Part 2: UnCruise Small Ship Experience & Cost in Hawaii

We're continuing our 🌺 UnCruise Hawaii adventure! Let's island hop from untouched Moloka'i to bustling Big Island, with pristine Lana'i in between. Discover what makes each destination unique, savor Hawaiian cultural & culinary highlights with us, and experience those magical moments, such as green flash sunsets, that make small ship cruising so special. We'll also share our essential packing and budgeting tips to help you plan your adventure. 

Whether you're considering UnCruise or dreaming of island life, this episode gives you the insider perspective needed to continue dreaming but, more importantly, to start planning. 

From this episode: 

• We're obsessed with our binoculars, which we always travel with. We also packed our telephoto lens, for awesome whale photos.
• Guide Along App transformed our experience touring the Big Island. Buy the Big Island bundle—it’s like having the best private guide at a fraction of the cost. (They have other Hawaii bundle tours as well.)
• We discuss what this trip costs & the website specials. Check out episode 6 of our podcast, where we discuss What Small Ship Cruises Actually Cost with budgeting tips! 
• Book a Manta Ray tour, which we touch on during this episode and in Part 1 too.

Chapters

• 2:02 Exploring Moloka'i: Arrival & First Impressions
• 6:13 Activities & Experiences on Molokai
• 10:30 Big Island: Kona Experience
• 11:02 Contrasting Experiences: Moloka’i vs. Big Island
• 13:34 Guide App for the Big Island We Can't Do Without
• 15:00 Sunset & Star Gazing at Mauna Kea Volcano
• 16:01 Is it Better to Start in Moloka'i & End on the Big Island or the Reverse?
• 18:48 Advantage to Ending on the Big Island
• 19:53 Food & Beverages Onboard UnCruise
• 23:33 Special Hawaiian Feast (Pa‘ina) on Land
• 24:35 Unexpected Surprises: The Green Flash & More
• 26:51 Building Community: Crew & Guests
• 29:11 More Surprises From Our Hawaiian Seascapes UnCruise Trip
• 29:46 Connection to the Ocean: A Special Experience
• 30:48 Was Our UnCruise Experience in Hawaii an Anti-Cruise?
• 32:03 Cruise Cost & Value
• 34:49 Children Sailing with UnCruise
• 35:29 Flights to Hawaii for Your UnCruise Adventure
• 36:04 Hawaii Cruise Packing Essentials
• 37:33 That's a Wrap on UnCruise Hawai'i

Transcript

Aloha. Why couldn't we remember that last time? Anyway, if you are just tuning into part two of our UnCruise Adventure in Hawai'i, last week in part one, we clearly couldn't remember how to say Aloha in Hawaiian to say hello. But this week, it came to us. Welcome to part two of our two-parter on UnCruise Hawai'i, an expedition ship that was one of my favorite cruises of all time. 

How about you?

Dan (01:02)

I would say it's top five, yeah.

Mikkel (01:03)

Ooh, top five. I love that. Yeah, it was really, really special. 

Last week, we talked about an overview of UnCruise, who they are, what makes the cruise line special. This week, last week, we gave you an overview of UnCruise adventures and what makes the cruise line special, including it is American-flagged.  We also talked about the day by day itinerary for our UnCruise Hawaiian adventure from Moloka'i to the Big Island of Hawai'i. 

Today we are going to dive into what it was like to start in Moloka'i, what it was like to end in the Big Island of Hawai'i in Kona, and if the reverse is better or not. We are going to talk about everyone's favorite, the food and beverages. Also going to discuss some unexpected surprises as an overview.

The cost: another big question that might be on your mind. and end with some packing tips, especially to enhance your wildlife adventures during this cruise.

All right, so starting in Moloka'i. Moloka'i is a very small island of 8,000 people. Dan, I am curious to hear your thoughts, because I had been in Hawai'i one other time, but you had never been there. So I think it's so unique that we arrived on this small plane and got to Moloka'i. and I'm curious what you were thinking when we got there. Everyone grows up hearing about Hawai'i and tropical paradise and whatever, so what did you think when we were on the way and when we got there?

Dan (02:31)

When we got to Moloka'i, I thought we had mistakenly landed in a developing nation. Not so, more so that there just wasn't anything on the island. There was farming, was...

a very small town, I think with two grocery stores, maybe a grocery store and a bodega, ⁓ probably two, yeah, two or three gas stations, a handful of restaurants and a school, like what looked like a high school or something like that. Everybody was very friendly, but it also felt like everybody knew everybody else. and then when you went into a restaurant, you were sitting in somebody's seat.

