Advice on Hawaiian Cruise Shore Excursions

I used to have a condo in Kauai. The helicopter tour of the island is amazing. The best snorkeling is at Hidden Beach, but that is on the north shore. You can snorkel at Kapaa which isn't too far from the ports. The shopping center is in Kapaa. I also loved the snorkeling cruise along the napali coast. Their is an area where you can sea to the bottom the locals call stairway to heaven. You can also tube down the sugar cane fields which is fun.

I really miss Kauai! There are so many restaurants and beaches I love!!! It's a beautiful island!

Good Morning my parents will be on that cruise this summer for there 60th wedding anniversary. I am going on a cruise out of NOL for spring break and have found a lot of information on this web site cruisecritic.com You can look at the discussion boards having to do with NCL and with your ship POA. Also information about all of the stop that you make and reviews about excursions. We have cruise several times and on the one we are going on for spring break we are not booking our excursions with NCL but private company's and saving half of the cost. Hope this information helps you out. you will have to become a member of the site but it is free and they do not sent unwanted e-mails ect.

My husband and I celebrated our 10th anniversary in Kaua'i and there are some things you can do there but most that don't cost require a car (driving up Waimea Canyon to see the Napali coastline from above). I'm not sure how close the beaches are to where your cruise would dock so that may be challenging. If you do decide on an excursion, I'd recommend a sunset dinner cruise along the Napali coastline with snorkeling. That's really the best way to see that area you can't reach except by boat or by air.

Okay so I just did this REALLY long post and lost it somewhere. So I am going to have to shorten this up a little bit and if you have any questions just let me know. I am going to let you know that my soon to be husband grew up on Oahu in Honolulu. Born and raised. Left when he was 18. His mother and her family also grew up on Oahu and his father is from Maui. Born and raised. I have been for a total of 4 weeks so these are my first hand experiences. I have not been to Kaua'i yet but i would like to do the snorkeling thing at the Na Pali coast.

On Maui,
Haleakala crater is magnificent! We went at like 3:00 and watched the sunset. Not fun coming back down in the fog bank in the dark though. The road to Hana is very long slow and tedious. We got 45 mins in and still had like 20 miles to go so we turned around and went home. ( I was getting carsick and I was driving.) Iao valley is really pretty and green. We also went snorkeling at Molokini. This was my favorite part of our Maui trip.

In Kona,
You should definitely check out the Waikoloa Hilton Dolphin Quest.
you should also check out the City of Refuge. Very interesting and LOTS of sea turtles!!! Also you should check out Pu'ukohola Heiau (hay'-ow). It is actually 3 heiaus and one of them is the Hale o Kapuni Heiau. This is a shark heiau and when I was there, there was actually a shark fin approx. 30 yards out. It was spine tingling.

In Hilo,
You should check out the Pololu Valley which is the birthplace of King Kamehameha I. Absolutely stunning! Also there is a bakery there called two ladies bakery. They make these mochi covered strawberries that are actually to die for!!! SO GOOD!!

In Honolulu,
You need to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center. Lots of fun. They have a luau and they have fire dancers and it teaches you about all the south pacific islands and people. Pearl Harbor should also be on your list of things to do. And Hanauma Bay has excellent snorkeling. Don't forget your underwater camera. It only cost like $3 or $5 a person. You might have to take the bus to get there though. We have also done the Maita'i Catamaran at sunset and it was a lot of fun. We even got to see the mysterious "green flash".

If you have any other questions, just send me a private message and I will answer everything I can.

Two websites you might want to check out are www.gohawaii.com and www.nps.gov. They should be very helpful as well.

I lived in Hawaii for two years and I miss it every day! The very best suggestion that I can give you is to invest in a FROMMER's. It is a travel guide that will spell out every place to see and things to do plus the cost. Time is always a key issue when cruising, you can't miss the boat. On the big island there is a black beach where the sea turtles love to swim. There is also a green beach but it takes about 3 hours to hike to. When on Oahu, lots of shopping right at the port, Hanama Bay is amazing, the Arizona Memorial is such a great tribute but my favorite is the Punchbowl cemetary. Those are all the things, relatively close to port but of course there is still the North Shore and the Polynisian Cultural Center! OK OK I guess it is time for me to head back home.

I just had somebody telling me that instead of booking through the cruise, to book through the actual excursion company. This couple was on a Mexican cruise and booked a swimming with the dolphins excursion and it was 1/2 the price. I would find what you would like to do and find the number to the company and call them directly. Hopefully this works in Hawaii too. Good luck and have lots of fun:))

H. Meece
www.WorkAtHomeUnited.com/H.
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