trish1c

If insure my trip dot com works in the UK, start there.  Put in everything you want covered & see what happens.  

It depends on what time your Arizona trip is.  I think we spent about 3 hours there.  

House Without a Key or Hau Tree Lanai.  

We did everything on our own, no tour required.  It's a US state. You can figure it out.  No need to waste money on guides.  Do some internet research & enjoy.  

I think the closest is the one at the Hilton.  N.B. it's on top of a parking deck.  

You don't need an expensive tour guide for Pearl Harbor.  Go on line to the US Parks Service 60 days before you want to go & get your "free" tickets to the Arizona.  You have to pay a $3 transaction / convenience fee.  Walk off the cruise ship & hail a cab or use Uber / Lyft.  Go to Pearl & walk around.  Everything is labeled.  You don't need an expensive guide but you can rent audio.  You can't bring bags into Pearl so if you have stuff you will have to rent a locker for $5.   There's a wonderful restaurant on the far right side of the parking lot as you look at the entrance.  

Read the FAQ section on the cruise line website.  Watch a few You Tube videos about your ship to get a feel for the layout.  Go over the excursions & your budget with your traveling companions to see what they think are the "must do" adventures. 

Getting the internet package is up to you.  We always get it.  I need to communicate with my office.  DH also used to go to school on line & needed to be able to keep up with class.  But if you don't have a major need, it's a luxury & you can probably get by with free wi-fi when you get off at each port.  Even when we didn't buy the big package we usually bought 15 minutes on disembarkation day to down load our plane tickets for going home.  Now with texting, that is less vital. 

I'm glad you decided to change the flight. You were never going to make that one. Remember, you need to be at the AP 2 hours before the flight leaves so you really had to be there at 7 a.m. A good rule of thumb is your flight should be scheduled to depart no earlier than 5-6 hours after your scheduled arrival.

OP because you LIKE sea days you should be fine on any of the lines that sail R/T from Calif to Hawaii. We hate sea days so we opted for the Pride of Aloha cruise around the islands. It was a hectic cruise because the focus is on the islands not a traditional cruise. POA really was a floating hotel. If we were on board awake for 3 hours per day that would be a lot & that estimate includes eating breakfast & dinner as well as showering.

Most of the ports in Hawaii were industrial. There is even less by the ports then in the Caribbean. In the Caribbean industrious vendors set up little shacks by the port; not so in Hawaii.

There are activities on each island that are not the beach.

While I can't speak to lines doing the R/Ts, if you like the activity of Carnival you may be bored on Princess & HAL. We usually sail NCL & found Princess to be very dull; everything but the disco closed by 10 p.m. & the on board activities were quiet sedate.

You have to compare the whole cost of the trip, not just the cruise fares. After you add in airfare, it's almost always cheaper to cruise out of the NY area if you live here.

For example, I just ran a quick search. Cruise out of NY is $750 pp but the cruise out of Miami is $550. You still have to get 4 people to port. From your house, you can probably get a round trip car service for say $150 including tolls. Other wise you need a ride to the airport (say maybe $100) plus 4 tickets to Florida even at $200 per person, that's $800 & hotel for the night before which will be another $150. So it's actually cheaper for you to sail from home.

We switch it up because we tend to sail in January. When we sail out of NY we have to go on a 10 day cruise because the Bahamas is rarely warm enough & we have 2+ days on board when we can't go outside. If we want the warmth to start when we deplane, we fly to Florida but sometime that transition day is nice.

Unless you are going to bump all the way up to the Haven, IMO category doesn't matter. DH & I are rarely awake in the cabin.

Sorry for the resurrection but I wanted to double check that you can only bid upwards 2 categories. So if I'm in a OG cabin, the best upgrade I can bid to is to OE or OF. I can't bid to a balcony, right?

The difference has something to do with cabin location not size.

I honestly couldn't tell the difference between our mini suite & any plain balcony cabin. I'd never pay extra for the alleged "upgrade" again.

Go for a tube ride through the caves. It's really cool. You hike through a rain forest first.

Do book through the cruise if you are not strong swimmers. Some of the independent tours are great & cheaper. We go to explore more caves on a longer float but had minimal safety equipment. The cruise sponsored excursion had helmets & US Coast Guard approved life vests; everybody was connected by D rings & ropes; they had modern tubes with handles. We had black inner tubes & head mounted flash lights. I think the guide had some old fashioned orange canvas life vests but that was it.

IMO you picked a bad first cruise.

Cruising in Hawaii is not about cruising. It's a rough ride through that famous surf. There are few amenities on board. The focus is on the islands. You have no time to enjoy the ship & that is OK because the islands are amazing.

I'm afraid that if you judge all cruising by this experience you will never go again. If it was all I knew of cruising I would have been turned off.

We very much enjoyed our cruise on the POA but it had nothing to do with the ship. I didn't really like the ship. It was a floating movable hotel. We got up, ate breakfast & left. We came back, grabbed food & went to bed so we could be up early the next morning for the next port.

On other cruises you relax & enjoy the pool, maybe see a show, have a leisurely dinner.

It's entirely up to you whether you stay in Miami or FLL the night before. If you stay in FLL just leave plenty of time to get to the port.

Also note that most of the shared van ride services only pick up from the AP & go to the port. So by the time you pay to get to your hotel, then pay to get back to the airport, between time & expense you are probably better off with private transportation.

Flying to a port the day of is very risky. Can you change the flight to arrive the day before?

I have never been able to explore a port city the day of embarkation. There is always too much to do to get settled & explore the ship.

There will be somebody in baggage claim with the company name. It will not have your name on the sign but the person holding the sign will have a list. If you can't find them, go to the ground transportation info desk at the airport.

I'd get a rental car & stow the luggage in the trunk. Then you have some freedom.

You could visit the Queen Mary in Long Beach. Knotts Berry farm may be an option. I would not try to squeeze in Disney.

We're booked on the Gem Dec 22 through Jan 2. Christmas Eve is a sea day & Christmas Day we'll dock in San Juan at 4 p.m.

Can anybody confirm that there will be some type of religious service on board for the holiday? I'd prefer Mass with a priest but am open to any Christian based observance.

I know the Cathedral in San Juan as a 5 p.m. Mass on Sundays but I'm not sure about Christmas.

Should I ask NCL directly?

IMO the specialty restaurants are not that great. Save your money for bingo. If you win, then you can go to one but all in all you will get better food for the price at a nice place at home.

No idea what's on Deck 4.

Very little is within walking distance of any port. The ports are quite industrial. There are taxis. We usually grabbed a cab & headed to a car rental place for DIY tours on every island.

Know your own limits. Don't mix. Eat. Drink 1 full glass of water for every alcoholic drink you consume. Pace yourself. Don't chug or do shots.

Pay attention to how much booze is being poured into your glass. Most cruise bartenders are very heavy handed. You may think you only had one drink but it actually contained 2+ shots.

No need to use airplane mode. You can get signal on the ship, no roaming charges. Hawaii is a state just like any other. On board coming into port you get signal. I did a lot of work aboard ship using my phone. No extra charges. It's not a foreign country.

I take a beach bag to the pool with me. I leave the bag, my towel, sunscreen & a book on the lounge chair. The card is in the bag. It's never been a problem. Remember, the card has no value off the ship but on the ship when it's scanned your photo comes up.