Planning ahead

[slix1]

This is for the people who are getting started with planning. I spent a huge amount of time planning but enjoyed it since I had 6 months. Don't wait until the last minute and be frantic. Here are some of my thoughts that might help you. Then when you are finally there, you will have a great time in Hawaii.

Time of year if you haven't booked yet. There is no clear choice. Winter has whales and surfing competion waves on some beaches. Summer is hotter but won't matter if you are mostly going to be taking beach days. I picked fall for slightly better temps and smaller crowds but plan to go again soon for the whales and see everything I couldn't work in this first trip. There is a slightly rainier season but you will be visiting the rainy side of several islands so be prepared for wet/humid at some point.

Stay extra days. Yes, if you can afford it. We landed at 1pm Friday before the cruise and left the Sunday after at 5:30pm. Otherwise you don't get to see Honolulu or the island of Oahu. Like all the other ports, we wish we had been there longer.

Take excursions. You won't really see Hawaii from the ship! This is not the area to save money. The decision is whether to leave it all to NCL, another tour company, or do it yourself. NCL is usually the most costly but is the safest bet. We did it ourselves by renting a car at all ports. This will not work unless everyone wants to do it this way. Driving can be tiring and stressful. If you have ever fought in the car, don't ruin this vacation. This is very important no matter how many are in the group.

Booking a car. This forum has great hints about car rental. I joined Thrifty Blue Chip to get faster service and used a discount code. If you decide to drive, book your car asap. At all locations on my trip there were no cars available that had not been prebooked. I got the local number for all places just in case I needed to advise them of a time change. At Kona, Enterprise said go stand under the big banyon tree and call. This worked perfectly and we though it was a great part of the aloha way of life. We needed a minivan and Thrifty didn't have one. I got great service from these two companies. The drive guides that I found online are handed out at Thrifty and Enterprise. You could become familiar with their maps ahead of time. We also took a GPS and found that it was great for saving the car rental place and any gas station that we saw. GPS wasn't a requirement and there aren't that many roads and few towns of much size. Even a minivan was a good price at a little over $60 a day. Gas is high but usually the distance isn't far. The only expensive days had mountains. The day with Haleakala going up to 10,000 ft cost about $40. There are lots of warnings about not leaving stuff in your car. We didn't worry at quick scenic overlooks but took our stuff with us a longer stops. It is not that there is a lot of crime but there are a lot of backpacks visible for a quick window smash.

Decide your activity level and interests. Do you want to get up early and see/do all that you can at each port? Do you want to sit and relax over breakfast and get a later start? Go to the beach or shopping? Just remember that windy or cloudy conditions are more likely later in the day. Should your group separate on some days? Some go zip line and some tour a botanical garden so that everyone is happy? Read the excursions offered by NCL and Roberts. Read this forum for other providers. This will give you a start at what is popular and available on each island. This is a good start to making an informed choice. Many things are offered on all islands and you will be getting just a taste of each island no matter how hard you try to see it all.

Have multiple picks for each island. Know if you will be on the rainy or dry side at each port. You need alternate choices in case of weather and more so on the rainy side. If you are driving yourself, you must realize that most roads are curvy and the short distance will take much longer than you first thought. You will want to see waterfalls, rain forest, mountains, volcanoes, beaches, tropical gardens, Hawaiian culture, etc. Each island has them all but some are easier to reach than others. Try to sample something in every category. I bought the Revealed books and two other books. I also did a lot of reading on this forum. I also looked a a huge number of the pictures posted.

Time change. For most people, there will be jetlag. We used it by going to the Arizona our first morning since we had taken a Friday flight. We had a 5 hour difference and I knew I would not sleep until noon by the clock my body was on. We decided to not switch completely so that the adjustment back to the real world would not be so hard. The first two nights we crashed pretty early but then generally went to sleep by 10pm. This did cut down on the nightlife but allowed us some relaxed group breakfasts and still an early start.

Clothes. My husband and I took one medium suitcase each and they fit under the bed. Hawaii is very humid so I took clothes that would dry quickly in case I got hot/sweaty. I wore longer shorts or capris and did not wear tank tops. This was to avoid too much sun. I alternated 3 nicer things at night but we were not interested in the formal night. Husband wore shorts in the day and dockers at night. Each island has mountains and you might be at surprising high elavations part of some days. We had light wind breakers and travel umbrellas. Some women wanted a light sweater or wrap in the dining areas. Your hair may not act like you are used to. Hot, humid, windy are not the best. Women, consider the flower clips. Looks tropical and keeps it out of your face.

