Island Princess to the Big Pineapple 2-20-06

[Lefty Bob]

When did you discover that you got an upgrade? Did Princess tell your TA or contact you direct? Thanks for any help.

Lefty Bob

[LARGIN]

[quote name='Lefty Bob']When did you discover that you got an upgrade? Did Princess tell your TA or contact you direct? Thanks for any help.

Lefty Bob[/QUOTE]
[b][color=darkred]Go to your cruise personalizer on the Princess website and keep checking. Your room number and Category is listed there. Any upgrades will be posted. Good luck.. :D [/color][/b]

[DonahCBrown]

[quote name='DMorris']Hi Donna... what luau do you recommend to those of us who have never experienced one? We were thinking of the Paradise Cove Laua. What are must sees and not to be missed?[/QUOTE]

Paradise Cove on Oahu gets good marks. Big Island luaus are mostly at night and happen after your ship has departed, so I don't think any of those will be useful to you. Likewise on the other islands other than Oahu, where you'll embark and disembark I assume.

Must sees are pretty dependant on individual interests but my short list would include:

on Oahu - the Arizona Memorial, the Polynesian Cultural Center, if you have time, Diamond Head, and the beach at Waikiki

on Maui - Lahaina (it's where you'll stop anyway - tender port, so you are dropped off right in the middle of Lahaina. There's a replica of one of the square riggers right at the dock that is pretty interesting and a whaling museum that is interesting but pretty gruesome, too. The Iao Needle is very senic and beautiful. You don't have time to do Hana unless you go by helicopter, but you might have time for a tour up Haleakala. The Sugar Train, which is a bit pricey, is also fun. Lots of golf courses and lovely white sand beaches, too.

on Kauai - the "movie set" tour is good, the Grand Canyon of the Pacific is scenic.

on Hilo side - the only really "must do" - the Volcano. Other sights include the Tsunami Museum, Lyman House (missionary museum) and a number of lovely gardens.

on Kona side - Pu'uhonua O Honaunau (City or Place of Refuge), Kealakekua Bay, Kailua town - Hulihe'e Palace, the King Kamehameha heiau, in Waimea - the Parker Ranch tour, in Hawi - the Kamehameha birthplace and the Mo'okini Heiau, in Honoka'a the Waipio Valley.

All islands - the snorkel tours, and various watersport activities - kite boarding, parasailing, scuba, snuba,ocean kayaking, sailboarding, glassbottom boats and Atlantis submarines are all good. The snorkel/dive tours of Molokini crater off of Maui are great. Maui and the Big Island have really good trail and ranch rides. The Big Island has ATV rides, and "Flumin' da Ditch" - a kayak through the old plantation water system. Most island have good to great golf courses. Maui, Kauai, and Oahu have great white sand beaches. The Big Island beaches are smaller as it is is younger island, but the reefs are great, especially at Puako, and the beaches up the Kohala Coast are wonderful. There should be some kind of hiking tours on pretty much every island and these can be really beautiful and get you out of the 'tourist' areas. There's usually a 4 wheel drive tour to the summit of Mauna Kea - weather permitting - on the Big Island (we have lots of snow at present and the road was closed for several days last week)

Hope this gives you some ideas!

There's always laying around on the beach, too, of course...;)

Donna

[Lefty Bob]

LARGIN

Thanks, I just got an upgrade.

Lefty Bob

[Dave Hansen]

I really appreciate getting such detailed information from you on sights,
tours and everything else. A question ? In late February 04, we were
in Hawaii and we taking the Arizona tour out to the memorial. Both
the Arizona and the Missouri were closed due to wind and a hard
driving rain. Is that unusual or a normal occurance
Thanks
Dave Hansen

[kryos]

[quote name='michaelL']I have been several times - IMHO 3 Must do's are helicopter ride nice on kauai and big island volcanos if active, Pearl harbor AZ memorial, trip up to haleakala on maui -- bring warm clothes in feb.[/QUOTE]
Wonder if there are any dive operators that will pick you up at the cruise port? I'd love to make a few SCUBA dives while on the Island 4-19 ... I'm a novice diver ... just got my open water certification while on the Sun earlier this month.

Blue skies ...

--rita

[mlymd]

Hi Dave Hansen,
I am back from my Australia/New Zealand Cruise. It was just wonderful. It looks like things have been pretty quiet on this thread. We'll have to change that. I can't wait for this trip. All thoses day at sea plus Hawaii in-between. What more could you ask for? Do you think we will be in Maui long enough to take the road to Hana? I really want to do that this time. Hope to hear from you soon.
Marcy Daigle

[Dave Hansen]

Marcy, I'm glad everything went well. How long is the flight? Do you
get actual food as opposed to the canary snacks you see on short
flights. I'll chat later, we're leaving for jacksonville in the morning
for a 14 day Caribbean blast. An Idea, how about starting a new
board survey to see what people thought about getting Princess
to sponsor Cruise Critic parties too. If we get enough support
for the idea, we should have a sponsored party before our
Island Princess casts off.
Dave Hansen

[Nana Dawn]

We are getting ready to book the Island Princess to Hawaii in March 2006 and am very glad I discovered this thread. It's chock full of information for first timers and we appreciate all the sharing. I thought it might be too early but apparently not. Anyone have comments on the mid-ship mini-suite "bump out" rooms that seem to be in short supply? Also I thought I read somewhere that the pools are fresh water...true or false?

