March 1st, 2024 - 10 Night Hawaiian Cruise from Honolulu, ending in Vancouver (Kahului, Hilo, Nawiliwili)

[DisneyConvert]

This will be our 3rd attempt to do a DCL Hawaii cruise and had booked previously, but Covid travel restrictions made the prospects appear unfavorable. Haven't purchased airline tickets yet, but over 50% of the cruise is paid via deposits from previously cancelled cruises, a placeholder (thanks to our amazing TA), and several D$'s awards from work.

We love the classic ships; we love sea days; we love the Cast Members . . . This will be our return to Hawaii (27 years ago we honeymooned there) and we will spend a few days at a Marriott/Westin on O'ahu first. DW has a friend/classmate in Lihue, next to Nawilwili. It will be fun!

Have been to Vancouver several times already, and depending on flights, we may try to fly back to EWR the same day we disembark. We always say we plan to do that . . .

 

[bobbiwoz]

Enjoy!

Sadly, we are not on it.

 

[JulyMomOf1]

DS (11 at time of cruising) and I will be on this one- I just booked it for us this past week. We did two covid style cruises back in late 2021/early 2022. We are excited to do a much longer cruise than before; as well as enjoy a post covid style cruise. There were still a ton of restrictions when we went previously. I've never been to Hawaii so really looking forward to exploring the islands!!

 

[DisneyConvert]

Just reviewed & consolidated our various Disney Gift Cards and Disney Visa Reward$'s to help us pay-in-full later this month.
We have flights from EWR=>HNL and YVR=>EWR and will stay three days in Oahu prior. I am very excited.
.
I wish this cruise was in 3 weeks not 5 months . . . but plan to enjoy some other trips prior as well as the holiday season.

 

[AmberViolet]

Anyone have tips for excursions their family loved or private tours? We are a family/group of 4 adults (in 40's & 50's), a 21 yr old and a 12 year old. We are trying to figure out what to book or do in Maui and in Hilo...I think we are set with Kauai plans. Should we worry about relying on Uber or Lyft for the second day?

 

[DisneyConvert]

We are PIF!
We have friends in several of the islands, but not sure what to do in Maui.

 

[AquaDame]

When in doubt, snorkel! We've been on Oahu, Kauai and the Big Island as well and have enjoyed snorkeling off Maui the most. Our favorite operator is Trilogy, we've done all their tours at least once. https://sailtrilogy.com/ If snorkeling is not your thing, whales should still be around if you enjoy being on boats.

Paia is a cute town to wander and relatively close to Kahului, little hippie, little artsy, and Makawao is a little more inland and a little more rustic. Lunch or dinner at Mama's Fishouse is soooo good but expensive. A cheaper lunch would be grabbing poke from Foodland. A bit further north from Mama's is Ho'okipa Beach Park which is a great place to see lazy sea turtles on the sand and active surfers playing in the waters. Odds are good you can see turtles in the shallows if you keep your eyes peeled at just about any beach though too. If you rent a car be prepared for Island Time... speeds are low on most of the island and folk are not in a hurry. Leave extra time.

We usually do Haleakala for sunrise or at dusk and beyond for star viewing; not sure how it holds up during the daytime but so pretty during those hours. The four seasons down in Wailea is where they filmed some of the White Lotus which is neat if you're a fan. There is also a fancy golf course and fancy mall there... its a wee bit posh.

There are also short hikes all over if that is your bag.... it just kind of depends on what sort of things you like doing. Maui has lots of fabulous beaches of course too, it IS Hawaii after all. We usually stay down in Kihei but drive all over when we visit.

 

[AmberViolet]

Thank you! That is all super helpful. Much appreciated!

 

[newfamilyman]

DW and I are looking forward to the cruise. We booked a private tour in Hilo through Toursbylocals. In general, the guides were extremely expensive, which surprised me, but the one that we booked was pretty reasonable for an all-day private tour. We're doing Disney excursions the other days. I was surprised so few of the ones listed in the Hawaii Port Adventures page will be offered for this particular cruise.

 

[Mathmagicland]

DW and I are looking forward to the cruise. We booked a private tour in Hilo through Toursbylocals. In general, the guides were extremely expensive, which surprised me, but the one that we booked was pretty reasonable for an all-day private tour. We're doing Disney excursions the other days. I was surprised so few of the ones listed in the Hawaii Port Adventures page will be offered for this particular cruise.

I also booked through TBL for Hilo. Re the few number of port adventures offered through Disney, I can’t speak to all of them but for a few I researched, I found the vendors were not offering them at this time; at least one has not yet come back after Covid. So, it’s not all on Disney that not many were able to be offered.

Happy sailing!

 

[newfamilyman]

I also booked through TBL for Hilo. Re the few number of port adventures offered through Disney, I can’t speak to all of them but for a few I researched, I found the vendors were not offering them at this time; at least one has not yet come back after Covid. So, it’s not all on Disney that not many were able to be offered.

Happy sailing!

