Hawaii Shore Excursions - 14 Feb.

[Classiccruiser777]

We will be on the QV February 14 to Hawaii and would like experienced impressions of both the Cunard excursions and ones booked through other agencies. Two specific interests we have are visiting the volcano and whale watching. Any input and/or suggestions is greatly appreciated.

[frediver]

What islands for what tours, it makes a difference?

Do you have an overnight at Maui etc?

[Alohaaa]

Hi Classiccruiser,

I live on the island of Kauai. If you are coming to this island I can provide details for excursions. Feb is twatds the end of whale season in Hawaii but you are still likely to see some off of the Napali coast oreven from the ship.

 

Kit

[Classiccruiser777]

The islands we will be visiting are Hilo, Oahu, Maui, and Kauai, no overnights.

[Artemis]

How great to have a local's help!

 

Subject to Alohaaa's input, my personal favorite activities for a single port day would be as follows (assumes you are a first-time visitor):

 

Hilo, Hawaii - Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (Kilauea is an active volcano) and whale watching cruise (combo tours should be available to make it easy for you to do one in the AM and the other in the PM, leaving all the logistics to them)

 

Honolulu, Oahu - Long day tour of sites of most interest to you, e.g., Pearl Harbor USS Arizona and Missouri and related war/military sites, Waikiki Beach, Honolulu city sites including the palace and Bishop Museum, Diamond Head, etc.

 

Nawillwili, Kauai - Helicopter ride (this one was one of our favorite flightsees in the world, and it doesn't require a lot of time out of your day -- something like 85% of the island is inaccessible by road, the island features spectacular canyons, waterfalls and the famous Napali coastlines) and backup whale watching cruise (in case you don't do it on Hawaii)

 

Lahaina, Maui - If you're really into volcanoes and/or seeing dramatic scenery and landscapes vs. ocean fun, then long day tour to Haleakala crater (inactive volcano), gorgeous Upcountry protea/other farms and interesting little towns, incl. Paia and Makawao. If you see Kilauea and are ready for ocean fun, then this is a great place for a beach and shopping day plus a stroll through Old Lahaina Town, you can also do all the usual ocean fun activities from here, e.g., parasail off Kaanapali Beach, go on a whalewatch (last chance if you haven't already!), take a snorkeling tour (check on conditions--could be too rough and chilly), etc.

[Scrapnana]

Artemis,

 

You posted "Honolulu, Oahu - Long day tour of sites of most interest to you, e.g., Pearl Harbor USS Arizona and Missouri and related war/military sites, Waikiki Beach, Honolulu city sites including the palace and Bishop Museum, Diamond Head, etc." Have you done this on your own or with a tour arranged by the cruise line? This is exactly what I want to see for my first visit to Honolulu and am thinking it would likely be easier with an organized group.

 

Kathi

[Artemis]

Hi, Scrapnana, sorry, we've done all of our Oahu sightseeing on land trips (Honolulu was an embarkation/disembarkation port for us when we cruised the islands), so I don't have a tour operator rec for that sort of all day combo. I'd probably rent a car so I could control how much time I spent where, but navigating a new city, traffic, parking, etc. isn't for everyone.

 

I'll bet Cunard will offer a shorex that covers all the top sights. You could also get some leads on private tour operators on the Hawaii forum, as well as general travel sites like Fodor's, TripAdvisor, etc.

 

Hmmm...I just checked to confirm. It looks like your ship will be at Pier 11, which is located near Aloha Tower Marketplace. As an alternative to shore excursions, you could catch a hop-on/hop-off trolley or bus from there, or even the city bus which makes a convenient downtown loop. See these helpful links:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/newport.cfm?ID=96http://www.alohatower.com/marketplace-information/transportation-to-the-marketplace/

http://www.waikikitrolley.com/

http://www.alohabus.com/

 

Keep in mind that you will likely spend most of the AM at Pearl Harbor, so what you're really talking about is how to combine that with a half-day sightseeing hitting as many of the places on your list as possible. Obviously, you'll need to prioritize what it is you want to see and then make your plan based on time and logistics, e.g., Pearl Harbor and Bishop Museum are a logical pairing because they are away from the cruise terminal in one direction; downtown and Waikiki to Diamond Head are the other direction.

 

To illustrate, if you're firm on seeing the Bishop Museum (closed Tuesdays) and are interested in using a hop-on/hop-off option, you could do something like this:

 

* Get off the ship as early as permitted, taxi directly to Pearl Harbor (programs begin at 8a, there are no advance reservations, you want to beat tour buses because of lines, see official site info here).

* Board the Aloha Bus at Pearl Harbor and go to Bishop Museum.

* When done, take the Aloha Bus to the Hilo Hatties stop, change to their downtown bus and then do the loop stopping as you wish (longish walk to Diamond Head).

* At end of day, you will end up at the Aloha Tower Marketplace.

 

If you decide to save Bishop Museum until another visit, you could taxi back to the ship after Pearl Harbor, grab lunch, then take the Waikiki Trolley system from the Aloha Tower Marketplace--the trolley's advantage is they get you right at and around Diamond Head.

 

Have fun planning your day!

[Alohaaa]

Class cruiser,

 

I have taken the helicopter ride around Kauai and enjoyed it. I would look through this website for additional ideas. Freekauaicoupons.com I strongly recommend seeing the active volcano on Hawaii ( the big island). Kauai is pretty small and you will dock at about the mid point of the road system. If you go west you will likely see the Waimea canyon and if you go north you will likely see world class professional surfers riding Huge waves. If you are interested in the cultural history of Kauai I would recommend Smiths luau Wailua river tour and hula show. http://Www.adventureinhawaii.com wwwsmithskauai.com

 

Aloha

[frediver]

This is a bad time of year for dependable flying weather. Good when it is Good and bad when bad. Just cuz the helo can fly safely does not mean that you will have a picture perfect flight like the brochure, the cancellation policies work against you. Imagine clear flying weather with clouds below you, no pictures, nothing to see what you paid the helicopter to take you to see, can happen does happen.

[Alohaaa]

cC777,

 

Do you play golf? There are several magnificent golf courses on Kauai and throughout the state of Hawaii.

 

Kit