Aloha!
This will be a running commentary on the Best of Hawaii.
First, we have been to Hawaii several times over the years, the first time together was 51 years ago for our honeymoon (we were originally booked for 2024 but a surgery got in the way. I typically post many photos with my narrative, but if the first two days are any indication, there won’t be all that many this time.
We fly out of east coast airports so, had to start very early, We chose an alternate routing- rather than flying to the west coast first, we flew to Atlanta then had a non-stop flight to Honolulu with lay-flat sleeper seats. We left RDU at 0630 and since we were chasing the sun, got to HNL a little after one in the afternoon. We were the only travelers (in an Escalade) for the Tauck transfer to the Royal Hawaiian. The driver was very pleasant and informative. We remarked at how things had changed since we were last there 10+ years ago. There were a lot of people in town for the festival that runs all week. That evening Kakakaua was blocked for several blocks and filled with street vendors (mostly food) and wall to wall people.
Check-in went smoothly, though we had to wait about 30 min for our room to be ready. I need to check with our TD, but we were handed a piece of paper with bag # to ensure our bags were delivered to our room - printed on the form, it said porter gratuity not included and would be charged to our room bill. I think it was a scam but it wasn’t worth arguing about at the time, we were tired! An envelope with Tauck info and forms was waiting. We also received an email from our TD a few days earlier- only about the third time in nearly 20 tours that has happened
Our room was nice enough, though nothing special, like a room at a Hampton Inn, except for the fantastic view of the beach and Diamond Head and the Toto bidet-like toilet seat in the bathroom. Breakfast was included with the pre-stay, but if we had to pay it would have cost $93 for the two eggs, potatoes, sausage, and Coke my wife had and the bagel w/cream cheese, sausage, and OJ I had! 
The welcome dinner is tomorrow.
View from our room:
The spot on Ft Derussy where the room we stayed in on our honeymoon was located- it was an old WWII wood building for visiting officers. It came with open spring metal frame beds, anoles on the walls, etc. The Hale Koa, the military R&R hotel was under construction.
Comments
Alan, so glad you made it. Have a great time. Everybody on the forum looks forward to your report.
Surfing on Waikiki is a good morning workout for you. Easy to get out to the waves, but more difficult to get back to the beach with the currents. 😁
Have a great time Alan.
A few additional comments before the day starts- remember you mainland types are a few hours ahead of Hawaii. Hotel- our room is in a “newer” tower not the old pink palace. We have Disney-like wrist bands for payment (resort/hotel is cashless) and room access. All hotels in this area are crammed together but landscaping is beautiful are disguises that fact at ground level.
Sam, as to surfing, even if I still had the arms to do so I wouldn’t waste my time or money. The Waikiki waves are a joke, worse than those we used to surf as kids in New Jersey. They are low rise, and close out quickly so if you catch one the ride is brief. There are tons of people out there who don’t know surfing etiquette and literally wait hours for “the big one” which never comes!! Maybe it is better during a different season or there is storm off shore- this ain’t the North Shore or Makaha!
Alan - The surf is larger everyone in the islands during the Winter, especially the North Shore.
I agree that Waikiki surfing is only a 'I did it' activity. More fun would be an outrigger canoe ride or a catamaran sail.
Waves are much better in the winter months and not so much in the royal Hawaiian area. I love the pink wrist bands! Alan’s, please have a Mai tai for me tonight!
A few more comments- since it is Monday, there are a lot fewer surfers. Surprisingly, a lot of locals must “surf” here- the entire length of the walkway to Kalkaua St, between the hotels, is lined with mostly-full, locking surfboard racks.
Don’t forget to tell the maitre de you are with Tauck!! Breakfast prices are high like any resort area. Our breakfast bills for the last two mornings came to $95 for the both of us each day. We had different meals today and the price was the same as yesterday and did’t match with what was listed on the menu- a Tauck contracted amount? The menu is limited. No buffet, and prepare to wait to be seated. I’m not sure of the best time to go. The wait staff is older than you might expect, but they are excellent.
It seems the Royal Hawaiian is popular with Japanese tourist (and other Asians) who make up 50-70% of those we saw. There didn’t appear to be any group tours so far. Most were young families with two, pre-school age children per couple.
Off to the beach. Fewer surfers today. Some actually caught little waves.
If you get some free time, walk to the Halekulani Hotel and have a special adult beverage while watching the sunset! They have a beautiful orchid pool with evening entertainment!
Agree with the Halekulani comment, it is a very easy walk if you cut thru the Sheraton. The piano/jazz bar is also highly recommended. If you love great food and service, go enjoy La Mer for dinner!
We are beef folks, so are headed to Ruth’s Chris Steak House on Wednesday night.
That brings up another issue- the high restaurant prices and high number of meals on our own will increase the price of this tour considerably!!!
There's always poke at the ABC Stores!😉
I loved Liliha Bakery in International Market Place...try the mochi donuts. Took this tour in Jan. 2023. I remember rain only once, when it poured all day on one of the planned helicopter days. Hope you have better luck. Enjoy the nostalgia, Alan!
I second the trip to the Liliha Bakery, get your sweet tooth on! Aloha!
On my recent The Best of Ireland tour we only had 2 nights where we had to buy our dinner, and with one exception all the dinners we had on Tauck included wine. Very rare.