bigsky

We have two cruises booked in the Med later this year, we have heard nothing. Also keep checking for price drops and so far nothing, prices are actually higher than we paid. Airfare has also not dropped.  

We have one booked for August. Actually a few weeks back, it dropped quite a bit. Since then, has gone up a bit. I looked this am and looks like many canceled. This far out, no way am I canceling. Hopefully this will be under control in a few months, and start getting back to normal!


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Just checked on ours in August...Mediterranean cruise. Went down 300.00 along with a 50.00 obc. Can't say who we went thru, but of all our years of cruising, first time we used them. Great deal cuz you also get a nice gc from their box store to use it. Mine is about 175.00

Plus using their cc, you get 3% back...good deal!

How easy is it to grab a taxi from the airport and more importantly, from the cruise port? I’m used to cruising in the Caribbean, and taxis are all lined up to go

Having been to Maui 12 times, yes, rent a car and enjoy this beautiful place on your own!! So much to see! I would for sure go on the other side, depending on where u dock. We’ve never cruised there, as we spend 2 weeks each yr. assuming you’ll dock by the airport. Lahaina, Ka’anapali, Kapalua..... all that area and drive is so nice with a wonderful beach in Ka’anapali. Feel free to ask about places to visit or ? 

287 😢 ...The Allure... love that class! But it’s the Mediterranean this time!! Will be worth the wait... I keep telling myself to make myself feel better

24 minutes ago, marazul said:

When are you going?  That hotel is right by the Via Laietana where huge protest marches are taking place.  If you are going in the next couple of weeks, you could find 300,000 people standing outside your door.  Otherwise, it is a very nice area and hotel. 

Look at this map with the location of the hotel and the road closure of Via Laeitana happening right now. 

Not til next summer. Thanks for the heads up tho!

11 minutes ago, helpthejuggler said:

Not sure which sailing, but no cruises planned. Steves Med cruise ports is good if it covers your ports.

 

Barcelona is worth the time...

I didn’t know he had one to cover different ports! Have to ck that out. Thx!!

6 hours ago, helpthejuggler said:

I live in the UK, but have visited and stayed maybe 12 times, most recently twice in June.

 

3 days will be good to see the highlights

All of the Gaudi sights particularly Sagrada Familia pre book to go inside.

 

Placa Espanya then walk to Montjuic.

Pl. Catalunya the walk Las Ramblas (I like Ramblas less each time I visit).

Passieg de Gracia is beyond Pl Catalunya where Casa Mila and Casa Batllo are found.

 

Gothic area, Check the shows at the Palau de la Musica which is a few minutes walk from this hotel, but see it anyway for a visit. We saw a Grand Flamenco there. Placa Real, City Hall (Free on Sun morning).

 

Port Vell and the harbour, Olympic port area.

 

Churches, museums...Tripadvisor will give you tips.

 

You will not be short of things to see.

 

Use the Metro and bus network to make some journeys

Thank you for all your tips! Are u going on this sailing?

i like Rick steves books, but we have many ports on this cruise. I’ll do my research as I do with all of our cruises. I’m glad I added a few days to check Barcelona out prior to. It’s a long flight for just a weeks cruise.

we just returned recently from Ireland. Wonderful place to visit if u haven’t been! Need to return!!

Have a good weekend

38 minutes ago, helpthejuggler said:

Take a look on google maps, all will become clear.

 

Port is called Moll Adossat, hotel is at the far end of the gothic qtr as below

Hotel is in the city centre which is 15 mins or so in a taxi.

 

Don't let a few minutes difference in a taxi put you off. A good location to explore the city from is far more important.

 

When I mentioned the cathedral, bear in mind it is impressive, but don't confuse it with Sagrada Familia,, which is a Basilica a few miles away.

Thank you for this info! I think we’ll book that hotel. Staying in Barcelona 3 days prior to cruise.

do u live there, or a fellow cruiser? We haven’t looked at what to do in each port yet as we have a lot going on right now. 

Any must visit if u live there?
 

How far is it? Cruising out of there

Is it close to the cruise port?

1 hour ago, alrose251 said:

Thanks for clarifying this for me!  I do want to snorkel in Maui!

If you’re going to on Ka’anapali beach, many snorkel around black rock in front of the Sheraton. Be careful tho. I think farther out around the rock is a current out past the rock. It’s a popular place to snorkel 

The beach is public, but each hotel has their. Hairs and umbrellas for the people that are staying at that resort. U can park it anywhere tho. Just don’t sit in chairs.

