KeepCalmBearOn

Well too bad you are not European, you'd just change on the beach 🤣 Otherwise, Princeton and Cherie have the right answers.

I agree with canderson Kaiseki is a very ill chosen name since Kaiseki implies a very special style of Japanese cuisine. It would be like naming an Italian-influenced restaurant "Pizza" and then not serving any pizza (sort of).

Teppanyaki is and is not "authentic" Japanese food. Teppanyaki started immediately post WWII and it featured mostly Western foods like beef, which was not common in Japan at that time. The first teppan restaurant was Misono in Kobe and the reasons were practical. The city of Kobe was largely in ruins and Shigeji Fujioka, the owner of Misono, could seat the guests around the grill, take their orders and cook. It required less space and fewer people. Fujioka discovered that while Japanese people weren't overly impressed with his cooking, Westerners were. The more he cooked with flair, the more popular Misono became with tourists and Westerners. 80 years later you can still eat teppanyaki at Misono in Kobe only now it is on the 7th and 8th floors of a glass office building, owned by Misono, and they have 4 other restaurants. Rocky Aoki was born in Japan but came to the U.S. to go to college on a wrestling scholarship. He knew of the teppanyaki concept and opened a four table teppanyaki restaurant in NYC he named Benihana. He struggled at first, but I think we all know the rest of the story with dozens of Benihana restaurants all over the U.S., Canada and other countries. So back to my original statement, teppanyaki is and is not "authentic" Japanese food. Yes it originated in Japan, but it isn't a food with centuries of tradition in Japan like noodles in Japan and China.

The airport is only 2 1/2 miles, but I still would not book before 11AM. 10:15AM is pretty aggressive.

They also mention The House Without A Key and here is why I prefer HWAK. https://maps.app.goo.gl/c6vk4U27fydtMuAz9 That is the view. You look down the full sweep of Waikiki Bay to Diamond Head. You can still rent a beach chair and umbrella set at the Royal.

I don't know if Robert's has a non-compete agreement with certain cruise lines, but they are the oldest, most respected tour company in Hawaii.

I think demographics is the answer. Youngsters don't ask "where to go", they see a post from an influencer and they are "I want to go there". That is how Sunset Cliffs in San Diego became so popular and The Stairway to Heaven on Oahu. Ditto for cliff jumping in Waimea, Black Rock, etc. The same if true for dining and hotels. They want to go where the influencers post great pics from.

I have a car reserved with Avis on Oct. 22, 2024 and I am confident the shuttle will be there. I cannot imagine why they'd stop when it is bringing them good business. I am surprised more rental agencies haven't brought back their shuttles.

Avis/Budget ran a shuttle before Covid and has had a shuttle at the port my last two Hawaii cruises (2022 and 2023).

In my experience, the first 36 hours, during the day it is cooler. I live at the beach in So Cal, so it feels "cooler" to me, but there are people from Iowa and Ohio on the cruise who are like "oh wow it is so hot today! (70 degrees). People will be sunbathing by day 2. As you cross into the tropics, it gets hot. The nights always feel cooler to cold. I love Movies Under The Stars (MUTS) on Princess, and they provide warm blankets, but I still dress very warmly.

Can't comment on cruise port taxis, that trip is NEXT month, but I (we) flew from Oahu to Lihue last week (we are still in Poipu) and there were very few cabs at the airport, maybe 4 or 5. I am sure more come and go, but the whole island is only 70,000 people and Lihue is only 8,500. Most visitors rent cars.

I think computer based sites are losing out to Smartphone sites, i.e. Instagram. TripAdvisor traffic is way down too.

I love Ala Moana Beach, but it is just a beach park, There are no restaurants there. Waikiki Beach is just one of several beaches in Waikiki, the others being Kuhio Beach (Hyatt Regency to Park Shore), Gray's Beach (Halekulani), Fort DeRussy Beach (Outrigger Reef & Hale Koa) and Kahanamoku Beach (HHV). Any of those are better because of eating and drinking spots nearby.

I haven't stayed at the Holiday Inn Express at Blue Lagoon, but I do stay in the Blue Lagoon area. I would so go to Publix for their chicken and some sides to take back to the hotel. Maybe grab a chardonnay as well.

I've never boarded Celebrity in Hawaii, but all the cruise lines share two very old terminals. They are nothing to write home about. in Fort Lauderdale, where the major cruise lines have their own, usually purpose built terminals, they included spaces for Elite/Suite passenger lounges. If there is something similar in HNL for Celebrity, my guess is, it will just be a separate line and maybe a roped off area.

Are you on a cruise originating in Honolulu? And a Celebrity cruise?

Sorry, but I have not read any of the other responses. I would not go anywhere near Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7 as it is incredibly busy because of official ceremonies. To me, there is really nothing worth seeing beside the USS Arizona Memorial. I would not go, just to go. The only part of Downtown worth much is Chinatown, other than Iolani Palace and the Aliʻiolani Hale. You can do that is less than two hours. Then you can head towards Waikiki and Ala Moana using an Uber or taxi.

My perfect night in Honolulu is cocktails at The House Without A Key at Halekulani, followed by dinner at Orchids at Halekulani. The below are two pics from Orchids. One is looking out to the ocean directly, the other looks back to the HWAK with Diamond Head in the background.

No personal experience because we park at the terminal parking lot, but from experience in answering questions like this I've never hear of a hotel covering that many days. Maybe if you are a Hilton Platinum Elite you can talk to the hotel directly and try, but failing that, I'd just drive to the terminal parking.

The area is fine and the Hyatt Centric is a nice place.

I've been on two post Covid Princess LA round trip cruises (2022 & '23) and both times the taxi stand was slammed with a 30-45 minute wait. I am flying to Kauai tomorrow from Oahu, we'll be renting a car, but I'll try to glance at the taxi line-up at LIH.

When I am going someplace I don't know (which is NOT Hawaii) I start with 3* reviews and look for common complaints, i.e. 'thin walls', 'bad service', etc. I don't discount negative reviews, but I do discount 1* reviews on hotels I know very well like the Royal Hawaiian especially when I read the absurd reasons why AND the reviewer has a history of 1* reviews other places too. If I kept going to places so bad that I had to give it a 1* review, I'd question my ability to select places to eat and stay and resolve to do better research up front. 😁

There are less than 100 licensed taxis on Kauai for the airport, cruise port and the three population areas. Lihue only has 8,000 people. With 2,000 people on board, it depends how many need a cab. Our last four trips on Princess there was a huge line for cabs. Luckily we usually get cars from Avis, who sends a van to the port.

Yes, LGB is a very small airport, not many flights so not too bad or confusing.

What hotel? "a mile from Fisherman's Wharf" could be a not so good area, depending on which direction the mile is.