Hawaii cruise

[dellabear]

Anyone been on a Hawaii cruise? I’m looking for tips for excursions or things to do on our own in the  ports.  Renting a car is possible but not ideal due to having too many in our group for one car plus 3 kids who would need car seats.  It may be possible to leave the kids behind with other family from time to time to do things that aren’t kid friendly.

I think we are going to hire a van to take us all on a tour around Hilo /  Volcanoes National Park, but we have two days in Hilo so I’m looking for other ideas too.

We have a day in Kona (8-8) and two days in Maui.  We are going to Old Lahaina Luau in Maui and I’m thinking of catching the trolley to Kaanapali Beach for a day.  

I’d like to do a snorkel tour either in Kona or Maui, that will be suitable for our 7 year old who is a strong swimmer.

We’re staying a couple days in Honolulu at the end and are looking at spending a day at the beach, a day exploring Waikiki and Diamondhead (maybe renting bikes and cycling around?) and a day driving around the North Shore.

Any ideas for must sees or dos on these islands?

[GilliC]

From Kona, there are a lot of organized snorkeling trips to the Captain Cook Memorial.

On the Hilo side, I liked the Kapoho Tide Pools, but they were destroyed in last year's eruption. The lava tube at Kaumana Caves is kind of interesting to explore (you have to bring your own lights) or maybe head up to Mauna Kea?

On Oahu, I like Kailua Beach. Lanikai is nice, but I find that it's more crowded and harder to get to, so I actually liked Kailua better.

[dutchgirl678]

On the Big Island, we loved snorkeling at Kahalu'u Bay on the south end of Alii drive in Kona. It is very protected and shallow. Still saw great fish and even turtles and an easy walk into the water. Perfect for kids.

[dellabear]

Feb 14, 2019 10:42:58 GMT -5 dutchgirl678 said:

On the Big Island, we loved snorkeling at Kahalu'u Bay on the south end of Alii drive in Kona. It is very protected and shallow. Still saw great fish and even turtles and an easy walk into the water. Perfect for kids.

This sounds great.
Would you have to rent a car or could you take a taxi?

[dutchgirl678]

I am not sure where the cruise boat docks but I imagine you could get a taxi (or Uber/Lyft?) to there. Though if you want to do more sightseeing as well it might be good to rent a vehicle.

[pbandj]

Is this the Norwegian Pride ship? If so, we did this last year. It was great, but exhausting.

We had 7 in our group and rented a minivan in most ports. It is really easy to rent a car and cheaper than the excursions. Most rental companies had shuttles that took you to the rental co at the airport. We only had one in a booster (age 7), so we used the mifold travel carseat that does not take up space. We also had grandparents with us with mobility issues, so we split up or chose easy activities.

We also used Uber/Lyft a few times.

Oahu/ Waikiki - we stayed here for a few days before. You can snorkel at Hanuama Bay. Not the best snorkeling for experienced people, but it was nice for kids. You need to get there early, and will wait in line to get in. We took a bus tour, so we did not have to worry about parking. We also did the Dole Plantation, which was OK, but hot in the summer. We left the kids with the grandparents one morning and hiked Diamond Head - go early (7am). There is a small parking lot and it fills up.

In Hilo, Volcanoes Natl Park was closed, since it was during the eruption. Almost missed this port. We ended up going to several waterfalls Akaka Falls State Park and Rainbow Falls.

In Maui - we visited Iao Valley State Park and drove to Ho'okipa Beach to see turtles. The next day we spent at Kaanapali Beach. You can snorkel right off the beach there - no need for a boat/excursion. It was great for the kids. We brought our own snorkel equipment and the Sheraton even some person from the aquarium and gave my son a card with pictures of the fish there.

Kona - we did not rent a car here. There is a small beach by the port, we just hung out there. Visited Kona Brewing Co for lunch.

Kauai - There is a decent beach near the port. You can walk to it, or there might even be a shuttle to the shopping center nearby. Kalapaki beach. Visited Waimea Canyon (1 hour drive) and the spouting horn. Waimea Canyon was beautiful, but my kids did not appreciate the drive up there.

[dellabear]

Thanks pbandj, lots of great info. We’re going on Celebrity, there’s no stop in Kauai but overnights in Hilo and Lahaina plus a day in Kona - beach and brewery sounds perfect there.

Is Diamond Head doable with kids?

[pbandj]

dellabear, Diamond head might depend on the kid, I think we saw many people of different ages/abilities. It took us as adults ~1-1.5 hour (all uphill), I think with kids it would be closer to 2 hours. It is beautiful, but I think my kids would have complained the whole time (until the got to the top and saw the view). We also got up pretty early, and did not eat breakfast before we went. It was more enjoyable for us and my kids were happy to watch tv with the grandparents that morning - we were back by 9/10am.

Lahaina is much closer to the Kaanapali Beach - you wont need a car to get there. Our ship was on the other side of the island at kahului (1 hour drive).

[tcu2003]

We hiked Diamondhead last summer with my 6yo (he turned 6 nearly two months before our trip) and our 23 month old. DH wore the 23mo in a pack on his back and the 6yo made it all the way up and back. He complained a little near one of the sets of steps, but did really well. We got there early, took snacks and water, and took breaks when he needed one. It also helped that we promised him another snack at the bottom and he was ecstatic about the fresh pineapple he was going to get.