West Coast - Hawaii Roundtrip Cruisers Thread

[hbear]

Originally Posted by Dbedros

Very nice review and to the point. We have booked Ricky for Hilo based on the reviews on these boards.

HAL locked out Trilogy for Whale Watching in Lahaina. My choices are now, Teralani (best one but shaky refund policy if we can not tender), Ultimate Whale Watch (small ships, may be a rough ride) and Pacific Whale Foundation (very large groups).

Has anyone found a tour company that will do Waimea Canyon in Kauai for us West Coast cruisers?

I haven't found anyone who takes cruisers to the canyon. And considering the drive time to get there and back, we're going to do the ships' tour just to be safe.

[Dbedros]

Originally Posted by hbear

I haven't found anyone who takes cruisers to the canyon. And considering the drive time to get there and back, we're going to do the ships' tour just to be safe.

We decided to share a rental car with another couple and make the trip. Have fun.

[apeller]

Originally Posted by Dbedros

We decided to share a rental car with another couple and make the trip. Have fun.

We rented a car and did the same thing. We got off the ship as early as possible and got back in plenty of time.

[lizmit]

We'll be in Hilo from 7am-4pm on April 29th - a Sunday.
We're not interested in Volcanoes Nat'l Park - been there done that. Have ridden on Blue Hawaii and had an awesome experience viewing lava flow. Have driven around and seen the major waterfalls, Mauna Loa macadamia nut farm.
I'd like to rent a car but don't want to drive aimlessly.
I'd love to know of great snorkel spots, historical sites to see, off the wall and non-typical touristy things.
Suggestions?
Thanks - Happy sails
~ Liz

[karatemom2]

Originally Posted by lizmit

We'll be in Hilo from 7am-4pm on April 29th - a Sunday.
We're not interested in Volcanoes Nat'l Park - been there done that. Have ridden on Blue Hawaii and had an awesome experience viewing lava flow. Have driven around and seen the major waterfalls, Mauna Loa macadamia nut farm.
I'd like to rent a car but don't want to drive aimlessly.
I'd love to know of great snorkel spots, historical sites to see, off the wall and non-typical touristy things.
Suggestions?
Thanks - Happy sails
~ Liz

Like you we had been to all of the places you mention and were looking for some other options. A few suggestions that we enjoyed in Hilo.

Panaewa Rainforest Zoo - Free! A great little zoo with gorgeous grounds. We really enjoyed our time there.

http://www.hilozoo.com/

Hawaiian Botanical Gardens - Just North of Hilo. This is a beautiful place to spend a couple of hours wandering the trails.

http://www.hilozoo.com/

Hawaiian Vanilla Company - Very cool place even further north of Hilo. We did the lunch and tour and learned about how they grow the vanilla. So worth the stop!

http://www.hawaiianvanilla.com/

Waipio Valley Overloook - if you want to venure even further north which is worthwhile for the scenery alone along the Hamakua coast you can go the Waipio Valley scenic viewing point. It is pretty spectacular.

http://www.gohawaii.com/big-island/r...valley-lookout

And if you want something delicious while you are up that way, stop in Honokaa at Tex's Drive In for their mouth water malasadas. The best!!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tex-Dr...06337749394338

Hope this helps. We love the north coast of Hawaii!

[HoopsandYoYo]

Originally Posted by Dbedros

We decided to share a rental car with another couple and make the trip. Have fun.

We plan to rent a vehicle as well to visit Waimea Canyon this April. Here is some great advice from another cruiser (Chipmaster) that I thought was worth keeping:

With a whole day you probably need to decide which side of the Island you want to choose.

I am with BQ that you should do the South side. Work from the very end back so if you run short you can manage things better as you'll be closer to dock/ship.

1) Drive all the way to the very very top of Waimei Canyon. As tempting as it is to stop go to the top. Decide if you want to do a quick hike for view of the valley and the peak or just look and start the drive back.
Thanks for the great tip Chipmaster!

[Marmot@Sea]

I particular thread in the past and found it full of good information. So I am going to bump it up so others can find it too.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed. You provided a great deal of information that I have found useful in the past and I know I will find it useful in the future.

[twocats]

I hope some of the newly return cruisers will post what they experienced on their most recent cruise.

[sassyredhat]

I am planning to write a review of our April 14th cruise on Sapphire Princess, but right now I am buried under 2 weeks of laundry.

Pat

[twocats]

Thanks Pat, I will look forward to it when you have time.

[hlhsx3]

We are planning a trip from LA to Hawaii for next year. Could you tell us the "smoothest" sailing times as my hubby gets bothered by the waves. It is a rough cruise????

