Hawaii for 30th anniversary ... advice needed

[BDL]

Hi everyone,

My DH and I want to go to Hawaii for our 30th anniversary next year (April, May or June would work for us). We'd like to fly to Hawaii and pick up a ship for 7 days and it appears NCL is the right choice for that. I've got lots of American Airline miles from business travel so we'll save on airfare.

I've got lots of questions:

Since I've never been on NCL before - is there any savings to booking from a travel agent as opposed to NCL directly?

We'd like to splurge on the cabin (we've been saving!) - any comments on the Penthouse Suites? Locations? Perks? Worth the money?

Is a 1 pm flight home too early?

Thanks in advance for any help or recommendations.

Barb :)

[beachchick]

As an FYI, if you want to do a 7-night Hawaii-only itinerary, NCLA is the ONLY choice (which, of course, makes it the right choice).

 

Which ship are you asking about regarding suites? The Pride of Aloha and Pride of America are extremely different. Overall, the suites will be similar, but definitely not the same. I'd go for the lowest level of Penthouse that is considered a full suite with the suite perks (VIP this and that, butler service, etc.). I believe that's AE on both. That would, IMO, give you a good "bang for your buck" because you'll get all the goodies, but perhaps have $$ leftover for other splurges.

 

For such a special occasion, a suite is an excellent idea. It's hard for me to say whether you would find the perks worth the cost, but I can say that we loved them. (Disclaimer: We were in a Courtyard Villa on Pride of Hawaii. This is not an option on PoAl or PoAm. There are several more perks with the Courtyard Villas then with the Penthouses. Still, the perks that come with a penthouse are pretty darn good. Second disclaimer: We moved from a mini-suite to the Courtyard Villa through a really sweet upsell deal and would not have paid the full fare difference because for us, the perks aren't worth that much. Sometimes there are excellent deals on suites, especially in the shoulder seasons. Look at late April and May through Memorial Day for some post-spring break, pre-summer deals.)

 

Sometimes TAs have extras like OBC or other incentives. Large agencies sometimes have blocks of cabins which they are able to discount somewhat. As there are not that many suites, you will be less likely to find any significant fare difference between a TA or booking directly with NCL. The difference would most likely be the incentives. Do be careful though because some TAs charge cancellation fees if you can cancel for any reason; others will not work with you on price drops (assuming you would qualify; not all price drops apply to all bookings). If you book through a TA, the TA will have sole control of the booking and you will have to communicate with NCL through your TA only. (I'm not saying that's a bad thing, as long as you have a good TA who is working with you and for you.)

 

If you can get a 1 pm flight home, it will be fine. Even though you're coming from the west coast, you should (again IMO) try to fly in at least 3 days early and stay either on Oahu or hop over to another island. The more days, the better. We're on the west coast too, but we do have to fly from a hub to get to LAX or SFO, so it's a longer travel day for us. I assume you're going out of the LA or San Diego area non-stop? If you take an early morning flight over, you'll have most of the first day in Hawaii to settle in, unwind, and start feeling the aloha spirit.

 

beachchick

[Texas_firefighter]

Hi everyone,

My DH and I want to go to Hawaii for our 30th anniversary next year (April, May or June would work for us). We'd like to fly to Hawaii and pick up a ship for 7 days and it appears NCL is the right choice for that. I've got lots of American Airline miles from business travel so we'll save on airfare.

 

I've got lots of questions:

Since I've never been on NCL before - is there any savings to booking from a travel agent as opposed to NCL directly?

 

We'd like to splurge on the cabin (we've been saving!) - any comments on the Penthouse Suites? Locations? Perks? Worth the money?

 

Is a 1 pm flight home too early?

 

Thanks in advance for any help or recommendations.

 

Barb :)

 

 

Join us in April '09 for 7 days in the islands on the Carnival Spirit starting in Honolulu. Then relax for 5 days at sea en route to Vancouver. We will be celebrating our 30th as well. Nice if you have the time,with a shorter flight home !

[BDL]

Thanks for the replies. The search function started working last night, so I was able to do a few searches about the two ships.

 

Texas_firefighter - we want to do the 7 day Hawaii and forego the at-sea days this trip. Thanks for your recommendation though. Have fun on your trip!

