Excursions to avoid

[vbmom87]

Oops. Never mind. I was doing some searches and didn't realize how old this thread was.

[einsteinsmom]

On Maui, near Kahalui there is Kanaha Beach. It is a nice beach, but it is the windy side of the island. If it is windy, the sand will blow. It would not be a very long taxi ride to get to it.

kristy

[jayshup]

The entire trip might only be 1.5 miles. I enjoy spending a lot of time in Hilo when I can. However, I spent about 2 1/2 years working on ships in Hawaii before I finally decided to do this trip. It was a wonderful experience. There is a a rope swing at final destination. In addition, people dove from the cliffs and other people assisted me by taking photographs as I kayaked under one of the awesome waterfalls. Even our main guide slid down the cliff on what appeared to be a very smooth surface and then dove into the water. It is a beautiful location! The exercise from the trip, the chances to swim, photography opportunities and the people I met where definitely the highlights of this amazing trip!

 

Kona

There are a lot of good places to swim, snorkel and scuba dive in kona!

Maui

Becch Day in Maui (OGG211) My favorite beach within 5 miles of the Kahului pier is Baldwin Beach! If your just wanted to enjoy some short dips in the ocean I'd say you could enjoy the beaches near the pier. However, if you can make it to the famous Kanapali beach (black rock portion) it is gorgeous! Plus you can have lunch and drinks at the resort directly behind it. The water is the clearest that I have ever seen in Hawaii and I have been to all four of the main islands.

Maui

Lahiana is an awesome place and the bus ride excursion is great because it gives you the chance to explore and to enjoy many of the attractions before returning to the ship.

[J&RLOVESTOCRUISE]

The Sunset cruises in Waikiki they are a rip off1 The food was horrible!

[bigtoeswim'n]

I've noticed that too - especially in Hawaii, it seems that the knee-jerk reaction is "don't do the ship tours". Now for Hawaii, it's pretty clear to me that the vast majority of highlights are usually just expensive bus trips, when you can see the same thing by yourself in a car (example: virtually everything of note in Kauai). But some places it's nice to use a cruise-organized trip. For example, the Haleakala sunrise biking trip, it's not much cheaper to do it on your own, and it's nice to have it organized by your cruise ship. Similarly with surfing (my other Maui excursion) it will be nice to be in a group exclusively with PoH passengers. But beyond that I'm only taking the Kona Captain Zodiac tour through NCL, and getting a car in Hilo and both Kauai days.

 

I think it all comes down to a reasoned decision of "How much does this trip cost? What am I gaining by doing it through the cruise line? Can I do it on my own?" One easy one is VNP. Why would I pay $110 per person to go to Chain Of Craters Rd. when I can rent a Thrifty car for $30 and pay $10 park admission, and do it myself at my own pace?

 

But I know some people are not comfortable with renting a car and driving around a strange new area when they can have someone do it for them. Myself, I have no problem with this. I have my maps all printed out and ready to go, and I'm looking forward to having full control over my day.

 

Do you buy additional car insurance? I've been asking this question on other threads. I'm assuming you didn't and just hope for the best. I do know that credit card companies "supposed" cover auto if you use that card when booking. Everyone knows about the distracted driver creating havoc. Can't control the actions of another. well, just curious what other reading this thread and rented cars in Hawaii did concerning purchasing of additional car rental insurance. I know it is pricy.

[grandma13]

We really like to rent cars in the ports so we can come and go at our leisure, not on the tour's schedule. Nancy

 

We are planning on that too. The only port where we will not rent a car is Kona where we pln to wander around the town in the morning and take a whale-watching trip with Roberts' Tours in the afternoon.

 

We have booked all of them except Kauai--still need to do that.

 

Another Nancy