Hawaiian Shore Excursions - booking on cruise vs. locally

Hi there,

I'm sailing on the 4/19 cruise to Hawaii on the Star Princess and had a question about shore excursions.

I usually book through the cruise line but I keep hearing about how much cheaper it is to book locally. Apparently, cruise lines have a really high mark-up. Even though the excursion is guaranteed via the cruise line, I would be willing to play it by ear to save a bit of money.

Has anyone else skipped the cruise-offered excursions in favor of the local ones?

Thanks!

MV

We did one ship excursion in Maui but the other islands we rented a car and did our own thing....it was awesome!

I do it all the time. Most of the time you can get a tour with less then 15 people and is a much better tour. Check out the Hawaiian boards on CC and also your Roll Call for your ship here on CC. Trip adviser is a good place to research.

Just remember, if you are on a ship's tour, they will wait for you to return before heading out to sea......and that is not the case if you are on our own.

Join the roll call for your cruise and check what excursions roll call members have set up. You may be able to join one or more of them.

Hi there,

 

I'm sailing on the 4/19 cruise to Hawaii on the Star Princess and had a question about shore excursions.

 

I usually book through the cruise line but I keep hearing about how much cheaper it is to book locally. Apparently, cruise lines have a really high mark-up. Even though the excursion is guaranteed via the cruise line, I would be willing to play it by ear to save a bit of money.

 

Has anyone else skipped the cruise-offered excursions in favor of the local ones?

 

Thanks!

MV

Since you are very new to CC and your sailing date is only a few days away, I am going to give you this link, which is all about your cruise and the passengers traveling with you.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1633207

Also, perhaps there are private tours available, so if you don't connect in the next 48 hours or so, just attend the group meeting on Sunday, April 20th in Skywalkers - 3 PM. Get there earlier, because they don't expect you. The coordinator, whomever it may be, will welcome you for sure.

Have fun and a good cruise.

Hi there,

 

Has anyone else skipped the cruise-offered excursions in favor of the local ones?

 

Yes. We do it all the time. Your roll call might have some tours already started. I arranged local tours after looking at Trip Advisor for recommendations. Both of the tours I arranged were excellent. Most tour operators may be full at this point. But, you might be able to join others from your ship, if the vans aren't full. Otherwise, you can rent a car and do your own thing. Cars are expensive. But, what isn't?

My experiences in general is if you do your research ( people are so helpful here, ask in your roll call or on the destination forums) you will not only find a better deal with a private tour, but usually a better quality tour with less people on it! I've done both Princess and private tours and while I've enjoyed the Princess ones, the best ones are by highly recommended private tour companies.

Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk

You guys are giving such helpful input. I'll definitely aim to attend the roll call meeting on Sunday at Skywalkers and really appreciate all the other feedback. You guys rock! :)

We done four hawaii cruises and we've just rented a car on all islands. We did our own tour, which is really easy to do on all islands and we done this always with another couple so the total cost was less than $50 for all. Go to the following for really low cost car rental from the major rental car companies. I've never had a problem using them for at least 15 car rentals.

http://www.discounthawaiicarrental.com/

We did two Hawaiian cruises last year and rented a car at each port. We had done our research and knew what we wanted to do and see at each stop.

In our view it beats any canned tour because you have total flexibility to see and do. You can shop where you want to shop and eat where you want to eat and NOT with 45 of your closest friends on a big bus.

It highly recommended to reserve the cars in advance and very easy to do on the internet.

The MUST do in Oahu is the Arizona Memorial -- reservations have to be made in advance through their internet site.[

On our Feb cruise we used http://www.robertshawaii.com We did all 4 ports with them and it was easy, informative and very reasonable. It is also one of the companies that provides the ships excursions. We had never been to Hawaii before and we didn't want to worry about renting a car or trying to find our way around- and we learned a lot more about everything because all the drivers are locals!

 

The MUST do in Oahu is the Arizona Memorial -- reservations have to be made in advance through their internet site.[/color][/size][/font][[/b]

Actually, it's only for a guaranteed time that you have to book ahead, although this is very desirable. They sometimes have no-shows and you can get in.

