T8191

Who needs another Trip Report from a couple of Old Goldies saying “We’ve been to Hawaii again, and here are some pictures of in-flight meals”?

You do? OK … read on

It was in December 2016 when my excellent Hotel Research Assistant (aka iWife) e-mailed me from another room in the T8191 Mansion with her discovery of an hotel in Maui which actually allows smoking on the balcony [[I]lanai] of the room if you keep the room door shut. This may be of no concern to most of you, but to us a question of “Deal or No Deal”. Some keyboard-rattling over the Christmas period led to bookings of hotel and flights on 30 Dec 16 … what a nice uplifting way to finish 2016!

The Boring Basics.

Destination:
The Ka’anapali Beach Hotel … "Partial Ocean View, Seniors Room & Breakfast Package for Two" [YMMV] ... for 10 nights, GBP 2,007.

Flights:
BA JER-LGW/LHR-DUB … Club Europe, GBP 227 and 73,000 Avios.
AA DUB-CLT-LAX-OGG … Business and Domestic First, USD 3,847 [GBP 3,230 at the time].

Credits:
1,000 BAEC Tier Points, and a large pile of Avios. No, it was not a TP Run, but another TP-efficient holiday

Extras:
Overnight stops - Hilton Hotels outbound at DUB and LAX added EUR 151 and USD 242 respectively.
Ground transport - National Express coach between LGW/LHR added GBP 93 and the Roberts Shuttle from OGG to the Hotel USD 136 [both round-trip price].

Overall about GBP 6.0k, I think, which is about our ballpark figure for a l/h holiday.

Right, on with the narrative and a few pictures of airline food etc. …



Wednesday 9 Aug 17 - Jersey to Dublin.

JER-LGW, BA2771, A319, 0950-1050, Club Europe seats 2A/C

Not a lot to say really - just another X-Channel hop. JER has slightly rearranged the Security setup, which is supposed to be even more efficient. As it was completely empty when we got there, it was difficult to judge whether it was any better. We had the usual loiter in the Lounge for coffee/pastries. Boarding from Gate 2 was well managed - they now filter the Priority boarders into the holding room on the left, leaving ‘The Others’ in the main holding area. We thus priority boarded.

After take-off, a very pleasant cold platter for breakfast got the day off to a tasty start.



A nice early arrival at LGW, where the Captain was given expedited routing: I think it was a sub-40 minute sector! The CC announced “The Captain has turned on the seatbelt sign. Please put away tray tables, ensure the seat is in the upright position ….” I pressed the call button, and drew the CSD’s attention to the fact that the seatbelt sign had NOT been turned on. He scurried to the telephone to inform the Flight Deck. The sign came on at the same time as the Flight Deck said “Cabin Crew Seats for Landing”! Ooops!

Having safely parked at the gate, it was the now-familiar bus to Arrivals, followed by a 10-15 minute wait for our 2 cases. From there it was a relatively gentle walk to the National Express coach stops on the lower level of the Terminal on the far side of the road network. It was our first coach run from LGW(S), so it took a while to find the appropriate stop for the FK200 service to LHR, but eventually that was resolved and the coach turned up on time at Stop #4 . The driver loaded our cases in the hold, and we settled in to ‘1J/K’ for the 45-60 minute run to LHR. Our first surprise was that the coach goes from LGW(S) to LGW(N) before setting off round the M23/M25 … not welcome, when we are close to MCT for the next flight (1050-1410 = 3h20m on a 3h MCT). Anyway, after the Grand Tour of LGW, we set off on the M23 … and hit traffic almost immediately. Oh, so slow! I could see the driver’s SatNav showing the bright red ‘slow traffic’ warnings, and it was not a comfortable feeling. However, I had taken the precaution of printing out the full schedule of LHR-DUB flights for the day, so I knew what to ask for if we missed the connection.

We finally joined the M25, and bowled along at a decent pace … for a while. Then we hit MORE traffic. The SatNav was now showing an ETA for LHR of 1320. Nervously we watched, as the coach stopped, moved a few hundred yards, stopped again … and all the time the clock was ticking. We decided that we would never do the LGW/LHR connection close to MCT again! But, finally, we reached T5 [Stop #13 ] at 1305 … grab the cases from the hold, take lift up to Departures, and walk very fast to the First Wing. I explained our need for haste to the ‘Greeter’, who led us to the front of the queues and to a desk that was being used for something else … bags tagged and delivered, and through to First Wing Security. Several people in front of us, just one belt operating, and the biggest collection of Security fumblers I’ve seen in a long while!! Phew … we’re through, and head into the First Lounge complex at 1317 to find our Gate. Ah, A22, that’s a long-ish walk but not boarding yet: we have 10 minutes to spare. Phew. Just enough time to grab a small glass of champagne.

