POA 8/14 trip report

[indy71]

Well, I've got the laundry done, and been back to work, so I guess it's time to write my trip report. I got so much valuable information from these boards, I hope my experience is useful and interesting to you.

 

Background

My cruise was a charter, so while the onboard activities may have been different than what you will experience, the itinerary, food, etc. should be the same. I travelled with my DH, DM, and her friend, although I knew about 10 other people on board, and they joined us in some activities, and not in others.

 

POA

Here is my two cent's worth concerning the ship: I found it to be clean, the employees to be friendly and helpful (especially our room steward, Shirley), and the food to be okay, but not great. We ate all our breakfasts in the Aloha Cafe. I liked the omelet station, the cinnamon rolls, and the waffles. We were usually there between 6:30 and 8:00, and while it was busy, we were always able to find a table. I noticed that those times when we left about 8:00, it was getting really busy. There were food stations all the way to the back, outside in the Aloha Cafe lanai. They were far less busy, but didn't have as much variety as those inside. It was also a good place to get coffee refills.

 

We did take advantage of the cold cuts station to make sandwiches for a few of the days we were going to be in places where lunch would not be readily available. That worked out really well. I did use my baggies and soft-sided lunch bag on three of the days. Also, they did put ice in our rooms every day; it was about the 3rd day before we realized that. We put it in baggies to help keep our food cold.

 

For dinner, we ate about half our meals in the Skyline dining room, and ate once each at Liberty, Aloha Cafe and Cadillac Diner. We didn't try any of the premium restaurants. Again, the food was okay, not great. I think my favorite meal was in the Aloha Cafe, where I chose the made-to-order pasta. I'm really big on my food being hot; that's why I liked it best.

 

Pre-cruise

We flew Hawaiian Air nonstop from Phoenix, so our flight and time change were much easier than those of many of the other travelers. We bought our tickets in January directly from the airline, watched the fares go way up, then watched them go way down (much lower than ours) beginning in April. I was just happy to get the tickets bought, and tried not to look back. We flew to Honolulu the Friday before the cruise, and stayed at the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach. We used VIP for transportation (they use vans) from the airport to the hotel. We didn't set that up ahead of time, but found them in the baggage claim area, and, as there were 10 of us headed to the same hotel, it worked out well. They charged $10 per person. I loved the hotel and the location. Of course, we ate at Duke's, it being right in the hotel. I had a wonderful fish dinner, which they allowed me to split with my DH at no extra charge. We both got to go to the salad bar, which I thought was a really good deal. Splitting our meal allowed room for Hula Pie, which I heartily recommend. We actually had 10 people at our table, and 2 hula pies served everyone. (Hope you don't get grossed out by that!) We enjoyed walking on the beach, and were able to see some of the fireworks from HHV. We also went to the International Marketplace right across the street. We had scheduled a tour of Pearl Harbor the next morning and our pickup time was 6:15 am, so we visited an ABC store there and got some (sort of) breakfast items for the next morning.

 

Honolulu

I haven't seen this company mentioned too much on these boards, but we went to Pearl Harbor, the Missouri, the Oklahoma Memorial, Punchbowl Cemetery and through the city with Enoa Tours. We were very happy with our tour. They use 22-person buses, so they were a little smaller than some of the others. We liked that a lot. We were picked up at 6:15 and were back to the hotel by 12:45. The restrictions concerning what you can take with you to Pearl Harbor really are true. I took my camera and one of those security wallets you wear around your neck for my credit cards and ID. I packed my purse in my luggage which we left with the bell captain when we left the hotel. One person on our bus had a backpack, which he was required to check before we went to the Arizona Memorial. He made the mistake of picking it up after, and we had to wait for him to check it again before we could go over to Ford Island to tour the Missouri. Then we had to make a special trip back to the storage area for him to pick it up afterwards. It's really best not to take anything with you that won't fit in your pockets. We got a quick lunch from the snack bar at the Missouri, so when we returned to the hotel, we reclaimed our luggage and waited for our 2:00 Roberts bus to the pier. (I had set that transfer up online ahead of time, but you can also do it when you arrive at your hotel.) It cost $6.

