Silver Sweethearts

24 minutes ago, KenzSailing said:

 

The lighter colored column is there, but there's no header nor description. To be clear, I'm not saying it's a matter of not being able to book classes, I'm saying the whole concept does not exist for this cruise.  

Quite possibly they do not have a class/classes finalized for that time yet and do not want to promise and publish anything now.  

It appears that submissions to the Hawaii posts - at least about Maui - are getting less and less.  Agree? Disagree?  Any thoughts in either direction?  Mahalo. 

2 hours ago, mikjr said:

Other than Mama's Fish House, is there another good fish restaurant near our dock??  We loved going to Whaler's Village and eating right on the beach at Leilani's.  Anything like that close by??  Or even down by Wailea??

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.  

22 hours ago, mikjr said:

I just noticed you live on Maui.  What do you recommend?  We've been on Maui about 10 times, of course always tendering into Lahaina.  We normally hit the shops in town and then take a shuttle to Leilani's on the Beach for lunch.  We might just rent a car, but I was concerned about the roads being open to Kaanapali.  Can you even drive from Kahului to Kaanapali???

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.

2 hours ago, mikjr said:

 yea, should be NUI...  typo...   We are there on Tuesday, and should be OK with most of the museums, and it appears they may be walking distance from the ship.  We walked from the HILO dock all the way into Hilo Town a few years back.  I won't do that again!! 

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

3 hours ago, mikjr said:

It appears there are some nice, but probably small, museums not far from the ship.  

Maui Nut Botanical Gardens
Baldwin Sugar Museum
The Bailey House
Maui Arts & Cultural Center

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.

7 hours ago, josumello said:

We have been to Maui many times and basically done it all!!  Beautiful island. However we have never done a whale watching trip there so thought it would be a change even though we live in Massachusetts and have seen many whales off Cape Cod. It never gets old. 

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.

13 minutes ago, josumello said:

Is it fairly easy to get a taxi or an Uber in this port!! We would like to do a whale watch at PAC Whale Eco Adventures but not sure about transportation. 

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

4 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

I mean honestly if you don't want to go to the beach or drive to see Hana on Maui I might just say you might enjoy just staying on the ship more. 

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.

On 4/28/2024 at 9:00 AM, GeezerCouple said:

Some of the premium/luxury lines are able to accommodate special requests (including occasionally something that is not on the regular menu at all, if they have the ingredients, etc.).  That's part of what the extra costs might include (among many other niceties, of course).

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.

On 4/29/2024 at 12:55 AM, Honolulu Blue said:

 It sounds like too much hassle for all involved for me to try it (even on luxury lines), so I don't think I'll be doing this any time soon.  

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

12 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

There have been many times that we have booked a specialty restaurant for TWO only and let them know just before we would meet that we would not be seeing them at dinner.

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.

On 4/15/2024 at 4:57 PM, wcook said:

That has always been our rule when traveling with others (usually family). Dinner is mandatory. Everything else is optional. 

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

3 hours ago, Josie201 said:

Don’t want to hijack the OP but we are very interested in beach options.  What’s close by and are there rental facilities?  (Chairs etc ) 

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!  

8 hours ago, phabric said:

Princess has changed Lahaina to Kahului from 8am-7pm Oct 5.

 

What is there to see in Kahului that is not a beach tour?

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.  

2 hours ago, DCwom said:

Some folks have raved about Leonard's bakery and their Malasadas so I figured I'd add a favorite in Google maps for our upcoming trip in May. Well I noticed that their website says they are closed for construction from now (April 15th until early May), hopefully they will reopen before our trip. I know they aren't the only makers of Malasads, but they are the only one whose name I remember. They do say their 4 MalsadaMobiles are still operating.

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.

1 hour ago, Casanova02 said:

What's POA stand for ?

"Pride of America" (your ship).

17 minutes ago, Silver Sweethearts said:

 

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

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

9 hours ago, Youyoyotoo said:

bummer. it is not open on Sundays. 

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

11 hours ago, Zqueeze1 said:

Some friends of ours got invited  to have dinner at the mysterious Study.  The had no idea who invited them or why.  They were part of a group of eight who were invited by a generous couple from a top tier cabin.  One can order from any of the specialty restaurants. In addition, the chef offered  a seafood entree as well as Kobe wagyu beef.  There were also served Camyus wine with dinner. They said that they enjoyed the experience. 

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).  

12 hours ago, jollyjones said:

The OP is talking about Kona which is on the Big Island and is a tender port. It's a small town with a few things to see. 

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

4 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

This isn't the Caribbean. There won't be folks hawking tours. 

- 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

2 hours ago, Yukonbear said:

We have not booked anything and wondering if there are things we can get at the port.  We looked at a tour on Viator but it is a 6 hr tour and we would leave at 9am so it’s not possible.  

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

1 hour ago, DCwom said:

I just received an email that the NCL Volcano National Park excursion will no longer stop at the Jagger Overlook. No explanation why, could this be a closure by the NPS? I found something about the demolition of the Jagger museum being demolished in early 2024 due to the last eruption in 2018.

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.

4 hours ago, Giantfan13 said:

We are also doing a Princess cruise next year to some of the ports already mentioned. I was also curious as to how easy it is to rent cars in some of these ports and the relationship to where the ship docks. We will be in Honolulu, Maui, Hilo and Kauai. 

We did a cruise to Hawaii many years ago and we rented cars in each port but memory of it has faded and I wanted to know how easy/hard it is now to do this.

 

How far is the airport and are there no car rentals closer, especially near where the ship docks? Same for the other ports mentioned. 

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).