Maui 🏝️

Here we are trying new things and going places we have never been before! We wanted to take the children to as many islands as possible so decided to book Norwegian Cruise Line’s 7 night cruise around Maui, Hawaii and Kauai. Back in 2020. We have only done Disney Cruise Line so we noticed a lot of similarities and differences before we even got on the ship. Let’s just say Disney MIGHT always be our favorite. But that first day we were able to get on board super easily, eat lunch at the buffet, take ourselves on a tour of the ship, lounge on the deck and watch the departure show, the boys played basketball, Natalie played a couple arcade games, and we got unpacked. The restaurants are easy to choose from and it amazes me they can make it work so well with only 3 restaurants available for dinner and no assigned dinner times. We do miss having the same waiters every night but we like being able to show up whenever we want.

Anyways, this was our first time to Maui and we absolutely loved this place! The pictures just don’t do Maui justice! Our first of two days there we went on a Road to Hana excursion and really liked the information the tour guide gave and how well prepared he was. He was raised on Maui, served six years in the Army, and came back. I felt very safe climbing the crazy roads with him driving and appreciated his point of view. He also supplied a vomit bag and motion sickness patches when my youngest got nausea and provided antibacterial spray when Hubby fell and scraped his back. Yes, Danny, Michelle and Hubby jumped off this waterfall safely but it was crossing the stream that made my other half take some pain killers when he got back to the ship. Oh, and my family also enjoyed the best banana bread ever on this tour.

This black sand beach complete with lava tube was incredible. We had over an hour there and I am so glad we were able to spend time in such a unique and gorgeous place.

On the drive back we got to stop by the Rainbow Eucalyptus trees and even seeing them up close it looks like someone painted the bark. So neat to see but sad they are actually an invasive species. So many of those in Hawaii!

We got to see a view of the bay and later stop at Hookipa Beach to see huge waves and sea turtles chilling on the sand. Such magnificent creatures!

Maui Day 2

The way our two staterooms are set up, Hubby and I are sharing a bed in one room and Kate on her own bed while in the adjoining room Michelle and Natalie are sharing a big bed while Danny has his own bed. Both Kate and Danny complained about how short their beds were (our staterooms are “microscopic”) so Hubby decided to lay down on one. This is the picture I took of him testing the length of the bed. Let’s just say we feel a little scammed by our set up and have some trust issues with what is and isn’t included with NCL but we are spoiled Disney cruisers. For example, NCL couldn’t promise us we could get off the ship early our second day on Maui so I canceled the Snuba tour I had set up for the six of us while I could still get my money back and we rented a car instead. We had a blast!

First, we went to Twin Falls and got some good use out of our new hiking shoes. It’s a neat place that our tour guide from the day before recommended to us. I appreciated the food stand at the entrance because when Michelle asked for a drinkable coconut we literally watched the man exit the truck and prepare the coconut with a machete. Talk about fresh!

Next was the incredible Haleakala National Park. One of the park rangers gave us excellent suggestions and we loved them all. First we continued to the summit to feel like we were on another planet. This drive takes you from sea level to over 10,000 feet and the views are spectacular. The air felt like home at the top but to see volcanoes and plants that are very different from home made me feel so delighted to be there. The grand finale was a hike to Rainbow Bridge and it was like walking through clouds. I’ve never been on a hike quite like that before and felt lucky to be there.