Saturday, September 6th, 2003: Once again, waking to the sounds of the ocean are almost as soothing as the good nights sleep itself. We awoke well rested as we had each morning of the cruise. We decided to grab a quick breakfast in the Market Cafe on Deck 12, as we had to meet in the Stardust Theater at 8:15 A.M. to leave the ship for our shore excursion.

Breakfast at the Market Cafe was sufficient to fill us, however it was still, in our opinions a low grade buffet that was only a "fast fix". We lQQked forward to our shore excursion.

We met the rest of our shore excursion party at the Stardust Theater, we had a seat till our tour was called and soon we were off to board our bus. Once on the bus, it was only about a twenty minute ride to the river.

Once at the Wailua River there were four flat bottomed, open air, house type boats that could navigate in shallow water waiting for our shore excursions as well as other tourists that were not on a cruise but were just visiting the river. We entered our boat and settled in for a nice smooth sail. It was about a thirty minute sail down river to the Fern Grotto, while we enjoyed a three piece Hawaiian band with two dancers that made our ride most enjoyable as well as go by very quickly. Before we knew it we were there and ready for a bit of a hike back into the valley to see the Fern Grotto.

While I cannot give you exact distance, I am guessing it to be about 200 yards from where you disembark till you reach the Fern Grotto. I suggest very strongly that you wear walking shoes or sneakers with a good tread on the sole. It can be slippery as you make your way along the well marked trail. While the walk was not to bad, I personally was a little disappointed when we arrived in the Fern Grotto.

Don't misunderstand, it is simply beautiful. Some of the most magnificent ferns, flowers and foliage I have ever seen, however, it is packed with as many people they can get in there at one time and in my opinion it takes away from its raw natural beauty. There are two viewing platforms for you to see the Grotto, one is a cement grand stand on the floor of the valley, the Fern Grotto itself is up above you a bit and to the left of the grand stand or you can actually go up into the Fern Grotto. However, you are not allowed to walk around at your own pace. It appeared to us that they filled in the Fern Grotto first with as many people as it would hold and then when they reached its max, you were directed to the cement grand stand to enjoy the Hawaiian Wedding Song complete with Hula dancers. I do understand why they do not allow you to just walk around at your own pace and enjoy the beauty of the Grotto, it is slippery and I am sure that could create all sorts of problems should someone fall, but in my opinion, less people would certainly allow everyone to enjoy the whole Grotto and not be limited to where you were placed. I found the best part of the whole day to be the river ride to and from the Fern Grotto.

Once the entertainment was over we all walked back to our boats and made our way back up the river. This time on the return trip, instead of having the Hawaiian band, we had a one of the boat operators share some fascinating stories of the river. All sorts of facts about its flora and fauna as well as stories of the significance of the river to the Hawaiian people. It was most fascinating and I highly recommend the river boat trip to everyone. The Fern Grotto, in my opinion alone, is one of those things you have to see for yourself and decide.

Once back on the bus, we headed off to see a beautiful waterfall that was not to far from where we were. The waterfall was named Opaekaa Falls. It is off in a valley but clearly visible from route 580 on Kauai. There is a big viewing area and it is a great place for some Kodak moments. The air was very warm and it was beautiful to see such a perfect example of Mother Nature.

Back on the bus we were on our way back to the ship. Once on board, we decided to have, what would probably be our last lunch at The Grill. We once again enjoyed an afternoon at the Oasis Pool, eating, drinking and relaxing. We were lQQking forward to our "Farewell Dinner" at LeBistro that evening.

We decided to meet for dinner at 6 P.M. and enjoy our last night on board the Norwegian Star in what we felt was the best restaurant on board. One thing we did discuss was that while we all enjoyed the cruise very much, we were also very happy to be getting off the ship tomorrow. We all were lQQking forward to the next part of our vacations and I think we all agreed that a seven day cruise, for us, was to long.

We enjoyed a wonderful meal at Le Bistro and then walked out of the restaurant to have a few cocktails at Gatsby Champagne Bar. They had a piano bar as well and we enjoyed some soothing music. We, my "Better Half" and I still had to pack as our luggage had to be outside our cabin by midnight, whereas all our friends had already packed so we decided to turn in around 9 P.M. so as not to miss the deadline. We bid everyone a "Good Night" and headed off to our cabin with plans to meet for breakfast at 8:30 A.M.

Back in our cabin, the drudgery of packing awaited us. "DID I REALLY BUY THAT MUCH?" Now to pack it all! UGH! Needless to say, as always, we made it all fit and our luggage was outside our cabin on time and we enjoyed the rest of the evening listening to some Hawaiian music on the radio while sitting on our lanai, enjoying the crashing waves and the smell of sea air as we headed toward Honolulu on the island of Hawaii, our final port of call.

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