 

Beachchick - You're absolutely right - NCL is the only choice for what we want :) but looks like a good one. I think we’ve decided on the Pride of America in an AE Penthouse on May 24th. It looks like this category receives the suite perks (I’m still looking to see what they all are). I’ve decided on booking directly from NCL – this has worked well for me in the past on other cruise lines. I like being in control of the booking and being able to call if I see a price drop and get a reduction … RCCL allowed this – does NCL?

 

We’re flying from LAX. We live in northern San Diego County but since I want to use American Airline FF miles, if we flew from SD we’d have to change planes anyway. They don't fly direct from SAN. Currently have on hold a morning flight that gets us into HNL at 11 am. Returning on the 31st on a 1pm flight home. We’re planning on flying in 3 days early. Any suggestions for hotels? I’m going to see what I can find with my Marriott Rewards or Hilton Honors points. By saving on the airfare and hotel it’s allowing us to splurge on the cruise portion. If I don't use points for the hotel, will be looking for something not too expensive. We don't need a resort hotel because we'll be out exploring all day.

Thanks,

Barb

 

 

[DonahCBrown]

Thanks for the replies. The search function started working last night, so I was able to do a few searches about the two ships.

 

Texas_firefighter - we want to do the 7 day Hawaii and forego the at-sea days this trip. Thanks for your recommendation though. Have fun on your trip!

 

Beachchick - You're absolutely right - NCL is the only choice for what we want :) but looks like a good one. I think we’ve decided on the Pride of America in an AE Penthouse on May 24th. It looks like this category receives the suite perks (I’m still looking to see what they all are). I’ve decided on booking directly from NCL – this has worked well for me in the past on other cruise lines. I like being in control of the booking and being able to call if I see a price drop and get a reduction … RCCL allowed this – does NCL?

 

We’re flying from LAX. We live in northern San Diego County but since I want to use American Airline FF miles, if we flew from SD we’d have to change planes anyway. They don't fly direct from SAN. Currently have on hold a morning flight that gets us into HNL at 11 am. Returning on the 31st on a 1pm flight home. We’re planning on flying in 3 days early. Any suggestions for hotels? I’m going to see what I can find with my Marriott Rewards or Hilton Honors points. By saving on the airfare and hotel it’s allowing us to splurge on the cruise portion. If I don't use points for the hotel, will be looking for something not too expensive. We don't need a resort hotel because we'll be out exploring all day.

Thanks,

Barb

 

 

 

If you don't end up with a points stay (the Hilton would be either the Hilton Hawaiian Village or the Hilton Turtle Bay out on the North Shore - which is lovely, but quite a ways from most of the sites you will most likely want to visit - Marriott is likely to be Ko Olina, again, a good ways away) If you want a Waikiki area hotel that has a good price, and is clean, no frills, we like to stay at the Ilima - it is a few blocks from the beach, on the Alawai Canal side, and is a very comfortable place, with lots of aloha. Also has a garage and, last time we were there, free parking, although the spaces are first come first serve and not all that plentiful. They also usually offer a good room/car package deal. Not fancy, but the price is pretty good too.

[beachchick]

Thanks for the replies. The search function started working last night, so I was able to do a few searches about the two ships.

 

Texas_firefighter - we want to do the 7 day Hawaii and forego the at-sea days this trip. Thanks for your recommendation though. Have fun on your trip!

 

We agree with you on the sea days. When we're visiting Hawaii, we want to actually be in Hawaii.

Beachchick - You're absolutely right - NCL is the only choice for what we want :) but looks like a good one. I think we’ve decided on the Pride of America in an AE Penthouse on May 24th. It looks like this category receives the suite perks (I’m still looking to see what they all are). I’ve decided on booking directly from NCL – this has worked well for me in the past on other cruise lines. I like being in control of the booking and being able to call if I see a price drop and get a reduction … RCCL allowed this – does NCL?

 

Up until final payment, NCL will honor price drops. After final payment, your booking is considered closed and they will not only not honor fare reductions, but will also not allow you to purchase an upgrade if, for example, you're in a balcony and the fare for a mini-suite goes down to what you paid for the balcony. If you wanted to upgrade at that point (that is, after final payment), the cruise line will charge you whatever the difference would have been at the time you booked your cruise.

