h20 4 me

33 minutes ago, Betty in Cozumel said:

We were there in January 2018 with Celebrity and we walked off the restricted port area and negotiated with a taxi driver to take us into town, drive us to some of the highlights and wait for us at the market.  It was a van and there were 6 of us.  Cost was $30 USD each.  We thought it was reasonable.  We were back to the ship with lots of time to spare

Thank you for that info.  I've since been told by the Cruise Line that we will dock in the city.  Keeping my fingers crossed!

Has anyone had experience in getting private transportation to HCMC from the port?  Can you give me an idea of cost?  We can walk to the EXIT and don't need ship side pick up.  Will they arrange to pick you up to return you to the ship at a later time? We just want to do independent touring but this port is 2 hours from the city.  I'm not sure if Seabourn has a transfer excursion, it is not listed in their booklet of excursions.  Thanks.

That would be lots of time in which to go on one of the catamaran tours in the Beagle Channel, for close-up views of the islands, seabird and seal rookeries, etc., with time left over to walk through parts of the town.

 

John

Thank you Maryann and John.

We are in port only from 7 AM to 1 PM. No one have any recommendations of what you can do within that time on private tours? Thank you

Yes Linda. There are a few pay lots within a block or 2 from Front Street where you will tender in. We paid $12 at a Republic lot on Dickenson Street (The sign is huge you can't miss it). Pre-paid with a machine that takes credit cards and you leave the receipt on the dash. It was a well-lit lot and of course we left nothing in it so no worries. Some people found cheaper parking but for us, I wanted a place I could easily find at 3:30am (we drove up to see the sunrise on Haleakala).

Hi Maureen, thank you for that info. Looks like parking won't be a worry. Now the question is......were you able to tender in at 330 in the morning? Did they run all night or did you just get a hotel in town?

Hi Linda,

 

Lambchops was on POA, so she would have been in the port of Kahului on Maui. However, just wanted to mention that there is overnight parking in Lahaina about a 5 minute walk from the wharf. Here's a google map of the location. I haven't parked there overnight, so I'm not sure of the cost.

 

While car break-ins happen in Hawaii, I don't think the problem is nearly as big as you think it is. Just as in most places that you'd travel to, be sure not to leave anything of value visible in the car when you leave it.

Susan, thank you so much for the Google link to the parking area that you used. I've saved it and really appreciate you taking the time to do that for me. I certainly didn't mean to start something by mentioning the break-ins and I apologize to anyone who was offended. I've checked around and most people have just said to not leave a thing in the car and also just to leave it unlocked. Makes sense to me. Thank you again.

I know Hertz has an office in Waikiki, does anyone know of any others with offices there as to not have to make the trip to the airport to pick up and drop off cars. (Do the rental agencies have some type of a shuttle to the airport, or do you have to get there on your own from the Aloha Tower dock?)

I just got off the POA and we rented a car in each port. I'll post my observations while it's fresh on my mind.

 

Is there one company that you prefer over the others? Why?

I have always used "Dollar" as I am an Express member. It seemed that in most ports on this sailing, people booked Enterprise and Alamo as their shuttles were always full and had waits.

 

Are there certain ports where one company has a better shuttle system?

They all take you to the nearest airport except Dollar/Thrifty has a kiosk/office at the King Kame hotel in Kona across the street from the tender pier.

 

Our only over-night port is Kauai. If we do a one day rental, is there a certain time cars must be returned or could we keep it later...like 10 pm?

We left Kauai at 2pm on the second day and chose not to keep the car overnight. The last shuttle from "Dollar" was at 8pm but you could return the car up to 11pm but would have to take a cab back to the ship.

 

If we do a 2-day rental in Kauai where do we park the car overnight? Cost?

 

There is street parking if you are lucky enough to find it and there is a $20 parking lot that fills up quickly. When we took the 8pm shuttle back to the ship, the lot was almost full and there was no street parking left.

 

 

FYI/tips

 

I originally booked through the "Dollar" site but made changes to some through the "Discount Hawaii" site. My advice is to book now and check back periodically as rental prices flucuate like the stock market.

 

the following were my prices:

 

Maui overnight $89 + $16 gas Altima

Hilo $35 + $11 gas Camaro Conv. (free upgrade)

Kona $55 + $6 gas Versa (from King Kame hotel, not airport)

Kauai $31 + $6 gas Chrysler 200

Honolulu $24 + $12 gas Altima

 

I used my Garmin GPS as I had programed some of the addresses in it. In hindsight, I would just do a "search" of the "attractions category" or use the "spell" function. Addresses on the websites are not always the attractions but the mailing addresses.

 

Buy the Tri-Park Hawaii National park pass for $25 at your first stop. This pass allows the driver and up to 3 passengers annual access to Haleakala National Park (Maui), Hawaii's Volcano National Park (Hilo), and Pu'uhonua O Honanau national Park (Kona). All 3 are spectacular and different experiences. Get there early and listen to the ranger talks at the visitor centers before heading out to explore. Haleakala at 10,000+ feet is spectacular (DWs favorite) and POH at sea level was my favorite. Next to POH is a public beach for snorkeling and I assume there will be lots of fish to see as we spotted the schools of them from shore through the crystal clear waters. Neither is as crowded as VNP but equally impressive.