We started out cruising with Carnival only in 1989. I think about 5 cruises with Carnival alone. We've done Disney, NCL (our least fav) Princess and Royal. Once we cruised with Royal, we never went back to Carnival. I personally wouldn't go on Vision if I were trying out a new line. It's an older ship. Royal has so many in their fleet. We prefer the mega ships as there's soooo much to do and actually feel like there's less people since there are so many places to spread out. Everyone is different tho. Some prefer the smaller ships. Royal is a step up from Carnival. Royal is classy but fun. I would look at the different ships, videos of what they have to offer, and the layouts of them. Our favorite is the Oasis class. There entertainment is better than the smaller ships of Royal. So many choices of eateries as well. Much info you'll find already on here, but just wanted to put my two cents in. Happy cruising!

10 hours ago, MJB1437 said:

How are the waves at Ka'anapali?  We were there a few years ago and couldn't get near the water because the waves were so big and breaking close to shore.  It was very disappointing.  We were there a few years before that and I don't remember the surf being so bad.

Wow! I’ve never seen huge waves there. This is the beach we always stay on when we visit. Hubby always surfs here, but they’re small. I wouldn’t worry at all. Maybe if there’s a storm out there, any place maybe a little rougher. If u want a beach day, this is the place cuz u can ship, swim, see penguins, have the best shave ice, ... If u want to get a yummy dessert, get a hula pie at the hula grill right there on the beach! Plus this is pretty close to Lahaina. 

8 hours ago, Aquaticdreams said:

Happy birthday and have a great trip!

Thank you!

7 hours ago, Aquaticdreams said:

The ship’s excursions for Maui don’t look all that great. I was hoping to find a short private tour if I could do it early enough to leave time for the beach and Lahaina. My husband would be happy with just the beach and shops but I’d like to see some of the island too. I kind of feel like we’ll miss the beauty of the island if that’s all we do. As far as the ship tours there is a two hour trilogy catamaran sail that might at least let us see the coastal scenery. But even that starts late and goes to 12:30. So far I haven’t figured out the best way to spend the day. (Thanks for the info on Iao Valley. It sounds like it’s not feasible).

If u do the catamaran til 12:30, u have time to take a taxi/Uber to Ka’anapali beach just like a 10 min drive north. Great beach! They have Whalers Village for shopping or go back to Lahaina where you’ll Get back on the tender and shop there til it’s time to get back on. Walking around Lahaina is a must. If u want beach time, Ka’anapali is great cuz it’s nice and close. 

Driving along the coast north of Ka’anapali would be wonderful, but u need much more time and a 🚗. 

Enjoy! I’m going back last minute trip for my birthday in a few weeks and in January for our annual winter trip. 🐳🌺🌈🤙🏖

Aloha... ask any ?’s

10 hours ago, Aquaticdreams said:

Thanks, this is very helpful. I’m still trying to find out how long the wait would likely be to even get on the tender in the morning. If there’s time to do a short tour in addition to spending a little time at the beach and Lahaina is there anything you could recommend? I would really like to see Iao valley or the west Maui mountains but I know there wouldn’t be enough time to do all that. So I need to identify something else that would allow us see some of the beauty of the island in a shorter period of time. Thanks for any suggestions!

Yes, those darn tenders! You really can't schedule anything too early in the am due to that. Iao Valley is on the other side of the island. You can spend as much time as you want there...short hike or longer. Depending on traffic, can expect a 45 min drive over there. So that's 1/1/2 hrs of driving. Have to figure out what your must do's are. Kaanapali beach is a minimum of two hours there. I'd want at least 3. Lahaina, you may like a few hours there. This would be my last stop so you can just spend as much time as you have left there. Maui is definitely a place you don't want to be rushed. So many places to visit and explore. Happy to answer any questions. 

Were you looking to do an excursion thru the ship? 

We started out cruising with Carnival only. Took many cruises. Have tried so many lines. For us, worst cruise for the ship only was NCL. Our fav hands down has been Royal. Everyone is different and want different things out of a cruise. We love the mega ships with Royal.  Has to have a flowrider now for hubby. 

Need to figure out what's important to you. I think you can't go wrong with Royal though. 

