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Note - this page contains multiple reviews.
Name: Linda O'Brien
Email: Lindacobrien@prodigy.com
Age: 35
Occupation: VP Real Estate
NumberOfCruises: 4
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Princess-Crown
SailingDate: August 31, 1998
Itinerary: Alaska
FoodDiningRoom: 69
CruiseDirector: 100
CabinComfort: 100
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 75
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck:
DiningRoomService: 85
CabinQuietness: 100
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 85
ShoreExcVariety: 80
FoodVariety: 75
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 85
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 100
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges:
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 80
OverallPortsofCall: 80
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 70
Casino: 100
AirSeaProgram: 100
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs: 70
DeckSpace: 100
Stabilization: 100
ShopsOnBoard: 70
SpaceRatio: 100
OverallCruiseValue: 79
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 16 Sep 1998
Time: 03:12:30
Remote Name: 209.156.84.30
Remote User:
Comments
From reading prior comments, I believe I am the first person to express my dissapointment
in our cruise. Mind you, the entire cruise was not a
dissapointment, yet my major dissatisfactions (the food and lack of activities) were
enough of a dissapointment to warrant such a tough review.
From the beginning: My flight was great. I had a wonderful connection with a one hour
layover in Seattle. No problems at all. When we arrived in
Vancouver, there was a slight delay with the bus transportation, so we opted to take a cab
instead. For $20 total, we arrived in comfort at the port.
The check in line was long but moved very quickly. Very efficient operation.
The ship is very nice. It is sleek and modern. Very clean and well kept. Our room was on
deck 9 with a full window. It was tastefully decorated. We
had two twin beds, a desk, sitting chair, small table and bathroom/dressing area. It also
has a safe. Our cabin steward was ok. The standard twice
a day service was received. Sometimes in the morning, our cabin was not made prior to
10:00AM. We did receive a fruit basket daily, which we
enjoyed.
I was terribly dissapointed in the food and beverage department of this ship. The food was
very average at best. I would compare it to a Holiday
day function. Even worse, the china on the table did not match! The food was pre-plated on
the china and therefore depending on what was
ordered, the plates were either white with a blue rim or flowered. Needless to say, having
these two plates on the same table did not make for a
first class meal.
I was also not impressed with the linens. On two occassions, the linens used for dinner
were either red and white checkered or blue and white
checkered. These tablecloths were the same types of tablecloths used in European
households for informal family dinners that are served in the
kitchen (never for guests). To see these being used for Dinner for Italian night and
French night was a real lack of judgement on the part of Food
and Beverage.
On a brighter note, our waiter and assistant waiter were better than the food being
served. I rated the entire cruise staff at 75 only because our
cruise was the 2nd to last of the season (for Alaska) and it was very obvious that the
entire crew had had enough of Alaska and was ready to
move on (to Hawaii and Tahiti). One exception was Barry, who was a bartender in the
Casino. One day, he jumped through hoops to find us
turpentine to clean paint brushes. (way beyond his job description-outstanding)
I gave the ship itself very high ratings because it was spacious, clean, quiet, stable
etc...
The casino on the upper deck was a great place. Until 3PM daily, it was not open for
business, but it had wonderful seating by huge windows that
allowed for magnificent views. Service for drinks (mostly coffee and hot chocolate) was
very good.
Having recently cruised (6 weeks earlier) to the caribbean, I found the activities on an
Alaska cruise very limited. The scenery is beautiful, however,
during the rain or cold, sitting for hours just looking was hard for me. The ship had a
beautiful nightclub which was virtually empty every night.
Ofcourse, the bright side of that is that I was forced to relax and unwind for the entire
week.
A quick note on excursions-in all ports, you can book your own quite easily. The savings
from the ship are not huge, but there are some savings to
be had. We enjoyed a river rafting trip in Juneau as well as a helicopter tour which
landed on a glacier. We took a bus tour to White Pass in
Skagway (ok)and we shopped in Ketchikan. In Ketchikan, we found some unusual and beautiful
jewelry at the Caribbean Gems store. The service
was impeccable and friendly. I would highly recommend it.
Overall, I had some very high expectations for Princess line and this cruise.
