Hawaii, The Disney Way

Completing our big Hawaii cruise-and-stay adventure with Norwegian Cruise Line and Virgin Holidays, we have finally arrived at Disney's Aulani Resort...

Being big Disney buffs (OK, so we live in Orlando and write guidebooks about Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris!), we were keen to see if we could wangle a stay at their new (in 2011) Aulani Resort to finish off our trip and, thanks to their Orlando-based office, we were offered a two-night stay to complete our trip.

And we're so glad we did. While Waikiki may be fun and Honolulu is a happening city, the west coast is far more relaxed and peaceful, and Disney have refined this idea to the nth degree with this latest example of their Vacation Club timeshare resort, which is also open to the general public on a straightforward hotel basis.

We'd heard that the attention to detail was extravagant and that the combination of Disney design style and Hawaiian tradition was a good match, but it was even better than that. This is a dream resort with bags of local colour and style, and with a big-resort expansiveness that is great for families and couples alike.

Checking in on our first evening, we were directed to the 12th floor and a beautiful Oceanview Parlor Suite - a full-size bedroom and bathroom with a separate living area, kitchenette and W/C. It wasn't a hotel room, it was an apartment, with space to spare on the double-width balcony looking down over the resort amenities and out to the private beach bay that the Resort shares with the Marriott next door.

We were amazed. And the quality of the fixtures and fittings was superb, too. Genuine local furniture, all with an overt Hawaiian touch and feel, but surprisingly little obvious Mickey-ness. If this is a Disney resort, then it's a Disney resort for grown-ups, with the facilities to match (marvellous Spa, choice of bars and restaurants, evening story-telling, freeform pool, lazy river feature, tropical snorkelling reef, and more).

Here was true chill-out territory, with the added bonus of all the up-tempo, upscale facilities you could possibly want, with a golf course next door, a beautiful coastal walk and plenty of beach amenities, including paddle-boarding and kayaking.

We were determined to make the most of our time here - hence we didn't go anywhere else until it was time to go back to the airport! We paddled in the pools, lazed in the double, vanishing-point hot-tubs, had lunch at Off The Hook (the open-air poolside bar and lounge), walked the beach, had cocktails in The 'Olelo Room and marvelled at the amount of clever Hawaii story-telling woven into the design and landscaping.

The Lazy River was truly gorgeous by day and, by night, the whole resort took on an extra dimension of South Seas splendour. Two days? We could easily be here for a month!

On our final night we splashed out in style with dinner at the signature 'AMA'AMA restaurant, featuring contemporary island cuisine. With its own range of cocktails and a refined, beach-side ambience, we enjoyed some fabulous appetisers (their version of corn chowder - quite heavenly - and a tasty proscuitto and olive flatbread) and then weighed in to two of the best main courses we have tried in a while - a Thai seafood curry, cooked in its own bag and served tableside, and the Fresh Sustainable Catch of the Day, a Hawaiian snapper, Opakapaka, with asparagus and peppers in a rich tomato broth.

Dinner for two with pre-dinner cocktails and wine was a princely $190 - but worth every cent. We absolutely adored the friendly-but-upscale feel, a taste of the tropics but without any formality. It seemed to sum up the lavish Aulani style perfectly. Of course, there were still typical Disney character meet-and-greets for those who wanted them, and we throughly enjoyed breakfast at The 'Olelo Room on our final morning watching the many kids (and adults!) queuing up to have their photo taken with Mickey or Minnie.

The real genius, we felt, was the clever intermix of modern design and amenity with traditional Hawaiian ethos; a perfect blend of modern sensibilities and Polynesian friendliness.

And as a final taste of the islands, it was simply off-the-charts wonderful. There was even a Christmas Hula show when we got back to the airport for our flight home (via Los Angeles), as if to remind us of what we'd be missing on departure.

But, if there is one thing that Hawaii does do, in spades, it is get under your skin and demand a repeat visit at some stage. We WILL be back...and hopefully you will, too. If nothing else, this blog series should have shown just how much you can do with this fabulous cruise-and-stay option - and just how much there is to enjoy!

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The Aloha Cruise - On Dry Land

Continuing our grand Hawaii cruise adventure with Norwegian Cruise Line and Virgin Holidays. The 7-day cruise is over, but there's more in store...!