We've done the RT Hawaii cruise three times and before each time, I googled each port and found a ton of info. Even with your cruise coming up soon, you can spend a few hours and come up with your own list. But I'm guessing it may be too late to rent a car at this late time. We didn't rent cars on those cruises (when we went on our honeymoon on Kauai and Oahu in 1995, we did rent a car while on Kauai and went all around the island, except for the area you can't drive to) -- we did utilize some public transportation (that does require some planning, IMO), free shuttles (some stores such as Hilo Hatties will pick up near the port and take you to their stores), and taxis.

We did some tours, but booked through the ship. Our Windward (Big Island) and Waterfalls tour had only ten people, including the driver/guide, in the van, so it wasn't like a big zoo as people claim of ship's tours, and took us to the major waterfalls and other sites on the eastern side of the Island. On our last cruise, we took the Movies and Waterfalls (my hubby loves waterfalls) tour on Kauai and all three of us loved it. It was on a Roberts bus (and I did compare the cost to the same tour offered by Roberts, and there really wasn't a difference).

I once was looking at a snorkeling excursion from an operator, but it wouldn't have worked for us timewise, so we went with the one available through the cruiseline.

One thing you can do, besides checking the websites, is to buy a guidebook for Hawaii. If there's no bookstore around you, try the local Auto Club, which sells many different travel books. Then while you're sitting by the pool, or waiting for a show to begin, you can be getting some ideas of what to do/see.

Before the first Hawaiian cruise we did, I had requested some brochures that were offered for free from the major tourism sites (you might be able to find the same ones online that you can view right away). I had one of the brochures in my hand while at the pool deck, and someone asked me if I bought that in the ship's store.

This is a great thing to do on your own.

So are the whale watching tours at the Maui stop -

http://www.pacificwhale.org/cruises/Whale-Watch-Cruises

So are the whale watching tours at the Maui stop -

http://www.pacificwhale.org/cruises/Whale-Watch-Cruises

We've done this on a couple of our Maui cruise stops and it is a good alternative if one is not doing an island tour as you can select a tour that leaves from the same dock in Lahaina that you are tendered to. In fact on our last stop there this past November we had booked an earlier PWF tour than the one they were doing for X and since that ship's tour was full X placed some of their excursion passengers on the tour we were on which had cost us at least half of what the ship's tour was selling for as we had gotten an early season special being offered by the PWF. ;)

I checked out the PWF Lahaina whale watching tours for April 25th when the Star Princess is there and there's a special at 2pm for $22.45 + $5.61 taxes and port fees and regular tours at 9am and 11:30am for $30.55 + $6.19 T/F if you book online ahead. Lahaina is a nice town to just walk around and do a bit of shopping in so that could be done either before or after the two hours whale watching tour. Also the beach and The Whaler shopping center at Kaanapali is just over two miles north of Lahaina. There is a local Roberts Hawaii bus that does the route between these two for $1 each way.

We wanted to see the Arizona on our HI trip. Found excellent advice here in the ports of call section or on our roll call (can't remember which).

The ship excursion was in excess of $60 EACH.

Bought reserved tickets on-line for $1.50 each (??) This is recommended in case there is a crowd, but not required. It is FREE. The fee on-line is a "service" fee. Don't reserve before 11AM or you will sweat bullets about getting there on time.

We walked to the closest bus stop (2+ blocks). The driver told us it was the wrong stop and said "hop on, I will drop you at the right one". Wow! Got to the correct stop and paid $1.00 each (if you show your Medicare card). $2.50 if you aren't a senior. The bus ride took about 45 minutes.

While we were there, we saw many from the ship who had paid the big bucks, we paid about $5.00 and could stay as long as we wanted to look around.

Then we got brave and rode the bus the other way to Waikiki. We weren't sure when to get off, so asked a local and she said "I am getting off close by, just get off with me". Very helpful.

There are many self-excursions you can do yourself for a lot less money than the ship charges.

Good luck and have fun!!

So are the whale watching tours at the Maui stop -

http://www.pacificwhale.org/cruises/Whale-Watch-Cruises

We did this one...not terribly expensive and loads of fun. Saw lots of whales and dolphins.