 

When we got to the pier about 2:30, there was a short line. I think we were aboard in about 30 minutes. Our room was ready, so we checked it out. Our safety drill was at 4:00 (not 4:30), so there wasn't really that much time to spare. (They did take attendance at the drill.) Our bags came separately, I don't really remember how long it took, but we had them before dinner. Like others have said, I found plenty of storage for my things in the room. Items I took with me that I didn't use included a power strip and an over-the-door toiletries bag. We ate at the Liberty dining room that night, because there wasn't a dress code the first night, and since we didn't bring anything special, we figured it would be our only chance to eat there. Our conference activities lasted until 10:30 p.m., so we had a really full day.

 

Maui - Day 1

On day 1 in Maui, we went to Hana, making the complete loop around the south side of the island, with Valley Isle Tours. It was a 12 passenger van, and we really liked our driver. He was Hawaiian, and had so much interesting information and many stories for us. There were several (some lengthy) stops so that it wasn't too tiring. I really liked the hot lunch they served. The road is really bumpy for a few miles on the back side, and I was glad when we were through that part. I had been to Hana before, and I wanted to see the back side this time, as well. It was pretty, and quite different. I'm glad we did it. We had our driver drop us off at the airport Thifty to rent a car at the end of the day. That worked out well, because we had the car already when we got up the next morning, but we only had to pay for one day since we had the car for less than 24 hours. I did get the Thrifty Blue Chip card, but we were the only ones there anyway, so it was fast. Also, since it was the end of the day, the economy cars were gone, and we got a free upgrade to a Jeep SUV. That was nice.

 

Maui - Day 2

This was the first day since leaving the mainland that we didn't have a schedule to keep, so we slept in a little bit, and got on the road about 9:30. I was the driver. Since my DH had never been to Hawaii, I wanted him to really be able to enjoy the scenery. We went to Haleakala, and took our time, stopping at every overlook. We enjoyed our lunch that we packed on the ship at one of them. When I had been there before, the cloud cover obscured the view for much of the time at the top, but this day was picture-perfect. It was so beautiful. It was one of the highlights of the trip. I liked the freedom of having the car, but I found I was lazy about planning what to do. When we went back down the mountain, we didn't really know what we wanted to do next, so we returned the car and got back on board (probably about 3:30). It was still a great time, though.

To return the car, you just go to the airport and follow the signs for the car rental return. The airport is really close to the pier.

 

Hilo

In Hilo, we used Ricky's tours to go to VNP, the orchid garden, the Macadamia Nut Factory, Akaka Falls and Richardson's Black Sand Beach. We were supposed to go to Rainbow Falls, but Ricky told us he checked out Rainbow Falls on his way to pick us up, and it was just a trickle, so he was going to take us to Akaka Falls instead. That turned out to be one of my most favorite places on the whole trip. It was, for me, my "ah-ha" moment, where I said "I love this place." What I loved about it was the plant life in the rain forest. The plants and flowers were huge and grew everywhere. I liked the falls, too, but it was the rain forest that caught my attention. It was really a great day. We had 6 people in Ricky's van, so each couple had a seat to themselves. He was very informative and friendly. I would recommend him highly. We got back to the ship about 4 p.m. That night was the sail-by of the volcanoes on the ship. They turned the lights out and it was spectacular. We went first to deck 6 starboard and listened to the narration (hard to hear, unfortunately). We then turned around and went past again. We ran up to deck 12 to catch the port side sail-by. They must not do this all the time, as I haven't seen it mentioned here before.

