Pearl Harbour Tours

[charliedalrymple]

We are booked on a Hawaiian cruise on Holland America in January 2025.  We definitely want to see the USS Arizona Memorial and the Battleship Missouri Memorial.  It seems that Pearl Harbour is very, very crowded, and I'm confused about which tour to book for the least stressful and chaotic experience.  The Holland America tour is quite expensive compared with private tours but may offer the most seamless experience. 

 

Does anyone have thoughts?  Bonus points if you have done the Holland America tour and can comment!

[cccole]

I have been to Pearl Harbor many times but never on an organized tour.  Have you visited the nps.gov site? Lots of good info regarding a visit and getting your tickets.  Many say go early, so when you go early all the the tour buses are there and many non-tour guests.  My favorite time to visit Pearl Harbor is late in the afternoon when a beautiful quiet comes over the site as the mass of tourists leave.  Occasionally the boat out to the Arizona will be canceled in the afternoon because of wind but this has never happened to us.

 

Sorry I cannot help you with a tour.  It is easy to get transportation to/from Pearl Harbor.  At recreation.gov you can reserve your tickets.  It is a wonderful memorial and National Park.  Cherie

[charliedalrymple]

1 hour ago, cccole said:

Sorry I cannot help you with a tour.

 

No apologies necessary--you've provided some very helpful information.  Much appreciated!

[DCwom]

On 9/2/2024 at 12:33 AM, charliedalrymple said:

We are booked on a Hawaiian cruise on Holland America in January 2025.  We definitely want to see the USS Arizona Memorial and the Battleship Missouri Memorial.  It seems that Pearl Harbour is very, very crowded, and I'm confused about which tour to book for the least stressful and chaotic experience.  The Holland America tour is quite expensive compared with private tours but may offer the most seamless experience. 

 

Does anyone have thoughts?  Bonus points if you have done the Holland America tour and can comment!

Honestly other than the Arizona memorial, there isn't a lot of other stuff in the park area besides the walk-through museum and some markers you can read, etc. The battleship, air and sub museums etc all require additional tickets, and a bus ride. The Missouri has volunteers that can guide you around the ship as well, so I'm not really sure what additional benefits excursions provide beside convenient transportation, maybe someone else can expand of the excursions.

Edited September 4 by DCwom

[STLCARDS82]

On 9/1/2024 at 11:33 PM, charliedalrymple said:

We are booked on a Hawaiian cruise on Holland America in January 2025.  We definitely want to see the USS Arizona Memorial and the Battleship Missouri Memorial.  It seems that Pearl Harbour is very, very crowded, and I'm confused about which tour to book for the least stressful and chaotic experience.  The Holland America tour is quite expensive compared with private tours but may offer the most seamless experience. 

 

Does anyone have thoughts?  Bonus points if you have done the Holland America tour and can comment!

Try Royal Star Deluxe Tours Hawaii!!

[STLCARDS82]

On 9/3/2024 at 7:01 PM, DCwom said:

Honestly other than the Arizona memorial, there isn't a lot of other stuff in the park area besides the walk-through museum and some markers you can read, etc. The battleship, air and sub museums etc all require additional tickets, and a bus ride. The Missouri has volunteers that can guide you around the ship as well, so I'm not really sure what additional benefits excursions provide beside convenient transportation, maybe someone else can expand of the excursions.

I took Royal Star  tours last year, which included The ride to the Arizona,admission to the Missouri..and the Aviation Museum!!

They did a great job of getting us to the Site!!

[TexasHikers]

On 9/1/2024 at 11:33 PM, charliedalrymple said:

We are booked on a Hawaiian cruise on Holland America in January 2025.  We definitely want to see the USS Arizona Memorial and the Battleship Missouri Memorial.  It seems that Pearl Harbour is very, very crowded, and I'm confused about which tour to book for the least stressful and chaotic experience.  The Holland America tour is quite expensive compared with private tours but may offer the most seamless experience. 

