Fair Wind, Four Wind or Trilogy???

We have 8 people altogether. Me (age 33) my DH (age 39), my DS (age 3) my brother (age 37) , my SIL (age 37) and their DS (age 2) and my parents (both age 66) on the POAl in late August (God help us all if we don't have air conditioning while on the ship, we are midship somewhere, so it could become an issue).

Anyway, I seem to be the one in charge of itinerary while in port, so I am researching the "family" snorkle trips and have found three recommended ones.

They are:

Fair-Wind (during our Kona stop) We would have to be one of the first tenders off the boat and make either a taxi or arrange for some kind of shuttle to get us there on time... that is a sticking point... because I know that they will not refund our money if we don't get off the boat on time. However, I did read one review where someone went on the Fair-Wind and it kind of ruined her for snorkling because it was so great.

Four Wind II (on day two of our Maui stop) I like the glass bottom effect, and we would have to get up ultra early to get to the stop. OR we could stay overnight in Lahaina, but I don't see that happening.

Trilogy (on day two of our Maui stop) I don't know but do the Trilogy boats seem to go fast? We would have to get up ultra early to make this one too. We aren't docked in Lahaina we are docked near the airport in ... someone help me with the name of the harbor... I can't remember. But I know it's about an hour or more to get to Lahaina from where our boat docks, so getting up would be an issue as well.

Has anyone here taken all three of these and can tell me what is the best decision from a "family" vantage point? My mom doesn't swim and we have a 2 and 3 year old with us.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Cheers!

I only did the Fair Wind so I can only give you some info on that ...

We made it with time to spare. We were on POAloha and made the first tender. Cabs were waiting and it was about a 20 minute ride.

We were me and DW (30's ... ahem) three kids 14, 12 and 10. The kids loved it as there were a lot of other things to do besides snorkel (which they can only do for so long). That said, I'm not sure about a 2 year old. They did have float boards with windows in them as well as underwater "viewers" that you could stick under water and look through while you floated around on a tube. The slide and diving platform might be too much for a 2yo unless they're a real fish. (mine were when they were that age).

The kids also enjoyed the burger / dog / chicken lunch they served and I appreciated that they had Dr. Pepper. :D

We did thoroughly enjoy the trip.

I am a bit prejudiced because we did the Fairwind Kona snorkle on our "land" trip to Hawaii and it was excellent - really one of the best organized and most safety conscious snorkeling trips I have ever been on (and the snorkeling is quite good)! They even had a collapsible playpen and suitable water toys for a toddler that was in our group - she had a ball.

Have never been on the two in Maui, but we have been on Fairwind in Kona several times. Just THE BEST for family members of all ages. Plenty of room to move around even inside the nice sized cabin so you can have plenty of shade if you like. The little ones could probably even ride around on the inner tubes they provide.

Particularly with so many of you if you are concerned about reserving AND PAYING ahead of time, this is what we do. I call before we leave home to see what the availability is, tell them we are interested and will call when we get off the ship and are on our way to their pier. We have never had a problem doing this BUT you need to know if anything particular is going on that day, how many ships are in port - check http://www.cruisecal.com - to give you an idea of whether or not they will fill up. Unless there are big groups booked you shouldn't have a problem, and it's a great day.

We always have a car reserved just in case the Fairwind timing does't work out, but we have always been able to cancel it and go on Fairwind. Don't plan to rent a car to get to the Fairwind pier, however, because there just will not be enough time for the pick-up, paperwork, etc.

Have never been on the two in Maui, but we have been on Fairwind in Kona several times. Just THE BEST for family members of all ages. Plenty of room to move around even inside the nice sized cabin so you can have plenty of shade if you like. The little ones could probably even ride around on the inner tubes they provide.

 

Particularly with so many of you if you are concerned about reserving AND PAYING ahead of time, this is what we do. I call before we leave home to see what the availability is, tell them we are interested and will call when we get off the ship and are on our way to their pier. We have never had a problem doing this BUT you need to know if anything particular is going on that day, how many ships are in port - check www.cruisecal.com - to give you an idea of whether or not they will fill up. Unless there are big groups booked you shouldn't have a problem, and it's a great day.

 

We always have a car reserved just in case the Fairwind timing does't work out, but we have always been able to cancel it and go on Fairwind. Don't plan to rent a car to get to the Fairwind pier, however, because there just will not be enough time for the pick-up, paperwork, etc.

Bucky.. thanks much for the tip! Let me ask you though, did you have a large group along with you? We are going to be a group of eight when we go. Will that make a difference?

Also, exactly how many times have you made it off the tenders in time to get there. I have not yet heard of anyone who didn't make the ship (but I've been a member of this board for about five minutes, so I might be missing someone) I am getting more and more confident that we can make it off the ship in time to get out there.

I'm thinking that most people getting off at Kona are going to want to do the little "shopping spree" that is available when you get off the tender... at least that is what I am hoping!

Thanks again!

Cheers!

I've done both Trilogy and Fairwind. Both highly recommended. I do the Fairwind every time I'm in Kona.

I imagine you are thinking of the Lanai trip by Trilogy. They start very early, usually two or three ships going. You'll have island tour, nice hot lunch and beach time, each ship in different order so that nothing gets crowded. The snorkeling on the beach is excellent. The coral is in much better shape than anything in Maui or Molokini. They have chairs, floats, snorkel equipment, etc., on the beach. The captain takes you on a guided snorkeling tour also.

It's very well done, and one of the best all-day excursions on the islands. They leave from Maalaea Harbour, not far from the Kahului, and if it's February, you are guaranteed to encounter lots of whales. Lanai Channel and the Maalaea Bay are the best places to see whales in whole Hawaii.

