Anyone booked a hotel for an overnight port of call?

[atexsix]

The Eurodam has an overnight in Honolulu, we're thinking of getting a hotel just for the night on Waikiki so we won't have a lot of back/forth to deal with, for the people that have done this, how was the experience of it? Did you find it more convenient? Did it give you more time to absorb the locale than a shore excursion would?

[sail7seas]

Have you considered a day room? If you find a hotel that offers t hem ? Compare cost of a room for 24 hours vs 8-10 or so hours.

[Iwant2BatC]

There is a bus stop right outside the terminal and you can access almost any point on Oahu from there. Downtown Honolulu has great restaurants, China Town, Walmart etc. it is a short walk. Waikiki is a short bus ride. You can take a bus around the entire island or go to Pearl Harbor by bus. Go online to The Bus and you can look at all the schedules. It’s the biggest bargain in Hawaii.

 

 

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[OlsSalt]

Yes twice, we had an overnight in Papeete and booked a hotel on Moorea for that night so we left the ship and took a ferry to Moorea, and then picked up the ship the next day when it came to Moorea after its the overnight in Papeete. That was on the Tales of the South Pacific.

 

Overnight in Rotterdam on the VOV - left early after docking in Rotterdam and traveled around eastern Holland by train stopping in Zutphen, then an overnight in Maastricht and then back to the ship in Rotterdam the next late afternoon after a detour to Delft.

 

Made sure we let everyone know what we were doing.

[Shmoo here]

The Eurodam has an overnight in Honolulu, we're thinking of getting a hotel just for the night on Waikiki so we won't have a lot of back/forth to deal with, for the people that have done this, how was the experience of it? Did you find it more convenient? Did it give you more time to absorb the locale than a shore excursion would?

While it's certainly been done (generally in non-US ports), I'm sure how/if the answer could be influenced by the PVSA.

 

I know you can't get off, say, in Waikiki, fly to Hilo, and pick up the ship there. But I'm not sure about getting off in Waikiki, and returning to the ship, also in Waikiki.

[rafinmd]

I hope you won't mind what I think is an amusing story. This wasn't a regular cruise line but it happened to me on a tiny ship of Blount Small Ship Adventures. I was on a Great Lakes Cruise from Duluth to Chicago and we were scheduled for an overnight at Mackinac Island. I had seen the stately properties there and wanted to stay at one.

 

 

I called the office and they said ok.

 

 

When I got on the ship Mackinac Island was crossed off the itinerary and Mackinac City was penciled in instead. There was a sailboat race and a Coast Guard Cutter was using our dock. By this time my hotel reservation had passed the cancellation deadline. The ship would dock at Mackinac City in the evening and visit the island the next morning using the ferry but we would arrive at Mackinac City after the last ferry had left for the Island.

 

The Captain took ownership of the situation but wasn't sure what he could do, Finally, when the time came they stopped the ship just off shore and sent me ashore on the little rescue boat. The ship continued on it's way as I watched from the dock.

 

 

It wasn't the Grand Hotel but the place I stayed was grand. The next day I took the ferry back to the ship with everybody else.

 

 

In your case, I probably would not book a hotel just for convenience but perhaps for a special experience.

 

 

Roy

[atexsix]

While it's certainly been done (generally in non-US ports), I'm sure how/if the answer could be influenced by the PVSA.

 

I know you can't get off, say, in Waikiki, fly to Hilo, and pick up the ship there. But I'm not sure about getting off in Waikiki, and returning to the ship, also in Waikiki.

 

We would definitely not leave Honolulu, but that brings up an interesting subject, since technically sightseeing planes do.

 

I'm intrigued by the bus so I will look into that, I've heard taxi fares on some of the other islands are pretty steep, can the same be said of Oahu?

[sail7seas]

Yes, everything is 'dear' on Oahu.

[cruise52]

Just did this on an overnight in San Sebastián, Spain. Booked private transportation to/from the port as well as a hotel room. This town was more than an hour away from the port but was the highlight of our trip. We had the entire day seeing the town, time on the beach and a wonderful dinner overlooking the water. The experience was well worth the expense. I think we were the only ones who did this on our sailing, but many indicated they wished they had considered.

[roberts2005]

Yes twice, we had an overnight in Papeete and booked a hotel on Moorea for that night so we left the ship and took a ferry to Moorea, and then picked up the ship the next day when it came to Moorea after its the overnight in Papeete. That was on the Tales of the South Pacific.

 

 

Made sure we let everyone know what we were doing.

 

 

Did the same on Oceania Marina. It was worth it.

