Iolani Palace after cruise??

[smrtypnts]

In looking at a map, I can see that going to Iolani Palace after disembarking the cruise ship might be optimum in terms of not going back and forth--so with that in mind, am I right? And if I am, what would or could we do with our luggage? We are going to be staying at HHV for a night after the cruise, but would it be smarter to head back to Waikiki and check in and drop off our luggage or would it be smarter to maybe pay and leave the luggage at the pier, visit Iolani Palace and then go back to the pier to pick up the luggage and then head to HHV? You can only take a guided tour until 11am. So if I disembark the ship around 9am, would I have enough time to go to HHV and then back to Iolani Palace? UGH...such decisions!!! LOL

All help is gratefully accepted. :):)

[annecolorgreen]

I'm struggling too. Right now, I think I'm going to try and disembark as soon as possible and head over to get my rental car, drop off luggage at the hotel, and then go to Pearl Harbor. I would love to get to Iolani Palace, but I don't think it's going to happen :(.

[smrtypnts]

I'm struggling too. Right now, I think I'm going to try and disembark as soon as possible and head over to get my rental car, drop off luggage at the hotel, and then go to Pearl Harbor. I would love to get to Iolani Palace, but I don't think it's going to happen :(.

Fortunately for me, I am going into Honolulu 3 days before the cruise, so I plan to do Pearl Harbor one of those days. There's no doubt in my mind, that if I had to make a choice between Pearl Harbor and Iolani Palace, Pearl Harbor would win. But I am going to be there from mid afternoon on Wednesday and not leaving until late night on Sunday, so I'll have 3 days before embarkation and 2 days after disembarkation. :):D

[Tightwallet]

The palace is almost across the street from the pier (not quite but extremely close) then there are 6/7other sites/statues to see in the area all within walking distance, sorry but I don't have the list. You can also either walk to or take a cab to china town and vice versa for coming back.

 

I would check your luggage in at the pier 5/6 bucks a bag a do some walking around. You probably won't be able to check in till later anyway so you might as well save the time and fare going to HHV and back.

[Tightwallet]

hERE IS A LINK TO A GOOD READ ON THE AREA AND COVERING SOME OTHER THINGS TO SEE IN AREA.

 

http://gohawaii.about.com/cs/oahuactivities/a/oahuattractions_2.htm

[smrtypnts]

The palace is almost across the street from the pier (not quite but extremely close) then there are 6/7other sites/statues to see in the area all within walking distance, sorry but I don't have the list. You can also either walk to or take a cab to china town and vice versa for coming back.

 

I would check your luggage in at the pier 5/6 bucks a bag a do some walking around. You probably won't be able to check in till later anyway so you might as well save the time and fare going to HHV and back.

Thanks for confirming what I thought was probably the best thing to do. And thanks for the link too!!

[deckgirl]

hi! just a tip to check to make sure the palace will be open on the day you want to tour. we didn't think about this and found it closed on mondays - oops!

hope it works into your schedule - it looked amazing!!!!

[indy71]

smrtypnts, I was on the 8/14 cruise, and we went to the Iolani Palace after disembarking. It is about 6 blocks away from the pier. They have lockers at the Palace that will hold carryon-sized luggage for a quarter. They also told me that I could store luggage that wouldn't fit in the lockers in a locked area in the ticket booth. We didn't use the ticket booth storage because we were going to the airport afterwards and didn't want to handle our luggage so many times. We used Aloha Airport Delivery and Storage to pick our bags up at the pier and store them at the airport. This probably won't work for you since you're going to HHV after. But you might want to consider storing your luggage at the Palace. We did store our carryons in their lockers. I found out about this when I emailed them for the guided tour reservations. I asked several questions about luggage storage, and they got back to me in a day or two, if you want to confirm.

[Lionesss]

Just wanted you to know that there is a vendor that sells hotdogs across the street from the palace. Quite good as a matter of fact. So if you need a quick snack, visit her. She is a local.

 

Safe travels.

[smrtypnts]

smrtypnts, I was on the 8/14 cruise, and we went to the Iolani Palace after disembarking. It is about 6 blocks away from the pier. They have lockers at the Palace that will hold carryon-sized luggage for a quarter. They also told me that I could store luggage that wouldn't fit in the lockers in a locked area in the ticket booth. We didn't use the ticket booth storage because we were going to the airport afterwards and didn't want to handle our luggage so many times. We used Aloha Airport Delivery and Storage to pick our bags up at the pier and store them at the airport. This probably won't work for you since you're going to HHV after. But you might want to consider storing your luggage at the Palace. We did store our carryons in their lockers. I found out about this when I emailed them for the guided tour reservations. I asked several questions about luggage storage, and they got back to me in a day or two, if you want to confirm.

