Silver Sweethearts

As we noted earlier, Kahului is a port town that is commercial and light industrial in nature with no need for upscale restaurants or food and shopping even remotely close to Mama's Fish House. Wailea would be a much better area to look for that, but do consider you would have to arrange transportation.

When Lahaina was devastated we heard its residents asking for a time to try and heal as best they could, and we want to give them their space. For that reason we personally cannot recommend going back to Lahaina now. Central Maui may not be as interesting as Lahaina was, but it obviously is closer to your ship.. A rental car might be nice, but you really don't have the time to make it worthwhile. You can walk to Maui Mall and/or Queen Ka'ahumanu Center. Not exciting or anything resort-ish, but it shows you a bit of life away from the resorts.

To narrow things down a bit, what would be your idea of "walking distance" from the ship?

You might want to double-check the information you have on the above places. Maui Nui (not Nut) Botanical Gardens has a self-guided tour for $10.00 per person. The Sugar Museum is closed weekends, as is Bailey House. The MACC does have exhibits that change off and on in the gallery there, but most events are in the evening in the theater. Renting a car for those places seems a waste.

If you happen to be on HAL's Koningsdam in Maui next February, you may want to check Cruise Critic records from earlier this year when they did the same cruise. The whale watch was spelled out in great detail on their roll call. Valuable information about transportation, UBER, public bus, etc.. Do check it out.

Do remember that the tours are only offered November through April.

Good advice. Maui - as with all of Hawaii actually - is expensive and tours costly. If you don't have some activities in mind already, don't feel that exploring every island in depth is a must. We have often enjoyed the relative peace and quiet of the ship while the other guests were ashore.

We are fortunate enough to sail with high end lines when we travel, and many times it is the staff who solicits us about what we would like from on or off the menu and not us soliciting them. We are truly interested in their suggestions, and being on smaller ships allows us not to be rushed and to listen to what the staff has to say. Then, too, we have to be honest enough to certainly realize being in a named suite helps.

If you are on a luxury line, this is one of those things that you have your butler handle.

Perhaps we are missing something here, as it sounds like you had no intention of having dinner with them but felt is was OK to lead them on.

Don't you think "Dinner is mandatory" sounds a bit demanding and doesn't exactly set the tone for a relaxing meal?

To be honest, nothing decent in that area that we would recommend. You would be best to look at areas such as Wailea and Kihei on Maui's south side. Rent a car and make your own personal itinerary!

First of all, what are your interests - and will you be renting a car? Do know that Kahului is a commercial/industrial area that is not set up for tourists, nor does it solicit them. It would be best to have your activities set up before you get there.

You might also try Home Maid Bakery on Lower Main Street in Wailuku on Maui. Off the beaten path and a real local place, but close to the POA. No advertising out front. You can google it. Their malasadas are very popular. They were said to be closing, but they are not - at least for now.

"Pride of America" (your ship).

While you are at it, check out the short (about 2 minute) video entitled "Walking Back to Pride of America - Maui Port.

Do try your source once again, as we show them open 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sundays. Worth checking.

When the Explorer was new we were invited to dine in The Study twice. The tables at that time were for four, but we had no trouble requesting a two-top. Yes, we were in a suite, but it wasn't the Regent Suite. Since there was only one other table occupied, we figured perhaps we were chosen as very fortunate guinea pigs for this new Regent endeavor. In any event, the room and staff do provide a quiet and pleasant venue for dinner. (Boy, do you get stared at though when you walk through the supposed hidden doors in Prime & and Chartreuse to reach The Study).

Quite right. Don't know what we were (or weren't) thinking.

- And the nice beaches and shops to visit are not located where you will dock in Maui (Kahului). It is a commercial/industrial area that really has nothing to offer visitors. Your best bet is to rent a car and make your own tour

Your request is a bit vague. Could you give more details please?

Geomorphologists recently determined the ledge on which the museum sits is “extremely unstable,” preventing future use of the building and grounds. It would likely take years, plus additional funding, to reopen at a new site according to the current Star-Advertiser.

Pretty easy, actually. There is only one dock that cruise ships can use in Maui now (Kahului Harbor). It is about three miles from there to Kahului Airport (where the consolidated car rental facilities are located).

On Maui you might check out Fabric Mart and Sew Special.

It is up to what one considers fun. If you don't have claustrophobia, don't mind bouncing off the tunnel walls and off other guests in darn cold water, don't mind the darkness and length of the tunnels, etc., go for it. Rather expensive for what it is though, but YMMV. Do your homework well on this one!