Port Waikiki Cruises

I *highly* recommend the Turtle Canyon Sea Turtle Snorkel and lunch cruise. It was AMAZING.
First, you have a real attentive, real knowledgable crew that takes GREAT care of you and is social.
Second, you have a crew member go out into the water with you and guides you to where the sea turtles are and lets you know what they’re doing or even about to do. Your only job is to enjoy the water, the snorkel, and the creatures.
I always thought swimming with the dolphins was the thing to do. NOPE!!! The sea turtles are where it’s at. Gorgeous, ginormous beings.
I so enjoyed myself because of the crew! I would do this again, and again, and again, and again.

We went out on the afternoon sailing cruise and the snorkel cruise (2 different days). We had a great time both days. Captain Josh and crew were knowledgeable and friendly. We sailed both days that made it a real cruise. We saw turtles and a good variety of fish. The food after swimming was actually tasty and fresh. We felt that it was priced reasonably and a fun side trip being so close to the Hilton Hawaiin Village.

Quite frankly, this trip (the Turtle Reef Snorkel, sans lunch) was disappointing. If this is your first time snorkeling (as it was for my boyfriend), then you might have a better time than I did.
However, I’ve snorkeled on Maui, and it was a lot better than this. Disclaimer: our trip to Honolulu was last-​minute, as was our booking of the turtle reef snorkel tour, so I did not get to do a great deal of research for this company/​tours (or others) before making a final decision. I really wanted my boyfriend to experience snorkeling and see some turtles, and this was by far the most convenient and seemingly affordable trip to do.
That said, don’t expect to see a huge variety of fish here. We saw mostly black fish with white stripes, with the occasional silver fish here and there. In my other experiences, fish in all colors of the rainbow abounded, and an eel even made an appearance (not that I want to repeat that again). I stupidly assumed that this would happen again on this trip (the variety of fish in all colors of the rainbow, not the eel!). I was sad to find out that my boyfriend wouldn’t get to see all that.
We did, however, see the promised turtle (s). I say turtle (s) because we’re not sure if we saw multiple turtles, or just the same one over and over again. It was hard to tell. That was very exciting! They/​it seemed friendly and kept their distance (s), but for the most part floated along below the group.
Another con of the trip that bummed me out was that the water was choppy, probably due to it being later in the afternoon (2 – 2:30), as well as a bit cloudy out. Waves kept washing over us and getting water in our snorkel tubes, meaning we had to keep coming up to the surface to get the water out and cough the water up. Not fun. When I had snorkeled previously, it was in calm bays/​coves/​bodies of water so I erroneously expected that it would be at least semi-​calm here, too. This might be a con for those of you with kids who are first-​time snorkelers.
However, the boat (and the boat ride) was nice and we enjoyed the crew. The alcohol was good, and the food also looked good (I did not have any, though).
Would I do it again? No, probably not. But if you don’t have many other options or are hoping to experience snorkeling for the first time (as long as you’re not a child or have children) for a reasonable price, this could be good for you.

My husband and I did the cocktail cruise in March, and had an amazing time! You get two drink tickets but can also purchase more drinks at a cheap price, and the crew is very good about making sure you always have a drink if you want one. There are also light snacks available.
They take you out just before sunset, and when we went we also saw a few whales, which was incredible! The view of the sunset on the water is gorgeous, and the boat trip is totally worth the price. Our crew was Captain Dustin, Brad, and Corinne, and they were fantastic! They were extremely attentive to everyone’s needs, not just making sure we all had drinks, but also offering to take pictures and mingling and making conversation. They were awesome!
I would absolutely recommend this cruise! It’s a relaxed atmosphere where you can really just sit back and enjoy the water and the beauty of Hawaii (with a few drinks in hand).

Swimming with the turtles was amazing, but this company did awesome. Walked us through the protocol without a huge lecture. Corine took us out to see the turtles and she was super attentive and friendly (besides adorable). Lunch was light and fresh. Beers flow and cocktails will be brought to you while you lay on the bow in the sun. Tip generously people. These kiddos work hard. I would definitely do it again

Jacob, Julia and Dave were an absolute blast.
Nice, entertaining and knowledgable. There were only 8 of us on their beautiful catamaran which was so awesome. Drinks were great, perfect hosts. Totally recommended, thank you guys very very much!

We went on the turtle snorkel with lunch cruise. It was awesome.
They had an assortment of prescription goggle masks (I have terrible eyes and didn’t even know prescription masks were a thing) to pick from and we were both able to find a good set. They provided flippers too, which most other snorkel tours I could find online did not. The spot was good with at least 6 turtles hanging out getting their backs cleaned (the fish come and eat the plankton off of the turtles’ shells) that we could watch and swim near. There were also some pretty fish around too, but the turtles were the focus. We snorkeled until we were tired (at least an hour in the water) and headed back to the boat. There was a build your own sandwich buffet and drinks waiting for us. The sandwiches were simple but good and the drink variety was nice (lots of juices and sodas plus two kinds of beer and the usual well spirits (mixed drinks were poured relatively strong)). While drinking and eating we sailed west for a while and then back to the Hilton (about an hour of sailing). Views of the Honolulu skyline and Diamond Head were very nice. I chatted with Brad some (he was the snorkel guide and bartender) about the other islands and things to do; he was helpful with great tips about Oahu’s North Shore, Kauai, and the Big Island.

