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

[valbob89]

**MUST SEE ADVICE NEEDED**

I can see from this thread that there are a few people who have already visited Hawaii and this being my first time (and maybe my only time to visit), I was wondering, what are the must sees in each port. I am trying to research each port and I would like to have an idea of what I want to do when DCL releases the excursions for our cruise.

Thanks in advance

I would urge you to pickup one or more of the many touring books about the islands, if you don't want to buy them, I know the AAA tour book and your local library will have info. Of course the web is always a great source too.

I say this because the answer to your question will differ dependent on your personal interests. If you are interested in scuba or diving, beaches, hiking, biking, visiting historical sites, nightlife, or nature viewing, there are unique experiences in Hawaii for each of these topics and many more. As we will only be on each island a short time, obviously you will need to be very selective.

You might want to state your specific interests and those of us who have been to the islands could make suggestions. You might want to tell us the ages, and physical limitations of those in your party too.

 

[granmaz]

I think if you're okay with the Queen Mary's accomodations then 2 nights there is fine. There's quite a few things nearby.

Suggestions for your extra days: Have you done San Diego, and Las Vegas? Even if you weren't interested in the strip, Lake Las Vegas in Henderson is lovely. You could go to Lake Havasu in Arizona and visit the London Bridge, or even do the Grand Canyon. All of these are relatively close. You could go north, up the coast and do Hearst Castle in San Simeon, then up through Carmel and Monterey. IMO driving from LA up the coast is the direction to go - same beautiful scenery without being cliff side.

Thank you for the help.

 

[ibouncetoo]

Oh! And we have friends that want her CAT 11 should that happen. Same TA I believe!

I have a feeling we'll see cabins open up in December.

Which reminds me....remember all the different final payment dates we were being told and then seeing something different on our paperwork??

When I booked on the phone I was told final payment was Feb 14th Then somewhere else it said December FIRST. Other people were seeing the end of December (which is the 120 day mark and at least made more sense than the first). Well, on the DCL site under my reservations final payment now says 2/14/12. Does everyone else's say that now?

(Plan on paying at 120 though)

.

 

[Lexa]

We are staying at Doubletree too. But we are coming in so late that we will probably miss the meet.

 

[Lexa]

Welcome aboard Stuart!

 

[Scott H]

There is a great Taco/Mexican food truck near our freight house at LAX. Way better than anything from Acapolco.

Also a great Mexican Bakery on Colorado Blvd in Pasadena, great carnitas not on the menu. Been several years since I have been there, might not be there.

Could we get the truck over to San Pedro LOL

 

[Scott H]

May I suggest the Marina Bar and Grill....."The full, fresh flavors of Southern California await you at Marina Bar & Grill. Overlooking the beautiful Cabrillo Marina, our on-site San Pedro restaurant features an eclectic menu combining the highest-quality local seafood, fruits and vegetables with a decidedly Italian twist. Sit out on our chic patio for an al fresco dining experience to highlight any evening." It works well for those of us that have difficulty walking since it's right inside the hotel and sitting outside on the patio overlooking the marina sounds very nice.

I'll go with whatever the majority want to do. I can always take a cab even if the restaurant is closeby. It's just one suggestion.

That works

 

[dolphingirl47]

My wife and I will be sailing. Cat 5C/6036.

Staying at Crowne Plaza San Pedro prior to cruise, and just booked flights this morning. Hoping a 1:15pm departure out of LAX on 5/14/12 will work.

-Stuart

Welcome on board.

FE Question: On our previous 2 DCL crusises, when I put together the FEs I just put them together and delivered them, I didn't add a card or note stating our DisName. But we received a fair amount where people had designated who the FE was from, so I was wondering - what do most of you do on your FEs. Gee, maybe this should be a poll - anyway. Do you label your FEs with your DisName so the receiver knows who it is from, or do you just leave it anonymous?

For the first cruise I did not label them. For the next three cruises I used hand-written labels with my real name and DIS name on it. For the last two cruises I had free business cards printed from Vistaprint with my DIS name, real name and email address on it. I added those to the Fish Extender gifts, but also took some extras to give out to the friends that I have made on the cruise. This works for me.

I have a feeling we'll see cabins open up in December.

Which reminds me....remember all the different final payment dates we were being told and then seeing something different on our paperwork??

When I booked on the phone I was told final payment was Feb 14th Then somewhere else it said December FIRST. Other people were seeing the end of December (which is the 120 day mark and at least made more sense than the first). Well, on the DCL site under my reservations final payment now says 2/14/12. Does everyone else's say that now?

