Trip Report - Hawaiian Adventure from Vancouver

[Wandering_star]

Hawaiian Adventure - Vancouver Round trip on the Star Princess April 21-May 6, 2017

 

I greatly appreciate a detailed trip report and thought I would try my hand at one. I know the Hawaiian cruises are finished for the season, but hopefully this will help someone planning a Hawaiian cruise in the future. The following is filled with our experiences and observations, thoughts and sage wisdom (ha!). I did keep most of the patters and am happy to answer any questions.

 

About us:

 

We are a married couple, 30 somethings (getting a little less 30 and a little more something ;) ) with a little fur baby at home. His name is Promo (short for Professor Moriarty from Sherlock Holmes). He’s a 2 ½ year old French Bulldog and this was the longest we have ever left him in the great care of my in-laws. We were never worried about him for a second, just missed him immensely. We even brought pictures of him for the stateroom - thank you magnetic clips we won on previous cruises.

 

This was my first cruise as elite and was our longest cruise to date and the most amount of sea days we have ever had – which made me a little nervous, but I pretended that land was just beyond the horizon.

 

We chose this cruise for the sea days, for lots of relaxation and the opportunity to experience Hawaii. There were lots of Canadians on board, mostly from BC and there were a good amount of Americans, specifically from Washington State. We thought we would be among the younger crowd on board – I actually received a comment during check in that it was so nice to see young people on the cruise, but we were surprised by the amount of children, families and “younger” couples on board.

 

Embarkation:

 

We live walking distance to Skytrain and left our house about 11am. Somehow we ended up on a nearly empty Skytrain car the entire way.Even though it was a nice day out (nicest day of the week!) we tried to take the short cut from Waterfront Station, through Waterfront Centre and through the Pan Pacific, but it backfired on us when the escalator up to the Pan was broken. Thankfully we were the only ship in town and we had no delays insecurity and boarding – we were on board by 12:15pm.

 

We found our stateroom easily, dropped off our carry-ons and headed up to Horizon Court for lunch. Just as we sat down, a former co-worker of my husband recognized us - he was travelling with his wife and his in-laws. It had been years since they worked together, so I guess that means we haven’t changed much? I wouldn’t have recognized him in a million years, and it took my husband a moment to match a name to the face.

 

It was an easy afternoon – collected all our treasure hunt stamps, unpacked and attended the muster drill. Just after sail away we went to the spa raffle – it was annoying that this took place during sail away as this made us miss sailing under the Lions Gate Bridge – and we didn’t even win :mad: !

 

The platinum/elite lounge was up in Skywalkers (yay!) so we hit that up before dinner and then attended the evening trivia.

 

Up next: Sea Days!

[jwattle]

Following and looking forward to your review:)

[Jasperdo]

Excellent review so far. Looking forward to the rest. The Star Princess is my favorite Princess ship.

[easyboy]

Looking forward to your review updates.

[Lucky TGO]

Looking forward to your review updates.

Ditto.

Tony

[Wandering_star]

Sea Days:

 

So five days at sea. It seems like a lot when previously you’ve had three days at sea at the most. I was asked if we’d be bored…whatever would we do to pass the time? Honestly? You can be as busy as you want to be –there are lots of activities throughout the day: hula dancing, Hawaiian crafts,ukulele lessons, port talks, etc. Or you could just relax, read a book, watch a movie, swim, go to the gym and/or watch the world go by. We didn’t take part of any of the Hawaiian activities – we wanted relaxation. I brought seven books with me and I finished every one of them. My husband brought his Nintendo Switch, which he hooked up to the stateroom TV and we had our ipads loaded with board games and episodes of Dr. Who, Homeland and Broadchurch (UK).

 

There was often a movie in the Princess Theater, also morning and afternoon trivia, themed trivia in the evenings along with an evening game show. There was a comedian and a comedic magician who each did two different shows and a bunch of productions shows. Also, the MDR menu had a specific Hawaiian influence and Hawaiian inspired dishes. I loved seeing all the crew members in Hawaiian shirts – for some reason it just enhanced the relaxed feeling on board.