However, the catch for you might be the time constraint. It's a whole day trip and they don't come back till four o'clock or so. They don't sell afternoon tours like Fairwind, so they can take their sweet time coming back if they encounter any interesting wild life along the way. Even though pricy, it is worth doing it, though. You might call them and discuss the timing.

First of all let me say that NO WAY would I shell out that much money IN ADVANCE for 8 people unless you are GUARANTEED a refund if you cannot make the port - like your ship can't get into port for some reason, or they are delayed or whatever!

I don't know your times in port, but Fairwind runs two trips a day, so the morning trip has always been back on time when we have used them. They run a very prompt schedule both leaving and returning. We have never taken the afternoon sailing. The wind can be a problem in the afternoon I understand.

To answer your question - we have not cruised on NCL. Our stops in Kona were on Carnival Spirit (twice) and Princess (once). There were four of us (all adults) on these trips, so one regular size cab was all we needed. I have seen taxi vans at the pier as well.

I would call the Fairwind people a week before you are to be there to find out what the availability is for that day. And have an alternate plan in case you can't make it - like a car rental that you can cancel at the last minute.

As far as getting back to port after the Fairwind trip, we just asked our taxi driver to be there to take us back and he was. We did this twice. The other time we were with people vacationing there and they took us in their rental car.

Having said all this, we would love to take the Trilogy trip some time. Timing has never been right for us to do that trip.

Aloha! Bucky

First of all let me say that NO WAY would I shell out that much money IN ADVANCE for 8 people unless you are GUARANTEED a refund if you cannot make the port - like your ship can't get into port for some reason, or they are delayed or whatever!

 

I don't know your times in port, but Fairwind runs two trips a day, so the morning trip has always been back on time when we have used them. They run a very prompt schedule both leaving and returning. We have never taken the afternoon sailing. The wind can be a problem in the afternoon I understand.

 

To answer your question - we have not cruised on NCL. Our stops in Kona were on Carnival Spirit (twice) and Princess (once). There were four of us (all adults) on these trips, so one regular size cab was all we needed. I have seen taxi vans at the pier as well.

 

I would call the Fairwind people a week before you are to be there to find out what the availability is for that day. And have an alternate plan in case you can't make it - like a car rental that you can cancel at the last minute.

 

As far as getting back to port after the Fairwind trip, we just asked our taxi driver to be there to take us back and he was. We did this twice. The other time we were with people vacationing there and they took us in their rental car.

 

Having said all this, we would love to take the Trilogy trip some time. Timing has never been right for us to do that trip.

 

Aloha! Bucky

You rock Bucky! I think we will call Fair-Wind in advance and see what the availability is. My brother lives in Honolulu so he will have a working cell phone. Also, if we don't make the fairwind, that gives us a day to see if we can get on Trilogy or Four Winds. I hated the idea of putting up that much money to just lose it if we don't get there on time.

Thanks again and Cheers!

Good Luck! Hope you make it on the Fairwind 'cause it's a great day for all ages. Come back and let us know what you did. Aloha!

By the way, Lanai being a privately owned island, the Trilogy is the only ship with the landing rights to the Lanai harbour. They leased the land years ago and build the picnic and beach facilities. Unless you are staying in the expensive hotels there, the only way you can go there is to take a ferry. There are some snorkeling operations to Lanai, but they can't land in the main part of the island. As the Trilogy is expensive and taking a ferry is a pain, not too many tourists go to Lanai just to snorkel, and that means very few novice stepping on coral there, unlike Black Rock and other popular spots in Maui.

If you are in Maui on land based vacation, I highly recommend taking the Trilogy trip to Lanai.

Here is a link for a late morning tour with Triolgy:

Trilogy Excursions - Maui, Lanai, Hawaii Sailing, Scuba Diving, Whale Watching and Snorkeling

We will be on HAL and only have one day here so it will be Old Lahaina Luau and hope I can make Fairwinds in Kona the day before. I am doing the telephone, taxi, and cross my fingers that the others suggested. If I miss it because of late arrival I will try UFO parasailing across from the pier. If we can not tender, c'est la vie!

We took the Trilogy on June 28th with an excursion reserved through the ship. It was a great day and they served wonderful cinnamon buns, the best wrap sandwiches I ever had (and I hate wraps) and a truly wonderful barbecue before we left. They gave us a choice of staying on the beach or taking a little van tour of Lanai. It was a wonderful outing.

But the reason I replied to the post is to let you know that we took this on our first day of the two day visit on POH. On that day, there was a wildfire that closed the road that leads back from Lahaina harbor where the Trilogy was docked to the POH. NCL struggled all day to get its various excursion passengers back and forth from Lahaina. When we arrived back to Lahaina at around 6pm, the road was still closed and eventually we were put on a 32 passenger boat to the next harbor where the tour buses met us and took us back to the ship. We probably didn't get back until 9 or 10pm. NCL did not charge us for missing our speciality restaurant reservations. So the guess the moral is, if you book the tour through NCL you won't have to worry about any deadline for getting back to the ship- they can't just leave you there if their own excursion is delayed.

Anyone do the Fairwind II yet? The boat looks great and I'm wondering about the snorkling. We won't be diving. Thanks.

Sorry, I meant to say Hula Kae, not Fairwind II in previousl post. Anyone?

Parsp - Just talked to my daughter about the Hula Kai. She and our SIL went on that excursion on the Hula Kai in May and loved it. They are in their mid 40's. A few days later we met them and went on the Fairwind. They said the Hula Kai was a little more of an adventure, goes faster, went further South, and that the seats were very comfortable. We plan to try this excursion in December. We have done the Fairwind trip several times and love it - especially for families, but the Hula Kai sounds fun too. You need to check to make sure you can go on the day you are there. Apparantly they don't take the Hula Kai out every day at least this was the case in May. Have a great day!