The difference I find between the luau in Maui vs the PCC is, the PCC one is more like what you get at a church potluck/picnic. The one one Maui - more commercial and designed for what we haoles "think" a luau should be.I've heard nice things about PCC. I have not attended but have been to the location. Main difference I see is that it is not a beachfront location.
I hope you can help us all plan! We are on the same sailing.Hi! We are booked on the 10-night Hawaii to Vancouver. We are one of the few silvers on board this sailing haha, but it will be the trip that will make us Gold! My TA could only find a GTY inside. I would really like at least an Ocean View so she will be checking for one daily.
We are so excited for this cruise. We will be celebrating our 10th anniversary in November of this year and hubby asked what I wanted and I said all I wanted was this cruise, even though we have to wait 2 years for it.
Hawaii is one of my favorite destinations, I've been there a few times as a kid and for the past 10 years we've gone once sometimes twice a year. It is hard to pick a favorite island, but for sheer beauty I'd pick Kauai and Maui, and for adventure I pick Big Island, but I really do love Oahu. We spend a lot of time there, so we are very familiar with the island. The north shore is gorgeous and we love being the only ones on some of the beaches, and not to mention the world class cuisine.
If anyone is interested, I have a couple of Hawaii trip reports on my blog...A Splash of Aloha.
Sorry it's been a while since I've updated, and it was recently hacked so please ignore all the links that say "propecia" in it - so annoying.
We are definitely more of a self-exploration type of couple, usually spending at least a week on each island so this cruise where it's only a few hours in port will be different for us. I'm a big foodie so exploring local eats is something I look forward to doing. Will we be able to rent cars for such a short time? I think Kauai is probably the only port I would think renting a car would be worth it. I know all the islands have Uber now so that is another option.
You are on this cruise too? That's fantastic- enjoyed reading your TR's on here.Hi! We are booked on the 10-night Hawaii to Vancouver. We are one of the few silvers on board this sailing haha, but it will be the trip that will make us Gold! My TA could only find a GTY inside. I would really like at least an Ocean View so she will be checking for one daily.
We are so excited for this cruise. We will be celebrating our 10th anniversary in November of this year and hubby asked what I wanted and I said all I wanted was this cruise, even though we have to wait 2 years for it.
Hawaii is one of my favorite destinations, I've been there a few times as a kid and for the past 10 years we've gone once sometimes twice a year. It is hard to pick a favorite island, but for sheer beauty I'd pick Kauai and Maui, and for adventure I pick Big Island, but I really do love Oahu. We spend a lot of time there, so we are very familiar with the island. The north shore is gorgeous and we love being the only ones on some of the beaches, and not to mention the world class cuisine.
If anyone is interested, I have a couple of Hawaii trip reports on my blog...A Splash of Aloha.
Sorry it's been a while since I've updated, and it was recently hacked so please ignore all the links that say "propecia" in it - so annoying.
We are definitely more of a self-exploration type of couple, usually spending at least a week on each island so this cruise where it's only a few hours in port will be different for us. I'm a big foodie so exploring local eats is something I look forward to doing. Will we be able to rent cars for such a short time? I think Kauai is probably the only port I would think renting a car would be worth it. I know all the islands have Uber now so that is another option.
We are also on this cruise as silvers. It also is the cruise that will make us gold. I felt fortunate to get a 5A GTY because I just happened to check (again) at the right time. We are celebrating DH birthday on the first day of the cruise. I’m hoping it will ease the pain since it is a big one.Hi! We are booked on the 10-night Hawaii to Vancouver. We are one of the few silvers on board this sailing haha, but it will be the trip that will make us Gold! My TA could only find a GTY inside. I would really like at least an Ocean View so she will be checking for one daily.
We are so excited for this cruise. We will be celebrating our 10th anniversary in November of this year and hubby asked what I wanted and I said all I wanted was this cruise, even though we have to wait 2 years for it.
Hawaii is one of my favorite destinations, I've been there a few times as a kid and for the past 10 years we've gone once sometimes twice a year. It is hard to pick a favorite island, but for sheer beauty I'd pick Kauai and Maui, and for adventure I pick Big Island, but I really do love Oahu. We spend a lot of time there, so we are very familiar with the island. The north shore is gorgeous and we love being the only ones on some of the beaches, and not to mention the world class cuisine.
If anyone is interested, I have a couple of Hawaii trip reports on my blog...A Splash of Aloha.
Sorry it's been a while since I've updated, and it was recently hacked so please ignore all the links that say "propecia" in it - so annoying.
We are definitely more of a self-exploration type of couple, usually spending at least a week on each island so this cruise where it's only a few hours in port will be different for us. I'm a big foodie so exploring local eats is something I look forward to doing. Will we be able to rent cars for such a short time? I think Kauai is probably the only port I would think renting a car would be worth it. I know all the islands have Uber now so that is another option.