[jennybenny]

Looking forward to hearing your review. We loved our cruise to Hawaii, and are looking forward to our next one.

[Wandering_star]

Thanks for coming along for the ride!

 

After 5 lovely days at sea, we arrived in Hawaii... most specifically, the port of Hilo.

 

First of all, the port area is not impressive. It’s a commercial port, so not walkable to anything beyond a small café and souvenir shop.

 

We did a ship excursion to the Volcano Park – the half day option. It was pretty cool – seeing an active volcano and walking through a lava tube. We were fortunate that the lava was pretty active when we were there. The museum was really busy and it was difficult to get a proper look at all the exhibits, but I didn’t mind too much because I found the lava to be really interesting to watch. The lava tube was really cool! It’s not a strenuous walk, but the steps down are pretty steep. We drove to another crater in the park for a brief photo stop then we headed out to the Mauna Loa macadamia nut factory. We arrived when there were at least three other buses there. You can do a self-guided tour of the factory – walking on a catwalk along the production floor. There is also a huge store that got really busy really quickly. There was a pretty garden behind the store and a small café that had yummy looking ice cream. Again, it was really busy, so we bought our souvenirs, walked around the garden and got back on the bus.

 

We asked the driver if he would drop us off at Walmart on the way back to the ship and he said no, that Princess doesn’t allow him to do that. Grr… but no worries. When we got back to the ship, we went on the free shuttle back up to Walmart – I know what you are thinking, you spent 5 days at sea and that’s where you want to go… Walmart? Not my first choice, but we mistakenly left a charging cable at home for a Gopro we borrowed from my brother and we planned to use it when we go snorkeling the following day. As we got off the shuttle, we were told the last shuttle back to the ship was 3:45pm. When we tried to get back on the shuttle at 3:30, we were told the shuttle was full and we’d have to take a taxi back to the ship. Apparently there had been two buses going back and forth all day, and the second bus had just gone off shift. It was a little frustrating and stressful, but we ended up in a van taxi with a bunch of other people who were also stranded and we ended up beating the bus back to the ship!

 

The evening was full of the regular activities and we made sure to get lots of sleep, because we had a big day planned for Honolulu :)

 

Stay tuned!

[Wandering_star]

Honolulu!

 

It was a beautiful morning when we arrived in Honolulu. We booked an independent excursion to snorkel with wild dolphins. This excursion was recommended to us by my brother in law and it was excellent. The company is simply called Dolphin Excursions ( https://dolphinexcursions.com/) and they picked us up at the Aloha Tower Marketplace. We were driven about one hour away, up the west shore to a town called Waianae. We suited up, jumped on the boat and headed out. We had a total of three hours on the boat and the first snorkel stop was with a large pod of wild spinner dolphins. It was amazing! They circled us a number of times, always keeping a reasonable distance between them and us. We could hear their squeaks and clicking under the water and they would jump and breach which was a great show. Reluctantly and eventually, we moved on to a couple of different spots and saw reefs, fish and turtles. We also saw a puffer fish!

 

It’s hard to express how exciting and special it is to swim with dolphins. I have loved marine mammals since I was a small child and even though we didn’t physically touch these lovely, magical creatures, it was an amazing experience and it was probably the highlight of the trip for me.

 

However, honestly, we felt the excursion ran a little long,especially since we only saw dolphins at the first stop. When we got back to the dock, I noticed that my husband looked a little sunburnt and I was a little surprised because we used SPF 60 sunscreen, but I guess I should have given him another coat. I made out little better, but was still a little crispy.

 

The cost of the excursion was $130 US per person and this included pick up/drop off from Honolulu, all the snorkel gear and lunch afterwards. There is also an option of purchasing a photo package from the professional photographer who accompanies you on the tour for a cost of $55 US per couple. We opted to do this and are happy with the quality of the pictures that we received via an email link. We received 250 photos from our tour alone. All in all we would highly recommend the tour and the tour company. They were nothing but professional and safety minded and we have passed on our comments about feeling the excursion running a little long to them directly.

 

On the way back to the ship, the skies clouded over and there was a huge downpour. Luckily, we escaped most of it and made our way back to the ship to shower and change. We intended to take a shuttle to Hilo Hatties, but found out they had stopped for the day – this was about 4pm. There was also a Walmart shuttle, but it was only going to the downtown location.