Oasis! Love that class. So much to do. It actually seems less crowded most of the time than a smaller ship. So many places to go on her and so much to do. No one will get bored! You can always go on the small ship with no kids : )

You can also prebook taking a catamaran out and go snorkeling. Many take off from the beach. You can do a morning one and get back early afternoon. Great way to spend the day. 

9 hours ago, Aquaticdreams said:

 

This will be our first trip to Hawaii. We’re considering taking a private tour in Maui and I need to figure out what time I could actually schedule it for. We will be arriving in Lahaina at 8:00 AM. I assume people who are taking a Celebrity excursion will be the first to tender out. I’m wondering if anyone who has experience tendering at this port can advise how long it should realistically take to tender out and get over to Lahaina. I’m also trying to figure out the rest of the day. We’re in port until 6:00 PM so I think we should be back on board by 5:30 at the very latest. What time would we need to be back to Lahaina in order to get a tender back on time? Lastly, another option is we might want to spend a few hours at either Ka’anapali or Kapalua beach and a few hours shopping in Lahaina. How much travel time would we need to allow for cabs to and from the beach? It would be ideal to do a short tour, go to the beach, and shop but I don’t know if it’s realistic with tender and transportation time factored in. Thanks!

We visit Maui yearly and love it! From the ships I see that are tendered in, they're pretty close. Once you get on the tender, shouldn't be more than 5 min. I've only seen ships right out in front of the shopping area. So can't imagine it taking that long...5-10 depending on how fast they go. They'll probably have you back at the tender by 5.

Kaanapali beach area is wonderful! I would go over to the Whaler Village area. They have an outdoor shopping mall with nice shops with restaurants as well. Nice snorkeling area by black rock. You can visit penguins, swim, eat, snorkel....This area is about a 10 min drive from Lahaina.  Lahaina has lots of shopping and just a must stop area to see along the water. Visit the banyan tree, shop, eat....(shave ice at Ulalini's!)

Since you're relying on a taxi, a nice day would be spent at Kaanapali beach IMO. Then come back to Lahaina say, 3:00. Can finish up your day there and you know you won't miss the tender cuz it's right there by the banyan tree area. This would give you  few hours to walk Lahaina. Any ?'s, feel free to ask!

On ‎7‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 4:52 PM, balanceok said:

We will be arriving in Lahaina Maui in September on the Celebrity Solstice and I'm wondering if there is a beach or nearby resort where we can just rent a couple of beach chairs and an umbrella like in the Caribbean.

 

I would appreciate any recommendations or suggestions.

 

Thanks.

 

 

We always stay in Kaanapali. Beautiful beaches, shopping, places to eat. There's a sidewalk that is along the resorts. The Hyatt has penguins to see and the best shave ice, Ulalani's. They have a small place by the water. There's Whalers Village that has nice shopping. The Hula Grill has good food and the Hula Pie is a must for dessert. There's isn't resorts that allow u to use their chairs like in the Caribbean. Bring your towels, and pick a spot. Nice snorkeling in front of the Sheraton by black rock. We stay on Kaanapali beach every yr. Love it!

Lahaina is a great place to shop and eat as well. Visit the banyan tree for fun. They also have the larger version of Ulalani's for the best shave ice. Get the ice cream at the bottom...yum

On ‎7‎/‎7‎/‎2019 at 4:59 PM, rkcmo said:

Cruising and on Maui for a day. Have a car and I'm kinda in limbo....aside from eating...going to beautiful beaches and a Luau....what else can I do besides shop or take a tour? Sorry Hawaii posts have over 700 pages and I'm kinda taking a short cut! Thanks in advance...Vicki

We go to Maui every year. We love it so much, we won't cruise there.  One idea that we enjoyed so much one yr to celebrate our anniversary, was to take a helicopter tour. They have different areas of Maui you can visit, or a longer trip. Many operators to use. Something we'll never forget!
So much to there and visit. Everyone is different. What one may like to do, you may not. 

I agree about the Maui Revealed. So many little places to visit. Enjoy...Aloha!

38 minutes ago, bunkiew said:

Weather was good! Upper 80’s with a nice breeze.  North Carolina is home and it was definitely more comfortable in St. Kitts than it is here!  🥵

Good to hear! Our summers here are beautiful. Another reason not to cruise in the summer. But since my dh loves sailing, this would be something we would do and love!