Hawaii Cruises

[Cruiserkenn]

I have been on 8 Princess Hawaii cruises, all RT from California.  They  have all been great!

On sea days, they always have lots of activities.  Shows, talks, movies, and musical performances in various locales.   Not to mention eating!    No way to be bored!

 

Enjoy Hawaii!

 

Aloha!  

[Cruiserkenn]

In case my mention of movies sounds kind of dumb, please consider that movies in the Princess Theater are a great experience.  Great screen, fabulous sound!  I love the movies in the Princess Theater!

[memoak]

Have done this wonderful cruise 4 times in the past and will be doing it again in January on the Ruby.  Retiring in November and this will be a great start to cruising again. Will catch up on a coastal in April, 14 days Alaska in August then Panama February 2023. Ready to dive back in just need to get the stupid app to work

[nocl]

19 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Time to chime in.  I fly to Honolulu multiple times a year.  IF....IF...given the opportunity to sail over on a cruise ship for 5 days, I'd do it in a heart beat.

 

Princess provides many many activities (pre Covid).  Don't know how that will change.  There used to be port talks and lectures on the way over. On the way back, there would be Hawaiian history lectures or a naturalist on board.

 

I am afraid that the ukulele classes and hula lessons may have to be modified since they are always packed with enthusiastic passengers.

 

I have done the cruise many times even though I grew up on the islands and return frequently.  

 

If possible, I would move your cruise up a few months.  Most humpbacks have left the island by April.  

At least as of earlier this week one of the normal Hawaiian ambassador couples (we have been on three cruises with them and have kept in touch during the shutdown) have not yet heard anything from Princess about the 21/22 Hawaiian cruise season.  Since they are the people that do the ukulele and hula classes one would expect some contact by the cruise line soon if it is going to be the normal program.

 

Have no way to know about the other pair.

[CeCe_]

We have sailed on Ruby two times already.  I was thinking to try Sapphire, at the end, we decided on Ruby again when we booked yesterday. 

 

Hope we made a good choice on the ship.

[Alaskanb]

We primarily cruise to visit the ports and did not enjoy the sea days on the return journey. Our days in Hawaii were amazing and we met some fabulous people. To each his own 😀

[Thrak]

32 minutes ago, CeCe_ said:

We have sailed on Ruby two times already.  I was thinking to try Sapphire, at the end, we decided on Ruby again when we booked yesterday. 

 

Hope we made a good choice on the ship.

 

Kind of a toss up to me. I love Ruby with Adagio but some folks don't like the "extra deck" of passengers. Doesn't bother me. On the other hand, Sapphire has a covered pool. I don't use the pool but often sit in the Conservatory - the deck above the covered pool - to read and relax.

[Cruiserkenn]

1 hour ago, nocl said:

At least as of earlier this week one of the normal Hawaiian ambassador couples (we have been on three cruises with them and have kept in touch during the shutdown) have not yet heard anything from Princess about the 21/22 Hawaiian cruise season.  Since they are the people that do the ukulele and hula classes one would expect some contact by the cruise line soon if it is going to be the normal program.

 

Have no way to know about the other pair.

Are you speaking of the couple known as "Elua", or one of the others?  They are all good, but I believe that Elua has been around the longest.  I am hoping to have the Hawaii Ambassadors on my next Hawaii cruise, this fall.

 

Thanks for posting about the Hawaii Ambassadors.  

[cr8tiv1]

34 minutes ago, Cruiserkenn said:

Are you speaking of the couple known as "Elua", or one of the others?  They are all good, but I believe that Elua has been around the longest.  I am hoping to have the Hawaii Ambassadors on my next Hawaii cruise, this fall.

 

Thanks for posting about the Hawaii Ambassadors.  

 

ELUA (Dave and Leialoha) along with CD Dave Cole (retired) created the program years ago for Princess Cruises.  They are the "experts" and have "trained" the others.  Dave Cole did excellent lectures on Hawaii's monarchy and port talks.  Since then, Tiki Dave has taken over the port talks.  His perspective from living on the islands is very insightful.  

