POA (Pride of America) Excursions in Kona and Kaua'i

[Genealogy_Lover]

What were your favorite NCL excursions in Kona and Kaua'i? (Or tours to avoid?) Specifically, did anyone do the NCL "Local Style Kona Coast Tour"? 

Thanks!

[dexddd]

Welcome to CC.  We've done POA twice and just stayed a week at a house in Kona on the ocean.  If of interest, I'd say maybe snorkeling.  

 

Do you have plans for Hilo?

[NikiPinkston]

Can't speak to Kona because we've always just gotten off the tender and walked around town but, in Kauai, our favorite excursion was the Director's Cut, where they take you all over the island to see various movie locations. Lunch at a local restaurant was included and it was a really fun day! We've never attended Luau Kalamaku in Kauai as we've done the Polynesian Cultural Center Luau a couple of times, but I understand that it's kind of a big deal, too. We love the POA. Have a wonderful cruise!

Edited April 6 by NikiPinkston
Adding

[Genealogy_Lover]

7 minutes ago, dexddd said:

Welcome to CC.  We've done POA twice and just stayed a week at a house in Kona on the ocean.  If of interest, I'd say maybe snorkeling.  

 

Do you have plans for Hilo?

Thanks! We are doing the crater hike and Hilo waterfalls in Hilo.

[Genealogy_Lover]

7 minutes ago, NikiPinkston said:

Can't speak to Kona because we've always just gotten off the tender and walked around town but, in Kauai, our favorite excursion was the Director's Cut, where they take you all over the island to see various movie locations. Lunch at a local restaurant was included and it was a really fun day!

Thanks for your quick reply! That excursion does look fun. For the Director's Cut, did they take you around in a van?

[NikiPinkston]

Yes, it was a large van. Our group was about 12-14 people and I felt like we really got to see a lot of the island.

[RNCheryl]

We haven't been on POA, but Kauai is our Happy Place.  Checking google, the airport in Lihue is only 2.5 miles from the dock.  I would go on a charter flight (we have used Jack Harper) and fly over the spectacular Napali Coast, since you won't be seeing it on the ship.  You will never forget it!

[Genealogy_Lover]

14 minutes ago, NikiPinkston said:

Yes, it was a large van. Our group was about 12-14 people and I felt like we really got to see a lot of the island.

Thanks for the info!

[Genealogy_Lover]

13 minutes ago, RNCheryl said:

We haven't been on POA, but Kauai is our Happy Place.  Checking google, the airport in Lihue is only 2.5 miles from the dock.  I would go on a charter flight (we have used Jack Harper) and fly over the spectacular Napali Coast, since you won't be seeing it on the ship.  You will never forget it!

We've been looking at helicopter flights--seems like an amazing way to see Kauai! Thanks for the info! Did you use an Uber to get to the airport?

[NikiPinkston]

I second the helicopter flight. We did that over Maui on our first visit to Hawaii many years ago and it was unforgettable. A flight over the Napali Coast would be spectacular!

[Panhandle Couple]

 

First, have you ever been to Hawaii?  You simply can't do it "all" even with 1 week, and few days on either side.

 

This is what we did in early March.

Rented a car for 2 days (shuttle available from cruise terminal to/from airport).

Spent first day driving to the Waimea canyon and the various overlooks.  In a car you can go all the way to the top of the Napali coast line.  We took our time coming back, stopped at a local fruit stand, Port Allen area, and the home of Lelo and Stitch. 

 

2nd day we went on the Kauai Back Country Adventures tubing trip.  We really liked it.  Well organized and run.  Did some extra shopping after that, but traffic looked very heavy on the return, so we cut our plans short to ensure time to get back to ship.  

 

Check the location for helicopter rides.  I don't think they all start from the main airport.

Uber is expensive in Hawaii.  Taxi's are about the same, but you generally don't have to wait.

 

We had been to the big island twice before, and visited Volcanos NP when in Hilo. 

So for Kona, we rented a car (Enterprise is close by the port) and drove north, along the Kohola coast to Kapa'au, then along the side of the mountain to Waimea (yes, same name, different island), then back to Kona.  (there was no equivalent NCL tour for this route)

We still had time for a bite to eat, a drink (Kona Brewing) and quick shopping, all within walking distance to the port.

 

For all our driving, we used the Guidealong app, which is very good. 

[TeresaJ]

Waimea canyon in Kauai is beautiful!  We did the ship excursion which was fine but renting a car and going on your own might be better. There are also helicopter tours over the canyon. Did not do that but I bet it's amazing.

Also did the luau Kalamaku in Kauai- fun and amazing!

 

In Kona, we did a snorkel excursion through the ship. Big Island Snorkel. Highly recommend!

Edited April 6 by TeresaJ

[mcmomny]

Our favorite of all cruises so far!

 

We did not do any NCL excursions, but the few excursions we did do we booked on our own. Go to your roll call and there might be people looking to share excursions which makes the cost less and it's a neat way to meet new people!

 

Road to Hana we were in a small van of 8 people and a great driver/guide which included lunch. Valley Isle Excursions.

