ReneeFLL’s Semi-Live Review B2B Ovation TP & NZ Oct 9th - Nov 9th

[rudeney]

Great choice on the shirt - that's the one I'd have picked!   I have several Tommy Bahama shirts like that and they do run long.  It's the style I guess. 

[Ozark_Kid]

8 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

We rented a car for the next 2 days. We did some shopping and drove up Diamond Head. Once we got to as far up as we could we found out you had to have reservations to park in the crater area. We found out the reservations is something they started this May. There was some parking right outside the Kahala tunnel, but it was full. 

 

While walking in the Moana Shopping Mall we came across a Tommy Bahama store. Saw some cool embroidered shirts by the entrance. I told Mike he needed one, but he didn't think so. He has a habit of not spending much on himself. I said fine with me, but I'll pick it out myself. That got him interested because as far as I was concerned we were buying one. I really liked them. The sales lady said you couldn't buy them anywhere else, but I googled and that's not true. I hate it when sales people lie just to get you to buy something. That didn't have anything to do with if we were buying one or not. There were 2 that were in the top 2 choices. Anyone want to guess which one we ended up with? 😄

 

 

 

 

Statue of Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikoholh Kahanamoku known as Duke Kahanamoku the famous surfer. I definitely never want to write my full name if it was that long. 😳

 

 

I love the shirts.  I would of got one!

[AlohaLivin]

8 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

I definitely never want to write my full name if it was that long. 😳

When I was working on DH’s genealogy and his sister was whipping out the Hawaiian names of even his many nieces and nephews and ancestors, I was like SAY WHAT?! I could neither say them nor spell them 😂 The traditional names are far more than a mouth full for sure.

 

Gotta love the shopping In Waikiki - did the Tommy Bahama shop have the Aloha USA shirt? I finally found that for DH after looking everywhere. Love those shirts ❤️

Edited October 17, 2022 by AlohaLivin

[Sarah1974]

@ReneeFLL I've just found your review and caught up on all the posts.  Hope you have an amazing time!

[dani negreanu]

1 hour ago, rudeney said:

Great choice on the shirt - that's the one I'd have picked! 

 

Same here, without any hesitation.

 

The black one -- I would have considered it, if the blue one wasn't in the game 😕

[clochette]

Thanks for letting follow along on your trip, and what a great start, this is my retirement trip, (not sure when that will happen).

[meg1021]

On 10/15/2022 at 11:06 PM, ReneeFLL said:

What stops in NZ are you doing? Sounds like a great cruise. In 2017 we also stopped in Airlie Beach, Newcastle and Brisbane. Would love to do a circumnavigation of Australia.

 

Thanks for coming along.

We will be doing Milford, Doubtful and Dusky Sounds, along with Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, Napier, Tauranga, Bay of Islands, and Picton.  So if you have any observations/insights into any of these, it would be great.  Our cruise isn't until February/March 2024, so I'll have time yet to follow along with postings on CC, to get some feedback from current cruisers.  Thanks once again for taking the time to post.

[lovesthebeach2]

On 10/15/2022 at 11:32 PM, Merion_Mom said:

 

I felt as you do, so I flew to Sydney and "cruised all the way back".  Australia - New Zealand - Transpacific - Hawaii - Alaska - Alaska.  (flew home from Vancouver).  I didn't document it on CC, but I did on FB.  Drop me an email if you want the link.  🙂 

I would like a link to your post review. 

[bobmacliberty]

I'm a huge Tommy Bahama clothing fan.  My guess would have also been the USS Happy Hour!  Good choice.  They will shrink some so the extra length is probably perfect.

[AlohaLivin]

@Merion_Momi left you a message over at Aloha Friends, hopefully the system sent you a notification 

[Momof3gurlz]

11 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

It was the life ring. It's more blue than what it looks like in the first picture. We also liked the black one, but he has plenty of black shirts. One thing I don't like is the length and he's not a short person.

 

 

 

I made a note of it because of the talk on Dani's thread, but I forgot about it. 😞  I'm sure it would have tasted good. Wished I could walk as far as you, but I would have died especially in the heat. The Island Time was in third place and the Tiki Time was last. 

 

Love the shirt, this one would’ve been my pick too.  Andy is also a fan of TB, but he’s not tall so the shirts really don’t work for him. He does love the shorts and has a couple of swimsuits too. 

[ReneeFLL]

On 10/16/2022 at 6:20 AM, RM said:

We have this cruise booked in reverse in 2024. Can't wait to come along with you. 

Thanks, hope you enjoy it.

