Hawaii 15 Days 4/8/2017 - Grand Princess out San Francisco

Hi all,

We are new to cruise and it will be the first time in Hawaii.

Is there any good recommendations for outdoor activities such as snorkel & beaches once we get off the ship?

We will mostly pass on shopping or museums.

Do most people Uber once get off the ship?

What do you do in the following ports?

Hilo, Hawaii

Honolulu, Hawaii

Kauai (Nawiliwili), Hawaii

Maui (Lahaina), Hawaii

Thanks all!

Welcome to Cruise Critic. Be sure and check out your Roll Call for your sailing. You will probably get a lot of answers there.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2264953

I highly recommend snorkeling the Molokini crater in Maui, have snorkeled all over the Caribbean but this on is best I've experienced.

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A few things we have done on past trips (BTW, we didn't do everything in one trip :D): Oahu: Pearl Harbor tour, Rented a car and drove around the island (be sure to stop at the Dole Pineapple Plantation and have some pineapple ice cream), Took the city bus from the port to Waikiki Beach for a beach day (check out Duke's restaurant at the Surfrider Hotel and walked around and enjoyed the sights.

Big Island: Blue Hawaii Helicopter tour, rented a car and drove up to Volcanoes National Park.

Kauai: Rented a car and drove up to Waimea Canyon, Did a Wings Over Kauai Tour, Spent some beach time at the beach in front of Beach Boys east of the port (we took a shuttle).

Maui: Rented a car and drove to the top of the volcano, then to Ioa Needle Point park (be sure to leave enough time to return the rental car and make it back to the tender port), spent time walking around Lahaina.

Please do join the roll call for this cruise. Also, you might want to have a look at the excursions Princess offers in each port, if only to get an idea of what there is to do. There are some activities that are only going to be available through Princess the day they are in port, as they tie up that particular tour operator for the exclusive use of their passengers.

You can book Princess tours now, and they will be billed to your account on the day of the tour, not before. You can cancel up until about 2 days before each tour - the precise cut off will be announced in the Princess Patter, the daily information newsletter that is delivered to your stateroom. You can also book tours while on board, but you might some are already at capacity.

I highly recommend a trip to Volcanoes National Park on the big island, and going with a knowledgeable guide will tend to enhance the experience. In Honolulu, if this is your first trip to Hawaii, strongly consider touring Pearl Harbor. There is a lot of traffic in Honolulu itself, so if you rent a car and go out your own, allow plenty of time to get back to the rental car return and then the ship. On Kauai, Princess offers a great tour to the Allerton and McBride Gardens, and also offers a tour along the N'apali Coast. Maui, on Easter Sunday, you could do the Haleakala Crater or the road to Hana...there are some great options and it is a beautiful island.

Welcome to Cruise Critic, do join the roll call for your cruise.

Following we are doing the same cruise only in 2018. Would like be some id as on what to do.

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Thanks all.

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You have received a lot of good advice. The two best suggestions are

1. Checkout you CC Roll Call. ;) Get to know your fellow cruisers!
   
2. Wings Over Kauai! :DThis is our favorite tour and much cheaper than a Helicopter.
   

We have been twice and on our next cruise in Oct, we will do our first Luau! ;) What ever you decide, HAVE FUN!

Just Mike

I'm on the same cruise - and I also highly recommend the roll call - we aren't the chattiest but there have been some great suggestions.

If you see a goofy blonde wearing a tiara on day one - that'll be me :)

A few things we have done on past trips (BTW, we didn't do everything in one trip :D): Oahu: Pearl Harbor tour, Rented a car and drove around the island (be sure to stop at the Dole Pineapple Plantation and have some pineapple ice cream), Took the city bus from the port to Waikiki Beach for a beach day (check out Duke's restaurant at the Surfrider Hotel and walked around and enjoyed the sights.

 

Big Island: Blue Hawaii Helicopter tour, rented a car and drove up to Volcanoes National Park.

 

Kauai: Rented a car and drove up to Waimea Canyon, Did a Wings Over Kauai Tour, Spent some beach time at the beach in front of Beach Boys east of the port (we took a shuttle).

 

Maui: Rented a car and drove to the top of the volcano, then to Ioa Needle Point park (be sure to leave enough time to return the rental car and make it back to the tender port), spent time walking around Lahaina.

May I ask where did you rent your car in Maui. I am not aware of any car rental agencies in Lahaina.

You have received a lot of good advice. The two best suggestions are

1. Checkout you CC Roll Call. ;) Get to know your fellow cruisers!
   
2. Wings Over Kauai! :DThis is our favorite tour and much cheaper than a Helicopter.
   

We have been twice and on our next cruise in Oct, we will do our first Luau! ;) What ever you decide, HAVE FUN!

Just Mike

Been to Kauai and reserved helicopter with Safari and both cancelled due to storms. Next time we go will have backup plan.

May I ask where did you rent your car in Maui. I am not aware of any car rental agencies in Lahaina.

Do a Google search. Hertz, Enterprise and Avis are all just a bit north of Lahaina. They have shuttles to and from the tender pier.

May I ask where did you rent your car in Maui. I am not aware of any car rental agencies in Lahaina.

We're on the April 23rd cruise right after yours. I booked a car with Budget through this outfit.

https://www.discounthawaiicarrental.com/

Budget will pick you up at the port.

May I ask where did you rent your car in Maui. I am not aware of any car rental agencies in Lahaina.

A couple of years ago there was a Hertz agency in Lahaina. It was in a strip mall, but I'd see if they have a shuttle. We walked, and it was a bit too far for us. The rest of the agencies seem to be up by the resorts, and some of them only take one member of the party on the shuttle so you waste time by coming back to Lahaina to get the rest of your party. However, it has been a couple of years since our last Hawaiian cruise.

Do a Google search. Hertz, Enterprise and Avis are all just a bit north of Lahaina. They have shuttles to and from the tender pier.

Thank you to all of you who responded to my question and I should have detailed my request a bit more thoroughly.

I am aware of Google search. Been there--done that many times. I am also aware of the agencies that are out by the hotels and the airport. I am also aware of the wonderful discounthawaiicarrental website, I've used them extensively on the other islands. I just want advice from someone who RECENTLY, within the past year, might have had luck renting a car in the town of Lahaina. An agency that we can walk to when we arrive at the pier.

Thank you to all of you who responded to my question and I should have detailed my request a bit more thoroughly.

 

I am aware of Google search. Been there--done that many times. I am also aware of the agencies that are out by the hotels and the airport. I am also aware of the wonderful discounthawaiicarrental website, I've used them extensively on the other islands. I just want advice from someone who RECENTLY, within the past year, might have had luck renting a car in the town of Lahaina. An agency that we can walk to when we arrive at the pier.

We rented a car in Maui a year ago and at that time there was nothing that you could walk to. I doubt that it would make much sense to have a rental car company in town considering most of their business probably comes from the hotels and the Kaanapali resort north of town. Anytime we have rented from one of the companies north of town they have had a shuttle to and from the tender pier. BTW, easy walk to just beyond the Banyan tree to the pickup area.

Hi:

We rented cars at each port through Thrifty. If you join their loyalty club (free), you get to move to the front of the line when you go pick up your car. There was a shuttle from each port to the rental office. Reserve it before you leave as they ran out of rental cars for those that waited to rent when they got to the port.

If you are going to go to Pearl Harbor on your own, go as early as you can otherwise it really backs up.

Tucker in Texas