HAWAII Cruisers - FYI - Lahaina destroyed by Fire

[mikjr]

3 hours ago, BCHappyGal said:

And their beautiful Banan Tree looks to be all gone... soooo sad

We were just there in July on the Emerald, but this photo was taken in 2019

 

 

 

[mayleeman]

3 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

I can see the cruise ships making brief stops to deliver emergency supplies.  EM

 

The harbor is destroyed. Hundreds of homes are gone. Stopping in Kahului would make more sense, because that is a bigger port, the infrastructure is intact, and where most displaced people will be. Cell service in Lahaina will be disrupted for weeks so coordinating anything from cruise ships offshore will be virtually impossible.

 

This will be a job requiring years. There is only 1 highway, 2 lanes wide, along the coast from the entire Kihei/Kahului area (another tiny road winds around the northern tip to the golf resort area). A small airport is up near Kapalua. 

 

Our kids live in Kihei and work in Kahului at the main hospital. Paradise has changed drastically. 

[travelin.sisters]

25 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

 

The harbor is destroyed. Hundreds of homes are gone. Stopping in Kahului would make more sense, because that is a bigger port, the infrastructure is intact, and where most displaced people will be. Cell service in Lahaina will be disrupted for weeks so coordinating anything from cruise ships offshore will be virtually impossible.

 

This will be a job requiring years. There is only 1 highway, 2 lanes wide, along the coast from the entire Kihei/Kahului area (another tiny road winds around the northern tip to the golf resort area). A small airport is up near Kapalua. 

 

Our kids live in Kihei and work in Kahului at the main hospital. Paradise has changed drastically. 

I hope your kids are safe & doing ok.

[mikjr]

7 hours ago, LawDog61 said:

I am onboard the emerald now, 2 days out of Hilo.   The ship and captain are very quiet.  Not a word. Yesterday we did speed up for a medical emergency, trying to arrive 15 hours early….but now…who knows.

Has anyone mentioned what they plan to do?  In March, weather was bad and we missed Lahaina and Nawiliwili.  The ship spent an extra night in Honolulu.   Hopefully they will do something like that.  

[mayleeman]

1 hour ago, travelin.sisters said:

I hope your kids are safe & doing ok.

 

Thanks! They were a couple miles from the evac zone, so spent most of the night packing. Just happens to be during a trip there by my DIL's brother and family from NC, so lots to do. Never had to evac, fortunately, and the gkids slept through it. 

 

Very happy when we finally heard from them!

[Astro Flyer]

4 hours ago, mikjr said:

We were just there in July on the Emerald, but this photo was taken in 2019

 

 

 

Now…some trees are resilient & survive fire and hopefully that will be the situation for the Banyan Tree & to be a symbol of the rebirth of Lahaina. 🤞

 

 

[Bellapenella]

Hello.  My mum is currently on the Emerald in Hawaii Aug 5-16th.  Her first time cruising and I'm sure they are ok .. but does anyone know the status of the ship and/or is there anyway I can find out? I've tried reaching her but I'm sure due to the current situation they may not have internet and/or cell service.  I've never cruised so I apologize for all these questions, I'm just concerned.  Would the Hurricane/storm effect the ship?  Will they dock it instead of going to various ports?  I'm sure they are ok, but would like to educate myself so I won't feel helpless not knowing what's going on in these types of situation.  Thank you SO much in advance.

[travelin.sisters]

10 minutes ago, Bellapenella said:

Hello.  My mum is currently on the Emerald in Hawaii Aug 5-16th.  Her first time cruising and I'm sure they are ok .. but does anyone know the status of the ship and/or is there anyway I can find out? I've tried reaching her but I'm sure due to the current situation they may not have internet and/or cell service.  I've never cruised so I apologize for all these questions, I'm just concerned.  Would the Hurricane/storm effect the ship?  Will they dock it instead of going to various ports?  I'm sure they are ok, but would like to educate myself so I won't feel helpless not knowing what's going on in these types of situation.  Thank you SO much in advance.

the storm it far enough away that they should not have much trouble from it.

 

here are 2 threads about their voyage:

 

if you really feel you need to talk to them there should be a number to reach the ship on the Princess website

[mikjr]

21 minutes ago, Bellapenella said:

Hello.  My mum is currently on the Emerald in Hawaii Aug 5-16th.  Her first time cruising and I'm sure they are ok .. but does anyone know the status of the ship and/or is there anyway I can find out? I've tried reaching her but I'm sure due to the current situation they may not have internet and/or cell service.  I've never cruised so I apologize for all these questions, I'm just concerned.  Would the Hurricane/storm effect the ship?  Will they dock it instead of going to various ports?  I'm sure they are ok, but would like to educate myself so I won't feel helpless not knowing what's going on in these types of situation.  Thank you SO much in advance.

