How necessary are shore excursions in Hawaii?

Well, I bit the bullet and reserved a cabin all to myself on a Princess cruise to Hawaii and back in April 2015.

Was shocked to discover I'd need to bring my passport with me to travel between San Francisco and Hawaii!

Now I'm wondering about shore excursions.

How necessary is it to buy shore excursions for Honolulu - that's the island I'm particularly interested in and the one we'll be at the longest - 7 am to late at night...

Is it possible to walk from the pier to downtown Honolulu and back, do I need to rent a car...?

There's apparently a submarine tour - I'd really like that but is it like that old Nautilus tour from Disneyland where you actually don't go underwater?

A little research on the Hawaii board here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=62

would reveal you don't need excursions in Hawaii. That downtown Honolulu is relatively walkable from the pier, but it is not where you want to go, for the most part. I have done the submarine excursion (on Maui, not Oahu), so can't recommend that as the most important thing to see, but if that is what you want to see...

Confirm you are a single? If so, cruise line excursions maybe the best deal for you. The submarine excursion might be best done thru the ship.

You need a passport because you will make a stop in Mexico...regardless of if you get off the boat in Ensenada, you will still have to have that passport. They will not even let you board without it.

We've done that cruise a couple of times. They dock at the Aloha Tower -- there is some shopping and restaurants there but if you want to go down to Waikiki, it is a bit of a walk. What you can do is catch the free bus to the Walmart store and walk to Waikiki beach from there....the bus takes you halfway there. You will know where to pick it up, all the crew is waiting for it. The public bus is also another good option. I wouldn't rent a car there just to go downtown, parking is at a premium and expensive. If you want to drive around the island, to the punchbowl, pearl harbor, sea life park or the Polynesian Cultural Center, then getting a car wouldn't be such a bad idea. You can always pick up an excursion in town if you don't want to book on the ship.

Welcome to Cruise Critic and congrats on the Hawaii booking! :D

As has been stated, the public bus system on Oahu is pretty thorough, though it can take quite a while to get anywhere. But aside from the sub, you didn't give us a hint what you want to do. While downtown Honolulu has some interesting stuff, it's really not a highlight of the islands. Regardless, most buses around the island run to and from the terminal at the Ala Moana Center, and are easy to catch. If you'd like, say, to go snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, you can there by bus, not the most pleasant option but economical. Or Diamond Head, or the Arizona Monument. Another possible option is the snag-a-tourist buses that shuttle passengers free from the dock to places like Hilo Hattie's. If there are things on the north side of island you want to see you'd be facing a long schlep.

But honestly, the other islands have great stuff to do....though once again, you haven't said what interests you. They do mostly require a car or tour, though. I have no idea of rates now, or how they compare to tour prices, but the two of us have found it preferable to rent a car when going to great places like Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. We have had mixed experiences with Hawaiian car agencies, but then, we've had (very) mixed experiences with the few Princess ship's tours we've taken, too.

There are only a few places in Hawaii that you (single) would need to be weary of (mostly at night). Coming from a local (me), I would rent a car in Honolulu / from the airport and in Hilo from Harper's Car and Truck rental near the port. You do not need a car for Lahaina but Kauai is pretty nice. Make friends with someone on board and join them as they tour Kauai.

In Honolulu, if you should rent a car (or catch the bus), double the times you allot yourself to get around. Traffic is horrendous. They are doing road construction from the end of H-1 toward Hanauma Bay and points East. It is a beautiful drive. If the Arizona Memorial is of interest to you, order your "free" tickets on line. Do not take a tour.

In Hilo, you will want to drive yourself to the Volcano National Park. That can be an all day trip. I wish Princess stayed longer at this port.

Lahaina is a lovely town to walk around. You can get a whale watch from the dock. I just booked mine with Princess because they pick you up from the ship. This allows them to go a little further out. You should still see some whales in April.

Kauai is the Garden Isles because it can be lush and very tropical. Lots of nature to view. But, there is only one road going one way or the other. Rush traffic hours will be bad.

You are very lucky. Dave Cole will be on the Star if that is the ship you are taking from San Francisco. He is a wonderful Cruise Director. Make sure to take in ALL of his lectures.

You will have several days to meet folks who may be also renting a car. Join the roll call for your cruise. Start to get to know them now.

Congratulations on your decision to travel solo to Hawaii. You will have many memories started for a return visit at another time.

You need a passport because you will make a stop in Mexico...regardless of if you get off the boat in Ensenada, you will still have to have that passport. They will not even let you board without it.

 

Since this is a "closed loop" cruise, a certified birth certificate along with government issued photo ID can be used instead of a passport.

The wisdom of doing this is well debated elsewhere.

