Hawaii 2020 Questions? Bring 'Em On!

[slg]

This is so exciting! I am so surprised they have port excursions up already. I saw that they have a luau in Maui but we don’t overnight there....does the 9 day? I am on the 10 day. I love luaus.

 

[slg]

Will they add a luau for our overnight on the 10 day?

 

[tinker&belle]

So happy! I stayed up until past midnight to check for rooms to switch to. I came up empty but set my alarm and checked at 4:45 and found a 9C room which was the category I wanted. Still a GTY but that is ok. Now to put the deposit down today!

 

[lorimay]

So looking forward to this cruise.
Aulani has some beautiful music you can download and listen to, it will really get you ready for your tropical vacation!!
Our first visit to Hawaii was in 1987 for our honeymoon, then 2015 for our first Hawaiian cruise, can't wait for 2020!

** Anyone who stays at Aulani MUST go to Ama Ama and try their Macadamia Nut Vanilla pancakes, they are the best pancakes I've ever tasted.

 

[mousefan73]

We are doing the Vancouver to hawaii sailing. Do we have to pass US customs and immigration when we arrive on the first island? Just wondering how that works since we are technically leaving a foreign country and returning to the US.

 

[Sparky47]

We had a fabulous experience in 2012 and 2015 !! Would love to go again but didn't book this time.
2012 photobook: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AZtWTZk4bMmjHpA
2015 youtube:

 

[clten]

We were on the Honolulu to Vancouver cruise in 2015 so I don't know for sure how they did customs on the Vancouver to Honolulu cruise. But I imagine it is similar to Alaska cruises - you go through US Customs right in the Vancouver cruise port before you get on the ship.

I wanted to throw this out for anyone it might be helpful for. When we went in 2015, we flew into Honolulu 2 days before the cruise. Since we didn't get in until afternoon, we basically only had one full day on Oahu before the cruise. We figured it would be best to hire a tour guide to get us to see as much of the island in one day as possible (we had done Pearl Harbour previously so wanted to see more of the island itself). We used Private Tours Hawaii (found them based on their reviews on Trip Advisor). We were not disappointed - it was a fantastic day and there was no way we would have been able to see as much if we were taking ourselves around the island. It was only 2 of us so it was a bit expensive per person but they can accommodate larger groups, making the per person cost more reasonable.

Thinking about that tour, anyone remember the night the Vancouver to Honolulu cruise overnighted in Honolulu (which was the night before our cruise Honolulu to Vancouver embarked) that there was a tsunami warning? Thinking of Private Tours Hawaii reminded me of that because our guide was adorable. He didn't want to worry us but was stressing if he should tell us about it or not (he found out while we were poking around a farmer's market and we were wondering why he was pointing out all the tsunami warning alarms as we were driving along the North Shore beach area!) He finally "confessed" why he was acting strangely when we were on a small patch of beach watching the sea turtles. He was quite relieved when we didn't freak out on him.

 

[lorimay]

We were on the Honolulu to Vancouver cruise in 2015 so I don't know for sure how they did customs on the Vancouver to Honolulu cruise. But I imagine it is similar to Alaska cruises - you go through US Customs right in the Vancouver cruise port before you get on the ship.

I wanted to throw this out for anyone it might be helpful for. When we went in 2015, we flew into Honolulu 2 days before the cruise. Since we didn't get in until afternoon, we basically only had one full day on Oahu before the cruise. We figured it would be best to hire a tour guide to get us to see as much of the island in one day as possible (we had done Pearl Harbour previously so wanted to see more of the island itself). We used Private Tours Hawaii (found them based on their reviews on Trip Advisor). We were not disappointed - it was a fantastic day and there was no way we would have been able to see as much if we were taking ourselves around the island. It was only 2 of us so it was a bit expensive per person but they can accommodate larger groups, making the per person cost more reasonable.

Thinking about that tour, anyone remember the night the Vancouver to Honolulu cruise overnighted in Honolulu (which was the night before our cruise Honolulu to Vancouver embarked) that there was a tsunami warning? Thinking of Private Tours Hawaii reminded me of that because our guide was adorable. He didn't want to worry us but was stressing if he should tell us about it or not (he found out while we were poking around a farmer's market and we were wondering why he was pointing out all the tsunami warning alarms as we were driving along the North Shore beach area!) He finally "confessed" why he was acting strangely when we were on a small patch of beach watching the sea turtles. He was quite relieved when we didn't freak out on him.

