Ricky's Tour on Hilo???

[langleyfld]

Has anyone used Ricky's Tour on Hilo recently while on the Pride of America? :confused: We are thinking of booking with him and I wanted to hear from pass clients of his. How informative his tour was, time limits for the stops he makes, and most importantly, did you feel rushed to get back to the ship?? Was the van comfortable ?Any information would be greatly appreciated...

[RoperDK]

Has anyone used Ricky's Tour on Hilo recently while on the Pride of America? :confused: We are thinking of booking with him and I wanted to hear from pass clients of his. How informative his tour was, time limits for the stops he makes, and most importantly, did you feel rushed to get back to the ship?? Was the van comfortable ?Any information would be greatly appreciated...

 

We were on the Carnival Spirit last month and used Ricky's tours. We were quite impressed. We even had our day in Hilo switched and I texted Ricky and we were moved to our new day in less than 30 minutes. He always answered my e-mails quickly. About the tour...he was very informative and talked throughout the tour about what we were seeing and bits of history. He is a former tour guide at Volcanoes National Park and we really learned quite alot about the park. It was very interesting! We didn't feel rushed at the stops, but he kept things moving so we didn't hang around wasting time either. Depending on where we were we had about 30 to 40 minutes at most stops unless it was just a picture type stop. We got back to the ship with about 90 minutes to spare. He works his last couple of stops closer to the ship. I assume he does that so he can adjust times to make sure he won't be late gettiing back to the ship. His van was comfortable even with 10 people. Since we had to change days we went from only the 4 of us to 10. We were concerned when we learned about that, but it worked out just fine. He seemed to be a very experienced tour guide and I highly recommend him. Hope this helps.

 

Dawn

[e_piph_a_ny]

You can search for Ricky's and find many posts about his service. All are overwhelmingly positive.

 

I used his tour on my 09/25 POA cruise and recommend his services without hesitation. Ricky is a courteous and professional host and full of minutiae about the sights, flora and history about Hilo.

[langleyfld]

Thank ya'll both for the recommendations! I have searched the boards and have emailed him. He seems very professional in his emails and from the searches and of course, you both giving a "thumbs up", we are booking him!!! We have a total of 4 (possibly 5) couples in our group. So wow, this will be a private tour.

I appreciate you guys taking the time to respond.

He has confirmed our reservation, so Ricky, here we come!!

[Kcarp]

You can search for Ricky's and find many posts about his service. All are overwhelmingly positive.

 

I used his tour on my 09/25 POA cruise and recommend his services without hesitation. Ricky is a courteous and professional host and full of minutiae about the sights, flora and history about Hilo.

I was looking at his website and I don't see any prices for tours.

[e_piph_a_ny]

I was looking at his website and I don't see any prices for tours.

His is a small operation so prices are not posted. However, he will quickly respond to any email questions for pricing. He did in my case!

[DocM4]

We did Richy's tour last January - I highly recommend him, and others have.

 

His prices may have gone up,with costs on almost everything increasing - but he will be well below the cruise lines prices. Last year he charge only 50.00 per person - what a deal!!!

[Sunny AZ Girl]

We have Ricky booked for May (3 couples). His price is $60 pp for that time frame. It will be a combo tour of Hilo and VNP. I am really looking forward to the tour. We decided to go with a tour guide in this port as we have found that a good guide will teach you so much about what you are seeing. Also, DH wanted to not have to worry about driving in at least one port.

 

I do have one question I have not seen addressed - does Ricky make a stop for lunch (he did not mention one) or should we bring sandwiches off the ship for the day?) Thanks!:)

[CharlesCharles]

I was thinking the same thing about taking food off the ship for lunch. I am guessing you make your own before you leave vs the ship actually providing packed lunches? And is there generally stuff to make up sandwiches at the breakfast buffet like cold meats, cheese etc?

[e_piph_a_ny]

I do have one question I have not seen addressed - does Ricky make a stop for lunch (he did not mention one) or should we bring sandwiches off the ship for the day?) Thanks!:)

 

There is a stop at Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Co. They have a snack bar at the back so you can buy or bring your brown bag for lunch.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

There is a stop at Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Co. They have a snack bar at the back so you can buy or bring your brown bag for lunch.

Thanks! :)

[langleyfld]

You know, I forgot we "can" actually bring food off the ship, since it is US soil we port on! Duh!!

That is a great idea to make our own picnic lunch for this tour! Great thinking!!

Yes, he quoted us $60 per person and that is a steal. So glad, I started this thread, I feel so much better about our booking now with all that have responded.

Aloha!!

[Sunny AZ Girl]

You know, I forgot we "can" actually bring food off the ship, since it is US soil we port on! Duh!!

That is a great idea to make our own picnic lunch for this tour! Great thinking!!

Yes, he quoted us $60 per person and that is a steal. So glad, I started this thread, I feel so much better about our booking now with all that have responded.

Aloha!!

Many have reported that the ship has a place in the buffet to make sandwiches in the morning. Not sure what else is available to bring, but we plan to use that convenience on several days. It will be nice for beach days, also. :cool: I plan to bring a box of sandwich zip-locks and a collapsible cooler with me.

[alberta_cruiser]

We used Ricky in September while on the Rotterdam. We had a cruise critic group of 12 and it was a great tour. He charged us $50 per person but said he had raised his rate to $60 since the entrance fee to Volcano National Park has increased. It was still well worth it and was one of the highlights of our cruise.

 

He picked us up around 10 am and we were back to the ship around 330 pm.

 

He supplied water but were were all pretty hungry by the time we go to the Macadamia Factory. (the ice cream was to die for!!!) On our cruise, they warned that we were not allowed to bring any fresh food off the ship even though it was still in the United States. However, I didn't see anyone checking packs when we disembarked.

 

I would highly recommend Ricky.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

On our cruise, they warned that we were not allowed to bring any fresh food off the ship even though it was still in the United States. However, I didn't see anyone checking packs when we disembarked.

 

I would highly recommend Ricky.

What ship were you on? Since everyone is reporting that the POA even has a sandwich making area at the buffet at breakfast maybe the rules are different if you were on a different ship....:confused: