Flight Schedule and Pearl Harbor

[honeymooner77]

We would really like to see Pearl Harbor, but we don't arrive until 2 pm the day of the cruise, and our flight leaves Honolulu at 4pm on Sunday. Can anyone tell me if that leaves us enough time to see Pearl Harbor on Sunday. I noticed there's an excursion through the ship that starts at 7:45 and is supposed to last 6 hours. Has anyone made it to Pearl Harbor with a schedule similar to ours? Thanks!

[wmbjr]

Our flight out was close to 3:30 and NCL told us we would not qualify for the excursion because they only guarantee to get to the airport on time for those with flights of 4 or later. We were on the Pride of America and were told this by the shore excursion desk. I would give NCL a call (if you can stand their customer service) and just see what they say. The other option is to wait and see what answer you get on the cruise from the staff there. Sorry I could not help more. I just know about 3:30 was not late enough for them to be willing to take us, but 4 would have been.

 

William

[honeymooner77]

Thanks for the info! I noticed on the tour description that no purses are bags are allowed at Pearl Harbor. Does anyone know if your luggage and carryon is on the bus with you, or is it transferred to the airport directly from the ship? If you took this tour, what did you do with your carry-on bag? Thanks!

[notnormal]

Honeymooner 77 - We Are In The Same Situation. We Have A 3:55 Flight Back Home And I Called Ncl About That Specific Shore Excursion. They Told Me We Could Not Book It In Advance Because Our Flight Was Not 4:00 Or Later, But That They Would Possibly Let Us Book It When We Were On The Ship. I Think That You Just Leave All Of Your Luggage On The Bus And Then Get It When The Tour Ends At The Airport.

 

What Ship And Date Are You Sailing?

 

If Anyone Has Any Better Ideas They'd Greatly Be Appreciated.;)

[suncruiser]

We were on the Pride of America last September. We had a similar flight schedule. NCL offers a baggage transfer to the airport for $20 where they take your luggage off the ship and right to the airport. We chose to do that. We had a small rolling bag that we took with us off the ship. We left the ship and immediately found a cab to take us to Pearl Harbor. There is an area to check any baggage (I think $3/bag) at Pearl Harbor. We did that and then got in line to get our ticket for Pearl Harbor. We had to wait about 45 minutes to get on the boat to go over to the memorial. While waiting we looked around the "museum" area. We then went over and toured the Bowfin (this is great and "next door" to Pearl Harbor). We then got a shuttle (right there at Pearl Harbor) and went to the hotel. We had plenty of time and may have even had enough time to do the Missouri as there is a shuttle (at the same location as the airport shuttle) that will take you over there. The only caveat to seeing Pearl Harbor is that certain times of year I understand you have to be there very early (7 a.m.) which is virtually impossible coming off a cruise ship in order to get in line and get a ticket. If you are not leaving after 6 p.m. you can't do the ship Pearl Harbor tour.

[lambs2]

We were fortunate to be able to do Pearl Harbor the day before our cruise, but if I were in your situation I would 1) TRY to get the tour through NCL booked for the morning after departing the ship, if possible; or 2) If they will not let you do the Pearl Harbor tour, then I would send your bags through the Easy Fly program the night before (if your airline is eligible) so that you will have the absolute minimum with you that day. (Like a camera, but no camera bag. And don't forget airline tickets, ID's etc.). They have a place you can check your purse at Pearl Harbor, but it is a bit of a walk from the main line. Then ask the front desk on the ship if you can be some of the first folks off the ship after docking. Hail a cab and get to Pearl Harbor. Hopefully you will get a ticket group number that will allow you to be completed at Pearl Harbor before about 1:45 PM. If that does not work out, then just walk around there for awhile. You will at least be AT the Memorial and be able to see some of it there by the water and take photos, etc. and you can always pay to go see the Bowfin exhibit next door regardless of whether you get tickets that day to see the free Arizona Exhibit. But there are good odds that will work out for you, too! Then grab a cab to the airport. Hey, I would much rather TRY than just throw up my hands and dismiss the whole idea!

[Deep 18 Wheeler]

lambs2 has given you the best advice. This is the advice I have gotten from friends of mine who also happen to be frequent travellers to hawaii and a part time travel agent. If you do worst case time on all this, you should have plenty of time to pull it off...

 

...I hope so cause this is what we're doing!

[ebkbs]

We just returned from PoAm on June 2. We had a 4:15 flight from Honolulu. You cannot schedule the post cruise excursions until you are on the ship. We took the Pearl Harbor excursion and arrived at the airport about 2pm. After Pearl Harbor they take you on a mini tour and than to Hilo Hatties to buy last minute gifts. My kids (in their 20's) enjoyed Pearl Harbor but were bored with everthing else. I figured it gave us something to do until our plane left and we really didn't want to deal with renting a car. We just left all of our stuff on the bus. We did not do the Easy - Fly. We just put our luggage on the bus and put the $20 per person for easy-fly toward the Pearl Harbor excursion. Have a great trip!

[alikim]

I was just about to ask about Pearl Harbor when I read this post first.

 

You mentioned your kids who are in 20's were bored? If that's the case, I know for sure that my boys who are not into sightseeing (rather be at amusement park, already worried what they'll do on the ship) will be bored with Pearl Harboe tours.

 

I don't know what time is my flight home yet but just in case it's late flight, I need to entertain them until we get to the airport.

 

Any suggestions anyone?

 

We just returned from PoAm on June 2. We had a 4:15 flight from Honolulu. You cannot schedule the post cruise excursions until you are on the ship. We took the Pearl Harbor excursion and arrived at the airport about 2pm. After Pearl Harbor they take you on a mini tour and than to Hilo Hatties to buy last minute gifts. My kids (in their 20's) enjoyed Pearl Harbor but were bored with everthing else. I figured it gave us something to do until our plane left and we really didn't want to deal with renting a car. We just left all of our stuff on the bus. We did not do the Easy - Fly. We just put our luggage on the bus and put the $20 per person for easy-fly toward the Pearl Harbor excursion. Have a great trip!

[lambs2]

Our flight our was not until after 10PM. We rented a car for the day and did our own circle tour of Oahu. We kept our luggage in the trunk and never opened the trunk all day. Carried all our valuables with us when we left the car, and only did that for very short periods of time. I had written to several of the tour companies (searched online for their names and emails) and I ended up getting brochures in the mail from which we planned our own stops and route for the day. Your teens would probably really like to see many of the sights such as Haunama Bay, the La'ie Point Sea Arch (carved by a tsunami in an hour back in 1946!), Chinaman's Hat island, bunches of beautiful NorthShore beaches and perhaps get to swim at a couple (if they don't mind flying home with salty hair, etc. as it may be difficult to find any proper showers before the flight out). We also went to Wailua Audubon Park on the North Shore where there is a waterfall you can swim under. Beautiful gardens along the pathways too. Loved that place! We got to see Bonzai Pipeline Beach and there were lots of summer surfers there to observe. Also another great beach where there were just tons of wind surfers. Get shave ices at Matsumotos or Aokis along the way, and also stop at Dole Plineapple Palntation for some Pineapple ice cream or Pineapple whips! Perhaps a day like this would be much more fun for your teens! Hey - it was fabulous for us older folks too!!!!