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My girlfriend and I are considering visiting Hawaii next fall and thought we might take the Pride of America cruise. We like the idea of seeing several islands while not have to pack and unpack several times. We have cruised with NCL in the past and really liked the experience.
We are planning on doing some organized excursions but would like to get some local input on what else we might be able to see and do, that is not part of the typical tourist thing (hence the post here, rather than in the travel folder).
The cruise visits 4 islands, Oahu, Hawaii, Maui and Kauai. Any suggestions would be welcome.
Fodors or tripadvisor or any of the travel sites will certainty give you more info than on here. I'd start there then ask specific questions from there rather than a broad what should we do.
If you could schedule a week or several days before and after your cruise, you'd be able to see more of Hawaii. The cruise ship is nice and it's a great way to get an overview, but you don't get much time in some ports.
Hmm, Pride of America has the same sailings throughout the year, I think. Starts out in Honolulu so if you were in Honolulu a day or two early, you'd be able to taste Oahu. Maybe a B & B or hotel in Waikiki? Three or four days on Oahu would be lovely, you'd find lots to fill them with and then onto the cruise ship. You'd start your cruise without any jet lag or coming off a long airplane flight, too. From Honolulu Harbor to Kahalui Maui is a short trip. Looks like the ship will be in Kahalui for overnight. Kahalui is sort of a commercial harbor, though. You may want to see if the ship is docked at shore or if you have to take ship's boats ashore. Is renting a car possible? Is there a place to park it overnight? I don't know much about the specific conditions of cruise ships on Maui.
From Kahalui, the ship then heads off to Hilo. It is there from 8am to 6 pm, but by the time the ship docks and you can get off and the extra time you have to be aboard before it leaves, figure about 9 am to 4 pm in Hilo. Not a lot of time. There should be tours and such that the ship would offer. Because of the time constraints, it might be good to use those tours since if you don't get back to the ship in time and the tour was booked through the ship, then they pay to get you back to the ship. If you book a tour on your own and something happens and you aren't back before the ship sails, then you have to figure out (and pay) for however to catch up with the ship. Hilo would be where you'd have Volcano tours, but you'd not actually get much time at Volcano National Park.
The port of Hilo is in a commercial harbor and you can sorta walk to Hilo, but it's gonna be a long hike of several miles through a somewhat industrial area. You'd think downtown Hilo merchants would set up some sort of passenger bus service for the cruise ship passengers, but when they tried that the taxi drivers had a conniption fit and so that idea didn't happen. So, taxis to Hilo town or a tour of some sort.
From Hilo, the ship goes past the lava flowing into the ocean - that is, if the lava feels like doing that at that time. Lava and volcanoes do what they want to. At Kailua-Kona you'll be taking ship's boats to shore, so that takes up a bit of your time. It is another 7 am to 6 pm ship's schedule there, so figure roughly 8 to 5, although sometimes the first wave of boats to shore are reserved for passengers who booked suites or other expensive accommodations. Again, not a lot of time on shore, especially on an island that is big and takes time to drive to places. They call it the Big Island for a reason! The ship's boats let you out right in the middle of the touristy Kailua Kona, though, so you can find things to see just walking around from the cruise ship.
From Kailua-Kona, your ship will go off to Nawiliwili. It will stay there overnight so you'll have time to do a few things. I don't know much of the details of the Nawiliwili cruise ship docks. For some reason, the boat swings up around the corner of Kauai before heading back to Oahu. To look at the cliffs? The boat leasves at two in the afternoon, perhaps the sunset on the Napali cliffs? Anyway, the boat then heads back to Oahu.
At that point, if it were my vacation, I'd look into another three to five days on the Big Island. Rent a car, two nights at a B & B in Volcano, then perhaps a couple or three more nights at another B & B on the other side of the island. Then catch a plane out of Kailua-Kona back to the mainland.
If you could schedule a week or several days before and after your cruise, you'd be able to see more of Hawaii. The cruise ship is nice and it's a great way to get an overview, but you don't get much time in some ports.
