YoungRestlessOne Posted October 24, 2010 #1 Share Posted October 24, 2010 I have gained so much valuable information from these boards from all the thoughtful posts and reviews the past few months as I've planned our POA cruise. I can't believe departure week is finally here. Seems as if we've been planning for a year. I could really use some advice on time management for the Oahu portion of our trip. So here's the deal. Flying into Honolulu this Thursday at 2:00 and picking up our rental car from Thrifty. Planning to check in to Hotel Renew and get dinner and maybe walk around Waikiki a bit before an early bedtime. Friday we plan to get up and get an early start so we can see as much of Oahu via car before we return the rental that night. We will have most of Saturday as we don't plan to board the ship until about 4:00 that afternoon. Post cruise we have all day Saturday and all day Sunday because our flight doesn't leave until 11:00 p.m. that night. Staying overnight on Saturday at Outrigger Reef on the Beach. My big dilemma - even after hours of research - is when to do certain activities to maximize our time. Here's a list of what we hope to do on Oahu: Pearl Harbor U.S.S. Arizona Memorial Hike Diamond Head Snorkel at Hanauma Bay (or at least see it if there isn't time for snorkeling) Byodo-In temple Ala Moana Mall Halona Blowhole Chinaman's Hat North Shore Beaches Pali Lookout Not knowing how much time to allow for certain activities is flummoxing me. I can't seem to firm up an itinerary of when to do what on each day. We were not planning to rent a car post cruise, so the only day we will have a rental is the Friday before getting on the ship. Does anyone have any advice/recommendation/strong opinions that could help me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ell52 Posted October 25, 2010 #2 Share Posted October 25, 2010 I would suggest you wait until Friday to get the rental car. That way, you have all day Friday with the car and won't have to rush back to return it. On Friday, you could do a circle-island drive to the North Shore, and see most of the sites on your list; Chinaman's Hat, Byodo-In Temple, perhaps Hanauma Bay (it's capacity controlled), Pali Lookout, etc. I'd leave Ala Moana Shopping Center and Pearl Harbour for post-cruise. p.s. You could fit in a hike to Diamond Head early Friday morning if you're really energetic! Or just wait until the last Sunday morning post-cruise. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoungRestlessOne Posted October 25, 2010 Author #3 Share Posted October 25, 2010 Thanks, ell52! I like your idea of saving the Diamond Head hike until our very last day. The views at the top might be a very nice way to cap off what I'm sure will be an unforgettable week (I'm hoping!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giantfan13 Posted October 25, 2010 #4 Share Posted October 25, 2010 Your first three items all need to be done ASAP in the morning. You don;t need the car to get to Diamond Head or Pearl Harbor, as public transportation will also get you there. You can do Pearl harbor before you board the ship if you get there early enough and you have a place to stow your luggage. If, by some chance you get a later tour, you can always forget it and go back post cruise. I might opt for Snorkel at Hanauma Bay on the first full day you are there as you need the car to get yopu there. from there you can drive around to the North Shore, Byodo-in Temple, Pali Lookout etc. I agree that it might be better to get the car early Friday AM, so you can have it all day. You might have to pay a pretty penny to park at the hotel overnite. I would do Diamond Head post cruise as well as anything else you haven't accomplished. Here are a few visuals of our time in hawaii of some of the things you mentioned Atop Diamond Head http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/Hawaii/Dsc00021.jpg Pearl Harbor Looking at the Arizona Memorial from above the big guns of the Missouri http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/Hawaii/Dsc00142.jpg Byodo_In temple http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/Hawaii/Dsc00263.jpg Pali Lookout http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/Hawaii/Dsc00295.jpg Driving along the North shore http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/Hawaii/Dsc00259.jpg Don't forget to take time to jsut enjoy Hawaii and it's spectacular sunsets http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/Hawaii/Dsc00188.jpg Enjoy your trip Cheers Len Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisingGoddess Posted October 26, 2010 #5 Share Posted October 26, 2010 We've got about the same amount of time in Honolulu as you. (We arrive on Wed night pre-cruise and leave Sunday night post-cruise.) So you might want to check out my itinerary: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1280257 You can then cross out the stuff you don't want to do and swap things around. Have a great cruise!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.