Hawaii ports and rental cars

[dfb]

So, my cruise is next spring and I have been investigating renting cars at each port. I am finding fees in in the $150-$200 range for 6-10 hour days of rental. Does that sound about right to anyone who has done this? I am positive I have never paid over $100 per day for a rental car before. Also, I have only been checking from airports because that seems to be the default in each port I enter. If you've done it are there closer or cheaper rental places to the ports? Oh, we'll be stopping at Hilo, Kahului, Honolulu and Nawililwili. Thanks in advance for any information or advice you can share.

[albertamom]

I am really curious about this, too. We plan to rent a car in Hilo and Kahului. I've seen around $80-$85 for a convertible for a day in early December. We are really looking forward to it, since this would be our one and only chance to rent one with the kids (when we don't have to haul a huge pile of luggage around with us)!:D

 

I think I have read on Cruise Critic that the big companies have shuttles from the pier to their airport locations in these two ports. I'm not sure about the other ports, though.

[eyegirl]

we are renting a car on Maui for $45/day (just a small car) thru Thrifty car rental. We will also be there in Dec. They offer a shuttle from the pier.

 

good luck

[taymiss2]

That sounds really high to me. I paid under $50 per day. With tax I think it was $35-40. Did you look at discounthawaiicarrental.com?

 

We did spluge one day on a convertible, which was really a two day rental on Maui. In the end did not feel it was worth the extra money. The kids didn't like the wind blowing on them and it rained on and off on the road to Hana so we kept having to stop and put the top up. I would just get a small economy size if I had to do it again.

 

Definitely book early and then you can keep looking for coupons or specials etc. Prices do not go down the closer you get though.

[lv2bgoofy]

We are going in February and I have my rentals all booked already and we are renting in Hilo, Kauai, Maui and Oahu and my most expensive rental is in Kauai at $69 for the day....I went through www.discounthawaiicarrental.com and used Thrifty for every one of them. Didn't get a convertible but still tossing around getting one while in Oahu....

[dfb]

Thanks, you've all helped. I see now a bit clearer. If I go to Thrifty through discounthawaii, the price for a rental tomorrow in Kauai is $25. If I ask for a rental in May on my actual date there, the rental is $199. So, the only thing that is not clear if it is a question of how far in the future I am renting, or whether the price varies depending on what ship is in port on that day!

[Raison]

That seems like a huge price difference to me. We rented cars in several ports, and I booked most of them a long time before we went (about 7 to 8 months out). We did not pay more than $50 for a days car hire anywhere in Hawaii.

[phillygirl63]

I rented a minivan with Thrifty. All booked months in advance through discounthawaiicarrental. Maui (overnight) was $145, Hilo was $72, Kona was $97 (includes extra $25 to pick up at the King Kam hotel instead of airport), and Kauai was $76. All of these prices included the various taxes. I also joined Thrifty's BlueChip program.

[smrtypnts]

Thanks, you've all helped. I see now a bit clearer. If I go to Thrifty through discounthawaii, the price for a rental tomorrow in Kauai is $25. If I ask for a rental in May on my actual date there, the rental is $199. So, the only thing that is not clear if it is a question of how far in the future I am renting, or whether the price varies depending on what ship is in port on that day!

I found similar things when I was in your position. You are looking too far in advance. $150 - $200 for a regular car (not a mini van nor a convertible, but rather a small to midsize car) is way out of line. It seems to me, from both reading a lot of reviews, etc. $25 to $75 per day is more like it. When it's about 6 months out, start looking and as another poster noted, book the cars you want. It costs you nothing but time. If you find a better rate, book that car then cancel the original. In the interest of leaving some cars for other folks, be sure to cancel even though nothing is going to happen if you do not. It's just the right thing to do good karma. Good luck and enjoy!

[dfb]

More good information. I will definitely wait until much closer and the prices come down. Or just wait and see what happens on arrival. I am not really tied to the idea of renting cars. We'll just have to wait and see. The only thing I know for sure is that I won't pay over $100 to rent a car for 6 to 8 hours!

[cruise.25]

We just rented a car thru Hotwire/budget for our week in Florida. I just checked Hotwire for a car in Honolulu (from airport) Jan 28/12 to Feb 3/12. Economy Car $162 incl tax; Compact 186 incl tax; and convertible $383 incl tax. No ins incl. I think these prices are fantastic!!

 

In FLA, we paid with a CC that covered our auto rental insurance; and also brought along a copy of our personal auto policy covering the rental. No problem with waiving these additional chgs.

 

Has anyone used Hotwire for Hawaii auto rentals? Looking forward to our cruise in January 12!! Thanks.

[Majesty Fan]

We are on the Disney Wonder for next year and have already reserved all of our cars. I do have a USAA discount. The most expensive was $60. Most were in the $45 range

[jessrose18]

We are on the Disney Wonder for next year and have already reserved all of our cars. I do have a USAA discount. The most expensive was $60. Most were in the $45 range

 

 

we are also on the disney wonder next year....can i ask where you reserved your cars? when i tried the above mentioned websites they said they have not negociated rates for next may yet, and to check back in the fall....when i search thrifty itself the cars are in the $200 range for the day..thanks for any advice!

[CruisingGoddess]

We went in November and returning this September. Already booked all my cars in March at every port and we're not paying more than $33/day for a Compact car. We booked through Thrifty using the code provided on this site:

 

http://www.hawaiicruisecars.com

 

Did this last time too and everything went off without a hitch!

