Pride of America

[jeppler]

When would be a good time to start looking for airfare from NY and how far in advance should we try to book excursions to insure we get the ones we want?

[Imalismom]

We started looking as soon as the dates opened up. The fares never seemed to go down. But, it also depends on when you are going. Some times are MUCH MUCH cheaper then others. April seemed to have the lowest rate, and July seemed to have the highest rate. We were going in July.

 

We were able to fly Southwest Houston to LA, then fly from LA to Honolulu, cheaper than we were able to fly roundtrip from Houston. We got the Southwest tickets the day our date opened on Southwest to get the cheapest rate.

 

We booked all our excursions outside of NCL. I scoured the Hawaii Port forums here at Cruise Critic to find all the excursions that people raved about, and I booked ALL of those as soon as I made the decision. A LOT of them sell out they are so popular, so I'd make those choices as soon as you can. I can tell you that every single one I did, I loved and felt that I wasted no money at all. Some I had to pay a deposit, others, I just had to pay when we did the excursion. But everything we did, was also offered by NCL in some way, and was a lot more money then doing it yourself.

[punkincc]

For Hawaii, you'll probably want to book as soon as flights open up for your date. That's when they are generally lowest. We booked our flights for October 9 months out, in January. Like Imalismom, we find it makes more sense for us to fly Southwest to Phoenix, LAX, or SFO first, and then book the flight to Hawaii from there. We have so far found Hawaiian Airlines to have the best fares. We do an overnight before flying out to Hawaii the next morning. This greatly helps with the jet lag if coming from the east coast or Midwest.

 

As far as excursions, it really depends on what you want to see and do. So many things to see in Hawaii are just "drive up", no expensive excursion needed. Rental cars are very inexpensive, as little as $30 a day and the driving is very uncomplicated, unless it's in Honolulu. You get the shuttles to the car pickups right next to the ship.

 

If you prefer a tour, you can almost always get a superior experience and price with an independent tour. See the Hawaii board for info and take a look at Trip Advisor for highly recommended ones. Many are very small group and you'll want to book as far out as possible.

[FranknBeans]

When would be a good time to start looking for airfare from NY and how far in advance should we try to book excursions to insure we get the ones we want?

 

 

 

I agree with others books as soon as window opens for flights.As for excursions we do not do ship excursions as you can save at least 40-50% booking through reputable tour companies. These we usually book about 3 months out.

However if you are looking at car rentals you need to book as soon as you can as there are not a lot of cars for rent on the islands.

We have been at rental a company and people come in looking for a rental and they are to non available. We have also been waiting for shuttle bus and someone asked the driver and the driver said non available

[punkincc]

I agree with others books as soon as window opens for flights.As for excursions we do not do ship excursions as you can save at least 40-50% booking through reputable tour companies. These we usually book about 3 months out.

However if you are looking at car rentals you need to book as soon as you can as there are not a lot of cars for rent on the islands.

We have been at rental a company and people come in looking for a rental and they are to non available. We have also been waiting for shuttle bus and someone asked the driver and the driver said non available

 

You are not even supposed to be on the shuttle unless you already have a reservation. I've never seen the driver ask passengers or check for paperwork, but someone did ask the driver once after boarding and she told them to get on their phone immediately and make a reservation, otherwise they could not ride. Since reservations can be made with no money upfront and no cancellation fees, there is really no reason not to book well in advance to insure you have a car waiting. If prices drop, you can cancel and rebook. Discount Hawaii Car Rentals website is highly recommended here.

[VTSteerage]

For those living near the Canadian border, be sure to check out prices from your nearest Canadian gateway. My wife and I saved $800 as a couple by flying out of Montreal to Honolulu instead of our hometown of Burlington, VT. The Montreal prices were $500 to $600 lower than flying out of Boston or New York City. We booked our flights on Delta as soon as they became available for our December 2017 cruise on the POA.

[easyboy]

We usually book 5 months out, but for the past 2 years, we found much cheaper rates at 9 months out.