Hawaiian Cruise in a "Do Over"

On the next Hawaiian Cruise I think that I would use the knowledge of the last one and apply it to the new cruise. What would a do over be like?

Rent Some Cars

Knowing the lay of the land.. or sort of around each of these ports, its seems like the next cruise would increase the circle some more. While some of the ship's excursions are a neat package and there is a degree of safety with the arranged tours, this is not totally necessary for travel in the states... and Hawaii is certainly one of our states. You can rent a car just like you were getting one in Denver or Seattle. Freeways seem to be only an issue in Honolulu. Most of the rental agencies are hooked up to the airports. The airports are not far away (as in taxi) in every port except Maui. We did not see nay planes flying in or out of any area close to our tender spot in the bay of Lahaina, Maui.

Getting on the road with a rental car would seem to be the next step in the progression of the Hawaii tour. It might also get us up and out of the ship a little earlier with a little more time devoted to sight seeing. Rental cars in Hawaii this time of the year (October November) are very reasonable. Sure gas is more expensive there and time factors enter in. You would not see some of the things you would see if you stayed in one place for a week rather then 9 to 12 hours.

With a wheelchair person, a car rental would allow us to go do something else if the attraction was too crowded at the time... we heard that there were 2 hour waits at the Pearl Harbor memorial. When we talking to the actual passengers from the ship they said that they walked right on without a line. The price differential is substantial for gate vs, escorted excursions. The botanical gardens cost 15 dollars plus 5 for the golf carts. Our excursion which got us the 8 miles our there and picked us up and returned us to the ship was 65 dollars each.. the cheapest excursion at Hilo. The more able members of a cruise could use the public transportation to get to and from the ship with a short walk. I saw no public transportation in Kaui or Maui but the other islands had pubic transportation that is great and could save a bundle. If it looked like you were getting a little close to shove off time on the ship, you could call and use a taxi or one from the street. A rental car could eliminate these fears. The only drawback would be getting to the rental spot. There were vans that picked up passengers and took them to the rental counters from the ship. Noteworthy were the budget and enterprise rentals.


Pick the Season

The Christmas season is high season for the islands. All those people are trying to run and hide from the bitter cold in other parts of the world during this time.  Our cruise was certainly in the transition period. It wasn't winter yet in Merced.  We did miss some windy cool weather especially the second week we were gone.  Our yucky weather is usually after the first of the year. We gave up a week of the best weather of the year in Merced.

Since I have been home, I have talked to others that have gone to Hawaii in February and March. They love to see the whales "dance" across the water when they are in Hawaii. That would have been cool to take a whale watching voyage.

Its really great to visit another part of the country without having to speak or translate to another language like we have to do in the Mexican cruises.


Pack Fewer Clothes

Every time I admonish us for bringing so many clothes. In Hawaii everyone is wearing Hawaii shirts all the time. I will certainly bring rain great next time. Mostly its shorts in islands. Long pants feel great the two days going and the two days coming back.

There is plenty of time to do laundry on the ship. Although the laundry mats are steep in cost.. They keep you from having pack 14 of this and 14 of that.


Do Some of the Hawaiian Immersion Events on the Ship

The passengers that have been on this ship before, know that there is a crowd for the lei making and the ukulele lessons. They got there early and claimed the spots. Some active scheming needs to be done to be a part of this part of the ship's programming.


Less Buffet more formal Dinning Room

My daughters learned this early in their voyages. The difference in the meals in the dining room vs the buffet are large. Using a shared table, you get more involved with others that are traveling which in turn make you travel more interesting. Its tempting to go have a snack at the sandwich bar which takes you out of a good meal just a little later that day. You have to be in control of your appetite budget. There are somethings that truly taste better than others. There is no limit on what you can order in the dinning room. Its pretty amazing seeing what is out there. I love Italian antipasti with its great selection of dried hams and salamis with marinated veggies. These are always in abundance on the buffet and a little harder to choose or be selective in the dinning room. Sue is always after the hard rolls.. and cut fruit. The bakeries on these ships are wonderful. They make the hard rolls three times a day and a couple times in the middle of the night. The danish are always great.


No more Full Contact Massage

I always get Sue a deep tissue message on the ship. She had a great one on the Carnival ship. Everyone since that time has either been not enough or as in this case, too much. It took Sue a full day to recover from the one she got on this ship. We should have listened to our daughter Linzi who has taken some instructions in doing it. Sue is just too fragile with too many fibromyalgia  issues to take on a ship board massage. 

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Just some thoughts! :) Pat