Luau - Maui or Honolulu

[NCMtnBoys]

Haven't been to Hawaii before, sailing in November on Carnival. Wondering if by chance there may be vendors at either pier offering Luau's (they take you to it, bring you back). Can't decide whether to try to do one in Maui or Honolulu. Carnival's price is obviously very high - and then there's the aspect of being on buses with loads of other people - so thinking there must be a better alternative. But not sure if that alternative may present itself to us at the pier, or if it'd need to be booked ahead of time. Thanks!

Edited February 8, 2015 by NCMtnBoys

[ransrider]

Very good question. We have been looking into the Old Lahaina Luau on Maui and even contacted the luau owners to question transportation options. We were told transportation was our responsibility and that most people rent a car or take a taxi which costs $85 one way from the port. Neither of those options are suitable for us so we dropped the luau idea. I hope someone has a better solution.

[cccole]

You might try the Hale Koa luau in Honolulu. It is at Waikiki and would be a short taxi ride from the port, plus a wonderful area to wonder before or after the luau. Cherie

[Astro Flyer]

Without knowing which port you're arriving at on Maui makes it impossible to answer your question & I do not know your hours in Oahu or Maui with Carnival.

 

The highly rated OLL is in Lahaina & about 45 minutes from Kahului. Princess tenders into Lahaina however leaves before luaus begin & NCL is docked in Kahului & think the ship stays overnight but t's not near any luaus.

 

Princess stays late in Honolulu which gives time to go to a luau but not on Maui. There are several previous discussions on opinions comparing luau options on Oahu & Maui.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2150365

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157835

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2084027

Edited February 8, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[NCMtnBoys]

Without knowing which port you're arriving at on Maui makes it impossible to answer your question & I do not know your hours in Oahu or Maui with Carnival.

 

The highly rated OLL is in Lahaina & about 45 minutes from Kahului. Princess tenders into Lahaina however leaves before luaus begin & NCL is docked in Kahului & think the ship stays overnight but t's not near any luaus.

 

Princess stays late in Honolulu which gives time to go to a luau but not on Maui. There are several previous discussions on opinions comparing luau options on Oahu & Maui.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2150365

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157835

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2084027

 

Thank you all for your answers. We are in both Honolulu and Maui until 11:00pm. Our itinerary says we arrive into Kahului for Maui. Carnival's luau offering in Honolulu is priced at $110.00 per person; their Maui luau offering is priced at $156.00 per person. So I was just curious whether there may be any vendors or operators at the piers offering luau's that might be a better deal. At most port stops on every cruise there are people on the pier offering excursions. I just didn't know if luau's might be one of those offerings in Hawaii.

[NCMtnBoys]

You might try the Hale Koa luau in Honolulu. It is at Waikiki and would be a short taxi ride from the port, plus a wonderful area to wonder before or after the luau. Cherie

 

Thank you for the idea. I checked their webpage after seeing good reviews on TripAdvisor, but it appears they only do it on Mondays and Thursdays and we'll be in Honolulu on a Friday. Grrrr.

[cpsfolks]

You might have a difficult time getting in to the Hale Koa Luau since the hotel is for military families. I've heard people bought tickets only to be turned away because they didn't know or realize you needed to be military to attend.

[AmberCascades]

We really wanted to do a luau in Lahaina, but the logistics didn't work.

 

We ended up going to the Chief's luau in Sea Life Park (on Oahu). You can make arrangements with them to pick you up and drop you back at the pier. I don't know what your timing is like, but I think they pick you up around 3:30 and bring you back by 9:30 (approximately from what I recall - you would have to confirm with them).

 

It was a lot of fun, there were activities to do beforehand. The food was good, the drinks were good, the entertainment was amazing. The Chief is hilarious. There were less than 200 people there for sure. It felt like we were at someone's party rather than one of millions of people being herded around like cattle. No line-ups!

[Astro Flyer]

Thank you all for your answers. We are in both Honolulu and Maui until 11:00pm. Our itinerary says we arrive into Kahului for Maui. Carnival's luau offering in Honolulu is priced at $110.00 per person; their Maui luau offering is priced at $156.00 per person. So I was just curious whether there may be any vendors or operators at the piers offering luau's that might be a better deal. At most port stops on every cruise there are people on the pier offering excursions. I just didn't know if luau's might be one of those offerings in Hawaii.

