kgymn

I am thinking they may start sailing past, too, at least POA. We were already talking about trying to do the cruise again in August. I feel like maybe I should just say forget budget and find a way to make it happen. Who knows how long it'll flow for and living on Oahu we only need to worry about time off not flights so we can book last minute.

I'm guessing we won't see much but glow but im thinking Monday doing nature's fireworks for the fourth! We don't fly out until Tuesday, by Monday it more than likely will be farther down hill, closer to the road than it is today.

*Fingers crossed*

~Katy

Aloha all! I know people often ask where they can go to see lava flowing and is the lava flowing into the ocean? The answer is almost always if you want to see it flowing you need to take a helicopter and no it hasn't flowed into the ocean in years.

Well, the latest lava flow out of Pu'u O'O is making its way down the pali and they announced earlier they will be opening a lava viewing area today (June 30th, 2016.) By that, they mean they are opening the emergency road (connecting to chain of craters road) to foot traffic up to where the gate is to the national park. It's NOT super close to the lava, but you'll be able to see it from there. Looks like it's a decent flow. And it sounds like they are expecting it could end up flowing over the road towards the ocean (no timeline on that though.)

Here is a video about it http://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2016/06/29/video-lava-update-kalapana-viewing-area-ready/

I'm going to be on the Big Island for the long weekend, so I will DEFINITELY be checking this out.

~Katy

We spent a ton of time on our balcony on the POA and even so for $1500 more I would not find it worth that much extra money. For that price difference, especially with you knowing you don't utilize the balcony much, doesn't make sense. Like others have said you can see the views up on deck just fine.

~Katy

That looks good to me. I don't think that is too much for Friday at all, and depending on how long you decide to spend at Pearl harbor you may even sneak in time for a nap or a dip in the ocean. As far as what time to book, the Arizona memorial tour is only a portion of the things to see. There's lots of free exhibits and other things to do while there (bowfin, Missouri) that are easier to get tickets to so if you're planning on spending a few hours there, then you can be flexible with when you reserve the boat ride to the memorial. I've been twice, and once went to the exhibits and my guests did the memorial. They will let you trade your tickets for an earlier time if they have them available and you show up early and want to try to do that first. The Missouri and bowfin aren't specific times, it's just general like any museum. So I'd just suggest not booking the Arizona memorial too early, maybe not before 9 if you plan to do diamond head at or just after sunrise. That would give you time to hike and get to pearl harbor without rushing and with plenty of time to check in for the boat.

Also, just a note that you may want to check closer to your trip regarding parking at lanikai. They're changing the parking restrictions (making it harder to find parking) and who knows what may change in the next year. Currently there is a complete parking ban in lanikai on holiday weekends. King Kamehameha day is in June (the 12th in 2017) if that is the weekend you would be going to lanikai I advise you to have an alternate plan. Lanikai is amazing and famous but not so much better than the other beaches in waimanalo and kailua that it would be worth wasting valuable beach time hunting for parking and walking a ways to get to.

~Katy

We had no issues with the food and no rude service when we sailed last year. We loved the cruise and plan to go again. You also don't spend nearly as much time onboard as on other cruises due to the amount of time in port, so if you don't happen to be a huge fan of the ship itself you aren't there long enough for it to matter too much IMO.

As far as the dining, we booked at a time where we got specialty dining for free and it was well worth it! We enjoyed the specialty restaurants that we went to. Only ate in the regular dining room once. Ate at the buffet often, but I'm the kind of person who could eat burgers, hot dogs, and fries for days on end.

~Katy

Lanikai is amazing but it does have parking restrictions on weekends

Waimanalo is a great suggestion for a beach to check out. There's actually a long long stretch of beach in waimanalo, including waimanalo beach park, the stretch of beach behind the neighborhood, waimanalo bay beach park (aka Sherwood forest) and Bellows AFB public beach (has a public beach open on weekends, but the northern stretch that's open daily is military only and requires a military ID) any of the beaches along there are gorgeous with the softest powder sand and such pretty waters! There's also some amazing beaches on the west side, makaha is one of my favorites. I also love makua (aka pray for sex beach) though there you'll want to be extra careful to not leave anything in the car (never leave anything in sight in a rental car in Oahu as a general rule)

Just a note as someone mentioned the "big wave beaches" those will not have big waves in June. They only get big waves in winter, summer many are great for swimming and snorkeling.

