Saving Money

As I've mention before we are on a pretty tight budget for this trip. While we are not one of those families that you see splashing money around on useless junk on holidays, we are also not those cheap people who wont even spend a dollar. We like to have fun but in a responsible way lol

Here are some money saving tips that we have found to be very useful.

Before your holiday

Save coins

As soon as I've booked a trip I start to collect my coins. At the end of the week by purse is usually full of coins. I used to only collect $1 and $2 but i found out the silver coins were adding up much faster. In about a year since I booked my cruise I saved over $450 in coins. 

Swap currency when you get 'extra money'

As we are venturing overseas we are going to have to swap our Aussie money for USA dollars. I like to travel with a bit of cash as I can track it better than credit card purchases ( and no nasty bill to pay off at the end of the holiday) So to take advantage of the excellent exchange rate I have been swapping a bit of money as I get it. I had a friend owe me about $150 and instead of spending it on stuff I swapped it into US dollars. This will prevent me from spending it before hand and I wont need to rush about nearer to the trip.

Look for deals and Groupons

The whole buying a voucher online is quite a new thing so I haven't used it on a trip before. At the moment I am looking for voucher for activities. There's heaps of food and drink vouchers that you can purchase. I know that in Australia we had some trouble with businesses not honoring the voucher so I wouldn't spend a lot of money on them. But for reputable businesses I wouldn't hesitate. 

During the trip

Eat out less

Eating out is nice on holidays but can add up fast. We like to go to a local supermarket and stock up on breakfast things like milk, yougurt and muffins. This only costs a fraction at the supermarket compared to a cafe or restaurant. We do like to go to nice restraints so we limit ourselves to either a nice lunch or dinner. Some places are cheaper if you have dinner before a certain time so make sure you know when that is so you can plan your day. 

BYO snacks and drinks

Bottled water or cans of soda are cheaper when you buy in bulk. We like to get those 24 packs of water and 20 cans of coda boxes and keep them in our room. When we go out on tour of walking about we just bring a bottle with us for when we get thirsty. This saves us at least $4 per drink and saves us getting ripped off in touristy places. Same goes for snacks. Those little packet of chips are a great little snack that takes up hardly any space in your bag. Its great for when you are in  between meals or your not hungry enough for a full meal. We also get some bags of lollies to eat during long drives or tours.

Photography Tips and Advice

Wake up early

I'm an early riser even on vacation! Im always awake by 6am no matter how late I stay up the previous night! I like to be up on deck about 30 minutes before the ship docks in port. I love this time of morning as there are usually only a few people up on deck which means you can walk around getting a lot of nice shots without having to battle 2000 other people with cameras. Also the lighting is much nicer.

Invest in a polarised filter

A polarised filter is a must for anyone travelling with a dslr camera. They are a little pricey but they make you photographs look a million dollars. They are very simple to use; just screw on the end of you lens, then once your ready to take a photo look through your lens finder and gentle rotate the filter. You will notice the sky will go lighter and darker. Once the sky is the darkest you are ready to take your photo like normal. Remember to rotate the filter for every shot. The results are amazing and no doubt you'll be impressed. I like to remove the filter for photos with people in them as I find the result is very dark and not that nice. The filer will come with a little box to keep it in which is handy to keep in your pocket or bag.

Camera bag that does't look obvious

I was given a nice camera bag when I purchased my camera several years ago. Its lovely and comfortable however its bright red and has Canon written in large font across the front. Its ok for when i'm at home taking photos but overseas I feel like it draws a lot of attention for the wrong crowd. I had a look online for suitable bags but they all looked very obvious camera bags or were extremely expensive. A cheaper solution was to purchase a triangle shaped bag, which was padded, and put it inside of a normal handbag. My camera is nice and protected and stays nice and hidden inside my boring looking satchel bag. If you didn't want to purchase a triangle shaped bag you can also wrap your camera in a jumper or t shirt.

Use flash for people photos

It breaks my heart when i see friend's holiday photos of beautiful sunsets or landscapes and their faces are in darkness. Its simple to force the flash in all cameras now and the results are amazing. Have a look at the photos after you have taken them to make sure everyones face is in focus and bright.

Charge your batteries

Make sure you get into a habit of charging your camera batteries when you return to the room. Always bring a spare battery that is fully charged incase the battery dies suddenly.

Put your chargers in you carry on

I always like to take all my various chargers in my carry on luggage. This way I know where they are at all times and wont have to worry about if my main luggage gets lost or doesn't make the ship!

Luncbox for camera stuff

If your looking for a nice simple solution for carrying your camera charge/batteries/memory cards or makeup and jewellery just head to your local junk store and buy a $2 hard lunchbox. Its waterproof and will provide a nice strong box to protect and also store your items. Its also handy once onboard so you can locate and store all your memory cards, batteries and filters in one nice location.

Port of Call-Maui

So on our cruise we have two whole days in Maui. I've been told this is the most nicest port by several different people! To make the most of our days there I went onto Google, Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor to seek out the best plan of attack. There were so many things I wanted to do in this port and not enough time!! Aaahhh!! What to do?? After comparing and researching for weeks we have finally decided!