 

Here's the big issue though: NCL honors fare reductions up to final payment date as long as (and they are pretty strict on this) they are not for "new bookings only" or a "special" sale. If they are restricted and even if it's before final payment, NCL will not honor a fare reduction. In fact, if you cancel and rebook to get the new deal, they will catch it because the computer will flag your rebooking, and then NCL will reprice your "new" booking back to the original higher fare. This is something about which there has been much discussion.

 

We’re flying from LAX. We live in northern San Diego County but since I want to use American Airline FF miles, if we flew from SD we’d have to change planes anyway. They don't fly direct from SAN. Currently have on hold a morning flight that gets us into HNL at 11 am. Returning on the 31st on a 1pm flight home. We’re planning on flying in 3 days early.

 

Well that's a bit of a bother having to fly from LAX, but we're all too familiar with the "you can't get there from here" issue. You're flight times sound just fine. I'm so glad you're planning on the extra days.

 

Any suggestions for hotels? I’m going to see what I can find with my Marriott Rewards or Hilton Honors points. By saving on the airfare and hotel it’s allowing us to splurge on the cruise portion. If I don't use points for the hotel, will be looking for something not too expensive. We don't need a resort hotel because we'll be out exploring all day.

 

Hm. Well, if you have the points (and even though you say you don't need a resort hotel), I'd look at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Sure, you'll be out exploring all day, but the HHV is a great place to be when you're not out and about, and a great place to spend the evening. It will keep the aloha spirit flowing and keep in you in the proper hang loose frame of mind. Otherwise, you might look at booking the Waikiki Marriott on your own using points. Even though you won't have the NCL perks (such as using the NCL desk for ship check-in at the hotel) because those perks are only for pax who book the hotel through the cruise line. You would be able to pay for the NCL luggage transfer from the hotel to the ship ($25?) though, which could be convenient. If you don't use points, you could consider the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani, which is reasonably priced, has a pool, but is not on the beach. The Aqua line of hotels seem to be getting good reviews as reasonably priced, good quality places which have recently been renovated.

Thanks,

Barb

 

Entirely our pleasure, I assure you.

 

 

Aloha!

 

beachchick

[BDL]

If you don't end up with a points stay (the Hilton would be either the Hilton Hawaiian Village or the Hilton Turtle Bay out on the North Shore - which is lovely, but quite a ways from most of the sites you will most likely want to visit - Marriott is likely to be Ko Olina, again, a good ways away) If you want a Waikiki area hotel that has a good price, and is clean, no frills, we like to stay at the Ilima - it is a few blocks from the beach, on the Alawai Canal side, and is a very comfortable place, with lots of aloha. Also has a garage and, last time we were there, free parking, although the spaces are first come first serve and not all that plentiful. They also usually offer a good room/car package deal. Not fancy, but the price is pretty good too.

 

Donna - thanks for the recommendation.. I went to the Ilima web site - it looks nice. We may just save our Marriott and Hilton points for another trip. Not sure if we're going to rent a car or not yet, but I think parking will be a headache anywhere we stay.

[BDL]

Beachchick - Thanks for all the great information! I'll check out the hotels you recommend too.... we don't want to be too far away from everything.. it would be nice to be able to walk around the shopping areas.

 

I did call NCL and book the May 24th cruise on the Pride of America! Now I'm getting very excited. We did go for the AE Penthouse on the 11th deck. It looks like it has a fabulous balcony and we like to spend a lot of time out on the balcony.

 

Being new to NCL I still have so many things to find out.. previously, we had a 'grand' suite on RCCL once for our 25th anniversary. It was very nice but it looks like NCL has more perks than RCCL did. Do you get free drinks in a Penthouse? Can you purchase bottles of wine to be enjoyed on the balcony? I didn't see anything on the web site. Most lines don't allow wine to be brought on board - I saw somewhere on another thread that you can on NCL with a $15 bottle fee. Is there a wine list posted anywhere so we can check out the selection before deciding to bring our own?

 

Thanks again for all the help here... we can't wait for our first NCL cruise!

Barb

[Texas_firefighter]

If you want a Waikiki area hotel that has a good price, and is clean, no frills, we like to stay at the Ilima - it is a few blocks from the beach, on the Alawai Canal side, and is a very comfortable place, with lots of aloha. Also has a garage and, last time we were there, free parking, although the spaces are first come first serve and not all that plentiful. They also usually offer a good room/car package deal. Not fancy, but the price is pretty good too.

 

 

Thanks for the Ilima tip. I checked it out and it really looks nice. I've got it marked for when the time comes.