 

Kona

In Kona, we took our only NCL excursions. My DH and I did the Captain Zodiac am snorkeling tour and my DM and I did the 2:30 pm Parasailing in Paradise tour. I did this through NCL for the ease of tendering and lack of stress. We went to the meeting place on the ship, and were escorted to our tender. We didn't have to get tender tickets. It was a breeze. I signed us up for the Captain Zodiac more for the fast boat ride than for the snorkeling. Neither DH or I are that comfortable in the water. They did a great job fitting me with a mask and fins. I was actually more comfortable snorkeling this time than I have ever been before. My DH doesn't swim, and he wasn't comfortable at all. He got in the water briefly, but was happier waiting in the boat. They had nice fruit, chips and soft drinks/juices for refreshment. I think we were there maybe an hour. The water was amazingly clear and beautiful. We went up close to several caves in the cliffs on the way back and saw at least a dozen dolphin swimming around us. That was so much fun. When we got back to the pier, we took a tender back to the ship, had lunch at the Aloha Cafe and got ready to go back for the parasailing.

 

The ship uses UFO for the parasailing. I had done it before, but my DM (78 years old!) wanted to go, and it was really fun both for me and for watching her. We went tandem because we got to stay up longer if we went together. We really liked the guys that ran the boat. They asked us if we wanted to dip our feet in the water before we came in, and everyone said "yes". It was fun. I know we paid a little extra to book it through NCL, but it was easier, so that worked for us. We had extra time after parasailing when we could have wandered through Kona a bit, but we were tired and decided to go back to the ship.

 

Kauai - Day 1

On Day 1 in Kauai, we rented a car, again from Thrifty. It was a piece of cake. We again slept in a bit, and got on the shuttle about 9:30. We were the only ones on the shuttle. I believe the reason for this is that our charter had a lot of elderly people who were more likely to go on NCL excursions or stay aboard at the ports. The shuttle driver asked me if the ship was empty. It seemed pretty full, but I don't think the people were inclined to rent cars. That made it easier for us. Anyway, this day, we chose to go to Waimea Canyon and Spouting Horn Beach Park. I drove again, and we again stopped at all the overlooks of the Canyon. We especially loved the lookout at the end of the road, the Pu'u o Kila Lookout, from where you can see the Kalalau Valley, part of the Na Pali coast. We walked a short distance down the trail. (don't wear sandals). It was really beautiful, and we would later see this valley from the ship during the Na Pali sail-by the next day. We had our picnic from the ship at a spot with picnic tables just beyond the Koke'e Lodge (where you can actually get lunch). We were entertained by the chickens here. After that, we went back to the main road and on to the blow hole at Spouting Horn Beach Park. We did hear the "moan" from the other blow hole that blows only air. It was beautiful there. I will say that I thought a GPS was not a necessity when I rented the car, because there are only so many roads in the islands. But it was harder to navigate than I figured. The roads were not marked very well, and we went around one round-about twice trying to figure out which exit we wanted. We did make our way back without too much trouble though. The traffic back into Lihu'e was atrocious, with just one lane in each direction, and road construction everywhere. Once again, we had plenty of time, but if we hadn't I would have been really nervous with the traffic backup. We returned the car and took the shuttle back to the ship about 3:30 to 4:00 because we were going to the Lu'au Kalamaku that night.

 

I think everybody should go to a luau at least once, and ours was free since we booked early for the cruise. Anyway, I liked the setting for the luau. It was pretty there and there were vendors and things to do before it started. We got a table that was raised above the main floor, and I think we could see better because of that. The food was okay (I've been to luaus before and know what to expect), and the show was good. This one was a story, which I found a little hard to follow. I think I like the ones better where the dances are more random. But, it was definitely executed well, and the fire dancing was amazing. (I don't know if I would have liked it as much if I had had to pay for it, though.)

