New Thread for CM Island Princess Hawaii Cruise 1.6.06

[Kuki]

Hi Gang,

We seem to have encountered a "glitch" in the message board software, and I'm having trouble opening our thread... likely because of the length of it.

Not sure if others were as well, so thought I'd start a new one. And it should be more manageable for a little while!

Hope everyone is doing well, and passing the time before the cruise doing something useful <G>

[Harry Martin]

I am! I´m on a cruise!

We are in Ensenada today ... weather is gorgeous 70 with a breeze.

Got Andy soe new clothes from Cleopatro ... the cute doggie clothing store.

Next stop is the El Cid Hotel for lunch and margaritas.

Harry

Hi Kuki!
The other thread opened OK for me - sure hope we don't lose it, since it's got a lot of valuable info on it.

Shar

We could open the old one just fine. Maybe you have a little water log problem?

We are still here also, Kuki.

Jim and Karon

Hi Kuki,
Have read lots of your great info but are new to be on the site. We will be aboard the Island Princess 1-6-06 and also on the Liberty 10-12 and 10-24. Looking forward to
meeting you. I am 1/2 a Canook. My mom was from Ottawa. I still visit a cousin in Red Lake, if you know where that is. (North Ontario) Will this new thread be the place to come now? We are able to go to the other one still? Jill and Larry

[Kuki]

Hi Jill and Larry,

Welcome aboard!! After meeting me on the Liberty in Oct you may want to cancel Hawaii <G>

We hope you'll join our "group" on both cruises. We are "inclusive", not "exclusive", and we love to have fun.

There's another couple on our Carnival Liberty thread who are doing back to backs on the Liberty. You can get together during the first cruise and plot against us <G>

Kuki,
Thanks for the welcome. We will look forward to meeting you and having some fun.
We have been writing a few people on the Liberty who post on cruisecritic. Hope we can hook up there too. Any T-shirts in the works for the Hawaii cruise? That was a nice
feature in some of the pictures. Thanks, Jill and Larry

[rollerdonna]

Ooh, I hadn't thought about T-shirts! I have my CruiseMates T-shirt, but would love a Let's Get Lei'd one too! Can't wait to meet other CruiseMates!

donna (and James)

[coo359a2]

Kuki
Could you please list the ports that we will use a tender? How much time should you allow to disembark when planning a tour? Thanks

[Kuki]

Tina & Ken.... That I remember, the only place we tender should be Maui. I haven't verified that, but that is the only island I remember a tender being necessary.

Donna, Jill and Larry... I am working on t-shirts... but that was supposed to be a surprise for later. You internet folks leave nothing for chance.

We're still here!! We also tender in Kona. Come on Jan.!!!

Good Morning, Mates!

Today is Capt Ron's and my 13th anniversary! Not too shabby for the second time around.

Shar

Happy Anniversary, Shar. Hope you have a wonderful day and a great anniversary celebration.
Karon

[Harry Martin]

Happy anniversary, Shar!

Harry

[Kuki]

Shar....A VERY Happy Anniversary to you and Capt. Ron!

And Rod, you are right. I was trying to remember about Kona.. but all I could recall was getting the shuttle to the airport for the car rental. Couldn't remember the tendering.

Shows what happens to an old mind <G>

Any ideas about what to do in port? My husband and I are in our 30's, our daughter will be 4 and my grandparents are in their late 60's (not the best of health). We are looking to spend some time together, but not all. We like the beach, sightseeing, shopping, etc. Daughter will not go in for history/museum type stuff.
Any suggestions?
Wendy

Shar and Capt Ron: Happy anniversary with many more to come!!!

Kuki, let us know about the t-shirts and thanks for all your hard work!!
Thanks , Jill and Larry

[Kuki]

Any ideas about what to do in port? My husband and I are in our 30's, our daughter will be 4 and my grandparents are in their late 60's (not the best of health). We are looking to spend some time together, but not all. We like the beach, sightseeing, shopping, etc. Daughter will not go in for history/museum type stuff
Hi Wendy.. WELCOME ABOARD!

The easiest thing on all the islands is to simply rent a vehicle, and tour on your own. Not at all difficult to find some interesting drives, and beautiful beaches.

Ohau - if you haven't been - go to the Polynesian Cultural Center.

For breathtaking views do a heli tour on Kaui.

Maui - for the adventerous, drive the road to Hana. For the less adventurous - Lahaina is a great town to walk around, then a trip to the beach.

Hilo - rent a vehicle and drive to Volcano National Park - and stop at many of the lookouts.