Unfortunately, I was dissapointed. In comparison to the NCL
(Norwegian Cruise Line) which I had taken in July, the service, activities and food
quality did not compare.
Name: Lynn Huggins
Email: 2huggins@usaor.net
Age: 36
Occupation: Dietetic Technician
NumberOfCruises: 7
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Princess-Crown
SailingDate: October 6, 1998
Itinerary: Tahiti/Hawaii
FoodDiningRoom: 70
CruiseDirector: 88
CabinComfort: 78
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 88
CabinAmenities: 84
FoodLidoDeck: 65
DiningRoomService: 95
CabinQuietness: 75
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 88
ShoreExcVariety: 78
FoodVariety: 70
DeckService: 80
ShoreExcValue: 60
GoodForHoneymoon: 80
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 80
LoungeService:
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors: 100
BeautySalonStaff: 85
EntertainmentLounges:
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 70
EntertShowLounge: 85
OverallPortsofCall: 80
BeautySalon: 80
EntertainmentPoolside: 75
CruiseActivities: 75
Casino:
AirSeaProgram: 78
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 88
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 85
ShopsOnBoard: 75
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 75
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 24 Oct 1998
Time: 14:18:52
Remote Name: 209.166.146.70
Remote User:
Comments
This was our third cruise on Princess and my seventh cruise total. We hadn't been on
Princess
since 1995, and since we had our best cruise experience with Holland American on the
Maasdam
in August '97, we were anxious to return to Princess since we had fantastic experiences
with
them in the past and we wanted to compare them to HA.
Boy, were we surprised. The remarks I will give are MY opinions of this particular cruise,
but a
footnote that many of the same sentiments were shared by fellow passengers we talked to
during
the trip and after disembarkation.
Living on the East Coast, we started our cruise with 14 hours of travel that took us to
Chicago,
LAX and then 7 1/2 hours of continuous turbulence, some of the worst I ever experienced,
on the
flight from LA to Tahiti. Princess flew everyone to LAX and there were three charter
flights that
left LA for Tahiti on 747's. The early morning flight was on United, the second two
flights were
chartered on American International Airlines in a very tight, cramped, old, noise-ridden
747. The
movie screen in the second cabin of the plane did not work, the sound system to hear the
movie
in every seat was inaudible, flight attendants stood on the armrests of passenger seats to
obtain
items from overhead. The food was so-so on the flight, but by the time we arrived in
Tahiti, I
was nearly ill from the turbulence.
Embarkation was easy for us, within 10 minutes we were aboard the ship. However, I was
told by
several passengers that embarkation for the earlier flights was horrible, with passengers
waiting
upwards of 2 hours to embark the ship.
Once in our cabin, it was a standard room with two twin beds (which we requested
beforehand to
be converted to queen and weren't), a sitting desk, TV that kept us out of touch with the
real
world since CNN or ESPN was never picked up by the satellite even when we were in Hawaii,
a
refrigerator, closet area, window and typical bath. The ship itself was kept pretty clean,
although
we picked up smells of various odors walking through the halls--some smells were like
garbage,
and in other places the smell of air freshener was enough to make you sick. This ship is
basically
just an average ship from what we've seen.
When we got in our room, being frequent cruisers, we looked for our tour excursions that
our
travel agent requested for us from the early order form we filled out over two months
before our
trip. We couldn't find them. Mind you, we were also exhausted because at this point we
were
awake nearly 24 hours. Calls to the Tour Office went unanswered, and the Purser's Desk
could
only tell us to go TO the tour office to check it out. My husband finally went to the tour
office
only to be told they did not have our reservations, they did not have our tickets, this
situation
occurred frequently at the home office, there was nothing they could do about it, some of
the
tours we had pre-requested were now sold out and that we could write a nasty letter once
we
got home. Okay, but how does that solve the problem NOW that we have traveled 7000 miles
and
are in Tahiti? There never was a solution, we re-ordered but missed some of the excursions
we
originally wanted. We spoke to dozens of other passengers who had the same problem and
Princess employees acted like basically they could care less, the tour office was in total
disarray,
and none of the information about the tours jived anywhere. In the pre-cruise information
booklet
about the tours, the duration of the excursions did not match what was shown on the forms
where you pre-order excursions prior to arrival or on the form that was provided once you
embarked the ship. Not to mention, that many of the excursions offered, especially in
French
Polynesia were very expensive and very boring. After seven cruises, I have finally learned
that it
is best to go with the flow in planning a day in port. In other words, get off the ship,
see what's
available, then decide what you want to do. Princess, we found out, adds about 50 percent
to
the price from the tour vendor. In other words, a $50 price from the tour vendor means the
passenger will pay about $75 for the excursion. They're making loads on second-rate
excursions
while having an inept staff who runs the tour office. The purser's office helped us in
filing a claim
with the home office, but besides sending of a plate of six chocolates, that's the only
resolution
we ever got.
