Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

An Exhaustive Review of Our Exhausting Hawaiian Adventure

kwbound

By kwbound,
in Hawaii

 Share

Recommended Posts

vbmom87

vbmom87

Posted
Posted

What a wonderful album you created. I can't even begin to imagine how long it must have taken. I would love to do one myself, but after viewing yours I am overwhelmed. Just can't imagine being able to put something like that together. Congrats on an amazing vacation memory.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Erreyl

Erreyl

Posted
Posted
Hey Amanda - Here is the website for the henna tattoo stand: http://www.arainbowstudio.com/ Their website has a lot of good information.

 

I picked a design off the Henna page of the website (2nd one on the right), but they have several albums of designs to choose from. They can even do a new design if you tell them what you want. They are located in the International Marketplace. If you enter from the main entrance, you wind around towards the back to find them. If you email them, they can tell you exactly where they are. I emailed them several times and they were always quick to answer.

 

There is another temporary tatoo place located near a Rainbow Studio, but that place uses body makeup, not henna. Make sure you are at Rainbow Studio.

 

Come back a post a picture of your tatoo when you get back.

 

Aloha!

 

Donna

 

Thank you so much! That is just the information I was hoping for!

 

Amanda

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cworth2288

cworth2288

Posted
Posted (edited)

Donna, I have to say, this is one of the best reviews I have ever read! We are going to Hawaii on the POA in March, and I appreciate all of your hard work, pictures, suggestions, and feedback (good and bad) about the ship and your adventures. I have never cruised before and I am so ready to go now that I read your review. I have printed some of the more helpful information like locations for watching (whatever) from the ship and some of the coordinates that we can put into the GPS.... we use Priscilla (a saucy brit) although I would love Homer instead. :D Thanks for a great read, which I did every night for three nights!

 

I do have one question, when you went to the Pearl Harbor how long did it take you to get the "free" tickets? We are debating when to do it--the arrival day or the departure day as they are the times we are in the area. We arrive at 11:30 am and leave at 3:30 pm. I am worried that we will be too late to get tickets on the one day and not have enough time on the other. :(

 

Anyway, thank you for taking the time to do this review and you should be a travel writer!

 

Aloha,

Christine

Edited by cworth2288
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Cruisin'Lovebirds

Cruisin'Lovebirds

Posted
Posted

Thank you, Donna, for taking the time to write this great information. You're going to laugh, but it helped DH and me decide that this was not the way for us to see Hawaii. We are more inclined to fly in and really get to know one or maybe two of the islands, rather than hop to four. We haven't done a land-based vacation in a while, but this seems a good candidate.

 

In the meantime, we know that we will enjoy the regular cruises with casino, one or two sea days, and minimal travel time to departure port. After retirement: Aloha!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
vbmom87

vbmom87

Posted
Posted

kwbound: Have you received your hard copy of your album yet? If yes, I am wondering if you can comment on the clarity of the photos. I really liked your book, but when I was reading some reviews on mixbook.com, I found some people complaining that the photos were very grainy. I would hate to spend a lot of time putting a book together, only to be disappointed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
vbmom87

vbmom87

Posted
Posted
The backgrounds with a watercolor look, and some of the embellishments came from a digital scrapbook pack that I bought online (about $5) and then uploaded to Mixbook.

 

Would you mind sharing where you purchased your backgrounds with the watercolor look. Once I googled scrapbooking software, I became so overwhelmed!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kwbound

kwbound

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. My mother passed away on January 13th. She had been in the hospital for several months. I spent many hours sitting in the hospital working on my review and then my photo album, which she did get to see. I'm slowly trying to get back to a normal routine and I'll be checking in more often now.

 

Thanks to everyone for all of your kind comments on the review and album. I'm so pleased that I've been able to provide some helpful advice to my fellow travelers.

 

Donna, I have to say, this is one of the best reviews I have ever read! We are going to Hawaii on the POA in March, and I appreciate all of your hard work, pictures, suggestions, and feedback (good and bad) about the ship and your adventures. I have never cruised before and I am so ready to go now that I read your review. I have printed some of the more helpful information like locations for watching (whatever) from the ship and some of the coordinates that we can put into the GPS.... we use Priscilla (a saucy brit) although I would love Homer instead. :D Thanks for a great read, which I did every night for three nights!

 

I do have one question, when you went to the Pearl Harbor how long did it take you to get the "free" tickets? We are debating when to do it--the arrival day or the departure day as they are the times we are in the area. We arrive at 11:30 am and leave at 3:30 pm. I am worried that we will be too late to get tickets on the one day and not have enough time on the other. :(

 

Anyway, thank you for taking the time to do this review and you should be a travel writer!

 

Aloha,

Christine

 

Hey there! If I could find someone to pay me to be a travel writer, I would jump on that job in a second! Regarding Pearl Harbor, we arrived at 7:30am on a Sat morning and were able to get tickets for the 8:30am shuttle. It did seem to be getting more crowded as we left. I would suggest going as early as possible on the second day. Hope that helps.