Mahalo for the clarification & I've never noticed any vendors selling excursions however could have just missed them.

 

I don't know what luau Carnival uses however I am not aware of any near the Kahului pier. They're either in Wailea (about 30 minutes away) or in Ka'anapali (about 45 minutes away) & Carnival includes transportation . On Maui public transportation is poor & thus cabs or shuttles are the best options. The Old Lahaina Luau is excellent & considered the "most authentic Hawaiian luau" but costs $105 & can sellout in advance. There may be other less expensive luaus at hotels but the ones I've attended were not the experience I wanted. However that's merely my preference & yours may be different.

 

I've never attended a luau on Oahu however have read good things about Chief's Luau. I think that on Oahu some luaus have the option to include transportation & with more luau options may be less expensive than on Maui.

 

Whatever you decide is your "mo bettah" option hopefully you'll enjoy your luau! :)

Edited February 8, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[NCMtnBoys]

Mahalo for the clarification & I've never noticed any vendors selling excursions however could have just missed them.

 

I don't know what luau Carnival uses however I am not aware of any near the Kahului pier. They're either in Wailea (about 30 minutes away) or in Ka'anapali (about 45 minutes away) & Carnival includes transportation . On Maui public transportation is poor & thus cabs or shuttles are the best options. The Old Lahaina Luau is excellent & considered the "most authentic Hawaiian luau" but costs $105 & can sellout in advance. There may be other less expensive luaus at hotels but the ones I've attended were not the experience I wanted. However that's merely my preference & yours may be different.

 

I've never attended a luau on Oahu however have read good things about Chief's Luau. I think that on Oahu some luaus have the option to include transportation & with more luau options may be less expensive than on Maui.

 

Whatever you decide is your "mo bettah" option hopefully you'll enjoy your luau! :)

 

Thanks so much. Carnival uses Germaine's Luau on Oahu. I've read mixed reviews. I had also considered Chief's Luau as well, at the recommendation of another poster on this thread. I checked out their website and it looks good, and they get good reviews online.

 

The problem I am encountering is that if we did some sort of an excursion in the morning to, say, Pearl Harbor, it didn't get us back to the pier in time to get to a luau, either the ship's or a different one. We don't get into Honolulu until 9:00am and the ship's luau excursion leaves the pier at 4:15pm, Chief's at 3:30pm.

 

We're contemplating a different sightseeing excursion on Oahu that would get us back in time for the ship's luau excursion, so we could do both. It doesn't go to Pearl Harbor but, as historical and important of a thing that is, I don't know that I want to be tied to just Pearl Harbor and see nothing else of the island. We're also considering yet another option that gives us a tour of a couple things on the island plus allows us a 3.5 hour visit to the Polynesian Cultural Center and includes a Hawaiian buffet lunch. We'd forego the actual luau in this case but we would probably see some things at the cultural center indicative of what we'd see at the luau (hula dancing, lei making, story telling), have a traditional Hawaiian buffet lunch, and also get to experience a little of other Polynesian cultures (Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, Tahiti, etc).

Edited February 9, 2015 by NCMtnBoys

[cccole]

The drive to PCC can be beautiful, but, personally, I would not give up Pearl Harbor and Chief's Luau for a visit to PCC. I'm just not a fan. Instead of a ship's tour to Pearl Harbor, you could get online tickets, take a taxi or shuttle each way, and make it back to the ship in plenty of time for the Chief's Luau. Another option would be to plan a visit and tour to the Iolani Palace which is amazing IMO. Just some thoughts, Cherie

[NCMtnBoys]

The drive to PCC can be beautiful, but, personally, I would not give up Pearl Harbor and Chief's Luau for a visit to PCC. I'm just not a fan. Instead of a ship's tour to Pearl Harbor, you could get online tickets, take a taxi or shuttle each way, and make it back to the ship in plenty of time for the Chief's Luau. Another option would be to plan a visit and tour to the Iolani Palace which is amazing IMO. Just some thoughts, Cherie

 

Thank you for your insight, Cherie.

