Help with excursions - HAL Zaandam 11/21

[NCTribeFan]

OK, so I started a thread asking whether anyone had used Island Marketing in Hawaii (lots of threads about them on various Caribbean boards).

 

Not a single response. Oh, but it's OK to have multiple threads about drink prices on POA or asking about the cabin doors. Guess I just don't understand why SHIP SPECIFIC threads aren't on the CRUISELINE board. :confused:

 

So let me try this again!

 

I've never been to Hawaii, and while I love planning my cruises, especially shore excursions, I've overwhelmed!

 

Many of the recommendations I see for vendors either don't mention cruise passengers or don't mention my particular ship, so I'm not sure if it is something I can even consider.

 

In general, I detest ship excursions because you spend half your time being herded around and waiting for the stragglers. And they cost way more than what you can get from an independent vendor who is dealing with smaller groups of people.

 

I'm late 50s, not terribly physically fit but not a giant fat slug either. For new ports, I tend to want to do an island-type tour to get a feel for the area and I enjoy the commentary provided by the driver/guide.

 

I'm sailing with a cousin who I don't know all that well and one of her high school friends who has mild alzheimers. They are probably around 70, so I'm not even sure yet what they might want to do. I think island tours that involve a little walking but not anything strenuous would appeal them, too.

 

Not interested in Pearl Harbor nor am I interested in renting a car and driving. While I love to drive, that's not what I want to do on vacation and have to worry about pick up and drop off. Other than Oahu, we have fairly limited time in each port.

 

Itinerary:

 

Friday 11/26 Hilo, Hawaii 8am-5pm - I think I'm going to contact Ricky's Tours and see if I can do his tour.

 

Saturday 11/27 Honolulu, Oahu 8am-11pm - Discover Hawaii Tours has a half-day island tour, and Island Marketing offers a North Shore tour that is about 4 hours. I think either of those would be nice, then I feel I need to do the obligatory luau that evening. The ship excursion is Paradise Cove Orchid Luau for $149. Is it possible to do this same excursion through an independent vendor? I see the same thing from "Adventures in Hawaii" that is $89 plus $12 roundtrip transportation from Waikiki. But then I wonder about returning to Waikiki and getting back to the ship by 10:30!

 

Sunday, 11/28, Nawiliwili, Kauai 8am-5pm - I'm not finding much in the way of independent tours. Ship offers Waimea Canyon for $42 (5 hours), which sounds reasonable, unless anyone has other ideas!

 

Monday, 11/29, Lahaina, Maui (tender port) 8am-5pm - Island Marketing offers a West Maui Island Tour, 5 hours, $60, which sounds very much like one the ship offers at $89. If I did the IM tour rather than the ship tour, that would help offset the expensive ship tour for the laua in Oahu.

 

Can anyone make any specific recommendations or provide warnings about anything I've mentioned?

 

 

I need help, people! Help me, please, help me! :p

[pizzadog]

OK, so I started a thread asking whether anyone had used Island Marketing in Hawaii (lots of threads about them on various Caribbean boards).

 

Not a single response. Oh, but it's OK to have multiple threads about drink prices on POA or asking about the cabin doors. Guess I just don't understand why SHIP SPECIFIC threads aren't on the CRUISELINE board. :confused:

 

So let me try this again!

 

I've never been to Hawaii, and while I love planning my cruises, especially shore excursions, I've overwhelmed!

 

 

Many of the recommendations I see for vendors either don't mention cruise passengers or don't mention my particular ship, so I'm not sure if it is something I can even consider.

 

In general, I detest ship excursions because you spend half your time being herded around and waiting for the stragglers. And they cost way more than what you can get from an independent vendor who is dealing with smaller groups of people.

 

I'm late 50s, not terribly physically fit but not a giant fat slug either. For new ports, I tend to want to do an island-type tour to get a feel for the area and I enjoy the commentary provided by the driver/guide.

 

I'm sailing with a cousin who I don't know all that well and one of her high school friends who has mild alzheimers. They are probably around 70, so I'm not even sure yet what they might want to do. I think island tours that involve a little walking but not anything strenuous would appeal them, too.

 

Not interested in Pearl Harbor nor am I interested in renting a car and driving. While I love to drive, that's not what I want to do on vacation and have to worry about pick up and drop off. Other than Oahu, we have fairly limited time in each port.

 

Itinerary:

 

Friday 11/26 Hilo, Hawaii 8am-5pm - I think I'm going to contact Ricky's Tours and see if I can do his tour.

