CARNIVAL HAWAII CRUISES ~ SHORE EXCURSIONS

[vadersprincess12]

Hello Everyone ~ we are sailing with Carnival next year to Hawaii and visiting these ports:  Maui, Honolulu, Kauai, and Hilo.  There are no overnights.  I'm looking suggestions for shore excursions.  I'm asking here because the reviews on Carnival's website are not really current, and it's hard to find information on the Hawaii threads under Port that are specific to my request.  Thanks for any input!  Have a great evening.

[SirTomster]

I am on this cruise in Feb of 25, I am researching the options on Carnival, Viator (owned by the company behind Cruise Critic), and shoreexcursiongroup.  Search other groups online.

 

Look at the options.   Maybe you want to just rent a car and do the same excursion at a fraction of the cost.  But see what you want to do.

 

Google a lot.  There are many tour companies out there.  However not many are really set up for cruise passengers.  They are geared to people staying at hotels and not limited to certain hours like we are from a ship.

 

[saskpot]

we are taking this cruise next month we did not book shore excursions will be exploring on our own can let you know what we do will be returning oct 10  it may help

[vadersprincess12]

10 hours ago, saskpot said:

we are taking this cruise next month we did not book shore excursions will be exploring on our own can let you know what we do will be returning oct 10  it may help

Saskpot ~ that would be great!  I'll keep an eye out for your information.  Enjoy your trip.

[vadersprincess12]

23 hours ago, SirTomster said:

I am on this cruise in Feb of 25, I am researching the options on Carnival, Viator (owned by the company behind Cruise Critic), and shoreexcursiongroup.  Search other groups online.

 

Look at the options.   Maybe you want to just rent a car and do the same excursion at a fraction of the cost.  But see what you want to do.

 

Google a lot.  There are many tour companies out there.  However not many are really set up for cruise passengers.  They are geared to people staying at hotels and not limited to certain hours like we are from a ship.

 

SirTomster ~ we are probably on the same cruise.

[SirTomster]

46 minutes ago, vadersprincess12 said:

SirTomster ~ we are probably on the same cruise.

If so, we have a roll call.  Not very active, but there.

 

Also, if you are on the Radiance on 2/9, I recommend a Whale Watch excursion from Maui.

 

Apparently, February is a perfect time and Maui is a great location.   My wife and I were in Alaska in June and saw the whales and now hope to see them again in Hawaii.

[firefly333]

2 hours ago, SirTomster said:

If so, we have a roll call.  Not very active, but there.

 

Also, if you are on the Radiance on 2/9, I recommend a Whale Watch excursion from Maui.

 

Apparently, February is a perfect time and Maui is a great location.   My wife and I were in Alaska in June and saw the whales and now hope to see them again in Hawaii.

There is a season for whale watching from maui. And many dont realize the big waves on  north shore oahu only come up in the winter. You probably didnt notice the surf tournaments are after Thanksgiving approx. I lived there 10 years and went to all the islands. I went back on celebrity and did the cruise excursion stuff. Tried not to cringe at some of the stuff for tourists too much. The road to hana is like a wonder of the world but the drive takes too long to drive there and back from a cruise ship I'd think. 

 

I dont remember what is offered from a cruise ship but could probably tell someone about it. I think it could have been maui we tendered in. A bunch of old people got really drunk at a tourist luau and threw up on the tender back to the ship. That wasnt fun. Lol. Tender ride was kinda rough. 

[vadersprincess12]

19 hours ago, SirTomster said:

If so, we have a roll call.  Not very active, but there.

 

Also, if you are on the Radiance on 2/9, I recommend a Whale Watch excursion from Maui.

 

Apparently, February is a perfect time and Maui is a great location.   My wife and I were in Alaska in June and saw the whales and now hope to see them again in Hawaii.

I've been doing my research and I have the whale watching excursion on my list to book.  Still looking at what to do in Kauai and Hilo.

[SirTomster]

18 hours ago, firefly333 said:

There is a season for whale watching from maui. And many dont realize the big waves on  north shore oahu only come up in the winter. You probably didnt notice the surf tournaments are after Thanksgiving approx. I lived there 10 years and went to all the islands. I went back on celebrity and did the cruise excursion stuff. Tried not to cringe at some of the stuff for tourists too much. The road to hana is like a wonder of the world but the drive takes too long to drive there and back from a cruise ship I'd think. 

 

I dont remember what is offered from a cruise ship but could probably tell someone about it. I think it could have been maui we tendered in. A bunch of old people got really drunk at a tourist luau and threw up on the tender back to the ship. That wasnt fun. Lol. Tender ride was kinda rough. 

No tenders on this cruise.   So no worries about that thankfully.

[firefly333]

I love all the nature part of hawaii. The volcano in maui people bike up there and lots of great hiking trails. Sliding sands hiking trail so interesting colors. 

 

What I dont like is seeing fire dancers at luaus which isnt hawaiian. Only for the tourists. 

 

Waimea falls on oahu flowers no place else and higher levels on maui also. Things natural you cant see any other place. Maui is my favorite for things to do. Of course Kauai is known for pretty flowers, has the rainiest spot on earth and a Canyon that reminds you of the Grand Canyon.

 

Sliding sands ..on the way up to the volcano on maui .. The Sliding Sands, or Keonehe'ehe'e Trail, is the premier access to Haleakalā crater. Departing from near the summit of 10,023' Haleakalā volcano, the trail descends to the otherworldly crater floor. The colors and changing light of the eroded crater are stunning. This very difficult hike is among the best on Maui.

 

or rent a bike. Bike up there, its famous to do this to see the sun rise.

[JonV]

On my Hawaii cruise we rented a car in ports and explored on our own. So very easy and great experiences. 

[calbred]

We did this cruise right before COVID in January and booked our own excursion on Maui (hired a private van) and did the road to Hana, fun and we got to stay as long as we wanted at certain spots or skip what we didn't want to see! Used same company for Pearl Harbor because we wanted to go snorkeling afterwards, was fun and relaxing knowing we did not have to rush or wait for transportation. We never made it to Hilo because of weather (from what I have heard this is not uncommon since water is rough on that side of the island) so we overnighted in Honolulu and just took a bus to the beach for a beach day.

[rogueriver]

Just wanted to give the OP a heads up that their ship may not be able to stop in Maui.  Since the fire in Lahaina, ships can only port in Kahului which cannot handle multiple cruise ships at one time. 

 

We will be on a Carnival cruise in October from Singapore to Los Angeles.  We were originally scheduled to stop in Honolulu and Maui but were informed a few months ago that we will not be able to stop in Maui and will have two nights in Honolulu.  This may not be happening to all cruises, but it is a possibility.