 

Read the detailed review with photos of my Hawaii cruise:

http://moonprincess.com/travel/category/cruises/hawaii-2010/

[mek]

More good information. I will definitely wait until much closer and the prices come down. Or just wait and see what happens on arrival. I am not really tied to the idea of renting cars. We'll just have to wait and see. The only thing I know for sure is that I won't pay over $100 to rent a car for 6 to 8 hours!

 

We have been to Hawaii 2X and are returning this November. As in the past, we plan to rent a car in each port - getting convertibles each day and the maximum price is $70 including taxes. Having a car will allow you to see so much more than any ships' tour and for a very reasonable price. DH has walking problems, so a car gives us the ability to pace our day with his limitations in mind.

[dfb]

Once again thanks to all for the advice. I checked again this week and the base fares for economy cars in my ports was running about $28/day. I rented for all 4 ports and the totals ran about $40/day. I took all the advice I had seen regarding joining Thrifty Blue Chip and renting Thrifty through hawaii cruise cars or hawaii discount cars (which appears to be the same thing). The fine print was that a shuttle would be at the pier except for Honolulu which gave a phone # to call. Hopefully, they will actually have a shuttle there too without us having to call and wait for it! So, anyway, we are satisfied for now. Thanks again everyone!

[CruisingGoddess]

Once again thanks to all for the advice. I checked again this week and the base fares for economy cars in my ports was running about $28/day. I rented for all 4 ports and the totals ran about $40/day. I took all the advice I had seen regarding joining Thrifty Blue Chip and renting Thrifty through hawaii cruise cars or hawaii discount cars (which appears to be the same thing). The fine print was that a shuttle would be at the pier except for Honolulu which gave a phone # to call. Hopefully, they will actually have a shuttle there too without us having to call and wait for it! So, anyway, we are satisfied for now. Thanks again everyone!

 

Honolulu will have a shuttle also. You don't need to call but it doesn't hurt to bring the number just in case. :)

[diandmike]

Cruising Goddess:

We have appreciated your information on this board. We'd like to know about the "corporate codes" for the rental cars. Are you using these for your September trip? Did you book directly through Thrifty last year or the discounthawaiicarrental.com to use those codes? Interested if anyone has had any issues with using the codes.

Also - when you go in September, can you get and post the complete 2011 wine list for NCL, the last one found on the internet was from 2009. Thanks!

[lv2bgoofy]

I'm not Cruising Goddess but I have already booked my cars and did this a couple of months ago using that website and the corporate code Corporate Discount # HT10229549 and my most expensive rental is in Oahu because it is for longer amount of days.

HTH

[CruisingGoddess]

Cruising Goddess:

We have appreciated your information on this board. We'd like to know about the "corporate codes" for the rental cars. Are you using these for your September trip? Did you book directly through Thrifty last year or the discounthawaiicarrental.com to use those codes? Interested if anyone has had any issues with using the codes.

Also - when you go in September, can you get and post the complete 2011 wine list for NCL, the last one found on the internet was from 2009. Thanks!

 

We used Thrifty code #HT14004118, which is from HawaiiCruiseCars.com, for both our trips. I did not have any issues with it during our first trip and have already made all our reservations for our trip in less than 2 weeks. We are renting a car at EVERY port.

 

If you sign up for Thrifty's Blue Chip program, you'll also get your car faster because they'll have your credit card and options on file. Most offices have a separate line for Blue Chip members as well.

 

I will also try to take photos of the whole wine list.

 

 

Read the detailed review with photos of my Hawaii cruise:

http://moonprincess.com/travel/category/cruises/hawaii-2010/

[diandmike]

Cruising Goddess: Thanks for all your information! We booked all our rental cars using your suggestions. We're booked for the first POA cruise in November.

 

Enjoy your cruise this month - you must be counting the days!:)

[DMRick]

That's about the prices we are paying. We are going next month, and I booked the cars last month. All thrifty except for one Dollar. Those are total prices as well. Perhaps some of you are including insurance? My personal car insurance and my credit card covers our insurance.

 

We went in November and returning this September. Already booked all my cars in March at every port and we're not paying more than $33/day for a Compact car. We booked through Thrifty using the code provided on this site:

 

http://www.hawaiicruisecars.com

[CruisingGoddess]

That's about the prices we are paying. We are going next month, and I booked the cars last month. All thrifty except for one Dollar. Those are total prices as well. Perhaps some of you are including insurance? My personal car insurance and my credit card covers our insurance.

 

I never use rental car insurance for the same reasons as you mentioned above.

 

The rate we're paying for our trip in 2 weeks is $25/day NOT including taxes & fees for a Compact car, which comes to $33-36/day after taxes and fees (depending on the port).

 

By the way, if your trip is awhile out, keep checking rates. I found our rates went down after a few months and rebooked all our reservations. I think I saved at least $10 total if not more.

[DMRick]

We are paying, with taxes:

Hilo, Thrifty $34.12

Honolulu, Thrifty $32.14

Lihue airport (Kauai), Thrifty $34.55

Lahaina, Dollar $31.93.

[CruisingGoddess]

Sound right to me!

 

Read the detailed review with photos of my Hawaii cruise:

http://moonprincess.com/travel/category/cruises/hawaii-2010/