POA touring on our own and snorkeling

We are in the planning stages for our cruise on POA 9/30. It is our first time in Hawaii and we are sooo excited.Our plans are renting cars at all the ports as we love to explore. Has anyone rented snorkel equipment in Honolulu for the week? Is it worth the pain of shlepping it onto the ship and to the car rental locations or just rent equipment when we need it??

Any suggestions as where to go in Maui or Kauai in the evening when we are in port? (No interest in attending a lu'au). Any help will be appreciated.

Any suggestions as where to go in Maui or Kauai in the evening when we are in port? (No interest in attending a lu'au). Any help will be appreciated.

On Maui you will be docking in Kahului, which is a commercial/industrial area and isn't close to any of the tourist areas. Since you will have a car, you might want to check out what the south and west areas of the island (where the resorts are located) have to offer in the evening. We would think the POA will also offer evening activities on board.

Just as an FYI--

Rent your cars as soon as possible, you can always cancel and rebook if you see a cheaper rate. The demand is much larger than the supply so prices usually rise. Many times if you wait, you can loose out entirely.

Discount Hawaii Car Rental https://www.discounthawaiicarrental.com/cruiseshipreservation.shtml is frequently recommended as well as Costco.

One tip I learned is become a member in the rental company's loyalty program. On our trip we mainly used Thrifty rental and we were allowed to enter the "blue chip" loyalty line which was always much shorter than the other line. We were in and out and on the road, while those in the other line were still in the other line!!

And yes, the discount Hawaii car rental site was cheaper in every port than the agency site!!!

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We are in the planning stages for our cruise on POA 9/30. It is our first time in Hawaii and we are sooo excited.Our plans are renting cars at all the ports as we love to explore. Has anyone rented snorkel equipment in Honolulu for the week? Is it worth the pain of shlepping it onto the ship and to the car rental locations or just rent equipment when we need it??

Any suggestions as where to go in Maui or Kauai in the evening when we are in port? (No interest in attending a lu'au). Any help will be appreciated.

If you have your own car, it is easy to extend your day into the evening on the overnights in Maui and Kauai. There are lots of waterfront restaurants in the Lahaina area and many of them probably have local entertainment. One place we love in Maui, and pretty close to the ship, is Mamas Fish House. It is on many top ten lists, and not just for Hawaii. It is expensive, but the island vibe is worth the price. If you are heading back from the Road to Hana, or maybe even Mt. Haleakala, you'll pass right by it. You'll need reservations, even for lunch.

In Kauai, we like the area about two blocks from the ship at Kalapaki Bay/Beach. Free shuttles to the shopping on the street side there. Just walk through to the beach. The shuttles stop around 5:00, but it's an easy walk. The Maririott there has a Duke's Restaurant and beach front bar. Probably a nice place for dinner with entertainment. Good for the short day before departure as well for a beach morning/outdoor lunch at Dukes.

On the first day in Kauai, from Waimea Canyon it's easy to swing by the Poipu area where there are many oceanfront restaurants with beach bars where the sunsets are wonderful.

I believe I have heard of a company where you can pick up snorkel equipment in perhaps Honolulu precruise and then drop it off in another island location. Snorkel Bob's maybe? Try google.

Agree with the loyalty program advice. Friends booked the car for us all. When he was able to use the loyalty program, we were in & out. When he had to stand on that line. . . ugh. Sometimes we were at the AP for an hour. make sure you leave enough time to drop the car off & get back to the ship. The free shuttles to the port run sporadically.