LGW-DUB, BA830, A319, 1410-1535, Club Europe seats 2A/C

With decently-managed priority boarding, and with our pulses resuming normal operation, it was soon time for another meal. “Ploughman’s Lunch” is the BA description, and quite tasty. The accompanying Sponge Cake made a change from The Scone, and being pre-assembled it avoided the angst associated with ‘butter or jam first?’ iWife bravely went for the Sandwich option - mistake!





Excellent CC on this leg, especially the CSD. And a jolly good pilot too, who delivered us safely to DUB A virtually empty Border, a modest wait for the luggage at T1, and then out and across the roads to ‘Zone 16’ for the Shuttle Bus to the Hilton. New arrangements are now in force - instead of the mini-bus it’s a full-size yellow coach [with Hilton stickers on the windows] and the fare is now €2 to the Hotel and €3 back to the airport … but Hilton Honours Gold get to travel free. A quick flash of my recently expired HHons Gold card seemed to do the trick for both of us

The Hilton was as uninspiring as ever, and having lost any meaningful status there were no free anythings except for 4 bottles of water in the room. The in-house restaurant (Burnell’s) had experienced a makeover, which made it look more like a factory canteen, and the prices seemed to have gone up quite a bit since our last visit back in April. However, we enjoyed a very good bowl of Fish Chowder which contained a goodly proportion of fish, with a 10% discount for having checked-in on-line! (Edit, 2018 - that discount has now been enhanced away). After that it was time for an early night to prepare ourselves for a long day ahead.

T8191

Thursday 10 Aug 17, Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Continental - DUB-CLT-LAX

An early start to the day, as we had planned to use the 0630 Shuttle to DUB T2. Whilst topping up our nicotine levels outside, we watched the sun coming up and illuminating the contrails of assorted aircraft already heading somewhere.



Check-in/bag-drop at T2 was quick and efficient, with the usual queue-walking screener asking questions and attaching another sticker to the back of our passports. The charming lass on the desk printed our Boarding Passes for the next 2 sectors, agreeably overprinted with TSA PreChk, Priority, First and Group 1

And so off though Dublin Priority Security [quick] and then US Pre-clearance where, for the first time in our experience, it was very busy and suffering from ‘infrequent flyers’ fumbling at the screening belts. Our attempts to use the self-service Immigration machines both failed, and thus led us to join a slow-moving queue to be ‘Bordered’ in person by a very helpful and charming agent. At last we were in ‘almost America’ again, and headed to the far end of the building for a light breakfast in the lounge (51st and Green).

DUB-CLT, AA725/BA1586, A332, 0955-1310, Business seats 1H/2H.

We were surprised to see the Departures board saying “Final Call”, and headed rapidly to Gate 404 … where we discovered that message was meant for those pax who were still Land-side! We returned to the lounge. The flight started boarding properly at 0905, and we thus enjoyed the Group 1 privilege of being almost the first to board. “Mr Burly Baseball Cap” and his wife won the race, mainly by pushing past anyone and anything in their path The duty PDB of real Champagne [not Californian substitute] was enjoyed while I watched the aircraft outside …





… and perused the menu. Annoyingly, AA now collects them up for re-use, so instead of being able to scan them later, I had to settle for a poor photograph or two.





We enjoyed the view as we climbed out: on this occasion the weather was quite pleasant, as the fields of the Emerald Isle passed beneath us.



And soon it was time to eat. We had pre-ordered the Slow-Cooked Short Ribs, on the basis that Americans are usually pretty good at cooking beef

Rose Harissa Hummus - quite nice.



Slow-cooked Short Ribs - tender and tasty.



We finished with the lovely AA Ice Cream Sundae, assembled and served by our delightful and friendly FA.