 

We walked to a city bus stop and took the first bus that arrived to the Ala Moana shopping center. This shopping center is huge! It is partially open air, so the floor was a little damp because of the earlier rain.They have free wifi, three levels of shops and restaurants ranging from ultrahigh end to Target (opening Fall 2017). There were lots of places to get Hawaiian souvenirs and there is a Walmart in walking distance.

 

We had intended to carry on to Waikiki Beach after a shortstop at Ala Moana, but we were exhausted. We weren’t too sure which bus to take to go back to the ship, so we ended up following some other cruisers on a city bus and ended up back at the ship.

 

Back at the ship, we made it to the dining room before it closed, needless to say it was not very busy and we were able to have a three course meal in less than 30 minutes!

 

Honolulu is a very busy city and we only saw the tiniest part of it. There seemed to be lots of traffic and lots of sightseeing options,so a bit of research beforehand will go a long way. Probably the biggest tip I can give you is research the public bus routes and have exact change ($2.50 for adults).

 

Next Up: Kauai (Nawiliwilli)

[Bruinboy]

DW and I were on the Star on the cruise just prior to yours. We would have liked to have stayed on the ship as Hawaii is our favorite place in the world. Look forward to the next installment as Kauai is our favorite island. Of course, every island is great. Thanks for the report!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[kitegirl]

Going on the Star next April from Vancouver and cannot wait to read more of your experience.....

Thank you for sharing.

[LH25]

Thanks for posting this, we are doing this cruise next April on the Star, it's been fun to read.

[NeptuneSeas]

Who was the Maitre d' please?

Enjoyed your review - thank you.

We love the sea days and take books too; enjoy reading the old fashioned way!!!

[Wandering_star]

Who was the Maitre d' please?

Enjoyed your review - thank you.

We love the sea days and take books too; enjoy reading the old fashioned way!!!

 

I'm sorry - I took a look through the patters and didn't see the Maitre d' listed anywhere! Sorry!

[Wandering_star]

Kauai (Nawiliwilli)

 

In the Garden Isle of Kauai, we did a ship tour Opaeka’s Falls & Kilohana Plantation excursion. It was a fine tour, but I felt it was expensive for what it was. The falls are not that impressive – you stop at an overlook at the side of the road to view the falls. At the plantation we boarded an open air train for a tour of the grounds – fruit trees and animal paddocks and there was a stop where you get off the train to feed the wild pigs. After the train ride, there was time to visit the shops in the plantation building. The Koloa Rum Company has a store and tasting room on the site, but the tasting room has a set capacity and there was not enough time to do an actually tasting.

 

We were driven back to the ship and there were a bunch of shuttles going up to Kmart and Hilo Hatties. Just a note for you: If you wanted to visit the plantation and not pay for a ship’s excursion you may consider taking the shuttle up to Kmart and walk from there – it will probably take you about 30 minutes.

 

Although Nawiliwilli is a working port, you can easily walk to nearby amenities. Namely the Kau’ai Marriott Resort, where we found Duke’s on the Beach. We were hoping to find a bar/pub that did tasting flights – especially if some local craft beers after seeing some interesting and yummy sounding beers from the Kona Brewing Company, but alas it was nachos and single pints for us.

 

The grounds of the Marriott are beautiful. There’s a lovely garden and koi pond to wander through and of course there is a fantastic sandy beach with calm waves, a gentle breeze and towering palm trees.

 

We are not really beach people – remember we are nursing sunburns already, so after a walk through some nearby shops at the Anchor Cove Shopping Center we were back at the ship.

 

Next Up: Maui (Lahaina)

[CalgaryMac]

We are taking this cruise in April 2018 so I am finding your posts really interesting. We have browsed through the excursions that are available and am thinking that using public transit or cabs might be an option. With the CDN dollar being so low, anything priced in US dollars ends up even more expensive. Anyway, looking forward to more posts - you should get a career in travel writing!

[srpilo]

Great stuff so far....