 

Hawaii cruises are full of entertainment and activities.  So much to do and see.  My recommendation is to rent cars for Hilo, Honolulu, and Kauai.  Currently, there is a shortage of rental cars on all the islands.  Rates have doubled.  I don't recommend a car in Lahaina since I never advise to leave the West end of the island.  Ship tours are expensive but will guarantee your passage back to the ship before it sails back to the continent.  Traffic and other events (brush fire/accidents/etc) can really put a damper on your day in Maui.  

[CeCe_]

3 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

ELUA (Dave and Leialoha) along with CD Dave Cole (retired) created the program years ago for Princess Cruises.  They are the "experts" and have "trained" the others.  Dave Cole did excellent lectures on Hawaii's monarchy and port talks.  Since then, Tiki Dave has taken over the port talks.  His perspective from living on the islands is very insightful.  

 

Hawaii cruises are full of entertainment and activities.  So much to do and see.  My recommendation is to rent cars for Hilo, Honolulu, and Kauai.  Currently, there is a shortage of rental cars on all the islands.  Rates have doubled.  I don't recommend a car in Lahaina since I never advise to leave the West end of the island.  Ship tours are expensive but will guarantee your passage back to the ship before it sails back to the continent.  Traffic and other events (brush fire/accidents/etc) can really put a damper on your day in Maui.  

 

We had done around Maui on car trip.  It was long long day driving.  We'd like to spend a snorkel day on Black rock area, can we get a taxi from the port to kaanapali beach?

[nocl]

2 hours ago, Cruiserkenn said:

Are you speaking of the couple known as "Elua", or one of the others?  They are all good, but I believe that Elua has been around the longest.  I am hoping to have the Hawaii Ambassadors on my next Hawaii cruise, this fall.

 

Thanks for posting about the Hawaii Ambassadors.  

Not Elua. There is usually one ship from LA and one from SF during the cruise season "Elua" usually does the LA ship.  The other couple has done the SF route for the past few years. 

[cr8tiv1]

1 hour ago, CeCe_ said:

 

We had done around Maui on car trip.  It was long long day driving.  We'd like to spend a snorkel day on Black rock area, can we get a taxi from the port to kaanapali beach?

 

Best answered by Astro Flyer.  

[Thrak]

2 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

ELUA (Dave and Leialoha) along with CD Dave Cole (retired) created the program years ago for Princess Cruises.  They are the "experts" and have "trained" the others.  Dave Cole did excellent lectures on Hawaii's monarchy and port talks.  Since then, Tiki Dave has taken over the port talks.  His perspective from living on the islands is very insightful.  

 

Hawaii cruises are full of entertainment and activities.  So much to do and see.  My recommendation is to rent cars for Hilo, Honolulu, and Kauai.  Currently, there is a shortage of rental cars on all the islands.  Rates have doubled.  I don't recommend a car in Lahaina since I never advise to leave the West end of the island.  Ship tours are expensive but will guarantee your passage back to the ship before it sails back to the continent.  Traffic and other events (brush fire/accidents/etc) can really put a damper on your day in Maui.  

 

Our first cruise to Hawaii we had our oldest son with us. He broke his neck in the Army and we needed to rent a car that we could transfer him into and out of from his wheelchair. We arranged the rental a couple of months in advance to be sure we could get a vehicle. When we ported I had to take a shuttle to the rental place. There was a crowd of angry people there who had made advance rental arrangements. Some idiot at the rental place had rented out all of the cars to folks who came in on the airline that morning. People were irate. I sat - on the edge of a planter - for 3 hours while my wife and son waited back at the ship. Finally they managed to secure a vehicle from a different vendor but it was a van that was horribly difficult to transfer into and out of. It took a huge chunk out of our port time and made it so that we drove around a lot but didn't get out much at all.

 

Moral of the story: Go ahead and make advance rental plans but don't count on there actually being a car available when you get there.

[cr8tiv1]

2 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

Our first cruise to Hawaii we had our oldest son with us. He broke his neck in the Army and we needed to rent a car that we could transfer him into and out of from his wheelchair. We arranged the rental a couple of months in advance to be sure we could get a vehicle. When we ported I had to take a shuttle to the rental place. There was a crowd of angry people there who had made advance rental arrangements. Some idiot at the rental place had rented out all of the cars to folks who came in on the airline that morning. People were irate. I sat - on the edge of a planter - for 3 hours while my wife and son waited back at the ship. Finally they managed to secure a vehicle from a different vendor but it was a van that was horribly difficult to transfer into and out of. It took a huge chunk out of our port time and made it so that we drove around a lot but didn't get out much at all.