Mikkel (02:55)

one or two gas stations. 

I can understand that. and we arrived there via Maui. If I could do it again, would say that knowing now that you have to stop in Maui anyway, which we knew it wasn't such a surprise. But I guess the thing that we know now that we're sharing with you listeners is that there's not much to do on Moloka'i. So it would have been fun to stop in Maui and stay there for a night or two before going to Moloka'i. 

I'm so glad we stayed on Moloka'i. I feel like we are doing the research, and we are passionate about sharing our firsthand experience with everybody listening and our readers of our website and everything. That said, we had a lovely Airbnb walkable to the beach. We had the whole beach to ourselves. We made the best of getting some beverages to have in the apartment, and we rented a car.

If you don't rent a car, so sorry, let me rewind. So we landed in Maui and waited for our connection and it was so windy and I saw the prop plane that fits eight passengers and I literally said to the pilot of the plane, who looked like he was maybe 22 years old. I said, "It's so windy. Are we going to go?" and he was like, "Yeah, it is windy. Yeah, we're going to go." 

And then once we took off, it was fine. We were above the wind and whatever. So obviously, leave it to the experts, not me. But they literally weigh everything that goes on. They have to weight the plane. And open the back door of the plane. It was the trunk, and you saw them loading all the luggage. And locals were going on this plane. It was like a commuter plane.

Dan (04:48)

Yeah, my favorite memory with that was they put us all like strategically sat us on the plane for weight distribution. But at one point there was no security to go through. You got to like, was just like, "Hey, Sam, you sit here, Tina, you sit here. and then you two, you sit here." and we, as we were flying I glanced down and I noticed that the guy sitting next to me had a pocket knife, know, like the little clip that you can see on the pocket. I was like, this is, this is ⁓ slightly different than going through JFK. 

Mikkel (05:15)

Speaking of no security. Do you remember, somebody had a little Christmas tree, the teeny tiny Christmas trees, because it was just before the holiday in December. Another thing that you made me remember was that there's audio system, literally, there's one gate, it's outdoors, it's covered, but it's open to the elements because it's Hawai'i, and she came over and she was like, flight 225.

There’s no audio system, literally, there's one gate, it's outdoors, it's covered, but it's open to the elements because it's Hawai'i, and she came over and she was like, flight 225.

Dan (05:39)

Yeah.

Mikkel (05:44)

And she was like, "Woodruff?" Literally, you had to line up in order. Then, almost like you were on Soarin' in Epcot, how they line you up for the queue. And then you kind of enter the ride that way. That's exactly how it was. My favorite memory from that was the rainbow over the island that we saw when we were landing. And Hawai'i's license plates have rainbows on them. So to me, it was just like so heartwarming. Anyway... 

So we landed. And the airport that we landed in, in Moloka'i, is super small. I can't imagine not renting a car. Our Airbnb had the option - actually I think it was a VRBO - had the option to rent their car and you kind of like sign a contract with them on the side. And we did because we were like, we're not going to be able to get anywhere. There's no Uber there. I didn't see a taxi. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Dan (06:34)

No, I don't remember seeing a taxi at all.

Mikkel (06:36)

If you land there and are staying at Hotel Moloka'i, which is where you embark (where the group meets when you start the cruise) then they offered transfers for you, but we were not staying there. We stayed a couple of nights before, as I said, so we opted to rent the car and go on our own way.

Dan (06:54)

Talking about renting a car, they told us, I believe somebody at the airport or maybe our hosts at the place we stayed said, watch out for deer. and then we were driving to the Airbnb that first night. and when they say watch out for deer, like we thought, "Oh, there's going to be a deer or two." No, it was literally a herd of deer in the road, like at least 30, 40 deer in the road.

Mikkel (07:16)

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Yeah, your night vision is better than mine, and you yelled, "Deer!" and I was like, "Oh my god!" and slammed on the brakes. So yeah, if you were renting a car, beware of that. The other thing was that because it was December, the sun does set a little earlier. So it was dark very quickly when we got there.

I do want to point out two things that we did on Moloka'i that, like I said, we made the best of and were happy to do. Actually three. So the first night I was like, "We're in Hawai'i. Let's celebrate with a nice dinner!" So we did have dinner at Hotel Moloka'i and got there in time for sunset, which is why we didn't get to our Airbnb until it was dark because we went there after. So we had a really nice dinner, oceanfront side at Hotel Moloka'i. and we also were able to make leis with the Plumeria trees at the Plumeria farm. I’ll put some of this in the show notes. 