[mlymd]

Dave,
The flight takes forever, about 14 hours to get there from LA. We went Business Class so we had very good food. We used our FF miles. Great trip. You should try it sometime. Yes, I think we should try to get a Cruise Critic party together. Let me know when you get back and we'll talk more.

Nana Dawn,
All the pools on the Princess Cruise lines are fresh water. It's wonderful. I don't have any info about the mini-suite mid ship. We always book as far aft as we can. For this Hawaii cruise we are in C727 mini all the way aft. I'm sure mid-ship would be great also. Just about anywhere is good as long as you're cruising!!

Marcy

[Nana Dawn]

I guess C727 is about as far aft as you can get. Why aft? We booked mini B431 today on the March 22, 2006 sailing and can hardly wait. Thanks for info on pools.
Dawn

[star gazer]

[quote name='Nana Dawn']I guess C727 is about as far aft as you can get. Why aft? We booked mini B431 today on the March 22, 2006 sailing and can hardly wait. Thanks for info on pools.
Dawn[/QUOTE]
I like the starboard aft end on the Island. Marvelous place to enjoy the Aloha Tower, closer to the exercise room, and easier access to the aft decks.

[mlymd]

Dawn,
I guess we like aft best because we feel like we are away from everything. We love to watch the wake and we open our balcony door so we can hear the waves from the wake. Like I said, any cabin is good as long as you're cruising. I'm sure you will enjoy the cabin you booked.

Star Gazer,
Do you know anything about Cabin C727? I'm just wondering if the balcony is as large as the other mini's. Being the last cabin on the ship, it's hard to tell.

Marcy

[star gazer]

[quote name='mlymd']Dawn,
I guess we like aft best because we feel like we are away from everything. We love to watch the wake and we open our balcony door so we can hear the waves from the wake. Like I said, any cabin is good as long as you're cruising. I'm sure you will enjoy the cabin you booked.

Star Gazer,
Do you know anything about Cabin C727? I'm just wondering if the balcony is as large as the other mini's. Being the last cabin on the ship, it's hard to tell.

Marcy[/QUOTE]

That balcony appears to be slightly smaller because of the curve. There is a ship structure just aft of you that will block some of the stern view. I would take that cabin in a flash if given a choice.

[mlymd]

Star Gazer,
Do you know how large this structure is that will block our view? I looked at as many pictures of the back of the ship as possible. To me, it looks like there is a structure on the Baja deck not the Caribe. But, I could be wrong.
Marcy

[psw]

Nana Dawn we are on the 3/22 sailing too. I guess we will have to get a roll call started sooner or later..

[Dave Hansen]

Marcy, We just got back from Jacksonville today after 14 days on
the Zenith. It's a small ship by todays standards but fun as are all
cruises. What's your opinion about getting Princess to host cruise
critic parties too. Let me back up, you already said you liked the
idea. What's your opinion on the best way to get it moving?
Dave Hansen

[mlymd]

Hi Dave,
Glad you had a great time. You are right, every cruise is great!!
I think the best way to get this whole thing moving is to contact your travel agent first. They should be able to point you in the right direction. I will also check with my TA and see what happens. I think we probably need a certain amount of people. It's a great idea especially since we have until Feb 2006. We should be able to get plenty of people by then. Any other ideas?
Marcy

[Dave Hansen]

Hi Marcy, How about just starting a survey thread. Let's just see how
many Princess passengers will respond and say that Princess should do
it. Then, I will volunteer to bug Princess customer service until they
agree to host the parties.
Dave Hansen

[psw]

I will take that poll and answer to the affirmative..

[Dave Hansen]

Who would like to start the poll? After we get a lot of positive responses,
I want to bug Princess customer service to read it and take the action
to put into operation. I believe it would help if someone else started the
poll. I don't want Princess to think it's just me.
Dave Hansen

[mlymd]

Hi Dave,
I'm gong to start a thread on Roll Call for 2/20/06. I think we will get more responses on this board. NOt much happening here.
Marcy

[Dave Hansen]

Marcy, Always a good idea to have another thread. We can't have too
much communication. I've read on other boards that talking to your
cruise cirector will get you a CC party on Princess too. I've had some
trouble getting to the boards recently. We just booked Regal Princess
for 10 days in Oct. out of San Diego.
I'll be around more often now
Dave & Linda Hansen

[mlymd]

Hi Dave & Linda,

Good to hear from you. We just booked the new Crown Princess for 9/30/06 out of New York for 9 days to the Caribbean. Not airfare to worry about when we sail out of New York. We live about 2 hours from the city. We have been on the Regal twice. It's a smaller ship and we really loved it. Between the two uf us, we are keeping Princess Cruise line very busy!!
Keep in touch,
Marcy

[Dave Hansen]

Marcy, I was looking for your new board. I agree with you about getting
some more resoinces. Perhaps another thread will help. What's the title
of your board for the Crown? It seems like a list of cc people on the
ship given to the cruise director gets a party set up. I was trying to
get on the boards by search and it wasn't working. I now got on with
quick links. That's why you haven't heard from me a awhile.
Dave Hansen