Roberts Hawaii Tours

[Miss Amber]

I'm trying to decide if I should book Roberts Hawaii for a couple of tours during my cruise on the Pride of America. Has anyone taken the Heavenly Hana tour or the Volcanoes National Park and & Rainbow Falls tour? Does anyone have any advice on either of these two tours? I'm trying to decide if I should book the tours with Roberts or if I should just book them through the ship. Any help would be appreciated... :confused:

[cruzn single]

Have not done those particular tours, but have taken other Roberts tours. They give an excellent tour, and you can save money by booking through Roberts. A very reputable company throughout Hawaii!

[LJH1]

I'm trying to decide if I should book Roberts Hawaii for a couple of tours during my cruise on the Pride of America. Has anyone taken the Heavenly Hana tour or the Volcanoes National Park and & Rainbow Falls tour? Does anyone have any advice on either of these two tours? I'm trying to decide if I should book the tours with Roberts or if I should just book them through the ship. Any help would be appreciated... :confused:

 

 

In 2008 we did b2b cruises on Pride of Hawaii (now the Jade) we did 100% of excursions through Roberts without a glitch and saved about 40% . They are highly recommended and professional. We did the tours you are asking about. Roberts uses mini buses so it's far cry from the cattle herding ship excursions.

[Miss Amber]

Thanks guys! I definitely think I am going to book those tours with them. I was just a little apprehensive, because I'll be traveling all alone for the first time. In the past, I have only booked my tours through the cruise. Thanks so much for the advice! :p

[LJH1]

They are extremely good with ship time lines so not to worry.

[CanuckCurlers]

Roberts does the Princess excursion tours if that helps your decision.

[strobellayjam]

Roberts does the Princess excursion tours if that helps your decision.

 

As a Princess passenger, I wonder if I can book private tour with them or am I forced to book via ship?

[LJH1]

Just to clarify, I don't see that Roberts Hawaii picks up for any Princess cruise ships.

 

Also for those that may be confused, there are 2 "Roberts" Companies

 

Roberts Hawaii picks up for certain cruise ships only and their addy is http://gorabbitgo.com/

 

The other Robert's Hawaii picks up at all major hotels only or at certain corners near clumps of hotels. They offer tours on all the islands. Their addy is

http://www.robertshawaii.com/index.php

 

Both of these companies are have the same owner but are run as separate business.

 

They are both very reliable, professional and knowledgable. We have used both of them on our 2008 cruise and for our pre cruise stay in Waikiki and will do again in 2010.

 

The reason their prices are extremely cheap is because they wanted to under cut Polynesian Adventure Tours which was bought up by Norwegian Cruise Line America.

[CanuckCurlers]

As a Princess passenger, I wonder if I can book private tour with them or am I forced to book via ship?

It is the go rabbit group which picks up at the Princess ship and no I could not book independent of the ship. I e-mailed them to try. To use the other Roberts group you would have to make your way to an hotel or pick up point.

[shakaka]

Miss Amber I highly recommend that you take Ricky's tours for the Hilo & VNP tour, his details are [rickystours@yahoo.com], whose website is www.rickystours.com - His prices are more than resonable and it is a small bus not a coach full of people that is slow and drags on. More than half the price of the same tours that the ship offers. Enjoy;)

[shazz43]

hi shakaka did you do both the hilo tour and the volcano tour, while you were there?

i did enjoy your cruise review

thanks for the info

[Dusty2]

Miss Amber I highly recommend that you take Ricky's tours for the Hilo & VNP tour, his details are [rickystours@yahoo.com], whose website is www.rickystours.com - His prices are more than resonable and it is a small bus not a coach full of people that is slow and drags on. More than half the price of the same tours that the ship offers. Enjoy;)

 

We took the NCL Polynesian Adventure Volcano NP tour two weeks ago. Had a great tour, but friends used Ricky's Tours and were pleased with the small group, rather than the crowd we went with. I'd take Ricky's if I were to do it again...

[shakaka]

Hi Shazz43, Ricky includes both the hilo tour and the volcano tour in his package and yes the smaller group is more fun than a large bus full of people. We all got talking and even joked around - I think you will love Ricky himself he is a true gentleman. The best part was the price - $50 for both the hilo tour and the volcano tour - Ricky even covered the cost of admission to VNP in the $50 total bargain

 

Marcus

[Nanatravel]

Marcus, did you HAVE to walk through the Thurston Lava Tube? We have been there and in ti when the Lights went out!

 

Thanks.

[shakaka]

Nanatravel, We did walk through the Thurston Lava Tube, but I suppose no one really had to. It takes about half an hour to get through the tuba and back to the start. The lights were poor when we went through but we enjoyed that part of it. The part we didn't like were the endless puddles of muddy water - it was a very wet day when we went through. Ricky waits by the van until we all finished the walk.

[shazz43]

thanks marcus for your reply about rickys tours, i have his email and web address, just one more question did you book online before you went on the cruise?

how far in advance?

thanks

sharon

[shakaka]

I booked about a month in advance through email and paid on the day of the tour - remeber there are only 13 seats in his van so try and book early. I would be surprised if you are dissappointed with his service. Enjoy your vacation.

[LJH1]

Roberts only uses the small mini buses or vans.

[cruzn single]

The particular Roberts tours we took (Whale Watch/Maui and Waimea Canyon/Kuaui) both used the large buses, so if they use the smaller buses, it is the particular tour with a lesser amount of guests.

[tommui987]

You always can pick up a Roberts tour when you get to the pier on the various islands just as we did when we were on the NCL Spirit of America - and we live in Hawaii!

[shazz43]

do you mean you dont have to book in advance you can just get on a tour when you sail inyo each port?

[flashdog_1]

Not only did they use a large bus, but they had 3 of them for the Historic Kona tour. The drivers had to decide among themselves who was going where first so no two buses would be in one location simultaneously.

 

The use of smaller vans would be for tours that go on narrow roads, such as the road to Hana, or possibly if a tour did not have enough participants to warrant the use of the big bus.

[cruzn single]

You do not HAVE to book excursions prior to arriving, but it is best to book either through the cruise line or another tour company so that you don't get to go on the tour you wanted. Many are very popular, and are "sold out."

[LJH1]

The only time I saw a large bus was on the ride to airport from hotel and we were there in January. Bottom line was that we were very happy with service and prices.

[tommui987]

You do not HAVE to book excursions prior to arriving' date=' but it is best to book either through the cruise line or another tour company ...[/quote']

 

We have been on the POA to see what the islands look like by sea. We have lived in Hawaii for over 70 years and still do!

 

You are paying a premium when you book a tour on a cruise line and NCL is no different.

 

When we toured on the Pride of America, we took Roberts tours and just did it when we landed on the dock. You can also pre-book and there was no problems in getting a tour. No, I do not work with Roberts.

 

If you are the type that wants to immediately jump on a bus tour, then you can book it through the cruise line but from an economic viewpoint, do it on the dock or directly with Roberts. You have to wait for a bit, you can kill time by going to Hilo Hatties or Wal-Mart. They have free buses on the docks as well!