debbeck

We will be in Kauai for a day and a half in July 2023.   I know we can get a car at the Lihue airpot but is there a car rental company for pick up near the port?  Any help appreciated.

Hi...we are going to be in Nawalwili for 2 days this Summer and would like to rent a car.   I don't know where to park overnight but I wonder if you might share where we can find a rental car in the area of the port ?  

Hubby and I returned recently from a cruise and land tour in Alaska.   We started the journey in Vancouver, Canada on August 31st.   Out trip was 21 days long so we were in Alaska and Canada through most of September.  It was beautiful and warm in Vancouver.  We had a 3 day cruise of the inside passage and then a stop in Juneau.   It rains much more than it has sunny days.   It was a bit misty but it cleared a little by the end of the day.   On to Skagway where we took a train ride .... again a bit misty and cool ( high 50's).   We then left that ship and headed to the Yukon Territory in Canada by Coach.   The weather was lovely!   The leaves were changing and we were able to see the Northern Lights at most of the stops.   Again high 50's but just a long sleeve and a light Jacket.    We had a 2 day  stop in Denali and saw the sun a bit.   It was probably the coolest of the temperatures ( 40's at night ) and just cloudy days but no rain.  Fairbanks and Anchorage had beautiful weather as well.  (high 50's/low 60's ).   The trip ended with a 7 day cruise back to Vancouver.   Lots of rain for our 2nd day in Skagway and pretty chilly too.   Juneau and Ketchikan were sunny and warm ( mid 60's ).  Overall, September has it's positives.   It is chilly sometimes and can rain sometimes but with Alaska, that can be at any month.   We saw lots of wildlife preparing for their hibernations in the winter, the changing leaves for the Fall season,  less crowds since the kids are back in school, and the Northern lights.  The negatives would be the cooler weather and the fact that the college students start to head back to school and we saw some of the places struggling with staffing.   But that is everywhere right now.    I vote for September travel ever time!    Hope this helped!  

Bottom-dragger

   I actually tried putting that in the forum search bar before I posted.   I didn't get any response.   I figured there would be a ton of interesting advice and other tidbits that I usually find on Cruise Critic.   

We are planning a trip to Alaska in 2022.   We love the balcony experience but noticed there is a Club Balcony on the Jewel.    Does anyone have any experience with this category that they would share?   Any other perks other than the extra room?   Just 2 of us on this trip.   

Hi....DH and I are interested in Alaska in 2022.  What time of the season is the best for a cruise and land tour?   Anyone with experience on Norwegian in Alaska?   Any advice helpful!  

We helped arrange a Meet and Greet on a Princess ship a few years ago. Cruise Critic didn't have anything to do with the communication. We contacted the cruise line and told them we were interested in having a meet and greet of Cruise Critic cruisers. Princess was new to the whole Meet and Greet gatherings....we got the feeling that they were not big supporters but Princess gave us the name of the contact person within their organization that would help organize the meeting. The M & G was announced in their daily newsletter. The Cruise Critic members made it fun. We had a pub crawl, a cabin crawl which included a game with cards to see who had the best poker hand at the end by picking up a card at each cabin we visited. And I think Princess set up a contest in the casino for us. There were no refreshments and no members of the staff arrived but we had fun meeting all the folks we had "met" on the CC board.

Maybe there is a person at Carnival that should be included in the communication to be sure it all comes together.

Thanks for the good advice.....I love Cruise Critic folks!

Hi....heading to Costa Maya on a Princess cruise in December and we are considering this port as the spot to see some of the Mayan Ruins. Can anyone share their experiences and let us know what tour companies you used. Thanks for the help!

Enterprise has an office near the port area in Houston but it is only open till noon on Saturday and not open at all on Sunday. Our Princess cruise in Dec. is a Sunday to Sunday itinerary. The biggest issue with Enterprise is that there is a $100 charge in additional to your rental fee for renting the car at the airport and dropping it at another office. A little steep for a one day rental! I would be interested to know if you find some other rental car company that has a better option. I even called a couple of hotels in the Port area and they knew of the Enterprise office close by. None of the hotels had rental car offices within their locations.

Beccaaz - what cruise line did you book this excursion with? We are using the Princess line to do this excursion in Dec. Our flight doesn't leave until 5:40 pm so we have plenty of time but I did notice the whole excursion is only 3 1/2 hours so it does mean we will have a short time at the NASA museum. I wish there was a way to just rent a car at the port area and return it at the airport but there are no services like that at the Seabook port that Princess is using in the Houston area. The excursion with transfers seemed the best option but it is not perfect.

