Has HAL Offered Polynesian Cultural Center tours on Honolulu

[mcrcruiser]

Was wondering if HAL offered a   tour to the Polynesian cultural Center mainly for the transportation part 

 

 Also does HAL offer a tour to  ,The  Road to Hana in Maui ?

 

 TIA

[YXU AC*SE]

 

It would seem not.    But with the lagging state of HAL's IT department - the below may or may not be current. 

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/cruise-destinations/hawaii-tahiti.excursions.html?sort=name asc&start=0&rows=12

 

Scott. 

[Seasick Sailor]

4 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

Was wondering if HAL offered a   tour to the Polynesian cultural Center mainly for the transportation part 

 

 Also does HAL offer a tour to  ,The  Road to Hana in Maui ?

 

 TIA

 

My husband and I have had time share on Maui since 1986 and have covered all the islands except Molokai. (Couldn't seem to get on the list) 

 

We are on the Hawaii Tahiti cruise in Feb. I do not see the cultural center on Oahu available thru HAL, but there are several luaus we've been to that are very nice and alot of culture displays, stories, wood carvings etc.. Honolulu is extremely busy and can take awhile to drive north..

 

As for Maui Hana ride, HAL has a few extremely expensive trips (inc. Helicopter) but look online for a van ride that is reasonable. There is a HAL tour to Haleakala that is a beautiful ride. We've stayed in Hana on a few occasions and it is a very beautiful ride, unless you get car sick... lol

[rbelshaw]

3 hours ago, Seasick Sailor said:

My husband and I have had time share on Maui since 1986 and have covered all the islands except Molokai. (Couldn't seem to get on the list) 

If the only way I could get back to Molokai was to swim from a passing cruise ship,  I would jump. Just remember to set your watch back 75 years.

[Trapper44]

I am not sure how long some of these cruises will be in Honolulu. In February the Koningsdam was there overnight. We took the PCC excursion thru the ship. It was a 10 hour excursion and departed at 1 PM so we arrived back at the ship late. We had been many times to PCC starting back in mid 1970's. This was our last time we will go to PCC. It has changed and not for the better.

 

[oakridger]

10 minutes ago, Trapper44 said:

This was our last time we will go to PCC. It has changed and not for the better.

 

Would you mind explaining why you feel like you wouldn’t go back?  I’ve not been there but would be interested in your take on it.   Thanks.    ~Nancy 

[Trapper44]

When we first went the entire staff were students from the various islands. They performed and interacted with the crowd. Towards the evening there was a luau, for a cost, and they also had The Parade of the Long Boats. You sat on the bank of a canal and the students floated past you doing their native dances. All was very relaxed and enjoyable. Over the years the luau became larger but was still enjoyable. When we first booked it was to include the luau but we were notified that due to Covid it was not being held. We instead were to go to the buffet for our meal. We stumbled across the luau as we were going to the buffet and they were having a luau but it was more like sitting at a restaurant with the waiter bringing you your food. The buffet was the dirtiest I have ever been into with many children running around grabbing food and putting it back. After dinner we then went to their theater. This was also a new experience for us. There was a small troop of performers that put on a type of show depicting the various islands. It has just become another tourist attraction nothing unique. If we had never been, with the exception of the buffet, it might have not been that bad. I would rather go to a more authentic luau, visit Arizona Memorial, tour Pearl Harbour, or visit the North Shore to spend my time. Just my opinion.   

[oakridger]

That’s too bad it has deteriorated so much. Thanks a lot for the detailed reasons. It doesn’t sound like something I would enjoy.   The only luau I enjoyed has been the Old Lahaina Luau on Maui and I’m pretty done with them now. 

[Naismith]

Just a few notes about the PCC...it was established as a means of providing jobs and thus income for college students at BYU-Hawaii.  That is why the PCC is so far from Honolulu, it is in Laie, on the campus there.

 

Although it is operated by a church, it is fully taxed as a for-profit operation, since they do charge admission.

