For our 5-year anniversary, we went to Maui (and have been visiting ever since), so I wanted something different for our 10-year trip. First I planned a two-island trip to both Maui and Kauai. Then I decided, let's go to Tahiti instead. I even planned the entire trip!
In the meantime, Ben's parents were also thinking of visiting Hawaii. Since they enjoyed our Alaskan cruise so much in 2017, I suggested that they take the Norwegian cruise that leaves from Honolulu and visits all 4 of the major Hawaiian islands. This way, they would get a taste of Hawaii and then if they enjoyed it, they could go back for a land vacation.
I joked to Ben that we should go with them and be their tour guide since we have been to Maui so many times, and I have done so much research on the other islands for future trips.
Well Fran and Harvey decided that was a wonderful idea and invited us to join them and invited Ben's brother Jason to make it a full family affair! So the planning began in 2018 and the trip was finally here!
We would begin the trip by staying for 3 nights on Oahu in Honolulu, arriving the Wednesday before Halloween. Then we would board the ship on Saturday, visit Maui, Hilo and Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii, then Kauai and arrive back in Honolulu the following Saturday.
We would be on the Norwegian Pride of America for the cruise...
...and stay at the famous Royal Hawaiian on Waikiki beach for three nights before the cruise. The hotel was built in 1927 and is considered to be one of the more "Hawaiiana" hotels in Honolulu. I wanted everyone to feel like they were Hawaii right from the start!
Great pics of the hotel taken by Fran who is quite the shutterbug!
On October 30, Ben and I met Fran and Harvey at their house to take the shuttle to the airport. We had an uneventful flight, passing the 7-hour flight watching movies and reading.
There's Honolulu! You can definitely see the Royal Hawaiian from the air!
We got to the hotel and were greeted with leis from the staff. Fran and Ben handled check-in while Harvey and I sat with our mountain of luggage!
We all went up to our rooms and then met at 5:00 to go to dinner. I had made a reservation at the restaurant House Without a Key next door to our hotel. This restaurant has live music, hula dancing, outdoor seating and great cocktails. I thought it would be a fun way to spend our first evening in Hawaii.
Unfortunately, Jason and his friend Alice who would be joining us on the trip, did not make it to Oahu from Boston until almost midnight so they were unable to join us for dinner. Getting to Hawaii from the east coast can be quite the ordeal for travelers. I was sad they missed our first dinner but at least they didn't miss too much and had time the next day to recover from their long day of travel.
Ben, Fran and I all got fish and Harvey got prime rib. I had mahi mahi which I love to have in Hawaii. The rolls they served here were scrumptious!
The restaurant gave us coconut cake for our anniversary!
In hindsight, we were probably too tired to enjoy it properly but it was still a fun evening! For us, the party was over after dinner and we all went to our rooms for the night. Tomorrow, we would be visiting Pearl Harbor.
