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Recent Car Rental Experiences (Kahalui, Maui; Hilo, Big Island; Nawiliwili, Kaui)


ajtraveler66
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Will be on NCL (POA) in July. And we are getting ready to make some car rental reservations. Just saw a disappointing post concerning one of the companies that I often use...so that is why I am posting this.

 

What I'm looking for is a company that provides shuttles to and from the port. Also the shorter the lines, the better once you get to their car rental area. I realize that some companies may provide better service in one port than in another.

 

Quick service will be especially important for us in Kauai. [LiHue/Nawiliwili]

 

I want relatively recent info (like within the last 2-3 months). If it's been a while, please include that info....because things can change over time [That was evident from the post that I cited above].

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My family was on POA from 6/3-6/10/17 and we rented cars in each port (except Hilo). I rented the cars through Hawaii Discount Car Rentals (except Kona). I followed a suggestion that I found from another cruiser to join the various car rental programs to get faster service. That tip did not pan out because at each car rental place there was only one employee working so it was first come first served & no special line. Maui--shuttles meet the ship. We were in & out of the car rental location quickly & on our way to Hana. Dropped the car off in the evening & took the shuttle back. Next day had to take taxi because no shuttles ran as early as we had to leave (7, I think) to get to Lahaina for our surf lessons. After the day in Lahaina we took shuttle back to port. We rented a separate car each day in Maui for 2 reasons: 1) wanted jeep for road to Hana & larger car for 2nd day (more people with us second day); 2) knew parking was going to be an issue overnight. Kona-I rented through Hertz (I am a member there) at the courtyard Marriott king kam right next to the pier. There is another rental company there too--I think dollar but I'm not sure. Best decision I made because very quick, great service & clean car. No shuttle needed. Kauai--rented at the airport. Shuttle available when ship arrived at port. Came back to port to get rest of our group and then off for the day. Returned about 9:30 pm. Street parking all full. Paid $20 in the Anchor Cove shopping center to security (short lady with security uniform in parking lot) to get overnight pass. Shopping center has a shuttle to & from ship but we walked because it is a short distance. Next morning walked back to car, drove to port to get others & we were off. Returned car at airport and took car rental shuttle back to port. The service was quick in each car rental location but tons of people on car rental shuttle first day for Kauai. Husband stood because shuttle packed so he got off first & was first in line. If not, we would have been at car rental location a long time.

 

Have fun & don't hesitate to ask other questions.

 

 

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When you parked overnight in Kauai, were you able to gain access to your rental car as early as you wanted to on Day 2 ....or did you have to wait for a specific time for that parking lot at Anchor Mall to open.

 

We are hoping we can gain access to our car as early as 6:30 a.m. But if we have to wait much later after that time, we may have to reassess our plans for the day. [Exploring northeastern beaches and having brunch at Princeville].

 

We are doing a Captain Andy's tour on Day 1, so we have to revolve our Day 1 Itinerary around that and keep ourselves relatively close to Port Allen.

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When you parked overnight in Kauai, were you able to gain access to your rental car as early as you wanted to on Day 2 ....or did you have to wait for a specific time for that parking lot at Anchor Mall to open.

 

 

 

We are hoping we can gain access to our car as early as 6:30 a.m. But if we have to wait much later after that time, we may have to reassess our plans for the day. [Exploring northeastern beaches and having brunch at Princeville].

 

 

 

We are doing a Captain Andy's tour on Day 1, so we have to revolve our Day 1 Itinerary around that and keep ourselves relatively close to Port Allen.

 

 

 

You can access your car at any time from the lot. It not a locked parking lot.

 

 

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We also reserved our cars in Maui and Kauai through Hawaii Discount Car Rental, and used Thrifty. No problem with shuttles, Parked at Anchor Cove in Kauai. We used Dollar in Kona at Kingcam. A little more $ than the airport, but well worth the convenience.

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  • 10 months later...

When you rent a car do you have to take a shuttle from the port to the airport. Or do you rent a car and they deliver it to you at the port and pick up?

 

Which companies provide shuttle service

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When you rent a car do you have to take a shuttle from the port to the airport. Or do you rent a car and they deliver it to you at the port and pick up?

 

Which companies provide shuttle service

 

You will have to take the rental agency's shuttle from the ship to the airport, but on Maui that means only about three miles. As to shuttle service, most companies do offer it here, but you would be best to check with your agency to confirm that fact.

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  • 2 weeks later...

