southerngirl528

I have always had my servers be able to meet most requests by myself, my family, or table mates. In my experience they will bend over backward to try and get you what you want within reason.

I would recommend you take a taxi from Lahaina to Ka'anapali Beach. It's a super short drive and the fare should be modest.

There are numerous operators along Ka'anapali Beach that offer beach rentals, snorkeling equipment and surf lessons. You don't say if you are experienced surfers or are wanting to learn. If you're wanting to learn, I have watched surfers and beginning surfers many, many times during our month-long stays on Maui at the Marriott Maui Ocean Club. There is an area right between Napili Tower at the above resort and Ka'anapali Ali'i Condos where small waves are often breaking. Emphasis on small but the surfers seem to have a great time.

I agree that the area around Black Rock in front of the Sheraton is a popular snorkel spot but also has nasty currents around the point so that area is especially to be avoided. AstroFlyer knows Maui well so I would heed their advice. Kahekili Beach at the north end of Ka'anapali has better snorkeling as reported by many but your time is so limited that I don't recommend you try to get there.

I love Astro's recommendations for Whalers Village and the beachfront restaurants, Hula Grill and Leilani's. GREAT views from both!

I've been to both OLL and their sister luau, Feast at Lele on Maui. These are both excellent you won't find glittery "grass" skirts or corny emcees there. The dancers are wonderful as are their costumes. If one wants historic accuracy and a snapshot of Hawaiian (OLL) or Polynesian culture, either of these cannot be beaten IMHO. Not saying there aren't other great luau out there, just saying I don't think anyone would argue that there are none better. I understand the PCC on Oahu does a very nice luau as well.

Fire dancers ARE included at Feast at Lele as it is a Polynesian luau.

I've heard good things about Drums of the Pacific on Maui, but as someone that has spent a few months on Maui, I honestly don't remember ever hearing much about Chief's. And please take Trip Advisor's reviews with a little grain of salt. I'm a big fan of that site and visit it often, but if you look at the top hotels on Maui or anywhere else, sometimes you will be very surprised to see some little known places listed as a "top" hotel…. I find it better to search for reviews embedded in the actual forums rather than the Reviews themselves. Hope that made sense.

Oooh, I LOVE Martin & MacArthur!!! They are one dangerous store to shop…. I can't resist them. No major purchases there yet, but one day…… one day one of those magnificent Koa wood rockers is going to be shipped to my house!!! :D

I can't imagine this store offering anything less than quality merchandise. I would call them and ask what the warranty is on their watches. I've seen them and they are beautiful. Happy shopping!!

I agree. We've rented through DHCR several times and have had zero problems. As said, you're actually renting from major companies, so it's no different really except you often get that free extra driver or 2. They are great people to work with and I highly recommend them or CostcoTravel.com if you are a member. Very similar great pricing and free drivers most of the time. Just be sure to READ before you book to see if it includes the extra driver.

I absolutely agree that most Hawaii hotels do not sell day passes but I have read on another major travel site I frequent that the Westin Hotel next door to Whalers Village on Ka'anapali Beach does occasionally sell day passes IF there is availability considering occupant that day. It would be worth a call. Please know I am talking about the Westin HOTEL not the Westin Villas at the north end of Ka'anapali Beach.

We spend a few weeks on Maui every other year and own at the Marriott Ocean Club. I do know there are some 3rd party vendors on Ka'anapali Beach that offer beach or casabella rentals as well as umbrella rentals. So that's a possibility as well perhaps? All beaches in all of Hawaii are public beaches. There are NO private beaches.

Since the OP's question is about grown-ups on DCL, I'll weigh in. DH and I have each sailed RCCL separately. We both agree it was nice. But we both agree the DCL is a cruise we LOVE. We love the adult areas which we find very enjoyable, we love the great customer service and the ships are gorgeous! Others have mentioned some of the adults only areas. We especially love the adults only beach on Castaway Cay and the adults only restaurants onboard. Truly lovely!

We have sailed on DCL several times with no kids, and we have sailed WITH our kids. It's awesome either way!

As for a 3 day cruise, if that's what you can do and it's FREE, heck! Do that 3 day cruise and enjoy!!! Sometimes a 3 day is the only thing that will work for a variety of reasons….vacation time, kids school schedules, budget, you name it. There's something for everyone. Have fun!

Punkincc, I did another post on that thread to let you know where those restaurants are.

Gazebo and Sea House are in Napili, Maui, which is north of the Ka'anapali resort area, pretty close to Kapalua. Views from both of these restaurants are truly fabulous with Gazebo being more oriented toward Moloka'i. These are both great breakfast places but with the Gazebo you need to get there early and line up as it is a very tiny place.