 

Kauai - Day 2

Today, we went on a helicopter ride with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters. I booked this independently online, and saved quite a bit from the NCL excursion which uses the same company. We took the shuttle to the Harbor Mall, where they have their office. They show the safety video there, and then shuttle you to the airport for the helicopter ride. We saw some beautiful scenery from the helicopter. Everyone really seemed to love it; it was definitely a highlight for DH. However, I was very surprised to find that the helicopter frightened me. I wasn't expecting this. I have been on small planes, ziplined, parasailed, and done other things that might be considered adventurous, but I was surprised by my reaction. I got good pictures, so I must have been okay; I'm just saying that it's possible to not like this as much as you want to. I haven't heard anyone say this on these boards. Who knew?

 

After the helicopter ride, we looked around a bit at the Harbor Mall, and crossed the street to the beach at the Mariott Hotel. There is a Duke's Canoe Club there that has been recommended to me. We didn't have time for lunch there, but we enjoyed walking along the beach and taking in the scenery. We then walked back to the ship, about 10 minutes or less. The highlight of the afternoon was the sail-by of the Na Pali Coast. We went to deck 12 for this, and listened to the narration. It was so beautiful. I realized that I had seen this from the ground, from the air, and now, from the ship. It was beautiful. We watched both the starboard and port sail-bys. It is from the starboard side that the narration takes place and the ship goes closer. It was very enjoyable. That evening, we had to pack, but since we were walking off the ship with our luggage, we didn't have to have it outside the door early.

 

Honolulu

Today, our flight was at 3:00, and I was determined to find something to do besides sit at the airport for 5 hours. The only ship's excursion that would have worked was the Pearl Harbor, and we did it earlier, not wanting to save it for last. What I finally came up with (with lots of help from Cruise Critic writers) was to visit the Iolani Palce. I emailed them to make reservations for the 10:00 guided tour. It was about a six block walk to the palace. The hard part was figuring out what to do with our luggage. Our airline didn't participate in the Easyfly program. We did finally find Dr. Bob's Aloha Airport Delivery and Storage. For $30, he came to the pier (I called him as we were walking off the ship), collected our luggage, and held it at the airport. When we got to the airport for our flight, we called him, and our luggage was delivered to us at our airline in about 5 minutes. It worked really well. We kept our carryons with us when we went to the palace, and they had lockers that we put them in for a quarter apiece. I really enjoyed the visit to the palace. Our guide created an atmosphere that was really interesting and gave a sense of what it would have been like to have been there in the 1800s, when the royalty was there. I liked it a lot. When we were done, a taxi driver that I had made arrangements with at the pier picked us up and took us to the airport. It was a great ending to a great trip!

[FloatYourBoatSince2003]

Thank you for taking the time to post a nice detailed review. Glad you enjoyed the trip!

[riofriotex]

Thanks for taking the time to post a review! Interesting, the things that were different on your cruise - earlier safety drill, lava sail-by on both sides, and Na Pali sailby being better on the starboard side.

[indy71]

Oh my goodness, riofriotex, I made a mistake about the Na Pali sailby. It was the port side that was better. I am so sorry. I'm glad you made me rethink that. The other two things were definitely different from what other cruisers are saying. I am wondering if they made the changes to work better with our conference schedule.

[vbmom87]

Thanks for the great review. It helped me relive our wonderful trip. You did many of the same things we did. Unfortunately we missed Akaka Falls. It was on our list if we had time after VNP. However, we all loved VNP so much we spent our whole day there. When in Kona, I almost drove up to Akaka Falls but didn't. I wish I had. Even though the drive was about an hour, I think it would have been well worth it. Oh well, you just can't do it all.

[Raison]

Great review, thanks for taking the time to write it. We have a very similar week planned for our first week, so it was good to read that what we want to do is achievable. Our main difference is Kona, where we haven't fully decided what to do as yet. Sounds like you had a nice holiday.

[annecolorgreen]

Thanks for your review!

 

A couple of questions: we are going to rent a Thrifty Jeep for a week in Maui (we'll be there a few days before and then will pick back up from the cruise ship)...how big is it? we have friends who will be with us from the cruise ship. Do you think they will be comfortable? Did it ride well?