At 1030, the FAs went round closing all the window blinds. I re-opened mine a little. It is NOT time for bed It was, however, time to check out the IFE, which worked well. I trawled through a huge list of films, and realised that although I had heard of “Avatar” I’d never seen it. So I rectified that omission, and discovered where ‘Unobtanium’ entered the lexicon. Quite enjoyable, in an escapist sense, and with excellent special effects. And then I may have dozed off for a while, before discovering the 2nd meal …

Barbecue Beef Sandwich with Brie and Sweet Chili Jam.



Yum Yum … I do like American unhealthy food!

At 1250, some 7 hours after departure, we thumped down on Runway 18L at CLT … was that a large bounce? The second landing was fine, though! I like CLT … nice airport, nice atmosphere, and very convenient when you arrive at B9 and depart from B3. Oh, look, we’re right by the AA Admiral’s Club, which is also convenient. We’re only here for a little over an hour, before the next sector which is …

CLT-LAX, AA725, A321, 1459-1708, ‘First’ seats 1A/C

Slightly confusing having the same flight number for this leg, but I guess that makes some sense to AA. The usual efficient AA boarding procedure, enhanced by the pleasure of being in Group 1, as we stumbled aboard for the next l/h sector. Sadly, the Domestic First seat doesn’t suit either of at all, and within an hour I’m getting leg cramps: seat cushion angle, and the fact it’s a bit short for my legs? And perhaps the seat cushion is a bit too hard? Oh, whatever, it’s what it is, and in a good cause! We had some food, which I can’t remember and didn’t photograph. We also had IFE, but as the sound didn’t seem to be working I reverted to Kindle!

Yay … LAX at last. That’s 13 hours and 5,846 miles, which is quite enough for one day. We arrived at [I think] T5, grabbed a quick kerb-side cigarette while waiting for the bags, and then headed across the street to the Hotel Shuttle stop … where the Hilton Shuttle arrived almost immediately. Nice one! A 5 minute or so ride had us at the LAX Airport Hilton, where we were pleased to find our request for a ‘smoking room’ had been honoured. What? A Smoking Room? In California? Well, not really, but there are a lot of rooms on the 3rd floor that have sliding glazed doors that open onto the inner courtyards, where tables/chairs/ashtrays are thoughtfully provided.





A quick ‘cough’ or three, and then shower and bed. It’s been a long day, and we’re up early again for the last leg.

Friday 11 Aug 17, LAX-OGG

Our flight is at 0830, so we gently stumble into life at some silly hour [yeuch] and catch the 0530 Shuttle to T4. Priority bag-drop again, a painless TSAPre✓ and off to the Flagship Lounge for a leisurely bite of breakfast. The Lounge is being refurbished, so it’s a bit of a muddle, but we found lots of nice things to eat.





At the appropriate hour we made our way to Gate 42A, conveniently located almost opposite the Lounge, and boarding started just as we got there! First on board again!!

LAX-OGG, AA253, A321, 0825-1121, ‘First’ seats 1A/C

Hey-ho, another aloominumm tube and the same sort of uncomfortable seat, but at least we’re not behind the curtain in Coach. During Group 4 or 5 boarding our Captain finally deigned to join us, clutching a styrofoam mug of coffee - he of course turned left to occupy seat 0A. The FA’s weren’t too effective in preparing the cabin for takeoff … 1D had her pillow and blanket on the floor. OK, that will slow her down if we need to evacuate, which means we’ll be off first

No IFE on this leg, so more Kindle time is called for as we drone across the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean for 2,486 miles and another 6 hours. As is so often the case, apart from some nice waffles and fruit for breakfast there’s nothing to say really, until we landed at OGG a little early.

A new airport is always a bit confusing, especially when the Reclaim display says our bags are on Carousel 4 when they’re actually on Carousel 5 … ah, there they are! We were helped there by one of the Roberts shuttle staff, who wheeled them over to their desk while we waited for our mini-van.

Reclaim is a bit more spacious than T5 at LAX!



And the sun is shining, and there’s a smoking area on the other side of the street!



Looking into Reclaim from kerb-side. Roberts bag trolley on the left.



The quite discreet Roberts desk.



All very easy and convenient, and soon our mini-van arrived - just us and one other passenger heading for the Ka’anapali Beach area. The driver provided a very nice running commentary all the way to the hotel, and included a minor diversion through the town of Lahaina so that we could get our bearings. And at 1200 we arrived at The Ka’anapali Beach Hotel. >>> https://www.kbhmaui.com

T8191

The Holiday Begins.

