Kaua'i to O'ahu

Deck 11 stern - gathering place

Once the anchor is raised we always meet up with our travel buddies on Deck 11, stern. It's the best place to view the stunning natural beauty of the Hawaiian Islands. And it's the best place for photos. Here we are on Deck 11, settling in for happy hour.

Knox and Julz

David and Jenny

 A special experience, exclusive to Pride of America passengers, awaits as we leave Nawiliwili, Kaua'i. 

Kaua'i - The Garden Isle - view from Deck 11

We don't immediately head for Honolulu, because first we take a whole-cruise excursion to the stunningly beautiful, stunningly rugged, Na Pali coast.

Na Pali Coast - erosion creates a valley

Na Pali Coast - rugged volcanic landform

Na Pali Coast - narrow sandy beaches

Na Pali Coast - endpoint (headland)

One more sleep and we will wake up to the coast of O'ahu. The timing is no accident.

Diamond Head at sunrise

Early risers will be treated to the iconic, sunlit silhouette of O'ahu's volcanic crater, Diamond Head.

Honolulu, O'ahu

Packed and ready to disembark, there is time to enjoy our last breakfast at the outdoors section of the Aloha Cafe on Deck 11, stern.

Deck 11, stern (American flag)

Hawai'i the "Big Island" - Kīlauea volcano and Kona sunshine

One of the most active volcanoes in the world, Kīlauea recently made many dramatic changes to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park with its destructive eruptions (since 2018), closing some areas and activities. Volcano eruptions can be hazardous - fumes and fallout (like cinder, ash, and Pele's legendary hair) can irritate lungs and eyes. Pele is the Goddess of this volcano on the Big Island. We took a bus tour from Hilo. The summit is 4,000 feet above sea level, which explains the cool climate.

Kīlauea caldera - steam

Intensely hot steam vents dotted the landscape, with the more accessible vents being fenced off for public safety. The major steam vent was in the crater.

A windy, chilly summit at 4,000 feet (1,220 m)

Pele the Hawaiian Fire Goddess resides here and her wrath is insatiable.

Kīlauea's  dramatic landscape

The museum had a lot of structural damage and remains unstable and is fenced off from the public. 

Kīlauea's damaged Museum

Kīlauea's threat potential is VERY HIGH.

Panoramic view of Kīlauea's caldera - Home of Pele

Pretty wild orchids swaying in the wind gave a pop of colour to this otherwise desolate landform. 

Wild orchid on Kīlauea

We were lucky with the weather - the north side of the Big Island gets its fair share of rainy days.

Next stop Kona, the sunny-side of the island.  Too shallow for a cruise ship to berth, Kona could only be visited by tenders - small boats ferried passengers back and forth until it was time to pull up anchor.

Kona - sand and sunshine

Tender boat arriving Kona - close  up

Maui – Haleakalā Crater

We have just returned from a nostalgic trip to our favourite states of America, Hawaii and California, thanks to Hawaiian Airlines and The Pride of America cruise ship. We had a charmed travel experience: no flight delays, no missing baggage, and negative covid tests prior to the cruise. The weather was beautiful, in contrast to the heat waves across UK and Europe.

Fascinated by the online images of Kilauea's latest eruption activity on The Big Island, we wanted to visit Hawaii's volcanic landscapes as soon as borders reopened.  First stop was the Haleakalā Crater on the island of Maui (Pride of America's first port of call).

View of Maui from Pride of America

Cinder cones on the crater surface

A small bus transported us to the summit of the Haleakalā Crater, at an altitude of 10,000 ft/3055 m. The road was a little scary as it snaked and twisted through green ranchland, but the driver calmed us with his entertaining tales and knowledge of the area. There were very few guard rails, so it would not be for the feint-hearted to hire a car and do it independently. 

Visitors Center at the summit

Panoramic view of Haleakalā Crater

In Hawaiian language, Haleakalā means "house of sun".  According to the legend, the demigod Maui slowed the descending path of the sun by lassoing it to make the day longer.

Unlike Kilauea on The Big Island, Haleakalā is currently dormant (with a moderate threat potential). It started growing about 2 million years ago, and in the past 1000 years at least ten eruptions have been recorded. https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/haleakalā

The fragile Silversword plant is very beautiful; it will die if touched by a human hand. We saw many of these plants and admired them from afar.

Silversword plant, Haleakalā summit

Looking back to the coast of Maui, the view from the summit was stunning.

Looking toward the coast where Pride of  America was docked