Money Saving Ideas for Hawaiian Cruises

[dyslexic pirate]

We had a great time in Hawaii and loved all the money saving ideas we got from this site. I thought I'd start this thread here rather than on the Hawaii site since there are three NCL ships that cater to the islands exclusively.

 

Please add your ideas on how to save money and maximize your fun!

 

In Honolulu we visited the FREE Army museum that is just a short walk from the Hilton Hawaiian Village. We did leave a donation in their box.

 

Rather than pay $20 each for the ship to transport our luggage to the airport and print our airline boarding passes we took advantage of the last night internet special. Printed our own passes and checked emails. Then rented a nice sized vehicle and toured the entire island, all for less than what the ship would have charged us. The big bonus was at the end of the day. We had all of our stuff with us so we stopped off at the Gold's Gym (we are members) in Honolulu and used thier locker rooms to freshen up and change clothes prior to heading for the airport for the red eye home.

 

All the state parks in Hawaii are free. We saved hundreds of dollars by visiting several in our rental car.

 

The national parks are $10 per vehicle. No charge though if you already have a national parks pass that you can utilize anywhere for a year in the US.

 

The entertainment book is always a good investment. However we only used one coupon at Taco Bell (what can I say...DH wanted a burritto supreme!). But we brought the book home and will use some more of the coupons before it expires.

 

I know you give up some luxory and convenience to save some money but we usually don't mind. Since we plan to return to the island and do this cruise again in '08 with the whole fam damily we'd love to hear your $$ saving ideas.:)

[hncg57c]

Here are a few tips:

 

Rent a car...it alllows you to do more than what a shore excursion from the ship offers and you have more flexibility in choosing what you want to do and how long you want to stay at a place. Also, it can save you money...there were six of us, so it saved a lot of money just by doing some of the excursions on our own.

 

Like the previous poster said, the Entertainment Book is a really good investment. We used a few coupons in the book, but the major one was a coupon for the Polynesian Cultural Center, which more than covered the price we paid for the book.

 

If I think of any more tips, I'll post them.

[Suebee]

I agree about the book....its really worth it for the shows and dining (if you go to the ones in there)...but you can get discounts on activities on the internet, or simply by stopping by one of the hotels for coupon books. The Outrigger on the Beach has a coupon book that I can get use of, even as a local. There are some restaurants and lots of activities and shopping in there. Hilo hattie, for example, gives out discounts like free advice and you can get a coupon for them even on the airplanes! So buy the book if you are going to a luau, PCC, or a favorite couple of restaurants in there. If you dont want to spend the money, walk around to the hotels for the books, buy the Friday newspapers (with some coupons for dining in the 'weekend' section) or look into the Aloha Diner book/card.

 

One of my favorite freebees are the shows along waikiki...the torch lighting, hula shows and the fireworks on Fridays.

 

If you have kids, the 3rd sunday of the month is Free Keiki Sunday at the Honolulu Academy of Arts....scavenger maps, arts and crafts, entertainment, snacks and prizes for all the kids...we go every month because the kids love it....we love that its free....and then off to Ward Center because Compadre's restaurant has "kids eat Free on Sunday!"

 

Just buy the newspaper...there is nearly always a free show, festival, local 'luau', or other ideas for something inexpensive or free....the friday paper has a whole section.

 

Lunch is not always a cheaper meal so check the menus, but sometimes you can get away with a less expansive later lunch (around 2 pm, say) and then do pupu's and cocktails later in the night at a beachside bar that has some local entertainment playing.....you get dinner and entertainment for a less dough then if you eat dinner at one place and then head to some other bar.

 

Feel free to dine at the bar for a restaurant for a long line....Cheesecake factory is one of those...you can bypass a really long line if there is a seat in the bar. Not a money save, but a time saver.

 

Honestly some of the best meals are at the local restaurants out of town. Those are the ones supported not by one time tourists but the locals. The food is cheaper...the ambiance might not be the best, but you will get a truer sense of what its like to be local.

[beachchick]

If you are doing a pre or post stay and don't care about staying at a resort, there are many good B&B's with good rates. You can also look at the "by owner" rental sites for condos or homes (private homes are our favorite). Many of them have excellent amenities (especially condos with recreation centers), are in wonderful locations (even beach front), can be surprisingly affordable, and (biggest money saver) have kitchens. If you are into cooking your own meals, you can go to the grocery stores (your Safeway/Vons card is good in Hawaii as in any other state) and Farmers Markets. We never go out for breakfast when we have a kitchen. IMO, breakfast is the most cost-ineffective meal to eat out. Plus, eating in we can still be in our jammies! You can pack picnics for lunch or go out (which Suebee has pointed out can be cheaper) and go out for a nice dinner or cook a fresh meal at your rental. We love to do that--I'm telling you there's just nothing like fresh ono and pineapple on the grill served with a salad of upcountry greens and tomatoes with Maui onions when you've prepared the meal yourself.

 

Definitely buy the Entertainment Book. The nationwide coupons alone will pay for the book. The hotel rates and car rates can be real money savers. Even if you only use a few other coupons, you'll be ahead of the game.

