Help - Pre-Cruise Stay

I have just booked a 10 day cruise with Celebrity for April 2016, departing on April 26th 2015, on the Solstice. This is my husbands dream vacation (He is 32, I am 33). We have never been to Hawaii, but is is the number one destination on his bucket list since he was a little. It is going to be a surprise for him this Christmas.

Since we sail out the Tuesday I am looking at flying in on the Friday or Saturday to extend our vacation. Can anyone recommend a hotel - near a beach (I hear Waikiki is the main beach but open for recommendations).

I would like to keep it near the 200-250 per night range.

Can anyone comment on some must sees or must do while we are there. I know my hubby wants to try and surf so that will be on the list.

Should we rent a car or is taxi and public transportation readily available and reasonable to navigate?

If you look down the board, you will find tons of info. Yes, Waikiki is a GREAT place to stay- it is the center of action for Honolulu. We like Embassy Suites for it's amenities, but it is one block off the beach, many people want a beach hotel as a high priority.

You will see (and we recommend) various public transit methods as suggestions, as parking a car is expensive in Waikiki. The key point- you can't take checked bags on public transit (you can take carryons) so you will need a shuttle or taxi from the airport to Waikiki.

"Must sees" are what interests you, not what we say they are. Pearl Harbor is commonly mentioned, and could be a whole day, depending on your interests.

Again, all of this is commonly discussed just down the board.

I would check out Roberts Hawaii for transfer from airport to hotel. They also do an excellent job on various tours.

Parking is atrocious. Space is limited and they do charge an arm and a leg to park. I believe most hotels are in the $25-35 range per night.

Try tripadvisor dot com for hotels in Waikiki. I usually just put in "hotels in Waikiki" and look for the tripadvisor website when results come up. They usually list them in order of ranking, and will show costs after you put in your dates. It's really helpful seeing the different prices available.

Usually the closer to the beach, the higher cost of the hotel. Only you know what will work for you. I don't have to be right on the beach, so that makes the price easier to handle.

Have a great trip!

We stayed at the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel, a decent hotel for the money. It's right across the street from the beach and more towards the Diamond Head end of Waikiki, so it's a little less busy; we liked that. We had a car for two days. Yes, parking is expensive but it was worth it to us to have the convenience of the car, and just factored it into our vacation budget. We drove ourselves to the North Shore and around the east side one day and the next we drove ourselves out to Pearl Harbor, where we spent the entire day. The traffic is pretty horrendous in Honolulu, but once you're outside the city it's just fine.

greatlakesgirl - Is there a pool bar? If so do you recall the drink prices?

What a great gift. Before I give my suggestions...do you have an idea of what time you will be landing in Honolulu on that Friday before your cruise? Cherie

greatlakesgirl - Is there a pool bar? If so do you recall the drink prices?

There is a restaurant on the pool level called The Tiki Bar and Grille and they have a bar right there. We ordered drinks there and brought them over to the pool. I can't recall the prices, but they weren't horrible. There are nice tables and chairs around the pool and in the mornings they do a deluxe continental breakfast on the pool deck. You can eat out there, go across to the beach, or up to room. We always ate around the pool. Fun way to start the morning. I have a review in my sig that details the hotel a little more. We did the Pride of America cruise, so some of the ports will be similar to yours.

CCCole - the flight would either land at 8:30 or 9:30PM. So we wouldn't be getting to our hotel until let in the evening.

OP,

I had changed our pre cruise and post cruise hotel more times than Reagan ate jelly beans. We ended up doing pre tour, and are at the Marriott.

for the end, We settled on the Hilton, and I STOPPED READING Trip Advisor before I drove my husband out of his mind.

:rolleyes: