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POA in 2018 - So many questions


Salem615
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Hi all

 

We finally booked our trip for spring of 2018. We are doing a great package that has 2 nights hotel and Pearl Harbor and city tour as well as some extras.

 

We are just starting our real planning. We do plan on renting a car here and there but also will do some excursions. We are looking at excursions that are not NCL's.

 

For anyone who has done this trip is anything walking distance from any of the ports? (Beaches, shopping..etc..) I an thinking if we do an excursion we might have time before getting back on the ship. I want to make the most of each day.

 

If anyone has done any excursions and has any suggestions that would be great.

 

Has anyone done the trip without a car rental? If so how did it go?

 

Any other tips please fill me in!

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The board is filled with info that answers your questions. Yes, people have done the ports without renting a car- they take ship's excursions, private tours, walk or use public transit.

 

Each port is covered in serious detail. There generally isn't good beaches within walking distance, but shopping is another topic.

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Maui and Kauai are good islands for a car rental. You can see most everything with no tours needed. If you do book an excursion, non NCL is usually the best way to go for price, as well as enjoyment. Look for tours which only take 6 to 8 people. We like to use Mary Lou's Big Island Tours in Hilo and Kona, or Island Wide tours ( Mary Lou's son Kyle ). We have used Fair Winds for snorkeling in Kona, and Blue Hawaiian for a Kauai Helicopter tour.

 

 

Do your planning and research one island at a time to see what the scenic sights and activities are. Figure out what interests you, and which you can do with a rental car, which you want to book a tour for. Trip Advisor is a good resource for this. Then you can ask more specific questions.

 

 

Only two ports have anything worth walking to, IMO. Nawiliwili, Kauai has Kalapaki Bay and Beach about two blocks from port via sidewalk ( or take the shuttle from inside the port ). There is shopping there, and behind the stores is a tree lined beach which is somewhat scenic and calm. We like to walk down to the Dukes restaurant or Beach Bar at the Maririott there for dinner or lunch. In Kona, lots of shopping and restaurants right next to the port. Hilo has a nice downtown, but not really walking distance. There is a shuttle I believe.

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Thank you Brenda

 

As we are still in the early planning stages we just started researching each stop. There is so much to see and do it is a bit overwhelming. Luckily we have about 9 months to figure it out. Any suggestions are so helpful. I started a notebook to keep track of ideas and tour operators.

 

As far as where I found this package...I don't think I can post that here. If you have an email address I can share it that way.

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Thank you Brenda

 

As we are still in the early planning stages we just started researching each stop. There is so much to see and do it is a bit overwhelming. Luckily we have about 9 months to figure it out. Any suggestions are so helpful. I started a notebook to keep track of ideas and tour operators.

 

As far as where I found this package...I don't think I can post that here. If you have an email address I can share it that way.

 

I also would love to have this information if you don't mind :) cruisndeb@gmail.com

 

Also, I highly recommend you either buy or rent from the library the Hawaii Revealed books. They have one for each island and were so helpful to me when we planned our first trip on the POA back in October 2015. We are getting ready to take our second trip in March 2018 :)

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I also would love to have this information if you don't mind :) cruisndeb@gmail.com

 

Also, I highly recommend you either buy or rent from the library the Hawaii Revealed books. They have one for each island and were so helpful to me when we planned our first trip on the POA back in October 2015. We are getting ready to take our second trip in March 2018 :)

 

Thank you. I will check them out.

 

I'm sending you an email today!:)

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Salem615, I pulled out my notes, and here is a list of things we did back in 2015 when we went. I highly recommend renting a car on each island…I think it is the best way to make the most of each island. We rented all of ours from Discount Hawaii Car Rentals. What I really liked about renting a car is that we were on our own time….if we saw a little scenic area along the way, we could just pull over (we did this many times on all the islands J.)