[OlsSalt]

Did the same on Oceania Marina. It was worth it.

 

We got to finally stay on an over-the-water bungalow - we chose the Moorea Pearl - a more modest and older hotel. But it let us watch the Amsterdam across our over the water balcony, as it sailed into Moorea that same morning.

[TAD2005]

We are on the Eurodam, March 9, 2019, R/T San Diego, 28 days to Hawaii, Tahiti and the Marquesas. We have an overnight in Bora Bora, and we have booked a overwater bungalow at the Pearl Resort for the night. We arrive in Bora Bora at 8:00 AM on Saturday and don't leave until Sunday at 11:00 PM. HAL is offering the same hotel overwater bungalow for $1300 per person including dinner and transfers. We booked the same hotel directly for $650 for the one night for BOTH of us, and our booking gets us a free boat ride to the resort from the tender dock. We figure our dinner would cost us around $200 with drinks. So HAL's same package would cost us $2600, we are estimating $900 to $1000 for both if us. We have no concerns about missing the ship, because we must checkout of the Pearl by 11:00 AM on Sunday, and we plan to get a day room and hang out in the resort until around 5:00 PM, and head back to the ship. A huge savings !!

[twincheryl]

We just did this in Edinburgh. It was a tender port and had read many negatives about getting back to the ship after the Military Tattoo, so we got a great hotel and relaxed in the morning before doing a bit of sightseeing... then returned to the ship midday when the tender line was non existent... It was wonderful!

[atexsix]

Just did this on an overnight in San Sebastián, Spain. Booked private transportation to/from the port as well as a hotel room. This town was more than an hour away from the port but was the highlight of our trip. We had the entire day seeing the town, time on the beach and a wonderful dinner overlooking the water. The experience was well worth the expense. I think we were the only ones who did this on our sailing, but many indicated they wished they had considered.

 

So I'm assuming people that don't do this head out sightseeing for the day, go back to the ship for the night, then go back out again for more sightseeing? Will MDR and all venues be operating normally given the ship being docked for the night?

[atexsix]

We are on the Eurodam, March 9, 2019, R/T San Diego, 28 days to Hawaii, Tahiti and the Marquesas. We have an overnight in Bora Bora, and we have booked a overwater bungalow at the Pearl Resort for the night. We arrive in Bora Bora at 8:00 AM on Saturday and don't leave until Sunday at 11:00 PM. HAL is offering the same hotel overwater bungalow for $1300 per person including dinner and transfers. We booked the same hotel directly for $650 for the one night for BOTH of us, and our booking gets us a free boat ride to the resort from the tender dock. We figure our dinner would cost us around $200 with drinks. So HAL's same package would cost us $2600, we are estimating $900 to $1000 for both if us. We have no concerns about missing the ship, because we must checkout of the Pearl by 11:00 AM on Sunday, and we plan to get a day room and hang out in the resort until around 5:00 PM, and head back to the ship. A huge savings !!

 

Those prices are pretty good, I looked into a land based trip to Bora Bora not too long ago and the overwater bungalow's were going for $5000 a night, I don't remember which hotel exactly because I lost hope at that point, I'm glad to know there are more reasonable options.

[OlsSalt]

So I'm assuming people that don't do this head out sightseeing for the day, go back to the ship for the night, then go back out again for more sightseeing? Will MDR and all venues be operating normally given the ship being docked for the night?

 

Forgetting now if this was Istanbul or Shanghai - but I remember an outdoor buffet on the ship on that overnight docking with the best view in the house. Both cities are spectacular by night and the ship gets the best location of all to enjoy it when they do overnights.

[betonic]

We’ve done it in Moorea and also in Bora Bora. We did OWB at the Four Seasons in Bora Bora for around $1000 a night, $5000 is crazy!!! We’re going to overnight at a hotel in Beijing on our next cruise too.

 

 

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[Iwant2BatC]

We would definitely not leave Honolulu, but that brings up an interesting subject, since technically sightseeing planes do.

 

 

 

I'm intrigued by the bus so I will look into that, I've heard taxi fares on some of the other islands are pretty steep, can the same be said of Oahu?

 

 

 

You can take a lot of taxis for what a night in a Waikiki hotel will cost. And, although the beach is nice in Waikiki there are other less crowded beaches. Waikiki is a tourist trap IMO and there is so much beauty and history on Oahu it might be a shame to limit yourself to that area. A taxi from the airport to Waikiki will run about $35. From the ship about $12-$15. You can get a day pass on the bus and if you have a Medicare card it’s really inexpensive.

 

 

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