 

We booked our own luau with Smith's Family Garden Luau in Wailua in Kauai and they came and picked us up at the cruise port and returned us to the cruise port.

 

The rest of the cruise we just rented a car in each port and did our own thing and had an amazing time!

 

Saw tons of beaches. ate local food for lunch, saw both National Parks, tons of whale watching and beautiful scenery all along the way. Each island was easy to drive and never worried about getting back to the port in time.

 

If at all possible try to go in a few days before the cruise, we did 3 days before and we still struggled with the time difference after the cruise started!

 

Now about The POA, it is basically a floating Hotel. Not much going on on board and it is an American flagged ship so the crew is mostly American kids doing 3 month stints and hate being there.

 

Many people have complained about the ship and the crew but we had a great time, enjoyed many of the crew and felt it was one of the best ways for us to see as much of Hawaii as we could in one visit.

 

PS, are you ready for Monday and the Eclipse!

[Genealogy_Lover]

1 hour ago, Panhandle Couple said:

 

First, have you ever been to Hawaii?  You simply can't do it "all" even with 1 week, and few days on either side.

 

This is what we did in early March.

Rented a car for 2 days (shuttle available from cruise terminal to/from airport).

Spent first day driving to the Waimea canyon and the various overlooks.  In a car you can go all the way to the top of the Napali coast line.  We took our time coming back, stopped at a local fruit stand, Port Allen area, and the home of Lelo and Stitch. 

 

2nd day we went on the Kauai Back Country Adventures tubing trip.  We really liked it.  Well organized and run.  Did some extra shopping after that, but traffic looked very heavy on the return, so we cut our plans short to ensure time to get back to ship.  

 

Check the location for helicopter rides.  I don't think they all start from the main airport.

Uber is expensive in Hawaii.  Taxi's are about the same, but you generally don't have to wait.

 

We had been to the big island twice before, and visited Volcanos NP when in Hilo. 

So for Kona, we rented a car (Enterprise is close by the port) and drove north, along the Kohola coast to Kapa'au, then along the side of the mountain to Waimea (yes, same name, different island), then back to Kona.  (there was no equivalent NCL tour for this route)

We still had time for a bite to eat, a drink (Kona Brewing) and quick shopping, all within walking distance to the port.

 

For all our driving, we used the Guidealong app, which is very good. 

First time to Hawaii for 3 out of 4 of us! (My son went on a school trip.) Thank you for all of this info. Very helpful.

[Genealogy_Lover]

1 hour ago, TeresaJ said:

Waimea canyon in Kauai is beautiful!  We did the ship excursion which was fine but renting a car and going on your own might be better. There are also helicopter tours over the canyon. Did not do that but I bet it's amazing.

Also did the luau Kalamaku in Kauai- fun and amazing!

 

In Kona, we did a snorkel excursion through the ship. Big Island Snorkel. Highly recommend!

Thanks for this info! We booked the Luau. I've heard half the ship goes to the one in Kauai!

[Genealogy_Lover]

45 minutes ago, mcmomny said:

Our favorite of all cruises so far!

 

We did not do any NCL excursions, but the few excursions we did do we booked on our own. Go to your roll call and there might be people looking to share excursions which makes the cost less and it's a neat way to meet new people!

 

Road to Hana we were in a small van of 8 people and a great driver/guide which included lunch. Valley Isle Excursions.

 

We booked our own luau with Smith's Family Garden Luau in Wailua in Kauai and they came and picked us up at the cruise port and returned us to the cruise port.

 

The rest of the cruise we just rented a car in each port and did our own thing and had an amazing time!

 

Saw tons of beaches. ate local food for lunch, saw both National Parks, tons of whale watching and beautiful scenery all along the way. Each island was easy to drive and never worried about getting back to the port in time.

 

If at all possible try to go in a few days before the cruise, we did 3 days before and we still struggled with the time difference after the cruise started!

 

Now about The POA, it is basically a floating Hotel. Not much going on on board and it is an American flagged ship so the crew is mostly American kids doing 3 month stints and hate being there.

 

Many people have complained about the ship and the crew but we had a great time, enjoyed many of the crew and felt it was one of the best ways for us to see as much of Hawaii as we could in one visit.

 

PS, are you ready for Monday and the Eclipse!

Thanks so much for the info! We are staying in Honolulu a few days before the cruise. Can't wait! We've read that POA is a different type of ship; we will probably be so tired from touring that we won't need much entertainment on board!

 

And I do have my eclipse glasses ready! You, too?

[mcmomny]

2 minutes ago, Genealogy_Lover said:

Thanks so much for the info! We are staying in Honolulu a few days before the cruise. Can't wait! We've read that POA is a different type of ship; we will probably be so tired from touring that we won't need much entertainment on board!

 

And I do have my eclipse glasses ready! You, too?

Yes, we were so tired each day that after dinner and a cocktail or too we went to bed! I don't remember doing any shows or using the pool!

 

Good plan coming in early, we woke up at 2 am the first day due to jet lag!

