hawaii discount activities....reputable???

[bleuseas]

Can anyone who has used hawaiidiscountactivities to purchase luaus, tours etc. give me any feedback?

 

Are they reputable? Is is a front for timeshare sales?

 

Seems like every Hawaii activity I search for somehow gets redirected to their website for purchase...

 

 

Kris

[bbiggar]

We used them last year with one glitch. Somehow when we arrived in Maui they called our hotel and left a message that we had canceled our tours with them. We did no such thing. After a long phone call and many more $'s spent on that call we had things all set back up and squared away. I must say we were pretty upset how our tours had gotten canceled in the first place. Not sure I will trust them again and we are returning to Maui in Sept. I think we are going to just try and get the discounted tours they sell downtown. We really don't want to take the chance of the stress and sitting on the phone again with this company.

 

I hope you get some better responses than mine.

[lambs2]

We used Hawaii Discount Activities just this past June to book our luau in Maui and we were extremely

 

pleased with their service and great prices! In fact, we originally booked and paid for the luau we wanted

 

to attend for our cruise this past May on the Pride of Aloha. That cruise had to be cancelled with only a

 

few days notice due to a propeller problem that required them to stay in drydock longer than

 

scheduled. :eek: Of course we had already made all kinds of arrangements, such as the aforementioned

 

luau, but we had no choice but to change our plans abruptly and so we switched to a June sailing on the

 

Pride of America. Changing our airline reservations proved very costly, to say the least. However, we were

 

very fortunate concerning our other plans. We called Hawaii Discount Activities and asked them if we could

 

change the date for our pre-paid luau on Maui. They were extremely accommodating and within an hour we

 

had been sent new email tickets for the June date that we would be on Maui. :D We had an absolutely

 

fantastic time at that Kaanapali (Royal Lahaina) Luau and have been most highly recommending it AND

 

Hawaii Discount Activities ever since! They could not have been more understanding and easy to work

 

with, in our opinion, and we would not hesitate one moment to recommend them to others. Absolutely no

 

time share presentation involved!

[bbiggar]

lambs2 I am so glad to hear of your good experience. Hopefully it was just some glitch that our tour had been canceled. At least they contacted us to see why we had (supposovly) canceled in the first place.

[bleuseas]

Hi Lambs,

 

Loved your review and was looking to do the Royal Lahaina Luau too.

It was WONDERFUL to read about somebody who had a truly good time on their vacation!

 

I found another tour company called activityworld in a brochure sent to me by the Maui Visitors Bureau yesterday. Their website says they're not a timeshare and their prices are pretty good too. I may try them for the Luau. They're offering a special of one free child's ticket per paying couple, so that will help me justify spending the $ to bring the kids along.

 

One more question: After you did the Zodiac on Kona, was there enough to do near the ship the rest of the day or did you have any regrets about not venturing out to see more of the area?

 

Kris

[lambs2]

Hi Lambs,

 

Loved your review and was looking to do the Royal Lahaina Luau too.

It was WONDERFUL to read about somebody who had a truly good time on their vacation!

 

Unfortunately, the Royal Lahaina website states they're closed on Monday nights. I don't think the itinerary has changed on the POAm since you went so I'm not sure what the deal is. We're going in October, so maybe they changed it because of the season.

 

I found another tour company called activityworld in a brochure sent to me by the Maui Visitors Bureau yesterday. Their website says they're not a timeshare and their prices are pretty good too. I may try them for the Luau at the Hyatt. They're offering one free child's ticket per paying couple, so that will help me justify spending the $ to bring the kids along.

 

One more question: After you did the Zodiac on Kona, was there enough to do near the ship the rest of the day or did you have any regrets about not venturing out to see more of the area?

 

Kris

 

 

 

We most definitely attended the Royal Lahaina Luau on Monday, June 5. It was absolutely wonderful. I think they were closed on Sundays when we were there. Call them directly and ask because things must have changed. The Royal Lahaina or Kaanapali Luau also had one child free with each adult ticket on that website. http://www.hawaiidiscountactivities.com/reservationrequest/activitylistings.asp?catkey=28&subcat=False&vendorid=&actkey=783&page_size=8&current_page=1&island=2

 

 

As far as Kona, after we got back from our Zodiak adventure we actually went back to the ship for lunch and a quick shower and to change out of our bathing suits and then took another tender back to town. We spent the whole afternoon in Kona and even took a quick free shuttle trip to Walmart because we needed a couple things. There was plenty of time to see the little town and we had no regrets for not venturing any further from town. Every other day we rented cars and drove and drove all over, so that day was a break for my DH and we had a great time. In the afternoon it threatened to rain that, but we only got a few drips and that was the only time for our whole Hawaiian trip!

