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I actually just discovered a third tea plantation in Hilo that might work better. It is the Big Island Tea. They don't have a lot of reviews but they are definitely closer so it might work better for timing wise.

I was thinking of doing VNP in the morning and then doing the tea plantation afterward. How much time should I budget for VNP? I'd like to do Crater Drive and the Lava Tubes. The Tea plantation tour is 2 hours. Is it possible to see Rainbow Falls on the way back or should I skip it? Thanks!

Hello! My husband and I will be on the Celebrity Solstice on Sept 22. We will be stopping at Kona for the day and then Hilo for the next. We plan to rent a car in both ports.

I would really like to see a tea plantation in one of those two ports. In Hilo, the Onomea Tea Company got good reviews and it is not too far from the port. The problem is I know Volcano National Parks was also highly recommended, and it is south of the port (whereas the tea plantation is north). I'd like to do both if possible. Do you think this is doable without completely rushing through VNP? I'm okay with sacrificing some stuff but I know it's a bit of a drive to get out there.

We are also going to Kona. There is another highly recommended tea plantation (Mauna Kea Tea) but they are over an hour away. I'd also like to stop by a coffee farm, although I know there are tons in Kona and they are close to the port (any recommendations? we were considering Hula Daddy) . I also heard good things about the macademia nut farm there (Hamakua Macadamia Nut Co), although it is a bit of a drive from the port. It's somewhat on the way to the tea farm. Not sure if it's worth the hassle, and definitely not sure if I end up skipping the tea farm.

Any advice?

Real easy to park overnight. Google since the lots/prices can change.

 

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Thanks for all your help. I went ahead and booked in Kona at the Hertz location you mentioned since I have points.

Is there a Hertz location in Hilo I can use too?

We pick the car up at Hertz at the Courtyard Marriott (King Kamehameha) which is literally at the pier. Like any tender port, there is always the possibility of delays or even cancellation of the port but that shouldn't much affect renting a car.

Thanks! We overnight in Lahaina/Maui and I was trying to figure out what to do with the car when we're done. I heard the rental offices close early. Can we just do after hours drop off? I know we can park it overnight too. How easy is that?

I heard renting a car in Kailua/Kona is tricky because of the tender. Is that not true?

I didn't find it scary at all. If anything I found it totally overrated. Maybe I'm jaded by driving the sea to sky highway regularly. It can be lengthy as it's quite narrow over a lot of one lane bridges but I never found it scary.

Did you do it or yourself or do it with a tour company?

Wanted to do the road to Hana but I heard it is a really scary drive and you are better off just having professional transportation.

Hello,

Going on the Anthem in a couple of weeks on Oct 6 for the New England cruise. Trying to decide when the best time to book a Wonderland reservation would be for since I know it will take a while. I do not want to miss the live band music trivia.

If anyone knows of any compasses for this itinerary or has any insight that would be great!

Thanks for these reviews. I'm considering doing the Anthem in September with a very similar itinerary. I've been to a few of these places but not all.

Crazy there was a line to get back on the ship in Boston!

Thanks both for your suggestions. I did go to Vancouver a couple years ago in October and I really liked the colors. But then again I'm from Florida where we have nothing.

How cold would it be September 24? I am thinking about doing that Celebrity Infinity cruise and just getting off in Victoria and staying overnight, per Putterdude's suggestion. How does that work exactly? I've only ridden cruises until the very end. Do you have to notify someone beforehand so they're not waiting around for you?

Another option I am considering is scrapping the cruise entirely and trying to drive the PCH, take the train to Vancouver, and then head on over to Victoria - although I worry that might be too much to cram in a week.

Hello! I've been wanting to go to Victoria for quite a while, and I have some Southwest points I need to use (so I can't just fly directly to there or Vancouver). Originally I was planning to fly into Seattle and take the ferry to Victoria. However, I've been also looking at cruises. I've heard Victoria is gorgeous at night. And because of that, there are a couple that jump out at me.

One is the Celebrity Infinity, leaving Sept 18. It is in Victoria from 1-10PM so plenty of time to see it at night. It's also during fall when I would get to see colors. I know this is not necessarily a good time to go to the gardens. It's RT out of Vancouver though, which would cost a little more getting to and from. If I did this, my plan was to fly into Seattle, take the Cascades train to Vancouver up. And then on the way back maybe just do a bus?

The other option I was looking at is the Crown Princess. This leaves at the end of April, so no fall colors. How is the garden at this time? It's in Victoria from 8-midnight though so I get a little more time. Definitely better deals to be had too, although I've been on Princess many times before. Goes to Astoria too which sounds fun. I could take the Vancouver rail back to Seattle since it ends in Vancouver.

The other non-cruise option I was looking at was flying into LAX, taking the scenic rail all the way up to Vancouver, and then going to Victoria from Vancouver. I'd get more time in Victoria, although I'd have hotel costs to worry about too (and food). And I'm not sure how much time I really NEED in Victoria.