 

 

Thanks for sharing

Srpilo

[Wandering_star]

We are taking this cruise in April 2018 so I am finding your posts really interesting. We have browsed through the excursions that are available and am thinking that using public transit or cabs might be an option. With the CDN dollar being so low, anything priced in US dollars ends up even more expensive. Anyway, looking forward to more posts - you should get a career in travel writing!

 

Thank you!

 

Public transit will probably serve you well in Honolulu and Lahaina - we were cautioned against cabs as the traffic could take away from any savings. You may also want to investigate rental cars and hop on/ hop off buses depending on what you are interested in seeing.

[Wandering_star]

Maui (Lahaina)

 

Originally we intended to take a ship excursion to do whale watching, but it was canceled back in Vancouver. The whales had mostly left on their migration to Alaska.

We decided to take a ship excursion to the Maui Ocean Center. We met in the Princess Theater first thing in the morning and was pleasantly surprised that they were running a little early, we were quickly escorted to a waiting tender and we ended up sitting up top. The sky was overcast and it was super windy. The tender ride was quick, but it was really bumpy – just like a Disneyland ride.

 

Once on shore, we were led to a waiting bus and traveled about 30 minutes to the Maui Ocean Center. It’s a very scenic drive, right along the water. Unfortunately the driver/guide was really difficult to understand and not very informative – I would have preferred a quiet ride instead of the mumbled chatter.

 

We arrived at the Maui Ocean Center just as it was opening and we were led straight inside bypassing a big line up. We were given an audio guide (which we didn't use, but it was nice to have) and about 2 hours to explore. It was very busy, seemed very popular with families with small children. The Center is not huge, but had lots of great exhibits including an excellent shark tank/tunnel with a number of small sharks, large rays and fish. There is also a turtle exhibit, tough pools and friendly, informative naturalists. We took a second spin through the shark tunnel and we came across a puffer fish all puffed up. It was very cool to see as we had just swam with one during our dolphin excursion in Honolulu.

 

There is a very large gift shop filled with treasures and also a nearby parade of shops including the Pacific Whale Foundation that is worth a walk through.

 

Enjoyed the Maui Ocean Center very much! It was a great way to spend the morning and I really enjoyed the fact there was a Hawaii specific focus and they didn’t have any marine mammals on display.

 

We met back up with the bus and was driven back to Lahaina,where we drove past the Maui Outlet Center and down Front Street before being dropped off at Lahaina Banyan Court, right across from the visitor’s center located in the old Lahaina Courthouse. We went in looking for wifi, local maps and a recommendation for a local pub. The person we spoke to was very nice and directed us to a nearby bar, but when we got there, it wasn’t what we had in mind, so we found more wifi and found the Kohola Brewing Company. It was a 20 minute walk, so we downloaded a map and we were off.

 

It was a warm day, overcast with scattered showers, none of which bothered us. We found the Kohola Brewing Company tucked away off a main street and quickly realized that it is only a taproom without a kitchen. We ended up splitting a tasting flight and enjoyed the atmosphere. It seemed like a very popular place, and rightly so – the beer was great! When we were finished, we headed back out in search of lunch and shopping.

 

Eventually we made it back to the Outlets of Maui and poked around before walking down Front Street, heading back to the tenders. There are lots of shops, restaurants, cafes and galleries along Front Street and you could easily spend the afternoon poking around and eating your way up and down the street. It was busy, apparently there as another cruise ship in the area in addition to other visitors/tourists, but this didn’t bother us at all. Everywhere we went we found people to be friendly and we were able to get in and out of places very quickly. The weather was not cooperating, it was raining on and off, which apparently is abnormal for Lahaina – there was lots of pooling water on the roads that also impacted some sidewalks.

 

Of course there was a huge line for the tenders, but it moved quickly and we just chatted with other passengers while we waited. Apparently the weather really impacted the visibility for some excursions to the crater, making some excursions a bit of a bust.

 

Back on the ship, the weather cleared and it was a lovely sunset as we left Lahaina. Just as we were leaving, the ship turned back for a medical evacuation of passenger back to Lahaina. It didn’t impact us at all as the ship was back on track within 90 minutes. I hope the passenger made a speedy recovery and was able to get home safe, wherever he/she/they call home.