None of this is hard to find, but I will say the thing that we were having a little difficulty figuring out if it was open or closed was the macadamia nut farm. Because it's literally like these people live there. It's their home. So you're just kind of going when they're operating if they want to. The Plumeria farm, actually the family that owns it, were away on Oahu. They were in Oahu because it was the holidays and they went to visit their adult children. somebody else, this is going back to what you said about everybody knowing everybody, they called their friend and they said, hey, can you meet a couple there? They want to make their own leis. and the woman was like, I'm going to give you a bag. You fill it with Pumarias. Here's how you pick them off and then we'll string them.

And she said, you know, it's not really the season for this. So whatever you find on the trees, feel free to take. So luckily, we were able to make gorgeous leis. and you know, I really milked that lei for what it was worth and wore it wherever, whenever. Also, it smells phenomenal. So now we live in Florida. So now whenever I see a Plumeria, I'm like, can we make a lei with this? How many flowers are on the tree? So that was really fun. 

So those were three special things. The macadamia nut farm was also great and we were able to purchase macadamias there that we snacked on for the next few days. So that was really special.

Dan (09:34)

Yeah. I mean overall I think the island is very charming. There's plenty to do there. There's plenty to explore, just don't expect any big metropolis while you're there. It's really about the nature and connecting with kind of untouched Hawai'i.

Mikkel (09:49)

Yeah, I love that. Untouched Hawai'i. and it is a casual island, and the cruise is casual, so leave all those fancy clothes at home. When we embarked on our cruise, our UnCruise on Safari Explorer ship in Moloka'i, the nice thing was that the excursion and getting to know the culture with the locals was not something we would have found on our own. 

So I loved that we did things we could find on our own ahead of time. and then once we embarked and we did the first excursion with the cruise, it was really unique and kind of dove deeper into local culture. All right, so that was the start. What about ending in Kona on the Big Island?

Dan (10:30)

Ending on the Big Island, it was interesting because we started on such a small island, Moloka'i, had so much interaction with nature and we were out in the ocean. We visited Lana'i, which was very interesting too, and very wild. and then end on the Big Island, right? So all of a sudden, there's people and tourists and traffic and horns.

Mikkel (10:50)

Yeah.

Dan (10:51)

And you know, there was it was was a very interesting juxtaposition from the beginning throughout the trip and then all of sudden to be dumped into civilization

Mikkel (11:02)

And even the cruise starting with Hotel Moloka'i, which is a small hotel, and ending on the big island in Kona with Kamehameha Hotel is a stark contrast. Kamehameha Hotel has several floors, and it's what you would expect like a convention hotel, right?

Even when we docked, there was a canoe festival that day with canoe races. Remember that? Which just means the island can sustain that kind of tourism. Moloka'i years ago had decided that they were not going to welcome big ships and cruises and big numbers of tourists, which is part of why it's kind of untouched. It does make it special. It also means that there's a little bit less to do, a little bit less, I guess, economic support in that kind of tourism way.

Whereas the Big Island has a national park there, it has so much to do. There's two different distinct sides of the island. and I will say that the thing that I thought was interesting was that the hospitality suite seemed a little more substantial at the Kamehameha Hotel than the Hotel Moloka'i. and that's just to say that once you got to the hotel, the thing about Hotel Moloka'i was that you couldn't walk anywhere.

So you walk to get a snack or anything, and you were at the mercy of the restaurant being opened or closed, and it didn't open until 4:00 PM or something. Whereas at in Kona on the Big Island, you can walk everywhere. 

You can go to the local 7-Eleven. There's plenty to do. There's plenty of restaurants, plenty of bars. So keep that in mind one direction or the other. So when we were at the Big Island, we stayed in Kona for three nights and rented a car there as well.

Dan (12:45)

Critical to rent that car... well, if you want to get out of Kona, you need to rent a car. Because we did the loop around the entire We went to Volcanoes National Park.

Mikkel (12:52)

Mm-hmm. Which was incredible and it is erupting around the time that we are recording this in July of 2025. We got sooo lucky. We went to Volcanoes National Park on December 24th. Yeah, we were leaving that night. We actually had to leave during sunset because we were like, "Okay, we have to get to the airport at this time. It takes two hours to drive there from here." 

