Hawaiian land tour worth $4000 for 5 people?

[apbabowling]

This post may seem pointless since I just booked a condo on Oahu, but we were seriously thinking about doing the NCL Pride of America cruise with the land tour next March.

 

But upon comparing the prices for the land tour on cruises that are leaving in the next month to just the cruise, I can see that the land tour is still about $800 a person no matter how soon you're leaving. For the 5 of us in my family that's going, that's $4000.

 

Since I booked a condo (for a little less than $1100, 4BR, sleeps 10) which we can easily make every single meal we eat for the Wednesday to Saturday before the regular cruise leaves and be entertained for far less than the $2900 which is left.

 

I was wondering if anybody thought the land tour was really worth $800pp for the three days. Yes, it includes the hotel and entertainment, but what also scared me is that NCL's website doesn't seem to mention a thing about meals during the three days. Unless I missed something completely obvious.

 

But the last thing I wanted to do is get there and be told by NCL, "The website doesn't mention meals because they're not included. Why are you surprised?"

 

I'm sure the smart thing would have been to call and ask about it, but I'm sure others have gotten 1 answer on the phone and found out the story was different when they got somewhere.

 

And it'll be my 4th cruise, but my first foray into planning our own activities, at least in the 3 days before the actual cruise.

 

Thanks for any clarification anyone can provide.

 

-apbabowling

Edited October 18, 2014 by apbabowling

[Ilovesailing]

This post may seem pointless since I just booked a condo on Oahu, but we were seriously thinking about doing the NCL Pride of America cruise with the land tour next March.

 

But upon comparing the prices for the land tour on cruises that are leaving in the next month to just the cruise, I can see that the land tour is still about $800 a person no matter how soon you're leaving. For the 5 of us in my family that's going, that's $4000.

 

Since I booked a condo (for a little less than $1100, 4BR, sleeps 10) which we can easily make every single meal we eat for the Wednesday to Saturday before the regular cruise leaves and be entertained for far less than the $2900 which is left.

 

I was wondering if anybody thought the land tour was really worth $800pp for the three days. Yes, it includes the hotel and entertainment, but what also scared me is that NCL's website doesn't seem to mention a thing about meals during the three days. Unless I missed something completely obvious.

 

But the last thing I wanted to do is get there and be told by NCL, "The website doesn't mention meals because they're not included. Why are you surprised?"

 

I'm sure the smart thing would have been to call and ask about it, but I'm sure others have gotten 1 answer on the phone and found out the story was different when they got somewhere.

 

And it'll be my 4th cruise, but my first foray into planning our own activities, at least in the 3 days before the actual cruise.

 

Thanks for any clarification anyone can provide.

 

-apbabowling

 

There is absolutely NO need to spend that much on tours.

Have a look at Roberts Hawaii they do tours for both land and shore excursions. They have a four out of five stars on tripadvisor.com and they have been highly recommended here over the years.

 

We have used them for six cruises and also for land tour while staying on Big Island.

 

You can do 3/4 combo tours and save even more. Here is a link

https://www.robertshawaii.com/activities-attractions.phpthey have been tied in with POA for years and they know there stuff, tour guides have been doing the same tour for years.

 

Also remember that food/groceries are very expensive in Hawaii as everything is imported.

Edited October 18, 2014 by Ilovesailing