RSVP to Hawaii Oct 30, 2010

[Kyleperkins]

So much packing and laundry to do. Atleast I have two days till the cruise and thank god security is letting me hold my bags downstairs so I don't have to take em off and bring em back on. 5months of livin on the ship and I think I have 5 times more than what I came with. Ughhhh. Yay 2 days!

[Pat&Paul]

Well.... !!!

 

Record-breaking storms in the Midwest this morning, and for the next 2 days.

 

ORD has an incoming ground stop....

 

But.

 

Our Plane is on the ground at ORD, and at the gate waiting.

 

With more than a little luck, the Limo will be here, and the traffic won't be impassible with the power out all over, and we will get to the gate on time.

 

Then, we might take off.

 

Or not.

 

Sigh.

 

Safe and happy travels to you all. We will let you know if United 1 gets going today or not.

 

Just two hours late into HNL... not bad! :D

[KauaiBruce]

The only bar I like in Waikiki is Hulas. We went to Fusion a couple of times and it seemed like anyone over 30 was looked upon with suspicion. It was not a friendly place.

 

We rarely hit a beach on Oahu other than a short time at Queens sometimes because we go to Oahu to shop. I can tell you anything you want to know about Ala Moana mall.

 

On Maui we only go to Little Beach. We did Kanapali many years ago and the reef just offshore made it tough to swim. I am not a fan of Lahaina because I am constantly approached by drug dealers. That happens every time I am there for some reason.

 

For Kauai you can walk to the beach near the ship to see lots of pretty boys. If you want to take your clothes off the only choice these days is Larsons Beach. Kauai really does not have many bad beaches. This is the easiest island to get a beach all to yourself if you try. The main rule on Kauai (and probably for the whole state) is to stay out of the water unless you see others in the water. The calmest looking places have bad undertows while some that looks rough can be pretty safe. Stay out if the locals are not there.

 

One beach you all may want to try is Kealia beach just north of Kapaa. It is the main east side surfing beach.

 

There WILL be a gay pavilion a short walk from the pier on thursday where the boys will be there to answer questions and the local gayish bar is a 10 minute walk from the ship. It is very gay friendly every thursday night and lots of the local boys will be out.

 

I also have the phone number of a local girl who wants to show women around if anyone needs a special tour.

[Boytjie]

Aloha!

 

What a day - I did not leave the office till 9 pm. But we are packed, just have to throw a load of laundry in in the morning, have some breakfast then and car service is picking us up at 10. I think I will sleep on the plane... hello Ambien, my friend. ;)

[MightySailinMan]

We hit Wailea today and The Shops of Wailea...One Store in Particular "Enchanted Empress" is about as Gay as can be, though they did not intend it as such. Great higher end Halloween Stuff. Made a major dent there...Very nice people.

If you get desperate and can make it there that AM in Maui hit it, there is also a run of the mill Halloween Shop in the Mall near the boat.

The Shps at Wailea also have a Tiffany, Coach, Gucci, Louis Vuitton etc. Plus some Galleries (That hurt a bit too) But nice if you get that way

 

It has been a bit wet, so if you can stuff a water proof jacket in your bags as that seems to be the forecast much of the next 10 days, not overwhelmng but still. Sorry to bear the news. But hey

 

Im Melting! Im melting......

[Boytjie]

In the car going to Newark airport! Ramesis is already there. It's balmy in New York.

[hommerun]

In the car going to Newark airport! Ramesis is already there. It's balmy in New York.

 

Just arrived and checked in at Park Shore. Flawless view of Diamond Head and the beach. Rain is gone. Sunny hot. Cuties to the left of me. Hotties to the right. Lots of rsvp'ers on both flights, at the airport, in the shuttle, on the streets, in the hotel lobby, at the sundry shop. We're.....EVERYWHERE!

 

Was up at 3 a.m. Pacific. Great connections via Lax from PS. And already...I have tales to tell. Starting with the flight to LAX. Rrunning into an acquaintance on the flight. Getting to hang at the Red Carpet club as his guest. Meeting a couple from Albuquerque on the van ride. Friendliness is already manifesting. Looks to be that kind of week. :D

[monumax]

Just arrived and checked in at Park Shore. Flawless view of Diamond Head and the beach. Rain is gone. Sunny hot. Cuties to the left of me. Hotties to the right. Lots of rsvp'ers on both flights, at the airport, in the shuttle, on the streets, in the hotel lobby, at the sundry shop. We're.....EVERYWHERE!

 

Was up at 3 a.m. Pacific. Great connections via Lax from PS. And already...I have tales to tell. Starting with the flight to LAX. Rrunning into an acquaintance on the flight. Getting to hang at the Red Carpet club as his guest. Meeting a couple from Albuquerque on the van ride. Friendliness is already manifesting. Looks to be that kind of week. :D

 

Glad to hear you made it! Bob & I are in 1224. Bill & Jim in 1221. Reuel & Miguel in 1211. Peter & Richard just landed at airport.

