Hilo Tours - Volcano National Park

[SirTomster]

I am second-guessing myself on a tour in Hilo.

 

Currently, I have booked a tour on Viator to visit Volcano National Park and a waterfall.   https://www.viator.com/tours/Big-Island-of-Hawaii/Hilo-Shore-Excursion-Exclusive-Volcanoes-National-Park-and-Rainbow-Falls/d669-22796P3

 

But I could do a tour with Carnival that is similar but more expensive.  One more waterfall, but no lava tube.  https://www.carnival.com/shore-excursions/hilo/vip-volcanoes-national-park-and-waterfall-190043?selectedVariant=RD20250209014190043202502170930

 

The only reason I am considering the Carnival one is that this is the last day in Hawaii before sailing back to Long Beach and if there were any issues, Carnival would have my back about making sure the ship did not leave without us.  Where Viator would just give us our money back if we miss the boat.  Probably a stupid paranoia, but it exists.

 

The Viator tour should have us back 1.5 to 2 hours before the ship leaves.  Which is plenty of time I think.

 

But there is still the nagging voice in the back of my head.

 

So asking the people here their thoughts.

[Silver Sweethearts]

3 hours ago, SirTomster said:

The only reason I am considering the Carnival one is that this is the last day in Hawaii before sailing back to Long Beach and if there were any issues, Carnival would have my back about making sure the ship did not leave without us.   

 

Just know that while it is said that a cruise line will make every effort to get you back to your ship, they can only wait so long before they must leave.

[prekcruiser]

I've booked many tours through Viator and have had no problems getting back to the ship.  They really pride themselves on the service they provide and they are aware of the local traffic conditions.  I don't think you have to worry about missing the ship. 1.5 to 2 hours is plenty of time to get back.

[DCwom]

On 10/16/2024 at 8:25 PM, SirTomster said:

The only reason I am considering the Carnival one is that this is the last day in Hawaii before sailing back to Long Beach and if there were any issues, Carnival would have my back about making sure the ship did not leave without us.  Where Viator would just give us our money back if we miss the boat.  Probably a stupid paranoia, but it exists.

 

But there is still the nagging voice in the back of my head.

Always that nagging feeling, I get it too, but with reproducible operators its got to be very rare.

[Silver Sweethearts]

12 hours ago, prekcruiser said:

I've booked many tours through Viator and have had no problems getting back to the ship.  They really pride themselves on the service they provide and they are aware of the local traffic conditions.  I don't think you have to worry about missing the ship. 1.5 to 2 hours is plenty of time to get back.

1.5 to 2 hours is enough under normal circumstances, but for instance here on Maui if the highway is closed due to accidents (which happen all too often) or a brush fire, there is no one - tour or not - who is going to get through, and the closure can easily last for hours.  Bottom line:  Do what makes you most comfortable.

[DCwom]

11 hours ago, Silver Sweethearts said:

there is no one - tour or not - who is going to get through, and the closure can easily last for hours.

One mitigating factor is if the Viator tour doesn't get through, its likely that the ship's tours also wouldn't get through, strength in numbers. On at least two cruises we've waited over an hour for bus loads of excursion passengers to get back.