Tendering into Kona

[ski ninja]

I am trying to weigh my theoretical risk booking a Fair Winds excursion in Kona on my May cruise. Has anyone heard of or known anyone that wasn't able to tender into this port? From what I have read it sounds like there is a 99.9% chance that we will be able to get ashore and to the check in office by 8:30 (tendering is supposed to start at 7:00). Can anyone weigh in on this for me?

 

Thanks!!

[PDAZ]

The ship that was to be in Kona the day before ours wasn't able to stay -- the seas were too rough. This was in mid March 2007. We, on the other hand, had a glorious day -- calm seas, clear skys! Not a common occurence, but it does happen. There are posts on this forum of other missed ports in Hawaii also -- can't do anything about the weather!

[suziehmkr]

We missed this port in December 2005.... the crew was quite surprised. Weather was great! High surf was the culprit. All we could do was take pictures while we sailed away. :(

[karatemom2]

This is a real tough choice and I understand as we also were in the same quandary. We just returned from our Hawaii cruise on the Diamond Princess and my preference was to go with Fairwinds, but I knew it would be a gamble. Chances are good you will make it to port, but it's not a guarantee. The cost for my family of four would have been almost $500 and I wasn't willing to risk losing that money due to missing the port. Because of this I booked with a different company that had a provision that if you missed the port due to weather, you would only lose your $100 deposit. We didn't have any trouble tendering as it was a beautiful day and our excursion with the other company was very nice. In all honesty though I saw Fairwinds out there and I wished I had taken the chance and booked with them because I would have much preferred to be on that tour.

 

In all probability you will make the port, so it may be worth the risk. If I had it to do over I might be willing to gamble.

[whale-watcher]

I know the POAM missed this port at least once in December of '07, and I have read reviews of other ships missing this port as well...not sure what the statistics are, but we elected to book a ship-sponsered excursion in Kona for just this reason.

[AZGrandma]

I am trying to weigh my theoretical risk booking a Fair Winds excursion in Kona on my May cruise. Has anyone heard of or known anyone that wasn't able to tender into this port? From what I have read it sounds like there is a 99.9% chance that we will be able to get ashore and to the check in office by 8:30 (tendering is supposed to start at 7:00). Can anyone weigh in on this for me?

 

Thanks!!

 

If you are on the Pride of America, Kona is your 4th day, so you will have plenty of time while in Oahu, Hilo, and Kahului to monitor the weather and see if there is high risk. You can cancel, I believe 24 hours in advance, but check their website to be sure of the time frame.

 

We were having beautiful weather on our cruise Jan. 5-12 - so much so that Hilo was sunny and cloudless - ha! So, I confirmed my Fairwinds reservation and we did fine. In fact, we left on the first tender at 7am and wished we had waited a bit - got to Fairwinds via taxi by 7:40 so we had an hour to cool our heels, something that didn't make my tired teens happy. But I told them there was nothing wrong with napping on a chaise lounge in paradise. ;-)

 

Leslie

[Bucky3]

We have taken the Fairwind excursion at least three times and never had a problem. BUT we have never booked and PAID ahead of time. I call ahead, ask whether the Fairwind is booked full that day, tell them we really want to go and will call when we are in a taxi and on our way. Then we call when we KNOW the tender will make it in, check availability again, grab a taxi and have always made it on time - this was when our ship docked at 8AM, not 7 even. You should not try to rent a car as even at the King Kamehameha hotel right at the pier there will probably not be time to check out a car and make it to the Fairwind by 9 since the car rental desk doesn't open until 8, and there has only been one person checking out cars in our experience. There are taxis right at the pier and we arranged with our driver to pick us up after the Fairwind trip, and he was there and waiting when we got back. We loved our Fairwind trips. They are especially great for families with various ages in their group. Hope you make it! It's a fun day!

[ski ninja]

Thank you all for the great advice. We are on the Radiance of the Seas and Kona is day #4 do we would have time to check the weather. From reviewing the other thread here it looks like the only times people have missed are in the winter time, we are going in May. I will have to confir with my group as to book ahead and take a gamble or book on arival.