 

Moral of the story: Go ahead and make advance rental plans but don't count on there actually being a car available when you get there.

 

This is why I won't reserve a car from the Hilo airport.  Not only is incoming flight passengers a problem, but there is a surtax for picking up a car from the airport.  Unfortunately, my favorite car rental agency stopped passenger cars and only rents large trucks.  The pandemic has impacted all islands for cars.  Prices continue to rise.

 

So sorry this happened to you.  Not very aloha welcome.

[Astro Flyer]

4 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

This is why I won't reserve a car from the Hilo airport.  Not only is incoming flight passengers a problem, but there is a surtax for picking up a car from the airport.  Unfortunately, my favorite car rental agency stopped passenger cars and only rents large trucks.  The pandemic has impacted all islands for cars.  Prices continue to rise.

 

So sorry this happened to you.  Not very aloha welcome.

When in Hilo for the day we rent a car from an off airport site such as Enterprise located on short free shuttle ride from the port. It’s located on the road to VNP (Hwy 11) and has always be cheaper & easier than at the airport. Selected a random date in January 2022 and it’s 4x as expensive as our last visit there before the rental car shortages.

[Astro Flyer]

2 hours ago, CeCe_ said:

 

We had done around Maui on car trip.  It was long long day driving.  We'd like to spend a snorkel day on Black rock area, can we get a taxi from the port to kaanapali beach?

 

58 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

Best answered by Astro Flyer.  

Maui is our second home so we usually just walk around Lahaina to have lunch or friends pick us up for the day. I’ve read that taxis may be difficult to get when a cruise ship is in town…last time I checked for someone it was about $20 each way.

 

Another option is the Maui public bus system ($2; $1-seniors) which departs hourly from the back of the Wharf Cinema Center across the street from the large Banyan tree next to the tender pier. The 3rd stop (:28 minutes) is the Whalers Village shopping center in the middle of Ka’anapali. That’s about a 10-15 minute walk along the beachfront sidewalk to the Black Rock snorkeling area. Please be cognizant of the conditions because the current can be hazardous when the conditions aren’t good.

 

Here are links to their bus system if you want to consider taking the West Maui Islander RT 28 bus. It also stops in Napili & ends in Kapalua which are other snorkeling locations. Most of our snorkeling/scuba experiences have been at the South Maui beaches of Wailea near our home. So I’m more familiar with them but that’s a 45+ minute drive from Lahaina.

 

https://www.mauicounty.gov/609/Maui-Bus-Public-Transit-System#:~:text=Maui Bus Public Transit System Maui Public Bus,South%2C West%2C Haiku%2C Kula and Upcountry Maui communities.
 

https://www.mauicounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/4353/Bus-Fixed-Route-Schedule?bidId=
 

Edited June 25, 2021 by Astro Flyer

[MishelleMcc]

In Dec 2019, we did Taxis and Uber in Maui, Kauai and Honolulu (to the Memorial) but then used the Bus to get to Waikiki (Wanted to see the Royal Hawaiian that I'd stayed in back in 1978...  Things had really changed and it was really crowded but still managed to enjoy the beach!)

 

For us, Uber or Taxi was easiest.  We haven't planned what we are doing on the Jan 16 2022 Hawaiian cruise but will probably use both again.

 

Reading all your posts are giving us ideas!!

[TheRabbit]

On 6/23/2021 at 7:47 AM, LACruiser88 said:

We have been on the Hawaii cruise about 10 times and we love it!  We also love the slow pace of sea days.  We'll be on the Grand to Hawaii on November 5th, we can't wait!!!

The first time we did this cruise we liked it so much, we checked to see if we could do it back to back. Alas, no rooms available, Darn.

[memoak]

42 minutes ago, MishelleMcc said:

In Dec 2019, we did Taxis and Uber in Maui, Kauai and Honolulu (to the Memorial) but then used the Bus to get to Waikiki (Wanted to see the Royal Hawaiian that I'd stayed in back in 1978...  Things had really changed and it was really crowded but still managed to enjoy the beach!)

