charliemikeoh

33 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

There are many “lives” from Hawaii. Funny, I just drove into town today, and there sat the Crown Princess in Honolulu Harbor. 
 

It will be a little early for whale watching. Usually best in January or February. 
 

Food?  So many different cultures.  Stay away from the chains and explore the unusual.  Skip the luau and eat at Helena’s in Honolulu. 
 

And research, research, research.  Lots of free or low cost activities.  What are your interests:  history? cultural? outdoors? strenuous?

 

Highly recommend renting a car.  Today, it only took me 35 minutes to drive 10 miles.  Traffic can be ridiculous. 

We're old souls.  Like to see the off-the-beaten-path "real" parts of the places we visit.  Places that the locals love and appreciate; not the touristy spots necessarily, though Pearl Harbor is a must for our nation's history (and probably a volcano on another island since we've never seen one of those).  We prefer outdoors; physical but not "strenuous."  We also like to eat the national/native dish of wherever we visit.

1 hour ago, karatemom2 said:

 

Great advice! Here is the link:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/37-hawaii/

 

Renting cars in the ports is a great suggestion - we did that often on our trips as there is a lot to see and easy to access with your own vehicle!

Thank you for the link!

49 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

In Honolulu, we found the lowest car rental prices at the airport.  We take an Uber there and back.

Interesting!

1 hour ago, Essiesmom said:

Have you done any reading on the Hawaii board under Ports of Call?

Didn't even know about this.  Someone posted the link below.  Thanks!

We're planning a trip to Hawaii on the Ruby or Grand in winter 2024.  Three adults.  What are the best things to do and eat in each of the ports?  Any MUST DO excursions?

2 hours ago, mtnesterz said:

This!

There are other teams, but to our impression, Elua is preferred. They are on the Crown until April '24. They do post here, so seek out their schedule.

Seems like lately on this board, posters only care about the ship. I still hold the destination is your vacation and the immersion team makes those long sea days, which you will have either port, a treat. The rest is detail.

What is a Hawaiian Cultural Ambassador?  What (or who?) is Elua?  Intrigued!!!

Booking our first Hawaiian cruise.  Some members have posted about Hawaiian Cultural Ambassadors.  What is that and where do I learn more???

1 hour ago, Coral said:

I have not been on Ruby (but have been on her identical sisters). I would choose the Grand for having less passengers, feeling less crowded and also for having a covered swimming pool.

 

Grand would definitely be my choice. I have also had excellent service on the Grand on my last cruises on the ship.

I thought the pool on Grand was covered but when I investigated more, it looked like it wasn't.  That's a consideration ... but so is sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge.

26 minutes ago, karatemom2 said:

We have cruised to Hawaii from Los Angeles four times, once on the Grand. It’s a great cruise. We have also sailed several times on Princess ships out of San Francisco to Alaska, including on the Ruby. 
 

We like cruising out of LA because we live an hour away, but there is nothing particularly special about it unless you plan on spending a few days doing the Hollywood and Disney thing. The Grand is a nice ship and we have some lovely memories on her, but she is also the oldest ship in the Princess fleet and showing age.   
 

The Ruby is a beautiful ship and ten years newer than the Grand. San Francisco is an amazing port for departure - sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge is truly an unforgettable experience. 
 

Since you are flying in, either destination would likely be equally convenient. So with all that being the case, if cost and itinerary are comparable I would definitely recommend the Ruby out of San Francisco. 

We don't do Disney or Hollywood ... but sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge --- that sounds AMAZING!!!

Hello.  We are looking to book a Hawaiian cruise on Ruby out of San Francisco or Grand out of Los Angeles.  Pros and cons of both ships and ports, please?  What should a first-time Princess mariner know?

9 hours ago, Roz said:

 

I have no children. 😁  Your children aren't typical, but it's nice that you're able to enjoy family time together without cell phones and video games. 