 

A note about all the ports: With the exception of Lahaina,you will go through security on land before boarding the ship. At each port they were looking for liquor and directing you to the liquor check in table if they see anything in your bags.

 

Up Next: Days as Sea back to Vancouver

[Wandering_star]

Sea Days back to Vancouver

 

We found the sea days returning to Vancouver to be very relaxing. There were still lots of things to do: the Hawaiian activities continues, afternoon movies in the Princess Theater (although a disappointing selection if you ask me), a variety of themed trivia (Sports, Broadway Musicals, Abba, Goldfish- that’s right, Goldfish trivia – it was as ridiculous as it sounds).

 

It was warm for a couple of days after leaving Hawaii, then it turned cooler and wet. I for one greatly appreciated the brief weather report in the patter – it was super helpful when you like to know what to expect.

 

It seemed like all the happy hours (buy one, get one for $1) were well attended, as were the evening game shows/activities – sometimes it was difficult to get a seat.

 

It was annoying that there was no hockey shown on the ship. They made a big deal when they secured the rights to show a boxing title match and they routinely had baseball and basketball, but no Stanley Cup playoffs. I know there is licencing and regulations, and maybe they try to show the Stanley Cup finals, but for a ship full of Canadians, you would think they would try a bit harder.

 

We asked for a Star Wars trivia to commemorate Star Wars Day(May the 4th) and Nathan on the crew staff not only said that he had one, but he would try to get it on the schedule. We reminded him a couple of times and he’d say he’d see what he could do. We were pretty disappointed when it didn’t happen on May 4th, especially because they made numerous references to May the 4th on the morning wake show.

 

There were lots of crew members wrapping up their contracts and getting ready to head home. It gave the last half of the cruise a nostalgic feeling.

 

About two days away from Vancouver there was a call out from the Medical Doctor looking for a specific type of medication – nothing we could help with, but a great reminder to take a couple of extra day’s worth of medication if you can whenever you travel.

 

The three most traveled passengers were all between 819 and 839 days. One of them even traveled with my in-laws on the Sapphire’s journey across the Pacific! Goes to show, cruising out of Vancouver can make the world feel very small.

 

Internet worked fairly well. I found it was the slowest when in port. While at sea we were able to Facetime with the Mo (our dog) back home.Often he was basking in the nice weather on one of his two enclosed balconies watching the world go by. We found 250 minutes (platinum/elite benefit) each to be plenty of time – we didn’t use all of it.

 

The Princess at Sea feature is quite handy – I liked being able to check your onboard account without getting a print out that always ended up in the garbage. I do have a suggestion for improvement: It would be great to have a cruise exclusive “bulletin board” feature where you could post about specific things: looking for game /trivia companions, looking to borrow a specific charging cable, etc.

 

Ugh – I thought I was so smart. I brought a little trinket tray on board with me for the nightstand, so I would have a safe place to keep my earrings, etc at the end of the night before I put things back in the safe the next morning. But somehow I lost one of my favourite earrings. My working theory is it fell out of the little tray and was vacuumed up by the room steward. It’s the only explanation – trust me – we tore the room apart looking for it. It wasn’t very valuable, just one of my favourites, so let my misfortune be a cautionary tale.

 

The shop on board had a selection of Hawaiian souvenirs and on the return journey some were marked down to 30% off – a pretty good deal if you missed getting a souvenir for someone. My spidey sense tells me the remaining stock will be part of the first Alaska outlet sale.

 

As we approached land – traveling between Vancouver Island and Washington State, we saw multiple rainbows that spanned the entire sky.They really stood out against very dark skies. We even saw two whale spouts –you never know what you might see at sea.

 

Up Next: Disembarkation and Final Thoughts

[hokiefans]

Thanks for such a detailed report! This cruise is on our list - I don't see it on the schedule as yet but am keeping my fingers crossed. Looking forward to hearing what, if anything, you would have done differently on this cruise.

 

denise

hokiefans

[Wandering_star]

Disembarkation:

 

So sad to leave! I even joked that my husband should just go home, get the Mo and we could all live in a tender to go up to Alaska!

