Maui Snorkel on Four Winds II from Maalaea Harbor

[sellbuy]

Hi!

 

We are booked on Four Winds II for our 2nd day in Maui on our PoH sail. We are on the 7 am check-in tour. We are getting two 1-day rentals from Thrifty so will be doing an early morning rental on 2nd day. We know that parking overnight at the dock is a pain so though two 1-day rentals would be sensible. Does that make sense? How soon should I get to Thrifty in the morning to reach Maalaea Harbor by 7 am? How do I go to Thrifty that early in the morning?

 

Appreciate all your help.

[gottacruise2]

We have a need to be at Ka'anapali Beach by 8:00 AM on that second day - not quite as bad as you needing to be on Maalaea by 6:00 AM :eek: We decided to rent a room in Lahania over night and just be 5 mins from where we need to meet our Trilogy catamaran.

 

Before we decided to do that I had called the local Thrifty office - they were GREAT (808-877-7208 - they are about 15 mins from the port). According to the lovely young lady I spoke with - Thrifty is open from 5:30am until 10:30pm, she said their shuttles are back at the ship at 7:00am. So it looks like you'd need to make arrangements for a cab - according to the maps I've looked at it is about 15-20 minutes to travel from port to Maalaea (depending on the day of the week traffic might be heavier at certain times). So you should probably count on heading to Thrify by 6:00 AM. I would guess you'd need to pick the car up by 6:15am (at the latest) to get on your way and leave yourself some wiggle room.

Aloha - have a great trip :)

 

[CRieger]

We are also booked for the snorkeling the 2nd morning too on the Pride of America. What hotel did you use in Lahaina?

 

We are going to the Feast of Lele the first night.

 

Thanks!

 

Carol

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

Hi!

 

We are booked on Four Winds II for our 2nd day in Maui on our PoH sail. We are on the 7 am check-in tour. We are getting two 1-day rentals from Thrifty so will be doing an early morning rental on 2nd day. We know that parking overnight at the dock is a pain so though two 1-day rentals would be sensible. Does that make sense? How soon should I get to Thrifty in the morning to reach Maalaea Harbor by 7 am? How do I go to Thrifty that early in the morning?

 

Appreciate all your help.

I'm getting a car for 2 days and plan to find a place to park by 4pm latest. We are catching an excursion to a luau arranged by TA so we won't need the car that night. From what I understand, parking isn't difficult if you get there before nighttime. If you don't need the car that night, why don't you plan to park you car before nightfall so you have it available in early am? Just a thought. When is your cruise? I'm on the POH May 28th and we are doing Molokini on day 2 also from Maalaea harbor.

[sellbuy]

I am on May 7th PoH

Thanks everyone.

[gottacruise2]

CReiger - We are staying at the Royal Lahaina Resort – 808-661-3611 - 2780 Kekaa Dr. Lahaina.

They are in the midst of renovating, so it is my understanding that you are better off in a "tower" room - all those renovations have been done. It was around $250 for the room - with all we're spending - what's a few "extra" bucks!! This way we wouldn't have to worry about the drive back to the port (after having a couple drinks at OLL -not that we'll be slammed by any means), struggling to find a parking space, get to bed LATE and need to rise early in the morning on the 5th to get back over to Kaanapali by 8:00.

Have a great trip - Aloha :)

[CRieger]

Thanks for the info! I think that we are just going to drive back to the ship the first night. I know that parking is a bear, but, I also know that we can get off the ship early and do the drive over.

 

Thanks again.

 

Carol:)

[PDAZ]

gottacruise2 -- the Royal Lahaina resort is actually in Kaanapali, despite the address! It's on a fabulous stretch of Kaanapali beach -- north of where all the congestion is with the other resorts (Hyatt, Westin, Sheraton...)

 

CRieger -- if you need to get going early the next morning, be careful where you park. A lot of cars were blocked in when we left at 7 am. I think people just parked where ever they could fit. Lot 1 was a complete mess -- unless you were parked in a spot right on the road, you weren't moving! Lot 2 was also blocked in but only the first ten spots or so -- I had to be guided out of my spot at an angle:cool:

[CRieger]

Thanks for the information. That really helps are far as the parking goes.

 

Carol

[gottacruise2]

Thanks PDAZ - I knew it was in Kaanapali Beach (what's great is it is very close about 5 mins, from where we need to catch the Trilogy Kaanapali Snorkel Sail at the Kaanapali Beach Hotel). I was a little hesitate about booking at the Royal Lahaina Resort, as they say it's being renovated. But I understand the towers are done and are quite nice - that is where we're booked. I'm hoping we made a good decision, it sounds as though you are very familiar with the area, any advice? Sounds like the beach area will be very beautiful and a nice place to relax prior to heading to Lahaina for the OLL the night of July 4th.

