April 29, 2012 ~ Aloha! ~ Wonder to Hawaii- who is with me? pt2

[Pixiegran]

[What a great idea! Keep us posted. I'm not holding my breath on this, because I think the sail by is easier when the itinerary goes from Hilo to Kona sailing around the bottom of the big island, but I'm remaning hopeful just in case. What may be easier for them to do and from what I hear almost as spectacular is if they will do the sail around Kauai. Would you please ask them about this one as well?[/QUOTE]

I have sailed past the volcano and it was fun to watch but not as amazing as I expected...it all depends on if and how much it is erupting and spewing. We had one small flow going into the ocean...the colors in the dark were beautiful but my photos look like a red pencil line in a black background for the most part. They may make their determination on if the volcano is active or not....so could be something decided much closer to sailing in April.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Regarding the sail by of the volcano: Those of us who will sail on the Wonder before our Hawaii trip, such as Corinna and Graham, maybe we could ask the captain if it is in the plans. I know the exact course they take is at the discretion of the officers of the ship. Might a little eager encouragement help?

I most certainly have no problem asking. I can't believe that by this time in 6 weeks, I will hopefully be on the Wonder and in 7 weeks, my vow renewal ceremony will be over and we will be in the process of taking photos. I can't believe where the time has gone.

Corinna

 

[LindaBabe]

Happy Birthday Erik ! Hope you are having a "Wonderful " Day .

GREAT CAKE! Happy Birthday, Erik!

I know I am late to this party, but, we have been without power since 1130 central time Thursday night due to heavy storms.

I have to say that I am super excited about this!.. As I have wanted more island time since I saw the orginal itenerary.

Glad you are here,now, safe and sound.

I most certainly have no problem asking. I can't believe that by this time in 6 weeks, I will hopefully be on the Wonder and in 7 weeks, my vow renewal ceremony will be over and we will be in the process of taking photos. I can't believe where the time has gone.

Corinna

For SURE and how long have you been planning and replanning that vow renewal? I hope it goes wonderfully and is memorable and joyful for you.

 

[AlohaDisney]

Welcome to the group. I am Jon and my DW is Candida. Where in Ontario are you from? We live in the Niagara Region. There are a some other from Ontario with us on the cruise and will be trying for a pre-cruise meet after Christmas.

Jon

We are also in Ontario (London, On) and would be interested in a pre-cruise meet!

 

[Grammy4Lizzy]

I think we are leaving Honolulu later because with an excursion to Polynesian Cultural Center and the dinner and show (the pineapple boats with sherbet are to die for) doesn't get you back into Honolulu until 10 pm. So my guess is it is for the PCC buses. And if DCL has an excursion I would definitely take that one, because it is a two lane highway both ways and the drive can be slow, so in case they were running late, the ship wouldn't leave without you!

We are going to be in Honolulu on Sunday and the Polynesian Cultural Center is closed. So we won't be able to do that Luau. Center is part of LDS Church.

 

[TDC Nala]

Someone told me they don't present birthday cakes onboard now but just give a one person dessert to the one celebrating. Is this correct? Not that it is my birthday onboard, just interested.

I have a birthday on the Wonder in about a week. Will see what they do. I don't want a whole cake, what would I do with it.

It's embarkation day too...dont' know if that means they won't be able to haul anything different out at dinner.

Regarding Aulani...Disney apparently did not get proper authorization from Hawaiian authorities to sell it. They had to stop selling in July. Which is apparently why DVC head Jim Lewis got fired.

 

[seaulater]

I spoke with a representative of the Pacific Whale Foundation. She confirmed what Bob and I remembered: It is about an hour drive from our port, Kahului, to their boats in Lahaina. It is a lovely drive with a number of nice snorkeling sites along the way. The other issue is that, while they guarantee you will see whales, it is not a money-back guarantee. They give you another whale watching trip, which is fine if you are staying in Maui but not so good if you are there only one day.

If you are interested in a whale watching tour, they did a lovely one. Something they did that others we have been on have not is they had a hydrophone to pick up and identify the humpback's songs. We could hear the songs of the whales we were watching -- very neat.

Regarding the sail by of the volcano: Those of us who will sail on the Wonder before our Hawaii trip, such as Corinna and Graham, maybe we could ask the captain if it is in the plans. I know the exact course they take is at the discretion of the officers of the ship. Might a little eager encouragement help?

