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Has any one been?
Is it really a wonderful destination?
How is it different to the Caribbean?
What's to do?
[ 06-07-2005: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]
Hilo has a lot of the 1850's frontier architecture.The black sand beaches and boiling pools are fantastic.
Loved having lunch at Kiluea Kuldera watching lava seep out.
One needs a week for the Big Island alone.
Honolulu is Miami Beach Pacific Northern Oahu is more interesting.
Kuaii is very beautiful with the rain forests and the Napali Coast.
Bruce has spoken about Maui. The Haleakela crater is quite spectacular, arid and totally silent like a desert. The drive up to 12000' is exciting. The Hana Highway is white knuckling. You make a mistake your dead.
Molokai is the old Hawaii and very undeveloped.
All through Hawaii is an incredible smell and the sounds of exotic birds.
Last visit November 1993
[ 06-08-2005: Message edited by: desirod7 ]
quote:Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:NCL are obviously been pushing this destination, but...Has any one been? Is it really a wonderful destination? How is it different to the Caribbean?What's to do?[ 06-07-2005: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]
Malcolm; One of my favorite hotels anywhere is the Hana Maui Resort on Maui. Check out there web page and you will see what I mean. It is located in a truly magical location. You literally feel the spirit of the island when you are there. I cannot explain it but native Hawaiians believe the area is very spiritual and when you are there you sense it as well. Of course as posted earlier, the road to remote Hana is incredible. Aviator Charles Lindbergh is buried past Hana off a very remote road as he loved Maui as well. The island of Kauai is where the movie Jurassic Park was filmed along w/many other films and is the wettest of the islands-over 500 inches of rain falls on her peaks every year making it one of the wettest spots on Earth. As David posted, Hawaii's geography can range from tropical rain forests to dry and desert like-most of it is lush and tropical though. Kauai is the oldest of the islands I believe while the big island-Hawaii is still growing with an active volcano supplying lava that creates new land daily. The majority of Hawaii's population live on Oahu where the capitol of Honolulu is located. It is the most diverse island IMO with high rise hotels and office towers in Honolulu and Pearl Harbor nearby. The beautiful North Shore of Oahu has famous beaches w/enormous waves perfect for surfing.
I have been there several times,on cruise ships ,and package fly /hotel deals.
Unlike the Islands of Tahiti that are protected by coral reefs, Hawaii is open to Ocean swells.
On two cruises we could not tender ashore at Lahaina due to the swells .
NCL seem to be mainly putting their faith in inter-island cruises, where passengers fly out to pick up the ship. What’s wrong with cruising to the Islands and back from the West Coast?
Are NCL’s Hawaiian cruises more expensive than cruising the Caribbean?
quote:Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:O.k. Two more questions:NCL seem to be mainly putting their faith in inter-island cruises, where passengers fly out to pick up the ship. What’s wrong with cruising to the Islands and back from the West Coast?Are NCL’s Hawaiian cruises more expensive than cruising the Caribbean?
Malcolm - we did this cruise twice - Rotterdam V in 1993 and Statendam in 1997. We loved the 4-5 sea days there and back again. At that time HAL did them from LA, but are now sailing out of San Diego.
Try it, you'll love it. Lots to see and lots to do. As the other posters have gone into more detail, I won't bother listing all the things we did. Suffice to say, if Peter were still alive, we would have done it again, but I just don't want to travel that far & for that long a period by myself anymore.
quote:Originally posted by sympatico:Try it, you'll love it.
Thanks. To be honest I have no plans to try it at present, but maybe one day. Hawaii is a bit of a trek from London, too.
I read somewher that they are going to test that market with the Pride of Hawaii when she is introduced next year.
quote:Originally posted by sympatico:We loved the 4-5 sea days there and back again. At that time HAL did them from LA, but are now sailing out of San Diego.
Wow, does it take 4-5 days to reach Hawaii?
I would not want to cruise Hawaii, but love to sail there from LA or San Fran, then only fly 5 hours to Phila reducing jet lag. My trip was a 13 hour flight one way, and a change in San Fran.
The ROC twins, QE2 or QM2 could do the trip in 4 days, A boxboat 5.
