Island Princess Hawaii Review?

[Podgieree]

Paula,

 

Yes, we did tender right into Lahaina. We docked in Nawiliwili, Kauai.

 

Susan

 

Thanks Susan!

[DesrtDrmr]

Thank you so very much for your review and your answers! You are a dear to post so quickly, as you must know how anxious we all were to hear about the FIRST Island Cruise to Hawaii.

Have a lovely weekend.

[Taters]

Thanks so much for taking the ime to write! I am very excited about spending the holidays on board the Island Princess. Thanks for sharing!

 

Taters

[Aloha_Jackie]

Thanks so much for taking the time to check in and post your review - those of us who are anxiously awaiting the Christmas and New Years voyage are forever grateful for your selfless effort to inform, inspire and put our worries and concerns to rest! We all really appreciate it! THANK YOU!:)

[cruisesusie]

Kittycat,

 

The tender rides took 5-10 mins. Instead of an 8:00 a.m. arrival, we were there at 11:00 a.m. (Hilo). In Maui, we left at 4:00 p.m. instead of 6:00 p.m. We didn't have time to see the waterfalls in Hilo due to the 3 hour difference. In Maui, since we just walked around and did some shopping, it didn't matter to us. I know the morning excursions were cancelled in Hilo - a lot of unhappy people because of that.

 

One tip for Maui - if you have time, eat in Cheeseburger in Paradise - the best cheeseburger I've ever had.

 

Susan

[Pam in CA]

It sounds like the Island Hawaii cruise is very, very similar to the Regal Princess cruise -- just a different ship. Here are some observations that weren't covered in the review.

 

* Embarkation is the same as it was for the Regal. If you've checked in early, you go to the lounge and relax. There's a separate lounge for Platinum and Elite with coffee and donuts, etc. Our embarkation started at Noon... later than Susan's. I wound up meeting several people while we were waiting and ran into them throughout the cruise. That part was fun and I didn't mind waiting.

 

* It's not unusual to have to miss one or both of the tendered ports. Most of the Regal cruises last Spring missed at least one. We didn't and neither did the cruise before ours, but be aware of this.

 

* Maui: the ship anchors quite a distance from the port. The tenders took a lot longer than 10 minutes. Probably closer to 20 minutes and that didn't include waiting for the tender. Also, the portmaster rules everything. It's not unusual for him to stop all of the tenders to accommodate other boats. That happened to us and we wound up leaving almost an hour and a half late.

 

* Internet: it's a satellite connection and there are very few communication satellites, particularly those for internet, that cover large ocean areas. The ship's communications center uses different satellites. It's almost a guarantee that there'll be at least two days, if not more, without internet access both coming and going.

 

* Sailing and returning to San Pedro: it's almost always cooler near California and warmer as you get closer to Hawaii.

 

* Tenders... keep in mind that the ship's tours take precedence in the tenders over those going off on their own.

[cruzinfam]

Hi Susan - how about this one . . . which side of the ship is better to be on if we want to see land as we sail from island to island? Thank you.

[Kittycat]

Thanks Susan, but did you have to wait long for the tender if you weren't on a ships tour?

[WeRockChalkKU]

Thanks Susan. If you think of more things to review please post them. As you can see there are lots of us waiting for any morsel of info that we can get.

[Elequieu]

I am sure we all understand how anxious you are for info as I was the same. We were most impressed about the cleanliness; crew was always cleaning from the time we were up on deck for coffee and sunrise to the swift removal of dishes in the Horizon Court. In past cruises we found the buffet to be limited; this one was most varied with almost all dinner dishes in the dining room included in the buffet. Some things offered there were rack of veal, lamb chops, prime rib, several hot veggies and two potatoes, at least 15 items for the green salad and three mixed salads, wonderful rolls and two kinds of homemade ice cream each night. There were usually several kinds of fish, and other desserts. On the lunch buffet there was always one carved meat and two soups. The cold soups were quite good. We ended up eating in the dining room only when there was something special on the menu that we knew wouldn't be on the buffet such as crab legs, lobster and beef wellington. About half way back from Hawaii there were people coughing and sneezing in the Horizon Court. My husband started coughing the day we disembarked and was very sick for about 36 hours. In fact I was afraid we wouldn't be able to drive home to Tucson the next day. But I drove and my husband slept virtually the whole way. Then I started coughing and was out for about 24 hours. This in no way reflects on the ship's cleanliness as I am sure it was passengers picking up a bug in Hawaii. There are disinfectant dispensers at the entrance to Horizon Court so Princess is doing all they can to keep the bugs at bay. We all were disappointed in the amount of time spent at the islands. We never found out why the hours were cut just before we left. This was the best of our nine cruises. Feel free to email questions.

