shore excursions --hawaii

[redrdeo]

Has anyone done the ride down the mountain(haleakela) on Maui, i think, that starts after sunrise? it starts at 730 am...

It is NOT a booking through the ship....

Wondering how it is...

 

Thanks

[alexmay]

We did not do this trip, but while waiting to disembark, we talked to a couple that did. They said they left the ship at 3am to get there at 4am so they could see the sunrise. They said there are about 200 people crowded around the viewing area, but everyone was very considerate and allowed others to get pictures. The wife said she was the smallest of the group so she was in the front. She said there were several large men behind her and they were burning the breaks up because they were going so much faster than her. She said it was definitely worth it, and she thought she would be afraid, but was not at all.That was the one trip that we wanted to do, but couldn't fit in so we were asking a lot of questions.

[willysgrandma]

When we got back on the ship in Maui, I was behind a guy that did the bike ride and he liked it a lot.

[brantc1]

Hi,

 

I haven't done the tour but I am booked for one on Dec. 2nd from "The Wind". It isn't a sunrise tour because we're not overnight in Maui. I really tried to book through the company directly but it didn't work out due to the pick up times. When is your cruise?

 

Cheryl

[redrdeo]

Cheryl,

 

We are going on the Dec 25th cruise. We are booked for the bike ride that is the DAY tour. it leaves at 7:30 am so that should work because the ship docks at 7am or a bit before. The company said there should be no problem with it.

 

Cory

[safein]

Cory,

 

You beat me to asking the same question! While we're not sailing Hawaii on NCL, I figured this board would be the best place to ask the same question. We're also thinking about doing the sunrise tour. The only thing that might stop us is if we have to tender into Maui and whether or not we'll be able to get off the ship at 3:00AM in order to get to the tour!

 

Anita

[brantc1]

Cory,

 

We don't dock in Maui until 8 am so I knew the 7:30 pick up at Lahaina wasn't an option. What ship are you on?

 

Cheryl

[cdbisme]

We did this excursion on the win this September. Because our ship didn't get into port early enough, we didn't get to do the sunrise trip. But it was still incredible. We did a lot of fun things on our trip, but this was definitely the highlight. It's a little nerve racking on the way up, but once you get going it really is easy and exciting. I would highly recommend it. I have heard that the sunrise version is even better, but we had a great time.

[brantc1]

Did you book the tour directly through NCL? How many people were on this excursion with you?

 

Cheryl

[redrdeo]

Cheryl,

 

We are on the Wind. From the itinerary we have it's the 2nd day in Maui that we are doing it and we dock at 7am. The ship is just going around the island at night.....that is why we get there so early. We have an 11 day cruise compared to your 10 day that is how we get 2 days in Maui. I hope that makes sense.

 

I am hoping that this will be fabulous!

What ship are you on?

any other q's?

 

Cory

[Catmomma]

I did the 7:30 am one but only did part of it. I did not like feeling pressured to go faster than I felt safe. My husband finished the ride but I ended up getting in the back up van with the gear. They fly down that mountain so if you are not in decent shape and a pretty good rider I would not reccomend it. I was 24 when I tried it and it scared the crap out of me.

[brantc1]

Cory,

 

We are on the Wind also, leaving next week!

 

Cheryl

[cdbisme]

We did book it through the ship and there were about 14 of us. On the way up, everyone was having second thoughts, but everyone finished the ride and had a great time. I didn't think it was physically demanding at all (other than your hands from all the braking). But it is a little scary until you get into the flow. There were a lot of neat views though and it was very exciting. Neither my wife or myself have ridden a bike in a LONG time and we aren't in the best of shape. It looks and sounds dangerous, but if you follow the guidelines, the ride is very safe. I think anyone with an adventurous spirit can do it and it is worth it.

[brantc1]

Hmmm, my husband isn't fond of heights so I'm wondering how he'll do. I guess I didn't think about being scary going up. How were the physical effects from the altitude and what did you wear since it's cold at the top?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Cheryl

[cdbisme]

I can't say that I noticed any physical effects because of the altitude. It really is not a physical bike ride at all. You make a couple of pedals to get you started and then your riding the brakes the rest of the way. It was chilly, but they gave us all windbreakers and pants and gloves so I didn't think the cold was a factor. I wore jeans and a sweatshirt under the clothes they gave me and was not uncomfortable.

 

I think the thing on the way up that scared everyone on our trip was that we hit a little bit of rain and as we were going through the cloud cover, the visibility was very bad. The tour operators even talked about possibly modifying the trip a little. But by the time we came back down it was fine so we got to go all the way down.

 

We stopped several times and made sure evryone was doing good. You would think that you would have less control on the hairpin turns, but you really don't. They were pretty easy to navigate. It was really a great ride.

 

As for someone being afraid of heights, I don't know. You are somewhat close to the edge, but your attention is focused in front of you and not as much over the side of the mountain. But I'm not afraid of heights so I have no idea how it would affect him.

[dirwin]

Hi, I did the sunrise bike ride last Saturday and it was Great. I booked at the last minute (Friday nite while in port aboard POA in Kahului, Maui). I had heard that it's much cheaper to book direct rather than thru the ship, but a few cell phone calls to outfits in Kahului convinced me otherwise. Maui Downhill quoted me $150. while the ship price was $149. (same provider) Another place quoted me $125., but they were vague about pick up at the pier - I did not wish to worry about hooking up somewhere in town @ 2:30 a.m., so booked thru the ship. Others offer bargain deals, but read the fine print - they don't always do the full 38 mile trip. Some tips:

-Dress in layers - it's cold at 9700 feet elevation before daylight! The rain gear provided is helpful, but a long-sleeved shirt & long pants felt good. (They furnish gloves as well)). About half way down it felt great to strip off the warm stuff & finish in shorts & T-shirt.