Sorry, that should be Vacation … we are, of course in America. And after 3 days of travelling and 8,797+ miles of ‘bum on seat’ we are really keen to have a shower, change clothes and relax. Sadly, check-in time is 1530, and there is no way the hotel is going to even try to expedite proceedings. We therefore had to sit around aimlessly for 3 1/2 hours before being awarded the keys to Room 653. I know Housekeeping have a lot to do on a daily basis, but I would have hoped they might have tried to get our room done earlier, especially as we pointed out it had taken 3 days to get there! That’s enough complaining. And it really is quite nice here, and the room is excellent, and the weather is lovely and warm!

Our room was on the top (6th) floor of the Lana’i wing, with a partial ocean view and a panorama of gardens and the [small] swimming pool to look out on.



Have a look around and see what you think.




Our spacious Room, with good furniture and a HUGE bed, and unusually for the USA a fair number of spare and accesible power sockets…



And ‘smoking permitted’ on the Lanai



Our view …




Ka’anapali Beach



With lots of Hotels and Condos - ours is the little 6-storey one on the left.



The hills in the background.



and the Ocean





Our rate included Breakfast … otherwise it was $25!!! A very comprehensive offering, of which we took full advantage. “Breakfast like a King, Dine like a Pauper”. And there’s always a pile of Maui Pineapple to enjoy, which is reputedly the finest pineapple in the world [we tend to agree].



We ate well at breakfast, leaving us with the simple requirement of a light meal/snack later in the day. You need to understand that older folks don’t eat as much as you young ‘uns

The Dining Room ... numerous small birds ready to pounce on anything left unattended!



Bar and Snack Bar ... expensive!





One useful feature … this strip of hotels/resorts along Ka’anapali Beach has a regular shuttle bus to Lahaina. Operated for the Outlet Mall there, it charges $3 each way but gets you into Town where there is a fair amount to see and do. Shops and restaurants in abundance, all along Front Street by the sea/ocean. It also gave us the chance to take some exercise, and work off some of the calories we consumed on an All-American diet






The “Cultural Experience”. The Ka’anapali claims to be the Most Hawaiian Hotel, or something like that. Yes, they have all sorts of ‘activities’, like lei-making and ukulele lessons, and they also have an evening entertainment (Hawaiian style) which can be quite nice … certainly a better background noise than a disco!!

It’s announced every evening at 1800 in a traditional manner …


… and on the one occasion we attended they do, indeed, dance Hawaiian style …



Talking of culture, I had an interesting read of Wikipedia on the Hawaiian language >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_language
There are only 13 letters: 5 vowels [long and short] and 8 consonants, one of which is a glottal stop [called ‘okina and written ‘], as in Hawai’i and indeed Ka’alapani. Furthermore, every consonant has to be followed by a vowel, and every word has to end in a vowel. No wonder it sounds both strange and musical to our ears. I bought the essential Tourist T-shirt, bearing the image of the State Fish … the Reef Triggerfish, or Humuhumunukunukuapua’a. It’s easier to say if the word [not the fish] is dissected … thus: humu-humu-nuku-nuku-apua’a. There you go, you learn something new every day





Apart from lounging on the lanai, we did actually stir ourselves occasionally. We made a few trips into Lahaina on the Shuttle, and also walked along the seafront for the 5 minutes it took to get to Whaler’s Village, where there is a modest Mall including the essential ABC Store, some high-end and Tourist shops, a Food Court with 4 outlets, and a couple of Restaurants/Bars.





We had a pre-arranged meet-up with cgtechuk + 1 for a couple of beers and some tapas/pupus at Leilani’s one afternoon. I’m not sure if that qualifies as the first/smallest Flyertalk OGG-Do or not.

Overall, it was very nice and relaxing. Gorgeous weather every day (except the last, when it rained a lot), charming surroundings and with the blue Pacific Ocean providing a backdrop to everything. But eventually it was time to go.

T8191

Monday 21 Aug 17. Heading home.

The Roberts Shuttle to the airport was booked for 1830, but checkout time was 1100. We managed to negotiate a late checkout, fortunately staying in our existing room, and the hotel only charged USD 90 for that privilege! However, an email in the small hours advised us that AA14 [our 2155 departure to LAX] had been cancelled and we had been re-booked onto AA250 at 2300. Oh, this is going to be a long day! To add insult to injury, we had been put in Eeekonomy!! I went to OLCI to see what was going on, to find we couldn’t check in or select seats. I phoned AA, who couldn’t do anything either - the flight was apparently under Airport Control already, and we would have to negotiate matters there when we arrived. Oh, well, there’s no point in having a DYKWIA strop and shouting “One World Emerald, we’re Paid First etc.” … let’s see what happens.