 

Saturday 11/27 Honolulu, Oahu 8am-11pm - Discover Hawaii Tours has a half-day island tour, and Island Marketing offers a North Shore tour that is about 4 hours. I think either of those would be nice, then I feel I need to do the obligatory luau that evening. The ship excursion is Paradise Cove Orchid Luau for $149. Is it possible to do this same excursion through an independent vendor? I see the same thing from "Adventures in Hawaii" that is $89 plus $12 roundtrip transportation from Waikiki. But then I wonder about returning to Waikiki and getting back to the ship by 10:30!

 

Sunday, 11/28, Nawiliwili, Kauai 8am-5pm - I'm not finding much in the way of independent tours. Ship offers Waimea Canyon for $42 (5 hours), which sounds reasonable, unless anyone has other ideas!

 

Monday, 11/29, Lahaina, Maui (tender port) 8am-5pm - Island Marketing offers a West Maui Island Tour, 5 hours, $60, which sounds very much like one the ship offers at $89. If I did the IM tour rather than the ship tour, that would help offset the expensive ship tour for the laua in Oahu.

 

Can anyone make any specific recommendations or provide warnings about anything I've mentioned?

 

 

I need help, people! Help me, please, help me! :p

 

We did this cruise last year except we did have Kona included. We used Ricky's for Kona and it was excellent - and I have heard very good things about his Hilo tour too. He is very aware of the time constraints, re: getting you back to your ship on time - this is a good thing. In Kauai we did the Grand Canyon (Waimea) from the ship and it was good too although you may there are some independents that offer this. Roberts do a good tour that is pretty much the same as the one HAL offers and is probably cheaper. They are a very reputable firm so you shouldn't have a problem with them.Our concern was that it is a long way to go and if you get stuck up in that canyon for whatever reason you could be in trouble with sail-away, and since we are worry warts we didn't want to take the chance. Have a wonderful cruise.:)

[Tightwallet]

Roberts (gorabbit.com) does not do "Hal" cruise ships. This is one of the reasons there are no replies.

The other Roberts Hawaii (sister company really only does land based tours, in other words doesn't pick up from piers but rather hotels.

[NCTribeFan]

I wonder if Roberts is who HAL uses, which is why you can't book independently. I did send them an email this morning.

 

I'm just really rather surprised that I'm not finding more out there! As I said, many of the operators I've seen recommended, when I go to their websites, there is no mention of cruise passengers.

 

Guess I'm just a little confused as to why there are SO MANY threads here - and recommendations - for land-based tours. I realize some people only cruise one-way to or from Hawaii and do a lot of these tours on their own either at the beginning or end of their cruise.

 

But this is, after all, CRUISE Critic! It would be nice if there were lots of recommendations for those of us visiting Hawaii from a cruise ship! :p

 

Guess I'll email Island Marketing, since no one seems to have anything to say. I haven't used them in the Caribbean, but they seem to have a good rep on those boards. I would think they'd be fine for Hawaii, but I'd be more comfortable if I had some first-hand reports.

 

I'm just paranoid that I'll go all that way and not get "the best" and "the most for my money" you know? I don't know that I'll ever get to Hawaii again and hate to think that I'll make a mistake, excursion-wise.

 

But I do so detest ship tours! I used them exclusively on my first 1/2 dozen or so cruises. Then I discovered Cruise Critic and realized that the chances of the ship leaving you behind are miniscule. And reputable companies have insurance that will get you to the next port!

 

I've had wonderful independent excursions for so much less money that the difference pretty much covers my onboard spending.

[cruzn single]

I know you are getting frustrated but probably the reason you aren't finding what you want is that Roberts (gorabbitgo.com) is the tour company providing HAL shore excursions. We were on POA and took two Roberts tours and thoroughly enjoyed them. Polynesian Adventure Tours is the tour company providing shore excursions for NCL.

 

There will be people offering tours at the various piers. The one concrete suggestion that I would offer would be to search this section of the board for those tours that others have booked independently.

 

For Honolulu, I would suggest that you might investigate Enoa Tours because they offer several circle island tours.

 

Hope you get things worked out and enjoy your visit to wonderful Hawaii.

 

FYI, we took the Waimea Canyon (Kuaui) and a whale watching tour on Maui both with Roberts.

[Tightwallet]

Roberts (gorabbit.com) does not do "Hal" cruise ships. This is one of the reasons there are no replies.

The other Roberts Hawaii (sister company really only does land based tours, in other words doesn't pick up from piers but rather hotels.