 

Ricky's Tours--was it very expensive? I like the idea of three couples only. I wonder if they would give us more or less time at each attraction if we booked a full tour? I'll call them Tuesday.

 

Love the idea of sharing dinner at Duke's! Do you think it was just your waitstaff that allowed each to use the salad bar or do you think that was standard?

 

There is so much I want to see on Kauai that I'm having difficulty prioritizing. Having seen Waimea Canyon from the air, do you feel it was "necessary" to drive into it as well??

 

Mahalo!

[indy71]

Hi Annecolorgreen, regarding the jeep upgrade that we received from Thrifty on Maui, it was a 2 wheel drive SUV. If that is what you are renting, there was plenty of room for another couple. It was rather basic, and comfortable enough. We were happy to get it because we had reserved an economy car, and this was much bigger. The only hitch was that it took it a little while to self-adjust for the altitude on Haleakala. I was starting to get concerned because it was missing out as we started to ascend, but it quit doing that after, maybe five or ten minutes. If you are renting another kind of Jeep, I can't speak to that.

 

I see from other posts about Ricky's tours that he has recently raised his price to $60 per person (we booked ours a while back and were quoted $50). It's worth it either way. He does a really good job. It does say on his web site that he will customize tours. I think it's a good idea to give him a call.

 

I honestly don't know if the individual salad bar trips at Duke's were standard for a split or not. We were planning to split whether they charged extra or not because we weren't that hungry and we wanted to save room for dessert. I'm sure you could give them a call to find out for sure. Their website is www.dukeswaikiki.com.

 

Regarding Waimea Canyon, that is a tough question. We knew we were only keeping the car for one day and we had to be back for the evening luau, so we felt like we would have to choose between Waimea Canyon and the North Shore. We loved Waimea Canyon and especially the lookout at the end of the road with the view of the Kalalau Valley. Was it the right choice? I don't know. We do live in Arizona and have been to the Grand Canyon several times. I don't think you can make a bad choice in Kauai, however. We did see the North Shore from the helicopter too. So, if we had driven there, would I have been sad to have missed Waimea Canyon from the ground? I don't know. You just have to make choices, and hard as they are, not look back. I hope we get to go there again sometime. Then we'll go to the North Shore. (We definitely are not beach people, so we would have been going there for the scenery, not to be beach-goers.) If you love to have the beach experience, that definitely makes a difference in the equation. I think only you can decide. I hope that whatever you decide you will love.

[indy71]

There are a couple of things that I forgot to mention earlier that are a little bit important. One is to be sure and remember to wear dark clothing on the helicopter ride, if you want good pictures. I wore a plain black t-shirt with navy blue polka dotted pants. Guess what some of my pictures had reflecting on them...polka dots! My mom had her friend's white tennis shoes reflecting in some of her pictures. I guess dark clothing means dark clothing all the way from top to bottom.

 

The other thing is just a comment that the road past Waimea Canyon to the Pu'u o Kila Lookout had some deeply potholed places. There are a couple of miles where you have to go really slow because you can't completely avoid them, and it would be a drag to blow out a tire. Hopefully, that's it for now.

[jenny99]

Thanks for a great review. We are going in March, and we are planning to do similar excursions as you did (Ricky's in Hilo)

I've also rented a car (compact) for Waimea Canyon, and now I'm wondering if we should book a larger vehicle, what type of vehicle did you rent.

And to just confirm re tender tickets: I've booked excursion through NCL as well, and so does this mean I don't have to get tender tickets? I just show up at a meeting place?

Thanks.

[riofriotex]

Thanks for a great review. We are going in March, and we are planning to do similar excursions as you did (Ricky's in Hilo)

I've also rented a car (compact) for Waimea Canyon, and now I'm wondering if we should book a larger vehicle, what type of vehicle did you rent.

And to just confirm re tender tickets: I've booked excursion through NCL as well, and so does this mean I don't have to get tender tickets? I just show up at a meeting place? Thanks.

