Refund for Maui shore excursions via Princess

[BuzzBuzzen]

Hello , about 2 weeks ago I received an email from Princess advising of an Itineray change for Hawaii cruise.

Purcased shore excursions would be refunded to original form of payment. I had paid for 2 excursions via my credit card , so I was expecting the refund to that card. The consultant told me the refunds had gone to my onboard credit. I queried this and was told, as I had on board credit, this had been pooled into my booked excursions ! The obc amount is exactly what I paid via my credit card. 

Cheers, Buzz.

[Jean C]

Presumably also, the shore excursions that have been refunded as on board credit will in fact have been noted on your account folio as "refundable on board credit" (as distinct from your existing on board credit that is quite likely non-refundable). Refundable on board credit can be withdrawn as cash, or will be paid out to you at the end of your cruise.

[OzKiwiJJ]

We had one excursion cancelled by Princess on our upcoming Japan cruise and that was refunded to our credit card. However it may depend on whether you have used OBC as full or part payment for excursions. If so, they may refund it as OBC. 

[MicCanberra]

That has happened for us previously as well, you can book new shorexs using this OBC if you wish.

[BuzzBuzzen]

13 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

That has happened for us previously as well, you can book new shorexs using this OBC if you wish.

Thanks Mic. I have to look for something to do on our new second full day In Honolulu. What a problem to have. Cheers, Buzz.

[MicCanberra]

Yeah, better than some other issues you could have had.

[NSWP]

3 hours ago, BuzzBuzzen said:

Thanks Mic. I have to look for something to do on our new second full day In Honolulu. What a problem to have. Cheers, Buzz.

Catch the local bus around the island, cheap as chips. The Zoo at Waikiki is good too.

Edited October 1, 2023 by NSWP

[Jean C]

What would I do with an extra day in Honolulu? You can walk to the Aloha Tower from the port and get a bus from there to the Ala Moana Centre. Across the road is "magic island", a safe lagoon beach with the bonus of a lifeguard on duty. Some snorkelling there too right off the beach, with more tropical fish at the lagoon wall. Or, you could get a bus from the Ala Moana Centre to the Duke statue and visit the Beach Bar at the Moana Surfrider - best Mai Tais in all of Honolulu. The last time I checked the bus was $2 and that gave you free transfers to subsequent buses within a certain time frame 🙂

[OzKiwiJJ]

4 hours ago, BuzzBuzzen said:

Thanks Mic. I have to look for something to do on our new second full day In Honolulu. What a problem to have. Cheers, Buzz.

Does that give you an overnight stopover or a late evening departure? If so I recommend going to the House Without a Key restaurant/bar at the Halekulani Hotel for sunset drinks and very nice bar snacks. They have a Hawaiian band and the night we were there they had a hula dancer as well. We really enjoyed it and would definitely go back again. 

[MicCanberra]

Walk up Diamond Head.

[Jean C]

A decent amble (about all you can manage in the Honolulu heat) from Ala Moana is to Fort DeRussy Park and call in at the free (by donation) military museum there - it's very interesting and worthy of a visit -

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_DeRussy_Military_Reservation

Edited October 1, 2023 by Jean C

[arxcards]

I was going to suggest lunch at Hooters, downstairs in the Aloha Tower complex, but it closed during the pandemic. They had some nice harbourfront views.

[Jean C]

19 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Walk up Diamond Head.

With respect, it's not the easiest to get to from the port. You'd need a taxi which can drop you part way into the park (the public bus drops you outside the park and you'd have a longish walk to the entry booth, with no protection from the sun). Taxis aren't allowed to hang around in the park waiting for casual pick-ups, although they do. However if the authorities come by, they scarper pronto. The hike to the top is doable for average fitness, and the views well worth the effort 🙂

[BuzzBuzzen]

20 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Does that give you an overnight stopover or a late evening departure? If so I recommend going to the House Without a Key restaurant/bar at the Halekulani Hotel for sunset drinks and very nice bar snacks. They have a Hawaiian band and the night we were there they had a hula dancer as well. We really enjoyed it and would definitely go back again. 

We arrive early the first day then overnight with an 11pm departure the next day. Thank you for your help. Cheers, Buzz.

[arxcards]

8 hours ago, Jean C said:

With respect, it's not the easiest to get to from the port. You'd need a taxi which can drop you part way into the park (the public bus drops you outside the park and you'd have a longish walk to the entry booth, with no protection from the sun). Taxis aren't allowed to hang around in the park waiting for casual pick-ups, although they do. However if the authorities come by, they scarper pronto. The hike to the top is doable for average fitness, and the views well worth the effort 🙂

You can catch a local bus to the zoo, then walk it from there. The challenge of Diamond Head is the physical exercise, and the view is the reward. Last time there, we stayed at Park Shore across the road from the zoo. A few of the group we were with did the walk up Diamond Head.

 

Not the top of my list though. With the protection of the ship not leaving overnight, a lap around the Island with a late lunch at Waimea Falls would make for a nice day if you have a good local guide.