Honolulu overnight excursion question - there are none shown for second day

[PTMary]

We were originally booked on Ruby Princess which had a one day stop in Honolulu. The ship was swapped with Royal Princess, which now does an overnight in Honolulu. The excursions listed for both cruises are the same.

 

Looking over the excursions available, there is no way to select the second day to book any of the excursions. Currently it appears that all excursions are only available for the first day, just like when Ruby was doing a one day stop. I contacted Princess (less than a five minute wait at 4:30pm PDT) and they told me they have no listings for the second day either. They suggested checking back later to see if the excursions have been expanded.

 

There are two excursions we are considering that happen at the same time, so we would like to do one on each day. One is to the North shore, is 6.5 hours long, and returns two hours before the time the ship would be leaving if they were offered on the second day, so we would prefer the ships tour for this one in case of transportation delays. I am assuming that the latest time to return the ship is 1 hour before departure. 

 

My questions are, have you seen the excursions offered on both days if overnighting, or does Princess only schedule them for the first day as normal policy? Should I wait to see if the lists get updated, or may this be a screw up caused by the ship swap and subsequent change to an overnight stop that will never get fixed?

 

Thanks for any advice. 

Edited August 24, 2022 by PTMary

[DUCHESSRN]

We are on Royal for Christmas, excursions  seem minimal choice .

[SiliconCruiser]

5 hours ago, PTMary said:

We were originally booked on Ruby Princess which had a one day stop in Honolulu. The ship was swapped with Royal Princess, which now does an overnight in Honolulu. The excursions listed for both cruises are the same.

 

Looking over the excursions available, there is no way to select the second day to book any of the excursions.

They probably did a copy & paste of the excursions from the Ruby.  Honolulu has an excellent public transportation system called "Da Bus" by locals.  Additionally there is Roberts Transportation that is most likely the largest excursion operator in the islands and also contracts to do public transportation for many of the municipalities in Hawaii.  Roberts is probably also probably the major contractor for Princess excursions.  You can contact them to book directly for excursions, no need to be worried since they are used to working with all of the cruise lines and will usually use one vehicle for passengers from any particular ship (they know when they need to get you back and not delay anyone.)  They also possess the Aloha spirit and treat their direct customers better than the cruise lines will treat their passengers.

[AF-1]

I assume since ruby was only doing a day stop; Princess has not yet booked with local companies for the second day excursions.  Check back later when Princess can lock down those excursion.

[cruisequeen4ever]

I recommend you rent a car from a location in Waikiki and drive around the island yourself the second day. We did that on our Hawaii cruise. Alternatively, there are tons of tour companies that will take you. You’d just need to get to their meeting spot in Waikiki. 

[XBGuy]

5 hours ago, AF-1 said:

I assume since ruby was only doing a day stop; Princess has not yet booked with local companies for the second day excursions.  Check back later when Princess can lock down those excursion.

 

I really think that @AF-1 has cracked the code, here.  I have to believe that it is to Princess' benefit to sell excursions on Day 2 of your Honolulu visit.  Give them some time and continue to check back.  Even if there is nothing listed before you leave, you might just check at the ship's excursion desk prior to your arrival in Honolulu.

 

Bon voyage.  I'm jealous.

[Yehootu]

17 hours ago, PTMary said:

One is to the North shore, is 6.5 hours long, and returns two hours before the time the ship would be leaving if they were offered on the second day, so we would prefer the ships tour for this one in case of transportation delays. I am assuming that the latest time to return the ship is 1 hour before departure. 

 

53 minutes ago, cruisequeen4ever said:

I recommend you rent a car from a location in Waikiki and drive around the island yourself the second day. We did that on our Hawaii cruise. Alternatively, there are tons of tour companies that will take you. You’d just need to get to their meeting spot in Waikiki. 

There are other car rental  agencies outside of Waikiki also, but depending on your plans could be your best choice.If you plan on driving around Oahu I'd start by heading to the North Shore first and early. Depending on the day of the week and the surf season, the North Shore can be one of the busiest most congested areas on the Island. By going clockwise around the Island, you'll be going against the traffic. As you come back from the east side (da best side😀) the traffic won't start till mid town. If you've rented a car from Waikiki it's easy to get back into Waikiki and either a short public bus ride or cab/Uber ride back to the ship.You also have Ala Moana on the way back if you need anything.

[cr8tiv1]

@Yehootu(and others) recommendation is solid.  If you just want to see the beauty and sights, rent a car.  If you are looking for history and more of a guided experience, check out Groupon for some tours.  Robert's is the long standing tour company in Hawaii.

 

With all that said, there have been 2 major accidents on the North Shore.  Please drive carefully (it's not you...its' the locals).  Oahu is an easy island to drive if you are not in a rush.  Traffic is the major headache.