[beachchick]

Beachchick - Thanks for all the great information! I'll check out the hotels you recommend too.... we don't want to be too far away from everything.. it would be nice to be able to walk around the shopping areas.

 

There are many good hotels around Waikiki beach, but not on the beach, which are nice enough and not $$$. If you want a real treat, you might watch for deals at the Royal Hawaiian or Surfrider because they are the two grand ladies of Waikiki beach.

 

We finally stayed at the Royal Hawaiian last year (the week before Christmas--I said to my DH today, "Last year at this time we were swimming in the waters around Hawaii; sigh"). It's great, but it's not cheap. However, they do have some good deals from time to time. We booked a hotel/car package through (can't say the name, but it's a big online travel site) for the cheapo "portico" view room at about 40% of the rack rate. About $200 per night, including taxes and the midsize car rental. We were surprised with an upgrade to one of the four second floor two-room full suites at the end of the historical wing--and we had the Diamond Head/beach view to boot! For some reason we were VIP'd the whole time with invites to a special cocktail parties and little goodies every day. My DH said, "They must know beachchick is in town," mm-hmm.:p

 

IMO, what's nicer than walking along Kalakaua for shopping is walking along the beach. Even if your hotel in not on the beach, you can always stroll on down and enjoy the entire beach because all beaches in Hawaii are public, even those fronting hotels/resorts and private homes. You can just plop yourself down and relax. There are rental kiosks on Waikiki for chairs and such. The hotels often have lounges and umbrellas on the beach, but those belong to the hotels and are usually only for hotel guests (as they are not part of the "public" facilities).

I did call NCL and book the May 24th cruise on the Pride of America! Now I'm getting very excited. We did go for the AE Penthouse on the 11th deck. It looks like it has a fabulous balcony and we like to spend a lot of time out on the balcony.

 

:D Yea! Oh, that is so exciting for you! Way to go.

 

Being new to NCL I still have so many things to find out.. previously, we had a 'grand' suite on RCCL once for our 25th anniversary.

 

We're RCI fans too. The GS is similar to the AE Penthouses in terms of size. The benefits are much better on NCL for full suites though (see below).

 

It was very nice but it looks like NCL has more perks than RCCL did. Do you get free drinks in a Penthouse?

 

Yes and no. There will be a bottle of sparkling wine in a high hat in your penthouse when you arrive. (Tip: If you don't want the marginal domestic bubbly, call in advance or just tell your butler and request a switch to red or white still wine.) You will be invited to the Captain's VIP Cocktail Party, where you will be served complimentary wines, beers, and other alcohol beverages (or non-alcohol beverages of your choice), along with hot and cold munchies. Otherwise, your only "free" drinks are a couple of bottles of water (one still; one sparkling on most ships) in your mini-fridge. Sodas and more water are not included, so you would be charged (but you can bring what you like onboard if you like). You will NOT have the included bottles of alcohol which come with the highest level suites (Owner's Suite, AA and above). There will probably be a cool European coffe maker (cappucino, espresso, etc.) with beans for fresh grinding. Your butler will give you a little "lesson" on it and there are instructions. Other than that, you're usually on your own for beverage/drink costs.

 

Other full suite perks: Priority embarkation/disembarkation; a Concierge lounge during the day (usually the Star Bar, which is a "regular" bar at night); access to a Concierge to book your reservations for dinner, excursions, etc. and the perk of booking all dinner reservations on the first day of the cruise, plus being able to make last minute reservations through the Concierge (except the Teppanyaki because that is so limited, so it's first-come-first-reserved for the seatings); priority tender tickets for Kona (they will be delivered to your suite); a butler to bring you whatever you need (including serving meals in your suite dining room area or on the balcony), and you can order dinner from any restaurant for en suite service by the butler (although you will pay the upcharge for the restaurants that have one); little treats delivered by the butler (you know, chocolate strawberries one day, petit fours another, and maybe canapes another); reserved seating in the main theater; a little fruit bowl in your suite (replenished as needed); an upgraded room service menu (be sure to call your butler for room service, rather than using the iTV or calling room service directly; our butler gently "reminded" us to let him handle all these things for us). Hm...I know there are a few things I'm forgetting, but I don't want to include things that aren't perks for the Penthouses or that aren't available on PoAm. For example, we were in a Courtyard Villa and had some extra perks, such as sodas and water included all week, and the PoH has Cagney's open for breakfast and lunch for full suite (AE and above) pax, but PoAm doesn't. In any case, we thought the perks were very nice.

