sanedeb

I am interested as well.

Sicu1, yes I would recommend Kauai photo tour for your husband. I recommended them to a friend whose husband was also loved photography and they had a great time ! Best of both worlds , seeing Kauai and getting great photography hints.

We are on the April 6th sailing as well! You mentioned post Sandy, we are on this cruise with credit from a sailing during Sandy that did not go as planned! Will be a great cruise:)

We toured with Kauai Photo Tours. In addition to seeing beautiful sites including Hanalei, the lighthouse and refuge, we stopped at various coastal and inland sites, stopped and had a plate lunch from a truck (great fun and tasty) and learned how to better use my camera. Was a great day!

We spent 17 days in Hawaii and had a wonderful time! I will give the abbreviated review.

We flew Hawaiian Airlines from JFK. Definitely the way to go, felt like we started the vacation early! Soothing Hawaiian music, beautiful plane and delicious food. We used Johnny's Taxi for several transports. We would definitely use him again, friendly, on time and spacious van. For our first leg we stayed at the Aston Waikiki Beach hotel. Nice room, great balcony beach view and a section of the corridor was open to a beautiful mountain/Diamond Head view. Breakfast was included, nothing spectacular, but hearty and filling. Usually filled the lunch bag that was included in stay and got chairs (free) and sat on the beach to eat. Beach just across the street, park on next block. Walked to Leonards, Bailey's and the zoo. Very nice location. Took the bus to Diamond Head to climb, easy to take the bus, a little harder to climb, but well worth the view.

Johnny's taxi then took us to the Pride of America. The ship was great, the renovations definitely an improvement. Staff was excellent, not a problem. Our room on deck 9 was great, plenty of room, was able to store everything including luggage (and we had a lot!). Our room steward was fine, we got all we needed so were satisfied. The balcony was nice, the bathroom typically tight, but adequate. Participated in activities, making leis and beaded turtle and enjoyed it. Hawaiian ambassadors were friendly, approachable and very helpful. We purchased the 3 specialty dining and were very pleased with our choices, Cagney's Steakhouse, Jefferson's Bistro and La Cucina. Loved all 3, the service at Jefferson's was stellar, the food was excellent and the waitstaff very good. We like to ask the staff for their suggestions, and when we followed them, were very happy with the choices. The Skyline and Liberty was so so. Service at Skyline was hit and miss, mostly miss, food just okay. At Liberty we had excellent service, food a little better, but not much. The buffet had great pretzel bread, which thankfully for my caloric intake, I didn't find early. Cadillac was fun for lunch, milkshakes beyond wonderful. We ate breakfast in Skyline one day, but every other day we ate at the buffet at the rear of the ship and were very satisfied. This was especially nice since we could eat outside most days. Went to Gold Rush Saloon to get popcorn everyday to eat while sitting on the balcony, was very enjoyable.

We enjoyed going to Pinks before dinner for the Hawaiian music which included hula dancing. The shows were enjoyable, but because of jet lag it was hard to stay awake, lol. I did the beer tasting and really enjoyed it even though I am not a big beer drinker! My husband participated in pool volleyball and had a blast.

Most of the excursions we arranged on our own. In Maui, we used Valley Isle for Road to Hana. Was a great tour, and were glad we did it with a smaller tour group. Second day in Maui, we took the free shuttle to the shopping center where they had a nice Hawaiian music and dancing show, and nice little shops. Had a great fabric shop with beautiful Hawaiian fabric. When we got back to the pier we walked to the beach. The area is industrial, but it was nice walking on the beach. Enjoyed the pool for the rest of the day.

In Hilo we used Marylou's tours for a Volcano National Park tour. This was great, Marylou relayed alot of history and interesting bits of information. She also catered the tour to our interests. There was only 4 of us, so it was a very personal tour. In Kona, we just planned to enjoy the port. The Hawaiian ambassador suggested snorkeling to the left of the dock and it was a great suggestion! Snorkeled and paddle boarded from a nice grassy beach. Water was very nice and when we were done we walked around the town. There was a nice little farmers market that had a lot of local produce, coffee and souvenirs.

In Kauai we took the Kauai Photo Tour which was delightful. We had to pay a fee for transport to the store, but it was well worth it. Not only did they take us to beautiful areas to photograph, but they gave great pointers on using our cameras. Would definitely use this company again. The second day in Kauai we just stayed on the ship, swam and sunned enjoying the beauty of the area.

Embarkation was a nightmare only because we had so much luggage and needed help. Finally we were able to get someone who streamlined us past the taxi waiting line straight to a taxi! :) Next hotel was the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Had the top floor, diamond head view in the Rainbow Tower. Beautiful setting, outrageous price, but since we don't plan on returning, we were willing to pay the price. Was central to everything we wanted to see, and able to eat much cheaper outside the hotel.

More review to come.....

Great review! We are booked for September and are in 9096, and picked starboard for the same view!!! Excitement level going up!!!

Thanks for the tips! Wanted to know what store options there were for day 2 Maui without renting a car. Also, what days and times did they offer Lei making? Want to try to plan to be there.

Love your review! We are going in September. Despite lots of research, it is good to get more info! Can't wait to read more.