Pride of Aloha Review 12/12-22 Pt 1 (wild horses ...)

[Floppy McTurnriver]

This is to give back to the forum that I've gotten such much from in preparing for my Hawaii cruise.

 

Let's just do the usual qualifiers - yes, I know everyone has different tastes and opinions. So these are just mine (don't flame me just because you may disagree).

 

Background:

We are but two (me & wife) and met rest of family (sister, mom & dad) in Hawaii. Age ranges from late 30s to early 70s. All from Canada. Going in, I knew this was only going to be a scouting trip for us (me & wife) - both parents and sister have been to Hawaii multiple times (land & cruise). My parents have been on 12 cruises (3 on NCL/NCLA), my sister on 1 (NCLA), my wife and me on 4 (Disney/Celebrity/Princess x2).

 

Air/Car Transportation:

The US mainland <-> Hawaii flight segments were on United Airlines and we discovered something we just can't get on our main domestic carrier (Air Canada). There is a wonderful 'Economy Plus' class option for only $54 per person, you get loads of extra legroom. I can't believe that every seat in this category was not sold out. This is bargain city!!! Costs less than most shore excursions and for a 5-6 hr flight it's a no-brainer.

 

All car rentals save one (Lahaina) was booked thru Thrifty's from Hawaii Discount Cars internet site. I normally never rent cars on cruises or any other type of vacations. Me & (lovely) wife like to walk, take public transit, taxi tours, or do hop-on/hop-off trolleys whenever possible. (This was a trade-off with my sister who hates to cruise and would only agree to this cruise vacation if she had the chance to show Hawaii to me via rental car.)

 

Itinerary:

- because we flew on free points, we had to do a stay-over in LA. Based on TripAdvisor we choose the Renaissance Montura(sp?) by LAX. It was inexpensive ($95), had tasteful room decor, and included free airport shuttle service. Would recommend.

 

- we next did a 3 night pre-cruise on Oahu (North Shore) at Turtle Bay Resort. I believe this currently is your only choice for a full service hotel in this area. The location is picturesque (but what isn't in Hawaii, right?) but the building and rooms look and feel dated. Don't misinterpret 'dated' as 'dirty' because it's not. The grounds are vast and beautiful, and this is the reason why one would stay at Turtle Bay. I just wish I had more spare time to see more of it thru daily jogs.

 

Maybe because it's the high Cdn$, but we found the hotel's food prices to be quite reasonable and the quality/taste to be uniformly excellent. (Caveat - our family's appetite is generally satisfied on using appetizers as entrees).

 

Arrival day: Just did Dole plantation on the way to North Shore. Was a bit disappointed as my only reason was to come for the Dole whip. Perhaps my expectations were too great. Anyways I later found out I could have also tried it at Ala Moana shopping centre in Waikiki. But if you're a foodie you might enjoy browsing thru their bakery/food section also.

 

2nd day: Spent entire day (12-9pm) at PCC. I'd have preferred to do a different luau but oh well, next time. I don't regret going but I wouldn't repeat given a choice. It's more for families with young children. I enjoyed the performances shown in each of the various areas of culture, and the IMAX movie. The canoe pageant was forgettable and the evening 'Horizons' main show was a glitzier/hybrid version/amalgamation of all the earlier individual acts. The food was average. (Much of the details of PCC is already accurately descibed in many other posts)

 

3rd day: This day was spent driving (lovely) wife to the premium outlet mall just on the outskirts of Honolulu. The challenge was more finding ways to kill the time while my bank acct was systematically being emptied. Across from the outlet mall is another regular shopping mall (both are serviced by a free trolley with frequent non-stop service). It was there, next to the K-Mart, that I spotted a Malasada truck. Tried both the regular and the ones with filling. Very similar to a Cantonese Dim Sum dessert. Would recommend, especially the ones with Haupia (coconut filling). For dinner, we went to Giovanni's shrimp truck. We went late so they only had the garlic flavored plates left. Just straight-forward tasty food in a simple setting (picnic tables under a bench). Would recommend but I'd also try different trucks & shops next time for shrimp plates.

