Hawaii car rentals

[creddick]

Sailing on Pride of America September 30. Some people have told me not to book shore excursions. They advise me to rent a car and do it on my own, much more freedom to go where and when I want.

 

Has anyone done this? Where do you get the car? Airport? Do any car rental companies bring the car to you at the pier?

 

Help anyone! Any input would be helpful. Confused about what to do. :confused:Thanks in advance.

[ColinIllinois]

While you are waiting for responses here, check out the Hawaii port of call forum. Lots of information on rentals.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=62

[Zeno]

Most car rental companies will send a mini-bus to the pier to pick up people who have reserved a car. You will be taken to their lot (usually at the airport) and after you drop off the car they will take you back to the pier. You MUST let the rental company know that you want pickup at the pier.

[coldferret]

We rented cars at most ports or arranged private tours. Do some reading, lots out there and yes, it was the way to go

 

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[punkincc]

Most rental car companies have shuttles running loops on days the ship is in port. Just make sure you reserve your car at the airport locations in Maui, Kauai and Hilo. In Kona, there is a rental car desk at the King Kam ( Courtyard Hotel ) 5 min walk from the tender dock which is a little more money, but saves time.

 

Lots of info on all this on the Hawaii board, as well as info on the overnight parking in Maui and Kauai.

[creddick]

I cancelled all our shore excursions and have booked cars at the Kahului airport, the Hilo airport, and the Lihue airport. Am I going to have any trouble getting from the ship to the airport and back? I booked with National Car Rentals and got a decent rate. I'm going to call tomorrow to see if they have cruise ship pickup. Thanks for the help.

[Silver Sweethearts]

I cancelled all our shore excursions and have booked cars at the Kahului airport, the Hilo airport, and the Lihue airport. Am I going to have any trouble getting from the ship to the airport and back? I booked with National Car Rentals and got a decent rate. I'm going to call tomorrow to see if they have cruise ship pickup. Thanks for the help.

 

Just FYI - We checked National's information page about Maui, and it notes there is no cruise ship pick up. You obviously may want to change to an agency that does offer shuttle service.

[lamchops]

https://www.discounthawaiicarrental.com/

We used this website to book our rentals. All companies chosen were cheaper than their original website. All companies picked up at the port except kona which was at the king kam Marriott.

 

May I suggest buying the Hawaii tri-park pass to visit volcanoes national park in Hilo, Haleakala crater in Maui, and kona. It's only $30 per carload for all parks.

https://www.nps.gov/havo/learn/news/tripark15.htm

[zqvol]

Sailing on Pride of America September 30. Some people have told me not to book shore excursions. They advise me to rent a car and do it on my own, much more freedom to go where and when I want.

 

Has anyone done this? Where do you get the car? Airport? Do any car rental companies bring the car to you at the pier?

 

Help anyone! Any input would be helpful. Confused about what to do. :confused:Thanks in advance.

 

Haven't done it on a cruise but have done exactly that on all four of our visits to Hawaii. Never book a tour, always do it on your own.

[ericmike]

We are booking thru Costco travel on maui and kauai on the first day of each island instead of excursions . All cost includes second driver for about 65 bucks for chevy Tahoe for a day much cheaper than excursions

 

 

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[creddick]

For those who have used discounthawaiicarrentals.com I have some questions.

 

Did you have any problems with the vehicle you rented?

 

Were they on time with pickup?

 

How much time between when the ship docks and you get your vehicle do you need. For instance, if the ship docks at 8:00, can you ask for pickup at 9:00?

 

How much time to get back to the ship? For instance, if the ship leaves at 6:00, would 4:30 give enough time to get back on board?

 

Thank you for the help. Never done anything like this before. I've only rented a car twice in my life (last time was in 06) so I'm a rookie at this.

[lamchops]

Did you have any problems with the vehicle you rented?

No, they are a third party discounter for the major companies. I usually chose Dollar because I'm an express member so I wait in a different line.

 

Were they on time with pickup?

Shuttles for all companies were running on a loop.