 

Do the have Cell Phones and did they buy a WiFi package?  The WiFi is via Satellite so the weather might affect service.   And have you tried to text them?   I would keep trying

[CruiserBruce]

4 hours ago, Bellapenella said:

Hello.  My mum is currently on the Emerald in Hawaii Aug 5-16th.  Her first time cruising and I'm sure they are ok .. but does anyone know the status of the ship and/or is there anyway I can find out? I've tried reaching her but I'm sure due to the current situation they may not have internet and/or cell service.  I've never cruised so I apologize for all these questions, I'm just concerned.  Would the Hurricane/storm effect the ship?  Will they dock it instead of going to various ports?  I'm sure they are ok, but would like to educate myself so I won't feel helpless not knowing what's going on in these types of situation.  Thank you SO much in advance.

Probably the pax on the ship will be the first to know what change in plans will be done. 

 

The hurricane was 400 or 500 miles away yesterday, and moving away from the islands. Its a fair bit of simplification to say the hurricane caused the fires.

[hollins2007]

17 hours ago, WYB! said:

So the Emerald Princess is currently (Aug 05th - 21st) on it's 16 day round trip Hawaiian Island with a scheduled stop on Mon, Aug 14th to Lahaina, Maui Island, which I don't think they will be making due to the fires currently burning in Lahaina, https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com

Prayers for the all that are effected.
Does the ship typically need to re-provision food and/or bunker fuel in Honolulu before returning to the mainland?

I also wonder how weather and specifically the smoke from the fire will effect this voyage overall.

I'm guessing that the ship instead of Lahaina, Maui may overnight somewhere or take a slower route towards Ensenada.

Safe travels,
- WYB

someone who’s on the ship posted on the Princess board, that they are stopping in Kona instead.

 

this is so so sad.  I was on Pride of America in 2018.  We ported in Kahului but I had heard good things about Lahaina and while we wanted to go back and explore the island of Kauai more first as a separate trip (haven’t done yet), Maui was second to explore as we didn’t see much when there (went snorkeling).  I’m praying for those affected for their safety…

[frantic36]

I have never visited Hawaii and am looking forward to visiting them next January at a number of ports. 

 

My heart goes out to the people for the destruction and loss of life. My sister's family in Western Australia two years ago were caught in a wildfire on their farm property and I know the trauma it caused. Thankfully they are slowly rebuilding with support from the government and community spirit. Insurance helped but sadly they discovered they weren't covered as well as they thought they were.Still they know they are better then others. I hope these people get the same support.

 

 

[PacnGoNow]

15 hours ago, ldtr said:

This is a picture of the Harbor area where the tenders dock in Lahaina

 

Is that the old courthouse straight ahead in the pic?

[BermudaBound2014]

54 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

Is that the old courthouse straight ahead in the pic?

 

Yes. And the museum where all the historic artifacts were located. Total loss. Devastating.

 

For those wondering about a cruise ship stop in Lahaina, I'm not sure you understand the total apocalyptic destruction in the area. I believe tourists mean no disrespect, but I suspect it will be years before a cruise ship returns to Maui (if ever).

 

There was a local push to keep cruise ships out of tendering into Lahaina before the fire. The marina is gone. All the docks destroyed. Please take this into consideration and show Maui some Aloha when your cruise ship stop in Lahaina is cancelled. This is going to take time. It took Paradise 2 years to rebuild. Things just can't get rebuilt as fast on Maui as the mainland. It's not like we can send a caravan of volunteers like we did with Hurricane Katrina because there is just no housing, or food.

 

 

 

 

Right now, what Maui needs most is money (and prayers of course). I can't personally verify any of the sites on the following link, but this list was published in Hawaii Magazine. Please consider donating. My heart bleeds for the residents, and especially the Kapuna who witnessed generational destruction in just one evening. 

 

https://www.hawaiimagazine.com/how-you-can-donate-and-help-support-maui-communities-right-now/

 

 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2023 by BermudaBound2014

[BermudaBound2014]

Too late for me to edit, but the above should have read:

 

I believe it will be years before a cruise ship returns to Lahaina (if ever). 

 

I suspect it will be awhile before a cruise ship returns to Kahalui also. The island just does not have enough resources to share with tourists. 

Edited August 10, 2023 by BermudaBound2014

[princeton123211]

50 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

I suspect it will be awhile before a cruise ship returns to Kahalui also. The island just does not have enough resources to share with tourists. 

Cruise ships yes and agree, but I have to think that once the power/safety resources are back the priority will be to make sure that the Kapalua, Kaanapali, and Wailea resort areas go into overdrive to make up for lost tourist revenue. 

