Ask Endora


Dear Endora,

My wife and I are planning our first cruise which requires roundtrip airfare. Is it better to book our airfare through the cruise line or independently?

Craig in Colorado


Dear Craig,

First Congratulations on booking your first cruise, once onboard I know you will wonder what took you so long to go on this effortless, fun filled type of vacation. As for booking airfare, without a doubt, you will receive a better flight schedule and better pricing if you book your air independent of the cruise line. My only suggestion is to book your flights early, plan to fly to your point of embarkation at least one day prior to embarkation and pay for your tickets in full at the time you make your reservations. Be sure to purchase travel insurance to protect your investment. Incredible Journey can obtain great airfare prices and schedules through the various air consolidators they use so be sure to take advantage of that service.

Enjoy your first cruise!
   Endora



Dear Endora,

I am very interested in the volcanic creation of Hawaii. Can you give a basic explanation of how these islands were formed?

Bruce - Wyoming


Dear Bruce,

One of our agents just returned from a remarkable once in a lifetime adventure of the Big Island - Hawaii, and has explained the volcanic process in great detail to me. The answer to your question is simple, the Hawaiian Islands are being formed from a gigantic HOT SPOT (a weak spot in the Earth's crust). This spot NEVER changes even though the Pacific Tectonic Plate moves about 4 inches a year. The Hawaiian Islands are comprised of 132 islands (8 major islands and 124 smaller islands, reefs and atolls). What is very interesting is that Mauna Loa (which is a shield volcano) encompasses 1/2 the land mass of the Big Island of Hawaii and sits just shy of 14,000 feet above sea level. The ocean floor is 16,400 feet below the surface, but because of the volcanoes humongous land mass (encompassing 1/2 of the entire Big Island), the sea floor has actually been plunged an additional 26,000 feet. So, in actuality the height of Moana Loa is an amazing 56,400 feet! Making it the largest ACTIVE volcano in the WORLD!

Endora



Dear Endora,

We are planning a trip to Hawaii, specifically Kauai and would like to know what your favorite side of this island is?

Alyce - New York


Dear Alyce,

My bias is for the north shore of Kauai, to me the spectacular beauty of this side of the island is intoxicating, not to mention all the numerous unspoiled perfect beaches. But I prefer lush landscape, cascading waterfalls and a penchant for things the way they were before mass tourism spoiled the Hawaii of yesteryear.

Best regards,
   Endora