We didn’t post much about Hawaii while there since we were pretty busy with family, friends, and enjoying Honolulu.  So now that we have some downtime we will put out a few things that might be of interest to future Hawaii travelers.

This may be one of those personality specific pet peeves which will have you rolling your eyes rather than nodding along, but one of the things that really bugs me about shipboard cruises like those we have taken on Norwegian Cruise Line is the constant sales pitch going on at nearly every event and venue, and often with what I see as a high degree of deception involved.  For instance, one of the free presentations we attended was ostensibly to provide advice and guidance on shopping in the ports of call, but it was really just a one hour sales pitch for the preferred merchants both on and off the ship.

So it was with some disappointment that we discovered the Hale Koa military hotel in Waikiki has lowered itself to at least some of the same practices.  A one hour “orientation” breakfast was nothing more than a hard sell for very expensive guided tours without one mention of the much more affordable methods of getting to and enjoying the same venues.  They pushed a $90 dollar Around the Island type tour that would, as the name suggests, take you on a bus trip around Oahu