Hawaii Excursions

[ILoveScotland]

A friend who's not overly computer literate but who cruises a lot knows that I daily log onto a web site for cruisers. She asked me to pose a question for her about excursions in Hawaii. She and her husband will be on the Regal Princess out of Los Angeles in July with 5 nights cruising around Hawaii. Can anyone tell me about some excursions in Hawaii that you've enjoyed to recommend to her?

 

Thanks a bunch.

[tequilasunrise]

We did them on our own, rather than the ship, but some things to see: Check out Volcanoes National Park in Hilo, fascinating...the Arizonia Memorial in Honolulu or the famous Waikiki. Outrigger canoing is great fun.

 

Try snorkelling with turtles in Poipu Bay (I think the ship offers this one). The sand there is bright golden and beautiful.

 

Have a great trip!

[NSWP]

Go to the PORTS of CALL section on CC, all the info is there, that is why that section is set up.:eek:

[mithryl]

Blue hawaiian Helicopter tour of the Big Island out of Kona! You'll fly over the entire Island (landing in Hilo to refuel). We had great views of the volcano...no other way to really see it that can compare. The earlier in the day you go the better, as fog and rain moves in later in the day. Book the first excursion time you can get. This is a DO NOT MISS experience.

Also, depending on the time of year they're sailing, Whale Watching out of Maui was incredible. I've never been so close and had so much activity. If they love whales, this is another don't miss.

They can expect long lines in Honolulu for the Pearl Harbor tours.

They will enjoy themselves whatever they decide to do...it's a cruise and it's Hawaii...it doesn't get much better than that.

We just went in Feb. 07 on the Island and are returning in Mar 08 on the Diamond. Can't wait to do it again.

[Cruise Gypsy]

We did a snorkeling trip to the Molokini Crater in Maui and it was wonderful. It is one of our favorite snorkeling trips we have taken. Two thumbs way up.:D

 

Here are a couple of photos:

[ILoveScotland]

Thanks for tthe ideas. I'll wait to see if there are more before I pass your ideas on to my friends.

 

And, NWSP, I do know about the Ports of Call section of CC but thought Princess cruisers might have some ideas about what Princess offers so decided to start here.

[coolcat12]

I find alot of the info on the Hawaii board is NCL specific. They have a whole different itinerary and overnight as well. There is alot of good info for us Princesses but you have to sort through a bunch of Pride of whatever....stuff.

[GloriaF]

When we went to Hawaii (first time to the H. islands) we wanted to do a lot of sightseeing rather than snorkeling, so we rented cars in each port.

 

Rental Cars: I reserved the cars before we left home, and researched which highlights for each island would interest us most. It was cheap and fun!! The cars were on average $35/day plus about $35 in gas, of course the gas prices will be much higher now. Most rental companies will send a shuttle to pick up renters at the pier.

 

In Maui, we drove the Road to Hana partially, it takes several hours to do the entire trip. In Kauii, Hilo and Kona we drove our own car to the sights also. Hilo is always wet and rainy, so a plastic poncho is needed if you plan to see the lush gardens there. Kona is dry with lava rock fields and unusual graffiti along the road. In Honolulu, we did not get a car but climbed Diamond Head and walked thru Chinatown - where you can purchase orchid leis for less than $5!

 

I wish we were going back!:)

[Spikesgirl]

ILOVE SCOTLAND - one thing that I would highly recommend is that your friend gets (either through a bookstore, library or obliging friends) copies of the "Revealed" series. There is one for each island and these are probably the best guides I've seen for the islands. it might help your firend narrow the field a little before you go looking for specifics on the Ports of Call board. My DH grew up on Oahu and we've been to the islands many, many times and there was stuff we didn't know about in these books.

 

Charlie

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

We did a snorkeling trip to the Molokini Crater in Maui and it was wonderful. It is one of our favorite snorkeling trips we have taken. Two thumbs way up.:D

 

quote]

 

Did you do the tour with Princess? There are two excursions that go to Molokini, which one did you do?

 

Thanks!