Oh thank you so much!!!! This is absolutely perfect!! I will utilize their storage area. I really appreciate this insight.

[smrtypnts]

Just wanted you to know that there is a vendor that sells hotdogs across the street from the palace. Quite good as a matter of fact. So if you need a quick snack, visit her. She is a local.

 

Safe travels.

My DH LOVES hotdog snacks!!! He will be thrilled. Plus, it's a cheap lunch and we can disembark the ship at our leisure...go straight to Iolani Palace and not feel rushed to get rid of the luggage so we can go eat lunch. Thank you!!

[jagoffee]

smrtypnts, I was on the 8/14 cruise, and we went to the Iolani Palace after disembarking. It is about 6 blocks away from the pier. They have lockers at the Palace that will hold carryon-sized luggage for a quarter. They also told me that I could store luggage that wouldn't fit in the lockers in a locked area in the ticket booth. We didn't use the ticket booth storage because we were going to the airport afterwards and didn't want to handle our luggage so many times. We used Aloha Airport Delivery and Storage to pick our bags up at the pier and store them at the airport. This probably won't work for you since you're going to HHV after. But you might want to consider storing your luggage at the Palace. We did store our carryons in their lockers. I found out about this when I emailed them for the guided tour reservations. I asked several questions about luggage storage, and they got back to me in a day or two, if you want to confirm.

 

Did you walk to the Palace? Did it look like you could take a bus from the Pier area to the Palace?

 

We are staying in Oahu four days prior to our cruise. Instead of going to the Palace from our hotel, after reading this thread I was thinking about checking in on the ship and then departuring sometime in the afternoon to visit the Palace. Since the ship does not leave until late, we would certainly have a lot of time. Does that make sense?

 

Also, is there a supermarket where we might be able to pick up some bottled water, CF Diet soda, and wine? How far is the Walmart? Since we will have a bus pass, we could easy take a bus if there is someplace close for last minute shopping. Some flowers also might be nice.

 

Thanks.

[indy71]

jagoffee, yes, we did walk to the palace. It was about 6 blocks. We didn't look for a bus because it was a short walk. It is doable on embarkacation day; I would just make sure you get to the ship fairly early. You have to get to the palace and back, and you should allow a couple of hours if you go on a guided tour, watch the short movie and look around a bit. The guided tours on Saturdays are only offered between 9 and 11:15, so keep that in mind, as well. If you want a self-guided tour, you have more flexibility with the time. For a guided tour, reservations are recommended; the web site is www.iolanipalace.org. The other time consideration is the safety drill. which has been at 4:30 on most cruisers' itineries. They do take attendance for that.

 

I don't know about shopping, but I have seen posters who mentioned an ABC store close by, a Walmart shuttle and bus information. If you do a search of this board, you should be able to find info about that.

[jagoffee]

Indy71,

 

Thank you for the information. Our ship departs on a Friday and does not depart until 9PM, so time will not be an issue.

[indy71]

jagoffee, sorry, I forget that everyone's not on POA. I hope you enjoy the palace.

[Tightwallet]

Correction to times. The guided tours are from 9 to 11:15 and go every 15 minutes.

 

You have to look at it closely otherwise it does look like there are only 2 tours on Saturday's.

[Tightwallet]

As for shopping, unless something has been built since Jan 2008 there is nothing close by.

 

Because you are traveling by bus I would pick it up at an ABC store.

 

As for flowers I have read here that there are booths set up selling leis in the terminal but we never saw them, if they are there they should have flowers.

In 2008 we shopped Aloha Towers for flowers for cabin and there was none so we walked to Chinatown and cabbed it back.

However upon embarking we saw a sign in the ship store selling arrangements for $10 yes your reading it right! So even if they are $15 now they are still cheap.

 

So I asked to speak to mgr and she said yes $10 she said they stop at next port which was Hilo and the terminal is loaded with flower vendors, she said you can buy the same arrangement from them for the same price so we did just that, $10 bucks for a nice table top small arrangement using the tropical flowers that we pay an arm and a leg for at home. We went off ship first thing, grabbed an arrangement took it back to cabin then back off ship for excursion and it was that quick because most cruisers are not prepared or they say they will pick them up on way back but chance's are there isn't anything left at end of day.