 

How much time between when the ship docks and you get your vehicle do you need. For instance, if the ship docks at 8:00, can you ask for pickup at 9:00?

Running on a loop but I did specify a time at booking.

 

How much time to get back to the ship? For instance, if the ship leaves at 6:00, would 4:30 give enough time to get back on board?

I usually tried to get back to the rental company 1 hour before all aboard so 90 minutes out.

[Fitzemt]

When we did POA , rented a car at every port. Used Thrifty and got the free VIP card ahead of time. It lets you skip the the line and get a car right away. They also have shuttle that picks up at port.

[jakesnana]

Did you have any problems with the vehicle you rented?

No, they are a third party discounter for the major companies. I usually chose Dollar because I'm an express member so I wait in a different line.

 

Were they on time with pickup?

Shuttles for all companies were running on a loop.

 

How much time between when the ship docks and you get your vehicle do you need. For instance, if the ship docks at 8:00, can you ask for pickup at 9:00?

Running on a loop but I did specify a time at booking.

 

How much time to get back to the ship? For instance, if the ship leaves at 6:00, would 4:30 give enough time to get back on board?

I usually tried to get back to the rental company 1 hour before all aboard so 90 minutes out.

 

Agree with all of the above. We used Discount for our April cruise in Hawaii and didn't have any problem. The only issue I would say is that there are usually A LOT of people waiting for the shuttle to the car rental place and long lines at the rental place, so this slowed us down a bit. Otherwise, it was a great experience and I would definitely do it again. You may want to think about signing up for the loyalty program of the rental car agency you go with. The lines seemed to be much shorter. If I had known in advance, I would have done that. I think we ended up renting from Thrifty for all 3 ports.

[fridaythe13th]

Most rental car companies have shuttles running loops on days the ship is in port. Just make sure you reserve your car at the airport locations in Maui, Kauai and Hilo. In Kona, there is a rental car desk at the King Kam ( Courtyard Hotel ) 5 min walk from the tender dock which is a little more money, but saves time.

 

Lots of info on all this on the Hawaii board, as well as info on the overnight parking in Maui and Kauai.

 

I agree spending a bit more to rent from King Kam. Taking a taxi to the airport and back will cover the extra you pay at KK. The airport is not that close so it's also time consuming.

[shipperx]

When I rented in HI I always asked for the low end car, and every port we were upgraded to the mustang convertible. I think that's the only car they have.

[punkincc]

I agree spending a bit more to rent from King Kam. Taking a taxi to the airport and back will cover the extra you pay at KK. The airport is not that close so it's also time consuming.

 

Rental car shuttles run from port to airport here as well, if that's where your fav car company is located, so no need to pay for a taxi. Just make sure it does send shuttles. But you are right about renting from the King Kam. Any extra $ is well worth it for the time savings involved, as long as you are comfortable renting from the two brands, I believe, which are located there.

 

Joining the Loyalty program of whatever company you choose can be done even after you've made a reservation. Just call and have the number added to the reservation. This gets you into the usually shorter fast track line.

[Captain Canuck]

did National at Maui...no pickup at port by rental car shuttle..but they were kind enough to leave the sign up for their shuttle after they discontinued this...big lineup of people waiting for shuttle that never came...guy suggested we split a cab which we did..think it was about $10 ...cab back on our own about the same $

[ericmike]

Just rented a car for the day in Maui. No longer run shuttle to car rental or at least Alamo dropped this service from pride of America . What is the cost for cab to car rental and how long are lines to wait for cab is it like Vegas where there is a line of cabs waiting to take you to car rental and how about a cab after dropping off car . I prepaid from Alamo so I am stuck now . I would imagine there will be a huge number of people getting off POA that Sunday morning . Any advice will be greatly appreciated

 

 

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[creddick]

Cabs were not a problem. There were plenty of them and we didn’t wait at all. Sorry, I can’t remember how much we paid but for Hawaii, not all that much. I rented from National and they were great. The car was waiting for me when we got there. The whole process took about 5 minutes. However, I’m am an Emerald club member so that may have helped. I can’t say enough good things about National, they were great with wonderful customer service.