 

4th day: Good bye North Shore, hello Waikiki. This was the day we were most worried about as we had 5 people's luggage and 1 rental car. Luckily the Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo came thru and just barely swallowed all of it allowing us to get to the pier in one trip. We first dropped off the folks (and everyone's luggage) to do their embarkation while we continued on, to make the most of our time on land. We next headed to Diamond Head to do the hike. Highly recommend. The views are great and it doesn't take that long (about 45 mins return trip for us with moderate crowds. Although note the posted park signs do recommend allowing 45 mins each way.) WARNINGS - wear proper shoes as the surfaces are uneven, avoid any extra 'baggage' as you should have both hands free to do this climb, for the claustrophobic there is a dark narrow tunnel near the top, for the elderly or those less fit there are two steep staircases, 1 spiral staircase, and 1 crevice in the journey. On the way down we saw people coming up that ranged from those in their 80s to Japanese tourists in fancy expensive shoewear to parents with strollers and parents with newborns (literally babies that were only a few weeks old). Don't let the level of effort deter you, just know what you're getting into and be prepared as possible, you'll enjoy the 'climb' so much more. The three of us headed back for embarkation after that.

 

This post is taking much longer to write than anticipated so I'll have to continue later.

[mbisson]

As we're on the Aloha in just under a month, I'm taking your review as a Christmas present.

 

I'm looking forward to the segments that follow!

 

thanks

-Monte

[Floppy McTurnriver]

I forgot to mention ... another reason why we stayed on the North Shore was I always wanted to see the giant surf waves you see in movies. And even though we were there during the period of the World Championships the waves were much, much smaller than I was expecting. I should have done more internet research on that first. Real shame - I would have loved to have seen first hand these monster waves.

 

Also, on the 4th day as we left North Shore, we passed thru Haleiwa to try the Shave Ice. Walked into both Matsumoto and Aoki. Ended up buying from Matsumoto (no particular reason). Once again the anticipation/expectation was greater than the end result. (No regrets as I like to try everything once for the experience). I'm sure it's the change in my tastebuds as I get older, but I found it too sweet for my taste. Next time I'll skip the ice+syrup part and just ask for the red beans and ice cream!

[whale-watcher]

Glad to hear you liked Turtle Bay...we are planning 4 nights there pre-cruise next week. Did you snorkel there?

[Floppy McTurnriver]

We wanted to snorkel there but the waters were pretty rough. I originally wanted to take my sister (non-swimmer) and father on their first time but changed my mind once I saw the waves.

 

I heard that snorkeling equipment is provided free for guests for a limited time each day. (but we had already brought our own)

[beachchick]

True that snorkeling/swimming on the north shore of Oahu in the winter is not a good (that is safe) idea much of the time. Summer is usually best for the north. I'm sorry you didn't see some of the monster waves. The truth is that all the research in the world wouldn't help all that much because the water conditions (and thus, the waves) are unpredictable. Still, it sure is beautiful up there at any time of the year.

 

We love the Economy Plus section on United planes. The reason it's not necessarily sold out is that Premier and higher members of United Mileage Plus can book seats those seats outright. Other (basic) members can switch to seats in the section at no cost if seats are available the day of their flight. That's what we've done several times. You have to check in and then go to the gate to ask if seats are available. Boy is that nice, especially for my 6-ft tall DH. On some flights when the section isn't very full, we've also received complimentary wine and a few other goodies. I think $54 is indeed a bargain for it. We'd pay that outright to be able to book seats in advance.

 

BTW, I would hope that no one will flame you for expressing your experiences and honest opinions. Mahalo for taking the time to post a detailed review.

 

beachchick

[whale-watcher]

I also appreciate the detailed information. We are still on the fence about the PCC...it sounds like a busy but educational day, and we might decide to spend the time hiking the grounds at turtle bay instead...

 

Did you speak with anyone who did the Turtle Bay luau by any chance?

 

Thanks

[Floppy McTurnriver]

Sorry don't know anything about the Turtle Bay luau.

 

On PCC - we went full tilt all day and could only fit in 6 of the 7 individual culture shows, IMAX, canoe pageant, dinner, and evening main show. We couldn't even begin to see all the individual displays and interactive activities that go along with each cultural island area. That's why they allow you to come back free within 3 days.

 

Some of the shows have performers that have been long time employees and those are really, really good. You can easily tell which these are. Some are done by students and these will be different season to season. I assume when you go to different luau shows, those will tend to be more permanent, professional theatre show performers. I'm a foodie, so my weighting will always be focused on the eating side. I'll gladly give up dance & music and drive further for better food (quality not quantity). But no regrets, if I didn't go to PCC at least once, I would always be curious about it no matter how many reviews I would have read about it. At $76pp (advance internet sale) for the Ali'i Luau package it's not expensive for an all day affair compared to cruise ship excursions.

 

So ... Turtle Bay or PCC ? ... don't worry ...it's win-win.