 

13 hours ago, rudeney said:

Great choice on the shirt - that's the one I'd have picked!   I have several Tommy Bahama shirts like that and they do run long.  It's the style I guess. 

I agree. Most of his TB shirts are like that.

[ReneeFLL]

13 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

I love the shirts.  I would of got one!

I wanted to get 2, but he wasn’t having it so I had to be happy with the one.

 

12 hours ago, AlohaLivin said:

When I was working on DH’s genealogy and his sister was whipping out the Hawaiian names of even his many nieces and nephews and ancestors, I was like SAY WHAT?! I could neither say them nor spell them 😂 The traditional names are far more than a mouth full for sure.

 

Gotta love the shopping In Waikiki - did the Tommy Bahama shop have the Aloha USA shirt? I finally found that for DH after looking everywhere. Love those shirts ❤️

I didn’t see one, but I was zoning in on the ones by the front. I googled because I was curious and couldn’t find one. I did find one that has Aloha America on it. Is that the one?

[ReneeFLL]

12 hours ago, Sarah1974 said:

@ReneeFLL I've just found your review and caught up on all the posts.  Hope you have an amazing time!

Thanks for coming along. Hope you enjoy it.

 

11 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Same here, without any hesitation.

 

The black one -- I would have considered it, if the blue one wasn't in the game 😕

We also really liked the design on the black one, but he has to many black shirts.

[ReneeFLL]

10 hours ago, clochette said:

Thanks for letting follow along on your trip, and what a great start, this is my retirement trip, (not sure when that will happen).

I know when it happens you’ll love it.

 

8 hours ago, meg1021 said:

We will be doing Milford, Doubtful and Dusky Sounds, along with Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, Napier, Tauranga, Bay of Islands, and Picton.  So if you have any observations/insights into any of these, it would be great.  Our cruise isn't until February/March 2024, so I'll have time yet to follow along with postings on CC, to get some feedback from current cruisers.  Thanks once again for taking the time to post.

That’s an amazing itinerary. Wished our NZ cruise was longer. Eleven days really isn’t enough. 

[AlohaLivin]

58 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

I wanted to get 2, but he wasn’t having it so I had to be happy with the one.

 

I didn’t see one, but I was zoning in on the ones by the front. I googled because I was curious and couldn’t find one. I did find one that has Aloha America on it. Is that the one?

 

Sorry, I was being lazy in my description of the shirt in the other post.  This picture doesn’t do it justice. We first ran across it at a mall in Fort Lauderdale before our April cruise. It was at Dillards, but only in a small 😭  It was so perfect for my Hawaiian retired military guy, I couldn’t give up. I finally found in a few months ago at Island Trends online. 
 

 

Edited October 18, 2022 by AlohaLivin

[ReneeFLL]

1 hour ago, AlohaLivin said:

 

Sorry, I was being lazy in my description of the shirt in the other post.  This picture doesn’t do it justice. We first ran across it at a mall in Fort Lauderdale before our April cruise. It was at Dillards, but only in a small 😭  It was so perfect for my Hawaiian retired military guy, I couldn’t give up. I finally found in a few months ago at Island Trends online. 
 

 

That's the one I saw online. It's nice.

[ReneeFLL]

CC has been eating my posts so this is a test..😡

 

That figures. One short post and it shows up while my long one has disappeared. Next time I'll copy it first.

Edited October 18, 2022 by ReneeFLL

[Chiliburn]

Who are the bands onboard?

There is usually one in boleros and one later in music hall.

[ReneeFLL]

Check out of the hotel didn't take as long as it has several times before. Since we rented a car Mike needed to take it back before boarding. We decided next time we'll rent a car the first day and return it the day before the cruise. It would have been much easier, but at first we thought we weren't going to rent one. It would've saved us 2 Uber rides.

 

Mike decides he wants to drop me off with some of the luggage and I would check in and meet him on the ship. For whatever reason I handed my phone to Mike when I was getting out of the car. After he left I realized I didn't have it so I couldn't check in. He also prints out sea passes, receipts and anything else we might need a backup of. Well that was in the bag he kept. The porter that was going to take our luggage found out I didn't have my phone. He let me call Mike to make sure he had it and let him know I would be waiting outside for him. He was so nice. I didn't even ask him to use his phone. I was just going to wait, but he pretty much insisted.

 

He waited a few with me and then needed to help someone else. He sent another guy over to check on me. He stayed a few and we talked. They had been so nice I couldn't believe it. I decided to ask if they were Union. He didn't know what a Union was so I explained it a little. He then also had to go and help someone. A third guy came and asked if I was doing ok and shortly after that the first guy came back. I told him I was fine and that Mike should be here soon. He insisted on waiting and I was beginning to feel a little odd. Not uncomfortable at all, but just felt like I was keeping them from helping others. It was slow so I guess he was in no hurry to leave.

