Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor Tour

A ships tour is not necessary to visit the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. We made reservations for the FREE tickets online at http://www.recreation.gov/unifSearchResults.do?topTabIndex=Search. This is a small fee of $1.50 per person for reserving tickets online. Tickets might be available on a walkup basis at the memorial on the day of your visit.

Public Bus

Two city buses (#20 and #42) operate from the pier area to the Arizona Memorial parking lot http://thebus.org/Route/Routes.asp . Exit the ship and head to Ala Moana Blvd. Cross the street, turn right, and walk to the corner of Ala Moana Blvd and South Street. You will see the stop for bus #20 (Waikiki – Pearl Ridge) near the corner after you cross South Street. This bus takes about 50 minutes to get to the memorial. For bus #42, continue walking down South Street to Avahi Street. This bus makes fewer stops. To return to the ship exit the parking lot and walk to Kamehameha Street and turn left to the bus stop. Both buses will take you back to the pier.

Pearl Harbor/Arizona Memorial Video

Click on the link below to see my video of Pearl Harbor and the Arizona Memorial.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=41410522&postcount=313

The audio track of the video about Pearl Harbor contains excerpts from the Chesterfield Cigarettes Radio Show featuring Glenn Miller that aired in 1941 and excerpts from the sound track of the motion picture Pearl Harbor. Also included, a clip of the speech President Franklin Roosevelt gave to Congress regarding the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Great summary...we've used The Bus to go to Pearl Harbor & to return to the ship. Another option to get there quicker is a cab which has been posted to cost about $35 & could be shared with other passengers. And then could use The Bus back to the ship...or like my wife to shop at Ala Moana SC on the way back to the ship.

Thanks Cruzer Two. Just booked for both the free tour and the narrated tour which only cost $7.50pp. We often travel on local buses or trains so we will make our way there by bus. Great info.

Thanks Cruzer Two. Just booked for both the free tour and the narrated tour which only cost $7.50pp. We often travel on local buses or trains so we will make our way there by bus. Great info.

Your welcome! We booked the 12:45 Pearl Harbor tour online, but when we got to the vistors center they moved us up to the 11:30 tour. We got there plenty early, so we would have time for all of the museums. After the tour we took the city bus to downtown Honolulu for some shopping and then rode the bus back to the ship. Seniors get a discount. The 65 and older fare is $1 dollar per ride. Bus #42 make less stops than #20, so it is a little quicker. This was the cheapest shore excursion we've ever taken. The ice cream cone at Waikiki cost more than the Pearl Harbor excursion and bus ride. :D

Were you docked at the pier on the Carnival Miracle when you refer to returning to the ship?

Were you docked at the pier on the Carnival Miracle when you refer to returning to the ship?

We were on the Holland America Veendam, which docked right next to the Aloha Clock Tower. I'm not sure where Carnival docks, but it should be in the same general area.

Ron

Thanks for info. We usually do things on our own.

Planning for 2015, so going to book in April when they are released. Alaska then on to Honolulu, so if you have anymore tips for other islands, it will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for the good info. We have 1:00pm tour tickets for USS Arizona 75 minute tour..how much earlier should we get there? Ship pulls out at 6:00pm so we would rather see the museums before the 1 pm tour. How long does the #42 bus take to get to USS Arizona site? And do you need to switch buses. Their bus schedule isn't too easy to figure out. Thank You in advance

Thank you for the good info. We have 1:00pm tour tickets for USS Arizona 75 minute tour..how much earlier should we get there? Ship pulls out at 6:00pm so we would rather see the museums before the 1 pm tour. How long does the #42 bus take to get to USS Arizona site? And do you need to switch buses. Their bus schedule isn't too easy to figure out. Thank You in advance

I agree, the bus schdule leaves lots to be desired. We took bus #20 since the stop is closest to the pier. Just exit the pier and walk to the right to South Street. The bus stop is on the corner. This bus takes about 45 minutes and there are no connections. I would plan on going early in hopes of getting moved to an earlier tour. Evidently, this happens frequently. We left the ship at around 9:00 am and anticipated having several hours to go through the museums. As it turned out they moved our tour up by about an hour, so we had about an hour to tour the museums.

Have fun!

Ron

Thanks Ron we booked this too. After our visit to PH we will be catching a bus to Waikiki Beach to meet friends, can anyone advise if there is a good meeting place at the beach (it is rather large) and which stop we should get off the bus? We will be arriving at different times so need a focal point.