We rented cars on the islands. The Arizona tour through Princess was $89 per person. We rented a car and drove ourselves (3 of us) to the Arizona exhibit. The exhibit is actually free and the cost of the car rental was the same as paying Princess to drive one of us to the exhibit. That was a no brainer...

We even rented a car on Maui and saw some great stuff you won't see wandering around town.

We rented cars on the islands. The Arizona tour through Princess was $89 per person. We rented a car and drove ourselves (3 of us) to the Arizona exhibit. The exhibit is actually free and the cost of the car rental was the same as paying Princess to drive one of us to the exhibit. That was a no brainer...

 

We even rented a car on Maui and saw some great stuff you won't see wandering around town.

I agree. And if you are interested in walking around Punchbowl Cemetery (on Oahu), last I knew you had to arrive by private car. They won't let busses drop people off, I imagine to limit crowds and keep things quiet and respectful.

If the Arizona Memorial is of interest to you, order your "free" tickets on line. Do not take a tour

How and where please ????

Zoe

If the Arizona Memorial is of interest to you, order your "free" tickets on line. Do not take a tour

 

How and where please ????

 

Zoe

Just go to Pearl Harbor entrance & look for the line going to the memorial. Go early in the day since the lines get long.

There is also a public bus that you can take to go to Pearl Harbor which leaves only a few blocks from the port terminal. It stops right in front of the entrance to Pearl Harbor. I'm certain they'll be others taking the bus from the ship. Also there's a senior discount for the bus- take your Medicare card if you have one for proof of age.

If the Arizona Memorial is of interest to you, order your "free" tickets on line. Do not take a tour

 

How and where please ????

 

Zoe

Here's the website with the information. You can either get your tickets at the Park itself (for which you need to be there early) or order online through this site, for which there is a small fee.

http://www.nps.gov/valr/planyourvisit/feesandreservations.htm

Here's the website with the information. You can either get your tickets at the Park itself (for which you need to be there early) or order online through this site, for which there is a small fee.

 

http://www.nps.gov/valr/planyourvisit/feesandreservations.htm

There was a recent "scandal" at the Arizona Memorial because the guy in charge was "saving" tickets for tour groups which took away from walk ups. This may increase your chances for available slots, but I wouldn't take the chance. You do need to pick up your tickets about an hour before the movie starts. This gives you a chance to view the two museums. So keep that in mind with your transportation options.

Also, the National Park has no control over the launches that take you out to the Memorial itself. That is the Navy's call. I've been there when the wind has been too strong to dock safely. Recently, they had a problem with one of their docks at the museum and had to shut down the launches.

If you go to Punchbowl, Ellison Onizuka (Challenger Astronaut) is also laid to rest there. It is a beautiful and peaceful place to visit. There is a nice lookout over the state capitol and downtown Honolulu.

Hawaii is also a melting pot of foods. Please try the many different delights available around the islands. Be adventurous. We don't have deep fried crickets, but a lot of other tasty stuff.

You will not be able to do it all. Pick and choose a focus or theme for the day. Practice safe tourist security. The opportunist know what a rental car looks like.

The bus is okay, but you will be spending most of your day waiting for the bus to get you here/there.

Enjoy your sunsets. The sun can be hot (sunscreen/hat/umbrella).

Displaced Local Girl

We've taken this cruise three times but from LA. But I had already been to Hawaii twice on land trips -- the first time was the three islands in 9 days tour and basically saw many of the usual attractions without the bother (not an inexpensive tour package but they took care of us). Next time, was there on honeymoon and we rented a car on Kauai and went all over the island, and a few days later flew to Honolulu and stayed at another nice hotel, but didn't get a car.

For our three cruises there, I did the research for my family with hubby's plea that we don't rent a car (he wanted to relax and let others do the driving). We did go on a few excursions booked on the ship, but most of the time we just went on our own. There's some more or less decent public transportation in western Maui, Hilo, Honolulu. You can get lots of info by googling each port and find many tourism sites as well as the official sites for each port. Go to your public library and check out some guide books -- if there's one you really like, go on Amazon (or other book sites) and buy the latest edition. The Auto Club will give you a guidebook and maps if you're a member.

Since we don't know if you're into water activities or touring historical sites, it's hard to recommend for you, but here's what we did in port on our three cruises:

Hilo: 1. took the waterfalls/Northeast Hawaii tour. 2. went on our own, 13-year-old hated me after I told our family "oh, it's not too far to the Candy Factory" and we actually walked from the ship in warm, humid weather. Hubby got us a taxi to the Prince Kuhlio shopping mall, and then took the city bus back to the waterfront to walk along there 3. Christmas Eve and it was pouring so we jumped on the Walmart shuttle and did our souvenir shopping/replenishment of our sodas there

Kauai: 1. beach/took Hilo Hattie shuttle there (never been to one), then walked to McDonalds (my girl was 8 then and jonesing for chicken tenders); 2. beach/Internet Cafe/shopping, 3. Movies and Waterfalls tour (major thumbs up for this tour -- went to major sites where many movies were filmed, saw beautiful waterfalls, ate lunch at the diner featured in the movie The Descendants).