[Astro Flyer]

Thanks so much. Carnival uses Germaine's Luau on Oahu. I've read mixed reviews. I had also considered Chief's Luau as well, at the recommendation of another poster on this thread. I checked out their website and it looks good, and they get good reviews online.

 

The problem I am encountering is that if we did some sort of an excursion in the morning to, say, Pearl Harbor, it didn't get us back to the pier in time to get to a luau, either the ship's or a different one. We don't get into Honolulu until 9:00am and the ship's luau excursion leaves the pier at 4:15pm, Chief's at 3:30pm.

 

We're contemplating a different sightseeing excursion on Oahu that would get us back in time for the ship's luau excursion, so we could do both. It doesn't go to Pearl Harbor but, as historical and important of a thing that is, I don't know that I want to be tied to just Pearl Harbor and see nothing else of the island. We're also considering yet another option that gives us a tour of a couple things on the island plus allows us a 3.5 hour visit to the Polynesian Cultural Center and includes a Hawaiian buffet lunch. We'd forego the actual luau in this case but we would probably see some things at the cultural center indicative of what we'd see at the luau (hula dancing, lei making, story telling), have a traditional Hawaiian buffet lunch, and also get to experience a little of other Polynesian cultures (Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, Tahiti, etc).

You have some options & with the ship arriving at 9:00 you could get a taxi (read a post that it was about $30 one-way) after going to the National Park website to pay a minimal fee ($1.50?) to pre-reserve a tender time to the Arizona Memorial. I've read that they only pre-reserve a certain percentage with the remaining for walkups. If you did it that way you could visit the Arizona Memorial & maybe catch a 3:30 bus to the Chief's Luau? We walked a couple of blocks to The Bus stop & for $2.50 (?) one-way went to PH but wouldn't suggest doing it that way when trying to schedule 2 things during your day on Oahu.

 

We walk a lot & from the Aloha Tower pier walked to Iolani Palace & the state capital building. If you watch the new Hawaii 5-0 their headquarters is across the street from Iolani Palace at the Aliiolani Hale which is their Supreme Court building; the old Hawaii 5-0 depicted their HQ in Iolani Palace.

 

Decades ago we went to the PCC for our first visit to Hawaii & it was okay but we'd choose a luau instead.

 

Whatever you decide is best, I'd suggest to not try to do too much & have time to enjoy things without worrying about a tight schedule. We're in Maui & you could have a beach day or see other things. Traffic is worse now but not nearly as bad as on Oahu.

[casperbks]

we are going to chiefs in Honolulu they pick you up at the ship and bring you back so no worries check it out .. I called and talked to them myself...

[NCMtnBoys]

You have some options & with the ship arriving at 9:00 you could get a taxi (read a post that it was about $30 one-way) after going to the National Park website to pay a minimal fee ($1.50?) to pre-reserve a tender time to the Arizona Memorial. I've read that they only pre-reserve a certain percentage with the remaining for walkups. If you did it that way you could visit the Arizona Memorial & maybe catch a 3:30 bus to the Chief's Luau? We walked a couple of blocks to The Bus stop & for $2.50 (?) one-way went to PH but wouldn't suggest doing it that way when trying to schedule 2 things during your day on Oahu.

 

We walk a lot & from the Aloha Tower pier walked to Iolani Palace & the state capital building. If you watch the new Hawaii 5-0 their headquarters is across the street from Iolani Palace at the Aliiolani Hale which is their Supreme Court building; the old Hawaii 5-0 depicted their HQ in Iolani Palace.

 

Decades ago we went to the PCC for our first visit to Hawaii & it was okay but we'd choose a luau instead.

 

Whatever you decide is best, I'd suggest to not try to do too much & have time to enjoy things without worrying about a tight schedule. We're in Maui & you could have a beach day or see other things. Traffic is worse now but not nearly as bad as on Oahu.

 

Thank you to you, and to everyone else who provided suggestions and insight. The taxi to, and online reservation for Pearl Harbor seems like the way to go. If our ship gets in at 9:00 and you have to pick up your ticket to Pearl Harbor at least one hour before admission time, considering the traffic to get there what time would you suggest reserving our admission for? 11:30-ish? And if we do that, is it realistic to expect to be back to the ship by 3:00 for a 3:30 Chief's Luau pick-up?

