Just Back from Legend of the Seas - Hawaii

Had a fabulous trip on Legend from Honolulu to Ensenada. Couple suggestions for folks...we did rental cars on all of the islands. We went to the Arizona late the day we checked onto the ship. Had no problem making the last tour at 3:30 and it wasn't crowded. We had been told by others that we had to be there by 7 am in order to get on a tour but decided to change it. On Maui, rental car shuttles do not pick up until 8 am. In Kona, not all companies do pier pick up. We ended up cancelling budget and changing to Hertz for pier pick up. (it is $20 for a cab to the airport for pickup!) On Kauai, do not miss Waimea Canyon - it is beautiful. We also found the best beach I have ever seen in all my travels. It is Barking Sands beach. (Official name is Polihole Beach Park) You really need an SUV since you have to drive 30 minutes on a rutted dirt road to find it...but it is definitely worth it. Beautiful white sands with the Napali mountain cliffs behind and Hawaiian blue waters. Also, on Maui you can take a shuttle or drive up to Kaanapali Beach by the Sheraton Hotel (also referred to as Black Rock). Walk right off the beach for incredible snorkling. Everyone we talked to that did the helicopter trip on Kauai said it was fantastic. People on the whale watch (at least 2 people we talked to) never saw any whales. We did see them off the side of the ship along with dolphins that like to swim along side the ship. Great cruise and can't wait to go back and spend more time on both Maui and the big Island.

Only hassels were the excursion tix I booked on line. We booked the Wild Dolphin Snorkel and somehow the day was booked different than my confirmation. Turned out they had a number of problems with excursions booked on line that were offered multiple days. I did not double check the date (since it was only offered one day on line) and we missed the excursion. RCCL did refund our money. Also the trek back from Ensenada to San Diego was a pain. We had to be in the theatre by 5:30 am to get on the bus. Luckily they agreed to not make us take all of our luggage through customs at the border - just all of our carry ons. The driver did not speak English and ended up dropping 8 of us off at the wrong terminal and refused to transport us to the correct terminal. We had to then obtain another inter terminal bus (carting all of our luggage) to get to the right terminal. Also the 50 pound weight limit was enforced by Continental. People were digging through bags and shifting stuff from one to another to avoid paying an extra $25. It was ridiculous watching people pull shoes, books, tshirts, etc out of their suitcases to weigh them on the scale to find 11 pounds to move to another suitcase. We ended up with 3 bags over 50 pounds and having to pay $75.

I've seen many of the airlines enforcing he weight limits but rarely see them enforce the size limits. I'm glad for that since we have one expensive hard sided case that is 2" to big.

I'm hoping to cruise Hawaii next year when they reposition the ships from Alaska in September by having them sail Hawaii from Vancouver. I'm going to cut and paste your trip report into my Word program so I can recall your tips later. By the time we sail, I'll never be able to find you info about rental cars again.

Thanks for posting.

Future cruises

Monarch OTS - Mexico Baja 1/05

Explorer OTS - Eastern Caribbean 11/04

Past cruises

Vision OTS - Alaska 7/03

Legend OTS - Alaska 7/02

Nice review, we are trying to figure if we want to do the Legand for Hawaii or another ship.

We know all too well that $25.00 charge of overweight luggage. Contential made a mistake in the charge and over charged our credit card, simple human error of adding too many zero's. It took 2 days and countless phone calls between them and our RCI credit card to get it straightened out. Total pain...if this happens again, we too will be ones on the side curb rearranging the luggage!

Soveriegn 92 E. Caribbean

Majesty 95 W. Caribbean

Granduer 97 E. Caribbean

Rhapsody 00 Mexico

Vision 02 Alaska

Radiance 03 Panama Canal

Brilliance 3/29/04

Radiance of the Seas/Panama Canal 10/18/2003

Are we there yet?

My bags are always packed!

Brilliance 3/29/2004

AS much as I hate to say it, I put my luggage on a floor scale before leaving the house. If you can't get it to stay on the scale, weigh yourself, then weigh yourself holding the suitcase.

We essentially pack the same clothing back into the same cases coming home. We always take one case that we know is under the weight limit or even mostly empty when we leave. It gives us room for those "extra's" we buy to come home with us.