Hmm, Pride of America has the same sailings throughout the year, I think. Starts out in Honolulu so if you were in Honolulu a day or two early, you'd be able to taste Oahu. Maybe a B & B or hotel in Waikiki? Three or four days on Oahu would be lovely, you'd find lots to fill them with and then onto the cruise ship. You'd start your cruise without any jet lag or coming off a long airplane flight, too. From Honolulu Harbor to Kahalui Maui is a short trip. Looks like the ship will be in Kahalui for overnight. Kahalui is sort of a commercial harbor, though. You may want to see if the ship is docked at shore or if you have to take ship's boats ashore. Is renting a car possible? Is there a place to park it overnight? I don't know much about the specific conditions of cruise ships on Maui.
From Kahalui, the ship then heads off to Hilo. It is there from 8am to 6 pm, but by the time the ship docks and you can get off and the extra time you have to be aboard before it leaves, figure about 9 am to 4 pm in Hilo. Not a lot of time. There should be tours and such that the ship would offer. Because of the time constraints, it might be good to use those tours since if you don't get back to the ship in time and the tour was booked through the ship, then they pay to get you back to the ship. If you book a tour on your own and something happens and you aren't back before the ship sails, then you have to figure out (and pay) for however to catch up with the ship. Hilo would be where you'd have Volcano tours, but you'd not actually get much time at Volcano National Park.
The port of Hilo is in a commercial harbor and you can sorta walk to Hilo, but it's gonna be a long hike of several miles through a somewhat industrial area. You'd think downtown Hilo merchants would set up some sort of passenger bus service for the cruise ship passengers, but when they tried that the taxi drivers had a conniption fit and so that idea didn't happen. So, taxis to Hilo town or a tour of some sort.
From Hilo, the ship goes past the lava flowing into the ocean - that is, if the lava feels like doing that at that time. Lava and volcanoes do what they want to. At Kailua-Kona you'll be taking ship's boats to shore, so that takes up a bit of your time. It is another 7 am to 6 pm ship's schedule there, so figure roughly 8 to 5, although sometimes the first wave of boats to shore are reserved for passengers who booked suites or other expensive accommodations. Again, not a lot of time on shore, especially on an island that is big and takes time to drive to places. They call it the Big Island for a reason! The ship's boats let you out right in the middle of the touristy Kailua Kona, though, so you can find things to see just walking around from the cruise ship.
From Kailua-Kona, your ship will go off to Nawiliwili. It will stay there overnight so you'll have time to do a few things. I don't know much of the details of the Nawiliwili cruise ship docks. For some reason, the boat swings up around the corner of Kauai before heading back to Oahu. To look at the cliffs? The boat leasves at two in the afternoon, perhaps the sunset on the Napali cliffs? Anyway, the boat then heads back to Oahu.
At that point, if it were my vacation, I'd look into another three to five days on the Big Island. Rent a car, two nights at a B & B in Volcano, then perhaps a couple or three more nights at another B & B on the other side of the island. Then catch a plane out of Kailua-Kona back to the mainland.
Thanks! This is the type of local advice I was hoping for.
the cruise would be a convenient way to get a (small) taste of the Islands. However, having done several land visits to Maui and Oahu as well as a Princess itinerary to Hawaii-Oahu-Kauai-Maui, I would be surprised if when all were said and done after your cruise, you would not look back and wish you would have instead concentrated on one or two of the Islands you just saw. For a first time visit, I would recommend a 4 to 5 night stays in no more than two of either Maui, Oahu or Kauai. Cruising the waters of Hawaii at night are very nice, but not as nice as being under a banyan tree on shore, watching the cruise ships depart and having the whole night in front of you to enjoy.
We just did that NCL Pride of America cruise for Thanksgiving. It was lovely. We had never been to HI before and we appreciated the "overview" as we might not have known what to do on our own. We did a variety of Roberts HI excursions, NCL excursions and some rental car drive on our own time. If you have specific questions, please feel free to message me!
Nah, no move. I'm on the BI at least 4+ times a month for work and they needed some help this afternoon. I spend most of my time lately on Molokai and Lanai getting things ready for new service. Beautiful day here except for the intense VOG.
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