Hawaiian Cruise info please

Author Message   Dean Avery Intermediate Member Username: Actorman Post Number: 109 Registered: 08-2005 Posted on Thursday, January 29, 2009 - 04:05 pm:    Brenda, We just did the NCL cruise of Hawaii Jan 10 - 17 2009 and it was absolutely great. Freestyle is our style, and we thoroughly enjoyed the trip, even though we had to change our excursion plans for Kauai because of stormy weather. It gives you a new perspective on the state of Hawaii. We went scuba diving on the Kona coast, snorkelling at Molokini crater and Turtle Arches, and whale watched around Maui. We drove and hiked all over Volcano National Park, drove around the lovely island of Kauai and much more. This time of year is whale season and the humpbacks come to the warm, sheltered waters to birth their calves and generally winter over. We saw lots of whale activity during our excursions, especially on the southwestern side of Maui. If you do go in February, the whales should still be around. By the way, "warm waters" is a relative term used in reference to whales. For us mere humans involved in diving and snorkelling, 76 degrees will suck the heat out of your 98-degree body pretty fast, so I'd recommend a wetsuit for prolonged immersion of your whole body. We booked the cruise a week ahead of time at Hickam AFB ITT. We also used them to book some rental cars and excursions for the cruise, since you can get lower prices than offered by the cruise ship if you have the time to do your homework in advance. The itenerary is posted on NCL's website, and is useful for deciding ahead of time what kind of things you'd like to do while ashore. A couple of the nice features of the cruise route is that the ship makes a close-in night run by the glowing lava flows of Kilauea as they enter the sea--eerily beautiful. Then, when you depart the port of Nawiliwili, Kauai, it takes a planned detour for a close-in run past the spectacular Na Pali Coast. Do it, you'll love it! If you have specific questions, let me know.   RICHARD GARBE Member Username: Garbalu46 Post Number: 17 Registered: 06-2003 Posted on Monday, December 29, 2008 - 11:55 am:    We went on this cruise 2 years ago everything was great the trip of a lifetime.   dinotars Senior Member Username: Dinotars Post Number: 4849 Registered: 06-2003 Posted on Saturday, December 13, 2008 - 01:01 am:    It may be of interest to review the ratings on cruise lines posted previously: http://www.pepperd.com/spacea/messages/4744/116318.html?1227453606   Phyllis DeLancey Senior Member Username: Phyllis Post Number: 1737 Registered: 06-2003 Posted on Saturday, December 13, 2008 - 12:58 am:    Brenda, if you use the search at the top of this site, and put in Hawaiian cruise, I think you will find many post. We have done this with NCL and I can not recommend it. Now some folks liked it, but we had a bad experience with them. I think it all depends on what you want. If you are looking for a way to get from point a to b, than go for it, if the price is low. If you are looking for good service, good food, I would pick a different line to go with.   John A Civick Intermediate Member Username: John6412 Post Number: 65 Registered: 07-2008 Posted on Saturday, December 13, 2008 - 12:48 am:    A friend of mine told me that he paid $300+ for a last minute cruise out of Ohau on NCL. He said he called the head office in FL. Said they'd rather receive $300+ than let the room go empty.   John W. Hardink Member Username: Honge46 Post Number: 25 Registered: 06-2007 Posted on Friday, December 12, 2008 - 11:49 pm:    In addition to any posts on this board, you might also try www.cruisecritic.com - a very expansive board that can give you a number of up to date reports about NCL, the ports, possible private tours, etc. There have been a lot of commentaries- pro and con- about NCL's performance. We took the cruise in the summer of 2006 and it was just OK on both food and service-nothing special. While NCL can get you to the outer islands, some of the ports are located in the "non tourist"/industrial areas of the island (e.g. Maui) so you will need to plan your shore excursions (and your budget) accordingly. - tours vs. car rental, etc. Have safe travels.   Brenda LaDell Intermediate Member Username: Blladell Post Number: 56 Registered: 09-2007 Posted on Friday, December 12, 2008 - 10:13 pm:    Will be in oahu in feb and thinking about booking the 7 day hawaiian island cruise on NCL Pride of America. Any info or advice would be greatly appreciated. I have looked at vacationstogo.com web site and they offer a good military rate. Has anyone taken this trip recently?