Excursion Advice for Pride of America Hawaii Cruise in May 2024.

[JB61]

I'm going on POA May 2024 with 2 friends from childhood (We're all in our 60s and mobile).  They are pretty set on doing excursions through NCL or at least another tour operator, however I've traveled all the islands on my own with my husband in a rental car and like the freedom of a car and driving. They are not into water sports either. 

 

Are there any recommendations on external or private tour operators for going to Waimea Canyon on Kauai?  The NCL tour is not appealing.  We also want to go to the Allerton and McBryde Gardens on Kauai.  I would like to just get a rental car and go, but again they prefer to do it through NCL, which has a tour called "Jewels of Hawaii.   Also they area looking at the Paia Town and Twin Falls tour on Maui instead of doing the Road to Hanna, which is too long for them.  We are not shoppers and not sure about sitting around on the Beach in Paia since there are so many nicer ones on Maui and on the dryer side.  I have seen some half way to Hanna tours that look good.     

 

Does anyone have any reviews of the tours I mentioned, or other tour recommendations?  Also comments about getting a rental car in Maui and/or Kuai? I am a Hertz Gold member and its been a pretty quick turn around to get a rental car. 

[carohs]

What's their reasoning for getting a tour operator? Maybe y'all could compromise and get the GuideAlong app? As far as rentals go, both in Maui and Kauai you dock real close to the airport. We rented from Enterprise/National but we found we were in our rental and on the road 30 minutes-ish after getting off the ship. 

[Sailing12Away]

In Kauai and Maui you have overnight stops, so if you planned something on day 1 would the group feel better about it not being an NCL sponsored tour? Since you have over 24hrs to get back to the ship in case something happens. 

 

We rented a car in Maui. When you get off the ship there are several transfer buses right there to catch a bus to the car rental place. Got a jeep for the 4 of us and we drove halfway to Hana, over to the Maui brewery, all over the island, and ended up top at Haleakala to watch the sunset. Drove back to the car drop off then it was easier for us to take an Uber back to the ship. Not sure how late the transfer buses run to bring you back.

 

On Kauai we did a private tour with these folks. They will take you anywhere you want to go. https://www.hawaiianphotos.net/Kauaitours.htm

[Panhandle Couple]

We will be sailing on POA next month, and we have opted for rental cars at each port.

 

You might look at excursions on Trip Advisor (similar to the NCL offerings) and see their ratings, to see which ones might be better.  Tour descriptions make everything sound wonderful, but can often be a letdown once there.  

 

I think to convince them, simply point out a tour will only stop at the 3 or 4 places listed.  You may pass other things that are interesting to you, but they won't stop.  

 

Also any food provided on a tour can be prepackaged and bland.  Not being able to stop at shaved ice stands, coffee shops, and banana bread stores is missing part of the Hawaii experience.   Tours, at best will only stop at the ones of their choosing, if at all.

 

There are many U-tube videos on POA and the ports.  Most of them (surprise) feature the travelers using rental cars vs tours.  One lady (TA on a comp cruise) who did the NCL tours was a little disappointed, but she did get them either for free or a reduced price. 

 

Also, Ubers are expensive there, a simple Uber side trip from port could be the cost of the rental car for the day.  

 

 

Edited February 12 by Panhandle Couple

[NotADopey1]

What is the current cost of rental cars?  They were extremely expensive after the pandemic.

[JB61]

I've seen them from $125 to $200 a day. Less than the cost of 1 person's excursion price.

[LloydJr]

Since NCL has decided that the environment can no longer allow us to see the NaPali coastline, we're looking at this:

Nā Pali Catamaran Sunset Tour | Kauai Sea Tours

 

I haven't been on it yet, so can't really recommend.

[ajtraveler66]

When we were on the Pride of America, the ship spent two nights on Kauai.  Because we were there for two nights, we were able to book an excursion with Captain Andy's that took us along the Napali Coast.  IT WAS FANTASTIC!  (See attachment below).  {We didn't get it thru NCL}.

 

Check your itinerary ... and if you are in Kauai for 2 nights, definitely look into this one!  However, if you are only there for one night, it might be difficult to fit it into your plans.  

 

https://www.napali.com/

[LloydJr]

3 minutes ago, ajtraveler66 said:

if you are in Kauai for 2 nights, definitely look into this one! 

Why would you need to be there for 2 nights?