 

Book a whale watching tour in Ma'alaea (Maui) with the non-profit "Pacific Whale Foundation" for only $39 as they said there will be up to 8000+ humpbacks in Hawaii in Feb/Mar. we did manage to see 6 there last week but the early season rate was only $25 online. Ma'alaea is only 20 minutes from the ship by the Maui ocea Center.

 

We hiked (2+ hours) the spectacular Mahaulepu Heritage Trail (along the cliffs of the Poipu Golf Course) and hung out at the Grand Hyatt in Kauai but I suggest seeing Waimea Canyon if it's your first visit. If you're up to it, maybe do the hike and the canyon.

Our cruise sails into Lahaina and we have an overnight there. We are planning on renting a car for both days and leaving it somewhere near the dock overnight. Is this what you did and if so, where did you leave your car parked? I know the incidence of break in's on rental cars is huge in the islands. Is there a parking lot or somewhere safe to park it overnight? The hassle to rent and rerent the next day seems like a huge time waster. Thanks for your input. Great post.

Easy one....True or False, you are only able to use a credit card for a taxi ride if you call on the phone for the taxi rather than hailing it in the street?

2nd easy one.....The train from CPH to Central Station will take Credit Cards for the journey?

I'm getting conflicting answers on these and I knew where to go for the absolute truth! Thank you in advance Danish Viking!

Linda

On our Princess Cruise the Ship Time was changed to Local Time at each Port.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Thank you all for your replies. I was very surprised that the vendors on the islands didn't know, but of course, my CC buddies always come through!

The ship may or may not be on the same time as the port. Some lines change time to match port time, others don't and always remain on the time from the departure port.

 

If trying to set up private tours, tell the operator to be there 30 minutes after you dock. They will figure out what time to meet you.

Thank you both for your answers. Unfortunately one of our party want to wait a while before disembarking, but I guess I could do the same thing, just say come get us an hour and a half after we dock.

Thank you much!

The problem I was having was trying to decide what time they were actually on since one poster said that the Caribbean doesn't observe DST. Will check with Google, it seems to know it all! :)

Which is why you have to keep your watch on ships time. If shore time is earlier than ships time you run a risk of using shore time for the next several days while you figure how you are going to get back home (and how you are going to pay for it :eek: ).

 

Charlie

So.........what I gather from this board is that if we are going in MAY, and I want to tell a tour operator what time to expect us on the dock, the ship time and the local time (in Nassau and St. Thomas) will be the same. I don't want to tell the guy we'll be there at 9 and it's already 10 his time when we stroll off. Thanks in advance.

Does the ship stay on ship time or on local time?

 

When the itinerary indicates that the ship leaves at 5:00pm is it ship time or local time as St. Thomas is one hour ahead of Eastern Standard Time?

 

Thanx

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Hi Larry, I'm wondering the same thing. I'm trying to line up private tours and can't figure out what time to tell the operator of the tour that we'll be out on the dock. Did you ever get an answer?

Hello Danish Viking,

You were quite helpful in recommending that we contract a larger taxi/van for 4 people with luggage to go to the pier from downtown and I've noted the taxi companies you mentioned here.

There will be 13,000 people boarding ships the day we are leaving. Do you think I should book a larger taxi before I leave the States? Is that even done? Would I have any luck without being able to speak Danish?

We will arrive Thursday into Copenhagen and leave on Saturday. You mentioned just having the hotel call for one. Do you think if we booked as soon as we arrived we would be okay.

Thanking you in advance for your wonderful helpfulness on this board

Many thanks for such a speedy reply! Would a regular small taxi for 2 persons to the airport from the port run approximately the same amount or maybe less? You are a blessing to all of us. Thank you!

Dear Danish Viking,

First of all, let me thank you on behalf of all who have benefitted from your willingness to share your knowledge on this board. You represent Copenhagen very well indeed.

My question is regarding larger taxis that would accommodate 4 passengers and cruise luggage, (probably 5 suitcases). Are they generally available on the street? Is it better to call and reserve? What would the approximate cost for one be from the Best Western Hebron to Oceankaj? We will be traveling on a Saturday.

Thank you in advance.

Linda

Hi

We came off the Oasis yesterday, think the number is 7000 once you are onboard, definately try the roast beef sandwiches in the park cafe, and the egg and bacon english muffins in the park at breakfast, they also do nice fruit pots to take away, on the boardwalk the bar at the end does nice corndogs and also chip and dip combos.

 

Hairspray is only shown 3 times, if you are a fan you can go in the standby queue before the performance and get it, we saw it twice and it was great. also, the two main performers from hairspray do a show in dazzles, its good but you need to get there early to get a seat as it gets really busy. hope you enjoy it, we loved every minute of it.

Thank you so much for the tips and phone #.

I noticed that someone said there's a number to call to make reservations once you are on the ship for the specialty dining restaurants? Would any of you past cruisers possibly have that number or has it been posted here somewhere? Thanks! Cruising in less than 2 weeks on the Oasis!

Linda

We will be on Jewel of the Seas August 30 and like walking around cities on our own. Does anyone know which cities RCCL offers shuttle service from the ports to the downtowns? I've read on this site that there is such service in some cities but RCCL does not seem able or willing to give me this information (perhaps because they want to sell the shore excursions.

 

Thanks for any help.

 

--My_AZ

Hi,

I was on this trip last year and in Oslo and Copenhagen you dock right in city center, no bus needed.

Stockholm, the bus provided was $4

Helsinki, same $4

Estonia , FREE...........

See you on board..........come on over and join our meet and mingle for this cruise!