 

Does anyone have thoughts?  Bonus points if you have done the Holland America tour and can comment!

We are on the same cruise.  We are going to Uber to Pearl Harbor and will already have our tickets for the USS Arizona.  

[DCwom]

5 hours ago, TexasHikers said:

We are on the same cruise.  We are going to Uber to Pearl Harbor and will already have our tickets for the USS Arizona.  

Arizona tickets for Jan 2025?  The Arizona tickets aren't typically released until about a month before, did you get them via Rec.gov? I've seen tours that go to Pearl but the fine print doesn't include the Arizona tickets.

[TexasHikers]

We don’t have tickets yet. NPS indicates late November they will go on sale, but plan to get them at that time 

I just meant that’s our plan for that day 

[EtaC]

A few things to consider about Pearl.

1) The mainland museum and visitor center are free and do not require a ticket. However, they are part of the Pearl Harbor Navy base and as such the Navy runs the show. You cannot bring anything larger than a small, transparent, purse onto the site. No backpacks, fanny packs, diaper bags, or large purses allowed. Basically, if it holds more than a cell phone or wallet it's too big. There are places to check bags, but they add to delays.

2) The ride out to the Arizona memorial does require a ticket but it's free on the NPS site. You do need to book it in advance. They stop reservations a month or so before and then re-open them 24 to 48 hours in advance as I recall. Again, the Navy runs the show (and the boats out to the memorial). They can cancel trips out at any time if the weather or ship movements make the transit hazardous. It's not common, but it does happen.

3) Tours of USS Missouri are not run the NPS but by a separate organization. They require a ticket and then a bus ride over to Ford Island (still part of the Navy base). The tour of the upper decks is the basic one. If you're interested in details (and able to deal with steep ladders and low overheads) the below deck guided tour that takes you down into the engine rooms, fire control spaces, and the lower levels of the turrets is fascinating.

4.) The submarine museum is right next to the NPS visitor center. One might think it's part of the same museum. However it, like the Missouri, is a separate organization with its own admission fee. That said, it tells the story of the US submarine campaign against Japan and includes a tour of USS Bowfin, a sub with a storied history during the war.

5) An organized tour, whether through the cruise line or separately, can include all or only one of these options. At a minimum, they will include the transit out to the Arizona Memorial without the need to go through NPS. That can come in handy if you (as I did) wait too long to get the tickets there. 

 

Given all of this, I have to say that the trip out to the Memorial is worth the effort. To stand there and look at the remains of the ship will bring on emotions I can't describe. If you have time after the trip to Pearl, I recommend a visit to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (a.k.a. Punchbowl). This is the Pacific version of Arlington National Cemetery. Many of the casualties of the Pearl Harbor attack, along with those of the entire Pacific campaign, are buried there. Definitely do more than the typical tour bus that just runs through the cemetery without stopping. It is as moving as the Arizona memorial. Punchbowl is a volcanic crater that overlooks Honolulu. The views from the rim are fabulous. 

 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

On 9/13/2024 at 5:17 PM, DCwom said:

The Arizona tickets aren't typically released until about a month before

 

Tickets go on sale in advance 8 weeks exactly (56 days) before you want to go. If you want to go on a Tuesday, count back 8 Tuesdays and that is when tickets go on sale.

 

https://www.recreation.gov/ticket/233338/ticket/16

https://www.nps.gov/perl/uss-arizona-memorial-programs.htm

[KeepCalmBearOn]

11 hours ago, EtaC said:

The ride out to the Arizona memorial does require a ticket but it's free on the NPS site.

 

The ticket is free, but there is a $1 per ticket handling fee and the website is not the NPS per se, but recreation.gov, which is a government site contracted out to Booz Allen and they work with 12 different federal government agencies, including the NPS.

[EtaC]

Well, point taken. But compared to the $35 or so the Missouri charges and the $22 for the Bowfin it is essentially free. 

