Please help with what to do?!

[cruiseluver77]

I am sending my parents on the Pride of Hawaii on October 15 and I am trying to help them book excursions, ect. Any suggestions on what not to miss would be great. Are there any books I should get to read before hand? Any advice will be taken! Thanks in advance!!

[melika091900]

what kinds of things do they like to do ??

are they ocean people ? or more sighseeing type ? like on a bus or something ? or adventureous?

 

 

let me know and maybe i can suggest some things

 

and which ports are they going to ??

[cruiseluver77]

Melika091900-

they are in their early fifties and I would say they are somewhat adventureous, they don't just like to lay on the beach and when they went to Vegas my dad made them take the tour of the Hoover Damn!LOL!

 

They are departing from Honolulu and then will stop at Kona, Maui(Kahului), Hilo and Kauai.

[CC Help Michell]

For one volume information, the book Hawaii by Cruise Ship is pretty good. If your parents are "rent a car and see it ourselves" people, the "Revealed" series of books are tops -- there's one for each island. You can check the shore excursions offered by their ship at the cruiseline website (sounds like a NCLA ship from the itinerary? one of the Pride of ships?). Once you find some that you think they'd be interested in, you can read posts here about those excursions (using the search feature of the boards), and you can google around to find the same excursions offered off the ship, almost always at a much better price. And you can always post with more specific information on their interests (volcanoes, gardens, history, cultural sites), activity levels (riding a bike, walking, hiking, parasailing, snorkeling), and transportation preferences (renting a car, taking big bus tours, taking helicopter/airplane rides) to try to get more "been there, done that" info on particular excursions.

 

What a nice gift to your parents! Have fun researching! :)

[Parsp]

We're 50 somethings taking the POAm in November. Here's what I've scheduled so far:

Hilo will be visiting son so no planned excursions other than what he wants to show us, but having read these boards the volcanic national park seems to be a thing not to miss even if you've seen volcanos before.

Maui - Ulalena (sp?) show. Rent a car and explore west Maui OYO.

Kona - Snorkle tour with Fairwind. Have a mocha chocolate shake.

Kauai - Airplane tour of island, Luau through NCL, Movie Tour

Honolulu - Pearl Harbor and north shore OYO.

Our more active cruisers have selected zipline in Maui and Mudbuggies in Kauai as well as renting Harley's in Kona.

HTH

[GreatLakes]

Ok, so I'm slightly older than your parents, but active at that....we just returned from POH on Tuesday and some of what we did are:

3 days Honolulu, pre-cruise - rented car for 2 days; Pearl Harbor, Punch Bowl; drove the scenic route around Tantulus Drive (from the Revealed Book); Polynesian Cultural Center. At the end of the cruise, rented another car in HOnolulu and drove to the North Shore; drove back to Waikiki and up to Diamond Head; Chinatown; went to Ala Moana Mall (to kill time before returning to airport);

We rented cars in all ports except Kona, where we tendered in and took the $5 bus to one of the beaches for snorkeling which was phenomenal. You must wear shoes on your feet in the water due to the rocks. Saw tons of fish and some giant sea turtles. Afterward, walked around the town and returned to ship. Mauai - rented car - we went on the 4 Winds Molikini Snorkel Tour - it was great snorkeling. We drove the Road to Hana (not for the feint at heart); stopped for a picnic

lunch.

Kauai - rented car for 1 day and drove out to Ke'e State Park for snorkeling. Parking was at a premium, but the snorkeling was wonderful. The 2nd day (which was the day we left), we had a 9 a.m., Air Ventures airplane tour that was just fantastic. Saw lots of great sites from the air, and I would highly recommend it. We returned the car after Day 1, as Air Ventures shuttled us to and from their air field.

 

Hilo - Did Volcano National Park. Found a little winery and did a wine tasting (and ordered some to ship home).

 

We are not tour people, but rather like to get out and explore at our own pace. These things worked well for us and were not too strenuous.

[BullishCruiser]

My wife and I took three tours with Roberts Hawaii and enjoyed them all at less than half the price that NCL charges.

 

Maui-Best of Maui, which is the Iao Needle, Maui Ocean Center (MOC) and Maui Tropical Plantation (MTP). The fee included admission to MOC and the tram ride at MTP.

 

Hilo-Volcanoes National Park

 

Kauai-Waimea Canyon

 

Off topic:

Hi there Great Lakes! Looks like you made it home safely. Hope all is well. We enjoyed Tantulus Drive, especially when we finally found the park with the terrific views. WOW! Say hi and thanks to D for me.

[Mrholiday30]

We took this same cruise in June. Roberts Hawaii is definitely worth checking into. Will save $$$$. We also rented a car at every port and did our own sightseeing. This is the first cruise we did this on and it will be the way we go from now on. Everything about this cruise and the port stops are great. They will have a wonderful time.

[auntsister]

Hi. I am around your parents age ( turn 50 on this trip) and I thought the first few minutes of our trip should be special so I have reserved a limo to meet us and take us to the hotel. It will cost a little more than a cab but we will get a lei, have a driver waiting at the baggage claim to help with luggage and there will be drinks and a gift ( I chose the chocolate covered macadamia nuts) waiting in the limo. I did this as a surprise for my sister who is traveling with me. I also changed my mind and upgraded to the stretch limo for about 8 dollars more. It is cheaper if you pay in cash. I am using ABC limos because of good reiews here on CC. Just an idea, would be nice especially for a first trip to Hawaii.