How good is the scenery on the way up from San Fran when cruising? Is it just boring water or will I see mountain ranges? I like the idea of cruising in and out of the Golden Gate.

Thanks!

Does Blue Kay have wifi by chance? This seems like the cheapest and easiest option since I might just sleep in that day and slowly make my way to the port.

Hello! I saw that several places in Mahahual offer bike rentals, so I was thinking of taking a taxi there (maybe to Blue Kay) and renting a bike for a couple hours and riding around the island. First, outside of the cost of the bike, will I have to pay anything to get in? Or will I just be required to buy food? I was confused on if a day pass is required.

Thanks!

It's your 30th Birthday.... don't cheap out. Go for it!!!!

 

Why not do a scuba diving intro? Splurge a little. You deserve it.

Haha, well now that you mention it I was kinda looking at a dolphin swim. Any opinions about that?

I will be spending my 30th birthday in Cozumel since that's where my ship docks. We just went to Cozumel in October and did a private cab ride that included the chocolate tasting, two bars on the Wild Side, tequila tasting, and the fish pedicure. I'll be doing snorkeling in Honduras, so I don't necessarily have to do it in Cozumel. Considered the Brew Bus, but I don't want to drink heavily and I didn't want to spend all that money.

Any ideas for relatively cheap things we could do to celebrate? It'll just be me and my boyfriend. Preferably something that doesn't involve heavy amounts of alcohol.

Thanks for the tips.

Does anyone have any recommendations on whether I should do the all day snorkel with a stop at Lobster City? Or just do the Lobster City snorkel with a visit to the Iguana Park and The View (whatever that is).

I ate at the chef's table on the Vision earlier this month. We had the menu first posted in this link, but someone had been before and had the menu you just posted. We were told they have an A and B menu. It wasn't a popular thing to do on our cruise, they held it 2 evenings. My advice would be to wait until you are onboard and ask about the menu. We weren't going to go, but ended up getting a deal we couldn't pass up. It was a lovely evening and hopefully Maxi will still be there!

Thanks for your response. Can you explain how you got a deal you couldn't pass up? And what they offered? Also, are you diamond or any special status? I am lowly gold.

I did see lots of good reviews on TA, but I didn't see any reviews here which made me a little concerned :-/

I asked the tour guide of ROA about the iguana stew and this is what he said: "The iguana stew is hard to get most restaurants doesn't have iguana on their menu. And it's usually tough to find them with it on the menu(it's agains the law to hunt iguanas). "

Aww was kinda hoping I would find them a little easier.

Wanted to bump this because I have a cruise on the Vision coming up in January, but the Chef's Table menu is a little bit more disappointing than other offerings I've seen.

These are the 5 courses they are offering me:

Spinach and Ricotta Blini

With graved lax and smoked halibut

Soup Trio:

Sunchoke cream, asparagus consommé,

tomato soup with basil foam

Miso Brushed North Atlantic Black Cod

Sautéed baby cor n, bok choi, parsnip purée, candied

meyers lemon and carrot buerre blanc

Yorkville Highlands, California Pink Roasted Beef Tenderloin*

Black truffle spaetzle, asparagus, yellow baby

carrots, and port wine reduction

Orange Crunch Parfait

With mascarpone fruit zabaglione

Chilled Disaronno, Amaretto Liquor

---

Is that what other people experienced? And if I asked, do you think it's possible to change out an entree to a previous one I've seen at another chef's table?

Hello. I was thinking of snorkeling lobster city via Roatan Ocean Adventures, but I couldn't really find any information about Lobster City. Has anyone done it via a snorkel?

Also, I've heard about igauana stew and I was interested in trying it. Does anyone know where you can get it close to the port?

Looking forward to our cruise on Vision next month - first RCCL and first Aft! Did you do any specialty dining?

Booked an aft as well. Are you on the Jan 31 cruise, perhaps? This is not my first aft, but prepare to be spoiled by the size of the balcony.

This is sooooooo helpful. Considering going on the same cruise on the Vision in late January. THANK YOU for scanning the programs too. I was looking for current ones of these.

Thinking of biting the bullet on an aft balcony on Vision of the Seas as well. Did they have lounge chairs on the balcony since you had more space? How were the beds?

I - too - am considering sailing on the Vision. I am deciding between that and the Disney Fantasy. Both are roughly the same price for a balcony. The Disney Fantasy is a better ship, but the Vision seems to have better ports that week (Fantasy is San Juan and St. Marteen vs. Vision's Hondorus, Belize, and Mexico). I also get some minor perks with my Mlife status.

We just did the Disney Wonder so I am thinking maybe I should switch it back to RCCL.

Any thoughts?

Glad you had a good day and managed to do most of what you wanted to do. Glad the rain wasn't too bad in the end!

Yess! The nice part about a private driver was that we could change our itinerary on the fly. So since it was raining when we started out, we decided to do some indoor tequila tasting to wait out the rain.

We did the tequila tasting at the Pee Pee Station.

We did get a little more rain at Coconuts but it wasn't too bad. Definitely didn't ruin the whole day :)