We rented through DiscountHawaii in Kauai and Maui. The Discount agent can tell you if there is a shuttle. In Kauai, we planned to keep the car overnight but decided to turn it in at the end of the first day because it seemed our second day would be only getting to the airport to turn it in. We did not have information about parking at the shopping center.... like who to pay and where to park. We did not want to just leave it there somewhere. We also had to overcome the confusion caused by the fact that there are three shopping centers. Remember the name Anchor Cove if you are looking for a shuttle. The shuttle drivers to the other malls will say yes they are going to the mall.....without specifying which one. Also, pay attention and write it down when they tell you how late the shuttle runs.....you can come back an hour too early if you forget if they said 7 pm or 8 pm. And rent a car that is upscale enough to have a number of USB ports. We had two cars that had one. One had a non-functioning cigarette lighter. We had to use our portable chargers to keep phones working. I do recommend the Shaka Guide app.

Edited by Lucky Granny
omitted something important.
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Enterprise is a 0.6 mile walk between the cruise terminal (130 Ala Luina St, Kahului, HI 96732) & their rental office:

 

 

 

Enterprise Rent-A-Car

 

40 Hana Hwy, Kahului, HI 96732

 

 

 

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Norwegian+Cruise+Line,+130+Ala+Luina+St,+Kahului,+HI+96732/Enterprise+Rent-A-Car,+Hana+Highway,+Kahului,+HI/@20.8941441,-156.4639168,17z/data=!4m8!4m7!1m2!1m1!1s0x7954d2d07a56c67b:0xf99f2146108205c3!1m2!1m1!1s0x7954d2db34e38f43:0xad797f3db9c8bea1!3e0

 

 

 

We used this location and it worked out great. Here is a video of the walk back so you can see it is very close and what to expect.

 

 

 

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We used this location and it worked out great. Here is a video of the walk back so you can see it is very close and what to expect.

 

 

If a picture is worth a thousand words then your video is worth ten thousand words...mahalo.

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Last year when we were on the Explorer in Lahaina, Maui we had a horrible experience with a rental car. We had a reservation with Enterprise and we got an email after we left Sydney Australia that they were no longer coming to the port to pick up passengers. You would have to take a taxi.

 

So we switched to Alamo. Bad choice

 

We got the first tender and hoofed it to where the shuttle was to pick us up.

They had one small shuttle and they were only taking one person per reservation to their off site office up in Kaanapali.

Needless to say there were ALOT of ANGRY people at the dock. They left a lot of people in the dust.

It took almost an hour for my husband to come back to pick me up (they had only one person behind the counter and one to get the cars) only to drive back up to the north where we wanted to go.

Plus they closed early (4:30) and there is no way to return the car if you don't make it in time when they close.

 

Not recommended. AT. ALL!!

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We used this location and it worked out great. Here is a video of the walk back so you can see it is very close and what to expect.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

If a picture is worth a thousand words then your video is worth ten thousand words...mahalo.

 

I fully agree with Astro Flyer. Mahalo!

 

Were you able to tell what the closest hubby would be able to get to pick me up or drop me off if he went out to get the car and then came back to pick me up? I don't want to waste my knees on getting out of the cruise port. ;)

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I fully agree with Astro Flyer. Mahalo!

 

Were you able to tell what the closest hubby would be able to get to pick me up or drop me off if he went out to get the car and then came back to pick me up? I don't want to waste my knees on getting out of the cruise port. ;)

 

If you happen to have a lightweight travel wheelchair and your husband feels like pushing you, he can take you with him to the car rental agency. The ground is level and paved and you can take your time. If not, you might be able to meet him where the taxis and excursion busses go (different direction than the walkway, but closer). Please ask your TA about that, as we are not sure whether it will be allowed or not. If that works for them, be sure and get specific directions to the area as the street leading to it is easy to miss (but hardly impossible).

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In Kona, do not rent from the airport. You will pay to take a taxi both ways (approximately $20 each way), and about a 20-30 minute drive. There is a hotel right across from the port, King Kamehameha. They rent cars. A little more expensive but with the taxi fee and valuable time it’s worth it. This was 2 years ago so definitely look it up.

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Thanks all for the info. Does anyone have experience renting at Hilo?

 

Each time we’ve rented cars in Hilo using Costco Travel to book rental cars from the off-airport Enterprise office which at under $40 was about 1/3 cheaper than at their airport location. They provide a shuttle for the short ride to their location which is on the road to VNP. Even the times we’ve gone north to places such as Akaka Falls it’s convenient from their rental office.