The food on this cruise was about as bad as any we've ever gotten on a cruise and far from
what
we had experienced on Princess in the past. The Lido Deck food for lunch was most of the
time
pans of slop, leaving us to go either to the Hamburger Grill, the Pizzaria or the Salad
Bar. The
breakfast buffet on Lido was average, the hamburger grill was average and the pizzaria was
average. The food in the dining room was good a few nights, poor a couple nights, and fair
the
remainder. The desserts were nothing spectacular, and actually most were pretty boring. I
actually had to send a dinner meal back twice without ordering a replacement. So did our
tablemates. We don't do the Dining Room for Breakfast or Lunch.
We only went to the guest shows starring comedians, harmonica player, Princess' frequent
guest
Dick Gold (who is a great entertainer), etc. We heard the productions shows were not that
great,
but we've come to learn most of them never are, so we usually skip them.
The ladies in the gift shops were not overly friendly and bellowed orders at passengers
when
special sales were held in the plaza area of the galleria shops. The variety in the shops
was fair,
and the prices were expensive--which they are on most ships.
The service in the dining room was very good from our waiter, asst. waiter, head waiter
and
maitre'd. This is something we've come to expect from Princess in comparison to other
lines and
still remains constant in the dining room. Our staff did everything possible to accomodate
us,
they were friendly, timely and professional. The staff on the Lido was okay--nothing
exceptional.
The best service we've experienced on any Lido deck was on Celebrity.
The ports of call were nice--but not fantastic and did not meet our expectations of the
kind of
paradise we'd find in French Polynesia. Tahiti is pretty much a crowded, dirty, urban
island with
few beaches and without a need to visit longer than a day. Moorea is laid back, lush,
tropical
with some pretty coastal areas. Bora Bora is similar to Moorea but prettier. The Hotel
Sofitel on
both islands occupies some of the most pretty area. Christmas Island is a garbage-ridden,
poor
island that only takes about 1-2 hours to explore. The beach area was interesting with all
sizes of
hermit crabs spanning every inch of it and locals we spotted with a huge octopus that had
just
captured. The locals are nice and seem appreciative of the ships visit, but there's not
much here
to see. We loved the Hawaiian islands and found a different beauty on every one of them.
Hawaii
is Americanized paradise and it was nice to be back in the USA after a week in so-called
paradise.
One last note about the service on the ship--two passengers told us about luggage they
lost
between LAX and Tahiti. Our tablemate did not get her luggage for two days and felt that
Princess did NOTHING to accomodate her other than provide her with a $50 voucher for
toiletries.
She had to miss the first formal night. Another passenger did not get her luggage for 9,
yes 9,
days. Princess gave her $500 credit in the shops, but one dressy women's outfit was $200
there,
so you can imagine how far the money went. Also, the $500 from Princess put her over the
amount allotted for customs screening costing her more money in the end. She was not a
happy
traveler.
All in all, my service experience with Princess this time around was comparable to my
first cruise
on Carnival. It was unacceptable and not what we had come to expect from Princess. I can't
tell
you how many other passengers shared the same sentiment. Several passengers stated that
they felt Princess had moved all their seasoned employees to the newer, larger ships such
as the
Grand and Sun. They may be right. We probably will not cruise with Princess again, opting
to
move to Holland America or Maasdam when we choose to cruise.