 

For us, Uber or Taxi was easiest.  We haven't planned what we are doing on the Jan 16 2022 Hawaiian cruise but will probably use both again.

 

Reading all your posts are giving us ideas!!

See you onboard

[CeCe_]

1 hour ago, Astro Flyer said:

 

Maui is our second home so we usually just walk around Lahaina to have lunch or friends pick us up for the day. I’ve read that taxis may be difficult to get when a cruise ship is in town…last time I checked for someone it was about $20 each way.

 

Another option is the Maui public bus system ($2; $1-seniors) which departs hourly from the back of the Wharf Cinema Center across the street from the large Banyan tree next to the tender pier. The 3rd stop (:28 minutes) is the Whalers Village shopping center in the middle of Ka’anapali. That’s about a 10-15 minute walk along the beachfront sidewalk to the Black Rock snorkeling area. Please be cognizant of the conditions because the current can be hazardous when the conditions aren’t good.

 

Here are links to their bus system if you want to consider taking the West Maui Islander RT 28 bus. It also stops in Napili & ends in Kapalua which are other snorkeling locations. Most of our snorkeling/scuba experiences have been at the South Maui beaches of Wailea near our home. So I’m more familiar with them but that’s a 45+ minute drive from Lahaina.

 

https://www.mauicounty.gov/609/Maui-Bus-Public-Transit-System#:~:text=Maui Bus Public Transit System Maui Public Bus,South%2C West%2C Haiku%2C Kula and Upcountry Maui communities.
 

https://www.mauicounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/4353/Bus-Fixed-Route-Schedule?bidId=
 

 

Thank you so much for the information, Astro Flyer!   Wailea is a very nice place.  We had driven down there for the very nice shopping mall.  Years ago, when our son was in swim team, we had him practiced with the Maui Swim team everyday during our vacation.  He had the best swimming of his life swimming with the team on open water from The Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas to Black Rock and back.  Because it was his first, the coach swam next to him to make sure he was okay.  It was an amazing experience for my son, that is something we will always remember.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

We've done two LA RT on Princess and SD RT on HAL once. All three trips were great. I was skeptical I'd like so many sea days the first time (HAL about 17 years ago), but I wound up loving them. I actually felt relaxed, especially as communications off the ship in those days was pretty much limited to using their computer room. We will be going again soon. We will book as soon as we've seen how this opening of cruising is going.

[Astro Flyer]

1 hour ago, CeCe_ said:

 

Thank you so much for the information, Astro Flyer!   Wailea is a very nice place.  We had driven down there for the very nice shopping mall.  Years ago, when our son was in swim team, we had him practiced with the Maui Swim team everyday during our vacation.  He had the best swimming of his life swimming with the team on open water from The Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas to Black Rock and back.  Because it was his first, the coach swam next to him to make sure he was okay.  It was an amazing experience for my son, that is something we will always remember.

You’re welcome…what a great experience for your son and your Ohana. 🏊‍♂️

[Elua]

Not Elua. There is usually one ship from LA and one from SF during the cruise season "Elua" usually does the LA ship.  The other couple has done the SF route for the past few years. 

 

Aloha Kakou,

I believe you would be talking about either Makani E (Rozz and Jim) or Brian and Rowena Vasquez. Those are the two couples that will usually be working out of SF.

 

Malama!

Tiki Dave

(Of Elua)

www.facebook.com/tikidavemusic  

[nocl]

24 minutes ago, Elua said:

Not Elua. There is usually one ship from LA and one from SF during the cruise season "Elua" usually does the LA ship.  The other couple has done the SF route for the past few years. 

 

Aloha Kakou,

I believe you would be talking about either Makani E (Rozz and Jim) or Brian and Rowena Vasquez. Those are the two couples that will usually be working out of SF.

 

Malama!

Tiki Dave

(Of Elua)

www.facebook.com/tikidavemusic  

Intentionally did not want to list specifics, only that at least one of the couples had not heard from Princess about the Hawaii schedule yet.

 

Have you gotten any word yet?

[Elua]

No...we have received our schedule as of yet. Fingers crossed!

 

TD