planning cruise

I%26#39;m going on a cruise with my daughter 10 and mom 54 to hawaii islands we will be in

Hilo, hawaii 8am to 5pm

Honolulu, oahu 8am-midnight,

Nawiliwili, kauai 8am to 5pm,

lahaina, maui 8am-11pm,

kona 8am to 5pm.

These things I would really like to see while there

Black sand beaches, Volcano love to see some lava flow if possiable, pearl harbor, do a laua,and snorkling see corals and see life turtles etc., maybe waterfall. Is there away to do all this and what should I do at what island. I see the cruise ship has tour excursions is it best to go through them or find your own. This will be in the begining of april. I did read about whale watching, but will they be gone by then? Also love to see a dolphin.

Thanks again for any advice this is our first trip for all of us the island.

planning cruise

Check out TA%26#39;s ';sister'; site www.cruisecritic.com It is a great source for cruise info. Check the boards, reviews and port info there. I advise booking through the cruise line...if you%26#39;re late they will hold the ship for you.

planning cruise

there are two schools of thought

One says that you shoudl save money and do it your self...that the cruise line will charge you higher prices than you can get on shore.

The other says that going with the ships tours will save you wasted time, and guarantee that the ship will not sail without you is the tour is late.

I strike a ballance and it is a function of several things in small towns line Kona and Kauai, you will find the entire available tours all take up by contract with the ship line.... meaning there are no other options... and owing to the ships arrival time any other options have already gone for the day...

Hilo...you get a private tour from Lava Guy/ Arthur for about $100-150 pp for a day with a private guide and see way more than the ships tour.... you will not however see lava or black sand unless you take a Helo. Search for Lava Guy...he is a class act.

Honolulu: take a cab to USS Arizona, the Submarine Museum, The USS Missouri and Punch Bowl and back to the ship for a ship run Luai.... thats a full day to 11pm

Lahina: Go with the ships tours you choose..because you tender in and ships tour passengers get tendered in first so you might have to wait an hour or more to get off if you are on your own

Kona: Again you tender in...like on Maui.. Take the ships tours. Best tour is the snorkel tour to Capt cook. book earily it will be the best snorkel experience of the entire trip. Since all the local snorkel tours depart for the day before you arrive in port thats not a possibility anout $120pp

Kauai: go with the ships tour Helicopter tour in the morning ;then rent a car and drive to Princeville and back (about 3 hours) $80

The only possible place to do a Luau will be Honolulu. do it with the ship if its even offered not enough time at any other port.

if you take the snorkel tours there is an excellent chance of seeing dolphins, and maybe a turtle.

If you dont do the snorkel tour then come to Kahaluu lagoon and see us at '; Reef Teach'; there are many turtles every day

The Whales will be long gone in April

Book all tours the first day you get onboard the ship

the best ones go FAST. and are limited.

My recs:

Flying on Kauai best thing to do

Snorkel in Kona

USS Arizona/Missouri in Honolulu

Volcano and 4 mile scenic drive/ Akaka falls ( not rainbow) and Helo over the lava

Trip to Hana or Lanai...Maui

In early April, there will still be whales.

By the end of April, 1st part of May they are gone.

This company has good whale watch cruises.

http://www.pacificwhale.org/

www.pacificwhale.org/mauiecocruises/鈥?/a>

Plug in the days you will be on Maui %26amp; see if you can make reservations for one of the days you will be there. Either Whalewatch Lahaina (West Maui) or Whalewatch Ma%26#39;alaea (South Maui) would be OK.

Otherwise there are many places that you can see them from shore.

This link lists several places to see whales from shore on Maui.

frommers.com/destinations/鈥?/a>

This is a really good trip report for a Hawaii cruise. Read all of the blogs.

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60982-i38-k224167鈥?/a>

actualy if there are any whales , save your money because sailing in and out of Lahaina, if there are any you will see them.... same with a cruise to see the Napalu coast On Kauai... as most ships cruise it in the late afternoon...

kids hair