Captain Zodiac Excursion question

[SandG]

In Kona during our upcoming cruise, we have booked the morning Captain Zodiac "Raft, Dolphin and Snorkel" excursion (leaving at 8:30) through the cruise line. After the excursion, I plan to meet a high school friend for lunch and she will give us a quick tour of the area afterwards. (I haven't seen her in 40 years, I'm so excited!)

 

This is a tender port and we won't have the time to go back to the ship after the excursion to change clothes and pick up what we need for the afternoon. Will there be an opportunity to change into street clothes after the excursion? And will there be a convenient and safe place to keep a backpack with a nice camera, cell phones, etc?

-Sue

[gmazz]

We did this excursion through NCL the beginning of March and it was by far our families favorite of the trip. They do gather everyone's belongings to put in the front of the boat before you leave the pier. They remind everyone to put on their sunscreen at that point because you cannot put any on in the area where you snorkel as it is a protected marine life area. The boat ride is a lot of fun, pretty fast and bumpy so there is a chance that some waves may come over the front and dampen the bags so just be sure you keep your camera from being on the outer edge of your bag. This area is open and not covered but we really didn't have much more than a few damp spots on ours and we were on the top of the pile.

There are rest rooms at the pier for the beach that is there but I did not go in side. We did go across the street into the mall/hotel area that was there and I did use the bathroom at the hotel while we were in there looking around to kill some more time before our trip out on the tour. When you are snorkeling one of the 2 guides will be in the boat.

Enjoy your cruise!

[SandG]

Thank you, thank you. This was very helpful and puts my mind at ease. I'm really looking forward to the excursion (and of course, meeting up with my high school friend). Sounds like a perfect day in paradise.

[puddles99]

This was also one of our favorite excursions, hands down! We chose to just put on "street clothes" (a sundress for me and a shirt paired with his swim trunks that look like shorts for DH) over our swim wear so that we didn't have to change before wandering around town and getting lunch at Kona Brewing Company. The bathrooms at the pier aren't too nice - the floors are wet & the area is crowded as everyone returns from the excursion - but functional. Like gmazz said, you can absolutely pack a beach / tote bag with a change of clothes and other gear and they'll store it on the raft.

 

Enjoy your amazing adventure!

[Freehike]

We did this excursion through NCL the beginning of March and it was by far our families favorite of the trip. They do gather everyone's belongings to put in the front of the boat before you leave the pier. They remind everyone to put on their sunscreen at that point because you cannot put any on in the area where you snorkel as it is a protected marine life area. The boat ride is a lot of fun, pretty fast and bumpy so there is a chance that some waves may come over the front and dampen the bags so just be sure you keep your camera from being on the outer edge of your bag. This area is open and not covered but we really didn't have much more than a few damp spots on ours and we were on the top of the pile.

There are rest rooms at the pier for the beach that is there but I did not go in side. We did go across the street into the mall/hotel area that was there and I did use the bathroom at the hotel while we were in there looking around to kill some more time before our trip out on the tour. When you are snorkeling one of the 2 guides will be in the boat.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

 

Did you book it through NCL or direct?

 

We have it booked direct with Zodiac, but I am concerned about having enough time to get off the boat, get a shuttle to the car rental place at the airport, then up to Zodiacs in time. We are going on the first snorkel of the day but I think it said you meet around 8:15-8:30

 

 

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[puddles99]

Did you book it through NCL or direct?

 

We have it booked direct with Zodiac, but I am concerned about having enough time to get off the boat, get a shuttle to the car rental place at the airport, then up to Zodiacs in time. We are going on the first snorkel of the day but I think it said you meet around 8:15-8:30

 

I know I am not the one you asked, but I thought I'd share my experience. We booked through NCL. This was one of two excursions we booked through NCL and we did so because if for some reason we were not able to tender into Kona, NCL would refund the cost of the excursion while Captain Zodiac would not if booked direct. With that said, we had two people who did book direct on our excursion with us, and it clearly worked out just fine for all of us and they saved a few bucks.

 

I do think you'll be hard pressed to get the tender over, head to the airport, and then back to the dock to catch the excursion. The excursion leaves right from the opposite side of the same dock where the tenders drop you off. Is there any chance you could pick up your rental car after you return from the excursion?

[cassandra321]

Puddles,

 

What was the other excursion you booked through NCL and why?