(Plan on paying at 120 though)

.

I just checked my reservation again and it still says February 13th. We booked through DU and their final payment date is always a day earlier than the one specified by DCL. My payment date never changed.

Corinna

 

[mommacat56]

Just booked the Saturday night before the cruise at the Doubletree in San Pedro...saw others are there too! I think a mini-meet at the Port is in order! But I'm good with any place, any food, any drink, anywhere, anytime! [Just wanted to make sure we had a place to stay if there is no availability at the 7 month mark at VGC]

Now I have to get back to trying to catch up with the last 5 pages of posts! This is a very active thread...holy, moly!

 

[dolphingirl47]

We have not actually given much thought as yet to a pre-cruise stay. We are planning to arrive the day before the cruise and kind of planned to stay near the airport. Maybe we should look into staying near the port. There is a Crowne Plaza there, right? We have quite a few Priority Club points to burn.

Corinna

 

[granmaz]

I just checked my reservation again and it still says February 13th. We booked through DU and their final payment date is always a day earlier than the one specified by DCL. My payment date never changed.

Corinna

It is all very odd isn't it? I just checked our reservation. On our DCL reservation page it says final payment by January 15th so we can make our reservations from that date, but on our Dreams reservation it says they want final payment by December 30th. We are Gold CC members. Usually Dreams want the payment the day before DCL do as you said Corinna, which would be the 14th Jan.

We had to PIF for our upcoming September TA cruise 4 months out in May and I thought that was the most recent rule, so was expecting that which actually would be at the end of December as Dreams has it.

The mystery continues.

 

[Scott H]

We have not actually given much thought as yet to a pre-cruise stay. We are planning to arrive the day before the cruise and kind of planned to stay near the airport. Maybe we should look into staying near the port. There is a Crowne Plaza there, right? We have quite a few Priority Club points to burn.

Corinna

Yes there is a Crown Plaza in San Pedro and they do offer a free shuttle to the port, we stayed there pre Alaska Cruise and it is a nice property.


Just finished making our flight reservations, into LAX and out of SNA after a DL post cruise stay.

 

[Happy Goofy]

Those of you staying at the Candy Cane Inn could I ask what you got for a rate? We are thinking of staying 1-2 days before the cruise and 2 days after. I would like to do the WOC again.. When we did it after the PC cruise I was not feeling well and spent most of the time during the show in the ladies room so I missed it. Still hoping for some Pixie Dust for Club 33/

 

[Lynn G]

My wife and I will be sailing. Cat 5C/6036.

Staying at Crowne Plaza San Pedro prior to cruise, and just booked flights this morning. Hoping a 1:15pm departure out of LAX on 5/14/12 will work.

-Stuart

Welcome to the cruise!

 

[CruznLexi]

My two nights that I have total is around $335.

 

[seaulater]

Yes there is a Crown Plaza in San Pedro and they do offer a free shuttle to the port, we stayed there pre Alaska Cruise and it is a nice property.


Just finished making our flight reservations, into LAX and out of SNA after a DL post cruise stay.

Wow, too much free time with retirement, eh?

I won't be booking my room until I actually know what I am doing....that could be awhile. Hopefully, Jamie won't back out on this one.

Of course, I am PIF, used DVC points, so I'll be booking my stuff on the ship the first available Platinum date!

 

[Scott H]

Wow, too much free time with retirement, eh?

I won't be booking my room until I actually know what I am doing....that could be awhile. Hopefully, Jamie won't back out on this one.

Of course, I am PIF, used DVC points, so I'll be booking my stuff on the ship the first available Platinum date!

Heck Linda I had that done at 0615 this morning

 

[valbob89]

This morning DCL posted a Southern California Residents discount. It is currently 25% and for some of their 2011 Mexican Rivera cruises, in certain categories. I am disappointed it is only for Southern Cal residents.

 

[aan1701]

This morning DCL posted a Southern California Residents discount. It is currently 25% and for some of their 2011 Mexican Rivera cruises, in certain categories. I am disappointed it is only for Southern Cal residents.

Well it is about time, but after looking it up myself, it ain't much. Just cat. 9's and only a handful of crusies this year. I know they can do better than that.

 

[gdaneowner]

Yes there is a Crown Plaza in San Pedro and they do offer a free shuttle to the port, we stayed there pre Alaska Cruise and it is a nice property.


Just finished making our flight reservations, into LAX and out of SNA after a DL post cruise stay.

What airline are you using? I tried to check SouthWest, and they don't have flights that far out.