Name: Carl Hale
Email: lhale43052aol.com
Age: 63
Occupation: Retired
NumberOfCruises: 2
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Princess-Crown
SailingDate: 8/31/98
Itinerary: Alaska
FoodDiningRoom: 69
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 85
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 69
DiningRoomService: 80
CabinQuietness: 80
FoodMidnightBuffets: 69
CabinSteward: 85
ShoreExcVariety:
FoodVariety: 65
DeckService: 85
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService:
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors: 90
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 85
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 90
EntertShowLounge: 90
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 85
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 85
EmbarkDisembark: 85
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 95
Stabilization: 85
ShopsOnBoard: 89
SpaceRatio: 85
OverallCruiseValue: 88
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 25 Oct 1998
Time: 13:06:43
Remote Name: 152.163.204.68
Remote User:
Comments
From the begining; The boarding process was a breeze from the beautifull Canada Place
Center.
We were truly amazed at the size of out outside State Room. It was clean,had ample storage
and
closet space for all the things we brought along.
We were disappointed in the 'Bon Voyage' party, it was not the gala event we had expeced,
in
fact it was a very minor event.
We had a table by a window in the Crown Court Dining Room and loved it. The food
selections
were okay but not well prepared but this may be due to the large number of people they are
preparing for. We had a fish dinner served one evening that was atrocious, but on the flip
side we
had a Prime Rib and King Crab dinner that was good. The food on our previous cruise was
also
mediocre so we were not surprised to find this ships food also mediocre. The expectation
of fine
dining would not be a reason to choose a cruise vacation unless you spend much more on a
more
expensive cruise line. Dining room was crowded.
When going down the hall to our room we noticed a very foul smell, like garbage that we
later
learned was foul garbage. We were fortunate our room was much further down the hall. This
condition presisted during the entire cruise.
The Lido Buffet was usually crowded and the breakfast hot foods were warm at best,we
usually
ate lunch from the Salad Bar or Hamburger Grill because the lunch fare didn't apeal to us.
Over all we enjoyed this cruise very much and would do it again.
Name: Karen Elinich
Email: kelinich@fi.edu
Age: 32
Occupation: educator
NumberOfCruises: 3
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Princess-Crown
SailingDate: 9/14/98
Itinerary: Vancouver to Honolulu
FoodDiningRoom: 96
CruiseDirector: 94
CabinComfort: 98
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 96
CabinAmenities: 98
FoodLidoDeck: 94
DiningRoomService: 99
CabinQuietness: 97
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 75
ShoreExcVariety: 95
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 94
ShoreExcValue: 96
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 94
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 96
TenderService: 96
GoodForSeniors: 98
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 94
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 98
OverallPortsofCall: 97
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 98
CruiseActivities: 97
Casino: 94
AirSeaProgram: 97
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 97
EmbarkDisembark: 96
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 98
Stabilization: 97
ShopsOnBoard: 96
SpaceRatio: 98
OverallCruiseValue: 97
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 20 Nov 1998
Time: 15:54:14
Remote Name: 192.231.162.136
Remote User:
Comments
Crown Princess September 14, 1998 10 Nights Vancouver to Honolulu
My Mom (age 72) had long dreamed of a vacation in Hawaii, so she and I (age 32) booked the
repositioning cruise on the Crown Princess which would
give us 5 days at sea and 5 days in Hawaii.
After a LONG journey from Philadelphia to Vancouver (by way of Phoenix--thanks to the
Northwest pilots’ strike), we arrived at Canada Harbor Place
to find a few hundred people standing in line! I was shocked as my previous embarkation
experience with Princess had been perfect. Turns out that
there was a "medical emergency" on the gangway, the paramedics were on the
scene, and they had to cease embarkation for almost an hour. While it
was tiresome to stand in line, I understood that Princess had no control over the
situation. What else could they do? A passenger was collapsed on
the gangway!
Once we passed through the security checkpoints, we were quickly in our cabin--D155. We
had sailed the previous summer on the Regal which is twin
sister to Crown, so I already knew my way around, a definite plus on the first day. The
cabin was lovely---big picture window, two twin beds, two
nighttables (4 drawers in each), a long desk/vanity with mirror (8 drawers) and hairdryer,
a side chair, a small round table, a fridge, big closet (plenty
of hangers) with terry robes, dresser (about 12 drawers), vault, and bathroom with shower.