Hi! We are booked on the 10-night Hawaii to Vancouver. We are one of the few silvers on board this sailing haha, but it will be the trip that will make us Gold! My TA could only find a GTY inside. I would really like at least an Ocean View so she will be checking for one daily.
We are so excited for this cruise. We will be celebrating our 10th anniversary in November of this year and hubby asked what I wanted and I said all I wanted was this cruise, even though we have to wait 2 years for it.
Hawaii is one of my favorite destinations, I've been there a few times as a kid and for the past 10 years we've gone once sometimes twice a year. It is hard to pick a favorite island, but for sheer beauty I'd pick Kauai and Maui, and for adventure I pick Big Island, but I really do love Oahu. We spend a lot of time there, so we are very familiar with the island. The north shore is gorgeous and we love being the only ones on some of the beaches, and not to mention the world class cuisine.
If anyone is interested, I have a couple of Hawaii trip reports on my blog...A Splash of Aloha.
Sorry it's been a while since I've updated, and it was recently hacked so please ignore all the links that say "propecia" in it - so annoying.
We are definitely more of a self-exploration type of couple, usually spending at least a week on each island so this cruise where it's only a few hours in port will be different for us. I'm a big foodie so exploring local eats is something I look forward to doing. Will we be able to rent cars for such a short time? I think Kauai is probably the only port I would think renting a car would be worth it. I know all the islands have Uber now so that is another option.
You sound a bit like me with "something a wee bit less 'city'".
For us, we love Maui. I love the Big Island of Hawaii (where Volcanoes Nat'l Park is) and Kauai. And there are things I love about Oahu. But for us, it's Maui. Particularly if it's winter and whale season!Maui is growing, much to my chagrin, but offers a great many different experiences. Kauai is more rural and has the ethereal beauty of the Napali Coast, Princeville and Hanalei Bay. Truly lovely beyond words. Kauai also has Waimea Canyon, called the grand canyon of the Pacific. The Big Island/Hawaii has volcanoes, the most active on the planet, rainforests amazing diversity of climates and geography. The BI has the tallest mountains on the planet, higher than the Himalayas because the Hawaiian mtns. start from the sea floor! So the BI and Maui's summits make for some of the best star gazing in the world.
It would be hard to go wrong with picking any of the Hawaiian islands, but it depends on what you and yours think of when you think, "Hawaii". We go every year, and I truly and deeply love Hawaii, its' culture, its peoples and it's music, etc. I personally do not recommend more than 2 islands tops in your time frame. Travel time, even inter-island, is time consuming and will eat up much of one of your precious days. I think doing a 2 island split would work if that's what you prefer. One thing I always tell people is NOT to over schedule for a Hawaii trip (much harder to do that from a Hawaii cruise), because part of what makes Hawaii special IMO and that of many others, is to just......BE. Be still. Feel the softness of the breezes, smell the sweetness of the air. See colors you don't see anywhere else. Just soak. It. In. I promise a day or 2 of just being still on a beach or on a mountain side will give you great ROI!
Thanks for this! Yes they do go cruise by the lava flow at night, We can see the ship through sail past the trees from our lanai !!Well, let me put it this way, when you check into your two rooms (after waiting until they open them at 3 p.m.) and find filth and grime and lipstick and Scope on glasses and mugs, a puddle of maple syrup on the rug, your pamphlets stuck to the desk, hairs everywhere and the verandah door so filthy you can't see out of it, then yes -- I think one would be affected by how the ship was run. It was so bad that they sent a crew to our two rooms to take photographs and write reports. UGH The restaurant crew looked like they had slept in their clothes.
The only time in 45 years of traveling with my husband that he groaned when we had to get back on the ship at each port.
At that time it was a 100% American crew (which is so sad), but I have heard since then that they have petitioned to get permission to hire 25% foreign -- which may or may not have made a difference. This experience and our recent one on the Escape have put us off NCL and we won't be back
However, on a happier note, I will give them great kudos for the ports, sailing past the Napali Coast, the lava flow viewing at night time and the excursion vendors they used. The overnight in Maui was also a plus.
Ahh, the Merrie Monarch Hula Festival is not to be missed if you visit the Big Island later in the year!!Are you talking about Old Lahaina Luau? I assume not as most of my friends that live in Hawaii agree that OLL is the most Hawaiian luau in the islands. There are no glittery "grass skirts" like one can see at other luau. They perform the hula that was done for King David Kalakaua when he brought back hula to his people years after hula had been forbidden. All the dances are hula kahiko, with only a couple of numbers of hula auana. From hula attire to performance I would compare what I have seen at OLL much like what one could see at Merrie Monarch.
While I haven't been to the PCC, I have been to church festivals with hula which was very casual. Wonderful to see all ages of dancers in holoku dresses.
Most years I watch it live online if I can (the hours difference from HST & EDT can be killers for that! LOL), if not I watch the videos. I even order the competition DVC some years. I love, love great traditional hula! I hope to go in the next few years. 