Star Noodle and Tamura's are mauka (toward the mtns) across from the Cannery Mall. Both are pretty close to the top of that industrial type area. And the Lahaina Farms Foodland is right across Honoapi'ilani Hwy from the Cannery Mall.

Aloha Silver Sweethearts,

First, what a lovely compliment coming from an experienced traveler like yourself! Mahalo! And secondly, I LOVE the idea of this thread! Let's see if I can add one or 2 more for "our" beloved Maui:

Paia Fish Market has already been mentioned in the other thread but we LOVE it. Definitely in the "un-fancy" realm. :D Lulu's in Lahaina at the Cannery Mall has very good breakfast with amazing cinnamon rolls we have had some really bad service there a couple of times. Leoda's Pie Kitchen in Oluwalu (which is mauka/toward the mountains on the highway into Lahaina) is quite yummy. Especially their little pies and au gratin potatoes! And their fried brussel sprouts salad! I know, sounds weird and I LOATHE brussels sprouts, but that salad is pretty good!

ANd the Krispy Kreme Doughnuts right across from the Maui Coscto, right on your way leaving the OGG airport, has some very fun local tee shirts you wouldn't be able to get anywhere else. Pretty cute. And those evil doughnuts…. mmmmm.

Aloha again punkincc!

Every Costco I've ever visited has a good sized gift card section. I often check costco.com to see what gift cards they might have that my local store does not. And when in Hawaii I have found they will have at least a couple of gift cards from local places I have not seen online. When we are on island I pop in and take a look to see.

The Roy's I mentioned is the one on the Ka'anapali golf course on Maui. It's a short walk from our TS on Maui and we LOVE it. Great staff, great food and drink and some good prices at lunch. The Gazebo and Sea House are both on Maui. Sea House is on Napili Bay ( so it has truly gorgeous views!) at the Napili Kai resort in Napili (north of the Lahaina and Ka'anapali area) and the Gazebo is pretty close, just a bit more north as I recall. Can't recall off the top of my head what little resort it is in. The Gazebo is very popular and has amazing view toward Moloka'i and it is TINY. So you have to be there very early and line up if you don't want a huge wait. Portions are ginormous! Especially if you get a full order of the breakfast fried rice. DH got the full order despite my warning him I had heard on TA it is HUGE. It was laughably huge!! So huge he pigged out and still had enough leftover that he literally had it for breakfast at the condo for the next 3 days!!! :eek:

And WOW. Lei Lei's pork chops sound insane!!! We drove by Turtle Bay on our North Shore driving tour. What a beautiful area!!

Certainly agree as to the special occasion meals. And just to be clear though DH and I definitely enjoy indulging in some fabulous meals while in Hawaii, much of what we love and long for from here on the mainland is far more reasonable fare. Like great poke from either the Lahaina Farms Foodland or Tamura's. Or the AMAZING Hot and Sour soup at Star Noodle. Or a wonderful breakfast at the Gazebo or Sea House. Delicious shave ice at Ululani's. A lunch special at Roy's. Coconut shrimp ordered from the pool servers while sitting in our casabella at our TS at Maui Ocean Club. *sigh* Those are just a few of the things we love about food in Hawaii.

Last trip Costco had some great discounted gift cards to a couple of our favorite restaurants and we scooped several of those up! Yay!!

Astroflyer, you are absolutely correct! Everything is pretty subjective and certainly on the topic of restaurants! LOL! And anytime I do mention Mama's Fish House I try to be very, very clear that it is a really pricey place. I would hate for someone to go there not having a realistic idea.

Fleetwood's. punkincc? While I have not yet eaten there myself (we meant to this last February but never made it), I have friends that spend a few weeks on Maui every year and have for many years, they really like Fleetwood's. They get good reviews on TA. One thing to note while staying on Maui, if they flag is flying above Fleetwood's my understanding is that Mick (rats, did I get his first name right???) is in the house! :)

We spend a month on Maui every 2 years. The first time we went to Mama's Fish House we fully expected it NOT to live up to the hype. We went with a "come on, impress me" attitude. There were 4 of us and we all felt the same. We went for lunch and I have to say that we were blown away! We LOVED the entire experience. The views are among my favorite in all of Maui and Maui is my favorite island. Maui no ka oi!! The colors, the wind and kite surfers, the palm trees out front swaying, the amazing and artistic hodge podge of building materials that make up this amazing place, the service, etc., etc.

The menu will tell you the name of the fisherman that caught your entree and where they caught it. The fish is sublimely fresh. I adore their poke and sashimi. Their drinks are very good. This is a very expensive restaurant. And lunch is no more than a couple of dollars/entree cheaper at most. For us, we feel the overall experience is one of a kind and truly outstanding. We go at least twice each trip.