[Skittles]

We all were disappointed in the amount of time spent at the islands. We never found out why the hours were cut just before we left. This was the best of our nine cruises. Feel free to email questions.

 

I am wondering something, did they take away the normal time that you were suppose to be at the islands? So, even tho, you were disappointed about not being at the islands as long, you still maintain this was your best cruise so far?

[cruisesusie]

A few more answers:

 

The tender was waiting for us each time - no problems there. To answer the question about which side of the ship to be on to see land in Hawaii - it varied so either side would be fine.

 

Just to clarify one thing that was mentioned in the previous post - they did have Beef Wellington in Horizon Court -

 

Susan :D

[The Warden]

Susie - Your review was wonderful, thanks so very much. Did you happen to notice if anyone went SCUBA diving? I would very much like to dive while we are there but I'm anxious in that if I want to be sure I can get back to the ship on time. (Lordy, I sound like I'm back in the Navy again!)

We are leaving in 12 days and can hardly contain ourselves.

 

The Lady and The Warden

[cruisesusie]

The Lady and the Warden,

 

Sorry, I can't help you with the SCUBA diving - I don't remember seeing it or reading anything about it, but that doesn't mean they don't offer it. I would call Princess and ask.

 

Susan

[CarolChaCha]

Thanks Susan, Guess we have many questions so early on this cruise.Mine is regarding your cabin --- How much privacy or coverage did you have on your balcony? Could passengers above look down upon you and could you look directly down to the water? Did you get to seen much of the Islands or scenery from your side of the ship? Thanks so much for your reply to our questions. Carolchacha

[CarolChaCha]

Dixieva, Thanks for your reply re: your cabin location, I'm so undecided as to what location would be best on this ship. Originally thought mid-ship away from elevators (do you think there is more noise from passengers coming and going on the elevators?)Some people say the aft part of ship in case of rough waters ( I'm planning next Sept.) Have you heard anything about the "smoothest" location? Is that why you chose the aft section? Thanks, Carolchacha

[dixieva]

Carolcha-We usually choose the mid section of the ship due to less motion there but we decided on the aft this time because of the balcony. We think that the mid ship bump out balconies are not quite as large. Another poster here, Ahracer, has been in the cabin we decided on and loved the location. I have had cabins near elevators on other ships and did not notice a problem with noise.

 

Hope this helps.

[Kittycat]

We had cabin C402, which is midships, but not on the bumpout, for our sailing to the Panama Canal. The location of the cabin was great and there was no noise from the passageways either. We also had gale force 8 seas and although the ship was rocking and rolling quite a bit, we were fine in our cabin - the ship handled pretty well generally, and it was really rough!

[egalley]

Does anyone have pictures to post of thier hawaii cruise? I would love to see some pics before I go in Nov.

[kaiemiscott]

Cruisesuzie,

 

Many thanks for all of your information. My husband and I are booked on the February 3rd. sailing and really are looking forward to this trip. In addition, we sailed on this ship in Alaska this past July. The only thing that is a concern to us, is what will the seas and the weather be like in February. If anyone has sailed at this time of the year, I would be anxious to hear from you.

 

If anyone has any questions regarding the ship, I would be happy to answer them. It is a beautiful ship and the stateroom (balcony) was one of the nicest rooms we have had.

 

Any information or comments would be greatly appreciated.

[CRUZGAL53]

We are booked on the 2/18/05 cruise and look forward to it.

[CaptData]

Nice review. Thank you. I do not go until 2006 but I am starting to look and learn now.

[WeRockChalkKU]

Kaiemiscott- Hi, we're also on the Island on Feb 3rd. We've got a roll call thread going if you'd care to join us. Right now, we're all trying to gather as much info as we can and trying figure out what we'll do in ports. Check us out - the more the merrier!!!!

[kaiemiscott]

Thank you for responding. I will definitely check out the roll call thread. As I posted before, I am most concern about the weather and the seas that time of the year. If you read any posts regarding the above, would you please forward it to me.

 

You will love the ship.

[CarolChaCha]

Dixieva, I don't know about the bump out cabins on the Caribe deck but I heard most of the balcony cabins on this deck are larger. The square footage is more than other decks but it is only because the balconies are larger. Sounds like you did your homework too. I know this is a touchy subject, but since so many of you are already booked for several months out, I'm wondering if the prices will come down any and how reliable is Princess in honoring lower fares before final payment? Any experience with that situation? Thanks, Carolcha