Hi to all of you that are like me.....frustrated by the cost and availability of transportation in the Seabrook port area. I am reading that Princess is moving out of this port after Spring 2016 so maybe there is a reluctance to build the services at this time. DH and I are on the Dec. 6th Princess so I have been doing some research about transportation. I have looked into Super Shuttle. Their prices are better than taxis but I didn't find much flexibility for drop off areas close to the port. I wasn't sure if they would take you to a particular hotel based on the choice options on line. The cost for a ride from the airport was $77 for 2 people (one way). Taxis were much higher but offer more flexibility. Here are prices you can expect for taxi services to or from each airport:

Houston Hobby:

http://www.taxifarefinder.com/main.php?city=Houston&from=Bayport+Cruise+Terminal%2C+Samoth%2C+Seabrook%2C+TX%2C+United+States&to=Hobby+Airport%2C+Airport+Boulevard%2C+Houston%2C+TX%2C+United+States&fromCoord=29.610532,-94.99265300000002&toCoord=29.654107,-95.276614

George Bush International:

http://www.taxifarefinder.com/main.php?city=Houston&from=Bayport+Cruise+Terminal%2C+Samoth%2C+Seabrook%2C+TX%2C+United+States&to=George+Bush+Intercontinental+Airport%2C+North+Terminal+Road%2C+Houston%2C+TX%2C+United+States&fromCoord=29.610532,-94.99265300000002&toCoord=29.99022,-95.33678299999997

We considered renting a car but there are problems there. Enterprise has an office in Saybrook, the port area, but it is closed on Sundays completely and closes at noon on Saturdays. If you rent a car at a local office, there is an additional $100 charge for leaving the vehicle at the airport. So if you rent a car when you arrive at one of the airports, you'll have to return it to the airport or pay a hefty charge.

The cruise lines have the best deal but you are reliant on their time schedules. They offer very fair prices on the transfers and guarantee you on time arrival and departure. The Princess fare is $24 per person each way at this time. DH and I are arriving the day before our cruise and they only pick up and transfer passengers on the day of the cruise so we are stuck at a hotel at the airport unless we find alternate transportation. We are still researching options.....

Good luck to all. I hope this helps a little. I would be interested in other folks adventures.

DH and I booked the Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel. It's right on Waikiki Beach and is a resort. Huge pool, decorated like a Hawaiian Village…..thus the name! :) We booked on Bookings.com for $159 but we booked early! Never too early to book….there is no cancellation fee through this web site for cancellations up to 72 hours prior so you can cancel if you find a better deal. Be careful….some hotel booking sites do charge a booking fee. Also, many of the larger, beachfront hotels add hidden fees that are not quoted in the price. The Hilton Hawaiian Village adds a $30 per night "resort fee". We arrived Friday at 3:00 and left at 7:00 am next morning for a tour of Pearl Harbour that took us right up to the time we boarded the ship. We felt the fee was a waste for us but everyone gets charged the fee regardless of whether you have time to enjoy the amenities or not. The total bill which started at $159 was still slightly over $200 after fees and taxes but the location is superb! You can walk to the beach for dinner and shopping, etc.

We used JohnnyCab for our transportation from the airport. $25 flat fee and they are very responsive when you make the reservation. We were just 2 adults for $25 but they do have larger vans for larger groups and I believe it is still $25. Be sure to make a reservation. They will email you right back and answer any questions that you have. Or you can call. We found them on the cruise critic thread that was mentioned earlier. Good reviews. Hope this helps…...

Cruise Critic folks never let me down!! I have not cruised Norwegian for a while but I do remember the Freestyle Dailies. Many people have wondered about which night had the lobster/steak for dinner, the Frankie Vali show, the White Hot party, and many other things. These dailies will give an insight into what is ahead. buckeye82 - great link!

Thanks for the info everyone!

Thanks Silvercrikhix -

I just found that thread. I thought I really hit the jackpot but the poster has posted the dailies in such a format that they are unreadable. Maybe he will figure it out and post them again with a readable version.

With your info, I'll use the "search" to look for Dailies and see what I can find.

Thanks again!

I know I saw someone post the daily on board paper for the NCL Pride of America. If anyone can steer me in that direction, I would appreciate it. …..or does anyone know the name of the daily paper sent to the cabins each morning?