Thanks Kuki!
Everyone on here is sooooo nice.
- Wendy

Happy Independence Day!

To those of you in the States,how are you spending your holiday? So far we're sleeping in late and planning on going to a movie. It's too hot outside for much else. Our weather isn't up to normal temps yet, thank goodness! Today we're expecting to reach about 104, yesterday was 107 - I really like the downward trend :o) - the younger people (or more heat tolerant) will be having their picnics and barbeques. Our little town has a nice fairgrounds and they always have big community events scheduled (again for those mentioned above) and fireworks after dark. Best wishes to all of you for a wonderful day!

Shar

[Rob M.]

I have some sad news. I'm sorry to announce that Andy and I will be canceling the cruise to Hawaii. I'm am having some serious problems at work and with the new condo coming up soon my finances are pretty tight. Hopefully we can meet some of you on a future cruise.

I think we are going to still plan on doing a 7 day cruise sometime this winter. If anyone has any suggestions on 7 day itins. that are reasonably priced (balcony category) I would appreciate a heads up.

I will continue to check out the boards I can't wait to hear stories and see photos from the cruisemates cruise.

- Rob



Post Edited (07-04-05 21:51)

[Kuki]

Rob... so sorry to hear that you've had to cancel. We were looking forward to meeting you and Andy...and the gang.

Hopefully it'll happen sometime.

Rob,
I'm sorry to hear you and Andy won't be joining us. We want to give you many thanks for all the suggestions and posts. You've been very helpful with our planning for the islands. Best wishes to you.

Shar

Anyone have any thoughts on the liklihood of seeing whales. I was on a NCL cruise r/t from Honolulu in early December, and I never caught a glimpse of any. I understand that early December is the very beginning of the season for whales in/around Maui. I'm hoping that January will be better.

For those of you who are still wondering where you will stay the night before our cruise - here's the current information from the Sheraton Los Angeles Harbor. First of all, I just called the reservation desk and asked if they were taking reservations for January and was told that they are not. I asked when and the clerk told me she didn't know. Here's an exerpt from the letter that I got from their management:

Dear Ms. Backman:

Hotel Name Change

Please be informed that effective from July 1, 2005, this Hotel will cease to be a Sheraton. Its affiliation with the Starwood Hotel & Resorts franchise would likewise be discontinued. The Hotel will embark on an extensive renovation and upgrade program to become the Crowne Plaza Los Angeles Harbor Hotel & Suites. During the transitional period, the Hotel will be known as the Los Angeles Harbor Hotel.

There will be no change in the Hotel's ownership and the same Management and Staff will be here to serve and cater to your hospitality needs. Please be assured that all businesses contracted will be binding and its terms fulfilled notwithstanding the name changes.

I know it's still a long ways until our cruise, but I get real stressed when I can't complete all my arrangements while I'm thinking about them. I guess I'll just have to be patient.

Shar

jff:
This is just my opinion. . . You will be able to see whales if you take a whale watching tour. You can and probably will be able to see whales from the ship (if you know what you're looking for) - mostly you will only see their spouts. On our last cruise (on the Diamond to Mexico) we spent a lot of time watching for the spouts and saw quite a few. We actually were able to see a few whales - but that was with a lot of effort.

I'd suggest that you search on the internet for Hawaii whale watching. One of my favorite sites is the Pacific Whale Foundation.

I'm a real whale lover and take any opportunity to see them. On our last trip to Hawaii (a million years ago) we went on a snorkeling trip that was supposed to include whale watching. This was off of Lahaina in Maui. Didn't see any...

Hope springs eternal :o)

Shar

Wow! This is really falling behind! Hope you are all doing well. We're dealing with weather that's coming back to being "seasonal". It's been a nice respite with cooler temps, but no more - tomorrow we're expected to be in the teens (eg 112) - darn! And I thought it was going to miss us this year :o). Thank goodness for air conditioning!

Shar

As you probably have guessed...I tend to be the type who likes to have things planned as far in advance as possible. Since the Sheraton LA Harbor reservation desk can not take reservations, I decided to try calling Crowne Plaza. According to the nice lady at their central reservation desk, all reservations are currently blocked until October 27th. If you were lucky enough to get in and book a room, good for you! Hopefully this delay is a positive for changes at the hotel. It most likely means higher prices as well...but who knows?

Have a great week!

Shar

Hi Cruisemates!
I hope you are staying cool. Over the weekend we got into the teens (115 degrees yesterday). Today it's a cool 114 :o) - but it's dry heat.......

Shar