Then again I like sea days.
quote:Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:[QB]O.k. Two more questions: What’s wrong with cruising to the Islands and back from the West Coast?QB]
What’s wrong with cruising to the Islands and back from the West Coast?QB]
Well that's always nice.
quote:Originally posted by lebelty:I read somewher that they are going to test that market with the Pride of Hawaii when she is introduced next year.
If you want to see a lot of Hawaii in a limited amount of time, or you're on a budget (and most people are constrained by both) than the NCL 7 day cruises are wonderful.
I sailed aboard Pride of Aloha's first Hawaii voyage and it was my first time to Hawaii. I was awe-struck by the natural beauty of the islands, the warmth of the people and was amazed by the history and culture. Simply incredible!
The greatest advantages to the inter-island cruise are that you hit the highlights of Hawaii in a week's time with two days in Kaui, two days in the big island of Hawaii and two days in Maui. The distinct advantage here is that you have ample opportunity to explore these islands without having to island-hop. Hopping between islands is an arduous task and not cheap!
Add to that, Hawaii is an extremely expensive destination. Had I stayed on land in Hawaii and eaten the same caliber of meals that I had onboard (of which 25% were excellent, 25% very good, 25% good and 25% OK) it would have easily cost double the price of the cruise - even before factoring in inter-island flights.
The itinerary I did was this:
Day:
1: Fly Fort Lauderdale - Newark - Minneapolis - Honolulu. Long flights but we arrived in Honolulu around 3 pm local time and had the afternoon and evening to relax, unwind and stroll Waikiki Beach. Did a pre-cruise package with NCL at the Marriott and it was very nice
2: Relax and sightsee around Honolulu, had brunch at the Royal Hawaiian (MAGNIFICENT but expensive. Breakfast/Brunch for two was $60 plus tip, no alcohol). Spent the balance of the day relaxing at the pool
3: NCL transfer to POA, boarded at Noon, attended the christening and spent the afternoon sightseeing around Honolulu again. Dinner in the Palace Restaurant - very good.
4: Kaui - did a zodiac trip down the Napali Coast. WOW-what a trip! Had dinenr a plantation house that was simply beyond compare!
5: Kaui - sightseeing at leisure for the morning and returned to the ship at noon - had a wonderful massage. SPent the afternoon relaxing on my balcony as we sailed the Napali Coast. Dinner in Le Bistro - excellent!
6: Hilo - took an excursion and climbed over 13,000 feet to the summit of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. Dinner in Kahili - excellent!
Day 7: Kona - exhausted after days Kaui and Hilo, wandered around Kona, had a magnificent lunch on the water and just relaxed and 'soaked up' Hawaii. Dinner in Pan Pacific - excellent!
Day 8: Maui: Hired a driver who took us all over Maui; spent a lovely afternoon in quaint Lahaina. Did the NCL Sunset Luau excursion that evening - every first time tourist has to do this.
Day 9 Maui - VERY active day in Lahaina. Dinner in the Crossings restaurant - very good!
Day 10: Honolulu. Disembark - boo, hiss!! Spent the day in Honolulu, post cruise package and did Pearl Harbor. Took the red-eye from Honolulu to Minneapolis.
Day 11: Wake up in Minneapolis and fly to Fort Lauderdale.
Probably my most memorable vacation to date! And I needed two days to veg out and relax around my pool after I got home. I felt like I had done enough touring and activities to fill three weeks, but it was an exhilirating vacation!
Despit the initial service gaffs and guffaws of Aloha's introduction, I give NCL high marks for food and service and overall, I'd give it 3 1/2 stars. Was it perfect? NO! Was it worth it? YES!
Would I go again? In the blink of an eye!
I imagine that with all of their hard work, NCL has brought the ship up to a 4-star level now and I'm hearing very good things from returning pax. Sounds like they've made great progress.
Tim
[ 06-14-2005: Message edited by: Tim in 'Lauderdale ]
On our APL passenger ships, when we were about at the spot, we used to tell the pax that they were at the place on the surface of the earth that was the furthest from any land. And, as mentioned by another CTer, that spot is halfway between the U.S. West Coast and Hawaii.
Our schedules, on 21 knot ships, were also 5 day crossings, San Francisco or Los Angeles to Honolulu.