Can you purchase bottles of wine to be enjoyed on the balcony? I didn't see anything on the web site.

 

Yes, you most certainly can. You can peruse the wine list, call your butler, and ask to have a bottle delivered. Of course, your onboard account will be charged, but there would be no corkage/consumption fee. If you see reference to "bar setups," ignore it for Hawaii. State law doesn't allow NCL to sell the pre-cruise bar setups for hard liquor.

 

Most lines don't allow wine to be brought on board - I saw somewhere on another thread that you can on NCL with a $15 bottle fee.

 

Yes, you can bring on wine (like RCI used to allow!). You will be charged a $15 per bottle (says "750 ml bottle," but members have mentioned that larger bottles or "box wines" are hit-or-miss regarding being charged multiple consumption fees). On NCL, you will be charged the fee regardless of where you intend to consume your wine onboard. (Unlike the way RCI used to do it where you only got charged the corkage fee if you brought your bottle to the dining room/restaurants.) Sometimes members report that they have been able to sneak wine/alcohol onboard, but we think it's more trouble than it's worth. NCL does x-ray all luggage, and if they see any suspicious shaped items (such as large bottles), they will hold your bag in the "naughty room" and make you come fetch it there, where you will have to open it and show what the item is. If it's wine, you will be charged the $15 per bottle consumption fee; if it's hard liquor, they will hold it until the end of the cruise. (Don't forget that there's no duty free shopping onboard because the ship is US-flagged.)

 

Is there a wine list posted anywhere so we can check out the selection before deciding to bring our own?

 

I'm sure there must be, but I don't know where. Have you tried an advanced search on the NCL forum for "wine list"? It does come up often and there may be a link on a thread not too far back. Try going back 3 months to start. Here's a link to a list which may or may not be current:

 

http://www.alaskacruisingandtours.com/NCL/wine_list.htm

 

We tend to bring our own because we live in one of the premier wine regions and have friends who are vintners. As an FYI, you can also wait until you get there and purchase wine before boarding the ship. The selection of everyday and fine wines in Hawaii has really expanded over the past 10 years. Prices are only slightly higher than in CA. If you have the Safeway club card, bring it because it's honored there and the larger Safeways have pretty good wine departments. Also check Foodland for decent selections. There are several wine shops, but I don't know which in Honolulu/Waikiki are best because we usually shop on Maui if we're buying wine.

Thanks again for all the help here... we can't wait for our first NCL cruise!

 

And we'll all be excited for you too.:D We really enjoyed our PoH cruise.

 

Barb

 

beachchick

[BDL]

beachchick - thank you SO much for all the great information!

 

Haven't decided on which hotel yet... looking at all the suggestions. We'll definitely have to investigate the Royal Hawaiin with the car rental package.

 

I looked at the wine list you linked to and also did a search as you suggested... I was not very impressed. They did have one Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand which I'd probably love, but at $29.90 seems quite high. We'll probably shop in Honolulu for a few bottles of my favorites and pay the corkage fee. Looks like the total with fee would be about what it would be on board anyway so I might as well drink what I like. :) I'm by no means a wine connoisseur, just an amateur.

 

Someone on another thread recommended Costco for macadamia nut gifts to take home... wonder how their wine selection is? We're going in 3 days early so we'll have time to shop. We're actually thinking of coming in only two days early and then staying a night after the cruse and fly home on Sunday.

[DonahCBrown]

beachchick - thank you SO much for all the great information!

 

Haven't decided on which hotel yet... looking at all the suggestions. We'll definitely have to investigate the Royal Hawaiin with the car rental package.

 

I looked at the wine list you linked to and also did a search as you suggested... I was not very impressed. They did have one Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand which I'd probably love, but at $29.90 seems quite high. We'll probably shop in Honolulu for a few bottles of my favorites and pay the corkage fee. Looks like the total with fee would be about what it would be on board anyway so I might as well drink what I like. :) I'm by no means a wine connoisseur, just an amateur.

 

Someone on another thread recommended Costco for macadamia nut gifts to take home... wonder how their wine selection is? We're going in 3 days early so we'll have time to shop. We're actually thinking of coming in only two days early and then staying a night after the cruse and fly home on Sunday.