 

kwbound: Have you received your hard copy of your album yet? If yes, I am wondering if you can comment on the clarity of the photos. I really liked your book, but when I was reading some reviews on mixbook.com, I found some people complaining that the photos were very grainy. I would hate to spend a lot of time putting a book together, only to be disappointed.

 

vbmom - I love, love, love my printed book. I don't have any complaints about the clarity of the photos. I also read some reviews about grainy photos, but in some cases I have to wonder if the book creators were using the highest resolution photos, or how good their photos were to begin with. This is the advice a graphic artist I know gave me, and I hope I explain this correctly: If you are taking photos for a book, use the highest resolution setting on your camera. It helps to have a large memory card. Then save your photos on your computer in two folders. Use one of the folders to edit the photos. If for some reason you mess one up or delete one accidentally, whatever, you will have the backup in the other folder. Try to do all of your edits to a photo at one time because each time you save the photo it will lose just a little bit of quality. Hope this helps.

 

Would you mind sharing where you purchased your backgrounds with the watercolor look. Once I googled scrapbooking software, I became so overwhelmed!!!

 

This is the link to the kit I used: http://www.pluckypeardesigns.com/store/product.php?productid=16170&cat=0&page=1

All of the backgrounds/embellishments I used were either from Mixbook or this kit. I purchased the kit, downloaded it to my computer and then uploaded the components to Mixbook.

Make sure you post a link when you get your book done!

 

Aloha,

 

Donna

Link to comment
Share on other sites
vbmom87

vbmom87

Posted
Posted (edited)
I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. My mother passed away on January 13th. She had been in the hospital for several months. I spent many hours sitting in the hospital working on my review and then my photo album, which she did get to see. I'm slowly trying to get back to a normal routine and I'll be checking in more often now.

 

Donna,

 

Please accept my sincere sympathy on the loss of your mother. It must have been a very difficult time for you and your family. I am sure your mother really enjoyed seeing your album. It was such a fun book of memories. Memories are what keep us afloat after our parents pass on.

 

Thanks for the link to the software you used for your book. I will definitely look into it for my Hawaii photo album. I am so so on the computer, so I am not sure how easy it would be for me to use two programs at the same time. I just got done with a book for my sister of our last three vacations together. My sons told me to use My Publisher for a first book. It was easy to use and I loved their software because I didn't have to upload photos until the book was completed. However, the book is pretty plain, but I am sure my sister will be happy with it. It is a combo photo/journal.

 

For our Hawaii book I don't plan on journaling too much. I will likely just date and label for the most part. I am going to check with My Publisher and see if I can bring in the backgrounds from the software program you used. I loved the water background pages. I thought they were perfect for Hawaii. If I can't, then I will likely try mixbook. Of all the books I have been looking at online, I have to say I liked yours the best.

 

Take care and I hope you and your family are a good support for each other at this difficult time.

 

Mary

Edited by vbmom87
Link to comment
Share on other sites
tone1

tone1

Posted
Posted

I'm so terribly sorry to hear about your loss. Extending my deepest condolences to you and your family as you cope with difficult times. I'm so glad that your mother got to see your book. Like I said, it is awesome and inspiring. I hope it brings back happy memories every time you look at it and read your travel journal. It sure has been helpful to me, and I'm sure, to many others!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Walt fan

Walt fan

Posted
Posted

Donna: I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your mother; it has been such a pleasure to get to know you through your wonderful review; I will say a prayer for strength for you and your family; take care of yourself and take comfort through your family and all your friends you have made on the CC boards; again, my deepest sympathies

Link to comment
Share on other sites
bigtoeswim'n

bigtoeswim'n

Posted
Posted

Donna: Thanks so much for your exhausting review. My heart and prayers go out to you. I lost my dad several years ago, and it took over a year to get over that. He suffered so. What a strain on the extended family. That extended family came apart at the seams, which is what I thought would happen and did happen. So, it was two great sorrows together. I didn't know grief before my dad's passing. But Time does heal all wounds. If you find yourself in a deep funk over this, please talk to your doc. There are meds that help during situational depression. Maybe I should have gone that route. For me, I turned to my Lord and God.

 

Such is life. This life cycle thing is the pits. Onward we must go, though.

 

Thanks again for channeling your energy into the Hawaii postings. Many appreciate it. Have a nice day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
VermeulT

VermeulT

Posted
Posted

Thank you so much for all the detail. I will be taking HAL in Nov... so not exactly the same itinerary - but you HAVE given me a lot to think about. The planning is quite overwhelming as I want to do everything! I appreciate the links and reviews.

 

Thank you!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
hill6

hill6

Posted
Posted

TIP: I booked all the cars using corporate discount code HT14004118, which I got off a website for Hawaiian tourist, and is available for anyone to use. Using that code I was able to get the best prices I could find, and also no extra charge for an additional driver. Also, I joined Thrifty's Blue Chip program. There is no cost and it is a huge time saver. We never had to wait in line and our paperwork was waiting when we got there.

 

 

Would you mind emailing me the name of the website for Hawaiian tourists? My email is my screen name @aol.com. Thanks.

 

We are on POA in November and I have gotten a wealth of information from your review. Thank you so very much.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...