Weather at sea and dock/tender questions?

[Bazel]

Hello,

 

A recent conversation about Hawaii cruises indicated that Hawaii ports, except Oahu, are all tender ports. Is this true? If so, how often are ports missed due to bad weather. I would think the the return of weekly cruises would have encouraged the development of piers for docking.

 

Also, for those that have done Hawaii from the west coast. What is the weather and water conditions like?

 

Thanks,

 

BZ

[Paulmj]

Neither Kauai, Hilo nor Kapalui (Maui) are tender ports. Kona and Lahaina (Maui) are tender ports.

 

Asking what the seas were like yesterday will have no bearing on what they will be tomorow. We sailed westbound once in December where the seas were rough. We sailed eastbound in December 2 years later where the seas were like glass, all the way from Hilo to Ensenada.

[Fayecruises]

Unless it has changed, I was on the Regal Princess in Dec. 2004 (round trip from CA) and we could not dock in Kauai due to weather. Kauai was a tender port. The seas were not rough but there was a lot of rain. I am going back in two weeks and now I hear there is rain again. Are the Hawaiian sunsets a myth?

 

Faye

[spleen93]

Kauai is NOT a tender port. It's a docking port ... but the entrance into the harbor is VERY narrow for a ship as big as a cruise ship and as a result, if the waves are too high, the harbormaster will not allow the cruise ships to dock which may result in a missed port. This has also happened in Hilo in the past. It's not very often but it does happen.

 

Spleen

[Fayecruises]

Thanks for clarifying that for me. Since we did not dock , I assumed it was a tender port . The waves must have been way too high so we never got to Kauai. Oh dear I hope that does not happen again. 2 weeks from today --

[spleen93]

I'm sure it'll be OK. Like I said, it's rare that they miss Kauai. :)

 

Spleen

[Thanksforyourinfo]

how often are ports missed due to bad weather. I would think the the return of weekly cruises would have encouraged the development of piers for docking.

 

They would RARELY miss a port for weather reasons. It's Hawaii, a different pace there. They will develop when they are ready. It's really nice that they have their own pace. I remember being in traffic jams along the Boulevard in Kona, but nobody was honking, no road-rage. The ships efficiently deal with tendering, it's a great time.