So we stayed as long as we could, and that was an incredible special experience, Volcanoes National Park. I didn't know what to expect. I thought it was going to be like a one-note park, and I was in awe of the different landscapes and the park. and we also had this app called Guide Along. I'm going to link that in the show notes, which enhanced our trip 20-fold. It told us where to find the black sand beaches. 

It told us what state park to go to. I mean, like really amped it up. We were able to do a Kona coffee tour on our own with that. and it's an app that you download it while you're on wifi. and then even if you don't have cell service or don't have wifi, it still triggers the GPS recordings and it's different everywhere you go and it tells you everything from where there are restrooms to if there's a side of the road donut place to go, there's a famous donut place that everybody stops at on the way to Volcanoes National Park, to the history of the island and where you're visiting. 

What did you think of the guided tour? Because I know I had known about it from years prior and I said, you know, we got to see if there is one for the big island and we're lucky that there was.

Dan (14:24)

It truly gave it another dynamic to the trip. It gave us a lot of history, a lot of background, a lot of just pertinent information, but it was also fun. and the voiceover guy or the narrator was funny and interesting and definitely had a personality and brought it all to life.

Mikkel (14:42)

Yeah, and it's so well scripted too. I mean, he did have his own personality in there, but you could tell that it was very much full of useful facts and information. and it's like having a personal tour guide at an incredibly, low cost - fraction of the price you would pay for a private tour guide.

Dan (15:00)

Right. Yeah. What was that? We went out into the desert and watched the sunset? Where was that?

Mikkel (15:03)

Yeah.

So one night we made a point to go to Mauna Kea volcano and watched the sunset and also watched the evening stars. If you want to go to the peak, the top of Mauna Kea, you need four wheel drive. 

We didn't have that, but the truth is we were so limited on time. We would have needed another hour to get up there. They check your tires and they check that you have four wheel drive. So don't think you're going to sneak by without it.

They are checking for safety reasons to get up there. and we were watching all the cars go up, like switchbacks, right? Like back and forth on the mountain to go

Dan (15:40)

Mm-hmm.

Mikkel (15:41)

And it was freezing. I mean, freezing. We're going to talk about what to pack for the cruise later in this episode towards the end. But it was freezing on Mauna Kea, and that's because of the high elevation.

Dan (15:53)

High elevation, as soon as sun goes down, it's a completely different world. So wear all your clothes.

Mikkel (15:56)

Yep. Wear all your clothes.

Yeah, in a snap, it gets really cold.

That was the start and the end of the cruise. And let's also briefly touch on, do you think that Moloka'i to the Big Island was better than the reverse? Or what were the pros and cons?

I’ll start: I would say the way you described small, medium, large was really interesting. We started off small in Moloka'i, we went to Lana'i in the middle, and then we ended on a big island. So it was kind of, like, ramping up to that, which was nice.

Dan (16:27)

Right, I think it's with anything, right? So understand where you're starting from and where you're ending, because they could be two completely different things or they could be very, very similar. So we brought it up when we were talking about the Mekong River cruise, where we started in Cambodia and ended in Vietnam - two similar but different feels, right? and so just understanding that going into your cruise and understanding that that is gonna kinda impact

– not in a negative way – but it's just gonna impact your experience and just to be aware of it, really.

Mikkel (16:59)

Right. and I like that you mentioned the Mekong River cruise. Listen next week we are going to deep dive on our Mekong River cruise adventure. But for Hawai'i, you don't have a second chance to make a first impression, right? Your first entry into Hawai'i is always going to be Moloka'i. and I think there's a specialness to that with untouched Hawai'i. But I also think there's like this kind of like, this is Hawai'i? Like, this is it? A let down. Did you feel like that at all? Like, underwhelmed. Like, you were underwhelmed with Moloka'i?

Dan (17:31)

Oh, I thought this is like Costa Rica, but like a lot less people.

Mikkel (17:36)

Right, yeah. I would say if you want to start with a bang, then start on the Big Island. If you want to end with a bang, then end on the Big Island. Also, it's very easy to island hop in Hawai'i. 

So if you are disappointed that this cruise doesn't go to Kauai or Oahu, where the capital of Honolulu is, then definitely extend your trip. and also keep in mind, whether you extend it before or after could depend on the flights, on the costs, on the time of year. For us, we flew home on Christmas, and we knew that a lot of things were going to close on December 25th. 

We knew this from traveling during Christmas in the past. Because your birthday is the 21st of December, and then Christmas is right after, we are very sensitive to where we're going to be on Dan's birthday and then where we're going to be right after during Christmas. So we knew that a lot was going to be closed on the 25th.