Entrees are going to average from around $50 to $60 each. I find the meals beautifully prepared. And I feel the chef does show imagination. What we appreciate is that the preparations elevate the freshness of the seafood, not overwhelm it. Some of the preparations are a bit simple but IMHO top quality foods do not need over embellishment. Let the food be the star. JMHO.

We generally get together with friends both local and visiting at Duke's Ka'anapali while there. We like it but I think the views are far better at Hula Grill or Leilani's. Duke's has a very nice view but the berms at the beach edge obscure part of the view.

I agree that the Paia Fish Market is awesome! One of our faves but you will have NO view at all. It is a super casual, stand in line and find a seat kind of place. As said you will share a picnic style table with others. Finding a seat at a busy time can be a challenge.

Bottom line? It's just darned hard to go wrong while in Hawaii. The food is gorgeous, the fish beyond fresh. The music, the people, hula, those incredible huge mountains, soft sweet breezes and the ocean. Ah, the ocean! What an amazing place! :)

I saw this article just a few minutes ago as well and thought it was ludicrous. Agree with everyone else on his/her quote on price for a "non-suite" accommodation. Perhaps she had more than one stateroom?? The entire timbre of the article made me think that the AUTHOR was the pain-in-the-neck passenger. What an outlandish statement that she would rather be on any other ship.

I've cruised with DCL on an Inside Passage cruise. 2 staterooms as my DD and DSIL along with our 2 tiny grands went along. We all had a fabulous time. And it was NOT a common occurrence that we saw rude passengers. Sure, we saw a few, but far, far from enough to impact our experience in the least. I deem that article pure drivel and sensationalism.

I am not familiar with NCL so I do not know what ports you will be in. If you can give those, we can let you know the closest nice beaches. :)

For Maui, ships either dock in Kahului or tender off of Lahaina in West Maui. You're never too far from walkable beaches in either of these locales on Maui.

Aloha Ollychelle,

Hmm. While reading through what your family wants/needs, I kept changing my mind between your 2 offered options. But ultimately I voted for the cruise because I absolutely agree that all that airport time and packing up over and over will bite into your sightseeing time big time. I think overall the cruise would be more relaxing for your family. Hawaii is my favorite place on the planet. If you had more time, I would recommend a tad more time and perhaps only 2 islands. Happy planning! :)

Great pointers here already. I only want to add that for anyone that plans on snorkeling, please do buy and wear reef-safe sunscreen. There has been an increasing death of coral in quite a few areas of Hawaii, and many think the sunscreens worn by snorkelers, (or those doing other water activities as well), could be a big contributor to this. One other thing most of my snorkeling friends do is to make a small investment in rash guards with sunscreen properties.

Have fun and don't get fried in Hawaii! ;)

Good advice from the other posters. As for watching surfers, I highly recommend Ho'Okipa Beach just east of Paia town on Maui. There is a turnout on the left just past Mama's Fish House with a very small parking lot. Lots of surfers will be below this lookout and farther west you will almost always see lots of wind and kite surfers as well! Happy planning!

If you've never been to a luau, I suggest Old Lahaina Luau on Maui. If you have, Feast at Lele. I have been to both and they are excellent and very authentic. Our first trip to Hawaii, we did OLL. Great history and storytelling woven into the dancing. Both have gorgeous settings right on the beach facing west so you most often will get some sort of lovely sunset.

Car rentals in Hawaii are easy-peasy! I generally find the best rates for car rentals in Hawaii at either http://www.discounthawaiicarrental.com or Costco Travel (you must be a member). I do always check the rates on individual car company's sites as well.

If anyone is sailing in whale season (Dec-Mar) , I would HIGHLY recommend booking a car for Maui as far in advance as possible. We love Maui and have a TS there, spending a good month there every couple of years. Cars can and do sell out at this super busy season and the prices can skyrocket.

All the major car companies are on all the islands and I have found the folks at the counter most helpful. Hawaii is gorgeous and for the most part very easy to navigate. Oahu is far & away the most populated island and traffic at rush hours can be brutal there.

