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Will the cruise line allow it?


Melismass
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I have not cruised in the Hawaiian Islands but have read that this is possible. There is a procedure for requesting this prior to arriving in Kona. Just remember that there is no easy way from Kona to Hilo. There is a bus once in the a.m. and once in the p.m. or a rental car, which usually incurs a steep drop off rate. The bus route takes a couple hours but isn't bad. Google the times. If it's something you really want to do and don't mind the cost of the rental car, why not? JMO Cherie

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It seems to me that you would be better off putting this question to your cruise line rather than relying on advice from this forum. It's their decision that matters.

 

Great answer. Also, OP needs to be aware Kona is a tender port, and is sometimes too windy or rough to tender.

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It seems to me that you would be better off putting this question to your cruise line rather than relying on advice from this forum. It's their decision that matters.

That's the only way to know if it's possible because it could vary depending upon several factors. And even when allowed there's the issue of tendering that CruiseBruce mentioned.

 

'Melismass'...if you can do the manta ray dive I'd highly recommend it! :D I've had over 100 scuba dives & all were great but I'd put the manta ray dive at the top of my list. As I recall it was in about 20' of water in front of a hotel about a 30 minute boat ride from Kona. The circle of underwater lights attracted plankton & the manta rays who feed on it. I can only describe the manta ray's swimming as a choreographed underwater ballet. They'd pass so close to our heads that we had to remove our snorkels.

 

If your cruise line allows you to stay overnight at a Kona hotel you could drive a rental car to Hilo & explore places such as Volcanoes NP before returning to your ship. :)

Edited by Astro Flyer
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If you can arrange it with your cruise line...Discount Hawaii Car Rental has a great rate for cruise passengers for pick up in Kona and drop off in Hilo. Not sure if it is good when you need it though. Car rentals do not need to be paid before your pick them up, but often hotel reservations would need to be cancelled 1-7 days ahead of time. So, if you are not able to tender you might be out the cost of the dive and the hotel. Hope you can do it. Good luck. Cherie

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Depending on the ship, will determine whether this can be done. If you are on NCL's POA, then yes, otherwise probably not, since this would be a violation of the PVSA, if your cruise ends or starts in the US.

 

Also, IF your ship is the POA, it stops at Hilo first, and then Kona. So if you overnighted in Kona, you would have to fly to the next port in Kauai to rejoin the ship, rather than simply drive to Hilo, unless the POA has switched it's itinerary.

 

I assume you are probably on another ship.

Edited by punkincc
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I will contact the cruise line. I guess I was hoping for responses from people who have actually done this so that I know its even an option. I'm concerned because I'm on a Carnival ship that starts in Hawaii and ends in Vancouver, BC. That makes it much less likely that this will happen. I sure wish it could happen though. I appreciate all of your input. Thanks so much for your responses!

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I will contact the cruise line. I guess I was hoping for responses from people who have actually done this so that I know its even an option. I'm concerned because I'm on a Carnival ship that starts in Hawaii and ends in Vancouver, BC. That makes it much less likely that this will happen. I sure wish it could happen though. I appreciate all of your input. Thanks so much for your responses!

 

Yes, for a foreign flag ship, you would be transported from Honolulu to Kona, which would violate the PVSA.

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II'm concerned because I'm on a Carnival ship that starts in Hawaii and ends in Vancouver, BC. That makes it much less likely that this will happen. I sure wish it could happen though. I appreciate all of your input. Thanks so much for your responses!

 

Is there any possibility you could fly into Honolulu a few days early, take an inter-island flight to the Big Island, do what you want and then return to Honolulu to catch your cruise? Hopefully this would give you the best of both worlds.

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Is there any possibility you could fly into Honolulu a few days early, take an inter-island flight to the Big Island, do what you want and then return to Honolulu to catch your cruise? Hopefully this would give you the best of both worlds.

 

Brilliant! Expensive, but brilliant! Thanks Silver I'm looking into it!

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Brilliant! Expensive, but brilliant! Thanks Silver I'm looking into it!

 

Would you be wanting to afford extra for the inter-island flights (about $200. round trip) and one night in a hotel on Oahu (we believe you had already budgeted for one night in a hotel on the Big Island)? If so, the idea certainly would work. One factor you can't put a price on is if this would truly be a dream come true. Some things are just worth the money.

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As it turns out, this option is cheaper for us than our original plan to fly into Honolulu. We can fly into Kona and stay 2 nights and then fly to Honolulu for a little less than we had planned. Im so excited! Thanks a million everyone for your valuable input and especially Silver for the great idea!

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The hotel to stay at if you are there specifically to do the Manta Ray dive/snorkel is the Sheraton Keauhou. It is down Alii Drive from downtown Kailua-Kona. You can book the dive it through the hotel (talk to the Concierge ahead of time). Also, your parents can watch the rays from the viewing dock at the hotel - they put on lights at night that attract the rays!

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The hotel to stay at if you are there specifically to do the Manta Ray dive/snorkel is the Sheraton Keauhou. It is down Alii Drive from downtown Kailua-Kona. You can book the dive it through the hotel (talk to the Concierge ahead of time). Also, your parents can watch the rays from the viewing dock at the hotel - they put on lights at night that attract the rays!

 

That's a great idea but the lights shining on the water first attracts plankton which the mantas come to eat. ;)

 

When we did this the dive boat came from Kona harbor which was about 30 minutes each way.

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That's a great idea but the lights shining on the water first attracts plankton which the mantas come to eat. ;)

 

When we did this the dive boat came from Kona harbor which was about 30 minutes each way.

 

Semantics... ;)

 

The other place that does the "nighttime attraction" of the rays is up at the Mauna Kea hotel. I stood there for awhile overtime I stayed there and just watched those elegant creatures swim around.

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Semantics... ;)

 

The other place that does the "nighttime attraction" of the rays is up at the Mauna Kea hotel. I stood there for awhile overtime I stayed there and just watched those elegant creatures swim around.

 

Yep ;)

 

Thanks for the information about viewing from shore but it's absolutely amazing to see them up close 20' below the surface. :D

 

They're so graceful & thankfully they're also gentle giants. :p

Edited by Astro Flyer
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Thanks again for the great suggestion Silver! We booked our flight into Kona today! We have a looooong time until our trip, but the price of the flight was great today so we booked it. We are very excited about this side trip and would not have thought it was affordable, but its actually cheaper for us. Thank You!

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Thanks again for the great suggestion Silver! We booked our flight into Kona today! We have a looooong time until our trip, but the price of the flight was great today so we booked it. We are very excited about this side trip and would not have thought it was affordable, but its actually cheaper for us. Thank You!

 

That's great! What a great solution Silver provided & being even cheaper it's a win, win! :D

 

Hopefully you'll enjoy the manta dive as much as us & we can still relive out experience by watching our video...it's my favorite dive experience! The mantas "fly" towards each other and then either peel off or do a backwards loop before approaching each other again in their underwater ballet. The plankton that attracts the mantas adds an eerie cloudiness to the scene which is visible through the circle of underwater lights. And being in only 20' of water we could stay submerged for a long time & enjoyed the "show" for about an hour. :D

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Lets be honest here....the BEST way to do the manta night dive if from the Kona Aggressor live aboard dive ship. You drop in the water swim a few minutes and you are there. Once done swim a few minutes back to the ship and you are showered, warm and having a beverage of your choice while everyone else is riding 30 min or so in a little boat back to shore. :D Plus all of the other nice diving along the western side of the big island the rest of the trip.

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