philv

You mentioned some specific things you want to do but if you are open to another suggestion and haven’t done it before, try Diamond Head. We took a public bus from our Waikiki hotel to entrance, hiked up and were really impressed with view and experience. Also a lot cheaper than a tour. Really great way to start a Hawaiian cruise.

Thank you KeepCalmBearOn.

Does Hertz have a shuttle from cruise port to airport to pick up a rental car in Hilo?

Thank you BermudaBound2014. Yeah a rental car is probably best. We have a hike picked out. The Kilauea Iki trail within the park is a 4 mile loop through rainforest and down through dormant volcano crater and back up to forest. Rated as moderate with 400 feet elevation change, descent/ascent, approx 2-3 hours. We are in port from 8am to 6pm so I think we can do this. I’ve used Hertz in Hawaii in the past. I always get a little nervous sandwiching car rental into excursion but with shuttle across the street it should go smoothly.

I used Gypsy app, guidealong.com, in 2022 for road to Hana. It was great. Learned a lot about Hawaiian history along with directions to local attractions. Really enhanced our experience.

We will be in Hilo on Tuesday August 27 arriving on Pride of America. We would like to do some hiking in Volcano National Park. Tours look like just stops at visitor centers and overlooks. We may rent a car but I was wondering if we could hire local driver to take us into park and pick up later in the day for return journey. Any recent information on rental cars or private drivers would be appreciated.

Sailed on Caribbean Princess 2 weeks ago. Ordered Pellegrino with dinner every night in MDR. I like it with no ice and had to ask for glass with no ice or they would pour over ice.

From pier 4 we went out to the street in front, turned left and walked to a square with a large fountain where the walking path starts outside the city wall and takes you along the bay all the way out to the entrance of the harbor below El Morro. You pass the historic San Juan Gate which is 3/4 mile from point. It’s a fairly level walk and path ends at stairs that climb up to El Morro. The stairs aren’t bad and from the fort it’s downhill through old San Juan back to port so I liked that direction. Didn’t come across umbrella street.

We sailed last week on the Caribbean Princess. During stop at Princess Cay one of our party was elite, we are platinum, and we checked in for tender at elite lounge, Island dining room, and were given priority passes. No fuss was made, seems like normal practice.

There were three of us traveling together. From previous experience I knew three chairs would fit on Caribe balcony. When I met our cabin steward on embarkation day I asked about getting a third chair. He said I have to ask my supervisor. Second day I asked him about the chair. He said would not fit. Third day I positioned existing chairs and showed cabin steward that a third one would fit. We went to lunch and when I came back voilà, there was the lounger. I tipped steward because I know it’s a lot of extra work for him. Our travel companion was in an inside cabin just across the hall from us. At embarkation we went to guess services and they programmed her medallion giving her access to our cabin so she could use balcony when we were not there. We spent many happy hours on at sea days sitting on balcony together reading. It really enhanced our cruise experience. Thank you Princess! 😎

We sailed on the Caribbean Princess last week, eastern Caribbean itinerary with stops at Princess Cay, San Juan, and St. Thomas. We have sailed on the CB many times and really enjoy this ship. Especially the promenade and Skywalkers. Boarding was a snap, walked on about 12:30. Sailing was full with lots of people everywhere. Medallion app was clumsy, especially dinning reservations, but we don’t do much with it anyway. Our first night dining in the Island dinning room was terrible. Even with reservations we waited in long line and service was slow. Second night in Palm dining room was much better. Princess Cay was great beach day as always. We enjoyed it. San Juan was great, docked at pier 4 in old San Juan and took terrific walk along bay out to harbor entrance and stairs up to El Morro then back to ship through cobbler stone streets of Old San Juan. On St Thomas we went to Magen’s Bay and had terrific beach day. Crowded around restaurant but not bad down the beach where we set up. Overall food in MDR’s was not as good as on previous sailings. We don’t do much entertainment stuff and spent most of our ship board time on our Caribe balcony, the promenade, or fitness center. Disembarkation was quick, we walked off at 7:15 and were at our gate at 8:30. Thoroughly enjoyed our cruise and I’m daydreaming already about our next one. 😎

Hi folks, We visited San Juan on cruise last week. On Caribbean Princess docked at pier 4 in old San Juan. Hot and sticky day but we stayed hydrated. We walked the path along bay to El Morro past the San Juan gate and out to the point and entry of harbor. Then climbed stairs up to El Morro. Terrific walk, not extremely long, about 2 miles, but challenging in the heat. El Morro is an exceptional place to visit with terrific views. We then walked through old San Juan and got some popsicles at a wonderful little place on a side street. Great. Had a great day visiting old churches and walking cobble stone streets. Really enjoyed but our feet were beat by the time we got back to ship. I’ll try and post some photos.

Hi folks, I just returned from cruise including visit to Magens Bay. Had a wonderful day. Stepped off Caribbean Princess at Havensight and left in open air taxi from taxi area 10 minutes later. $24 for two one way. Wonderful ride over twisting winding roads. $7 pp entry fee to Magens Bay. We arrived at 9:00 am. Not crowded then and we walked down beach and found picnic table in shade where we set up. Two ships in port that day. Crowded around restaurant area but not where we were. The pizza was good and the water beautiful. No trouble getting taxi back around 2:00 in afternoon. The Magens Bay experience has changed over the years but it’s still a terrific location and not to be missed. I’ll try and post some photos.

Don’t remember fare but it was nothing special.

Hi folks, I’m on the Caribbean Princess right now. I asked cabin steward about third chair for balcony when we met at sailaway. First answer, have to check with supervisor. Yesterday he said not enough room. Today I showed him space with other chairs positioned so there was plenty of room for third. When we came back from lunch full size lounger was sitting on balcony with other chairs. Hurray! I’m going to give him a good tip. I know it’s a lot of work. I’ll try and post photo.