Will we have time to see Pearl Harbor??

[Patriotic Cruiser]

I'm wondering if we have a 2:10pm departure from Honolulu airport, will we get off the ship in time to take the Pearl Harbor Tour before having to be at the airport. If anyone has experience with this, I'd sure appreciate any tips.

Thanks!

[spleen93]

Very iffy considering that you're supposed to be at Honolulu International around noon. I'd probably say no but I'd be interested in hearing about anybody who made this work.

 

Spleen

[MandyMPwife]

I would say no. You would get off the ship and head to Pearl Harbor, then you will most likely have to wait to get on the boat to go out to the memorial. No telling how long that wait could be. It seems too risky for me. If your flight was a few hours later, I would say yes, but b/c Pearl Harbor is so popular it constantly has large numbers of people there.

 

What time do they take the last group out to the memorial?

 

Mandy

[cdbisme]

I would also guess no. If you don't get to Pearl Harbor very early (before 8 AM), you could be in for a long wait to see it, based upon my trip and what I've read.

[Suebee]

At first glance, I would say "no way" but Let me add another perspective.

As of late (this being fall and an off season for tourists) I have been seeing little traffic over there at 8 or 9 am. I peek over as I drive by. This morning I saw a light line around 9:45am. You really just never know. I believe it is because of the season. You are coming during Thanksgiving week which is a handicap for you.

 

Now that being said, if seeing the Arizona is a must-do for you, you can at the very least park at the memorial entrance, see the museum and store and see the memorial from across the water. You wont be over the Arizona, but it can be as close as you can get if the tickets are 'sold out' for the day. You could also take in the Missouri or Bowfin instead.

 

I say it is worth a drive over there. Have real expectations about seeing things....you might not get in to what you actually want....but there are 2 other moving memorials to WWII there plus a lovely museum. The airport is less than 15 minutes away so as long as you left by 11:30, I think you can get to drop off the car and check in within a reasonable time.

By your screen name, I think you would appreciate whatever you got to do overthere.

[spleen93]

that sounds reasonable as well ... :)

 

Spleen

[MandyMPwife]

that sounds reasonable as well ... :)

 

Spleen

True!

[Boozebabe]

A very emphatic NO!! We just returned today from the Serenade. We arrived at the airport on the shuttle bus and it took over an hour to get thru inspections and check-in and to the gate. Honolulu airport is crazy. The bus driver stood around "chatting" with some other drivers and our hubbys had to open the bus and get our luggage out. Then there is a 50 lb. weight limit on luggage. One of our bags was 54 lbs so we had to open it right there (no table to put it on-we had to use the floor) and re-distribute the weight among other pieces of our luggage.

 

Back to the question. RC sold us Arizona Memorial tickets after they had issued our airline tickets, knowing there was absolutely no way we could do that tour. The description says around 5 hours. Our flight was at 1:10 p.m. and it was impossible to do, so we got a refund (no problem) That was very dissapointing for us since we had requested late flight from Honolulu. Other people returning to our city got the later flight and they booked after us.

 

This was just one of the disappointing aspects of this cruise. There are many and I will post those later.

[spleen93]

I think a lot of it depends on what time you get off the ship - if you can get off the ship quickly enough, it makes a big difference. All airports are crazy on the day that a cruise ship disembarks in port though so you'll need to allot extra time for that ...

 

Spleen

[Suebee]

I am also thinking that there is a difference between the 'ships tour' and one on your own. If you get off the ship quickly and hire a van shuttle or taxi, you can get to Pearl Harbor in minutes....if youre taking a tour, youre at the whim of the tour operator. By keeping your bags to yourself, you can walk off the ship at any time instead of the time youre assigned.

I think Spleen and I were talking about having the time to get over there if you did it on your own...am I right, Spleen?

[Ka Honu]

As Spleen said originally, it's gonna be "iffy" and rushed at best. Stay the extra day; it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience (and no one's grave marker ever said "I wished I had spent more time at the office.")

[cruisegirl]

Suebee,

How available are taxis at the Pearl Harbor memorial? We plan to take a shuttle there but must be back at the hotel by a certain time and thought if the shuttle back didn't work out we could hop a taxi. Is that possible?

[spleen93]

I think Spleen and I were talking about having the time to get over there if you did it on your own...am I right, Spleen?

