Pride of America - Hawaiian Excursions

[jcarruthers]

Compared to the Mediterranean and Asian cruises we are finding the Pride of America excursions very expensive. Can anybody recommend a shore excursion company in Hawaii that provides reasonably priced excursions for the seven day Hawaiian Island cruise?

[andlep]

Best to post in the Hawaii thread.

[Rassa]

Before Pride of America did the 7 day Hawaii cruise, we travelled on a Norwegian cruise and Roberts of Hawaii were at every port for excursions, especially before people embarked and they signed people up for tours.  However, if they are now doing the Norwegian Cruise Line tours, they won't do private tours.  I have found Norwegian cruise line charges more for excursions than other cruise lines.

 

Try this website https://www.robertshawaii.com/

[MicCanberra]

We had some tours organised via the roll call (CC members) but in several ports we just walked ashore and picked up something from the venders waiting there, seemed much better value and certainly cheaper than the ship's prices. It also comes with more risk though.

[qbay46]

I have done the NCL cruise twice and both times I have rented a car in each port and did my our thing, it was very easy to do and the car rental companies meet the ship at the pier and takes you to collect the car.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

yes ...with the ship doing a regular weekly run , the locals have been able to gear up knowing that they have a constant market arriving...

eg .... if its Tues it is Hilo .

 

[MicCanberra]

Better than waking up in Belgium I suppose, especially if on an Hawaiian cruise.😋

[felicityd]

Hi, I did the POA in August/September 2017.

 

I did the following:

 

Maui - Road to Hana tour - https://www.tourmaui.com/

Maui day 2 - Lahaina on your own tour through NCL (didn't feel confident driving in the USA)

 

Hilo - Mary Lou's Big Island tours (currently not operating due to a death in the family, but if they start up again, they were excellent and I definitely recommend them)

Kona - took the tender ashore and wandered around the town

 

Kauai day 1 - booked a movie tour through NCL

Kauai day 2 - stayed on board

 

On Oahu we booked a private tour through this company - http://www.privatetourshawaii.com/ - again due to not feeling confident driving in the USA

 

Hope this is a little helpful for you. 😊

[jcarruthers]

Hi felicityd 

That’s great. Thanks very much.

[bazzaw]

We found that apart from Lahaina , we really needed to get away from the ports. Even Laihana , while pleasant enough , is a beach (I live on the Gold Coast - Laihana could not be compared) and a main street full of touristy shops.  They tended to NOT be what we expected of the Hawaiian islands. We THOROUGHLY enjoyed the cruise on Pride of America - it is a real fun ship and the entertainment starts in the big shed before you even board. It is definitely a HAWAIIAN cruise!!! BUT - the ports were a bit MEH! We did a shore tour by bus to the top of the big volcano on the big island of Hawaii - but when we got to the top at around 10,000 feet  , couldn't see a thing (cloud) 🙂 The cruise was great - but Hawaii itself?? I think you need a land stay complete with car to appreciate the islands 

[BINDY31]

It’s a great cruise.... we used tourmaui.com for both days in Maui... first day, road to Hana. Second day we did their upcountry tour... we went to the Iao needle, up to the top of Haleakala, had a lovely day. They use small 12 seater buses and even provide lunch.

both days on the big Island we used Marylous big island tours, but as mentioned they are not operating at the moment. On Kauai we used ?Roberts for a trip to Waimea Canyon and river cruise and the fern grotto. Second day we had a scenic flight over the island. 

 

Cheers

belinda

[MMDown Under]

On 5/16/2019 at 4:58 PM, bazzaw said:

We found that apart from Lahaina , we really needed to get away from the ports. Even Laihana , while pleasant enough , is a beach (I live on the Gold Coast - Laihana could not be compared) and a main street full of touristy shops.  They tended to NOT be what we expected of the Hawaiian islands. We THOROUGHLY enjoyed the cruise on Pride of America - it is a real fun ship and the entertainment starts in the big shed before you even board. It is definitely a HAWAIIAN cruise!!! BUT - the ports were a bit MEH! We did a shore tour by bus to the top of the big volcano on the big island of Hawaii - but when we got to the top at around 10,000 feet  , couldn't see a thing (cloud) 🙂 The cruise was great - but Hawaii itself?? I think you need a land stay complete with car to appreciate the islands 

I agree a land stay in Hawaii is the best way to experience the Hawaiian islands.  We have visited Hawaii a number of times (en route to USA) and have visited all the islands this way.  We picked three different places on each island and used these places as a base to tour that area of the island.  Car hire and driving is easy in Hawaii, which is a really beautiful place to visit.  Being from Queensland, I feel like I'm home as soon as I smell the tropical flowers when I get off long haul flights.