-The trip is NOT strenuous, there is some pedaling up a few short stretches, but very little. As metioned by another poster, hands can get tired and sore from using hand-brakes.

-Don't plan on wearing a backpack or fannypack on the ride - or on carrying a camera. Those items must be left in the van - safety factor - dropped items can cause accidents when riders behind you swerve to avoid a dropped item or, worse yet, hit the item... They are very strict on this point, but they do stop along the way so you can retrieve cameras from the van & take photos.

-The van follows behind you to block car traffic from the rear, but you still encounter cars going UP the hill - no problem as you have the whole right lane to ride in - most of the way - there are some places where you'll be riding in the bike lane with cars passing from behind.

-Do this one!! It's a unique experience - very exhilarating...

Enjoy! //Dennis in Sacramento//

[brantc1]

Dennis, thanks for the info! I didn't even think about bring jeans and a sweatshirt. Did you wear your shorts under your jeans?

 

Thanks,

Cheryl

[dirwin]

Hi Cheryl, Yes - it's best to wear the long pants over shorts so you can quickly take them off on one of the stops & stow them back in the van. I wore nylon hiking pants with zippered cuffs, which makes it easy to get them off over shoes, but jeans would work fine also. *Closed-toe shoes are required - no sandals. Cheers, //Dennis//

[kryos]

I did the 7:30 am one but only did part of it. I did not like feeling pressured to go faster than I felt safe. My husband finished the ride but I ended up getting in the back up van with the gear. They fly down that mountain so if you are not in decent shape and a pretty good rider I would not reccomend it. I was 24 when I tried it and it scared the crap out of me.

It wasn't part of a cruise trip, but I did this tour as well ... the sunrise version. But, I did it from the van. I was with a group of friends who wanted to do the bike ride down the volcano, and I wanted to go along. However, I have titanium rods in both legs, not to mention multiple pins, from a parachuting accident back in '99 and I didn't want to chance possibly falling from the bike and causing further damage to my legs. So, I made arrangements to take the tour, but to ride in the van instead. It was actually cheaper for me.

 

We had to leave our hotel at like 3:00 a.m. to go to the bike outfit's headquarters, where we were treated to a continental breakfast. Then we boarded the van for the ride up the volcano where we were in plenty of time to view the sunrise. After the sun was fully up, the bikers got to practice getting used to the bikes and attended a safety briefing. In my case, I was seated in the van by this time, the subject of much worry by the bike outfit's people because I had begun experiencing problems breathing. Apparently, I had subcumed to altitude sickness on the summit and was going from bad to worse. They made me sit in the van for a while, hoping I would begin to feel better. The driver told me that if I hadn't improved in about 15 minutes, he was gonna run me down to a point at around 8,000 feet where the bikers stopped for a break anyway, and they would meet up with me there.

 

Luckily, though, I did start feeling better and rode down with the group, as our van trailed the bikers down the volcano.

 

I enjoyed the view and the trip, but I wouldn't do it again even from the van. I had no idea I would be subject to altitude sickness, especially since I used to routinely ride in unpressurized aircraft when I was an active skydiver. Of course, as the biking outfit's leader told me ... I never spent nearly as much time in an unpressurized aircraft at altitude than I spent on the top of that volcano, and I guess this makes sense.

 

Blue skies and if you decide to do the trip, have a blast. It certainly is beautiful ...

 

--rita

[brantc1]

Did any of you other's experience altitude sickness?

 

Cheryl

[dirwin]

None of the 12 people in our group mentioned any symptoms of altitude sickness. //Dennis//

[cdbisme]

None of the 14 people on my trip had any altitude issues.

[bobbyd6363]

We are sailing on the Island Princess Oct 05 and I want to do the bike ride down the valcano! I was wondering how the tour leaders handle the bike riders. What I mean is do they make you all ride single file? Do they allow you to pass slower riders in front of you? etc? I ride a lot at home here in San Diego so i am used to road biking but am really curious as to the rules!!

 

Does anyone have web sites for these tour operators if I dont want to book through the cruise line? Thanks

Bobby

[cdbisme]

Our tour guides are very strict with the riders. In order for the ride to be safe, certain guidelines have to be met. You ride single file and you try to keep a set distance between all the riders (not too close in case someone slows down but not too far in case some car decides to try to pass and get in between you). All the way up, they told us stories of people who wanted to ride down side by side and ended up crossing the median and getting killed by oncoming traffic or going over the side. There are really no straightaways on this trip to pass someone on. You are constantly going back and forth around switchback turns down the mountain.

 

Our tour guide set up an initial lineup and then every so often we would pull off to the side of the road and switch it up to try to balance the riders. The slower riders were up front in order to keep the whole group spaced well. My wife was scared to death on the way up so they put her in front, but she was proud when they moved her back in the group - it was like a promotion to her. She loved the ride also. There was one point in the trip where we split into two groups of slow riders and faster riders for a small portion, but I don't think they do that every trip.

[bobbyd6363]

cdbisme - thanks for the feedback! I have talked to several of the bike tour companies in Maui and it looks like we may not get the chance to do this tour because we get into Maui via cruise ship at 0800 and have to be back on board by 1630.I REALLY WANT TO DO THIS RIDE!