So we left on the 24th at night. We took a red eye on purpose. So whether you start one way and the other, just keep all these factors in mind. 

Dan (18:28)

Right. Yep.

Mikkel (18:35)

Also hotel rates, look at those too. It could depend on hotel availability. I think at the end of the day, a right or wrong answer. It does change your experience one way or another.

Dan (18:47)

Sure.

Mikkel (18:48)

Also, I would say that when you end on the Big Island because, as we talked about last week, our Manta Ray night snorkel was canceled because of the weather.

Had we known that was a possibility in advance, which if you're listening, you already know this is a possibility and you are ahead of the game because we are telling you and we didn't know that it was a possibility for it to be canceled. So if you end on the Big Island and you're there a few nights, the advantage is that you can schedule Manta Ray tours following that.

Our recommendation is actually to schedule them before you even for your cruise and just check the cancellation policy. And if you want to cancel because you already got to see them on the cruise, then you're able to do that. And normally I would say, don't book it and cancel. Don't do that to a small company, especially a small business. However, I know that there are people looking for these last-minute spots on these tours because it's one of the number one things to do on the Big Island. So I am very confident that if there's an opening, it would get filled. So I do think that would be an advantage of going the direction we went.

So back on the ship, speaking of the snorkel dive. OK, we're back on the ship, and we are eating and drinking.

Dan (19:55)

Right, let's get back on the ship. Food and beverages.

On the ship, beverages are included. So we made friends with the bartender right away, cause he was from Buffalo, as I am also from Western New York. CJ is his name, and his specialty was the cocktail of the day. So there was always - it was like, top secret. He closely guarded family recipe.

Mikkel (20:19)

He did not reveal. Yeah.

Dan (20:22)

…that he kept, it was always a surprise. And what I really enjoyed was that he tried to use local ingredients. So the starfruit from an excursion we went on, right? Yeah, right.

Mikkel (20:30)

Yeah. We talked about last week, when Sam brought back the starfruit, he infused the gin for a few days with the starfruit. That was a great surprise.

Dan (20:40)

Right. I think they did a great job in the food and beverage department, incorporating local ingredients and really bringing that on board to continue your experience.

Mikkel (20:51)

That's true. And if you didn't want the drink of the day, you didn't have to get it. They had a full bar. They had beer. They had wine, cocktails, obviously non-alcoholic drinks. And there is like a little bar kind of next to the lounge. It's sort of sandwiched between two lounge areas. So that was really nice. Actually, the kind of enclosed lounge area is where they put up a Christmas tree because it was during the holidays. So that was kind of cute. The food was, I would say, wonderful. I was pleasantly surprised by how good the food was.

Dan (21:23)

So, no other cruise, do I know the name of the pastry chef. But I remembered the name of the pastry because she was phenomenal.

Mikkel (21:28)

Ooh.

That reminded me of something that was a nice surprise that you really liked about the cruise, which we're going to talk about momentarily. But the pastry chef was phenomenal. We had fresh breads. and that translated to some breakfast pastries as well. and the food was just so fresh. and they try to incorporate local fish and the seafood and the vegetables as much as possible.

So I thought they did a wonderful job of that. There were also snacks out in case you were a little noshy during the day. There were those Nature's Valley bars. There were chips, granola bars. They had chips. There was fruit out during the day as well. I remember one day you had tacos, and I loved tacos. But for some reason that day, I wasn't feeling it. and I asked if they could make me a salad. and they made me the most gorgeous salad with grilled chicken on top. and

Dan (22:08)

Right, granola bars, yeah.

Mikkel (22:25)

There were watermelon radishes on it that added a bit of color. I was just so pleased. and the desserts were great, as you said. and another fun thing that they did, if you remember, they take out a pizza stove one of the nights. and remember, they made us a little pizza smorgasbord. and they just kept baking those pizzas, and just putting them out for us. and that was just really fun, because if there's anything that you and I crave after a cruise for whatever reason, it's pizza. We always get pizza after a cruise. That and a burger.

Dan (22:54)

Right. Yeah, that is interesting. Well, when we do like big ships, they usually have pizza. and it's, you know, mediocre. But on a small ship, absolutely at the end of it, we're like, just give me some pizza and a burger.

Mikkel (23:07)

Yeah. But we had pizza there, so it wasn't even necessary when we got off. So that was really fun. They also do kind of like cocktail hours, I would say. and they have little noshes that you can get a little bit pre-dinner time. and then on that last day it was really nice because they opted to have the cocktail hour with the noshes, up on the top deck so we could see the sunset.