A couple years ago I took a snorkel cruise out to turtle canyon and it was awesome so of course I wanted to do it again this trip. I tried contacting the other company I went with before (Island Magic Catamaran) twice and didn’t hear back so we went with these guys because they also had good reviews (and offered lunch!).
We checked in at 10:05 worried we were late because the confirmation paper said be there no later than 30 minutes before departure (10:30). The guy who gave us our boarding passes said we didn’t need to actually be there until 10:15.
We got on board and Dustin, Brad and Nick introduced themselves. I can’t remember who was who but one of the guys was a beautiful Hawaiian man. The other two were pretty good eye candy as well. They went over all the safety stuff and off we went!
It was a quick trip out to turtle canyon and we got ourselves all set up. One of the main reasons why I’ve given them five stars (other than how awesome they were) was they they provided us with flippers — most places don’t — and PRESCRIPTION SNORKEL GEAR! I didn’t even think this was a thing! I was actually able to SEE all the turtles clearly! I’m near sighted at a fairly light prescription (–2.00) but my partner is nearly blind without his glasses and they had up to a –7.00 which was perfect for him. This really made the whole trip superb for us.
There were lots of turtles around and the guys gave us lots of time to swim around (the whole trip was 2 ½ hours). Once we tired ourselves out we went back to the boat and they set sail around the area. We ate and drank — they were not stingy on the alcohol by any means. The food was just sandwiches, potato salad and chips but it was actually really nice having something simple and light like that after ingesting all that ocean water.
Overall a great experience and I’d happily book with them again!

My boyfriend and I booked the Sea Turtle Tour with lunch included and LOVED IT! The staff was super welcoming and really made the tour special. Corinne swam out with the group and showed us where the turtles hang out and we got to snorkel/​swim right next to the turtles as they surfaced, it was surreal! She also dove down and brought up a sea urchin for us to hold, as well as a giant starfish — very cool. We had plenty of time to take pic’s, swim with the sea turtles and dive. The food was good at lunchtime and the boat ride was relaxing afterwards. I will definitely use this company again for other tours when I go back to Hawaii. This is a must do tour — sightseeing of the turtles are guaranteed or you get another boat ride/​tour to do it again. Thank you Dustin, Corinne, and Dave for an amazing experience that I’ll never forget.

Went out today very nice clean boat, makes 4 nice pics … Saw 4 turtles, trigger fish, bunch of other fish. Thick schools very cool. Equipment was good in good condition, drinks were provided after the snorkeling. Cool staff. I’ll take my kids in March for sure ! Mahalo :)

Great turtle snorkel experience! Capt Dustin, Brad, and Masa were helpful, friendly, and funny. They gave great tips for snorkeling. Brad even let us get close up to other creatures. I feel like I got my $ worth with the long snorkeling time! Turtle canyon is a must see! (5 stars for crew & snorkeling)
Lunch was very basic (just sandwiches and chips/​goldfish crackers). Deli meat didn’t look great. — this is why the trip was not a 5 star.

Sunset dinner cruise on a Tues evening … This was the best experience thus far I have had on my vacation in Hawaii and here is why I ranked it so high… we are not tourist type people but it being our first vacation to Hawaii we succumbed to our environment ;) that being said we definitely wanted to go out on a boat for dinner and/​or cocktails … only 10 of us were on the catamaran that evening which was amazing, we are a couple that likes our cocktails but the scenery was so gorgeous that we only ended up drinking 1 and half drinks because being out on the water was so breathtaking and enjoyable that we were hypnotiZed by it as well as every person manning the boat were so sweet, personable and attentive. It was just a very peaceful relaxing experience and I would definitely do it again and would highly recommend it!

This review is for the sunset cruise.
This is not meant to be a slam on the company or the experience you might have, just my take to manage expectations and make sure this is what you want before dropping down $$$.
Make no mistake about it, this is a booze cruise. Not exactly what I had in mind. I pictured a nice sail with a champagne toast. This was not it. I don’t know why this isn’t 21+, but it’s not. The crew were some of the nicest people around. They do «buy» you the first round of drinks (you get two drink coupons) and extra drinks are reasonably priced at a few $ for more. My husband had two mixed drinks, and we swears the alcohol is watered down. I had the champagne, and they also have beer on tap. For two people, our total came to $ 165pp.
Also– I admit I didn’t read all the details of the cruise. I just heard sunset cocktail cruise, and I was in! I am also staying at the hilton, so I’m already here. Be prepared to take your shoes off and leave them in a bin outside the boat. I had a total Carrie Sex and the City moment. :) once down the steps into the boat, you see your «appetizers» which wasn’t a great presentation. I love goldfish and potato chips, it just caught me off guard. The heated bins were meatballs and chicken wings. The drinks of course were served in plastic cups.
Anyway– the people around us got drunk and annoying. They had a teenage girl who kept bouncing all around us and running all over the ship, that was annoying. They have these nets at the front of the boat to sit on, and the girl would not stop trying to turn it into a trampoline. Between her and the loud drunks, I was over it.
I’m not one to get sea sick (at least I hadn’t in the past) and I didn’t exactly get sea sick on the boat, but with the cheap champagne and the junk food, plus the ocean bumps and the loud people, I couldn’t wait for it to end.
If I had known that this was barefoot, booze cruise, junk food thing, I would have skipped it. Everyone on board the ship (including my husband) seemed to really like it. I know, I can be a Debbie Downer. ..

