Welcome to Arnott’s Cruise Ship Central!
As you can see by the information below, until March 14th, 2020, we were thoroughly integrated with the Cruise Industry and had provided some of the most popular tours in Hilo, to every major cruise line for over 20 years.
Then came Covid, and the very real possibility that with cruise lines taking multi-hundred-million loans to stay “afloat” that we would not get paid for a significant portion of our services to guests…and in fact payments were delayed in some cases by over two months.
Looking ahead to Bubble Tours and tight control over guests, and the very shaky start in Europe, Asia, Alaska and Caribbean, we have opted to provide tours to the Summit Of Mauna Kea on a private basis when guests are allowed off the ship to do as they please…we regret that until that happens we will not be providing any regularly scheduled tours to the Industry.
Arnott’s Adventures was accredited for tours from the port of Hilo, Hawaii with Norwegian, Princess, Carnival, Holland, Royal Caribbean/Celebrity and the Norwegian minor brands Insignia, Mariner, Navigator, and Regatta.
Queens Ship by Cunard, Disney, Silver Sea Cruises, Seven Seas Mariner by Regent Seven Seas Cruises and others do not avail themselves of some of the best tour operators in Hilo because they visit infrequently and choose not to develop relationships with smaller operators who run some of the best custom tours for the more frequently visiting ships. For instance we run one of the Big Island’s most unique tours to the summit of Mauna Kea, yet you will not find this even offered by some Cruise Lines. Please email us at info@arnottslodge.com or call/text us for details at 808-339-0921.
Arnott’s Adventures provided these highly rated tours to the cruise industry. The tours that we performed were:
1. Land of Frozen Fire is a tour which visits the fastest growing area on the Big Island, which in 2018 was the scene of active lava flows, now cooled. We also take you to an area formally a black sand beach and ocean which is now an extra half mile of coastline created in 1992, you will see Sea Cliffs, Lava Tubes and tree molds at Lava Tree State Park.
2. Mauna Kea, Arnott’s signature tour as we are the only permit holder for this adventure in east Hawaii. This tour consists of a highly scenic drive to the Mauna Kea Visitor’s Center at 9,300 feet (3,000 m) followed by acclimatization while you take in amazing scenery. We then proceed with our 4wd vans to the summit at 13,700 feet (4,200m) where you have a chance to walk around and, when available, to visit one of the telescopes. This tour was offered as a daytime tour for cruise ship guests, and as an evening tour for regular guests. The evening tour would only be an option for cruise guests with overnight stays in the Hilo Port, as the return time is between 8-10 p.m. depending on the season.
3. Big Island Eruption Encounter, which takes you on an adventure towards Kalapana in the Puna district. Along the way you’ll view firsthand the effects of the 2014 lava flow on the town of Pahoa, and visit other areas in Puna such as Kaimu, with its black sand beach and small town that were destroyed in the 1990 lava flow.
Private/Custom Tours: We can perform and craft a completely customized tour depending on your interest. This is for those who want to see it all and have flexible budgets. We can also take you to delightful swimming adventures where you can normally see Hawaii’s Green Sea Turtles and other sea life as well as Black Sand beaches and waterfalls.
