We are finally less than a month away from our cruise. I have read from older posts it is best to rent a car in Hawaii. Is this the best way to see more of an island? How does one go about doing this? Did anyone do the helicopter ride? Are there any tours you would recommend? Thanks. We are on the Pride of Aloha.

We just returned from the Pride of Hawaii cruise on 5/15. Check out my brief trip report. Rent a car - but don't go through the cruise line - and don't use Alamo. You can rent on-line or via telephone.

We just returned from our cruise on Pride of Aloha. We rented a car on Oahu and in Maui. Used Alamo and had no problems. Used an Entertainer coupon and got a great deal. There were shuttles at each port.

Car with sun/moonroof on Oahu and convertible in Maui.

Have fun.

Thanks. So you planned this rental with the company prior to cruising? Has anyone used this company.
http://www.adventureinhawaii.com/big...ental_cars.htm They seem to offer snorkeling as well. We are interested in at least one snorkeling trip.

Absolutely, rent a car, this is BY far the cheap tour option that is way superior!!! Consider Thrifty, after joining the BLUE CHIP program.

I ended up with 5 car rentals, all offered excellent adventures, best use of time and easy planning.

I did, Hilo- Volcano National Park, Maui-Hana drive, and then south - (humpbacks were migrated there- not available now), Place of Refuge in Kona, with some coffee stops. Waimae Canyon, then the other side for the lighthouse, snorkling out of Kauai.

Overall, this was a late booked discounted special, trip for me, I had no intentions of going to Hawaii. But it definately far surpassed all my expectations.

Either rent a car or hire a driver for the day. We've done both. Booked the car b4 leaving the mainland and hired the driver once we arrived at the port. We took a helicopter ride in Kauai and booked over the Internet - much cheaper than the excursion offered through the cruise line and it was with the same company!

I should tell you that there seems to be "fare wars" going on between the various tour companies right now, as far as I can see with cruise passengers. Try http://www.robertshawaii.com/ or contact them to see how they compare to the tours offered by your ship. NCL works exclusively with Polynesian Adventures (http://www.polyad.com/ ) but both operations are located near the entrance of the pier in Oahu (not sure how they are located on other islands) and they service all islands.

Also recommend you drop your bags upon check in, in Honolulu, and catch the free shuttle to Aloha Tower Marketplace to pass the time before "all aboard." You can download coupons here:
www.alohatower.com/promotions.html

We have booked our tours through adventuremaui.com We are doing a LUAU at the Wailea Marriot one night. We tried to get premium seat but all ready sold out. We are going snorkelling one day early. We are going on a helicopter ride as well. We will be renting a car twice as the cab ride was $120 to go to the Luas!! One must remember when going with the ships tours your tranporation is included. The cab fares are very high. Can anyone recommend a great beach in Maui? We have time. Thanks. Here is a site gives info on many of the local beaches on the south side.

http://www.hawaiiweb.com/maui/beaches/default.htm

Definitely rent a nice car, it is totally worth it. I highly recommend the snorkel and sunset cruises on www.prideofmaui.com

The Hawaii Tours Movie Set Adventure is the type of excursion you boast about. Kualoa Ranch is home to several exotic film locations, not to mention private lush valleys of beauty unseen anywhere else...https://hawaiitours.com/offroad.php