Plus, an in-room tv.
We left Vancouver on Monday evening, a little after 6PM, and the onboard naturalist
narrated our sail out of the harbor. The sailing was not sold out,
but pretty full. However, we never encountered a crowd anywhere.
Our travel agent had requested second sitting in the dining room and a table for eight. We
got second sitting at a table for six. Turns out that first
sitting was severely over-requested, so there were many people who were not happy with
second. Our tablemates were two couples. One couple was
from Cincinatti, the other from Atlanta. Our waiter (Yury from Ukraine) and assistant
(Atilla from Hungary) were wonderful. Really the best. I’ll ask for
them if I sail Crown again.
Meals in the dining room were always good. Occasionally wonderful, particularly once we
reached Hawaii. I assume we must have been taking on fresh
fish and fruit there, because I had some wonderful dishes. Particularly memorable: a cold
soup of golden delicious apples and peaches and, on
international night, a fish from New Zealand called John Dorry.
We had nine breakfasts in the buffet on the lido deck because we preferred the quickness.
Once, while at sea, we went to the dining room. In all
cases, breakfasts were great. We had 5 lunches (at sea days) in the dining room. All were
great. (Our other 5 lunches were on land.) We never made
it to the pizzeria. In the evening, there was the option to have a served cafe dinner in
the buffet area, but we never opted for that.
The five days at sea were awesome. Like camp for grownups. However, I say this only
because I don’t get seasick. Day 2, during the night, we hit the
North Pacific Basin, the wide open sea. We were greeted by gale force winds and 15 foot
waves. It wasn’t a storm---just the open sea. It was
awesome to watch! (Althouth not from open decks--the captain announced that, under no
circumstances should passengers go on the open decks.
Literally, it could have swept you overboard. But, through the windows! WOW! Clear blue
sky, white caps on the waves, beautiful!) The crew/staff were
expecting this. It’s the nature of that part of the ocean. It’s not in the
advertising brochures, of course. There were free barf bags placed in all of the
lobby areas. Thankfully, my Mom and I did not need them, but I could understand why some
people did. The ship was really rolling. I heard that the
doctor’s office was packed.
But the other four days at sea were wonderful, calm, sunny days. Life on a deckchair, with
my books, listening to the ocean. Ah! That’s a vacation!
The cruise staff packed the days with activities, though, so nobody could get bored. My
mom went to a class to make carnations from tissues and
another class to make gift boxes from postcards. We both went to napkinfolding class which
was also a culinary demonstration by the dining room
staff. We watched three couples play the newlywed game, and another game called treasure
quest. The naturalist (Brent Nixon) gave a lecture each
day about Hawaii. Of course, the casino was always open at sea. Plus there was bingo.
Movies in the theater, and on the in-room tv. (On 2 afternoons,
they showed "Titanic" in the theater!) Lots of other stuff I skipped, opting
instead to relax on my deckchair.
This is probably a good point to mention the cruise staff. They were awesome. Think about
it...all of these people trapped at sea for five days! The staff
filled our days admirably. They were probably more thrilled to reach land than we were.
Our director was Jim, an American guy. He was a bit older,
having sailed for something like 25 years, I think he said. His assistants were also
great, and were all either from USA or UK. Suzy, our social hostess,
was particularly wonderful. Honestly, the only staff I had any problem with was my cabin
stewardess. She was barely mediocre. Her name was Marian. I
don’t know if she was brand new or what, but she has a LOT to learn. Literally, EVERY
day she forgot something, and never the same thing twice. Like,
one morning, as I’m stepping into the shower, I discover she forgot to leave any bath
towels. So, I check that every night. But she never forgets that
again. Instead, she forgets to leave clean glasses. Or, she’ll remove my "do not
disturb" sign. (I swear she did this so that she could turn down my bed
early. The first 2 nights, she turned down the beds at 6PM! Well, I didn’t even start
to get ready for my 8:15 dinner until 7:30, so if I showered for
dinner, I’d have no towels for morning. SO, I got smart and started hanging the
"do not disturb" sign. Then she started to take it from me. Needless to
say, she’s not up to the Princess standard.)