 

Maui Day 1 – Rented a car

  • Drove to Lahaina to see the famous Banyan Tree – spent more time in Lahaina than I really wanted to (parking is tough to find.) Some people say this is a must see town, but I really found it touristy and I won't go back on the second trip this March.
  • Drove north of Lahaina to Ka'anapali area and located a beach there (not sure which one) and spent a couple of hours there.
  • Drove to Iao Needle and spent about 45 minutes to an hour there.

Maui Day 2 – Sunrise Bike Tour through Adventure Maui. We were driven to the top of Haleakala where we got to see the sunrise. You are above the clouds and this was a great experience that I feel everyone should do it at least once. After the sunrise, we got on bikes and rode 26 miles down the crater. This was AWESOME! You hardly ever pedal (most is downhill and a couple of spots were on flat road.) We will be doing this again in March. The only downfall to this tour was you are picked up at 3:15 am at the Maui Mall, which meant we had to get up at 2:00 am. The ride ended at the beach at Lower Paia Park. The tour will take you back to the ship from here, but my husband and I chose to go to a restaurant called Mama's Fishhouse from here. Not cheap, but the food was very good and the view was awesome.

 

Hilo – Rented a car

  • Drove to Rainbow Falls, stayed about 30 minutes.
  • Drove to Punalu'u Beach to see the turtles and black sand. I highly recommend. We stayed about an hour here.
  • Drove to Volcanoes National Park. Stopped at the visitors center, Thurston lava tube, steam vents, and Jaggar Museum.

Kona – Rented a car – make sure to rent from one at King Kam hotel (only one right at the port..all others at the airport much farther away). I believe it is Dollar and Thrifty at the King Kam. This was a nice relaxing day.

  • Drove to Manini'owali Beach at Kua Bay (maybe a 20 minute drive to get there.) The Hawaii Revealed book gave great directions on finding this. There was a bathhouse with a restroom there and it was the most gorgeous beach. I highly recommend this one.
  • After the beach were returned the car and walked to Kona Brewing Company and had some beer and lunch.

Kauai Day 1 – Rented a car

  • Drove to Opaeka'a Falls and stopped at a few little stops in the area (spent about an hour or so in this area)
  • Drove to Kilauea Lighthouse (spent about 45 minutes to an hour here.)
  • Drove to Ke'e State Beach Park and hiked the first mile of the Kalalua Trail (we are spending a week on Kauai in March and we plan to try to hike much further on this.) The views were awesome J We hung out at the beach afterwards. Driving to Ke'e beach area can be a little challenging (quite a few one lane bridges, a few windy roads) and I highly recommend getting out of the area before it gets dark.

Kauai Day 2 – Wings Over Kauai airplane ride. I highly recommend doing either an airplane or a helicopter ride on this island. The views are amazing! We were able to get a 9:30 am tour and that gave us plenty of time to get back to the ship before it departed at 2:00 pm.

 

A little tidbit of info, on the Pride of America, in the mornings at the buffet area in Modernos (open to everyone) there is a sandwich making station. We brought a large collapsible insulated lunch cooler and packed a lunch in case we couldn't find somewhere to eat while we were out and about. We brought freezer Ziploc bags from home and our room steward would provide us with ice each morning. We packed a couple of sandwiches and some fruit each day we rented a car J

 

I probably gave you more info than you wanted, but if you have any questions, let me know.

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Even though the ship passes by the Napali Coast on Friday, I would still consider doing a Napali Coast excursion [Kauai]. Our entire trip was fantastic, but one of the 2 big highlights of our trip was Day 1 in Kauai on Captain Andy's Star Dinner Sale Cruise (independent of the ship). {We were on the Northern Star}. It's not cheap, but it's definitely worth the money when you consider that is probably a once in a lifetime experience. It includes food--and the food was tremendous (steak, shrimp, great vegetables). I would google it to see if this is for you. The reviews--not surprisingly--are tremendous. {With this excursion you really get a close-up view of the Napali Coast....waterfalls, caves, etc., etc. The cruise ship cannot get as close to the shore as the smaller vessels can}.