CRieger - Personally I would be nervous about parking at the pier, since as PDAZ mentioned you could very easily get blocked in and the hour you plan on heading out in the morning probably is MUCH earlier then most others. Here is a suggestion - When I talked to the lovely young lady at the local Thrifty office, she said we could attempt to park near the pier when you got back from the Luau that night - if that doesn't work, bring the car back to their location (they would honor my same rate the next day), then either take their shuttle (if still running) or a taxi back to the ship. As a mentioned in an earlier reply to this post, their shuttles are back at the ship at 7:00 am, but you would need to make arrangements for a cab to get you back to the agency early enough to pick the car up and head back out to the west coast for your early morning snorkel. So that's another option for you.

Happy Sailing! :)

 

 

[CRieger]

We are renting thru Hertz and we can drop off at the airport parking and then take a taxi back...sounds like a good plan. The whole parking thing sounds like a fiasco! Thanks for the suggestion!

 

Carol:)

[CRieger]

I checked with Hertz and they weren't able to help with the parking situation...called Thrifty and no problem....so I have cancelled the Hertz reservation....

 

Carol

[gottacruise2]

You GO Carol!! Thrifty has been VERY accommodating, we have them book in every port except Kona (because we are doing a ship excursion).

 

Have a great trip!

 

Vicki

[CRieger]

I didn't rent a car in Kona either....we are doing the Kona Beach Blast excursion...no driving for us on that day. The rest I have thru Hertz or now Thrifty. I have booked convertibles in every port. I can't wait...I've only had this cruise booked for a year. I have booked something to do in pretty much each port. I can't believe that I have two weeks to go!

 

Thanks for all your help!

 

Carol:)

[PDAZ]

Thanks PDAZ - I knew it was in Kaanapali Beach (what's great is it is very close about 5 mins, from where we need to catch the Trilogy Kaanapali Snorkel Sail at the Kaanapali Beach Hotel). I was a little hesitate about booking at the Royal Lahaina Resort, as they say it's being renovated. But I understand the towers are done and are quite nice - that is where we're booked. I'm hoping we made a good decision, it sounds as though you are very familiar with the area, any advice? Sounds like the beach area will be very beautiful and a nice place to relax prior to heading to Lahaina for the OLL the night of July 4th.

 

 

 

I stayed at the Royal Lahaina for a week back in 2001. I'm very glad to hear it's finally being renovated -- it was desperately in need of an update when we were there! I hope they're doing the pools also. They had those boring rectangular pools of old :cool:

 

I believe it was the first resort built in west Maui so it sits along a really nice, long stretch of beach. We were there in June (summer vacation), and the beach was never crowded. They have cabanas (I think that's what they're called) for rent on the beach and anything you need for water fun (my daughter rented a boogie board). They also offered scuba lessons in one of the pools. The water (ocean) there was a bit too rough for my liking -- I kept getting knocked down, but then I'm a wuss when it comes to that stuff ;) My memory may be wrong, but I think if you walk south on the beach, you'll run into black rock where there's supposed to be excellent snorkeling. I'm fairly sure I walked down there, but I did partake of their excellent bar service quite frequently so my memory is fuzzy :D

 

What I like best about the hotel was actually the gardens around it. They had a lot of plumeria trees which should all be in bloom soon and the air was so fragrant! Early morning walks on the beach are heavenly! I liked the lobby too -- it was done in dark wood -- it just looked Hawaiian! I hope they aren't remodeling that :o

 

The shuttle that runs between Kaanapali and Lahaina used to stop at the Royal Lahaina -- it will make your transportation between the hotel and the luau very convenient if it still does. If not, there's a shuttle from Whaler's Village that goes to Lahaina. It's a bit of a walk from there (Whaler's Village) to the hotel, but we did it more than once during our trip.

 

BTW -- if you need to do laundry, they do have a convenient launderette on site.

[PDAZ]

I can't believe that I have two weeks to go!

 

 

Don't forget to pack binoculars -- you'll be very glad you did -- especially when you pass by the volcano!

[CRieger]

I definitely plan on bringing those! We are in a family suite (9500 upsell) and are port forward. So, I think that we will be able to see pretty well, but, the binoculars will definitely make it even more spectacular! Thanks for all your help!

 

Carol:)

[FabFam]

Hi we're on Pride of America on 7/14 and wanting to do the Four Winds II Molikini snorkel tour on the first aftn. of the two days in Maui. We're renting a car the second day only. It looks like the Maui city bus will get us from the one port (Kahului) to the other (Maalaea) to do the Molikini tour --does anyone have experience with the public transportation? Appreciate any feedback or suggestions,

Sherry

[GreatLakes]

We are also taking the Molikini snorkel on our second day and I appreciate all the good tips on the car rental and parking. But I have a couple questions....do we have to bring beach towels from home to take with us on our snorkel trip or can we get towels from the ship? Also, is anybody bringing snorkel equipment or do you feel safe using the rental equipment (hopefully they are cleaned properly). I've not seen these question addressed anywhere. Thanks.