 

Now chance's are you are not doing the same itinerary as we are, we hit Hilo the next day but I believe there are only two sailings with this itinerary. We are also doing b2b cruises.

[CruisingGoddess]

Correction to times. The guided tours are from 9 to 11:15 and go every 15 minutes.

 

You have to look at it closely otherwise it does look like there are only 2 tours on Saturday's.

 

For this reason, we are taking the guided tour of the Palace before boarding POA. We need to pick up our rental car when we disembark and didn't want to rush off the ship or miss the tours.

 

Did you walk to the Palace? Did it look like you could take a bus from the Pier area to the Palace?

 

We are staying in Oahu four days prior to our cruise. Instead of going to the Palace from our hotel, after reading this thread I was thinking about checking in on the ship and then departuring sometime in the afternoon to visit the Palace. Since the ship does not leave until late, we would certainly have a lot of time. Does that make sense?

 

Also, is there a supermarket where we might be able to pick up some bottled water, CF Diet soda, and wine? How far is the Walmart? Since we will have a bus pass, we could easy take a bus if there is someplace close for last minute shopping. Some flowers also might be nice.

 

Thanks.

 

Others have said they walked to the Palace from the ship.

 

These are places you can buy water, soda, and wine but they are in Waikiki:

 

Walmart: 700 Keeaumoku Street, Honolulu, HI 96814

Safeway: 888 Kapahulu Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96816-1495. Open 24 hours

[pizzalady1]

So I asked to speak to mgr and she said yes $10 she said they stop at next port which was Hilo and the terminal is loaded with flower vendors, she said you can buy the same arrangement from them for the same price so we did just that, $10 bucks for a nice table top small arrangement using the tropical flowers that we pay an arm and a leg for at home. We went off ship first thing, grabbed an arrangement took it back to cabin then back off ship for excursion and it was that quick because most cruisers are not prepared or they say they will pick them up on way back but chance's are there isn't anything left at end of day.

 

In the Hilo terminal, you can pick out and pay for what you want as you disembark and they will have it delivered to your stateroom.

[jagoffee]

Thank you to everyone for the great advice.

[smrtypnts]

Thank you so very much to everyone for all the advice. :)

[jagoffee]

Since I was staying precruise in Waikiki, I just decided to visit the Palace today instead of the day that we board. I took a bus to and from and enjoyed the tour. I did find out that they have a concert every Friday at noon if anyone is interested.

 

I beleive that the tour will get better each year as they are able to furnish it. I was a little surprised as to how empty it was in some rooms. I can understand why it takes a long time.

 

Although we found it interesting and enjoyable I am not sure that it belongs on the top of the list of things to visit. I will try Bishop Museum next time I am in this area.

 

I walked to the K-Mart from Hilo Hatties to pick up some bottled water and CF Diet soda. I think I just pick up the wine at an ABC store instead of making a special trip. This place tends to make you relax and be mellow.

[indy71]

Quote:

Originally posted by jagoffee:

Although we found it interesting and enjoyable I am not sure that it belongs on the top of the list of things to visit.

 

I agree with you, jagoffee, that there are many things to visit on Oahu that I would probably put ahead of the Iolani Palace. That being said, I loved finding some place interesting to visit with the extra 2 hours that we had before our flight. It kept us from sitting at the airport for so long, and I would go to great lengths to avoid that.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I think going to Chinatown and the Iolani Palace before embarkment would be a nice way to spend the morning and early afternoon. Is it easy to check our luggage onto the ship early? Does anyone know how early we can do this? Or do we need to check on completely (board and then leave again) first?

 

Also, I see the non-guided tours go until 4 PM on Saturdays, according to their website. Is there a huge advantage to the docent tour? For 6 of us the $8 difference would be a savings of $48. Plus, we would not have to be there quite so early as with the docent tour.

[indy71]

Quote:Sunny AZ Girl

I see the non-guided tours go until 4 PM on Saturdays, according to their website. Is there a huge advantage to the docent tour? For 6 of us the $8 difference would be a savings of $48. Plus, we would not have to be there quite so early as with the docent tour.

 

Sunny AZ Girl, I really liked the guided tour, but I haven't done the self-guided tour, so I can't compare them. My DM liked this (docent-led) experience better than the self-guided tour she had done many years ago, but they've found many more furnishings to add to the rooms since then, so, again, it's hard to compare. The timing issues and the price difference make this a tough decision. IMO, it's a beautiful palace, with a lot of interesting history, and I hope you enjoy it, whichever way you see it!