 

Costco has a pretty decent wine selection and carries some good inexpensive Aussie reds that make for pleasant everyday drinking. Usually they have some decent Shiraz and they also carry Lindeman's Chardonnay, if you prefer white. They also have some higher end wines, lots of California, some New Zealand - try the Kim Crawford unoaked Chardonnay - very nice.

 

The mac nut assortments make it easy to get gifts for everyone, and you might also want to try Island Princess for some tasty locally produced snacks - popcorn mixes with various add-ons - mac nuts being one.

[BDL]

Thanks Donna - I've added Island Princess to the places we'll have to go see. I'm printing out all these places with maps - will have a nice file by the time we go. :)

 

We may be better off staying that extra day after the cruise to shop for take-home stuff rather than lug it on the cruise with us...

 

Decisions, decisions....

 

Barb

[beachchick]

Fortunately you got a good answer from Donah, who is certainly in the know. We've never shopped at Costco. Look for fun flavors of mac nuts and don't assume that Mauna Loa is "the" brand to buy. Yes, they're good; of course they are. But there are a couple of other brands that we like too. Macadam Farms (I think that's right) has a few fun flavors and have been decent quality. Also look for Ed & Don's chews as a tasty treat. I like the coconut ones best, but the mac nut and Kona coffee ones are yummy too.

 

Most stores that sell wine in Hawaii and that have a good selection usually have numerous Aussie and Western mainland choices. I remember seeing a decent number of Spanish, German, and other European countries represented, but I don't recall where the choice is best. They have a fair selection of OR and WA wines at the larger Safeways, etc. I've heard the Kim Crawford unoaked Chard is good; guess I'd better try it. Lots of CA wines in all price ranges. You really can find some good deals; I'm sure Costco would be a good bet.

 

I've not been to Island Princess. Hm, perhaps I must insist that my DH take me on another visit to check it out...

 

beachchick

[dawndelion]

Hilton has an aloha package where you can stay at any of the hotels for 175k points for 6 nights in HI and stay at any of the category 6 hotels - Hilton Hawaiian Village, Hilton Prince Kuhio, or the Embassy Suites. There is also a Doubletree that is category 5. We stayed at the HHV and it was great - as a gold member they upgraded us to oceanfront rainbow tower and we got a free breakfast buffet everyday. Parking is a little steep (I think $20/day), but it was worth it. The Marriott is also on Waikiki Beach, at the other end and looked very nice.

 

As for cruise rates, I always go through ************* dot com and save a lot of money since agents are bidding for your business. Since NCL is such a port intensive cruise, you really wont' be in your room too much. I would save the money for shore activities and go with a regular balcony room.

[DonahCBrown]

Sorry for misleading - Island Princess is a brand name not a place. They make popcorn and chocolate and macnut goodies - are sold by Costco and also at local groceries like KTA, as well as some of the shops. Very addictive.

 

They may have a store somewhere, but I don't know about it. There are lots of places south of Kona that you can pick up locally grown mac nuts, cheaper, fresher, and better than Mauna Loa, often associated with the coffee farms.

 

Mauna Loa is nicely packaged, sold at Costco and elsewhere in 'multipack' packages that you can break down and 'gift' several people, and is a brand most of your friends will recognize. Like others have said, doesn't mean they are the best.

 

There's quite a good mac nut packing place a few miles from my house, near Kawaihae, and they have nice packaging, do tours and offer free samples. They also use only locally grown product, which is not true of Mauna Loa....

[beachchick]

Sorry for misleading - Island Princess is a brand name not a place. They make popcorn and chocolate and macnut goodies - are sold by Costco and also at local groceries like KTA, as well as some of the shops. Very addictive.

 

They may have a store somewhere, but I don't know about it. There are lots of places south of Kona that you can pick up locally grown mac nuts, cheaper, fresher, and better than Mauna Loa, often associated with the coffee farms.

 

Mauna Loa is nicely packaged, sold at Costco and elsewhere in 'multipack' packages that you can break down and 'gift' several people, and is a brand most of your friends will recognize. Like others have said, doesn't mean they are the best.

 

There's quite a good mac nut packing place a few miles from my house, near Kawaihae, and they have nice packaging, do tours and offer free samples. They also use only locally grown product, which is not true of Mauna Loa....

