Help with Kauai

[jmakita]

Aloha All,

Cruising on RCCL Serenade Oct 2006 to Hawaii. I'm thinking about cancelling my Zipline adventure in Kauai to do helicopter with either Blue Hawaiian or Air Kauai. Or maybe go on a Mud Bug tour. I just can't decide! Does anyone have any suggestions or comments with any of these tours? Not sure if I can do both, (arrive in port 7:30 am, depart 5:30 pm.) but whatever we do, it'll be a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

[Happy ks]

I have no idea what a mud-bug tour is, but we have taken a helicopter tour in Kauai and it was the most amazing tour we've ever taken.

 

Given that Kauai is such a small island, you will have plenty of time to do more than one thing, unless you take an excursion that takes several hours. Rent a car and explore this gem!

[katsted69]

Living in Hawaii for 3 years with the military, I can say that Blue Hawaiian is a great tour to take. Seeing the island from the helicopter is really a once in a life time thing (unless you go there again) but you can mud it anywhere and zip it anywhere (maybe not through a rain forest though). So, with that being said, I would see the falls around the island from above.

[jmakita]

Great Info, thanks all, but, was just going to book with Blue Hawaiian for Kauai and saw that my itnierary no longer shows Kauai as a stop! Boy, will I be upset if they remove this port, as I was really looking forward to this port most of all I have an e-mail into RCCL to find out what the deal is...

[sp29488]

I Can't help with your question but just wanted to say that I hope you get to go there. We spent two weeks in Hawaii and one of those weeks was on the Island of Kauai. It is a beautiful Island and I hope you get to spend some time there.

[Beef4stew]

I did the Blue Hawaiian tour in Kaui last year. It was great. They play music that matches the different parts of the island you see. There are alot of areas you can't get to unless you use a helicopter. When the ride is over, you can even get a DVD of your trip.

[PACURN]

Try the Jack Harter doorless helicopter tour. It's a smaller copter and can go into canyons better. Since there are not doors nothing in blocking the views.

I'm planning on doing it when I'm there in Oct. OHHH I'm so excited.

[spleen93]

Just a warning about Jack Harter:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=251004&highlight=jack+harter

 

Spleen

[PACURN]

Wow Spleen Thanks for the link there. That is interesting information.

We will have four people but I guess we can't control if they "feel" like flying or not. That's no way to run a business. I can certainly understand maintance. Thats a necessary evil cuz no one wants to crash.

If I do decide to fly with them I will certainly have a back up plan. Maybe one of the other companies will get a doorless helicopter by then, Thats the only reason I want to use Jack Harter. The thought of flying in that helicopter is thrilling.

Thanks again you are a wealth of info my freind.

[spleen93]

Debbie - you may want to look at Inter-Island Helicopters as well - they apparently also fly with doors off.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=93201&highlight=inter+island+helicopter

 

Spleen

[PACURN]

Spleen you are my hero. Thanks for the info.:D :D

[cd-tk]

You might want to check, I beleive RCCL is not going to kauai. They changed iteneraries yesterday.

[Mollie975]

It is a shame if you do not get to Kauai. It is our fave island. We did both a zip line (Company - Kauai Adventures?) and a helicopter ride (Island Helicopter - Pilot Isaac). We loved both of these. If you can only do one, chose the helicopter.

 

I just read a post about 3 minutes ago in the change in ports, but can't find it right now. You should check it out. I think it is a bunch of crap to lose 2 ports, especially Kauai. That alone would make me cancel.

[jmakita]

Thanks to all who responded. You guys have been a wealth of knowledge. I agree that taking Kauai off itinerary is just wrong. I sent e-mail to RCCL telling them I may cancel due to this change. What a shame. The thing that really ticks me off is that I already reserved a room at Waikiki Beach Tower resort on Honolulu 2 days prior to cruise, so I don't need to spend an extra day in that port!! I may just end up paying for an inter-island flight to Kauai from Honolulu, then go do Blue Hawaiian helicopter over Kauai. Since this only takes an hour or so, I'll find another excursion in Kauai as well. Lots of extra expense, I'm sure, but when will I ever get this chance again?

[wjterry]

Great Info, thanks all, but, was just going to book with Blue Hawaiian for Kauai and saw that my itnierary no longer shows Kauai as a stop! Boy, will I be upset if they remove this port, as I was really looking forward to this port most of all I have an e-mail into RCCL to find

ut what the deal is...[/quot

 

 

If you get any info back from RCCL would you please post about it. We are on the 9/23/2006 RT to Hawaii and we have lost 2 ports. It will be interesting to know what they tell you.

 

Judy

[jmakita]

Hi WJTerry:

 

Here is response from RCCL. Pretty standard (and somewhat pathetic) response. I am so sorry to hear that you have lost 2 ports! What is going on?? I heard or read somewhere, maybe it was from Spleen?, that the NCL ships are getting first priority in ports. Probably has something to do with not having to be registered internationally? Geez, I hope we don't lose any more ports. With losing port of Kauai, I'm going to suck it up and have a great time regardless, but if we lose any more, that may be hard to swallow. Good luck with everything. I hope it all works out. Date: Tuesday, March 28, 2006 5:51 AM From: web_reservations@rccl.com To: jmakitaSubject: Serenade Of The Seas, October 5, 2006, 2619686 Size: 3 KB

Dear Ms. Mercurio: Thank you for your e-mail. Ms. Mercurio, with regard to your inquiry, due to port availability and berthing conflicts, it has become necessary to make changes to the Serenade of the Seas - October 5th, 2006. We share our guests' disappointment with the change in the ship's itinerary. As our brochures and Passenger Contract reflect that we may need to change a ship's itinerary for various reasons. We provide notice of this policy in the cruise documents and in our brochures. We greatly value our guests and appreciate you sharing your comments with us. As our only desire is to provide the best cruise experience possible. Thank you for choosing Royal Caribbean International. Maria Perez Customer Service Representative

[Frozen Tundra Belgian]

Definitily do a helicopter tour of the island, it's amazing from above something you could never see or get to from the ground. The waterfalls are awesome especially with the heavy rains the island has been getting.

There are no words to be able to discribe the beauty.

We also did the mudbugs, my husbands idea. Must admit it was a lot of fun. Something all guys will love or anyone who doesn't mind getting very muddy. Word of caution, you will be dripping with the red mud down to your skin no matter how many layers of rain gear and clothes you have on. They supply old pants, shirts and boots for you to wear. The scenery is beautiful and lunch is included by a beautiful waterfall where you can dive in and swim. We were on the POA cruise ship so they picked us up at the harbor at 6:45AM and returned at 1:00PM.

As for the zipline, I heard from many people on the cruise that went on this excursion, that they loved it.