[fryml]

We are on the POAM and booked on the Fairwinds in March. I guess I'll monitor the weather and cancel if it looks bad. I was wondering if we need to arrange a cab ahead of time or if there are plenty at the pier. I think I remember seeing advice to book ahead on a previous post but now it sounds like that is not necessary.

[whale-watcher]

cabs were numerous at the pier, but I would arrange for pickup afterwards.

[CC Help Michell]

Thank you all for the great advice. We are on the Radiance of the Seas and Kona is day #4 do we would have time to check the weather. From reviewing the other thread here it looks like the only times people have missed are in the winter time, we are going in May. I will have to confir with my group as to book ahead and take a gamble or book on arival.

 

I think that's the right approach. Make sure of Fair Winds' then current cancellation policy, and make a go/no go decision respecting that time limit. I will say that I've never seen a post here from someone who couldn't make a Fair Winds trip due to delays/cancellation at Kona -- but it certainly HAS happened that Kona has been missed due to weather/surf, etc. Maybe it's just the law of averages -- nobody who happened to a) be on those ships, and b) be booked for Fair Winds, and c) be a member of Cruise Critic (or even aware of it) posted. I hope the trip works for you -- I had months of angst over it and in the long run it was no sweat at all and a highlight of our trip. :)

[AZGrandma]

We have taken the Fairwind excursion at least three times and never had a problem. BUT we have never booked and PAID ahead of time. I call ahead, ask whether the Fairwind is booked full that day, tell them we really want to go and will call when we are in a taxi and on our way. Then we call when we KNOW the tender will make it in, check availability again, grab a taxi and have always made it on time - this was when our ship docked at 8AM, not 7 even. You should not try to rent a car as even at the King Kamehameha hotel right at the pier there will probably not be time to check out a car and make it to the Fairwind by 9 since the car rental desk doesn't open until 8, and there has only been one person checking out cars in our experience. There are taxis right at the pier and we arranged with our driver to pick us up after the Fairwind trip, and he was there and waiting when we got back. We loved our Fairwind trips. They are especially great for families with various ages in their group. Hope you make it! It's a fun day!

 

Good idea, Bucky, and not just an idea - you've DONE it, so it's actually a 'successful strategy'!

 

I was hesitant to not book ahead, afraid they would sell out, but they were not full. If they weren't full in January, the busy season, I doubt they would be full at off-peak times like March, April and May. Call before your cruise and find out how booked they are that day!

 

Once in Kona, you will be able to reserve as early as 7:15, because we were certainly on land and ready to hop in a taxi by then! The taxi was $22, BTW, and we did arrange for him to return for us, so I paid him $25 for the return trip as a thank you.

 

Enjoy your snorkeling. We sure did.

Leslie

[beachchick]

If we were cruising during a time when tourism is slower, we might try Bucky3's smart compromise. If we were cruising during a busy time, we would not take the chance of Fairwind being sold out and would risk losing the money. (We always have travel insurance; I wonder if missing an excursion due to a missed port is a covered item...Must check that out.)

 

beachchick

[Bucky3]

Leslie - Glad you made it and enjoyed! Another thing I didn't mention, I always check http://www.cruisecal.com to find out what other ships might be in port on the day we are in Kona, and, of course if it is during vacation time I suppose the Fairwind could fill up. The Fairwind is a big catamaran and holds lots of people, so I doubt that it is filled to capacity unless there is something special going on in Kona the day you are there - like the marathon in the fall. Also, the Fairwind people also have another boat now called the Hula Kai. We wanted to try that last time we were there but they didn't take that boat out on a Sunday, the day we were there. I believe it leaves later than the Fairwind - a plus if you're worried about timing.

[hooked-on-travel]

cabs were numerous at the pier, but I would arrange for pickup afterwards.

 

I'm in the OP's group. We're a family group that will only fit a taxi van (6 adults + 1 toddler...we will bring our own car seat). What is the prevelance of taxi vans? Or should we just plan on defaulting to 2 taxis?