 

We were up early for a final buffet breakfast before triple checking our stateroom for any left behind items before heading over to the elite lounge while we waited to disembark. Camped out in a corner and was quickly surrounded about a large group with lots of loud children (were they all platinums/elites? Methinks not), we just hunkered down til our number was called.

 

Disembarkation seemed to be running on time, so close to our designated time we packed up and were off without a problem.

 

Immigration was a breeze. Be honest on your forms and don’t forget to declare those macadamia nuts I know you bought!

 

Found our luggage and then the traffic jam started. Not only was it a dreaded three ship day in Vancouver, it was the first three ship day of the season. Chaos! Patience, ability to handle your own luggage and a game plan if you lose your travelling companion is the only sane way to approach a three ship day in Vancouver.

 

We met up with my in-laws and jumped on the Skytrain for the exhausting 40 minute journey home. We walked in the door less that one hour after leaving the ship.

 

We surprised the Mo, who at first was not happy with us, but happy to see us and started to dream about cruising again.

[Wandering_star]

Final Thoughts:

 

We had an excellent trip! We liked having the sea days to relax. The four days in port in row is tiring. I saw in next year’s itineraries are going to have a longer time in port – Hilo, Kauai and Lahaina were 7/8am-5pm ish and Honolulu was about 7am -11pm.

 

A suggestion for anyone who is thinking about this cruise: As difficult as it can be to research and plan for ports you have never been to, try to research bus routes for the bigger port (Honolulu) and keep an eye out for free shuttles in the smaller ports.

 

There is definitely a trade-off for doing this itinerary at the end of the season – 3 out of 4 ports we were the only ship in port which was really nice, but we did miss whale season and it was stormy at times.

 

We are super spoiled by west coast ports where you can walk to so many things right off the cruise ship. I’ve mentioned a couple of times that was disappointing that a couple of the ports were pretty isolated and not in walking distance to any attractions.

 

This is the first time we brought our own wine on board. I don’t drink much so we stretched three bottles (one from our travel agent, 2 we brought from home) over 15 days. Even with the corkage fee, we were better off doing it this way. If you are travelling through Vancouver on your way to a cruise, there is a BC Liquor Store across from Waterfront Station in the Harbour Centre.

 

We heard chatter at the Captain’s Circle party about a super elite status that was ultimately delayed by the Costa Concordia disaster. I’m not sure if this chatter means a super elite status will ever be a “thing” or if it’s wishful thinking started by a couple of elites in hopes that it will eventually become a “thing”. Hopefully Princess will introduce a super elite status by the time we reach that territory.

 

Things we didn’t do:

Crown Grill and Sabatinis: we were happy with the MDR and Horizon Court.

 

Bingo: I’ve only played once on a prior cruise where an upgrade to suite was a jackpot prize.

 

Lotus Spa: I was looking for a pedicure, but I found their prices to be really high. I asked if I purchased one of their packages that included multiple services, if I could substitute a pedicure for a facial and received a hard no. No worries for me – I’ll get one back home for less than half their price.

 

Casino: Not our thing(with the exception of the Casino Vault game, and only because we had a voucher).

 

Next up for us: Undetermined at this point. Not having to fly anywhere makes this itinerary very appealing, but we’re also open to trying a transatlantic if we can save up enough vacation days.

 

The Mo has finally forgiven us… he still gives me the sad face when I go to work, but extra cuddles, treats and time on his balconies are slowing making things better.

[riclop]

Thanks for the report.

[Krozulo]

Thanks for posting this review. My wife and I are celebrating our 20th anniversary next May with this cruise in April. It'll be our first cruise and although people have warned us against a first cruise with so many sea days, those are the days we're most looking forward to. We're also travelling with friends. For 3 of the ports we're doing our own thing and in Honolulu we're going to do the ship excursion for the luau. The ship arrives in port at 7 am and the excursion departs at noon. Is there much to do in Honolulu before noon? Or should we just have a late breakfast and take it easy on the ship? When I look at the area in Google Maps it kind of reminds me of downtown Vancouver, around Burrard station with lots of office buildings.