What time were you planning on embarking? You will want to be onboard before the safety drill, but are you planning to be on board early, or get add much time on Oahu as you can?

~Katy

A note about hiking, especially diamond head. It may sound like a short hike but make no mistake it is up a serious hill. If your legs are not the strongest/lack muscle endurance you may be feeling wobbly the next day. You will likely be up quite early on Friday due to the time change. It would give you plenty of time to hike diamond head and still make it to pearl harbor the same day. As someone said, book your Arizona memorial tickets online. If you have trouble finding any available, they release some at 7am the day prior.

Many beaches on Oahu have beach showers. You're not supposed to use soap etc, but they are certainly enough to fix most of the sand issue especially if you stick to the calm waters of Waikiki. Though I'd recommend renting a car and visiting a nicer beach. Oahu has amazing beaches.

If your husband is really into history, in addition to pearl harbor you may consider a visit to the punchbowl national cemetery and perhaps at least a drive past the iolani palace.

~Katy

I agree that you need a car on a land vacation, other than for Oahu if you're just going to be in Honolulu.

And let's be honest, nobody should go to Oahu and only stay in Honolulu. In the very least a bus tour of the island is in order but staying in Honolulu alone you really miss some of the best beaches and other island highlights. We do have a solid bus system, at least, but getting out of Honolulu is advisable one way or another!

~Katy

Of course, if you do a cruise from the West Coast, you have about 8 at sea days, which some will say is 8 days "lost" not seeing the Islands. So a half day checking in/out/flying, when you are seeing the area by driving and flying between islands, is certainly balanced, and then some.

 

I understand people like sea days. I like sea days!! But if you want to see the islands, and have 14 days...

But the Pride of America doesn't have any 'lost days'. The OP specifically asked which cruise has the most time in the most islands, which wouldn't be a cruise from the West coast. It would be POA.

 

Because the OP asked specifically about a cruise, I didn't get the impression that he was interested in a land trip (although I agree with Bruce's thoughts). If a cruise is what he wants, then POA is probably his best choice.

He not only asked about cruises he also asked about seeing the most islands. Spending 2 weeks assist around 2-3 islands, as land tour suggesters typically suggest, doesn't give him time on all the islands.

There's also the option to do POA back to back, adding more time on each island though I'd argue that may not leave enough time to explore Oahu if there wouldn't also be time for a couple days before/after.

~Katy

If for some reason there ends up being am active flow into the ocean they will sail past it, but that's unlikely to change before next month.

~Katy

As much as people say "do a land tour" That costs a lot more and you lose days to travel/check in/check out. So it's not without its drawbacks. I'd go with POA with some days on Oahu before/after, personally. You'll never see everything you want to on every island even if you're there for a week or more, but 2 days on each gives you time to hit the highlights that are most important to you.

~Katy

They were doing it when we went a year ago. I don't remember exact times or prices but it finished on deck at the deck party. Genius, really. Get a good sized group of people liquored up and dump em off at the deck party to set the tone. It's before sail away. We did the pub crawl, stayed for a few minutes of the party, went to find food and we're finishing up dinner from the buffet as we sailed away.

~Katy

Quite a bit of this depends on time of year not just for rough water on the north shore but also sunset times. Summer will have 2 more hours of daylight than winter, which could make all the difference between fitting in one more thing on day 1 or having to leave something off the list.

~Katy

You shouldn't have any trouble finding pineapple wine at an ABC store. ABC stores are all over Waikiki so you shouldn't have any trouble finding it.

Silver sweethearts sounds like a good business opportunity if you could find a place close by to open your own lot ;)

~Katy

Hello, I'm on Oahu and in a Facebook group here for hiking so get pretty current info on this hike. It is very much still closed, they are cracking down and the current fine (no warnings!) Is $1000. Plus criminal trespassing charges. The latest rumor is they are planning to begin removing the bottom portion of stairs making the rest inaccessible in the next month or two.