[sddsddean]

In Honolulu we hired a car through Alamo. If you hire it from the Ala Moana Blvd site (not the airport), they will come and pick you up and drop you back. It was $40 for the day + we used $18 petrol. Four of us, went out through Waikiki, part way up Diamond Head then followed the road round the East coast, round the Northern tip then cut across the island past the Dole plantation. We stopped when we wanted to, so all in all it was a great excursion for $14.50 per person!!

 

Simon

[teddi1934]

Be sure to consider traffic when doing it yourself and or weather conditions, When on Mauai last year the seas cam up and all tours were returned to the ship, those on their own had no idea the tenders were cancelled due to high winds.

When in Kona we knew exactly where we wanted to go, had a devil of a time getting a taxi for short distance and none would come to pick us up, fortunately we were within walking distance albeit a very brisk walk to get back on time.

Enjoy and Aloha

[Cruise Gypsy]

 

Did you do the tour with Princess? There are two excursions that go to Molokini, which one did you do?

 

Thanks!

 

Sox Fan Cruise,

 

We did the tour that just went straight out to the crater and yes we booked it with Princess. :)

 

Our group lucked out that the boat we went on was supposed to hold about 75 people but a large group canceled so our group of about 40 had the whole boat to ourselves.

 

I think the other tour takes you to swim with the turtles and I heard great things about that tour as well. Maybe someone else can speak to that tour.

 

The other excursion we did in Hawaii was the "Tubing the Ditch" which we also really enjoyed.

[AZlabs]

Thanks for tthe ideas. I'll wait to see if there are more before I pass your ideas on to my friends.

 

And, NWSP, I do know about the Ports of Call section of CC but thought Princess cruisers might have some ideas about what Princess offers so decided to start here.

 

Here is the link to our review from the 5/13-5/28 cruise on the Regal. Hope it helps.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=569851&highlight=Regal+Review

[Cruise Gypsy]

Thanks for tthe ideas. I'll wait to see if there are more before I pass your ideas on to my friends.

 

And, NWSP, I do know about the Ports of Call section of CC but thought Princess cruisers might have some ideas about what Princess offers so decided to start here.

 

I understand why you posted this here - it is such an active board and the information here tends to be very helpful.:)

 

I hope your friend has a great trip to Hawaii.

[scampi]

No, I can not recommend the other Princess Molokini Snorkel cruise, the one that is supposed to also include the swim with turtles stop. The boat had some safety and cleanliness issues. Plus it travels slower taking 2 hours just to get out to the crater. The bathrooms downstairs reeked & were unsanitary. The food that they barbequed was served in the same area as the smelly bathrooms. I won't even go on but there were other problems. Many people submitted written complaints to the Princess shore excursion office. So maybe that excursion will improve. BTW, we took that excursion just last month.

 

On the other hand, our table mates who went on the other Princess Molokini Snorkel cruise, the one with just one snorkeling stop, enjoyed their experience.

[scampi]

One Princess tour that I can Highly recommend was the "Secrets of Puna" tour in Hilo. This tour was waitlisted within the first 2 weeks that Princess shore excursions were made available. Each of the 6 to 7 people in a four wheel drive SUV are totally pampered during this 6 hour safari to Puna, home to the Kilauea volcano. You are taken to secret and spectacular sights and along roads that mostly the locals travel. In fact we never saw a tour bus. We visited Kalapana, walked along lava beds, drove across a lava flow to snorkel and swim in a volcanically heated saltwater pool with giant honu (green sea turtles). We visited the unique Lava Tree State Park and lots of other sites. We had a wonderful catered lunch with beer, sodas, tropical punch &/or champagne at a private macadamia nut farm. Our enthusiastic knowledgeable tour guides provided everything, snorkel gear, plush beach towels, sun block, special walking canes for trekking over the lava beds, snacks, water, cold beverages & more. This is one group that has thought of every last detail to make your day memorable.

[gooch47]

Secrets of Puna was great.

 

We also enjoyed the one on Kauai that took you to places featured in movies and TV shows. Unfortunately, though, the one I was most looking forward to was "Lost" and it is filmed on Oahu. :(