While we had planned for the full seven-day cruise aboard Pride of America, with that much-needed overnight stay at the Modern Honolulu Hotel the day before, we were asked by Virgin Holidays - who had helped with our flights from Florida - if we could stay on for an extra couple of days to see something of their resort choice on Oahu as well.

With their help - and a very generous offer from the Walt Disney company - we were able to extend our stay to three extra nights, starting with a night at the exclusive Kahala Resort on our return to Honolulu. And we were SO glad we had the additional time, both to truly see some of this island and also to relax a little (because, for all the fact it had been a wonderful cruise, we had packed a LOT into the 7 days).

Our first item of business was to pick up a hire car from the Airport (a 15-minute shuttle ride from the port - and just $7 per person with Roberts Hawaii), and then we were finally off under our steam.

With all our luggage in the car, we were advised it was extremely unwise to park in any of the tourist spots on the island as car theft (when obvious items are in view) is somewhat prevalent. Therefore, we headed straight to the Kahala so we could leave our baggage there, even though it meant driving to the far side of Waikiki and then returning to Pearl Harbor, our main target for the day.

We were actually glad we did as the Resort took a bit of finding in daylight, and we were able to navigate back later on with no trouble. It is also quite stunning, with a beautiful entrance reception area that we took to terming New World Chic for its airy, contemporary styling. It was also in the middle of one of its trademark Dolphin Shows at the big seaside lagoon that sits at the back of the resort (a more personal Dolphin Quest adventure is also available but we were happy just to watch the Christmas-themed show).

Once unloaded, we stopped off at the Diamond Head crater, the iconic volcanic outcrop at the end of Waikiki Beach. Here you can drive (or hike) in and then follow the winding path  and 175 steps to the crater summit for a wonderful overview of Waikiki. Due to the fact we didn't have two hours to spare (or any water on a pretty hot day), we opted for a look around inside the crater (including the history of the Crater as a WWII army base) and just a gentle wander along the path to get the general idea. We will be back to tackle the summit another time, though!

Next, we headed for the site of the infamous Japanese attack that brought America into WWII. Pearl Harbor is still a working military base, but there is also the main Visitor Center, with 5 distinct historic sites to peruse and learn about this tragic day for the US Navy, when some 3,500 lost their lives to the sneak attack.

The free-admission USS Arizona Memorial offers a film about the main attack on the island and the ship that took the biggest hits on that fateful day, with a boat ride over to the site of the ship itself, with a hugely poignant display and tribute to the 1,177 men who perished aboard. 

For an additional fee, we went over to the USS Missouri, or the Mighty Mo, one of the WWII battleships that 'bookended' the War by being the place where Japan officially surrendered on September 2, 1945. The Missouri also served in the Korean and Gulf Wars before being retired here in 1999. A full tour of the battleship would take several hours but we managed to do it in about 90 minutes, ending quite in awe of how much of the ship's interior you can actually see.

Other exhibits included the submarine USS Bowfin, which offered more interior touring and the story of the Pacific's under-sea war, and the Museum and Park, with its moving memorial to the 52 US submarines lost in the course of duty. We would have loved to include the Pacific Aviation Museum and the USS Oklahoma Memorial (the other big battleship lost during the raid, along with 429 crewmen), but it was already gone 4pm and things were closing, and we also had one other stop we wanted to make on our way back to the Kahala.

The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific is located in the Punchbowl Crater overlooking Waikiki and is otherwise known as the Arlington of the West. Another volcanic crater - albeit not as big as Diamond Head, the Punchbowl is a dramatic and fitting tribute to the many US servicemen and women who have died in the various Pacific theatres of war. Superbly laid out, with dramatic views from the crater rim, this is a somber but impressive memorial to those who died in WWII, the Korean War and Vietnam, as well as being the resting place for servicefolk and their families in between.

 Our day was completed back at the Kahala Resort, luxuriating in a walk along the beach at dusk and then retiring to the Verandah Lounge for drinks and a light meal (in our case, a superb burger and some sushi) while we contemplated the enormity of our Hawaii journey so far. We were still waking up FAR too early in the morning but, all in all, it was worth it, as we were covering a lot of ground...

Next up - Kualoa Ranch and the North Shore 

 

  

Time Spent at Sea has moved and can now be found at World of Cruising. You can follow World of Cruising on Twitter and Facebook for the very latest in cruise news.

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