I wanted to add my experience to your inquiry. DH and I booked the POA almost a year ago. Our cruise is the end of this month. (Getting excited now!) We booked through an online discount travel service that we have used several times and always have good experiences. The prices were good with several perks (OBC, free dinner at a Premium restaurant, chocolate covered strawberries in the room, etc.) I watched the prices since we booked and the prices only went up until about 45 days prior to our sail date. It was a significant reduction….$500 for our cabin. I called the travel service and the agent told me that NCL would not refund any money since we had already paid the cruise in full when the final payment was due at 60 days 'til sailing. She did offer to call NCL to see what they would offer. We were given quite a cabin upgrade and a couple of additional perks. I informed the other cruisers on our roll call that I had noticed a drop in prices and related our good fortune with the upgrade. I heard back from several that they had called and NCL had graciously offered upgrades to them as well. No refunds of cash, as my travel agent had stated but everyone felt they had been treated fairly with the decrease of fares.

I guess it probably boils down to whether or not the ship fills as time approaches the sailing date. The more popular dates will most likely never lower the fares significantly. But, it is nice to know that NCL will listen to your concerns if the fares do go down after your booking. Secondly, find a good discount travel service! We shopped around many sites before we made our decision. We felt we had the very best price out there before we booked the cruise but continued to check the prices from time to time to be sure. Be sure to research on trip advisor.com the reputability of the travel service too.

The NCL Pride of America does have a great itinerary and I think we will all feel it is a value to see so much of Hawaii in such a short time. Good luck with your travels.

I thought I would put in my 2 cents worth here. We are going this year on the POA to see Hawaii for the first time. We have been to Europe a few times cruising and there is nothing to compare to seeing all the places in Europe you have heard about all your life in history books, etc. I know Hawaii is going to be amazing too.

We booked the trip almost a year out and booked a BD category balcony cabin level 9 mid ship for about $3300 dollars total (with taxes and port charges). We usually use a travel service and not book directly through NCL so the prices are always lower than NCL brochure prices. I watched the prices go up as the time got closer to departure but then about 45 days out, I noticed the prices dropped dramatically. I called my travel service and she told me that no funds would be refunded at that time since final payment is made 60 days before travel. She said she would call NCL for me to see if there might be an upgrade or OBC offered. They moved us to an SE suite category and included a dinner at a "pay" restaurant and a couple of other small perks. We live in Philadelphia and the airfare from Philly to Honolulu was coach class $747 and first class $1800 each. We booked the pre cruise hotel at Hilton Waikiki Beach Resort for 1 night at about $250 taxes included. It's right on the beach and the Friday night fireworks over Waikiki are in the harbor right in front of this hotel.

I have researched the ports extensively and have planned each stop. I would say that if you have already been to Hawaii, you might just want to rent a car at a couple of the islands and go see something that you didn't see on your last visit to the islands. Car rentals are easy and are $50 to $75 a day. You can look at this website to see what other excursions might cost. Adventureinhawaii.com We have booked several excursions through this company. They have information with each excursion for cruise ships passengers because they are aware of our time restrictions. We never book excursions through the ship….much more expensive! I would say that we will be spending less than $200 a day for each day while in Hawaii on excursions. I think our overall expense will be less than $6000 for our entire trip to Hawaii.

Europe cruises are great too. The killer there is the exchange rate for the USDollar vs. the Euro. Not as bad as it was but still a sting to the budget. The airfare is sure to be higher than the Hawaii airfares. Don't forget the cost of calling home….phones and internet is a pain while traveling outside the US. The Europe trip will be more expensive but IT'S EUROPE! We can't wait to see Hawaii but we are also looking forward to another opportunity to go see more sights in Europe. I hope this has helped a little with your decision. Have a wonderful time no matter which you choose. Sounds like a win-win situation!

We're on the April 26th sailing of the POA! Less than a month away and after the winter in Philadelphia, we're counting the days!

Thanks Solara,

How far from the port to find the Hop on Hop Off Bus? Walking distance? Easy to find?

Do you remember the cost of the daily Hop on Hop off bus? 2 adults wondering if renting a car would be smarter for the day?

i don't see the Eurodam

I have to agree with the Malaga suggestion. We had a time share in Malaga a few years ago. It is a very touristy beach destination but it is conveniently located within 1 to 2 hours of a lot of wonderful Spanish sights that should not be missed. We went to Granada and the Alhambra, Ronda, Seville, Marbella, Gilbraltar, and even a day trip across the Straits of Gibraltar to Morrocco. Malaga has food choices for all tastes because of all the tourists and very nice beaches. Rent a car...roads are great and you can see amazing sights in just a week! Have fun! We loved Spain!

(Malaga is about 500 miles, I think, from Barcelona so you would need to fly or go by train to get to the cruise)

Hi,

We will be traveling in May 2011 and would like to see Santiago. We arrive at the port of Vigo at 8 am and have to be back by 4 pm. Can someone recommend a tour company or guide in the area? Thanks for the help!