 

The turnover of students leaving to go back to their islands, and new performers coming in with great enthusiasm, was one of the special things that made it such a delight.

 

And of course COVID hit it hard, and they are just finding their way back, like so many performance and restaurant venues. Perhaps by next year they will be smoothly operating again, (depending on how well the new vaccines work, and whether new variants or diseases crop up).

 

I served as a missionary in Indonesia, and being able to attend BYU-Hawaii and work at the PCC was a goal for so many young people there.  

[Trapper44]

9 hours ago, Naismith said:

Just a few notes about the PCC...it was established as a means of providing jobs and thus income for college students at BYU-Hawaii.  That is why the PCC is so far from Honolulu, it is in Laie, on the campus there.

 

Although it is operated by a church, it is fully taxed as a for-profit operation, since they do charge admission.

 

The turnover of students leaving to go back to their islands, and new performers coming in with great enthusiasm, was one of the special things that made it such a delight.

 

And of course COVID hit it hard, and they are just finding their way back, like so many performance and restaurant venues. Perhaps by next year they will be smoothly operating again, (depending on how well the new vaccines work, and whether new variants or diseases crop up).

 

I served as a missionary in Indonesia, and being able to attend BYU-Hawaii and work at the PCC was a goal for so many young people there.  

I understand and know the history of PCC. Those things you point out were exactly why we spent many days there when we lived there. Due to Covid or whatever that has totally changed unless 40 and 50 year olds are students. Many of the performers, that used to be students appeared to be old enough to be parents or even grandparents of students. As I said in my reply "If I had NEVER been it might have been a more enjoyable day." I was asked for my reasons and replied with MY reasons. I am sorry, I didn't realize you were with us.

 

[Naismith]

25 minutes ago, Trapper44 said:

I understand and know the history of PCC. Those things you point out were exactly why we spent many days there when we lived there. Due to Covid or whatever that has totally changed unless 40 and 50 year olds are students. Many of the performers, that used to be students appeared to be old enough to be parents or even grandparents of students. As I said in my reply "If I had NEVER been it might have been a more enjoyable day." I was asked for my reasons and replied with MY reasons. I am sorry, I didn't realize you were with us.

 

I am sorry that you saw my addition as critical or contradictory in any way from your valuable observations.  I don't doubt for a minute that what you reported was totally accurate of your experience, and do not mean to detract from your opinion in any way.

 

But I do still have hope that things at PCC will eventually bounce back, based on what is happening here in tourist-reliant Florida, where during the last year, businesses have closed unexpectedly on random days with very little notice because of lack of staffing, and Disney World cancelled a lot of their live shows.  It is finally starting to get a bit better this year.

 

One thing about the college students who perform at both Disney and the PCC...they have a certain window of auditions, etc. I don't know how Covid was doing in August 2021 in Hawaii, and whether the usual scholarships were being offered for the 700 students who worked at PCC pre-Covid (who likely did not travel to Hawaii without the promise of a job).  It would seem that by January 2022 it would have been safe to bring the students back, but the way college courses work, for a lot of majors some prerequisite classes are only offered in fall so that starting in January is not very practical.  

 

While I fully acknowledge your negative experience last February, I do have hope that a new school year brought a new influx of students and improved the quality of what is currently being offered at PCC.  

 

 

[mcrcruiser]

We are not signing any one up on our   Hawaii Roll Call  for a tour  & the PCC  on Feb 6 ,2024  in Honolulu on Koningsdam  for 2 days  until we see more positive reports  . We wanted to do the SuperAmbassador  ticket which is pricy in itself  .so we will wait to see more future comments . We ourselves have been there 2 times before . & really enjoyed the   young  very polite  BYU  students   who  work there 

[Seasick Sailor]

Our best Luau on Oahu was called Toa Luau. Absolutely the favorite with our family. We have been to over 40 luaus over the years, mostly on Maui. We went to 3 luaus this July for the month we spent on Maui. We enjoy the Old Lahaina luau.