Food. You will read many things about the ship food. You have to realize that they prepare for many people to charge thru at the same time. If you are picky, you will tire more quickly of the buffet. I think that they prepare relatively small quantities and refill often. We ate at the buffet, the dining room, the outside grill, and the Cadillac Grill. We also tried the speciality Italian the Jefferson Bistro. We liked the Jefferson enough to go twice. One couple also went to East Meets West and used room service for breakfast. Hint-it is easier to get reservations on the overnight in Maui and Kauai since these are luau days and fewer people eat on the ship. Most days we were gone at lunch. This gave us plenty of variety. Food in Hawaii is expensive but we were prepared. We shared a few lunches just because we were eating so much at the other meals. I asked a friend what they had spent on their non cruise vacation food and it was a horrible total. If you need to reduce expenses, eating at the buffet and not ordering alcohol is one way.

Entertainment. We had been on a different NCL cruise before so knew what to expect. We missed their Hawaiian show by being at the Haleakala sunset. Second City is hit and miss just like any improv comedy. We liked more than half. The comic magician may have been from Vegas but lounge level but we didn't regret being there. The ship talent show was varied. Great singing and horrible singing. We were glad the horrible singing didn't cause us to miss the last gag skit. The guy in Pink's bar was very good. Actually a little loud and you can hear it from further away if you have a group trying to talk. We would have sampled more nightlife except that we kept getting sleepy early.

Health precautions. Our previous NCL cruise had people stationed at the entrances to all eating places having people use the sanitizer. This trip didn't have them-maybe a cost saving measure. The machines are every where and I really used them often. If you eat at the buffet, use sanitizer before using your silverware. Sanitize after you get your ship card back. That person is wearing gloves because 2,000 people are coming back on board and they are touching all those cards. I have travelled a lot for business and use wipes on the TV remote, hair dryer, light switches and lots of places just in case. I even wash my drinking glass. Wash your hands often and don't touch your face.

Tipping. Don't gripe about the tipping. You know when you book that it is part of the expense. If you get extra service, tip that person a little extra right then. We had no problems but don't wait until the end if you do. We always had a freshened room and towel animals several times. We did give the cabin person a little extra at the end of the week.

Cabin. We had a starboard balcony. Great for watching as we came into each port and for the lava viewing. The harbor views are a little better from starboard but you can always sit anywhere on the ship and enjoy the view. I chose midship for the most stability since I get motion sick. There is quite a bit of storage and our stuff fit easily. The short mirror on the inside wall of the bathroom opens for more shelf space. The cabin person will give you fresh ice daily so you don't have to look for the ice machine. There is a wheel outside the room that starts out Welcome. This turns to Do Not Disturb, Clean Room, and Turn Down. Use it consistantly so that the cabin person knows what you need and when. You will not be in the room much. If I needed to economize, I would pick a lesser cabin but take all the excursions. Again, you need to decide what matters most to you.

Remember you are in the US. Don't insult the locals. They have been a state for 50 years. You are from the mainland. Also, this means that you can buy whatever you forgot or wished you had. There is a Walmart at every port and 3 have a Costco. The local convenience/drug stores are ABC and Hilo Hatties. These aim to serve all tourist needs.

Keeping the names straight. This is not easy. The names seem too similar to many of us and they are repeated on each island. I finally made a list of some of them that show up often but it didn't help much. Hale-house, hana-bay, kai-ocean, lani-heavenly, mauna-mountain, pali-cliff, wai-fresh water.

Most Amazing for us. Lava viewing from the ship and a helicopter ride in Kauai.

[tripster]

Thank you for your informative post. I'm sure that it will be helpful to many.

[McDebbie]

Thanks for all the tips, can't wait to go!

[bird2sea]

Ok I know this is probably on other boards but I have forgotten which side is which on a ship. Is it from the front looking to aft or other way? Can you tell me again. This is only my second cruise so I much appreciate all the information I am getting from these boards. This is also my first to hawaii for next May. My TA has us in room BD9144 and not sure if I should try to change or if it is maybe too late to change.

[slix1]

Port is left and starboard is right. Port has 4 letters and left has 4 letters. That is a pretty dumb way to remember but it what I learned as a kid. I think leaving Honolulu and seeing the lights was beautiful but that had to be outside for us since it was port side. The Napali coast is seen from the port side first. You are going to be outside to see something.