shore excursions

[lozzajelly]

Hi,

 

Going on an NCL Hawaii cruise in November and I've been reading some reviews on shore excursions and there seems to be differing opinions. It will be our first cruise and we're not sure whether to book in advance with NCl or are there the same trips on offer at the ports but a lot cheaper. :confused:

 

Also as we are flying in from the UK not sure how difficult it would be to hire cars with reference to insurance and licences etc.

 

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks:)

[DonahCBrown]

Hi,

 

Going on an NCL Hawaii cruise in November and I've been reading some reviews on shore excursions and there seems to be differing opinions. It will be our first cruise and we're not sure whether to book in advance with NCl or are there the same trips on offer at the ports but a lot cheaper. :confused:

 

Also as we are flying in from the UK not sure how difficult it would be to hire cars with reference to insurance and licences etc.

 

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks:)

 

Year round cruising is still pretty young here in Hawaii, and there aren't as many of the "book at the dock" options that you find in other parts of the world with a more mature cruise industry. You can certainly book non-ship excursions and tours with a variety of companies here in Hawaii as there is a VERY mature visitor industry, but you just won't find them oriented to the docks and the cruise ships - more to the resort hotels. As such, you might find the timing is a bit difficult to coordinate with your ship's arrival and departure times.

 

Most of the things you might want to do or see are pretty easy to do on your own here, but you do have to be mindful that we drive on the "wrong" side of the road! We do get a lot of international visitors, so the car rental folks are pretty accustomed to the whole drill there. I'd probably try and book cars on each island I wanted to get a rental car on through a single company, though, to minimize the hassle, and I'd suggest you use a major rental company who will have all the procedures in place.

 

Start by looking at your ship's excursions, pick what looks good to you there, then try the on-line visitors bureaus for each island and see what you can come up with by way of alternatives. Then see what you might want to see on your own and make your decisions from there.