babsee101

While I will likely never do an extended port intensive cruise in Europe, or anywhere else, due to lack of time off and the absolute need to simply relax on our cruises, I can live vicariously through you and other cruisers who are so generous as to take the time to share their adventures. Thanks for your amazing review! I look forward to your next one  

I am going to have to say NCL. Dressing casual is important to us, so we prefer to stick with the lines that don't frown on it. While Carnival and NCL are similar in a lot of ways,  I really like the lack of constant annoying announcements (most of which you can't understand) that drive me crazy on Carnival. Still cruise Carnival because we live close to Galveston port and it fits our budget. Other that NCL and Carnival, I have only been on Princess. Very nice but at least back in 2005, not so casual.

Breeze with Magic a close second. I hate that the Breeze had to leave Galveston. Sailing Vista but not expecting to be wowed like before. They shrunk too many areas to make room for the pricey Havana area, including the spa area. Breeze had a fantastic spa!

My vacation does not begin until I have that first FunShip Special in my hand! 😍

following

Thanks to all fo rthe wonderful suggestions! I am honestly overwhelmed with all the amazing things to do and see, you have made it easier. Gonna have to keep the Hawaii time attitude in mind! :)

What do you like to do? Do you like to snorkel, go to the beach, see historical sights? I have a lot of suggestions for your incredible prize vacation, but my suggestions depend on what you like to do. Cherie

Anything really that is not too active such as climbing or hiking over uneven terrain. We do enjoy snorkeling, beach, taking in the local culture, historical sites are fine but we mostly we enjoy taking in breathtaking scenery.

What a great prize. I wish I have had such a generous employer!

 

Normally the all aboard time is 1/2 hour prior to sail away. Always look at the time to be back as you are leaving the ship.

 

Maui--you can drive to Lahaina or go to the Maui Ocean Center or drive to Paia to see some of the cute shops.

 

Hilo--Farmers Market (Corner of Mamo Street and Kamehameha Ave. Fun place to get a $10 aloha shirt! I think for a first timer, the VNP is a not to be missed, the area is sort of other worldly. Just drive around, you don't have to walk a lot.

 

Kona--Puuhonua O Honaumau National Park is very interesting. Also Hulihee Palace docent tours 10am & 1pm.

 

Kauai--Drive up to Hanalei and visit the Kilauea lighthouse on the way or drive to Waimea Canyon and go up to the end of the road where you can see part of the Napali Coastline.

 

First thing you should be doing is getting your rental cars. They do run out. www.discounthawaiicarrental.com is a great place to compare rates.

 

Overnight parking in Kauai and Maui is not real easy. In Maui, the best place is to rent from the airport agency. The best option is to park the car overnight at the airport for $13. You can take the rental agency shuttle back to the port and then back to the airport the next morning. We rented from Thrifty and there was an area with a walkway across the street from the airport lot to Thrifty. In Kauai, you can get a parking pass at Anchor Cove Shopping Center for $20. They have a shuttle to take you back and forth to the port.

Have fun, the cruise is amazing!!!

 

All awesome suggestions! Thanks. :)

Aloha!

Oops that should be 4/14/18.

I won this cruise for two at work and don't have a lot of time to plan. As of now this is what we have planned and what we need to fill in. There is a beach day before flying home at a beach hotel in Honolulu and a luau on Kauai paid for by my company.

Maui

Day 1 - Road to Hana Tour - Deluxe

Day 2 - Is there enough time to rent a car and if so what sights could we take in and be back to the ship 2 hours before sailing? Do you really need to be on the ship 2 hours before sailing?

Hilo

We thought about just using the Hoppa on Hoppa off bus and visiting Rainbow Falls, the Botanical Gardens and hang around town. Are we making a mistake not renting a car (or taking an excursion) and going to VNP? We are not able to walk a lot to see the actual lava fields, etc.

Kona

Is there enough time to rent a car and if so what sights would you recommend seeing so that we are back on the ship 2 hours before sailing? If not, any recommendations?

Kauai -

Renting a car for both days. What sights should we not miss? We do have a mandatory Luau (company paid) the first evening in Kauai. Not sure where.

Thanks in advance. :cool:

Can't see the pictures. :(

Hey Tracik, Great review!

It was a blast hanging out with you and K! I think I see our backs in one of your pics on the bar hop. Problem is, I don't remember ever sitting there. :eek: lol

B

Thanks everyone! I will give NCL a call.

If you appear as a married couple in your paperwork the bed will be a double, unless you get a steward like the one we had. She did them singly "That is the way I do them for couples your age"!!!!

 

Otherwise they will be separate.

 

They are used to remaking them and it won't be a worry.

 

Mike

Too funny! He or she will likely make them separate for us for the same reason. lol

Thanks for the info!

You can't.

So I have to wait until boarding and tell the steward to change it if it is not in the right configuration? That seems like a waste of time for the poor steward.

Hi,

I am new to NCL. For the life of me, I can not find where to select our bed configuration preferences for our upcoming cruise online. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks! :)

Girl, the people on this board don't know what they are missing! I would read any review you write because you could make a 7 day cruise on a beat up dingy a blast ... and look fabulous the entire time! I haven't hung out on RCL boards much but, first glance, it seems the in-depth cruise picture reviews are more common and popular on the Carnival boards. Also, just so you know, when I searched RCL board for GA Pearl nothing came up. I had to click on a link to this review on your signature on an older review on the Carnival board. Kind of a pain to find it for some reason.

Thanks so much for putting in the work to provide us with yet another excellent Ga Pearl review! I look forward to the next one!

Barb

PS - It's hard to believe you need braces? You have a beautiful smile. I guess your orthodontist knows best though. Hope they are getting more comfortable.

Maybe this has already been addressed on this thread. If so, I apologize. I thought the ships itineraries were rerouted so that they would not be anywhere near a hurricane.

Really enjoying your review so I think I will follow along! Thanks in advance for doing it. :)

Off to a great start! Thanks in advance for taking the time to write this review and to Patti for the great photos!

I would rank this right up there with my favorite reviews here on Cruise Critic! Thanks so much for taking the time to put it together. You have a knack for making one feel like they were right there with y'all!

Looking forward to your Vista review! :)

What a great way to spend a birthday! And girl, you looked fabulous on your special day!

I am super disappointed in your new friend Jason. How in the heck could he choose the casino over making a beautiful woman smile on her birthday? Not cool! :(

Yay! My favorite reviewer! Looking forward to more of your birthday cruise adventures on the Magic!

Hi Barb :) LOL!! I know what you mean. I'm still in the process of getting my pics off my camera to use the Free stuff I got from Pixels on another site.

 

Thanks for reading. BTW, I have not idea how to upload pics on here after the review is written. Tried everything and gave up.

Pictures must be on a host site to post here. I have found Facebook to be the easiest since I post my pics there anyway and it is a simple copy/paste procedure.

Open the pic on Facebook, right click on pic and select copy, and then right click in desired spot on post in Cruise Critic and select paste. Easy Peasy! :)

You are amazing Tawaik! Here you are writing a review and I haven't even uploaded my pics to that social media site that they prefer we not mention here! lol

Great job! :)

Barb

I know there is phone number that you can leave family to contact the ship in the event of an emergency. I can't seem to find it. Anyone have it?

Thanks! :)