 

Jenny, the only port where you tender is Kona, but if you have excursions there with NCL, they will provide the tender tickets.

[indy71]

Jenny, we rented a Toyota Yaris (definitely a compact) in Kauai where we went to Waimea Canyon. It was perfectly adequate, especially for 2 people. I mentioned the upgrade to the Jeep SUV in Maui only because it was nice, not because it was necessary.

 

The meeting place for NCL ship's excursions will be shown on the tickets that will be left in the mail rack right outside your cabin door. They were there when we got on board the first day. They will tell you the time and where to meet. But, riofriotex is right, the only port you have to tender is Kona.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Thank you for the great review! We have a lot in common - we are from AZ (be sure to visit our AZ Cruiser's forum. Click on the link in my signature. We talk about everything, including cruises.;)).

 

You have also chosen the same things we are planning to do on several of the islands and your review was very helpful in that sense. I am especially interested in the Pearl Harbor tour you took. I have not heard of that tour company before. I did Google it and bookmarked it. Had you seen the Robert's Stars and Stripes Tour? Do you know how the two would compare? That is the one I was going to book, but I believe the tour you took is a bit less expensive.

 

Another question - would you mind sharing how much your airfare was? We are also looking at that Hawaiian Airlines flight. It is currently $437 and I am not sure if I should book now or hold off a little longer since our cruise is not until May.

 

I am also traveling with 5 other family members, including my 81 yo mother and she wants to parasail! God bless them......:D

[scrappydoo]

Thank you so much for taking time out to share with us, indy71 - awesome review.

 

Especially helpful info regarding the dark shoes for the helicopter ride too! I would have never thought about that.

 

I was also planning to do a tour at Iolani Palace post cruise... but I was under the impression they had luggage lockers at the pier, so that we could walk to the Palace free of bags. Is this no longer the case?? Otherwise, how big were your carry-on bags that fit into those lockers at Iolani Palace?

 

And lastly, did you cab it back to the airport after your tour? If so, about how long does that ride take, and how early did you arrive at the airport?

 

Mahalo!! :)

[Raison]

Thanks for a great review. We are going in March, and we are planning to do similar excursions as you did (Ricky's in Hilo)

I've also rented a car (compact) for Waimea Canyon, and now I'm wondering if we should book a larger vehicle, what type of vehicle did you rent.

And to just confirm re tender tickets: I've booked excursion through NCL as well, and so does this mean I don't have to get tender tickets? I just show up at a meeting place?

Thanks.

 

Hi Jenny,

what March cruise are you sailing on? We will be there then as well.

Debra

[indy71]

Sunny AZ Girl, we chose Enoa Tours over the Roberts Tour because we went to Pearl Harbor on embarkation day. The Roberts Tour didn't return until 3:30, and that would have made us later boarding the ship than we wanted. The Enoa tour returned at 1:00. When I researched Enoa on line, I found that they had an A+ rating from the BBB, and I did remember seeing their buses from trips to Hawaii I made many years ago, so I knew they had been around for a long time. We were happy with our choice.

 

Regarding the Hawaiian Air fare, sorry to say, we paid $645. The $437 you are seeing now is among the lowest I saw when I was watching the prices change, but I didn't follow the prices as closely after we booked ours as I did before. It might go lower - who knows?

 

Scrappydoo, the luggage question for our debarkation day was the hardest thing of all for me to figure out. I called POA; I looked on the web site for the pier; I called Aloha Tower Marketplace; I looked on the web site for the airport. All of these sources seem to indicate that there was no longer any storage close by. I found the Aloha Airport Delivery and Storage on the airport web site and also from a posting here. I will say that, as I was walking out of the secured area from the ship, I noticed a table that said something like "ask about luggage storage". I didn't check it out (sorry), as I had already contacted Aloha Airport Delivery, and they were on the way to get the baggage. At the Iolani Palace, the lockers were big enough for my husband and I to place both of our back packs in one locker. I don't know if they would have fit the wheeled carryons that people use. When I contacted Iolani Palace about luggage storage, they told me that luggage that was too big to fit in the lockers could be stored in a locked place in the ticket booth. We considered doing that, but since DM and her friend were in their upper 70's, we decided not to walk through downtown Honolulu pulling luggage and carrying carryons. (That's a picture that makes me giggle.) We could have taken a cab though. When it was all said and done, what we did worked for us, as we only had to deal with our luggage at the pier and at the airport. I know that's a long answer, but it was a challenge to figure out.

