Hawaiian Cruise Day 2

This morning, we arrived in Maui. We will overnight here and leave late tomorrow (Monday). I will say that there were lessons learned today as well. Please make sure you get an excursion to see the sites because there is nothing when you get off the ship. Only taxis waiting to take you somewhere. Since we did not book excursions, we chose to walk the quarter mile to the "mall". We were able to get there safely by way of a green fence corridor. Once there, it was not a lot to see or do. There were a few stores open (drug store, supermarket, eateries, UPS, etc.) I was able to get an awesome shot of the mountains though. I was also able to get in over 8k steps. For future travelers, book an excursion unless you love, love, love to walk. 

Hawaii Cruise Day 1

The first day was long! Out cruise was from Nov 29-Dec 6, 2025. We started with a 6am flight from Charlotte, NC to Washington, DC. We left DC at 9am and got to Hawaii 11 hours later. I was worried because I do not like to fly. Not only do I not like it, I had never been in the air for that long non-stop. When we arrived in Honolulu, it was 3pm. We lost 5 hours along the way. So back home, and according to my body, it was 8pm! So, when I saymy body was confused, I mean it was ready to lie down but the daytime was throwing me off. So when I went to sleep, I slept long and hard. So, I suggest, if you are doing a cruise to Hawaii, go a few days early and let your body get used to the time difference. Check in was easy, and we had checked in before we left home. There was no long line for us to stand in and the walk to the ship after checking in was just one ramp up to the ship! Getting on the ship was easy. If you book your flight with NCL, the transfers are included. They had a 2 for 1 sale on airfare, so we opted to do that instead of getting our own air. A great feature with booking air with the cruise like is that if you are delayed, they will make sure you get on the cruise ship. Because of the recent problems with the airlines/airports, we wanted that extra assurance. The Pride of America was the name of the ship. It is the only one that cruises the Hawaiian islands. And it is one of the cruise lines smaller ships with only 2180 guests at capacity. The ship was built in 2005 but had been refurbished earlier this year, according to their website. So, lessons learned were to come a few days early so your body can adjust if you are coming from the east coast. If not, you will do a lot of sleeping that first day aboard. Ship sails at 7pm.