We did the E Noa tour (from Ko Olina but it's the same tour) and loved it. Much smaller buses than Roberts Hawaii. Or group ranged from age 3 to age 72 and all enjoyed the tour (including myself and I live on Oahu)

On the E Noa tour there is not time to swim at a beach but you are able to swim at waimea valley at the waterfall!

~Katy

I'm not sure what you consider good wine, but wine is sold practically everywhere here. Grocery stores, pharmacies, convenience stores, ABC stores, and yes Sams and Costco.

When we went in POA we decided not to bring any. The prices for the bottles onboard want more than the price of a bottle plus the borrower l corkage fee so it wasn't worth it to us, but my husband is the wind drinker and he's not that picky.

~Katy

Just wanted to make a note that if beaches is high on your priority list, Oahu arguably had more of the best beaches vs other islands. Kauai is close.

Personally I'd do the cruise, you get to see a little of every island. Which island you want to spend more time on will vary, each island had its fans, so take a look at what exactly you want to see on each. Any one of them you could easily fill a week and still have more to see, so it all comes down to which island has the most you want to see, or even where you can find the right spot to just hunker down and relax (we do that at Waikoloa Marriott, on big island, mostly because of the 24 hour pool and amazing sunsets)

~Katy

It should be fine. We did that snorkel tour and after returning, rented a car and drove to Haleakala ourselves in time for sunset. The snorkel tour is what I was most looking forward to, but will have to go back again because the day we were there the wind was too strong for molokini so we ended up elsewhere. I loved the crew on the boat, but given that I live in Oahu the alternate snorkel location wasn't much different from my usual snorkel spots. Just wanted to make that note, in case specifically molokini was where you are wanting to go, so you know it may or may not go to that spot the day of your tour. (No other tours that I am aware of went to molokini that day either. It simply wasn't safe.)

~Katy

Sunset can be between 5:30 and 7:30 depending on time on year (not between 6 and 7 add previously stated.)

Diamond head is "doable" any time of day depending on your heat tolerance and time of year, add week as fitness level, but make sure you bring a snack and lots of water. Personally I would recommend a less strenuous hike for after a long day of travel, like manoa falls if it's not raining.

~Katy

Bluesea777 had a great idea there scheduling dinner after sunset. Jus double check sunset time for when you cruise, it can be as early as 5:30 or as late as 7:30.

~Katy

My husband and I went on cruise last year. We rented a car in Maui and drove Haleakala ourselves for sunset. We had plenty of time. I've heard sunset is less crowded because most people go for sunrise. I do recommend though leaving early enough to see the craters etc before the sun goes down, we didn't get there while it was light enough to see the landscape (beautiful sunset though!)

If you keep posting in this thread I'll see, my phone will notify me of any more posts. :)

~Katy

I do suggest consider sunset rather than sunrise at Haleakala depending on if you are morning or night people. I'm not sure what your hesitation is with driving across the islands in the dark? It's really no different than the mainland (as long as you avoid certain coastal roads in Maui) I definitely second being aware of ocean safety! However, there are some amazing ocean activities you may want to consider such as snorkeling which you can do quite safely with a boat tour, many that require a life jacket. The ocean can be dangerous, but is also one of the biggest assets in Hawaii so don't avoid it entirely.

I'd say one big don't is for oahu- don't hunker down in Waikiki the entire time you are there. Go see the rest of the island, Waikiki is very crowded and touristy but we have rural areas and, I may be slightly biased, but many of the best beaches of the islands. If you need and specific suggestions for Oahu particularly beaches, let me know. I'm seriously obsessed.

Another big don't- if you rent a car DO NOT leave anything in the car. Ever. If you are going to be where the car is out of your sight, take everything with you. Hawaii is one of the safest States in the country, but car break ins are common especially rental cars. It's horrible, but it's true, some people will target tourists so watch your belongings.

And then my last don't is don't pay for expensive tours to things that are free. There is a lot to do for free here. For example on Oahu the beaches, hikes, many botanical gardens, Arizona memorial - all free! With multiple kids paying for tours per person will add up much more than renting a car and going yourself. Sometimes tours are worth it, I did a circle island tour with my family when they visited Oahu that was well worth it for the information the tour guide gave and also included entry to a couple places that do charge admission. Sometimes the tours aren't going to give you much you can't do or learn on your own.

~Katy