KeepCalmBearOn

My Scots blood is thick.... I go to Safeway on Robson and get cash back on buying something small.

Vancouver hotels might not be cheap, but I travel to Manhattan and Vancouver on business and Vancouver is 40% - 50% cheaper than Manhattan for an equivalent hotel. In an early November trip I have a rate of $370 USD for waterfront view at the Fairmont and a week later I am paying $820 USD for a Central Park view in Manhattan. The OPs issue is waiting too long to book. The Days Inn Vancouver Downtown is usually under $200 USD. The same Wyndham room near Times Square is $300 or more.

I used to stay at the Sheraton years ago, but after three, not bad, but not good experiences I dropped the Sheraton for the Marriott LAX.

1) I think it is almost never better to stay near LAX. The rare exception would arriving very, very late at night, especially if you've come cross country. 2) Uber is $40 - $60 and it is the best value. 3) No, see above Check the Crowne Plaza, DoubleTree and Best Western,

The ticket is free, but there is a $1 per ticket handling fee and the website is not the NPS per se, but recreation.gov, which is a government site contracted out to Booz Allen and they work with 12 different federal government agencies, including the NPS.

Tickets go on sale in advance 8 weeks exactly (56 days) before you want to go. If you want to go on a Tuesday, count back 8 Tuesdays and that is when tickets go on sale. https://www.recreation.gov/ticket/233338/ticket/16 https://www.nps.gov/perl/uss-arizona-memorial-programs.htm

I'd say yes. What time is the last Avis/Budget shuttle from the airport back to the cruise ship? If you intend to keep the car overnight, where are you parking it?

Frankly I'd use the credit for a nice weekend getaway locally. The only way to use the credit on a booking is a non-refundable rate I believe and lots can happen to cruise plans between now and May.

Flying in the day before stay in Downtown Seattle. You don't need to be super close to the cruise terminals (and it matters which cruise line). Pick an area close to what you'd like to see in Seattle (Space Needle vs Pike Place) or on budget, if that is a big consideration. And what is your nightly budget?

GO Airport Shuttle and Long Beach Shuttle. https://gowithus.com/airports/long-beach-airport-lgb/ https://www.longbeachshuttle.com/

Lansky Limo would be my first pick followed by Elite Limousine Los Angeles.

Can't speak for all, but Seattle Yellow Cab takes cash.

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.