Noordam in Honolulu
We didn’t have anything in particular we wanted to see or do in Honolulu, and the prices on most tours and activities seemed pretty high there so we booked a scavenger hunt through Vacations to Go. Other than the time we got an excursion in China for $6.95 each I think this was the cheapest excursion we’ve found at $30 for both of us, though more people could have come along without paying any more had we been with more people since one fee covered the whole group.
Aloha Tower
This was a totally online tour with instructions for where to set up the account at Urban Adventures pre-cruise and then to log into it at the port. They had options for either Honolulu or Waikiki, but since a taxi or Uber to Waikiki and back probably would have cost more than what we paid for the tour we picked Honolulu which we could walk to right off the ship.
this sign held the information for the first clue
It started at the Aloha Tower, which is less than a kilometer away from the cruise ship dock. What used to be a shopping center around the tower is mainly a university now, but there are still a few shops and restaurants there. Also an awesome ship view from the end of the wharf by the tower. Last time we went to Honolulu on a cruise we watched a Mexican navy sailing ship come into port. It docked by the Aloha tower and opened up for tours. It was the exact same ship I had seen in Seattle once before. This time there were a couple Japanese ships docked there. They were not open for tours.
flower
The quest started with logging in by the Aloha tower and then finding information from a sign and then some nearby bricks, which was then each used to solve the puzzle for that place, after which you get a clue as to where to go next. The first one seemed to lead to a nearby dry fountain.
old maritime museum building
Some of the places were easy to find, like the marine center next to the Aloha Tower, which was closed the last time we were there and still is. It just wanted a color from that building to solve the next clue.
clues found here
That resulted in a short walk to a statue, followed by another short walk to the next statue. That one seemed to have impossible clues since the first clue for the location we were currently at spelled out a word that turned out to be the same exact word on a street sign just across the street, yet the site said it was the wrong answer.
Iolani Palace
Then it showed a picture of a building with two full stories topped by a small third story at the center and asked what had been added or removed in the picture compared to the actual building, which had an additional small story with a clock on it. Neither clock nor story were the right answer though, they wanted window. That additional story did have windows, but that’s not really what stood out about it. The answer to the next puzzle said to exit to the rear, which we took to be the rear of the building, but apparently they actually just meant turn around and go across the street – where the sign with the answer to the first puzzle was that their site insisted was wrong.
also Iolani Palace
That took us to the capitol building, but we couldn’t be bothered to look for the statue there and went back to the ship without finishing the quest. I guess we would not make good contestants for the Amazing Race. Then again if it was for money perhaps my husband would have worn better walking shoes and not gotten so cranky about the whole thing. I mainly booked it to get him off the ship and I guess he really meant it when he said he didn’t want to get off there since he got grumpier and grumpier at each stop and said he wasn’t having any fun, which made the whole thing not fun for me either. Not to mention we’d used his phone so I couldn’t finish on my own if he left with that phone.
fence art at the capitol
My advice to anyone trying this quest besides wearing good walking shoes is make sure that the phone you use belongs to someone who actually wants to do the quest, and who also is a good speller because it’s frustrating when you keep telling someone to change a letter and they say it doesn’t matter, yet the site keeps saying the answer is wrong until they finally give up and spell the word correctly. Little things like capitol, not capital because only one of those is a building and it does matter if you want it to accept your answer. It’s a good way to see some things near the ship that you might not otherwise know are there, but best done with people who actually want to do it. As it turned out I would have had more fun by myself where I could have finished the quest.
egret
My whole point in doing the scavenger hunt was just to get off the ship and walk around and see something. We did manage to do that so in that way it was a success. We saw some nice scenery, pretty flowers, interesting architecture, and even a bit of wildlife along the way. Also lots of statues and some interesting buildings we would not have found otherwise.
Cruise Stories 