[DCwom]

18 hours ago, EtaC said:

Well, point taken. But compared to the $35 or so the Missouri charges and the $22 for the Bowfin it is essentially free. 

Yeah, a little pricey, but these old ships cost a lot to maintain, I've been to the New Jersey, Wisconsin and recently the Missouri, they are all similarly expensive. I missed the opportunity to see the NJ in dry dock this May, for a mere $200-something you could take a hard hat tour under the ship's hull. If you have just a passing interest in these ships, then once you've seen one Iowa class ship, you've seen them all.

[princeton123211]

35 minutes ago, DCwom said:

If you have just a passing interest in these ships, then once you've seen one Iowa class ship, you've seen them all.

Agree with this. I live near the USS New Jersey and have toured her frequently. Aside from the spot where the surrender was signed there was little noticeable difference from the overall experience on Missouri. 

[cccole]

@charliedalrymple  I hope you will come back in 2025 and let us know what you decided to do.  So many different opinions on this thread and what appeals to one person does not appeal to someone else.  Pearl Harbor really is an amazing U.S. National Park and I hope you enjoy it.  Cherie

[SFPatty]

I booked transportation to and from Pearl Harbor – $60 each way. Visiting Pearl Harbor is actually free. No need to book an expensive excursion. The last time in Hawaii, we made the mistake of booking a 5-hour tour which, we found out, was not nearly enough time. The driver is picking us up at 8:00 and at at 5:00 for the return. There is enough room for 3 more passengers and we can split the cost.  For information on Pearl Harbor, here’s the link https://pearlharbor.org.  If planning evening activities where being back at port earlier is necessary, I can change the pickup time.

[princeton123211]

20 hours ago, SFPatty said:

I booked transportation to and from Pearl Harbor – $60 each way. Visiting Pearl Harbor is actually free. No need to book an expensive excursion.

You do realize that an UberX from the pier to the Pearl Harbor Visitors Center would cost you about $12 each way right? 

[SFPatty]

3 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

You do realize that an UberX from the pier to the Pearl Harbor Visitors Center would cost you about $12 each way right? 

Thank you, didn’t even think about that

[princeton123211]

3 hours ago, SFPatty said:

Thank you, didn’t even think about that

Uber/Lyft in Honolulu are plentiful, easy, and cheap. Anyone who is charging you $120 round trip for that short of a trip is taking advantage of you. 

[DCwom]

9 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

You do realize that an UberX from the pier to the Pearl Harbor Visitors Center would cost you about $12 each way right? 

+1 for @princeton123211 Uber suggestion, we used Uber from Waikiki to Pearl and with tip is was less than $40 (I don't recall exactly) , and we passed the piers along the way.

Edited Tuesday at 12:03 AM by DCwom

[cccole]

Also, you can pre schedule an Uber so you don't have to worry about getting one. Our experience is that is a $5 charge to pre reserve.  So worth it to us.   Cherie

[SFPatty]

2 hours ago, cccole said:

Also, you can pre schedule an Uber so you don't have to worry about getting one. Our experience is that is a $5 charge to pre reserve.  So worth it to us.   Cherie

Thank you Cherie. I canceled my ride and will schedule a rides through Uber. Just was sure about costs. 

[SFPatty]

6 hours ago, DCwom said:

+1 for @princeton123211 Uber suggestion, we used Uber from Waikiki to Pearl and with tip is was less than $40 (I don't recall exactly) , and we passed the piers along the way.

Thank you for the suggestion. Cancelled the SUV and will be taking Uber

Edited Tuesday at 06:19 AM by SFPatty

[SFPatty]

On 9/13/2024 at 11:40 AM, TexasHikers said:

We are on the same cruise.  We are going to Uber to Pearl Harbor and will already have our tickets for the USS Arizona.  

We’re on the same cruise too and will be Uber-ing to Pearl Harbor as well. Want to share the Uber; we might be able to save a few dollars.