 

Mahalo for the info. I actually googled and found the Island Princess website. They're goodies sound and look so fabulous. I'm glad you brought up the Mauna Loa versus other brands "issue" because the mac nuts we bought outside of Kona (I can't remember what they were called, but I swear they felt and tasted as if they'd just been roasted) were so delicious. Frankly, we've had some disappointments with consistent quality of Mauna Loa, and besides, we can buy them here on the mainland all over the place. We really enjoy true, locally made products.

 

beachchick

[beachchick]

Darn dreaded double post.

 

beachchick

[BDL]

DonahCBrown - thanks for the clarification on Island Princess being available without having to find their store. I agree with you and beachchick - I can get Mauna Loa here, so I'd rather find a real local brand when I'm there.

 

We've decided to come in two days before the cruise instead of three. Staying at the Mariott Waikiki Beach Resort and Spa using Marriott Rewards points. After the cruise, we're going to stay one night at the Embassy Suites Waikiki Beach Walk using Hilton Honors points. We're also using my American Airlines miles for the tickets, and the award availability was better for those dates. If we don't find gifts to take home before the end of the cruise, we'll have the extra day to shop in Honolulu.

 

I'm getting a bit obsessive now with the planning. Now that our air, hotel and cruise are booked, I'm doing research on transportation to/from airport both here and there. Also - the main thing both my husband and I want to see when we're there is Pearl Harbor. we're not sure about renting a car to do that.... he thinks it would be nice to take a tour that includes PH instead. Its so early I really have to stop obsessing.. it all doesn't have to be planned this week!

 

I love these boards for all the information.

Thanks, Barb

[rubinstein2r]

We stayed post-cruise at the Hilton Waikiki Prince Kuhio. We found the location of the hotel to be excellent and the size to be more manageable than the HHV. The room was lovely, with a wide-screen flat tv and a double sized shower. But most importantly, it turned out, was the "hospitatlity suite". W had a red-eye midnight flight back to Phoenix and needed to check out of the hotel at noon. But the hotel let us come back after a day at the beach and have a "hospitality suite" for an hour in which to shower and change so that we could fly comfortably.

 

I highly recommend this hotel for that reason.

 

--My_AZ

[dawndelion]

The embassy suites will be nice because they have the yummy *free* cooked to order breakfasts and nightly receptions. We rented a car and did pearl harbor on our own. Everyone has to wait in line for a timed ticket, so the tours don't give you any advantage on that. We got there around 8am and our tour time was for 9:30am. Some tour buses were arriving around 9 and getting 11am tix. Definitely rent the audio tour for $5 while there!

[BDL]

thanks Dawndelion for the advice on Pearl Harbor. We'll be looking to get there early early morning so we'll have time to do other things later in the day.

 

Unfortunately, due to an early flight the next day we will miss the breakfast. We will get one on the plane however. I love Embassy Suites. I stay in one in the Portland Oregon area often on travel and between the great breakfast and the evening reception ya can't go wrong. Actually will be heading back there next week and will be staying 10 days... will need to start replenishing my points! :)

 

Barb

[FishingWidow]

Oh my gosh....I'm so glad I found this thread....what amazing information!

 

My husband and I are celebrating our 20th next year....oops...this year by treating ourselves to a fabo vacation. I'm looking at a Penthouse suite AE on the Pride of America as well. I'm wondering about the suites on deck 12....they're a little cheaper, but I afraid there will be more motion from the ocean....if ya get what I mean. Does anyone know about this?

 

I haven't made a final decision between POAmerica or POAloha...sure wish POHawaii was still running.....Beachchick I would love to have one of the Garden Villa rooms. I've really read some negitive things about POAloha, are the two really that different?

 

One last question.....I've never cruised NCL and I keep reading about upselling, if this opportunity only availabe to those that purchase directly through NCL?

[BDL]

Hi FishingWidow - The only reason we chose deck 11 instead of deck 12 is that from past experience on other cruiselines I want cabins above me and below me. When you get lounges, pools, restaurants, etc, there is noise from moving tables and chairs. Had this happen several years ago in a Grand Suite on Royal Caribbean. Ever since then we make sure we have cabins above and below - no lounges (loud music) or pools, etc either above or below.

 

Have a great trip whatever ship you choose!

[FishingWidow]

BDL..that is a great point, I will make sure and stay 11 and below for that specific reason. Thanks!:D