As many have said, Hawaii is a great place and I think NCLA is going to be in the "cat bird seat" with their "monopoly" on the service. I do think that it makes sense for them to have a ship or two in the inter-island service and maybe one on the U.S. West Coast "transpacific" service. Offering the variety of inter-island and transpacific routes should be great for them.
Also, they really took notice of their failings in the service area. They and the union established a training facility at Barbours Point, Hawaii, as well as additional work at the union school in Maryland, and the big rumblings of discontent have abated and good reviews are being reported. (Thanks, Tim)
Lets just hope that the islands don't get totally overrun with thousands of visitors from too many ships in one port at a time.
Jerry
quote:Originally posted by desirod7:There is too much to see on Hawaii and absorb it on a one day bus tour of any island. One is best off in a rented car, guidebook, and maps. The most interesting stuff is off the beaten path.I would not want to cruise Hawaii, but love to sail there from LA or San Fran, then only fly 5 hours to Phila reducing jet lag. My trip was a 13 hour flight one way, and a change in San Fran.The ROC twins, QE2 or QM2 could do the trip in 4 days, A boxboat 5.Then again I like sea days.
I think we did the 'crossing' in three days from Ensenada to Hawaii in the late 1980s. As I recall we were averaging 28-29 knots all the way over. I liked the trip so much, I did again the following year Cunard offered it.
quote:Originally posted by desirod7:There is too much to see on Hawaii and absorb it on a one day bus tour of any island.
I’m sure that you are right, but this applies to many cruise destinations, especially cities such as Rome, or the Baltic States.
However, I’d rather spend a day in these places than not go at all!
quote:Originally posted by Tim in 'Lauderdale:I sailed aboard Pride of Aloha's first Hawaii voyage and it was my first time to Hawaii.
Disregarding the service issues, what was the ship like Tim?
quote:Originally posted by lasuvidaboy:I think we did the 'crossing' in three days from Ensenada to Hawaii in the late 1980s. As I recall we were averaging 28-29 knots all the way over. I liked the trip so much, I did again the following year Cunard offered it.
In 1989, QE2 sailed from Ensenada to Honolulu via Kona, Lahaina in 6 days.
QE2 was scheduled to depart from Ensenada on February 20th / December 15h and arrive on February 26th / December 21st, respectively.
quote:Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:Disregarding the service issues, what was the ship like Tim?
Perhaps I could answer that question just as well? I'm not trying to be pushy- but I'd like to put in a few good words for POA. She is a nice ship with no major wear that I noticed, though she does retain a few of her Norwegian Sky interior. The exceptions are the Blue Hawaii, colorful and complete with "Elvis" at the entrance -a little loud, but a fairly nice area- and the Kumu [sic?] Culture Center. The culture center is something else. Not only does it have a suprising number of artifacts from the Polynesian culture- but also tons of Matson posters and relics, as well as some remnants of early Post War tourism- lap guitars and the like. Really a nice area to have a look around. The photo gallery also has no shortage of Matson posters, which I enjoyed photographing, though not very well, if I recall correctly. Also changed are the atrium and the Outrigger Lounge. The Outrigger Lounge was a favourite area of mine. It was a nicely decorated room- deep blue with "Outrigger canoes" hung from the ceiling and faux (I assume) wood. But the real treat about that area were the panaromic windows- and the observation area. The best thing about the observation area was that it was always relatively empty, until it was mentioned as a spot for ideal volcano viewing! It is a view to be appreciated at times, however- though very windy at speed with some gusts. The resturaunts, believe it or not, were mostly unchanged. Crossings is identical except for some paintings, pictures, and ornaments and I do not believe that the other main (Palace, I think) resturaunt was changed much more than that- though I can't back up that statement with photographs to prove it.
Oahu :Honolulu-- Beach and aquarium,shopping(take the bus to the big Mall there)- better prices than Waikaki.Pearl Harbor Arizona MemorialPolynesian Cultural center.
Hawaii: VolcanoesMacadamia Nut Factory
Maui: Halakala CraterBike it if your up for that --it's all downhill on special bikes.Water sports-para sailing.
Kaui: Fern Grotto, Waiaima Canyon, Bali Hai area.This island is the wetest on earth with over 700in. of rain in the mountains.Lot's of movies made on this tropical paradise.Princeville is nice. My favorite island.Excuse my spelling on some words.F4
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