Yes! We woke up to a bunch of texts from family members!
We were on our balcony at Aulani looking at the calm ocean and hoping were weren't adding a tsunami to our life experiences.
We were in San Francisco in 2013 when we experiences a small earthquake.
We live in Florida and have been through a few hurricanes.

 

[poison ivy]

Great planning thread. We've only been to Hawaii once during Thanksgiving 2016 and stayed at Aulani. Really looking forward to visiting the other islands.

 

[L8blumr2]

We have an Oceanview 9D GTY held. Hoping to grab a better Oceanview room with a Guarenteed Stateroom and one large porthole. We may be the only Silver in Board, lol.

I am wanting to try to go to National Volcano Park but I am curious how feasible this is on our day at Hilo.

We are Silver also with a 5A GTY. So grateful we were able to get a spot!

 

[FSU Girl]

So excited you started this. I've already started looking into what to do on each island. I've never done a cruise that crosses an open ocean before, will it be rough sailings?

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

We had a fabulous experience in 2012 and 2015 !! Would love to go again but didn't book this time.
2012 photobook: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AZtWTZk4bMmjHpA
2015 youtube:

Amazing! Love these! Do you know the title of the song starting about 8:12 in your youtube video? I have heard it so many times and love it
Watching this has me so excited... it's a year and a half away but planning it will be FUN!

 

[southerngirl528]

Yes, we will add our favorite things for the Big Island! Next week some very special friends are coming to Hawaii and meeting us in Kona for a Luau at the Courtyard Marriott King Kamehameha Beach Hotel. The luau is held on a stretch of beach just steps from the hotel and the pier. The royal court arrives on a canoe, very special. We met our friends on the EBTA 2017 , they were our tablemates!! Disney friends are the best!!

Awesome!! Thanks so much, CoastieandMate!!! We will look forward to your expertise! And enjoy your time with your special friends! That luau sounds awesome!!!

If anyone has any Maui questions feel free to PM me. I'm a third generation born and raised Maui person, spent about 25 years living there between growing up and my older child's younger years, and I still go back a few times a year to take the kids to see family.

Ooooh, Maui...... my heart lives there even when my body is not there. Maui no ka oi!!! Fabulous to have you as a wonderful resource here! Mahalo, Taaren!

 

[Chirple]

We have a deposit on the 10 night cruise. Being platinum gave us a variety of stateroom categories from which to choose, and I purposely picked a standard inside stateroom on deck 5 (my favorite deck on the classic ships). No split bath, but we had the same type of room for our 12 night Mediterranean cruise in 2014. Since we are only two adults, this was fine for us. Last year's 11 night WBTA we had a veranda, but it was a lot less expensive than the Hawaii verandas. This will be our first time to Hawaii if we decide to keep this cruise.

We are DVC, and I am going to compare their Aulani rate to DCL's rate. We won't be able to use our points at 7 months because we are planning a big WDW family trip later that year.

 

[southerngirl528]

This is so exciting! I am so surprised they have port excursions up already. I saw that they have a luau in Maui but we don’t overnight there....does the 9 day? I am on the 10 day. I love luaus.

That is a very good question, Sig. They are not showing a delineation between 9 & 10 night on the shore excursions currently. If they keep the hours shown right now for our port time in Maui for the 10 night there is no way to do the Old Lahaina Luau, which by the way is known to be the most authentic and best Hawaiian luau (so no fire dancers folks! that's not Hawaiian in origin, but a FABULOUS luau!), it beautifully weaves the history of Hawaii and hula into the program and the beachfront setting in Lahaina is lovely. I'm thinking we will get expanded port times in Maui so the luau and Haleakala sunset excursions will be an option for the 10 nt. as well as the 9 nt, but since Maui is our LAST port of call before departing to cross the Pacific, I don't know....

Will they add a luau for our overnight on the 10 day?

See my comments above. We will overnight on Kauai. I am not as familiar with Kauai, but I know they have luau as well. I will be looking into options there to be able to recommend as time passes.

So happy! I stayed up until past midnight to check for rooms to switch to. I came up empty but set my alarm and checked at 4:45 and found a 9C room which was the category I wanted. Still a GTY but that is ok. Now to put the deposit down today!

WOOHOO!!! Congrats!

 

[southerngirl528]

So excited you started this. I've already started looking into what to do on each island. I've never done a cruise that crosses an open ocean before, will it be rough sailings?