So are the whale watching tours at the Maui stop -

http://www.pacificwhale.org/cruises/Whale-Watch-Cruises

We agree wholeheartedly but would add the following for Kauai! http://www.wingsoverkauai.com/ Wings Over Kauai is absolutely fantastic!:eek:

We've done the RT Hawaii cruise three times and before each time' date=' I googled each port and found a ton of info. Even with your cruise coming up soon, you can spend a few hours and come up with your own list. But I'm guessing it may be too late to rent a car at this late time. We didn't rent cars on those cruises (when we went on our honeymoon on Kauai and Oahu in 1995, we did rent a car while on Kauai and went all around the island, except for the area you can't drive to) -- we did utilize some public transportation (that does require some planning, IMO), free shuttles (some stores such as Hilo Hatties will pick up near the port and take you to their stores), and taxis.

 

We did some tours, but booked through the ship. Our Windward (Big Island) and Waterfalls tour had only ten people, including the driver/guide, in the van, so it wasn't like a big zoo as people claim of ship's tours, and took us to the major waterfalls and other sites on the eastern side of the Island. On our last

 

cruise, we took the Movies and Waterfalls (my hubby loves waterfalls) tour on Kauai and all three of us loved it. It was on a Roberts bus (and I did compare the cost to the same tour offered by Roberts, and there really wasn't a difference).

 

I once was looking at a snorkeling excursion from an operator, but it wouldn't have worked for us timewise, so we went with the one available through the cruiseline.

One thing you can do, besides checking the websites, is to buy a guidebook for Hawaii. If there's no bookstore around you, try the local Auto Club, which sells many different travel books. Then while you're sitting by the pool, or waiting for a show to begin, you can be getting some ideas of what to do/see.

 

Before the first Hawaiian cruise we did, I had requested some brochures that were offered for free from the major tourism sites (you might be able to find the same ones online that you can view right away). I had one of the brochures in my hand while at the pool deck, and someone asked me if I

 

bought that in the ship's store.[/quote']

 

Yes, the Movies and Waterfalls tour on Kauai is fabulous! A small group, great guide, a nice local lunch, and a nice Roberts vehicle. A wonderful tour. You see sights from Jurassic Park and South Pacific and Blue Hawaii and so many more. I still dream about it :). :). :)

For sure I don't like huge tour groups.

Some selected ships' tours have small groups and great guides.

Recommended ships' tours with small groups include: Mauna Kea Summit, Gardens and Waterfalls at Allerton and McBride (Kauai), Waterfalls tour from Hilo (Rainbow, Kapuna, and Akaka), the helicopter tour on Maui, and the aforementioned Movies tour on Kauai.

Aloha :)

For sure I don't like huge tour groups.

 

Some selected ships' tours have small groups and great guides.

 

Recommended ships' tours with small groups include: Mauna Kea Summit' date=' Gardens and Waterfalls at Allerton and McBride (Kauai), Waterfalls tour from Hilo (Rainbow, Kapuna, and Akaka), the helicopter tour on Maui, and the aforementioned Movies tour on Kauai.

 

Aloha :)[/quote']

 

As I said our Waterfalls tour wasn't on a large bus, but had nine passengers and the guide. So when people say they wouldn't take a tour booked through the cruise make it seem like they're always a bus load of people and a ton of money more than a private tour. Not always the case.

Just for example when we were Kauai, we booked a luau through Roberts Hawaii. They used a luau that was recommended online (can't remember the name but it was very good) The bus that picked us up only had about 10 people - about 15 on the way back. The luau had lots of variety of food, entertainment and was packed with people.

Before we left we watched large bus after bus (about 5 or 6 or maybe more) take people to another luau via the cruise excursion luau. The next day we met someone who had no idea there were other luau options (or non cruise excursions) and compared the luaus and they got less of a variety of food and less entertainment and other things. We were also told since so many people on that luau were going back to the cruise it took forever to load the buses

We used Valley Isle Excursions for the Road to Hana. Just remember the well known private excursion companies would lose business fast and not last long if they continually didn't return their guests in time to make their cruises. That's probably their big business and they wouldn't want to mess that up