 

Finally Mike makes it back. The porter immediately went to get Mike's bag out of the car and he explains what we would need to check in and made sure we had everything handy. He walked us in to the suite area and handed us off to someone else. Check in was a breeze and we were on the ship in no time. This was like no other check in we have ever been thru.

[Ocean Boy]

2 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

CC has been eating my posts so this is a test..😡

 

That figures. One short post and it shows up while my long one has disappeared. Next time I'll copy it first.

It isn't just your posts that are being eaten.🤨

[Ocean Boy]

1 hour ago, ReneeFLL said:

Check out of the hotel didn't take as long as it has several times before. Since we rented a car Mike needed to take it back before boarding. We decided next time we'll rent a car the first day and return it the day before the cruise. It would have been much easier, but at first we thought we weren't going to rent one. It would've saved us 2 Uber rides.

 

Mike decides he wants to drop me off with some of the luggage and I would check in and meet him on the ship. For whatever reason I handed my phone to Mike when I was getting out of the car. After he left I realized I didn't have it so I couldn't check in. He also prints out sea passes, receipts and anything else we might need a backup of. Well that was in the bag he kept. The porter that was going to take our luggage found out I didn't have my phone. He let me call Mike to make sure he had it and let him know I would be waiting outside for him. He was so nice. I didn't even ask him to use his phone. I was just going to wait, but he pretty much insisted.

 

He waited a few with me and then needed to help someone else. He sent another guy over to check on me. He stayed a few and we talked. They had been so nice I couldn't believe it. I decided to ask if they were Union. He didn't know what a Union was so I explained it a little. He then also had to go and help someone. A third guy came and asked if I was doing ok and shortly after that the first guy came back. I told him I was fine and that Mike should be here soon. He insisted on waiting and I was beginning to feel a little odd. Not uncomfortable at all, but just felt like I was keeping them from helping others. It was slow so I guess he was in no hurry to leave.

 

Finally Mike makes it back. The porter immediately went to get Mike's bag out of the car and he explains what we would need to check in and made sure we had everything handy. He walked us in to the suite area and handed us off to someone else. Check in was a breeze and we were on the ship in no time. This was like no other check in we have ever been thru.

Sounds just like the porters at Port Everglades..... NOT.

[Sarah1974]

2 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

Check out of the hotel didn't take as long as it has several times before. Since we rented a car Mike needed to take it back before boarding. We decided next time we'll rent a car the first day and return it the day before the cruise. It would have been much easier, but at first we thought we weren't going to rent one. It would've saved us 2 Uber rides.

 

Mike decides he wants to drop me off with some of the luggage and I would check in and meet him on the ship. For whatever reason I handed my phone to Mike when I was getting out of the car. After he left I realized I didn't have it so I couldn't check in. He also prints out sea passes, receipts and anything else we might need a backup of. Well that was in the bag he kept. The porter that was going to take our luggage found out I didn't have my phone. He let me call Mike to make sure he had it and let him know I would be waiting outside for him. He was so nice. I didn't even ask him to use his phone. I was just going to wait, but he pretty much insisted.

 

He waited a few with me and then needed to help someone else. He sent another guy over to check on me. He stayed a few and we talked. They had been so nice I couldn't believe it. I decided to ask if they were Union. He didn't know what a Union was so I explained it a little. He then also had to go and help someone. A third guy came and asked if I was doing ok and shortly after that the first guy came back. I told him I was fine and that Mike should be here soon. He insisted on waiting and I was beginning to feel a little odd. Not uncomfortable at all, but just felt like I was keeping them from helping others. It was slow so I guess he was in no hurry to leave.

 

Finally Mike makes it back. The porter immediately went to get Mike's bag out of the car and he explains what we would need to check in and made sure we had everything handy. He walked us in to the suite area and handed us off to someone else. Check in was a breeze and we were on the ship in no time. This was like no other check in we have ever been thru.

sounds like you had great customer service

[ReneeFLL]

9 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Sounds just like the porters at Port Everglades..... NOT.

Exactly, that's why I asked if they were Union otherwise I never would've asked. They were so nice I knew something was up and Union was the first thing that came to mind.

[ReneeFLL]

9 hours ago, Sarah1974 said:

sounds like you had great customer service

Definitely, something that doesn't seem to exist very much these days. Maybe it also had something to do with being Hawaiian? They do seem nicer in general, at least the ones we came across.