Dan (23:32)

Yeah.

Mikkel (23:33)

And then the last thing I want to say about the food is that there is one meal during this cruise that you have on land. and that is either your last night, I believe, if you do the Big Island to Moloka'i, or as we did it, it ends up being your first night from Moloka'i to the Big Island. And that is a Hawaiian feast, which they call a pa‘ina. 

And I hope I'm saying that correctly if anybody's listening and speaks Hawaiian. and that's when we had that jam session too that was the ukulele player and singer and then an additional singer. and they kind of like weave some stories in. and of course, because we were there during Christmas, you know what song they sang: Mele Kalikimaka. That was fun. There's nothing like hearing Mele Kalikimaka during Christmas time in Hawai'i.

If you don't know this song, the lyrics are, "Mele Kalikimaka is Hawai'i's way to say Merry Christmas to you." and it's very catchy. I like the Bette Midler version if you were going to look it up after this.

Okay, let's talk about unexpected surprises and let's start with the green flash.

Dan (24:40)

Right, so that last night when we were up on the top deck having cocktails, there was music going and we saw the sunset. I lived on the West Coast for quite a few years it was sort of this game to watch, go watch the sunset into the ocean and very rarely, every once in a while, you'll see a green flash when the sun sets into the ocean. Something with science, but it's just really cool when it happens. 

Mikkel (25:04)

Yeah, it's a natural phenomenon. And having dated you and been with you for 10 years, I had heard about this. and there was even a brewery. I don't know if Green Flash is still around, but the first time I was made aware of a Green Flash was because we went to San Diego, and you wanted to take me to Green Flash Brewery. and I was like, what is a Green Flash?

Dan (25:17)

Unfortunately not.

Mikkel (25:27)

So right before the sun sinks on the horizon line. And from what I understand, it has to be like a completely clear day. There is a flash of green that you see. And I thought it was a lie and a myth. But you had said you saw it and that was my only hope because I do trust you.

Dan (25:41)

I've I've Yeah, I saw it twice before, ever, and my third was that final night on the cruise.

Mikkel (25:52) 

Right, and not seeing the Manta Rays - sure, we can go back and see, I think that a green flash is even more rare than going snorkeling with the Manta Rays. It's less predictable, that's for sure. So that was an unexpected surprise.

Dan (25:59)

Okay. Yeah. ⁓

Mikkel (26:06)

I'm so glad that I didn't have a camera with me or anything, that it was so fast. I remember somebody was talking to us, and I wanted to be like, "Bob, not now. There's about to be a sunset. We can't talk right now. Everybody's looking." and conversation stopped, luckily. We liked everybody on the cruise, by the way. Everybody was great. 

But the conversation stopped, and we turned around. I didn't have a chance to grab a camera or anything, but I don't think I would have been able to capture this on a camera anyway. It really does happen in a flash. and it was incredible.

Dan (26:35)

So that made that night special and it was just such a great end cap to the entire cruise.

Mikkel (26:41)

Another surprise was the photo that you fondly have in your phone because you wanted to remember everybody's names and everything.

Dan (26:51)

Oh, right. So they take your photo right before embarkation, and then they put it up on the wall kind of by the reception desk there. and it's everybody's first names and the picture of them. So everybody that you're cruising with, you can kind of, it's like a little cheat sheet to go back and reference. Oh, okay, Bob and Sue, that's who they are. I think they're from Arizona, right? Okay. Yeah, I remember them.

But it just helps to kind of put that name to that face and we always forget everybody's names, but it's such an intimate cruise because there's only, you know, max 36 people. We had 15. So it's kind of embarrassing when you're four days into it and you're like, "Uh, you know, the guy with the glasses." So it was nice, but they also put a picture of the crew there with their names on it too. So, "Oh, okay. This is the chef and this is, you know, captain," and things like that. So that was really helpful. I enjoyed that. It's first time I had experienced that on a cruise.

Mikkel (27:34)

Yeah. I also think it helps build a sense of community.

Dan (27:45)

Yeah, absolutely.

Mikkel (27:46)

And speaking of the crew, they were just so lovely and enthusiastic. A few of them even lived in Hawai'i. They had moved there and they loved Hawai'i so much. So it was just great to be able to ask them some additional questions about Hawai'i, what it's like living there, and even for recommendations because we were staying after as well. 

