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Port Question


muleevans
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If we are not taking a tour at the Princess Hawaiian Ports, is there transportation available to shopping areas ?

 

Or are there any private vans at ports to do private tours ??

 

Thank for any help.

 

If you're stopping in Kona the tender pier is right in the middle of town, so you're in the shopping area. There are private tours there also.

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You do not say whether you are starting your cruise in Honolulu or if you are arriving in Honolulu from Vancouver or LA or SF, but my familiarity is mostly with Princess cruises which over night in Honolulu (to allow people to attend evening events. The pier is a five minute city bus ride from the Alo Moana shopping centre; a fifteen minute city bus ride to the Diamond Head Volcano; a ten minute bus ride to Waikiii Beach and the shopping on that main drag. I would rent a car and go to the East Coast beaches and definitely snorkel at Hanauma Bay. If you are only there one day, you have to really decide on your top priority. The Arizona memorial is great but it is a hike via the expressway and tickets are hard to come by. If I remember correctly, you can do an excursion tour with most ships to the Arizona, but it is pricey. Hilo, if that is your stop requires a taxi ride or mini bus ride into the town. The city bus there is not really efficient. Kona, I believe the ship docks in the Centre of town. We did not cruise there, We actually spent a land week vacation there at the Hilton. Maui, Lahania the ship tenders passengers to the centre of town and that town is a picture postcard from the ship!!!! There you would want to take a tour as there is only so much to see in town. They have a great volcano - Haleakala. Kauai, there is nothing at the pier other than a beach with fancy hotels on it. You can use the beach. A few little shops. Again, there you would want a tour to the Grand Canyon of Hawaii (name escapes me now) or rent a car. I did not see any big name car rental agencies at Kauai pier.

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Hi, we've done this cruise before and are doing it again in 2 days from S.F... From what I remember from a few years ago, each port had a shuttle of some sort to a large store, usually Walmart or KMart. Hilo Hatties used to have them but most of their stores have closed. In Kauai, at the stop in Nawililli, there is also a small areas of stores a short walk away (there is also a shuttle to them) and a beach right behind. In Honolulu, as pink845 indicated, you can take The Bus to various areas, including Waikiki. Waikiki has several malls and a lot of high end designer stores. (too rich for my blood, would rather spend my money on cruises, but it doesn't cost to look). Check their website thebus.org for routes. As full day pass is only $5, $2 for seniors. In Lahainia, the tender takes you right into town. Lots of shops and restaurants along Front St.

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For Kauai, unless you're taking an excursion, beaching it at the close by beach -- you can walk to or take the Anchor Cove free shuttle, or renting a car, there are various store shuttles that pick up at the cruise terminal that will take you to that store for free.

 

For Lahaina (Maui), there is a city bus, that is only a few dollars each way ($1 when we took it), but it gets really crowded. You may have to ask where to catch it (the back door of the Wharf Cinema center is the place to exit to get to the bus stop). Last time we did this cruise (three times on Princess:D), we took a taxi to the Whalers Shopping center.

 

For Hilo, as someone mentioned the city bus is a bit screwy -- it doesn't go on straight routes, and when we took it, it was running late. the last time, we waited in a long line to grab the Walmart shuttle (in a heavy rain).

 

For Honolulu, there's not any freebie shuttles unless you're willing to go hear a sales pitch. We used the bus, taxis, and our feet. One time at the pier, a limo driver showed up and several of us all wanted to go to the Ala Moana shopping center so he charged us $15 (for the three of us in my family) and maybe about the same for the other groups.

 

Before each trip, I programmed in several taxi companies into my phone (using local yahoo).

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For Honolulu there is a city bus service on the main road from the dock. A $5 daily pass is available and you can go to Ala Moana or Waikiki. I recommend Wal-Mart and Target as the stores in ALa Moana are very expensive now.

 

How do you get the bus pass? On the bus I would assume, but is this correct?

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Yes. Make sure you have a $5 bill or $10 for two people/passes and you buy it from the bus driver. You can use it all day and evening. The bus has a great web site where you can see all the info about the routes and the times and which buses go to which places. I live here and I use it. Heck of a lot cheaper than taxis or tours. Nice thing about it is if you see a store or a place you want to visit you can jump off and then board the next bus coming by.

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  • 2 months later...
You do not say whether you are starting your cruise in Honolulu or if you are arriving in Honolulu from Vancouver or LA or SF, but my familiarity is mostly with Princess cruises which over night in Honolulu (to allow people to attend evening events. The pier is a five minute city bus ride from the Alo Moana shopping centre; a fifteen minute city bus ride to the Diamond Head Volcano; a ten minute bus ride to Waikiii Beach and the shopping on that main drag. I would rent a car and go to the East Coast beaches and definitely snorkel at Hanauma Bay. If you are only there one day, you have to really decide on your top priority. The Arizona memorial is great but it is a hike via the expressway and tickets are hard to come by. If I remember correctly, you can do an excursion tour with most ships to the Arizona, but it is pricey. Hilo, if that is your stop requires a taxi ride or mini bus ride into the town. The city bus there is not really efficient. Kona, I believe the ship docks in the Centre of town. We did not cruise there, We actually spent a land week vacation there at the Hilton. Maui, Lahania the ship tenders passengers to the centre of town and that town is a picture postcard from the ship!!!! There you would want to take a tour as there is only so much to see in town. They have a great volcano - Haleakala. Kauai, there is nothing at the pier other than a beach with fancy hotels on it. You can use the beach. A few little shops. Again, there you would want a tour to the Grand Canyon of Hawaii (name escapes me now) or rent a car. I did not see any big name car rental agencies at Kauai pier.

 

I'll be aboard the Star Princess in November. I see we're in Honolulu until 11:00 PM according to the itinerary. You mention the ship over nights there. Are you sure? We are scheduled for arrival at Kauai at 8:00 AM.:)

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  • 3 weeks later...
YKauai, there is nothing at the pier other than a beach with fancy hotels on it. You can use the beach. A few little shops. Again, there you would want a tour to the Grand Canyon of Hawaii (name escapes me now) or rent a car. I did not see any big name car rental agencies at Kauai pier.

 

It is Waimea Canyon.

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