 

Thanks,

 

Cassandra

[puddles99]

Puddles,

 

 

 

What was the other excursion you booked through NCL and why?

 

 

 

Thanks,

 

 

 

Cassandra

 

 

Actually, I just realized there were four NCL excursions in total (clearly I need to go back & refresh my memory :D). The first was the Molokini & Turtle Town Snorkel through Pacific Whale Foundation on Maui. We had decided that we didn't want to rent a car, so the easiest / cheapest way to get a transfer from the pier to the excursion & back was to book through NCL. The second was the Captain Zodiac. Our third excursion through NCL was the Zipline Adventure on Kauai. If I recall correctly (and I've already admitted my memory is shot!) the cost was pretty much the same booking privately on that one, so it made sense to book through NCL for ease. Our final excursion was a post-cruise circle island tour on Oahu - this is the only one I would not recommend.

 

Our privately booked excursions included pre-cruise Hanuama Bay snorkeling, Germaine's Luau, and Pearl Harbor tours, Road to Hana on Maui, VNP / Waterfall tour in Hilo, and the Smith Family Luau & a helicopter tour on Kauai. You can read more in the review linked in my signature. Hope that helps!

 

 

 

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[gmazz]

Freehike sorry I didn't get back to you sooner was busy with the Easter holiday. I did just peek at my daily for the day in Kona and they start handing out tender tickets at 7am and noted to have your party ready to leave at that time. But it does take time to load everyone in like sardines :D and the trip itself to the pier is between 5-10 minutes. I think a half hours time is playing it safe so you won't be at the pier until close to 7:30...I think a bit to close of a call.

We did book directly with NCL for Zodiac and Early Bird Pearl Harbor before we left. We did book privately with Marylou's in Hilo and loved her husband Ken. I left the rest open for my husband to decide what else we would end up doing because I recall him saying exactly "this is not going to be like another Disney trip running me ragged!" So the morning we were on our way to the pier he asked again what we had booked and I told him so at the point he decided we needed to do much more. Once onboard and at Cagney's eating lunch we all decided with hubby's lead to book the rainforest/waterfall hike and whale watch in Maui, and Waimae Canyon in Kaui. We enjoyed these all very much especially the whale watch as they were very active. The canyon was fogged in so that was disappointing but we stopped at a coffee farm with the extra time we had.

My husband also had requested this be a no driving vacation so we never rented a vehicle even the 2 days in Waikiki before the cruise we walked and took cabs everywhere we went so I have no experience with helping you out with a timeframe outside of thinking you might miss the Zodiac excursion if you try to get your rental before.

[SandG]

Did you book it through NCL or direct?

 

We have it booked direct with Zodiac, but I am concerned about having enough time to get off the boat, get a shuttle to the car rental place at the airport, then up to Zodiacs in time. We are going on the first snorkel of the day but I think it said you meet around 8:15-8:30

 

 

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Hi Freehike, (I'm the OP, BTW). I was originally going to book directly with Capt. Zodiac because it looked cheaper with the internet discount, but I saw this on their home page:

"Reservations for CRUISE SHIP GUESTS must be booked directly through the cruise line."

 

So we booked through our cruise (Celebrity in my case).

 

I ended up emailing Captain Zodiac to get some specific details on the excursion, and they told me that we will be picked up right next to where the tenders dock at 8:30 and will be dropped off back at the pier around 12:15-12:30. In our case, that will still give us close to 4 hours to explore the area on our own. I'm just guessing that getting picked up and dropped off at the pier may only apply if you're doing the cruise line excursion, and might explain the slightly higher cost, but it is certainly convenient.

 

We will be taking this excursion in a week and a half ! :-)

[Freehike]

Awesome info;thanks!

 

We are calling to cancel our direct booking to go with a NCL booking of it. I wasn't aware that there was tender here so that makes our plan impossible.

 

 

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[dcikon2]

You can only book Captain Zodiac through the cruise line. Perhaps they weren't aware that you were on a cruise. The snorkeling on this excursion is great. In fact, it has been the best snorkeling that we have ever been on, including in the Caribbean and Costa Rica. We walked to the town afterwards and ate lunch. There is a little park where there was a local vendors selling arts and crafts. Kona was one of my favorite places. We also watched a group of high school students compete in an outrigger canoe race and swam at the little beach.