There is that as well but I was also thinking about the wait for your tender time to go across to the Memorial itself. If you're willing to skip going to the actual Memorial, then it's probably worthwhile. And like you said, if they're willing to make their own arrangements to get there, then that'll give you more time as well.

 

Can you get off the ship whenever you want? I know most ships disembark in groups - I've never just gone off the ship on my own and don't know if luggage and other stuff might be a problem.

 

Don't think that taxis are just waiting at Pearl Harbor - that might be something you need to prearrange with the taxi or with the taxi company.

 

Spleen

[Suebee]

Spleen - We got off the ship at will....we kept our luggage with us and disembarked when we were ready (after breakfast and last minute packing). We just ignored the order to put our bags out the night before.

I AM thinking like you....if they are willing to make their arrangements and be flexible about what they see...

 

I agree the shuttles/Taxi's would have to be arranged, cruisegirl. See my topic on shuttles. I think they would be pretty easy to arrange though. Perhaps it would be worth it to hire a car and have it stay at the memorial site with the luggage? Or they could do the bag service (hold) for $2 a piece. But then I am thinking of our family in 2 bags total when we go away! LOL.

[spleen93]

Then we ARE thinking of the same thing. :D

 

Spleen

[cruisersdm]

We just got off the Infinity from Vancouver to Honolulu and we did Pearl Harbor. It was well worth the trip, but alot of aggravations doing this. First of all we booked a room for 1 night in Honolulu just to do Pearl Harbor.

 

Honolulu had two cruise ships in the port and a convention in town. Hawaiian time is different then any other time, it means "sometime between now an two hours". Traffic around Honolulu is like New York City. If your flight is at 2PM you are really playing Russian Roulette, if your flight is around 6PM, it still could be a problem, but you might be able to make it work.

 

We booked a tour when we arrived at our hotel for the next morning at 6:30 AM thinking we would have plenty of time and our flight was at 6:30PM that evening. It was a real fiasco with the tour bus, we got half way to Pearl Harbor and the bus driver was told to go back and pick up 5 people who had missed the bus because they were late. After waiting in line and getting a 10AM tour we were thinking we were ok and we would be back at the hotel in time for the noon checkout. Wrong, the three ladies that caused us to be late were 10 minutes late meeting everyone after our tour. Then, the bus driver switched buses and when he picked us up, the belongings of some of the passengers were in the other bus. So, we had to add time going back to the bus station to retrieve their stuff adding 30 minutes to our time. Remember that check out time in hotels is noon, no exceptions and we were 15 minutes late checking out. We were thankful that the hotel didn't charge us for another night, but they could have.

 

If we were to do it again, we would have rented a cab and took the tour and took a cab back. The tour is 1 hour and 15 minutes, but when it starts depends on how long of a line they have. We waited in line 1 hour and a half and at 8:45 we got a ticket for 10:00 AM. Your best bet is to get there around 7 AM before all the tour buses start coming. Traffic is horrible in Honolulu so plan accordingly.

[spleen93]

Don't know I'd go as far as calling traffic "horrible" in Honolulu - it's like any other big city, though, in that it has rush hour traffic and when it gets clogged, it gets clogged in a big way. Sounds like you had some awful luck with your tour though ... :(

 

I'd say traffic in NYC is worse overall ... having experience driving both. At least, the drivers in Hawaii will yield to you and let you in. :D

 

Spleen

[cruisersdm]

Spleen, Yes you're right about the traffic, but when your on a time restraint, it magnifies the situation.

 

I agree with one of the above suggestions to try to arrange for a shuttle to hold your luggage then take you to Pearl Harbor and then pick you up after your tour. Go early!!!! The earlier the better. Pearl Harbor is free to visitors, but they will accept donations to keep up their museum. You get in line, get your ticket and they give you a time that your tour will start. When your tour starts it will last 1 hour and 15 minutes. Pearl Harbor is very efficient and well ran, not like the tour agencies. It's ran like the military.

 

I was quite disappointed with the tour agency "Tour to Pearl Harbor", and I'm writing this hoping that I will save many people from the anxiety that we incurred. Don't book a Pearl Harbor Tour with a tour agency unless you have no time restraints. You're at their mercy and you could either miss your flight or pay for another hotel night.

[Patriotic Cruiser]

After reading everyones posts, I think we'll just skip the Memorial this time. I don't want to come off 12 days of relaxing and get frazzled trying to squeeze in one more thing. I figure getting to/thru the airport will be frazzeling enough! thanks to everyone for your comments - they really help.