Thanks Ron we booked this too. After our visit to PH we will be catching a bus to Waikiki Beach to meet friends, can anyone advise if there is a good meeting place at the beach (it is rather large) and which stop we should get off the bus? We will be arriving at different times so need a focal point.

A great place to meet would be the Beach Bar at the Moana Surfrider (Westin Hotel and Resort) located on Waikiki Beach. There are some great views of the beach and Diamond Head from this open air bar. I think the closest bus stop would be at the corner of Kuhio Avenue and Seaside Avenue, however, just tell the driver you want to get off near the intersection of these two streets. Walk down Seaside Avenue in direction of Waikiki Beach until you get to Kalakaua Avenue (one or two blocks walk) and turn left. The Moana Surfrider is a block or two on the right. The drinks are expensive, but the views are magnificent. The Moana Surfrider is the "First Lady of Honolulu", being the first hotel build on Waikiki Beach in 1901. She is a beautiful lady.

Enjoy,

Ron

Wow thanks for the quick reply, sounds like a great place, can we access the beach from there as we maybe waiting for our friends for a few hours, at least we can pop in and out for refreshment!

We sail on the Grand Princess 18 th Feb out of San Francisco, our friends are doing a different tour so we are not sure what time we can meet up but we decided that Waikiki beach is a good bet.

We are hoping for calm seas and whale watching!

Ruth

Wow thanks for the quick reply, sounds like a great place, can we access the beach from there as we maybe waiting for our friends for a few hours, at least we can pop in and out for refreshment!

We sail on the Grand Princess 18 th Feb out of San Francisco, our friends are doing a different tour so we are not sure what time we can meet up but we decided that Waikiki beach is a good bet.

We are hoping for calm seas and whale watching!

Ruth

Yes, there is beach access from the Beach Bar at the Westin. The best whale watching will be in Maui. You can purchase the tickets online from Pacific Whale Foundation http://www.pacificwhale.org. The price depends on the time of the tour. I think we paid $30 for an 11:00 am tour. This is much cheaper than the cruise line charges. The whale watching boat leaves from the same pier when the ship tenders drop you off.

Have fun on your cuise. We had pretty rough seas for the first two days after leaving San Diego, but it smoothed out and was great for the remained of the trip as well as cruise ride back to San Diego.

Ron

Once you arrived by bus to Waikiki were you close to the Royal Hawaiian Center? Have read they have entertainment during the day.

Once you arrived by bus to Waikiki were you close to the Royal Hawaiian Center? Have read they have entertainment during the day.

Once you exit the bus on Kuhio Avenue and walk down Seaside Avenue you will see the center near the corner of Seaside Avenue and Kalakaua Avenue.

http://www.royalhawaiiancenter.com/info/centerinfo

I just checked on line for tickets and it looks like I have waited too late...everything is sold out. Is there any point in going anyway and hoping for tickets on a "walk up" basis?

Doug

I just checked on line for tickets and it looks like I have waited too late...everything is sold out. Is there any point in going anyway and hoping for tickets on a "walk up" basis?

 

Doug

Doug,

Absolutely! Don't be discoursaged that no advanced tickets are available. There is almost always walk-up tickets available. When we arrived at the ticket office to claim our tickets we were given tickets for the boat that left an hour earlier then our reservations time. You might have to wait for a couple of hours, but this time can be spent in the museum. There is lots to see on the grounds of the memorial site before you board the boat to the memorial itself. We allowed about two hours for the museums prior to our reservations. Disembark early and go stright to the memorial. When you arrive at the site go stright to the ticket office and inquire about walk-up tickets and then spend your waiting time looking through the museum and displays.

Have a great time.

Ron

Thank you for the good info. We have 1:00pm tour tickets for USS Arizona 75 minute tour..how much earlier should we get there? Ship pulls out at 6:00pm so we would rather see the museums before the 1 pm tour. How long does the #42 bus take to get to USS Arizona site? And do you need to switch buses. Their bus schedule isn't too easy to figure out. Thank You in advance

You will need to be at the memorial (at least) an hour before your tour or they will give your tickets to someone else who is waiting.

Thank you Nancyquilts for the heads up on getting there an hour early. I am still trying to figure out the bus sitiuation. Looks like for sure the 42 is the faster one, but I still don't see on the timetable any pick-up near pier.