Free shuttle rides from the pier

[PACURN]

A word of warning to those interested in the free shuttles to shopping centers in Honolulu. I,unfortunantly, got sucked into a free ride that had a catch. Maui Divers has people who greet you right on the peir and offer you a free ride to the shopping area's. They put a sticker on you and have you wait. This is all they tell you. Well you will board their shuttle and they take you to their store where you are stuck going through their "factory" and 2 store areas. The doors out are not readily visable (it's an elevator behind a curtain). The sales people are really pushy. When you finally get out of the stores ( about an hour or so later) you have to wait in a line for a shuttle to take you to Waikiki or Ala Moana shopping center. Well shuttles keep coming to drop more unsuspecting people off and never pick up those waiting to go somewhere else. We ended up walking away, digusted with the amount of time we had wasted doing this.

The people at port make you believe you are going on the shuttle that takes you to the shopping areas ( there are really shuttles that do that). The fail to tell you that you are subjected to their store tour first and the fact that a shuttle will never come to pick you up after the "tour". It really sucks.

Beware of Maui Divers shuttles and the stores. The sales people are incredibly pushy and I will never purchase anything from them because of this whole experience. :(

[cruzegirl]

Debbie,

while I didn't go to that store when in Hawaii, I heard the same issues that you encountered.... Seems it's their way to get you there and then strand you.... What a shame....

And so there's no confusion, Maui Divers is not a scuba dive store or shop.. They are a jewelry store in Hawaii..... Not a very good one in my opinion.... I didn't care for what they offered....jmo

[spleen93]

I've always wondered where Maui Divers kept getting their bus loads of customers from. If it's the location I'm thinking about on Keeaumoku, you could have actually walked to Ala Moana - it's about 6-7 blocks away down Keaaumoku St. Good warning though.

 

Spleen

[Lorabelle]

We had the same issues last year with the Hilo Hatties shuttle at Lahaina Maui. They told us they would take us to the shopping mall. They never really told us they were a Hilo Hatties shuttle. Well they took us to Hilo Hatties. When we asked about going to the mall, (Whalers something?? was the name of the mall) we were told that bus would be there in about an hour!! Meanwhile, the busses kept coming dropping people off at the store, but none were going to the mall.

 

We finally went out on the street and hailed a cab.

 

 

Lori

[PACURN]

Lorabelle - Thats what we ended up doing and found out, as Spleen states in the previous post, that it wasn't that far away. We could have walked. Thats why I thought I'd warn others. It's a joke and not fair to mislead people like that. Down with Maui Divers. BOOO

[Shoobee2]

We had the same experience when we were in Honolulu two weeks ago. Read your tickets carefully because we ended up wasting two hours getting to the factory and then going thru the tour and then waiting for the next shuttle. We were picked up and taken to Waikiki Beach but had very little time to look around before having to catch the "last" shuttle back to the pier. I've heard that the regular bus system is much more efficient and dependable.

[spleen93]

This is what you're looking for (not this actual route number but more what colors on the Bus you're looking for):

 

This is the city bus system that will take you to Ala Moana - you have to pay but it's reasonably quick and there are buses going by all the time.

 

Spleen

[bobsydney]

The Bus is a gret way of getting around ... we use it all the time when we were in Waikiki for a week after our cruise. It costs $2 to go anywhere, whether you go one block or around the island, and they have very regular services. They even give you a transfer ticket that effectively enables you to get the return trip free within 2 hrs of the first trip.

 

We caught it to go out to the Arizona Memorial and had a good laugh at the expense of those who spent $50 or more to get there on a tour bus in no less time than it took us for our $2.

 

Bob

[bobsydney]

By the way, be wary of the TROLLEY system to get to Ala Moana and other shops!! Unlike the Hilo Hatties and Maui Divers shuttles, the trolley costs and is unrelaible to boot ... unless of course you are an ususpecting Japanese who paid big bucks in advance to heir TA.

 

Bob

[suziehmkr]

We had the same issues last year with the Hilo Hatties shuttle at Lahaina Maui. They told us they would take us to the shopping mall. They never really told us they were a Hilo Hatties shuttle. Well they took us to Hilo Hatties. When we asked about going to the mall, (Whalers something?? was the name of the mall) we were told that bus would be there in about an hour!! Meanwhile, the busses kept coming dropping people off at the store, but none were going to the mall.