[bleuseas]

Lambs:

 

OOPS! You got to my thread before I could edit out the stuff about the luau being closed on Monday. Must have been a problem with the website or something when I tried to book it before, it kept saying closed. I went back in just now and the date was open. I couldn't imagine them being closed on a ship day. Thanks for your quick response.

 

 

I can't remember if you did Volcano National Park on Hilo. If you did, did you have any problems renting the car in Hilo? I see people complaining about how long it takes to get a car there because it's at the airport (??? I hope I have the right port on this one) Was there enough time left to see a lot of the park if you did see it?

 

Thanks again!

 

Kris

[lambs2]

We were one of the very first off the ship that Sunday morning in Hilo. We went and got in line just as soon as we finished breakfast. Had to wait about an hour, but then we were in the very first shuttle to the Thrifty lot. I believe in Hilo the van was a Budget van but for both companies. Anyway they were very organized and we had our car within a few minutes of getting to the Thrifty lot. We even got an upgrade because from the economy car we paid for! I think the "secret" was being some of the first in line that morning as many many folks rent cars to do VNP in Hilo. We were in line with one mom who was going to get the car while her hubby got the kids rounded up and ready and then she was going to drive back to the ship to pick them all up. Saw her later and that seemed to work fine for her family. She and her DH used cell phones to keep in touch. the thrifty lot is perhaps 5-7 mles from the boat dock. Thrifty gives you great maps too!

[bleuseas]

Thanks again for the great advice!

 

What did you do on Hilo instead of VNP?

[lambs2]

We DID do VNP! We spent about 4 or 5 hours there, but after that we also drove to see Banyan Drive, the Japanese Gardens, Akaka Falls Park, Rainbow Fall, the historic downtown area of Hilo, and Peepee Falls and the Boiling Pots!

[bleuseas]

Sounds like a plan!

 

Thanks again :)

[mamapickle]

Lambs2, we will be in Hilo 10a.m. until 6 p.m. Do you think we will have time to see VNP and other things as well? You said you were there 4-5 hours. that seems like a long time, but I don't know, never having been there.

[mamapickle]

Lambs2, we will be in Hilo 10a.m. until 6 p.m. Do you think we will have time to see VNP and other things as well? You said you were there 4-5 hours. that seems like a long time, but I don't know, never having been there.

 

pat

[lambs2]

Lambs2, we will be in Hilo 10a.m. until 6 p.m. Do you think we will have time to see VNP and other things as well? You said you were there 4-5 hours. that seems like a long time, but I don't know, never having been there.

 

pat

 

 

 

 

Well we got off the ship just as early as possible (we were like the first in line!), so we were on the very first shuttle bus to get our rental car pretty early that morning. We then headed straight to VNP which was not a very long trip, IMO. Spent over an hour waiting to see the intro movie at the Welcome Center and listened to a rnger talk before we started to go and see the sites. We di not take any of the longer hikes, but we saw and did everything else. We had brought a picnic lunch along with us so we did not spend much of our time on food and stuff like that. Next we headed to see Banyan Drive and the Japanese Garden before heading to Akaka Falls State Park. Drove back to see the town of Hilo and also Rainbow Falls, Peepee Falls and the Boiling Pots. Then it was time to return our car and catch the Th Fantastic day!rifty shuttle back to the ship for sail away and dinner!

[Iulia]

Hello,

 

I am booked for Sept 18 on a monday with the Royal Lahaina Luau through

the hawaii discount activities site.. they told me that if I made a reservations, there will be a luau....it also depends on the time of the year

and how many visitors they have... but september 18th is a go...

[bleuseas]

I figured out where I saw "no Mondays" for Royal Lahaina. It was on that ActivityWorld website. They must not personally have a contract with them on Monday (or Saturday whcih is odd) or something, because Royal Lahaina was bookable through other sites on Mondays.

 

Sorry, again, for the confusion.

 

Kris