sally

[salbri]

Hi, anyone going on the 31st October to las vagas, las angeles stay followed by the Hawaiian cruise on the star princess, booked for my 60th birthday from my hubby, any tips etc on exploring, ie, either booking with the cruise or at the port etc, your help would be much appreciated as we haven't done this before...

[cb at sea]

If you've never been to Hawaii, I'd recommend a land trip....you get to see SO much more than when you only have a day in each place!  5 hour flight from LA will get you there!

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, cb at sea said:

If you've never been to Hawaii, I'd recommend a land trip....you get to see SO much more than when you only have a day in each place!  5 hour flight from LA will get you there!

Did you even think about this? The OP, posted a week ago, is from England. It is not like they have unlimited time in the area, although thinking flying from England to Vegas for a birthday is pretty extreme. I know you won't reply...never have...

[salbri]

On 6/3/2019 at 1:24 AM, cb at sea said:

If you've never been to Hawaii, I'd recommend a land trip....you get to see SO much more than when you only have a day in each place!  5 hour flight from LA will get you there!

Hi cb at sea, were going on a package holiday that includes the 4 nights vagas and 2 nights Los Angeles followed by the cruise to Hawaiian islands, it's a stay and cruise vacation for 21 nights all together thrown in, I was just wondering if anyone had any helpful tips for when were on the star princess ship regarding the trips once we visit each Hawaiian island, if anyone knew if you can make our own way on the day or if it would be better to use the cruise ships shore excursions... any info at all would be appreciated... regards, salbri.

[salbri]

On 6/3/2019 at 3:21 AM, CruiserBruce said:

Did you even think about this? The OP, posted a week ago, is from England. It is not like they have unlimited time in the area, although thinking flying from England to Vegas for a birthday is pretty extreme. I know you won't reply...never have...

Hi CruiserBruce, were on a package holiday that includes 4 nights in Las Vegas and 2 nights in Los Angeles followed by the Hawaiian islands cruise, it's for 21 nights all together, I also don't think that we would fly all the way from England to Las vagas just for 4 nights, but my question was for any advice for when were on the star princess cruise to the Hawaiian islands, if it's better to use the cruise shore excursions or make our own way around the island using the land trip organisers... any advice regarding this would be appreciated from anyone who had done this trip... regards, salbri..

[CruiserBruce]

On 6/4/2019 at 1:06 PM, salbri said:

Hi CruiserBruce, were on a package holiday that includes 4 nights in Las Vegas and 2 nights in Los Angeles followed by the Hawaiian islands cruise, it's for 21 nights all together, I also don't think that we would fly all the way from England to Las vagas just for 4 nights, but my question was for any advice for when were on the star princess cruise to the Hawaiian islands, if it's better to use the cruise shore excursions or make our own way around the island using the land trip organisers... any advice regarding this would be appreciated from anyone who had done this trip... regards, salbri..

salbri, am on a cruise right now...not monitoring Cruise Critic.

 

We have been to Hawaii very close to 30 times, always on land trips. It is very easy to do your own thing in Hawaii. I doubt we would even consider a shore excursion in Hawaii. MANY people here do Hawaii on their own

[Tutone56]

  I saw the title of the post "Sally" but the body of the post doesn't mention Sally.  I'm curious, what is Sally?

[salbri]

On 6/14/2019 at 9:02 PM, CruiserBruce said:

salbri, am on a cruise right now...not monitoring Cruise Critic.

 

We have been to Hawaii very close to 30 times, always on land trips. It is very easy to do your own thing in Hawaii. I doubt we would even consider a shore excursion in Hawaii. MANY people here do Hawaii on their own

brilliant, thanks for the info re Hawaii, were really looking forward to it, enjoy rest of your cruise...

cheers

sally

[karatemom2]

Hi Sally - welcome to Cruise Critic. Sorry you have gotten some mixed replies here when you are just coming looking for some friendly help and advice. We were all new to this Board at one time and it can be hard to figure out at first. Most people here are happy to provide some advice for new cruisers. So with that being said, I will share that we have done the round trip cruises out of LA to Hawaii several times on Princess and they are wonderful. You will enjoy the relaxing sea days going over and back and can have a great time on your port days in Hawaii. There is so much to choose from, but I will share some of the things we have enjoyed in each port to help give you some ideas.

 

Honolulu

 

Pearl Harbor is a great place to visit. The Arizona Memorial has been closed for repairs, but is supposed to open again sometime this fall so perhaps it will be open by the time you visit. Also located there is the USS Missouri which is very interesting to tour.

 

Diamond Head - if you are in good physical shape you can hike to the top

 

Waikiki Beach - a famous spot to visit, although crowded, but fun for a beach day if you like and lined with hotels where you can dine and drink while people watching.

 

Royal Hawaiian Luau - Depending on your port time, this is a great place to schedule a luau. 

http://www.royal-hawaiianluau.com/

 

Hilo

 

Volcanoes National Park - a great place to visit if the current volcanic activity allows and it is open when you visit.

 

Panaewa Rainforest Zoo - A fun little zoo in Hilo with a tropical park like setting and lots of cool animals to see

 

Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden - A beautiful place to spend some time - you will feel like you are lost in a tropical forest walking through the paths.

 

Hawaiian Vanilla Company - A cool place to visit, have their special lunch and tour and learn all about how they grow vanilla.

 

Lahaina

 

Lahaina is a great place to just spend the day walking around and exploring the town - it was a whaling village at one time and there is a lot to see and a lot of history there. It's also a good port to book a snorkeling or whale watching excursion if either interests you. Check out what is offered through Princess and then compare by doing a search of private vendors - there are many that go out of Lahaina and you can check out their ratings on TripAdvisor.

 

Kauai

 

We generally rent a car in Kauai and that is my best recommendation if you are comfortable with driving here. It is a small island with basically one main road so you can see a lot in one day with a car. We like to travel North to the end of the road to Hanalei Beach - one of the most beautiful places. You can also visit the Fern Grotto and other scenic spots on the way in that direction. Heading south you can go to Poipu Beach and spend time there. Again, check out the tours offered by Princess and then do some checking on your own and you may find private vendors who can tailor something of specific interest for you.

 

Once you do some more research, if you have any questions, please do come back and ask here - just be sure to put the topic in your header that indicates what you are asking about - it helps get better replies. You are going to have such a wonderful time. What a great way to celebrate a birthday!!

 

 

[salbri]

thankyou for the brilliant reply, lots of info as well,  were really looking forward to it x