beeandkmon

I'm not sure if they sell out, but I would definitely recommend booking everything before you get on board for two reasons:

1.) You will enjoy your trip so much better knowing your plans are all set. When you get on the ship you want to have a drink, relax, and enjoy your vacation instead of rushing down to a crowded shore excursion desk to try to figure out what you want to do.

2.) Once you are on the ship it is hard to make other arrangements with other tour companies. You won't be able to compare prices of private tours as easily and make an informed decisions. By booking ahead of time you can ensure you get the tour that is the best fit for you at the right price.

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Sounds like a fun trip! I had a few pieces of advice:

-Airport Transfer: I think you could do better with a taxi, but to be honest this is not based on much- we went to a hotel before we left.

-Snorkeling in Maui: We have experience with two snorkeling tours in Maui. The first was one very much like the ships tour and the second was through Redline Rafting Company. While the first trip was fine, Redline Rafting was AMAZING. You have to drive there (about 20 minutes away, but an easy drive) so you would have to keep your car (you can park for free at the port) and it takes off very very early. However, this was one of the best things I have ever done on any vacation. You are in a small group and they take you to four snorkeling spots. You also get to them before any other group.

Kauai: We used Safari Helicopters for a tour of Hilo because they were the cheapest and we were on a budget. They also fly out of Kauai. We had a great experience with them. The flight was great as was the pilot. They also pick you up for free so you wouldn't need a rental car. If you have one over night you will have to pay another day and pay 20 dollars to park. If you do have to pay for the car an extra day anyway I would suggest using it to see other sights. There are so many things to see in Kauai.

Car rentals: We booked all of our cars through discount Hawaii. I don't remember exactly how we booked, but after I booked them I called to confirm and they were very helpful.

I hope this helps!

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I would also consider the time change coming from Michigan. If you fly out you will spend the first few days trying to adjust. We went to bed at about 7:30 our first few days! If you are to cruise out there you will spend your sea days adjusting- where it won't really matter if you "miss" night time activities. We ended up not doing a Luau our second night in Hawaii (which we had considered) because staying up that late would have been really hard. If you don't adjust well to time changes I may do the sea days first.

I have a group of 6 traveling to Tunis via a cruise. We would like to see the Souk Market and the Ancient Carthage/Roman Baths. Any suggestions on the logistics of seeing these two?

Thanks for the information. We get in at 8 and leave at 6.

I have a group who would like to go canyoning while we are in Corsica. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Hello could use a little help. Six of us will be arriving on our Holland America Cruise ship in June. We would like to see Pompeii and Vesuvius. A few quick questions:

1.) What hikes are available around vesuvius? Is it just one main path?

2.) What is the easiest way to get to these two locations?

3.) We would like to have an English speaking guide at Pompeii. Any recommendations?

Thank you!

I would recommend trying to hike at sunrise. It will be crowded at the top but the sunrise is really something to see!

I am not sure how long your flight will be or what time zone you are coming from but we were EXHAUSTED when we got in around 2pm. By the time we checked into our hotel and dropped off our bags we were hungry and tired. We took a walk and talked to a company about surf lessons. After an early dinner and a little exploring we went to bed at about 7!

If you have a long flight and a time change I wouldn't plan too much. We were really glad we did not have much to do this day.

The overnights are great because you don't have to stress about making it back to the ship on time. You can also get a really early start (if you want) on the second day.

We had an amazing day with redline rafting company. You will have to rent a car to get there and go on the second day. This is a small boat and it leaves early to avoid crowds. They don't take small children and I would not go if you have health issues (this boat was FAST). We got to snorkel Molokini, the backside of Molokini (hardly anyone else goes here), turtle town, and turtle arches. It was a great trip!

If you want an adventure book a snorkle trip with redline rafting company. It is an ADVENTURE and was one of our best days in Hawaii. The snorkling was awesome, the boat uncrowded, and the ride amazing. They have great Tripadvisor reviews and we had a great time.

I booked through discount Hawaii- nothing new to add but just wanted to confirm to you that the previous poster was 100% correct.

I received free parking at the pier too. Ask the guards they will help you find the correct lot! Even the "far" lot was about 100 meters from the ship.