[mcrcruiser]

Here is the link

 

https://www.bing.com/search?q=maui fires&FORM=ARPSEC&PC=ARPL&PTAG=1190

 

 No doubt Lahania will be rebuilt but in the near term I would think that cruise ships will dock at the deep sea port in the industrial area  on the other side of Maui .So much history totally gone .We have been fortunate to see it all many times in the past

[debbieh2]

My heart is breaking for Hawaii.   We should be on the Emerald Princess now, but due to 2 x cancelled flights were unable to get from London to LA in time to board on Saturday 5th Aug.  We did this cruise in 2019 and I fell in love with Maui and Lahaina, which is why we booked again.   Thoughts and prayers for all on the Islands 😢😢😢

[mayleeman]

51 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

Cruise ships yes and agree, but I have to think that once the power/safety resources are back the priority will be to make sure that the Kapalua, Kaanapali, and Wailea resort areas go into overdrive to make up for lost tourist revenue. 

 

You might not realize how hard it will be to do that. The main 2 lane highway will not be running commercial vehicles for quite some time, and the tiny north shore road cannot accommodate much of anything except Jeep-type vehicles. The airport up north can fly tourists in and out, but the supplies have to get there, too, and rebuilding Lahaina is likely to take priority once the emergency helicopters aren't needed. Also, the workers who lived in the Lahaina area would need housing and try to recover some stability before they can start serving the whims of high-end tourists. 

 

Finally, much of the speculation I have seen is that much of the tourist accomodations will be being used for emergency housing throughout the island. Things in the tourist industry will be highly disrupted and many locales will never be the same.

[mayleeman]

9 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

Now…some trees are resilient & survive fire and hopefully that will be the situation for the Banyan Tree & to be a symbol of the rebirth of Lahaina.

 

One of the local sources says that banyan trees are known to grow back but only if the roots aren't burned. That source says the Lahaina tree looks like it has damage that may not be survivable. They also might not be able to bring in arborists to do extensive recovery work or expend resources to save it amidst the devastation downtown. It is a complete wasteland for blocks.

 

Perhaps Japan will send another one as that symbol you mentioned...but likely as cap off of the rebirth, not the beginning. 

Edited August 10, 2023 by mayleeman

[princeton123211]

35 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

You might not realize how hard it will be to do that.

I live there in Maui part of the year-- I do realize the challenges. But there will be no choice but to find a way to restart tourism as soon as it is practical. That's the issue-- its the only real industry. People will need to work. 

[mayleeman]

45 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

I live there in Maui part of the year-- I do realize the challenges. But there will be no choice but to find a way to restart tourism as soon as it is practical. That's the issue-- its the only real industry. People will need to work. 

 

Your familiarity with Maui is likely much much greater than mine, so sorry if I seemed too pedantic! I think tourism "as soon as it is practical" is correct, but I think it is going to require at least a year before the infrastructure, housing, workforce, and economic resources will be sufficient to have tourism be more than a trickle. 

 

I can't imagine all the planning meetings that are going to be needed, and all the legal battles over property provenance. I expect that there will be huge battles between restoring Lahaina (keeping its cultural/Hawaiian history preserved), and modernizing it (into another strand of high end resorts to maximize the economic return). It will, I am afraid, make the fighting over the observatories look like singing Kumbaya around a campfire. I hope insurance coverage was adequate for all those small businesses, but alas, it never is.

 

Mind-boggling in the complexity of everything.

Edited August 10, 2023 by mayleeman

[mayleeman]

Here are 3 before/after satellite pictures showing some of the coastal section of Lahaina. I haven't found any pictures showing how far toward the north the fire went.

 

https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/10/us/satellite-images-maui-fires-damage/index.html

[princeton123211]

2 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

I think tourism "as soon as it is practical" is correct, but I think it is going to require at least a year before the infrastructure, housing, workforce, and economic resources will be sufficient to have tourism be more than a trickle. 

A year will be far too long-- I don't think you realize how much locals on this side of the island depend on tourism and the devastating hardships and poverty it would create to turn it off for that long.  

 

Kapalua and Kaanapali are currently cut off and our place in Kaanapali currently doesn't have power. But they aren't destroyed. The Wailea resort area is essentially undamaged. I think you will see these resort areas get back to work within a matter of weeks. 

 

I agree with you that Lahaina will be a long road back. My hope is that they build it back thoughtfully that preserves some of the ambiance that we all enjoyed and not make it a Disneyland version of its former self. 

[Chardonnay Char]

19 hours ago, BCHappyGal said:

And their beautiful Banan Tree looks to be all gone... soooo sad

I saw a story that said the tree was singed but not destroyed