By Cruise Specialists client, Georgina Cruz
Georgina Cruz is a freelance travel writer specializing in cruises. Her work has appeared in national magazines and regional publications as well as on travel websites. She has been on more than 200 voyages including seven circumnavigations, all booked through Cruise Specialists.
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