Hawaii Vacation Blog

Spring break in Hawaii is right around the corner so Yaling and Bruce offer some tips and advice on spring break vacations in Hawaii. They give some examples of price saving packages that are still available. They also discuss ways to save money and congratulate new customers who booked their packages today.

Aa recent study done by the Hawaii Tourism Authority concludes that visitor satisfaction seems to be slipping from the mainland and Japan. The study echoes some of the findings in a similar state survey and also seem to indicate that the trend may continue especially in the Japanese market.

Providing good customer service is essential in any business but for a travel agency located in Hawaii it's even more important. There's nothing more upsetting to us then to have a customer unhappy with their vacation experience. We take it very seriously. Since we're in Hawaii, the last call we want to get is from somebody who's getting poor customer service whether it be from airline, hotel, car rental service or activity.

In my personal experience, I have not seen any increase in customer service problems or dis-satisfaction but that doesn't mean it's not happening. It's been pretty much the same in the last five years. Since everything we do has a person behind it we get very few complaints, on the contrary, we have had an excellent record of customer service and our perfect record with the Better Business Bureau and customer testimonials reflects our excellent customer service. A perfect example of what this study is talking about just came up today. A customer contacted me and explained he had to wait six hours for room change at the property they were staying at in Maui. Even with all of our resources and abilities to troubleshoot problems, we were unable to get him moved in a timely manner. Understandably this is not our fault however, we take it very seriously and go to every length we can to make sure customers needs are met. Sometimes us travel agents who are not even responsible for the problem just get stuck in the middle.

In this gentleman's case solving the problem and then getting them upgraded went a long way to compensating him for his lost time. He also recognized in this process how having a travel agent and somebody as his advocate helped him tremendously and now appreciates everything that we have done.

In this podcast Yaling and Bruce discuss ways to save money on your airfare when traveling to Hawaii. They go over some of the more popular ways and tips to maximize your vacation dollar when traveling to Hawaii. They talk about the best time of year to travel as well is the best days to travel. They talk about a special e-mail they received and go over new customer packages that were booked today from HAT users.

What’s included and what’s not:

Food. There is no shortage of food on the Hawaii cruise ships. There are two main dining rooms, all-you-can-eat buffet, all-night diner, and 24-hour room service. There are two shows nightly, and usually specialty entertainment for adults at night in the lounges. All of the entertainment, activities and pool facilities are included in your cruise. There is optional formal night if you wish to attend. If it’s a special occasion you’ll be treated to a complementary celebration in the main dining room or your cabin.

There are their specialty restaurants on board the ship which are fine dining experiences, and us do not have the same capacity as the main dining rooms. These specialty restaurants carry a small service charge but they are well worth it, for example, Jefferson’s bistro a restaurant on the part of America is award-winning and excellent. I always advise my clients to make reservations for these restaurants committed they board the ship because they sell out quickly. You can make a reservation and then decide later not to go, always better to have that reservation. There is no gambling on any of the Hawaii ships, so no casinos and no wasted money! Hawaii doesn’t even allow bingo, maybe that’s why Las Vegas is the number one destination for people who live in Hawaii. Alcoholic beverages and sodas are also not included in your cruise price. You can purchase a soda card for $34 but I do not recommend this, have you ever tried to drink $34 worth of soda at a small glass with ice? I think you get my point.it’s important to know what’s included in what’s not included in a Hawaiian cruise. Gratuities are not included in the purchase price of the cruise however, each passenger is charged at the end of the cruise, $10 per day per person so for two people, you pay an additional $140 for gratuities. You can also tip more if you like to your purser or anyone else who has done a good job for you but it is definitely not expected. Remember this crew works on american wages, it's a all american crew.

If this is your first time visiting the islands then today's topic is for you. Yaling and Bruce discuss choosing the right Island for first time visitors and talk about things to do for the the first time visitor on each of the islands. The also review package requests from podcast listeners.

If you’re searching the net for the best price for a Hawaii Cruise then chances are you have run into lots of different pricing. In general, most of the sites you see on the Internet are not pulling from live inventory from the cruise line and only give the lead in price. The lead in price is the price before port, taxes and fees. These fees must be added to the price to get the actual cost of the cruise. Many customers call me think they can actually get these prices online but when consumers investigate further they find that the prices are a lot higher than they thought and come back to me for help. When it comes to cruises for Hawaii the best way to save money is to contact a company like us with access to live inventory and also can guarantee the lowest price. The reason we can say this so freely is that we can discount where others cannot because we do a large volume of cruises and therefore can discount and at the same time give you personal, knowledgeable, customer service that you deserve.

The other thing that we do, and any good travel agent will be aware of, is to take advantage of special pricing that comes from the cruise line. For example, if i you’re a senior (55 and over) you may be able to get a senior discount. The cruise line has many promos that travel agents can tap into such as residents rates, Gateway promos, air promos, union discounts and special air promos. All of these things should be considered and looked at before getting a final price. Another technique used to save money is to check the price before the final payment is made. Sometimes if the price goes down you can take advantage of lower price. Additionally very often the cruise line will have excess inventory and offer you an upgrade at a very low price. Again this is why using a travel agent for your cruise is a must.

Remember when searching the Internet for Hawaii cruise pricing BUYER BEWARE!.

Freshly back from their long weekend at Molokai Ranch, Yaling and Bruce review the property and talk about how they experienced staying there. They also congratulate new customer, review packages and offer commentary.

Molokai Ranch

With the exception of Oahu there's really no public transportation on any of the other islands so having a car is really the only way to get around. Many people ask me if it's really necessary to to have a car on a Oahu. In my opinion, the answer to that question is yes. It's always helpful to have a car even on Oahu because most of the time you're going to be staying in Waikiki which is a very busy metropolis with lots of action and lots of people. If you want to experience the real beauty of Oahu then it really is a good idea to rent a car and drive to the many beautiful parts of the island that you never see in Waikiki. For example, you can drive to Lani Kai Beach which is one of the most beautiful beaches in all of Hawaii or drive to the east side of Honolulu to Sandy beach or Beautiful the beautiful white sand of Waimanalu.

If you don't want to rent a car on a Oahu for financial reasons or because maybe you're underage (you need to be at least 21 years of age to rent a car in Hawaii) it is possible to have a nice experience but if you can rent a car at least some of the time while you're on Oahu, it's really a good idea. As far as the other islands go, if you cannot rent a car on Maui then you need to stay in the Lahaina area, preferably someplace near the front Street area becauce there is a lot to do and there are small shuttles to and from the hotels if you just don't have a car. There is also transportation that can be arranged from the airport to the hotels but it is a bit costly. The same goes for Kauai, however there are no shuttles anywhere however you can get by staying in the Kapaa area without a car. Likewise, on the Big Island you can survive somewhat without a car in Kona.

Having a car on any of the islands is certainly something you should consider if not making it part of your vacation for sure.