So far, we haven't had a problem or had to do the check in luggage shuffle at the airport.

Future cruises

Monarch OTS - Mexico Baja 1/05

Explorer OTS - Eastern Caribbean 11/04

Past cruises

Vision OTS - Alaska 7/03

Legend OTS - Alaska 7/02

We are doing the Legend in Oct. What did you think of the ship?

Am interrested in the Legend too, considering August. Please post info on the ship itself? Thanks

Majesty of the Seas (2)

Norwegian Dawn

Monarch of the Seas

Diamond Princess (5/04)

Thanks for the review! We leave a week from today for the 5/7 sailing!! We can't wait! How was the ship? How many formal nights did you have and when were they?

___________________________

RCL~Navigator 8/2003, Majesty 7/2003, Radiance 4/2003, Monarch 8/2002, Nordic Empress 8/2001

Celebrity~Century 7/2001 & 7/1998, Horizon 7/1991

Future Cruises:

Legend of the Seas 5/7/2004

Enchantment of the Seas 8/30/2004

Brilliance of the Seas 1/14/2005

Till Hawaii on the Legend of the Seas!

Till Belize on the Enchantment of the Seas!

Till the Panama Canal on Brilliance of the Seas!

We sailed on the Legend Vancouver to Hawaii last fall. We loved the ship - especially our category C cabin right near the center elevators. I think it's now called a Junior Suite. LOTS of inside space and really nice covered balcony. Location was perfect. We sailed back from Honolulu on Radiance - a beautiful ship. Loved both cruises.

We also are planning to cruise the Legend in Nov. Was it hard to navigate the islands? Any tips on sites to get ideas of what to see.

We have also thought of just doing a trip to Maui. Of the islands which would you do a week long land trip to- Maui or kauai?

We have booked the 11/21/01 Esenada to Hawaii on Legends of the Seas. Did you rent a car in all the islands. We were just planing to take the ship's excursions. Any tips you can give me would help. Did the airline let you check in 2 pieces of luggage pp?

Grandeur of the Seas

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Transatlantic

Doug, we are also planning a Hawaiian cruise from Vancouverin Sept. 05. Waiting anxiously for the prices and dates to be published.

Thanks so much for the hints and tips!

<MARQUEE>Are you sailing on the Mariner 7/18/04?...Click here!

or HERE!

</MARQUEE>

Disney Wonder 3/2000 ~ Disney Magic 9/2000 ~ RCI Vision 2/2001 ~ Carnival Victory 12/2001 ~ Celebrity Millennium 3/2003 ~ RCI Adventure OTS 9/2003 ~ RCI Mariner OTS 7/18/2004 ~ RCI Serenade OTS 9/26/2004

I have just booked the Legend from Honolulu to Ensenada for 5/17/05. We got such a good deal that includes the RT air from Philly, I couldn't resist.

Thanks for posting your comments.

Darlene

Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional!!

Until Grandeur of the Seas 11/6/04

Until Legend of the Seas 3/17/05 Hawaii

Serenade 10/30/03

Grandeur 11/23/02

Enchantment 1/13/02

We are also cruising the LOS 11/21/04 Ensenada to Hawaii. We did the same itinerary last April on this ship. We liked it so much, we booked it again. We rented cars on all of the islands and found that it was very easy to get around. The ship stays overnight in Maui so we rented the car for two days while there. We were able to park it overnight at a lot near the pier.

Hi,

Glad to see that there is someone else taking the 11/21/04 Hawaii cruise. I almost did not book it because of Thanksgiving, it will be our first holiday away from home and the kids.

We also weight our luggage with the scale at home, my husband weighs himself and then again with the luggage.

Did you sign up for the CC party?

Chris

Grandeur of the Seas

tdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=ff0000&cdt=2003;9;4;17;00;00&timezone=GMT+0000">

Transatlantic

We are on LOS 10/31 for our honeymoon. We have been reading some reviews saying that the food isn't up to par. How was your experience? Did you have enough activities on the ship? My first cruise was in January on the Mariner. My fiance keeps reminding me that we are on a smaller ship with the Legend.

Thanks!