We were duly Shuttled to the airport, passed our bags through Agricultural screening, and headed for the AA Priority desk where we encountered the delightful young Olivia. We explained the situation, and expressed our concern about being in Economy etc. She excused herself and went to consult her Supervisor in the back office, and returned a few minutes later. “Yes, you are in First, but I’m afraid you can’t sit together. We’ve got you in 1C and 2C.” Phew - that will do just fine: anything that isn’t Economy is fine

With boarding passes issued, and our bags tagged through to DUB, we staggered outside to find the Smoking Zone [straight across the street by the parking lot] to calm our nerves! BTW, Hawaii is now seriously phobic about smoking anywhere, and any facilities provided are minimalist in the extreme.



Then back to normal: through TSAPre✓ and head to Gate 29 at the distant end of the Terminal. No Lounge here, but there was some interesting entertainment to help pass the time.

The first was a passing AA FA who did a remarkable impersonation of Patsy from ‘Absolutely Fabulous’, complete with massive hair, bright red lipstick and very high heels.

And then … A lady of a certain age, dressed in tight jeans and wearing an elaborate headscarf [we guessed Californian, and something to do with Fashion] approached the Agents at the desk. A highly animated conversation ensued. We couldn’t quite hear much of what was being said, although it seemed she had been told something downstairs which turned out not to be the case. Much waving of arms, pointing of fingers and animated behaviour, and repeatedly calling the Agent a liar. This went on for a good 10 minutes. And then 2 Airport Police officers had been summoned to join the conversation! The lady then spent another 10 minutes variously ranting at the Police and the Agent. Matters seemed to calm down when the First Officer arrived and, as we later discovered, made it clear that if she didn’t calm down she wouldn’t be flying. She strutted off. I suspect she had lost a free upgrade to First

OGG-LAX, AA250, A320, 2300-0610, ‘First’ seats 1A/C

We boarded gracefully and gratefully at the appointed hour, to find 1A occupied by a pilot in uniform - it turned out he was the FO on the cancelled AA14 who was now dead-heading back to LAX. Having assessed the seating situation, he graciously offered to take my seat [2C] allowing us oldies to sit together in Row 1. Thank you, Sir! As it transpired, he was then sat next to a colleague [in civvies] who was also dead-heading back to LAX. A win all round, one might say!

I recall little of the next 6 hours, other than we could not sleep. I’m sure we were fed something - oh, yes, drink and nuts, and a pass off the snack basket. As we hadn’t eaten since breakfast, we were quite hungry and mentioned this to the FA. She then produced a loaded cart of chilled food - Cheese Plate with Fruit or Hummus and Pitta Bread. We were the only people in First who seemed to get food on that flight! No idea what that was about.

Tuesday 22 Aug 17.

We arrived at LAX around 0600. The AA app had suggested we would be arriving at T4, but in fact we docked at Gate 50 in T5. This negated my earlier research of the route between the 2 terminals using the underground tunnel! And our next leg was from … Gate 53B, which was almost opposite! How convenient. With 2 hours to kill, we just flopped on a seat and waited … we couldn’t even be bothered to find a Lounge!

LAX-CLT, AA724, A321, 0835-1637, ‘First’ seats 1A/C

A further unremarkable 5 hours of relative discomfort and some food [a strange conception of biscuits topped with scrambled egg and some unidentifiable sauce]. A very personable male FA cheered us up somewhat by making us some large Mimosas. Our brains were already giving up the unequal struggle after nearly 24 hours without sleep. We arrived at CLT: Gate B8 and with a longggg walk to the next one from D10. We explored the distance involved, as much to stretch our legs as anything. We found an AA service desk and got them to print our BPs for the next leg: for some reason they couldn’t do it at OGG, perhaps because it’s a code-share flight. We then flopped into the Admiral’s Lounge at the junction of the C and D piers for an hour or so. Two legs down, just 3 to go, and we should get some sleep on the next one as it’s flat-bed time

CLT-DUB, AA724 [sold as BA1581], A330, 1815-0645, Business seats 1H/2H

Ah, at last! A proper aircraft with proper seats! And a refreshing PDB to fortify us. Let’s go, please … we’re just about ready for dinner. We had pre-ordered the Creole Duck Breast again, in the hope that it would be better than last time. It wasn’t. Curiously bland and extremely non-Creole.