This is a must for our family whenever we are in town! The snorkel tour is great, as well as the Adventure Sail. The drinks aren’t bad and the view of Diamond Head is breathtaking! Seriously, some of our best memories!!! We highly recommend!!!

This review is for their «Fireworks dinner cruise» on Fridays from 6−8pm.
price as of January 2014 was $ 135/​adult, $ 96/​child
description from their web site:
«An array of gourmet, fresh selections, a fusion of the best Hawaiian, Asia-​Pacific and Continental-​inspired dishes. Served buffet „tapas“ style, so that you can mingle and enjoy the buffet how you want, where you want, and as much as you care to eat on a relaxed barefoot cruise. You have the best seat in the house for the Hilton fireworks display.
MENU: Macadamia nut crusted fish, crab cakes with tropical fruit salsa, roasted vegetables, hummus with pita chips, teriyaki chicken, assorted mini cheesecake. Unlimited nonalcohol beverages. 2 free bar drink tickets per adult; $ 1 beer/​$ 2 mixer extras.»
First off, this is a pretty short trip — and the timing (at least in January) was terrible. Sunset was about 15 minutes after the cruise started. So they turned up the engine and zoomed out away from the beach, hitting tons of big waves along the way. The ship was bouncing up and down, making photography VERY difficult. And then, not much else. We didn’t go up and down the coast — I thought we’d at least sail down towards Diamond Head or something, but the boat pretty much stayed in one place, and then started heading back to shore when the fireworks started. Disappointing.
But the biggest disappointment was the food. There was absolutely nothing «gourmet» about it. Going down the menu:
«Macadamia nut crusted fish» — cold, no taste of macadamia nuts
«crab cakes with tropical fruit salsa» — cold, big cakes, cut in half, tasted of bread and peppers, no crab in sight
«roasted vegetables, hummus with pita chips» — fine, nothing «gourmet» about this of course
«teriyaki chicken» — also cold, not very tasty
«assorted mini cheesecake» — cut into maybe ¾″ squares, clearly frozen
None of this was even good. And frankly, it’s insulting given the insane pricing for this cruise.
If you’re a drinker, you may enjoy this cruise more — two free bar drink tickets, plus they bought the first round for you as well. But we don’t drink. And we left the ship hungry. Absolutely a waste of money.

Sunset cruise was delightful, Food wasn’t much. salty meatballs and some barBQ, some chicken chunks, not great. Bar was stocked with beer soft drinks and the bartender made a sweet rum drink called «catatonic». Crew with Captain John was really excellent. Particularly Alberto, who was very helpful to a disabled lady. Water was calm the sky was clear. I realize that the crew didn’t do that. We saw whales close up, and really saw the «green flash» when the sun dropped below the horizon.

First time there. They were great. Had a great time. Got to see 3 sea turtles with my family.

Turtle Snorkel and Sail lunch was awesome! Crew was great and snorkeling was awesome. Lunch was just make your own sandwich but that was fine sine we were snorkeling and then sailing, don’t go if you’re looking for some special lunch… If you want to swim and snorkel with turtles it is absolutely worth the money!

Booked the ‘Turtle snorkel sail with lunch’ through the Hilton, sailing on the Spirit of Aloha right off the pier at the Hilton resort.
I don’t think snorkeling is difficult, but if you are antsy about it, you might want to practice using a mask in a pool first or look for an option with a smaller group (we sailed with about a dozen others). They basically drive you out to the site, give a brief talk and gear you up, and in you go! For some people that’s awesome and fine, but for my mom that wound up not being the case.
My mom could not figure out how to snorkel without getting mouthfuls of ocean water, and pretty much just gave up. She couldn’t hear the brief talk well at all, so I rehashed for her. The crew was really friendly and did try to help her after she was obviously having trouble, but after trying and failing three times she unfortunately just wound up staying onboard, and my dad stayed behind to keep her company too.
Wish they could have figured it out, since the snorkeling was awesome with plenty of turtles to watch and swim with (no joke!). Site didn’t have crystal clear waters, but could see the turtles well enough, especially when they surfaced just a few feet away from us.