 

Yes we are ready for Monday,  not sure about the crazy traffic they are predicting!

[carohs]

It's hard to pick a favorite when you've only been once 😜. But in Kona we rented a car and explored. My favorite part of the day was a coffee farm tour at Greenwell farms. The tour guide did a great job of explaining the bean process, and I loved learning about the little bean that turns into my daily morning routine. In Kauai we again rented a car, but we did book a catamaran, drove to Waimea, and did a secret falls guided hike. My favorite there was the secret falls hike. My tour guide went above and beyond helping me out when my arms decided to move with zero power. Like I was doing all the right motions but I was falling way behind the group. Anyway, the falls were great if freezing cold, and the hike was beautiful. I would never normally be an outdoor person, and I especially hate hiking and camping, but there's just something about Hawaii. 

[pe4all]

We have done Jack Harter helicopter 2x now - once 40 years ago on our honeymoon (they did not do doors off flights then - Jack Harter himself was our pilot) and the again when we took our adult children to Hawaii for our 35th anniversary. (Jack runs the company but doesn't do tours himself anymore).  On that flight we did the doors off experience, which was amazing.  Can't recommend JH Helicopters enough. 

[RNCheryl]

4 hours ago, Genealogy_Lover said:

We've been looking at helicopter flights--seems like an amazing way to see Kauai! Thanks for the info! Did you use an Uber to get to the airport?

No, we were staying on the island and had a rental car.

[TeresaJ]

3 hours ago, Genealogy_Lover said:

Thanks for this info! We booked the Luau. I've heard half the ship goes to the one in Kauai!

Yes, it's very popular! We really enjoyed it.

[jrt.mom]

I've done the zodiac snorkeling tour in Kona and had a blast. We visited two snorkeling spots, took our raft into sea caves, and saw dolphins. 

On Kauai I did the zip and dip trip and it was top notch. You also get to see some of the movie locations that the directors cut tour takes.

[omahabob]

9 hours ago, Genealogy_Lover said:

We've been looking at helicopter flights--seems like an amazing way to see Kauai! Thanks for the info! Did you use an Uber to get to the airport?

Most, if not all, of the helicopter tour companies have shuttle buses to take you to the airport, so I imagine the NCL excursion would be similar. I don't know for certain, because, even though we've been there several times, it was never on a cruise. Almost all helicopter tours fly out of the main Lihue airport. Blue Hawaiian does have a small number of tours leaving from the Princeville airport for people staying in that area. But that's about as far from the cruise ship port as you can get, so I doubt if you'd go there. Unless something has changed recently, there are no helicopter tours from the Port Allen airport, but there's a tour in a Cessna airplane that departs from there.

 

Just FYI, unless you take a 'doors off' helicopter tour, there will be reflections off the inside of the plexiglass/lexan windows that will show up in your pictures. To minimize this, get your camera/phone right up to the 'glass' to take a picture. Don't rest it against the glass, because the vibrations can make your pictures fuzzy. I just rested one finger against the lass to steady my hand, but kept the camera off of it, in my hand. No matter what you do, don't get in the way of the pilot or impair his/her visibility.

 

We prefer Blue Hawaiian, but they didn't do doors off. Jack Harter always seemed to get good reviews for doors off tours.

[jrt.mom]

To add to omahabob's post, the helicopter tour I did met at the shopping center a short walk from the ship and shuttled us to the airport.  It wasn't cheap, but worth every penny, especially now since NCL has dropped the Na Pali sailby portion on the trip. We booked the tour after finding out we were to miss it due to "maintenance issues" and really wanted to see the cliffs and the helicopter is a great way to do so!

[Genealogy_Lover]

9 hours ago, omahabob said:

Most, if not all, of the helicopter tour companies have shuttle buses to take you to the airport, so I imagine the NCL excursion would be similar. I don't know for certain, because, even though we've been there several times, it was never on a cruise. Almost all helicopter tours fly out of the main Lihue airport. Blue Hawaiian does have a small number of tours leaving from the Princeville airport for people staying in that area. But that's about as far from the cruise ship port as you can get, so I doubt if you'd go there. Unless something has changed recently, there are no helicopter tours from the Port Allen airport, but there's a tour in a Cessna airplane that departs from there.

 

Just FYI, unless you take a 'doors off' helicopter tour, there will be reflections off the inside of the plexiglass/lexan windows that will show up in your pictures. To minimize this, get your camera/phone right up to the 'glass' to take a picture. Don't rest it against the glass, because the vibrations can make your pictures fuzzy. I just rested one finger against the lass to steady my hand, but kept the camera off of it, in my hand. No matter what you do, don't get in the way of the pilot or impair his/her visibility.

 

We prefer Blue Hawaiian, but they didn't do doors off. Jack Harter always seemed to get good reviews for doors off tours.

Thanks so much for this helpful information! We are looking at Blue Hawaiian, although NCL doesn't offer a tour in Kauai (so we would be booking privately). I'm scared of heights, so I'm not sure I could handle a doors off tour, lol!