Rental Car help with cruise in April.

[IMCSICK]

Hello everyone!

 

This is my first post and also my first NCL cruise. :)

 

I've read a few of the threads concerning rental cars available on the Hawaii itineraries but I'm a bit confused as to the shuttle service. Do all the rental car agencies normally have a van waiting at the pier, or is it hit or miss depending on the island?

 

Can someone please have pity on my poor inexperienced soul and just give a summary as to where it would be the most convenient to rent from (airport/hotel/etc) and how I would get there? I have HNL all take care of -- just need help with the other islands.

 

Hilo, Hawaii (day trip)

Kahului, Maui (overnight -- where to park rental car?)

Kona, Hawaii (day trip)

Nawiliwili, Kauai (overnight -- where to park rental car?)

 

Thank you so much...or should I get in the spirit of things and say "Mahalo"?

[Tallydog]

Hi! I am leaving in 9 days for the POH! Check out the Hawaii boards, there is a weath of information on there, I found everything there. I think most car companies have shuttles. We are using thrifty, they have one. I think in Maui there is parking right at the pier for free. And in Kauai there is parking close to the pier a block or 2, for $10. Have a fun trip!

[IMCSICK]

Thank you Tallydog -- enjoy your cruise as well!!!

 

I see I have been "relocated" to the Hawaii forum. I guess next time I should scroll down the page a bit before I post. Don't you just hate those newbies! :o

 

Kauai is the one port I am confused about...Nawiliwili does not come up as a pick-up location for any of the rental companies I tried. Is it just a small port next to a larger city?

 

I know I should have researched this a little better, but we just booked the cruise a few days ago.

[ASue]

Thank you Tallydog -- enjoy your cruise as well!!!

 

I see I have been "relocated" to the Hawaii forum. I guess next time I should scroll down the page a bit before I post. Don't you just hate those newbies! :o

 

Kauai is the one port I am confused about...Nawiliwili does not come up as a pick-up location for any of the rental companies I tried. Is it just a small port next to a larger city?

 

I know I should have researched this a little better, but we just booked the cruise a few days ago.

 

We rented a car from Thrifty in Kauai. The shuttle picks you up right where you get off the ship. There is a parking lot a few blocks away if you are keeping your car overnight. There is a $10.00 charge and from a few posts I've read they suggest you get the parking pass early as the lot fills up fast.

[beachchick]

For Kauai, you'll want to put in LIH (for the Lihue airport), which is the closest location and a 10 minute shuttle ride from the ship.

 

beachchick

[bccruiser2007]

Just returned from our trip. POH - Jan 15-22nd.

We rented on line with Thrifty's and got the Blue Chip card before we left (ie, no waiting in lines and they have all your information before hand.). In Hilo, the shuttle came right to the cruise ship and took us to their car location. We were upgraded to a Jeep Cherokee. Returned to the car rental location at the end of the day and took us by shuttle back to the ship.

In Maui, again, the shuttle came to the ship and took us to the car rental location. We were upgraded to a PT Cruiser Convertible. Returned around 7:00 pm and parked the car near the cruise ship. (ie no charge).

The next day continued to tour the island and took the car back to the rental location and they shuttled us back to the ship.

Did not rent a car in Kona.

In Kauai, the shuttle does come to the ship. However, we took a helicopter tour in the morning (Island Helicopter) picked us up from the pier and after the Helicopter trip, dropped us off at the Thrifty's location on the way back to the ship. Rented the car from 12 noon - to 12 noon the next day. (Only 1 day rental) There is a parking lot next to the pier that that charges $10.00 for the overnight parking.

Just a note, The revealed books (ie Maui Revealed, The Big Island Revealed and Kauai Revealed ) are great when travelling by car. We ordered ours on line at Amazon.com.

 

John

[IMCSICK]

Thank you all for the info. One question, no one seems to mention renting from Budget. We went on their website and found some really great rates. Just wondering if there is a problem from renting with them...do they not have shuttles at the pier, long-lines, etc.?

[JSaunders]

I had the same question about National! We have some type of Emerald Isle corporate card that seems to have comparable rates to the Thrifty discounted rates discussed on the boards, but I have not seen many posts on whether they have frequent shuttles to the port.... Any suggestions would be appreciated!

[Quickcanuck]

In Maui, again, the shuttle came to the ship and took us to the car rental location. We were upgraded to a PT Cruiser Convertible. Returned around 7:00 pm and parked the car near the cruise ship. (ie no charge).

 

John

 

Is the free parking at the pier in Maui only for Thrifty rentals, or is it a lot available to anyone?

[bccruiser2007]

The lot is available to anyone. However, we got one of the last stalls available.

John

[Lady Slipper]

Hi there,

Just thought I would drop in and tell you that we had rented all our cars from one place www.discounthawaiicarrental.com We think they gave the best deals. We met a couple who rented through Thrifty`s and they ended up paying much more for the same car as we got. Made all the arrangements online. They had vans that picked us up and dropped us off no problem.

[jaxterry]

How far in advance did you reserve your rental cars? We are on the POA May 20 and wonder if we should do it soon.

[melika091900]

Hi there,

Just thought I would drop in and tell you that we had rented all our cars from one place www.discounthawaiicarrental.com We think they gave the best deals. We met a couple who rented through Thrifty`s and they ended up paying much more for the same car as we got. Made all the arrangements online. They had vans that picked us up and dropped us off no problem.