 

 

What I meant was that Roberts doesn't do off ship excursions for individuals sorry if I was confusing you.

 

I did a search on here using " Hal" and here is a link to 2 pages you may want to read through to see if there is any info.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/search.php?searchid=18113162

[pizzadog]

:confused:

I know you are getting frustrated but probably the reason you aren't finding what you want is that Roberts (gorabbitgo.com) is the tour company providing HAL shore excursions. We were on POA and took two Roberts tours and thoroughly enjoyed them. Polynesian Adventure Tours is the tour company providing shore excursions for NCL.

 

There will be people offering tours at the various piers. The one concrete suggestion that I would offer would be to search this section of the board for those tours that others have booked independently.

 

For Honolulu' date=' I would suggest that you might investigate Enoa Tours because they offer several circle island tours.

 

Hope you get things worked out and enjoy your visit to wonderful Hawaii.

 

FYI, we took the Waimea Canyon (Kuaui) and a whale watching tour on Maui both with Roberts.[/quote']

 

On our cruise last year we took the ships excursion to Waimea Canyon and our friends took a Roberts excursion - they were not the same thing at all. Has HAL changed it's excursion provider?

[NCTribeFan]

Thanks, folks.

 

I had pretty much ruled out Roberts from the beginning when I realized that HAL wasn't listed on their website. That's why I've been doing so much more research and finding that a lot of the other recommendations here don't mention cruise pax at all!

 

Here's the link to Island Marketing's website...

 

http://hawaiicruiseexcursions.com/Index.html

 

I had hoped to avoid starting a new thread about every excursion I found interesting. :(

 

Anyone have any input about getting to/from Waikiki to do the Paradise Cove luau through someone other than the ship? Their website says it ends around 9 pm, but I have no idea how long it takes to get back to Waikiki and then how to get back to the ship. Just hate to pay $40 more per person for the ship excursion for that bit of transportation!

 

I'm assuming the ship docks at the pier by the Aloha Tower area. At least, that's what I'm guessing. HAL doesn't seem to provide any info on that. Seems that taking a bus from Waikiki to Aloha Tower is fairly simple. Just wonder what that's like at 10 pm on a Saturday night! :o

[cruzn single]

Getting from Waikiki to Aloha Tower via http://www.TheBus.org is not hard. Either a #19 or a #20 bus will take you to Aloha Tower. What time does you ship sail from Honolulu? How are you going to get to Paradise Cove for the luau? If you are using their transportation, maybe they do a pick-up and drop-off at Aloha Tower?

 

There are numerous luaus on Oahu, so don't know if you have investigate all of them? What day of the week will you be in Honolulu? I perhaps would recommend another luau, if you are there on the right day!

[Tightwallet]

Thanks, folks.

 

I had pretty much ruled out Roberts from the beginning when I realized that HAL wasn't listed on their website. That's why I've been doing so much more research and finding that a lot of the other recommendations here don't mention cruise pax at all!

 

Here's the link to Island Marketing's website...

 

http://hawaiicruiseexcursions.com/Index.html

 

I had hoped to avoid starting a new thread about every excursion I found interesting. :(

 

Anyone have any input about getting to/from Waikiki to do the Paradise Cove luau through someone other than the ship? Their website says it ends around 9 pm, but I have no idea how long it takes to get back to Waikiki and then how to get back to the ship. Just hate to pay $40 more per person for the ship excursion for that bit of transportation!

 

I'm assuming the ship docks at the pier by the Aloha Tower area. At least, that's what I'm guessing. HAL doesn't seem to provide any info on that. Seems that taking a bus from Waikiki to Aloha Tower is fairly simple. Just wonder what that's like at 10 pm on a Saturday night! :o

 

From Waikiki to Luau is approx 20 to 25 miles so at least a 30 to 45 min drive by car, by bus I would think easily double that and more.

Using taxifarefinder.com putting luau address and then a Waikiki address gives an $86 cab fare one way.

From pier to luau is $70

 

Port of Honolulu

Aloha Tower Marketplace

Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

 

As for traffic, it should not be a problem by car or cab, by bus I wouldn't chance it from luau to pier.JMO

 

There is an active thread going on the "roll call" board for your sailing 11/21 why don't you post there and see if anyone has a van going, also see what other conversations are taking place ie: other tours.

[Tightwallet]

Getting from Waikiki to Aloha Tower via www.TheBus.org is not hard. Either a #19 or a #20 bus will take you to Aloha Tower. What time does you ship sail from Honolulu? How are you going to get to Paradise Cove for the luau? If you are using their transportation' date=' maybe they do a pick-up and drop-off at Aloha Tower?

