15 day Hawaiian cruise on the star out of LA March 4th 2018

[Mjkny]

Would appreciate any tips for this Cruise from past cruisers do's & don'ts maybe excursions we're Elite on Princess probably have done 14-15 Caribbean trips Alaska twice but never Hawaii we're celebrating our 40th Anniversary we will be on the Regal 2/19/17 celebrating my DW's 60 th B day. Any tips appreciated thanks

[ar1950]

Would appreciate any tips for this Cruise from past cruisers do's & don'ts maybe excursions we're Elite on Princess probably have done 14-15 Caribbean trips Alaska twice but never Hawaii we're celebrating our 40th Anniversary we will be on the Regal 2/19/17 celebrating my DW's 60 th B day. Any tips appreciated thanks

Delete, missed the thread heading.

Edited February 9, 2017 by ar1950

[easyboy]

I think it's the Star for Hawaiii on March 14, 2018 as mentioned on post title.

[Sea Hag]

I'm thinking you may have the ship name mixed up. The Regal doesn't sail to Hawaii.

 

Different cruise. They're asking about March 2018 to Hawaii. They added in the cruise on the Regal in the post, but the title is about the Star.

[ar1950]

Different cruise. They're asking about March 2018 to Hawaii. They added in the cruise on the Regal in the post, but the title is about the Star.

 

Sorry, still trying to get used to this "new and improved" forum format.

[ar1950]

Would appreciate any tips for this Cruise from past cruisers do's & don'ts maybe excursions we're Elite on Princess probably have done 14-15 Caribbean trips Alaska twice but never Hawaii we're celebrating our 40th Anniversary we will be on the Regal 2/19/17 celebrating my DW's 60 th B day. Any tips appreciated thanks

 

Sorry about the confusion on my post above. You may also want to post on your sailing's roll call.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2396180

[Sea Hag]

Would appreciate any tips for this Cruise from past cruisers do's & don'ts maybe excursions we're Elite on Princess probably have done 14-15 Caribbean trips Alaska twice but never Hawaii we're celebrating our 40th Anniversary we will be on the Regal 2/19/17 celebrating my DW's 60 th B day. Any tips appreciated thanks

 

We've done just one Princess/Hawaii/round trip LA, and it was great. We did a doors-off helicopter ride over the volcano on the Big Island, and that just might be my favorite excursion ever. Booked this through the operator, not Princess.

 

Did a submarine ride off Maui and we liked that a lot. But we both agreed that we lucked out since the submarine was probably a quarter of the way full. If it had been to capacity, we'd have been in a very cramped, crowded situation. We're both a bit claustrophobic, so that wouldn't have been much fun. We did this as just a walk-up at the pier.

 

We didn't book any excursions through the ship. Rented cars everywhere and did things on our own.

 

Loved all those sea days!

[Mjkny]

Sorry for the confusion we're sailing next week on the Regal next year on the star to Hawaii

[ar1950]

Sorry for the confusion we're sailing next week on the Regal next year on the star to Hawaii

 

Back to your question. It depends a lot on what you enjoy. We have been on three cruises to Hawaii on Princess. We have rented a car on at least twice on all of the islands and on some of the islands, all three times. We did the Blue Hawaii helicopter on the Big Island and loved it. We also did Wings over Kauai and would highly recommend. Based on our car rental experience on Oahu last time, we would suggest doing other activities (way too much traffic these days). Book a Pearl Harbor excursion, take the bus to Waikiki Beach for some beach time. Last time we still had a nice day driving around Maui and the Big Island (just be sure to allow enough time to make it back to the car rental place and then back to the ship).

[easyboy]

Sorry, still trying to get used to this "new and improved" forum format.

It is really confusing. The title used to be at top of message box. Now it is way way way up. Though bigger, seems misplaced.

[Cruisin' Chick]

We've been on three Hawaiian RTs. Princess has an excellent Hawaiian cultural program that you may want to check out. I believe that each of the RTs from LA and SF will have a musical duo who will serve as "Cultural Ambassadors." Elua was on our last two cruises and we would check the Patter every day to see when and where they were performing (usually the Piazza or up on deck). Leialoha will teach the hula classes while her husband Dave will teach the uke classes. They also will give talks on topics such as the Hawaiian language and tropical food.

[nbist]

Just got back from the 1/23-2/7 sailing on the Star r/t LA. Captain and crew on this ship are fabulous. We have taken about 10 cruises and never have had a captain more interactive, funny and visible than Captain Tuvo. Every crew member seemed genuinely happy to be on this ship from the beginning to the end of the cruise.

 

As far as tips for this cruise - the first and last couple of days seem to be a little cool and rockier than when you get nearer the islands, so keep that in mind when packing. There were a lot of people on our sailing that needed to buy sweatshirts and Dramamine in the gift shops! We found the population to be quite a bit older than on shorter cruises and there were more walkers and scooters around, but everyone seemed polite and courteous. Reservations at the specialty restaurants and spa were easier to get than on shorter cruises, the casino was never crowded, and bar waiters always around to take our order. I got the feeling that this was not a cruise where people were eager to spend money on the extras. Go early to any shows - they filled up at least 45 minutes before show time! The ship never felt crowded (except at the shows), which was wonderful.

 

A lot of people on the boards will recommend renting a car on the islands. We did that the first time when we sailed on NCL and it gave us a lot of freedom, and was inexpensive, but we also found it to be a hassle. This time we did Ricky's Tour (12 people) in Hilo ($70/pp), took taxi's to Diamond Head and Pearl Harbor in Honolulu (yes, "The Bus" would have been much cheaper, but taken a lot longer to get from point a to point b!), booked a private 4 person tour in Kauai (Elena at Kauai Island Tours - wonderful!), booked a whale watch at the dock in Lahaina, and took a cruise excursion to the wineries in Ensenada. We were happy with all of our choices of tours and felt it was a happy medium cost-wise between car rental and all ship excursions.

 

Elua's Hawaiian program was well attended and I know they have a lot of fans on the boards, if that is important to you.

 

Feel free to ask any questions and I will do my best to answer.

[skynight]

It can be cool the first few days over and the last few days of the return. It may not be the lounge around the pool weather you experienced in the Caribbean. Once the ship crosses the Tropic of Cancer the weather gets tropical. Take a sweatshirt or sweater.

Princess has the Hawaiian experience on their Hawaii cruises. There will be a couple on board the provides uke lessons, hula dancing, lei making (cost involved), some Hawaiian entertainment, things like that.