If your on POA there is another parking lot not far away and it is also free. Ask the attendants they will show you!

You can also use alternative transportation to the cruise ship. We used Roberts (I think its about $8 per person). I know people have used other companies as well.

If you want an amazing trip I recommend redline rafting company. It is an awesome trip. If you are on the POA you will have to rent a car the first day so you can leave EARLY the second day. Since this trip leaves so early you get ahead of the crowds. We arrived at Molokini and were the only ones there (about 45 minutes later there were over 1,000 people there). We also got to snorkel on the back of Molokini (and go in the elevator- google it, it is awesome!) We then swam in two turtle spots (turtle town and then turtle arches). They only take about 20 people on the boat so it is not crowded. The boat ride is thrilling and they were amazingly friendly. This trip is not for those who don't like adventure but if you do it will be the time of your life!

usually the rental car companies will provide a free shuttle...check on that.

I would not book through the ship..they charge you a lot more for the same tours. I did Safari tours in Hilo as they were a lot cheaper than anyone else. They also have Kauai tours. We really liked them. Everyone had a good view, they picked us up promptly at the ship (for free), and they were very kind.

The canyon and the trail are actually very close in actual miles but very far driving as you can't cross the north side of the Island. (I had wanted to do both too!!) We picked the trail as it seemed like more of an "all day" event. You will pass beautiful look outs and great beaches on the drive. We actually hiked the trail all the way to the waterfall (4 miles out/4 back). It was absolutely amazing! The views are awesome just a few meters in though so you don't have to do the whole thing. If you can hike the whole way it will be the best hike of your life (you can swim under the waterfall). I know people say POA does a sail by but the views don't even compare to actually being there.

The drive to the trail was not the easiest (you have to cross one way bridges) and lots of curves. I would absolutely NOT in a million years do it in the dark. This is not a drive were you will go faster than google maps says. I would suggest putting all of the directions into google maps and finding out how much driving it really is. I would then add an hour for your car rental and some cushion into each drive.

We used Roberts for our transportation (not excursions) and they were very professional and prompt. With that being said you may be better off renting a car (especially at volcano). A tour bus is really not the best way to see as much as you can. You waist a lot of time and have to follow a strict schedule. Cars end up being cheaper and we found all of our drives very easy.

If you are just wanting to go to the beach Waikiki is a public beach and you wouldn't need a day pass. There are plenty of shops and things around the beach to do.

Maui: Rent a car. Drive to Lahaina. If you want to snorkel and are adventurous I recommend redline rafting co.

Kona: We did the NCL kayak/snorkel. It was actually really fun. You can just walk around here though.

Kuaui: If you are a good hiker rent a car and hike the Kalalau trail (or part of it.) It is stunning!

There is plenty to do just walking around Kona- you don't need to book anything

Thanks everyone for the nice comments! Once thing I forgot to mention was that NCL has "vacation hero" cards you can send to employees to thank them. We had a great room steward so we sent him one. We were told by one of the trivia hosts that they absolutely love getting the recognition.

Our original plan had been to do the NCL Pearl Harbor excursion, but the government shut down ruined that. NCL was great and let us rebook or refund. We decided to do the North Shore tour as we really wanted the ease of not having to worry about getting to the airport on our own.

Do NOT do this tour. I knew it was a bus tour but it was really falsely advertised. We didn't even really get to see the North Shore. We did get to stop at the Dole plantation which was neat, but we were only there about 20 minutes. This was not the best day.

We got dropped off at the airport around 3:00 for our 5:30 flight. We ate lunch/dinner before getting on the plane. Interestingly enough the couple that had sung in a lot of the shows were on our flights back. The flight back went by really fast. We watched a movie, read, and then slept on and off. Because of the time change we landed at 9:30am on Sunday.

We spent Sunday laying around sleeping and loading pictures to our computers. We both had to be back at work on Monday morning. This was really difficult as we just wanted to sleep, unpack, and do laundry! If you can manage to have an extra day off before going back to work I recommend it. However, it was not bad enough that I would give up a day of vacation to come home early!

That concludes my review! I'll come check back for a few days to answer any questions anyone may have. There is obviously much more information that I did not include here. Now its off to plan another trip! Perhaps Alaska?