I am on the Wonder again a week from Tuesday with my family for the last Alaskan sailing. I will ask Captain Thord if there are plans on crusing by the volcano on the island of Hawaii. When we cruised on NCL for the Hawaiian Islands, we cruised by that end of the island and they made annoucements prior to as to the time we would go by. It was pretty cool. We also took the excursion that took us to the national park and we actually hiked on the volcano. Wear good shoes!

 

[seaulater]

We are going to be in Honolulu on Sunday and the Polynesian Cultural Center is closed. So we won't be able to do that Luau. Center is part of LDS Church.

Hadn't even looked at that to see the dates. That's a bummer. PCC is a great excursion to learn about the polynesian history.

Also, there is this great place on the Island of Hawaii called the Kickin *** Coffee Company. They have an item for sale called "Donkey Balls". A great gift to give people back home and they are really good. I am sure you can google them to find out more info.

 

[valbob89]

What a great idea! Keep us posted. I'm not holding my breath on this, because I think the sail by is easier when the itinerary goes from Hilo to Kona sailing around the bottom of the big island, but I'm remaning hopeful just in case. What may be easier for them to do and from what I hear almost as spectacular is if they will do the sail around Kauai. Would you please ask them about this one as well?

I think going by the volcano could take us as much as an additional 6 hours. To go by the Na Pali coast from Nawiliwili would also be taking us out of our way. It is beautiful though. If you do an excursion that includes seeing the Na Pali it is well worth it. I don't like snorkeling on that side of the island because it is deep water snorkeling and can be a bit rough but sailing by it, or better yet, taking a helicopter would be wonderful.

Corinna, looking forward to hearing all about your trip and what Captain Thor tells you concerning the Hawaii cruise.

 

[Pixiegran]

Nala- I saw your diet coke comment and wanted to give you a heads up on how the wonder is doing it right now. Don't know if this is different from your previous cruise or not as it had been a few years since our last Disney cruise. All I drink is diet coke.
To have it at night I ordered 6 packs from room service. To still have enough we took 2 of the insulated plastic drink cups (brought with us) and last thing every night we filled them on the 9th floor by the buffet. A real hassle since I was pushing daughter in wheelchair and she carried cups.
The only free diet coke was at meals, so sometimes I gave up and bought one at a bar if it was too hard to go up to free fountain station. The amount I drink made it actually something we had to plan all the time I really hated that.

 

[LindaBabe]

Nala- I saw your diet coke comment and wanted to give you a heads up on how the wonder is doing it right now. Don't know if this is different from your previous cruise or not as it had been a few years since our last Disney cruise. All I drink is diet coke.
To have it at night I ordered 6 packs from room service. To still have enough we took 2 of the insulated plastic drink cups (brought with us) and last thing every night we filled them on the 9th floor by the buffet. A real hassle since I was pushing daughter in wheelchair and she carried cups.
The only free diet coke was at meals, so sometimes I gave up and bought one at a bar if it was too hard to go up to free fountain station. The amount I drink made it actually something we had to plan all the time I really hated that.

I think if I needed THAT much coke in a day, I'd bring an insulated 2 qt. jug to fill at the deck 9 drink station a couple times a day. but then I'd be

 

[MousseauMob]

I think going by the volcano could take us much as an additional 6 hours. To go by the Na Pali coast from Nawiliwili would also be taking us out of our way. It is beautiful though. If you do an excursion that includes seeing the Na Pali it is well worth it. I don't like snorkeling on that side of the island because it is deep water snorkeling and can be a bit rough but sailing by it, or better yet, taking a helicopter would be wonderful.

Very true, it is out of the way also. Just more wishful thinking on my part. I doubt I'll be able to do an excursion, which is why I keep hoping they we will sail by. We saw Kilauea when we cruised in 2007, but Kauai was the port cancelled, so this will be new for us.

I have sailed past the volcano and it was fun to watch but not as amazing as I expected...it all depends on if and how much it is erupting and spewing. We had one small flow going into the ocean...the colors in the dark were beautiful but my photos look like a red pencil line in a black background for the most part. They may make their determination on if the volcano is active or not....so could be something decided much closer to sailing in April.

Sadly our pictures didn't turn out either, when we sailed, but it still was spectacular to see.