So I thought that was really special and a really nice surprise. I mean, don't get me wrong, most cruises we're on the crew is great. But there was just something really extra special about them. and you could tell that they all really liked each other. And well-orchestrated, like a great dance in how the ship functioned. and they swap out, obviously. Some people are on for two weeks, and then they have a break, or they are going to another itinerary, whatever, what have you.

But it was a nice surprise that it was fantastic. And also that there was a female captain, Captain Tiffany. I love that. She may or may not be the captain when you're on board Safari Explorer, but of course, I love that.

Dan (28:41)

I think you really nailed it when you said it's a community because the crew is taking pictures all week long and you see them, you're snorkeling, you see them taking pictures but then at the end we had the photo slideshow. And that's so fun to look back and remember the highlights and also seeing the trip through everybody else's eyes, through the crew's eyes. You know? So it was really fun to see that. And then I think they gave us a link to the photos.

Mikkel (29:04)

Yeah, they did. That's another surprise. They give you a link to the photos that you can download when you get home. And that's great because we did not bring our GoPro or any underwater device for this trip. Let's just say we forgot it. 

So that was really nice that they were doing that and we could preserve those underwater memories. And you know, the spinner dolphins were amazing, that we said, we saw when we were snorkeling right where Captain Cook landed on the Big Island. Those were incredible. That was such a nice treat and nice surprise. I felt like the hits kept coming.

I think the thing that most surprised me especially because we knew the itinerary ahead of time but not really what to expect because it doesn't go to Kauai or Oahu, those two major islands, was that I didn't expect to come away with such a connection and affinity for the ocean in Hawai'i.

Mikkel (30:03)

It's funny because I feel like you think of Moana, I mean, I'm a Disney girl, but you like think of Moana. and the whole story of Moana is like such a connection to the sea. and Moana is obviously Hawaiian. and I get it now. Going on UnCruise in Hawai'i on Safari Explorer, I get it. I get the love of the ocean and we love cruises but I'm not someone who likes to be in the ocean all the time, I just like to see it from the boat. 

But I snorkeled every snorkel, I was in the water as much as possible and I just felt like I would never have known the uniqueness of this cruise if I wasn't open to the "on the water" and "underwater" adventures that this itinerary brings.

Dan (30:48)

Hmm. So going back to the name "UnCruise," do you feel like this cruise fulfilled that? Was it the opposite of a cruise?

Mikkel (30:58)

Yes and no. Yes, because it's not your typical cruise, and that does go with the name. I don't feel like we did a ton of land excursions, but they were peppered in and they were great. For this particular itinerary, we were in the water a lot. I can imagine if you do UnCruise Alaska - maybe one day we'll find out and do that - there's more on the land. I'm not sure. We've never done that. But, I feel like they had some flexibility in the itinerary, which is one of the joys of small ship cruising for an expedition ship with 36 passengers.

How do you feel about that question, if I can turn it around on you?

Dan (31:35)

It was not your typical cruising experience, but yet it was, right? Like if the meals were together.

There were so many things were used to, but the connection to the environment and the connection to the water and to the ports we were visiting was like no other cruise.

Mikkel (31:43)

Mm-hmm. Yes and I credit UnCruise for that itinerary and scheduling those things and really orchestrating that.

So what does all this cost somebody? What's it going to cost? If you haven't already listened to our episode about budgeting for a small ship, "What Small Ship Cruises Cost," that was episode six.

Dan (32:05)

Right, what's it gonna cost me?

Mikkel (32:17)

I'm going to link it in the show notes. Definitely go back and listen to that because we talk about some budgeting tips in there as well. So the cruise starts at $6,200. Of course, it depends when you're listening to this. If you're listening to this episode that we're recording in 2025, five years from now, please don't come after us if the price has gone up. 

But it starts at $6,200 or $6,900 per person for the smallest cabin, depending on the dates. So that price differentiation fluctuates depending on the dates. Those are all listed on the UnCruise website. But what do you do if you want to save some money?

Dan (32:54)

You check out their specials page.

Mikkel (32:55)

Yes, exactly. So that's in our show notes as well. They do have current promotions on that page. An example is saving $250 per person on any cabin category for a new booking before a certain expiration date. That's just an example. There is a military discount that never expires. So if you are military, please take advantage of that, and thank you for your service. and then the last one:

Dan (33:20)

the reduced solo supplement on select cruises. So we had a solo person on our cruise.

