please help

[GOcanucksGO]

Hi, on my way to hawaii on the golden in nov

just a couple of questions

1. are the shore excursions expensive if i arrange them from shipboard or should i do this on my own - was planing to do the "mauna loa chocolate macadamia nuts tour" in hilo and also some "parasailing" and "jet sking" in maui

 

2. what are some really nice factory outlets and malls that have brand name clothes near and around ports we will vist

 

thanks

[jjduck]

I believe non-ship tours are generally less expensive. If you will have a car on the Big Island, you can easily visit the macadamia factory on your own. Try a search on this board for parasailing and jet skiing; there should be lots of helpful info.

 

In Kahului, Maui the Queen K. mall has large dept. stores. Sorry, I'm not up to speed on malls on the other neighbor islands. I do know shuttles take visitors to Hilo Hattie's and Walmart has a nice Hawaiian section (also good for inexpensive and nice souveniers). We were in Kona recently and their Target store looked pretty good. But, as you can tell, I'm not a shopper!:)

 

A bit off topic, but if I may.....We were in your wonderful city for the Vancouver Sun Run on May 9th. Wow! the most organized race (53,000 of us!) with the nicest volunteers. We love your city for friendliness and so clean. At the start, the race director gave the usual "blessings" and then said he couldn't resist saying "Go Canucks!!!" That was a great memory.

 

Okay, back to cruising. I know others will be able to answer you.

 

Aloha,

Noreen.

[CruisingGoddess]

I agree with jjduck. Look for private companies for the activities and look into renting a car and doing some of the tours on your own.

[GOcanucksGO]

good 2 hear you had fun noreen, yea that time the canucks were still alive and the buzz was in the city, now we gotta wait till next year......also in honululu how far are the outlets from the port???

the tax is alot here in vancouver so i jus want to get some shopping done...

thanks

 

Sagar

[ladykiane]

On Oahu, you can find name brand clothing at Ala Moana Shopping Center, Pearlridge Shopping Center and the Waikele Outlet Mall.

[jjduck]

Sagar,

 

Oh my, I forgot about my hometown. LOL! You can get to Ala Moana shopping center by bus from the pier. The bus stop is a very short walk from either pier. OR, if you wish, you can walk there in about 20-30 minutes and catch the bus back with all your purchases. Sears has a pretty good Hawaiian collection. I'm pretty sure the bus # is 22 going to the mall and "airport" coming back to the pier. But you can google TheBus for better information.

 

Waikele is about a half hour drive and it is a true outlet mall. Pearl Ridge is in the same direction, about half the distance.

 

BTW, there's a good sized Macy's department store in Waikiki (this is not at the port though).

 

Have fun!

 

Noreen.

[GOcanucksGO]

Sagar,

 

Oh my, I forgot about my hometown. LOL! You can get to Ala Moana shopping center by bus from the pier. The bus stop is a very short walk from either pier. OR, if you wish, you can walk there in about 20-30 minutes and catch the bus back with all your purchases. Sears has a pretty good Hawaiian collection. I'm pretty sure the bus # is 22 going to the mall and "airport" coming back to the pier. But you can google TheBus for better information.

 

Waikele is about a half hour drive and it is a true outlet mall. Pearl Ridge is in the same direction, about half the distance.

 

BTW, there's a good sized Macy's department store in Waikiki (this is not at the port though).

 

Have fun!

 

Noreen.

 

loll thats ok noreen

[GOcanucksGO]

Hi, on my way to hawaii on the golden in nov

just a couple of questions

1. are the shore excursions expensive if i arrange them from shipboard or should i do this on my own - was planing to do the "mauna loa chocolate macadamia nuts tour" in hilo and also some "parasailing" and "jet sking" in maui

 

2. what are some really nice factory outlets and malls that have brand name clothes near and around ports we will vist

 

thanks

 

can anyone help me on my 1st question please?

[GOcanucksGO]

???

[cruzn single]

As a general rule, shore excursions are more expensive if you arrange them through the ship, however, by doing that, you are assured you won't get "left" if the excursion is late returning.

 

For most excursions, you can arrange privately. I would suggest looking through various posts about shore excursions and what people have arranged themselves, and what they have arranged through their ships. I am not familiar with which company your ship will be doing for their excursions in Hawaii, so don't want to recommend one company or another.

 

In Hawaii, it is easy to rent cars and "do your own thing" if that is something that would meet your needs. Lots of info just by doing a search.

[jjduck]

Hi Sagar,

 

Try the search feature on this board to see if anything grabs you. I started with "macadamia nut factory tour" and there were a couple of posts about using a tour guide named Ricky. They seemed pleased, but I have no idea how accurate the info is (you know how that goes!). Try the same for your other interests. Then I looked at Tripadvisor for the heck of it and the reviews for the madadamia factory were sketchy: factory video wasn't working, not much in the way of free samples, not worth it. I guess it just depends on how lucky or not the visitor is that day, like for any outing. I've been there eons ago and it was a cute place to see the trees and raw nuts and processing and all, but maybe not on the top of a visitor's list, unless you happen to be in the area. It's so subjective, isn't it?

 

Has Princess shown their prices for ship tours? I'm with the others in that the ship tours will generally be higher cost. Maybe you could google for tour information (not by Princess) and then compare the prices.

 

Of course the best way is to rent a car and see what you want, for how long you want and at your own pace.

 

Hope this helps and in any event, have fun when you get here!

 

Noreen.

[GOcanucksGO]

thanks again Noreen, the tour doesnt sound like a must do

lol but still have to buy the chocolate and eat it...

thanks again

 

Sagar

Sagarlal7@gmail.com