Wish I could find one of my previous answers to this to copy/paste...

The Atlantic has a reputation for being rough, but according to a career navy gal that was at our table during the Sept 2015 sailing, she said the Atlantic is more known for "chop"/choppy seas, whereas the Pacific has a major current that comes down from Alaska along the coast well into California's coastline before turning back out into the sea. She said when you get into this, it can cause what's known as "rolling", which is where the ship sways side to side as opposed to bow to stern movement. If rolling motion does occur, it tends to be more impactful for those with motion sickness.

Now! Here's my experience having crossed the Pacific 3 times on the Wonder, once in September & twice in October. I didn't think it was bad. I don't get motion sickness. There was some roughness in patches over the days but didn't seem to bother most folks at all. My DD#2 has had terrific motion sickness since she was small & she was w/me on the Sept. 2015 Honolulu to Vancouver sailing. She started Bonine/Meclizine the day before & took it throughout. She also took some homeopathic motion sickness remedy. Late in the sailing we found out the acupuncturist in the spa could place acupunture/acupressure "seeds" (teeny round adhesives w/a pressure point nub) on her temples and around her ears (it was just a few total, very inconspicuous. She is DEFINITELY my fashionista so believe me, she would not have kept them on if they were noticeable! ), with instructions to press on certain ones if she felt at all nauseous. DD swears they were a HUGE help. The only time she had trouble was when we were getting about a day out from Vancouver. The F & B officer, who I have come to know, noticed DD wasn't at dinner and asked about her, he immediately sent sliced green apples and saltines to our room for her. That is apparently the recommended remedy (besides Meclizine) the crew uses.

DD said she would do that sailing w/Pacific crossing again in a heartbeat! Unless you suffer from motion sickness, I wouldn't worry about it but go prepared. For anyone that DOES have motion sickness, check w/your physician, and take what they recommend. We are not fans of the scopolamine patches as they can make you super drowsy. For DD over the years, Meclizine has worked the very best for her.

That's the lowdown as I know it in a LONG answer to your question, FSUgirl! Hope that helps!

 

[southerngirl528]

We are doing the Vancouver to hawaii sailing. Do we have to pass US customs and immigration when we arrive on the first island? Just wondering how that works since we are technically leaving a foreign country and returning to the US.

I am uncertain of the answer to that as I have only done the R/T from Long Beach in 2012 and the HNL to YVR in 2015. For that direction I THINK we did customs upon arriving in Canada. Hopefully someone will see your post and be able to definitively answer your question soon!

 

[FSU Girl]

That is a very good question, Sig. They are not showing a delineation between 9 & 10 night on the shore excursions currently. If they keep the hours shown right now for our port time in Maui for the 10 night there is no way to do the Old Lahaina Luau, which by the way is known to be the most authentic and best Hawaiian luau (so no fire dancers folks! that's not Hawaiian in origin, but a FABULOUS luau!), it beautifully weaves the history of Hawaii and hula into the program and the beachfront setting in Lahaina is lovely. I'm thinking we will get expanded port times in Maui so the luau and Haleakala sunset excursions will be an option for the 10 nt. as well as the 9 nt, but since Maui is our LAST port of call before departing to cross the Pacific, I don't know....

Is Kahului, Hawai'i Maui? I don't really know which city goes to which island looking at the itinerary. But if that is Maui the 9 night is there until 11pm, which is definitely late enough for a luau I think.

 

[southerngirl528]

Great planning thread. We've only been to Hawaii once during Thanksgiving 2016 and stayed at Aulani. Really looking forward to visiting the other islands.

Hey poison ivy, I believe there is a thread on the Aulani forum where someone is asking about Thanksgiving crowds at Aulani. Perhaps you could lend your experience?

 

[southerngirl528]

Is Kahului, Hawai'i Maui? I don't really know which city goes to which island looking at the itinerary. But if that is Maui the 9 night is there until 11pm, which is definitely late enough for a luau I think.

Yes, Kahului is Maui. It's where the Int'l airport is and the biggest town on island for sure. And yes, the 9 nt. should definitely be able to attend the luau, and the Old Lahaina Luau offered is AMAZING!

Nawiliwili is the port right at Lihue, Kauai. Lihue is the main airport city on Kauai. Hilo is on the windward/east side of the Big Island of Hawaii. Honolulu is of course on Oahu.