There were lots of guest entertainers onboard too. (In addition to the
dancers/performers.) They had a trio called the "Kokonut Kousins" who were
Hawaiian singers. It was 2 guys and a girl, playing bass, acoustic guitar, and ukele. They
were WONDERFUL! They really set a mood for the cruise.
They worked the dining room every night, plus other performances too.
There was a guest clarinetist---Abe Weinstein from the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra. He
performed several times, mostly jazz music. He was great.
The Love Boat Orchestra was great. I only went to a few of the production numbers. They
were good, just not really my interest.
There was this guy named Pete Matthews from the UK. He was a juggler/comedian. He was
hysterical! REALLY funny and entertaining. His first
performance was on the night when the ship was rolling. I really admired his skill!
(Although he DID accidentally set the tablecloth on fire....to cover, he
ad-libbed by saying his last cruise was on the Carnival Ecstasy-HA!.....still, he was
amazing!)
Sunday morning, after five days at sea, we reached Maui. We were anchored off the shore of
Lahaina. At 6AM, I was on deck, looking at land for the
first time in 5 days and it was gorgeous! Besides the beautiful mountains and rolling
green hills, there were rainbows in the clouds. Wow. We had
booked an excursion so we met in the showlounge at 8:30 to be tendered over to land. Our
tour was called "Best of Maui." We went on an
airconditioned motorcoach with a wonderful driver/guide. The tour had 2 stops: the Maui
Tropical Plantation and the Iao Valley State Park. Both were
lovely, but not particularly memorable. The best part was just riding around the island
admiring the scenery. We were back at the pier around noon.
Lahaina is a definite tourist town, but just what we needed. We had a wonderful lunch at a
place on the waterfront called Kimo’s. Great fresh grilled fish
and their house dessert--Hula pie--AWESOME. Then, we browsed the shops a bit, admired the
banyan tree which all the guidebooks mention, and
really IS quite impressive. Then, tired, we tendered back to ship. We sailed away at 6PM
and watched more rainbows in the clouds and then, around
6:30, the most wonderful, unforgettable sunset.
The next morning, we docked at Hilo on the east side of the Big Island of Hawaii in an
undustrial harbor. There is NOTHING to do in walking distance
from the dock, so you must take a tour or rent a car. We took an all-day excursion to
Volcanoes National Park. Again, we were in an airconditioned
motorcoach. I liked the tour, but our driver/guide was not so good. He really got on my
nerves by the end of the day. Stops on the tour: Kalapana
lavaflow/black sand beach, Thurston lava tube (in Volcanoes Natl Park), Jagger Museum (in
the park), Volcano House (in the park, where we had
lunch), Orchid farm, Muana Loa Macadamia Nut factory, and Rainbow Falls. I’m very
interested in the geological aspects of Hawaii, so I LOVED the
volcano and lavaflow stops. Spectacular. If you go to the big island, you must go to
Volcanoes National Park. The orchid farm was a waste of time. I
was happy for the short stop at the nut factory (since I had orders from friends to bring
some home and getting it at the factory assured freshness),
but I wouldn’t have cared if we missed it. Rainbow Falls was also lame. I’ve
seen way better falls in many other places. SO, in retrospect, the half-day
tour that only goes to VNP would probably have sufficed. Of course, since there was
nothing to do back at the dock, it didn’t hurt to visit the other
places too. We sailed away from Hilo at 6PM, and the sunset was clouded.
That night, the captain took the ship one mile off the coast where the current Kilauea
volcano eruption is entering the sea. It was spectacular. We
could see the molten lava hitting the water. We actually passed through the huge steam
cloud (like a free sauna)! Then, the captain turned off the
ships lights! WOW! People were foolishly snapping pictures of the volcano (impossible to
photograph) but I had my eyes on the sky! Wow. Great
stargazing opportunity. (I think every cruise should have a stargazing time when the
captain turns off the lights...even if just for 5 minutes! Ordinarily,
stargazing on a cruiseship is worse than stargazing from a city. Too much light
interference.)