The Potato Blinis ... rather tasty.



... and The Disappointing Duck.



No Ice Cream Sundae on this sector! I shall never fly AA again

I considered watching the IFE for a while, but circumstances conspired against that …



… so I settled down to sleep. I’m one of the apparent few on FT who has absolutely no trouble sleeping with my feet in the socket/coffin. But then perhaps cumulative fatigue was also a factor? Anyway, my next recollection was the lights coming on and the FA going around with glasses of Orange Juice before serving breakfast. Are we there yet, Mum?

Wednesday 23 Aug 17

Three Cheese and Poblano Pepper Omelette with Chicken Apple Sausages and Roast Potatoes.



That was nice! And, gazing blearily out of the window, I can see land … it should be Ireland, with a bit of luck! It was!! We landed 15 minutes early, at 0615, and taxied towards T2 … and stopped on a taxiway. The Captain advised that we were waiting for an aircraft to clear the stand. We waited for the best part of 30 minutes, with growing frustration, before eventually reaching the gate!

Thanks to priority disembarking, we were up and away quickly to the deserted Irish Border, and then spent the usual 20-30 minutes waiting for our bags. At which point we were hailed by our very own pinkcat who had been hiding somewhere on the same flight and who had been eclipse-watching down Savannah way. Out through Customs/Custaim, and we trudged across the bridge to T1 where we deposited our bags with BA and collected some more BPs for the last 2 sectors. Outside for a cigarette [x2], and then back into the throng for Security. No Priority or TSAPre✓ this time - just long queues

By now there really wasn’t enough time to head for the DAA Lounge, so we plodded slowly to the far distant corner called Gate 204 and waited for …

DUB-LHR, BA833, A320, 0855-1025, CE seats 2A/C

pinkcat rejoined us, taking the appropriate GGL seat 1A Up and away, and with just a yoghurt and a roll for our 2nd breakfast of the day to keep us nourished. Nothing else happened, apart from arriving at LHR after a short hold over Bovingdon.

After a long wander through the corridors of LHR T5, and with no Border to negotiate thanks to the Common Travel Area, we reached Reclaim to find we were on the very last baggage belt. That’s enough exercise for one morning, thank you. The bags were fairly quick, though, and we thus trundled through to Arrivals and a quick ciggie outside before heading for the coach stop. At this point I was approached by 2 other people who, although smokers, seemed to lack the means of lighting their cigarettes

Then across the courtyard to the National Express coaches, where I enquired of their helpful staffer if there were any earlier coaches to LGW (we were booked on the 1115 for safety, but with Flex tickets we can hop on anything). “Yes, there’s a coach coming in soon that goes through the Gatwick Terminals … stop #11 or #12.” And so it did: bags loaded by the driver, and then - try to find a seat. It was rammed to the hilt, and we had to sit separately. A slow grind round the M25 followed, until we passed the M3 junction at which point normal 70mph service was resumed. At LGW it was the North Terminal first, followed by South - the reverse process of our outbound journey.

Civilisation now revealed itself. BA’s First check-in/bag-drop, a last quick ciggie outside, then Premium Gatwick security [a breeze], Duty Free, and finally the BA First Lounge for yet another light breakfast.

LGW-JER, BA2774, A319, 1550-1655, CE seats 2A/C

We boarded, flew, had Tea, landed, recovered our cases, grabbed a taxi and got home around 1800. By 1900 we were bathed and in bed … after which I slept for 12 hours!

T8191

The Aftermath.

Thursday 24 Aug 17.

To our amazement, we were both alive and relatively well. Obviously a bit weary and travel-battered, but no obvious jet-lag. iWife single-handedly managed the unpacking while I sorted out the post, filed various foreign currencies and downloaded 186 photos and videos. By noon, we were almost back to normal. The only thing wrong was the absence of The Cat, Storm, who we had to have put down the week before we left. The house seems strange and empty without her.

Final Reflections.