 

There are numerous luaus on Oahu, so don't know if you have investigate all of them? What day of the week will you be in Honolulu? I perhaps would recommend another luau, if you are there on the right day![/quote']

 

 

Here is their itinerary

 

DAY DATE PORT ARRIVE DEPART Sun Nov 21 San Diego, CA

5:00pm Mon Nov 22 At Sea

 

Tue Nov 23 At Sea

 

Wed Nov 24 At Sea

 

Thu Nov 25 At Sea

 

Fri Nov 26 Hilo, Hawaii, HI 8:00am 5:00pm Sat Nov 27 Honolulu, Oahu, HI 8:00am 11:00pm Sun Nov 28 Nawiliwili, Kauai, HI 8:00am 5:00pm Mon Nov 29 Lahaina, Maui, HI 8:00am 5:00pm Tue Nov 30 At Sea

 

Wed Dec 1 At Sea

 

Thu Dec 2 At Sea

 

Fri Dec 3 At Sea

 

Sat Dec 4 Ensenada, Mexico 8:00pm 11:59pm Sun Dec 5 San Diego, CA 7:00am

 

 

Sorry I did a copy and paste but it pasted it a little wanky.

[Tightwallet]

Using bus.org it will take one and half hours by bus. Usually you have to be on board 1/2 before departure. So if departure is 11:00pm and the luau gets out at 9:00 you cant do it.

 

Like Cruz'n Couple says you may want to look at another luau or bite the bullet and do the ship tour.

[NCTribeFan]

Per the Paradise Cove website, their cost is $107 which includes transportation round trip from Waikiki. Another site had $99 cost plus $12 per person round trip from Waikiki (same total price).

 

It looks like going from Waikiki to the luau location would have to pass fairly close to Alaho Tower. I guess I'll send some emails to see if we could be dropped off there on the way back, even if I had to take the bus from the pier area to the Waikiki pickup.

 

No, I wasn't intending to take the bus from the pier all the way to the Laua and back - just to and from the Waikiki pickup/dropoff point.

 

Yes, we sail at 11 pm. I think I posted our in-port hours in the original post (along with a lot of other stuff!). :D

[Tightwallet]

Yes u did post your times I had just forgot.

 

Paradise Coves picks up at all the major hotels, if you go into make a booking you will see all the hotels listed. So ask in your email which hotel is closes to the pier for pick up and then just cab it over.

 

I don't know if they will pick up at hotel when your not staying there but its worth a try. Good luck! And let us know how you made out.

[cruzn single]

For hotel pick-up Ilikai is closest to pier along Ala Moana Blvd., or just a little further and in Waikiki would be Hilton Hawaiian Village. I know that HHV you wouldn't need to be staying there, as there is a transportation area where all the buses for various transportation companies go.

 

I almost would recommend going with the ship's tour for a luau, because of your sailing at 11PM. I would definitely want to be sure to get back to the ship by 10:30 before they raise the gangway!

 

Also for tours on Oahu try Enoa Tours. They are very popular around the island, and tend to use vans or the smaller buses (rental car shuttle type buses), so it would be a more personal tour!

[NCTribeFan]

Thanks for the help, folks.

 

Yeah, I'm going to send some emails. Not sure I'll get around to it all again until next weekend. I'm just too braindead when I get home from work to want to deal with figuring it all out.

 

Maybe the offer of a nice tip to the driver would be enough to get us dropped at Alaho Tower.

 

Off to check out Enoa Tours!

[NCTribeFan]

Roberts doesn't serve Zaandam. They didn't say why. I suspect that they've been contracted through HAL and just don't advertise that.

 

So, looks like it's Ricky in Hilo, morning island tour and then the luau through the ship in Oahu (couldn't find a single half-day morning tour in Oahu or a full-day that was done early enough to do the luau).

 

Probably the ship tour to Waimea Canyon in Kauai.

 

Have emailed Island Marketing about their West Maui tour.

 

So, more ship tours than I'd like, but it is what it is. Just rather annoying to have to do the ship's luau PLUS a ship tour just because all the independents run about 30-45 minutes too long. Sigh. Oh well! It will still be fantastic, just a little more expensive than I'd hoped.

 

Unfortunately, I also was told that we all had to cut back our hours starting this week, so I won't have as much spending money as I had anticipated.