Is the Diamond or Golden Princess better for this journey? We are Princess fans so we will stick with them.

Thanks!

[sassyredhat]

I just got back 10 days ago from the RT on Sapphire. It was our 3rd crossing.

We go in April so there will be less humidity for me on the islands. This was our roughest crossing coming back. We didn't think it was so bad, but I heard others talking about it.

Anytime you cross, it will be somewhat choppy due to the tradewinds. Alot of people go in the fall, but we prefer April.

Haven't sailed Golden, but many Hawaii cruisers prefer Golden because they have all the special things. Myself---I would choose Golden.

Pat

[FunLuv'n]

Booked on Golden Princess next year. Any recommendations for a private company that does a combination tour of Pearl Harbor & Polynesian Cultureal Center with Luau. Most of the tours I've found leave too early to accommodate our arrival time. We will be in port from 7 am to 11 pm.

[dcruisers]

Originally Posted by sassyredhat

I just got back 10 days ago from the RT on Sapphire. It was our 3rd crossing.

We go in April so there will be less humidity for me on the islands. This was our roughest crossing coming back. We didn't think it was so bad, but I heard others talking about it.

Anytime you cross, it will be somewhat choppy due to the tradewinds. Alot of people go in the fall, but we prefer April.

Haven't sailed Golden, but many Hawaii cruisers prefer Golden because they have all the special things. Myself---I would choose Golden.

Pat

We will be sailing on the Sapphire next Feb and would love to get info on the excursions. Did you do ship tours or private? We have done private tours on various cruises and had wonderful experiences-thanks to recommendations from CC members!! We also enjoy the cruise excursions but find them so much more expensive.
I would so appreciate having your feedback on your selections and others you talked to while cruising. If you did private tours, please let me know if you recommend them.
Thanks! I look forward to reading your review and sailing on the Sapphire!!

[whirlybird3]

I'm currently in Kona and have experienced one of the best dive in my book. If you are on the big island overnight, the Manta Ray night dive is highly recommended. This is also for snorkelers too!

http://www.bigislanddivers.com/MantaDive.html

[cruisin' aunt]

DH and I doing Golden RT in October 2012.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a NaPali Coast tour that will accomodate cruise ship passengers. We know ship has a $200 excursion that includes snokeling. We are interested in a sail only. We can rent a car to get us to PortAllen but most seem to sail by 8am. We doing arrive in Kauai until 8am. Have to get the car and drive seems to eliminate anything before 9:30am.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

[seafun]

I did the trip on the Golden last fall, and I also looked and looked for an alternative to their ($249.00 at the time) Na Pali trip. I spent quite a few hours looking online and could not find anything that would work.

I ended up doing the ship's excursion, and loved it, in spite of the steep price tag. You don't have to snorkel -- you can remain on the boat and relax (they also serve lunch about that time).

Maybe someone else can suggest a private charter that would work (no doubt a lot more expensive than $249.00 per person), but I don't know of any.

It's frustrating when you see the same trip offered for much less money online, but in this case I ended up biting the bullet and doing the beautiful trip, crossing yet one more thing off my bucket list.

[karatemom2]

So excited that after taking a break last year we have booked the roundtrip LA to Hawaii cruise again for the New Year's cruise on the Sapphire. It will be fun to revisit all the great information in this thread again to start planning our days in Hawaii!

[Cruisin' Chick]

Originally Posted by karatemom2

So excited that after taking a break last year we have booked the roundtrip LA to Hawaii cruise again for the New Year's cruise on the Sapphire. It will be fun to revisit all the great information in this thread again to start planning our days in Hawaii!

I know that hubby was looking at the cruises too. The problem would be with the girl -- after the last one, she told me she wants to see big cities now (and of course, many of the big cities would be snowed in at that time). Also the NYE cruise gets back on that Wednesday and her school starts back on Tuesday. So not sure if she could get away with missing a day or so of classes, even if she's in the virtual program (any music class she takes would meet every day).

[sassyredhat]

Originally Posted by karatemom2

So excited that after taking a break last year we have booked the roundtrip LA to Hawaii cruise again for the New Year's cruise on the Sapphire. It will be fun to revisit all the great information in this thread again to start planning our days in Hawaii!

We just got back from our 3rd RT in April--on Sapphire. My favorite place to hang out is the IC. We were there at least 3 times a day !

I am curious about the holiday cruises. Don't get me wrong, we love kids, but cruise to not have so many around every day. Are the children's programs really good at keeping them busy?

Holiday cruises are on my bucket list.

Pat