 

If you snorkel, buy and bring your own gear. Some sets can be very reasonably priced and will pay for themselves after just a few days of snorkeling. (Plus the benefit of not renting and using a snorkel that's been in someone else's mouth.)

 

Rent cars instead of taking ship-sponsered excursions. It's less expensive, driving in the islands is easy, and you can go where you want when you want. Check out some of the discounters. If you snorkel or dive, check out the "few frills" places (such as Maui Dive Shop). You won't get the water slides, glass bottom viewing, big meal, full bar stuff. You will get snorkel or dive excursions for much less money.

 

If you are on one of the Pride ships, I believe you are allowed to take fresh food off the ship (not on though). We all know it's usually not allowed, but with the research I've done the answer has been yes for the Pride ships (and only for the Pride ships) because they cruise exclusively in the islands. This means you may order sandwiches, fruit, and other goodies from room service and pack your own lunch to go. (Bring ziplocs and some disposable containers, and of course a cooler.)

 

Find the spots where the locals eat. Go for Happy Hour specials or late lunches. A cocktail with a salad and pupus is a great idea.

 

Can't think of anything else right now.

 

beachchick

[cruzfiend]

Great thread, people. They call me the "coupon queen" - so I really appreciate the frugal ideas and suggestions.:D Keep it up, please.

[lambs2]

We took our lunch off the ship at each port. Brought a collapsible cooler and a small refreezable ice pack along with plastic baggies from home. We either ordered sandwiches from room service the night before or just took croissants (from the breakfast buffet) or other rolls with sausages inside for our lunch, along with some fresh fruit, cookies and/or chips (room service served these with the sandwiches we ordered.) We had brought bottled water with us so just used these for our beverage. Saved us lots of time and $$'s on our explorations each day with our rental car.

 

We also prebooked the Royal Lahaina Luau for less than $50. per person and throroughly enjoyed that one night in Maui.

 

We also did our own circle tour of Oahu with a rental car on the day we left the ship. Had our luggage in the trunk (which we never opened all day), our lunch along with us (from the ship), so only bought some shave ices on the north shore, pineapple whip at the Dole Plantation and then dinner at a Korean restaurant near the airport. Great day!

[Victorian]

Where did you freeze your ice pack? We are going to be staying in a cat. J inside room on the PoA. Does it have a fridge/freezer?

 

Thanks

[lambs2]

Where did you freeze your ice pack? We are going to be staying in a cat. J inside room on the PoA. Does it have a fridge/freezer?

 

Thanks

 

 

 

No not a real freezer, but if you place a small refreezable pack up near the top of the fridge (there was a little ledge in ours) it will get to an almost frozen state overnight. At least that is what we did and it worked fine.

[beachchick]

You could also bring freezer ziplocs and fill them with ice to keep food in the cooler fresh. Your cabin steward should be happy to bring you enough ice to do so.

 

beachchick

[WomanRN]

We also prebooked the Royal Lahaina Luau for less than $50. per person and throroughly enjoyed that one night in Maui.

 

Where did you get such a great deal? Would be interested in doing the same thing for next March!:D

[Giantfan13]

Beachchick has the right idea. We did exactly that, brought one of those bag coolers that fold up and we filled a ziplock bag each day with ice. We brought water bottles and filled them with water, lemonade, cranberry juice, whatever, each morning at the buffet. We also made great sanwitches from the buffet to take out every day. They have an endless supply of Lox and put some cheese on a bagel, with some onion and a tomato, throw all the lox you want on it, stuff it all in a sandwitch bag and you are ready to go. They have peanut butter and jelly, different cheeses, fruit, dried apricots to snack on. It may be a cheaper way to go, but we enjoyed it and we always found some picturesque spot to eat lunch at. Hey, if you have a rental, you can throw everything in the back.

[WomanRN]

Sorry Lambs2....answered my own question...found your previous post and got the address from there...

 

And KIDS ARE FREE with each paying adult!!!!!!:D

Made it even cheaper still!!!!

 

Fabulous idea!

[tpride3]

Thanks so much for these ideas. We have spent all our money on the cruise and little is left for the excursions(they are so much money)We want to dive and would like some ideas. We are going to be on the Pride Of Aloha Dec 17th. Also about renting cars, how do we do that?

[beachchick]

tpride3: For renting cars, just go to the rental companies' websites and see what the rates are. Thrifty is popular, as is Alamo. If you do an advanced search for "car rent" (or similar terms) going back 3 months or so, you'll get a bunch of threads discussing the various merits of different rental companies at different Hawaii ports.

 

beachchick

[tpride3]

Thank you so much for writing back with the ideas. So I guess I need book it in advance. Will they pick you up at the port? Thanks again

[alwayssingin]

Yes. Definitely book in advance. Most, if not all, pick up at the ports. Some will be there waiting, others you will have to call upon arrival.

 

Shop around. I checked every imaginable rental company and got the best rates from National, but others say they have gotten best rates through different compaines.

[suziehmkr]

Definitely book ahead - many run out of cars before you get there. I shopped around for days and got the best deals with Alamo and the Entertainment coupons. Those coupons are great - they saved me $23 on our 1-day rental in Alaska too. You can use your local book, they don't have to be from the book of your destination.

