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klangel
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DH and I will be on Radiance of the Seas on 9/8/17. We have never been to Hawaii so we are very excited. While on the ship will it sail near any active volcano? If so, when does it sail by the volcano and where should we stand on the ship? If we don't sail by a volcanco, which port (Lahaina, Hilo, Kona, Nawiliwili) should I book an excursion? I am looking into the cruise ship tour with Mary Lou for Hilo but afraid some of the stops will be too much stress for my DH. Has anyone done this with cruise ship tour with Mary Lou? Is there lots of walking, climbing? And was the tour worth $85 per person? Or should I wait till we get off the ship and try to book something then? We are interest in seeing an active volcano, black sand beach and a waterfall.

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Very surprised to hear that Mary Lou's Big Island Tours is now apparently contracted with a cruise line to provide tours. The price you mentioned seems to be just about the price we paid a few years ago by booking it direct with Mary Lou herself, and they picked us up at the port. If true, the cruise line is not getting much profit, which is not the norm for them, as the cruise line profit is sometimes as much as $100 per ticket which would make the tour $185 pp no $85.

 

Unless they have changed how they do things, each of their tours was conducted by either Mary Lou, husband Ken or son Kyle in small vehicles holding about 6 passengers. This adds up to about 18 tours sold on a single port day. It doesn't seem to fit the mold for cruise ship tours which can usually accommodate many more people for a single tour.

 

Where are you getting the info that the ship's tour is with Mary Lou? The charm of Mary Lou's tour was that it was like being taken around to see the sights by family, and it was somewhat customizable. If they are now hiring out guides for several more vehicles, or one big one, I don't know if I would even book it!

 

As far as your question about the walking and climbing, most of the tour was very easy, depending on the sights you wished to see. The most strenuous part would probably be the walk through the Lava Tube, not a big deal for most, but booking private allowed you to discuss with them any physical limits which needed to be considered. Was it worth the money then? Absolutely. Is it still? I don't know.

 

But, do not wait to get off the ship to book something. There are no tour vendors lined up selling tours like they are in the Carribbean.

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Very surprised to hear that Mary Lou's Big Island Tours is now apparently contracted with a cruise line to provide tours. The price you mentioned seems to be just about the price we paid a few years ago by booking it direct with Mary Lou herself, and they picked us up at the port. If true, the cruise line is not getting much profit, which is not the norm for them, as the cruise line profit is sometimes as much as $100 per ticket which would make the tour $185 pp no $85.

 

Unless they have changed how they do things, each of their tours was conducted by either Mary Lou, husband Ken or son Kyle in small vehicles holding about 6 passengers. This adds up to about 18 tours sold on a single port day. It doesn't seem to fit the mold for cruise ship tours which can usually accommodate many more people for a single tour.

 

Where are you getting the info that the ship's tour is with Mary Lou? The charm of Mary Lou's tour was that it was like being taken around to see the sights by family, and it was somewhat customizable. If they are now hiring out guides for several more vehicles, or one big one, I don't know if I would even book it!

 

As far as your question about the walking and climbing, most of the tour was very easy, depending on the sights you wished to see. The most strenuous part would probably be the walk through the Lava Tube, not a big deal for most, but booking private allowed you to discuss with them any physical limits which needed to be considered. Was it worth the money then? Absolutely. Is it still? I don't know.

 

But, do not wait to get off the ship to book something. There are no tour vendors lined up selling tours like they are in the Carribbean.

 

It looks like they are just calling them "cruise ship tours" on the site, but are booked directly through the link below. The price on their site is $85. I'm guessing that's what the OP meant.

 

So with that in mind, sounds like the tour is worthwhile? We're considering a tour in Hilo instead of renting a car. Mostly want to see the lava tube/volcanic park.

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It looks like they are just calling them "cruise ship tours" on the site, but are booked directly through the link below. The price on their site is $85. I'm guessing that's what the OP meant.

 

So with that in mind, sounds like the tour is worthwhile? We're considering a tour in Hilo instead of renting a car. Mostly want to see the lava tube/volcanic park.

 

Well, that's a relief! Glad to hear they are still a private tour.

 

Based on our experience in Hilo with Mary Lou, and in Kona with Kyle, as well as their great reviews here and on a trip Advisor, the tour is well worth the money. After full days touring ourselves around Maui and Kauai, we were ready to sit back and let someone else do the work. If you contact them by email, they will respond with a list of possible sites to visit in Hilo. If I had a do over in Hilo, I would see if we could drop the coffee "processor", the orchid place, and the Mac Nut store and substitute another scenic site or two. The processor was time consuming, and really not that worthwhile IMO. You really don't get to see any of the actual processing, just some talk and a tasting. Also, the orchid place is just a huge warehouse full of orchids. Akaka Falls is something we did not get to see, and I'd ask if that could be substituted for those two. Everything else, the VNP, tube, steam vents, Rainbow Falls, Black Sand Beach ( turtles ), was great.

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