 

Oh by the way, our second big highlight was in Hilo. We rented a car, did Akaka Falls and the Hawaiian Tropical Botanical Gardens... Top notch nature stuff. We then drove into town and had lunch in downtown Hilo at a place called Pesco's (great food, very laid back and relaxed)...... BUT.... I have to add that we had been to Volcanoes National Park twice....so we wanted to do something different. That being said...if you have NOT been to VNP, you MUST include VNP in your itinerary while in Hilo.

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Aloha,I am on POA right now and it is amazing. We have some ncl excursions and I know u didn't want that but I just have to tell u about an amazing one.

In Kona today we did the big island snorkel. The boat is called bodyglove and it is the best snorkel boat I have been on.

 

 

Large stable boat, 1st floor full shade mostly, tables, 3 bathrooms, cash bar. Bkfst and good burger lunch served grilled on boat.

2nd floor some covered seating a slide and jump off platforms.

Plenty of tubes to float and more noodles than the olive garden(their joke lol)

Great crew!!!

Oh and did I mention crystal clear water and great snorkeling!!

Happy planning

Kerri

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Aloha,I am on POA right now and it is amazing. We have some ncl excursions and I know u didn't want that but I just have to tell u about an amazing one.

In Kona today we did the big island snorkel. The boat is called bodyglove and it is the best snorkel boat I have been on.

 

That sounds awesome! I will totally look into that! Are you finding the cruise to be a great way to sample Hawaii? I am so overwhelmed with planning! I want to see a lot but not wear myself out either.

 

Have you done any other excursions?

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  • 2 weeks later...
CruisinDeb: Thanks for posting this info. We travel with a wheelchair so any opinions are greatly appreciated. The amount of planning we do prior to each trip is huge. On POA in May 2018.

 

I've received so much valuable information from these boards that I am glad when I can help out other cruisers :)

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Thanks Cruisn Deb we were planning on doing this as we think it will be so much easier and predictable to take food with us.

A little tidbit of info, on the Pride of America, in the mornings at the buffet area in Modernos (open to everyone) there is a sandwich making station. We brought a large collapsible insulated lunch cooler and packed a lunch in case we couldn't find somewhere to eat while we were out and about. We brought freezer Ziploc bags from home and our room steward would provide us with ice each morning. We packed a couple of sandwiches and some fruit each day we rented a car"

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CruisinDeb: Thanks for posting this info. We travel with a wheelchair so any opinions are greatly appreciated. The amount of planning we do prior to each trip is huge. On POA in May 2018.

 

We have twice used a small group tour provider in Hilo and Kona called Mary Lou's Big Island Tours. Their son Kyle now has his own company, Island Wide Tours, and they work together to provide tours where needed.

 

 

Family owned and operated, about 6 people per vehicle. Only two to three vehicles, so book early, very limited capacity. Price wise, probably considerable savings over a ship tour. We don't use a wheelchair, but have seen reports on this board that they can make any needed accomodations.. They have excellent reviews both here and on Trip Advisor. When you email them, explain any limitations, and they will work out the details with you.

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Thanks Cruisn Deb we were planning on doing this as we think it will be so much easier and predictable to take food with us.

A little tidbit of info, on the Pride of America, in the mornings at the buffet area in Modernos (open to everyone) there is a sandwich making station. We brought a large collapsible insulated lunch cooler and packed a lunch in case we couldn't find somewhere to eat while we were out and about. We brought freezer Ziploc bags from home and our room steward would provide us with ice each morning. We packed a couple of sandwiches and some fruit each day we rented a car"

 

Glad to help :)

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We have twice used a small group tour provider in Hilo and Kona called Mary Lou's Big Island Tours. Their son Kyle now has his own company, Island Wide Tours, and they work together to provide tours where needed.

 

 

Family owned and operated, about 6 people per vehicle. Only two to three vehicles, so book early, very limited capacity. Price wise, probably considerable savings over a ship tour. We don't use a wheelchair, but have seen reports on this board that they can make any needed accomodations.. They have excellent reviews both here and on Trip Advisor. When you email them, explain any limitations, and they will work out the details with you.

 

Good advice, no need to rent a car on either Hilo or Kona. Private tours are the best for these stops.

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