Mikkel (33:26)

Yeah. and the other thing about UnCruise that I really like is there's zero hidden costs. So let's break down what's included and what is not included. So the cruise is inclusive of meals and beverages, including alcohol, transfers, and baggage excursions. And for excursions, what did we have?

Dan (33:47)

I think we had three snorkels. and also includes your snorkel gear. You don't have to bring your own. So that is also a big help. Kayaking was part of the excursions. Don't bring your own kayak. They have ones for you there. Also, the guided tours. 

Mikkel (34:01)

Don't "BYOK."

Dan (34:08)

There was culture and local activities that were the cruise and part of their excursions.

Mikkel (34:13)

Yeah, and I will note that you're in Hawai'i, so it is a bit of a pricier destination. So if you were going to do all these tours on your own, they would be well over $600, right? Like, well over. It's not like you're going to the Caribbean and you can go on like a $50 snorkel. It's not like that at all. So if you looked up these prices on their own, you would definitely very quickly see that the value is there. and then you're on a boat with just 36 passengers or less.

Dan (34:23)

Yeah, that's a good point. Yeah. Other thing that's not included is your gratuities. So always keep that in mind and take care of the crew because they're taking care of you.

Mikkel (34:47)

Cheers to that.

So we disembarked and we saw another cruise embarking that day, which is always kind of bittersweet. You're like, ⁓ they have more friends coming on board. It's not just us. But I did mention we were going to talk about the kids factor. and kids are allowed on this cruise. We didn't have any. But we did see some teenagers boarding the next cruise. If you don't care about that, great. If you do and you don't want children on your cruise, including teenagers -

Dan (34:55)

Yeah.

Mikkel (35:15)

They could be well behaved or not, we don't know, you don't stay away from those holidays because the day we got off, it was a Christmas cruise starting and I am certain that the kids had off from school and that's part of why they were on that cruise.

It does not include your flights.

Dan (35:31)

Right, that's a good point.

Mikkel (35:32)

And you can go round trip if you want from one city and you're booking your own flights. But just remember you're going to end and start in two different areas. So if you do your round trip to mainland United States, you're going to have to fly from, let's say, Moloka'i back to the Big Island to fly back. and you can, you can. But just something to keep in mind because often if you fly to one city and back from another, it's a little pricier than flying round trip. But this is also a great reason to island hop because those flights are not included.

Dan (36:04)

Let's talk about what you should pack.

Now we were there in December. There was warm weather the entire time. There was a little bit of rain. I think one or two days we had some very light rain. I have a light weight raincoat that I take. I don't think I used it. I also bring an umbrella pretty much everywhere. I don't think I  used either one of those things. Like it was just a sprinkling one day.

Mikkel (36:26)

Well, you know what happens if you pack it, you don't need it. And if you don't pack it, you need it. So, bring it. 

Dan (36:29)

Sure. It's like a, it's like a weather talesman. It just keeps the,

Mikkel (36:31)

I love it.

Dan (36:33)

Bring a cardigan or a sweatshirt for at night if you're on the top deck or else sometimes the air conditioner gets a little chilly in the dining room things like that. So you want something like that? We usually bring our own binoculars. We did for this particular cruise. There were some in the room, but you know, we like ours. So we brought ours.

Mikkel (36:44)

Yeah, true. Ours are the best. I will link that in the show notes as well. and I never want to take a chance with the provided binoculars because they have never been as freaking awesome as ours. 

I brought my telephoto lens because I wanted to get as close to those whales as possible from a distance. So bring a telephoto camera lens if you are a photographer, hobbyist, or professional.

Also bring a waterproof holder for your phone if you're going out on the skiff, if you're going out on the kayak and you want to take that phone out, definitely take that. and if you have a GoPro, that is the one thing I wish that we had that we did not pack: the GoPro.

All right, well, that is our UnCruise adventure in Hawai'i. If you have a question that we did not answer, we love hearing from you. So don't hesitate to reach out. That is also in the show notes how to reach out or you can DM us in any social media and we will answer you.

Next week, where are we going?

Dan (37:52)

We are going to Cambodia and Vietnam.

Mikkel (37:55)

Yes, we are going there on the podcast. We have already been there. So unfortunately, we're not flying there. But you can come along with us is the good news. That is next week.

Dan (37:58)

Right. So until then, like Mikkel said, reach out with any questions or any comments. We love five star reviews or any review, but we prefer the five stars.

Mikkel (38:13)

Yes, thanks so much.

Dan (38:17)

and look forward to next episode of Small Ship Cruise Talk.

Mikkel (38:21)

Buh-bye.