Roz, our children are definitely not typical of today's youth (sadly, for this country, though our country would be wildly overpopulated if more children were so enjoyable!).  I am a counselor; our family ministers to families who have adopted children with severe emotional and behavioral disturbances.  We take one child into care here at a time to try and salvage his or her adoption.  The biggest asset we have in ministry is our own healthy teenagers, who model respect for authority and responsibility with chores, for the child we take into care here.  We all work hard ... and we enjoy the peace, quiet, and REST when we are able to get it!  Three hot meals a day here around a dining room table, every board game made, and lots of laughter.  Tragic more families don't enjoy their children, too.  Be blessed!

5 hours ago, Roz said:

With children 7-17, I don't know that a small quiet ship is going to fit the bill.

I don't know about your children but MY children would be wholly content and delighted.  They started sailing with us when they 2-5 years old each.  First cruise with them was on the MSC Lirica, which is a little bigger than the Veendam.  It was our favorite experience thus far.  We live a very quiet, private life with no TV or electronics and enjoy each others' company.

We just finished our first HAL cruise, a week on the Nieuw Amsterdam.  Already looking to book our next.  Because I work for a large university, we can only really travel from about 12/12/20 to 01/10/21.  We travel with four of our youngest children(ages 7-17)  and usually bring one or two extra with us, so cost is definitely a factor. We LOVED Half Moon Cay.  We don't like the itinerary on the Nieuw Amsterdam the week we are looking at (alas, no HMC!); none of us have ever been to any of the ports that the Veendam will sail to that week (Trujillo Honduras, Costa Maya Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize).  We prefer smaller, quieter, more intimate ships.  We don't smoke though and really appreciated not having to walk through a smoky casino on the HAL-NA.  Our children don't need any activities to be entertained.  Veendam has some very bad reviews.  That isn't always truth, so we're looking for feedback.  We just had four interior cabins on the Verandah deck of the Veendam held.  Not sure if that was a good plan or not; we have a day or two to decide...

Sailing HAL Nieuw Amsterdam in Fall of 2019.  Are there any theme nights (i.e., 70s, white, Caribbean)?  TIA

We're sailing on this same itinerary 01/10-01/20.  Looks like only two "elegant" (i.e., gala) nights?  MSC's website says three, and I called to confirm and was advised three.  Grr!

How frustrating.  I decided to upgrade to the Classic (booked in July with DOU promo).  Can't do it.  No notice to us that this option would be closed.  Not happy they can change the terms without notice.  We have the brochure with the options from our booking!

Thank you, CTBob.  We sincerely disliked Darrin in May of 2017. We miss Andre!

Who is the current activities director, too, please?  Sailing on the Divina next month.

We just got off of the Divina yesterday and are already ready to re-book! Looking to book two cabins for a total of six persons (including two adults and four children). Want balcony cabins this time. Need either two triples or a double and quad. Would consider best options for neighboring cabins (including one of the aft balconies, near a side balcony, or two adjoining cabins). What are our best combination options? It will be our 6th time on MSC and we are all very quiet, so prefer quieter areas with less traffic. No mobility issues at all, we are all very comfortable navigating the ship, and have no adverse issues with motion. Were in interior cabins on deck 13 way up front by the bridge last week; had the best cabin steward ever! Thanks in advance.

We're the opposite. We won't ever sail another cruise line, after sailing on the MSC. Sailing next week on the Divina. We prefer smaller ships, so this will be interesting. But we also prefer the quieter, less-party, more-refined atmosphere. I am convinced that there are professional trolls who post negative reviews (NOT referring to anyone on this thread). The first year we sailed on MSC (2008), we found some *horrific* reviews that terrified us. By then, 23 of our family members were booked to join us, because of the super pricing. We decided to go ahead and keep our booking, figuring we'd still have a good time together even if all we had was staled crackers and water. It was the best cruise we had had to date. The ship was pristine; the food and the service was superb. Our only complaints are about some of the passengers who were rude to us, other passengers, and crew members. We're already looking toward a January 2017 sailing, and we haven't even left for this upcoming one. Best cruises we've had (total of 18) were all on MSC.

Tom, we are interested in hiring a driver. There are a total of ten of us (five adults and five children) --- can he accommodate us all?