Newbie with Nautilus Submarine questions

[WeR3Angels]

Hi,

 

Has anyone tried the submarine tours and if so, are they worth it?

 

We will be cruising on the POA on July 25th. I was just lucky enough to find this great newsgroup and of course, have tons of questions.

 

Having never cruised before, I am learning a great deal here - THANK YOU ALL.

 

I was under the impression we had to use NCL for our land excursions but now I am finding out otherwise. Can anyone tell me which ones I should plan ahead with NCL and what I should do on my own? We already have Oahu planned as I was there many moons ago but not sure of the other islands.

 

I have tried to find port locations for all of our stops to find out if there is anything at each port and just plan at each stop but it appears that Oahu is the only large port. My hubby is open to rent a car but I guess we need to know if that is wise and if so, for which islands.

 

Lastly, we were sold on this trip because we were under the impression that gambling was onboard, however, I have heard ZERO mentioned since we paid for our trip - anyone???

 

Thanks again and don't hesitate to email me directly.

 

Barb :D

[TWA4Ever]

Barb,

 

We took the submarine in Oahu in 2001, and it was a wonderful experience. And yes, booking things yourself can be much cheaper than booking through the cruise line. You do have an advantage, however, booking with the line in that if a tour is delayed returning to the ship some evening, the ship will not leave without you. They make certain of your getting to your tour on time, etc. (This is what we've have been told every time we've been on ship.)

 

But if you are a good planner and can spend some time online, then you should have no problem booking on your own. As to what you should book - up to you.

 

The PoA will be out of Hawai'ian waters for only a small amount of time of your entire cruise. There is no gambling in Hawai'i - there is no gambling on a ship cruising Hawai'ian water exclusively or primarily. Did your TA tell you this??

 

Anyway, have a great time, and let us know what you decide to do!

[bug_dan]

For gambling you would want one of the repositioning cruises or there are several that do a round trip to Hawaii from the Mainland.

We did the Atlantis submarine in Kona, the office is just a short walk from the pier, and they transport you to the sub. Great views of the coral and fish etc. I was surprised at how the sunlight filtered down 100 ft. It plays odd tricks on colors that deep. We saved about $20 pp booking on the internet. Recommend visiting their web site http://www.atlantissubmarines.org/

 

I would definitely recommend renting a car, it allows much more flexibility When we did the Sub in Kona, we did not rent a car, since the whole trip took about 2 hours and it was around noon which precluded being able to travel too far. Definitely find a good guidebook for the Islands and preplan. This board is also a good source of info and our resident Kamaina, Suebee, and Spleen, will be able almost any question you can think of.

[WeR3Angels]

Thank you both for your replies.

 

Actually, the TA did tell us we could gamble on this cruise - it was a plus but will not make or break the cruise. Since this is our first cruise, we will learn as we go.

 

Coming from the East coast, we are under the impression 'jet lag" will be a problem the first day. I was thinking of not planning anything early for our first port until afternoon - do you recommend this?

 

Also, if we opt not to do much one day, are we free to walk off the cruise ship and just roam around the area? Use beach area in the area?

 

Which islands do you recommend for souvenirs? I know Maui is more expensive than Oahu but what about Kauai or Hawaii?

 

Thanks again - this newbie really appreciates all your input.

Barb :-)

[spleen93]

I cannot believe that your TA told you that there was gambling aboard. That's very irresponsible of them and demonstrates a lack of education on their part. (sigh) Anyways ...

 

Both Dan and TWA4Ever have given you good information. Are you flying in the day before? I hope you're not planning on arriving the day of the cruise itself! Since you're coming in from the East Coast, I would try to arrive at least 2-3 days before the cruise to catch up with jet lag and to feel more refreshed before getting on the cruise. Then you don't have to worry about missing anything (excursions and otherwise) while you're onboard. You are free to get off the ship whenever it's docked or tenders are running. You don't necessarily have to book tours or to plan excursions beforehand - sometimes you can have good experiences just walking around. But renting a car may be a good thing if you're not planning on using the ship's tours. Most of the attractions in Hawaii are spread out enough that you need some form of transportation to get you from place to place.

 

All the outer islands are more expensive than Oahu. Souvenirs will generally be cheaper at the mega-market type of places (e.g. Wal-Mart, Costco, etc.)

 

Spleen