The next morning, we were anchored off the shore of Kona, on the west side of the Big
Island of Hawaii. We figured we’d need some rest by then, so
we had no morning plans. We tendered over to shore around 10:30 and tried to do a bit of
shopping. Kona’s waterfront is touristy, with plenty of
shopping/dining choices. However it was BRUTALLY humid/hot that day and 3 blocks felt like
miles. We walked to the Kona Inn complex which is good
for shopping/dining. We had lunch at a little sandwich shop on the water and the ocean
breezes helped to cool us. Then, we went back to the pier
because we were ticketed on an afternoon tour called Kona Highlights. Another
airconditioned motorcoach ride around the island. Stops: Kona Coffee
Factory, St.Benedict’s Painted Church, and the Hawaiian Place of Refuge National
Historic Site. I don’t care for coffee, so the first stop was a waste for
me. The Church is nice. We were only there for a few minutes, so it was fine to get out
and stretch. The Place of Refuge is awesome. If the weather
wasn’t so brutal, I would REALLY have liked this. Given the weather, I walked around
for awhile, but then had to sit in the shade. Honestly, in the
brochures, I had thought the place sounded lame, but it’s actually amazingly
beautiful and authentic. Plus, it’s part of the National Park System, so it’s
well maintained. We sailed away from Kona at 6PM and, around 6:30, watched a spectacular
sunset over the ocean that allowed me to see, for the
first time in my life, the phenomenon called greenflash. I’d always wanted to see it,
and thought I might get the chance while at sea. So, I was thrilled.
The next morning, we were docked at Nawiliwili Harbor on the island of Kauai. Again,
nothing really close to the dock. There were a few stores, but
they were a hike. We took an all day excursion up to the north coast to Hanalei and Bali
Hai. This time, we were on a small mini-bus with only 18
people. I LOVED this tour. We saw SO much. Plus, we stopped frequently, because it was no
big production for a few people to hop on and off. Most of
the stops were just scenic points. We saw the lighthouse which is the northernmost point
of Kauai, and therefore also of Hawaii. Hanalei Bay is
spectacularly beautiful. We had lunch at the Hanalei Bay Resort---great meal, awesome
view. Also, since we were a small bus/group, on the way back
the driver said we were ahead of schedule and if we wanted he’d stop at Hilo
Hattie’s (a chain of Hawaiian product stores) for 20 minutes. This was
nice since, as I said, there was nothing at the ship anyway. He zipped the little bus into
the lot and we were off and on in 20 minutes flat. (As an aside,
at dinner that night, our tablemates all said they went on the Fern Grotto tour and hated
it. I was thrilled we had chosen Hanalei instead.) We sailed
away from Kauai at 6PM and watched another spectacular sunset.
The next morning, we docked at Honolulu on Oahu, our disembarkation point. We had
purchased a flight deviation so that we could spend the day in
Honolulu before we flew home. So, our flight was not until 7:02PM. We booked an excursion
which was a tour of Honolulu including the tour out to the
Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. We disembarked based on being ticketed on that tour. Of
course, several hundred people were doing the same
thing. Still, the process was easy and quick. At 9AM, we were on another airconditioned
motorcoach with an excellent guide. First stop was Pearl
Harbor. The only other stop was at an overlook point high up in the mountains. Otherwise,
we just drove by/through sites. (As an aside...be sure to
READ the information about this tour. It CLEARLY stated the length/destinations for the
tour, yet many people on my bus were getting REALLY mad
that he kept going to other sites. I had paid to see these things, so I couldn’t
understand why they were upset. Plus, people were getting hungry, yet
our driver told us loudly and clearly that we should get snacks while at Pearl Harbor
since we’d be going on past lunchtime.) At the end of the tour,
they dropped us at the Ilikai Resort on Waikiki Beach. They had a hospitality room for us
there. We dropped our hand luggage there and went to lunch
and then did a little last minute shopping. At 4:30, they shuttled us over to the airport.
Clearly, I invested a fair amount in the Princess Adventures Ashore office, but I felt it
was worth every penny. I saw so much and really experienced
Hawaii without having to do the planning.
I loved the Crown Princess and rate it an "A." [Had my stewardess been better,
I’d give it an A+.] If you have any questions, feel free to email me.
kelinich@fi.edu
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