New Princess Hawaii Itinerary?

[west coast cruiser]

I wish they would drop Hilo instead of Kona

WCC

[senior lady]

I wish they would drop Hilo instead of Kona

WCC

 

I agree with that.

[Tina G]

I wish they would drop Hilo instead of Kona

WCC

Why? What's wrong with Hilo? I've never been to Hawaii before.:confused:

[Strawberry]

There is nothing wrong with Hilo. It is the closest port for docking to visit the Volcanoes National Park.

[west coast cruiser]

Why? What's wrong with Hilo? I've never been to Hawaii before.:confused:

 

Personally, I just feel that Kona is nicer. It is a quaint town, although it is growning more and more. It is just my personal opinion. If I had to choose between the two, I would pick Hilo as the one to drop and Kona as the one to keep.

WCC

[Tisambas]

nothing- we loved it- it is a sweet little town with grogeous waterfalls around it! Kona reminded me of St. Thomas- lots of shopping and touristy.

[bdjam]

Personally, I just feel that Kona is nicer. It is a quaint town, although it is growning more and more. It is just my personal opinion. If I had to choose between the two, I would pick Hilo as the one to drop and Kona as the one to keep.

WCC

I agree - and given that I believe the 14 day itineraries have a longer stay in Hilo, one could jump in a car and drive to Kona. Hilo is easier for the ship because its not a tender port. But unless you take a tour outside of the city, there's really not much in Hilo. Kona with it's beaches, shops and the beautiful Kona Inn - that's where I'd prefer to be.

[SHIPMEOUT]

I agree - and given that I believe the 14 day itineraries have a longer stay in Hilo, one could jump in a car and drive to Kona. Hilo is easier for the ship because its not a tender port. But unless you take a tour outside of the city, there's really not much in Hilo. Kona with it's beaches, shops and the beautiful Kona Inn - that's where I'd prefer to be.

 

We loved the Kona Inn too! Had a great lunch there and the best fresh pineapple daquiri I've ever had. :D

 

Cindy

[BAR-TENDER]

It also rains more in Hilo, and all there is there is lava and lava tubes. Kona has beautiful gardens and beautiful beaches,and the shops are great, no shops in Hilo except in the port terminal.

[spingal]

We loved the Kona Inn too! Had a great lunch there and the best fresh pineapple daquiri I've ever had. :D

 

Cindy

 

I am going to Hawaii on the Diamond in April and we don't have anything planned for Kona. It sounds like we need to make a trip to the Kona Inn!! Can you walk to it from the pier?

[OceansGirl]

Ive never been to Hawaii is the Princess Cruises a good choice to travel with?

[SHIPMEOUT]

I am going to Hawaii on the Diamond in April and we don't have anything planned for Kona. It sounds like we need to make a trip to the Kona Inn!! Can you walk to it from the pier?

 

Yes, the Kona Inn, shops and beaches are within walking distance. You may have to wait a while for a table at the restaurant as it is very popular. They gave us a pager and I think we waited no more than 20 minutes.

 

Cindy

[SingerEsq]

I am going to Hawaii on the Diamond in April and we don't have anything planned for Kona. It sounds like we need to make a trip to the Kona Inn!! Can you walk to it from the pier?

 

Take a snorkeling trip from Kona to Kealakua Bay. They pick you up right at the tender pier and take you out in zodiac boats. Some of the best snorkeling I've seen. Better than the Caribbean IMHO. If you go early, you'll still have time for a drink at the Kona Inn!

[SingerEsq]

Ive never been to Hawaii is the Princess Cruises a good choice to travel with?

 

It depends ... are you a repeat cruiser? The RT from LA has 10 sea days! That's a lot of time for a new cruiser without land. And, some complain that you do not have enough time in port when you do reach HI. I somewhat agree with this, but I've been to HI many times and lived there for a while.

 

The RT cruise is a great way to "sample" the islands and you can pick one or two activities a day when in port. We did 3 major activities on Oahu (AZ Memorial in the a.m. / Dolphin Swim in the afternoon / Luau that night). We got back to the ship about 45 minutes from sailing, and it was a long (but great) day. You can pack a lot in put you have to have everything pre-arranged.

 

The best part, I see you're from LA, so you can drive to the port in San Pedro. No airlines, 10 sea days, 5 days in the islands. It was perfect for us and we will do it again (hopefully in 2009).

[spingal]

Take a snorkeling trip from Kona to Kealakua Bay. They pick you up right at the tender pier and take you out in zodiac boats. Some of the best snorkeling I've seen. Better than the Caribbean IMHO. If you go early, you'll still have time for a drink at the Kona Inn!

 

I did that the last time we went to Hawaii and I agree that it is a great excursion!

[cruzegirl]

Princess has shortened the round-trip LA cruise to Hawaii from 15 to 14 days next year. What is being cut out? Any thoughts? We were hoping to do the 15 day cruise next year.:(

 

Too bad they are taking out Kona. While not my fav. port, I did like it. We went snorkeling there. Awesome turtles. Then did a coffee tour with a guide. It was excellent.... It's a calm port so to speak. Not that commercial, just relaxed. And the volcanoes are on that Island. On the other side is Hilo where the Volcano is active. That was a great tour.

[morriscats]

I am going to Hawaii on the Diamond in April and we don't have anything planned for Kona. It sounds like we need to make a trip to the Kona Inn!! Can you walk to it from the pier?

We love the Kona Inn - my DH was born in Kona and he remembers playing out on the lawn while him mom did the Hula inside. Walking there is easy. DH loves their MaiTai's but I had a 3 berry dacqueri that was wonderful. We got there around noon and walked right in. On the way back to the ship stop at Scandinavean Shave Ice. So good.

[Clearwater Bill]

Whats the kona inn?

[SingerEsq]

Whats the kona inn?

 

Kona Inn - History of the Kona Inn

[whale-watcher]

We much preferred Hilo to Kona...Volcanoes national park is spectacular, like no place else on earth. Kona was our least favorite Hawaiian port (but then again we are NOT beach people, we are more into nature and exploring)...we actually used our Kona stop to fly back over VNP and see the active lava flow (because we did not want to give up any of our ground time in Hilo). However, it is too bad that ANY port needs to be cut!

[Cruisin' Chick]

Ive never been to Hawaii is the Princess Cruises a good choice to travel with?

 

Another Val here. If this is your first cruise, then I would recommend going on a different, shorter cruise just to check out your sea legs and sea stomach. This cruise involves a current that often causes rough seas the first couple of days going and the last couple returning. There were some newbie cruisers on our sailing and they ended up spending the first few days inside their cabins due to seasickness. The rest of the cruise was relatively smooth, but their experience probably made some of them rethink going on another cruise. I would suggest Alaska as a better choice for a first cruise, imo.

 

If you've been on other cruises, and find that you love sea days (as many of us here do), then it's a great choice. Princess has many activities on sea days (my girl and hubby both took the ukelele class) and there's self-service laundry rooms so that you don't need to take 15 (next year 14) days worth of clothing.