 

Also, we did take a cab to the airport from the palace. I asked a cab driver waiting at the pier to come to the palace and pick us up at 12:00.

We actually met him about 11:45. I think it took about 20 minutes to get to the airport. The cab fare was $20.25 before tip. We got to the airport almost 3 hours early, but since we were in an extremely slow-moving line to get our boarding passes and pay our luggage fees, I was happy about that. (The agriculture check you do first was a breeze for us.) We did have time to have a quick burger for lunch, and were at the gate maybe about 1/2 hour before boarding.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Sunny AZ Girl, we chose Enoa Tours over the Roberts Tour because we went to Pearl Harbor on embarkation day. The Roberts Tour didn't return until 3:30, and that would have made us later boarding the ship than we wanted. The Enoa tour returned at 1:00. When I researched Enoa on line, I found that they had an A+ rating from the BBB, and I did remember seeing their buses from trips to Hawaii I made many years ago, so I knew they had been around for a long time. We were happy with our choice.

 

Regarding the Hawaiian Air fare, sorry to say, we paid $645. The $437 you are seeing now is among the lowest I saw when I was watching the prices change, but I didn't follow the prices as closely after we booked ours as I did before. It might go lower - who knows?

 

Thank you for the quick reply. I am thinking I should be booking that air pretty soon!:eek:

[indy71]

Quote: Annecolorgreen

Ricky's Tours--was it very expensive? I like the idea of three couples only. I wonder if they would give us more or less time at each attraction if we booked a full tour? I'll call them Tuesday.

 

Annecolorgreen, in reading back over this post, I want to make sure I didn't mislead you about the size of Ricky's tours. He drives a 12 passenger van; there were only six people on the tour the day I was on it. There could just as easily have been 12. It is still much smaller than the 40-50 plus passenger buses, and therefore, preferable, IMO.

[jenny99]

Hi Jenny,

what March cruise are you sailing on? We will be there then as well.

Debra

 

Hi Debra, we are going Mar 12 on the POA 7 day cruise, I see you are on a 14 day cruise....

can hardly wait!

[sue402001]

Maui - Day 1

On day 1 in Maui, we went to Hana, making the complete loop around the south side of the island, with Valley Isle Tours. It was a 12 passenger van, and we really liked our driver. He was Hawaiian, and had so much interesting information and many stories for us. There were several (some lengthy) stops so that it wasn't too tiring. I really liked the hot lunch they served. The road is really bumpy for a few miles on the back side, and I was glad when we were through that part. I had been to Hana before, and I wanted to see the back side this time, as well. It was pretty, and quite different. I'm glad we did it. We had our driver drop us off at the airport Thifty to rent a car at the end of the day. That worked out well, because we had the car already when we got up the next morning, but we only had to pay for one day since we had the car for less than 24 hours. I did get the Thrifty Blue Chip card, but we were the only ones there anyway, so it was fast. Also, since it was the end of the day, the economy cars were gone, and we got a free upgrade to a Jeep SUV. That was nice.

