Luau In Honolulu

We'll be in Honolulu on the Star Princess January 2015 on a Monday from 7 am to 11 p.m. Is it possible to do the luau at Paradise Cove in the afternoon/evening? Don't wanna miss the ship!

If you've done this, please share the details of the process, including transportation. If you have any other suggestions for a luau, please advise. THANKS!!!

We'll be in Honolulu on the Star Princess January 2015 on a Monday from 7 am to 11 p.m. Is it possible to do the luau at Paradise Cove in the afternoon/evening? Don't wanna miss the ship!

 

If you've done this, please share the details of the process, including transportation. If you have any other suggestions for a luau, please advise. THANKS!!!

Unless they have an afternoon luau, I wouldn't chance it. That was our quandary too. We are doing this cruise in March. We signed up for the Princess tour that includes a nite luau and show. This way I don't have to worry about missing the boat and get my luau fix. Rest of islands we are doing private tours.

Pooh

Unless they have an afternoon luau, I wouldn't chance it. That was our quandary too. We are doing this cruise in March. We signed up for the Princess tour that includes a nite luau and show. This way I don't have to worry about missing the boat and get my luau fix. Rest of islands we are doing private tours.

 

Pooh

.....for your thoughts. I at this point am inclined to take the Princess tour also. I don't want to sit all evening worrying about being back to the ship in time and not enjoy the show. We also enjoy the private tours and avoiding the bus trips on the Princess tours with "48 of our very best friends"! I was hoping to find a good show (luau) closer to the port but am not having much luck at this point. I am going to keep checking this thread for any more ideas or suggestions from other posters. Thanks again for your thoughts and enjoy your cruise! :)

We will also beon the Star in December...so same schedule. I assume you are referring to the ship's excursion which is a full day at the Polynesian Center? I really hope i find another option because we really want to go to Pearl Harbour, and can't do both. We are also travelling with a toddler and there is no way he would survive a full day excursion. I saw there may be options for a Luau in Waikiki...if anyone has any experience please post!

We are doing Pearl Harbor with Princess. The excursion gets back to the ship around 2:30pm. So we signed up for their Dinner cruise at 5:30.:)

The National Park Service now only allows to reserve Pearl Harbor Tickets 24 hours ahead of time. Also, as this is a very important excursion, we just did not want to take the chance of "missing" some of the points of

interest while at PH.:)

We may cancel the Dinner Cruise and go to House Without a Key Restaurant which gets good ratings here. Decisions, decisions.;)

We are doing Pearl Harbor with Princess. The excursion gets back to the ship around 2:30pm. So we signed up for their Dinner cruise at 5:30.:)

 

The National Park Service now only allows to reserve Pearl Harbor Tickets 24 hours ahead of time. Also, as this is a very important excursion, we just did not want to take the chance of "missing" some of the points of

interest while at PH.:)

 

We may cancel the Dinner Cruise and go to House Without a Key Restaurant which gets good ratings here. Decisions, decisions.;)

That's not correct...I booked out tickets for Pearl Harbour on line last night for December. Tickets are free...$1.50 surcharge to book them on line.

That's not correct...I booked out tickets for Pearl Harbour on line last night for December. Tickets are free...$1.50 surcharge to book them on line.

Well, as my dear Mom used to say "if it was a lie from me, it was a lie to me." :eek: Sorry anyone for the bad info.:o:o

UPDATE - this is where I saw the info on tickets. But it refers to the Arizona Memorial. Sorry for the confusion on my part.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=43507851&highlight=tickets#post43507851

The luau at the Hale Koa Hotel gets great reviews. Their website indicates that it is held on Mondays and Thursdays. It is on Waikiki Beach, very convenient to the cruise ship. If it was running late you can always grab a taxi back to the port. Cherie

cccole, thanks for the info.:):)

The luau at the Hale Koa Hotel gets great reviews. Their website indicates that it is held on Mondays and Thursdays. It is on Waikiki Beach, very convenient to the cruise ship. If it was running late you can always grab a taxi back to the port. Cherie

Thanks for bringing up the Hale Koa luau. I also have heard good things about it and know it is much closer to the port than the north shore luau's. I have conflicting information as to if this is only for active and retired military. I know staying at the Hale Koa is only for military but have heard that they sell luau tickets to non-military if they have excess. If anyone can add to this information, please join in. At this point, I think we would opt for this luau if we can get in as non-military. Thanks again for adding information to this conversation.

I am not a fan of hotel luaus. The food is average buffet food with a Hawaiian twist. The food and the music at the House Without a Key is nothing short of fabulous. It is in the Halekalani Hotel on Wakiki beach, one of the most beautiful hotels in Honolulu. It is not cheap but certainly not much more than what the ship will charge per person for a luau experience, which is very commercial in my experience. Just my opinion. YMMV. Aloha and enjoy whatever you do.

