CruiseLover726

Hello. We will be on POA in July with a prestay at Aulani. In trying to pick a luau, I have never seen as much mixed reviews for anything before.

 

Simply, which is the best luau around taking into consideration the show, food, "authenticity", experience, service?

 

Here are the ones I know of. We are planning other activities on Maui and the Big Island. Please let me know if there are any others that should be attended:

 

Oahu

 

Paradise Cove

Germaines

PCC

 

 

Kauai

 

Kalamaku

Smith Family

Hawaii Alive

Aulii

We just got off the POA and we did Germaine's Luau on Oahu the night before the cruise. This was our first Luau so we don't have anything to compare it to. There was a lot of people in attendance. They had the pig ceremony before dinner. I am not sure that they actually make the pig there as when we were walking back to our seats, we passed the buffet line with metal pans labeled "PIG" LOL

The food was decent and the entertainment was good. If you book online you get a free gift at the gift shop. We were given 3 drink tickets too. Soft drinks are complimentary.

Has anyone done the Sunrise Bike Tour with Mountain Riders on Maui? My husband and I are planning on doing this. I know it will be cold on the summit while we are waiting for the sun to rise......what I am looking for is more of your experience on the bike ride portion of it. We are not avid cyclists, but we do know how to ride. What was your experience? Did you enjoy the 26 mile ride to the coast? Did you feel safe? How was the pace?

I just returned from the POA and we did the sunrise bicycle tour in Maui through NCL excursions and it was provided by Maui Downhill. You were fitted with helmets, jackets, and pants before heading up. After the sunrise they bring you to a lookout point while the traffic from the sunrise clears. Then they bring you down the mountain to your starting point which gives you 16 miles of downhill riding while stops in between including a stop where you can purchase breakfast. The road was very well maintained; very little traffic.

There was 11 of us in our party ranging in age from 32 to 71 and we all enjoyed the downhill ride (no pedaling!) and the guides made sure everyone was safe as we were riding down. If you are not comfortable, or the guide does not think you would do well riding downhill, you can ride down in the van. There were 2 people that did this, one was suffering from altitude sickness, the other just wasn't comfortable on the bike. The bikes are designed specifically for the downhill ride. Big cushy seats, wider tires for an easier ride, and well working hand breaks! We all were tired (we started questioning why we didn't JUST do the sunrise...) but in the end we all had a great time, took some great photos, and were glad that we did it!

The star of the show is the sunrise... as you are riding downhill you can't really enjoy the views of the mountain as you are concentrating on the road, but you can enjoy the views at the stopping points.

Here is a tip - you can grab a continental style breakfast in the Cadillac Diner before heading off the ship; even the staff that we were asking at dinner about where we could get a banana in the morning didn't know this, we found out as we passed someone in the hallway with coffee and yogurt and they told us about it. Enjoy!

I really like your welcome letter! I would love the template emailed to me if you don't mind - karyn52796@aol.com Thanks!!