The Wind and Kauai excursions

[alwayssingin]

We are on the Wind in January, and the itinerary says we arrive at 8:00 and depart at 5:00. Has anyone done a zipline excursion on Kauai on their own in that short amount of time? We have a rental car reserved, but not sure we could make it up to Princeville and do the Zip 'n Dip in time (there are 9:00 and 11:30 reservations available). Wondering if we should cancel the car and do the NCL excursion. I believe it is at Kipu Falls and not Princeville.

 

Any other ideas for that short day, aside from snorkeling or beaching it?:o

[alwayssingin]

I was hoping this wouldn't get moved since it was specific to the NCL Wind's time in port and NCL excursions...

[fiddledisney]

I think I would take the ships excursion if these are your choices. I am pretty sure you would not make the 9 time as it takes time to get off the ship and get to the rental cars. Then it takes some time to drive to Princeville (like more than 45 minutes, I have only been once so I don't know the exact time). I don't know how long the zip lasts so I can't really predict the full thing but I think you should consider time in your calculations. Sorry, I can't tell you exactly what to do. There are other options like rent a car and just see sights (when we were there is March, the zipline was cancelled due to rain) or zipline on Maui.

[FrozenOne]

I had a heck of a time deciding which excursion to do on Kauai. I decided to book with NCL as I am solo and only drive motorcycles or ATVs not cars. Never needed to learn to drive a car.

I have booked the zipline excursion early and then the Tubin the ditch for the afternoon.. I just hope that I can do both- I have a feeling that I will be told when I get on the ship that I can only do one....

 

I am going Oct 28th so I can let you know when I get back what happens..

I CAN"T WAIT!!!

[Sheila1]

Hi all!

I keep reading in various posts about how long it takes to get off the ship on Kauai. Is this because it is a tender port?

If not, then what causes this island to be any longer than the others.

I am booking a helicopter tour and I am wondering if I am better to book it for the afternoon?

 

Thanks!

[spleen93]

Kauai is always a docked port. But you need to get to the rental car agencies which are located at Lihue Airport so that adds time. I don't think it's any longer than any other location in Hawaii.

 

Spleen

[AZ_Roy]

Kauai is always a docked port. But you need to get to the rental car agencies which are located at Lihue Airport so that adds time. I don't think it's any longer than any other location in Hawaii.

 

Spleen

 

We just got back from a week on the Pride of America on the 2w3rd and had a blast in Kauai. We booked away from the cruise line and still had no problems. We were on Kauai for 2 days on the America and went thru www.airventureshawaii.com for thier 60 min flightseeing tour. The owners, Billy & DOnna Zeffiro are awesome and very helpful in setting up flights for cruise passengers. They only have one plane, a high wing Maule MXT7 that is a blast to ride in with HUGE windows for a great view. You can catch a free shuttle to the little shopping center that Donna runs a tour desk out of and she can arrange a ride to the airport for $7.50/person.

 

You can actually see more of the island from a plane than the helicopters, though they are a blst as well.

 

We also booked a ground tour thru Donna with Ephriam Kaleiohi of www.alohadiscoverykauaitours.com. What a great tour guide he was. they were not very busy that day and we ended up on a tour with just our two people and Ephriam. He took us all over the place in a Chevy HHR on our 5 hour tour. That had to be one of the nicest people I have ever met on or off the islands.

 

I highly reccomend both Ephriam and AirVentures if you are in Kauai and I am sure both will adjust however they can to accomadate anyone looking for a great tour or flight.

[Middleager]

Last year when we were on the Wind, it went to Fanning Island before Kauai, so it required clearing U.S. customs before walking (it docked) down to shore.

 

We had 3 couples and rented a van. The shuttle runs constantly. We booked a helicopter tour (not thru the cruiseline, for 1/2 the price). You can way A LOT more on a helicoptor tour than airplane. The helicoptor can go up and down, get fairly close to something or even stay stationary for you to enjoy the view. Especially at Napali coast getting close to some of the mountains and valleys there. The coptor can turn 360 degrees, especially at that mountain which is the wetest place (gets a lot of rain) on Kauai.

 

After the 1 hr helicopter tour, we drove north all the way to the end of the road to snorkell at Ke'e Beach. It was very good. One sea wolf swam ashore and everyone was looking and taking pictures. On the way there and back, we took many short stops to look at the beautiful scenery of Kauai. That can only be possible when you drive by yourself and not on a tour bus.

 

All that was done on Aug. 31/05, in port 8am-5pm, by planning ahead.

[Queensland Girl]

We just got back from a week on the Pride of America on the 2w3rd and had a blast in Kauai. We booked away from the cruise line and still had no problems. We were on Kauai for 2 days on the America and went thru www.airventureshawaii.com for thier 60 min flightseeing tour. The owners, Billy & DOnna Zeffiro are awesome and very helpful in setting up flights for cruise passengers. They only have one plane, a high wing Maule MXT7 that is a blast to ride in with HUGE windows for a great view. You can catch a free shuttle to the little shopping center that Donna runs a tour desk out of and she can arrange a ride to the airport for $7.50/person.

 

You can actually see more of the island from a plane than the helicopters, though they are a blst as well.

 

We also booked a ground tour thru Donna with Ephriam Kaleiohi of www.alohadiscoverykauaitours.com. What a great tour guide he was. they were not very busy that day and we ended up on a tour with just our two people and Ephriam. He took us all over the place in a Chevy HHR on our 5 hour tour. That had to be one of the nicest people I have ever met on or off the islands.

 

I highly reccomend both Ephriam and AirVentures if you are in Kauai and I am sure both will adjust however they can to accomadate anyone looking for a great tour or flight.

I have just booked trip for Kauai (Land Excursion) - What did you do on other islands. Thanks

[pejay]

We just got back from a week on the Pride of America on the 2w3rd and had a blast in Kauai. We booked away from the cruise line and still had no problems. We were on Kauai for 2 days on the America and went thru www.airventureshawaii.com for thier 60 min flightseeing tour. The owners, Billy & DOnna Zeffiro are awesome and very helpful in setting up flights for cruise passengers. They only have one plane, a high wing Maule MXT7

 

When you take the hour plane tour are you still expected to tip the pilot....if so, how much?

[SweetEmi]

I booked the Jungle mountain trek, wagon, and zipline on the Wind through the ship. I just didn't feel comfortable trying to make it through customs, rent a car or get a cab, and try to get somewhere to get a zipline excursion otherwise. Plus this particular excursion is 7 hours - so I don't want to worry about getting back to the ship on time either.

 

Emi

[alwayssingin]

I booked the Jungle mountain trek, wagon, and zipline on the Wind through the ship. I just didn't feel comfortable trying to make it through customs, rent a car or get a cab, and try to get somewhere to get a zipline excursion otherwise. Plus this particular excursion is 7 hours - so I don't want to worry about getting back to the ship on time either.

Emi

 

Emi,

 

I'll look forward to hearing about it when you get back. We are still undecided about this, but have plenty of time still. I forgot about factoring in the customs time since we'll be coming back from Fanning Island that day. Thanks for the reminder.

 

Jenny