[beachchick]

Just a note that some of the rental car coupons are not valid (that is, not honored) in Hawaii. I know for sure that Avis and Budget do not allow the coupons in Hawaii, but do honor the discount code. (Doesn't matter if the coupons are from the Hawaii EB; the coupons aren't accepted at those two, and perhaps others.) I know that National and Alamo do honor the coupons in Hawaii.

 

beachchick

[tpride3]

Thanks so much. If anybody else has ideas please post. We are a family of three who does everything together if you times that by three, money starts to add up.

[suziehmkr]

We did 4 ports in Hawaii and I consider that we were on a budget. Oahu was our most expensive day since we did PCC (we were a family of 3 for that trip - but a traveling party of 6) and booked the ships excursion since we wanted to be sure that the ship would wait for us if there was a delay coming back.

 

On Kauai, we rented a car to drive to the canyon and then back down to Poipu. Our expenses for the day were the car and the lunch supplies that we picked up at the grocery story on the island.

 

In Maui our only expense was lunch in Lahaina and our bus ride to Ka'anapali. We probably could have found a better deal for lunch, but we were starving and the meal that we had was fantastic for a burger place. As a matter of fact, I think we DID use a coupon from one of the books they handed out at the port!

 

In Hilo, our only expense was the rental car to the Volcano and lunch up there.

 

If we had made it to Kona, again our only expense would have been lunch and the rental car.

 

Of course, this doesn't include shopping that we may have done, etc. We snorkeled in 3 ports (would have been 4) and had brought our own gear with us, that we bought at home inexpensively. We now have it packed away for when we return to Kona for a week in 2008.

 

You can find coupons galore to help discount your lunches & even your shopping expenses. I know we had at least one coupon book while we were in Maui. I used our Entertainment coupons for renting our cars thru Alamo - but as beachchick mentions, they are not always honored by all vendors.

 

Hawaii is a place where you can go all out on your excursions, or do your research and take adavantage of the natural beauty on your own.

 

If you are on a ship and are trying to use the internet - wait until you get to islands. I spent way too much just trying to send a couple of emails from the ship on my laptop. I ended up checking email in Maui - 20 min for only $2. I will do that again on all of our cruises to ANYWHERE.

[Bob3535]

My wife and I just got back from NCL Pride of Hawaii cruise. In Kauai we found a 60 minute air tour of the entire island of Kauai for around $200 ($100 each) with Bruce Coulombe with Wings Over Kauai. Only the pilot (Bruce) and the two of us were in the plane. It was very personal and very informative . . . . The views were great! It was much less expensive than the helicopter rides (and much safer!). I would highly recommend Wings Over Kauai. http://www.wingsoverkauai.com/

[beachchick]

My wife and I just got back from NCL Pride of Hawaii cruise. In Kauai we found a 60 minute air tour of the entire island of Kauai for around $200 ($100 each) with Bruce Coulombe with Wings Over Kauai. Only the pilot (Bruce) and the two of us were in the plane. It was very personal and very informative . . . . The views were great! It was much less expensive than the helicopter rides (and much safer!). I would highly recommend Wings Over Kauai. http://www.wingsoverkauai.com/

 

"and much safer"

 

This is the only thing I disagree with. Safety is entirely a matter of soundness, maintenance, crew, pilot experience, and so forth, and much less to do with the type of craft in which you fly. Weather can contribute to any problems, but more often than not, you will find that pilot error or faulty maintenance is the cause of problems. (Pilots: Believe me, this is no slam against you. I grew up with pilots, worked with pilots of all types, and have a air enthusiast DH who has also done some flying. I always remember the motto that there are bold pilots and old pilots, but no old, bold pilots. Safety first has been the motto of every pilot I've known.)

 

beachchick

[rmorris910]

Find out what Shore Excursions are available and try to book them off the boat. In Lahaina they were offering helicoptor tours for $75 opposed to $200 per person. I now wish I got the name of the company that was offering it, as I LOVED Maui and will definitely be returning in the next few years.

 

Also, in Kauai, the golfing was $135-165 on the boat, while we booked a course for $35 just by calling them directly.

[tpride3]

Thanks so much for the ideas. These are great ones about the airplanes and helicoptor rides. Thanks we wanted to do them but we couldn't find the money($600) $300 sounds a whole lot better. Suziemkr you wrote about snorking at three places own your own .We have our stuff also.Where did you go? Thanks again keep those ideas coming in.

[1tuckersmom]

My wife and I just got back from NCL Pride of Hawaii cruise. In Kauai we found a 60 minute air tour of the entire island of Kauai for around $200 ($100 each) with Bruce Coulombe with Wings Over Kauai. Only the pilot (Bruce) and the two of us were in the plane. It was very personal and very informative . . . . The views were great! It was much less expensive than the helicopter rides (and much safer!). I would highly recommend Wings Over Kauai. http://www.wingsoverkauai.com/

Bob 3535, how did you get from the ship to the airport, and what is the distance from ship to airport?

Did you have rental car?

We would love to do this in June when we are on the POH.

Will be three of us.