Shuttle or Car Rental---Honolulu

Hello everyone! We have just booked the POA for May of 2018. We will be travelling with 13-15 people ages 2(our son)-69(my mom). Now that we have the cruise booked, I want to decide on whether to fly in on Friday, cruise Sat-Sat, then stay on the island until the following Wed to explore further....OR fly in the Tues or Wed prior to the cruise, then fly home the day the cruise docks. So, with that being said, does anyone have any suggestions on whether we should rent a car right at the airport to drive to the hotel? Or should we look for a shuttle service to the hotel THEN rent a car once we are settled? I assume they offer car seats at the rental agencies? I am hoping to NOT have to carry a big car seat around Hawaii for ten days! Thank you in advance....as this will be the first of MANY questions I imagine!

- One thing to consider when deciding which day to arrive is the time change (depending on where you are coming from). Especially with a small child the time change can be a bit difficult. Depending on what your plans are it may be easier to do your land trip before the cruise as I feel you are on more of a need to follow a schedule on the cruise with port arrival/departure times.

- If you are choosing to rent a car I think the airport would be your best bet to get the best deal and to be the easiest. I don't know why you would want to pay to take a shuttle to the hotel and than have to get a car rental. A shuttle/taxi alone may cost your party of 13 $200. I would think it would be much better to simply rent the car at the airport than to pay this.

-We booked all of our rentals through Discount Hawaii Car Rentals. They were great. I would explore to see what your options are for where to rent. Keep in mind that traffic in Honolulu can be horrendous. The driver should be prepared for this.

- Keep in mind that traffic in Honolulu can be horrendous. The driver should be prepared for this.

Thank you for that bit of info....looks like I'LL be driving rather than my husband!!

A group of that size adds complexities. Vehicle size is one, but also, is everyone going to go to the same things at the same time? Depending on your group, maybe yes, maybe no.

Contacting one of the shuttle companies for planned moves (like to the hotel, or to the ship) might be a good idea.

A single day rental for touring might also be a good alternative, as parking in Waikiki can be expensive.

I would fly in a couple days before. Significant help in getting over jet lag.

If you are exploring first before the cruise then rent a car from the airport; however, my family (only 5 of us) enjoyed a limo from the airport to the hotel when we went in June. It was very similar in price to a shuttle & fun. We rented a car when we came back from the cruise to explore the island. The limo company we used was ABC Limousine.

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Being from RI, you are going to have significant jet lag. A day or two in Hawai pre cruise is going to be most helpful, but I would split whatever extra time you have between pre and post cruise days. You will also be exhausted from this non stop cruise, and there is no worse buzz kill than walking ashore after a great vacation and heading straight to the airport. A couple days after the cruise to relax and unwind will be priceless.

I assume you will be staying in Waikiki? Do you know which hotel? Some have their own car rental desks, or there are Waikiki locations which would be pretty convenient. Consider the fact that Waikiki is very walkable, or The Bus will take you most anywhere. You'll really only need a rental if you want to get out and explore the coastlines on a day trip. Also, many hotels charge a $30 daily parking fee.

A group of 13 to 15 would require multiple cars would it not? I mean even if you could find a 15 passenger van from an airport rental there would not be room for the luggage of 15 people. Even 13 people in a 15 passenger van with luggage (and a child seat) might be difficult.

Then getting or not getting cars depends on plans. If you are not driving around the island, if you are just staying within a few miles of Waikiki to see sights than the public bus system and multiple Uber would be fine.

Some advantages of waiting until Waikiki to get a car and then doing a one day rental to do an island circle tour are 1) no luggage, everyone can get in one vehicle 2) everyone might not want to do a circle tour, some may choose the pool/beach 3) no parking fee, which can $30 or more in Waikiki.

Getting from the airport to Waikiki, I think multiple flat rate cabs ($35 HNL to Waikiki) or UberXL would be cheaper than most of the shuttles.

Thank you for all the replies. We have rented a house on the beach in North Shore Oahu Monday-Saturday prior to the cruise, we have a total of 3-4 cars we have rented for that time. We also decided on a limo service to bring us to and from the airport at home in a big shuttle bus.

Only sixtysomething days to go!