Are you doing your own excursions for the other ports? I was expecting at least the luaus to be offered, since they are still going. Maybe they don't want too many people leaving the ship at dinner-time?

 

[newfamilyman]

The four seasons down in Wailea is where they filmed some of the White Lotus which is neat if you're a fan. There is also a fancy golf course and fancy mall there... its a wee bit posh.

Thanks for the reminder. After reading your comment, I booked dinner at Spago at the Four Seasons, since we'll be at port until 10. They were already almost booked up for the night!

 

[Mathmagicland]

Are you doing your own excursions for the other ports? I was expecting at least the luaus to be offered, since they are still going. Maybe they don't want too many people leaving the ship at dinner-time?

I also booked TBL on Maui, Will do one Disney excursion on Kauai and go out on my own the other day we are there.

 

[newfamilyman]

I guess Pearls grabbed all the early port times, since the first slot available when I checked in was 12:45, group 8.

 

[DisneyConvert]

We have friends in Hilo, Oahu and Lihue (Kawai) who will all take us around a bit (no helicopter rides). Also we have an idea for the 2nd day at Lihue. In Maui, we are renting a vehicle at Kahului Airport and doing our own tour of Central Maui (no Hana, no boat/sail trips, no Haleakala bicycle rides) tourism spots.

The Disney Port Excursions were mostly sold out and the ToursbyLocals were like $1,000 for a group of 4. Renting a car costs $65~$100/day and we have a plan.

We had our honeymoon in Hawaii 27yrs ago. We saw many highlights on the same 4 islands, and we were more adventuresome and nimble then.

 

[JulyMomOf1]

I think we (myself and DS 11.5) finally have the plan or what resembles an outline for us. We are only silver so we were very limited on Disney Excursions to choose from once it opened up for us. And as others have already said I am disappointed in what is actually available for Disney ran excursions based on what they show as potential port adventures. It is what is and we will make do!

We decided on doing the Disney Maui Snorkeling experience as it was still available! We may end up canceling if I can find an alternative for cheaper that is within our time limits- $688 for two people to snorkel is a bit more than I was expecting. The other three days we had zero choices to choose from. I think when I checked yesterday there was one that opened up for the grotto river tour but it econflicts with our Luau time.

We've opted for renting a car at the Hilo port and drive around to see the sites. Also renting a car for the two days we are in Kauai. We decided to get tickets for a Luau Monday evening and then mountain tubing Tuesday morning. We are sooo excited and can not wait!!!

I do have a question - where are you all staying beforehand? And how do you plan to get to the port? We are staying in Waikiki and would love to take the bus as it's super cheap and almost gets us to the front door of the port but they don't allow luggage on the city buses. Alternatively looked at getting a shuttle direct from hotel to port but those are running $40+ for the two of us. We might just chance it and grab a lyft/uber morning off and hope there isn't a crazy surge price happening.

One follow up question that might be better suited for the broader forum: I want to book brunch for just myself. But every time I see an open brunch time it never lets me book. What are the chances of me getting a brunch spot if I try to reserve the day we board? Or do I get my TA involved now to call Disney ahead of time (is that even a thing? haha)?

 

[newfamilyman]

I do have a question - where are you all staying beforehand? And how do you plan to get to the port? We are staying in Waikiki and would love to take the bus as it's super cheap and almost gets us to the front door of the port but they don't allow luggage on the city buses. Alternatively looked at getting a shuttle direct from hotel to port but those are running $40+ for the two of us. We might just chance it and grab a lyft/uber morning off and hope there isn't a crazy surge price happening.

One follow up question that might be better suited for the broader forum: I want to book brunch for just myself. But every time I see an open brunch time it never lets me book. What are the chances of me getting a brunch spot if I try to reserve the day we board? Or do I get my TA involved now to call Disney ahead of time (is that even a thing? haha)?

I was planning on taking an Uber or Lyft from the hotel to the port. Hopefully that will be a smooth process.

I wouldn't call your TA, since I don't think he or she will be helpful. I would go to Palo in person once you are on the ship to see if they can squeeze you in. Given the number of sea days when they will presumably be offering brunch on a daily basis, hopefully it won't be impossible.

 

[Mathmagicland]

Don’t know if anyone is still looking for Disney port adventures, but a few previously sold out in each port are showing availability today.

 

[DisneyConvert]

We are also staying in Waikiki the 2 nites before the cruise (thank you Marriott points) and are fortunate that a friend/business acquaintance can take off that mid-day and pick us up, take us to Target, and then drop us off at the port. The resort is nice, and given we have been on the Wonder/Magic several times before, don't have the urge to board before 1pm.

We couldnt get the 1st sea day for Palo brunch, but I anticipate there will be plenty of supply. We have stayed flexible in the past and have never had a problem.

Renting cars in Maui and 1st day in Kaui, and touring with a college friend who lives near Hilo. Ohhhh boy, is this great!!

We are very fortunate and very excited to go on this trip.