Honolulu: 1. Sea Life Park/did a little shopping in the evening; 2. shared a limo with some others from the ship to Ala Moana shopping center (biggest food court I've ever seen)/walked to Waikiki/went to Aloha Tower Marketplace/evening basically stayed on ship but saw the wonderful hula show that a local hula school comes on board to do; 3. the Nautilus sub that you were thinking of. You do go down underwater and see some sea life off of Waikiki. It was something, but that Kauai tour above we enjoyed so much better./walking around the beach/had lunch at the Ala Moana mall/went to the Aloha tower and sadly reflected on how empty it's become.

Maui: 1. snorkeling excursion, but it turned out to be a whale watch too. We saw the male whales wooing it up for the females. Walked around Lahaina for a while before catching the tender back. 2. took the bus (very crowded and it's hard to find the bus stop) up to Cannery Mall, and then walked to the buddhist temple (one of my teen's pick of things to see)/shopping at the mall and then caught bus back and had a late lunch at the Cool Cat Cafe 3. Christmas Day but my research found that the Whalers Village mall was going to be open. We took a taxi up to Ka'anapali Beach (if you just want to beach it, this is a good one), and found that most of the stores were open as well as one of the restaurants. We walked along the path parallel to the beach and the girl got to take advantage of a post-Christmas sale at one of her favorite stores.

Since we don't know if you're into water activities or touring historical sites' date=' it's hard to recommend for you....[/quote']

 

Thank you so much for your detailed response!

 

I am very interested in touring historical sites - basically anything that was around in 1925 or earlier is what I want to see.

 

Are there any remnants of the old trolley system from that time? (I've been reading a mystery book taking place in Hawaii in 1925, which is how I know about it. :))

 

Also...my passport is expiring in March 2015, and I really don't want to get a new one as I don't intend to travel outside the US anymore. Apparently since the ship is docking at Enseneda Mexico I will need a passport - or is a passport card good enough? (It's $70 cheaper....!!!!)

...I am very interested in touring historical sites - basically anything that was around in 1925 or earlier is what I want to see...I've been reading a mystery book taking place in Hawaii in 1925, which is how I know about it...

 

...my passport is expiring in March 2015, and I really don't want to get a new one as I don't intend to travel outside the US anymore. Apparently since the ship is docking at Enseneda Mexico I will need a passport - or is a passport card good enough?...

Three pre-1925 sites I recommend are Iolani Palace (1871), and the Moana Surfrider Hotel (1901), both in Honolulu, as well as Hulihee Palace (1838) in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island. The first and last housed royalty; the Moana is a storied hotel still in operation today. I'd stop and have a Mai Tai there by the banyan tree courtyard overlooking the Pacific.

Regarding a passport card; it will work for entering Mexico by sea (or land). The reason to have a regular passport is if due to an emergency you have to fly home from Mexico, a passport is required.

Why would a person need a passport traveling to Hawaii if the very last stop is Mexico then off the ship the next? Traveling to Hawaii is USA. Does Princess not allow people to board there ships without a passport like other's do with Birth Certificates/DL ?

You need a passport because you will make a stop in Mexico...regardless of if you get off the boat in Ensenada, you will still have to have that passport. They will not even let you board without it.

 

We've done that cruise a couple of times. They dock at the Aloha Tower -- there is some shopping and restaurants there but if you want to go down to Waikiki, it is a bit of a walk. What you can do is catch the free bus to the Walmart store and walk to Waikiki beach from there....the bus takes you halfway there. You will know where to pick it up, all the crew is waiting for it. The public bus is also another good option. I wouldn't rent a car there just to go downtown, parking is at a premium and expensive. If you want to drive around the island, to the punchbowl, pearl harbor, sea life park or the Polynesian Cultural Center, then getting a car wouldn't be such a bad idea. You can always pick up an excursion in town if you don't want to book on the ship.

This only applies to Princess, because Carnival does not require a passport for closed loop cruises. I took a cruise to Ensenada last month and my daughter just took her passport (she's an adult).

I wonder why they have different requirements?

Still should not matter, as long as your ship starts and ends at the same port there is no requirement for a passport, this must be a princess cruise thing. If thats the case I doubt I will ever cruise on princess. All cruise lines should be the same were this is concerned across the board in my opinion.

The passport / no passport thing has been debated endlessly. The cruise lines make the rules: check with your cruise line and go by their rules. It doesn't matter what you think the rules ought to be.