alansfreed

I don't know if you're trying to get down-to-the-foot accuracy... but there's a Geocache that appears to be right in the midst of where cruise passengers arrive. Its coordinates are:

N 17° 29.610 W 088° 11.000

The cache (if you happen to be a cacher) is http://coord.info/GCP3EC

We also just got off Freedom of the Seas with Richard Spacey, and he definitely lived up to all the hype! I was thrilled to hear that he was going to be with us on this cruise, and he didn't disappoint!

Anyone remember Jeffrey Arpin? He was the cruise director on our first two cruises (the first being our honeymoon in 1991, the second coming the week after 9/11/01). He set the bar really high... loved his dry wit! He has since retired from that job, but still does some sort of cruise-related work, I believe.

Volcanoes National Park is awesome, but don't try to squeeze it in while at port in Kona... it's much, much closer to Hilo.

We just got home from a Carnival Spirit cruise, and had a great time at each port. At Kona, we enjoyed the House of Refuge (which I can't pronounce, let alone spell) and Painted Church. We also enjoyed the Surfin' Ass Donkey Balls (chocolate snack) and we visited the South Kona Fruit stand.

And how could anyone have a thread about Kona without suggesting a visit to the World's Most Scenic Urinal!?! I found it to be a very refreshing experience:

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/13539

Hawaii Volcano's National Park is pretty amazing. Snorkelling in Kealakekua Bay is also great (both deep and shallow water...you choose). Mauna Kea is cool too!

I hate that! I gladly tip anyone who actually handles my bags. However' date=' when they jump in at the last second, and with their hand out, that grinds me. :mad:([/quote']

 

Just to add an opposite story to the one I posted earlier... we sailed out of Seattle in the summer of '07, and we parked in the parking garage. There were people there who literally unloaded our trunk into a trailer to take our baggage to the ship. The service was incredible.

 

I handed over some money to tip the driver when he dropped us off at the dock, and he literally seemed taken aback by the fact that I was tipping him. He honestly had no expectation of receiving a tip, and was surprised and grateful when I gave it to him.

We cruised out of FLL over Christmas, and we took our bags within literally 5 feet of the spot where they were to be dropped off. A porter jumped in to help, and then basically demanded a tip, and then complained that we didn't tip him more. Needless to say, this isn't the way I had hoped to start our vacation.