[Pentathlete79]

Great to hear so many of you have arrived safely, and with minimal drama. I'm just at the airport now, waiting for the first flight of my epic journey - with 24hrs flying time and an 11 hour time difference, I'll be needing a strong drink at Hulas tonight!!!

 

Not one to shy away from the limelight, I'll be wearing a BRIGHT yellow polo top - come say Hi if you see me......;)

 

Bryn.

 

P.S. Got stung for excess luggage charges at check in....:mad:

[hommerun]

Glad to hear you made it! Bob & I are in 1224. Bill & Jim in 1221. Reuel & Miguel in 1211. Peter & Richard just landed at airport.

 

Great! Was just on the sand watching a spectacular hour long sunset! Am in 1715! Prob skip dinner. Grab a bite local and crash

[MightySailinMan]

Well we have had great weatehr the past two days...so much for forecasts that seem to change hourly...or was that a Right Wing Plot by Jim DeMint (The Rep Sen fro SC) to discourage us...yea I like that concept sounds about as paranoid as your average tea party fool!

 

See you all tomorrow

[Boytjie]

Having a lot of fun! In Hilo today.

[twoontheisle]

No doubt there was quite a gaggle of guys posing for photo's with the "Rainbow Falls sign" in Hilo! Quite beautiful. Of course you cant swing a cat in a circle without hitting a waterfall on the Big Island.

[KauaiBruce]

It was an amazing week. I met many of the cruise critic folks and am happy that they made good use of my advice.

 

I am not sure if RSVP has changed over the past 5 years or if I had heard propaganda from Atlantis customers. It was not as prudish as I had been told (thank god). If anything it was 'friendlier'.

 

It would have been nice to have at least one more t-dance but that may have been because of the long port days and the itinerary and I am sure that the big Halloween party on Maui (nice but a little boring for us) threw thing off a little.

 

Staff and service were GREAT. It could get a little slow if you hit the main dining room at peak times but we learned quickly to stick with Andrews section and thing went fast. One night we gave up on desert ever arriving and wanted to hit a show (not Andrews section). We ran up to the buffet to hopfully get something. We mentioned to one of the staff that we gave up on getting the bread pudding we wanted at dinner and she said she would run down to deck 5 and get us some if we waited. Her manager came right out and told us to let him know where we would be sitting so they could find us and we got it in 5 minutes. THAT is great service. We also had a very good cabin steward.

 

I heard from staff that even though much of the staff had longer hours for our week that in many ways we were much easier than their regular cruises. My friend who has to manage the medical watch list told me he usually has 150 people on his list to worry about. For us it was just 6.

 

Atlantis could learn something about setting up music. It was a pleasure to not have a dozen MASSIVE speakers all around the deck taking up space with cables around to trip on. If you wanted your music loud you could stay on the half of the deck near the DJ. If you wanted to enjoy it and actually talk with your friends while you dance you could be on the other half. My partner could enjoy the parties without earplugs.

 

I also did not miss the smoke machine that fills the entire area with smoke for the lasers. I think they had a small one because I did see a little lazer stuff one night. BUT it was great not having that sore throat I get from the smoke and trying to scream to talk. The other wonderful thing about no smoke was that the pictures came out far better than usual. That smoke reflects the flash and light and totally screws up most of your pictures. I got the best party pictures EVER because they are clear.

 

We made some great friends on this one also. I went through more personal contact cards than usual. The RSVP boys were a lot of fun also like the Atlantis boys used to be. Some of that is personal taste. I like wholesome midwestern versus LA and New York party boys.

 

I will try to post more later as I think of things.

[RMS Olympic]

Thanks to all who made this trip wonderful. Sailing with friends from previous trips really made this voyage exciting, comfy and a real pleasure. The new friends made was the cream on the cake.

The ship.....theme park in decoration seemed to fade after being wowed by the beauty of Hawaii. The ships staff and crew did a fantastic job...smiles and will do attitude at all times.

I learned much about the constraints imposed on the ships operations due to union rules...someting foreign flagged ships are not held to.

RSVP and their operation was fantastic as usual....well worth the cost of the trip.

To the Pride of AMERICA....STAFF AND OFFICERS...THANK YOU

tO RSVP.......THANK YOU AND BEST WISHES FOR A MORE PROPSEROUS UPCOMING YEAR.

TO PETER(bEEYOTCH), RICHARD,MAX,BOB,JIM AND BILL, RAY.....SYSTAS FOR EVAH AND EVAH...THANK YOU.

to the pineapple boys Greg and Don.......stay sticky!:D

Royal Reuel ....hope Miguel finally got hooked on traveling by ship and that you get home safely.