 

Hilo

In Hilo, we used Ricky's tours to go to VNP, the orchid garden, the Macadamia Nut Factory, Akaka Falls and Richardson's Black Sand Beach. We were supposed to go to Rainbow Falls, but Ricky told us he checked out Rainbow Falls on his way to pick us up, and it was just a trickle, so he was going to take us to Akaka Falls instead. That turned out to be one of my most favorite places on the whole trip. It was, for me, my "ah-ha" moment, where I said "I love this place." What I loved about it was the plant life in the rain forest. The plants and flowers were huge and grew everywhere. I liked the falls, too, but it was the rain forest that caught my attention. It was really a great day. We had 6 people in Ricky's van, so each couple had a seat to themselves. He was very informative and friendly. I would recommend him highly. We got back to the ship about 4 p.m. That night was the sail-by of the volcanoes on the ship. They turned the lights out and it was spectacular. We went first to deck 6 starboard and listened to the narration (hard to hear, unfortunately). We then turned around and went past again. We ran up to deck 12 to catch the port side sail-by. They must not do this all the time, as I haven't seen it mentioned here before.

 

Great review indy71. My husband and I are thinking about taking the Valley Isle Excursion for the Hana Adventure. Is there a lot of leg room on their tour bus? My husbands 6'5 and I'm wondering if there is a lot of leg room.

 

The more I hear about Ricky's tours the better I like him. I'm thinking he will be the one to take us to VNP.

 

Once again, thanks for the awesome review! :)

[indy71]

Sue402001, I had to ask my DH his opinion on the leg room question because I am 5'3", and that's not an issue for me. Still, at 5'10", he's far from 6'5". Neither of us can remember thinking that leg room was a problem. No one on our tour was that tall, so I don't have anything to go on. Maybe when you call them to make a reservation, you can ask if there is a certain seat that has more room than others. They do have a picture of the interior of their van on their website, www.tourmaui.com/van.html. I'm sorry I can't be of more help on this one. Maybe someone else who has been on the tour will write.

[CruisingGoddess]

Thanks for the wonderful review! How did your DH like sitting in the Captain Zodiac raft? Was there shade? My DH also does not swim and he is not likely to get into the water at all. I thought booking a catamaran snorkeling excursion would be more comfortable but I've heard so many good things about the snorkeling with Captain Zodiac.

[indy71]

Quote: CruisingGoddess

How did your DH like sitting in the Captain Zodiac raft? Was there shade? My DH also does not swim and he is not likely to get into the water at all. I thought booking a catamaran snorkeling excursion would be more comfortable but I've heard so many good things about the snorkeling with Captain Zodiac.

 

My DH is a sweetheart, and never complained one bit about sitting in the raft. Things he had going for him were that he did get in and get wet initially, there were cold drinks and fruit to enjoy, and there were a few other people who were not snorkeling either to visit with. However, when I asked him your question, he said that the catamaran does sound like it would be more comfortable for a nonswimmer, as there was no shade at all on the raft. Depending on the time of year you are going, it could get quite hot on the raft for someone who doesn't get wet at all. That'll be a tough call for you guys because the raft ride was quite fun.

[CruisingGoddess]

My DH is a sweetheart, and never complained one bit about sitting in the raft. Things he had going for him were that he did get in and get wet initially, there were cold drinks and fruit to enjoy, and there were a few other people who were not snorkeling either to visit with. However, when I asked him your question, he said that the catamaran does sound like it would be more comfortable for a nonswimmer, as there was no shade at all on the raft. Depending on the time of year you are going, it could get quite hot on the raft for someone who doesn't get wet at all. That'll be a tough call for you guys because the raft ride was quite fun.

 

Thanks for asking your hubby!!

[sue402001]

Sue402001, I had to ask my DH his opinion on the leg room question because I am 5'3", and that's not an issue for me. Still, at 5'10", he's far from 6'5". Neither of us can remember thinking that leg room was a problem. No one on our tour was that tall, so I don't have anything to go on. Maybe when you call them to make a reservation, you can ask if there is a certain seat that has more room than others. They do have a picture of the interior of their van on their website, www.tourmaui.com/van.html. I'm sorry I can't be of more help on this one. Maybe someone else who has been on the tour will write.

 

Thanks!