 

[Namsupak]

It is still theer 15 min later. I am shocked. I am more shocked that I liiked at the Itenerary again and noticed that our departure time in Honolulu has changed to 10:30 P.M.

Yay! That's so exciting. I totally agree with you too about DCL tours. The only time we've done a tour that's not DCL was when we were in port for a long time and we hired a private driver/tour guide that would be done hours before we left port.

Hey all,

Happy Sunday----life has been crazy here so I have been lurking at best for the past few weeks. Work is crazy for both of us. Cheerleading tryouts start tomorrow for 2 of my 3 teams so it's been a mad dash to get girls ready and prepped for tryouts. We're neck deep in wedding planning now (which is exciting and fun....but also stressful...AND EXPENSIVE!!!). We even JUST started trying to work on fundraising for the AIDS Walk here in Rochester that we do every year and it's less than a month away----yikes we procrastinated! AND we're prepping for our WDW/DCL trip a week from Thursday.....we're calling it our "honeymoon dress rehearsal"

That is super busy. Hope things calm down for you a little. At least you have the trip coming up. Hope you had a happy birthday. DH would disagree with you about the cake. He would ask for that for his dessert and eat the whole thing. He loves that type of light cake and whipped icing so he was disappointed that they took it away.

 

[dolphingirl47]

For SURE and how long have you been planning and replanning that vow renewal? I hope it goes wonderfully and is memorable and joyful for you.

Far too long would be the only honest answer to this question. It all started in spring 2006 with a planned vow renewal at Crystal Cathedral in spring of 2008 to celebrate our 10th anniversary. That got put on the back burner when we bought DVC in fall 2007 and decided rather than going to California, we would go to Disney World and on our first ever cruise in 2008. From there it kept being put back. I have been planning for fall 2011 for about the last 18 months. The last 18 months have been a rollercoaster ride and after a lot of changed plans and a couple of broken dreams, we have come full circle in so far that we are doing the vow renewal at Crystal Cathedral. I have to say that I could not be happier.

Corinna

 

[first timers]

First off, I want to thank Judy, Pixiegran for all her help with the administrative side of our Hawaiian shirt ordering.

The count of shirts ordered is as follows:

Adult Shirts - 63 - Children 8 - material 26 yards

The breakdown is as follows:

small - 7
medium - 8
large - 17
XL - 14
XXl -10
XXXL - 7

Please refer to page 1, posting #3 for a detailed listing of orders and check that I have your order correct. On this posting you will also find information on ordering and the links to the form and size charts.

Val- We will be ordering a medium and a large. I'm not so good with e-mail and attachments. Will give it a try this evening. Alex

 

[castoff]

I spoke with a representative of the Pacific Whale Foundation. She confirmed what Bob and I remembered: It is about an hour drive from our port, Kahului, to their boats in Lahaina. It is a lovely drive with a number of nice snorkeling sites along the way. The other issue is that, while they guarantee you will see whales, it is not a money-back guarantee. They give you another whale watching trip, which is fine if you are staying in Maui but not so good if you are there only one day.

Thanks Val. Did you find out if they will do a pick up & drop off at the port we will be at ?

From all our great minds to theirs - please please please! Ideally, I keep hoping for a combo tour of Pearl Harbor in the morning and Aulani later with a luau! But even two different tours that can be done back to back would make me excited!

That would be perfect !!

 

[valbob89]

Val- We will be ordering a medium and a large. I'm not so good with e-mail and attachments. Will give it a try this evening. Alex

If you find copying the form doesn't work for you, just send me an e-mail with the info to Valbob89@aol.com. Or if nothing else works, PM me the info.

Val

 

[castoff]

I have a birthday on the Wonder in about a week. Will see what they do. I don't want a whole cake, what would I do with it.

It's embarkation day too...dont' know if that means they won't be able to haul anything different out at dinner.

Regarding Aulani...Disney apparently did not get proper authorization from Hawaiian authorities to sell it. They had to stop selling in July. Which is apparently why DVC head Jim Lewis got fired.

Happy Early Birthday ! It's a nice way to celebrate. We always brought goodies back for our room steward.

 

[valbob89]

Thanks Val. Did you find out if they will do a pick up & drop off at the port we will be at ?

They do not pickup. I asked them about how to get to them and she really didn't have a response other then to say it would be expensive to take a cab.

val

 

[BoosGram]

That would be perfect !!

We totally agree!! Hope DCL is listening!