 

 

thanks for the link, ive already contacted them ... to see what we can set up..

 

melissa

[kobecat]

Thank you for the help provided on this board. We have booked cars for Hilo and Honolulu.

 

Initially I had looked at the www.discounthawaittcarrental.com site and got prices through Thrifty and went back to book a couple of days later. This time I did not go in through the above site but instead went straight to Thrify. I was puzzled when the prices came back $10 more expensive in Honolulu and $15 more expensive in Hilo than I had got previously. Then I remembered the above site and the special corporate rate code given.

 

So I started again and got the corporate rate. Thanks again cruisecritic members for your help.

 

Ladyslipper: Is it Thrify vans or discount hawaii vans that pick you up from the terminal?

[beachchick]

How far in advance did you reserve your rental cars? We are on the POA May 20 and wonder if we should do it soon.

 

It's best to make sure you lock in your rentals. They do sometimes sell out, especially during busy times (which is most of the year in Hawaii). Don't forget that you're competing with the thousands of land-based visitors who are on the islands all year.

 

Here's what we do: Search the online rental sites now. Select based on basically two things, price and whether they send a shuttle to the pier. We always rent online where you don't have to give a CC number or pay in advance (you'll see why). Okay, all set; no worries. Next step is to periodically check prices online. It's amazing how they can bounce around. I check every couple of weeks and (here's where the no CC rule comes into play) have always canceled and rebooked, sometimes several times. When I see a price drop, I make a new reservation at that rate and then cancel the existing reservation. For example, our 1-week Maui rental last December started at more than $200, but by the time we left I had whittled it down to $120. It's a little more work, but has saved us $100s over the years. (No need to obsess (sp?); checking now and then is fine.)

 

There have been several times when I'm checking prices close to our departure date, when there will be the "no cars available" shown on several car categories. This is especially true for smaller ports such as Hilo, where they sell out frequently.

 

beachchick

[ROCruiser]

Beachchick,

 

Was it Thrifty or Discount Hawaii that you rented without having to put your CC number?

Thanks!

[Nancyquilts]

In Kona you want to rent from Dollar or Thrifty at the King Kamehameha Hotel (the airport is a long taxi ride away). There is a desk at the main entrance to the hotel, and both companies had the same representative last week. We rented from Dollar, and it was less than $41 for a beautiful mid-sized car, clean and pretty new. I hear Thrifty is cheaper, but I couldn't find their King Kam site on line. Book ahead, because there were no walk-up rentals available there, and we were the only ship. Nancy

[beachchick]

Beachchick,

 

Was it Thrifty or Discount Hawaii that you rented without having to put your CC number?

Thanks!

 

We never had to put in our CC number for National, Avis, Alamo, Thrifty, or Dollar when booking directly through the rental sites. I think Discount Hawaii links you to the actual car rental sites but includes their (Discount Hawaii's) corporate code.

 

The only time you would have your CC attached to any of the companies I mentioned above would be if you used, for example, your Thrifty Blue Chip membership when booking on the Thrifty site. (We did that for Hilo, but I had changed to Thrifty at the last minute when they had a price drop.) The other time you would have to give a CC would be if you are booking through an online consolidator who requires CC in advance or even payment in advance.

 

We generally book directly on the car rental companies' sites and use whichever discount code (or coupon where valid) is best. We've got several options: AAA, AARP, our home insurance company, our alumni association, as well as the Entertainment Book--which has consistently been best by far for the past few years.

 

beachchick

[IMCSICK]

Where's everybody finding the best discounts for Thrifty? I've looked on their site a few times and they seem to have the highest prices (when comparing to Budget/Alamo).

[Nancyquilts]

I use "Sidestep" but the discount site listed above is also good. Nancy

[beachchick]

Where's everybody finding the best discounts for Thrifty? I've looked on their site a few times and they seem to have the highest prices (when comparing to Budget/Alamo).

 

I believe it is discounthawaiicarrental.

 

They do not always have the lowest prices by any means, but sometimes they do.

 

beachchick

[kapoho2]

Just a word of caution for those trying rent a car on the Big Island of Hawaii the week of April 8-14th. This is when the Merrie Monarch Hula Festival is going on in Hilo and it is a HUGE event. From what I understand even the rental cars from Kona are sent to the Hilo side to accommodate the crowds. Hilo is jammed every year during this festival and it is a very exciting time for those of us who live here.

 

We live on the Hilo side of the Big Island and are cruising on the Pride of Aloha leaving HNL on Apr. 15th. I could not understand why all of the flights from Hilo to HNL were sold out on the 15th until I realized that it was the end of the Merrie Monarch Festival and everyone was flying back home to the neighbor islands. We were lucky to get seats on a flight to HNL to start our cruise on the day after the festival ended...whew!!!

[Lady Slipper]

Thank you for the help provided on this board. We have booked cars for Hilo and Honolulu.

Ladyslipper: Is it Thrify vans or discount hawaii vans that pick you up from the terminal?

 

Hi kobecat: sorry for not getting back to you sooner. The car we got throught discount rentals was Thrifty`s, so you will be getting on a Thrifty`s Shuttle that they will send to meet you at the ship and will take you back to the ship.

[Nancyquilts]

And Thrifty vans often serve Dollar customers too - just ask if one comes by.

[Nancyquilts]

And Thrifty vans often serve Dollar customers too - just ask if one comes by.