 

But you know what? I'm happy I have a job and can cruise at all, let alone 2 weeks to Hawaii! :)

[Sunny AZ Girl]

 

FYI' date=' we took the Waimea Canyon (Kuaui) and a whale watching tour on Maui both with Roberts.[/quote']

Could you tell me how you liked the Waimea Canyon tour through Robert's? We are trying to decide between that and a car rental in May. Was the tour the same as the ships and did you get to the farthest outlook point? I have heard that the ship tours just go to the closer outlook and turn around.

 

Unfortunately, I also was told that we all had to cut back our hours starting this week, so I won't have as much spending money as I had anticipated.

 

But you know what? I'm happy I have a job and can cruise at all, let alone 2 weeks to Hawaii! :)

That has happened to many of us.:( We will be doing the budget tours ourselves. But you are right, we are lucky we can still cruise! Many people are having trouble buying food and paying their mortgage or rent. We are blessed. I like your attitude.:)

 

I understand your frustration about getting tour information. Some companies may just be too new to have a reputation established or already contracted through the ship. I have also been searching for information about a company in Kauai - doing a tour called "Island's Best Tour". Their parent company is called NorthShore Limousine. I can't find any reviews good or bad anywhere. They have a more comprehensive tour that would fit into our schedule, but I am leery about going with a company with no prior reputation. Especially on a cruise, where time is so limited. Perhaps on a land tour vacation when I had more time I would feel better. They are also a lot more expensive than our other options so I will probably stick with what we know. BTW - we will be with Ricky in Hilo. I will jump to book with a small operator like him when the reviews are so overwhelming positive on this board.

[CruisingGoddess]

Just wanted to share the tour companies I'll be using next month for our cruise...

 

Oahu - Polynesian Adventures Grand Circle Island Tour (they have tours on all the islands though)

http://www.polyad.com

 

Maui - Temptation Tours Hana Picnic

http://www.temptationtours.com

 

We are also doing the Body Glovel Snorkel cruise in Kona but booked through the cruise line because they wouldn't allow us to book directly.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Just back from a 15-day Hawaii itinerary, and these were our excursions:

 

Hilo - Independent 8-hour tour with Volcano Discovery. Highly recommend these folks. In our opinion, this was the best independent tour we did:

 

http://hawaii.volcanodiscovery.com/

 

Lahaina - Ship's excursion to upcountry Maui to visit Ali'i Kula Lavendar farm (you can do this on your own), and the Tedeschi Winery at Ulupalakua Ranch, which you can also visit independently. I love Kula and the upcountry.

 

http://aliikulalavender.com/default.aspx

 

http://mauiwine.com/

 

Lahaina has a historical, fun and funky downtown. It's a great place to stroll and people-watch. Lovely views of the islands of Lana'i and Moloka'i. Then in the evening, we attended the Old Lahaina Lu'au, which we had booked independently. Outstanding.

 

http://www.oldlahainaluau.com/

 

In Honolulu, my sister did a ship's excursion called Home of the Brave WWII Battlefield Tour. You can book them independently as well. This was the ultimate experience for her on our five days in the Hawai'ian islands.

 

http://www.pearlharborhq.com/index.html

 

I visited Iolani Palace on my own, with another Cruise Critic member, where we had booked a docent-led tour. We walked there from the ship. Very worthwhile. We also walked to Chinatown, and had lunch there, and did some shopping.

 

http://www.chinatownhi.com/

 

http://www.iolanipalace.org/

 

 

On Kaua'i, we did two independent tours. The first, which I can recommend highly, was with Wings Over Kaua'i. This is a less expensive alternative to the helicopter rides. We flew on their Cessna Skyhawk 172, which I can tell you was the smallest plane in which I had ever flown! Bruce is an excellent pilot, and we had a terrific hour with him:

 

http://www.wingsoverkauai.com/

 

The afternoon tour was with Kaua'i Photo Tours, which offers an excellent way to get an island overview when you're only on Kaua'i for one day:

 

http://www.hawaiianphotos.net/Kauaitours.htm

 

 

And finally, we had booked a private sail charter in Kona with Sail Holy Grail. Unfortunately, after we had already begun our cruise, they notified us that their vessel had to be drydocked for repairs. They very generously offered to refund our deposit money and give us a complimentary land-tour as compensation. We accepted gratefully, and they gave us a marvelous six-hour private tour of the Kailua-Kona area. Next time we are in town, we'll check them out again and sail on the Holy Grail with them. These are good folks:

 

http://www.konasail.com/index.html

 

 

Hope the above helps with some ideas:)