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Saving Up To Be Eccentric

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  1. Tuesday December 6th

    -ship docks in HILO 8am-6pm

    -Dollar Rent A Car with Discount Hawaii Car Rental Dec 6th 8 AM - 6 PM

    -Volcano Natl Park- Crater Rim Drive and Chain of Craters Road

    -If there’s time on the way back, stop at the Mauna Loa Macadamia Factory.

    -Rainbow Falls (close to Hilo) OR Akaka Falls St Park short hike

    -Leleiwi Beach Park (turtles)(if time), near cruise ship port

    -Return rental car at 5pm

    -Watch lava flow from right side deck 12

     

    Rainbow Falls is closer, but in order to see the rainbow effect, you have to be there at a certain time of the morning. Hiking to the top can be optional if knees are grumpy.

    Akaka falls requires a lot of stairs to do the loop - also, don't think that you've been led astray and that the Kahuna Falls is a big detour if you're already doing the loop. :o

     

    Since mobility is something to consider, you may want to also think about the kinds of hikes/walks you want to do at Volcano National Park. The petroglyph walk, for example, doesn't look very far on a map, but as it's all over an uneven lava field until you get out to them, it's more taxing than it first appears. Sulfur banks and the devastation trails are paved and level (and windy - hold on to your hat).

  2. Good info above! I assume it's no problem getting a taxi back to the ship?

    Easy as walking out and making eye contact with the first cabbie in line. And it's a LONG line. There's supposed to be a dispatcher, but one wasn't there when I walked out last time.

  3. Edit:Gah, sorry, I didn't realize I'd said this exact same thing earlier in this thread. In my defense, I've slept since then.

     

    If you don't want to leave the port area, I strongly encourage you to get at least as far as the open air market. The local vendors/craftsman have some great prices.

  4. Part of this depends on your ship's itinerary. Ours was rather short, so we did this combo as a ship's package deal. There are a bunch of operators that do the stingray city and snorkeling. I'd honestly check them out and go from there - if you have time, you can also catch a bus out to the turtle farm. If your time is short - like if you take your ship's arrival and departure time frame and subtract out two hours for tendering and ship clearance, and then an additional hour or more if you aren't in a suite class with priority boarding (check your cruise board for insights into how long that would take), and you come up with less than 5.5 hours, then it's not going to be easy to do it all.

  5. Your child is also too young to enjoy walking around Falmouth with Jamaican Culinary Tours. That said, the town vendors mainly left us alone, because we were on a local walking tour (except the guys right by the gates trying to convince us that they had a better tour than the one we'd paid for already - we just laughed). If your family wanted to cruise the craft market inside the port area, however, you might find something bright and cheerful that would make a good wall ornament in a baby's room.

  6. Jaci:

    From my own recent experience:

     

    Step 1: sign up on their site

    Step 2: shoot off mouth in front of never-before-seen tablemates the night before. Convince two of them that you may be crazy, but sound like fun.

    Step 3: show up at the yellow and green kiosk inside the port area a few minutes before time to sign photo waivers.

    Step 4: Let the ladies who actually run the tour make you look like you actually know something. Spend a pleasant 2.5 hours between strolling through town and sitting down and eating no fewer than three times.

    Step 5: See your tablemates' image the next time from an online review, rating 5. Gloat.

  7. This thread was very helpful in deciding whether or not to do the Chaunkanaab. My mother and I are planning an excursion, but she doens't like deep water. From what it looks like here, you walk down some steps and can stand and see fish ? Is that correct ? Can you snorkel with your feet on the ground ??

    Technically, if it hasn't changed since I was rather young, yes, she could. As long as she enjoys looking at minnows, not larger fish or coral. I was bored out of my skull and was rather upset I wasn't allowed into the deeper water to see the cool stuff as a kid, and life vests may make the feet on the ground and face bent over difficult. Is she okay with glass-bottom boats? That type of thing may be a better option.

  8. We're considering a snorkel excursion in Belize on our next cruise, and we'd want to take our own gear.

    What have your experiences been? Take fins or no?

    Don't bother buying & packing your own over this. Try on what they have & wriggle your feet. If the fins:

    -cut into the top and bottom of your feet

    -rub anywhere that'll form a blister

    -cut into your tendon

    OR

    -if you have ever had ankle problems and haven't done PT to restrengthen them

     

    Then, ditch the fins; you'll be better off without them. I've seen a couple of those problems, mainly from land-based vacations, when the day-after problems were being lamented pool-side. I don't tend to wear them because of fit issues, myself.

  9. I tried to get answers to some questions from Jamaica Swamp Safari Village, but I haven't heard back. Are they still a going concern?

    (and if anyone knows the answers to these questions, feel free to chime in)

    If I book a 9am tour, can I get back to the port in time for an 11:00 meetup? Do you arrange for transport or call cabs for people to return to port? If so, how much do you charge for this? Also, since I don't see it listed, how much per person are the tours?

  10. Download the online tourist map of ketchikan. If your family are early risers - and haven't been inundated with totem poles already, get the first city bus (I think it's $2pp) north to Totem Bight. Spend an hour there and next door Potlatch Park, and catch the next bus south (keep your tix). Either bail at creek street or continue south to Saxman Village ($5pp) and catch the bus returning north from one block over, in front of the gift shop. Descriptions of the totems for Totem Bight and Saxman can be found online and printed out in advance, I highly recommend this, as there's no good plaques describing the legends associated with them at either location. Inexpensive, busses run regularly, and there's plenty of time for another museum, show, or shopping, depending on your pleasure.

  11. I decided that arriving at the departure city the night before was the thing to do. So, flew into SeaTac in the morning, took the commuter train to King Street - was this the International district stop? I'll have to check (yes). Schlepped bags across the street and checked them in at Amtrak (one checked bag and airline size carry-on, from which I removed a backpack). Went up and had lunch at Pike's Place Market, found the monorail from Westlake station, and took that to Seattle Center for some iconic sights. Took the monorail/lightrail back to the train station, got seat assignments, and boarded shortly thereafter.

    The train in Vancouver was dismissed starting at the back of the train forward, and although the two customs guys were doing their best, it took half an hour after we were let off the train. And there were no taxis, so they had to be called in. We got into Vancouver fifteen to twenty minutes early and it was after midnight checking into the hotel.

    Even knowing that aggrivation, I would probably have done the same thing, but probably planned bathroom breaks better.

  12. At one of the art auctions, they showed an animated collaboration between Disney and Dali. I thought that was very worthwhile, though I admit to drifting in and out until they got to the good stuff.

     

     

    I am posting here because this is the only way it appears that I can post. I never see the "New Thread" button anywhere. I've checked help and all I can find is that I'm supposed to look for a "New Thread" button in the upper right corner.......I am signed in, the site greets me with my user name, invites me to post....BUT HOW?????????. Sorry for the interruption.

     

    The new thread button is on the left for me. Either under the sub-forum (for the RCI forum, that's the Quantum of the Seas) and near the announcements above the thread listings, or at the bottom of the page of listings, right under the banner ad, to the left of the page X of # thread navigation numbers, similar to the post reply button.

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