Day 1 - Hana Highway with Valley Isle Excursions

I likes the sound of the Valley Isle Excursions. The buses are small and they only take 12 at a time. We recently went to Melbourne and did the Great Ocean Road day trip. It was fantastic because we paid slightly extra and went on a small bus of only 13 including the guide/driver. We could easily get off the bus in less than a minute and we managed to stay ahead of the schedule all day allowing us more time once we got to The Twelve Apostles.

We wont be hiring a car at all in Hawaii and this seemed like the best option of seeing a lot of different places and not worrying about taxis or bus timetables.

The Hana Highway looks amazing. The scenery looks beautiful and i love how big the windows on the bus are. Its a very long tour but doesn't bother us- Great Ocean Road was 13 hours and we could have easily gone for a few more hours! We looked at all the reviews and there didn't seem to be too many negative reports.

I like to pick up some tips from previous travellers they are
• Wear old shoes that you wont mind getting muddy
• Bring snacks to nibble on. Lunch is included but its always nice to have a little something incase you dont like the food or start to feel light headed
• Bring some sort of travel sickness remedy. We thankfully dont suffer with motion sickness ( ignoring the time we were in a cyclone at sea and pretty much the whole ship was sick!)
• Bring water. Yes its included but I like to have my own 'stuff'
• Camera cleaning cloth. My lens is always getting mucky from the salt water splashes or sunblock. Bringing a little cloth to wipe the smudges saved me so many times ( also handy for sunglasses and glasses)


Day 2 - Haleakala Crater at Sunrise

I worried over this day for weeks! I wanted to do so many things. Finally I decided to visit the Haleakala Crater. I did plan on doing the day time tour but I got to reading so many reviews about the sunrise tour and somehow I managed to convince the others! So we are doing it. A 3am (or earlier) departure isn't really bothering me ( yet!) its just the coldness.

Temperatures can be as low as 2 degrees Celsius! Plus add in the wind and possible rain- what have we done! We've spent a week looking for thermal clothes to bring with us but where we live in Australia it doesn't really get that cold and there is nothing in the shops! I've Googled how to stay warm and what to bring and they've all said a down jacket - which isn't available in shops anywhere near here!

Here's the plan
• Jeans ( was bringing them anyway)
• Tights under the jeans ( was bringing them as relaxing clothes/ pyjamas)
• Long sleeve t shirt ( the thickest one I have)
• Cardigan ( was bringing one anyway)
• Hoodie ( was bringing it for the plane)
• Scarf, beanie and gloves ( will weigh nothing in my bag and take up no space)
• Bring a blanket from the ship ( hope they dont stop me!)

I'm also going to carry my camera and tripod with me. Am praying my hands dont freeze and I can still use all my equipment.

Originally it was just going to be myself doing the tour ( am going with NCL so everyone was happy I wasn't going to go by myself in the middle of the night) but then I showed my sister some photos and reviews and she decided to join me. Then we showed our dad and he decide to come, then my mum was going to be left by herself so she decided to come- yay! They wasn't impressed about the coldness or the departure time he he :)

Its going to be a crazy few days but hopefully it will be worth it!

Victoria- Great Ocean Road Trip- This size bus was perfect for us

Victoria- Great Ocean Road Trip- Nice country side

Victoria- Great Ocean Road Trip- Beautiful sunset

Victoria- Great Ocean Road Trip- The 12 Apostles 

Why we are cruising

When we decided to go to Hawaii our first thought was to do a land based holiday with a few day trips to the other islands. I really wanted to visit Maui while the other wanted to see the Big Island. After researching these day trip and figuring out they were over $300 each to each island we soon began to search for other options. 

A 7 night cruse on the Pride of America seemed like the ideal cruise. Stopping at 3 different islands with 2 days in Maui and Kauai- perfect! And no days at sea! 

So without any delay we booked our cruise. We would have liked a balcony cabin but with so little time spent on the ship an outside obstructed room felt like a good choice not to mention very cost effective.

Cruising is the ideal way to travel. Food is included, its safe to walk around at night or by yourself, your cabin is only a few flights of stairs away, loads of people to talk to and something is always happening! 

We've done 9 cruises since 2004 so here are my tips

* The laundry room is great for unofficial news and gossip

• Start a conversation with people in lines or when waiting for the shows or activity to start

• Organise your clothes and day bag the night before- its loads easier waking up early when you know your camera is ready to go and your clothes are laid out

• Whenever you are in your room charge your camera batteries!

* If you plan on collecting the daily newspapers bring along a plastic sleeve. This will keep them neat and tidy in your luggage.

* Book your tours before you leave and seek out an alternative activity if it gets cancelled.

* Wait till the second last day to buy any photographs from the ships photographer- they often have specials that will save you money

*Bring a spare bag to store dirty clothes

* Wake up early to see the ship sail into port

• Always bring a light jacket for nights on the ship- the air conditioning can be really cold