I am not a fan of hotel luaus. The food is average buffet food with a Hawaiian twist. The food and the music at the House Without a Key is nothing short of fabulous. It is in the Halekalani Hotel on Wakiki beach, one of the most beautiful hotels in Honolulu. It is not cheap but certainly not much more than what the ship will charge per person for a luau experience, which is very commercial in my experience. Just my opinion. YMMV. Aloha and enjoy whatever you do.

Thanks for your input! I have heard great things about the House Without a Key also. Sounds like you have been there and had a great experience. I have been to Hawaii a number of times although never on a cruise, and been to several luaus. My wife has never been to Hawaii. I know the food at most luaus is mediocre at best but wanted her to experience the show and celebration of a luau outdoors and on the beach. Do you think the House Without a Key would fill the bill? I love this CC community and the sharing of knowledge. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences!

From some of the things I've read the Hale Koa luau food is better than most. My favorite way to spend an evening on Waikiki is to walk from one end to the other listening to the music, watching the Hawaiian entertainment, and enjoying drinks and food along the way. Waikiki is just beautiful in the evening/night when the crowds leave. You might check to see what time the hotels like Royal Hawaiian, Moana Surfrider, Sheraton Waikiki, and Dukes have their nightly entertainment. House Without a Key is a wonderful way to enjoy sunset, the show, have a drink and appetizers and then walk on to another venue. Have a great time whatever you decide. Cherie

I am not a fan of hotel luaus. The food is average buffet food with a Hawaiian twist. The food and the music at the House Without a Key is nothing short of fabulous. It is in the Halekalani Hotel on Wakiki beach, one of the most beautiful hotels in Honolulu. It is not cheap but certainly not much more than what the ship will charge per person for a luau experience, which is very commercial in my experience. Just my opinion. YMMV. Aloha and enjoy whatever you do.

I think you just made up my mind for me.:)

I am not a fan of hotel luaus. The food is average buffet food with a Hawaiian twist. The food and the music at the House Without a Key is nothing short of fabulous. It is in the Halekalani Hotel on Wakiki beach, one of the most beautiful hotels in Honolulu. It is not cheap but certainly not much more than what the ship will charge per person for a luau experience, which is very commercial in my experience. Just my opinion. YMMV. Aloha and enjoy whatever you do.

Thank you so much for your input. DW and I were thinking about going back to Honolulu for our 40th in 2017. We spent our honeymoon there almost 37 years ago and I was looking for some new ideas for a future cruise there. This helps a lot.:cool:

Bill

Don't forget to come back and report your experiences if you do go to the House Without a Key.

That's not correct...I booked out tickets for Pearl Harbour on line last night for December. Tickets are free...$1.50 surcharge to book them on line.

Can u please tell me how you did this? I go to the gov site daily to check for our dec cruise and it says can only book 24 hours in advance. Thank you!

Can u please tell me how you did this? I go to the gov site daily to check for our dec cruise and it says can only book 24 hours in advance. Thank you!

I'm not the one you asked, but try putting your date in here to see if they have tickets. The FAQ says you can get tickets 6 months in advance, but the last day it shows tickets available is January 11th.

Thank you amc. Tried that, my date was sold out from the day they went on sale.:(

Thank you amc. Tried that, my date was sold out from the day they went on sale.:(

Have you tried booking this with your cruise line? That is what we did. We absolutely do not want to miss Pearl Harbor including the Arizona Memorial. We are with Princess in April, 2015 and taking a 5 1/2 hour tour with them.:)

Have you tried booking this with your cruise line? That is what we did. We absolutely do not want to miss Pearl Harbor including the Arizona Memorial. We are with Princess in April, 2015 and taking a 5 1/2 hour tour with them.:)

Do not want to do that. Traveling with someone who is handicapped and has trouble walking. We have private tours in all islands. Do not want to deal with a public tour, trouble getting seats up front, people holding up the bus by not being back on time, etc. etc. plus we want to go to north shore and other areas not included in princess tour. we will have the private guide wait in line the morning of and arrange it that way. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

mina, have you tried calling them? I find it odd that they don't have anything after the date in January and if there wasn't anything available when it's 6 months out from our trip I was going to call and see what they say. We don't want to miss it either and if we can't get tickets are going to have to do a tour which we don't especially want to do. :(

Good suggestion amc. I think I will try thT on Monday. I am thinking it maybe because we are there two days after dec 7 Maybe there is some type of events planned. Will post back if that is successful.

Bumping to the top and trying to get thread back on line to Honolulu luaus. Any other thoughts as to luaus that we can make and get back to the ship for a 11:00 PM departure? All suggestions are more than welcome! :)

I too will be on Star Princess in March and would like to do either Germaines or Paradise cove if we can get back to the ship by 10.30 , have emailed them both for further details and have also asked at the military hotel if it is possible to book non military , don't want to leave it until our arrival as we may miss out on something else , have also looked at house without a key but it seems a bit on the pricey side with 14 $ for a mai tai , will try to post after I have had all the replies , have also asked for recommendaions for gemaines and paradise cove on this port of call board