Best wishes to all for the upcoming holiday season.

[monumax]

It felt very different this year returning "home" to Rehoboth Beach, DE instead of Tyrone, PA. In some ways I feel like I'm still on vacation (except for the unpacking and laundry). After being up for 34 1/2 hours (except for some sleeping on the plane flight), we arose this morning at 11:30 a.m. after sleeping for 13 hours! Feeling somewhat refreshed, but lots of work to do. And we have to start cleaning the house for company coming in 3 days.

In short, the trip was a fantastic and memorable one. How can anyone have a bad time in Hawaii? It was so good seeing all our cruise buddies and making new ones! Let's all keep in touch and share our photos!

[MightySailinMan]

Leo and I enjoyed the cruise and meeting a few of you--we as I said, sit and observe and are not partiers so you did not see much of us at dancing events. We have not one real complaint about anything on the ship at all (And I had my Mexican Fix for Lunch the day we ended) But we had a great time even though my voice was almost non-existant the entire trip, turns out I had a infection in my throat and I am now being treated should be cleared up by this weekend. We won't be on a RSVP or Atlantis Cruise next year (Not interested in the ones they have scheduled) We are planning a 2-3 week European Trip instead, usual Mexico trips, and if we Cruise it will be part of a Disney Trip...but we will see you in the future. Best to all.

[Pat&Paul]

Paul and I had a good time. Our friends Dieter and Anthony had a really good first cruise experience. I'm not sure we would cruise NCL again even if RSVP does another charter. I miss my set dining times with the same server all cruise. Hopefully RSVP can charter a Celebrity crusie someday.

 

Pat

[tnt_ca_cruiser]

Mick and I had an amazing time on this trip. I'll take a friendly, engaging crew and a fun crowd over impeccable service any time. I was really impressed by the attention paid to our group by the officers -- not sure we told them anything they didn't already know, but definitely nice that they took the time to listen.

 

I would consider another trip on the POA if offered by RSVP (that would be our third). We love Hawaii! And thanks to everyone on this board. This was our first RSVP cruise, and it was everything you all said it would be. We made new friends and really enjoyed ourselves. I certainly never thought I'd be caught in underwear for a party :-)

 

One complaint... Why is it that the ship photographers can't take one decent picture? Ah well, that's why we have our own cameras!

 

Warm aloha wishes!

[Wingtips56]

Paul and I had a good time. Our friends Dieter and Anthony had a really good first cruise experience. I'm not sure we would cruise NCL again even if RSVP does another charter. I miss my set dining times with the same server all cruise. Hopefully RSVP can charter a Celebrity crusie someday.

 

Pat

 

I did see a note in the Freestyle Daily or somewhere onboard that you could indeed request the same table, time, tablemates and waiter if you wanted. Check into that before dropping NCL just for that reason.

[Pat&Paul]

I did see a note in the Freestyle Daily or somewhere onboard that you could indeed request the same table, time, tablemates and waiter if you wanted. Check into that before dropping NCL just for that reason.

 

We did that on Wednesday night in Liberty. We requested the same team we had on Sunday night, Ben and Mo. They were awesome.

 

There were many other factors involved in our decision to avoid NCL in the future. Freestyle cruising just isn't our style I guess. Not saying the crew wasn't friendly, but we just prefer Celebrity I guess.

 

Pat

[KauaiBruce]

I can see the ship sailing back to kauai right now. We will be out tonight with a few guys from the cruise to see how the crew is this week. I have already heard that the crew misses us. Some were jealous we were continuing the party onshore with 5 of the cutest guys on board.

[Boytjie]

I can see the ship sailing back to kauai right now. We will be out tonight with a few guys from the cruise to see how the crew is this week. I have already heard that the crew misses us. Some were jealous we were continuing the party onshore with 5 of the cutest guys on board.

 

If you see Micah, tell him I say HI. LOL

[Wingtips56]

Well Carl and I had a great time on this cruise, our first gay cruise. So we booked yesterday an Atlantis cruise in March to celebrate our 25th Anniversary, my 55th birthday and retirement. Can't stay at home for something like that! I hope we like Atlantis as much. We'll probably do RSVP again sometime, just not in 2011.

 

Steve (Titanic and Britannic)

[jimnbillnpa]

Home to the hard, cold reality that is south central Pennsylvania. It was great to see everyone and meet some new faces. Steve (wingtips) really got a grip on the whole gay cruise thing. Hope to see you again sometime!

 

Peter, Richard-we will make every effort to be in town next time you're in Rehoboth. Give us plenty of notice so we can schedule accordingly.

 

Max, Bob-dinner sooner.

 

Tom-xoxo

 

Bruce-I believe David is already planning a trip to see you boys;)

 

Mahalo everyone! What an awesome trip!