Hawaii Excursion Advice Please

[Twinkee]

What a great forum! It's nice to read positive postings about cruising Hawaii.

 

My fiance and I are cruising Hawaii on NCL's Pride of Hawaii for our honeymoon this August. We are considering quite a few excursions and would like some feedback from those who have experience. We're up for adventure but also want to relax so no early excursions (i.e. 8am).

 

Hilo

Volcato & Rainbow Falls

Kilauea Lava Viewing Hike

*Which will give us a chance to see lava?

 

Maui

Road to Hana

Haleakala Crater

 

Kona

Captain Zodiac Raft & Snorkel

*Good for swimmers of all levels?

 

Kauai

Sea Fun Beach Snorkel

Journey to Waimea Canyon

 

Thanks in advance!

[runningradical]

Hi We just returned from the Pride Of Aloha . We did the Road to Hana, Haleakala crater and Waimea Canyon on our own. We enjoyed all of them especially the crater. The views were wonderful. We rented a car from Thrifty which was very easy.

 

We signed up to do the lave viewing hike through the ship but we had a medical emergency and our time was cut short. The tour did take us to the park and we walked through the lava tube and saw the steam vents. They do tell you depending on the way the lava flows you may not see any lava. Have a great cruise

[POHherewecome!]

Just did the Captain Zodiac snorkel in Kona and it was great.

Besides the snorkelling, we also saw dolphins and whales.

I am 45, not the best swimmer, overweight and not that fit, but the snorkelling was fine. I didn't find it tough at all. I certainly wasn't ready to get back into the raft when it was time to go. And they also give you floating devices if you want.

After reading some of the reviews on this site, I was afraid that the Zodiac ride would be too rough and bouncy for me. So I sat at the back of the raft, as advised by some posters on this site. But the ride was fine, not at all scary and I regretted my seating decision coz I couldn't see some of the things people in the front of the raft could see.

Hope this helps!

[gore]

As I read your plans for excursions, it seems like you should consider renting a car on most islands. Nothing you are looking at in Maui or Kauai needs to be done in large groups on buses. And, renting a car is not expensive and leaves so much more flexibility. We are renting a car in each port except Kona and our costs through Thrifty are around $38 a day. That means you can do a lot instead of paying the price for excursions. If you do a bit of research on the web, like going to the Volcanoes National Park site, then you can see how easy it is to drive there. If you also read many of the threads here, you can get tips on driving the road to Hana, going to the crater, etc. Pretty much everything you are doing can be done at no cost to you, except the rental car, which means lots more funds for food etc. In fact, we added up what we saved in not taking the lava hike (you can drive there, stop in the ranger station and get the lave update for the day with suggested hikes, and just do it yourself) and actually booked a helicopter tour with Island Helicopters for Kauai, since we were saving so much money on all the tours. (By the way, Island Helicopters gives you a reduced rate if you book online so it is very reasonable and recommended in Frommers and by our friends.) So, as honeymoons go, I would spend the money on things you can't do yourself (like helicopter rides) and skip most of the bus trip type tours. Also, if you go with Thrifty, sign up for their Blue chip membership online and it will give you a speedy pick up.

[Twinkee]

Thanks for the tips everyone!

 

The thought of renting a car is not appealing to my fiance. He would really prefer not to stress about navigating an unknown area on vacation. So I think we may need to stick to the ship's excursions or take cabs.

 

Does anyone know if cabs are readily available at the pier area if we want to go on non-NCL excursions?

 

POHherewecome! What time did you have to leave the boat at for the snorkeling tour?

[sceptic]

FYI the Kilauea Lava Viewing Hike is the only excursion that can currently give you a chance of seeing active lava flows. (other than helicopter!)

 

It will help IMMENSELY on this hike if you wear good hiking boots. Steel toed, and ankle-high. Trust me on this! They can be an excursion-saver. And if you can find a good walking stick it will also help! Ask the excursion people if they're provided. Bring tons of water. Yes, it's kind of a pain to lug hiking boots along, but they're much better than a twisted ankle... or worse.

 

But remember - you're talking about 6 months from now. There is zero guarantee that nature/Pele will oblige by having any activity that is reasonably accessible. Or it might be the show of a lifetime. You never know.

 

Cabs would be prohibitively expensive for any of these excursions. Rental cars are wonderful for giving you the opportunity to do what you want, at your pace. (and my gosh they're so much less expensive!)

[Twinkee]

Thanks sceptic! We're big fans of hiking (did the Half Dome in Yosemite hike) so bringing the appropriate gear is not a problem for us.

 

I'm hoping to get more information about the approxmiate start and end times of the NCL excursions. I've narrowed it down to:

 

Kilauea Lava Viewing Hike

Captain Zodiac Raft & Snorkel

 

For the other islands, we're going to venture out on our own. If anyone out there knows I'd appreciate the help.

[POHherewecome!]

POHherewecome! What time did you have to leave the boat at for the snorkeling tour?

 

The excursion left the Pier at 8.15 am. We had to meet in the Stardust Theatre earlier than that for the departure, but I cant remember exactly what time that was.

 

They make you meet in the Stardust Theatre, to get everyone on a tour together, before you leave the ship, but on this day, I suppose it was more important because of the tendering at Kona.

 

This excursion was 3 1/2 hours long.

 

Hope this helps.