Superb Vacations in 2019
This morning I slept in a little, then did some laundry since the room had a washer and dryer. After I put the clothes in the dryer I walked to the beach. I picked up a snack at Subway before heading back to the hotel to enjoy a couple of glasses of wine because I…
Today was a sad day as I said goodbye to my new friend the Pride of America. Unlike other ships this is likely the last time I will be on it. After a causal breakfast (and a lot of packing) I took an Uber to the hotel. I booked an ocean view balcony room at…
This morning I got an early start. I left the ship at 7am and started to explore the north part of the island. The first stop was for a lighthouse. While driving back from the lighthouse to the main road I stopped for a few photos. while on the main road towards Hanalei pier there…
This morning the ship arrived in Kauai at about 8:00 am. The view was spectacular as the ship was arriving so I quickly grabbed my GoPro camera and set it for a time lapse video and took some pictures as well. They started allowing us off at 8:30 am. I took the rental car shuttle…
This morning was a good change in weather compared to yesterday afternoon. The weather in Kona was sunny and the water was very clear. I started the day lazily because I only planned to go snorkeling. The ship had to tender, and they used the lifeboats. I walked from the tender pier to the Mokuaikaua…
This morning I arrived in Hilo. I took a few photos from the ship before taking a taxi to the airport to get the rental car. Another Jeep with removable roof. I drove about 45 minutes to Hawaii Volcano National Park. I’m getting use of my new National Park pass. I stopped at the visitor…
I thought about waking up at 1:30am for the Haleakala sunrise, but I was pretty tired from yesterday’s circumnavigation of Haleakala. I got a reasonable start to the morning. I attempted to order an Uber, but port security wouldn’t let them in. I took a taxi to the Maui Beach Hotel where I parked the…
Don’t try this at home… Well at least not the entire loop of Haleakala like I did today. Today I arrived in Maui. I took a taxi to the airport ($15) to pick up the rental car. I reserved an open air Jeep for the two days in Maui. After removing the top I started…
This morning I woke up early and went snorkeling in the lagoon at the resort. There were a few fish near the rocks that were cut for the lagoons. After packing and checking out I went to Pearl Harbor. Luckily yesterday I got tickets for the 11am tour. I arrived at 10:15 and was able…
This morning my first task of the day was to wake up and reserve tickets for the Pearl Harbor tour. I already made reservations, but it was at 2 pm, ending at 3:15 pm which would make it difficult to reach the ship on time. Luckily I was able to get 2 tickets for 11…
This morning I took the direct United flight UA 253 from Houston to Hawai’i…. After checking in and going through security at terminal C, I got a text message saying the gate had changed to E5…. not a slight change. This required a significant amount of walking and a train to change between terminals. Eventually…
Today I booked a Hawaiian island cruise. This cruise is special because it only visits Hawaii and no foreign port. Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America is a US registered ship. Most other cruise ships are registered in foreign countries and are required to visit a foreign port due to the ‘Passenger Services Act’ which…
Last day in New Orleans. Walked down Bourbon Street to Jean Lafite’s blacksmith shop (now a bar). Enjoyed a leisurely stroll down to the Mississippi River to wait for boarding the steam powered paddlewheel. At 1045 they played the steam powered calliope, which was interesting, but not spectacular. I tried to stay out of the…
This morning I visited a few museums surrounding Jackson Square. The first and most interesting of the three museums was the Cabildo. The Cabildo had a variety of different exhibitions on the history of the building, the family who owned it and Jean LaFitte, who was essentially a pirate who assisted the Andrew Jackson during…
This morning I took the historical Charles Street streetcar to the National World War II museum. It was quite larger than I expected and the museum was very good. It didn’t look like a library, they did a lot of work to make the rooms look realistic. I apparently only took photos inside the hangar….
The drive from Houston to New Orleans was mostly uneventful. I first stopped for lunch at Prejean’s in Lafayette. I couldn’t wait to get some real gumbo for the first time in years. Once I arrived in New Orleans I found driving near my hotel near impossible. Next time I’ll stay next to the French…
Well today started out like Charlie Brown kicking a football. I took a picture of the I amsterdam statue since no one was there. I took the train and got to the airport. I checked in – was 3 hours before my flight. Now that I look at the boarding pass it was even printed…
This morning I finished packing. We left the room at 8:30 AM and had breakfast. After breakfast I checked out the damage to the ship. I then dragged my luggage to the Centraal train station then on the ferry to my hotel. Of course the front door to the hotel was broken, so I had…
This morning we took a short bus tour and made a photo stop at a windmill. The bus tour took us around quite a bit of the city. After the bus tour we took an hour long canal boat tour. We decided not to go back to the ship, but go to Keukenhof Gardens from…
This morning we arrived in Koln in Germany, our last stop before arriving in Amsterdam. Our waking your started at 09:00. We walked around the area near the river and ended at the cathedral. I went into the cathedral, for some reason I think it was closed last time I visited. It’s very large and…