Independent Tour Help

[jkrislc]

Aloha,

 

I need your help! I'm trying to book independent tours in Hilo (Volcanoes National Park) and in Maui (the road to Hana), but am having trouble finding tour operators that can pickup passengers that late or who are willing to meet cruise ship passangers at all. Hana Papas will do a Hana tour, but they only offer a 7 am pickup, which means it would have to be on the second day of POA, which I'm not willing to do--too long of a tour and too much of a concern about getting back in time.

 

I don't mind opting for the NCL Volcanoes tour; however, can you think of other options for Hana. I would prefer not to drive myself (I drive too much as it is (300 miles a day) and enjoy vacations that DO NOT involve a car so that I can relax and enjoy the scenary. If I do opt for the NCL Hana tour, is it going to be a giant tour bus?

 

Thanks for your help.

[spleen93]

Check with Tom Barefoot for Hana - their services get high marks from most returning visitors. Follow liink here: http://www.tombarefoot.com/maui/outdoor_maui.html

 

Spleen

[jkrislc]

Check with Tom Barefoot for Hana - their services get high marks from most returning visitors. Follow liink here: http://www.tombarefoot.com/maui/outdoor_maui.html

 

Spleen

I talked to Lisa at Tom's. She was very helpful for Maui, but could only arrange a tour for Hana on the second day with Hana Papas as the scheduled pickup is 7A. I've already got the second day in Maui booked, plus I'd rather not do such a long tour on the second day. I've never come close to missing the ship in six cruises, but why push my luck. Worse case, though, I do have insurance for such instances.

 

She's also helping me set something up for Hilo. Unfortunately, I don't know where the ship docks, and she stated that she couldn't arrange anything until I can provide her with the specific dock information. Anyone have a list of docking locations for the POA? I just assumed the tour companies would know.

[spleen93]

Grrrrr ... there is a way to find out on the Harbors Division website of the Hawaii State Dept of Transportation but apparently the server is down at this time. I'll check again tomorrow. Though I'm a little puzzled by them - this is the first time I've heard of people booking with Tom Barefoot that were told that they needed to know the specific dock that their ship was coming into. Maybe you got a new person?

 

Spleen

[jkrislc]

Grrrrr ... there is a way to find out on the Harbors Division website of the Hawaii State Dept of Transportation but apparently the server is down at this time. I'll check again tomorrow. Though I'm a little puzzled by them - this is the first time I've heard of people booking with Tom Barefoot that were told that they needed to know the specific dock that their ship was coming into. Maybe you got a new person?

 

Spleen

Thanks, Spleen. I thought it was odd that the person at Tom's didn't know where we docked. It's not like this is the first time the POA has cruised the islands.

[spleen93]

Site is still not working.

 

Check this website in a few days: http://www.state.hi.us/dot/harbors/oahu/oahu.htm

 

This is for the Oahu schedule but if you look at the left side, you should be able to find the Hawaii/Hilo schedule as well. They will not have specific dock information for this far out (I think it's released one month in advance) but you can check the recent schedules and see what dock the POA is coming into in Hilo. You can give them that dock number to make the reservation and if it changes later on, you can always call them to let them know of the change.

 

Spleen

[jkrislc]

Thanks, Spleen. The site seems to be working now. Unfortunately, the site doesn't give any additional information that isn't found on my itinerary. I think it's time I spoke to someone else at Tom's who actually knows something about the Pride of Aloha and where she docks.

[spleen93]

Ah, the site is back up. If you check this PDF page that's off that website (http://www.state.hi.us/dot/harbors/hawaii/hashipschedule.pdf), you'll see that the POA docks at pier 1 (P-1).

 

Spleen

[jkrislc]

Thanks, Spleen. I guess I missed the berthing information yesterday.

[sandy6622]

I had difficulty finding an independent that would even accept cruise ship passengers and were not helpful at all with docking information in the area. Hawaiilimo.com was helpful and accomodating with the timeframe. They will adjust the start and finish time to fit your ship scheulde. We selected The Ultimate Hana Adventure - done in a Lincoln Navigator includes cont breakfast and lunch at a 5 star hotel. the price is $179 per person for 4-6 people.