Lots of talk on this thread about the percentage of rental cars on the road at any given time. The point I would like to make is that there are a TON of visitors driving rental cars every day, every island. So PLEASE remember that there are folks on the road that live and work there, and they have to drive roads FULL of us visitors. My heart goes out to them. I live in one of the most touristy areas in the U.S. and I KNOW what a pain it can be when people don't know where they're going, aren't accustomed to the roads, and gawking at the sites rather than paying attention to their driving. Hawaii's situation is worse in the fact that Hawaii has very large mountains, making alternate routes almost non-existent in many cases. IOW, there may be only ONE road to a destination. Please remember to show some aloha if you're driving/sightseeing and if someone is "on your tail", pull over to let them pass as soon as you may safely do so. Give a wave of thanks if someone lets you into traffic, etc. I don't mean to sound preachy, but I have found that a little consideration and thoughtfulness has reaped me SO much in return. I love Hawaii and it's peoples. I count it a huge blessing to be able to spend time there on a regular basis and want to be viewed by residents as a blessing in return. :)

Wow, GatorMominNC that is a great deal!!! Now I'm going to go look at my Amex statement to see if I got one of those deals! My Amex is a Costco one, so not sure if I will have it……(as an aside for those like me that have the Costco Amex, apparently those 2 companies did not come to an agreement to renew their contractual agreement so Costco will be going to a Visa.)

As for the Target Red Card thing. I have been buying discounted Target cards on websites that sell them at a discount, then going online to buy Disney cards to get the additional discount. I'm happy to say I have a very nice sized DCL nest-egg for our Hawaii cruise this September!

I agree that if you talk to a Target manager they will tell you that "you don't get a discount on 'money'", meaning gift cards. My reply was that I could drive straight to Costco and get 20% off any and all gift cards they offer there! :cool:

The key to getting the discount on the Disney gift cards online (as I learned the hard way) is to sign into your Target Red Card account, put the maximum cards allowed in your cart, and when you checkout make SURE you choose the Red Card as your payment method FIRST even though you will be paying with your Target gift cards. Since I have a debit Red Card, I then put in my PIN # and only after all that do I check "Pay with Gift Cards". The extra 5% can be seen right before you click on "submit order". :)

Aloha again, goinggoinggone!

Yes, I had my name (loosely) translated into Hawaiian and engraved on my bracelet. I had my name done in black enamel. I chose white gold as opposed to the traditional yellow gold since I always wear silver toned jewelry. I had a scripture engraved inside that I love as well. It's a very special piece of jewelry to me and I treasure it daily. It reminds me of my very favorite place on this planet. :)

(the reason I say my name was loosely translated is because in general there are few direct translations of names from english to Hawaiian)

Aloha! Silversweethearts is correct that Hawaiian Heirloom jewelry can be very expensive. The pieces are made of gold, so naturally they are costly. Do you mean jewelry like shown here:

http://www.nahoku.com/collections/hawaiian-heirloom-jewelry.html

I had longed for a beautiful Hawaiian Heirloom bangle bracelet for a very long time, and finally about 4 years ago, I had Na Hoku make one for me. It wasn't cheap, but I absolutely love it and wear it every day, everywhere. These jewelry pieces are custom made and the choices and options you have are tremendous.

For example, for a bracelet: What width? What weight? What pattern? What background for your name, Ku'uipo (means sweetheart), etc. Do you want your name to be enameled? What edge do you want? Size of course. Any inscription on the inside? Etc., etc. The finished piece is definitely one of a kind! They are hand made in Hawaii. Philip Rickard also has lovely pieces but I think his jewelry is only on Oahu??

I don't know anything about Princess lines or their excursions since we are big DCL fans, but I do know Maui fairly well and I would recommend Valley Isle Tours for a RTH tour. Happy planning! :)

Just out of curiosity, does the DCL cruise visit all the islands, any overnights and how does the price compare to the POA for the same two dates?

Well, I don't have to look to know that DCL is going to be a good deal more than POA. Though our kids are grown now, both DH and I think DCL does a stellar job onboard, and their ships are IMO the most gorgeous at sea. As for balcony, though that is my preferred category, we will be off the ship every possible moment we are in port in Hawaii so this trip I would not have to have my usual desired balcony.:) Disney Cruise isn't really for those looking for a "deal", though on the last sailing in 2012 they did to Hawaii, I spoke with a couple in an Oceanview stateroom that had gotten a pretty good price, particularly for what was a 14 night sailing. Can't recall the price, but I remember thinking it wasn't a lot over the cast member discounted rate. The husband had diligently stalked the DCL website and snagged a deal.

The 9/07/15 sailing will leave Vancouver and have 5 sea days, an overnight in HNL, then visit each of the 3 major neighbor islands for a day each. The 9/17 sailing I am on will depart from HNL, overnight at Maui (my favorite!), then a day each at Kauai and the Big Island. These cruises are not 7 night cruises but 10 night cruises.

And as an aside, since we're talkin' Disney and Hawaii, they did a fabulous job at Aulani on Oahu. Truly a magnificent resort, and even though I'm not a big Oahu fan, we will continue to return to Aulani. Happy planning everyone! :D