 

we are going to chiefs in Honolulu they pick you up at the ship and bring you back so no worries check it out .. I called and talked to them myself...

 

Hey Casper, I'd seen you post on our roll call. We are definitely considering doing the Chief's Luau also and would use their transportation as well. I guess we better decide pretty soon and reserve our spot! I'm assuming we have to pre-pay at the time of reservation? Did you by chance ask them about their cancellation policy - whether we cancel on our own, or the ship for some reason has a change in itinerary? I looked but didn't see that on their website and didn't go as far as making a fake booking.

Edited February 10, 2015 by NCMtnBoys

[Astro Flyer]

Thank you to you, and to everyone else who provided suggestions and insight. The taxi to, and online reservation for Pearl Harbor seems like the way to go. If our ship gets in at 9:00 and you have to pick up your ticket to Pearl Harbor at least one hour before admission time, considering the traffic to get there what time would you suggest reserving our admission for? 11:30-ish? And if we do that, is it realistic to expect to be back to the ship by 3:00 for a 3:30 Chief's Luau pick-up?

 

I just checked Google Maps at 8:07 AM HST so it's rush hour in Honolulu & it shows for the 7.6 mile drive there's currently a 3 minute traffic delay & thus taking 19 minutes. Our comfort levels may be different but as long as the ship arrives on time I'd feel comfortable that I'd be able to arrive by 10:30 to get my tickets or add another 30 minutes to get a noon tender. Construction on their rail system can create additional delays although this morning it's not bad. It's been quite windy recently so it's possible that tenders could be cancelled which is decided by the Navy who operate the tenders.

 

Years ago they had each group first view a movie (about 20 minutes) on the attack however the last time I arrived at the vastly improved visitor's center it was optional. It's good to watch the movie even though I've studied the attack before arriving however we had the option to watch it either before or after and not as part of a tender group. Having already seen the movie we skipped it to go to the USS Missouri which I doubt you would have time to visit & get the luau's 3:30 shuttle. Close to the Missouri is a rather new aviation museum (next to the Ford Island's old control tower) which we skipped because they had few aircraft displayed but they now have more aircraft. It appeared that most of the old runway area has been replaced with military housing.

Edited February 10, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[Astro Flyer]

The 7.6 mile drive is from the Aloha Tower cruise ship terminal with the other cruise ship terminal slightly further away from PH. :o

Edited February 10, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[cccole]

NCMtnBoys - Sounds like you are putting a great plan together. If you arrive at PH and have time before your ticket time you can visit the museum and the outside area with memorials representing many military groups from WWII. We had not visited the new visitor's center until last November and I was impressed with how well it was done. I really liked the old set-up and didn't know how I'd feel. The movie is new, but similar to the old movie. It is fabulous and I always learn something I didn't know before, very moving.

 

Is it possible on your roll call to locate others who would like to share transportation to Ph and to Chief's Luau? I don't know if the Chief's Luau makes other stops before arriving at the Luau, but if it does, making your own arrangements could possibly be less expensive and give you a bit more time to just enjoy things. There are many suggestions on this board that give the names of private vans that you can arrange in advance. Luckily going to and from PH you will be going against most of the traffic, but you still need to give yourselves plenty of time. If you can't tell...I love Honolulu/Waikiki and hope you have a great time. Cherie

[Astro Flyer]

When I looked at the Chief's Luau transportation the pier was the 1st pick up at 3:30 with the last one at the Kahala Resort at 4:30 for the 5:00 luau & afterwards the pier would probably be the final stop. That's a great idea to consider a cab or shuttle service & one name I frequently see on CC is Charley's Taxi (http://charleystaxi.com) & notice they offer discounts for seniors, military & first responders.

 

One reason that I'd be hesitant to get a group from the ship to share the expense is if anyone was delayed or unable to go when time is already limited.

Edited February 10, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[NCMtnBoys]

Astro and Cheri, thanks again for your further, detailed information! Lots to consider, for sure. CC is a great resource for sure.