suggestions for Car Rental at Honolulu dock area ??

[GregGH]

Hello

 

We have a long layover from 11 day nCL WIND cruise in Feb -- mid-morning until almost mid-night ... and I am under some pressure from the 'boss' to show her a good time on Ohau.

 

Is there an easy option to rent cars at the dock area in Honolulu and dropping off at airport. I have read the past three months worth of posts ( what great tips on other areas for car rentals etc ) but haven't seen much for here.

 

I was thinking of going to the north shore and ??? with a super at Cabanas Restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel ( courtesy of Spleens comments to another poster ) then on to the airport - so any suggestions welcomed.

 

Regards

a real newbie at cruising

Greg H

[spleen93]

Welcome Greg! Unfortunately, there are no easy options at Aloha Tower. The easiest might be for "she who must be obeyed" to stay behind at Aloha Tower with the luggage while you hop a shuttle/taxi/NCL airport shuttle to the airport, rent the car, and come back and get her. Or another option might be to see if Enterprise Rent-a-car will deliver the car to you at Aloha Tower and just return it at the airport location.

 

And then comes the debate of what to do with your luggage while you're touring the island. You COULD put it in the trunk of the car - but that might prove tempting to thieves (North Shore in particular well known for breakins into cars parked along the beach). Or you could try to store it at Aloha Tower though I don't know what time the luggage storage there closes. Or you could rent a day room somewhere and stash the luggage there ... but that would be an another stop on your path to explore and might chew up valuable time - once to drop off luggage and another to pick up.

 

Many things to think about ... let us know if you have further questions. And others here may have other suggestions ...

 

Spleen

[bug_dan]

We rented from National at the Ala Moana office. No shuttle provided but the bus took us right to the front door. Nice part about it was we could drop the car off at the airport office and there was no dropoff charge. There was luggage storage available at the pier for $5 per bag, but not sure how long.

[schmolke]

I'm bumping this up since it KINDA answers my query about rental cars and Aloha Tower....I've given up on my original thread, and hope someone will hop in on this one and give me some direction!

 

Hey, don't blame me! The hubby is bugging me about "what are we gonna do with the rental car the first night we go back to the ship?" and I don't have an answer beyond "we'll use a hotel parking garage if worse comes to worse."

 

If it's any consequence, we're renting from Budget at the airport.

 

Does the Bus come by Aloha Tower and go to the airport? I've read the Bus goes all around the island, so why not by the airport?

 

I await with baited breath for anyone's input or experience. I cannot be the first cruiser who's had this predicament or inquiry, am I?!

 

Thanks,

Devonne

[beachchick]

GregGH: I know it seems like you have a long time on Oahu. But once you factor in getting off the ship, getting a car, returning the car, and how early you need to get to the airport, what you have outlined does seem a bit agressive IMO. To do both the north shore and the Mandarin (south shore), you would be in the car driving a good portion of the day. If this is what you are looking for, then it should work out fine; otherwise, you might want to rethink your plans.

 

Some of the car rental places have downtownish locations that are closer than the airport. We have done pickup at the airport when we arrive with dropoff downtown, so I'm sure you could do the reverse. I agree with Spleen (but then I almost always do) that your most precious one should wait while you get the car. We do that. It's just so much easier. Also agree that storing your luggage in the car is risky. This is no complaint or criticism of Hawai'i (we love the islands), but there are frequent break-ins (particularly at "tourist" sites). I will emphasize though that you have the same risk at any tourist location anywhere.

 

beachchick

[bug_dan]

Devonne,

 

Sorry, I saw that previous post, but there was no message in it. I should have answered sooner. There is a public lot right across from where you get off the ship at pier 11. Officially the policy is no overnite parking, but unofficially you can park there overnite for $25. The reason I got is that it has something to do with liability???? You will get a warning notice on your windshield.

 

In Nov '04 the Infinity docked at pier 2 which is a good distance away from pier 11, however there is also a public parking lot at pier 5 where I parked our car. I should have moved it to the other lot as the first nite in port the Infinity moved to pier 11 for disembarkation. No problem, I just retrieved the car from pier 5 parking lot and went back and picked up my wife and luggage.

 

Not sure about buses, however a taxi is about $15+ We were able to get a bus right outside pier 2 going toward Waikiki, so I imagine there would be others headed the opposite direction. You may be able to find the answer at http://www.thebus.org

 

Just checked the passenger ship schedule for Honolulu and the Infinity is scheduled for pier 11 on April 5 and 6.

[schmolke]

Dan - Thanks so much for the info! I was wondering why absolutely NO-ONE had replied to my original post, and now I see why...there's no message coming up from which to reply! Hmmm, probably user error on my part!

 

Anyway, thank you for the info on the public lot by Pier 11. I have checked, checked, and checked again the Honolulu Harbor schedule for 2005, and our cruise is FOR CERTAIN docking at Pier 11, not 2 or 5. If the worst we'll get is a warning after that one night, that's fine since we're not using it more than that.

 

I will indeed check The Bus link, but hubby will probably just pay the $15 taxi fare so we can get on our way sooner after we dock the first day.

 

THANKS!!

Kewone (aka Devonne)

[spleen93]

And I agree with everything that Dan said. :)

 

Spleen