Info on Hawaii Cruise please

[Armatage]

We are doing the Hawaii cruise next week, the one that goes around the islands for a week. Our only previous cruise was before covid, Anchorage to Vancouver, on Princess. In Alaska, we sometimes signed up for the excursions through the ship, but we also found tour booths near the pier which offered similar excursions at, presumably better prices. 
Will this situation in Hawaii be similar? Anyone have Hawaii excursions they recommend? 
Thanks.

[Jldevlin]

Go take a look at the ports of call section. That is the best place to find what each port offers. Hawaii ports are quite different from each other. Then you can find what suits you best!

[Rick&Jeannie]

@Armatage Welcome to Cruise Critic!

One thing to keep in mind when choosing third-party tours... Yes, they are typically cheaper BUT when you opt for a ship-sponsored tour they will hold the ship for the tour group if for some reason that tour is delayed or hindered in some manner (traffic, accident...etc.) With a third party tour they likely will NOT wait for you and it's up to you to get yourself to the next port.

[Kp125]

3 hours ago, Armatage said:

We are doing the Hawaii cruise next week, the one that goes around the islands for a week. Our only previous cruise was before covid, Anchorage to Vancouver, on Princess. In Alaska, we sometimes signed up for the excursions through the ship, but we also found tour booths near the pier which offered similar excursions at, presumably better prices. 
Will this situation in Hawaii be similar? Anyone have Hawaii excursions they recommend? 
Thanks.

The Pearl Harbor to airport tour was great although you need a whole day there really. I would take the road to Hana tour for one of the Maui days. For the Big Island I would rent a car one of those days to go to the Volcanoes Park. 

[Crazy planning mom]

Through NCL, we loved Haleakala at Sunset.  That was offered in Maui.  We rented a car the full day in Kauai, downloaded a tour by GPS app and drove to Waimea Canyon and Kokee State Park.  

[mexicobob]

Sounds like a good trip

[Panhandle Couple]

11 hours ago, Armatage said:

We are doing the Hawaii cruise next week, the one that goes around the islands for a week. Our only previous cruise was before covid, Anchorage to Vancouver, on Princess. In Alaska, we sometimes signed up for the excursions through the ship, but we also found tour booths near the pier which offered similar excursions at, presumably better prices. 
Will this situation in Hawaii be similar? Anyone have Hawaii excursions they recommend? 
Thanks.

NCL has been changing the port days and schedules due to very strong winds and waves right now.  That makes outside excursions iffy.  Kona is tender only, and can be a morning decision on getting off the ship, or getting a day at sea.

 

Find a recent U-tube review of the POA Hawaii cruise.  Your answer is it depends.  For Maui, there does not seem to be any in port, walk up, independent options.  Hilo, maybe. (there is a HOHO bus system)  Kona, probably not.  Kauai, maybe.  Vloggers don't typically show that aspect of a port.

 

We are on POA next month, so I have been researching excursions.  Beware that Hawaii is much more expensive for everything.  Tours, Uber, taxis.  NCL excursion prices there are higher than most on-line independent ones.  But you need to compare heavily.

 

We are opting for rental cars at all ports, so we can do what we want, with factoring in weather. We have been to Hawaii twice, but not Maui or Kauai, and have used rental cars.  

[fshagan]

9 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

@Armatage Welcome to Cruise Critic!

One thing to keep in mind when choosing third-party tours... Yes, they are typically cheaper BUT when you opt for a ship-sponsored tour they will hold the ship for the tour group if for some reason that tour is delayed or hindered in some manner (traffic, accident...etc.) With a third party tour they likely will NOT wait for you and it's up to you to get yourself to the next port.

 

While inconvenient, this isn't as huge a deal in Hawai'i. Americans don't need a passport and inter-island flights are inexpensive.

 

You still don't want to miss the boat, but it's not nearly as bad as it would be in a foreign country.

[LouChamp]

Aloha. We are blessed to divide our time between NY and Honolulu. Have sailed NCL Hawaii since its inception and keep in mind the voyage is different than foreign flagged lines but for your first hawaiian adventure it certainly beats all the time spent flying around. I agree with the advice posted so go with a very relaxed attitude and keep us posted! 

[schmoopie17]

10 hours ago, fshagan said:

 

You still don't want to miss the boat, but it's not nearly as bad as it would be in a foreign country.

Even worse would be missing the ship in the Azores on a westbound TA and having to fly back home.

 

Having said that, we did an independent tour in the Azores and had no problem.

I guess we like to live on the edge. (As opposed to the Prima, Encore, etc.).

 

 

Edited February 5 by schmoopie17

[Ellis1138]

There will not be people waiting at the port to give tours. You should research each island for what you want to do and then check NCL's excursions, Viator, tours by locals or Tripadvisor.

 

Ironically, people with independent excursions have been able to somewhat reschedule to the sudden new itinerary, while NCL has not been able to reschedule some of their excursions, accoring to some folks on the ship this week.

 

I don't feel comfy recommended excusrions to someone whose level of fitness or finances I don't know, but here are what I consider the big highlights of each island:

Oahu: Waikiki beach, North Shore, Haleiwa

Maui: Upcountry, Haleakala, Kihei, snorkeling in Molokini.  (Lahaina used to be one, but it's gone and going to the West just to see a blowhole is not my thing.) Road to Hana is something some people do, but if I wanted to sit in traffic for hours by the ocean, I can do that in NJ.

Big Island: Volcanoes National Park, Punaluu Black Sand Beach, Pu'uhonua O Honaunau (Kona side), Mauna Kea summit

Kauai: NaPali coast by helicopter, plane or catamaran. Poipu Beach. Waimea Canyon. Biking the Kapaa bike path. Some folks like the Kauai Backcountry tubing. Kauai is my favorite of the islands.

 

Since you only have a week, I don't know how many of these things will be available.

[mskaufman]

On 2/4/2024 at 9:25 PM, Crazy planning mom said:

Through NCL, we loved Haleakala at Sunset.  That was offered in Maui.  We rented a car the full day in Kauai, downloaded a tour by GPS app and drove to Waimea Canyon and Kokee State Park.  

We did Haleakala at sunrise.  Also a good choice.