 

We finally went out on the street and hailed a cab.

 

 

Lori

There actually is a shuttle that goes from the Hilo Hattie in Lahaina to Whaler's Village and even to Ka'anapali. When we were there it was a privately run system, but I think it is run by the public transit system now. About a $1 each way to ride and worth it! And yes - they do run hourly, but you need to know what you are looking for or else you will easily miss it. While we waited for the shuttle we walked around the shops near Hilo Hattie and found a wonderful educational replica village across the parking lot from the store. It was very nice and we easily killed the hour waiting for the shuttle.

 

The photos of the replica village in our album start here: http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2228934720032405699DqSxXm

[ACruise4us]

Thanks so much Debbie for the info. Sorry you had to deal with that. Just shows there are scams every place we go.

[PACURN]

Glad to help. I was so bummed to have wasted so much time, and amazed at the pushiness of the people in the stores. It's not just on Oahu either. They are just as pushy at other locations.

I'd hate to see other's fall prey to their scheme. I wanted to go and tell everyone waiting, but by the time I got back from where I really wanted to go they ( the people from MD at the pier) were gone. I guess they had their quota for the day.

[obriendan]

The bus on Oahu costs $1 per ride for seniors. all you have to show is a Medicare card. I used it to get from the airport to the pier.

[bnthrdntht]

:rolleyes: Not just to work for, but for the customer as well. They have a few custom design pieces, and the rest are the same old generic crap you can get from any wholesaler online. The diamonds and semi-precious stones are inferior quality, with the exception of a few, and the markup is three times what you would pay at another store. Ask them what the grade is on the diamonds, they won’t be able to tell you and they won’t be able to produce a certificate. The freshwater pearls you can find at ABC store, not much difference in quality, but a BIG difference in price.

 

The big selling point is the "lifetime guarantee" - If the jewelry were quality, you wouldn’t need to send it in for repair. The stones and the corals have a tendency to get cloudy and dull and the pearls are always popping off the rings. A red coral necklace selling for $7,000 at the Hale Koa had to be sent back twice because it broke apart as it was being removed from the display. And it hadn’t even been worn yet!

 

So if money is no object and you LIKE throwing money away, then by all means go shopping at Maui Divers.

 

After all, someone has to pay for all their advertising. And they won’t use any other models besides the jewelry designer’s daughters. I’m sure you’ve seen their faces, again, and again, and again...

 

Ah. It feels good to tell the truth.

[bnthrdntht]

You can take the pink trolley to Ala Moana shopping center from the DFS Galleria for free, and it's way more fun than the bus!:D

[bnthrdntht]

You can take the pink trolley to Ala Moana shopping center from the DFS Galleria for free, and it's way more fun than the bus!:D

[MNJewels]

We caught it to go out to the Arizona Memorial and had a good laugh at the expense of those who spent $50 or more to get there on a tour bus in no less time than it took us for our $2.

 

Bob

 

Can I take The Bus from Waikiki Beach to Pearl Harbor and then back? Does it run early in the morning so that I can get there by 7:30AM? Thanks.

[Nancyquilts]

Can I take The Bus from Waikiki Beach to Pearl Harbor and then back? Does it run early in the morning so that I can get there by 7:30AM? Thanks.

We had to walk several blocks inland - just past the Iolani Palace to get TheBus, but it ran often. And comes back often. You can get their schedule on line. Nancy

[cruzn single]

For the bus from Waikiki to the Arizona, just go on the site for The Bus--check out Bus #20, or #42--both go to the Arizona. I would give you the times, but my "Bus" book was in my luggage that was lost in transit in January, and we will never get it back.

 

We have been to Honolulu 8 times, and always use The Bus to go anyplace on the island!

[MNJewels]

Thanks for the tips on The Bus to Pearl Harbor! One last question...do remember how long it took to get from Waikiki to Pearl Harbor? I want to make sure I allow enough time to get there with traffic (if there is a morning rush hour?).