[JB61]

Yeah the ship stays 2 days, one night on Kauai

[ajtraveler66]

Sorry .... We did the sunet cruise with Captain Andy's.  I should have specified.

 

That's why it was important that we be there for 2 days.  (I checked the website, and I see that there are plenty of other options ... some you could probably do with just one day in Kauai).

 

IT WAS WONDERFUL!!!

[jdc987]

On 2/15/2024 at 3:19 AM, ajtraveler66 said:

Sorry .... We did the sunet cruise with Captain Andy's.  I should have specified.

 

That's why it was important that we be there for 2 days.  (I checked the website, and I see that there are plenty of other options ... some you could probably do with just one day in Kauai).

 

IT WAS WONDERFUL!!!

Hi, looking at island map, I am curious where or how you get to departure point of tour?  I am also interested in whale watch tour and it list departure point at some distance from cruise terminal.  Thanks in advance.

[CruiseOrRust]

Make sure that you book excursions that will fully refund if the ship doesn’t make it. We are on the POA today stuck in Honolulu because the swells are supposedly too high at Maui. Not only lost a full day experiencing Hawaii but we got stuck with nonrefundable excursion expenses. 

[JB61]

We were able to come up with a compromise. We are doing one excursion per island using a Norwegian excursion, and I have a rental car reserved for 1 day on each island where I will be the driver and provide an itinerary based on my knowledge and some  guidebook advice. It seems to have worked out. At least with the Norwegian booked excursions we'll be made  whole and I can cancel my car up to an hour before I pick it up. 

[Panhandle Couple]

1 hour ago, CruiseOrRust said:

Make sure that you book excursions that will fully refund if the ship doesn’t make it. We are on the POA today stuck in Honolulu because the swells are supposedly too high at Maui. Not only lost a full day experiencing Hawaii but we got stuck with nonrefundable excursion expenses. 

Could you get off the ship?

Oahu isn't Maui, but maybe go to Diamond Head or Arizona memorial?

 

Since this is the only itinerary for POA, I'm sure the captain has made the correct call.

[CruiseOrRust]

We could get off the ship. But we already spent five full days on Oahu and had all the experiences that we wanted. 

[Silver Sweethearts]

13 hours ago, jdc987 said:

Hi, looking at island map, I am curious where or how you get to departure point of tour?  I am also interested in whale watch tour and it list departure point at some distance from cruise terminal.  Thanks in advance.

Whale Watch tours on Maui may be found at Ma'alaea Harbor, about nine miles from where the POA docks.  If you rent a car it will take about 20 minutes to get to Ma'alaea.  Do check first though, as whale season may be over by the time you arrive here.

 

 

[TeresaJ]

20 hours ago, CruiseOrRust said:

Make sure that you book excursions that will fully refund if the ship doesn’t make it. We are on the POA today stuck in Honolulu because the swells are supposedly too high at Maui. Not only lost a full day experiencing Hawaii but we got stuck with nonrefundable excursion expenses. 

Oh no, that's too bad and very disappointing! I hope you make it there for 1 day at least.

[ShipawayAtx]

My sail date is in April. I’m sorry to hear about the non-refundable excursion. The ship not making it is out of your control.
 

I’m not sure if it’s been asked, but on the overnight ports, how early can you get off the ship on the second morning? 
 

If you wanted to leave at 5 am on day 2 of Kauai or Maui, is that allowed or do you have to wait for a certain time to get off?

 

Thank you 

[Panhandle Couple]

9 minutes ago, ShipawayAtx said:

My sail date is in April. I’m sorry to hear about the non-refundable excursion. The ship not making it is out of your control.
 

I’m not sure if it’s been asked, but on the overnight ports, how early can you get off the ship on the second morning? 
 

If you wanted to leave at 5 am on day 2 of Kauai or Maui, is that allowed or do you have to wait for a certain time to get off?

 

Thank you 

At Maui, the sunrise at the Crater excursion leaves at 3:00 AM.

So you can get off very early.

[ShipawayAtx]

Thank you! I wondered if it was a non-cruise sponsored excursion if we would be stuck. I forgot about the sunrise at the crater! 

[ShipawayAtx]

On 2/14/2024 at 2:07 PM, NotADopey1 said:

What is the current cost of rental cars?  They were extremely expensive after the pandemic.

I booked through Turo for Maui and Kauai. We’ll see how it goes.