I think we’ve done with Hawaii now. It’s great for those who want to go diving, or climbing volcanoes and that sort of thing … but we’re now too old for that stuff, and the destination really doesn’t justify the effort in getting there [and back]. The TPs are nice [1,000 on this occasion] but it’s a bit of a grind getting there [3 days] and getting home again [36 hours from leaving the hotel!]. Three or four short holidays in [say] Malta earn as many for less effort and expense, with the added convenience [for us] of flying ex-LGW.

Hawaii [and especially Maui] seems bloody expensive now. USD 7 for a small beer? USD 25 and well upwards for Entrees, sides extra? The resort charging USD 1.50 a day for use of the room safe, unless you decline in writing on day 1 [at which point they presumably confiscate the key]? USD 90.00 + 12.08 in taxes for a late check-out?

(PS: curiously we weren't billed for using the safe!)

The hotel/resort was very pleasant, in a 3-4 star sort of way. Despite the size [c. 700 rooms] it didn’t seem particularly crowded or, indeed, noisy. Very good room, nicely furnished and in good condition. Delightful grounds and, of course, right by the beach. The short walk to Whaler’s Village, and the Shuttles into Lahaina, avoided any sense of being confined to the resort. From our POV, it worked out very well indeed.

Apart from the cancellation [tech issue] of the return flight from OGG to LAX, all 10 flights were pretty much on time. IFE [where available] was a mixed bag, with one having very weak sound and the other having a complete fail. Food was generally edible, and all the CC/FAs we dealt with were friendly and efficient. The same applies to all the Ground Agents we dealt with, especially Olivia at OGG!!

Tier Points and Avios posted reliably, except for the general issue affecting AA for flights around the 11th [and that has since credited properly]. Annoyingly, the re-shuffle of the OGG-LAX flight led to use being credited as Y/Y with 70 TPs - that will be claimed once the 7 days have elapsed to allow on-line claim for the proper 140. And BAEC Gold renewal will be achieved next month after a week’s more relaxing holiday in Malta

That’s it … I hope you enjoyed reading. And I managed to link the pictures eventually!

stu1985

Yay! Another Uncle T TR! Looking forward to reading once you managed to display the pics..... clicking on each individual one is way too much of a faff!

Physci

Great TR T8191 - shame your technology skills were left in OGG (perhaps that is the price for getting your F seat back!)

EDIT: Glad to AA's luggage handlers managed to find and return to you the missing technology skills - the pictures are great!

worldtraveller73

Hi T8191 - it turns out we were neighbors for at least a few days. I was next door at the Sheraton Maui.

I agree that you'd have to be a bit price conscious; properties can charge over the top if you are not alive to it. The breakfast brunch at the Kaanapali Beach hotel was rumored to be among the best on the Kaanapali strip.

T8191

Thanks, and apologies for the picture issue. After Photobucket killed '3rd Party Posting' I switched to imgur and reloaded several earlier TRs with no problem. I shall work on this tomorrow! My previous 'repair' posts have the filename starting i.imgur, but it didn't work when I tried doing that. VERY frustrating, for both Author and Audience

cgtechuk

It was definitely good to put a face to name and Mrs cgtechuk and I had a great afternoon so i would say it was a successful micro-do @T8191

P.s Sorry to hear about Storm

florens

Great TR!

Flexible preferences

Another entertaining TR. Love the descriptive people observations, and laughed out loud at the expired Hilton Gold cards saving you the shuttle fee!

TravellerFrequently

Great TR. Many thanks.

Relieved to see that you made it back to First after all on leaving OGG.

Sorry too, to read about Storm.

T8191

Thank you all. And pictures fixed - I'm new to imgur and I was using the wrong process to link the pictures.

@ cgtechuk ... always nice to meet other Ft-ers, and share efficient travel experiences!

@ florens and flexiblepreferences ... glad you enjoyed reading! I still feel a twinge of guilt about the Shuttle fee, especially as only one of was HHons Gold anyway

@ TravellerFrequently ... nobody as more pleased than us being restored to First

Thanks for comments about Storm, too. We both keep looking up the garden expecting to see her there, sleeping or hunting something.

rossmacd

Great TR - thanks T8191 ^

If you are now 'Hawaii'd out', what will your next TP efficient holiday destinations?

Having now had AA's short ribs three times this month (2x ex-LHR and 1x ex-CDG), I can't wait for a menu change! As nice a dish as it is (well, except LHR's attempt on Friday - the poorest of the lot) I need some variety!

Sorry to read about Storm.