 

I compare various car rental sites including the frequently mentioned Discount Hawaii site and each time Costco has easily resulted in the lowest total price.

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We rented from Dollar at the airport on Kauaii with the intention of keeping the car overnight to avoid having to be back early to turn it in and also to be able to drive around a bit the next morning before our early departure on the POA. The agent at the desk told me we could park it either at Anchor Mall or the airport and that we would have to pay at either place. I did not, nowever, get more info about where to park at the mall and who to pay. We did try to park there but could not find anyone to pay or a specific place designated for rental parking, so we left to go park at the airport. Some folks are braver than we are and they just leave their rental cars there at the mall and hope to find them again in the morning. On another thread on this board, I read a post from someone who had called the police station in Lihue and was told cars parked at the mall are sometimes towed. So you need to get more information if you plan to do that. On the way to the airport to park, we realized that we would spend the next morning getting to the airport just to turn in our car, so we just turned it in that night and forfeited the next day. We were even in time to catch the last shuttle (8 pm) back to the ship.

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  • 2 months later...

 

 

This looked like a real good option for us. We will be on the Celebrity Solstice and planning to rent a car for a day for Sunday-Sept. 30th. When I checked the website I noticed they only open till noon on Saturday & Sunday.

 

The airport locations are open late. I noticed reading they have a shuttle from the port to the airport. Airport does not look far from the port, has anyone ever just uber over to the airport and return to the ship via uber after dropping it off? Do they have uber in Maui?

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Just a general suggestion if you use the car rental shuttle vans to get to their office, sit in the front. One of the times we stopped in Maui I was not thinking and got in the back on the van. So of course I was the last off the van then the last in line and as pointed out there was only one employee at the desk. I think that mistake cost me the better part of an hour in line. :eek:

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This looked like a real good option for us. We will be on the Celebrity Solstice and planning to rent a car for a day for Sunday-Sept. 30th. When I checked the website I noticed they only open till noon on Saturday & Sunday.

 

The airport locations are open late. I noticed reading they have a shuttle from the port to the airport. Airport does not look far from the port, has anyone ever just uber over to the airport and return to the ship via uber after dropping it off? Do they have uber in Maui?

 

You might want to call and see if they have different hours when another ship is in port. The POA docks on Sunday, but doesn't leave until Monday afternoon so almost everyone keeps their cars for 2 days.

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Just a general suggestion if you use the car rental shuttle vans to get to their office, sit in the front. One of the times we stopped in Maui I was not thinking and got in the back on the van. So of course I was the last off the van then the last in line and as pointed out there was only one employee at the desk. I think that mistake cost me the better part of an hour in line. :eek:

Which rental company was this? I'd like to avoid one that only has 1 employee on cruise day.

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This looked like a real good option for us. We will be on the Celebrity Solstice and planning to rent a car for a day for Sunday-Sept. 30th. When I checked the website I noticed they only open till noon on Saturday & Sunday.

 

The airport locations are open late. I noticed reading they have a shuttle from the port to the airport. Airport does not look far from the port, has anyone ever just uber over to the airport and return to the ship via uber after dropping it off? Do they have uber in Maui?

 

The Enterprise location you are looking at is in Kahului. Your ship will be tendering into Lahaina, which is on the other side of the island. You will need to check for rental car information in Lahaina. As far as we can tell by checking Lahaina cruise ship schedules, there will not be any other ships there that day.

Edited by Silver Sweethearts
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The Enterprise location you are looking at is in Kahului. Your ship will be tendering into Lahaina, which is on the other side of the island. You will need to check for rental car information in Lahaina. As far as we can tell by checking Lahaina cruise ship schedules, there will not be any other ships there that day.

 

Thank you Silver Sweethearts. You are right, we will be putting into port at Lahaina. I checked with Enterprise website and the have locations at Kapalua West Maui Airport (about 7 miles away-12 minute drive) & on Kaanapali Pkwy. The Kaanapali Pkwy location is only open till noon on Sunday but the airport location opened till 430p, so that will work. I will give them a call tomorrow and see what they can do on picking us up (Enterprise does this, at least my experience here on the mainland).

 

Have a question Silver Sweethearts, seeing your from Maui? Having car from 10 to 330 on a Sunday, what highlights would you suggest? Thanks Alan aka Banjo

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